Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) (54 page)

“Excuse me?” Her legs slid out to plop on the bed. She shook her head then cleared her throat. “What do you mean?”

“Earlier you asked why you mattered. Well this is why. Your body has changed in a new way. You are the first female to emerge with an intact operational reproductive tract. You are a Breeder. You have both Seer and Caster abilities, but you aren’t either one. You are more.”

“A what?” she squeaked.

He rubbed his fist against his mouth and coughed. She narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to laugh.

“Let me know if you come up with a better name for the caste, I guess,” he said. “I have a theory that the reason the change is so hard for someone in your caste is because of how much you need to change inside, both physically and mentally, compared to the others. Then it’s compounded by your extremely dominant nature. Your caste is born to be the leaders of the species.”

“After telling me I don’t need to know things, why the hell are you telling me this?” She got up and started to pace. “Wait a minute. If I’m the first, then how do you know that the change would be hard?”

“I said first female.”

She froze midstep. After a deep breath, she looked over her shoulder at him. “Who?”

“Nick.” He paused and his eyes flicked away. “And Gabriel.”

She felt the blood drain from her face, and she groped for the cot. “This is my life. I’ll make my own decisions. Not let some hormone-driven body system force me into this.”

“You can try,” Ian murmured.

“Ian.” Jays’s voice blasted from the ceiling. “You need to come out here right now. Jack’s on the phone.”

Her head snapped to look at the camera in the ceiling, then she jerked back to Ian.

The doctor’s face had turned expressionless. “We’ll finish this later,” he said and swiped his card. The door shut with a loud click behind him.

Ian rushed over to the island where Jays held out a receiver for him. He took it in dread. “Jack?”

The clipped voice on the other end of the line spilled out, confirming his fears. “I don’t have long, Ian. And yes, I know I’m screwed. But I didn’t have a choice. Well, not if I wanted to keep any of you safe. They’ve sent Gabriel out. Something big is going down. I don’t know the details, but I heard enough to know he’s coming for you.”

“Can you get out of there, Jack? Right now? Now that you’ve called me on an unsecure line, they’ll be on you in no time.”

“There’s nowhere for me to go, Ian. I knew that when I made the call. Just get them out.”

Click.

“Jack!”

The steady buzz of the dial tone sounded in Ian’s ear and he slowly hung up the phone. At the question in Jays’s eyes, Ian shook his head.

Jays slammed his fist into the wall and exclaimed, “Now what? What do we do for him?”

He narrowed his eyes at Jays’s uncharacteristic display of aggression and replied quietly, “There’s nothing we
can
do. He made his decision when he called. Get Nickolas in here. We need to start the evacuation. We can’t let Jack’s sacrifice go to waste. Gabriel is coming for Nick and Jessica.”

Jays kicked the exam cart over then stormed around the room.

He reached out mentally and tried to soothe his young protégé. “Jays, I need you to get Nickolas for me. Jays. Focus.”

The young doctor took several deep breaths as he calmed himself down before he said through clenched teeth, “Fine. I’ll go find him.” Then he stalked out of the Hub.

Could the timing be any worse?
Ian thought as he opened one of the locked drawers in the file cabinets. He pulled out a folder and set it on top of the cabinet then fished around in the back of the drawer before he pulled out a small handful of flash drives. After setting them on the desks in the island, he proceeded to start emptying the file drawers and stacking the contents haphazardly.

Heavy footsteps heralded Donald arriving on the run.

“Jays said there was an emergency?” the Hunter inquired as he caught his breath.

“Where’s Nick?” Ian snapped. “I sent for him.”

“Where’s…” Donald looked at him, confused. “He and Chris are gone still. They haven’t gotten back from the recovery in Bellingham yet.”

Folders slipped from his fingers as he twisted to face the Hunter. “No orders came from me. When did they leave?”

“About breakfast time, an hour or so ago.”

“Damn. They’re already making their move. We need to evacuate. I don’t know if Kratz is part of what’s going on, so don’t trust anyone.”

“Are you ready to tell us where we’re going now?”

“Sorry, Donald. I’d hoped we wouldn’t have to do this yet. The less people who know, the less chance of having the knowledge ripped from you. The safety of too many people is in the balance.” He took a map from one of the file drawers and shook it out across the island. Donald moved to stand beside him as he smoothed his hands over the paper, taking out the wrinkles. “We need to alter course. My plans have been compromised and the safe house and guides I had set up for you are no longer safe.”

He traced his finger along the map. “We can’t have too many in the air at once. You’ll need to restructure the Flights since Chris isn’t here, and your Second is out of commission at the moment. Get one Wing out at a time, maybe fifteen- to twenty-minute intervals. That shouldn’t look too suspicious. Hopefully it’ll just be assumed that it’s the return of the previous group, if they’re seen at all. Follow the slough until you get to the river. Then follow the Snohomish River until it meets the Sky. Then take the Skykomish to here.”

