CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT #4
‘Look here, this part. Plasma and ejaculate contain compounds structurally analogous to human adrenergic transmitters. Confirmed in all three types, see? What does that mean? Plasma and ejaculate are blood and come, and human adrenergic transmitters trigger fight or flight. The fear response.’
‘What you want from me?’
‘Tell me the fucking truth!’
Silence falls for a beat.
Danya’s hand settles on Lachlan’s arm. ‘You’re being a dick.’
Dicks can be brave.
‘Sorry.’ He takes a breath. Danya’s touch steadies him enough to find his centre again. ‘I’m sorry. This is all just fucking with my head.’
Zaitsev rolls his eyes. ‘Paranatural, Resonant and Fraymorph.’
Lachlan looks at him. ‘Those are the names?’
‘Yes. Government names.’
‘Are there other names? Like Brightling?’
‘Brightling, yes. Resonant is Sway. Fraymorph is Wildwane.’
‘Sway and Wildwane?’
‘Yes.’
‘OK, tell me about them.’ Danya clears his throat. ‘Please.’
‘I know nothing about Wildwanes and only a little about Sways.’
‘What do you know? If you wouldn’t mind telling me,’ Lachlan adds politely. He really doesn’t want to be a dick but having this much information and not understanding ninety percent of it is maddening. ‘Please.’
‘Sways are kind of…’ Zaitsev gestures vaguely, then turns to Danya in Russian to ask for the correct term.
Several words follow in quick succession, all of which make Lachlan frown because his Russian is decent, but apparently not decent enough to comfortably navigate mythical creatures.
‘Lazorevy, nyet. Uh, sirena?’ Danya nods. ‘Sirena.’
‘Like… a siren? A mermaid? A fucking mermaid?’
‘I said I know a little.’
‘OK. All right. Lazorevy,’ Lachlan echoes. ‘I’ve heard that word before.’
‘Is catch-all in our language,’ Danya waves away. ‘Nickname.’
‘So what do they do?’
‘I don’t know,’ Zaitsev says quite comfortably.
Lachlan glowers. Danya takes pity.
‘Look, a lot of what we hear is rumours same as Brightlings. Even if you know one,’ he says, clapping Sergei’s shoulder, ‘you don’t know everything.
So. Sway. I hear they have a… hmm, kind of influence and attraction they can weaponise.
Like the pretty things who lure men to watery deaths, you know? ’
‘Danya, you’re not actually helping.’
‘But they are rare, so little is known.’
‘Why?’
‘Why what?’
‘Why are they rare?’
‘I heard many die young.’
‘Can you help me un-redact these parts? The Project Spectrum report.’
‘Is photocopy,’ Zaitsev points out like Lachlan is deeply stupid.
‘Then who was this woman, F-8?’ he asks Zaitsev. ‘Did you know her?’
‘I knew her.’
‘Was she powerful?’
‘Extremely.’
‘Did you see her?’
‘I saw her.’
‘Did she make it out alive?’
‘I heard she did not get far.’
‘Do you know her name?’
‘They never let us use names. We were lab rats to them. I was M-3.’
‘What were they testing?’
‘Stress and pain to test power.’
‘Why?’
‘I was rat, Tanner. You do not tell rat why he runs.’ He lifts the handset, looks over his shoulder. ‘Time is up.’
Lachlan’s head is pounding. ‘Thank you, Sergei.’
Danya lingers with Lachlan after Zaitsev leaves.
It’s quiet, warm and safe in here, but sometimes Lachlan thinks he sees snakes in the corner of the room. ‘You are struggling.’
‘I’m fine.’ Lachlan closes the laptop. They sit on the end of his bed, side by side. ‘Just not sleeping great.’
‘I punch you so you sleep?’
Lachlan cracks a grin. The man has a vicious right hook.
‘Fuck you.’
‘I sadly do not swing that way,’ Danya sighs, nudging Lachlan’s shoulder with his own. It reminds him so much of Roman that it hurts. ‘And I think your boy would kill me.’
‘You know about this stuff, don’t you?’
‘I know they are real. Everyone in my country knows this. No denial, but much fear. Is different in this country. People need to pretend.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Real world needs your attention, not this.’
‘Danny, I’m scared that I don’t know what’s real anymore. Sometimes I think I know everything. Like I have the lay of the land, y’know? And then other times, I think back to two months ago and I can’t remember what the weather was like.’
Danya smells of lavender and rosemary that grow all around Mimi’s Tower. He spends time with her there now. He is becoming her bodyguard as well as Lachlan’s number two.
‘Trauma will do that.’
Lachlan looks at him. ‘I can trust you, right?’
‘You can.’
‘Everything up until this moment, I can forgive. I don’t need to know it if you had an agenda before, but I need to know I can trust you now moving forward.’
‘Lachlan. I’m your friend. Yes, Sorrenko instructed us to keep Vasily safe, but he made clear under your orders. I knew from the moment I saw you that you were a good man.’
‘Why does everybody keep saying that?’
‘Because it is true.’
‘I’m a disgusting human being,’ Lachlan says plainly, honestly. ‘I’ve killed so many. I’m selfish and cold and—’
‘Trying to be better always,’ Danya cuts across swiftly, a little stern, reminds him of Blaire.
‘Look, none of us know what good really is until we see evil. What is good in the face of fear? People can be good when everything is safe, but when danger looms and choices must be made, then we learn. You are a good man, but you need to sleep because we need you. They need you.’
Lachlan stares ahead. It won’t sink in.
Strong boats don’t sink easily.
Only the rotten ones do.
‘Yeah.’