7
Davey sat straight up, dragged from her dreams by an inexplicable dread. Wide awake and with trembling fingers, she began to get dressed.
“What is it?” Ethan asked. Every muscle was rigid, ready to launch into action. If she looked anywhere near as horrified as she felt, then his reaction was a reflection of that.
“It’s Hogan,” she said. “He’s having a nightmare. Get dressed.”
Looking confused, Ethan did as he was told and caught up to Davey near the bottom of the stairwell. They hadn’t climbed halfway when the blood-curling scream tore through the walls. An instant later, there came a second scream, rivaling the first, and carved from pure terror. The sound squeezed Davey’s heart, making it harder and harder to catch the next breath. Ethan raced past her, charging up the stairs as he became a blur of motion, moving faster than she had ever seen. When she reached Hogan’s room, Ethan was already inside, staring down at her brother. He barely glanced up when she entered.
Following his gaze, she located Hogan. He was on the floor, tucked in the corner, and balled into the fetal position. Tears streaked his face, but his eyes were closed. He had no idea they were there. He screamed again, another gut-wrenching wail that clawed at Davey. This was the worst she had ever seen him.
“Stay away from me. Stay away. Stay away.” Over and over, Hogan mumbled the words in a low chant, using a voice too deep to be his own.
Kneeling on the floor, she reached for him, but Ethan shook his head. “This isn’t a dream,” he cautioned.
“What?” Taken aback, Davey withdrew her hand. “How do you know?”
“Because I just measured his brain waves and Hogan is not asleep.”
“Okay.” Davey swallowed. She hadn’t realized electroencephalography was a part of Ethan’s bag of tricks. “So, what’s happening to him?”
“I don’t know.”
She gritted her teeth. She was frustrated, and it had nothing to do with Ethan. Davey was simply tired of being helpless when her little brother seemed to need her the most. Hogan whimpered, pausing his chant long enough to whisper a soft plea. “Please, no,” he said.
“Ethan, I have to do something. Holding him usually calms him, and he’s never hurt me.”
“Davey, I don’t think you should.”
“Why not?” She trusted Ethan wholeheartedly, but he was scaring her. What did he know that she didn’t?
Grimacing, Ethan took a seat next to her. “Stand back,” he said softly. “Watch.”
Davey waited expectantly. At first, nothing happened, but then Hogan opened his eyes and she nearly sighed with relief, until his hand shot out and grabbed Ethan’s wrist. Hogan’s lips began moving, mumbling words that did not quite reach her ears. She leaned in closer, trying to hear, and finally made out a single, rasping phrase.
“I told you to stay away.”
“Ethan, let go of him.”
“I’m trying. I can’t.”
On Ethan’s arm, the skin beneath Hogan’s touch had become translucent, glowing with a faint light that gradually brightened. “Stay away,” Hogan shrieked, and suddenly, Davey was blinded. A dull roar filled her ears, followed by a deafening crack that seemed to split apart the very air in the room. As her vision finally cleared, her heart leapt to see Ethan sprawled on the opposite side of Hogan’s bedroom with chunks of plaster and drywall littering the carpet around him. He wasn’t moving.
“Oh god.”
Davey ran to Ethan. Shouting his name, she shook him but got no response. He just lay there, limp and motionless beneath the fractured impression his body had left in the wall. Frantic, Davey looked to Hogan. He had returned to a trance-like state. She had no idea what to do and no idea how to help either of them.
“Ethan,” she tried again. “Ethan, please. We need you.”
Travis chose that moment to stumble into the room. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Hogan is having another episode.”
“I can see that. I meant what happened to Agent Asshole? I thought he left.”
Deciding that now wasn’t the appropriate time for honesty, Davey lied. “He stayed the night, Travis. He wanted to be sure we were safe.”
Rubbing his eyes sleepily, Travis checked on Hogan and suffered no ill effects after touching him. He came over to Ethan, frowning in concentration as he clumsily felt for a pulse. “Fuck,” he said in an awed whisper. “I think he’s dead. Davey. Call an ambulance.”
“He’s not dead, Travis.”
