15

Treva darted back into the unit and over to Glade. “What did you just do to him?”

“I protected you.” Glade rose from his chair and walked to the wall.

“I can take care of myself.”

Glade paced. “I feel like I owe you more than I could ever repay. I’m feeling normal again. I can communicate with others—so much pain, so much anger. It’s like sound waves that ebb and flow. I can’t concentrate. Thoughts jumble together. Emotions make no sense.”

Treva nodded. “Your system is still flushing years of chemical depressants.”

Glade stopped. He pressed his palms to the wall. “Something feels strange. Different. Someone else. I’ve never felt an impression like this before. My aura is bouncing back. A reflection.” Glade cocked his head to the side. His eyes widened. “It couldn’t be. How?”

“Glade, is it pain? You look pale. Do you need another shot?” She turned to retrieve an injection. Her secret project. A nootropic to stimulate Glade’s nerve growth and oxygen supply. He’d been on Everling’s suppressants the longest and likely suffered the most damage.

His eyes sparkled with moisture. “My daughter! My daughter is near.”

Treva stopped short. “How could that happen? Is she a prisoner? Does Everling have anything to do with this?” Her face paled. Had Everling retrieved the child that fast?

“No, Everling has nothing to do with this. That much I know. She’s coming closer.” Glade slammed his fist into the wall.

Treva jumped. His face didn’t register pain. Was he becoming psychotic? Maybe Everling was right about his drug cocktail. Too late now. This wasn’t working like she’d expected. Glade cooperated but Landers below were becoming unmanageable and rowdy. This could push up Everling’s dismantle plans.

“Where is she? Can you integrate her into your thoughts?”

Glade’s agitation heightened. He shook his head. “I’ve lost it. I can’t find the thought. Others are pressing in around it. More voices from below. They won’t listen to be calm. They want out.”

“I gave them the last course of shots this morning. They need to rest. Let the detox complete.”

Glade held his head. “I need a direct line of sight to affect them.”

“How do I do it from here?” Treva headed back to the console and laid the syringe gently in the drawer tray.

“Get a halo-comm open to that level. I can channel on the wave and calm them.”

Treva scrambled to dial the prison level. What was her reason for calling? Think fast.

A sentry answered the comm. “Level Three Confinement, Saylor speaking.”

Treva put on her best smile. “Saylor, this is Treva Gilani in Lab Section Ten. I’m looking for data sheets that seem to have been misplaced in the transfer with the last Lander body.”

“What Lander body?”

Treva pulled back. How could he forget the body that had come up just a few days ago?

“Three days ago—the dead one. Are you working double shifts down there?”

The tech’s face lit up. “Oh, now I know what you mean. We don’t call them Landers.”

That was odd. Treva wondered what they called them down there.

A high-pitched vibration now drifted through the connection and hummed in her ears. Treva shook her head, turning to look at Glade. He was deep in concentration. She hoped he’d hurry. The sound was hurting her head.

The sentry put his hand to his ear. “What is that humming?”

Treva steeled herself to the sound. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I don’t hear anything.”

The sentry winced. She feared he’d break the connection.

“Can you please check on those sheets? This is really important.” She looked beyond the screen at Glade. He finally slumped to his chair and nodded.

The sentry returned to the screen looking apologetic. “I’m sorry but I don’t see any extra material here that did not make the transfer with the clo—er, body.”

“Thanks then, maybe they just got misplaced.” Treva broke the link. She opened and closed her mouth to get the vibration out of her ears.

“Did you get through?”

Glade nodded. “I forgot, it’s been so long. Their senses are sharpening and it’s frightening them. I don’t know how long I can keep control of them.”

Everling leaned back in his chair, watching Bethany work on new sample batches. She was a vision that brought tears to his eyes. Her graying hair had reverted to its blonde luster, and her worry lines had filled in. They had always bothered her—well, no more. The cancer had disappeared and the beautiful, radiant woman of his younger years had reappeared. All they needed were a few tweaks to stop the process continuation.

His mind kept wandering. It was hard to think.

“Did you hear what I said to you?” Bethany asked. Her pale green eyes flashed.

Everling shook off his thoughts. “I’m sorry, my love. What did you say?”

Bethany looked agitated. “The patrol we send to Dominion is reporting in. They met with your contact but the girl is not there. Her mother says she must have run away. She was slated to get married and didn’t want to.”

Everling shot straight up in his chair. “How could they lose a young girl? And why has it taken two days to get me this answer?”

