New Atlantis Bundle, Books1-3 by Glover Nhys

Author:Glover, Nhys [Glover, Nhys]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Belisama Press
Published: 2013-03-07T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Jac was an overwhelming presence. That was Jane’s first impression when she went with Julio to meet him, a week after the school visit. Nearly six and a half feet of pale, Nordic muscle, with a face as beautiful as it was severe, he was not the sort of person who could pass unnoticed in a crowd. As he smiled and offered her his hand, Jane’s first thought was that he would not blend in well, as Jumpers were supposed to.

‘Come to the staff kitchenette. I’ll make us a cup of tea,’ he offered. ‘And you can go do some work, Julio. You have a Jump in two days. I’ll bring her back to you when we’ve had our chat.’

Julio bristled at the summary dismissal, but smiled stiffly down at Jane incouragingly. Then he strode of toward one of the glassed-in rooms, which led off the central atrium of the Retrievers Centre. It was a complex that she knew housed both the adult and the children’s Retrieval teams, and included classrooms and research access points. From the busy comings and goings around them this morning, it was clear that there were a lot more people than just the Jumpers, who were involved in the Retrieval process.

Jane felt oddly cast adrift with Julio gone, as if her protection had been torn away, leaving her to stand on her own two feet for the first time. In the four weeks she had now been in New Atlantis, she’d been constantly shielded from it by Julio. Suddenly, it felt oddly satisfying to confront the new, alone.

‘He’s very protective of you.’ Jac spoke chattily in the informal speech patterns that were alien to most Old Timers like him. Knowing he was adjusting to her, not expecting her to adjust to him, made him just a little less intimidating.

‘Julio has been wonderful. I doubt I could have handled all this without him.’

A door opened automatically as they approached it, and they entered a pleasant cafeteria style room that overlooked a lush, exotic garden. It never ceased to amaze her how these people surrounded themselves with natural beauty. It was a requisite of every living and working space she’d seen. And it soothed her in a way little in her own world had ever done.

‘I think you sell yourself short, Jane. From the reports I’ve received, it appears you are the type of young woman who could handle anything thrown at her. Who would have guessed that the little ‘mouse in the shadows’, as Julio described you early on, was really a lioness.’

Jane felt herself blush at the unexpected praise. Jac, just like Julio, praised her for who she was, rather than for the clone’s many attributes. It was deeply satisfying to been seen for herself.

‘I’m not sure about the lioness or the mouse. I was just me then and me now. I learned to fit in as best I could when I was growing up. I suppose that’s what I’m doing here. Maggie has helped.

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