Godling (Kairenz Jistora Book 1)

by Dusks, Rydre

  I didn't expect him to answer it. With how popular he was, his phone was sure to be constantly invaded with calls from citizens all over GreyCross. To my surprise, it was answered on the third ring.

  "…Azo? Ies es Allan Dentrin ne Saydea ne te Futora."

  "Dentrin, it’s Crow Hightower."

  Displeased surprise took over his tone. "Oh, Crow Hightower. What are you doing calling me at such an early time?"

  I shuddered, huddling on the bathroom floor with the door closed. I felt cold, but my skin gave off an immense amount of heat. "Listen, I'm sorry if I woke you, but I’m incredibly sick."

  "I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps you need the help of a medical practitioner--not a bio-engineer."

  "No, you don’t get it. The cuts I received from that failed experiment are completely inflamed. I'm suffering from a fever and intense nausea. What the hell was that thing?"

  There was a lengthy pause before Dentrin answered, and when he did, his tone was reluctant. "I suppose you should come see me right away. It's possible the chemical cultivated inside that biological creation has contaminated your bloodstream. If that's the case, it’s highly toxic and only Saydea has the cure for the infection."

  "What happens if I don't seek help?"

  "Well, to be frank, Crow, it could probably kill you."

  I was a bit perturbed by this, but I knew there were no options left to me. If the bio-weapons in Saydea were top secret, it was unlikely that a common hospital would have an antidote to the infection.

  "Well, that's rather absolute. I guess I better come in."

  Dentrin's still sounded as if he were dragging his feet a bit. "I'll make sure to have everything ready for you when you arrive."

  I ended the call with Dentrin and left the bathroom after taking some pills to lessen the fever. I threw on a clean pair of clothes and readied for the day. I could only hope that Stelliot would not awaken from a bad dream and cry for me like he sometimes tended to do in the early mornings. It pained me to not be there for him, but my growing symptoms forced me out the door. I could only hope Toanwar would hear him in my stead.

  Five minutes later I backed out of the driveway and drove down the street while checking the time. It was long before the sun would break across the sky. Toanwar would be awake in just a couple of hours, expecting to prepare Stelliot, Zlade, and me for a trip to the cemetery. As I hoped I would be back before then, I realized how silly it was of me to panic. If Toanwar were to wake up early, he would just assume I'd left for work.

  I stopped in the massive parking lot of Saydea, getting out and rushing for the entry doors. The hasty movement was unfriendly with my stomach, but I managed to keep my body under control. I strode inside and up to the front desk, taking in the sight of the robotic secretary.

  "I need to see Dr. Dentrin," I stated, and the assistant paged him without question. There was no one in the lobby this early in the morning, but most of the lights were on. I knew portions of the center were open at all times, but had expected at least some lights to be off and doors to be locked shut.

  Moments later Dentrin strode briskly into the lobby to see me. He was in a white lab coat as he was the day before, and he appeared rushed.

  "Ah... you arrived rather quickly, Crow."

  My dislike immediately surfaced. "Only because you told me I was going to die. From your creation, I might add. Do you sleep here or something?"

  He glossed over my accusation, seeming excited about something. "I hardly ever sleep when I'm working on a big project."

  Though every instinct yanked at me to turn and run out of there as fast as possible, my sickness urged me forward. Dentrin gestured at me as I approached. "This way please, Crow."

  My stomach began to churn again as I trailed behind Dentrin. He led the way to an open lab room, where counters and cupboards line the walls. Crowded in between everything were tables piled with scientific equipment. I wondered how anyone would be able to find anything in all the mess, but there seemed to be some form of organization as Dentrin closed the door and led me straight to a table with a large stack of papers on it. Next to the pile were two beakers full of a clear liquid.

  "I hurried to get things prepared," Dentrin commented. "We don’t have prototoxine on hand for security reasons, so I had to take an emergency trip down to the chem labs to mix some up."

  "Proto-what?"

