Strength (Mark of Nexus #1) (37 page)

She straightened her posture and crossed her arms over her chest. “If you must know, it was a vision.”

“A vision?” I raised my eyebrows and tried to watch Wallace out of the corner of my eye. “Like a dream?”

“Something like that, yes.”

I eyed her expectantly.

“What?” she snapped.

“I want to hear more about it. It’s not like I have superpowers.”
Geesh
. How much ass-kissing was this going to take?

Gail paused. “You mean to tell me you’re human?”

“That’s what it says on my birth certificate.” Okay, it didn’t mention that, per se, but my distraction was gaining steam.

She gave me the eye, like I was holding out on her. “Entirely human?”

Uh, wouldn’t the alternative be a Dynari? It wasn’t like I showed up at her family barbeques and levitated two-liters for laughs. “Yes. One hundred percent, boring, powerless human.”

Her brows knit as she studied me over the rims of her glasses. “My first glimpse of you was two months ago, and that vision suggested otherwise.”

“Huh?” How often did this creeper dream about me?

She pressed her lips together. “Three of you stood against us. Powerful, unremitting. Chaos descended from your interference, and the experiments were lost.”

Three of who? What experiments? I took a moment to process her words. “So, did I shoot lasers out of my eyes or something?”

“Don’t mock me,” she hissed in building crescendo. “You might not have exhibited any outward abilities, but I know you had a hand in The Fall. A mere human would’ve posed no threat to us.”

What the hell was she smoking? I rolled my jacket sleeve away from my mangled wrist. “Maybe I just rode shotgun. If Wallace was there, he’d be the one breaking things.”

“Your attempts at ignorance are laughable at best, Rena.” A breeze moved through the forest, and the torch flames leaned like fallen dominoes. “I expected more from this assessment.”

“What assessment?” Okay, now I was the one getting worked up. The adrenaline pumping through my veins numbed my wrist, but everything else was on fire. My muscles were tight, my hairline was damp. If it weren’t for Wallace, I would’ve bolted five minutes ago. “You’re telling me you brought us here to check out the competition?”

“Something like that.” She flicked her fingers in my direction, and Wallace advanced on me with quickened strides. “Which means I’ll need to observe your defensive capabilities.”

“Whoa, whoa.” I held up my hands and backed away. “He’ll kill me!”

“Things react differently once they’re under pressure,” she stated. “Think of a tube of toothpaste. Squeeze it, and that which has been sealed away must surface.”

“Yeah, like my
organs.
” Was she insane? Just because I made a cameo in a few of her whacked-out dreams didn’t mean I wasn’t human. In fact, I was pretty sure it meant she was some kind of supernatural supremacist. Who says humans can’t thwart experiments? I could knock over a few beakers and Bunsen bur—

A shadow fell over me, and I realized I’d backed all the way around the circle. “Crap.”

Wallace’s hands were rough on my shoulders as he spun me around and fisted the sides of my jacket. I tried to wrench back, but he was already hoisting me into the air. The seams dug in under my arms, and my chest thrust forward.
Shit.

My legs dangled a useless foot above the ground as I tried to meet his eyes. Heart attack. I was going to have a heart attack. Dying at my boyfriend’s hands was not one of the scenarios I’d worked out on the way here. How could I fight ba—

“Do something already!” Gail barked, her voice scratchy and irritable. Had she sounded that tired before?

“Like what?” I asked, grasping at his wrist with my good hand.
C’mon, Wallace. It’s me. You like me…

His arms trembled, and I shot a glance over at Gail. Had she faltered?

No. Her eyes were still narrowed like she expected me to sprout wings and fly away. Did she honestly think I’d hold back at this point? If I had any kind of power, I would’ve used it by now. Repeatedly. On her face.

“Wallace.” Her shrill tone echoed around the clearing. “It would appear our guest needs some motivation.”

He bared his teeth like a cornered animal, his gaze never leaving mine. “But…”

But!
Was that a defiant glint his eyes? A spark of hope? Maybe distracting Gail wasn’t the key to this thing. Maybe my best bet was giving Wallace a reason to fight…

“But, nothing,” Gail ground out, grasping the nearest stake for support. “You know what you have to do.”

I pressed my lips together as the firelight danced over her slick, pallid features. The manipulation was draining her. She couldn’t hide it any longer.

“I know what I…” Wallace droned, his brows pinched with frustration. “What I…”

I hushed him and ran a soothing hand over his shoulder. Well, almost. The way he was holding me, I couldn’t reach. “No.”

“No?” He jerked me close so fast, I almost got whiplash. My legs slammed against his. “
No?
”

“Fight it,” I whispered. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. Just focus on me.”

Ragged breaths ripped from his chest as he stared me down. “I…”

“Focus on me,” I repeated in a firmer tone. “Focus on us. Focus on how much I care about you. I know you can feel it.”

Had I been standing, the chaotic swell of emotions that followed would’ve brought to my knees. Loyalties and compulsions warred under waves of confusion and struggled to break free. Wallace was fighting. I knew he was.

Beneath my sleeve, the Mark of Nexus burned with relish.

Gail snorted. “You really are a pathetic piece of human trash, aren’t you? Useless. Unworthy of our time. I told her, but she just wouldn’t listen. The future rarely ever plays out the way it is foreseen. Too many variables, too many choic—”

“Told who?”

“Faye,” she snapped, taking a step outside of the circle. “My grandmother.”

Faye…why did that sound familiar?

“Oh, that’s right.” Gail pressed her back to the nearest tree as the light in her eyes dimmed. “You people thought she was gone, didn’t you? My mistake.”

Was she talking about Clara’s sister? The one who died before the twins were born? “Unless you’ve been holding séances in your basement, yeah, I’d say she’s gone.”

