Mengliad (The Mengliad Series Book 1) Read online

  “What’s wrong?” Craddock asked.

  Jessica blinked several times as her head returned to reality, her eyes slowly dragging to meet his before she answered. “That was weird.” Her expression almost begged him to help her make sense of the confusing events.

  “What was weird?” Bibi asked.

  Jessica glanced in her direction, but her stare shifted back onto Craddock near instantly. “She stuck the needle in, but then she pulled it right back out. And the vial she used, like she was going to collect my blood, had blood already in it. Then,” her scowl deepened, “she whispered to me: if they think you’re pregnant, your chances are better.”

  Turning abruptly towards Bibi, Craddock just knew by the way she stared back at him that she was thinking the same exact thing he was. “Lilith is an infiltrator?”

  Bibi shrugged. She had her suspicions, but that was all they were. “I can’t think of another explanation, can you?”

  As Craddock shook his head, Jessica asked, “How does me being pregnant improve my chances? I mean, presumably, if they’re willing to kill people, they wouldn’t have much issue killing a fetus, right?”

  “No,” Bibi agreed, “they wouldn’t. But it might help because it shows you’re serious about settling down, which would then substantiate the idea that you’re not looking to ‘out’ the Mengliad species.”

  “Okay,” Jessica suggested, “let’s run this scenario through. Lilith slips them a blood sample from a pregnant Mengliad, they then think I’m pregnant, so then they just. . . what? Let us go? Wouldn’t they be worried that we might tell people about all this? The keeping us prisoner and bullying us stuff, I mean? They seem like a pretty paranoid group.”

  Letting out a long, slow breath, Craddock shoved his hands in his pockets and directed his stare at the floor. “They are. That’s why our chances still aren’t too good.”

  “Why would they even want to draw my blood in the first place?” Jessica glanced behind her as she backed towards the couch, plopping down onto it once there.

  “They’re checking the clarity of the conversion,” Bibi answered.

  “Which means what?” Jessica asked her, scooting to one side of the couch when Craddock approached, making room for him to join her.

  “The recipient’s DNA and the donor’s blood blend to create a purity level in the new Mengliad,” Craddock explained as he took a seat beside her. “They can tell, roughly, the percentage of Mengliad DNA in the former Human before conversion, and the blood purity level of the donor, based on the results of the test.”

  Having understood well enough, Jessica pushed onward. “And, I’m assuming, the higher the number the better.”

  Craddock nodded. “A high number indicates strong DNA from you, and a strong purity from the donor, which suggests the BTR was done according to proper practicing standards.”

  “How does it suggest that?” she asked.

  “According to proper practicing standards,” Bibi chimed in, “no one is allowed to donate blood for the BTR with a purity of less than ninety-seven percent, because if it’s weak, you have the higher probability of a muddy conversion. Or, at the very least, a conversion with a low purity level in the new Mengliad.”

  “With all the interspecies breeding in the last century or so,” Craddock continued, “the higher nineties has been becoming increasingly harder to find.”

  “If it looks like a high conversion,” Bibi concluded, “they will just assume the blood came from a BTR cleric.”

  “Which is all well and good,” Jessica replied sarcastically, “except that in the long run, none of that will matter, ‘cause they’re just gonna do what they’re gonna do.”

  “Pretty much.” There was a hint of a glare on Josiah’s face as he turned away.

  Jessica sighed in response to his quiet anger. “I’m sorry, Josiah. I know I fucked up, and I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah, you did!” He spun back around, staring her down. “And it’s not just about that!”

  “Then, what’s it about?” Jessica asked, remorsefully curious.

  “Do you have any idea, the kind of sacrifices he’s willing to make for you?” Josiah asked, pointing at Craddock for emphasis.

  “Joe. . .” Bibi said his name in warning, but he ignored her.

  “Any idea,” he continued, “what he’s willing to give up, all ‘cause he thinks he’s in love with you?”

  Other than tensing slightly, not that Craddock noticed, Jessica showed no outward sign of even hearing the declaration.

