Split Adam: Scion Saga Book 2

By Calix Leigh-Reign

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐AMAZON #1 BESTSELLING SERIES⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The SCION SAGA SERIES resumes with Adam struggling to pick up the pieces of his youth after having lost both his biological and adoptive fathers to the Iksha. Discovering that someone he'd once despised may now be the only living link to his biological mother, encourages him to fight aggressively through psychological counseling while Carly's robbed of her human right to grieve her parents due to her leadership role among the Descendants, though her budding relationship with Jo provides much needed solace.

With the Iksha momentarily neutralized, the Descendants have bravely decided to join life on the surface by moving from their underground safe house in International Falls to Piure. The biokenretic Hexacuh casted around the City, meant to protect them, proves to be a double-edged sword when a lurking evil is discovered trapped within the City limits.

As graduation approaches, many teen woes weigh heavily on Adam's mind, seemingly causing it to fracture into dual personalities. After his symptoms grow beyond his control, Carly leaves in search of answers but returns with a cure that's beyond what anyone could've expected, forcing Adam to face a part of himself that he never thought he'd live to see.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cayelle Publishing
• Release date: Jul 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9780997923933

Calix Leigh-Reign

Bringing together the best of both worlds, Cayélle Publishing is founded on true diversity and supports unstoppable imaginative worldbuilding.Visit her website at CayellePublishing.comTwitter: @CayellePubInstagram: @CayellePublishingFacebook.com/CayellePublishing

Book preview

art

THE MAKESHIFT TANK is murky, and the ammonia stench is atrocious. The pungency slices the gritty air like a chef ’s knife through an onion, singeing Adam’s nostril hairs and watering his eyes. It’s inconceivable the council would allow Vikki to bathe in her own feces and urine.

Her head hangs lifelessly, shoulders hunched. Her wrists are bound behind her back and her ankles are shackled to the chair. Her clothing is tattered and soiled. Her once shiny golden tresses are now matted and moist. He stands near the sealed entrance wondering why the council decided these extremes were necessary.

Vikki is a human being in an underground facility, surrounded by Descendants who can crush her throat with a flick of their wrists. Not to mention that escape is virtually impossible because she’d never survive a trip down the corridor, and that’s the only way out of Afrax … for everyone but Rye anyway.

He summons Zsita’s brisk freshness to saturate the humid atmosphere. The breeze tousles her mane. He slowly approaches her. She feebly lifts her head. Her eyes are absent hope and sorrowfully vacant. Defeat, in the form of teardrops, escape them. There’s a foreign twinge of remorse in his heart.

Adam?

Hi, Vikki.

Are you here to kill me? Her lips tremble over the words as she manages a lopsided smirk.

He levitates an empty chair over and sits facing her.

Victoria…

Katareena.

Right.

He grins but dispenses with trivialities.

Katareena, I’m sorry that…

…don’t.

No, I need to…

No, you don’t. I’ve lied. I’ve had plenty of time to think about all of this. I thought … I believed that I was honoring my father by doing what he asked of me without thinking for myself and…

…you did lie, but we all have. We all do. All of this could’ve gone much worse.

Worse than your father being killed? I doubt that.

He doesn’t have a respectable handle on his anger yet and she’s trying his patience a bit more than he was prepared for.

Vikki, don’t.

Katareena.

Whatever!

His eyes broil and his Limbal Ring glows its signature gold. She jolts backward, visibly shaken, opposite of his intention.

Look, Katareena. I didn’t come here to debate government names.

He awaits her anticipated retort, but she presses her lips firmly together instead. Now she likely won’t converse any further until he exhibits a good faith act of kindness.

She lowers her head and sinks back into the fantasy her mind has created since she was captured.

He’d wanted to talk to her alone, but must now resort to plan B. He stands and motions the chair from whence it came.

Vikki.

She doesn’t move.

Katareena.

She lifts her head.

I’m sorry.

She nods and rests her chin against her chest. He unbinds her wrists. Her arms slowly fall by her sides. She struggles with her limbs until her palms are in front of her face.

Is this for real?

Yes.

But…

He removes the remainder of her restraints and approaches.

Please! Please, don’t kill me!

He scoops her into his arms and carries her from the cell. She’s lost a considerable amount of weight and she’s light as a feather. That angers him even more.

When he exits, Carly and Val are waiting for them.

Jude took care of everything. Val tosses a blanket over Vikki’s legs.

