Sasha concentrated on their hushed conversation, trying to decipher enough of their French to get the gist of what they were discussing. She continued gazing out the window, feigning boredom, catching bits and pieces as they spoke. It was mostly about Jay’s low opinion of the “brat” he was forced to babysit. But they seemed to be discussing a contingency plan for after this was all over.
Sasha just wanted this thing done as quickly as possible. She was determined to get back to her plans and if that meant learning the subtle art of killing people, then she would do it. It didn’t mean she actually had to implement those skills.
She had an insane desire to prove herself worthy of the task they were giving her. A desire to prove herself to the prick sitting opposite her now. But she didn’t want the Senate to come for her again anytime soon. She had to botch this somehow. She had to dance along the razor’s edge of good, but not good enough. She had to convince Jayesh that she was too young, too immature and too inexperienced for this.
“Come, let’s get this over with,” Jayesh said, standing and motioning for Sasha and Imogen to follow him to the conference room at the back of the plane. Sasha followed quietly, unsure of what to expect from his sudden summons.
“Sit,” he commanded. His tone was one of a superior officer addressing the lowest of his soldiers.
Sasha took her seat beside Gen in one of the black leather chairs at the obsidian conference table.
Jayesh leaned over her. “We have a few things to get straight,” he said. “The Senate wants you here. I do not. They want you trained to become a member of my team. I do not. They want you to be the Senate’s representative on my team. I do not.” He slipped into the seat opposite her, keeping his gaze level with hers.
“Then we can agree all around.” Sasha leaned forward, not dropping her gaze from his. “I don’t want to be here either, but it looks as if neither of us has a choice. So I don’t know what you expect me to do about it.”
“I expect you to do what you’re told, complete the training to the best of your ability and stay out of my way. I am not your babysitter. I am not your mentor. I am only here because the Senate would place you on my team and under my protection. I can’t stop it, but I can make damned sure you won’t be a liability to the rest of my team, if and when you do join us.”
“I assure you I will not need babysitting,” Sasha said calmly.
“Whatever, angel.” His lip curled into a sneer. “Call it whatever you want. I’m not your handler. For either of you.” Jay gave Imogen a look of equal disdain.
My sister could fry you on the spot, dude. Don’t be an ass. Sasha gave him a withering glare.
“Please,” Imogen interjected. “My sister is young. I’ll ask that you show her a little respect since she’s been asked to do something no one her age should ever have to do. I would suggest that you give her an explanation of what to expect next.”
“Fine.” Jayesh crossed his arms over his chest. “We will land in a few hours along the southern coast of India. We will travel into the rural countryside to one of the most ancient regions of the country. Your training will begin at dawn the day after we arrive. You will train for six weeks. It will be brutal. Mother Raghavan will oversee everything while we are there. When she deems you have successfully completed your training, we will leave and I will return to my team, who are currently ensuring the peaceful transfer of power in a war-torn African country. I should be there now. But instead I’ve been conscripted to babysit a pampered tween with an attitude problem.”
“I’m not the one acting like a child,” Sasha said.
“We are done here, angel. Go back to your seat, I have important work to do while I still have the chance to do it.” Jayesh shouted for his soldiers to escort the sisters back to their seats. He rattled off something in his unfamiliar French dialect. Something about “keeping the brat away from him for the rest of the flight.”
“You will speak to her with—” Imogen began, her eyes blazing in fury.
“I got this, Gen,” Sasha said calmly.
“Need I remind you that I have little patience for questions and prattle?” Jayesh said.
“First. You’re a dick,” Sasha began, deciding she was going to make his life difficult at every possible interval. “Second. Don’t ever call me ‘angel’ again. My name is Sasha and you will use it. You don’t know me, so don’t judge me. Third. I am Haitian born and my native tongue is French so you should watch what you say when you think you’re having a private word with your men. I don’t care if you have a low opinion of me and my ability to embark on this training I never asked to do. And fourth. Tell me—and tell me now—exactly what this training will entail.”
“Ask your sister, angel. She’s been through it,” Jayesh said, nonplused by her demands. “The Senate seems to think you’re capable of hitting the most impossible targets. That’s the only thing about you I’m interested in.”
Sasha sat back in a huff. She could land any shot as long as she made a connection with the target. She had to see it with her gift. When that happened, she could shoot with her eyes closed and still see the target in her mind. But that didn’t always happen, particularly when she was anxious or stressed.
“You won’t be joining my team until I have a complete understanding of your gift.”
“Why do you care? You’ve made it perfectly clear that you don’t want me on your team.”
“I don’t want an untested girl on my team. But if your gift is as good as they say, I’ll get over that. We’re done with questions.” Jayesh rose and left them sitting at the table alone.
“He is a dick,” Imogen muttered.
“What was he like when you knew him before?” Sasha asked.
“He was always a jerk and rather full of himself, but we were friends.” Imogen shook her head in confusion. “That man … he’s not the man I remember.”
~~~
Sasha watched the landscape roll by, her eyes glazing over, lost in the turmoil of her thoughts. This country was so beautifully ancient. She could feel the history in her bones. She might not have been born of her mother’s body, but Naeemah’s lineage was still rooted in her blood through the bond that made them mother and daughter. This was her mother’s country.
