Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) (51 page)

“What do you want, Gabriel?”

The Alpha sauntered over to the island and took a seat watching Jessica’s monitor. “I’m here to do an evaluation.”

“No. You have no jurisdiction here.”

He swiveled the chair and smiled. “Oh I think that has changed, hasn’t it, Ian?”

At the smug look on Gabriel’s face, dread crept down Ian’s spine. “What are you talking about?”

Spinning the chair in a circle like a giddy teenager, Gabriel stopped, facing Ian. “Guess who I ran into in the hallway today on the way here?”

The dread turned to certainty, but Ian kept his expression neutral.

“He seemed remarkably clearheaded for a Facility Valkyrie, though since I haven’t seen him in fifteen years, I suppose I don’t have much of a working knowledge of Nickolas’s personality, now do I?” Gabriel rose and paced up to him; the softly spoken words did nothing to hide the steel underneath. “I am going in to see Jessica Reuther. Now, let me in, Ian.”

His mind flashed across the hundreds of mental maps, but no moves countered this. He walked stiffly over to the door and swiped his card through. “Just remember, Gabriel, every word you say, every move you make, I’ll have on tape.” He watched Gabriel walk in then returned to the monitor and turned the sound up.

Jessica heard the door latch disengage as she paced in her cell. Her eternal hope that Nickolas would be allowed back got dashed when a tall, blond Valkyrie walked into the room. Full of resentment, she watched him make himself comfortable in her tiny domain. He lounged on her bunk, stretching his legs out and effectively blocking her into the end of the room unless she was willing to make an ass of herself by sliding along the wall.
Not on your life,
she thought.
I don’t want to get anywhere near him.
Narrowing her eyes, she waited for him to make the first move.

He studied her for an uncomfortably long time before he spoke; his voice matched his looks, and Jessica shivered as it seeped into her. “Hello, Jessica. I’m Gabriel.”

She stayed silent and just stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

Tsking, he shook his head. “Usually it’s considered polite to reply when a conversation is started.”

“So? Usually one chooses to initiate the conversation. Since I haven’t chosen anything in weeks, I couldn’t really care less about manners. What do you want?”

Brows furrowing, Gabriel sighed in irritation. “What is it with everyone demanding to know what I’m doing?”

He returned his attention to her and shrugged off the irritation. “Well,
I
can give you a choice. That’s what I’m here for. I came to offer you the chance to join me; I can take you to the research facility I work with after you finish the change, or possibly before. You wouldn’t need to be locked up in this tiny room. I have a lot of space. You could help immeasurably with the research just with your mere presence.”

She folded her arms across her chest, hoping that he wouldn’t see her hands tremble. “What research?”

He stood then started to pace in the small room, coming much too close to her for her liking. “Just as Ian does, we research the change and associated paths surrounding it. I feel you could make a valuable contribution.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

He stopped to stare at her, and she suppressed a shiver of fear. She felt like Jerry, with Tom pacing around her. “What would you do instead?” he asked softly.

“Make my own decisions. Everyone seems to want something from me. No one seems to care what I want, except Nickolas. So I’ll take the known over the unknown.”

Jessica flinched as something indefinable crossed Gabriel’s face before he replied much too quietly, “Nickolas won’t be here for long.”

He started to stalk her, and she slid along the wall to maintain some distance, but soon she found herself trapped in the corner. His body heat seeped into her as he crowded in close, and she caught her breath when he reached out with his hand and forced her to meet his eyes.

“I lied,” he said. “I wasn’t going to give you a choice. You
will
be coming with me at one point or another.” He was still holding her chin, and she was certain he was going to try and kiss her when, instead, she felt a strong presence try to force its way into her drug-shrouded mind. Panicking at the intrusion, she did what she could to protect herself. And raising her hands, she pushed against his chest while sending what energy she could muster past the drugs through her hands. It zapped into Gabriel, and hissing, he released her, stepping back, grudging admiration filling his eyes.

“You’re strong. The drug level they have you at shouldn’t have allowed that. Forget Nickolas,” he said, and turning, he stalked toward the door. When he reached it, he looked over his shoulder, his gaze raking her. “You’re
mine
,” he promised.

When the door shut, Jessica slid down the wall, shaking from what had just happened and cursing the drugs that gave her no control over her own mind.

The inside of my head feels like its weighted down with lead and can barely move. I’m tired of being a pawn in someone else’s game.
 

Nickolas flung the covers back and rolled off the bed to crouch in the darkness as he tried to sort reality from dream. Wet breath panted past his lips, and he pressed back against the wall as a bright flash of light burst behind his eyes.

He was in his cell; Gabriel reached out to touch him and he couldn’t pull away. Another flash, this time a scene of carnage, strange Valkyries torn to pieces or screaming in pain. Nickolas grabbed his hair in his fists and pulled, trying to block the visions. Another flash, this time he relived the memory of breaking the neck of one of the people in the observation lounge.

