Honesty (Mark of Nexus) (11 page)

Pain is a funny thing. Your first brush with it, however minor, seems like the end of the world. Then you get some miles behind you, suffer a tragedy or two, and suddenly you’ve got a high threshold for the stuff. You take in a scene with distant eyes, while everyone around you runs screaming. God only knows which of you is worse off.

Needless to say, I had a tendency to keep a cool head in emergencies. Since Rena’s scream had erupted from the other side of the Student Union, I started there. Nothing. I made a sweep of the perimeter, edging around uprooted trees and a transformer fire—still nothing. I slipped inside.

The tornado sirens had died out, replaced by wailing ambulances. With the outside threat eliminated, I figured now was as good a time as any to prompt a mass evacuation. What was one more ear-piercing sound, anyway?

I pulled the fire alarm.

Students in formalwear rushed past me, panicked and disoriented. As if the trauma here wasn’t bad enough, most of the poor bastards would be sick in a matter of days—and they didn’t even know it. Something I could only assume to be guilt churned in my stomach.

If we’d caught on to this shit sooner, they’d be fine. Hell, if I’d spent more time on the virus instead of the roster, maybe we’d know how to help them. I should’ve tracked down the New England cases. I should’ve raided ERA’s headquarters. I should’ve—

No. There was no use dwelling on it now.

I stretched to survey the area. For whatever reason, people were always dumber in numbers. They bottlenecked at the main lobby doors instead of finding alternative exits. It was probably posted on the damn wall, for cryin’ out loud. But whatever, they were away from most of the viral pixie dust now.

No one I recognized surfaced in the next thirty seconds, so I made my way to the emergency tent being set up outside. Wallace and Rena must’ve got into something elsewhere. Or maybe they had to flee. This night was all kinds of screwed up. Anything could’ve happened to them.

A flash of orange caught my eye amidst the crowd, and I reached out to grab Rena’s roommate. “Hey, hold on a second.”

Her panicked gaze flicked between my face and the nearest escape route. “I, uh…”

“Gabby, right?” I winced at the open gash across her palm. “Have you seen Rena or my brother? Maybe Aiden Ross?”

She shook her head. “N-Not for a while.”

“That’s okay,” I said, snatching some bandages and a Mylar packet from a box that had just been unloaded. “You up for finding ‘em with me?”

That earned me a meek little nod.

Great.
Now
she clammed up. Maybe I just had to get the ball rolling. “So, Maverick told you about us, huh?”

Her back went rigid.

“It's okay,” I repeated, tearing the wrappers open. “You’re a smart girl. I know you value your life. I just wanted to get it out in the open before we take off.”

She bristled.

“Here.” I handed her the bandage and draped the shiny blanket around her shoulders. “You’ll have to clean that later, but it’ll do in the meantime.”

Gabby covered the wound and pulled the blanket tighter, her face a mask of traumatized indifference. “Thanks.”

“No prob.” I looked around. Grabbing her and blurring on out of here would be easiest, but there wasn’t much room to maneuver. Plus, I had a feeling there was something wrong with her—something more than the chaos around us. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. “Let’s go.”

We slipped through the crowds and edged around damaged buildings, making surprisingly quick work of the south side of campus. When we rounded the corner to head north, I caught sight of the wreckage before she did. My eyes took in the scene in a flash—leveled fitness center, strewn trees, paramedics pulling gurneys down the embankment.

Gabby gasped a second later.

So help me, if I found
any
of mine injured, everyone associated with ERA would die. I didn’t care about the consequences or what it meant for the future. If Faye’s screw-up hurt anyone I cared about, I would dance in her blood.

I gritted my teeth and sped up.

A massive support beam sailed out of the heaviest debris, causing the earth to shudder upon impact. Response crews were getting here fast, but not
that
fast. It had to be Wallace.

And if he was looking for survivors, he must’ve already crossed paths with Rena. She was his priority. There was no way he’d let his soon-to-be wife anywhere near that place, though. Way too dangerous. She had to be a safe distance away.

I paused for a second on the hill, taking note of every shadowy figure.
Firefighter, random person, cop, other cop, EMT…

“There.”

