Revealing Eden (34 page)

A glimmer of light sparked in her father’s eyes. “Another day to complete the sequences, I estimate.”

“We’ve run out of time, doctor.” Bramford shot Eden an angry look. “I’ll give you an hour once you’re on your feet.”

“Too much risk—”

“Just be ready. For two, that is. There’ll be two of us this time.”

Her father looked at Eden in surprise. “Is it true?”

“No,” Bramford said sharply. “My son Logan and I will adapt.”

“What?” she said, squaring off with him. “You can’t do that.”

His chest swelled. “I’m his father; I have the right.”

“He’s only a child. He can’t decide for himself.”

“I know what’s best for him.”

“Do you, Bramford? Forcing him to live like an animal?”

“At least he’ll survive.”

“But at what cost? Go ahead, run away if you want, but leave Logan here. We’ll care for him.” Eden was surprised to say it, and yet relieved. “I’ll take care of him.”

Bramford’s temper evened. “You would do that?”

“Yes, as if he were my own son.”

He studied her, hope flickering in his eyes. Then he shook his head. “It can’t be.”

“Why?” Eden said, trying to sound reasonable. “Because he’s an albino?”

Shock lit Bramford’s face. She knew she had crossed a line. But for the love of Earth, why had he put her in such a difficult position?

Icy calm flattened his voice. “I’ll bring you my son’s genome disk, doctor.” Then he strode out of the room.

Eden stared through the window at the moonlight that laddered across the waterhole. She would never love anyone but Bramford. She simply couldn’t live without him. Only one choice remained, whether he wanted it or not. If necessary, she would spend the rest of her life convincing him.

“Please, Father,” she said, turning to him. “Adjust your calculations for three.”

“No,” he said flatly.

“But I want to adapt like Bramford.”

He looked at her under his eyebrows, the owlish eyes begging for restraint. “That is categorically impossible.”

Poor Father
. He just had to listen.

“Why?” she said. “I know what’s in store for me.”

“Eden, I realize that it may not be readily apparent, however, you are my first priority.” He started to tremble as he went on. “My deepest regret is that I did not take better care of your mother. I won’t make the same mistake with you.”

“Don’t you understand? I have to be with Bramford.”

Her father shook his head, his eyes fluttering closed. She
knew he would never agree. And maybe she didn’t mind that he cared, after all. But, now that she had declared her heart’s desire, she refused to let it go.

Maria clattered up the steps, carrying a gourd full of a foul-smelling paste. Some Fountain of Youth, Eden thought. With its drab appearance and repellent odor, nature had disguised the plant well.

She drifted to the porch, hoping to find Bramford, but he was gone. The fast knocking sounds of a spectacled owl reverberated in the air, echoing her burning question.
What to do, what to do?
Eden spotted the
Pulsatrix perspicillata
in the crook of a guava tree. The owl swiveled its domed head, studying her, the white markings around its eyes giving it a scholarly air.

Haven’t you learned anything, Eden?

Yes, she understood what Aunt Emily had tried to teach her.
That love is all there is
.

“I’ll be back soon, Father,” she called, hurrying down the steps.

He would forgive her, eventually. And if he never did, well, he had done enough.

Eden slipped inside the laboratory, steeling her resolve. Moonlight streamed through the solar roof, bathing the room with a soft, waxy glow. She gripped a stool, poised to throw it, when she considered Bramford’s wrath. He just might kill her. Then the frightening image of his final adaptation popped into her head. He also needed to understand.

She heaved the stool at her father’s console and it hit with a loud crack. Glass splintered in the air; electric wires fizzled like live snakes. Eden slipped on the debris as she ran forward.
She used her hand to break her fall and cut it on a shard of glass. Overwhelmed by the rush of emotions, she barely felt the sting. She struggled to her feet and charged forward again with a fierce yell.

She was her own damn she-cat!

Even Bramford’s furious roar couldn’t stop her. He tackled her to the ground with a flying leap. Snarling, he cuffed her wrists over her head.

“Once a traitor, always a traitor,” he said, panting hard.

Eden bucked against his weight. “You don’t understand.”

“That you would get us killed?”

“That I love you, you bastard.”

Bramford grew still, his eyes locked onto hers. His voice had a cutting edge. “Who do you think you love? I’m not the same man. There’s nothing left for me now but to protect my son.”

“I want to adapt with you,” Eden said.

His eyes widened in surprise. He started to speak, but suspicion crowded out hope. He jerked his head at the havoc she had wreaked. “I suppose that’s why you ruined the lab?”

“My father refuses to give me the procedure. He left me no choice.”

“You’re lying,” Bramford said, yanking her to her feet. “You’re just buying time until your mate arrives.”

Eden slapped his cheek. “You’re my mate.”

“But you’re too beautiful to change.”

She threw herself at him and he grabbed her tight. His mouth crushed against hers. She softly moaned his name, as his lips traced the length of her throat.

“Ronson. You and I. We’ll be a family, with Logan, in the jungle—”

“This is wrong,” he said, pulling away.

Eden clung to him. “Please, you have to believe me.”

Bramford threw her over his shoulder, ignoring her desperate pleas. He sprinted down the path and rounded the bend. Towards the prison again, she realized.

“No, wait!”

He set her down inside the hut. “I should have left you here from the beginning. Then none of this would have happened.”

Eden grabbed his arm. “But you can’t deny that it did.”

