Scions of Change

by Amy DuBoff

  “You’d kill me now? An old, defenseless man.”

  Oh, now he’s just playing me. Wil scoffed. “I honestly haven’t decided what to do with you. But I suggest you treat every moment as though it’s your last, because it very well may be.”

  His eyes narrowed, Quadris wrote out a message to the Taran people. He admitted their wrongs, and their deception, and he apologized for the pain they had caused. The words couldn’t bring back the dead or undo the genetic manipulations, but they were the first step toward reuniting a divided people. The organization that had for so long been heralded as a moral compass had for once made a public statement that everyone could follow: to accept one another as they were and to find a path forward together.

  When the message was sent, Wil released Quadris from his telekinetic grasp. Wil expected to feel more relief now that the Priesthood had finally taken responsibility, but he knew Quadris had caved too easily. Something wasn’t right.

  They still have some move planned. Wil studied the High Priest. “If I kill you, I’d be no better than you. No… I’ll let that imperfect, cloned form you took for yourself slowly disintegrate. A swift death is too merciful.”

  “It doesn’t have to be this way,” the High Priest stated, far too calm. “There’s still a way—you still have the genetic key to restore what was lost.”

  “We’re done with manipulations,” Wil shot back, growing increasingly concerned. Quadris isn’t acting like a man facing certain defeat.

  “It would only take two generations to be absolutely sure. Raena and Jason, with—”

  Wil laughed at him with disbelief. “You really don’t get it, do you? We’re people, not walking, talking genetic samples for you to analyze and cross back until you arrive at a form that pleases you. Have you truly lost touch with what it is to be an individual with uniqueness and desires?”

  “I seek knowledge and power.”

  “But that means nothing if you don’t really understand and feel.” Wil shook his head. “You know, I don’t think there’s anything in the multiverse that would truly make you happy. You lost that capacity when you stopped respecting life.” Wil was struck by an unexpected pang of pity. “We’ll create that society you dreamed about—build it up the right way—and you’ll never get to see it.”

  Whatever he thinks he has planned, I won’t let him follow through. Wil turned from the High Priest and nodded to the Militia guards.

  They prodded Quadris toward the door.

  Wil watched them go. “I hope you’re able to find some meaning, Quadris, because this will be your last life.”

  “I only need this one,” Quadris replied. “It’s not over yet.”

  What does he mean by that? Uncertainty gripped Wil’s chest. The Priesthood’s offworld labs may be secure, but there was no way of knowing what might still be inside the Priesthood’s island.

  Wil tried to send a telepathic warning to his children, but it was blocked by the interior shield. Quadris seemed so certain. What does the Priesthood have planned?

  CHAPTER 19

  The shuttle cut through the strong sea winds as it looped around to the cliffs at the northwestern edge of the Priesthood’s aisle. Raena’s gaze was fixed out the window while the pilot moved the craft into position.

  Next to her, Jason was seated with his forearms resting on his knees, appearing surprisingly calm despite what they were about to do. He’d changed since she’d last seen him—the Jason from her youth would have been complaining about the lack of a plan and suggesting some alternate approach that may or may not have been better. Now, he was simply ready for anything.

  Jason gave her a questioning look when he noticed her studying him.

  “Sorry, it’s just been a long time since we’ve spent much time together,” Raena said.

  He smiled. “Yeah, look at you—married to the Head of a High Dynasty.”

  “And you a senior Agent.”

  “A lot has changed, for sure,” her brother agreed.

  The shuttle inched closer to the cliffs.

  “This is about as close as I can get it,” the pilot said from the cockpit. “These winds are strong, so I suggest you move quickly.”

  “Thanks.” Jason leaped into action, sliding the side door of the shuttle open.

  Across from them, a solid five meter leap away, was the same vent through which Raena had escaped five years before. Their recon indicated that the shaft was still open, but the exterior grating had been reinforced.

  Raena looked to her brother and he nodded.

  With a hum of telekinetic energy, the metal grating began to vibrate and bits of rock fell away from its anchor points. Jason gave a yank with his mind and the grate came free. He dropped it into the ocean below.

  “I’ll go first,” he said. Without hesitation, he leaped toward the narrow opening.

  The distance was too far to jump unaided, but he used his abilities to pull himself toward the destination. Raena could sense the wave of telekinetic energy as he appeared to fly across the distance.

  He landed lightly inside the opening and turned to face her.

  “Show-off!” she shouted over the engine rumble.

  Getting in is one thing, but will we have a way back out? Raena suppressed thoughts about what might be happening on the surface while she lined up her own jump, giving a quick check that the pulse gun in her waistband was secure. They have their task, we have ours.

  Before she could psych herself out, Raena made the leap. She anchored herself to the destination and pulled herself along, exhilarated by the sea air blowing through her braided hair and the sensation of weightlessness as she all but flew from the ship into the tunnel.

  Raena landed next to her brother and grinned. “Okay, why don’t we go flying around all the time?”

  “Well, it’s not really flying,” he countered.

  The shuttle pulled away, leaving them alone in the tunnel.