“Huh?”

Gabby pointed to a small, kneeling figure in the grass. Maybe fifty feet away. “I think that’s her.”

We hurried over, and sure enough, Rena hovered over someone’s motionless body. She trembled on her knees in the mud, her dress torn and muddy. “He’s gone.”

“Ree…” Gabby started forward, huddled under the blanket.

Ah, hell.

Flashing red and blue lights played over my little blonde sister, making the whole thing seem surreal. “S-Something happened.”

“No…no…” Gabby’s knees gave out, and she clutched at her stomach.

“Gabby!” Rena reached for her friend over the body, eyes wide with horror. That’s when I noticed who she’d been blocking—Aiden Ross. My insides lurched.

“I’m okay,” she hissed. “I am. Just…”

She trailed off and cocked her head to the side in concentration.

Rena pushed herself up. “What’s wrong? Is it the baby?”

Baby? What the hell has been going on with these people?

“No, it’s just…” Gabby reached out with trembling fingers and grazed the side of his neck. “He’s breathing.”

Rena paled. “What?”

“It’s shallow. Too shallow. Oh, God. We need a doctor over here!”

Shit.
I chose that moment to intervene, kneeling on the other side of Aiden’s body. “Hey, you sure about this?”

“I know a pulse when I feel one,” she said, eyes scanning the darkness. “Believe me.”

“But if he’s all experimental and shit, we can’t draw attention to him. What if their medication mixes with whatever ERA pumped into him?”

Gabby turned on me. “You’d rather he die?”

Oh no. I wasn’t going to answer that one. Back in sixth grade, my teacher asked what we’d do if we were stranded in a boat with four people and three life vests. I said kill the one asking questions. She gave me detention.

Sadistic bitch.

“Gabby,” Rena started, her eyes gleaming in the low light. “I shook him. Hard. He didn’t wake up. I know how difficult it is to see him like this, but—”

“He could be comatose and unresponsive.” Gabby scrunched her brows. “Did he get hit in the head?”

“Yeah, kind of. During the storm…”

“We gotta get him to a hospital.”

“What about Faye’s creepy smoke shit?” I cut in. “Maybe she can reverse it.”

Rena’s face hardened. “Where is she?”

I jabbed a thumb over my shoulder. “I ran into Corynn, and she blabbed the whole thing. Said Faye threatened her little brother to force her compliance. They’re supposed to rendezvous at the parking garage beside the library, and I think she’s countin’ on us to pull her out.”

She pushed a strand of blood-matted hair away from her face. “What about Wallace?”

“He’s still unearthing stuff, isn’t he?”

Something heavy shook the ground again, and we had our answer.

“I’ll get her,” I said, grateful for the excuse to get away. It wasn’t that I begrudged them their concern, because I didn’t. Aiden Ross was a nice kid. Hell, I’d nicknamed him Scrawny McFreckles. I just sucked at the comforting thing.

Fortunately, free of a human companion, I could use my speed to full potential. I whipped around downed lines and turned cars like nobody’s business. Within a minute, I was on the other side of campus and charging up the stairs to the parking garage.

As I took the last few steps, I braced myself for what I might walk into. If Corynn was around, we’d all be powerless. That made it a three-on-two fight. I’d rush Maverick, maybe throw him over the side. If Corynn got behind me, I could—

Thud.
Something hit the concrete.

I rounded the corner and froze in my tracks. “Holy shit.”

My eyes raked every corner of the scene, forcing the pieces together. Faye lay injured with Maverick gaping in shock. Gail was noticeably absent, and Corynn had just whirled around with a bloody screwdriver.

Man, I just missed something awesome.

She panicked at the sight of me, probably crashing from her adrenaline high, and backed away. “I, uh…need to get out of here.”

“You think?”

I held out my hand and we ran down the stairs together. Faye might’ve been temporarily out of commission, but I wouldn’t put it past her to have a backup plan. Maverick was probably armed with a doomsday device, and thanks to the Nullari effect, I didn’t have my reflexes.
No thanks.

