Janine leans forward. “Griffon says that when you connected with Rayne, you were able to go much deeper than before.” She watches my face, gauging my reaction to her words. “That you were able to actually see images rather than just feel emotions.”
I nod. “I did. For a few seconds. But I have no idea how. And it made me feel really sick.” I can see an exchange of glances around the room.
“Telempathy is a skill that so far exists only in legends and rumors,” Sue says. “To be able to master it would be something immensely valuable to the Sekhem.”
I remember the feeling of weakness and nausea after I made contact with Rayne. “I’m not in a big hurry to try it again.”
Sue holds up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “No one is asking you to,” she says. “None of us expect you to go that deeply at the Khered gathering. Just poke around a little, see if you can get any information from casual contact with the other guests. We need to find out who did this, and every minute that goes by puts everyone in more and more danger,” Sue says. Her mouth is set into a grim line, and I can feel the intensity in her gaze. “Anything you can give us is valuable at this point.”
“But they killed Veronique,” I say. “So she won’t be able to do something like this again. The worst of it’s over, right?”
I see wary glances flit across the room. “Not exactly,” Janine says.
Christophe clears his throat. “We have reason to believe that they didn’t go to the lab looking for Veronique. Someone got word of what she had been working on and went to get the formula. Veronique was just collateral damage.”
“When we searched the lab after the break-in,” Sue says, “we found evidence that files and samples had been taken. Which ordinarily wouldn’t be of too much concern; ergot fungus in its standard form isn’t going to do much damage. Even if it were spread as an epidemic, once it’s identified, it’s fairly easily treated, as you’ve been able to see. But Veronique was able to somehow synthesize a totally unknown form of ergot, one that has the capabilities of transforming the very essence of a person. As you’ve discovered, Veronique’s research did what nobody through time has been able to do—to create an Akhet from an ordinary Khem.”
“But how is that a threat?” I ask. “I suppose I get why some people would choose to be Akhet—the kind of immortality it brings. But I don’t see the harm.”
Janine smiles. “And I love that you don’t see it.”
“The harm is that the people who now have this knowledge in their possession aren’t good people,” Sue says. “And if you give the formula to the worst of the worst Khem, you can create a group of Akhet who exist not to help the world, but to destroy it in pursuit of their own fortune and power. A group who will get stronger and smarter with each passing lifetime, who will use that immortality to take risks like the world has never seen before.”
Janine leans forward. “Worse than any single rogue Akhet out to settle a score.” I can tell by the way she’s looking at me that she’s thinking of Veronique. “Imagine a Kim Jong-un or a Charles Manson who was given the formula. Think about what they could do with Akhet abilities and memory.” She’s silent for a moment. “Now think about hundreds of them. Thousands of them. Think about what that could do to the balance of world power in a very short time. Think of how much money that knowledge would be worth.”
I’m silent. In a few sentences, this has gone from being something personal with Rayne to having implications far beyond this lifetime. “So what can I do?”
“We think that there were Akhet involved, either people who knew Veronique or who heard about her work through others,” Janine says. “And we think it’s someone with ties to San Francisco, because they were able to get to the lab quickly and seem to know the area.”
“And you think that Khered are immoral enough to pull off something like this?”
I see glances shift around the room again. “Not all Khered,” Eric volunteers. “But the perpetrators are more likely to be Khered than Sekhem.”
“But what would they be doing at Drew’s party?”
“From what we can tell, it’s going to be one of the largest gatherings of Khered in recent weeks,” Sue says. “Not just local Khered, but Akhet from all over the world. And our intelligence has picked up a lot more activity in and around the city in the past few days.”
“We think that whoever was in charge of the break-in at the lab is still local,” Janine says. “We can only hope that they won’t be able to pass up a chance to make some more widespread connections, maybe make some under-the-table deals.”
“And you already have an introduction into that world,” Sue says.
“All we’re asking is that you go to the party and see if you can use your skills to find out if anyone has some inside knowledge of the break-in at the lab, or if anyone has been talking about it who might have more information than is available to ordinary Akhet,” Christophe says.
“We’re not even asking you to make deep contact with the others,” Janine says. “Griffon told me how much it took out of you when you did it with Rayne, and we don’t want you in any danger.”
“We will have some security for you,” Sue says. “Another Sekhem who has ties to the Khered world will be there to make sure nothing happens. She’s one of our top security people, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Why do I need security?”
“Probably you don’t,” Janine says. “But if the people involved in this are at the party and they figure out you’re reading them . . . they might not be too happy about it. Giselle is just a safety net that hopefully we won’t need.”
“Giselle?”
“She’s part of our security team—I think you met her.” Janine says. “She’s one of Griffon’s colleagues.”
Suddenly I’m a little less confident. “I met her,” I confirm. “If Giselle, Christophe, and Tetsuro are supposed to be working on the fuel cell lab, why are they involved in this?”
“Because they’re local now,” Sue says. “And they’re valuable members of the Sekhem.” She glances toward the window. “And Griffon trusts them, which is no small thing. We need to keep this incident as quiet as possible.”
