Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) Page 2
Nickolas sighed and turned back to Christoff. “I have no idea, Chris. We’re the only fledged team members, that’s my best guess. You’re right that Jeff’s team should be the one handling this recovery. They’re already stationed out here. It’s a six-hour drive for us.”
“Well, other than being stuck in this van for hours, it is nice to get out of the Facility for a bit. I haven’t gotten out for a few weeks.” Christoff raked a hand across his head, tousling his blond hair before he shifted again.
“Hmmm,” Nickolas returned. Yes and no Chris. You know how much I hate recoveries.
Christoff laughed. “Don’t even try to pretend you aren’t glad to be out for a bit. You need to loosen up and relax. Enjoy some free time. You’re way too serious.”
Nickolas scowled halfheartedly at his brother. Too serious? What else was there for him to do? Between the piles of paper work and responsibilities to his little clan of Valkyries, the schedule of tests and training they were always under. What was he supposed to do to have fun? The closest he got was sparring in the ring. But that only occupied his mind for a brief period of time. The others all had each other for companionship; he never quite fit in.
“See, there you go again, Nick. Stop thinking so much.”
“Well, one of us has to, Chris.”
“Oh, ow.” Christoff gasped, dramatically clutching his heart. “That one was really uncalled for.” He laughed.
Nickolas’s lips twitched. He could always count on Christoff to be a clown. Somehow his little brother never failed to notice when he needed distracting.
“We have another couple of blocks before we arrive, Nickolas,” Flynn called from the driver’s seat.
Nickolas watched the levity leave his brother’s face. Christoff was fully aware of how hard a trip like this was for him.
Hating his weakness, Nickolas looked out the window onto the darkened pavement. They wound their way down a rustic, residential street. Unlike most cities, where the houses were so close they were touching, these houses had large yards, lots of space. Huge, big-leaf maples lined the road, blocking out a majority of the light cast by the street lamps. Flynn pulled the van up behind a dark SUV.
Before the engine died, Nickolas had popped open the door and was climbing out. He stretched his wings to their full extension before folding them closed on a sigh of relief. He could finally breathe. The sound of Christoff’s wings followed suit.
Jeff and Rick climbed out of the SUV and came over to join them. “What are we looking at, Jeff?” Nickolas asked.
The Gamma team leader smiled a greeting. “She was lethargic when she came home. She arrived about seven tonight. We haven’t seen any movement for at least four hours.”
“Good.” Nickolas caught Flynn’s attention when he came around the van. “Flynn, get the back ready for our guest. Jules, ready to get us inside?”
Smiling from ear to ear, Jules pulled a little black case out of his pocket and tossed it in the air. “I’m always ready, Nick.”
Nickolas rolled his eyes at the wiry little man before turning to address the Gamma leader. “You want to join us, Jeff? This should be your retrieval.”
The grounded snorted and shook his head. “No. It’s your job. We’ll wait out here.”
Glad that Jeff and Rick didn’t seem to be harboring any resentment, Nickolas turned to look at the old rambler across the street.
Blue paint, fading but not yet peeling, washed the walls. The yard had an overgrown quality to it that invited you to explore the paths and see what they hid. The effect appeared purposeful not neglectful.
Darkness shrouded the house. No lights shown from the windows or the shadow-filled porch. As Nickolas studied the house, the hair on the back of his neck rose. A feeling he couldn’t describe lightly brushed across his mind, like a breeze ruffling his hair. Narrowing his eyes, he cocked his head.
“The van’s ready, Nickolas.”
His absorption shattered, he pulled his gaze away from the house. Flynn’s greying red head popped out of the van.
Only a moment had passed, Jeff and Rick weren’t even back in their car yet, but to him it felt like everything had slowed down. He glanced at his team then made an attempt to shake off the disconcerting feeling. “Let’s get this over with.”
He followed in the wake of the other three.
