More trouble.
The sound of Thomas’s fingers drumming a staccato beat on the surface of his desk brought Alex out of his head. After several long moments, Alex added, “This on top of the trauma of the last forty-eight hours does not bode well for her wanting to cooperate with me ever again.”
Thomas’s blue eyes sharpened. “Trauma?”
“Yeah. I was getting there.” He sighed so deep his shoulders lifted. He spent the next twenty minutes outlining everything—Lucas’s interference, Alex’s own role in bringing Lena down in an attempt to control the situation, and how her inquisition had resulted in the death of her mother and the subsequent destruction of the side of the Council building in Azcon.
Thomas leaned forward and cupped his chin with the palms of both hands. “She did what?”
“She brought it down. Sent out some kind of energy shockwave that mangled the room and fried the circuits in the entire building, locks, lights, the works. Did it again a few minutes later after I woke up and got her pointed at the wall. I had her take out the wall to escape. Three’s security director was killed in the collapse.”
The other man grimaced, the expression pinching his already narrow face. “Good riddance.”
Alex nodded his agreement. “I chased her down. We met up at her friend Ace’s place. I sent her to a safe house to cool while I put out fires.” He took a breath and pursed his lips, swerving his mind away from the safe house and the memory of how she’d moved the Dust within him when she touched him. Both times. Focus. “A few of those fires will require more long-term attention. Lucas is Four’s grandson.”
Thomas clearly hadn’t known. He wasn’t happy. “That explains a lot.”
“It does,” he agreed. “But it begs the question, why didn’t we know about it already? We should have known. He came in as my partner. Was it deliberate or an unhappy coincidence? Who in Dust do we have up in Zone Four anyway?”
“No one, anymore,” Thomas said. “There have been several incidents with the younger agents we’ve sent. Four is a cagey bastard, and he’s always been paranoid with that damned Reintegration Program for Spark agents, but this is new. There’s something else going on up there now.”
“Damn straight there is. While they were interrogating her, Lucas let something slip about some ‘they’ who always got what they need out of people like Lena to test the limits of their abilities, and it was his turn.”
“He could’ve been talking about accelerating the experiments on the prisoners up there.” Thomas referred to the secret Council prison in Zone Four operating on the border of Council territory and the LDS Zone. They sent the strongest criminal Sparks there instead of to Madisonville. As far as the public knew, these most dangerous men were put to death. Thomas, as Councilor Five, received occasional briefs on the activities there that told him otherwise. The public didn’t want men running around who could start fires and blackout fragile relo-city power systems, but the Council wasn’t willing to give up the opportunity to figure out how and why Sparks worked.
“That’s what I thought. The thing is….” Alex paused. “I had the feeling all of the advances they were talking about, all of the interrogations Lucas referenced that I wasn’t supposed to hear about, they weren’t on prisoners we know about. Thom, I think they’ve got the girls they’ve been taking up there.”
They both had long since learned to pay attention to Alex’s feelings on investigations.
Thomas’s blue eyes narrowed now as he focused. “What gave you that impression?”
Alex cocked his head, thinking back. “Nothing concrete. Nothing overtly said.”
“When you look at it sideways and take into account our lost agents up in Zone Four, it adds up,” Thomas said. “Four is up to something.”
“In response to us?”
“I wouldn’t think so.” His friend growled in frustration. “Our support shipments are still coming in, testing safe. And Four sent his Wards last summer, same as every year.”
Alex could see Thomas’s frustration at not having the answers. He felt the same. They had too much coming together now for it all to fall apart.
“I’ll make certain we know more shortly. I’ve been considering sending an agent I think could slip under their radar. It’s time to move on it.” Thomas shook it off, shifting his shoulders. “We’ll return to that later. Finish with the girl—”
“Lena.”
“Yes, Lena. Anything else?”
