Jaci's Experiment (4 page)

“We should be back by nightfall.”

She turned to the cousins. “Then I will see you tomorrow, gentlemen, unless I am reassigned. Have a nice day.”

It was her standard parting from all her charges and had been for years so there was no way it would raise any alarms with those who watched over the monitors. Still, she wished she could say something more private to the two men who had become so important to her. Any other time, she would have jumped at the chance to be assigned to Grady Prime even temporarily. It was a sign the Maras were pleased with her work and it could mean advancement was not far off for her, but just now, with so much happening to her inner being, any further change was unwelcome.

She couldn’t let it show, of course. She couldn’t let anything show.

She went as calmly as she could out the cell door with Grady Prime to face whatever the future held in store for her.

37

Their destination was the Southern Engineering Facility. Jaci had never been there before, and she found it quite an amazing sight. The facility was built in dense green jungle that sparkled and sang with natural crystal deposits. She felt an energy in the air that she’d never felt before and she realized what it was almost as soon as she saw the small woman bounding toward the shuttle.

She was a Breed! Roaming free about the facility and even carrying advanced crystals on her person, she greeted Grady Prime by name, even daring to reach up and place a kiss on his cheek. Jaci had never seen the like.

The woman’s broad smile turned to her and suddenly a puzzled frown replaced her open expression.

Jaci immediately felt fear. This woman could see right through her, she realized, and it could spell disaster.

The woman stepped forward, offering her hand. Jaci had no polite choice but to accept the human gesture of greeting.

“I’m Callie. You must be the lab tech Mara was sending along to take samples.”

Jaci pulled back from the disturbing contact with the woman’s cool skin.

“I am Jaci 192 and you are correct. Mara 12 sent instructions on my duties here, which I studied on the trip. I am ready to collect the samples once I am directed toward the patient.”

Callie chuckled. “That would be me.”

“You’re pregnant then?”

Jaci found it hard to believe. This small woman seemed too delicate to be carrying a baby. According to Mara’s notes, Callie was supposed to be just entering her second trimester and Jaci couldn’t see much of a bulge around her middle.

Callie nodded with a broad smile that Jaci found infectious.

“Yes. I’m having a girl and she’s quite active already.”

38

“Congratulations,” Jaci said with some confusion as the bubbly woman escorted her into the facility. The soldiers were doing various tasks around them, loading and unloading crates of supplies and equipment which had been their primary task on this trip. “But how do you know it’s a girl? Mara seemed to indicate that you have not yet had medical testing.”

“I don’t need medical testing to know. This child is telepathic, as am I. She’s talking to me already.

Well, not
talking
, but sending me images at least.” Callie opened a door to the landing control room and breezed through, sweeping Jaci along a series of corridors that she hardly noted.

“Amazing.” Jaci’s mind was moving quickly. “I’d heard of these abilities, of course, and encountered them among my charges from time to time, but I had no idea a child in the womb could communicate with its mother.”

“And its father, even if he’s not telepathic at all.” A deep voice sounded from the back of the large workroom they’d just entered and a tall, fair, Alvian man stepped forward to wrap his arms around the Breed woman.

“I am Jaci 192.”

She had to remember her manners though she was secretly astounded by the obvious relationship between these two people. The man especially surprised her. There was emotion in his eyes and joy on his face as he hugged the small woman. She’d never seen an Alvian face so animated before.

The man nodded at her respectfully but did not loose the woman. “I am Davin.”

Suddenly it all made sense.

“Chief Engineer.” She tried desperately to keep her voice even, but she knew she failed when the woman’s eyes flashed up to hers. “I am honored to be of service.”

The man seemed to look her over more thoroughly then, placing a kiss on the crown of Callie’s head before releasing her. He faced Jaci with narrowed eyes.

“It is to my mate that you will be of service. I expect you to show her the same courtesy you would show me. Is that clear?”

“Perfectly, Chief Engineer. Again, I am honored.”

