Revelations: Book One of the Lalassu Read Online Free PDF Page A

test dummies stayed with him. The potential of such strength, harnessed to the correct bidder, would be incalculable. Dozens of countries and regimes would pay handsomely for their very own super-soldiers. And he would control the source.
    Karan would see the value soon enough. His aide might well be the most valuable discovery André had ever made outside the supernatural community. He’d first come to André’s attention after one of Karan’s fellow soldiers suffered massive third-degree burns from a caustic chemical hidden in his locker. The investigators couldn’t definitively tie anything to Karan, but the wounded soldier had publicly threatened him earlier.
    Posing as a counselor, André had interviewed Karan. It didn’t take long to uncover the cold and practical mind of a true sociopath pulsing under the mask of normality. Add in a fierce intelligence and the patience of an ambush predator, and André knew he’d struck gold. He’d immediately offered Karan a job as the head of his shadow organization, managing the borderline and outright-illegal aspects of his work. The young man took to the job like a shark to water, slipping effortlessly into the perfect balance of patience and ruthlessness.
    The stars were aligning for André. He could feel it. Not one, but two ferals, gifted with enhanced strength and speed. Both healthy and in condition to serve as the blueprints for his project. If he’d been a different man, André might have thanked God. Instead, he simply enjoyed the glow of self-satisfaction.
    Competitors called him crazy to his face, relegating him to the tinfoil-hat crowd because of his belief there were people with supernatural powers. He devoted a substantial portion of his time and fortune to finding them and using them to his advantage.
    A young psychic from Thailand had been his first confirmed acquisition. Only twelve at the time, she could see into the future with uncanny accuracy. It allowed her to survive the tsunami that wiped out the rest of her family. A handful of forged documents liberated her from the local orphanage and brought her under his care. Now she concentrated on predicting stock trends, tripling his portfolio’s value every few years.
    Next had been a young man from Russia who was literally indestructible. Claiming to be a great-grandson of Rasputin, his skin had been immune to bullets, electricity, flames, and blades. His loyalty bought with a cheap suit and a lot of vodka, he served as the first test subject for DNA profiling. Unfortunately, his immunity had not extended to disease. He developed acute pneumonia and staff had been unable to use the usual intravenous antibiotics and fluids. It was impossible to penetrate his skin to even begin an IV, so he’d died. To add further insult, his DNA proved incompatible with the program, killing the donor recipients.
    There had been a few others: a thief who could alter her skin color to blend into the shadows and a circus performer who could see things happening miles away. He’d spent millions of dollars researching hundreds of people claiming extraordinary gifts and discovered that most of them were frauds. But he’d continued to find the occasional nugget among the dross. Year by year, his paranormal stable of talents grew, giving him an edge against his business competitors.
    Patience had been his byword. But this video made it hard to remember. He was so close… so very close.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
    Rick’s Gas and Go was a blemish of light squatting in rural darkness. The GT convertible screamed into the empty lot, laying down rubber as Dani spun to a halt. Jumping out, she shouted. “Eric? Vincent?”
    No answer. Only faint whispers of the wind moving across empty fields. The station was long closed for the night with no one to question or ask for help. Her mouth and lips were dry as she scanned the area, and her hands kept tightening into fists. She pushed aside the fear threatening to lock her in