The Lycan Society (The Flux Age Book 1) (10 page)

“That’s a quite a beast you have out there,” the German said in a surprisingly conversational tone.

Tomas let himself relax a little. Perhaps this wasn’t going to be so bad after all. “Not quite what I expected, but an amazing creature, no?”

Herr X chuckled, a strange, strangled noise from the back of his leathery throat. With a shock Tomas realized there was no mirth in it at all.

“I lay a fortune on the table, build you a scientific paradise, afford you every courtesy imaginable,” he said as if reeling off a shopping list. “And you give me a sideshow horror. A junkyard abomination.”

Tomas opened and closed his mouth, speechless. Years of toil flashed before his eyes. Was it all for nothing? He thought Herr X would be ecstatic. He hadn’t delivered a lycan but the chimera was a monumental scientific breakthrough. What had he done that was so wrong?

“Are you a student of history, Dr. Verdano?”

Tomas shook his head, still shell shocked. “There’s an old saying among scientists, Herr X. History doesn’t -”

“Exist,” Herr X interjected. “Yes, I’ve heard that one. You people are all about understanding the moment. Rather limiting, I find.”

Tomas shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t like where this was going.

“The Dark Ages were one of man’s biggest challenges,” Herr X mused, activating the Newton’s cradle Tomas kept on his desk. It clicked a steady rhythm to the older man’s story.

“Four centuries of darkness and despair. Those words are bandied around history books easily enough, but can you imagine what it would’ve been like living through that time?”

Tomas shook his head - it seemed the most judicious thing to do at that point.

“My family line can be traced back to Dresden, in the east of Germany. During the Dark Ages the city was just a hamlet, ringed by a tall wooden fence to keep the monsters out. And, as we both know very well, the monsters were all too real.”

Herr X fixed Tomas with a stare of such intensity the scientist had to look away.

“The villagers were attacked night and day. Ghouls. Wights. Zombies. Children were taken. Two, maybe three every night. We cannot imagine the terror of that time.”

The German produced a small, cloth-bound book from his breast pocket.

“I know this because my family was assiduous in recording these events,” he said with a trace of pride. “They did not shy away from the cold, hard truth. The Flux is an assault on the nobility, the sanctity, of all humans.”

Tomas nodded, framing a diplomatic answer. “The Flux has the ability to change all of us.”

“Indeed,” Herr X spat, looking like he’d swallowed a lemon. “How I wish it were not so.”

The German rose and went to stand by the glass wall that overlooked the laboratory. He clasped his hands behind him, his cane held horizontally.

“All these years you have studied the Flux, Tomas,” he observed. “And I still know more than you.”

The hard-working scientist in Tomas suppressed a surge of anger. How dare this man of numbers and stocks waltz in here and completely trash his work with a few words? How could he possibly understand the difficulties Tomas faced?

Herr X turned toward the scientist, his eyes flint hard. “You went down the wrong rabbit hole, my friend,” he said finally. “I asked for a lycan. You tried to build me one.”

A smile played on the edge of the older man’s cruel lips.

“Lost among all your scientific processes and clinical tests, you forgot the most important thing. There’s a mutation within all of us, just waiting to be set free. It’s what the Flux does.”

Tomas nodded uncertainly.

“You tried to play God, and that thing out there is the result.”

Tomas stirred himself into action. “Herr X, that ‘thing’ is a chimera, a -”

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll suit our needs,” said Herr X with a menacing smile. “We’ll bring it to Berlin.”

Tomas shook his head, feeling white hot fury overwhelm his caution.

“You’re angry,” Herr X purred. “That’s fine with me. Be angry. Berlin needs angry right now.”

Tomas clenched his fists into tight balls. Did this man have an answer for everything? An hour ago Tomas felt like the smartest man in the world. Now he wasn’t even the smartest man in the room. Herr X clearly knew much, much more than he’d ever given him credit for.

“Speak your mind, Doktor,” the older man encouraged.

“I’m a genetic scientist,” Tomas said bitterly. “If you want to understand how the Flux changes people at a cellular level, I’m your man. If you want to communicate with your spirit beast, get a shaman.”

Herr X laughed a second time, his sunken chest heaving. This one was more genuine than the first, though there was no mistaking its scornful tone.

“Who says I haven’t?” the German said cryptically.

Tomas looked at Herr X with curiosity.
Of course
. The German would be a fool if his only line of Flux research was the Silo. He wondered what other discoveries had been made.

“I needed you to break down the nuts and bolts of flux transformation,” Herr X said crisply. “You’ve done that, after a fashion.”

Tomas felt like rolling his eyes.

“I also needed someone who could induce spirit beasts the
natural way
. That search was more difficult than you could possibly imagine. Diviners, they’re called. There used to more of them during the Dark Ages. For some reason their numbers thinned out.”

Tomas’s logical mind ticked over with the possibilities. If only he’d been able to work with this ‘diviner’! The things he might have achieved were unimaginable. For starters, he might have been able to map the genome for every variety of Flux monster. Lycans, aquila, djinni … vampyra. The process would’ve been so ridiculously easy if a person’s spirit beast was known first.

“Don’t get too excited,” Herr X said, watching Tomas closely. “Diviners don’t like other people.”

Tomas swallowed. There was
always
a catch.

“And yet,” Herr X continued complacently, “I would like you to meet with her.”

Something in the German’s tone made Tomas’s blood run cold. “Why do I feel like I’ve gone from scientist to subject?”

Herr X nodded - the first real sign of respect Tomas had been afforded.

“Touche, Tomas, touche,” he said. “Let me put it this way. You’re one of the smartest men I have in my arsenal. You also have the highest moral standards. I respect that. If you will not test your theories on other live humans, I wonder if you could put
yourself
under the microscope?”