“So you guys are it?” I ask. I look around the room. I don’t know how to put this, but they don’t seem like they can take down a group of rogue Akhet.
Janine grins like she knows what I’m thinking. “No. We’re just the Sekhem you’re going to deal with directly. There are many more sections in place that you don’t need to worry about.”
Everyone waits for me to say something else, to tell them that I’ll go along with the plan. Despite what they’ve said, I’m not really worried about my safety, although I wish the security detail could be someone else. It’s just that the whole thing feels like a betrayal. As much as I don’t want to be with Drew, not the way that Griffon thinks, I feel like going to his party to serve the Sekhem’s agenda is wrong. I look up at Griffon, who’s staring out the window.
“You’re awfully quiet,” I say to him.
“What?” he asks, turning back to the room.
“You haven’t said a word. Everyone else here has their reasons why I should do it, but you’re just sitting there.”
He looks like he’s been caught. “It’s your decision,” he says, his eyes everywhere in the room but on me. “I’m not part of this.”
“Then why are you here?”
There’s a slight pause. “Good question,” he says, getting to his feet and walking out the door.
A few people start to say something, but before I can think, I’m out the door behind him. I want to know why he’s hesitating, why he won’t come straight out and tell me to go.
“Wait a minute,” I call. He’s already to the stairs, but he stops when he hears my voice.
“What? You were right, I shouldn’t have been in there.”
“But you were. You sat there and listened to all of it.” I catch up to him. I want so badly to slide my fingers
through his. To have him put his arms around me once more so that this time I’ll know it’s the last time. “Is it the truth?”
“You should be able to figure that out,” he says, staring at the wall. “You’re the one with the empath skills. You can tell when someone is lying from ten feet away.”
“I want to hear it from you.” I force myself to keep going. “You’re the only one I feel like I can really trust.”
His eyes flick toward mine for just a second. “It’s the truth. Everything they said. We’ve never had a situation like this before, and despite appearances, everyone’s running scared.”
“And why Giselle? Why are they having Giselle babysit me at Drew’s apartment?”
“Because she’s the best.” As he says it, a shadow crosses his face, and I know I’m not imagining it. Giselle and Griffon have a past together.
“Do you think I should do it?”
Griffon hesitates and glances at the closed door of Janine’s office. “No.” His golden eyes widen and he looks directly at me for the first time. “It’s too dangerous. Even with Giselle there. This thing is way out of your league.”
“Out of my league?” I repeat, crossing my arms in front of me. “You just don’t think I’m good enough to help the Sekhem. That I still need to be protected by people who are bigger and smarter and stronger than I am.” I can feel my words tumble over each other as I speak, the anger building in my body. “Protect the poor innocent Shewi girl because she can’t help herself. That’s what this is about.”
“That’s not . . .” Griffon starts to say something, but instead pushes past me in frustration and takes the stairs two at a time. I stand at the top watching him go until I hear the outside door slam on the bottom floor, giving me a sense of satisfaction I haven’t felt in a while.
I can hear everyone talking as I open Janine’s office door, but they all fall silent as I enter. I look around at their expectant faces and realize it’s not just about me anymore.
“I’ll do it.”
Twenty-Three
I look out the window and watch the buildings go by on Market Street. It would be so easy to just stay on the bus, riding until it doesn’t go any farther and I’m the last person on board. But I already told Drew that I’d come and the Sekhem are expecting my help, so I pull myself out of my seat and push the red stop button.
After jumping to the pavement, I head toward the Embarcadero, looking in shop windows as I pass. I’ve been thinking all week about what to get Drew for a housewarming present, because it’s not like I can stop at a store and get him a nice bottle of wine like a normal dinner guest, and he can obviously buy anything else he needs. There’s a flower stand on the corner that’s still open and I stop to take a look, but bringing him a bunch of flowers would be weird.
“Can I help you?” An older woman in an apron appears at my side.
“I don’t think so,” I say, backing away.
“Is there a special occasion?”
“Housewarming,” I say. “But it’s for a guy, so flowers won’t really work.”
“How about a plant? A house isn’t really a home until there are some plants.” She leans around a big bucket of sunflowers and pulls a small pot of ivy off a shelf. “This one is guy-proof. Doesn’t take a lot of care and actually likes to dry out between waterings. He’ll have to try to kill it.”
I look around. It’s getting late and I can’t think of a better idea. “Okay. I’ll take it.”
“I’m sure he’ll love it.”
I continue down the street, feeling a little ridiculous with the plant in my hand, like I’m taking it out for a walk or something. I turn right and head toward Mission Street, checking the address on my phone as I go. I almost never come this far downtown, and I’m not sure I have the right place when I stop in front of the tallest building down here that has the right street numbers in gold over the front door.
I walk through the glass doors into what looks like the lobby of the fanciest hotel in town. The lighting is low, but it reflects off the different colored marble on the floors, where several cleanlined couches and chairs wait patiently on a large, ornate rug. I feel eyes on me and look over to see a man in a suit behind a large marble counter staring at me, because a girl in jeans carrying a pot of ivy is so obviously out of place here. I duck back out the door and grab my phone.