Alex fell quiet. “There is, in fact.” His hand reached across his chest to rub at his ribs where her small hands had spread warmth easing out through his body, healing. And doing other things. “My ribs were broken in the collapse. She fixed them. And—”
“She healed you?” Thomas tried hard not to sound incredulous. At Alex’s slow nod, he said, “And there’s an ‘and’?”
He frowned, remembering, and continued the slow nod as Thomas’s expression urged him to answer. “And it did something to her. She started…glowing.”
“We all glow.”
“No, Thom.” Alex shook his head. “She was glowing. Casting shadows in the room because her skin or the Dust in her skin was a shining beacon of light, glowing.” He swallowed and finished quietly. “It was the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen. She said it had never happened before. She didn’t know what caused it.” He shrugged. “It didn’t hurt her that we know of, and it faded over the next two hours, while we were in the tunnels under the city. We got out. Came here. And now she’s pissed. Welcome to Fort Nevada.”
Thomas digested the information in silence, as he usually did. It unnerved most of the people who had occasion to report directly to Councilor Five. But Alex had gotten used to it long ago. He sat back and waited.
After several moments of silence, Thomas spoke, and as Alex had expected, he had moved on. “I have a plan B. I didn’t know this would turn into such a production, but I figured you’d be due back in Azcon fairly quickly. So I’ve made other arrangements for her. Come with me.” Thomas stood and came around the desk. “You can meet him.”
“Him?”
Thomas nodded and strode from the room, his slight build somewhat incongruous when paired with his athletic grace. Alex followed him out of the administration wing and down two levels of stairs to the upper-level classroom wing. Thomas turned in to the Peer Assistance Center, where students who were struggling with their work could turn for help from carefully vetted Senior Wards.
The Senior Ward on duty jumped up when they entered.
Thomas pointed out a young man who looked familiar to Alex. The kid sat at a work station with his head bent down as he helped a boy of about twelve. “I require Senior Ward First Class Lee.”
When Thomas said the name, Alex had it. Lee was the kid he’d talked to in the cafeteria two nights ago. He must’ve done well on his out routes. The kid likely didn’t know yet, but Thomas would.
The Senior Ward nodded and hurried over to Lee and the boy. As soon as Lee looked up and saw them waiting, he nodded to the other Ward, rising and walking to them. Lee tugged on the bottom fold of his shirt to pull any wrinkles out. His face moved from nervous to become a study in cool indifference. The kid had potential.
“Councilor Five,” Lee greeted Thomas with a salute then turned to Alex with the typical confusion from students when having to greet him, “And, uh, Sir? Reyes?” Alex had refused both a title in the Zone and a rank in the Ward School. Everyone who mattered knew his importance, both to the Zone, to Thomas, and to the overall plan to elevate the Sparks. He was perfectly content to allow anyone else to think he was a Senior Agent like any other. He had what he needed, and prestige wasn’t part of it.
He chuckled. “I’m not a knight. Alex or Agent Reyes will do fine.”
“Yes, sir.” Lee answered gravely.
“Are you ready, Ward Lee?” Thomas was all business, his voice crisp and dry. “Your assignment has arrived. Time for you to meet her.”
Lee’s assignment? Alex raised his
brows at Thomas. He understood now. Thom intended the kid to be a companion with hopes he could become a confidante. Alex appraised the young man. Young, good-looking as young men went, soft spoken and earnest. Perhaps Thomas even intended for more to develop. He wouldn’t put it past his friend—he did consider her their “Eve,” after all, and Alex could see the wide Spark aura around Lee hinting at his strength.
It’ll never happen. He shook his head to himself as the three of them set off through the halls. The kid had potential and might be an excellent student and future agent, but he wasn’t the same caliber as Lena. He made a mental note to talk to Thomas about the details of his Plan B. He told himself he didn’t have any real opinion either way. He didn’t have to have one. She would eat Lee alive.
If they wanted her, and any children she might have, to be stable, she needed a stronger and more experienced partner. It wasn’t personal. It was just the smartest decision.