Vikki’s eyes grow even wider with confusion and fear as she gazes at an approaching Carly.

We have everything set up in Val’s dorm. Carly leads the way.

They rush inside Val’s dorm. Adam sits Vikki on her feet. She remains frozen, clutching the blanket against her frail body.

Are you going to kill me now?

Katareena, no. We’re not going to hurt you. I brought you here so you can shower, get some fresh clothes, and a decent meal. Adam deserves every bit of the guilt twisting around his heart.

Vikki still hasn’t moved. Carly takes one step in her direction and she bolts against the far wall of the living space, plastering herself, as if she’s making a vertical snow angel. Carly moves back and sits down.

I’ll get her shower started. Val prepares the hygiene products in the restroom.

Carly isn’t going to hurt you. No one is going to hurt you anymore. Adam decides it’s best to allow her to psychologically gauge her situation without further interference. Images of Terry bleeding out on the floor flash before his eyes.

Eventually Vikki relaxes her posture when he joins Carly on the futon.

Val returns.

Your water is warm and everything you need is in the restroom.

Val motions toward the hallway and joins Carly and Adam on the other side of the room.

Vikki’s eyes move suspiciously between them before she darts into the bathroom. Val levitates the door closed. The three of them collectively sigh.

Carly’s conscience gets the better of her.

This is all my fault. It was my idea to abduct her. I’m the one who tortured her. I’m…

Babe, stop. I had a hand in this. A very large one. Adam lowers his head in shame.

Adam, you didn’t know.

When I did know, I didn’t do anything to stop it. I didn’t even care what happened to her. But, she’s my … my… He can’t even utter the words.

Carly and Val rub his back, but he refuses the comfort. Like it or not, and come hell or high water, Vikki is indeed his family. A precious commodity he’s run low on these many months. She’s the only biological link he has to his true origin and he doesn’t want to lose that.

Keeping her locked inside of a cell until she wastes away is something Adam won’t allow. It’s counterproductive and stupid. He’d beseeched the council multiple times until they finally agreed, with conditions. If the Iksha can capture Descendants and manage to convert them to their cause, then they can do the same with Vikki. He’d guaranteed a complete reprogramming to extract the intel the council failed to.

I need to talk to her alone. He reminds them just in case they think he’s too emotional to handle the situation.

After she’s showered and clean, Rye will port you to the Appalachian Mountains, since there’s a perimeter already in place. Carly had vowed not to babysit, so she will not interfere.

Thanks, babe. I know this isn’t easy for anyone.

Easy is just a word. The strongest of us recognize that. Val is grateful to help her best friend with anything he needs.

They sit anxiously on the futon while Vikki takes the longest shower in the history of mankind.

Rye ports the two of them after Vikki’s dressed and calmed herself.

art

THE ORDOVICIAN WINDS flush their cheeks as they sit beneath the pinking starburst sky. Vikki’s more focused on her meal while Adam absorbs the breathtaking views.

Her freshly shampooed locks fall over her shoulders as she drowns her face in the meal Carly prepared. He waits patiently for her to finish. After licking the plastic bowl clean, she lifts her head, and gazes around.

Why did you bring me out here?

There’s a lot you don’t know.

That much is obvious.

She’s still clueless that he’s not the greatest at handling sarcasm unless it’s coming from his own mouth.

Look, I don’t know how to say this except to just say it. He sighs deeply.

What? Did something happen to my father?

Uh, no. Well, yes. Sort of.

Her eyes bulge and she’s justifiably irate.

What the hell do you mean? Either he’s okay or he isn’t!

Please, calm down. Look … ummm, Nikolay is not your father.

What? She squints her eyes impatiently.

He took you and used you. Umm, your father … my father … well, my biological father was…

Please, please just tell me. Took me how? From where? From who?

I’m your brother. You’re my…

Wait, wait, wait. She waves her hands in the air.

I know it’s a lot to digest, and you have no reason to believe anything I’m saying, but…

"I don’t believe you! Let’s just get that straight right now."

Well if you’ll calm down and let me explain.

She folds her arms across her chest and glares intently.

Okay then. Explain.

Then shut the hell up and listen. He flashes his LR and points his finger.

She softens a bit.

Nikolay borderline abducted you. He…

Borderline?

He purses his lips and she zips hers. He decides to try harder to be nicer, since he is the little brother now.

