Lingering discord, p.4
Lingering Discord, page 4
“Wait,” Lucas said. “Are they explosions? Don’t tell me your emergency protocol is blowing up the house!”
“I’d always assumed that if I ever needed to activate my emergency protocol, it would be because the house is overrun by the State.” Alexander said. “So, yes, I rigged the whole house to explode except whichever room I happened to be in.”
Isabel wanted to laugh. It was so like Alexander.
“How can you control the explosion that accurately?” Lucas demanded. “It won’t kill Elena,” he continued, He dropped his voice so low that Isabel had to strain to catch the next words. “Nor Llewllyn. We already tried blowing him up, once, didn’t we?”
“It’ll slow them down, nonetheless,” Alexander said. “Even an immortal will need some time to recover from a blast like that. Quinn, is the teleportation blocker gone?”
“Destroyed, Mr. Selwood.” Quinn replied.
He sounded happy. She must be imagining it of course, because there was no change in Quinn’s tone, but she was certain he sounded happy to have Alexander back.
“Destroy the panel and transport us to Location One, please.”
Isabel’s hand tightened slightly on Amir’s arm and her heart rate spiked. Teleportation wasn’t something to be afraid of, but she couldn’t help feeling nervous. Amir’s hand came up to cover hers.
“It’ll be okay,” he said, though he was still pale and shaking.
Location One was a room identical to the one they had just left. Except this one had never been lived in.
“You build all your houses to the same design?” Lucas grumbled. “Is this one rigged to blow up too?”
“Don’t worry,” Alexander said. “I’ll warn you if I want to blow it up.”
He came towards her and knelt by her side, but making certain not to loom over Amir. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’m okay.”
He looked at Amir. “How about you?” he asked. “How do you feel?”
“I’ll survive,” Amir said, his face still pale. “Did we escape?”
“Yes,” Alexander said. “You’re safe now. And you will be safe here. I promise.”
Amir smiled, but it was weary. “That isn’t something anyone can ensure, but thank you. I’m glad you’re here. Perhaps we can find Niek faster now.”
Alexander stilled. “What do you mean, find Niek?” he asked, his voice quiet. He rose and turned to face Lucas. “What happened to Niek?”
Lucas looked haggard. Isabel hadn’t looked at him properly before, but now that she had, she felt a pang of sympathy. He looked like a man who had lost everything he had. And he might well have if his son was in some kind of danger.
“I don’t know,” Lucas said. “He . . . he should have been home hours ago, but . . .”
Isabel’s confusion only grew. How could Niek be home? Wasn’t he in Selenia?
“Why should he come home?” Alexander asked, equally bewildered.
“Selenia was under attack from the State,” Amir said, his voice rasping. “We lost contact with everyone. They used Raul’s tech to get the children out and into a safehouse, but they never reached it. I think they made a mistake with the co-ordinates since Quinn was gone, and they had to input it manually, but I’ve no idea how to find out.”
Isabel felt cold. Her hand dropped from Amir’s arm, and her heart was thumping so loudly she thought it would break out of her chest. Selenia was under attack? Was Kaylee safe? Tears sprang to her eyes. She didn’t think she could survive the loss of another person she loved.
I never even told her I loved her.
Alexander was standing still, his face half tuned to Amir. He was even paler now, almost like he was dead. His lips were trembling. Of course. Niek, Paige and George were all in Selenia.
“Quinn,” Alexander spoke, his voice barely audible. “Scan please.” His voice choked at the last word and Isabel felt a surge of pity for him.
“You need rest, Mr. Selwood,” Quinn said. “Your blood is still not fully regenerated.”
“I’ll live,” Alexander said. “Just scan, Quinn. Find them. Please . . .”
K
aylee was dozing off when the console beeped. She shook herself awake, and stared around, confused. Where was she? Was it her alarm? As she saw George sitting hunched over the panel, his shoulders rigid and his entire body tense, she remembered. Of course. The ship that George stole. They were in space. George hadn’t set a destination, just putting it on autopilot and directing it somewhere towards Hafi. They were still cut off since they had no idea how to use the communicators in the ship. George had gone through the instruction manual, but it didn’t tell them how to change the preset frequencies and they were afraid to use those.
