“So, you think I’m anInfected?”
I had no idea what tothink; this was out of my box of what was normal.
“I want t’say yes.” Iglanced back in the mirror. “You seem calm, you’re not overlyhungry, but your fangs are under half the size and showing withoutyou transforming, which isn’t normal.”
His eyes widened as ifhe had just figured something out. “Oh, yeah, the Master out ofSalem’s lot. That’s what I’m supposed t’look like, right?”
I rolled my eyes.“Your fangs are puny. You don’t appear t’have any of the Vampires’strength, and apart from your sickly complexion, you look like aregular guy.”
And although sayingall that out loud helped, it didn’t calm me. It wasn’t right. Thiswas not what was supposed to happen. Why did he look like theHollywood version of a Vampire?
“Are y’donedevampulating me?”
“Excuse me?” A laughescaped me. “What t’hell does that even mean?”
He shrugged. “The sameas emasculating, only we aren’t talking about my manhood, just myvamphood.”
“It’s so worrying thatyou’re creating your own terminology.”
“I’ve been locked upfor six weeks with nothing t’do but think about this condition thatI now have that doesn’t fall under the natural law. It seemsfitting t’create terms t’simplify the insanity that is my descentinto the realms of impossibility. Sue me.”
I couldn’t help thesmirk that curled the corner of my mouth. He was still an idiot,and despite his current predicament, that was a good sign. He wasstill the Nathan I remembered. Still had his character. There wassomething strangely reassuring in that. Something comforting.
Yeah, but you beingcomfortable with a Vampire is not a good sign.
“Anyway, you’re not anInfected. However, Heather is, which is why I think she will beable to explain all of this better than I can.”
“So, your cousin hasthis Vamps Virus? How come you never mentioned it?” He almostsounded offended.
“Erm, because youthought I was crazy for believing in Vampires t’begin with, and theidea that I was training t’hunt them sent you into a fit ofgiggles.”
“Well, yeah—” Hisvoice softened. “—That’s because Vampires weren’t real backthen.”
“They have always beenreal.”
“Not t’me.” His voicedropped to a whisper.
My heart lurched. Thiswas all too surreal, all too crazy.
“Well—” I cleared mythroat. “I thought you wouldn’t be able t’wrap your childish headaround anything else I told you.”
That earned me a verydefiant look through the mirror. “Try me.”
“Heather was born withthe virus. My cousin Alexis was bitten when she was pregnant.That’s why she, Heather, and my aunt Sofia originally came to livewith us. Ireland isn’t a hotbed of Vampire activity. It seemedsafer over here for them.”
I heard him shift inhis seat. “So, Alexis was an Infected?”
“For a while, untilshe put a gun to her head.”
“Sorry, I knew she hadtaken her life. I just didn’t know she—”
“It’s okay. I mean, itwasn’t, but she had been battling with violent thirst for eightyears. On top of that, she had mistakenly got her daughterinfected, and the night she was bit, well, the reason she got bitwas because she went after her husband. He had gone to the UnitedColony ... they ate him alive.”
There was a long pausebefore he spoke again. “You mean that in the literal sense, don’tyou?”
I glanced back in themirror and nodded.
I don’t know how itwas possible, but he suddenly looked even paler.
“Fuckin’ hell. How theshit do you deal with all of this?”
“I’ve been brought upwith it. This is my life.”
He scrubbed his handsacross his face and through his hair. “Christ, Elle.”
“Alexis killedherself, so Sofia raised Heather, fed her blood a few times a day,and I dunno, it seemed t’do the trick. You’d have never known thatHeather was an Infected, but then Sofia was very protective overher. The only real reminder was the fact that more and moreVampires seemed t’be coming over. It was great practice for ourtraining, but when Sofia took her back over to London two yearsago, all the Leeches went with them.”
He rested his elbowson his knees as he leant forward. “So, they were only here forHeather?”
“Like I said, anInfected has two choices: be turned or be killed. The fact that sheis a member of this family and the first born Infected, Christ, shewas famous amongst the undead.”
“Do they still wantt’kill her?”
“Aye, which is anotherreason we’re going t’London t’find her. Sofia died two months ago,and Heather is all alone, well, apart from the Werewolf my auntsent to her—”
“I’m sorry, did yousay Werewolf? Werewolves exist?”
I glanced over myshoulder at him. “You said there were some at the facility?”
“No, I said there wereapparently wolves at the facility.”
“Well, theredefinitely were as there is mention of the Were-gene in yourfile.”
“Were-gene?”
“The—”
“I don’t think my headcan take any more tonight.” He fell against the backrest, eyeswide. “So, you’re telling me there are people in this world thatcan turn into wolves?”
“Not exactly. Thinkmore wolfman.”
“So, they just becomehairy men.”
“Have you seen thefilm Van Helsing?”
“The one with HughJackman?”
“That type ofwolfman.”
“Oh my god.”
“And they don’t likeVampires.”
“Kinda guessed thatfrom the mess of the facility. So, I’m going t’have a VampireSlayer and a Werewolf trying t’kill me as soon as we show up to herdoor.”
“I won’t let them killyou.”
A satisfying ‘oh’sounded in his throat. “So, you do care.”
“No.” I looked at himthrough the mirror. “I want answers, and having you alive, I meanmobile, will make it easier.”
“Are you seriously nothappy t’see me?” He held his thumb and index finger up. “Not even awee bit?”
“I haven’t seen you inten years, Than, and you show up out of the blue as a—” My throatconstricted. I looked back at the road. “I kill Vampires. It’s whatI do. The fact that I invited you on t’our land, that I’m sat herehaving a normal conversation with you, it goes against everything Ibelieve, everything I have been trained t’do.”
“Elle, it's still me.I haven’t changed.” His hand landed on my left shoulder, causingtension to seize my spine.
