His typically active mind had gone dark and empty, except for one thought.
This man.
The scent of the Human registered before the sight of him did: the border patrol soldier whose power he had detected the first night Ian arrived, the one who was staying in their room. Scythe growled at the information and it fled. He didn’t give a shit about any of that.
This man...had threatened her.
“Scythe. That man is Eler.”
Such things meant nothing.
This man had tried to harm Mercy.
He let the hand that grasped a neck close like it wanted to. There. That was more like it.
The man started to choke, started to fight for his life. His fingers pried at Scythe’s hand and wrist, but they couldn’t budge them, so the Human started to dig his nails into the skin.
That was not a good idea, because now Scythe could smell it. A tangy metallic odor tinged with salt. That’s what his blood smelled like. Exciting.
The blood began to rush in his veins like oil seeping into tightened hinges, loosening them so that the rest of the machine could move freely. He hadn’t felt that good since...He blinked at the image of what he had done last time. Bare hands, like now, and blood, but not his. Well, most of it wasn’t his, anyway. Back then, the bodies had chilled him after, and the memory of them reached through time and stopped him in Mercy’s room in Huran. He tried to clear his head enough to think: he hadn’t been an unwilling victim of the lust for years. He blinked again.
Think. It was hard, though, because when he got like this, he didn’t want to think. Thinking sucked. Like before, the virus had released endorphins that made him feel like he was the sun; the virus sharpened every nerve and honed every sense and clarified every issue. No need to think, because when you got down to the heart of any matter, the solution was simple and easy. Don’t worry. Just move. This way…
A familiar voice pulled him in another direction. “At the very least, let him report.”
It was Temper. Temper was talking. What had she said? Report. She wanted this man’s report so that she could give her own to the Scere about Mercy’s abilities.
“I don’t have to assist your investigation, Temper.”
The virus...Why was this happening now? What had made it activate like that? He struggled to pull himself together.
“No, but neither may you interfere. Killing him before he reports constitutes obstruction. You know this.” She offered, “Killing him after does not.”
Ian’s voice was a clear bell that rang out to him. It was a reminder, or a warning; it was a tether. “Let him report, Scythe, it is okay. And, we would like it if you didn’t kill him, either.”
Mercy’s power touched him, just a light brush with one of her ribbons, and then shied away. What did he feel about that? He felt sick. He was revolted...and he was relieved. It was better if she understood what he was. Then maybe she’d understand why he had left, and why he couldn’t go back to that life. Her family, their life, wasn’t for people like him.
Wasn’t that right?
“Show me what you did,” he said, taking the man’s mind in hand.
The memory jumped forward and he stormed into it.
Adan stood at the end of the bed and watched her. His eyes crawled over her body. His own wife had let herself go only a few years after they were married, but before that, she had had a terrific body, just like this girl’s. Curvy in just the right places. She was a bit small in the chest, but that would change very soon. Still, there was something appealing about a fresh, untouched bud just about to bloom. He let himself think about what it would be like, just for a moment, to be the one. He lay out the pictures in his mind of what he would do first.
Scythe’s rage returned instantly, and, in the space they shared, Adan felt the burn. He attempted to shy away, but there was no way for him to move in the little cage Scythe had made for him in his head. He whimpered pathetically.
In the memory, Adan gave himself a mental shake. It wasn’t enough, but it was already too much. He reminded himself that he had a job to do, but he couldn’t throw off his frustration. Irritably, he knocked the bed with his knee, and it shook her enough to wake her up. His pettiness even startled himself.
“Dad?” she asked, looking around.
“Sorry,” he said immediately. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I just have to get to my trunk here.” He turned to the trunk that was against the wall by his bed and opened it up. He took out two books and his glasses. “Now, which one?”
She didn’t think he was asking for her advice. She looked around nervously and then turned her back on him. Little bitch. Still, it gave him a nice view of something he’d like to take a hold of. He shook his head. Remember the job.
“Aw, well, looks like a mystery tonight,” he said. He closed the trunk and peevishly bumped into her bed again on the way to his. “Mind if I turn on this light?”
“No.”
“Thanks. Let me know if it bothers you, okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He waited until she was sound asleep and then he did what he was sent there to do. He pulled his power out of a different trunk, one that he kept locked up tight most of the time. He had a special ability that hid how strong he was from everyone else, even the halfbreed, whose power made his skin crawl just by walking by.
He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself, so he opened the lid a crack and let a tiny bit out. It slid toward her, sliding up her leg, across her lower back and up her arm to her head. So far, she hadn’t even noticed, but he wasn’t trying to get past her natural protection yet. He was just...feeling his way around. No harm in that.
Then she made it very hard for him to keep being good.
“Aw!” she moaned in her sleep.
Adan’s fear grew as he anticipated Scythe’s reaction to what he knew was coming up. He struggled, but couldn’t move in Scythe’s grip.
Adan held his breath for a moment. Damn tease. He let his power lean on her, just a bit. Right away, her power responded, rising up from her and pushing him away. He drew on a little more power and tried three attacks at once, each one diving down at her body, trying to get through.
