Shades of Red

by T L Christianson

  “Well, we’ve been designing cures and vaccines…doesn’t that count for something? We have an edge, it’s well known, but we’re not keeping it from anyone.”

  He pursed his lips, “I don’t know. The answer could lie in this mutation. Maybe many of us have it. I’ll look into it.”

  “Okay, so you’re doing that, and I need you to map Emilie on this chart, and Amy—if she’s related. Also, figure out who these other two moroi are that Aurev made. One has to be Karsten.”

  The whiteboard laid out a good beginning map of the Chronos moroi. But there were around 200 thousand moroi in the clan.

  “How did you figure out this was Aurev?” I asked the doctor.

  “He’s one of the oldest samples, but the very oldest only has these two offspring. Aurev has generations of offspring in the clan. Therefore, that must be him.”

  Sitting there in silence, the three of us examined the chart as the radio played in the background to cover our conversation.

  Finally, I pulled the laptop out of my bag. “So, on to another piece of the puzzle.” Opening it up, I entered my password and slid the machine to Owen. “I know this is more in Sarah’s wheelhouse as a virologist, but I thought I’d give you a crack at it.”

  Clicking on the folder labeled DNA Manipulation, I slid the computer over.

  “Well,” Owen read through the article. “It’s not so much what this document says, although it’s about viral editing. It’s the fact that it’s written by Mary Seals—Dr. Seals, the same woman doing the DNA coding with Fred. The same doctor who altered my children’s DNA.” He frowned, his hand on his chin, scraping against his 5’o’clock shadow.

  Clicking on the other folder, Dr. Bennett narrowed his eyes as he perused the photos.

  Sitting in silence, Emilie and I exchanged a glance.

  Finally, Owen spoke, “The thing that worries me the most is that several of us in the moroi medical community don’t believe Amy created OVC. If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on one of the top scientists in the field. And if CRISPR CAS-12 actually works, then they would’ve used it.”

  “Who? What scientists?”

  Owen scratched his chin with his thumb, “Of course, Mary Seals, then there are Eva Mullard in San Francisco, Richard White—London, Lars Karlsson—Stockholm and Bengwin Zhao in Taipei…” He shook his head. “It could be any one of them.”

  “Well, why create the virus? You think humans created it?” Emilie asked.

  I frowned, “I don’t know. You Owen?”

  “No idea. Maybe this has nothing to do with moroi, maybe this is about a different type of attack.”

  “I’ll think about it,” I told them. “I need some sleep.”

  They nodded, and after looking at my phone I yawned, and we all stood. It was three in the morning. I took the laptop and put it back in my bag before heading to bed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  By morning, I’d already packed my bag again, ready to leave. Owen and I could speculate for days, but I wanted real answers. I’d booked a flight to Italy to have a chat with Dr. Mary Seals.

  Taking the final sips of coffee from the bottom of my mug, I stood and pulled on my puffy down jacket.

  The sun still hadn’t risen above the high peaks around us, leaving the outside of the house in twilight, with light spilling out the windows.

  Emilie was driving me to the airport.

  “Goodbye Owen, I’m interested to hear about your findings on Emilie.” I waved and yelled out, “Thanks again!” Before closing the back-screen door behind me.

  I sat staring out the car window, while Emilie drove.

  Ignatius stood at a tall 6’2”, blue eyed, dark haired, created in the 1800s. I knew who he was, but little more than that. As a sales exec, Nate moved around constantly, schmoozing other Clans, making contracts for the company.

  Nate could sell water to a fish—or so I’d been told.

  When we pulled up in front of the small regional airport, Emilie took my bag out of the trunk.

  Holding onto the handle of my suitcase, she said, “I’d appreciate it if you would stop looking into my maker.” She let go of my bag, and I lowered it to the ground, pulling up the handle.

  “I’m sorry if it brings up bad memories for you, but I have to know how this is all connected. Why are you so freaked out about this?”