After your mother died, your real father all but lost his mind. He threw himself into his scientific BK studies. Even going so far as to secretly experiment on himself trying to mutate his LR until he nearly went blind.

BK? LR?

BK is our acronym for biokenretic. LR is for Limbal Ring. Nikolay took an interest in you because he wasn’t sure if you were conceived during the experimentation or not. He wanted to keep watch over you just in case you exhibited the traits.

The truth has quieted her.

Your father—our father—and Nikolay were friends and colleagues. Both evil vile men, to be sure. But when Nikolay discovered what his colleague had done, he didn’t report him. Instead, he watched and waited just in case there was success that he could steal for himself. He was likely hoping to privately experiment on you. Then again, it seems he did.

What was his name?

David.

Uncle David?

He wasn’t your uncle. He was your father.

"What did you mean when you said our father?"

David was my biological father too. He raped my mother before she killed him.

He raped her? She twists her face in disgust.

"The experiments drove him crazy and he became obsessed with her. He continued to assault her even after she conceived me. So, she burned him with her black lava and escaped. Nikolay had already begun to brainwash you after your mother mysteriously died. David wasn’t functional, so Nikolay was free to spin more lies."

Mysteriously? You mean?

It’s likely that Nikolay had something to do with your mother’s death.

She sighs in disbelief.

How do you know all of this?

Val. Well, Val’s mother kept journals. All Descendants keep them for this very reason.

So, I’m supposed to believe the words of some woman I don’t even know?

No. You don’t have to believe a damn word I’m saying. You can be stupid and deny rational thought, or you can use your brain and recognize the truth.

Truth, she huffs.

Before all of this, you had a crush on me, right?

She doesn’t speak but her face flushes strawberry.

Exactly. But you had to notice the attraction wasn’t mutual. She’s silenced by embarrassment.

Honestly, I loathed you and I know for a fact that you caught on to that. But you kept pursuing me because…

…because my father sent me to…

…stop. Just stop. We both know that’s not why. The point is, I know you noticed when I despised you and I also know you wondered why that all suddenly stopped.

So? And?

He clenches his teeth to keep from swearing.

And, my repulsion was the gene’s way of preventing us from mating. It wasn’t that I loathed you as a person, but I didn’t know the difference yet. As the serum slowly circulated out of your system, my core registered with your DNA. I felt you as being a part of me. That’s ultimately what validated the content of the journals for me.

Serum?

Yes, I saw your memories. That tiny glass vial of clear liquid Nikolay had you drink, telling you that he had a job for you was a youth serum, designed by the Iksha to keep you young just long enough to infiltrate Keetering High.

What? I—I remember it burning. But, how do you?

BK gene.

Her eyes bulge from their sockets.

I always wondered why I felt so much stronger after that day. Healthier, somehow. Until Fall semester of senior year.

That’s also when he noticed her crow’s feet appear, nearly out of thin air, but he won’t hurt her with that.

My father never told me any of this. Nothing. Squat. He only ever told me that there were evil people who should not exist because they could kill all human life on this planet.

Humans can kill all other humans on this planet, and they actually do. Every single day. Even right now as we speak. Likely over money, revenge, power, lust, or just because they felt like it. Descendants may possess more destructive power, but we clearly don’t use it for what the Iksha fear we will use it for. Either way, they’re just as equipped as we are with their atomic bombs and such.

Why minimize the truth? You’ve shown me what your kind are capable of.

"My kind? You mean, our kind. We’re all human here."

Your BK girlfriend and her BK mother nearly killed me.

"So did your alleged human father."

But they used—

What did Nikolay use?

It’s not the same.

"No, it isn’t. One tool is far more powerful than the other. Trust kills more people than anything else. Besides, having the ability to kill is not the same as having the will. We all have the ability. But we both know Nikolay has both, and he’ll be looking to finish the job. Why else are the Iksha so obsessed with harnessing the traits? Harnessing to study or to possess? Use your brain."

She lowers her head. Tears fall from her eyes as she sobs.

My whole life … it’s gone. Wasted. My youth, I’ll never get it back.

Yes, you will. He grabs her hand.

She whips her head upright. Realization glistens inside of her baby blue eyes. The serum. She’s concocting the same plan he once had; location and retrieval.

Rye appears with Carly and Val. He pulls Vikki onto her feet.

What’s going on? Vikki is still afraid of Carly.

