Claimed

by Sarah Fine

  Declan took Galena’s hand again. “No objections here. We’ll take all the help we can get.” He turned to Galena. “Do you know where we’re going? You’ve been there before?”

  Galena nodded. “I interviewed for the job in her office. I can picture it.” She hoped. Her fingers trembled a little as she pulled her Scope from its chain. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard, picturing the antique wooden desk, the large holographic computer screen set into its surface, the elegant wooden office chair with embroidered cushions, the late twentieth-century art reproductions on the walls, one a painting of naked women dancing on a hillside . . . she tried to imagine every single detail. Then she brushed her thumb across the raven etching and opened the Scope.

  Relief drew a smile to her face. “I did it!” Her eyes met Dec’s, and he grinned. Galena’s breath caught at how gorgeous it was, at how much she wanted to put that look on his face more often. “So do we just—?”

  “Go ahead,” said Dec.

  Galena opened her Scope wide. Tamasin stepped through first. Galena knew Kere could appear anywhere, but she guessed they needed to know the place or the person they were looking for in order to move through the Veil accurately. Dec went next, and Galena followed him. She looked around Dr. Cassidy’s office.

  “There doesn’t appear to be anyone in the office,” said Tamasin, her gaze scanning along the videowall, the cluster of couches and chairs in the spacious meeting area, and the single shelf of antique books. Galena smiled. She remembered asking about the books in her interview, and Dr. Cassidy had proudly showed them to her, allowing her to hold one in her hands and flip through its fragile pages. It was the first time she’d ever held a printed book in her hands. Then her smile died. Dr. Cassidy now thought she was out of her mind. She and the other tenured faculty were considering firing her; Galena knew it. As much as she wished she could confide in Dr. Cassidy and explain everything, Galena was a fugitive now. She couldn’t resurface until she had actual proof of her innocence.

  “Can I just step into the real world?” she asked.

  “Wait here.” Tamasin strode over to the door to the office and pushed through it while Galena and Dec waited, chilled and shivering.

  Galena looked over at Dec. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He nodded, staring at the door Tamasin had walked through. “Just thinking about Trevor,” he muttered. “I can’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t in complete control of himself. And if he wasn’t, then what if—”

  “There’s some sort of meeting going on in a conference room down the hall,” Tamasin said as she walked through the gelatinous door. “There are twelve attending, and no one is in the outer office.”

  Galena wondered if they were meeting about her. She was not only the suspected mastermind of a mass-murder plot—she was also a fugitive. If they didn’t fire her, she would be shocked. Determination surged within her. She’d worked too hard for too long to let it end here. “I’m going in, then.”

  “I’m going with you,” said Dec. He glanced at Tamasin.

  “I’ll remain here to guard,” said the Ker.

  Galena opened her Scope, and she and Dec stepped into the warmth of the real world once more, inhaling the faintly floral scent of Dr. Cassidy’s perfume. Galena’s heart raced as she approached the desk.

  Behind her, Dec cursed softly, and she turned to find him staring at the screen of his phone. “What’s wrong?”

  “Aislin’s been texting me for the last two hours,” he whispered. “No reception on Baffin, and electronics don’t work in the Veil, so I just received them. She says she needs me to come immediately.” He scrolled through the messages, shaking his head. “Something major happened.”

  “Go, Dec,” Galena murmured, hating the worry lines that had appeared between his brows. “Tamasin’s here, and I know what I’m doing. We can meet back at the cabin.”

  He walked toward her, his fingers trailing down her arm, raising goose bumps of pleasure and longing. “You sure?”

  She nodded. “Go. It sounds important.”

  “Okay. But keep your eyes open. And be careful. We still don’t know that Trevor is the only enemy we have in the Veil. I’ll be with you again as soon as I can.”

  Dec pulled his Scope from its chain and disappeared into it in less than five seconds. She blinked at the place he’d been, hoping he’d be okay, then returned her attention to the broad screen set into the desk. Time to figure out what the hell was going on. Dr. Cassidy would have “view” access to all her subordinates’ user accounts so she could supervise and review the basic data if necessary. Galena wanted to look more closely at the timing of the messages to Jian, and maybe at the tech-support messages. There had been a lot of setup involved in creating the secure network perimeter for her lab, and maybe one of the computer techs had been sending the messages. She’d have to read them to know for sure.

