“Well?” Carson looked up at Dark after hearing him appear in his office. He had been in contact with him over the continuum.
“Not good. None of the Kir kids were involved.”
“What about Joshuah? What did he say?”
“I talked with both he and Kali in New York. The tech wasn’t any of theirs.”
“Someone’s lying.”
Dark nodded. “The question is, who?”
“Have we been able to locate Kira since she left?”
“Not yet. Kirin’s been looking for her for months.”
“That could be our source then.”
“Not likely. Trac assures me she didn’t take anything with her. It’s why they’re having such a hard time finding her. Nothing to trace her to.”
“But with her genetics, she could still activate something, if they found another cache of the Kir legacy somewhere.”
“Possible. Trac had never seen a weapon like what this Wolfeson character was carrying. But apparently unique weapons are not uncommon within the Kir.”
“Wonderful. More untraceable Kir technology.”
“Oh, it gets better. Trac said the weapon was set to accept Human DNA signatures. Anyone could have used it.”
Carson’s pen dropped on to his desk. He shot a look of disgust at Dark.
“Someone out there doesn’t like the gods, Carson. And I’m not talking about the Seven.”
“I agree. I read the autopsy report on our Mr. Wolfeson. Halfblood. He was working undercover in the ISA, apparently as a double-agent.”
“Right, but for whom?”
“If I were to guess? Probably one of the lower clans.” Carson got up from his desk to look out the window and the large park atrium below. Carson looked over his shoulder. “Probably someone who hates the idea of the gods being at war. Any idea which clan that might be?”
“Yea,” Dark frowned. “All of them. According to the prophecies, none of the halfbloods survive. Maybe they think that by eradicating the gods all of this will be over.”
“I didn’t know you believed in the prophecies, Dark.” Carson half grinned.
“I don’t. But a lot of the clans do. There’s been just enough truth to them to keep people believing that we’re all going to die unless there’s a savior.”
“A bunch of halfblood religious zealots are the last thing I need at this point, Dark. The old gods have unified against us. The Seven are more powerful and cunning now than they have ever been. We’re collecting enemies instead of eradicating them. As well armed as we are, the Dominion cannot fight the Humans, the Clans and the Seven all at the same time.”
“We have the Kir as allies.”
“I’m not so sure about that now.” Carson cautioned.
“Carson. The Sentinels were defeated by the Kir.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“If our alliance with them doesn’t hold, we’re all dead.”
Carson nodded. “The problem is, Dark, we seem to have competing factions with very different goals.”
“You’re talking about whoever tried to kill Serena.”
“I am. The Seven are looking for more of these Invicti as their last hope for survival, as a way to rejuvenate themselves. And someone just tried to kill one of them.”
“Taking out the Invicti before they’re awakened. Keeps them from falling into the hands of your enemy.”
“Or keep them from attaining their full number. There were seven thrones of the invincible gods from the prophecies, if I recall.”
Dark agreed.
“Jerrod, Ian, Beau, Aramis—and now Serena.”
“Don’t forget Elle.”
“She’s Invicti now as well?”
“Evidently it is a side effect of sleeping with them.”
“Sleeping with them—?” Carson’s eyebrow lifted. “Dark, Rion is sleeping with Serena. What if he was infected with her evolved DNA? He could be the seventh sun god.”
“And now someone who really doesn’t like us has the ultimate weapon.”
“The ability to make themselves into gods.”
“And bypass the prophecies?” Dark mused out loud.
“Somehow I don’t think this is about the prophecies anymore. Whoever took Rion wanted both he and Serena. Jake Gold’s timely rescue prevented them from achieving their goal.”
“You think they’ll be back for her. I can see your wheels turning, Carson.”
“I do, Dark. When you can turn a doomed race of halfbloods into gods? Immortality? That is one helluva motivation.”
* * * * *
Jake found himself standing in Jericho’s infirmary. He had been exploring the wonders of the cavernous complex but now he could not ignore the ugly growing bruise on his bicep where Serena had smacked him earlier in the day. She obviously did not know her own strength yet. The older looking man with a well-trimmed graying beard he had seen earlier at the lodge strode lively into the large exam room.
“Mr. Gold,” the tall man began, holding out his hand, “good afternoon! Good to see you again.”
“Hey,” Jake greeted.
“What seems to be the problem?”
Jake removed his shirt to reveal a very large ugly black, blue and red bruise across his upper arm.
“Ooh, ouch. I trust you got the license number of the truck that did this?”
“Yea, S-E-R—E-N-A,” he spelled out with a smirk.
“Oh, I see. It’s going to be a while before she adjusts to knowing her own strength. Best to keep one’s distance until she does,” he advised.
Sevrin removed a long, thin silver stylus from a drawer that had several of the tools and in various widths and sizes. He slid it lightly over the bruise. The pain vanished almost immediately and both watched as the dark tissue faded. Within minutes, the bruise had vanished and become smooth tanned skin once again.
Jake just shook his head. “You people are amazing,” he offered, beginning to gather his shirt.
“Op, not so fast, my boy. We’re not done yet. We should give you a quick checkup while you’re here.”
“What kind of checkup?”