  Crossing her arms, she set her jaw. “Who my maker is doesn’t matter now. This is all,” she swallowed, “water under the bridge. Do you really want someone else charged with abandoning me? What if you’re wrong and another innocent person gets swept up in all this? What’s it going to prove? I don’t see how any of this is connected to the disease.”

  Shaking my head, I let out a scoff under my breath. “I thought out of everyone, YOU would want answers.”

  She huffed back at me, “But at what price, Hazel? What price are you willing to pay? Who are you willing to throw under the bus to just satisfy your curiosity?”

  I smiled sarcastically. “Someone’s broken the law, and if that someone is part of Chronos, my clan, I’d like to know.”

  The blond woman pressed a button and her trunk closed with a soft thud.

  I continued, “YOU have been hurt the most out of everyone. Out of everyone, YOU should want justice and answers. You’ve been abandoned. You’ve had the disease. You almost died.” I ticked off the points on my left hand, pulling a finger down with each argument.

  She stood there, arms crossed, shaking her head. “What if Aurev IS behind this? Are you willing to take that chance? I saw the way you two looked at each other during the trial. I’ve heard the rumors.”

  “Don’t be naïve. Yes, I care for him, but I will get to the bottom of this.”

  Turning, pulling my suitcase behind me, I left her shaking her head. If she weren’t such a blatantly open person, I’d wonder what she was hiding and what she knew.

  But Emilie was just about as harmless as a bag full of kittens.

  My flight to Rome had a short layover in Denver.

  Looking for something to do, I made my way back to the bar where I’d seen Alexei, with his twinkling gray eyes, sitting on that stool, inviting me to come visit him.

  Pulling his contact up on my mobile phone, I hit the call button.

  I swirled the leftover beer in my glass, my blood craving rearing its ugly head inside me.

  “Hazel! Hey, what’s up? How’s Durango?”

  “Alexei, I’m afraid I’m on my way out of the country, but I wanted to touch base with you before I left.”

  “Oh, wow, that was quick! Are you back on the Chronos payroll again?”

  I laughed, trying to keep the bitterness from my voice. “No, this is personal stuff. Anyway, I wanted to tell you how nice it was to run into you the other day.”

  “Yeah…” Shouts and raised voices could be heard in the background. “Hey, I’ve got to go. Take care though, okay?”

  “Sure, you too.” I watched my phone as the screen switched to my home page.

  Emptiness and loneliness filled me.

  I had nothing except this investigation. It had become more than a peculiar thumb drive, this was my clan, my life, and my future.

  If Amy was innocent, then the real criminal should be brought to trial for what they had done.

  No wonder Chronos looked suspicious when that damn disease was wiping out entire other clans, and we saw a fraction of deaths compared to them.

  Aurev popped into my mind like a sore tooth. Not talking to him was killing me. He was the rock I went to when I struggled with a case. The person I sought out when I needed comfort.

  Damnit Aurev, what’s going on? Why can’t you just come clean to me?

  A new bartender had come on duty since I’d ordered my last drink. Sighing, I wouldn’t be able to enthrall another human after having gone so long without blood.

  You know, because I was seventeen and all.

  “Damn Aurev!” I spat out under my breath. I couldn’t even buy a
damn drink without using mind control on the poor bartender.

  Then the thought occurred to me, I was like a wild animal. I’d been plucked from my habitat and kept in captivity ever since becoming a moroi. I’d rarely drank live from humans, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had.

  I hated the taste of blood. I hated the sight of blood. The viscosity of blood.

  I always diluted it with wine. My favorite was white, but red would do.

  Aurev preferred red.

  I couldn’t even have another beer.

  Would they serve me a drink on the plane?

  Son of a….

  Gathering my things, I followed the signs to my gate. They’d just begun boarding, so pulling out my ticket, I gave it to the attendant before continuing down the jetway.

  The stewardess motioned me into the first class seat where I found my place near the window and began to make myself comfortable. I was facing backward, but I didn’t care.