  “Josiah!” Bibi scolded in a harsh whisper, Craddock adding almost over top of her, “Enough, Joe!”

  “No, Craddock, it’s not enough!” Josiah shot back. “Enough has not been said! Why are you doing this?” he asked challengingly. “You barely know her! This is not your problem!”

  “I’m making it my problem,” Craddock returned through gritted teeth. “And the why doesn’t concern you.”

  “It doesn’t concern me?” he asked indignantly, scoffing. “We’ve been friends for how long? You’re willing to throw all that away, for her?”

  Abruptly, Craddock was off the couch and on his feet, inching closer to the man who had been his best friend for more years than he could count, standing toe to toe with him as he glared hard. “You’re going to want to be careful here, Joe,” he warned him, his eyes darker and angrier than either of his friends had ever remembered seeing them.

  Standing quickly, Jessica placed her hand on Craddock’s shoulder, wedging herself just partially between the two men. “Guys, please, don’t do this. Not over me. Please.”

  “Cut it out! Both of you!” Bibi ordered. “We can’t turn on each other!”

  “Craddock, please, come sit down.” Jessica pulled on his upper arm, urging him to turn away from the confrontation.

  Allowing her to guide him, his eyes remaining locked on Josiah’s, Craddock backed the several steps needed, until his calves touched the frame of the couch. He dropped down onto it, finally looking away and to the floor when Bibi physically turned Josiah to face her.

  “So, explain something to me,” Jessica changed the subject, aware that Bibi was whispering words to Josiah she couldn’t quite make out. “If this test is to show conversion rates, or numbers, or whatever, won’t they be able to tell by this blood sample, from whoever they got it from, that the conversion isn’t new? I mean, unless they found a pregnant Mengliad that just converted, won’t it show that I’m not new?”

  Sharing looks that bordered on horror, Craddock and Bibi stared back at one another, before he leapt from his seat and started to pace.

  “Shit!” He ran his hands through his hair, his eyes darting about the room manically.

  “What?” Jessica asked. Confused, she scowled as she stood, shifting her attention back and forth between him and Bibi. “Wouldn’t that be a good thing? If they think I’m not new, wouldn’t they—?”

  “They already know you’re new, Jessica,” Bibi interrupted, sighing heavily. “Not only because we all told them you are, but because you’re also producing Enyoh like a newborn.”

  “Maybe Lilith isn’t an infiltrator,” Josiah suggested. “Maybe she’s trying to make things worse!”

  “Let’s not be paranoid,” Bibi calmly advised. “If she is undercover for the Registry, then I’m sure they know what they’re doing.”

  “Wouldn’t they have told you that your sister works for them?” Craddock asked.

  “No. They protect the identity of their agents to the extreme. Even spouses are rarely told.”

  “Maybe they plan to fake the test somehow?” Jessica offered, uncertain if that was even possible, but wanting to help in some way.

  Craddock sighed, agitated, though not with Jessica. “I don’t see how.”

  “No, there’s a way.” Bibi sounded a little more optimistic. All attention was on her as she went on to explain. “If they took the blood of a newly converted newborn, and mixed it with the blood of a pregnant Human, it might produc
e a result that appears to have the properties they’ll be looking for. If the person reading the test results has little knowledge of what exactly to look for.”

  “That’s an awfully big if,” Jessica muttered. Stepping up to Craddock when his pacing brought him closest to her, she stopped him from taking another purposeless lap by inching up against him. She then encouraged him to wrap his arms around her with a simple touch of her hand.

  In the wake of what Josiah had said, Craddock found himself nervous over the innocent show of affection and offering of comfort, but the ease with which she returned it soon relaxed him into the gentle embrace. Without even glancing over to confirm, he knew Josiah, and most likely Bibi as well, were staring at him, but he shut the probability out of his mind and only held her tighter as he stroked her hair, allowing himself to take pleasure in the feel of her against him in spite of the circumstances.

  If he was thought to be a love struck fool because of it, he didn’t care. If these were his last moments on Earth, he was going to enjoy what little he could of them.

