Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
“Thank you. I believe the internet is now up and working. So hopefully we can identify her.” Vero’s palm ached like a raw wound and yet felt slightly cooler, as if the brand was fading. He refused to look at it. “I know you have what few medical records we brought with us to this new location, and I’m hoping I can go through those.”
“Why?” Fizzlewick asked.
Vero studied him, his gut churning. “Because I wish to.”
Fizzlewick reached down for a small crate. “This is all we have. I’m expecting all of the other medical records from storage to arrive with more computer banks later today.”
“Later today?” Vero rocked back on his heels.
“Yes, later today.”
Vero rubbed his jaw, wondering when the last time was that he’d shaved. His whiskers scratched his still-aching palm. “I assume you read through those. Have you discovered any records of Paxton’s birth or any details about the cross-breeding experiments between Kurjans and demonesses?”
Fizzlewick sat back and straightened his white lab coat. The doctor seemed inordinately proud of that smock. It was a good thing the Queen of the Realm didn’t wear a bikini to work every day. “No. I was exiled from the nation when the experiments took place. You’ll need to speak with the scientists involved.”
“There aren’t any still alive.” Vero leaned against the side wall, his head reeling. How could he possibly have a demon mark on his hand? It didn’t make any sense. A pit slowly dropped into his gut and spread.
“Yeah, I can see that.” Fizzlewick blew on the glasses and wiped them on his lab coat. “Experiments such as those would anger many people. It can’t be easy for Paxton, being the king of people he doesn’t even know…added to the fact that he’s half-demon. It’s nearly unthinkable. It’s a good thing you’re his brother and back him. The nation knows you.”
Did they? Did anybody really know him? Vero cleared his throat. “I was obviously alive for the tweaks and perfections of the Sunshine Cure, and we’re still working to make it permanent,” he said slowly. “But I had no knowledge of any experiments in crossbreeding between the Kurjans and demonesses.”
“That’s not a surprise.”
“I know.” Vero had top clearance for the nation, and he was familiar with all medical records. He had never seen a hint about the experiments, and he had little hope that more info would be coming. Frustration crawled like ants beneath his skin.
Fizzlewick nudged the crate of file folders toward him. “I’ve looked through everything. There are some details about the Sunshine Cure but nothing about crossbreeding with demons. To be honest, Vero, I don’t know how often the earlier scientists and doctors recorded their experiments. Secrets are rare, and usually rumors abound. I feel like we would’ve heard something long before you found your father’s journal where he wrote about secretly fathering Paxton.”
That’s right. Vero had to get his hands on that journal. Hopefully, Paxton still had it. Vero studied the ancient healer. “Why were you excommunicated?”
Fizzlewick rolled his eyes. “It was about a female—as all good spats are. Several leaders ago, your, I don’t know, great-great-great-great-uncle Shastin and I fell in love with the same female. She chose him, I left.”
“It’s that simple?”
Fizzlewick reached for a blue ballpoint pen to tap on the paper. “Yes, it was that simple. Most wars are, my young friend.”
Maybe, maybe not. Vero and Paxton’s biological father, Talt, had kept a journal detailing his experiments in breeding with demonesses. He succeeded with Paxton’s mother, but his attempts with others had failed—or had they? “Do you know anything about other crossbreeding experiments?”
Fizzlewick dropped the pen. “No. Why would I know anything about those? I haven’t dealt with the Kurjan nation in far too long. And for the record, I was quite happy living in my small village on a quite lovely island off Alaska.”
“Glad to hear that,” Vero said dryly. “Why did you return?”
Fizzlewick tapped the pile of paper in front of him into a semblance of order. “Maybe I became lonely for my people and more than a bit curious when word came through that the new Kurjan leader was half-demon. I had to see for myself.”
Vero shook his head. “I appreciate that you’ve been helpful, but there has to be more to it than that.”
“Not after you’ve lived three thousand years,” Fizzlewick countered. “Sometimes curiosity is a good thing. When you go without it for too long, well, your mind starts to wander. I’m glad to be here, and I’m sad many of my colleagues are long gone.”
It did appear that all the scientists who had worked on the genetics program had died afterward. Vero had no doubt they’d been killed to keep the secret. Exactly the kind of thing his father and uncles would’ve done.
Vero shoved his hands in his jeans pockets to keep from looking at the brand. “Do you suppose there are any other experiments walking the earth today? I mean, besides Paxton?”