Rise Of The Viscerebus (World Of The Viscerebus Book 3)

Book summary

Yuana and Roald's love faces an insurmountable barrier: she is a Viscerebus, and he is human. Their secret love threatens both their lives, as revealing her identity brings fatal consequences. When fate intervenes, Yuana discovers deeper ties to her kind, while Roald's hatred for Viscerebus intensifies, escalating their perilous situation.

Excerpt from Rise Of The Viscerebus (World Of The Viscerebus Book 3)

The Meeting

Another day, a slightly different dollar. Quite a cliched expression, but apt.

Yuana pushed the last button through the hole of her silk blouse and glanced at her reflection with little focus. She picked up her handbag, and her laptop as a reflex action. Just like she did every day for several years.

She sighed. Her schedule was so predictable, so uninspiring.

Although, there was a welcome variation to her routine today - a participation at a tech event later in the day. It was part of her job as their company’s Head of Marketing. Maybe it could offer something more stimulating.

She told herself there was nothing to complain about. Her family was wonderful, they did not lack money; her work offered challenges enough that allowed her to exercise her creativity, but everything felt superficial. She was living on the sidelines of her own life. It might be great, but it was handed to her. She did nothing to earn it. She was restless, and deep inside, dissatisfied with herself.

Her introspective mood carried through breakfast. Her mother noticed.

“So, what global issue are we solving today, Yu-Yu? Global hunger or world peace?” her mother asked. She lowered her coffee cup, one eyebrow arched in inquiry.

“None of those, Mama. I was just feeling… low energy, I guess…”

“You mean you’re bored,” her mother said dryly.

She smiled. “Not precisely. I am just wondering if there is more to my life than being the Head of Marketing of GJDV, your daughter, a De Vida.” She shrugged.

Her mother’s head tilted to the side as she looked at her closely.

“In your heart of hearts, Yu, if you can have anything in this world, what would it be?”

“I do not know, Mama,” she replied honestly.

Maybe it was time to think about what she truly wanted in life.

***

On the car ride to the event, her mother’s question rang in her head repeatedly.

What is it I wanted above all else?

What is missing in my perfect life now?

What is the one thing that called to me, yet I could not seem to find?

***

Yuana’s palms felt clammy, and there was a faint sensation of moisture in her scalp. She was not used to being on stage, but this was part of her function in the company.

I am here to sit as a panellist, and not to make any presentation. I can do this.

When they called her name, she put on a false display of confidence, and pasted a big smile on her face. Loud music and claps accompanied her ascent as she climbed up the low steps, her photo displayed on the three enormous screens onstage. As she took her seat, hundreds of expectant and curious faces stared at her. Her heart pounded in sync with the deafening introduction song as other guests were introduced.

It took ten minutes before her heart settled into a calm enough state for her to enjoy the topic. Being in public eye was something her kind were discouraged from doing for centuries.

The thirty-minute Q and A session for the topic “Sexy Tech for Unsexy Industries” ended well. The questions thrown at her were all about their company’s distinct business model - they develop, operate, and maintain a chain of funeral homes and memorial gardens across the globe.

The morbidness of their offerings - memorial plan products, mortuary and forensic pathology services entranced the audience. Most people do not think about mortality until death knocked on their doors and touched their lives.

Her co-panellists were surprised by Grupo Jardin De Vida’s keen interest to adopt the latest technology for their operation. It seemed to them incongruent for a company that dealt with something as fundamental as death. Yuana preferred to call it life and afterlife care.

Her pride in their company must have shone through because she received enthusiastic applause from the crowd. She had always believed they provide valuable services not just to their kind, but even to the human communities they lived in.

As she descended the stairs back to her seat, some members of the audience approached her - a mixed combination of startup founders interested in bidding for her business, members of the organising team who congratulated her and made introductions to other notable participants, and some guys who were just interested in getting her number.

***

Roald watched from a distance as Ms Yuana Orzabal got surrounded by well-wishers. He saw her picture earlier in the event app as a panellist for the topic and made it a point to attend and listen to her. He wanted to know if she had the brains to match the beauty. And he was not disappointed.

She drew the eyes of every participant in the ballroom. She was articulate, witty, and beautiful to boot. Her face glowed with health; her eyes sparkled with life. It was bemusing to hear her talk about death and sending a body to eternal rest, while her presence was electrifying. The contrast was fascinating.

He intended to meet and impress her, but queuing up to get her card with the rest would not cut it.

“Hey bro, are you considering queuing up to meet Yuana? You’ve got mad competition,” Daniel taunted.

“Yuana? You know her?” He picked up on the familiarity in Daniel’s tone.

Daniel nodded. “Yes, our families have been friends for decades.”

“D, you got to introduce me to her,” he cajoled.

“No way, bro. She’s a good friend. Plus, she is not interested in romantic relationships,” Daniel refused laughingly.

