19

Selah stood at the clear plascine wall of the cell and watched the man walk away with the woman. He was obviously agitated about Cleon being here. Dare she try to coerce him for help? A clumsy plan had gotten them inside thanks to Amaryllis, but now they had to find her father before they were thrown out—which in some ways wouldn’t be too bad because she was worried about how the child was faring out there by herself.

A growling moan interrupted her thoughts. She spun on her heels. Bodhi leaned against the wall, clutching both sides of his head. His knees buckled and he slid to the floor as his face turned crimson. She knew the drill. He’d made contact.

Selah rushed to his side. “Where are they? Have you found my father?”

Bodhi moaned again, lifting his head to meet her eyes. Tears welled and slipped down both his cheeks. “There are many. I wasn’t prepared,” he whispered. “I feel them all. Fear. Pain.”

He pressed his fingers to her temples. A spider-like feeling scurried up her spine. She’d never seen him so debilitated by impressions. She felt only random connections. Nothing strong enough to provoke an emotion.

A hum invaded her brain. Low, but growing in intensity like a swarm of bees.

She jerked away from Bodhi. “What was that?” The feeling subsided like dissipating bubbles when heat was removed from a boiling pot. Her brain cleared.

“It’s time for you to join,” Bodhi said softly. He winced and pressed his eyes shut tight.

“Join what?” Yet she knew without asking. Her first instinct was to step away from the fire rather than rush in. But this would lead to her father. She touched her collarbone, deciding to embrace her heritage.

Bodhi smiled through his pain. “To come into your full rights as our next generation, as a novarium. They are all around us now. I can feel our people here in the Mountain.” He staggered away from Cleon and motioned her to follow.

She moved with halting steps. Her palms moistened. “Is this going to hurt? The buzzing was trying to consume me.”

Bodhi reached out and gently put his right hand to her left temple. “Open your mind like I taught you.” The warmth of his fingers sent pin prickles of anticipation up her back. His eyes locked on hers. Selah’s skin tingled with layers of goose bumps.

She closed her eyes. “I’m afraid.”

Bodhi slowly brought his left hand up to her right temple. “I’m with you.”

Calm washed over her at his touch. She felt safe.

“She said she was afraid. Back away from her,” Cleon growled. She heard him jerk from his seat.

Her eyes flashed open. Selah raised a hand to halt him. “It’s okay, Cleon. Don’t interfere.”

He plopped to the metal surface. His feet shuffled as he mumbled under his breath.

Selah blocked the intruding noise and let her eyes glide shut. There was comfort in the darkness. The buzzing bees were coming closer. Bodhi was right, it didn’t hurt. Anticipation was the fear—or was it being so close to Bodhi? Her temples were on fire at his touch. Her knees buckled and she started to slip. Bodhi grabbed her under the elbows for support. She felt his closeness, a vibration in the empty space between their bodies. Her mouth went dry. She ran her tongue over her lips for moisture.

Cleon lurched to his feet again.

“Sit down,” Selah said without opening her eyes. She heard him comply. She knew many things without visuals. Heightened awareness. Sounds of breathing.

She felt him.

Her eyes opened wide. She looked into Bodhi’s eyes and grabbed his hand. “My father, my real father is alive! He’s here.” Her eyes darted around the area. “He’s reaching out to me. Warning me to get away from here while there’s still time. Help me find him.”

“We need to get out of here first,” Cleon said.

Mojica passed the chip over her ComTex, transferring the bio-coin to the device. She glanced at the balance. Her eyebrows rose. Subversion paid very well. She must remember that for future endeavors.

She strolled to the confinement area and keyed the panel to activate the opening. Cleon stood up and she flipped him the chip. He caught it with both hands.

“I’ll be letting you out of here as soon as they finish the pilot interviews,” Mojica said.

“We told you we didn’t do anything,” Cleon said in a whiny voice. Mojica disliked weak men. She’d have preferred him to act belligerent.

“I know, but it would be disrespectful to our pilots to let you go before they finished giving statements. Be patient,” she said.

Her ComTex vibrated her arm, tickling the bone in her elbow. She raised her wrist and turned from the cell. “Mojica here.”

“Commander, we have a major event developing in the Lander containment area of the prison section. Be advised, we think you need to get there ASAP,” a male voice said with a hint of panic.

“On my way,” Mojica said. Another weak male. She’d need to rethink the ratio of male to female security personnel in her new command. She darted from the security area.

Treva scurried down the corridor into Lab Section Ten containment. She pushed the intercom and ran her hand over the comm panel, turning the wall to Glade’s cell transparent. She heard him before she saw him.

“I will kill him! He’s broken our agreement. Never again! I will destroy this Mountain and everything he’s ever touched!” Glade screamed.

