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Awake
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2021-02-13 12:13:29The sound of sheets stirring had Cassidy sitting up straight. At first, she thought maybe it was just Jamie, but then she remembered Cale had never turned the monitor back on, and though daring to pray that Tara was back with them seemed unreasonable at first, it only took a second for her to realize that her friend was moving.
Immediately, Cassidy and Dax flew out of their seats. “Cale!” she shouted to the only conscious doctor who happened to be across the room doing something doctorish. “She’s waking up!”
“What’s that?” he called as he rushed over. “She’s… alive?” He reached over and turned the monitor back on, and the faint sound of beeping filled the room.
It was unsteady, with long pauses between, but eventually, it began to speed up. By the time it started to sound normal, Jamie was sitting up on the edge of his bed, his spiky hair disheveled, and Cadence and Aaron had entered the ro
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The Clandestine Saga Information
The stinging in his ribcage on the left increased as Paul fought his way back to consciousness. His mind pleaded with him to just fade away, back to oblivion, back to where the pain was just a distant annoyance, like the itch of a mosquito bite, but determination to look his assailants in the eyes was winning out, and the closer he came to the shores of awareness, the more the pain intensified. Even though he had some powers as a Healer, nothing he was capable of could fix this.It wasn’t just his ribcage that burned. He was missing several digits on both hands, the excruciating pain in his abdomen served as a reminder of the drilling sound he’d heard just before he passed out the last time, and he was fairly certain he was missing his left kneecap. The agony came from all directions as sweat poured down his face, clouding his vision out of his one working eye, and Paul did his best not to scream as he felt the doctor’s fingers slide something hard beneath h
Last Updated : 2021-02-13The Clandestine Saga Head of a Monster
The answer Cassidy received wasn’t in the form of words, but she knew he hadn’t been taken far from where he’d been captured. It was evident whatever was happening to him, he was in an unbearable amount of pain, and she got the impression that it was the sort of pain that wouldn’t end him, which meant their only hope for putting him out of this agony was to rescue him. Unable to stand the excruciating sensation any longer, she had to pull away, knowing he was not going to be able to communicate with her directly anyway while he was suffering so.She stayed in the same vein, however, reaching out in the darkness that ebbed and flowed around her cousin. Cadence had told her about the IAC message, and Cassidy had immediately concurred it was a fake. But who was capable of this? How had it been done? She concentrated on that aspect of the enigma. What was it allowing their signals to be crossed and distorted? In the tracking center, they’d used the a
Last Updated : 2021-02-13The Clandestine Saga Finding Nothing
Vanishing into thin air was one of the few things Becky had yet to see anyone do. And yet, as her colleagues continued to search the area around the theater, it seemed as if that was precisely what Paul had done.Every single member of the Melbourne team was called out, armed to the teeth, methodically crawling there way from building to building, checking every room, every cellar, every attic, every square inch for any sign of Paul at all. But now, hours after they’d started, there was not so much as a hair from the top of his head to be found.About an hour ago, she’d decided to expand the search. Some of the area they were covering was residential. Luckily, she had a Guardian on her team capable of running interference, and by now, any civilian they’d come into contact with thought they were participants in a special boot camp for people interested in joining the armed forces. It was nice to have someone like Tanner on the team who was so very capa
Last Updated : 2021-02-13The Clandestine Saga The Lovers
Asteria ran a hand through her long red hair and studied him for a moment, trying to choose her words wisely. There were times in the past when they’d fought each other so violently that they may have killed each other, if that were even possible. Spending hundreds of years with the same person wasn’t always easy, and occasionally, they’d have to separate for a decade or two in order to remember how much they meant to each other. In fact, the scheme that had gotten him destroyed in the first place had been completely against her wishes. She’d told him then it was a foolish plan, one that may well end him. Since he’d come back, she’d fought the urge to remind him that she’d been right. Having been overjoyed to be reunited, she had chosen not to ruin the mood by bringing up his own demise. Now, having just found him again a few weeks ago, it was hard to believe he’d managed to annoy the hell out of her so quickly, but as he stood staring
Last Updated : 2021-02-13The Clandestine Saga Exhaustion
Fumes were her only fuel. By the time her sister came back from her solitary confinement to report her findings, Cadence was mere moments from dropping like a fly. Now would’ve been one of those times when a taste for coffee probably would’ve been helpful since her hot chocolate just wasn’t cutting it pep wise. Cassidy came in carrying a bottle of Dr. Pepper, and Cadence envied her sister’s more caffeinated choice as Brandon pulled out his girlfriend’s chair like a true gentleman.“How did it go?” Aaron’s voice seemed calm, but the fact that he was tapping his pen on the table let Cadence know he was just as eager to hear what Cassidy had to say as she was. The rest of the assembled team members, Hannah, Christian, Elliott, Aurora, and Jamie sat in silence, holding a collective breath.Cassidy looked around the table for a moment before she quietly stated, “I saw him. He’s not in very good shape. They’re
