SILK
By
Michelle M. Pillow
Silk © copyright 2010 Michelle M. Pillow
Second Electronic Printing July 2010, The Raven Books
First Electronic Printing August 2004
Cover art © Copyright 2008-2010, Natalie Winters
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Published by The Raven Books at Smashwords
All books copyrighted to the author and may not be resold or given away without written permission from the author, Michelle M. Pillow.
This novel is a work of fiction. Any and all characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places is merely coincidence.
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Published by Raven Books
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SILK
By
Michelle M. Pillow
Prologue
His touch burned into her skin like liquid fire, as he clutched her arms in what must have been desperation and panic. It was more memory than any grown woman should have of her father. Everything she had been was lost in that moment of betrayal—a violation worse than death because it could never end, could never be escaped.
The father gave her life, but the scientist took it back. She had been sixteen, in the prime of her youth. He killed her that day. Her father—genius, patriot, madman, scientist—had been given no choice and in turn didn’t give her one. He was dying. It was her or the enemy. And so he chose the impossible. He chose the death of his child in exchange for the birth of a new elite superhero.
That is why Silk could never hate her killer.
Chapter One
Quinlan St. James gasped as coffee spilled down her dark designer pantsuit. Blinking as the hot liquid cooled, she turned to glare after the hoverboarders who trailed by, laughing rudely at her. Their boards glided noiselessly over the uneven sidewalks of Pierson Park, carrying the spike-haired lads to their next unfortunate victim.
She clutched her newspaper under her arm as she leaned over to pick up the cup and throw it in the trash. Quinlan didn’t mind the kids, not really. They were just being young and obnoxious. She should have been watching for them, but her mind was clouded with other things. Brushing the brown droplets off her suit with the back of her hand, she sighed. The suit was stained, but it wasn’t like she needed to be anywhere that it would matter.
Giving up on the cleaning, Quinlan headed straight back to the quaint little sidewalk coffee vendor. The man behind the counter wiped his hands on his twenty-first century green apron and automatically handed her another cup. She made a move to reach for her card, but he smiled and waved her away. Quinlan nodded at him and walked over to her customary bench beneath the shade of a tall oak tree.
She took a small sip before setting the cup down. Coffee was better in the old district. They still ground it by hand and brewed it in refurbished coffee machines. Flipping to the science section of the New Pierson City Times, her face fell as she saw her father’s cheery expression staring at her. Quietly, she scanned the feature article on him.
This weekend, ten years after his unexplained death, Dr. William St. James, renowned genetic engineer, will be inducted into the Scientific Achievement Hall of Fame. Dr. St. James spent the last two decades of his life fighting the war against genetic diseases ... work that is the foundation of modern genetic study....