Awakening (33 page)

Her gaze dropped to her lap. “Okay.”

“I don’t like us sneaking around to make sure no one sees us. I can’t stand to think of the way you would be treated by trueborns if they did know about us. You could even be reset.”

“Yes.” Her breath seemed to catch. Her voice grew fainter. “So we shouldn’t be together.”

“Do you really agree? Or is that just what you think I want?”

“Is it really what you want?” she asked.

“No. But I think it’s all we can expect.” He took the last Daki exit, gunning the accelerator harder than he should have. “And it seems like change is a million years away.”

It was dark and deserted in the Daki warehouse district, so Devak pulled right up alongside Risa’s lorry. He expected Kayla to jump out of the AirCloud the moment it stopped, but she hesitated.

“It hurts inside, Devak. But I think you’re right.”

She might as well have ripped at his heart. He realized he’d wanted her to reject that hard truth. Even now he wanted to pull her into his arms for a last moment of closeness. But then she did pull the door latch and slip out of the lev-car. Devak watched her dash through the light drizzle to the cab of the lorry, and he felt desolate as she disappeared inside.

He didn’t dare linger, both for Gemma’s sake and for Risa’s and Kayla’s, since his presence might draw attention. He wound his way back to the southbound skyway, taking the entrance too fast. As they arched over the Northeast Territory adhikar, he dodged in and out of the light traffic.

Junjie cleared his throat. Devak wondered how much his friend had heard of his and Kayla’s conversation. “Yeah?”

“It occurred to me,” Junjie said, “if Gemma is relapsing, then Raashida might be too. Which means we have to find her.”

“How do you know about Raashida?”

A few moments of silence ticked away. “I heard Akhilesh talking about her with Hala. She was part of an experiment—”

“—to give GENs the ability to reproduce,” Devak said. “Mishalla told us. She’s looking for Raashida too. Hala asked her to.”

“That makes sense. Akhilesh told Hala he needed Raashida back. So if Mishalla finds her, that means Raashida will end up back with GAMA.”

Devak remembered the half-dead GEN he’d seen on the second floor of the GAMA facility, the others in the gen-tanks. “Would that be good or bad?”

Junjie let out a puff of air. “If Akhilesh only uses her for that fertility experiment, not as good. But if Raashida heals people the way Gemma does—”

“She does. Mishalla told me that too.”

“She could be a key to eradicating Scratch,” Junjie said.

“Do you think the Kinship gene-splicers will make it a priority if we find Raashida?” Devak asked. “That they’ll use what they learn from her to help the Scratch-infected?”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

“I don’t know anything anymore.” He unlatched his wristlink and tossed it back to Junjie. “Tell Risa to look for Raashida. Make sure Risa knows to take her to the Kinship and not Mishalla.”

Guilt twinged inside Devak at that. Was he deciding for Mishalla now? For Raashida? But he had to make some choices, or he’d never do the right thing.

As Junjie started to tap out the code, Devak added, “And make sure Mishalla knows what we decided. That we can’t let Raashida be returned to Akhilesh.”

After Junjie spoke to Risa, he asked for Kayla. As he asked Kayla to speak to Mishalla, Junjie kept glancing over at Devak. When he was done, he dropped the wristlink on the passenger seat. “It’s wrong the way things are. I mean, with you and Kayla.”

“Because we decided not to be together?”

“Because you had to decide at all,” Junjie said. “I just think it could be different. Should be.”

Devak didn’t see how it could be, at least not for years to come. As they continued on toward Two Rivers, Devak couldn’t help but think of Kayla, and every maddening image seemed to include that GEN boy traveling with them. He kept seeing Abran’s handsome face, the GEN boy pulling Kayla close and kissing her, doing what Devak wished he could do himself.

When they got to Pitamah’s small house in Two Rivers, a Kinship medic was there waiting for them. Devak didn’t know the woman, a demi-status who gave her name as Iskra, but if Pitamah had called her, she was good.

Gemma was thrashing and moaning as Devak carried her inside, her body burning with fever. So whatever healing capacity she’d had, it seemed to be gone.