  He smiled thinly. "Prototoxine. It's a solution that counteracts this particular infection. Believe it or not, it's not the first time this has happened."

  Of course it wasn't. "And do you also happen to use this solution in your experiments?" I pried, taking a seat in a chair next to the table while eyeing the beakers.

  Dentrin searched in a cupboard for a moment, pulling out a couple gauze pads. "Since you're determined to expose me to the world, Mr. Hightower, I don't know if I should tell you much about my experiments until you have a clearer head. Your current situation would not allow you to appreciate what it is we do here."

  I gritted my teeth. This bastard had me squarely in his grip, and he was well aware of this. "So you're injecting me with an unknown solution. I think I'd rather die." I started to stand and walk toward the door, but the dizziness chose then to return, and I collapsed back into a nearby chair.

  "Don't be ridiculous, Crow. I'm sure others know you're here and will be expecting your safe return. Besides, I have no interest in killing you. I told you, you'll see things differently once your head is cleared."

  "So I'm just supposed to let you inject me with whatever that is and trust you?"

  "Unless you wish to leave your son without a father, I suggest we stop arguing about this and you hold still."

  Stelliot again. I knew nothing about Dentrin and here he was continually stabbing at my biggest weak point. He went on speaking as he drew out a syringe from a nearby drawer and filled it with the liquid from one of the beakers.

  "Besides, this isn't an experimental drug by any means. It's been proven to work, and it's even paved the road to success for my High Saydea Project. It's reaped from a very special place in Iason and improved to replicate godlike divinity. I created it myself."

  I snapped. There was no way he was getting anywhere near me with that needle. "No."

  There was a manic glint in Dentrin's eye when he spoke again, though his voice was gentle. "If you leave now, Crow, you will die."

  "I don't care!" I rose again after making sure I was steady, hurrying for the door. I'd underestimated Dentrin's determination, however, and he beat me there with his syringe at the ready. His free hand landed on the door handle to stop me from grabbing it.

  "Come now, Crow," he crooned. I felt a shiver of disgust creep through my spine. "Why don't you sit down before you end up on the floor? There are no side effects to this drug besides an increased mental capacity. Some have reported odd dreams and temporary dizziness, but those pass quickly."

  "Get out of my way, Dentrin." My words slurred together, and I cursed mentally. Another wave of nausea hit, and this time I couldn't hold it in. I ran for one of the sinks and emptied what was left in my stomach. As I bent over the sink, I felt something cool on the back of my neck, and then a sharp prick at the base of my skull.

  "Don't move or you're going to dislodge the needle, and it will be stuck in your neck." There was a rushing sensation that swept through my entire head, and abruptly the nausea cleared. A bright explosion of color overtook my vision, and then the stinging sensation withdrew. "There, that wasn't so bad."

  "Dentrin, you..." I couldn't think of a name foul enough to call him, and my head was still awash with the bizarre stream of colors. It made it difficult to think clearly.

  "Calm yourself, Crow. Your symptoms will disappear soon, and you'll even be well enough to drive home without being a danger to others."

  The colors slowly faded away, and I fixed the scientist with the purest look of hatred I could manage. He merely chuckled in response.

  "Goodness, what a face. I saved you
r life, Mr. Hightower."

  "Without my consent!" I managed to spit out. "What is that going to do to me?"

  "In all likely cases, nothing. It will rid you of the infection and remain in your system. Dormant." He disposed of the used needle in a hazard bin and turned his back to me to clean up his supplies.

  "I don't want this in my system! What have you done to me, Dentrin?" I wanted so badly to smash one of those standing glass beakers into the side of his smug expression.

  He returned my fire with a darkened stare. "I've saved your life, Crow. I told you that. I think a little gratitude is in order."

  "You attacked me!"

  "You were being highly irrational and refusing treatment."

  My nails dug into my palms, and the pain helped chase away the lingering fog in my mind. "You're insane."

  Dentrin sighed in exasperation as he turned back to me. "Honestly, do you treat everyone this way?"

