The Cure

by Teyla Branton

  I waited for Ava to tell Jace he’d have been in the way, but her gravestone eyes observed him without expression. “You may still have your chance. Meanwhile, we have another problem to take care of. Two, actually.”

  “The Hunters, I suppose.” I frowned. “There’s no way to erase their knowledge of Mari altogether. She’s already in their database. But we might be able to erase the fact that she actually Changed.”

  Ava jotted something on a paper in front of her. “I hope so, though that’s not what I’m referring to. However, I did talk to Ritter after you left the park, and I sent George with the trailer. We’ll bring the Hunters here to study the situation. If we can erase Mari’s Change, I’ll need your help.”

  I nodded. Delving inside people was exhausting, and though taking the Hunters’ memories hadn’t been too difficult, my run-in with the armed bum had left me depleted. Concentrating now, I increased my body’s rate of absorption from the air. More nutrients should help me recover.

  “The real concern with what happened tonight,” Ava continued, “is how many other descendant lines might be compromised. Is this a one-time thing, or do the Hunters have a way to track our relatives who carry the Unbounded gene?”

  My stomach tensed. If they did, it could devastate the entire Renegade movement unless we all acted fast. New Unbounded were the only way we’d survive the ongoing battle. “We’ll have to contact the other groups.”

  “Stella already sent out a message,” Ava said with a sigh. “But more pressing than all this is the problem of Cort’s brother. He contacted us on our emergency line less than an hour ago, right before I called you. He wants to meet with Cort tonight. In person. Says it’s urgent.”

  I blinked. “Keene? That brother?” Cort Bagley’s Unbounded father was a member of the Emporium Triad, and Cort had many siblings, both mortal and Unbounded. Cort had defected years ago from the Emporium to Ava’s group of Renegades, but his half brother Keene had remained embroiled in his father’s cause, a mortal in the midst of Emporium Unbounded who considered themselves superior—almost gods—compared to the lowly mortals. Two months ago Keene had captured and taken me to the Emporium, but he’d eventually helped me escape. My life wasn’t the only one he’d saved, and I owed him. “I thought Cort had lost all contact with Keene.”

  Stella, her arm still around Mari, turned her head in our direction. “He had for a while, but there’s a chat group online where they sometimes talked in the past. Cort told me he’s been keeping an eye out there, and Keene posted there last week.”

  I glanced at Ava to see if she’d known about this. Though each of us had our private lives, anything that might endanger the group had to be cleared through her.

  She nodded. “I knew about it. They’ve been exchanging emails and talking on the phone. Cort’s been trying to get him to work with us.”

  I was going to kill Cort for not telling me. “What does Keene want?”

  “He wants to meet Cort—here in Portland. Tonight. With Cort in Mexico, that’s impossible, but with everything that’s going on, we feel we should meet him.”

  “Keene knows we’re in Portland?” My eyes went from Ava to Stella and back.

  Again Ava nodded, her lips tight with disapproval. “Apparently.”

  Not good. Our location was the one thing we and other groups of Renegades guarded with our lives. Not doing so always ended in a blood bath.

  “We don’t know how he knows,” Stella said, always ready to give each of us a fair chance. “But the fact that he requested a meeting here is significant.”

  “Exactly.” Ava’s eyes still rested on my face. “We have to meet him. Or rather, you do, since Stella and I feel that you’re the only one he’d talk to in Cort’s absence. But keep in mind, it could be a trap.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Jace said.

  I rolled my eyes. “No. I’ll be fine.” My brother had embraced near immortality with a passion that often overruled good sense, and I didn’t want to have to worry about him.

  “He should go,” Ava countered. When I didn’t reply, she added, “It’s either him or Ritter. We have no idea if Keene’s still working for his father and the Emporium. I expect you to be careful, but you can’t go in without backup.”

  Unlike Ava, I trusted Keene—at least as much as you could trust anyone who knew about the Unbounded. He’d always told me the truth as he’d known it—even if it wasn’t the entire truth, which was more than I could say about most men in my life, especially Ritter.