He took a deep breath, fumbling in the unfamiliar exercise of trying to ground, and felt the power pulse inside before he brought it under control. When he opened his eyes, he was relieved to see only the vague outlines of his room instead of the bright pictures of horror that had taken over his vision. He rose unsteadily to his feet and made his way into the bathroom, squinting in pain at the bright light when he turned it on, then fumbled with the faucet. He cupped water in his hands then splashed his face a few times before leaning heavily on the counter. Nick looked up into the mirror, water beading down his face.

Another flash, but this time instead of a bad memory, or something horrible from Gabriel’s mind, there was just the image of a storeroom. Then the pictures started to flip by, stills showing the room, several different file cabinets, and specific drawers. Then the clincher, his name circled in red on a paper that lay alone on the table in the middle of the small room. The vision started to spin around with the paper as the center, focusing his attention. Nick closed his eyes from the vertigo, and when he opened them again, the only thing he saw was his reflection in the mirror.

Does that mean what I think it means? Only one way to find out, I guess. It’s not like I’ll be getting any more sleep tonight anyway. I think I know which storeroom that was. I can at least start there.

He grabbed fresh pants, stuffing a few odds and ends into the cargo pockets, then slipped a dark green flannel shirt on up under his wings, reaching behind his neck to secure the Velcro as he left the suite.

His footsteps echoed in his ears as he walked the deserted halls, arriving at the locked storage room without incident. He rested his hand on the knob then reached out with his power and felt the locking mechanism, making short work of picking it telekinetically. He blinked at his second-nature use of his talent, then with a shrug, he slipped inside and relocked the door behind him.

His wings pressed to the door, he scanned the other three walls lined with file cabinets. A table filled the center space with barely enough room to maneuver around, as long as the file drawers remained closed.

A breath whistled through his teeth, and he clenched his fist then took a slow, deep, calming breath. He narrowed his focus and ignored the small space. Drawn to a cabinet, he let his feelings guide him and he started pulling out folders at random.

With his arms full, he hooked a chair with his foot, pulling it out to sit on. After setting the folders down, he took the top one and started to read.

A few hours later, he rubbed his eyes then looked at the papers and folders spread out across the surface of the table. His eyes sank closed and he leaned his elbows on the wood, his head pressed to his palms.
Why? Why all the lies?

The lock clicked in the door behind him and broke his shocked contemplation. With the quick flash of a mental probe, he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms.

The door pushed open, followed by a second of stunned stillness.

“Hello, Ian,” Nick said, then he slammed the door with his mind before looking over his shoulder at Ian’s ashen face.

The doctor didn’t stay frozen long. He shuffled forward and resignation entered his eyes.

“Why?” Nick asked.

With exaggerated care, Ian set the folder he carried on top of the nearest cabinet and pulled out the chair on the other side of the table. Looking old and tired, he sorted through which folders Nickolas had read. “You didn’t miss much.”

“Why? Why wasn’t I told any of this? Why was I used like this? By you of all people.” Nick took a deep breath to control the anger growing in his gut.

“I didn’t have a lot of choice, Nicky. What was I supposed to do? Let Gabriel take you? What he is capable of stuns me sometimes; I couldn’t chance it. I buried the knowledge of what I suspected you were so deep that nobody knew. I’m amazed that you were even able to find all of the files. I couldn’t risk letting you finish your change earlier, you saw how fast Gabriel picked up on it. That couldn’t have escaped you.

“And as for the camps? You would have balked in leading recoveries if you had known. And all that would have done was brought you right back into Gabriel’s view—along with those who control him.”

“After learning this,” he flung his hand out, “I’m supposed to believe you?”

“Would you lie to Chris? If it was the only way to keep him alive?”

“This isn’t about Chris.”

“Isn’t it?” Ian stared hard at him, and Nick looked at the tabletop as the doctor’s voice pushed on relentlessly. “It’s about you, it’s about Chris, it’s about every other damn Valkyrie in this new emerging species. And if I hadn’t done the research I did, none of this would ever have happened.”

“What are you talking about?”

Ian squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then looked at the ceiling. “Your grandmother and I headed a research group studying ways to genetically help people with life-altering disabilities, in regards to their sight and hearing. We worked right here at the Facility for a private research firm, funded by a major pharmaceutical corporation. What we didn’t know was how our findings were being used.

“Instead of trying to help people, they twisted our research, used it to try and manipulate the genetic structure of people for the sole purpose of cosmetic changes. They wanted something they could market. To athletes, say, so they could be stronger, faster. Or to the rich—give them enhanced hearing so they could eavesdrop without the use of traceable equipment.

“I had no idea what they had done until their experiment went rogue. Various potential clients had sent in guinea pigs. Some were second-string athletes, others were expendable employees to the rich. All had no clue how they were being used.

“We got called in as soon as it became apparent that something was wrong. My team did everything we could, but we were working blind. Gabriel was the only one to survive the experiment. But before they all died, the nightmare spread.
We
started showing symptoms.”

He swallowed then took a deep breath before he continued. “They locked us up and did their damnedest to stop what they let loose…but they couldn’t. It’s continued to spread since.