“Hey, we are best friends, and I am a good man… Come on, bro, I just need an intro,” Roald pressed.

“Bro, save your effort for the other girls. There are plenty of women here who would be easier to win. Yuana will shoot you down.”

“Come on, D. You never had a problem being my wingman before. Why the reluctance now? Are you and her…?” The thought dismayed him.

Daniel shook his head. “Normally, it would not be a problem. Yuana and I even had a long-running gag of setting each other up with the worst potential blind dates. But you are both my good friends, and I do not want to be in the middle if things go wrong between you.”

“D, let me worry about that. Come on, do me a solid favour here, I will give you anything you want, just introduce us. It’s that simple,” Roald persisted.

Daniel sighed. “All right. Just an intro. But you owe me big time, bro. And if she spurns you, don’t come running to me for hugs,” he warned.

***

It was a seamless and impressive production, she thought, as she scanned the hall. All the big names of the tech world; Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, and Tesla, were there.

The digital presentation, the equipment, and all the technological whiz bangs she expected from the industry did not disappoint.

She was walking the exhibit hallways and examining the products in the booths when she heard someone call her name.

It was Daniel!

A wide smile on his face made her smile as well. She had not seen him for a long time, yet it felt like no time or distance passed between them. It was not surprising since he had been a friend of hers since they were teens.

“Hey, Yu! You looked good on that stage, woman.”

His teasing smile was wide as he walked towards her, his arms outstretched, poised to give her a bear hug. It should not have surprised her to see him here since he owned an Internet of Things company that automated household appliances and connected it to the internet.

“Hey, Dan! If I knew you would be here, I would have declined their invitation to sit on the panel.”

He gave her a big, warm hug, a buss on the cheek, and a playful peck on the jaw as he made an audible sucking sound. It made her laugh, and she swatted him playfully on the cheek to make him stop.

“Ha-ha! Found anything you like yet?” His eyes twinkled in mischief.

“Still looking. There is a lot of exciting technology here, though,” she said. She took his offered arm as they walked on.

“You were looking for something in data analytics, right?” Daniel asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Right. Data science, and anything that can keep track of our clients, their social presence, buying habits—all that lovely digital stalking stuff,” she joked.

“Well then, let me introduce you to someone in that field. His company is doing just that.” He steered her towards a tall, good looking, and smartly dressed guy standing not so distant from them.

She threw Daniel an accusing look. She sensed a setup, but said nothing, as they were already within earshot of the guy. Daniel had a habit of setting her up on dates with unsuitable guys as part of an ongoing private joke between them. Although he had not done so for the last few months.

“Yu, meet my friend, Roald. He’s one of my closest friends in the industry, and I have known him for over five years. We met at the Web Summit in Ireland, and we have hung out regularly since then. Roald, this is Yuana Orzabal. Their company, GJDV, is looking for tech in the data science and analytics field.” A hint of laughter touched his voice.

Roald held out his hand in greeting, which she shook briefly. She kept her expression blank and polite. This one had a distinct air about him that was not present in other men Daniel foisted on her in the past. His eyes twinkled, and possessed a pleasant, approachable aura. It was a welcome contradiction to his obvious self-confidence.

She realised he enlisted Daniel’s help to wrangle a personal introduction. Clever move, but it was not going to work. She elbowed Daniel’s side surreptitiously, his stomach muscles contracted as her elbow hit his funny bone.

It was her way of warning him he would get a talking to from her later.

***

Roald could tell that she knew he was more interested in her than as a potential client and was already on her guard. This woman was as perceptive as Daniel had warned him about. He would have to up his game.

“It is my pleasure to meet you, Yuana,” he said. His deliberate use of her first name was to establish his friendly intention.

Her eyebrows raised infinitesimally.

“Thank you. So, Roald, what exactly do you do in the data science field?” she asked.

It was a pleasant question, but business-like. She immediately labeled him into her friend zone. The question gave him a chance to impress her with his credentials.

“My company, Buy-O-tech, designs algorithms. We track consumer decision-making and buying triggers based on their social behaviour. Then we combine the social media footprints of the consumer and their friends. We measure their actual purchases against the events in their life, etc.”

He paused, then added, “Our system analyses all these data and finds commonality. Then we look for any patterns. In short, we try to zero-in on their buying triggers,” he said, happy to discuss his technology.

“Isn’t everyone’s buying trigger based on emotion?” A small frown appeared in her forehead.

“Yes, but which emotions? When and how do these emotions trigger the actual buying? This is what we are trying to find out,” he replied.

Yuana’s eyebrow quirked and gave him a brief nod in agreement. “Okay, that sounds interesting.”

“It would be my pleasure to show you a demo of our system. How about we do it over dinner?” he suggested. He caught Daniel’s effort not to snigger.