Sasha prided herself on her ability to rise to any occasion and bend circumstances to her will, but she was losing her confidence. Lately, each time life threw a curveball at her, she just fell apart.
She sat quietly beside her sister in the back of the large black SUV. They had arrived at a rural airport in Tamil Nadu in the early evening and were traveling to some temple in the middle of nowhere. As they neared the Nigiri hills, a fertile valley rich in vegetation, lying between the Eastern and Western Ghat mountains, Jayesh slowed the vehicle and turned onto a winding path through the foothills.
“We’re nearly there,” Imogen whispered. She’d been quiet and tense in the hours since they left the airport.
“How long ago did you train here?” Sasha asked.
“Another lifetime.” Imogen smiled. “It is not a bad place. There are things about the mother and the Chola Valley temple. Things I cannot tell you until we are there. It will be hard. You will suffer. But you will find good in what the mother can teach you. She is hard, but she is also kind.”
“And I have you,” Sasha said.
“Exactly. A friend was not a luxury I had the day I entered the temple grounds.”
“You made one while you were there,” Jayesh said quietly from his perch behind the wheel.
“True enough.” Gen nodded, but Sasha wasn’t so sure these two counted each other as friends any longer.
“We hike the rest of the way,” Jayesh announced, pulling the SUV to the side of the road. His soldiers were still with them and would be returning to nearby Coimbatore to wait for them.
Sasha grabbed her duffel bag, careful to keep her concealed bow secured by the handles. With a deep sigh, she followed Imogen and Jayesh into the rolling hil
ls of the fertile valley. Steps rose along the slope, following a path that led to the higher hills in the distance.
The light grew dim in the twilight evening as Sasha stepped up one crumbling stair after another. Her brow beaded with sweat and her heart hammered in anticipation. After hours of hiking with her somber companions, she couldn’t take the silence anymore.
“You know, your tension isn’t really giving me the warm fuzzies about where we’re going,” Sasha said as they crested yet another hilltop. The temple still wasn’t visible. But this hilltop was different from all the others lying behind them. As she took a final step up, Sasha entered an ancient, crumbling pavilion.
The structure was weathered and worn, but the mosaic floor was beautiful. Bright blue and green tesserae tiles blended with warm yellows and reds to paint a linear path, like a threshold across the center of the pavilion. The way Jayesh and Imogen stood hesitantly on this side of the mosaic line made Sasha think it really was a threshold. That once they crossed it, there would be no turning back.
“What is the significance of this place?” Sasha asked in a more reverent tone as she joined them.
“The Chola Valley. This place. This experience. It will change you,” Jayesh said, his tone soft as his mind drifted to some past memory. With a deep breath, he took a step forward—his eyes closed and a grimace on his face.
“It is time, sister. I am so sorry for this. All of this,” Imogen whispered as she took Sasha’s hand and stepped across the threshold into the Chola Valley below.
~~~
CHAPTER
NINE
Quinn: Summer
Atlanta, Georgia
“Wake up,” Livia’s tone was flat and hollow, rousing both Santi and Quinn out of a dead sleep.
Her power seared along his spine like a white-hot poker. Through all his time at Soma, Quinn had grown accustomed to the experience of Livia exerting her dominance over him again and again. This time, for a single instant, he could almost grasp hold of his gift. But before he could find purchase, the moment was gone and he was cowering on his side, gasping for breath. He slammed his fist against the floor, oblivious of the blood seeping through his bandages.
He watched helplessly as she did the same to Santi.
“Selena was called away so you’re working at the Fold today, Santi.” Livia turned without another word and retreated to the fortress of her office for the night.
“Is it always like that?” Quinn rolled over to find Santi scrubbing at tears of frustration.
“Sometimes are worse than others. Depending on her mood.”
“What does she mean, you’re working at the Fold?”
“That’s what Sterling Tower’s all about,” Santi said dryly. “The Fold is the public face of Soma. A squeaky-clean non-profit organization dedicated to helping Immortal families through tough times and training young and talented Immortals when their parents don’t have the means to teach them. It’s everything Livia wants the world to see. And it’s a big fat lie. Behind it all is Soma and the Coalition. You’ll see the Coalition running in and out of the building, working hand in hand with Soma, doing Livia’s bidding. She has some kind of agreement with them.”
“So what does the Fold do?”
“Lures young kids and their families into Soma so they can cherry-pick from the most talented of our generation. I suspected it when I came here looking for a job but I was desperate. And too naive to realize the Fold is just another resource they use to fuel their slave market. She’ll have me spend the day working with the kids on the lower level. Kids like Lennox. They grow up here not knowing they’ll end up sold to the highest bidder if they’re talented enough. The ones who aren’t will end up with the Coalition.”
Quinn wasn’t sure why he did it, but she’d shown him such kindness when he was at his lowest, and she had a difficult day ahead of her. He wrapped his arms around her, taking solace in her warmth, and they slept like that until Livia sent one of her minions to wake them at an ungodly hour.
~~~
“This way to my office.”
