Blackbird (26 page)

              With those words all the years of self-hate and loathing seemed to evaporate. Everything she had been through, every moment of danger or fear or suffering had been worth it, because it had brought her to the place she knew she was supposed to be. Here. In this moment. With this man.

              He undressed her completely and took her to the bed where he lay side by side with his arms around her. “I don’t know what you do to me. I feel like I can never get close enough to you. Ever since I’ve been around you I always want to be near you. It’s like I’m a magnet.”

              Chelle giggled. “Maybe you are a magnet. I’ve got liquid metal in there.”

              “You must be right,” he murmured, kissing her again. He rolled her over onto her back, licking and kissing each of her nipples in turn, causing her to moan. He kissed her everywhere. Her stomach, her legs, her hips. She shuddered with pleasure each time his warm mouth found a new spot. Finally his mouth made its way to where she was aching for him, and he buried his head there, applying pressure with his tongue, working her until her entire body tightened up and exploded with its release.

              Her legs shook and quivered as he kissed his way back up to her neck and when he met her eyes he was smiling wide, pleased with himself. “It’s hard to believe you aren’t human,” he said.

              “I’m human in all the ways that matter.”

              “Yes,” he said, placing his weight on top of her and guiding himself into her with his hand. “You are.”

              When he’d filled her completely he held himself there for a moment, his breath quivering as if the anticipation had all been too much. She laced her fingers through his and he began with long slow thrusts, each one causing both of them to want it more intensely. As they made love it was as if a door opened. Chelle began to truly know him, every part of him and sensed all his emotions. His desire, his fear, his love. All of it became part of her and as she absorbed it she could see he was experiencing the same. Even with what limited experience she had, Chelle knew this was something unique. Something not usually experienced between two people who had simply gone to bed together. It was more than that.

              Robert closed his eyes in bliss and she felt it. He was overwhelmed and overcome with a happiness the likes of which he’d never known. When he opened them again he began thrusting hard and fast, with more determination and passion, roughly kissing her over and over again. After a few moments the pressure mounted in their physical bodies, as well as in their emotions, and as one fed off the other they had a mutual moment of absolute ecstasy.

              “Dear god,” he said as he collapsed, his head resting on her bare chest. “Don’t ever leave me.”

              “I never will,” she whispered, stroking his damp, sweaty hair.

              She wasn’t sure if Robert realized it yet or not, but the act of what they’d done had bonded them in a way it didn’t between two people who were merely human. Her Sentian instincts told her what they’d done had changed them both somehow and that it would never be a matter of her ever wanting to leave, it would be a matter of being unable to.

***

              Victor’s eyes snapped open and he felt a physical pain, like he’d literally been slapped in the face. Lindsay sat on the couch, eyeing him with concern. “What happened? I thought I was going to meet her.”

              “She didn’t stay. She doesn’t want to be with us.”

              Immediately tears began falling from Lindsay’s eyes. Victor rushed over to the couch, putting his arms around her and drawing her close. “Don’t despair. She’ll be with us soon, one way or another. She’ll realize she needs us and she’ll come.”

              Lindsay put her head down and continued to cry softly into Victor’s shoulder. He stroked her hair. “Lindsay, you must stop. You must…”

              In mid-sentence he stopped, a feeling of horror washing over him. Lindsay stopped crying, feeling it as well. Victor saw the look of absolute dread on her face, coupled with confusion. She had never felt this before, but he had. “What’s happening Victor?” she whispered, her body becoming still.

              “I’m afraid it’s not good news my dear. It seems our Chelle has bonded with another.” Any connection he had or had hoped to have clicked off and he could no longer see or communicate with her. It was as if she’d ceased to exist.

              “Why does it feel so awful?”

              “We may have only connected for a short time, but when the connection between our people is broken it’s…painful.”

              “Broken? Oh, Victor if she’s bonded to someone else she’ll never come to us now. What will we do?”

              Victor picked her head up so he could look her straight in the eye. He needed her to know he was serious and had every intention on fixing what had gone wrong. It was his fault for being so neglectful in the first place. “We’re going to do the only thing we can do, Lindsay.”

              “And that is?”

              “This Robert. We must kill him.”

Chapter Thirty

              Michael was so engrossed with whatever he was looking at on the monitor it hadn’t even registered that Robert and Chelle were standing right there. When he’d heard Chelle had woken up he’d called to see if they could come down to the lab. Robert had refused at first telling him it was too soon, but Chelle insisted they go. It was all he could do to tear himself out of the bed and redress and now he was counting the hours until he could get her back into it. Now, Robert was standing right over him and when he reached out and touched his shoulder, Michael startled.

              “Motherfucker!” he blurted out. “Sorry, Chelle.”

              Chelle laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ve heard that one before.”

              “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Robert said, putting his hands up. “But you didn’t hear us come in. What’s this about?”

              “Greg has done something he wants Chelle to try. For as much of an asshat as he is, he’s pretty gifted. I think Chelle might be impressed.”