“What do you mean, he’s not dead? I can’t find a pulse, and he sure as fuck isn’t breathing.”
Ethan didn’t need to do either of those things in order to function, but Davey couldn’t tell Travis that. “Just go stay with Hogan,” she urged. “See if you can wake him up.”
Keeping one eye on Hogan and her boyfriend’s efforts to rouse him, Davey continued calling to Ethan, quietly begging him to come back to her. In an unexpected twist, both of her wishes came true at once when Hogan sat up, dragging in a long, raking breath. Across the room, Ethan did the exact same. Davey could have laughed with joy but she was too dumbstruck. Nothing that had happened made sense. There was so much she didn’t understand about Ethan, and maybe even more—she now realized—that she didn’t understand about her brother.
“Davey,” Hogan called in voice made tiny by fear.
“I’m here, monkey.” Giving Ethan’s hand a brief squeeze, she let go and went to her brother. She didn’t miss the flash of anger in Travis’s expression as he witnessed an exchange too familiar between strangers. She was grateful when he held his tongue, but the look in Travis’s eye was a warning, making Davey certain there would be one hell of an argument later. Though never a jealous guy before tonight, Travis had sometimes shown a possessive streak. And it was seriously rearing its ugly head.
Smoothing Hogan’s hair away from his face, she wrapped him in her arms. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he said, but his voice was shaking.
“Was there anything different this time?”
Hogan tossed an anxious, hesitant glance in Ethan’s direction.
“It’s okay,” Ethan said, getting to his feet.
“I saw the bad man,” Hogan whispered. “And I saw him.” He pointed at Ethan. “But there were two of him.”
∞∞∞
Davey didn’t know where to start, and Ethan was no help. Overruling Hogan’s protests, she had spent the rest of the night with her brother, watching over his sleep. Davey knew it was a little irrational because in reality, there was little she could have done if Hogan had lapsed into a second episode of similar or greater magnitude.
Solely for Travis’s sake, she had assured Hogan that everything had only been a bad dream. In that way, no extraordinary explanations would have to be given regarding alchemy experiments or immortal souls. Not only did Davey not want to endanger Travis by revealing Global Cures’ clandestine ventures to him, but Ethan’s secrets were not hers to tell. Though he probably would not have believed her anyway. Travis had seen a lot in his career, but the story of Ethan Remington/Seth Eleazar was pretty incredible. Ethan’s very existence defied each and every law a scientist like Travis lived by.
Now it was morning. Travis was showered and sober, but the effects of drinking too much lingered, and his memory of the night before was pretty spotty. He didn’t recall arguing with Davey, storming off to bed, and then arguing with her some more. His mind also failed to remember that Ethan had spent the night. Davey saw the moment when Travis came downstairs and saw Ethan in the kitchen, casually sipping a cup of coffee while making waffles and bacon for an exhausted Hogan. Wearing dark jeans and a pale grey oxford that paired nicely with his steely eyes, and with the morning sun bathing him in its brilliant rays, Ethan was a stunning sight. And apparently not just to Davey.
Travis rocked back on his heels and nearly fell over.
Flashing her most charming smile, Davey moved to intercept him and hoped another confrontation could be avoided. “Hi babe! There’s breakfast if you want any. How are you feeling?”
Travis groaned. “Like I drank too fucking much last night.” Rubbing his temple, he aimed a hard look at Ethan but withheld whatever biting comment would have followed. “Please tell me there’s more coffee.”
“There’s plenty,” Ethan said almost cheerily and held up the pot. “But it’s decaf. I’ll pour you a cup.”
“No.” Travis grimaced. “Never mind.”
“I’m just screwing with you, man.” Ethan chuckled. “I hope you like your coffee strong. This stuff will get you going.”
Davey nervously crammed an entire piece of bacon in her mouth and started chewing.
After somewhat hesitantly accepting the mug Ethan offered, Travis sampled the brew and nodded. “I hope I wasn’t too big of a dick last night.”
“No worries. I handle big dicks all the time.”
Embarrassed for Ethan, Davey palmed her face, while Hogan laughed so hard he choked on his orange juice. “Dude, I swear you say the weirdest shit.”