Quinn reluctantly followed the young Soma agent along a stark white hallway in the early morning light. Dressed in clean clothes but still feeling like a wreck, Quinn grappled with the old memories that had haunted his dreams. Memories of Sasha and their last moments together before he was ripped away from her. All this time and he still wondered what that last kiss meant.
It was only three months, Quinn. Not years.
“In here,” the man said, stepping aside and gesturing for Quinn to enter the small training room. “You’re my responsibility now. I have to get you back on your feet, fit and strong and healed from the mess Michael put you through. I’m the good guy here, so this will be easy. Take a seat.”
Quinn sat on one side of the long white desk near the door. The room was sparse and white, like everything in Soma seemed to be. Silver gym equipment lined the wall, and a wide white mat ran down the center of the room. Training weapons hung on the walls. It vaguely reminded him of his mother’s office at home. But her rooms were warm and inviting and they reflected her life and her personality. This cold, clinical room had all the elements for training a young Immortal, without the warmth of home.
“I’m James, by the way.” He sat opposite Quinn, offering his hand.
Quinn eyed him warily. He wasn’t prepared to trust anyone in this place, but James seemed like a decent enough guy.
“Relax. I couldn’t care less about the Soma agenda. I’m here to do a job I was never given any choice but to do. I’m in the same boat as you. I’m just the result of what happens when you agree to their terms and sign on the dotted line. You and Santi are the result of … resisting the inevitable.” James pointed to the Soma brand on his neck. “At the end of the day, we all wear the mark of a slave.”
“I won’t sell out,” Quinn muttered.
“Have you eaten?” James asked.
“No.”
“I’ll order brunch brought up from the dining hall.” He tapped a message into his phone. “For now, let’s have a chat.” James crossed his legs, with a notepad in his lap. He looked every bit the psychologist or counselor, although he was quite young. Not much older than Quinn or Santi.
“Oh, God. You’re a shrink?” He almost laughed at the absurdity of it. They wanted to fix what they’d damaged.
“Definitely not,” James said dryly. “They don’t care that much about our mental health. And they definitely never let me go to college. I barely qualified as a high school grad. No, I’m just here to get you back on track, Quinn. This doesn’t have to be difficult. And if you listen to nothing else I say, listen to this. Enjoy your reprieve while you can. This part is a cakewalk compared to what you have behind you and in front of you.”
Quinn took a deep breath, preparing himself for a sermon about how wonderful Soma was and how good life could be if he’d just drink the Kool-Aid.
“Let’s just focus on your immediate future.” James sat back in his chair. “You’ve been through hell your first few months here. You lasted a lot longer than most, which tells me you are incredibly strong of will. Michael’s tactics are base and cruel. His tactics are not mine. While you are here with me, you will work out. Regain your strength. You will eat well and you will sleep soundly. We want you to recuperate. You’ve earned it.”
“You want me healthy and happy so you can push me back down when I least expect it?”
“We’re only talking about your immediate future. I am not privy to whatever happens to you when you leave me.”
Quinn twisted in his seat, looking over his shoulder at the door. He could sense her. The tug of her control was always there, but he knew she was coming and he knew she was furious.
“Yeah. She’s mad as hell.” James winced, glancing at the door just before Livia barged in, the door rattling on its hinges.
“Livia.” James stood to greet her but she swept past him, dropping a pile of photos on the desk in front of Quinn.
“We have a problem.” She took James’s seat. “Whenever we remove a young Immortal from their home, the families tend to take the hint and walk away when they realize the kids are better off with the kind of training we can provide. Occasionally, a family will attempt to negotiate the release of their loved one, but rarely does a family challenge the Fold the way yours has.”
“Are you that deluded or are you just stupid?” Quinn leaned forward, ignoring the way James tried to cover his laughter with a coughing fit. “Do you really think what you did qualifies as ‘removing me from my home?’ What are you? Immortal Social Services? If you think they’re going to let me go that easily, you don’t know a thing about family.”
“I hate families,” Livia sighed. “Yours has been poking around for weeks, but today … this man had the nerve to pay me a visit.” She pulled a surveillance photo from the stack and Quinn’s heart skipped at the sight of a familiar face. Liam. He technically wasn’t family, but he’d always been like an uncle to Quinn and Graham.
He shrugged as if to say he didn’t know the man in the photo.
“He made an appointment with one of my assistants. Apparently he’s interested in purchasing a commercial space on the first floor of Sterling Tower. He wants to open a bar, of all things. He pitched it as a means for the Fold to gather useful information on those Immortals who come and go in Atlanta. I met with him briefly. He didn’t mention you, of course, but my sources tell me he is connected with the governor’s family in your region. He’s obviously using this scheme to get close to you. Who is he? I don’t like the way he looks at me.”
“What do you want me to say, Livia? Maybe he just has a crush on you,” Quinn said.
“There have been others. A lieutenant governor of your region has approached Soma—a Greyson Hauser. He claims the governor there is interested in our next auction and would like to start the paperwork to join our exclusive and private organization. Who is the governor to you? Are they your parents? Friends of your parents?”
Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3) Page 8