The closer he got to the house, the more he felt like he was walking through molasses. Something inside him felt like it stretched. Not like a rubber band, more like he pushed through a balloon. Then, to compound it, that strange feeling crawled across his mind once more. This time stronger. It wasn’t repellant; in fact, it was the opposite.
He stumbled on the pavement. The desire for it twisted through him, quickly chased by fear. He repressed both ruthlessly.
Christoff’s wings flipped nervously up ahead and drew Nickolas’s attention to the porch. Vines wrapped around the pillar on the left, fading blossoms still clinging to the turning foliage.
Stepping over the curb, Nickolas crossed the sidewalk and passed down the plant-lined walkway. Get a grip. Stop jumping at shadows.
Shaking his wings out, Nickolas followed the others up the steps. The moment his foot touched the wood, he went blind. Power swept through him, burning channels in his mind, clearing a fog he hadn’t realized existed. He opened his mouth to scream, but the fire seized his lungs and was gone. Instantly. Almost like it had never been. Shaking, Nickolas found himself clutching the pillar of the railing with one hand. A quick glance up showed the others still had their backs to him and were just gathering by the door. None of them seemed affected.
What the hell was that! Pulling himself together by sheer willpower, he finished climbing the steps, glad for the darkness. He didn’t need the others noticing anything strange.
Christoff shot a quick glance at him when he joined them at the door, but then his brother went back to watching Jules pick the lock.
It didn’t take long. Jules could get through pretty much any lock out there, so a house was simple. The door released and Jules pushed it open. The two unfledged and his brother stepped back away from the opening, giving Nickolas the space to enter first.
That was a routine he wished wasn’t the case at the moment. Still uncertain about being fully in control, Nickolas swept past and entered the house.
Disoriented, Jessica clawed her way up out of the tangled images of her nightmare. A potent combination of adrenaline and panic made her heart race. Shoving a hand through her hair, her fingers tangled in the curls as she tried to push the mass out of her face. Tears stained her cheeks, and she wiped haphazardly at them. Her chest tightened with sorrow as the memories of the last night she saw her parents alive continued to circle through her head.
Angry, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to push them away. She gained some distance, but that allowed her to realize the panic and adrenaline weren’t fading. They were growing. Attempting to control her rapid breath, Jessica opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, but the urge to move overpowered her. She threw back her covers and swung her legs out of bed. The pounding in her head briefly masked everything else.
Tim’s right, I’m getting sick. She laid her forehead on her knees, confused. It was hard to think.
Goose bumps rose all over her body. It felt like a cloud of static electricity had passed through her. That was the only warning she had before a blinding pain punched through her head. Her breath seized as her body tried to react—move, scream, anything. It was over instantly, but in the wake of it, the fog that had clouded her mind swept away.
She slowly sat up on her bed, taking stock. Her mind raced. The surety that she was catching a cold suddenly faltered. What is going on with me?
A soft sound reached her ears, interrupting her contemplation. That’s the front door. What is May doing back already? A quick glance at
her clock showed that it was just after midnight. That can’t be May. She wouldn’t come home at this hour. Already the clarity faded and the fog drifted back across her mind.
She reached out and switched on her bedside lamp. The light stabbed daggers into her head and she slapped her hand over her eyes.
What the hell? Panic blossomed in her chest, momentarily superseding the adrenaline. “No,” she moaned. “No, I can’t be.”
Once over the threshold, Nickolas crossed the entryway and stepped into the living room. He kept his back to the others and pretended to study the titles on a bookshelf. He needed a moment to regain a calm façade to present to the rest of his team. The surge of energy that had mentally rocked him back on his heels on the porch had yet to completely dissipate. A slight tremor still shook his fingers.
Get a grip, boyo. You don’t need to attract Chris’s attention. His brother could be annoyingly overprotective. It was an admirable quality, unless you were the one being subjected to it. All I need is for him to decide something’s wrong and sic the rest of our Flight on me when we get home. I’ll never get a moment’s peace. He ran his fingers through his hair. He was pretty sure he had the shock hidden now, even though he still reeled inside.