“I don’t deny it. But I have a choice. This time I’m making the right one. They’ll free you after we’re gone.” He gave her a cold look. “And Eden, it would be foolish to try and find me. I might not recognize you.”

He spun away and locked her in. She heard a low, frustrated growl as he left.

“Bramford! Let me out!”

Eden banged her shoulder against the door until it burned with pain. Her voice grew hoarse from yelling. She knew no one would dare respond.

Exhausted, she curled into a ball on the ground with her head pillowed on top of her hands. Tears slid across her face, forming a puddle under her cheek. It could all be so simple.

What on Blessed Earth would it take for Bramford to trust her?

A
HIGH, THIN WAIL woke Eden from where she lay sleeping in the prison hut. She couldn’t place the sound, but it chilled her to the bone. She stumbled to her feet and stood on tiptoe under the window, listening. Heavy footsteps and men’s gruff voices filtered in. Gray fingers of light seeped over the edge. Barely dawn, she thought, her mind racing.

Again, the heartbreaking cries filled the air. The sisters, Eden realized with a start.

“Careful,” a deep voice said from the other side of her door. “He said not to hurt her.”

“Not yet,” a squeaky voice said, and let out a cruel laugh.

Eden would recognize those two anywhere. She steeled herself, as the door burst open. Just as she feared, her repulsive dance partner and his sleazy sidekick stood there, machetes hanging from their belts.

“Yum, Pearly,” Giant said, grabbing her.

Eden thrashed against him, caught like an insect pinched in his fingers. He zeroed in for a kiss, his lips puckered. Nobody kisses a she-cat without her permission, she decided, kneeing him hard in the groin.

His eyeballs rolled back in his head, as he slumped to the
ground, groaning. Eden darted outside, but stopped short, her heart in her throat. Jamal was coming towards her. She took in the damage she had inflicted, feeling both horrified and vindicated.

He walked with a hitch, dragging one leg. Hideous scar tissue crisscrossed the warrior tattoo, which now resembled a terrified old man. The grin Eden once admired angled down one side of his face, making him look crazy. Finally, Jamal looked as ugly as he was on the inside. At least he wouldn’t be able to trade on his looks in order to dupe the next girl.

“Hello, Little Bunny,” Jamal said, giving her a cool appraisal.

“I’m not your bunny,” Eden said.

The nasty grin faded. “We’ll see about that. I had my doubts about you. But you’ve proven to be enormously helpful to the cause. We never would have found this place without your message.”

“What did you do to Shen?”

“He has needs. Everyone does.” Jamal made a disapproving
tsk, tsk
sound. “His mate is a Pearl, didn’t you know?”

Poor Shen probably had been forced to choose between saving his brother or his mate. Eden now could imagine why he chose the latter.

“He must love her,” she said.

“You’ve been in the jungle too long. But we’ll see about that, too.”

“You’re too late, Jamal. Bramford already left. You’ll never find him.” Eden only hoped it was true.

The face in the tattoo seemed to gasp for air as Jamal
frowned. “Even if that’s true,” he said. “He’ll come back for the boy.”

Mother Earth
. The FFP knew that Logan was there.

Jamal passed her to Squeaky. “Bring her.”

Squeaky dragged Eden into the clearing, following behind his leader. The sight of the Huaorani women and children huddled near the fire pit, an armed guard on watch, infuriated her. Her father lay crumpled on a log, his sad eyes following her. For once she wished he couldn’t see her.

Jamal gave a jaunty wave as they turned into the gated hut. “Hello, again, Doctor Newman.” Over his shoulder, he commanded Squeaky. “Wait here.”

Eden watched him walk towards the back of the hut, dreading what might come. He skirted a blanket of leaves that lay on the ground. She assumed he tried to avoid whatever animals might hide beneath. The guard stationed there caught her watching, his eyes shifting nervously.

Logan’s pained cry knifed into her. Her blood boiled to a fever pitch, as Jamal dragged the frightened boy into the open. Bewildered pinkish eyes stared through the slits in the bat mask, which sat at a rakish angle on his face. Along with his usual long clothing, it hid his condition. For now, Eden thought.

“Look what I’ve got,” Jamal said. “A little bat.”

He reached for the mask, when an angry roar distracted him.
The Jaguar Man was coming
.

Just then Eden glimpsed a young soldier, no more than thirteen-years-old, peeking out from behind a nearby tree. His light brown skin puzzled her. How had a Coal of such obvious mixed race been accepted into the FFP? She saw his pointed
look at the carpet of leaves. Too late, she grasped its significance and yelled at Bramford, who leapt towards the hut.

“Stop! It’s a trap!”

A net curled up through the leaves as soon as he touched down. He tumbled into it with a nasty growl. The young soldier stepped out from the shadows, holding a rope that had triggered the net and caught the prize. Beaming, he tied the rope around a tree.

“Good job, Kevon,” Jamal told him. “At last, the whole freakish Bramford family.”

In vain Bramford struggled to escape his roped cage. Eden simply wanted to die when his blistering glance landed on her.

Jamal yanked her beside him. “You see, Eden. You underestimated me.”

“You’ll never make it out of here alive,” she said, though she wondered what could stop him now.

“Wrong again. With your father’s technology, I can command the FFP. I can have whatever I want. Including you.”

“You don’t want me.”

Jamal traced the crooked scar down his cheek. “Thanks to you my mate-rate has plummeted. Even Ashina changed her mind. I figure you owe it to me to be my mate. You’ll still come out ahead—your child will inherit half my genetics.”