  Who should be here any moment.

  My traitorous body began to grow warm just thinking about him. Not good at all, especially in light of the Unbounded fertility rate and high probability of non-Unbounded offspring. Maybe after I’d lived a century or two, I’d learn to control my impulses. Besides, like many other Renegade Unbounded, Ritter had old-fashioned ideas about morality and family. It was all or nothing, and I didn’t know if I was ready for two thousand years of commitment.

  “Okay, Jace can come,” I said. “Where does Keene want to meet? And when?”

  Stella frowned, and even that didn’t mar her beauty. “Eight o’clock. At a Chinese restaurant. I looked it up. It’s reputable and in a good part of town. In fact, it’s not too far from my apartment.” Her apartment meant where Bronson lay dying, tended by either Stella or her live-in nurse twenty-four hours a day.

  “Bronson’s your husband, isn’t he?” Mari asked hesitantly, her face pale and drawn.

  Stella’s frown disappeared, and I knew she was reminding herself that she had Mari and Oliver now, her beloved younger sister’s Unbounded progeny to focus on—even if one day her own child didn’t develop the active gene.

  “He is, and you’ll meet him soon.” Stella looked over her shoulder where Oliver still sat at the table, leaning back, his long fingers tented over his stomach. “Meanwhile, Oliver can show you where you’ll be sleeping. You’ll be staying in my room here. I’m not usually there anyway. There’s clothing in the closet. Feel free to use whatever you need. We’ll get you more as soon as we can.”

  Mari’s eyes widened. “But . . . I . . . all my things are at home . . . and I need to talk to Trevor.”

  Had I been this dense? “Listen, Mari,” I said, stifling a sigh. “I told you at the park. You can’t go home. Not ever again. Those people will hunt you now. Trevor sold you out. He’s not there waiting for you. He never will be.” I wanted to tell her she was one of the lucky women who got away, but she started crying again, crumpling in Stella’s arms.

  Stella glared at me. “Sorry,” I mouthed with a shrug. So I wasn’t the most empathetic person. I should be. After all, I was the one who could feel her emotions bouncing around like a bullet in my brain. I strengthened my mental barriers and immediately the desperation left me. Ah. I needed to remember to do that without having to concentrate so hard.

  We all stood there a bit helplessly, not knowing what to do. I didn’t think telling Mari that Trevor was unconscious would improve matters. Maybe I should tell her how my old boyfriend helped the Emporium kidnap me. Then again, it wasn’t something I was willing to discuss with so many listening ears.

  Oliver stood and came around the table. “Hey,” he said to Mari, “it’s really not that bad. They give you a bank account, and you don’t have to worry about food anymore, or paying the rent. Plus, you can jump off a building, splat on the ground, and come back to life as good as new.”

  The idiot. Exactly what we’re looking for in new Unbounded. Oliver looked great—until he opened his mouth. We were trying to save the world and all Oliver worried about was the rent and interesting ways to off himself. I’d heard that a few of the younger Unbounded—meaning those who hadn’t reached their first century—got high on dying and coming back to life, but in my experience, it wasn’t all that pleasant. Of course I’d been in a hospital and pretty thoroughly drugged at the time.

  “Better yet, they give you guns,” Jace added, excitement lacing his voice. “Any kind you
want. Bigger ones than I had in the army.”

  Mari stared at him in horror.

  Okay. So Jace isn’t much better.

  Ava watched us all with an expression I couldn’t exactly interpret, but it reminded me of a mother I’d seen on the news whose teens had been caught setting fire to a school. I didn’t bother to try pulling any more from her thoughts; as a sensing Unbounded she could block me better than most without even trying.

  “What about the second thing?” I asked her. “You said we had two problems to take care of besides the break-in at the lab.” As if Keene’s mysterious appearance wasn’t complication enough.

  Ava sighed. “It’s that dog of yours.”

  Mine? I wouldn’t exactly call Max that, though he’d belonged to my family. When we’d fled from Kansas, we’d had to take him with us. Where else would he go? “What’s he done now?”