  Dr. Cassidy was already signed in, so Galena navigated to her own employee file. The complete history of her cyberactivity filled the screen. Galena swiped downward to access the earlier actions, all the way back to the beginning, looking for anything suspicious like password resets or addition of entry points into the system. Knowing Dr. Cassidy could return at any moment, she entered a search term to refine the results. Tamasin would warn her, but if she left without the evidence she needed, she might not have another chance.

  The computer asked her for verification, and Galena tapped “Yes,” but instead of giving her the results of the search, an overlay appeared.

  Updating . . .

  Galena cursed. In her rush, she hadn’t been paying attention, and the verification she’d entered had started a file update. She jabbed her finger at the “Cancel” icon, but it was too late—one of the files had already been tagged. It would show that there had been someone accessing the data. She blew out a halting breath and pulled up the file to delete the tag.

  And her heart almost stopped. The system update she was trying to delete wasn’t tagged with Dr. Cassidy’s user identity.

  It was tagged with hers.

  But her account was supposed to be frozen. And Dr. Cassidy’s user icon was clearly visible at the top of the screen. “What the heck is going on,” Galena whispered.

  Her fingers trembling, she hit the “Command” tab to archive the modified file, and once again, the system recorded that the activity was completed by GalenaMargolis.

  Suddenly the unexplained tech-support messages made complete sense, even though her lips were tingling with the shock of the betrayal. She resumed the search and finally found the request she was dreading. Twenty-seven days ago, GalenaMargolis had requested that tech support allow full remote access for Dr. Cassidy.

  Her boss had set up a way to impersonate her. Dr. Cassidy was responsible for all of it. With this kind of shadow access, all she’d had to do was send Jian messages at times she knew Galena was alone in the lab. It would look like they’d come from Galena’s secure system.

  Her hands shook as she aimed the scanning port of Dec’s phone at the port next to the desk screen. She had to upload all the messages and audit logs or she wouldn’t have proof. But even as she activated the upload, her mind was a chaotic mess of questions and disbelief. After bringing her to Harvard, after taking such good care of her, Dr. Cassidy had impersonated her and blackmailed Jian into destroying everything connected to Galena’s research. Why? Was it jealousy? Had Dr. Cassidy wanted the credit herself, so she’d decided to get rid of Galena and take over? But then why would she destroy the lab? Why wouldn’t she just try to discredit Galena? Hell, why hadn’t she just killed her?

  Was she working with Trevor? Luke? Or Rylan, somehow? He’d been imprisoned for only a week, and the requests for access to her user account had been made weeks ago. Had he set this into motion?

  Dec would help her figure it out. She hoped he was all right, that whatever had happened at Psychopomps wouldn’t keep him long.

  “What the hell are you doing in here?” sn
apped a harsh voice.

  Galena startled, knocking the phone’s port out of alignment and halting the upload of the audit trails. She looked up to see Dr. Cassidy standing in the doorway of her inner office, clearly livid.

  “Dr. Cassidy,” she said. “I needed to talk to you.” She leaned on the desk, trying to move the phone’s port back in line.

  “I have nothing to talk to you about,” Dr. Cassidy barked. “You’re nothing but a selfish bitch who stole credit from good scientists in her race to the top.”

  Galena gaped at her, confusion and rage rolling hot across her skin. “Stole credit? What are you talking about?” She made a quick adjustment of the phone. The screen let out a single beep to signal the upload had recommenced.

  Dr. Cassidy scowled as she noticed the phone. “Just like you’re stealing from me now,” she said as she stalked across the room. “How typical. Get away from there.”

  Galena stood her ground as the woman advanced. “I won’t let you destroy everything I’ve worked so hard for.”

  Dr. Cassidy shook her head, her silvery hair glinting under the warm overhead light. “Everything you’ve worked hard for? What about me? I worked my whole life for the kind of recognition you got before you were even out of graduate school, only to have you show up, use all the results of my decades of research, and get short-listed for the Nobel!”