Bam. Nothing. He couldn’t make a dent in it with what little power he was using. And, on top of it, she woke up. Damn it. That would complicate things.
“You…” Scythe leaned forward slightly, “You bastard.” He had one of his small slicers in his hand and it was pressing in just the right place. When he had grabbed it, he didn’t remember or care, because this was where it belonged.
Scythe could tell that Adan thought he was going to die, and he wasn’t sure that the man was wrong, because he was enraged. It was way worse than he thought when he first arrived. Adan hadn’t just threatened her, he had lusted for her, and then he had laid his hands on her.
The phantom Scythe leaned against the wall, his head tilted at an angle and listened to the effect of the memory on the music. He was starting to understand the relationship between the two now, and he didn’t like the way this particular memory was influencing the development of the melody. There was a sleazy, unclean quality to it that had been introduced by Adan’s memories. It was getting stronger as the memory continued.
Was he that influenced by the memory when he had seen it, or was Edillian taking more from it than Scythe had? Was Ed choosing what he would absorb and what he would disregard? Scythe wondered if that were the case, because it seemed that he was unusually interested in the man’s physical lust.
Scythe had tried everything he could think of to interrupt the flow of his memories, but he hadn’t been able to affect even one thing in the process for…well, he didn’t know how long it had been, but it was a long time. However, standing there next to himself and Adan, an idea came to him. Who had been able to break Scythe’s hold on them? No one. So, who had come close? Cord had done it first, had shaken him when he was reading memories by claiming that he had murdered Mercy. Scythe had to
find what it was that would shake Edillian, and the only thing he could think of was...
“Scythe,” he said as forcefully as he could.
Scythe blinked, and Adan’s memory disappeared. Behind him, Temper, Mercy and Ian froze in place.
It was the first reaction he’d had in so long that he spoke quickly, “Scythe! Listen to me!”
“What?” Scythe looked at him. Adan disappeared.
“Haven’t you heard me calling you?”
“Um, no,” he answered, and his brow creased. He looked around the room and then turned back to Scythe. “Father?”
Scythe swallowed, his excitement losing ground to an unsettling fear, “Yes, that’s right.”
“But, you’re dead,” he said, slowly shaking his head.
A cool wind blew across Scythe, reaching under his clothes, under his skin.
“No. Listen. Scythe’s father is dead, but you are not Scythe.”
Scythe reached out to him, but the young man jumped back and away from him, his heart racing. Scythe lunged forward, grabbing at the black shirt.
Scythe screamed, his eyes bulging when Scythe’s hand went right through his clothes. “Go away!” He turned and ran. When he hit the door, the door disappeared, along with the room and the whole complex.
Go away!
The words hung in the air powerfully for a moment. When they began to fade, they pulled Scythe along with them. His hand still extended, Scythe could clearly see his fleeing younger self through his transparent skin. He started to breathe heavily as soon as he lost sight of his hand, and then discovered that it wasn’t just his hand. Within a few seconds, every trace of Scythe had disappeared completely.
-----------
Warren Liftner made a point to ignore Cord, taking his time to set the alarm on his display. When he was done, he set aside the window and pulled up the next batch of work, lifting his finger to rub at his temple.
Cord, who had been lounging in a seat adjacent the busy desk while Jenna used the restroom, leaned back farther in his chair and stretched out his feet, looking as unperturbed as possible.
When she finally returned, the man turned to Jenna and handed her a thick file.
“Okay, you’ve been approved for the next assignment, Rachelin. Where is your normal partner?”
“We went our separate ways.”
He frowned at Cord. “You clear him?”
“I didn’t think it mattered, as long as I brought in your volunteers.”
He switched his disapproval from Cord to her, “Policy states all recruiters have to be cleared. You’d better get it taken care of. Assistant supervisor Price was just here, asking questions about your latest recruit, so you’ll probably get a call from her, or you might want to check with her before you go. Anyway, since he’s not on the roster, all checks will be made out to you.”
“What about the bonus?” Cord asked.
“That takes a while. You just brought her in yesterday,” he said, turning back to his pile of paperwork. “She was already at top pay, so you may not get any more. You’ve submitted for the bonus. That’s all you can do until they finish testing her. If she merits a bonus, you’ll get it then.”
When Cord gave Jenna an impatient look, she patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry, we’ll get it. You said yourself she was a powerhouse.”
The clerk looked back at Cord, “You know the subject?”
“No,” Jenna answered. “We just saw her in action. He doesn’t know her.”
“I saw her give Rachelin that,” Cord said, pointing at Jenna’s bruised face.
“Yeah, that’s a nasty one. Good thing you weren’t hurt.”
Cord grinned, “I dodge better.”
“I’ve got work. I’ll let you know when you get back with the next one if your bonus was approved. Until then, I’d think you’d be pretty happy with the two-five you got. Most people don’t get that much in a month.”
“We are, and thanks for the high level, Warren,” Jenna said, waving the file. She nodded to Cord and they left his cubicle. “This is another nice one. If we nab it quick, we can cruise for a while.”