Flynn had just found the light switch with his flashlight and had turned the foyer light on. The grounded showed no indication that he was aware of what had happened on the porch. Now, if I can just be so lucky with Chris.
As if his thoughts had called him, Christoff pulled his blond head out of the entryway closet. His brother’s boyish grin didn’t hide his intelligence, or his searching look, when he met Nickolas’s eyes.
Damn, he noticed. Or…he felt it too, maybe?
He thought about that for a second, but irritation washed it away when he saw worry enter Christoff’s green eyes.
We’re working, Chris, back off. He hoped his body language would convey his thoughts to his Second. He didn’t need Christoff nursemaiding him.
Chris snorted a laugh and threw a salute in the air before he gave in and looked away.
A momentary reprieve, Nickolas sighed. He takes Ian’s dictates way too seriously. He watched his brother search through the rest of the hall closet for a moment, just to make sure that Chris had actually dropped the subject. I suppose I can’t really blame him. I would do anything to protect him.
He gave himself a shake and turned back to the job. A fledgling often ended up in strange locations in their houses when they finally passed out. Once he’d found one had managed to stuff himself into his dryer.
Their target had a beautiful home. Open and inviting, filled with well cared for antique furniture. Definitely not the sort of home he would expect to find from a woman in her twenties. His unease grew the more he looked around.
The pristine state of the rooms also didn’t match what he expected from a fledgling entering stage two. “What’s missing?”
The other three members of his team went still as his question sank in.
“Where’s the mess?”
Christoff’s face grew serious and he snapped his wings tight from their relaxed state. Quick efficiency replaced his more standard, relaxed surfer dude façade. “Are we sure she’s here? Jules?” He strode through the archway on their left. “Kitchen, dining area. Both intact.”
Nickolas folded his arms and watched his team go to work. Jules reached up to his ear and spoke quietly into his mic. Flynn closed the front door then went to search the cabinets in the living room.
“Jeff swears that she didn’t go out the front.” Jules took his finger away from the button on his earpiece. “He said she could have gone out a back door, but why? It’s nothing but woods there.”
“She has to be somewhere.” Cocking his head, Nickolas listened. Everything felt different tonight. It was almost like that surge of power had triggered something. Detecting possible movement from the rear of the house, he motioned everyone to spread out.
The distinctive rattle of her front door closing snapped Jessica out of her stunned disbelief. Someone’s in the house. Pushing the pain away, she jumped to her feet. Her thoughts swirled in chaos. She wasn’t normally prone to panic, but her reactions were not all her own tonight. If what she feared was correct…well, it was only going to get worse.
Damn it, where are you, May? I need you. Why’d you have to up and leave town and not tell me where you are?
She grabbed her sweats and thrust her legs into them, wishing her shoes weren’t out by the front door.
Run, Jessica.
The sound of her mother’s voice echoed through her head, slamming home the remembered images from her dream.
“Mommy, will I ever have wings like you?”
Her mother squeezed her hard before she answered. “You will, one day. But not for several years yet, and Robin will get his first.”
“Robin! He always gets to go first.”
Her mother’s voice laughed quietly, the sound filling her. “He’s older than you.”
“That’s not fair.”
“True, but life’s not fair.” Her mother grew serious. “You need to do your best to avoid the Facility, Jessica. Remember.”
Remember.
Panting, Jessica shook her head, forcing the cobwebs to clear. The sound of feet stepping quietly on her hardwood floors galvanized her. Leave, I have to leave.
Run, run, run. Her mother’s voice beat a staccato that matched her racing heart. She slid her bedroom window to the side and slipped out into the cold October night.