  She reached the corner of the desk, and Galena braced. Any second, the upload would be complete, and she could grab the phone and find a way to disappear into the Veil. All she needed was—

  Dr. Cassidy whipped her desk drawer open and came up with a handgun, a small sleek weapon that she cradled in her palm, one finger curling over the trigger. Galena’s vision tunneled as Dr. Cassidy took aim. Right at Galena’s chest. “Step away from the desk,” Dr. Cassidy said, her voice steady and quiet. “It’s time for this to end.”

  Galena began to raise her arms. Where was Tamasin? Why hadn’t she given a warning?

  We still don’t know that Trevor is the only enemy we have in the Veil, Dec had said. For all she knew, Tamasin was in on this. And with Dec gone, she was all alone. “Why did you do this to me?” Galena asked Dr. Cassidy, her voice cracking. “I thought you were on my side.”

  “And I thought you were on mine. Step away from the desk.” Each word was delivered from between clenched teeth.

  “Dr. Cassidy, is everything—?” There was a gasp by the door, and Galena’s gaze flicked in that direction. She registered brown hair and glasses before she returned her attention to Dr. Cassidy, who was also looking toward the door.

  “Erin, I want you to call the police,” Dr. Cassidy called out.

  Galena’s gaze swept across the room again, confusion twisting inside her. “Erin?”

  It was the young Ker that they’d met in the Veil that night with Luke. The one who had accompanied Trevor to Jian’s place. She tilted her head. “Galena Margolis,” she said, her voice full of curiosity.

  Galena looked back and forth between the two women, a new suspicion poking its head above the surface of her shock.

  The system beeped. Upload complete. Panicked, Galena grabbed for her Scope and the phone at the same time. Her fingers closed around both as the shot rang out. Her chest filled with sharp, molten pain that radiated in waves down her limbs. She stumbled backward, her legs failing her. I thought I was immortal. Lying on her back, she looked down to see the blood soaking her shirt. But I guess that doesn’t make me bulletproof.

  “You saw her,” shouted Dr. Cassidy, her voice breaking. “She was attacking me!”

  Galena’s fingers clamped around her Scope. Dec said wounds didn’t heal in the Veil. Still, it was her only shot at escape. As Dr. Cassidy came toward her, taking aim once more, Galena kicked out, knocking the gun from the woman’s bony hand. It landed next to Galena’s shoulder. She shoved Dec’s phone into her pocket, wincing at the grinding pain in her chest. Her breathing was labored, and her mouth tasted like salt and iron. Blood. But she was still able to think, still able to move. Her body must be healing itself.

  Dr. Cassidy lunged for the weapon, and behind her, Galena could see Erin standing, watching. She wasn’t calling the police. Or maybe she already had. Either way, the gunshot would have people coming on the run. Galena flailed, knocking the gun farther out of reach as Erin leaned over and touched Dr. Cassidy’s leg. “Stop, Dr. Cassidy,” she said gently.

  Instead of obeying, Dr. Cassidy’s face contorted with rage. “You’ve ruined everything,” she shrieked at Galena, who clumsily shoved the smaller woman off of her. Her knee came up and hit Dr. Cassidy in the stomach, and the woman fell against the desk, gasping. Galena brushed her thumb over the Scope as Dr. Cassidy clawed viciously at her leg. “You’re going to pay for everything you’ve done!”

  Galena stomped her foot into Dr. Cassidy’s face as the woman came for her again. With a crunching snap, the woman fell backward, her hand over her face. Galena flung open the portal to the Veil and pulled it over herself quickly, groaning with the pain.

  She lay on the squishy floor of the Veil, her Scope still clutched in her fist. Through the window into the real world, she could still see Dr. Cassidy lying sprawled on her back, writhing as blood flowed between her fingers. Erin was crouched over her, trying to pry her hands from her face. Then the Ker raised her head and gave Galena a calm, unreadable look.

  Galena compacted her Scope. The last few minutes had utterly scrambled her brain, but she didn’t have the time to figure it all out now. Fresh waves of pain crashed in her chest, and she shivered, her shirt saturated and dripping with red. Her head was spinning. Loss of blood. You have to get back into the real world.