  "Only psychos who interfere with my normal everyday life!"

  Dentrin's lips quirked up at the corners, as if I'd just told him a joke. "Oh Crow Hightower, you're anything but normal."

  My hand slipped inside my coat, and I slid my fingers along the handle of my Jux. What I wouldn't give to draw my weapon now and end this man's life before he caused anymore chaos in my own. Dentrin noticed my movement, and he shifted uneasily. "Now Crow, if you kill me here you'll never know how unique you are. You and my High Saydea Project have much in common, you know."

  That finally stopped me. "...What?"

  Dentrin leaned forward, his eyes alight. “Wouldn't you like to know why I have such an interest in you? How I know you?"

  I removed my hand from the inside of my coat, tucking both of them into my pockets instead and eyeing the scientist critically. The manic glint was gone from his eyes, but there was something about his demeanor that still set me on edge. "Fine, I'll humor you. Then I'm going to walk out of here and tell everyone precisely what you've done to me."

  He didn't seem to notice my threat. "Do you recall the very first days you arrived in GreyCross? Mr. Tojoru took you to the GreyCross Sendredin Hospital to have a full check-up and a lot of base tests done to make sure you were healthy before he adopted you."

  "How do you know about that?" I demanded.

  "You were the talk of the hospitals, Crow. Everyone in the medical field wanted to hear about the little dark-skinned boy from the forest. Ninety-five percent of Iason's population has never seen an Anli, you know.

  "Moving on, I came into possession of your brain scans after word was that you'd suffered a vicious concussion. I'd happened to visit the Sendredin facility to pick up supplies when I caught wind of the gossip. To be honest with you, I was curious. And so I crept in and took a look at your file. I noticed something different about your imaging that wasn't due to the concussion."

  I frowned. "Which was...?" I recognized what he was talking about. I had suffered some head trauma back in the Gasaidiatt after my birth father had attacked me. My only option was to escape the forest, where by luck I ran across Kajaru Tojoru, an Iasona Strejc headed to Iason from the Rove Desert, who was compassionate enough to take me in and take care of me.

  Dentrin raised a bony forefinger to tap at an invisible image in the air in front of him, his eyes defocusing. "An interesting swell had occurred around the concussion area. Normally something of that magnitude would permanently damage somebody's everyday brain functions. You should have been a vegetable. But there you were... fully cognitive, coherent, and continuing on as if it were an everyday bruise. And there was something else. Something new that I'd only seen in one other person besides yourself."

  I waited for him to continue.

  "There was something else going on in your brain that only Velzae, my very first HSP, had relation with. A vivid portion of your brain marking a growth identical to one in Velzae. Before then, I'd thought that it was only due to Velzae being an experimental human that he had a mutation in his brain. But you, Crow, were of natural birth, and from what I'd understood... you had a completely primitive upbringing."

  "So, you're saying I have a brain mutation. How come I didn't know about those scans? Kajaru had only told me that the doctors said everything was fine with me."

  "In essence, you were fine. It was a noticeable detail, but anyone outside of Saydea wouldn't have taken an interest in it like I did. I saw it because I was familiar with it."

  "So you're interested in me because I have the same defect that your creation has," I concluded. "That's it?"

  "Oh, no, Crow! It's not a defect! If anything, it's an advancement. You're a very rare, very special person here in GreyCross. Not only are you superbly resilient, but you are the only person I know of with an additional growth that matches almost exactly to my creation. Now doesn't that sound odd to you that you have a connection to my Velzae when you two are of completely opposite births?"

  "For all you know, Dentrin, it could be genetic. You'd have to test another Anli, perhaps even my blood relatives, to be sure you didn't just manage to grow a 'primitive' brain inside your experiment."

  "True," he agreed. "That, and your growth seems to have no function. I wished to research Velzae's and understand its purpose, but he broke out of the facility before any major breakthroughs in his studies happened."

  I hear you.

  The sudden voice in my thoughts startled me, and I stumbled back a step, my eyes wide.

