Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) (58 page)

Ian watched Jays rhythmically pound his fist on the table; it reminded him of a more violent imitation of drumming your fingernails. He finished corrupting another section of the computer system then sat back, and Jays pounced on him. “How long have they been gone? Donald only has a couple more groups to go. We’re running out of time, Ian!”

Knowing better than Jays that they were running out of time, Ian probed his Second for the hundredth time in an effort to gauge his state. His deterioration had accelerated. It wouldn’t be long before he passed out.

“Relax, Jays. There will be enough time for Donald to get the last of you out, barely. Nick and Chris have only been gone a couple of hours, and they have a map to the meet up.”

Not satisfied, Jays spun away, then stopped. Intrigued by Jays’s sudden stillness, Ian looked around, then he too felt the wave approaching. He rose and came up behind Jays, reaching out a hand to steady him. Ian smiled when he felt Nick’s and Jessica’s power signatures spiraling up like two birds in a mating flight. He opened himself up completely and welcomed the flow of energy as it coursed through him, reveling in the knowledge that he’d been right. His heartbeat, beating in time with the pulsing, grew stronger as his power fountained up, marching to the new music.

Hesitant flares of new power joined his, and Ian opened his eyes to look at Jays, who stood frozen in shock. Ian squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, and Jays slowly turned bewildered eyes on him. “What? I don’t understand…” He trailed off.

“I do. I’ll explain when it’s over,” he replied quietly. The pulsing waves gained momentum, reaching a crescendo, then, like a soap bubble, burst out over the land, raining sparkling golden dust to Ian’s inner sight. Sighing in a mixture of relief and sadness, he turned his attention back to Jays.

The young man shook the dazed look from his eyes and turned on him. “What the hell was that?!”

He rubbed his tired eyes then smiled slightly. “Please sit. There’re some things we need to discuss.”

From his seat, he waited while Jays fidgeted around, eventually taking a seat. But even then he couldn’t sit still, tapping his feet, drumming his fingers. Ian chuckled. “Ok, at least you’re sitting. So, what was that? It felt like Nickolas and Jessica finished what they started a few weeks ago and confirmed my guess that they were trying to bind their power together. I hadn’t expected it to spread beyond them though.”

Jays’s movements slowed as he listened, so Ian went on. “Did you feel the way the energy pulsed and the way something inside you matched it?” His Second nodded, so he continued. “I’m pretty sure that what we felt was a preliminary binding, a first stage. Our energy signatures were tuned to make it easier for us to bind to the pair if we choose. I can see the use in something like that. With the Alpha pair as the nucleus, a close knit group could form, with the ability to pool power and keep track of one another’s health and safety, a huge benefit.”

“Still, why…?” Jays asked, his eyes squinted in concentration.

“Why did you experience it?”

Numbly, he nodded his head.

“Have you noticed how you are feeling today, how you are behaving?” He paused, waiting for a glimmer of understanding; at the first kernel, he continued sympathetically, “You entered the second stage today.”

Jays reared back like he’d been slapped then stood up and backed away. “No, oh no, no, no,” he moaned, shaking his head in denial. “Not now. Not when so much is on the line.”

The fledgling started to pace in front of the table and ran his hands through his hair in agitation. “How long have you known?”

“That you were changing? Or that you were going into the second stage?”

“Either, both, I don’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?” he yelled.

Ian sighed and pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead for a second before he answered. “You know the rules. We don’t tell a new fledgling until they enter the second stage, which you did this morning. Donald already knows and he’ll take care of you. You’ve done everything here that you can; I want you to evac in this next run. I need to know you made it out, Jays.”

“You couldn’t have made an exception this time? You have to have known for weeks…” Jays ranted, then stopped to stare at him a moment before he stated, “Wait a sec, what do you mean Donald can take care of me. That’s your job, Ian.”

Pain flashed through his chest, but he concealed it. “You of all people know how unlikely that would be, Jays. You know how long I can last outside of the Facility. Without a steady supply of my inhibitor, I’m dead, and they have gone to a lot of trouble to make sure I was never able to duplicate the formula. No matter how hard I tried.”

“You just got this week’s shipment. You’ll have a week’s grace, so maybe using Beth and Marcus’s equipment, you can duplicate it.”

He hated to kill the hope in Jays’s voice. “They don’t have that sophisticated of equipment, and I am tired of being a hostage, Jays. They use my presence to keep Marcus and the rebels under control, just as they use Nickolas and Christoff as a means to keep both of us under control. Besides, I still have too much to destroy. If I can, I’ll join you guys later.”
*Donald, it’s time for you to come and get Jays.*

He stood and walked over to a cabinet, where he took out a small disk. “Here, take this. It will give you information on your gift. You’ll be a Seer, and from what I can tell, your talent will have the same form as mine. This is everything I’ve learned over the years about myself.” He pressed it into Jays’s unreceptive fingers, then looked the younger man in the eyes. “They are going to need you, Jays. You know everything I do or at least how to access it.”

The door to the Hub opened and Donald walked in to join them. “It’s good to know Nick found Jessica,” the Hunter said, then cocked his head at Jays. “So have you told him, Ian?”

“Yes. I just finished. And you need to combine the last groups. My talent is screaming; I want all of you to leave immediately. There’s not much time left.”

Nodding his head in understanding, Donald turned to Jays. “Come on, kid, we’re pretty much ready. Is there anything you need to grab, Jays?”