“Your mother and father, along with a dozen others, were called in to help. They quickly realized that a virus had been used to carry the genetic manipulation, and that it was loose. I had recovered enough that when your parents’ group started to change, I managed to get them what the first two groups didn’t, freedom to change without interference. All of them survived.

“In one aspect, the original group’s goal succeeded. They did give the people enhanced senses, but the wings came as something of a shock. After many years of research, it’s become clear that instead of triggering dormant physical traits like they had hoped, the virus actually unlocked our genetic code and forced a jump in our species’ evolution, a period of punctuated equilibrium.

“Unfortunately the virus has now spread too far. We see no way of containing it. It’s just a matter of time, really, until Homo sapiens is superseded by Homo valkyrius. My fear for a long time has been that we were witnessing the end of our species. But with your change, we had new hope.”

“Yes, my change.” His brain reeled, trying to absorb the information, and he snapped, “The one most intimately involved in it, yet never told so things could make sense. No wonder I attacked Jillian.”

“Yes, that was an unfortunate clue.”

“Unfortunate? You don’t have to live with it, Ian!”

“Now there you’re wrong, Nickolas.” Ian’s voice cracked out, surprising him. “I have to live with everything you did and more than you will ever know. I was responsible for not just your protection, but every other Valkyrie that came through my hands. And so many I failed.”

Ian’s green gaze pinned him to his seat. “If lying to you for all these years was the price I had to pay to keep you safe, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I don’t regret the lies, Nicky, but I do regret the pain they’ll cause.”

Not sure what to think, Nick’s mind latched onto the first thought to float by. “Jessica; she’s like me, isn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“But Gabriel knows about us now, doesn’t he?”

“Sort of. He doesn’t know about the new caste, he just knows that the two of you are different from any of the others. The original group of researchers, along with the parent corporations, still have a lot of power over us. But when the government stepped in to help try to contain the virus and quell the initial panic, we ended up with another faction to fight. They all have their own agenda’s. I have to get you all out of here soon. But it’s complicated. They’ll be coming after you for all they’re worth. What the two of you represent…” Ian shook his head.

“How can I ever trust you again?” His voice came out rough.

“The same way you have every day of your life.”

Nick pushed away from the table and whispered as he turned to the door, “If only it were that simple.”

“It can be as simple as you make it.”

He shook his head and opened the door.

“Nicky.”

He paused but refused to look over his shoulder.

“What you found? It was only about you. You’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg.”

He fled into the corridor with those words rebounding in his head.

After a solitary breakfast, he stared at his brother across the table in the cafeteria.

*Nick, you need to look at everything Ian told you objectively. It makes me angry too, but would you have made any different decisions with the knowledge he had? Knowing what the stakes were? I doubt it. I wouldn’t have.*
His brother’s eyes bored into him, willing him to understand, to forgive.

He glared at his brother for a moment, then sighed.
*I know, Chris, it just hurts.*

*That’s a given. The question is, which would hurt worse?*

*You’re a real jerk, you know that, Chris?*

*I know. I love you too, brother.*
Chris laughed through the link.
*I like this. We certainly could have made use of this ability a while ago. Cell phones don’t compare. This will make communicating in flight much simpler; we won’t need to deal with you dropping your earpiece anymore. But, I can see why they didn’t want us to have a secure way of communication though. There’s no way for them to monitor us now.*

*Don’t rely on that, Chris. They may not know what we are talking about, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know it’s happening.*
He shrugged at a table across the way. The grounded there kept casting them odd looks.

“Right. Out loud as much as possible,” Chris said.

“Finish your breakfast. Then come meet me in the gym. I want to check Kieran out.”

*Donald’s on him, Nick. Kieran’s been off for five days, he’s still got some time to go, according to Ian.*

He pushed away from the table. “I know what he’s going through better than any of you.”

Chris nodded, his mouth full, then his eyes narrowed. Nick stilled, turning his head to look over his shoulder. Flynn pushed his way through the tables toward them.

“Come on, you two,” the grounded puffed. “Ian caught me in the hall. He has a recovery we have to go on. Now. Let’s move.”

*Nick?*

He turned to face Flynn. “I should go and get the briefing then, Flynn.”

The grizzled redhead shook his head vigorously. “He said to get moving. The stuff’ll be in the van. Jules is already warming it up.”

He looked at Chris.
*Gabriel?*

*Could be. He’d want you out of here.*
He shoved more food in his mouth and rose.
*But I don’t like it.*

“That isn’t like Ian, Flynn.” Nick pushed his chair in and they started to weave through the tables.

*Maybe he knows how much you want to see him right now, Nick.*

“Don’t know, Nick. I’m just following orders.” Flynn shrugged in front of him.

Still uneasy, he followed the grounded out to the garage.

An hour later, Nick stared at the skeletons of trees and brown dead vegetation as it skated by the window of the van. They’d been traveling north for most of that time.

I need to get a handle on these emotions. Chris is right. I likely wouldn’t have done anything differently. Look at what I did to Jessica. If that doesn’t prove the point, I don’t know what would.

The blur outside let his mind drift. A tug of sorts caught his attention, and he brushed up against another presence.
*Hello?*
Nickolas sent.