The Eve of the Ordeal
"Why three days and not now? "Jake inquired cooly. Three days was already too long.
"Because some family members are still missing. I haven't given up hope. If I don't hear from them in three days... I'll make up my mind.
"Three days gives you time to prepare, train or relax if that's what you want. You need to be mentally in the best conditions at the start of the next Ordeal."
Jake could read a degree of grief and anguish on his grandfather's face, but sadly he was unable to share these feelings. There were people missing from the meeting, but none of those absent evoked the slightest spark of empathy in him.
At first, Jake intended to refuse to wait for those three days, but then he became aware as he looked at Sarah's brazen gaze that the assimilation of their bloodlines had only just begun.