Before she can question him any further, they grab hold of each other and are instantly in the middle of the Siberian desert, several miles from the abandoned Mirny Diamond Mine. For miles as far as the naked eye can see are Chara sands and Udokan Mountains, veiled with thin layers of snow, roughly 3,000 miles south of Greenland.

Val orders them to back up several paces. She levitates the ground beneath them, and a heavy cement entryway opens. Sand pours inside of the eerie black hole.

Come on. Val enters first.

What? There’s no way I’m going down there. Vikki snatches out of Adam’s grip on her forearm.

Carly faces her, smoldering. Her LR blazes an intimidating fiery red. She steps closer to Vikki.

I don’t recall offering you an option. Go.

Vikki inches around her before descending behind Val and Rye.

You really can be a bully sometimes, babe. Adam kisses Carly, who shrugs.

Once inside, the lights come on. It’s a simple living quarters, equipped for no more than a few people. No electronics, but books galore. Val levitates the sand back up to the surface, then seals them inside. She gives Vikki a brief tour of the cozy quarters.

You have plenty changes of clothing here. Hygiene and toiletries. A refrigerator full of food. A hot plate. Several dozen bottles of water. I suggest you limit your showers to one a day. Five minutes max. Flush as little as possible. Your trash goes there. You have books, pen, and paper. Most importantly, these. She points to the journals.

Vikki’s confused and anxious.

But why? Why can’t I just go back to…

…to where? Afrax? Val frowns, wondering why she’d choose to remain in captivity, slowly starving to death.

No, please. I meant with Adam.

We can’t trust you just yet. Your mind is still programmed. Rye has zero sympathy for her plight.

You’re not seriously gonna just leave me out here?

Having lost both her parents, Carly swiftly loses her patience with the 30-year-old brat.

You will be trained here. You will educate yourself with the truth and let go of the lies you’ve been poisoned with. You’ll cooperate. You won’t destroy anything here and you won’t attempt to leave. Do you understand?

Adam takes over because he doesn’t want Vikki so afraid that she feels like a prisoner. If that happens, she’ll always look for a way out. That’s the opposite of what he wants and what everyone needs.

Katareena, you’re not a prisoner. We brought you here for your protection and ours. There’s no way a 30-minute conversation can undo 3 decades of Iksha programming. It’s going to take you some time to think without interference. Without anyone else being in your face.

But, I don’t wanna be out here alone. Please, don’t leave me here. Please. I’ll go crazy.

Her eyes water and his ridiculously softening heart goes out to her.

You won’t go crazy. Look at me. He lifts her chin. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. But trust me when I tell you that you’ll want to be strong for the coming tide. As far as the Iksha are concerned, you’re a liability, and they will not hesitate to kill you.

Rye, can we port from inside or do we need to go back up top? Val is anxious to get back to Ksenyia.

No. Now I have the exact coordinates for the inside. Grab hands.

When they do, Vikki grabs Adam’s arm.

If you’re really my brother, please don’t leave me here.

I’ll be back. Get all the rest you can and be ready. He gives her an A for effort.

Fine go! She angrily turns her back on them.

She has her brother’s attitude, for sure. Before she changes her mind, they disappear.

art

ADAM RUBS his stinging eyes while awaiting the traffic signal change. Something so trivial would’ve annoyed the old him. He’s grateful for the tiny changes that he hopes will one day amount to totality.

This Saturday is ripe with possibilities as he and Carly pull into Andromeda’s drive thru. He sneaks a peek at her, journaling in the passenger seat. His appreciation grows for her every day.

The static talking box breaks him from his reverie.

Hi, my name is Kevin. May I take your order?

Ladies first.

Ummm, I’d like some French fries, and a chocolate shake.

He orders their food before pulling up to the next window. A young, raven-haired guy extends his arm out of the window for payment. He’s initially rude by failing to greet them or even turn his head in their direction. Annoyance knocks at Adam’s door, yet again.

When Adam dangles the $20 bill, Kevin decides to pay enough attention to at least view the currency he’s accepting, and that’s when he finally notices Carly. His eyes get googly.

Carly, being her jolly oblivious self, greets him.

Hi!

He blushes as he retrieves the money from Adam’s grasp, though completely disregarding his presence. Kevin gives him the change but decides to flirt with Carly under the guise of innocence.

Hey, do you guys wanna come to a bonfire party over by Beaumont Creek tonight? He invites them but he’s looking directly at Carly.