“Language,” Davey warned.
Hogan winced. “Sorry.”
Travis eyed her brother warily. “Shouldn’t you be in school?”
“Nah. Classes were cancelled because the campus is still closed.”
“Of course.” Sighing, Travis turned his attention to Davey. “And I assume you won’t be joining me at the lab today, given that it’s half past eight and you’re still in yoga pants.”
“You’re so much smarter when you’re sober,” she answered with a teasing smile.
“Right.” Travis hunched his shoulders in obvious chagrin. “I owe you an apology too, Davey. My behavior was inexcusable.”
Now it was her turn to be ashamed. Her behavior had been worse—much worse. Immediately thinking of Ethan’s naked body entangled with hers and how his cock had buried so deep inside of her, Davey shoved the memory aside and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry too, Travis.”
“Forgiven,” he said and kissed her in a manner that evoked make-up sex was on the near horizon. Initially resting at the small of back, his hand slowly moved to cradle her ass until the unmistakable sound of ceramic being shattered into dozens of pieces rang out, surprising everyone. Jerking away from Travis, Davey turned in time to see the remnants of the coffee mug Ethan had been holding crumble to the floor. He hadn’t dropped it. He had crushed the mug in his bare hand.
As Ethan stooped to begin clearing the mess, Davey rushed to help him. Their fingers inadvertently touched when they grasped for the same shard, and a smooth jolt of electricity sparked through her, nearly knocking Davey onto her butt. Gasping, she stood up and dumped the mug fragments into the trash. Then she took Travis’s hand and forcibly escorted him to the door.
“Okay,” she said almost breathlessly. “So, Hogan and I are going to hang out here for a bit—spend the day together. I want to talk to him about what happened at the school and the nightmare he had last night. They could be connected, so I need to be sure he’s okay.”
“Good idea.” Travis looked over her shoulder. “What about Agent Assho—Remington? How long does he plan on sticking around?”
Davey gave a noncommittal shrug. “I really need to make some phone calls about my car, but Agent Remington eventually has to get a statement from me about yesterday. I saw that maniac and talked to him. Maybe I can help the ATF figure out motive.” Davey stopped there. She hated lying but also couldn’t rally the nerve to have the conversation that would break his heart. Plus, Travis needed to get to the lab, and there was a world of shit to be discussed with Ethan. She needed to speak with Travis at a time when she could give him her full attention for however long he needed to understand and accept the truth. She owed him that much. “To answer your question, I don’t know how long he’s staying,” she finally said. “There’s a lot to figure out.”
He blew out a frustrated sigh. “Davey, I know you don’t want to tell me everything, but can we at least talk about this later? In twenty-four hours, it feels like everything has changed. It feels like I’m losing you. Just tell me what’s going on. I promise to be a grown-up. I won’t get jealous and fly off the handle, or anything like that. But I need to know what’s happening here.”
“We’ll talk later. I promise,” she said, and meant it.
Once Travis had reluctantly exited, Davey called Hogan into the living room. It was time for full disclosure. Her brother was in danger and she needed to figure out exactly why. The only way to do that was if everyone sat down and had an open conversation. But as they headed toward the sofa, Ethan pulled her aside.
“You have to tell Travis.”
“I know. I will. Now just wasn’t the right time.”
Ethan frowned. “Do it soon,” he said softly. “If he kisses you like that again, I might kill him.”
“I don’t believe you would do that.”
He shook his head slowly. “You don’t know everything about me.”
“Oh Ethan.” The expression he wore was so haunted, Davey reached up and touched his face without thinking. As if pulled by gravity, their bodies drifted closer and soon her lips were once again wrapped within his. When the kiss ended, Davey was panting. She dropped her head against his chest. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him,” she whispered.
Ethan clasped the back of her neck and held her against him, his thumb lightly stroking her skin. His voice rumbled through his chest as he uttered a soft agreement. “Okay.”
On a unified front, they then went and sat with Hogan. Ethan showed little hesitation in sharing the tale of his death and incredible rebirth while Davey watched her brother’s eyes grow wider and wider with disbelief, denial, and then awe. She followed by revealing her role in keeping Ethan’s secret over the years and how her true mission at TruGreen Labs had always been to find Ethan.
