Equinox

Chapter Twenty Eight

I was unsurprised to hear whispers amongst the hunters that Jeb Batchelder had been sighted entering Anne's office. The entire complex, hunters and staff, were in an uproar. The Vernal Equinox had passed by the time we returned from the Caribbean, and everyone had gathered to swap stories about their bravery and valor. But rumors of the glimpse of their previously dead leader had taken priority.

The seven of us made it to the lounge room without being questioned. Surely somebody had noticed our absence, but no one so much as lingered over the sight of our ragged group. There were more pressing matters to deal with. Jeb's back. Did you hear? How is that possible? He's supposed to be dead. I shut myself off to the murmurs. His miraculous survival was not news to me.

But it was, I realized with a cringe, to Dylan.

"What do you know about this?" he asked quietly. He leaned against the door with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't even seem to have the strength to be angry, though he glared at a speck on the carpet rather than meet my gaze. His behavior had been as such the entire ride home. I wondered what the source of his disregard really was: my dismissal of his feelings or that he had considered me dead just a day ago.

I collapsed heavily into an arm chair. With a tired sigh, I replied: "We saw him at the School. I didn't talk to him or anything. I assume he's been there this entire time."

"And you didn't think to mention that?" he demanded through gritted teeth. Finally, his turquoise eyes found mine … and they were livid.

From my peripheral vision I saw Gazzy nervously toying with a game controller. He motioned for the others to back away. They shuffled awkwardly and glanced pointedly in any other direction besides Dylan and I. Fang's gaze lingered the longest. I could feel his stare burning through my skull, but eventually, he too dropped his head into his hands and pretended not to notice the mounting tension simmering between myself and Dylan.

"Despite what you may assume, it wasn't the most important thing on my agenda," I retorted. I understood his aggravation at not being clued in that my father was still alive, but it had been my burden to bear, not his.

"I suppose he knew," Dylan spat scathingly, tossing his chin in the direction of Fang, who was staring with great interest at a crack in the wall.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, because I let it slip when I was loopy on a tranquilizer. I hadn't intended on telling anyone. Nudge didn't even know, and she was there. Just Fang and Angel, who happened to pluck that bit of information directly from my thoughts."

"You should have told me," he roared, features contorting with rage. Can you say overreaction?

"Why?" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air in exasperation. "So we could talk about it? Sorry, but I was a little busy. I didn't need you bringing it up every five seconds like some kind of therapist."

I was being harsh and unfair, and I knew it. He was within his right to be angry that I had withheld such important information from him. But for God's sake, I had just sprouted wings. I could reduce any paranormal to ash with one touch. I could have fire literally coursing through my veins at any moment. And he wanted to pitch a fit about me omitting some details? There was a time and a place, and this wasn't it.

There was no use trying to tell him that, though. He had unconsciously bent toward me as he spoke, and now he stepped back, his shoulders brushing the door and his heel colliding with the wood with a hollow thump. His jaw tightened reflexively. I sighed, closing my eyes for a few seconds. When I opened them, he was halfway out the door. I jolted slightly as he slammed it with jarring impact.

Then there was silence.

"Someone give the man an award. He deserves it for that Oscar-worthy performance," I muttered. I couldn't muster enough humor to erase the bitterness in my tone. The sound of the door cracking against its frame resounded in my head. Dylan was all about the flair.

"Should you go after him?" Nudge asked hesitantly.

I turned from the exit to face them. Gazzy still fumbled with the controller in his lap. Iggy was sprawled on the floor. Angel sat primly beside Fang, who was giving me a searching look. Nudge gazed wide eyed at me, her hands folded on the arm of the couch.

I shook my head. "He just needs to blow off some steam. He'll come crawling back later and act like nothing happened."

None of them seemed too sure about that.

I pushed to my feet. They regarded me calmly. "I need to find Jeb," I said drily. I couldn't help the distasteful curl of my lip as I said his name aloud. "He's the only one who will have answers. I'm sure of it."