  “Besides,” Jason continued, “astral projection is way more fun because we get to go through space.”

  “You have a point there,” Raena agreed. She set out down the tunnel into the darkness.

  Jason followed her. “Do you think they’re expecting us?”

  “I hope they are. I’d like to give them a piece of my mind.”

  They traversed the rest of the tunnel in silence, listening and sensing for any Priesthood soldiers lying in wait. The path ahead was clear of enemies, but three meters from the entry into the inner hallway of the Priesthood’s lab, they were met with a force field.

  “That’s new,” Raena muttered.

  Jason smiled. “They really don’t know much about us.”

  “I take it you have a plan?”

  He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. “Everything else must have you distracted, because this is an easy one. A little ‘time stoppage’ and we can slip right through.”

  “Oh, right.” Raena blushed.

  “Don’t worry, sis, that’s why I’m here.”

  Raena rolled her eyes, but deep down, she was happy to have him with her. I might have an Agent rank on paper, but he’s actually trained for that life. I can’t compete with that.

  In unison, they initiated a spatial distortion around themselves. Time appeared to slow to a crawl around them, and the once solid force field began to flicker. Solid to open, back and forth with more time extending between each change. As the distortion fully materialized, the flickering settled with the force field on a fully deactivated position. Raena and Jason stepped across the barrier.

  The moment they dropped the spatial distortion, the force field rematerialized behind them.

  “I’d forgotten how much fun that is,” Raena smiled.

  “Now all you think about is political sway and balance sheets,” Jason jabbed.

  “Well, there’s a little more than that. You might be surprised how enthralling a good political debate can be.”

  Jason looked like he was about to make a snide response when he sudden
ly ducked down, holding his finger to his lips. “I think I heard voices,” he said in Raena’s mind.

  She listened. Sure enough, there were at least two individuals speaking—and close.

  “The outer grill was destroyed,” one voice said.

  “They have to be close,” said another.

  “Looks like we’ve been found out,” groaned Raena.

  Her brother cast her a sidelong glance. “Like that’s any surprise.”

  Raena crept forward toward the vent opening she remember from her escape. Unlike the addition of the force field down the tunnel, there did not appear to be any security augmentations at the grate itself. “In here,” she said to her brother.

  Jason examined the tiny opening. “Not really a way to enter into the hallway with an authoritative stance, is there?”

  “Like we need it,” Raena replied. “We can take all of them laying on our backs blindfolded.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Raena telekinetically reached out to the bolts on the grate and loosed them. As carefully as she could, she lowered the bolts to the ground, and once all were out, tilted the grate away from its fastenings.

  The voices had faded from audible range, so Raena poked her head into the hall. It appeared vacant, and she signaled to her brother to move forward.

  Raena slipped through the narrow vent opening into the hall, all her senses alert for signs of the enemy.

  Once she was on her feet, Raena was struck with a wave of nearby telekinetic energy. The captives— She caught herself. The imprisoned women… the people I left here five years ago. Now is the time to make things right.

  She beckoned Jason to join her in the hall and began jogging lightly in the direction of the telekinetic signature.

  “We’ll need to free them quickly so we have some backup,” Jason said. “If things aren’t going well on the surface, we may need to fight our way out.”

  Raena gave a grim nod in response. “I doubt any of them know how to control their abilities. Another big unknown will be any babies. They could be anywhere—some of the women might not leave without their child.”

  “Is it really theirs?” her brother asked.

  “Moral questions to be answered at another time.”

  Voices once again sounded down the hall and Raena froze. “No taking chances,” she said. “Let’s slip by.”

  Without the need for further explanation, Jason initiated another spatial distortion field.

  Raena followed suit, and the two of them dashed forward down the hall unseen in their bubble on the edge of subspace. They reached two acolytes robed in gray, seemingly frozen in time, and gingerly sidestepped them.

  “Others are sure to be close,” Jason cautioned.

  “We’re almost there. The Priesthood’s numbers won’t matter as soon as everyone is free.” At least, she hoped that would be the case. There had been too many examples in history of captives becoming reliant on their captors for her to have absolute certainty that everyone would come freely, but she also couldn’t imagine that anyone could be bred against their will and not want to get away as quickly as possible.

  With the passage of time slowed to a crawl, they ran through the hallways toward the collection of holding cells Raena had passed through during her brief time in the Priesthood’s custody.

  When they reached their destination, Raena slowed to a walk but kept the distortion active while she took in the sights.

  She recognized many of the women being held, though some she remembered were missing and there were at least two new additions. In that moment, she couldn’t bring herself to think about where the others might have gone and how things would have been different in these new women’s lives if she’d been able to free everyone like she’d wanted after she herself escaped. Regrets would get them nowhere.

  As Raena had witnessed before, the imprisoned women were in various stages of pregnancy, ranging from barely showing to late-term. She hoped those nearing birth would be able to travel, but at this point, there was little choice.

  “My god…” Jason uttered with horror in his mind.

  “This is why we had to come here,” Raena told him.

