Genesis (The Legend of Glory Book 3) (8 page)

“Through the air. Actually, in this case, we’ve been promised the help of angels. They can’t manufacture this, or make the decision to deploy it, but they can assist us in our work.”

“Well, this is just all kinds of crazy.” I stood and paced. Finally, I threw my anger, sense of violation, and terror at him. “On the subject of free will, why wasn’t I consulted? Not to be sacrilegious or anything, but even Mary had to give permission for her virgin conception. This is—”

The professor stood and faced me. “You did, Glory. Both you and Zane did. Neither of you remember, but you two consented. Because of Zane’s association with the scientists down in Wonderland, we didn’t want to risk that he might reveal Genesis’ existence. It would be disastrous.”

“Why not just tell him the truth about the
NWO
and get him away from them?”

“The cure for the vampire virus plays into this. We need that work completed to finish ours, and we understand it’s almost done ... thanks to your mother. She’s the best virologist, well, ever. She’s a genius.”

I desperately tried to sort everything out. “What does the cure for vampirism have to do with this?”

“What I didn’t tell you is that before that champagne toast twenty-four hours after deployment of the cure, people are going to get very sick while their
DNA
is being rewritten. The gene that vampires possess which regenerates their cells so quickly will help expedite the process and lessen the side effects. If we don’t do it this way, it would take years for normal cell division to occur. Your mother is performing an incredible job sequencing the vampire
DNA
. We need those data to do this.”

“How can all this be?” I was dizzy. It was too big, too much to absorb.

The professor took me by the shoulders and compelled me to look him in the eye. “Bottom line is this: you and Zane share such a powerful love that it allowed you to transcend time and space and conceive a child. Hope was a perfect name for your alter ego. You and your baby are the hope of the world. However, for all this to happen, you and Genesis need to survive, Zane and your mother have to successfully complete the cure for his virus, and we have to get our hands on your mother’s work. It’s an incredibly complex scenario.”

I had a moment of utter clarity. “Why don’t you just take Gen’s
DNA
now? From the womb?”

He shook his head. “I’ve been told we can’t because her gestation isn’t normal. It’s too big a risk to her. It shouldn’t be done until she’s born.”

“Can’t you take us away to your secret lab and hide us until then?”

“There are spies even in our midst. We can’t let your importance be known. Besides, that wouldn’t protect you from supernatural enemies. My understanding is that the Caretakers have surrounded you with some powerful guardians. You’re not alone in this, and never have been.”

My knees gave out and I sank onto a nearby ottoman. “The irony is that Zane thinks his life has no meaning, that he’s a soulless abomination. If what you say is true, if everything hadn’t happened just as it did, if he hadn’t gone through all that hell for a hundred and forty years, and if he wasn’t so desperate to become human again, humanity would be damned.”

Professor Greenberg said, “One definition of heroism is to walk through Hell itself and yet still strive to do what’s right. From what I’ve learned about Zane, that describes him well.”

I thought of Zane’s suffering and his feelings of hopelessness. I wanted to tell him what a noble soul he really was.

My insides twisted as I realized how everything could still go horribly wrong. And if the worst happened, would he ever know we had finally consummated our love?

I remembered something Dominic had once said to me when I first recognized my depth of desire for Zane.

“Yearning preceded creation, caused creation, and sustains it. It’s what holds the atoms together.”
 

The profound yearning Zane and I felt for each other had created a miracle that might indeed sustain creation.

My heart filled with such longing for him that I screamed in pain. How could love hurt so badly?

Professor Greenberg knelt, gathered me into his arms, and held me until I could once again bear the unbearable.

*          *          *

That night, before dinner, my circle gathered around the kitchen table to talk. I revealed everything the professor had told me. The news seemed to be no surprise to Lailah or Sasha, but Dominic and Raven appeared terribly shaken.

Raven’s face paled. “If Glory’s baby doesn’t survive, if the Caretakers’ plan doesn’t work, then all of us humans living topside are going to die?”

“Most likely,” Lailah said.

Raven looked at me with a strange expression. “Glory, I’m sorry.”

“I think we should do some more training tonight,” Dominic said.