Last Updated : 2021-02-13The Clandestine Saga Figuring It Out
“Cassidy,” Aaron said, exasperated, “do you have any idea how Holland is doing this? How she’s disrupting our IACs and the trackers? If we can’t stop her from doing that… this is going to be that much harder.”Cassidy cleared her throat and stared at the table again. “I know it’s her telepathy, that she can mimic, that she can tap into our systems. She can send messages to one person from another without the other person or anyone else on the team even knowing it. She sent that message allegedly from Paul earlier, the one you forwarded to me,” she looked at Cadence then, “but she only sent it to the two of you and Becky. She can basically do whatever she wants to in order to disrupt our communication.”“You say she used the alarm system in the tracking center for this, right?” Aurora asked.“Yes, so I think, in order to communicate with so many people at such a great dista
Last Updated : 2021-02-13The Clandestine Saga Back to Life
“How do we know which one it is?” Cadence asked.“It doesn’t matter,” he replied. “Either way, we can’t engage with her right now. We have to get Paul first.”“Why is that?” Aurora asked.He ran a hand through his hair. “Because we aren’t prepared for her yet either.”Cadence’s forehead crinkled. “What else can we do?”Before he could answer, a flicker in her IAC caught her attention. There was a short beeping noise, then nothing for a split second before, all at once thousands of trackers began to emit their frequencies all at the same time, and the map of where those tagged Vampires were currently located came to life.“Holy hell, Cass. You did it!” Aaron exclaimed. He would be the only other one with access to the program, and Cadence was relieved that he was seeing the same thing she was. The chances that Holland would try to throw
Last Updated : 2021-02-13The Clandestine Saga Prepare to Fly
That only left those of them who would be traveling to the land of koalas and kangaroos. At least, that’s about all Cadence knew about Australia. “Christian seemed a little disgruntled.” Brandon smoothed back his girlfriend’s hair, making the understatement of the year.“I don’t know what you’re talking about. He seemed perfectly gruntled to me.” Elliott folded his arms like he didn’t really give a damn, and Cadence assumed that was because he didn’t.“He’ll get over it,” Aaron replied. “You guys, we’re about to undergo an extremely dangerous mission. You know they’re going to throw everything they have at us. The Melbourne team is good, but they’re not up to the caliber of what we’re used to working with. We have got to be extra diligent and not veer from the plan, especially since, as Cassidy noted, we’ll be going into this with no communication system.&r
Last Updated : 2021-02-13
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The Clandestine Saga Cadon and Jo
Hannah took Jo to give her a bath, and Ona helped Cadence get Cadon latched while Jamie left to go check on his own one-month-old baby. Cadence’s son was a pro almost immediately, latching on the first try to resting peacefully while he nursed. Cadence couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have even one sweet baby, let alone the blessings of two. He wore a tiny little cap to keep him warm, and she couldn’t help but stroke his head while he made soft baby noises in her arms.Hannah brought Jo back before Cadon was finished. It took her daughter much longer to latch. She kept turning her feisty little face away, growling her discontentment as Cadence tried to get her on and not disturb Cadon at the same time. With Aaron’s help, their daughter finally latched, but he had to have his hand on her back or else she’d pull off again. “She is definitely a Daddy’s girl,” Cadence declared, shaking her head at her strong-spirited daughter.
The Clandestine Saga One More
“For the record, there really is no comparison between us naming our son after a famous jazz pianist and you naming your daughter after a murderous dictator,” the Healer pointed out before getting back to the task at hand. “I think in two or three more pushes, we’ll have a baby.” He was looking at Cadence now, smiling at her above the draped sheet that made her feel a little more secure even if it didn’t really hide anything at all from the doctor.“Okay,” she said again, ready to get it over with. Jamie told her to push, and she did, as hard as she could, hoping for two and not three as the lucky number.“Keep pushing,” Jamie said, even though Aaron had reached ten. “She’s almost there.”Cadence strained even harder, giving it every bit of energy she had left, and a few seconds later, she felt her daughter slip into the world. Listening to her cries made Cadence’s heart melt all
The Clandestine Saga Family
“One more push, Cadence,” Jamie insisted, his normally friendly-tone replaced by his not-quite-as-friendly medical professional tone. “One more time, and we’ll have a baby.”Cadence could feel the sweat dripping off of her forehead and wondered how normal human women did this, especially the ones who refused any sort of pain medication. Even with her superhuman strength and resilience, she was tired. Jamie had gloves on so he wasn’t using any of his healing powers to help her, but she had opted for the epidural, which minimized her pain but did nothing for the exhaustion.“You ready?” Aaron asked, standing next to her, holding one leg while Ona, a Healer who was acting as Jamie’s nurse, held the other.“I’m ready,” she nodded. Her husband’s smile hadn’t dimmed since her water broke three hours earlier. It might not have diminished since they’d left Prague eight months ago,