“Just a quick scan, nothing too invasive.”
Jake nodded. Normally he would have refused such a medical “checkup”, but part of him was very curious about what Ra medicine was capable of after seeing his arm completely heal within minutes.
“Keep standing where you are. It will just take a few seconds.”
Suddenly Jake saw a kind of three-dimensional unclothed image of himself standing in the exam room. The holographic avatar-like image was incredibly detailed. It looked for everything the world was worth like his exact twin was standing in the room with them, and the image mirrored his every move exactly.
“Wow.” Jake walked up looking at the image that moved when he did, mirroring his every action, but it never actually left it’s spot in the room, it only appeared to walk when Jake did. “This is live?” Both he and the image spoke and pointed at each other. Only, no sound was coming from the image.
“Real time,” Sevrin nodded. “It gives us a much more accurate visualization.”
Now Jake could see his own vitals in tiny graphs and metrics appearing all around the image. It was astonishing to see the amount of information the scan was dumping into the system in real time.
Sevrin moved to the image with a cursory visual exam, slowly turning the image with his hands while noting Jake’s numerous scars. “The rough and tumble type, I see,” Sevrin began smiling.
“Occupational hazard. It goes with the territory,” Jake admitted, putting his shirt back on and feeling a bit self-conscious about Sevrin’s view of him completely unclothed, even though he was actually dressed again.
With the skill of a concert pianist, Sevrin’s hands seemed to play some invisible controls of the image that sent his flesh away leaving only his skeletal structures visible in real-time detail.
“Apparently you also like to break things?” Sevrin chuckled, pointing at sever
al ribs that looked like they’d healed and the two fractures on his left side, his arm and leg, both broken from an auto accident where and Jihadist had rammed his vehicle trying to kill him.
Layer by layer, Sevrin began making nerves, blood vessels, organs and then finally muscle tissue and his skin visible again.
“Jake,” Sevrin began, “you’re fit as a fiddle. You’re going to have some blood glucose issues to deal with in a few years but we can fix that later.”
Jake figured Sevrin was probably right about that. Most of his family had developed diabetes as they got older. The thought struck Jake hard. The things he could do with this level of medical knowledge. The people he could help.
Sevrin patted him firmly on the shoulder and then sat against one of the counters while Jake finished buttoning and tucking in his shirt.
“So it looks like you’re going to be with us for a while now, my boy.”
“It looks that way.”
“You’ve met Carson?”
“Briefly.”
“Excellent. I would love to offer you a job.”
“Thanks. I already have one.”
“You’d be doing both.”
“Both?” Jake raised his eyebrow. “You want me to work for the Dominion.”
“No. I want you to work for the Ra. Dominion is a kind of proxy for us. You’d be working with Dominion, but you’d be working for the Ra.”
“As a double agent? No thanks.”
“Not as a double-agent, Jake. But as our friend.”
“Your friend.” Jake winced. “And how does that work exactly? My allegiance is to Israel, Sevrin. Not you people.”
“With all due respect, Jacob, your people are our people.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“The Ra have been protecting your people since before Noah; more specifically we tended the line of Shem, among a few others. The Shemites were some of the very first to be taken as wives by the Son’s of God, to quote your Torah.”
“So I’ve heard. The Ra created the Nephilim, the halfbloods as you call them.”
“We did. Your ancestors were the ‘chosen people’ of the Ra to harbor our DNA. Now your nation is teaming with our genetics, Jacob. It’s why you are so hated by the other nations, no thanks to the Seven.”
“That doesn’t give me reason enough to abandon my oath to Israel, Sevrin.”
“Fair enough. So maybe this might. The Seven have infiltrated the ISA and by extension, probably the IDF as well. Help us, and we’ll help you.”
Jake was suddenly listening now. Wolfeson was definitely a double agent, a plant by these Seven, whoever they were. Clearly, Sevrin was right; they had already infiltrated some of Israel’s command. If there were any more of them, he would need some serious help weeding them out.
“And?” Jake probed. “What’s in it for you?”
“You help us with little assignments now and then.”
“I’m not compromising the security of Israel, Sevrin.”
“It’s already compromised, Jake. Factions within your own government are working for the very people trying to destroy you; your only crime being that you harbor our genetics.”
Jake frowned.
Sevrin pushed away from the counter. “Think about it. In the meantime, I’d like you to meet someone this evening. The two of you have a lot in common. And I am sure she will be more than open to helping you out.” Sevrin patted him on the back with a smile and then left.
Jake watched him disappear into the crowded corridor, then noticed his unclothed avatar was still standing in the room, mocking his every move. Jake scowled, the avatar winking out of existence as he left the room.
* * * * *
Rion looked up, weakly, one eye opened, the other bruised closed. Someone had entered his cell again. He was still bound to the cold stone wall with the thin half-bloodied restraints that were beginning to wear into his skin. His body could only regenerate so fast when it was this cold. Still, he was a little surprised he was regenerating at all as cold as it was.
The painful open and bloody wounds Spencer had inflicted all over him only the day before were now merely un-bleeding open wounds; still painfully present all over his body; his emasculated groin the most obvious sign of Spencer’s unyielding blade.