“What is it?” she asked, her last word coming out along with a yawn. God! She was sleepy. It felt as if she hadn’t slept in days. The insistent beeping sound was highly annoying.
“I don’t know,” George said, his eyes going to the flashing console. “I don’t know what most of these things are.”
Not that he needed to. She sat down next to him.
“As long as it doesn’t mean we’re about to run out of fuel or something, I’m not bothered,” she said, yawning again.
There was no chance of that since the ship ran on solar energy just as most of the commercial flights did.
George chuckled weakly. “Go and sleep,” he said. “There’s still quite a few hours left before we would enter Hafi’s atmosphere.”
Everyone else was asleep, worn out by the battle and the stress. Adrenaline had kept them all going, but now all of them were sleeping so soundly as if they had all been drugged. George was the only one who was awake.
“What about you?” she asked. “You’re not sleepy?”
George shook his head. “Not in the slightest,” He smiled at her. “Go.”
Kaylee could guess why that was. “I’m sure Alexander is fine,” she said, her employer’s first name sliding easily from between her lips. He had given her permission to use it, but Kaylee hadn’t till now. It all seemed irrelevant at the moment. “He’s a survivor.”
George said nothing, but his body tensed even more. “I know,” he said finally, his voice so low. “But . . .” he sighed. “I can’t help worrying . . . What if Quinn left him too?” He grimaced slightly. “I know it’s over between us, but I still . . .”
“I didn’t know you two had broken up,” Kaylee said, surprised.
Had she been so wrapped up in her own issues that she had missed it? Sure, she had noticed the tension between the two instead of the easy affection they had shared earlier, but she hadn’t known they had broken up.
“We . . .” George rubbed a hand across his face. “I guess we didn’t officially, but yes, it’s over.” He sounded miserable. “I’ll check the instruction manual. The infernal noise is driving me crazy.”
Kaylee sat back in the seat, feeling pleasantly drowsy. She would go back to her own seat in another minute. They were more comfortable to sleep in. The ship had made room for more people than she would have expected. There was something in the instruction manual about increasing its size to accommodate more people if needed. She yawned again. It had been quite smart on George’s part to have managed to steal a ship. She wished she had thought of it.
“Someone’s trying to communicate with us,” George said, tension in his words.
Kaylee’s sleep was effectively banished. “Could be the State.”
“Could be,” he said. “But if we don’t answer, they might just blow us up.” Which was a fair concern. He touched the flashing panel, and spoke hesitantly. “Hello?”
“George?” Alexander’s voice spoke, not loud, but still loud enough for both of them to hear. “George, are you okay?” He sounded anxious, almost as anxious as George looked.
“Alexander!” George’s entire frame relaxed, as he slumped in his chair. “You’re okay.”
His voice broke and Kaylee would have left them to it, but she was worried about Isabel and Paige. Were they both all right?
“I’m fine,” Alexander said. “What about you?”
“I’m okay,” George said. “Just a little bit shaken up. Where are you?”
“In Prith,” Alexander said. “I’ll be breaching into that autopilot of yours and directing it to our co-ordinates. All right?”
George nodded. “Of course.”
Kaylee suppressed a smile. For a man who had declared it was all over barely five minutes ago, George looked far too happy talking to his ex. His eyes were shining and a small smile was constantly hovering around his mouth.
“George?” Alexander’s voice came through again. “Is Kaylee there? Is she all right?”
“I’m here,” Kaylee spoke before George could answer. “I’m fine, Alexander. Is . . . is Isabel there?”
What was the point in pretending anymore? Everyone knew how she felt about Isabel anyway.
“She’s resting,” Alexander said. “She’s okay, and so are the babies. She was worried about you. We all were.”