  “He’s suddenly forgotten that he’s potty-trained, and he’s left a surprise for you upstairs in the hall. If you’ll remember, the housekeeper told us she’d vacuum up his hair, but she absolutely drew the line at messes.”

  Right. And in a fit of misguided loyalty, I’d promised to keep him in line.

  “There’s plenty of time to take care of it before you head out for your meeting,” Ava added.

  Snorting a laugh, Jace turned quickly on his heel to escape.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” I grabbed his arm. “If you want to come with me to see Keene, you’re helping me clean up after that mutt. Besides, you actually like him.”

  Jace groaned, but he didn’t pull away.

  “Just remember,” Ava’s voice floated after us. “The restaurant might be a trap.”

  Though my mind rejected the thought that Keene would try to hurt his brother, or me, I knew she was right. Trust was something that couldn’t be earned with a single action. Or even several actions. In whatever agenda he was pushing, Keene could very well want us all dead.

  ALTHOUGH WE WERE EARLY FOR our appointment, we left the palace in a hurry. I wanted to be gone before Ritter arrived with the trailer of unconscious Hunters and insisted on coming with us. Truth was, I didn’t trust myself alone with him, and I was determined not to easily forget what he’d done. I hadn’t asked for undying devotion or anything so awkward as that. I’d simply believed his promise to be there when I awoke from the heart transplant that saved my father’s life—and took mine, however briefly.

  I was sure Ritter could figure out something to do with himself tonight. By the time I returned from the restaurant with any information I could squeeze from Keene, I bet he’d have Oliver, Mari, Chris, and even Stella in the sprawling dining room turned gym, working on combat techniques.

  “Okay, you stay out of sight,” I told Jace, as I drove slowly past the restaurant. “Just because you’ve never officially met Keene doesn’t mean he won’t recognize you. He’s probably seen your picture dozens of times.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” Jace’s normal good humor vanished. “I have a bone to pick with that man. He almost killed me.”

  “Not him. Justine.” His execution wasn’t the only one my once best friend had ordered. “Keene just had instructions to bring you in. He didn’t know she was taking orders directly from the Triad.”

  Jace grinned. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you were sweet on this guy.”

  I had kissed Keene, but Jace didn’t know that. Neither did Ritter.

  I looped around the block and drove past the restaurant a second time. Whenever the Emporium might be involved, it paid to be careful. Many of their mortal children worked for the Emporium as little more than expendable slaves whose blind obedience made them dangerous. Keene was more than that, his intelligence and skill at fighting landing him a higher position than most mortals in the organization. It helped, of course, that his father was a member of their governing Triad. Keene had left the Emporium during my first run-in with the group, but he could have changed his mind. He’d do what he needed to survive.

  “We’ll park on the next block and walk back separately,” I said.

  “I’ll follow you.” Jace checked his .45 to make sure a bullet was in the chamber, though he’d already done that two times since we’d left the palace. Like me, he had a backup weapon and at least one knife, but his real strength was his hand-to-hand combat skills. Not only did he move with lightning speed, but his ability gave him a sort of precognition that told him where his opponent would strike next. Watching him these past months, I understood how Ritter had been able to tell from only one workout that combat wasn’t my inborn ability. Jace was stronger, faster, and better than everyone else—except Ritter, who shared the combat ability. During our training together, I did manage to get in a rare surprise hit, which was better than most non-combat Unbounded. I wondered if the precognition meant that on some level Jace also had a bit of the sensing ability that ran through our mother’s family line, but everyone assured me there wasn’t a connection, and that no Unbounded ever possessed more than one family ability.

  Which meant, since my ability was sensing and not combat, that I had to learn to fight the old-fashioned way instead of coming to it instinctively like Jace. Sometimes I felt all I did was train. Well, train and watch Mari. Now that I’d have more free time, I’d spend it tightening my moves. Because not honing my fighting skills meant endangering my friends.

