Page 9 of Wrath

“They’re not extinct,” I replied, “but they came very close to it, thanks to Khutu. The General captured many of them to perform his experiments. Based on what Varnog was able to gather from his memories, the goal was to turn them into immortal killers: bigger creatures, with major offensive abilities, and that kept coming back to life every time they were taken down.”

Kwan whistled between her teeth. “Talk about zombie apocalypse…”

“Exactly,” I said with a nod. “Thankfully, the project was a failure.”

“They couldn’t turn them into the zombie monsters they wanted?” Nathalie asked in a dubious tone.

“Oh no, that part was a success,” Varnog said with disgust. “When it comes to creating monsters, that’s one thing Khutu excels at.”

The bitterness in the Scelk’s voice didn’t go unnoticed. Even though Varnog, and the rest of his people, had become valued members of the Vanguard, they continued to chafe at the way they had come to life. They, too, had been created by Khutu to be mindless killers.

“It’s controlling them that he usually fails at,” I said. “And that’s exactly the case here. His enhanced beasts seemed to measure a little over two meters long, unlike the original Jadozors that are no bigger than a standard chicken. What did you last see in his mind?” I asked the Scelk leader.

“The final communication between Khutu and the bugs that were working there was to seal the base and leave all of the experiments in stasis,” Varnog replied. “I retrieved the General’s memories of visiting the base. According to what they showed, the place is very well controlled with extremely high security. This facility was locked down a little less than four years ago. Therefore, we should find everything pretty much intact there.”

“So, what’s the plan if they’re unkillable?” Miriam asked.

“Liena is already studying the matter,” I said. “She has sent detailed files describing everything we know about the original Jadozors. You will find them on your personal computers. Please take the time to carefully study them during our trip to the secret base located on Narjin. Liena will continue to research them to see if she can find a sure way to kill them. But once we get there, we will need you, Myriam, to copy all the research data, then transfer it to Khepri and to Nathalie for her to study as well. This is the reason for the frigate. We cannot risk these creatures lying in wait until the wrong person finds them. Or worse still, that the base falls into such disrepair that the security system fails, and they get released.”

“Knowing Khutu,” Dread said in a gloomy voice, “he will have found a way to make them reproduce quickly. He’s obsessed with swarming his enemies.”

“And that is a major concern,” I said with a nod. “As you can imagine, the original silver phoenix has a very low reproduction rate as the ecosystem would not be able to sustain many immortal creatures. There is a way that these creatures permanently die, but it was never explained. The only thing we know for a fact was that they meet true death after the birth of their second offspring. It seems to be some sort of natural balance to keep population control in check.”

“That’s odd,” Nathalie said. “Do they transfer to their offspring the thing that grants them immortality, therefore losing their own ability to regenerate?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Wrath said. “But that’s what we will hopefully find out and resolve. For all that, this should be a safe mission.”

“Famous last words,” Varnog said teasingly.

“Stop being a prophet of doom,” Myriam said, glaring at him with false anger.

“I’m just being realistic,” Varnog said with a shrug. “When was the last time you went on a mission that didn’t turn ugly out of the blue?”

She snorted and nodded in concession.

“I don’t call it ugly,” Dread said with a fiendish smile. “It’s called action and epic ass-kicking.”

The team chuckled, and I shook my head in discouragement.

“Study your files,” I said in a stern voice. “It is a long trip to Narjin. So, no excuses.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Varnog said with a teasing grin.

I watched my team file out of the boardroom, though my gaze remained locked on my woman. For once, excitement dominated the rainbow of emotions of her aura. With time, I would make sure that only joy filled it.

Chapter 4

Kwan

Three days into the journey to Narjin, I felt more confused than ever. On the one end, I was beyond relieved to have had this conversation with Wrath and managed expectations on all fronts. On the other end, instead of giving me that sense of security and peace I had expected, his selfless acceptance of my lack of interest was messing with my head. Having him openly acknowledge that I was his soulmate, and the incredibly romantic way in which he had described how my mere presence filled him with joy made it impossible to not think about Wrath and question my own reluctance.

Kevin would have wanted me to move on with my life, just as I would have wanted the same for him had I been the one to leave early. I had no qualms with embracing a new relationship at this point as I believed one year was a respectable waiting period before looking for love again. And yet, as much as Wrath fascinated me, a part of me was stuck and knew I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t even say why. Just something inside me got all choked up whenever I tried to picture myself with someone else. Deep down, I wasn’t done mourning all that I had lost.

But knowing that this magnificent Warrior, with the kindest of hearts, had waited his entire life specifically for me, and would continue to do so for however long I needed, was in and of itself a form of pressure… and incredibly enticing. Why was I delaying the inevitable? Wouldn’t embracing him now be exactly what I needed to crawl out of that well of despair I kept drowning in? Or would that instead make things worse by rushing in before I was ready?

All these thoughts were driving me insane. A part of me wished I hadn’t met Wrath so that I could heal at my own pace. But by the same token, I believed meeting him might instead be a blessing as it was forcing me to stare my pain straight in the eye.

Heaving a sigh, I made my way to the training room. Although our team leader wasn’t avoiding me, he hadn’t sought my company either. That, too, messed with my head. Truth be told, it somewhat stung that he didn’t pursue me more actively. It made me wonder at the depth of his attachment to me. Man, I was feeling like a freaking weathervane. The way I spun in every direction, I was making myself dizzy. I didn’t want his attention but felt disrespected by the lack thereof. Way to fail…

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