We made it to the sidewalk, and I caught Jackie skulking off out of the corner of my eye. “Hold on. We need to make a detour.”

Corynn nodded, panting and clutching the screwdriver like a lifeline.

“Hey!” I yelled, and trotted over to the bushes. “Jackie, wait.”

“No!” Jackie held her hands up. “I don’t want any more trouble. Just let me go.”

“I think not.”

Her watering eyes pleaded with me. “
Please
. I helped you once.”

“How did y—”

“Faye had something on her, too, Cole,” Corynn explained, breathing hard as she came up behind me. “She was gonna kill her.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Kill someone when she could potentially use them? That’s not like Faye.”

“It is when you screw up,” Jackie cut in. “She’s got my son, Nicholas. My
son.
He’s eight.”

I stiffened.
Eight.
The same age Wallace and I had been when we lost our parents. “Where is he?”

“ERA’s headquarters. They’ve got some lab people keeping an eye on him. She said if I did this, I’d get a position within the organization. He’d get to go home with me.”

Ugh.
I rubbed my forehead and drew a deep breath before digging my keys out. “Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. My Jeep is parked on a side street. You’re going to find it and get back up to ERA before they do. We’ll hold ‘em off for a while, but you can’t afford to screw around.”

Jackie gaped. “Are you serious?”

“I’m always serious.” I shoved the keys into her hand. “There’s a 9mm under the driver’s seat. I took it off a gangbanger a few weeks ago, so it’s not registered. If those lab dweebs won’t pass the kid over, give ‘em lead poisoning. I don’t care.”

She trembled, fat tears spilling down her face. “Thank you so much, Nicholas. You have no idea how much—”

“Don’t thank me. Just get out of here.”

Jackie nodded. “I know we’re not supposed to have contact, but…please say hi to Clara for me.”

Not supposed to have contact?
I started to say something, but she was already hurrying away with my keys—stranding me in hell.

“So, what’re we gonna do?” Corynn latched onto my sleeve, still sneaking glances back at the parking garage. “We need to get movin’.”

Why is it always on me to form a plan?
I groaned. “Okay, we’re gonna run across campus and meet up with the others. I figure Faye and Maverick will follow us, which will be a hell of a lot easier than asking them to come with. Then we need to con Faye into healing Aiden Ross.”

Her lips pursed. “Think they’ll try somethin’?”

“We’ll soon find out.”

We found the others just as Wallace laid Gail’s body in the slick grass next to Aiden Ross.
Is she dead?
The three conscious parties were too busy strategizing to notice our approach.

“Change of plans,” I called out from the lot behind them, dragging Corynn by the hand. “Our Nullari friend snapped and stabbed ol’ one-eye in the chest, so I couldn’t ask about the smoke. We kinda adopted the G-T-F-O strategy and ran.”

Wallace jerked his head toward Corynn. “You stabbed Faye?”

Corynn took a step forward, holding her hands out. “She used me, Wallace. She was going to keep using me. I thought it was over, but she threatened to burn my—”

I cut her off. “We get it. She’s evil. If I cancelled out her voodoo smoke, I’d take the opportunity to stab her, too. Repeatedly.”

“It won’t take her long to recover,” Wallace said, rubbing his neck. “You should probably get out of here.”

Corynn pulled back as if he’d hit her. “I don’t have anywhere to go. I’m staying at the clinic.”

“So, go home.”

Damn.
No one said anything after that, not that we could hear much over the shouts and machines behind us. If we weren’t off the beaten path, I had no doubt some random schmuck would waltz into our supernatural standoff.

“He’s right,” Rena finally spoke up, clearing her throat. “You could beat her to Cleveland, get your stuff, and then head to the airport.”

Corynn shook her head. “I had a hand in this mess, and I’m not going to leave you guys here to fight alone. Faye isn’t the endgame. I can’t leave until we find a way to stop ERA once and for all.”

“What a pity,” Faye called, slipping out of the shadows behind Wallace. “And here I was, prepared to offer you a parting gift.”

“Faye,” Rena acknowledged, barely restraining her anger. “It’s not like you to eavesdrop.”