“Sounds good. They got anything to eat here?”
“Yeah. There’s a cafeteria, but I thought we’d eat someplace nicer…”
“I’m hungry now. Let’s eat. I also need to visit the men’s room.”
“Oh, okay.” She led him back down the way she had come, pointing to a door to the left of the elevators. “There’s the restroom.”
He nodded and went in. After checking the stalls, he joined the guy at the sinks in washing his hands, choosing the one at the end. When the man turned, looking around, Cord held out a towel.
“Here,” Cord waited until the man’s eyes were on him, and then with almost no effort he used his power to capture the man’s mind; he wasn’t powered, so it was easy. “Let’s see what you do here...um...Lo.”
He didn’t have to speak to the people he worked over; that was something that Scythe, whose powers were similar to his, used to do. He had always been able to reach right in and communicate with the person immediately, kind of like Mercy and her father did when they talked to each other. Cord didn’t even have to form words, he could just send his will in something like a thought image and the mind responded. It opened up for him like a book and the longer he sat in the mind, the more thoroughly he knew the table of contents and index.
Lo worked in the technology department, which was incredibly lucky, because now Cord didn’t have to go looking for it. He gave Lo some directives, along with an alternate version of what had happened in the bathroom. Then he went into a stall and used the facilities while Lo pulled two pain killers out of a container in his pocket and downed them with water from the sink.
Cord came out and started to wash his hands. “Headache?”
“Yeah, a killer. That’s why I carry these babies.” He held up the bottle.
Cord nodded and left.
Outside he asked Jenna, “You gonna hunt down that supervisor, Pink, before we go?”
“Price. No way. She’s a bitch. Let her come to me.”
“Could it help us to get the bonus?”
“Um, maybe, but probably not. Hmm. Couldn’t hurt though. If I see her, I’ll see what she wants.”
They arrived at the cafeteria and picked up a couple of drinks and sandwiches.
“Where is the next job?” Cord asked between bites.
“Looks like a couple of hours by train, in Thornweed.”
He took a long drink and looked around. There were only about ten small tables in the room that faced the cafeteria, which he thought was pretty small for a building of its size. Nearly all the tables were filled with people either lazily eating or chatting with coworkers. “Is there another cafeteria?”
“Not that I know of, why?”
“Seems small, is all.”
“Maybe there’s another in the lab. I know that they make the food here for the subjects, though, so this is probably the only one. You’re right, it does seem small, now that I think about it. Maybe there are break rooms that people use.”
“I’m going to get some pie. Be right back.”
“‘kay.”
He got up and walked over to the counter where they had ordered their lunch. Behind the glass, the food was laid out in warming dishes and standing over them holding the spoon that he used to serve up every dish was one of the two people working during the slow shift, a middle aged Human in a white uniform. His partner was working the cash register.
“You back for seconds?” the man asked.
“Nope. It was good, though. Do you have any pie?” Cord asked, knowing the answer already, since he had watched another customer walk off with the last piece.
“Well, just sold the last one, but I might have something in the back. Let me see.” The man turned and went through a doorway. Cord glanced around and then, seeing that no one was paying him any mind, he walked to the end of the counter, slipped behind it and follow
ed him.
He quickly caught up to the man and touched him on the shoulder. He didn’t mess around with any pleasantries; time was so short he was going to have to pull a rush job on this one anyway. As soon as he could, he snagged the man’s mind and shuffled through it. He found out that no halfbloods were getting food services, and the new recruit was in SH12, special handling room number twelve. She was getting a specific diet which included high levels of protein and complex carbohydrates to boost energy levels as well as the sedative powder they mixed in the food of certain recruits to keep them cooperative. Once he had the location and her doctor’s name, he made a few quick changes, added a directive and then stepped back and waited.
“What? Ohhh, ouch,” the man complained, squeezing his eyes closed. He waved to the walk-in without looking. “There, could you just get it yourself? It’s in the refrigerator.”
“Sure.” Cord opened the large door, located the individually wrapped slices, took one and then offered, “You want me to put out a few for you?”
“That would be great, and thank you for helping me move those crates. My back is killing me today.”
“No sweat. Thanks for the pie. See ya.”
Cord brought the plates out and held one up for Jenna to see when she gave him a “What’s up?” expression from their table. He put the extra plates down under the heat lamp and went to pay for the one he planned on eating and the one he was saving.
While he waited in line, two men wandered into the cafeteria and began to look around. One of them spoke to the cashier, “Heya, Chuck, you seen anything funny?”
“Like what?”
“Someone using? We just got a report from a sensor for somewhere around here.”
“Haven’t seen anything. It’s pretty quiet. Could it be a mistake?”
“Maybe. We’ve had a bunch of false alarms today, but we think it might be interference from a new candidate.”
“We think?” his partner asked sarcastically. “There’s no doubt. She’s messing everyone in the building up. They had to put her down this afternoon, on account of some crazy stuff was going on.”
Halfblood Legacy Page 33