by R. D. Brady
Danny’s phone chimed, breaking into his thoughts. Normally, he turned his phone off to prevent just this problem. But with everything happening, he wanted Henry to be able to reach him.
He glanced at his phone and sighed. It was just an email, and it wasn’t from Henry. It was from Professor Gleason at MIT. Danny had helped him create a computer model to predict fractal formation for his undergrads.
Danny shook his head. “I can’t believe I have to explain this again. What’s so hard about nonlinear mathematics?” he muttered.
“A lot of people don’t understand that all systems are interconnected,” Max said from behind him.
Danny went still. He turned, narrowing his eyes. “What did you say?
Max wiped his eyes. “Predicting the unpredictable. You know, the replicating patterns found in fractals. He probably needs to understand that better.”
Danny felt his mouth gape open. “How did you know about that?”
Max shrugged and gave a big yawn. “I don’t know.”
Maddox walked in, dropping his phone in his pocket. At six foot six, with long dark hair, Maddox was an intimidating sight, and that was before anyone knew about his nephilim abilities. He walked over and scooped Max up, giving him a big grin.
And then you him with Max and realize he’s a giant yet deadly teddy bear, Danny thought.
“I thought you were going to sleep forever,” Maddox said.
Max giggled. “Then I’d wake up an old man—like you.”
“What? I’m not old.” Maddox tossed Max in the air. Max squealed as Maddox caught him and hugged him.
Max seemed so carefree. Danny frowned. But how had he known that about chaos theory?
Maddox looked over at Danny. “We’re going to grab some lunch downstairs. You hungry?”
Danny stared at him for a second before giving himself a mental shake. “Um, yeah. Uh, I’ll just finish this up and then I’ll be down.”
“Okay. We’ll get it started.” Maddox and Max disappeared through the door; Cleo trailed silently after them.
Moxy came over and sat next to Danny. Danny reached down to pet her. Laney had given Moxy to Danny a year ago, and now he couldn’t imagine his life without her.
Danny watched them go. “How did he know that, Mox?”
Moxy tilted her head as if listening.
Danny thought back to all the conversations he’d had about chaos theory. He couldn’t remember Max ever being around for one of them. And even if he was, just remembering one of those conversations was a pretty amazing feat for a little kid.
Danny shook his head as he stood. “There’s got to be a logical explanation.”
He looked over at the couch and squinted. Something was peeking out from underneath the pillow Max had been sleeping on.
Danny walked over and picked up the pillow Max had been using. A book lay underneath it—Chaos Theory: Making a New Science, by James Gleick. It was the book Danny had used when writing the program for Professor Gleason.
Danny stared out the door and down the empty hallway for a moment before his eyes returned to the book. The ideas he’d read about the indigo children whirled through his mind. He shook his head. No. That’s not possible.
Feeling a little shaky, he placed the book on the coffee table and walked to the door. He knew there was research that indicated that if you read before taking a nap it actually increased the likelihood of converting the information you just read from short-term to long-term memory, but he’d never read anything about absorbing knowledge through a closed book while sleeping.
I mean, Max can’t even read yet.
Danny glanced down at Moxy. She gazed up at him with a look that was almost human.
Danny knelt down to look her in the eyes. “No one can learn the contents of a book simply by sleeping on it, right?”
CHAPTER 15
Rockland, Maine
Laney, Henry, and Jake stayed at Victoria’s home for another hour, but the reality was, there was nothing they could do there. The SIA agents were processing the scene, but they all knew the answers they needed were not going to be found in a crime lab.
Henry called the helicopter and had it pick them up right on Victoria’s lawn—another reminder that the secrecy Victoria had nurtured was now gone.
When they reached the Chandler estate, Laney and Henry headed straight up to Henry’s office, while Jake stopped by the analysts’ room down the hall to get an update. Henry’s office was huge, taking up two thirds of the third floor of the main house. The first time Laney had seen it, she’d been amazed by the floor-to-ceiling windows along one wall and the bookshelves, filled to bursting, that rimmed it. But now it was a second home.
Henry took his seat behind the giant-sized desk centered in front of the windows Laney sat down at the large conference table, set down her coffee, and pulled up a monitor. She rubbed her hands. “All right. Time to get to work.”
For two hours, they both ran down different angles. And at the end of two hours, neither of them had anything to show for it.
Laney stretched. Her back was protesting having being hunched over the computer, unmoving, for so long.
Henry’s phone rang. The change in his face told Laney it was Jen Witt. She gave a small smile. Jen was just what Henry needed right now.
Henry spoke quietly into the phone and walked out of the room. Watching him disappear into to an empty office down the hall. Laney hoped Jen could help lift his spirits.
Pushing away from the table, Laney stretched her back and then headed around to the other side of the conference table to check on Jake. After checking on the analysts, he had joined them, reviewing correspondence from different law enforcement agencies and verifying that they all had accurate descriptions of Victoria, Ralph, and Fuld.
Laney watched Jake for a moment, debating yet again whether or not she should mention Jorgen’s eyes. But she just couldn’t seem to convince herself that what she had seen was real. So instead she took a seat next to Jake and pulled over some of the papers he had brought from Victoria’s office. Neither of them felt comfortable letting the SIA go through them.