  “Some of them won’t be able to move very quickly.”

  “Then we’ll help them along,” Raena insisted. “Just the two of us came on this mission because we could slip in and would have the power to get them out. We can’t let them down.”

  “I’d never think of it,” her brother replied. “Ready?”

  “Whenever you are.”

  With that, Jason dropped the spatial distortion and raced toward the nearest cell to deactivate the lock.

  As soon and Raena and Jason were back in the normal flow of time, the women in the nearby cells startled to attention.

  “Who are you?” the young woman nearest to Raena asked. She looked to be a year or two older than Raena and appeared to be around five months along.

  “A friend,” Raena replied, knowing the details were too complicated to get into at present. “We’re here to get you out.”

  “Is this a trick?” the woman asked. “We were told we have to stay here.”

  “No one has the right to tell you what to do,” Raena told her. “We’ll take you somewhere safe, I promise.”

  “How did you even get in here?”

  “I escaped once,” Raena explained. “This is the soonest I was able to come back.”

  She turned her attention to the door lock. It was coded with a bioscanner. No way I can bypass that.

  Force was the best option. Raena placed her hand on the glass front of the holding cell and sent a low-intensity telekinetic wave. The glass compound resonated in response.

  “Go to the back and turn away,” Raena instructed the woman.

  As soon as the woman had complied, Raena resumed the telekinetic vibration, this time without holding back. The glass let out a high-pitched trill as it vibrated faster and faster, then shattered in a shower of tiny shards.

  Raena closed her eyes and raised a localized shield around herself to guard against the glass fragments.

  Jason observed her technique and began a similar process on the cell across the hall.

  “Come on,” Raena urged the woman. “What’s your name?”

  “Ruth,” the woman replied.

  “Ruth, everything is going to be okay. Come with me,” Raena said.

  While Ruth gingerly stepped over the broken glass in her slippers, Raena moved to the next cell. She and Jason worked their way down the line, freeing seventeen women.

  This can’t be all of them,” Raena thought to herself. She remembered passing at least twice that many on her way in before, and the abduction records pointed to much higher numbers.

  “Do you know where they’re keeping the others?” Raena asked Ruth.

  “One level up,” the other woman replied. “I think, so, anyway. I only leave the cell when they take me to the labs for testing.”

  “We’re bound to meet with resistance,” Jason said telepathically. “I’m actually surprised no one has stopped us here yet. I’d have thought an alarm would go off when we broke the walls.”

  “They must have been successful with taking the surface facility,” Raena responded.

  “I hope you’re right,” her brother said. “Otherwise, we’re about to run into big trouble.”

  Moving nineteen people through the hallways would be a significant challenge compared to just Raena and Jason. The late-term pregnancies of several of the women would make movement slow, and their lack of training in telekinetic abilities meant they were effectively no more than civilians in their ability levels.

  “We’re not going to leave anyone behind,” Raena told the group. “I’m so sorry you’ve been held here.”

  “Why have they been keeping us?” one of the older women asked. “What do they want with our babies?”

  “That’s… part of a larger conversation,” Raena replied. “Suffice to say, they had no right to hold you he
re like this. I’ll make sure you find a safe place to resume your lives. Whatever I can do to help, I will.”

  “Who are you?” another asked. “No one else has come to help us.”

  Raena exchanged glances with her brother and he nodded.

  “I’m Raena Sietinen, and that’s my brother, Jason,” she stated. “The Sietinen Dynasty cares very much about people with abilities. We hope that one day everyone can live together as equals.”

  “But… telekinesis is forbidden,” Ruth said.

  “It was,” Raena replied. “But the Priesthood doesn’t call the shots anymore. Things are about to change.”

  A hopeful spark ignited in Ruth’s eyes. “I never thought that things could be any different.”

  “You’ve been down here for a while,” Raena told her. “But things are definitely changing, and I’ll make sure you can make up for as much lost time as possible.”

  Ruth placed a hand on her stomach. “It’s not that simple.”

  Raena’s chest constricted. What can we do with these children, knowing what they are? “We’ll figure it out.”

  Jason caught Raena’s attention from further down the hall. “We need to move if we stand a chance to escape.”

  “Right.” Raena took a calming breath. “All right, everyone, we’re getting out of here. Stay between Jason and me—we’ll keep you safe. We’re going up to the next level to get the others you mentioned, and then we’re breaking out of this prison.”

  “The Priests will come for us,” one of the new women, who couldn’t have been out of her teens, whispered.

  “No, they won’t,” Raena assured here. “There won’t be any Priesthood left by the end of today.”

  Raena led the group down the hall to the security door. The barrier was solid metal and outfit with a bioscanner lock similar to the cells.

  Breaking down the door telekinetically rather than trying to override the lock was their best option, even if that meant setting off an alarm. Raena cleared her mind of the fear and doubts swirling in the background and focused solely on the door in front of her. She identified its anchor points and yanked at them with her mind. The door groaned as it rattled in its holdings, and with a fine mist of concrete dust, it came free. She set it along the side wall of the corridor beyond.