I felt that same sense of urgency.

Lailah studied me. “Glory needs to rest, and we shouldn’t leave her alone.”

From beneath the table, Hallie growled.

At that same moment, Lailah cocked her head and in one swift motion jumped to her feet, pulling her angel blade from the hidden pocket in her dress.

Sasha also stood, blade suddenly in hand. “Something bad’s coming.”

We all rose, ready to do battle. I felt the change in barometric pressure and drop in temperature. The signs were demonic. Surely, the new wards would protect us from demons?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raven reach for the knives hanging from her belt. I fumbled for mine, but my long sweater covered the sheath, and everything got all tangled.

Dominic moved toward me, but an invisible force threw him across the room where his head hit the wall. Blood splattered, and he passed out.

“No, I wouldn’t recommend leaving her alone. It could be dangerous.” The smooth voice came from a dark-haired beauty with ruby lips. She stood in the kitchen doorway, her long red robe fluttering in a supernatural breeze.

Nyx!

How did she get past the wards Lailah erected?

Everything happened at once.

Nyx’s Hellhound, Hex, manifested at her side, and Hallie charged.

Three silver knives sailed past me in Nyx’s direction. Grouped as one, they almost struck her. However, she flicked them away with a subtle hand gesture. Another flick sent Raven crashing into the refrigerator.

Lailah and Sasha slashed at Nyx with their brilliant blades, but the demoness instantly parried with a larger, black short-sword.

Behind me, I felt a familiar presence. I swiveled to see Jesse. He grinned, threw his arms around me, and we disappeared.

CHAPTER SEVEN

†          †          †

Zane made love to Glory high on a cliff under the sky bright with a pregnant moon and shooting stars. He moved slowly, making every precious second count—their time together was almost over. Softly he said, “Whatever happens, Glory, you’ll carry a part of me into the future.” When he finally surrendered, a star fell from the sky and light filled her body.

Then Zane heard a voice say, “I have never forsaken you.”

The memory had replayed in Zane’s mind for months now. That it had never happened threw him. Was his brief marriage to Hope intruding on reality with Glory? Was it a vision of something to come? What did the light mean? And the voice at the end was familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. Likely, it was the tenacious beast who always hovered—that monster had never forsaken him for a moment. The mystery of it all threatened to overpower his self-control, and so he did what he had always done to deal with internal demons—he pushed back. Taking a deep breath, the memory faded, and he turned his mind to other things.

This was the fourth time over the past year that he had visited the Arizona scientists. As before, he rendezvoused with a van in Flagstaff, and tucked away in the back with blacked-out windows, rode to the secret location.

A completely self-contained underground city, Wonderland had a large population. They told Zane it was a top-secret government facility, but offered no further explanation. The structures were of various types and sizes, the only unifying feature being their one story height. A radiant light mimicked sunlight, so vegetation grew. Zane heard insects, smelled the freshness of the river, and felt a throbbing hum of people. However, no wildlife roamed. It was a stark land filled with cold people—at least the ones he had met so far fit that bill. Well, all except Glory’s mother, Kate.

Kate had come back to life since the first time he had met her. The woman would never get back the husband lost in the pandemic, but she was reunited with her missing daughter, Erica, and she had returned to work doing what she loved. The smile on her face when Zane entered her lab was warm.

Kate’s resemblance to Glory caused his thoughts to ride wild. His imagination saw Glory in twenty-five years, with him at her side, at the peak of their lives. He pushed the thought back and gave the rim of his hat a polite tug. “Good to see you, ma’am.”

Kate had Glory’s contagious laugh. She looked him up and down, then gestured to her own jumpsuit—the uniform of all who lived in and visited Wonderland. “I see you resisted the matrix’s effort at plugging you into the network.”

His laughter joined hers. “I always reject the blue pill.”

Kate quoted a line from
The Matrix
, “‘You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.’”

“Vamps are all about independence and reality, no matter how harsh it may be.”

Kate regarded him with bright eyes. “What kind of human will you be?”

“I expect I’ll stay a rebel.”