“And it’s not like you to conspire.” My so-called great-aunt made her way down the bank, using her manservant for balance. “Or is it? Perhaps I was mistaken.”

“I knew it,” Maverick yelled, shoving through to get to Gail. “What the hell did you do to her?”

“Saved her from the wreckage,” Wallace spat, his voice uncharacteristically dangerous. “Have any idea why she would be trapped in an air duct?”

An air duct?
Gail released the virus, and then got trapped when the tornado went off course? There
was
justice in the world.

“No…” Maverick dropped to his knees, not noticing his booty call a few feet behind him. “She…she would’ve heard it coming.”

“Ever been in one of those shafts?” Corynn asked him. “Not so easy to navigate.”

“She’s smarter than you,” he insisted. “There’s no way you got out and she didn’t.”

Faye broke through the circle and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s all right. I’ll take care of it.”

“A-Aiden got hurt during the storm, too…” Rena’s voice cracked, and she tightened her fists. “Could you…?”

Wallace reached over and took her hand, causing something to glint with the movement. I squinted.

There, encircling her forearm, was his watch—
our father’s
watch. My nostrils flared. How the hell did I miss that earlier? If Wallace was going to pass it off to someone, he should’ve told me.

Maverick stood up and toed Aiden’s body with his boot. “You sure he’s not already dead?”

Faye sighed and bunched her pants to crouch down. She turned his head to the side, assessing the wound with hard eyes. “A strong blow like this would’ve engaged the implant’s sensor and shut him down. Not to worry, though. He appears salvageable.”

Hold on. Salvageable? Implant? I didn’t read anything about that.

“We haven’t had the best history with these experiments,” she went on, wiping the blood from her hands, “so we took measures to protect our investment, this time around. When Aiden’s body can’t fully absorb damage, the sensor acts as a kill switch—forcing his body into a comatose-like state while it recovers.”

“So, he’ll wake up?” Wallace asked. “When?”

Faye straightened with a shrug. “A couple of weeks, maybe. He might not wake up at all. It depends.”

“On what?”

“Me, mostly.” She crossed her arms. “As Rena suggested, I could use my ability to buy us some time—to reverse a small amount of that damage—but I’ve already exerted
so much
energy tonight. I believe you heard about the assault…”

Rena pinched the bridge of her nose. “Enough with the bullshit, Faye. What do you want?”

Reow.

“You.” Faye didn’t hesitate—not that I expected her to. She’d been looking for leverage to use on Rena for months. “Though, from the looks of things, you’re already taken.”

Wallace quirked an eyebrow. “You wanna fight me for her?”

A slow smile stretched Faye’s lips. “No, but I expect an invitation to the wedding.”

D’oh!
I nearly smacked my forehead.
That
was why she had the watch. The dumbass had probably given it to her on loan, in lieu of buying a ring for his rushed proposal.
Whew.
Okay, I felt better.

“Once upon a time,” Wallace began, snatching Faye’s collar with one hand. “I was a patient man. I stayed quiet, kept to myself, and yet somehow, you’ve killed that. So, I suggest you get to the point. Now.”

Her smile didn’t wane. “Are you sure you’re not
my
grandson?”

“Quit stalling.” He jerked her toward him, and she stumbled. “You think, if we wait long enough, he’ll die on his own, right? Hell, you’re probably hoping the same thing happens to Gail. I’ve felt your dissension more than once. But guess what? I’m giving you two minutes to produce a miracle, or you’re going back to ERA in a box.”

There’s my twin!

“My, my, what would Clara say?” She pried at his hand, but he didn’t budge. “Oh, fine. In exchange for the boy’s life, I want your—what? Girlfriend? Fiancée?”

“Why?”

“I need a boost, in case recruitment events go poorly with the other Dynari. Is that such a crime?”

His jaw tightened. “Everything you do is a crime. Gail can’t manipulate them into joining your movement?”

“Not long term. Some may need…persuasion.”

“So, you intend on ruling with fear,” he retorted, and Rena did a double take. She’d only seen Wallace’s temper once or twice that I knew of, so this had to be a little unsettling for her. Oh well. Better to find out now.
Blake blood runs hot.