Fang rose. "I'll come with you."

"Stay with the others," I insisted. I could tell he wanted to object, but he was a smart boy. He knew this was something I needed to do on my own.

I had to confront my father.

The halls had gone silent. There was no sign of Dylan or even any hunters. Perhaps they had retired to more secluded areas to speculate over whether it had truly been Jeb seen in the complex or not. The slap of my soles against the flat tile was deafening. The only other sounds that could be heard were the faint buzz of the light fixtures shining wanly along the ceiling and the dull beat of my pulse.

What would I say, when I faced him? My thoughts spiraled in discord. I couldn't piece together any reasonable remark. How do you look the man who cruelly abandoned you in the eye and speak at all? He deserved nothing less than a swift kick to the gut. I had stood, sobbing and heartbroken, over his grave … and now he dared to come back here, to this place filled with what little happy memories I had left of him. Now he dared to reveal himself just as my true nature had been exposed.

That couldn't be a coincidence.

He was willing to compromise his cover in order to … to what? Confirm with his own eyes that I had changed? To see for himself the creature I had become? No doubt he was awaiting my arrival. He and Anne were probably relaxed and laughing, reveling in some sick, private joke about how ignorant I had been. How I hadn't realized that I had never truly been afforded any freedom. They had kept me on a leash my entire life.

But phoenixes were meant to fly.

I was only halfway to Anne's office when I rounded a corner and screeched to a halt. Marian Janssen stood in the middle of the corridor, white coat brushing her knees. Everything about her demeanor was sharp and clinical. It was unnerving. The arctic gleam in her eyes matched the cold line of her mouth. Behind her, several Erasers blocked the hall with their wide, bulky shoulders.

"What are you doing?" I demanded brashly.

A scintillating sneer stretched across her pale face. She brushed a blonde strand of hair from her shoulder and sauntered a step closer. I kept my ground, shoulders squared and chin raised defiantly.

"The Vernal Equinox of your sixteenth year. Bet that was special, huh? An oracle foretold that an ancient being would reincarnate in the form of a child, and manifest when the time was right. I doubted it for many years, but they made me run constant tests on you anyway. I wasted years of my life studying all the blocks of your chemical makeup, trying to find the barest hint of a mutated gene. There was nothing. Nothing in your blood or DNA that made you as special as you thought you were," she jeered. If she thought she was belittling me, then she was wrong.

"But then you broke your arm last fall. At my request, Dr. Fisher took a sample of your blood while he was setting the bones. He mentioned that you had been positively simmering with rage because of a comment Dylan had made. And there it was. Written in your blood, as clear as day. A spark. Fire."

Just as the island oracle had predicted the rise of the phoenix, so had another foretold that it lived inside me. That it was me- a part of me in hibernation, incubating in my bloodstream. Marian had known. My father had known. Anne had known. But who else?

"What does this have to do with the School?" I pressed, glancing over her shoulder. The Erasers were shifting restlessly. They were in what I guessed to be their fully morphed state: pointed ears, hairy chops, claws, and fangs.

Marian laughed. The sound was verging on maniacal. "The School is just a small branch of a much bigger, more powerful company. I was the Director of Itex. I ran the whole research and development department. Then I met your father. This, of course, was many years before your existence. He was a brilliant scientist. I wanted to recruit him, but he had responsibilities of his own. That was when I learned of the Coalition. Over a series of many years he integrated myself and a few choice others into the CSM. Human and animal recombinant DNA and evolution was fascinating, but this- this entire underground system of paranormal hunting was the very pinnacle of just the kind of mutation I was interested in. Those that gripped human DNA and overwrote it, making the specimen faster, stronger, less susceptible to harm. If I could learn to weed out the less than savory side effects, then I could create the most superior race of human beings to ever walk the earth."

So basically she was absolutely insane.