“Wow. That’s all amazing, and it’s great you two have found each other…but what does any of this have to do with me? Well, besides the fact that I had to spend the night in this house lying to your boyfriend about your long lost ex-boyfriend. Travis is totally going to lose his shit when he finds out.”
“Hogan, language.”
“You say a lot worse, Davey.”
“I do, but I’m also a grown-up with a PhD, and I pay the mortgage.” She tossed a throw pillow at his head. “And I’m sorry you had to lie for me, but thank you.”
“It was for a good cause. I think.”
“Hold that thought.” Considering the best way to answer Hogan’s question, Davey leaned forward and clasped her hands. “There’s more. A lot more. Everything that’s happened in the past twenty-four hours somehow involves you, and Ethan is going to help us understand it.”
Hogan shifted his attention to Ethan expectantly. Nodding, Ethan dove right into an explanation. “Mason Drekker, the man who assaulted the students at your school, is an agent for the military sector of Global Cures, but he recently went rogue. The violent acts he’s committing now are due to a mission of his own creation. I believe Drekker is seeking to acquire you, Hogan, because he needs your help. I was tasked to intercept him—to stop Mason Drekker at all costs—and to bring you back to Global Cures.”
“Wait. Help him? How? I don’t know anything about any of this.”
“Hogan…you may know more than you realize. Those aren’t nightmares that plague you. Last night when you were screaming, I was able to map your brain and subsequently registered an abnormal amount of activity. The readings were impossible for someone even in REM sleep. Every glial cell within your cortex lit up like individual lightning storms, generating astronomical sums of energy.” Ethan paused, casting an uncertain glance in Davey’s direction. Then he carefully continued. “Hogan, I believe that last night you traveled to another realm, one that is not meant for the living. And when you touched me, I took this journey with you. I saw the one whom you called ‘the bad man.’ That man is Mason Drekker, the same agent who’s hunting you.”
“But how?” Hogan asked in a voice about five octaves too high. He was clearly having a hard time wrapping his head around everything. Davey couldn’t blame him. It was a lot to take in. She’d needed months to come to grips with Ethan’s true origins, and these new revelations were equally mind-blowing. “You killed the bad guy,” her brother continued. “He died at the school.”
“I can only stop his physical body. Drekker was supposed to be like me, but the transmutation process was corrupted, leaving him with no permanent form. He inhabits living humans, supplanting their consciousness with his own. When a human host dies, Drekker briefly goes back to the other realm before returning to life. I think he has somehow figured out a way to manipulate the process at will.”
“Holy shit.” Hogan shook his head. “This is insane. Even if everything you said is true—that instead of dreaming, I’m taking some sort of acid trip to neverland—it still doesn’t explain why your guy, Drekker, thinks I can do anything for him. I don’t know anything about alchemy, transmutations, or mystical realms.”
“Well…that’s the thing,” Ethan began but fell silent.
“Ethan?” Davey prodded when he didn’t continue.
He sighed. “If Hogan is having a hard time with this, the next part will be extremely difficult to accept.”
“Just spit it out, Ethan.”
“I’ve already told you how the scientists at Global Cures are seeking to recreate the process that can successfully transmute a human soul into a complex machine. Well, I think Hogan can do it naturally. I believe he is a true alchemist. Not only can Hogan travel to this other realm at will, but I believe he could bring someone—a soul or souls—back with him.”
Hogan abruptly stood up from the couch. “You’re right,” he almost shouted. “I don’t believe any of this. And it’s seriously fucked up that Drekker killed Mrs. Prince because I sure as shit can’t help him.”
Shocked by Hogan’s outburst, Davey took a moment to regroup. Her brother had always been the sweet and even-tempered one. Fits of rage were more Davey’s area of expertise.
Luckily, Ethan wasn’t as affected. “I was there with you, Hogan,” he gently insisted. “I saw firsthand what you can do.”
“Or maybe that was just your artificial, cyber-hybrid neurons going haywire. When was your last software update?” he rambled. “You shouldn’t skip those. They’re very important.”