The white wall turned to mist and evaporated. Treva’s eyes widened. She walked toward his cell with hands raised as though in surrender. “What’s the matter? Calm down. Talk to me.” She worried her drug formula was creating side effects she couldn’t control.

Glade stormed to the clear wall and slammed both hands on the surface. “He lied.”

She jumped back. “Who? About what?” For the first time she was happy there was a barrier between them.

“Everling! I’m positive this time. She is not just nearby. She is here in the Mountain.”

“Who?” Treva wondered if she should give him a shot to calm him down, maybe one of Everling’s drug cocktails.

“My daughter. She is here.” He stabbed a finger at the floor. “She is in this Mountain. I can picture where she is. It has light walls, a containment area like this, and two security guards. There are others with her.”

Treva mentally traced the places she knew. “It has to be a security outpost for the outside. They wouldn’t bring outsiders farther into the Mountain unless . . .” She smiled. “Everling must not have anything to do with this. When he brings Landers in, they bypass security.” She furrowed her brow. “Stop. Focus on her. Is she frightened?”

Glade turned to the side, resting his head against the wall. “No, she isn’t feeling fear, more like apprehension. She can feel me.” His head jerked up. “There’s a Lander with her?”

Treva rocked back on her heels. “Oh no. That’s not good. The bio-scan will pick up Lander DNA and send an alert to Everling.” It was imperative for her to get down there.

He looked stricken. “You have to do something. He can’t find her. Please help me.”

Treva pointed with her index finger. “I think I can do this.” Her mind raced. This would be a test of how fast she could think on her feet.

Glade stared. “What are you going to do?”

“Do you trust me?” She didn’t know if she trusted herself right now, but she still must try. Maybe her plan could go into action now.

He swallowed hard. “I’ve only known you a matter of days.”

Treva fisted her hands on her hips. “That was not the question. I asked if you trusted me. Think very carefully before you answer because it may dictate how far I’m willing to stick my neck out for you.”

He ran both hands through his dark hair, leaned back against the wall, and tucked his hands behind him. A nod. “Yes, I trust you.”

She stood thinking for a moment, then she smiled and nodded. “I believe you.” She backed up to the comm panel, ran her hand over a few sensors, and flipped a couple switches. “I’ve turned the system off just in case a bio-alert comes through here, but I can’t stop it from reaching Everling’s lab, so I’ll just have to be fast enough to cancel it down there.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I don’t know. I’m not there yet.” Treva scurried to the lab door.

Ganston was nearly to his office when he got notice from the security officer that he forgot to sign for the payment chip. He tried to argue that Mojica could sign for it, but she had left. He found himself making the trip for the third time today, and he’d have to do it again to get back to his office. His back hurt and his feet were burning. The most exercise he accomplished in a normal day entailed walking a couple hundred paces from his living unit to his office.

He made a mental note to design everything he needed in Stone Braide to be within a reasonable walking distance. He could feel the ache in his hip growing as he turned the last corner. The security office sat at the end of the open area.

“Uncle Charles, is that you?” a soft, playful voice said.

Ganston whirled. He scanned the numerous merchants standing in the waiting area and spotted Treva hurrying toward him. He smiled broadly as she threw herself into his arms. The noise of the crowd faded as he embraced the bright spot in his life.

“What are you doing down here?” Treva asked.

He kissed her on the forehead and held her chin in the palm of his hand. “I signed some paperwork for a merchant.”

They moved to the side for a product cart layered with snake skin to pass by. With a clear view of the station, Ganston spotted the crew cut security officer. The officer noticed him and approached with a halo-tablet. He scrolled through some pages and handed it to Ganston, who signed for the chip and then shooed the man away.

“I didn’t ask you what kind of research you’re doing in Everling’s lab. I was so sure you’d stay with the plants you loved as a child.” Her parents had been associates of his, helping with his archeological digs. When Treva was born he took on the roll of a sub-parent. In historical times before the Sorrows, the position was considered a godfather.

Treva grinned. “I’m into cellular biology now.”

Ganston heard security tell arguing merchants to lower their voices or they’d be leaving. He frowned. He hated coming here when it was busy. The noise bothered him.

Treva suddenly seemed more interested in something at the other end of the hallway. Her glance darted to the side and then to the floor.

“Treva-a,” Ganston said, wagging his finger at her. “I know that look. You’re about to tell me something I won’t like.”

She glanced down the hall one more time then grimaced. “You know me so well, I might as well tell you. Sort of like ripping the bandage off all at once.”

Ganston hugged her again. The fresh smell of her hair made him remember her youthful innocence. “You’re stalling, young lady.”

She lowered her head. “I’m working on Dr. Everling’s Lander project.”

Ganston released her and backed up a step. “You’re doing what?” He felt the air being sucked from his lungs. In his peripheral vision he could see Stemple standing at the southeast corner of the corridor. What was he doing here?