Devak set Gemma on his bed, then he and Junjie cleared out for the medic. Devak sank to the sofa, exhausted by the day, but Junjie paced, clearly upset by Gemma’s decline.

“Do you want to go home?” Devak asked.

Junjie shook his head. “I’d like to stay awhile. See what the medic says.”

“You could spend the night. I can take you home in the morning to change, then to the lab.”

“Thanks. Yes,” Junjie said. “That would be good.”

Devak would have given Junjie the sofa, but his friend refused, saying since he was shorter he’d be more comfortable in a float chair than Devak would be. Devak found an old sleep shirt of his and unused supplies in the washroom for Junjie, so they got ready for bed, always with one ear for the medic.

It was nearly two hours later before Iskra came out with Pitamah. Devak’s heart sank seeing his great-grandfather’s grave expression.

Junjie jumped to his feet, nearly upsetting the float chair. “She’s not—”

“No, still hanging on,” Iskra said. “But it’s an especially bad case of Scratch.”

“Because she had it before?” Devak asked.

“Could be,” Iskra said. “I can’t bring down her fever. She’s so hot, when I touch her, it’s like she heats me too.”

Devak’s gaze met Junjie’s. “She was doing that—”

Junjie cut him off. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

Iskra held out both hands, palm up, as if she was weighing Gemma’s chances. “Scratch always kills, but this girl survived it once. Maybe she will again. We’ll see in the morning. I’ve given her all the crysophora and fever meds I dare. Any more and the drugs might do what the Scratch hasn’t.”

Iskra went off to another emergency and Pitamah went to bed. Devak turned off the illuminators again and he and Junjie lay there in the dark.

“Why didn’t you want me to tell the medic about Gemma healing?” Devak asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe afraid I’d jinx Gemma,” Junjie said. “She healed herself once before, maybe she will again.”

“Why do you suppose Gemma healed herself from Scratch in the first place? And Raashida? Why them and not all the other infected GENs?”

“Don’t know,” Junjie said sleepily. “Wish Akhilesh would share more data with me and Guru Ling.”

“But why is he experimenting at all?” Devak asked. “When it’s Guru Ling looking for a cure?”

“I think Guru Ling knows, but she won’t tell me,” Junjie said, his words slurred. “She just keeps saying she’ll have the cure soon, and then she’ll be able to stop Akhilesh.”

A few moments later, Devak heard Junjie’s rough snoring. He didn’t think he’d ever fall asleep himself with everything that was roiling in his mind, Gemma’s dire illness, Akhilesh’s cruelty, his longing for Kayla. But sleep did take him, dragging him into a frightening dream of being plunged into a gen-tank and held under until he drowned.

He half-woke, gasping for breath, then dropped off again, this time not waking until morning. Junjie’s chair was empty. Devak found him at Gemma’s side, dressed in his clothes from the day before.

“How is she?” Devak asked.

“Breathing easier, I think,” Junjie said. “Maybe not quite as feverish.”

“Pitamah says there’s some rice and curry left over from dinner last night. We ought to eat and get going or you’ll be late at the lab.”

Junjie reluctantly pulled away from Gemma. Devak changed into fresh clothes in Pitamah’s room, then he and Junjie wolfed down breakfast.

There was a mist on the Chadi River as they crossed over it traveling north. Junjie was quiet as they pulled onto the skyway, his attention straying out the window to the blur of GEN warrens in Mut sector below them, then the vivid green of the Central Western adhikar.

They crossed Plator’s southern border. The GAMA lab was a kilometer or so ahead, but they had to continue on the skyway to north Plator to get to Junjie’s house.

They were just passing the lab when Junjie grabbed Devak’s arm. “What’s that?” Junjie pointed toward the GAMA building just in view.

Devak swerved, earning an angry klaxon blare from the lev-car behind him. “What are you looking at?”

“Enforcers at the lab,” Junjie say, pressing against the side window.

“You have enforcers there all the time, bringing in Scratch-infected GENs.”

“They’re bringing stuff out.” His neck was craned back now as they passed the lab.

