The Compendium by Christine Hart Read Free Book Online

“No, I think the most sensible explanation is that my father wanted to personally check up on Rubin’s handiwork. He’s probably making sure Gemma has no memory of Irina. It’s a blessing you never made contact with her.”
    “Your aunt, I mean, our aunt, what exactly is her variation?” I asked Ilya.
    “She isn’t a variant, not as far as I know.” Ilya shrugged his shoulders.
    “How is that possible?”
    “The magic of genetics,” said Cole.
    “Both our parents were freaks,” said Faith gesturing between her and Cole with her thumb.
    “Yeah, as far as I know, our mom was normal,” I said, looking at Ilya.
    “You can’t be one hundred percent certain she had no variation whatsoever,” said Ilya.
    I sat down at the small hotel dining table and stared out the window at the rundown walk-ups across the street. It struck me for the first time that Ilya never knew our mother because he had never met her. I’d been mourning my mom, along with the rest of my family and my life. Ilya had nothing but an idea to mourn.
    “Since everyone is here again, it’s a good time for me to give you guys the rundown on what I found on this Kingston guy’s thumb drive.” Faith stepped backwards to address the room.
    “I’m actually going for a walk,” said Ilya, looking right past Faith. “I want to see if I can find our almost acquaintance from yesterday. The skin-changer I thought I heard. Whatever you guys think is useful, put it on the whiteboard.”
    Ilya picked up his wallet off the counter and left. I wondered if he was too uncomfortable to listen to my thoughts and questions about his morning with Faith. Jonah stayed in his deep sleep. I reached out for one of the flimsy old dining chairs, turned it around, and sat with the back to my chest.
    “Well then, what’s the scoop?” Cole clapped his hands and rubbed them with an inquisitive look. Jonah sat up in bed and I frowned at Cole.
    “Kingston had reports about his own progress with variant plant strains. They were being cultivated alongside a strain of variant bees.” Faith pulled a strip of fabric from her pocket and tied back her dreads.
    “He said something about bees. They were gone when Ilya and I got there, but I saw them in my vision. They were beautiful, like covered in an oil slick rainbow,” I said.
    “Well, Kingston didn’t keep any data on the bees themselves, at least not in the files on his thumb drive.” Faith leaned back against the dresser and gripped the top.
    “They were probably designed to pollinate his variant plants,” said Cole.
    “Never mind the bees. Kingston did have a few quarterly reports from some guy named Dr. Peter Waynesburg. Kingston included a word processing file summarizing the reports,” said Faith.
    “Did you read any of it?” said Jonah, still blinking into wakefulness.
    “I haven’t picked through Waynesburg’s report data, but I read Kingston’s summary. It read like an open letter to anyone who might get their hands on his thumb drive. The reason he’s got Dr. Waynesburg’s reports is because they were both being blackmailed and wanted to find a way to burn Ivan, especially if one or both of them got killed,” said Faith.
    “I’m sure Kingston didn’t have Irina’s gift, but to know you’re working for a man–or group–that might kill you. And to have your fear realized. What a horrible way to go,” said Jonah.
    “Let’s worry about feeling bad for this guy when we find out what they blackmailed him with,” said Cole.
    “What really matters is that Waynesburg owned a fracking company contracted with major energy players. According to Kingston, Waynesburg’s reports include data on the success of ecological disruption. It looks like he intentionally polluted his work sites. There’s also a separate report on seismic disruption potential. Waynesburg believed selective, strategic fracking could kick-start another continental shift, bringing with it a whole new global climate, if they