“I intend on
leading
society into an evolved way of thinking.” Faye lifted her shoulders. “But I could go on and on about that. Who’s wasting time now?”

His nostrils flared, betraying a fraction of his frustration. “What’ll happen to Aiden after you reverse the damage?”

“Naturally, we’ll need to keep up the guise of his death.” She gestured dismissively at the chaos around us. “Fabricate some burnt remains, leave them near where that pole caught fire—it won’t be much trouble, really. Afterward, he’ll return with us to headquarters, where we’ll monitor his condition.”

“What about his family?” Corynn interrupted. “They’ll be heartbroken for no reason.”

Faye didn’t try to turn around. “Regardless of what happens, the same boy won’t ever return to them. That’s done. The most
merciful
thing we can do at this point is grant them closure.” She paused and added in a softer voice, “Believe me.”

This bitch is craaazy.

“All right, here’s what’s on the table.” Rena gestured around, including everyone in the conversation. Total business mode. “Because these run-ins have to stop. No one else is going to pay the price for our differences, understand? I’ll join ERA, and I’ll use my abilities to assist your deranged cause, but it’s going to be on
my
terms.”

Faye regarded her carefully. “Go on.”

Rena took a deep breath. “Okay, first, nothing happens to anyone I care about ever again. I’m talking these guys, their families—anyone. You touch a hair on their heads, and we’re done.”

“Reasonable,” Faye admitted.

“Right.” Rena pressed her lips together. “The second condition is that you send a check to Aiden’s family for his…his final expenses. All of them. I want the whole thing covered.”

“That can be arranged.”

Yeah, right after they spin it as local support from everyone’s favorite pharmaceutical company.

“Third,” she went on. “Wherever I go, Wallace comes with. Nonnegotiable. I’m an independent contractor, and he is my bodyguard.”

“I can see that.” Faye tried to laugh, but Sis cut her off.

“Fourth, and this is an important one, no one else dies from this virus.”

Faye recoiled. “Don’t you think that’s a little out of my hands?”

“So, stop releasing it places. Don’t you have enough people now?”

“Test subjects aren’t our only priority,
dear
. So, no, I can’t make that guarantee. Any other demands? Because I’ve come up with a few of my own.”

Ah, hell.

“In addition to being on call for our recruitment endeavors,” Faye pressed forward, “you will continue your monthly appointments and come in once a week for training modules. After all, you’ll be of little use to me unless you hone that ability.”

A second slipped by before she added, “Oh, and your little crackpot team must agree to not interfere with my work.”

I half-snorted, half-grunted, but didn’t say anything. Like they had any way of enforcing that.

“Fine,” Rena said, matching her stance. “As long as you’re the one who trains me. I don’t trust your halfwit lackeys not to screw with me.”

“Very well.”

Sirens screamed in the distance, and I stifled an inappropriate yawn.

“Then it’s settled.” Rena touched Wallace’s arm, and he released the old bat. “And as someone who doesn’t officially work for you, Faye, I have one suggestion.”

“What’s that, dear?” she asked, leaning in with a raised brow.

“Heal these two, and then get the hell off my campus.”

Oh snap.
I grinned and crinkled my nose. I couldn’t help it. My siblings were growing backbones, and it was entertaining as hell—despite the dreary, doom and gloom circumstances, of course.

Wallace and Rena went off to help people, while Corynn and I supervised the show from afar. Same creepy shit as last time. A glittering moonlit cloud I hoped the humans couldn’t see and miraculous recoveries—for Gail, at least. Aiden stayed comatose.

I demanded a ride up north afterward, insisting I stick around to make sure Faye lived up to her word. Really, I just had a feeling Jackie would ditch my Jeep in their parking lot and call a cab. But they didn’t need to know that.

Yeah, talk about awkward. Try spending forty minutes in a van with your arch nemeses and their ex-employee sometime. It’s not fun. “So, when can they see Aiden Ross?”