I hesitate before I pull up his number. Maybe this is a sign I shouldn’t be here at all. I take a deep breath and push Talk.
Drew answers in one ring. I can hear music and voices in the background. “Hey! Are you on the way? I can come and get you.”
The sound of his voice makes me stop for a second. Nobody else in this whole city would be as glad to see me as Drew seems to be. “No . . . I’m not sure . . .” I look back through the glass doors. The snooty guy in the suit is watching me. I crane my neck in order to see the top of the gigantic building. “I’m not sure I have the right address.”
He recites the numbers for me again, and they definitely match what’s on the building. “Is there a guy at the desk down there?”
“Yeah. He looks mean.”
Drew laughs. “That’s Larry. Just tell him you’re here to see me and he’ll send you up. I’ll be waiting as soon as you get off the elevator. Hurry.”
“Okay.” I walk back through the doors and up to the counter before I lose my nerve. “I’m here for . . .” I look at the address again. “The apartment number he gave me is GPH.” I glance up hopefully.
Larry raises his eyebrows and looks pointedly at my plant. “GPH stands for Grand Penthouse.”
I swallow. Of course. Bugatti, penthouse; I should have known. “Right. Drew Braithwaite.”
He looks down at something on the desk. “Your name?”
“Cole Ryan.”
Larry slowly runs a pen down a list and looks up again. “Take that elevator all the way down to the left. I’ll call it for you.”
“Thanks,” I say in the sweetest tone I can manage. The doors open as soon as I approach and close silently behind me as soon as I enter. There are no buttons on the wall. Just some mysterious slots and what looks like a camera mounted in the ceiling. I think about waving, but figure that Larry is already watching me and I don’t want to give him the satisfaction. The elevator shifts slightly and I realize it’s rising fast. Quicker than I’d thought possible, the doors open again, and instead of a hallway, I’m in what looks like Drew’s apartment. Or somebody’s apartment, but not the one of your typical twenty-year-old guy. The place is huge, with oversized brown suede couches and chairs set in groups around the room, with sophisticated lighting and what I think they refer to on the design shows on TV as “window treatments.” Not a discarded T-shirt or written-on whiteboard in sight. All the furniture is just a stage for the wall of windows that are opposite the elevator. I barely glance at them before I start to break out into a sweat. We’re so high up that you can see forever—over the buildings and the hills to the horizon, where there’s still the faintest hint of an orange sunset. I swallow hard and pull my eyes away from the view.
“You’re here!” Drew says, walking to meet me. He leans forward like he’s going to give me a hug, but decides against it and just clasps his hands behind his back. “What do you think?”
“It’s amazing.” There are people all over the two rooms I can see from here, sitting on couches and perching on the arms of the chairs. Like at the club, they are all different ages, but everyone has something about them that makes you look twice. Not to mention that they all look expensive. I scan their faces and wonder if any of them are the person the Sekhem are looking for. If maybe somewhere among these well-dressed people is the one who’s willing to risk it all for ultimate power. My heart sinks just a little as I realize there must be at least thirty people in these two rooms alone. Even if I was great at it, I’d never be able to read all of them in such a short time.
“Come look out the windows,” Drew says, interrupting my thoughts. “They’re
the best thing about this apartment and the reason I bought it in the first place.”
I instinctively put my hand on the wall behind me, just to feel something solid. “Maybe later.”
Drew glances at the windows and then back at me. “Are you afraid of heights?”
I nod quickly. “A little.”
“Views are overrated anyway. When you’ve seen one group of buildings, you’ve seen them all. I know that what you’d really like to see are the fabulous appetizers made by my wonderful caterers.”
“More my speed, I think.” I glance back to the windows. “How high up are we?”
Drew smiles. “Sixty-fifth floor.”
I can tell my smile is all teeth and no feeling. “Great.”
“Is that for me?” Drew asks as we walk farther into the apartment.
“What?” I look down at my hand. I’ve forgotten all about the ivy, which now seems like the dumbest idea I’ve ever had. “Oh. I’d like to say no, but I can’t come up with any other reason I’d be carrying a plant around.” I hand it to him. “Happy housewarming.”
“It’s perfect.” Drew sets the little plant in the silver wrapping on a glass table, where it looks totally out of place. “The designer didn’t put nearly enough plants in here.” He beams at me. “I love it.”
“I’m glad.”
He leans over to a large round platter of appetizers. “Ooh, you have to try one of these.” Drew hands me a tiny triangle of bread with something on it. “Totally rare. You’ll love it.”
I take a bite and it tastes like the ocean threw up in my mouth. I quickly spit the leftovers into my napkin and look around for something to take the salty edge off.
Drew laughs at my reaction. “So much for my special Almas caviar. Do you need a drink?”
I nod quickly, hoping that I’m not going to be sick here in front of everyone, and almost as fast, there is a glass of white wine in my hand. I take a swig and it washes away some of the salty fish taste. “Sorry. I’ve never had caviar before.” I shudder a little at the memory.
Intuition t-2 Page 18