“Hogan,” Davey said in a warning tone. “Don’t be rude.”
Ethan held up one hand. “It’s okay, Davey. He’ll eventually come to terms with it. He has to.”
“And what if I don’t?” Hogan shot back.
“Then Drekker will continue to torment you until he gets what he wants. He will come after your sister and anyone else you care about. Hogan, I will do everything in my power to stop him, but I’m afraid it won’t be enough. I am a soldier, but I was designed to counter physical threats, not something like this.”
Deflating as if all the air left him at once, Hogan collapsed onto the couch in a dejected heap of spent adrenaline. “People shouldn’t be getting hurt because of me. It’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not. That’s why we have to stop Drekker.”
“But how?”
“The next time you to travel, I will come with you.”
Hogan’s eyes widened in panic. “I’ve already told you that I don’t how to do that.”
“Yes, you can, Hogan, and I will prove it to you,” Ethan said and surprised Davey by moving to kneel in front of her brother, facing away from them. When Ethan stripped off his shirt, she caught her breath, mentally chiding herself that now was not the time to get distracted by hard abs, rippling biceps, or an obscenely well-defined back.
Ethan pointed to his left shoulder. “This tattoo is an ancient symbol for human transmutation. It is what anchors my soul to this body. Hogan, I want you to touch the circle.”
“What’s going to happen?” he asked.
Great question, Davey thought. A knot formed in her stomach as she recalled when Hogan had somehow launched Ethan across the room, ruining a perfectly good section of drywall and rendering Ethan unconscious for several terrifying seconds. Davey wasn’t ready to repeat round two of a similar scenario.
“Ethan, maybe he shouldn’t.”
“Trust me, Davey,” he said and looked over his shoulder at Hogan. “Touch the symbol,” he ordered.
With trembling fingers, Hogan obeyed, and the effect was instantaneous. Hogan’s sharp intake of air was audible just before his eyes closed and began moving rapidly behind his eyelids. Then Ethan’s tattoo began to glow as if backlit by a bright blue light. Lines of the same blue formed all across the surface of Ethan’s skin, following along the path of synthetic veins which were rapidly swelling to unnatural proportions. Ethan’s left hand balled into a fist and his jaw rippled over clenched teeth, but otherwise he didn’t move. Davey sat as still as possible, afraid to make a sound or do anything that might disrupt Hogan’s concentration. She didn’t know what was happening between the two of them, but Ethan had asked her to trust him. And so, she resolved to not interfere.
After what seemed like hours but was actually only a few minutes, Hogan’s hand dropped from Ethan’s shoulder and the rest of Hogan’s body slumped forward. But just as Davey tensed with worry, he recovered. His face was fully transformed by wonder.
Dragging in a deep breath, Ethan slowly climbed to his feet. “What did you see?” he asked as he pulled his shirt back on.
“Everything. It was like I was inside of you. Your entire life—moving backwards and sideways through time…but then it suddenly stopped.” Hogan’s voice fell to a trembling whisper. “It’s all true, isn’t it? They really brought you back from the dead.”
“They did.”
“What’s it like?”
“I don’t feel whole. I can’t remember most of my life before I became this.” Ethan gestured at his body. “It’s like they left a huge piece of me behind.”
“But the rest of it has to feel pretty cool right? You really are a freaking terminator.”
“I’m afraid I do not know what that is.”
Hogan blinked at him. “Are you kidding? Everyone knows who the Terminator is.”
Ethan smiled kindly. “Maybe at some point I knew, but all of my memories did not survive the transmutation process, leaving my mind fractured. That is why my human consciousness operates in unison with the artificial intelligence incorporated into this body.”
Finally getting it, Hogan snapped his fingers. “So, basically, your human self is constantly at war with a machine brain, and that’s why you sound like a robot sometimes.” He hunched his shoulders. “Sorry for teasing you earlier.”
Ethan shrugged. “No worries.”
“So, what do we do now? I mean, I’m not tired and I never travel—or whatever you call it—until I sleep.”
“Let’s give your sister time to make her phone calls.” Ethan grinned. “Then I suggest we watch The Terminator.”