He took the lead as they neared her room. He keyed the lock just before he knocked, and waited several moments after it had popped open. She never called out, so he took a breath and slipped inside, waving his hand at the other two men to wait. Leaving the door ajar, he entered a few feet.
Lena sat on the edge of the bed facing him, watching warily.
Alex stopped and lifted his hands to his hips. “Any better?”
She sighed. “Not particularly, but I suppose I owe you an apology anyway.”
“An apology?”
“For overreacting?”
He snorted. “That would be great. But I wasn’t really expecting it from you.” Alex winced internally. He’d tried for humor, and it had come out all wrong. She reacted about as expected.
He met a suddenly icy stare.
“About as much as I’d expect you to wait for me to actually let you in, I imagine.” Her sarcastic voice was as hostile as her expression.
And here we go again.
“I did warn you that I was coming in. I did knock first.”
“And what if I had been undressed?”
He sighed. “Then I would have seen you naked twice, I suppose.”
She crossed her arms, eyes narrowed and fists clenched. “You know what? I take it back.”
“You take what back?”
“My apology. I didn’t overreact. You’re just a jerk.”
“You’re taking back your theoretical apology?”
“Yes.”
He nodded once. “Duly noted. But try to remember which jerk saved your life.”
“After you placed it in danger in the first place.” If she narrowed her eyes any more, they’d be closed. “Was there a purpose to this invasion?”
“There is, actually. I came to introduce you to my partner, and to your companion. Try to be nice to them.”
Thomas pushed the door open fully and walked a foot into the room. His gaze moved back and forth between them. Two sets of eyes swiveled to him. Her anger still simmered.
“Come on in,” Alex deadpanned. “The water’s fine, really.”
Thomas’s lips twitched with amusement as he approached her and cautiously offered his hand. “Miss Gracey, I’m Thomas Washington, Councilor Five. I run the school. I’ve waited a long time to meet you.”
As soon as the words ‘Councilor Five’ were out of his mouth, Lena jerked her hand back. She darted a look at Alex. “Councilor Five? But…. The Ward School is supposed to be independent of the Zones?”
She didn’t like being at the Ward School. He imagined she liked it even less now that there was a Councilor involved.
Alex couldn’t tell from his vantage point, but he imagined Thomas smiled at her. The look on her face was not reassurance. If anything, she’d just become even more suspicious.
“It is, yes.” Thomas told her. “For the intents and purposes of the Council of Nine, the Ward School is independent of the Zones. But, as I’m sure you can guess by now, there’s more going on here than just the school, and I am more than a Councilor. This is merely a convenient and temporary role used to conduct Zone Five’s business while I take care of our other concerns.”
Alex cleared his throat and ushered Lee in.
She inspected the young man from top to bottom. When she’d finished, she arched a brow at Alex. She was no fool.
Alex couldn’t imagine Thomas would fail to notice the pointed look Lena had given Alex. If he had, Thomas said nothing, merely urging Lee forward with a swinging hand.
“This is Senior Ward Jackson Lee, one of our top students.” Thomas clapped Lee on the shoulder. “And he has volunteered to help you acquaint yourself with the facilities, get you to your appointments and lessons, and generally help us by seeing to your needs.”
“My needs, huh?” She turned those blue-green eyes to Lee and swept them over him again.
He stood mute next to Thomas, overwhelmed by her energy, her bright bloom, and her attitude.
There’s no way this is going to work.
She tossed her hair back, and it slipped free from her ears to fall around her freckled face again. “Hello, Ward Lee.” She flashed a dazzling smile. “Or should I call you Warden Lee?”
Alex snorted softly. Yes, he could see this was going to go exactly as he expected. It was too bad his duties pulled him back to Azcon. The poor kid would need help. Ward Lee couldn’t possibly be ready to handle Lena Gracey.