A short scan of the documents convinced her she shouldn’t have worried. Unsurprisingly, Victoria had left nothing incriminating behind.
Laney stretched again and felt Jake’s eyes on her. She glanced up with a wan smile. “Well, I’ve got nothing. How about you?”
“Not really. The guys at Victoria’s house were all trained. They even policed their brass. They also appear to have all been human, but I can’t be entirely sure on that one.”
“The Council?” Normally, when they ran into humans, it was the Council who had sent them. The Council was a clandestine group that dated back to the Inquisition. They used what they learned about Atlantean artifacts to fill their coffers and further their success.
Jake shrugged. “Could be. But it doesn’t feel right, does it?”
Laney sighed. “No. But Jen was heading to speak with Phillip Northgram. Maybe Henry will know something.”
Jake grinned. “Oh, I’m sure Northgram enjoyed that conversation.”
Laney smiled in return. Phillip Northgram was the head of the Council, and last year, when the children went missing, Jen and Henry had had a little chat with him regarding Council activities. Jen had apparently made quite an impression on the arrogant CEO.
As if summoned, Henry stepped into the room. He looked so lost, so beaten down. Laney walked over and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his chest. “We’ll get her back,” she said softly.
Henry’s arms closed around her. “I know.”
Laney leaned back to look up at him. “Do you?”
Henry stared down at her, fear, confusion, and pain flashing through his eyes. “I don’t know, Laney. Whoever Mom is, she doesn’t have powers. We know that much. She can be hurt. She can be…” Henry’s voice broke, and his arms tightened around her.
Laney rested her head back on his chest. “I know.”
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“Did Northgram have anything?” Jake asked.
Henry let Laney go and sank into a chair next to Jake. “No. Said he didn’t know anything and that he had no business dealings with Jorgen.”
Laney took a seat across from the two of them. “Does Jen believe him?”
Henry blew out a breath. “Yeah. And besides, we checked him for links to Jorgen even before all this. We came up with nothing.”
“I know this is tough for you two,” Jake said. “But we need to try and look at this objectively. Someone took Victoria. They could have killed her, and they didn’t. Which means they want something from her.”
Henry nodded. “If this were any other abduction, we’d learn everything we could about the victim.”
Laney swallowed down a laugh—it wasn’t a happy one. Learn about Victoria? As if they hadn’t been trying to do that for the last few months! Laney shoved her doubts aside though. Time to be positive. “Okay. So where do we start?”
“Well, is there anything in the Flourent books?” Jake asked.
Laney pictured the books they had found in the ruin of Sebastian Flourent’s home. Flourent’s father had been a member of the Council. Each member of the Council kept journals of their activities, and Sebastian Flourent had come into possession of his father’s journals after his death. The Chandler group had then rescued those same journals from the devastation of Flourent’s home.
Laney and her uncle had been going through them, but other priorities kept getting in the way. Now, the books had to be the priority. “I’ll hit them again. I still haven’t been through about three quarters, although Uncle Patrick’s made a pretty good dent. I’ll see what he’s got.”
Jake nodded. “That’s good. But normally in a missing case, I’d say we start with the victim’s home. See if there’s anything that would clue us in to what’s going on.”
“I’ll do that,” Henry said quickly. They had brought back boxes of Victoria’s and Ralph’s things and stored them in a conference room down the hall. “She wouldn’t like other people going through her stuff.”
Laney nodded, but she wondered if what Victoria wanted mattered anymore. She chased the thought aside. Positive. I will be positive.
A smaller part of her brain, though, mocked her. Sure—stay positive no matter how impossible it seems.
CHAPTER 16
Beverly Hills, California
Gerard cringed but tried to not move as a vase went sailing past his head.
“What do you mean you can’t find her?” Elisabeta demanded. Hands on her hips, she stood behind her highly polished mahogany desk.
“We’re running down all of Jorgen’s known holdings. So far we have found nothing. But it’s only a matter of time.”
Elisabeta’s chest heaved. Her dark eyes looked even darker, her complexion paler than it should be—except for her flushed cheeks.
And once again, Gerard was confused. Who was Jorgen? Why did he evoke this reaction in Elisabeta? Until Jorgen had appeared, Gerard had never seen Elisabeta lose her cool. But now, she was incensed.
Gerard spoke quietly. “Perhaps if you told me who Jorgen really is, it would help us locate him.”
Elisabeta’s head whipped around, and her eyes narrowed. “I have told you all you need to know to find him.”
“Then perhaps you could tell me why Victoria Chandler is so important?”
Elisabeta looked at him for a moment and then away.
Gerard took a step forward. “Elisabeta, I can help you better if I know what the end goal is.”
Elisabeta said nothing.
Gerard bit his tongue. Perhaps he had overstepped.
Her shoulders dropping, Elisabeta turned and resumed her seat. She gestured for Gerard to take a seat as well. Gerard held in his surprise as he sat down across from her.
Elisabeta stayed silent for a moment before she spoke. “What is our greatest power?”
Gerard thought for a moment. “Our ability to heal.”