“Yes, I imagine you will.” She took a deep breath. “Well, as our message to you said, I think I’ve done what I set out to do here. You’re my guinea pig. Can’t test this on anything but a vampire.”

“Are we going to test it today? Now?” He hoped his voice didn’t give away the excitement he felt.

“Today I do a workup of you. If it goes well, tomorrow we ride.” She tugged on the brim of his hat playfully.

“Oh, I’m ready to ride.”

“Figured you would be. Come on then, take off your jacket, roll up your sleeves, and let’s get started.”

He did as she asked, and endured the poking, prodding, and blood letting.

“Have you talked to Glory?” he asked.

“No, they won’t let me communicate with her at all. They say it’s for security reasons, but I missed her birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas. I’m not happy about it.” She looked up from the blood pressure cuff. “Have you two been in contact?”

Zane shook his head. “I vowed to leave her alone until we figure out if this works, and our mutual friends don’t share news with me about her. They’re trying to be kind, I suppose. If the cure doesn’t work, I’ll leave her alone for good. For her own good.” He thought about that possibility and the horror of it was too great to immediately push back. Dismayed, he struggled to fight back tears.

There was a long silence, which Kate finally broke. “A hundred and sixty years is a long time to live. What’s your favorite memory?”

Zane didn’t need to think about it—he had relived it so many times. “Well, you’d think it’d be my wedding to Hope.” He managed a grin. “Or my wedding night. I mean both were real special, but my best memory was when the river flooded my Colorado ranch right after I took my new bride home. Hope came from high society, never got her hands dirty once in her life. Never had to work. Never had reason to be afraid. When the waters came, she didn’t hesitate to jump knee-deep in mud and raging water to help me save the animals. Got kicked by scared critters, practically killed in a cattle stampede, nearly drowned, but she never stopped doing what she could to help. That day I saw her grit, her heart. I realized what a precious gift she was.”

Kate smiled and cupped his face in her cool hand. Her eyes studied him so long it made him uneasy.

He bristled. “What about you? What’s yours?”

She released him. “Not so different in essence from yours, really. It was when I discovered how special my new husband was. I had contracted a ghastly case of the flu. Occupational hazard. Never so sick in my life, but I wouldn’t go to the hospital because I’ve always been a stubborn bitch. Mark and I hadn’t been married long, and I was surprised at how well he took care of me. Such compassion. He read poetry to me by the hour. Rumi. It transported me to a place where the misery couldn’t reach. I had worried about having married someone so different from me. Until then.”

“I’m sorry you lost him.” 

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to live a full, rich life with Hope.”

He thought of Glory. “Maybe we can this time around.” He glanced at the test tubes on the counter. “Do you think it’ll really work? In your gut, I mean?”

“My gut tells me yes. My mind has doubts. We’ll only find out by trying. And if this formula doesn’t work, I’ll move on to a variation. I won’t give up, Zane. You have my word on that.”

So much was riding on this, not just for him, but for all the vampires. Especially for Joy. “Will the cure work on kids?”

“I would think so. Why, do you know children who are vampires?”

He didn’t want to say too much. “I’ve heard of some.”

Her face lit up. “How fascinating that would be to study.” An electronic device on her wrist beeped, and she read the words that flashed on the screen. “Erica’s getting restless. She’s my assistant now and will be handling your interview.”

“How’s that going for you? Getting to know her, and all.”

Kate’s smile faded. “My daughter was seven when she went missing. Raised here by scientists. She’s not the cuddliest kitten in the litter. We see each other at work, and she visits me at my apartment, but there’s always a feeling of formality to our encounters. It’s as if she’s doing what’s expected of her. There’s no warmth.”

The story of Erica abandoned by kidnappers in the nearby desert, and subsequently raised in Wonderland had always confused Zane. “Makes no sense to me how returning the child to her family would have been a national security risk. I just don’t get it.”

“I think they meant well,” she said, her sudden laser stare burning into him. “Nothing about this place feels right.” She whispered so quietly that if he wasn’t a vampire, he wouldn’t have heard her. Then, without moving her head, her eyes swept the room before returning to him.

He smelled her fear and heard her racing heart. Surveillance? Well, that would stand to reason. He offered a slight nod.