13
Lena tried hard not to like Jackson Lee. She’d made it clear in the beginning that she wouldn’t be charmed by his easy company, no matter how lonely she became. Except at some point over the last month and a half, she had been charmed.
He walked back to her now from the cafeteria line, where he’d returned because she’d forgotten the maple syrup. She liked to dunk her toast, along with nearly everything else, in the sticky sweet. She’d discovered its rich taste, more complex than the honey those in Zone Three had access to, on her first breakfast at Fort Nevada. It wasn’t all she’d discovered.
Jackson had a graceful lope that reminded her of Reyes’s sinuous, confident movements. Unlike Reyes, he was neither jaded nor buried up to his neck in plots and counterplots. Reyes was a rugged mountain—beautiful to look at, but remote, exhausting, and dangerous. Jackson was a lush valley. His quiet offered comfort and recovery.
Then why can’t you stop thinking about Reyes?
Jackson eased the little bowl of syrup onto the table as he rounded it to sit across from her, as he had every morning since Reyes had brought her to Fort Nevada. His narrow brown eyes, set high above prominent cheekbones on his long face, met hers, and he gave her a questioning smile.
“You didn’t remember something else you forgot, did you?” Even his quiet, even voice spoke of his good nature. She had never liked her boys earnest before. Maybe the good food and easy days at Fort Nevada were making her soft.
“No, Jackson. Just eat your breakfast.” She took a few bites of syrup-dunked toast before remembering and, exasperated with herself, mumbled around a mouthful of toast, “Thank you.” A tiny piece of toast landed between them on the table. Lena’s hand flashed out to swipe it away. Ah, yes, Magdalena Gracey, such a damn lady, she mocked herself.
As if he hadn’t noticed, he raised his gaze to hers without glancing down at the telltale sticky smear. A genuine smile, broad and white with teeth, spread across his face. “You’re welcome.”
“What’s on the agenda for today?” she asked, trying for crisp and detached to cover her mortification. Did he have to be so…gentlemanly? The word would have made her wrinkle her nose in distaste before she’d experienced Jackson Lee’s daily attentiveness.
He swallowed the last bit of egg and took a moment to sip from his juice to clear his mouth. That’s what thoughtful people do, Lena, she told herself, so they don’t spit food across the table when they talk. He swallowed again.
“Well, you’re scheduled to give me a private lesson this morning.” He glanced up; her wide, wicked grin made him flush. “And, uh, afterward, um, you will go have a
history lesson with Guardian Erwin. He’s cleared his classes so he can clear up some of the history you’re lacking.”
She’d had periodic classes with the Guardians—the instructors responsible for educating the Wards—and the need for more wasn’t a surprise. She had wide gaps in her knowledge. She had thought she knew the history of the Great Disaster, but recently a Guardian had referred to the Dust as “nanites,” and when she’d responded with a blank stare, he’d sighed and told her she needed to spend time with Guardian Erwin. Apparently, today was the day.
“While you’re having your lesson,” he said, and then pointedly looked down at his plate, “Agent Reyes is coming in for a scheduled meeting. I get to go.” Jackson tried to mumble the words because he knew the mention of Reyes might set her temper off. If only he could keep the excitement from his voice.
This hero worship of Reyes served as proof of Jackson’s imperfection. She’d wondered if there might be more to it. Perhaps he was another beautiful, unattainable gay man like Ace, destined to be a wonderful, and very platonic, friend? But after several weeks of spending every waking moment together, that definitely wasn’t the case. They’d progressed beyond sidelong glances and zing-tinged chemistry, thanks to her shameless aggression, and were moving nicely toward…more.
Jackson wasn’t gay. He didn’t want Reyes. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to be Reyes. Her sigh fluttered the cloth crumpled beside her left hand.
He laughed to himself. His amused eyes, the corners turned up with dual laugh lines, met hers across the table again. “Why do you always do that?”
Wicked Legends: A Dystopian Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection Page 140