Wallace shook his head a few times in my peripheral vision, but I didn’t want to draw attention to it.

Gail rolled her eyes. “Contrary to what you’ve been led to believe, my grandmother did not die during her service in South America. Yes, it’s true she was caught in the crossfire of civil unrest, but those human physicians were simply too overcome with fatalities to make a thorough inspection of her body. With her gifts, she was able to emerge from a fresh, shallow grave.”

“That’s believable,” I said, not buying any of it. “Because, if she survived, she’d have no reason to contact her family.”

She smiled. “So cynical. Funny, for a moment, I thought you’d fled your world to play in ours.”

“So…” Wallace cleared this throat and lowered me to the ground. “You’re telling us Faye faked her own death?”

My eyes nearly popped out of my skull. “Wallace!”

He let go of my jacket and I staggered back, too overcome with relief to say anything else. I wanted to throw my arms around his waist, to hug him, kiss him, bury my face in his chest—but I couldn’t. This wasn’t the time to let my guard down.

“Impossible,” Gail shrieked, pushing off of the tree. “You shouldn’t be moving.”

“Yeah?” Wallace’s voice dropped to a lethal level. “Well, I am. So, maybe you shouldn’t be moving, either.”

She huffed. “I took you once. You don’t think I can do it again?”

“No.” His mouth formed a thin line. “You look a little spent to me.”

“And you look guilty,” Gail spat. “Tell me, could you feel the bones snap when you grabbed her?”

His eyes flashed and, before I realized what was happening, he’d charged past the torches.

“Wait!” I managed to wedge myself between them and put my good hand on his chest. “We need to figure out what’s going on first. Do you know where Clara is?”

Wallace shook his head, and I realized Gail was right. He
did
look guilty. Really guilty. “No.”

“There’s a shock,” Gail muttered from behind me. “Why don’t I save you some time? She’s at the lake with Faye.”

Again with the zombie grandmother? I glanced over my shoulder. “Why don’t you just call her Grandma?”

Gail’s lip curled in disgust. “I refuse to refer to our head by such a juvenile title.”

“Head of what?” Wallace asked. “And if Faye lived through the South American incident, why didn’t she tell anyone?”

Ugh.
Too many questions.

Gail slipped past us. “From what I understand, she returned to find her ‘grieving’ fiancé—a Mr. Frederick Blake—in bed with her sister. Not exactly the warm reception she hoped for.”

Wallace turned to face her, leaving me with a shadowed view of his back. “Grandpa Freddy was engaged to Faye?”

“Wait,” I cut in, and reclaimed my spot beside him. “Why didn’t she bust them? If I found my fiancé in bed with anyone, let alone my own sister, I’d destroy him.”

Gail shrugged. “I guess she saw it as an opportunity to make a fresh start. We should all be grateful.”

“Grateful?” Wallace didn’t sound convinced.

“She’s since devoted her life to the revolution, a vision both she and my grandfather share. A mission with unfathomable possibility.” Gail pronounced each word carefully, her eyes glazed with promise. “We will usher in an era of peace, unsullied by human hands…at least, not in their present state. Our awakened faction shall rise to power, and the days of war and illness will fade.”

Cult much?
If she busted out sugary, fruit-flavored drinks, I was out of there.

Wallace straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. “How?”

“This world is a troubled place, Wallace. We shall winnow as we see fit, imparting the deserving with the potential to survive—leaving the rest to suffer grievously for their crimes.”

“How?” Wallace and I repeated at the same time. We shared an awkward glance and diverted our attention back to Gail.

“It’s something we’ve been looking into for a number of years now. I have foreseen its potential.” A wry grin twisted her features. “A metaphorical transfusion, of sorts.”

His eyes darkened, and I could feel his unease build inside me. “Explain.”

“No need to be rude,” she chided, smug in her sudden leverage. “As I’m sure you’re aware, there are many things that set us apart from humanity. Given enough study, some of those differences are identifiable—not our gifts, of course, but our senses…our inherit strength and balance…our reflexes…”

She pressed her fingertips together in a steeple. “These are abilities humans already possess to a lesser extent. We’ve found that manipulating those aspects, based on our superior model, has the potential to yield promising results—a race transformed by the union of two, distinct influences.”

“Uh, isn’t that what you guys are anyway?” I asked. “Half-human, half-Dynari?”

Wallace stared at me for a moment and shook his head.
Great.

“We’re not
half
anything,” Gail corrected. “When we’re conceived, our bloodline overpowers and eclipses human development. It’s bound into every fiber of our being and does not dilute from generation to generation.”

“And these experiments of yours?”

She grinned. “Think of them as enhancements—the subjects forcibly evolved. Some of their human limitations will persist but should be overshadowed by newer, more heightened ability.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Well, someone thinks they’re clever.”

“Quite.” Her grin widened. “Anything else you’re dying to know?”

How about why you’re feeding us information?
She’d laid her cards on the table before anyone thought to call. It was weird.

“Forcibly evolved,” Wallace muttered. “What will you do with this army of yours?”

“We’ve been gifted with these abilities for a reason, Wallace. The world needs restoration. Can’t you see that? We will be the catalyst for the new order.” She paused, sizing him up. “And Faye thinks you would make a most powerful ally.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “No.”

“Excuse me?”

I felt compelled to position myself between them again. “He said he’s not interested.”

“You make it sound like he has a choice,” she laughed, all semblance of normalcy lost from her features. “If you’re not working for us, we’ll have no use for you. Either of you. You think what I did to your brother was bad, Wallace? I’ll torture you for weeks, months even. Then one day, when you least expect it, you’ll get the sudden urge to end it all. Slow and messy. The worst kind of—”

I reached out and grabbed her collar with my good hand, gritting my teeth. “I suggest you shut your mouth, before I shut it for you.”