Tomas blinked. Suddenly everything was clear - Herr X wanted him to meet with the diviner to determine what his spirit beast was. And after that? Tomas almost swore when he realized the full implications of the German’s grand plan.

Whatever creature Tomas turned out to be, Herr X wanted him to map the genome and locate others with the same blueprint. In other words, Tomas was to become a diviner of sorts, building an army of creatures like himself.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he was at the center of it, Herr X’s plan seemed almost brilliant. If the Flux had begun in earnest, it made sense to let his spirit beast free and find his kin, if they existed. For all he knew he could be aligned with some rare thing like a yeti, doomed to roam the earth alone and friendless.

Tomas’ train of thought took him to another realization - Herr X had demanded he undergo extensive medical screening before working for him. Tomas thought it was routine at the time, but now …

“You suspect what I am,” he muttered darkly.

The German’s eyes glittered with malice. “I do,” he said coldly. “And all will be revealed in Berlin.”

Tomas knew that brick wall was coming, but was no less frustrated for it.

“Can I bring my family?” he asked weakly.

Herr X bared his teeth in some twisted notion of a smile.

“Why, Doktor, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

It took Tomas only three minutes to drive home from the Silo. His serviced apartment - which he now owned - overlooked Poltava’s city square.

His wife Vanya constantly reminded him that he should be walking to and from work, and she was technically right. But sliding in behind the wheel of his Audi A1 gave Tomas a thrill he hadn’t yet grown tired of.

Whatever his other qualities, Herr X paid handsomely, much higher than most scientists could reasonably expect. For a boy from Eastern Ukraine, Tomas had done very well indeed, succeeding far beyond the expectations of his hometown friends and extended family. Why not enjoy his one and only extravagance while all this lasted?

Tomas guided the Audi into a secure car park beneath the apartment complex. Still reeling from his meeting with Herr X, he rode the elevator to the top floor.

Vanya was waiting for him in the kitchen. Fed, bathed and dressed, the kids were watching cartoons in the lounge room. Tomas wasn’t a religious man but every day he thanked his lucky stars he had such a capable, efficient wife.

More than that, Vanya Verdano was a strikingly beautiful brunette, an old-school Slavic beauty. She had it all - the high cheekbones, the flashing blue eyes, the generous figure. He still didn’t know why she had settled for a giddy, penniless scientist from Poltava. He was glad to be able to provide her with a measure of luxury in recent years - she deserved the best.

And then there were the most precious gifts of all - his children. Oskar, five, and Sabine, three, were the reasons he pushed himself through fourteen hour days in the lab. He reasoned that what he missed of their childhood now he would make up later on.

In the Ukraine it was more important that children have a roof, warmth, a strong mother and a good school. Only one in ten children in this region went on to build comfortable lives for themselves - he was determined to give his kids every chance to do just that.

Laying his briefcase by the door, Tomas swept Vanya into his arms. She chuckled with delight, unused to such playfulness.

“Pack your bags,
kotik
,” said Tomas affectionately. “We’re taking a vacation in Germany.”

Vanya’s eyes widened - Tomas hadn’t taken a vacation in
years
.

“Do you mean it?” she asked excitedly. Tomas could tell she needed some time away. She was a good, devoted mother, but young children had a knack of wearing the strongest parent down. The lines around her eyes told the story.

“I may have to work for a few days but we can book a five-star hotel. I’ll get a babysitter too. It’s been a while since we …”

Tomas let his voice trail off, a sly grin forming. Vanya slapped him on the arm before taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom.

“I haven’t said hello to the children,” he protested weakly as she shut the door behind them.

“I’ve been waiting longer than they have,” she joked as she positioned herself seductively on the bed. She was wearing a silken red bath robe and looked as ravishing as ever. The scientist blinked, loosening his tie slowly.

“What’s wrong,
serce moje
?” asked Vanya with a concerned look.

Tomas sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. So much had happened that day and it troubled him deeply.

“I created a monster today,” he said, his voice trembling a little. “An abomination.”

Vanya gripped his shoulders and massaged his upper back with soothing hands. “Science is blind to delicacy,” she said gently. “Especially on the edge of discovery.”

Tomas sighed - that was why he loved her. She always knew what to say, and she put it so poetically too.

“What would I do without you?” he asked, pulling on the belt around her robe. It was like unwrapping a sweet, sumptuous present.

Vanya arched her back, letting her heavy breasts fall free. Her nipples were erect. Seeing no lingerie underneath, Tomas knew she’d been waiting for him. The best kind of ambush.

Grinning, she pushed him down to the bed and straddled his chest. She leaned forward so her breasts lingered within nibbling distance of his lips.

Then she pulled them away.

“You’re my big man, my strong warrior,” she purred. “Whatever happens I know you’ll always be here for me. For your family. This is what matters.”

Tomas buried his face in Vanya’s breasts, licking and nipping the smooth skin with relish.

Vanya shifted back a little, settling herself on his erection. Tomas just gazed up at his woman, his
goddess
, in wonder. Whatever spell she had woven had worked. Forgetting about Berlin, he was entirely, hopelessly, devoted to his wife at that moment.

Tomas and his family were summoned to a private airfield early the next morning. The scientist was mildly horrified to discover they would be traveling with Herr X in his private jet. But the German was all smiles and warmth, a miraculous transformation from the day before. In fact, he was the perfect host to Vanya and the children, showing them the cockpit and letting the kids play with the controls.

Herr X left the Verdano family to their own devices on the short flight to Berlin. The children watched a movie whilst Vanya enjoyed a glass or two of exquisite merlot straight from the German’s personal cellar. To drink so early in the morning was a very Ukrainian trait.