Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 128413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
But when she sent him an assessing look not long after, he felt the hairs rise on the back of his nape. That look…it was of the woman who’d stood on the doorstep and looked at him as if he was a stranger. His Auden wasn’t in there.
A blink and the impression was gone, Auden’s the mind behind the gaze once more.
The chill inside him lingered.
Chapter 24
I’ve reviewed the schematics you sent. As designed, this biograft would remove a major neural safeguard when it comes to psychic overloads. It cannot ever be placed in a Psy brain—not without risking a psychic burn severe enough to cause brain damage.
—Message from Dr. Ilma Wang to Councilor Shoshanna Scott (1 January 2075)
AUDEN MADE IT through the next two days with gritted teeth—and little sleep. She was afraid if she closed her eyes, she wouldn’t wake to herself again, her mind a total blank. She survived with catnaps that were never long or deep enough to put her brain into a state where things happened. Where she lost herself.
That kind of sleep wasn’t enough for a woman in her eighth month of pregnancy.
“You’re displaying signs of significant sleep deprivation,” Dr. Verhoeven said at her next check-up. “We may need to bring in a sleep specialist empath.”
That he was even considering bringing in an outsider indicated the depth of his worry.
Auden rubbed at her forehead, and suddenly, she was speaking without conscious premeditation. “I find it difficult to sleep in this house knowing how long my uncle and cousin had access to it. Uncle Hayward spoke a good game, but he’d become used to the taste of being so close to power—and he’s not as meek and mild as everyone believes.”
That much, at least, was true.
“You shouldn’t worry,” Dr. Verhoeven said. “Charisma has no doubt run a comprehensive security sweep.”
“Yes, but my uncle is weak, not stupid,” Auden said, the words coming faster than she could process them. “He could’ve thought to plant an object in the house that might send me into shock if I come into unexpected contact with it. It could be as simple as a pen purchased from the estate of a serial murderer. Do any of us ever really think about it before picking up a pen to make a quick note?”
Stunned by the idea that might be an actual credible threat she’d never before considered because she just didn’t think in such a mercenary way, she leaned her head back on the examination chair. Her pulse felt erratic, but she didn’t fight it—let Dr. Verhoeven note that down, add it to his list of problematic factors.
“All I need is a location neither he nor my cousin has ever accessed.”
“Perhaps you should go to the cabin,” the doctor mused. “It’s secure, and the leopards are no threat now that you have a major deal with them—they might even provide protection as part of their attempt to build a relationship. The biomonitors let me keep an eye on you, and we have a teleporter on standby if I need to get to you.”
Auden couldn’t believe he’d given her the cabin on a silver platter, had to struggle not to jump on the offer with betraying eagerness. “I’m unable to fly, teleportation is out for me, and you know the problem with having a different individual in my chopper.”
“Hmm, yes.”
“Though…” She paused. “I accidentally touched a few surfaces the changeling alpha touched during our recent tour of their manufacturing facilities, and while I picked up multiple changeling echoes from those who work there, I had no negative reaction.”
“Interesting.” The doctor sounded like he meant that. “A result of their natural shields do you think?”
“Makes logical sense to me,” Auden agreed. “Perhaps if I continue to have trouble sleeping, I’ll hire a changeling pilot to get me to the cabin so I can rest without concern about what Uncle Hayward or my cousin may have left behind for me.”
“I really do recommend a period of significant rest.” The doctor made a few notes. “You know how important it is that you stay in top shape. There’s no knowing how long this brain will function at the level you need it to function.”
The hairs on Auden’s nape quivered.
There was something extremely wrong with the way the doctor had phrased that—but she couldn’t exactly question him without betraying herself. So she responded with a cool, “Exactly so.” She got off the examination chair by swinging her legs to the side, then pushing up on the arm.
The M-Psy offered her a hand, such contact having been permitted even in Silence when another Psy was in a physical state that made movement difficult, but she shook her head—both to maintain her image of being in control and powerful, and because she didn’t want that man touching her.