Bethany shook her head. “It’s your fault. I told you before we needed a better communication grid outside of the Mountain.”

“No! It’s a waste of valuable resources to build a system out there,” Everling said. He started to get irate. Why waste money when they’d never go out there to get any use out of it?

“Well, in a case like this, it would have been handy. We’ve lost a whole day trying to track her. That’s not going to be very effective with AirStreams.” Bethany slapped her halo-pad on the counter and turned away from Everling.

“I will not put resources into anything that could be used by those peasants out there.”

Bethany turned back and slammed a fist on the counter. “Suit yourself. Since the JetTrans can’t travel that far, we sent AirStreams, and they were required to return within twenty miles of the Mountain before we could communicate with them.”

He knew she was right but didn’t want to admit it. In her youth, her father had been head of Mountain security. Her destiny had been the next security head, but being a child of the Elite put her with other Elite offspring. He’d met her and fallen in love, and she followed him into research. But she could still run a security operation with her eyes closed, and her forward thinking on communication systems was something he needed to take seriously. When this present situation had ended.

Bethany stared at him, waiting for an answer. “We’re losing days.”

“She has a bio-signature. Tell them to start from where she lived and scan until they find her.” He began an agitated tapping on the surface of his desk. “Rank incompetence. There are not many roads down there. She’d have stayed on one of them. Set up a security grid with AirStreams. They can interface at twenty-mile intervals. Send a dozen if you have to. Sweep from there to here. And get a JetTrans grid set up outside the Mountain perimeter to check as far south as they can travel.”

“What about south of Dominion?” Bethany asked.

Everling shook his head. “Conditions are more dangerous farther south, so if she’s going anywhere, she’s coming this way. Find her.”

Selah leaned back against a pile of wooden crates as the wagon bumped along the well-traveled road. She tried not to think about home, or Dane, or Father, but Mother’s voice kept coming to her, quickening her heart. She’d never been away from Mother. She desperately missed her and her counsel on how to do things right. She needed to talk about a boy, and about kissing, and about what to do next. Funny, they’d never talked much of this rite of passage. She’d expected “the talk” before her upcoming marriage, but before now there was no use for it.

Bodhi sat facing her on the other side of the wagon bed, his blond curls bouncing in the breeze, falling across his closed eyes. It annoyed her that he seemed to sleep so much, oblivious to their dangers or her ruined life. She wanted to be mad, but Mother had taught her and the boys about personal responsibility for their actions. She always said transferring the blame to someone else never taught the intended lesson. How could she be mad at Bodhi when she hadn’t known about her change either?

If she’d known the consequences would she still have tried to capture him? She truthfully couldn’t say she’d have played it safe. By nature she tended to be daring—one of the reasons her mother had said she’d be fine on this journey. She didn’t want to accept it, but she had to admit, she’d worked beyond the fear and embraced the adventure. She made herself a promise—she would see Mother again. The thought gave her courage.

As if on cue, Bodhi opened his eyes and smiled. The air around him seemed to glow with the radiation from those lips. She worked to restrain her thudding heartbeat. Even breaths. This was not the time, and besides, sometimes he acted arrogant and she didn’t like it.

“I’m sorry,” Bodhi said softly. His eyes looked so caring.

Selah balked but her heart melted. Why did he always seem to answer what she was thinking? “What have you done to be sorry about this time?”

He stammered, lowered his eyes, then raised his head with a sheepish look. “I feel I’m the reason for your pain.”

Selah glanced down. “As of this minute, I’m letting go of that. I’m trying to learn to focus on what I’ll gain, not what I’ve lost.” She pursed her lips. “You have no idea how many years I fretted about being adopted because my father—uh, stepfather—never seemed to care for me, only to have this happen.”

“Did you find any solace in your mother’s letters?”

Selah shrugged. “Yes and no. I’m not brave enough yet. I can only let so much sink in at one time.” There were personal pages Mother had written for such a time as this, and those made her cry. She only read small sections at a time.

“But we’re getting closer to where your father is. I got that definite impression before of Glade Rishon, and I can feel a group of them, you know. It’s like they’ve gone through some kind of awakening. It’s all jumbled thoughts and impressions. You could feel them too—just concentrate.”

Selah sat up straight. “Really? I could feel them too?” Her heart quickened for a better reason now. Her father. Her real father. Thinking of touching his thoughts for the first time made her prickle with excitement. But she just sensed empty space.

She shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t hear anything.”

“It’s not like an actual sound. It’s more of an impression. Try. Clear your mind.”

Selah went quiet for about three seconds. “I don’t feel anything.”

Bodhi smiled. “You’re too noisy. Be quiet and listen. It’s a still, small voice far away.”

Selah huffed, closed her eyes, and crossed her arms. The wagon came to a jarring stop. Her eyes flew open. “What’s the matter?”

She glanced at the front where Amaryllis sat with the driver, a middle-aged man the color of tree bark, with a heavy southern accent and arms the size of water barrels. He practically exploded from the cutoff sleeves of the worn shirt plastered to him by the sweltering weather. A gargantuan man, but the wide straw hat and handmade pipe made him appear friendly.

He looked back. “I’m stopping for something to eat and drink for me and my horses. Y’all are welcome to join us.”

“We’d love to, but I don’t want to put you out with three more mouths to feed,” Selah said. They’d walked for hours before he’d come along and offered a ride to the Mountain, and they’d already used a good bit of their rations.

“My missus packed plenty of vittles for the trip—too much for just me, but the woman’s got intuition. She must’ve known I’d have company.”

The man hopped down off the wagon, tied the horses to the nearby tree, and walked around back to grab their feed buckets. “She has these things she sees. Just knows stuff. Don’t know how she does it. We’ve been married nigh on thirty years, and she’s always done it. So I just accept and don’t try explaining the stuff.”

Bodhi looked at Selah. She shrugged and grimaced. Amaryllis scrambled over the seat, climbing over the canvas sacks and crates and into the wagon bed. She nuzzled next to Selah, who wrapped her arms around the child.

“What are we going to eat?” Amaryllis asked. “There’s things I don’t like.”

“Rylla, that’s not polite. The man has invited us to lunch with him. We watch our manners, young lady.” Was that mother-speak coming out of her mouth? It probably wouldn’t have happened if not for the revelation that a man had tried to harm the child. Mother had once told her these days were coming. It made Selah want to protect Amaryllis—and beat the man to a pulp. She’d finally found something to make her fiery brave.

“That’s no problem.” The man laughed. “I raised a passel of children myself, got quite used to their honesty and wisecracking.”

Amaryllis wrinkled up her nose and pointed. “What’s in those sacks? They smell funny.”

The man pulled the food satchel from the wagon. They followed him to a shade tree.

“Well, young lady, those are snake skins,” the man said as he opened the food satchel and handed out thick slices of homemade bread.

“Eckk!” Amaryllis yelled, wrinkling her nose and waving the air like snakes were slithering in front of her.

“What kind of snake skins do you sell?” Selah asked, thinking of the field varieties of snakes at home.

“Big ones. Complete pelts are quite worthy of their high price.” The man smiled broadly.

Amaryllis backed away. Her hands trembled. “Like the snake that tried to eat me?”

The man furrowed his brow, looking at Selah.

Selah bit into the sweet-tasting bread and nodded. “It was a huge one, at least twelve or fifteen feet. Never seen one that big up close.”

The man pulled out a vegetable paste and passed the container for them to dip their bread. “I’ve heard some folks trying to grow them here in the North. Sometimes they get free by accident. Rest assured, when the temperature gets below freezing for a spell it will kill them off.”

“Do you hunt them for a living?” Bodhi asked. He pulled pears and apples from the bag he carried and passed them around.

“Yes, sirree. I’m from down Georgia district way. There’s good money selling the skins. They make fine boots, belts, and I even seen clothes in snakeskin.”

Bodhi munched bread and fruit. “Isn’t it dangerous to live around them?”

The man threw back his head and snorted a laugh. “These big boys live down Florida way. People don’t live there anymore ’cause of too many big snakes. They tend to eat people when they get that size.”

Amaryllis nodded vigorously, pointing at her chest. Crumbs fell everywhere. “Me! Me! I know. One tried to eat me.”

“You’re right lucky, young lady. You sure could’ve been a meal. Even small game is migrating north. I’ve seen a lot of the birds from down that way, and as I’m travelin’ north, I’ve started to see the rabbits too. That makes me happy. I’ll have good eats while I’m up here.”

Selah stiffened, testing him. “Rabbits? What do they look like?”

“They’re cinnamon rabbits, bred for meat, great eating. Guess the snakes feel the same.”

Selah looked at Bodhi and Amaryllis in turn, puffing out her chest. “Are they sort of rusty-colored and some have a fleck of gray?”