  I was definitely not trying to impress Ritter. We’d only worked out together a few times before he’d vanished, and he didn’t really know me or my abilities. Attraction didn’t count for anything.

  “I’ll find a table nearby,” Jace said as I pulled into a parking place. “After I make sure he came alone. If he didn’t, I’ll take care of them.”

  “No, you give me the signal first. You know the drill. We don’t attack unless we’re in danger. We can’t bring attention to ourselves.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Jace gave me an exaggerated salute.

  Cold bit into me as I started walking. I pulled my long leather coat tighter, my eyes scanning the darkness and the few passersby. No Unbounded registered in my mind. There was nothing out of place, and nothing unusual on the rooftops that I could see. No suddenly extinguished light, no suspicious shapes. I turned my head every now and then to see if I could catch a glimpse of Jace tailing me, but his speed made him near invisible when he wanted to be. He was there, though, behind me. Or someone was. I could pinpoint a mental blip of light that signaled a life force.

  All at once the light toned down a notch, and I told myself it was because Jace had finally remembered to protect his mind and not because he’d been attacked. If it had been an attack, I would have known. Or at least I hoped so.

  Pushing out a breath, I rounded the corner of the block and strode onto the main street. There were more lights now, and more people, but no one looked threatening. Was Keene observing the restaurant from somewhere in the dark, or did he trust his brother? In his position, I wouldn’t trust anyone.

  Tasty aromas wafted through the streets, reminding me that I still hadn’t eaten, and might not, though the meeting was at a restaurant. No matter—absorbing had brought my mental strength back to normal. I’d be more than ready to help Ava with the Hunters later. I reached out my mind for Jace, but with so many life forces gleaming from the people around me, I’d completely lost him.

  A few whistled notes of a nameless song escaped my lips, a sure sign that I was anticipating this meeting. Keene and I had sparred both physically and with words, and though I’d been a prisoner, it hadn’t been all bad. Except now the anticipation meant I needed to be more careful. I clamped my lips shut and the tune cut off abruptly. For all I knew, Keene was planning a press conference where he’d out both the Emporium and the Renegades. I hoped not. We weren’t ready for that—yet. First we had to track down and remove Emporium agents who were embedded in high places.

  The restaurant bustled with life, but there wasn’t a waiting list. The hostess, a young Chinese girl with acne covering
her rounded cheeks didn’t recognize Keene’s name when I asked, so I let her take me to a small table in the middle of the room. I felt exposed and uncomfortable under the bright lights without a wall to my back and a clean view of the entry, but this was Keene’s show and I had to be available. I still couldn’t see or sense Jace, and I was starting to worry. Before the Change my brother had been a fun-loving, capable man. Since the Change, he was still fun-loving and capable, but his reckless streak seemed to be growing. Funny how now that we could live two thousand years, I worried about him more than ever.

  Minutes ticked by and Keene still hadn’t shown. Only the waitress appeared, wanting my order. Looked like I was going to have that chance to eat whether I wanted it or not—and I wasn’t that fond of Chinese food, though I loved the smell. I ordered something with chicken and leaned back, my arms folded. At least I could sense no Unbounded nearby; each of the diners around me were decidedly mortal.

  A man in a black overcoat and gray knit cap came into view from another aisle and slid into the seat opposite me, bringing a taste of chill and danger. His face was tan and lean to the point of gauntness, the lines hard. My hand went to my weapon, this time equipped with a silencer. “Easy,” he said. His own hands were in his coat pockets, no doubt holding a pistol pointed in my direction.

  “Keene.” I recognized the voice if nothing else. Slowly, I placed my hands on the table where he could see them. He’d changed, or maybe I simply hadn’t remembered him correctly. Most of our time together had been filled with terror, at least on my part.

  “Where’s my brother?” Keene’s green eyes glittered, but his voice was casual.

  Ah, the eyes were the same. And though he wasn’t Unbounded, his body exuded a readiness. He was the best mortal fighter I’d ever seen, better than many Unbounded. “Actually, he left the country this morning.”