Rion looked up, his face beaten black and blue.
“Amethyst?” He winced in a pained breath.
“Oooh, Rion. You look positively atrocious. Need some help?” She smiled.
“What do you want?” He asked slowly, weakly.
She held out her hand symbolically. “The keys.”
“No.” He dropped his head.
“Come, come, now, Rion, Dear. Let’s not play the knight in shining armor. Tell me what I want to know and all of this will be over in a heartbeat.”
“Sure. With me dead.”
“Nope. Not even true. I need you. Alive. Preferably.”
“Whah—?” He looked at her askance.
“I need you alive. Or didn’t they tell you?”
“You mean Rigel.”
“Oh, no, no. I don’t work for Daddy anymore. We’ve parted company. When you fired the Sentinels, they fell back to their old wicked ways of not being particularly interested in having any living newbloods around. They don’t like me any more than they like you. Sorry to say.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Suit yourself. It was Daddy dearest who released the bad Dr. Lucas’ Black Death on everyone in Lyon. But—I—teleport,” she tapped the tip of Rion’s bruised nosed with the tip of her finger. It hurt. He winced.
“What do you want, Amy?”
“Besides you?” She looked down at what wasn’t remaining of his manhood. “Hmmm,” she shrugged.
Rion groaned. “Go away.”
She could easily feel the pain that racked all over his body. “The city, Rion.” Her tone became suddenly serious. “Interra. Open it.”
“Go to hell.”
“In due time. But for now the problem is, Rion Dear, you’re about to send all of us to hell, unless you open it.”
“Huh?”
“The Clans?” she questioned rhetorically.
“What are you—”
“—talking about? Those fighters that attacked you the other day while you and Serena were going to visit Sev’s little love nest? Well, they didn’t belong to the Seven; or any of the Human governments. Those pilots—were halfbloods.”
“What are you saying?”
“The clans are organizing, Rion. There’s no telling how many they have or how powerful they’ve become.”
“How do you know?”
“Perhaps it’s foolish for me to even say such a thing, but, I know. You’ll just have to trust me on this one.”
Rion had a sudden flash of memory,
“Rion, your little Garden of Eden here is about to become the focus of some very powerful people. I thought you might want to be aware of it.”
“I can’t give you the city, Amy.”
“You, Rion Dearest, do not have a choice. The armies of the Clans are gathering. There’s no telling who can be trusted and who can’t. Even the empaths are turning on us. If I had to guess, not even your precious Dominion will remain an ally when faced with their own extinction. Carson will turn on you in a New York minute.”
“You’re lying.”
“I wish I was, Rion.” She placed her hand on his wounded chest. Somehow he could still feel her. Perhaps it was a trick, but it indeed seemed to him that she was being completely honest, even a little afraid.
“I can’t, Amy. I’m sorry.”
“Your choice, Rion.”
“I need to warn the others. Let me go.”
“I would, but, you’re not my prisoner. And I’m not blowing my cover to save your hunky hide.”
“What?”
“Spencer works for the Clans.”
“You can’t leave me here.”
“The keys?”
“Amy!”
“Suit yourself, Rion. By my calculations, all of us have about three days at the most.”
Rion drooped his head.
“And then all of your little toys stop working. Don’t they?”
Rion shook his head.
“Bethlehem will be all but defenseless. The towers inert. Your vessels will fall out of the skies. Then the Clans take the city—with or without your help.”
“You can’t do this—Amy!”
“It’s already done, Rion. The keys?” she held out her hand.
35
J ake studied the fine dining room filled with people, none of whom he knew. He didn’t know if they were gods, demigods, or just human. The large ornate room was packed with nicely dressed and smiling faces. He hated wearing ties, but Sevrin had provided him with some semi-formal attire. The suit was nice, it fit well; he still didn’t wear the tie. Someone walk up next to him, almost touching his personal space, but not quite.
“You look confused, Jacob Gold,” a distinctly Italian and very feminine voice said in perfect Hebrew.
Beside him stood an unusually beautiful, elegantly dressed, tall, slender-curved woman in a stunning black evening dress. The well-fitted, full collar, cropped-sleeved and cropped length to her mid-calf, mock-collar dress did nothing to hide her magnificent chest nor any of the details of it. The back of the dress didn’t pretend to hide anything, plunging open all the way down her back and gathering slightly, just atop her perfectly round—
Jake had to deliberately tear his eyes from her to keep from staring. He was pretty sure she wasn’t wearing any kind of underwear—the dress would have easily showed it.
“Is it that obvious?” he asked. His own Hebrew was just as refined.
“It is,” she offered. “Perhaps you need an escort.”
He turned toward her, a half smile crossing his face.
“I am Francesca,” she said regally, graciously, holding out her hand.
He took it courteously. “Nice to meet you, Francesca. This is quite a place you people have here.”
“It is,” she agreed. “Shall we find a table?”
Jake offered her his arm, but it was she who led him to a quiet corner of the dining room next to the window with a grand view of several pyramids within the subterranean complex; all beautifully illuminated. A small sign marked the table as reserved. He politely helped her with her chair.
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