Elisabeta nodded. “Yes. We are difficult to kill. Now, imagine what you could do if you couldn’t be killed.”
Gerard reared back, then spoke slowly. “That’s not possible.”
“Oh, it’s possible. Your memory is stunted. You’ve forgotten far more of your previous lives than you remember. But I remember more than any of you. I remember when we first arrived.”
Gerard leaned forward. If Elisabeta had asked, he would have said that the second greatest drawback of their existence was their inability to remember from one life to the next. Every once in a while he would get snippets of memories from his past lives, but the whole picture was always out of reach. “You… remember?”
She nodded. “When the triads arise, the memories return.”
Gerard wanted to ask about the other members of the triad, but he didn’t. It wasn’t often that Elisabeta took someone into her confidence, and he didn’t want to ruin the spell.
“When we first arrived, it was glorious. We were gods among men. We still are. But it was even more so at first. Because at first, we were immortal.”
“Immortal?”
Elisabeta’s voice took on a wistful quality. “The earth was truly an Eden. Everything was available for the taking. The humans were fools. They had no concept of ownership or power. They shared and gave away all they had. It was like a candy store guarded by ants.” She smiled.
Gerard had heard the rumors, but he had never truly believed them. “What happened?”
Elisabeta’s face clouded. “That bitch. She took it all from us.”
“She?” Gerard frowned.
Elisabeta spit out the words. “Victoria Chandler.”
Gerard sat back, stunned. He had never felt any recognition around the woman. “How? She’s a human.”
Elisabeta’s eyes narrowed, and venom dripped from her words. “A favored human.”
“So we’re looking for her in order to get revenge?”
Elisabeta shook her head. The smile that formed on her face chilled Gerard. “No. We’re looking for her in order to get our immortality back.”
CHAPTER 17
Little Rock, Arkansas
Victoria woke up slowly. Her head ached, but that wasn’t what bothered her. It was the fog in her brain. She knew that feeling—she’d been drugged.
Open your eyes. Open them, she ordered herself. With a few false starts and more than a little effort, she managed it.
She was in a bedroom. It was Spartan: just a bed, window, and one chair. There were two doors. The one across from the window was likely the door to a hallway. The one next to the window hopefully led to a bathroom. Victoria sat up, and the room swayed for a moment.
An image of Ralph flashed through her mind. Grief rocked her, and she held on to the bedpost. She closed her eyes, willing away the waves of sorrow that crashed over her. I’m so sorry, Ralph.
She pictured his brown eyes, his calming presence. He had been her one true friend, the one person who’d stood by her through everything—in this lifetime and the others. A tear tracked its way down her cheek and a sob shuddered through her.
She shook her head and took some calming breaths. She couldn’t give in to grief. Not now.
But Ralph’s death on the heels of Vicki’s was almost more than she could stand. The two of them had been her constants. And now they were both gone. She closed her eyes, gave herself one more moment, and then banished her sadness, locking it away for another time.
Opening her eyes, she got to her feet, holding onto the bedpost. On shaky legs, she crossed the room and opened the door by the window—a bathroom. She nearly wept with relief. She took care of her business quickly and took time to splash some water on her face.
The towel she used was fluffy and bright white—expensive. She placed it on the sink and headed back into the room. She stopped at the window, which overlooked a back yard in what appeared to be in a residential neighborhood. A man turned his head and looked up at her from the ground.
She me
t his glare without flinching. Finally, he turned away. Victoria stepped back from the window. Okay, so someone is keeping an eye on me.
The lock on the door rattled. Victoria turned, her hands behind her back. Jorgen Fuld walked in.
“Ah, you’re awake. I was getting worried,” he said with a smile.
“I doubt that,” Victoria replied.
Jorgen took a seat on the only chair in the room, one leg crossed over at the knee. “Always so antagonistic. Why is that?”
Victoria crossed her arms. “Why am I here?”
“Maybe I missed you.”
Victoria said nothing. She just waited.
Jorgen pulled his glasses off and wiped them with the edge of his jacket. He looked back at her. His eyes were pure black. He paused, then smiled. “You’ve never been taken aback by my eyes. Not even when you first saw them.”
Victoria raised her chin a notch. “That’s because I’ve seen your evil before.”
He stared at her, and she could feel his annoyance. “You’ve never liked me. Not even when I was a child.”
She stared into his black eyes without flinching. That wasn’t entirely true. When he had first been born, she had marveled at what a beautiful child he was. His parents had doted on him.
But they had given him too much leniency. His cruelty went unchecked. At first, they were the cruelties all children engage in. But soon, they became more. His brother and sisters suffered under his hands. His parents were good people, but they were unable to remove the streak of unkindness in him, no matter how much they loved him.
Fuld tilted his head to the side. “You’ve never been afraid of me, have you?”
“No.”
He sighed. “Well, that’s a problem. Because you see, I need some of that knowledge in your head. And I don’t suppose you’d be willing to help me—out of the goodness of your heart?”
Victoria said nothing.
He sighed again. “I didn’t think so. Well, no matter. I still have a little time to convince you. There is one other piece of the puzzle I need before you are of use to me.”