“You want me to take the next exit?” Devak asked. “Double back?”

After one last look, Junjie turned forward in his seat again. “Take me home first. When you drop me off at the lab I’ll ask Guru Ling.”

But about six kilometers from the last Plator exit, the one Devak would take to get to the small house where Junjie lived with his aunt, the traffic slowed to a near crawl. As they crept along, Junjie opened his window and leaned out to try to see what was happening up ahead.

Junjie sat back down. “Just take the next exit. I’ll tell you how to get to Auntie’s house.”

But when they pulled off the skyway, all the smaller local streets were blocked off, each barricade manned by a couple enforcers. When Devak peered past the blockade down the side street, he could just see the Plator river beyond.

Junjie bounced in his seat, agitation coming off him in waves. “I don’t like this. Can you park the AirCloud somewhere? It’s not that far to walk from here.”

“Denking hell, I forgot to plug in last night.” Devak had been focused on Gemma and not his power usage. “I’m going to need a dock.”

Devak found a public power dock and tapped in his account code. Pitamah wouldn’t be happy with the sky-high rates Devak would be paying to charge up his AirCloud.

Junjie motioned him to hurry up. “I know a shortcut through the alleys. Hopefully avoid the Brigade.”

The narrow walkway between two long rows of lowborn
flats was an obstacle course of opportunistic chaff head bushes and ancient incinerators. Some of the incinerators must have been malfunctioning because the alleyway stank of unburned garbage.

Junjie plowed right past the crossroad where Devak expected him to turn left. “Isn’t your aunt’s house that way?”

“I want to see what’s going on by the river.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea with all the enforcers.” But Devak followed right behind Junjie out of the alley to the rocky stretch of land that ran along the river bank.

At least twenty enforcers were gathered near the bank about fifty meters down from the alley. Their focus was on what looked like a bundle of sodden rags laid out on the rocks.

Junjie stumbled and Devak had to steady him. “I think I see a hand,” Junjie said. “I think that’s a body.”

A chill skittered down Devak’s spine. “If it was a GEN, drowned in the Plator, you wouldn’t see one enforcer here, let alone twenty.”

They continued toward the enforcers, Devak hoping that as a high-status, he would be able to bluff his way through some excuse for being here. But it turned out he didn’t need to manufacture a story when a few of the enforcers stepped aside and a man started toward them. Devak was startled to see Akhilesh.

“Junjie!” Akhilesh shouted. “Lord Creator, I’m not sure you want to see this.”

“What’s he doing here?” Devak asked.

“Good question,” Junjie said, a note of disgust in his voice.

Akhilesh fumbled along through the rocky footing. “Go back to the lab, Junjie. You don’t need to be here.”

“Who is that?” Junjie tried to see around Akhilesh.

“Don’t blame her,” Akhilesh said as he reached Devak and Junjie. “She’d convinced herself she’d found a solution to the Scratch problem. When it turned out to be based on faulty data, she couldn’t bear it.”

“Who?” Junjie asked. “Who are you talking about?”

Devak knew who, and he guessed that Junjie did too. Junjie’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes shiny, as if he were fighting back tears.

Akhilesh patted Junjie’s shoulder. Devak wanted to slap the man’s hand away before he said anything else. “It’s Guru Ling,” Akhilesh said. “She threw herself into the Plator River and drowned.”

Junjie shook his head. “I don’t believe it.”

“We don’t always know what is in the hearts of others,” Akhilesh said.

“That wasn’t in her heart,” Junjie said.

Akhilesh looked ready to offer another platitude, but a Brigade enforcer called out his name. One more unwanted pat on Junjie’s shoulder, then Akhilesh walked back to the body.

Junjie gave Akhilesh a hard look. “He’s lying. Guru Ling didn’t throw herself in the Plator.”

“But if her research went wrong—”

“Her research went wrong a bunch of times. Faulty data, mistake in methodology. She just started over.” Junjie shook his head. “The only way Guru Ling ended up in the Plator is if someone threw her in.”

I
s it much farther?” Abran asked, walking alongside Kayla down Liku Street in Chadi sector’s main ward.