Page 63 of Exordium

“Do I know you?” I frowned.

“No, Jet Lockley, you don’t, but I know you. It won’t take but a moment.” He gestured toward a table in the back.

“Who the fuck is this guy?” Josh turned, giving the stranger the stink eye.

“I have no idea, but I guess I’ll find out.” I finished my beer and then stood to follow the man.

“If you’re getting an inheritance from a rich relative, remember the guy that saved your ass!” Deshawn yelled out.

“I saved both of your prissy asses. I’m the one he needs to remember!” Josh whined. I smirked as I walked off, the debate of who saved whose ass still going strong.

After I sat down, the guy at the table began speaking immediately: “My name is Reginald Wayne, and I’m here to share some astonishing news concerning your ancestry.” He reached into a briefcase and pulled out a file that he slid to me. I eyed the file and then looked at Reginald.

“Who are you with, and what is this concerning?”

“I would rather you examine the file first, then I’ll give you the information you’re asking for,” he said in a no-nonsense way.

I was annoyed at his response but too curious not to open the file. It was most definitely a character flaw. The first page was a copy of a blood test, followed by a DNA analysis. I picked up the paper with my DNA results and read through it several times. Looking up at Reginald and then back at the paper, I asked, “What does this mean?”

“It means, Mr. Lockley, that you’re not entirely human.”

Standing, I frowned down at the man, “Fuck off, I don’t have the time or patience for this shit. I have no idea how you got that blood test, but I know it wasn’t legal. I’ll be keeping my paperwork, and if I see you again, I’ll beat your ass first and ask questions later.”

The man grabbed my arm. I tried to jerk it out of Reginald’s hold, but I couldn’t do it no matter how hard I pulled. What the fuck was going on? The guy wasn’t even half my size, and I couldn’t break his grip. I looked at him in astonishment as Reginald glanced around the room, making sure no one waslooking. He brought his other hand to my face, and a flame shot up from his index finger.

“If you are even remotely curious to find out how I’m doing this and about your ancestry, I’ll leave my card with a time and place to meet. The decision is yours, but if you don’t show, you’ll never hear from me again, and the opportunity to be so much more than you are now will have passed.” Reginald threw the card on the table, picked up his briefcase, and left the bar.

The next day, I was called to the Sergeant Major’s office, where a man in civilian clothes was waiting. The Major left the office, giving us privacy, and the man explained that they had been watching Mr. Wayne for quite a while and thought I was the perfect candidate to gather more information. The rest was history.

The letter departments in the government, CIA, FBI, etcetera, knew nothing about the Aurathions. The organization I had become a part of was hidden so deep that once you became a member, only death saw you leave. Their knowledge of the Aurathion people and what amounted to an invasion was gained late in the game after the Aurathions were already well-established in this world.

Several military personnel had Aurathion ancestry, but none had my special training, so I was recruited to gather information about their culture and technology. Sometimes, I felt that my superiors had difficulty swallowing the information I passed on about Aurathions’ abilities. My reports read like comic books, and I sometimes had trouble processing them, even though I had witnessed it all firsthand.

I felt like everything had been going well until I met Reverie. Not growing up as Aurathion, I was stunned at how powerful the pull was to her. I had researched Factions and how they connected but my research had made it seem more clinical and not so emotional or instinctual.

I hadn’t put Reverie in any of my reports so far. My loyalty to this country had never been questioned, but I found that my feelings for Reverie superseded everything. My first instinct was to protect her at all costs, and so far, I hadn’t been able to overcome it.

Nathan had been gone for a couple of weeks, and I could tell it was taking a toll on her. The guy was a lunatic, but I admired his loyalty to Reverie. Nathan was also new to this world but took everything in stride, focusing entirely on his Nexus. I envied him because he could explore his new circumstances and owed nothing to anybody.

I was curious about my initiation and excited to discover what challenges would be thrown at me. I wouldn’t be in this position if I didn’t thrive on the impossible. The level of physical fitness was crazy, and I was here for it. In fact, I loved everything about my new culture and the possibilities it offered. Only the love I felt for my parents and my country kept me on track and the knowledge that I had no choice but to continue my mission unless I wanted to disappear.

I had kept my distance from Reverie for the last few weeks, only observing her from a distance. I had seen her relationship with the twins developing and knew they would be made part of her Faction. I’d also seen Storm following her everywhere. I knew she wasn’t fully aware of how extensive Storm’s obsession was but calling it stalking was not enough. What I couldn’t understand was why her scary Fellat allowed it. (I’d have loved to see the looks on my superiors' faces at finding out about theFellat species and their level of intelligence.) Of course, I had left out Reverie’s involvement with the beast.

I quietly entered the workout room and jumped on the treadmill to warm up. I was almost finished with my five miles when I saw Kristine slip down the hallway toward Storm’s office. She didn’t see me, so I quietly stepped off the treadmill and followed her. Staying in the shadows, I stepped close to Storm’s door to see if I could find out why she was there so early. I didn’t trust either of them, and lying to myself, I pretended it was for the organization and not Reverie.

“What the fuck do you want now?” Storm growled out.

“I want to know when you’re going to get rid of that bitch! She in no way, deserves a Fellat. There must be something wrong with the animal to bind himself to someone so inferior. I’m sick of everyone acting like she’s something special.” I heard the crazy bitch stomp her foot like a three-year-old.

There was a brief silence, “I’m amazed that you believe I give a shit about your petty issues. Your mother didn’t do you any favors, spoiling you like she did. It gave you a false sense of self-importance.” I heard him push his chair back, then footsteps stopping near where I thought Kristine was standing. “The best advice I can give you is to stay the fuck out of my office. I’m meeting with Reverie after lunch today, and I don’t need you fucking up my plans.”

I heard a squeal and took a chance, gazing through the tiny crack in the door. I saw Storm had grabbed Kristine’s chin and leaned in close, “If you do anything to jeopardize what I’ve put in place, don’t think you, being my stepsister, will save you. I’m going to warn you one last time, don’t seek me out, and stay the fuck away from Reverie.” He shook her face and then released her.

I could see the marks on her chin from Storm’s fingers. Wow, there’s not much sibling love between these two. I slippedback into the shadows just in time to see Kristine storm out of the office with tears running down her face. As I returned to the workout room, I knew I would be following Reverie to her meeting with Storm. I had no idea what the asshole was planning, but Reverie wouldn’t be facing it alone.

Chapter 25

Reverie

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