              “What has he done?” she said.

              “You’ll see.”

              Just then the door opened and Greg was standing there, disheveled and unshaven. Looking and smelling like he hadn’t showered in days. He rolled in a large case. “Help me get this out into the main room,” he said to Robert.

              “What is it?” Robert asked.

              “Something I made for Chelle. Come on.”

              Robert grabbed the other end of the large black case and helped keep it steady as they maneuvered through the narrow doors that led out into the area where they’d hooked Chelle up to the wire mess a few days ago. “Alright, everybody ready?” he said as they put it in place. All of them stood, waiting for him to make his reveal. Just as he was about to he turned to Chelle and said, “By the way, you look pretty good for someone who’s been dead for the last three days.”

              “Greg,” Robert said, “get on with it.”

              “Fine, fine. Here we go.” Greg unlatched it at several places and then slowly opened it. Inside was a one piece suit, black, made of some kind of leather.

              “You bought her a leather onesie?” Michael said.

              Greg rolled his eyes. “Look at it with your logic, bro. It’s not leather, it’s fire and waterproof rubber. It’s a pressure suit.”

              Robert was confused. “A pressure suit?”

              “Yeah. Chelle, I noticed when you were sitting in the data room the other day that the harder Robert applied pressure to your back the more quickly you healed. Then I analyzed the photos of your back. If the scarring is any indication they come out and go back in the exact same way every time. You have some smaller scars but I don’t think they’re from wing eruptions.”

              Chelle lowered her eyes for a brief moment. “Some are not.”

              “What are they from?” Robert asked.

              “My father’s belt.”

              An awkward silence filled the room and Robert could see she was uncomfortable. He, however, was angry. If he ever ran across her father he was going to get a punch in the face so severe that it would make the punch he’d given to the man in the bar look tame by comparison.

              “What’s the suit do?” Michael said getting back to the reason they were all there.

              “I think if you have this on it might stop the pain and bleeding every time your wings show themselves. At the very least I think it would minimize it. And like I said, it’s fire and water proof.”

              “Why would she need that?” Robert asked.

              “Well, when she’s running around being all badass she’ll be protected. Think about it.”

              Michael took off his glasses, cleaning them on his shirt and then came in closer to inspect the suit. “Greg thinks Chelle is some kind of superhero.”

              “She is! She already has the name. Blackbird. If that’s not a superhero I don’t know what is.”

              “This could actually work,” Michael said. “Chelle you should try it on. We can run some tests and tweak it if we have to.”

              “She doesn’t need it. She’s not gonna run around town saving people. This is Halifax. What’s she gonna save them from? Stray cats?”

              “I’ll put it on,” she said. “I want to see if it works.”

              Chelle lifted the suit out of its case and headed for the small changing area she’d used last time. When the door clicked shut Robert turned to Michael. “How’s Mom doing?”

              “Well, it’s nice of one of you to finally ask. She’s pretty pissed.”

              “Pissed?” Robert asked.

              “Yeah. Pissed we put her house up for sale. She’s moving back in there tomorrow.”

              Both Greg and Robert looked at each other confused. “Look,” Michael said, “I know you’ve been sitting vigil with Chelle. Paul filled us in on everything she told him. And you,” he said turning to Greg, “have been hiding out here, crafting that suit, but mostly hiding. Both of you don’t know it yet but mom is back to her old self. Whatever happened when Chelle gave her that jolt seems to have not only undone any sign of a stroke, but she also now no longer seems to have dementia. She’s back at the nursing home right now packing up her stuff so she can go home. Swearing like a sailor too.”

              Robert had to smile. “Sounds like Mom alright.”

              “Yeah, she wants to give us all an earful soon. And she wants to see Chelle.”

              The door to the change room opened and Chelle stood there, the black suit hugging every curve and slope of her body. Greg was right, it did make her look like a badass. All three men gaped and stood there, waiting for her to say something. “It’s a little tight, Greg,” she said, twisting at the waist.

              Greg gave her a wistful look. “Yes, yes it is.” This was followed by a dirty look from Robert. “Well what I mean is, it’s a pressure suit. It has to be tight to be effective.” Chelle cocked one eyebrow giving him a doubtful look. “Well, it does.”

              “Greg, why don’t you hook her up? Robert and I will go into the other room and then we’ll get started.” Without waiting for an answer, Michael turned to go and Robert followed. In the few minutes before Greg made it back to the room with them Michael said. “So, you and Chelle, huh?”

              “Yeah. Me and Chelle,” he said, staring at her through the glass.

              “I like it.”

              He smiled a little. “I like it too.”

              “Much better than Billie. Yuck.”

              “That seems to be the general consensus. I thought everyone liked Billie. Why didn’t anyone say anything?”

              Michael raised his eyebrows. “Really? Would you have listened?”

              He had him there. “Probably not.”

              Greg entered and busied himself with booting up screens and typing in information. “I hope she doesn’t sever the wires again. Those are a pain in the ass to fix.”