39

She could feel the caution emanating from him. She knew he was a throwback. Everyone knew it.

Unlike the vast majority of Alvians, Davin’s genetics were very much like that of their ancestors, an aberration that happened every once in a while even in the best of laboratory conditions. He had emotions and had dealt with them all his life. Stories abounded about his finding of a resonance mate among the Breed women.

The High Council hadn’t liked it at first. Under normal circumstances, a throwback would never be allowed to procreate, but Davin was unique. He was the most gifted crystallographer in generations and his skills could not be lost to the madness that would claim him had he not found his mate. Neither could the High Council afford to alienate him. If he wanted to have a child with his Breed mate, then there wasn’t much they could do to prevent it.

Which brought her back to why she’d been selected to come here. They weren’t happy about it, but the High Council wanted to monitor the child’s development. Not only was Davin the greatest crystallographer in many generations, but his mate was also highly skilled with the crystal gift. Rumor had it that their abilities had expanded when they came together, to the point where the High Council could not do without either of them.

That explained why this Breed female was given extraordinary freedom in this secure facility. Without her and her mate, it would cease to operate and all the Council’s technology would eventually falter and die without the crystals these two were tuning for their use.

Davin appeared highly protective of his mate. Undoubtedly he’d had a hard life among the Alvians before he’d found her. Jaci felt sympathy welling up inside her no matter how hard she fought hard against it. She wanted to put this man’s mind at ease. Jaci would never do anything to insult or hurt his mate and she sought for some way to express that without blowing her own secret.

“I have heard rumors about your mating, Chief Engineer. I enjoy reading our people’s histories and I’m gladdened by the idea that you have found your resonance 40

mate. Such things should not have been lost to our people, though I believe that is the case.”

Davin looked at her sharply, but seemed to relax as his mate put her hand on his arm. Jaci became aware of the Hum between them and smiled. That sound was fast becoming familiar to her and she welcomed the evidence that what she’d heard when she’d touched the cousins had been the genuine article.

“You are an odd creature, Jaci 192. I am glad Mara sent you. Perhaps in this instance, she knew what she was doing.” Davin retreated, stepping aside so the women could make their way to a small door set in the rear of the room.

Jaci followed meekly behind Callie, realizing the woman was taking her to their private quarters.

Suddenly she was alone with the Breed woman.

Callie shut the door and turned on her, hands on her hips.

“There are no monitors of any kind here. We may speak freely.”

Jaci swallowed hard. This woman’s look was too knowing and she feared what she might say. She turned to her small medical kit to busy herself.

“Shall we begin the sample collection? I will need a blood sample.”

When no answer was forthcoming, Jaci had to raise her eyes. The woman hadn’t been fooled at all.

“I’m an empath, Jaci. I feel your fear and your turmoil.”

“Shit.”

Callie laughed as she moved to the couch and sat down. “Now that’s a very human expression. I wonder where you picked it up?”

“I maintain some of the cells where the Maras keep their Breed subjects.”

“Prisoners, you mean?” Callie’s voice had turned cold and Jaci felt uncomfortable in the extreme. “So you’re a jailer? Funny for a jailor to feel the level of guilt you just put out.”

“I don’t like that they’re prisoners. But honestly, it never bothered me before.”

“Before what?”

41

“Before I could feel.” Jaci’s voice was very soft, almost a whisper as emotion threatened to overwhelm her.

Callie just watched her with non-judgmental eyes. “So what happened? Why can you suddenly feel emotion when every other Alvian but Davin, can’t?”

Jaci knew then she was done for. She pitched herself into a chair and told this strange woman the whole sordid story. She didn’t care anymore. The burden was too great.

“Just do me one favor,” Jaci asked tearfully, her emotions flooding her in a way she just couldn’t handle.

“Get word to Michael and David?and Ruth too. Tell them I never meant to hurt them. I considered them friends and their friendship meant a lot to me. Please, just tell them that.”

