KAI
New York City. Penthouse. Monday, May 27, 1:00 AM ET
HIGH-PITCHED SCREAMS pierced the air, tearing Kai out of a solid slumber. Disoriented, he bolted upright and fumbled to turn on the lamp, not understanding why he was sleeping on the wrong side of the bed. Then he remembered where he was… Cara’s penthouse. He and Cara had come here after Angel had returned to the loft alone to brief the group. Simon had stayed behind with Isaac.
His heart pounded as he lunged out of bed and ran into the hallway toward the agonizing sound. He flung Cara’s bedroom door open with such force it rebounded off the doorstop.
“Cara!” Kai yelled, his hand slapping the wall until he found the switch.
Light bathed the room.
“Make it stop!” Cara screamed. She sat in the middle of the king-size bed, shaking in a sweat-soaked T-shirt. Movement underneath her T-shirt accompanied by crunching and popping sounds sent a shiver barreling down his spine.
He ran to her side. “Talk to me,” he demanded. No time for modesty, Kai lifted her T-shirt to expose her bare back.
“My spine,” Cara said, looking back at him as tears rolled down her cheeks in tiny rivers. He choked back a gasp as he watched her bones shift under her skin like something out of a sci-fi flick. A ripple of movement traveled along her spine as the vertebra popped up and back in a continuous path. Her shoulder blades morphed and reshaped until they had moved farther apart. Intellectually, he grasped the Nephilim changes she had spoken to him about, but nothing had prepared him for this.
Out of breath with his chest heaving, Simon filled the doorway. There was no mistaking the wild look of panic in his eyes. “What’s going on?”
Cara didn’t seem to notice him as her screams escalated in pitch to ear-splitting screeches.
“Growth spurt. Get the medical bag in my room. Silver case,” Kai barked. His only choice was to put her under and then make an emergency call to Celine, his assigned Nephilim counterpart, at the Sanctuary. But not before he drew some blood. He’d extract a sample of spinal fluid once she was unconscious.
Simon disappeared from sight, returning less than a minute later with the heavy silver suitcase.
Kai selected a powerful sedative. He looked at Simon. “Help me.”
Simon pressed his lips together and nodded. “What do you want me to do?”
“Hold her arm so I can draw some blood. Then I’ll inject her.” He snapped an empty vial onto a syringe.
Cara wailed as Simon pulled her onto his lap, cradling her as she screamed and thrashed. Using his free hand, he steadied her arm, pain etching a deep line across his brow. Kai recognized the look; he wore the same one the night he tried to comfort Melanie before her trip to Sequoia. His heart ached for Simon, understanding better than anyone what he was going through.
Cara’s arm quivered and her body tensed as Kai sank the needle into her skin and depressed the plunger. Once the vial was full, he swapped it out for the sedative.
Less than three minutes later, Cara’s howling stopped and she went limp in Simon’s arms.
Kai ran his hands through his hair and dropped his head in his hands. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Simon asked anxiously, cradling Cara’s unconscious body next to his heart. The movement under her T-shirt had ceased.
Tipping his chin at Cara, Kai said, “Why don’t you make her comfortable, and then we’ll talk in the living room. She’ll be out for the rest of the night.” Kai glanced down at his boxers, suddenly feeling underdressed. “Let me put on some clothes. I’ll meet you out there in five minutes.”
Simon nodded and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.
Kai headed back to his room. How could he admit to Simon that he was out of his depth on this one? He may have learned a great deal about Nephilim physiology in the last several months, retaining it in his photographic memory, but he still didn’t know what he didn’t know. After they talked, he’d ring Celine. She’d be in the lab by then.
He slipped on jeans and a golf shirt and met Simon in the living room. Still in uniform, Simon sat leaning forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and sipping something from a glass. He cleared his throat and pointed to a second glass. “I hope you like brandy.”
Not really his thing, but Kai welcomed the burn as he took a sip.
“I’m going to need to your help, Simon.”
His head snapped up. “What kind of help?”
“With Cara. I’m not with her every minute. You’re the only person who comes close. Can I teach you a few things tomorrow? To do in case of an emergency?”
“Sure,” Simon replied. Kai figured it might help Simon regain some self-confidence. Make him feel more useful in times of medical crisis. In reality, Simon already made a formidable assistant.
“Good. In the meantime, do you remember your adolescence? Do you remember anything like this happening to you? Painful growth spurts, bones shifting? Hormone rushes?”
Simon released a breath and gripped his glass. “Mine was a milder version of what Cara’s been going through. And I never experienced anything as painful as tonight, even when my wings emerged for the first time. My adolescence was gradual.”
“Is this how all her growth spurts have been?” Kai asked.
Simon shook his head. “Nothing like this until tonight. Complaints about aches and pains, but nothing a few aspirin couldn’t solve. She’s never mentioned anything beyond that.”
Kai nodded. “Have you ever seen or heard of anything like this before?”
Simon’s jaw tightened. “It’s rare, but yes.”
The hairs rose on Kai’s arms. “And?”
His eyes filled with anguish, and he whispered, “The two I know of died. Flaws within the human cells of the mothers caused massive cell rejection right before their adolescence ended. It’s called Nephilim Adolescent Collapse Syndrome.”
Kai heart went into free fall and hit his stomach. He stared at Simon, speechless.
“But Cara’s not really going through true adolescence. Something similar but not the same, right?” Simon growled, his eyes pleading. “An adjustment to the DNA?”
He wished he knew. “I’ll get the samples I took today flown to the Sanctuary tomorrow. We’ll get a handle on this quickly. If she has another episode, we should take her to Beth Israel for some interim tests.” Given Cara’s unique situation, the Sanctuary was still their best option. It housed their most advanced genetics and physiology labs and all their specialists.
“Don’t let anything happen to her, Kai,” he gritted, his eyes shining. “And promise me you won’t tell her anything until we know for certain.”
“I promise,” Kai said. “But I need you to promise me something in return.”
“What’s that?” His eyes connected with Simon’s.
“Stay cool. Don’t panic or she’ll know,” Kai said.
“Agreed.”
Guilt stabbed Kai in the chest. Simon and Cara deserved happiness. He hoped that he hadn’t made a mistake in the formula he’d used to save Cara; that he hadn’t accidentally handed her a death sentence.
Simon looked at the drink he held in his hands. “I’m sorry, Kai. For my behavior earlier. I meant no disrespect.”
Kai’s admiration for Simon grew. Without a doubt, Cara had chosen the better man. Now, he’d do what he could to make sure they had a future together.
Kai rose and clasped Simon’s shoulder. “None taken. You’re a good man, Simon. She loves you… only you.”
With that, Kai drained his glass, turned on his heel, and headed to the guest room to call Celine.
He prayed she’d have some answers.