He picked up a red marker and circled a section. “This will work for a rendezvous point. It’s a heavily wooded park on the river on the eastern edge of the city of Monroe. Regroup there. Stay below treetop height as you follow the water.”

“How long do we have?”

“Not as long as we would want. I have files and some small equipment you will need to transport out. After that, take whatever personal effects there’s room for. I’m afraid a lot will need to be abandoned. Let’s get the first Flight in the air within the hour, if possible. But have everyone ready to scramble at a moment’s notice.”

“What about the fledglings?”

“If Jessica can go out in the third group, there will be a dozen or so people on hand to help control her. David can go at any time; I’ll leave that up to you. Now, Jays is going to be more difficult.”

“What do you mean?” the Hunter asked.

“Jays just entered the second stage today.”

Donald dropped his chin to his chest and shook his head, muttering obscenities under his breath before looking back up. “You’re right, that makes things more difficult. If you think he’s becoming too erratic, let me know, and we’ll take him in the next run. Do you think we should sedate Jessica and or Jays for the ride in the nets? If they struggle, it might cause the bearers trouble.”

“I’ll get you something. But don’t use it unless you have to. Jessica’s drug responses are too unpredictable. I’ve got a prepaid phone in my office to give you. Use it after everyone has reached the rendezvous. Dustin will be able to help get you to Aurora.”

The door to the Hub slammed open and Jays stalked up to him and Donald. “When I found out where Nick and Chris went, I tried to get a hold of Jules, but we were cut short for some reason. I was able to tell him to abort, but as he was starting to reply, the connection went dead. I couldn’t raise him again. What is going on out there, Ian?”

“I don’t know. There’re too many new pieces appearing. The matrix alters almost faster than I can keep up with. But some things are crystal clear, and our time here is done. Donald, make sure that everyone brings their pills. You don’t need the added complication of forty-five Valkyries all coming off of the drugs at the same time. You’re already going to have trouble with Kieran, Sara, and Ronny during the trip.”

Growling, Donald shook his wings out and Ian gave him a sympathetic smile, then picked up a flash drive.

“Take these. Pick the most experienced computer users and have them quietly go around and upload the virus these contain. I want every computer wiped, including personal ones. Don’t miss a single terminal in the Valkyrie section.”

“Ok.” Donald said.

Ian turned to his protégé. “Jays, you know which files and disks I want taken out of here. Please start gathering them up so the teams can each take what they can.” Ian stretched before he moved over to the computer station. “I’m going to start wiping everything I can. Keep me informed as you both progress.”

“Yes, sir,” snapped both men.

Jessica paced her cell and fumed.
It has to have been at least two hours already. What’s going on? I can sense something isn’t right since my brain isn’t so fogged up.

Inside her, energy spiked and dropped, leaving her giddy one moment and exhausted the next. The pressure felt like it wanted to split her skin. She rubbed between her eyes.

The remembered panic underneath Jays’s voice when he called Ian out left her worried. Her mind tumbled about, looking for why. Before her speculation could go too far, the door bolts disengaged.

Ian stepped through and beckoned her over. Shock nearly left her rooted to the spot. He hadn’t pulled the door shut. She could glimpse through the opening into the busyness taking place in the Hub. With a jerk, she stepped forward and stopped in front of him, her eyes darting excited glances through the crack.

He reached out and cupped her chin to raise her gaze to his. “It’s time we said good-bye. Things have happened…. It’s no longer safe for you here. For any of you here. I just wish…”

Sadness crossed his eyes, but he hid it fast. “If you see Nicky…please tell him…I’m sorry.”

He brushed a kiss across her forehead then reached down and took her hand to pull her from the room. After the weeks of silence in her cell, the noise in the Hub deafened her ears. She winced away, but Ian led her to a small group waiting for her. Relief whispered through her when she saw Kieran, but it faded fast after she got a good look at him. Pain lines etched his face and his body looked stiff enough to shatter if someone hit him.

Jays ignored her as he stuffed papers and folders into sacks then dumped them into a pile from which a steady stream of Valkyries loaded their arms. The doors to the hall swung back and forth as people entered and exited.

“Jess,” Ian’s voice drew her attention back to those in front of her. “Here, put these on.”

He handed her a pile of cloth. When she shook it out, she found a pair of thick fleece pants and a matching hoodie, though the hoodie she just twisted around trying to figure out how the modified garment worked. Kieran took it from her and pulled the Velcro strips that held the split neck together, then pulled it up under her wings and her arms through it. He fastened the Velcro under her hair.

Ian gave her a sad smile. “Kieran and Aidan will take you to Donald; he’s staging the evac. Please. Just for once, do as you’re told?”

He brushed the tangles away from her face, then turned his back and started typing on the keyboards scattered on the desks of the island.

“Let’s go, Jess,” Kieran said, his voice hoarse, and she turned a concerned eye on him.

“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. Grabbing her hand, he started to tow her across the room. “Come on, Aidan.”