The Vampires at thefacility had kept Nathan in a cold, dark room, from what hedescribed of his cell. The reference the file kept making to the VVinjection I could only presume referred to Vampire Venom. And Icouldn’t be a hundred percent sure if he had been baptized with aVampire’s blood, or if they had added some into the cocktail, butwhatever they had done, they had definitely killed him and somehowmade him a Vampire.
I couldn’t wrap myhead around it, and the only person who might have the slightestclue as to what all this would mean was Heather—she was the onlyliving Infected in the history of Vampires, so I was damn certainthat the file that currently lay beside me would make far moresense to her. Besides, she was the only family member I could trustwith this information, and could my mother get a hold of her? No.She had gone AWOL, which was worrying enough considering the lastthing we knew was a Werewolf had shown up and given her somebeyond-the-grave message from my aunt Sofia.
Now Nathan shows up asone of the undead, escaped from a facility that had had a run inwith Wolves? Not to mention the word Were-gene had popped up in hisfile a couple of times. I wasn’t a scientist or a Werewolf expert,but I had an inkling that the Vampires were playing with WerewolfDNA. You had to love an obvious name for a substance.
Was all this acoincidence? I really would have loved to believe that, but whenyou grew up knowing monsters existed and you had your very ownfamily psychic who drummed it into you that everything in lifehappened for a reason and fate was very real even if she was abitch at times ... “What t’hell is going on?”
I couldn’t go to mymother and father with this information, and telling them aboutNathan was a huge no. I couldn’t even process how my parents wouldreact, but it wouldn’t be in a good way.
If I hadn’t alreadyplanned to go across to see Heather, well, Nathan had left me noother choice. I had to find my cousin in the hope that she might beable to shed some light on what the Vampires could have done tohim. Problem was, would she be willing to help a boy she once knewnow that he was a Vampire?
Were you willing? Areyou?
He wanted answers, andI couldn’t give them to him.
I wanted answers, andhe sure as hell couldn’t give them to me. What option did Ihave?
Kill him. Put himout of his misery.
Boy, he had lookedmiserable. He was clueless and helpless ... so not Vampirematerial. If I’d have just swung without a thought, I could havedone it, but it was his eyes ... though they weren’t his ownanymore. Not the light, mischievous steel-blue I remembered fromchildhood. They were dark, confused, and lost. Dare I say, sad; themost human, Vampire eyes I had ever seen, if that was evenpossible.
You could have killedhim, should have. You can’t trust a Leech.
Every fibre in my bodyhad screamed for me to kill the Vampire in front of me, but I couldstill see Nathan, and although I was mad at him—still mad at himfor how easily he had cast me aside—I couldn’t kill the only friendI’d ever had, not when he was begging for my help.
It would have been amercy killing.
No, I couldn’t. Notwhen he looked so afraid. I was the only one who could helphim.
“God help me.” I fellback on the bed, staring at my ceiling.
I had no choice. Iwanted answers. He wanted answers, and if I was being honest, I wasdamn curious to know why Leeches were suddenly so interested inbiology and genetics.
*****
7:57pm
“You can come outnow.” I exhaled while driving past the county line to state we wereleaving Wicklow.
I usual got a rushupon sighting that big sign, since knowing I was getting away fromhome was always bliss, but tonight, I was filled with uncertainty.It wasn’t a feeling I was used to or one that I liked. I was alwaysso certain of everything. Certain that there were no Vampires inIreland and that their numbers would never grow. Certain that myfather was impossible and that our family was truly nuts. Certainthat I had made the right choice to go to Heather and be of someuse.
My gaze darted to theoverhead mirror and partially watched the black seats lifting,Nathan’s pale hand sliding along the plastic underside, his fingerscurling round the edges as he pulled himself into a sittingposition.
It felt almost ironic.Here was my childhood friend who’d questioned me over every detailof Vampires’ existence and comparing everything to Hollywood’s viewon the creatures, and he looked like he was enacting a scene out ofHammer House. Although Christopher Lee was never half-naked orclimbing out of car seat storage.
Harbouring a Vampirehad not been part of yesterday’s plan, let alone helping one.Christ, could I even help him? Was taking him to Heather the rightthing to do?
I glanced back as theseats clicked into place, watched as he stretched his arms, thesilver cuffs and chains that had been wrapped around his wrists andankles now gone due to the help of some bolt cutters, a screwdriver, and mallet.
“Well, I hope there’smore room in my coffin because that’s not how the dead shouldrest.” His eyes met mine in the mirror, and a sheepish grinappeared. “Too early for dead jokes?”
Lord, give mestrength.
“You have an hour, andthen I’m afraid it’s back in there.” I reached over and grabbed theT-shirt I had pinched from my father’s wardrobe. “It will be big onyou, but at least it will cover you up for now.”
His fingertips werecool as they skimmed my wrist, collecting the T-shirt from mygrasp. “Don’t like what y’see?”
I snatched my handback, resting it once more on the wheel. “You look like death.”
“Well then, he needst’take his robes off more often if he’s this hot.”
He pulled the blackT-shirt over his head, but I didn’t miss the smirk at his ownjoke.
Typical Nathan: he hadalways found himself