The Clandestine Saga So Much Love
Jamie gently wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He kissed her cheek. “Love you, Cadence.”“I love you, too,” she said, returning the kiss. He took a step back and smiled at her before heading off toward the mountain.Cassidy hugged her sister a little more tightly than the doctor had. “Don’t you ever die on me again.”“I won’t. You neither. I love you, little sister.”“I know.” Cassidy giggled at her own smart remark. “I love you, too.” Cadence kissed the top of her sister’s head, and Cassidy let her go, stepping back to wait for Brandon.“Good job getting the monster.” Brandon’s hug was more like a pat on the back, and Cadence almost laughed, wondering if he just didn’t want to break her or was embarrassed.“Thanks, Brandon. Take care of my sis.”“I will try,
The Clandestine Saga Mama
“The baby, Cadence,” Aaron said in her head. “You’re carrying our baby.”Cadence sucked in air all over again, like she had when she’d first fought to open her eyes. The baby! Jamie had told her she was pregnant before the hunt. How it had slipped her mind was beyond her, but yes, she was going to have a baby.Or was she? Her eyes flew to Jamie’s face, all of her questions bottled up in her eyes as she raised both brows, hoping he could alleviate her worry.Jamie smiled and gave a small nod only she could see. All of the air rushed out of Cadence’s lungs again as her hand flew to her abdomen, sighing in relief.“What is it?” Cassidy asked. “What was the other thing you couldn’t remember before?”Part of her wanted to keep their little secret just that, and she was disappointed that she hadn’t been the one to tell Aaron. She looked to him to see if
The Clandestine Saga Remembering
Cassidy smiled, but didn’t say anything, and Cadence could tell by her expression, she didn’t know what to make of Cadence’s revelation. It was no matter—she moved on.“Jack was pitching, Elliott. And the batter was a guy who looked so much like you. I couldn’t remember you at the time—sorry—but I asked, and my grandparents said the batter’s name was Jimmy.”“Jimmy?” Elliott echoed. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that name to you.”“I don’t think you have either, but that’s your brother’s name, isn’t it.”Elliott’s head rocked back and forth slowly. “Wow. If that don’t beat all.... It’s like the freakin’ Wizard of Oz. ‘And you were there, and you were there....’ Hmmm.”“Well, it gets Wizardier because your mom was there, too. Arlene. And she wa
The Clandestine Saga More To Do
A growl from Elliott let her know he disagreed, but he didn’t say anything more, and Christian only nodded before he faded out of view. It was just as well. Cadence was exhausted. She didn’t really want to talk to anyone else, just let her husband pick her up in his strong arms and carry her back to the SUV so she could take a shower and fall asleep for a few years.“I hate to interrupt,” Scarlet said, taking a step closer to where they were sitting. “Cadence, it is wonderful you’re okay. But Jamie, what about that serum you made? Do you think we should try it? If we can get the Hybrids back up there, we might be able to save some of those people who are still trapped in the holes.”“Oh, right.” Jamie scratched his head, like he’d forgotten about the serum. “Yeah, why don’t you and Cale start working on that. The serum is in my backpack, which is in the trees near where we first encountered the bla
The Clandestine Saga Breathe
Lungs burning, body aching with the pain of soldering itself back together, eyes blinded by brilliant white, Cadence opened her mouth and sucked in air for the first time in as long as she could remember. Her legs still felt like they were on fire, like she’d been running for hours, but as she tipped her head back and began to cough the memories of what had happened to her, how she’d killed Daunator and then found herself in the air with no ground beneath her boots, flooded her mind, and every trace of memory about why she felt like she’d been running fled her mind.“Cadence? Cadence!”Aaron was there. She could feel his hands on her, even though she couldn’t open her eyes to look at him yet. Her throat burned as she continued to sputter, coughing and choking on the air she so desperately wanted in her lungs. How long had she gone without taking a breath? Why did her heart feel like a jackhammer, her chest muscles sore from the exert
The Clandestine Saga Glimpse Into the Beyond
Jamie was at twenty-two, and Aaron was trying to focus, but the voices to his left were prominent in his mind. He could still hear Elliott’s murmurs, Cass’s sobs, sighs and gasps from others. Christian was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, behind almost everyone. Aurora, free of her handcuffs now that she was no longer a threat, was doubled over on the ground, her hands linked around her knees, her wails having lost their voice minutes ago so that she was no longer making a noise as her body shook and spasmed. Eliza had her arm around the much taller Hunter, trying to be comforting, but Aaron was aware that, of everyone here, Eliza Wrath was the only one who really didn’t care if Cadence ever opened her eyes again. He could feel it rolling off of her in waves of ugliness like the sea during the type of storm that leaves debris littered all over the beach, breaks boats in its wake, and sends sailors to the bottom of the ocean.There were