Christoff swept down the hall to the last bedroom. He was sure that he’d heard someone in that room. All Valkyries had their strengths and weaknesses. Nickolas was a decent tracker… But he’s not as good as me. His Hunter abilities are just not as strong as mine. Christoff thought, perplexed. But, there was something, something that couldn’t be defined, about Nickolas that had all of the Valkyries baring their throats to him. His strengths lay in a different arena.
He was Alpha.
Christoff grimaced. Nick may be Alpha, but this is one captain who won’t be allowed to go down with the ship. I can’t trust him to watch out for his own well-being. If something’s wrong, he’ll confront it. With no regard to how important he is to the rest of us. Whatever that energy surge was affected him more than me. Christoff felt his worry resurface.
There was a dim light shining from under the door on the left. He paused to listen for a moment before he reached out and quietly turned the knob. It wouldn’t do to surprise the new fledgling. Those who were just starting the change were usually unaware of what was happening to them. Unfortunately, they were also volatile and prone to attack. Which could make life really interesting. Good thing I like interesting.
Peering around the door, he saw no one. A breath hissed between his teeth, and he shoved the door wide, looking the room over more thoroughly.
It was a decent-sized bedroom, but the pale purple and white walls made him cringe. This room, unlike the rest of the house, looked more like what they expected to find. Possessions were strewn around the room, but it still was not as messy as it should be. With a second glance, he decided that it just looked lived in. It was not the sort of destruction associated with the onset of the second stage of the change. Surprised, Christoff flipped his wings to settle them more comfortably then crossed the room to look inside the closet. Shoving the hangers over revealed nothing, and the shelves were too small for anyone to hide on.
I know I heard you. Chris ran his hand through his hair and looked at the rest of the room. The only other place to hide was the bed, but it really didn’t feel like she was here in the room anymore. Still, just to be on the safe side, he walked over and flipped up the skirt to look under the bed. Sighing, he straightened up then felt the bed coverings. Heat under the down blanket.
She hadn’t been gone long.
The only way out, besides going past them, was the window. Walking over, he studied it. Yes, he thought, looking at the slightly open window. I knew you were
here. Now the million dollar question is, why did you leave? Or, better yet, how did you manage it?
Shivering in the darkness, Jessica watched the recovery team flip the lights on as they searched the whole structure looking for her. The invasion of her territory made her mad, and she bared her teeth, a growl rumbling in her throat. The instinctive response brought her up short. Fear flooded her system, cutting off the animalistic sound. Panic once more tried to set icy claws into her, but she pushed it away ruthlessly. Her response and the arrival of the recovery team confirmed her worst fear: she must have started the change.
Just what I needed. This sucks! At least the cold air is helping to clear my thoughts. I think.
She had done her best to deny this possibility her whole life. But huddled out in the woods barefoot, wearing only an oversized T-shirt and sweatpants, she couldn’t pretend any longer.
She was changing.
It’s just not fair, she thought mutinously, shaking her head as she tried to clear her vision. Now was not the time to let her fears of what was to come control her. She returned her attention to the house.
A large, lean man with shoulder-length blond hair had entered her bedroom. He moved with the grace of a predator, and her eyes widened when he turned, allowing her to see his wings fall gracefully down his back like a dark cloak.
Holy crap! They’ve sent a Hunter. Her mind froze in panic. Why is there a Hunter here?
She watched as the Valkyrie stopped and sniffed the air before walking over to the window and examining it. After a moment he spread his wings, covering the glass to block the light from behind him so he could scrutinize the dark yard. Fascinated, she stared, transfixed at the way the light shone through the membrane of his wings.
She felt her mind slowing again. Fruitlessly, she fought the lethargy that was her body’s natural response to the changes taking place within it. It wasn’t long before the Hunter’s eyes found hers, even in the dark, their intensity boring into her, and he smiled a slow feral smile. Backing away in fear, the last thing she saw was the Hunter turning. Feeling like a fox with the hounds about to be released, Jessica slipped farther into the bushes and fled into the night.