“I understand your years of history with him and I know you don’t approve, but it was a job I really wanted,” Treva said. She gave him the pleading look she’d used as a child when there was a special sugary treat she wanted that he knew would ruin her appetite for dinner.

Ganston ignored her act, focusing on Stemple. Was the man watching him? Or was he watching Treva? He decided to test the theory. He wasn’t overly paranoid, but it was better to understand the man’s intentions.

“Uncle, you seem distracted,” Treva said as she rubbed the sleeve of his jacket.

Ganston looked at his ComTex. “I’m very late for an appointment, but I want you to promise me that you’ll come by my quarters for dinner. We need to talk about this job, and my project.”

Treva unfurrowed her eyebrows and smiled broadly. “I’ll call and we can make a date.”

“Promise it will be in the next two weeks.”

Treva pulled back her chin and narrowed her eyes. “If that’s what you want. What are you up to, Uncle?”

“Yes, that’s what I want, my sweet.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I have a much brighter career move to offer you.”

“And you don’t want to tell me now?” She smiled.

Ganston kissed her forehead again. “There is a time and a place for everything. I love you, my child.” He turned and left.

Treva stood among the throng. Was her uncle going to offer her a position at Stone Braide? She didn’t want to leave the Mountain before the Landers were freed. Well, she’d worry about that later. Right now her focus was to find Glade’s daughter. She moved toward the security area.

Suddenly a hand grabbed her arm and whipped her around. Adrenaline rushed to her chest as she stood face-to-face with Stemple.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His voice boomed, bouncing from the wall.

Treva wrestled her arm free and raised a fist. “This is the second time. Don’t put your hands on me again. I may look like a lightweight, but I assure you, Mr. Touchy, I can lay you out on this floor for manhandling me.” She’d have yelled for security, but that wasn’t the kind of attention she wanted right now.

Stemple threw up both hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to feel like an attack. But you have to know that if Everling ever saw the display of affection you just demonstrated with Ganston, you’d be out of a job in two seconds flat.”

“What is it with the two of them? Uncle feels the same way about Everling.”

Stemple shook his head. “The rivalry goes back too far for me to care. What are you doing down here? This is the last place I expected to find you.”

Treva needed a plausible explanation. She chastised herself. Why hadn’t she thought of that sooner? “I-I . . .” Her eyes darted over his shoulder as she looked to invent a reason. “I was looking for a merchant.”

Stemple stared at her. “What do you need with an outside merchant?”

Her mind raced as her glance crossed the pallet of snake skins. “I was interested in studying the cellular biology of the large predator snakes from down south, and I remembered seeing those-size skins come in with the merchants.” She gestured to the pallet.

Stemple eyed the pallet but seemed satisfied. She breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“I would say that you have too much work in the lab to be here looking for additional work to study. Did you get the data correlated I sent you this morning?”

Treva glanced down the corridor. She’d never make it to the holding cells with Stemple around. “Um, no. I was taking a little break. What are you doing down in this area?”

He straightened. “The biometric log-in triggered an alert in the lab that there might be a Lander present. Everling wasn’t in my area, so I came down to check out the details.”

She faked what she hoped looked like surprise. “Wow. Do you need me to go with you?”

“No. I’d be more comfortable if you were back in the lab, doing the work I assigned. I need those results later on this afternoon, and I don’t want my own work languishing because yours isn’t complete.”

Treva intertwined her fingers as her shoulders dropped. There wasn’t much chance of getting around him. How was she going to get to the holding cells? And what was she going to do if he got there first?

“Are you listening to me?” he asked.

Treva jerked. “I’m sorry. My mind seems so preoccupied lately. Yes, I’ll get on it right away. Sorry to keep you waiting.” Her mind raced, searching for options. She needed a minute to think. Where could she go so he wouldn’t see her?

Treva stepped back against the wall to allow three merchants with large bundles slung over their shoulders to pass.

Think.

“So I can expect your report before you leave today?” Stemple was getting impatient with her. She could tell by his tone it was time for her to vacate his line of sight.

“Yes, I’m going now,” Treva said with a wave of her hand. She started slowly back up the long corridor. She couldn’t leave. She’d promised Glade. If Stemple corralled his daughter, there was no telling what would happen. He seemed upset at the idea of dismantling the project, but she couldn’t be sure of his intentions.

Her heart thumped with the speed of her steps, and her stomach churned. She reached the end of the security section and turned corridors twice. There was no chance of Stemple seeing her from here. Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes and ran through all the available options. Her eyes flew open.

The holding area end of the security station opened into an area connected with a JetTrans pod. She could get in that way, or at least observe from there. The loop of connecting streets would take her out into the Mountain community, and she could circle back around Science Consortium structures. It would take about four minutes. Would they still be there?

Treva took off at a dead run.