  Slowly, the ringing in her ears quieted, allowing her to hear noises coming from the other side of the gelatinous desk that shielded her from the rest of the room. Galena flopped over on her belly and dragged herself forward with her elbows, flinching as she heard a growl, then ripping. Wondering if her bodyguard had turned on her, too, Galena carefully peeked around the edge of the desk.

  Tamasin, her braids swinging, threw a hard kick at a tall olive-skinned man with glowing red eyes. Another Ker. “Nader,” Tamasin shouted. “Stop!”

  He didn’t listen. As soon as he recovered his balance, he dove for Tamasin, his claws extended. She threw herself to the side to avoid getting torn to shreds, and her red gaze landed on Galena. Her expression hardened with determination. As Nader leaped for her once more, Tamasin lunged for Galena and grabbed her arm. With a whoosh of hot air, the office disappeared.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Dec stepped into the real world, right in the middle of Aislin’s office, to find his two sisters standing there.

  “. . . Moros gets here, he’ll have to explain,” Aislin was saying.

  “Eli said he’d try to find him,” Cacy said.

  Aislin gave her a curt nod and turned to Dec. “Where have you been?”

  “Out of touch, apparently. What’s going on?”

  “Where’s Galena?” asked Cacy, who was wearing shorts and a frilly blouse, looking far more harmless than she actually was.

  “Doing what she needs to do,” Dec replied, never taking his eyes off Aislin.

  “She could be in great danger,” Aislin snapped.

  Dec frowned. “You’re the one who presents the greatest danger to her now that she’s a Ferry.” It felt so strange and wonderful to be able to say that. Galena was a Ferry. Not invincible . . . but immortal at least. “What’s happened?”

  Aislin crossed her arms over her chest. “Rylan escaped.”

  “What?”

  “He was aided by a Ker.”

  “Which one?”

  “Which one do you think, Declan?” shouted Aislin. “The one you brought here! We gave him the perfect opportunity—he saw where Rylan was. That was all he needed.”

  Dec’s eyes went wide. “Do you have surveillance video? Because Trevor wouldn’t—” Wait . . . would he?

  Aislin must have seen his doubt.
“You are a fool, Declan, and so am I. His ‘confession’ was a ruse so he could get to Rylan.”

  Dec looked back and forth between Aislin and Cacy, his thoughts reeling. He would have bet his life Trev had been utterly sincere. But Trev had also said that disconnected feeling came and went—what if it had happened again? Why hadn’t he thought of that? “Weren’t there guards in the Veil? Did they see him? Did anyone talk to him?” A cold tide of dread rose inside him. “Did he hurt anyone?”

  Aislin pressed her fingertips to her temples and clamped her eyes shut. She muttered something about her head exploding and walked over to her desk.

  “It happened really fast,” Cacy said quietly as Aislin’s fingernails tapped on the screen set into her desk. “While the guards were distracted.”

  “You’re serious,” Declan said.

  She nodded. “It’s an unpleasant job hanging out in the Veil, and freaking boring, and I guess they were arguing about something stupid, and the next thing they knew, Trevor and Ry were gone.”

  “More evidence for the Keepers,” said Aislin, looking up from her screen. “Somehow, in the ten days I’ve been the Charon, I’ve managed to provide them with everything they need to take us down.”

  “We can fix this,” said Cacy. “We just have to find Trevor and Ry.”

  “Preferably before they strike,” said Dec. It was all he could do not to pull his Scope open and race back to Galena’s side. If Trev was out of control again and determined to get to Moros, Galena might be his prime target. The only thing keeping Dec in the room was the knowledge that she was immortal and that Tamasin was by her side. “We need Eli or Moros. Did Eli really think he could find him?”

  “He said he would try,” Cacy muttered.

  “We don’t know that this isn’t exactly what Moros wants,” snapped Aislin. “He claims to be trying to track down the rogue Kere, or at least figuring out how they were able to go rogue, but he has been conveniently absent as we deal with the results of his failed control over the creatures he created.”

  Dec shifted his weight from foot to foot, thinking of what Rylan had said to him right before he’d escaped, about who was powerful enough to take control of the deadly game they were all playing. “I think someone else might be controlling Trevor. Cacy, you know him. Does any of this sound like stuff he would do?”