“We’re all fine,” she said, smiling. “And it’s all thanks to George.”
“Of course,” Alexander said. “All right, your autopilot should bring you to us in a couple of hours. I’ve activated the camouflage tech in the ship, so it won’t be picked up by the State’s scanners when you enter Prith’s atmosphere. It will deactivate itself when the ship lands.” He paused. “George, I need to know something. Who input the co-ordinates while sending the children to Prith?’
“Joyce,” George said. “Why? Is there a problem?”
“They haven’t reached here,” Alexander said and Kaylee felt her insides go cold. Not reached Prith? What did that mean? Where could they be? “We have run every scan we can think of, including a DNA Scan of Niek and Paige,” Alexander was continuing. “But we’re not getting any results. Either they’re somewhere the scans don’t work or–” He stopped, but Kaylee could hear the break in his voice.
NO! The children had to be safe. She wouldn’t even entertain the other possibility. It was unthinkable.
“B-but,” George spluttered. “How’s that possible? I’m sure Joyce did everything correctly, but . . . she was saying that manual input of co-ordinates can go wrong . . . We never thought . . . Is Amir there?”
“He’s resting too,” Alexander said. “I’ll talk to him, but there has obviously been some mistake. Raul’s tech is a tricky thing, without a Sentient’s directions.”
“God, Alexander, I’m so sorry,” George said. “Perhaps we shouldn’t have sent them away, but we were under attack, and–”
“George, calm down. This isn’t anyone’s fault,” Alexander spoke softly. “Is Joyce there?”
“She’s sleeping,” Kaylee said. “But I can wake her.”
“Please do,” Kaylee recognised Mr. Hendriks’ voice. It sounded just as anxious as Alexander’s had.
Joyce woke as soon as Kaylee’s hand touched her shoulder. “Wh-what?” Joyce muttered drowsily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
“Lucas wants to talk to you,” Kaylee said softly.
She didn’t feel like explaining the whole thing. She also didn’t want to scare Joyce or make her feel bad. The woman looked utterly exhausted. Kaylee still couldn’t come to terms with the fact that the children were missing, and she hoped they would find them soon.
“Lucas?” Joyce’s eyes widened. “Where? Is he okay?”
She rose as she spoke and Kaylee led her to the control room. Or should it be cabin? What difference did it make?
“Lucas?” Joyce’s voice was alert as if she had been awake for ages. Kaylee envied that she was able to be fully awake so soon. It would have taken her a while. “Where are you?” Joyce was asking. “Are you all right? Is Amir there? How is he?”
“Slow down,” Lucas said, sounding slightly relaxed. “I’m okay, Amir is okay, he’s resting now. We’re in Prith now. How are you, Jo?”
“I’m okay. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Jo, do you remember the co-ordinates to which you sent Niek and the other children? Can you tell me?”
“Of course,” Joyce said, reeling off the numbers. Kaylee stared at her. How did she keep all that in her head? In the midst of all this? It was remarkable. “Why, Lucas? What happened?”
“They’ve not reached the safehouse,” Lucas said. “We’ve been scanning, but nothing yet. We’re hoping the co-ordinates will help us locate them.”
“B-but,” Joyce spluttered almost exactly as George had done. “Lucas, I’m so sorry! I thought I’d done it exactly, I double checked everything . . . but . . . God! I’m an idiot! I knew there was a risk . . . I shouldn’t have done it! I’m an utter idiot!”
Far from it, but before Kaylee could voice her thought, Lucas spoke. “Jo, relax, all right? It’s not your fault. We’ll find them. Don’t worry.”
He must really care for her, to try and comfort her when his son was missing. But then, Joyce was a nice person. Kaylee had noticed it when she came to visit uncle Colin. They were old friends after all. There was silence in the cabin and Joyce sank into one of the seats, devastation on her face. George had a worried furrow between his brows, but his eyes were still shining.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Kaylee said to Joyce as she took the seat next to the other woman. “And I’m sure it’s not your fault.”