"That's a nice speech," I congratulated her sarcastically. It was actually very informative and helpful, but I wasn't exactly going to admit that. Especially not with the way her eyes were glinting like the serrated steel of a blade.

I was conflicted. Part of me knew it was in my best interest to turn and hightail it away from the crazy mad scientist and her furry pet projects. The other part of me craved to know more. So far, she was the only one giving me any direct answers. It was the first useful information I had come by since my initial search began.

"Who else?" I snapped, grinding my teeth. Were my eyes playing tricks on me, or were those Erasers inching closer? I should have been running, but my curiosity had won over my better instincts. I had to know. "Who else came from the School?"

She picked at her nail, giving me a bored look. "Anne Walker, obviously. She's not much of a scientist, but she is quite business savvy and incredibly critically minded. Her role here suits her much better than her position within Itex. Then just Dr. Martinez and a handful of lesser individuals that floated between the Coalition and the School. That's about as deep as the deception goes."

My stomach plummeted to somewhere around my knees. Marian didn't seem to catch the sudden slackening of my expression, but it was a struggle not to let the full force of my astonishment bubble to the surface. Dr. Martinez. From the School? How? Why? I had had my reservations about Marian and Anne my entire life, but I had never questioned Dr. Martinez. She was reliable and sweet and the closest thing to motherly that I had ever known.

And, apparently, she was one of the bad guys.

"I've enjoyed our chat," Marian cooed, her voice infused with faux-sweetness, "but I've really got much better things to do. You'll be coming with me now."

Her simpering smile turned deadly. My eyes narrowed and I dropped back a step. The Erasers were already slipping past her and fanning out across the hall. Internally, I cursed. I should had fled when I at least had the advantage of surprise in my hand, but that time had passed. The Erasers' lips curled back to reveal the cruel spikes of their teeth. They were mere feet away. I had to act fast.

I planted my foot and whirled around. The closest Eraser snarled. I could practically feel the warmth and stickiness of his breath on the back of my neck. I only managed to bound a few steps away when a figure came rushing around the corner and blocked my path.

It was Dr. Martinez.

Two Erasers each snatched one of my arms. I jerked against their grip, but they were much stronger than I. The single kick I managed to aim at one's shin resulted in a sharp fist to the back of my skull. My head lulled so that my chin rested on my chest. Blearily, I looked up at Dr. Martinez through slitted eyes.

"What's going on here?" she demanded, gazing wildly from me, to the Erasers, to Marian's smug face. Her incomprehension was genuine. So was her fear.

"Valencia," Marian greeted her cheerfully. "How wonderful of you to join us. I was just telling our dear Max here about our origins at the School."

White spots danced across my vision. The Eraser had hit me really hard. That, coupled with the exhaustion I had experienced following my transformation into the phoenix, had left me weaker than I usually was. I could feel the lucid droop of my eyelids and I struggled to remain standing on my own.

"What have you done?" Dr. Martinez asked quietly. Her voice shook.

"Don't worry," Marian remarked assuredly. With my back to her, I could no longer see her expression. She probably just looked wicked and nefarious and corrupt. "I haven't told her the best part. I was reserving that privilege for you. Go on, tell her."

Dr. Martinez's mouth flattened into a thin line. Her hands, which were curled into fists at her sides, began shaking perceptibly.

Seeing that she wasn't going to respond, Marian's voice rose in pitch, reflecting her impatience. "Tell her," she practically shouted.

Dr. Martinez inhaled deeply. Through heavy blinks, I saw the inflation and deflation of her chest. She refused to speak.

"Fine," Marian snapped. I listened to the click of her heels against the tile as she brushed past the Eraser detaining me on the left. After smoothing the hem of her shirt, she bent down so that we were eye level. Her glare was infested with malice. "See that woman? The one you've known your entire life? The one that's cared for you and jockeyed on your behalf even when you never knew of it?

"… She is your mother."