Adam’s answered the knock and allowed annoyance right on in, with a WTF face to boot. He squints in disbelief, taking care not to vaporize the oxygen in Kevin’s lungs. Before Carly can accept or decline the invitation, he cuts Kevin off by wiggling his fingers in a gimme manner.

Ummm, dude. Food.

He disappears from the window for a few seconds and returns with their order, still smiling like an idiot.

Yeah, so like the bonfire will be—

HELL NAW! Adam snatches their bags and zooms out of the drive-thru.

Babe, you really need to control your temper. She rifles through the bags of food.

Adam.

He refuses to share her with anyone else. Least of all, another K dude.

Adam.

First it was Kane, then Krill, and now Kevin? He won’t have it.

Adam!

NOOOOOOOO!!!!

I was just trying to ask you if you wanted some of my fries while they’re hot. She smiles and shakes her head.

Oh. Well then, yes.

She shoves a greasy shoe string potato into his mouth. He sighs while savoring the salty decadence, but she wastes no time chastising him.

Adam, you promised to stop swearing so much.

Hell is not a swear. It’s everywhere in the bible. Like, on every page, I think.

Uh huh.

Out of his peripheral, the twin-shank, diamond halo claw, emerald, cathedral ring he’d given her for Christmas twinkles. The seven-carat emerald is set amongst two-carat diamonds with bits of malachite and jade scattered throughout. She has no idea it cost $100,000 and he plans to keep it that way.

She also doesn’t know that as the sole surviving Rozovsky Descendant, he’d inherited the entire estate, unlike the other bloodlines, who split their assets among several living heirs.

The Levkin’s and Fokin’s constantly complain about splitting their assets because there are more of them than any other Descendant bloodline. That’s no one’s fault, but you’d think that it was by the way they force their bitterness down everyone else’s throat. They’re so pessimistic about it that they fail to realize it’s because they’ve experienced less death than the others.

Are you ready for Monday? Carly smiles while rubbing the back of his neck.

"You mean are we ready for Monday?" Spring Break is indeed over, and half of the gang have enrolled at Keetering.

Well, it’s not like they haven’t attended high school before. They know the drill.

True, but you know what I mean.

Let’s not speculate.

It’s less like speculation and more like anticipation.

They’re older than us and have way more experience than we do. Carly has taken to spending more time getting to know the others, where Adam has focused on sharpening his abilities.

We don’t know how much older than us they actually are. But they’ve been underground for God knows how long, babe. Living with other Descendants is a far cry from dealing with asshole teens.

Everything is going to be fine. You worry too much. Where are we going tonight? She kisses his cheek.

It’s a surprise.

She smirks, then leans her head against his shoulder. They ride along in silence, munching on French fries, and ignoring their mourning hearts.

He drops her off at her new job at Cress Law Firm, then heads home to change clothes.

art

HE’S SURPRISED HOW anxious he is for today’s counseling session. The more things change, the less he recognizes himself, which he finds to be a good thing. His thoughts run the gamut as he dresses.

He wonders why humans are doomed to repeat themselves because he sometimes takes Carly’s presence for granted and swore that he never would again. Prom is approaching, and he feels unworthy to be her date.

She’s expressed little enthusiasm towards the event since losing her parents, which he understands. The only thing that she shows a little excitement for is her internship at Cress Law Firm because she’s learning something new, helping in non-Descendant ways, and because she gets to spend time with Jo while there.

If it weren’t for their regular visits to Afrax for council meetings and Siberia for Vikki’s training, one would think she was trying to distance herself from the biokenretic gene. Adam refuses to allow his mind to wander down a path of impossibility because that denial is what gets them captured and killed.

He won’t let her miss prom because it’s an unnecessary regret to have. Jo has told him that prom is the ultimate for girls, likening it to a young lady’s wedding rehearsal, and that’s why boys expect to get laid afterwards. He certainly doesn’t expect that and only wants her to have as many happy moments as possible.

He hopes not to steal her choices or force them while working to be a mighty protector. In the process, his mind tries its best to revert into the opaque object it once was. He likes it better now that some light enters and passes through. His greatest fear is becoming the human black hole he once was.

The weekly psychological counseling sessions he attends in McIntyre are helping him deal with his issues head-on, instead of sweeping them under the rug—which he is extremely tempted to do.

Jo’s in counseling as well, but they’ve agreed

Reviews for Split Adam

[Krishnakant Bhutada · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It is not as good as the first one, but overall a good book to read for a sci-fi lover.