“I knew there was a risk, that inputting the co-ordinates manually can cause problems . . .” Joyce whispered. “What if I sent them into deep space?”
Kaylee had no idea how any of this technology worked, but she didn’t want Joyce to feel so guilty either. “I’m sure you didn’t,” she said. “Come on, you know yourself. Would you make a mistake like that? It’s the device that’s at fault, not you. I’m sure they’re still fine.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” George joined in.
Alexander’s voice came before he could say anything more. “We found them. They’re fine for now. Lucas and I are going to go and get them. We’ll see you afterwards. I don’t think we’ll be here when you arrive but Amir, Zain and Daniele are here, and Isabel too. Just make yourselves at home. Quinn will take care of you.”
“For now?” Kaylee asked. “What does that mean? Where are they?”
“They’re in Aitheras,” Alexander said, and Kaylee frowned.
Aitheras was the fifth planet in their solar system. It was the farthest from their sun, beyond even Hafi. It was undeveloped and uninhabited as far as she knew. She didn’t know it was capable of supporting life.
“But–” Joyce started before she fell silent.
“Be careful,” George said after a glance at her.
“Always,” Alexander said softly. “See you later.”
“What’s wrong?” Kaylee asked once the communicator panel went dark. “What’s in Aitheras?”
“Nothing living,” George said. “The planet supports life, but it is highly unstable. Quakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent. It’s too unstable for anyone to be there for any appreciable extent of time.”
“How do they even plan on getting there?” Joyce whispered. “The planet is unstable. It’s close to the sun of the nearest solar system, and the pull of both the suns has made it so unstable that any disturbance could well destroy it. They can’t use Raul’s tech. They risk destroying the entire planet if they do. It is almost twelve hours from Hafi, so I don’t know how they will get there in time!” She paused. “Oh, God, I sent the kids there using Raul’s tech!”
“Joyce, relax,” George said. “The children are fine, you heard him. He will get them back. Alexander will find a way.” George sounded certain.
Joyce looked sceptical, but she fell silent. Kaylee was with George, though. If anyone was going to find a way, it would be Alexander. She thought of all the things her employer had done. He also had Amir there. If the two of them put their heads together, there was nothing they couldn’t do. She might not be a genius scientist, but she knew that.
She couldn’t help directing a mischievous glance at George, though. “I thought you said it was all over,” she teased.
He flushed. “It’s . . . that’s not . . . come on, you know he can do it too.”
She nodded, still smiling, despite the worry that was coiled around her innards like a living entity.
E
lena came to, feeling completely disoriented. Why did it feel like she had been shredded to pieces and put back together? Why did it hurt so damn much? She was used to torment, used to all the ways in which a body could be made to feel agony. She had enjoyed it in herself as much as she did inflicting it on others, but right now, there was no joy. Pain didn’t feel like pleasure anymore. Why was she so cold? What was she doing in this rubble? Where were her clothes and her weapons?
She lifted a hand and stared as memory returned. Selwood. He had set up an explosion. The whole house was gone. No wonder he lived so far off from the city. How had they missed all this in their surveillance? She looked at her hand again, and watched in fascination as the muscles formed around the bones.
I’m a freaking biology text book!
There was a groan from somewhere close and she stiffened before relaxing. Llewllyn. She had given him the immortality drug in return for his help. He had predicted pretty accurately that if the Resistance got their hands on him, they would kill him, and he was not going to set himself up to be killed, not for anything. She had had no choice but to steal one of the last two vials of the drug.
He sat up, looking like someone who had just stepped out of a horror movie. She probably didn’t look any better. His clothes were gone too. Obviously. Clothes didn’t regenerate. Elena watched as the skin formed around Llewllyn’s muscles and flesh, feeling the pain in her own body abate slightly. Her whole form still felt sore.
“What now?” Llewllyn asked, his voice raspy. It took some time for the regenerated vocal chords to be back to normal.
Elena waved to the only structure left standing in the wreckage. The room Selwood had likely been in.