Callie put a hand over Jaci’s, bridging the distance between their two chairs and suddenly Jaci started to feel better. It wasn’t the same kind of healing touch David had, but it was soothing and definitely had the flavor of this woman’s psychic abilities. She was calming her, soothing her distraught emotions.

“Come now,” Callie said, compassion in her eyes. “You sound as if you’ll never see them again.”

“I probably won’t. When the Maras find out what’s happened, they’ll put me down or imprison me. I wasn’t worthy of testing the agent. What’s one more Jaci?”

“I don’t know, but I think
this
Jaci is very important.” Callie’s smile calmed her senses and stopped her tears. “And Mara 12 won’t hear about this from me, or from either of my mates.”

Jaci was stunned for a moment by her use of the plural. “You have more than one? Is that possible?”

She hadn’t dared hope.

Callie smiled softly. “I can guess what you’ve heard on the rumor mill. Davin is my true resonance mate, and I love him dearly, but so is Rick. We all found that out in a rather upsetting way when Rick had to save my life. They didn’t get along too well at first, but we’ve all come to accept the arrangement now.

After all, I keep telling them, my own mother has three mates, so they should count themselves lucky.”

Callie chuckled, but Jaci was astounded by her words.

42

“But the ancient texts say there is only one resonance mate for each person.”

“Been studying up on the topic, have you?” Callie gave her a knowing smile.

Jaci blushed. “There are two men…I Hum with them and I was wondering if maybe…”

Callie jumped up and went to the cabinet on the far side of the room. She opened a few drawers until she found what she was looking for, then came back to stand before Jaci, holding out her hand. Jaci reacted to the motion by raising her palm and a pure, clear crystal dropped into it.

“Kiss them both. Use this. See what happens.”

“I couldn’t.” Jaci immediately recognized the worth of the small, absolutely perfect crystal Callie had given her.

Callie closed Jaci’s fingers over the warm stone. “You can and you will. It’s quite possible they are both your resonance mates. My mother has three true mates. I have two. Only testing will reveal the truth for you.”

“But there’s only supposed to be one.”

Callie sank back on to the sofa behind her. “We have a theory about that, but it’s a little farfetched. I think it has to do with the shortage of women on Earth. There’s no way there’s one female for every male, even counting your people, so nature, or God, or whatever higher power you believe in, has decided we have to share.”

Jaci paused to consider her words. “I suppose it could be possible.” But she wasn’t convinced.

“Or maybe just one of the men you Hum with will turn out to be your true mate. Or worst case, neither will. Just because you Hum doesn’t mean you are mates.” Callie paused. “Test them. See what happens.

And I promise to keep your secret. I agree you probably should keep this hidden as long as you can.

Things are changing for my people, slowly but surely. If you can hold out a bit longer, you might find it all works out for you and your potential mates. Have faith.”

43

They talked a bit more and Jaci took the samples Mara had requested. She tried not to jump when a Breed man came into the room and pulled Callie into his kiss, but she did check the crystal glowing in her hand.

“This is Rick,” Callie introduced him with a smile. “Rick, meet Jaci.”

“Jaci 192,” she clarified, reaching out to accept the other man’s handshake as was customary between Breeds.

“I don’t hold with numbering people, so I’ll just call you Jaci, okay?” Rick seemed somewhat unfriendly at first, but when Jaci smiled at him, he eased up a bit, confusion on his face as he truly looked at her for the first time. “Have you had contact with a human healer recently?”

Jaci was astounded and not a little afraid. “How can you tell?”

Rick looked at her closely, putting Callie back on the couch. “That sort of energy is rare and it leaves traces another healer can sometimes sense. Your healer is strong. Very strong. What happened that he had to expend so much energy on you?”

Jaci was afraid, but Callie came to her rescue. “I’ll fill you in on all the details later, but suffice to say, poor Jaci has been through a huge upheaval lately. Is the healer one of the men you mentioned?”

Mutely, she nodded.

“Then he expended a lot of his energy on you. How is he doing?”