  “When the time comes,” Jessica whispered, her voice choking on what she was about to say, “and they’re ready to kill us, even if they try to separate us, will you stay with me? I don’t want to die alone.”

  Pulling her closer, he nuzzled into her hair, holding back tears as he answered her heartwrenching question with a silent nod. He wanted more than anything to reassure her, to tell her that they would be making it out of this crisis unharmed, but he knew she would see his words for what they were—empty promises that were unlikely to come true.

  Aware that the door had opened, Craddock only gave his partial attention to those entering, until he heard the sharp finger snap, followed by the order, “Separate!”

  The man who appeared to be calling the shots stood just inside, a man to either side of him, Lilith hanging back in the doorframe, and the thought that assaulted Craddock, along with a wave of adrenalin and nausea, was that this was it. The results were in, something didn’t add up, and they had come to kill them.

  The man in charge only glared for several moments, further putting everyone on edge. Bibi’s eyes attempted to lock with Lilith’s, to gain some kind of understanding as to what was about to be said, but her sister’s attention remained elusive. Josiah began to fidget; Jessica clung tighter to Craddock, burying her face in his shoulder. She wrapped her arm around his and laced their fingers together, hoping that in doing so, they wouldn’t be pried apart.

  It seemed to take forever for the man to finally speak, and when he did, challenging anger coated his words. “Are you two sexually active?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Squeezing Jessica’s hand in his, silently trying to convey to her that he would do the talking, Craddock spoke up, answering the man’s inappropriate question flippantly. “Not that it’s any of your concern, but yes, we are.”

  The tone he’d used made the man he applied it towards glare harder. “Did you know you were pregnant?”

  The question was directed at Jessica, but Craddock, determined to keep the brunt of the interrogation on himself, responded for her. “No, we didn’t. You tested her for that, why?” he asked, returning the severe look thrown at him.

  “I don’t know why.” He glanced back at Lilith, and to Craddock, the man actually sounded unsure of himself for the first time since their ordeal had begun. Reinitiating eye contact, his confident, smug tone and expression reemerged. “Dangerous to do the BTR while pregnant.”

  “I agree,” Craddock matched the man’s demeanor, “but like I said, we didn’t know.”

  “You didn’t think it odd, when you missed your period?” the man asked Jessica directly, sounding as if he was trying to catch her in a lie, or fluster her.

  “Humans often miss their periods,” Jessica answered before Craddock could, “and mine have always been irregular.”

  “Maybe we should check you then,” the man suggested glibly, “to see if everything is okay.”

  Jessica scoffed. “No offense, but you don’t like me very much, and I’d rather you not touch me.”

  A slight sneer appeared on his face. “Lilith can perform the test. We’ll just. . . watch. To make sure everything is. . . okay.”

  Knowing that the test results would show that she wasn’t pregnant, Craddock felt a sense of panic rise in him. Revealing that fact would put them at further risk, not to mention Lilith, but by refusing to take it, they wouldn’t fare much better.

  Making a quick decision, Craddock blurted out, “Cut the pretenses, okay? You certainly don’t care if our child is okay, any more than you care about her as a Mengliad being! She’s not taking any test! And we’re done cooperating with you!”

  “Oh, you are, are you?” the man asked with irritated amusement, taking a menacing step forward, as if trying to provoke a fight, but Craddock just stood firm where he was, neither accepting the challenge, nor cowering from it.

  Seeing that his intimidation tactic failed, the man rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers at the two men and Lilith as he spun around to face them, announcing over his shoulder at his four prisoners, “You’ll get our verdict after we discuss things. Wait here.”

  “Like we have a choice,” Bibi muttered under her breath. The man paused noticeably in his departure before stepping through and out the door, his lackeys and Lilith close behind him.

  “They’re going to kill us, aren’t they?” Jessica asked, pushing back into Craddock’s arms, holding him so tightly that he could barely breathe.

  Searching Bibi’s eyes helplessly for a moment, his heart raced faster than it ever had before in his life. “I think so.”