“Why don’t you come by my apartment for a drink when Erica’s done with you? I’d like to get to know you better.”

“That’d be fine, ma’am.”

†          †          †

Erica greeted Zane formally, with a stiff handshake, and gestured for him to sit at the table in the private conference room. Although only nineteen, she seemed older. A tight bun gathered long brown hair, light makeup accentuated striking features, and the jumpsuit hugged a slim figure. However, her eyes were her most riveting feature—not for their beauty, but for their coldness.

“Although I now hold this position in medical research, I still assist Dr. Oshiro with his time travel experiments,” she said. “Even though we did that formal debriefing with you following Glory’s time event, there will be questions pertaining to it today as well as those pertaining to your health. This is quite a complex situation, but my superior intelligence and rigorous training makes me highly qualified to accomplish this particular interview.”

Amusement filled him, and he burst out laughing. “You’re awfully haughty for such a young thing.”

“Excuse me?”

He shrugged. “I usually speak my mind and that’s what came to mind.”

“I’m professional.”

“You’re haughty.”

Fluster showed in her red face, shaky voice, and smell, but Zane didn’t feel badly about it. He had been breaking wild horses forever. Leaning forward, he said, “You seem at a loss for words, princess. Just breathe and then ask me your questions.”

“You’re an ass.”

“I’ve been called that.”

She slammed her pen on the table and took a deep breath. “So, have you had any illnesses or wounds since your last visit here?”

“I don’t get sick. Had a neck wound from a fight, but it healed up in a day.”

She retrieved her pen and wrote his answer down.

“What about you?” Zane asked. “What’s new in your life?”

Erica looked up with a start. “What?”

“Your life here must be full of adventure. Tell me about it.”

“Are you being sarcastic?”

“Do I sound like I’m being sarcastic?”

“Well, no.”

“Doesn’t anyone ever ask about your life?”

She shook her head. “Except Mother, but I suppose she thinks that’s required of her because she’s my mother.”

“You don’t think she really cares?”

“Why would she? She doesn’t know me.”

“She’d like to.”

Her eyes shot icicles. “My life isn’t your business.” She looked at her clipboard. “Have you remembered anything new about your encounter with Glory during the time travel experiment?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“Nothing I want to talk about. It’s personal.”

“But you have to tell us.”

He laughed again. “Why?”

“Because I say so.”

He studied her for a moment. “You are so different from Glory. It’s hard to believe you’re sisters.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just what I said.”

“We were raised in different environments.”

“I believe in nature over nurture. People are who they are from the get-go.”

“Oh, and you know this because of your superior education?”

“I know this from being immortal and observing countless humans over the years.”

“So, you think you know it all, do you?”

“I know enough.”

A cold smile crossed her face. “I’d guess you don’t know Glory’s Dominic isn’t an angel anymore. He became human months ago.”

That bit of news knocked Zane right off his horse. And then that horse kicked him in the gut.

Erica’s smile widened. “Oh, so you didn’t know? Sorry I had to be the one to tell you.” She didn’t sound in the least bit sorry.

Dominic was human? Zane’s mind struggled with the implications.

Erica looked inordinately pleased with herself. “My sources tell me that he became human so he could try to win Glory’s heart. Sound familiar? Oh, and he bought the farm next door to hers. They sure are cozy.”

Zane pushed back the pain, and his mind cleared. “Who are your sources?”

She leaned across the table toward him. “We have informants.”

They were spying on Glory? To what end? “Why?”

“She is the only person to have successfully gone back that far in time. We want to keep an eye on her to make sure there isn’t any fallout from the experience.”

“Has she been debriefed here like I have?”

Erica’s smug look disappeared, and his senses registered her sudden fear. “Not officially.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s none of your business.”

His gut told him that she was hiding something big and that it didn’t bode well for Glory. “I remember Glory telling me that when you were kids you were her hero. She worshiped you. She loved you best. I can’t imagine why anyone would love you.”

The shock on Erica’s face was what he had been going for. The slap across his face was a surprise, but it did give him an exit. He grinned. “Interview’s over, princess.”