The Unveiling (D'Shar Men 2)

"Thank you again for the day. It was nice." She rose to her feet, grabbed her clutch and walked off as slowly as she dared. The Wanting was like a flame that never fully extinguished and flared at will. As she stepped into the cold she turned to look over her shoulder one last time. The goofy grin Bastien wore threw her off kilter. He looked like he'd won a million bucks. A smile snuck up onto her lips. A warm feeling spread in her chest before she pushed it aside.

****

I'm alive! Tavel pried his eyes open. His vision wavered as water welled up in his eyes and slid down onto his face. His body ached like he'd been in a fight, and his throat was dry. He swallowed to moisten his mouth and did a mental check of his bones. Nothing felt broken or misaligned. Gritting his teeth he forced his body into a sitting position. His muscles cried out in protest, and he moaned. Head bowed he breathed through the pain. A few moments later he had gathered himself enough to gain his feet. Hunched over he hobbled his way to the adjoining bathroom. His heart missed a beat. The face looking back at him was one he hadn't seen since he left Tagget. He brought his shaky hands up to examine his skin. It was smooth and supple. His hair was restored to its original blond. The wrinkles around his eyes and his mouth were gone completely. After all this time I got my miracle! He threw his head back and laughed. He'd get all of his children started on his pills. An unending supply to sustain him, assuming he even needed it. His brain worked overtime as he thought about how he could make produce the pills in mass quantity. Once he got himself stabilized he could tweak the formula to make them just like him. A band of super beings to command! Oh yes, this was worth the lengthy wait.

Chapter Seventeen

Zasha looked down at the phone vibrating on her desk and grinned. It was Kade! She pressed answer and routed the call to the slender, black device in her ear.

"Please tell me you found something."

"I think so. I've managed to narrow the compounds down to two planets."

"Two is better than the infinite number we had previously."

"That was my thought…"

"You're hesitating. Why?"

"Because in order to test my hypothesis I'd have to go these places. I’m missing a key component in this compound. I think it's a very specific, possibly located in one particular place. Things like that aren't catalogued as well, and both planets are quite remote."

"What are you planning on doing to figure this out?"

"That's why I was calling. I need to set up a team and go on an expedition."

"Wait, you need to do what?" Images of Kade clad in a white NASA spacesuit danced in her head. They had their own ways of space travel.

"I know. It's extreme, but it's the only way to be precise, and I get the feeling we're under a deadline here. Which means I need to cut through a lot of red tape."

"That's putting it lightly.” Space travel took a lot of paper work and wasn't frequent by any means. It took a lot of negotiating and agreements on the part of both parties, and before any of this could begin it had to be approved by Phelan.

"I know it's a tall order. But if anyone could do it you could. The P.I.U. works separately from the government, so that helps a lot. I'm more worried about Phelan at this point. He'll want us all close by with everything going on. "

"Yes, but you plead a good case, K. It's why you're the politician of the family."

He chuckled. "That's a nice way of putting it. Can you start warming him up?"

"I can try. What do you want me to say?"

"Just tell him I was talking about putting a team together to do more in-depth research."

"Well, that's not a problem. I've actually been meaning to talk to you about a woman I'd like to bring on to the project. You may have heard of her, Dr. Guerin."

"Ivy Guerin. The leading human geneticist in the alien genetics field!"

The excitement in his voice made her smile. "I see you’re familiar with her work."

"Of course, the woman’s brilliant."

"Good, I'm hoping she'll join the cause."

"She likes to be challenged. I don't think you'll have a problem."

"Maybe you could write up the letter. I don’t speak…"

"Geek?"

"At the risk of sounding awful, yes. If you want me track it, hunt it down, and bring it to justice, I'm your girl. Reason and talk about complex things like particles and compounds … meh."