“Yep, that would be them. Have you ever tried one?”

Selah raised the right side of her mouth. “We ate one for dinner last night.”

Bodhi reached across Amaryllis and handed Selah the vegetable paste. Her fingers brushed his. Adrenaline freshened her nerves, running electricity up her arm. She looked into his eyes with those long lashes. His nose crinkled and his eyes sparkled as he broke into a grin.

Amaryllis jumped from between them, breaking their finger contact. “Ugh! You two need to kiss face and stop making cow eyes at each other.”

Both Selah and Bodhi sat back. Neither said anything. Selah felt her cheeks warming.

The snake man broke into a chuckle. “So, young lady, you telling me they aren’t a couple? I sure thought y’all act like a family.”

Amaryllis did the girly hand-on-hip thing. “She likes him and he likes her, and they—”

“Rylla!” Selah said. “We do not like each other!”

“Do too,” Amaryllis said.

“Do too,” Bodhi chimed in with a wide grin.

Selah sat back. She smacked her palm to her forehead and pointed at him. “You’re reading me! That’s why you’re grinning.” She slapped him on the arm. “You sea slug!”

Bodhi threw up both arms to fend off her blows and leaned back in laughter. “You could stop me anytime you want to. Concentrate.”

Selah scrambled to her feet. “Ugh. You are the most insufferable . . . ugh.”

Amaryllis turned to the snake man. “See what I mean.” He nodded and continued eating.

Selah stomped her foot and turned to storm away. Both Amaryllis and the snake merchant grinned.

Bodhi grabbed his head and moaned.

Selah turned back. “Don’t think I’m falling for that, mister.”

He doubled over into a ball, still holding his head.

She moved closer. “Bodhi?”

Cleon sat beside Raza as the wagon rumbled away from the Mountain and down the maintained portion of road.

“What were you thinking, stealing that weapon? Have you lost what little sense you were born with?” Cleon expected a squadron of JetTrans to descend on them at any moment.

Raza gritted his teeth and urged the horses forward using the tips of the reins. “Shut up! I know what I’m doing.”

At the end of the Mountain road he pulled the team into a field. Guiding the horses across knee-high grass, he steered behind a wide stand of oak trees near the rocky base of the Mountain.

“Why are you stopping here?” Cleon asked. He watched Raza jump from the wagon. The sun sat high and a breeze rustled the leaves. A nice day but they were still several days from home. He was hungry and tired of being with Raza.

“We’re waiting for Selah,” Raza hissed. “Mr. Ganston said no new Landers arrived yet, so she’s on the road somewhere. This is the easiest place to catch them. They’ll have to come this way.”

“Let Selah have him. She bested us, and she did it well. Maybe it’s time we let her join the hunt,” Cleon said with a dismissive flip of his hand.

Raza walked toward the road. “I know what I’m doing. Watch and learn, little brother.”

“You’re being foolish. I thought I’d lose my mind when you hid his weapon under your shirt.” Cleon vowed he would never act like his brother.

“But I have the weapon and you don’t.” Raza sneered and patted the weapon.

Cleon didn’t care about that. He plopped onto a fallen tree. “How long are we going to wait here? I want to go home.”

“Stop whining! You’re driving me crazy. Next time you stay home and I’ll get one of the Borough boys to help me.”

Cleon lowered his head. “I’m just tired of traveling for—”

“Shhh!” Raza crouched behind a bush and motioned to the road.

Horse hooves clopped along the road. A wagon slowed to a stop at the end of the paved section. Voices drifted into the trees.

“If you pull that kind of stunt again I’ll really make your head hurt,” a woman said.

“I truly did feel pain, but it diminished as fast as it came,” a man said.

“I don’t believe you,” the woman said.

“That’s obvious. We’ve been arguing about this for an hour. Can we change the subject?” the man asked. He sounded exasperated.

“Okay, then stop invading my head.”

“I’m only trying to make you stretch. Regardless of how you feel, the mark makes you novarium. You have to explore your abilities.”

“Well, excuse me. Since when did you become my boss?” the woman asked.

“Would you two stop bickering? You sound like my parents,” a child’s voice said.

The talk grew louder. Cleon thought he recognized Selah’s voice, but the tone seemed deeper. He didn’t know the other two.

Raza grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the trees as the voices moved closer.

“You need to focus your energy,” the man said.

“And what if I don’t want—”

Raza stepped out of the trees.