The lost look in his eyes when he shook his head squeezed Ian’s heart. Jays stood there, clutching the disk, not moving, so Donald took him by the shoulder and turned him toward the door. Halfway across the Hub, Jays pulled away from Donald and whipped back to him. “No, I can help you finish, then you can come with us. I don’t want to leave you here, Ian.”

He gestured for Donald to take him away and just shook his head. “I can’t, Jays. I want nothing more than to be with my family and know all my Valkyries are safe, but they’ve made sure I can’t have that. Clear skies.” He raised his hand in farewell and watched Donald drag Jays through the door, then said under his breath, “My son.”

“Donald, let me go!” Jays shouted.

He pushed Jays forward again then grabbed the new fledgling by the wrist and twisted his arm behind his back. “No. We need to hurry, Jays.”

He clamped his other hand at the back of Jays’s neck and forced the struggling fledge down the hall and out the door. He breathed a temporary sigh of relief once they were outside. The shouting was less likely to draw attention there. He kept him moving and wove through the paths to where they were staging the evacuation. Jays’s voice broke and Donald hardened his heart. He was responsible for getting everyone out and that included Jays, whether Jays wanted to or not.

They reached the open garden, where he forced him into the center of the gathered Valkyries who immediately closed ranks, forming a wall. Only then did he relax his grip and let Jays have his arm back. The new fledgling immediately stepped away, rubbing his joints while his eyes darted around the group, looking for a way through the fence.

“Dev, is everyone here?” Donald asked as he watched Jays closely.

“We’re waiting on the last two now,” the Third Flight Wing leader said quietly.

“Get them to hurry. All three of our groups are leaving together, but we’ll go as two Flights. Dev, I want you and your Second to head the other Flight. I’ll take Kieran as my Second and we’ll cart Jays. As soon as we have him netted up, I want to fly.”

“Right, Donald,” said Dev, and he turned away to issue quiet orders to his Second.

“Why am I your Second?” Kieran asked, irritated.

He looked at him in exasperation. “Why do you think, Kier? You’re not in much better shape than Jays. There’s no way I would allow you to lieutenant a Flight in your condition.”

“I’m fine,” he snapped.

He caught his cousin’s gaze and pushed dominance with a hard stare until Kieran looked away. “I need to keep you close. You’re my Second and that’s final, now cope.”

Kieran growled but kept his eyes averted and started to put on his harness. Heated voices reached Donald and he turned away from the fourth stage fledge to watch Dev’s Second escorting the last two Hunters into the garden. One was empty-handed, but the other carried a huge black case.

“What now?” he muttered under his breath. “Kieran, keep an eye on Jays. And this time don’t let go.”

That elicited a snarl from his Second that he ignored, and he walked over to the argument. “No. Whatever it is, no,” he said when he got close enough.

The Hunter holding the large case set her chin stubbornly. “I’m not leaving it behind, Donald. You let the others take things if they wanted and could.”

Snorting, he looked at her. “I think that was a little different, don’t you? Books, pictures, other small possessions. What is that thing anyway?”

“A cello,” she mumbled.

“A cello?”

“Yes. It’s been in my family for over a century. Jen agreed to help me carry it.”

He could feel the battle slip away before he’d even had a chance to engage. Donald glared at the two and pointed a finger at them. “If at any time you can’t pull your own or keep up, it’s gone.”

Smiles lit their eyes and he turned away, shaking his head to rejoin Dev. He started to tell him that he would get to keep an eye on the cello when Ian latched onto his mind.

*Donald! You need to get everyone out now! Get into the air. Gabriel is almost to the gate.*

*Join us. We’re still in the garden; there’s time. We can have a net prepared and waiting, it won’t delay us.*

Regret flowed down the link, twisted through Ian’s words.
*No. It’s not possible. Please go. I’m proud of everything all of you have done. And I’m sorry I won’t be there to help any longer. Please tell Christoff and Nickolas I’m sorry. And…and take care of Jays.*

Sadness welled up in Donald and he choked out the last words.
*I will Ian. Good-bye.*

*Good-bye, Donald,*
the doctor whispered, then he felt the link cut.

“What’s wrong, Donald?” Dev asked urgently.

Cursing under his breath, Donald looked at Dev, then over at Kieran and Jays. His voice rough, Donald snapped, “Ian said Gabriel’s at the gate. We need to leave now. Get your Flight in order; Kier, get Jays into the net.”

“What about Ian?” Kieran asked.

“He’s not coming.”

“Damn it, Donald, don’t do this to him!” Jays cried, pulling away from Kieran. He then tried to push past the Hunters in his way. “You have no idea what Gabriel is capable of. He’s going to tear him apart.” He spun back to face Donald, fighting the hands that tried to restrain him.

The circle let him through, and he grabbed Jays by the throat and immobilized him. “Stop it, Jays. Ian needs to be free to do what is necessary, and he won’t be if he has to worry about you. We all have our orders and we will follow them. You’re not helping him.” He stared hard into Jays’s blue eyes and could see the despair his friend tried to hold at bay. “Kieran, Dev, get the net.” Jays’s pulse beat steadily against the palm of his hand and the fledgling slowly shook his head.

“Please, Donald,” he whispered.

“I’m sorry, Jays.” He held him still as Dev draped the net over the fledge’s head and Kieran pulled it around his body, then started lashing it shut. Jays’s breathing took on a panicked hitch. Once the other two had him secured in the net, Donald released his hold so Dev and Kieran could pick him up and lay him out on the ground. He immediately started to try to fight the net. Kieran and two other Hunters secured the tether line clips from three corners of the net to their harnesses, while he quickly donned his own harness and clipped the last corner to his.