  “The infiltrators still might be able to stop them,” Josiah offered desperately, looking to Bibi for reassurances. She responded with a brief, unconvincing smile.

  “If Lilith is an infiltrator,” Jessica asked tearfully, “why didn’t she say something?”

  “If she is,” Bibi answered, “I doubt she’s in charge. She’s probably following orders from someone else.”

  “What are they waiting for?” Jessica snapped, crying harder. “Why don’t they stop this?”

  “I don’t know,” Craddock whispered, kissing her hair, leaving his lips in contact and breathing deeply to settle his nerves, as well as to take comfort in her scent.

  “They’re not going to want to blow their cover,” Bibi explained, “if the Purists don’t plan on killing us. It takes years of undercover work, to get to this level within the Purists’ organization.”

  “So,” Jessica asked, her sobs subsiding only a little, “they’re waiting till we’re sentenced to death?”

  Bibi nodded. “Probably.”

  “You still think we might get out of this,” Craddock asked Bibi in Menglianese, “don’t you?”

  “I think the Purists are going to try to kill us, and I think the Registry is going to try and stop them, but I think they’re more concerned about saving Jessica’s life than ours. We’re expendable,” she shrugged, “and she’s a marvel.”

  “That’s just great,” Josiah groused in English, huffing in frustration as he folded his arms across his chest and turned away from the group.

  “You’re doing it again,” Jessica complained, only a little calmer than she was previously. Shifting positions, she walked towards the couch and dropped onto it. “Why can’t I know what you’re saying? I heard my name. I know you’re talking about me.”

  “Sorry. We’re not doing it intentionally,” Craddock lied, stepping over and kneeling in front of her. “We just slip into it sometimes. Look. . .” he was gravely serious all of a sudden, “I need you to promise me something.”

  Intuition urged her dread. “What?”

  “If it comes down to it, and they can only save you from this, I want you to promise me that you’ll go with them, and just. . . not look back.”

  Fear shot through her as what he was implying sank in. Her eyes growing wide, she told him with a firm, deliberate shake of her
head, “No. I won’t go without you. It’s my fault you’re here! I should be the one dying! Not you guys! I won’t go without you,” she said again, pushing off the couch to join him on the floor, on her knees like he was. “If you guys stay, I stay.”

  Craddock pulled her to him. “Jessica, no! There’s no point to all of us dying!”

  “I won’t be able to live with myself.” She choked out the words as she began, yet again, to cry. “If you guys die. . . and I’m somehow spared. Don’t ask me to.”

  “I’m not asking,” he said firmly. “I’m telling. You have to promise me, Jessica! You have to!”

  She shook her head against him. “No. I won’t. I can’t.”

  Changing tactics, he attempted to guilt her into agreeing to what he was asking of her. “You would deny a dying man his last request?”

  “Craddock, please,” she whimpered, struggling to remain in control of her emotions and voice.

  Craddock looked up at Bibi, pleading silently, requesting her assistance in convincing Jessica with his expression alone.

  “Jessica,” Bibi knelt next to them, “we’re talking about a greater good here. Your conversion is history making! They can learn so much from you!”

  “I don’t care about any of that!” she shot back, agitation blending with her tears.

  “You should care!” Bibi countered. “We do! Craddock does!”

  “Craddock also cares about me!” Jessica pushed out of his embrace, her stare alternating between the two of them. “And he doesn’t want to die any more than I do! He’s just trying to be noble!”

  “I’m not trying to be noble. I’m being selfish! If I’m going to die anyway, it’d be easier on me if I knew you were okay.”

  Jessica huffed as she stood, approaching Josiah with purpose. “Josiah! We agree on this at least, right?” she asked him, hoping he’d help her sway them. “Tell them they’re wrong! Tell them we should stick together with this!”

  Josiah’s gaze shifted to each of his friends before his eyes landed back on Jessica. “I can’t tell them that, ‘cause they’re right. I sure as hell don’t want to die! But if I’m going to anyway, I would rather it be for a reason! Than for nothing!”