  Dentrin watched me in surprise. "Are you okay?"

  "Why would I be okay?" I snapped, feeling my hackles rise again. This had to be another trick of his. However, I didn't recognize the tone, and it was so incredibly loud. It had sounded like a child with their ear against a door, stifling a giggle as they listened in on a private conversation. I waited a moment to see if the voice would speak again.

  "You ought to be feeling alright by now. Prototoxine takes away ailments relatively quickly."

  Dentrin's voice broke into my focus. I hushed him with a raised finger, my eyes defocusing.

  I want to see you.

  There it was again, quieter this time. The voice was distinctly young.

  Without knowing why, I turned on my heel and walked out. There was a tugging sensation in my chest, and I felt a pull to delve deeper into Saydea. Against all reason, I headed for the nearest elevator.

  "What are you doing?" Dentrin's voice sounded slightly breathless, and I realized that he'd followed me out of the lab.

  "Take me down to the High Saydea Project room."

  He bristled at my demand and caught up to me. "I'll do no such thing!"

  I glanced over at him, almost seeing through him. "I need to see him. Alone."

  There must have been something in my expression that gave Dentrin pause. "Why do you need to see him? And how do you know it's a him?"

  "Just let me through. I'll forget the fact that you assaulted me and injected me with Sol knows what."

  Though reluctant, my flat-toned promise seemed to mollify the scientist to a degree. Besides that, there was an unquenchable look of curiosity in his eyes. He wanted to know why I was drawn to the Project even more than I did. "Very well, but I will be watching your every move, Crow Hightower."

  He handed me a key card, which I swiped to open the elevators. As I stepped in and the doors closed behind me, there was a mounting excitement blossoming in my chest that wasn't entirely my own. Almost in a daze I stepped out onto the proper floor, my boots ringing against the metallic ground.

  There was no sign of the experiment I'd shot just yesterday, save a few smatterings of blood on some capsules. The broken tank was also still present, and my shoes crunched on glass as I tread by it. I surveyed the ominous atmosphere of the room Phazer and I were attacked in. The massive green tank rested as arresting as I had seen it previously. Before I could come any closer, a wave of invading energy shot through my head.

  Here you are!

  The piercing voice was even louder down here than it had been on the second floor.


  My name is Sylvain. You must be one of the humans that was attacked by the project yesterday.

  “And if I am?” I responded challengingly. “Why am I down here? What do you want with me?”

  I can read your thoughts, human. There is no need to speak aloud, as I cannot in my current state.

  My eyes surveyed the room again and were irresistibly drawn to the large central tank. It was only then that the realization came to me. The only other sentient being in this room was whatever was in the green unit in front of me. As I eyed it, I watched the blurry shape of a child’s hand press against the glass.

  I read everyone’s thoughts but you are the first to read mine in return. Tell me--Are you related to me?

  I pulled my eyebrows together and attempted to make out the redheaded figure through the liquid, alarmed and no longer feeling comfortable where I stood. I took several steps back toward the door and refused to answer.

  I need your help--I need to get out. I shouldn't be in here, you see. There is a lot of work to be done here on Kairenz.

  Forget this. I wasn’t about to succumb any further to Saydea’s twisted schemes. I turned around and stepped back out the door, but the same pulling sensation I’d experienced in my chest forced my feet to betray me. I nearly tripped over myself as I dashed back inside the room.

  I can play with your mind. I can get you to do things because I have that power. You will walk over there and push the button to release me--I can make you.

  No one, and not even experimental creatures like you, could have "powers," I retorted, now staying on my guard. I felt rising fear in the pit of my stomach from knowing that the abomination had a grip on my agency. If I couldn’t escape it, I would confront it.

  Hush your imperfect human thoughts and release me--I have work to do.

  I wasn't sure how I'd been so compelled to walk to the monitor, but now I felt as though I were in a threatening situation. If this thing could read my thoughts and get me to do things against my will, then it truly was dangerous.