Faye didn’t turn around from her seat in the middle, even though Corynn and I were right behind her. “We’ll take care of the official reports tonight and let the authorities notify his parents in the morning. I assume they’ll have services sometime next week. Rena and Wallace may visit afterward.”

“That sounds pleasant,” I lied, exhaustion filling my brain with static. “Maybe you can have a company picnic to celebrate.”

“Your humor is wasted on me, Nicholas.”

“That’s a shame.”

I leaned back, and Corynn made a face at me. Apparently, my ill-intended jabs were not welcome road trip behavior. That, or she was afraid I’d crack the thin ice she had to walk on around these people. She
did
stab one of them an hour ago.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to worry long.

As soon as we arrived, the three stooges bustled off to their respective hidey-holes. No goodbye. No apology for mass murder. Lackeys were sent to transport Aiden to the same room where he’d been experimented upon, and that was it.

I followed Corynn to her room and leaned against the wall while she packed. “So, where are you going to stay now?”

“In my dorm.”

“Won’t ERA pull the plug on that arrangement?”

She hesitated, mid-fold. “I don’t think my eviction will be top priority. You know, since a tornado flattened half of campus the week before finals.”

“Valid.” I yawned and rested my hands on top of my head. “How ‘bout I drive you back to campus?”

“Didn’t Jackie take your car?”

“If she didn’t leave it here, I’ll just
borrow
someone else’s.”

That earned me a shrug. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, we were all worse for the wear, but she’d gone totally flat. “Okay.”

“Okay,” I repeated. “I’ll meet you out front as soon as you’re done. I’m gonna go check on Freckles.”

And none too soon. That apathy was choking the room. I mean, sure, the girl had just suffered a traumatic experience and inflicted her first mortal wound, but
damn
. It felt contagious.

I jogged along the underground corridors in an effort to clear my mind. In less than twenty-four hours, my life had been turned upside down, and I didn’t know how to cope…

My time in Columbus had slipped past me.

Like a dumbass, I’d yet to seriously pack for my move to Cleveland.

Arrangements to move Grandma’s house still had to be made.

Wallace and Rena were going to get married and ride off into the sunset.

ERA had made their first strike.

We’d barely survived.

We had no means of stopping them, short of killing some innocents of our own.

Innocents…innocence.
Ugh.
Rachel must’ve been terrified during the storm.

My heart squeezed so abruptly, it stopped me in my tracks. I clutched at my chest and traced the burn in my neck. “Damn.”

I should’ve checked on her. Hell, I still could. We were headed back that direction. Living that close to campus, there was no way she’d be asleep with all those sirens…

All the more reason to hurry.
I looked around to make sure no one had seen my stumble and trotted the rest of the way to my destination. Just like any other visit, I had to wait for one of the lab nerds to activate their hissing fortress doors before I slipped inside. Not that it took long.

From the looks of things, Faye’s lackeys had hooked poor Freckles up to every machine they owned. He lay there like a humanoid bomb—wires poking every which way, his face the color of his sheets. A straggler scribbled something in his chart.

Too tired to waste any time, I closed the distance between us in an untraceable blur. Since Henry was still off visiting his girlfriend, Jaya, I figured it was my job to make sure Aiden Ross had at least one advocate in the organization. I flicked my knife out.

“‘Scuse me.”

The guy startled, stiffening as soon as I pressed the blade to his throat. “Y-Yes?”

“You’re going to take good care of my friend, aren’t you? You’re not going to let anything
bad
happen to him?”

“O-Of course,” he stammered. “We’ve been given very specific orders. He’s stable.”

“Good.” I lowered my voice, leaning in over his shoulder. “Because I’ve always heard bad things come in threes. One…”

I pointed to Aiden Ross.

“Two…”

I pointed in the general direction of the administrative offices.

“Three.” I dug my knife in deeper at an angle, sparing him the edge. “Got it?”

“Yes, sir. Yes. A-Absolutely.”

“Glad we understand each other.” I released him with a shove and folded my knife on my pants before pocketing it. “Nice chattin’ with you.”

He stayed frozen.

I dipped my head toward the bed on my way out and bumped my fist on the doorframe. “Hang in there, Aiden Ross.”