  Another of the cabin crew took my order and returned to me with a glass of wine, which I sipped while checking the selection of movies and perusing the inflight magazine.

  Pulling out my phone, I called Sarah on a whim. It would still be a while before the jumbo jet was loaded.

  “Hazel! I’ve been worried sick about you! I didn’t think they’d throw you out on your ear! Your apartment was empty, your office cleaned out. What did you do?”

  “Sarah, calm down. I told you about taking a sabbatical. Aurev just wants me to take a break.”

  “Take a break? I thought you were kidding. Are you sure they didn’t leave a fucking boot print on your back? Where are you?”

  I laughed, “I’m fine. I’m fine. Listen, I’m actually working on something very hush-hush. Don’t breathe a word. Okay?”

  “Yes. Of course. What’s going on?”

  “It’s about the thumb drive that woman gave me when we were in Denmark. It’s got all these accusations about the moroi Plague, DNA manipulation and Emilie…I’m not sure what to think, to be honest. I’m investigating to see if there’s any truth to it.”

  “What accusations?”

  “I’m not exactly sure yet. I’m on a flight headed to Italy to pop in and ask Dr. Seals about a paper of hers on the drive.”

  “She did the gene therapy on my embryos. What’s her paper on?”

  “Virus manipulation, I’m not sure—I’ll have to show it to you. She’s also working on encoding data in genetic material with Owen and Freddy right now.”

  “Virus manipulation?”

  I hesitated, the silence on the line lengthening before I asked, “In your opinion, do you genuinely think Amy created OVC?”

  I heard a loud exhale on the other end before she answered, “Fuck. I don’t.”

  “Damnit. I think she’s being framed.”

  “I wondered. I heard you helped catch her, and got a big fat bounty.”

  “Well, after taxes to GC and Chronos, I’m at least left with some. Do you hate me now?” I’d wanted to tell her but had gotten myself so wrapped up in this dumb mystery.

  She said my name on a long exhale, “H-a-z-e-l. Yes and no. Yes, I’m angry that you had taken part to capture her. Yes, I know that even as brilliant as Amy is, she’s definitely… I don’t know, done a bunch of super evil crap. But I loved her, she’s my friend.”

  “Would you claim she was innocent to save her?”

  “Amy’s not innocent, but she didn’t have the knowledge or lab equipment to engineer a virus like this.”

  “You believe it was engineered?”

  “Yes. In a lab.”

  “By someone like Mary Seals?” I asked.

  “Like someone exactly like Dr. Seals.”

  “Have you heard of CRISPR CAS-12?”

  Sarah groaned over the line. “Yes, it’s speculated that it could be used to edit viral DNA.”

  “Well, Mary wrote an entire paper on it.”

  “Shit. Hazel, I don’t like this. I don’t like you being involved.”

  “It’s too late. I’m guessing that you already know that many of us in the New York Clan are immune.”

  “Yes, I knew that. It’s actually a pretty recent finding.”

  “The thing I don’t get is why make a disease unless you’re immune to it? If Mary made this disease, then she has to be related to our clan.”

  “I don’t really know anything about her. We’ve met a handful of times but I’ve never suspected she was Chronos.” Sarah answered.

  An argument was taking place outside the airplane, near the bottom of the jetway. I ignored it and went back to my conversation.

  “Oh yeah?” She huffed, “Owen just told me that Aurev made Karsten! Is that true?”

  Can’t anyone keep their mouths shut? Geesh!

  “Argh, what the heck? I would’ve told you Sarah, but I literally just told him a few hours ago. Yes, it’s true.”

  Sarah sniffed. “What? Really?” I felt like I could almost hear the gears of her mind as this new information was processed. “No. Are you sure? Where’d you hear this? I’d think Karsten would’ve told me something like this.”

  “Aurev confirmed it. As far as why we’ve all been kept in the dark, I can only speculate that it has something to do with Emilie.”

  I shrugged, knowing she couldn’t see my motion but doing it anyway. “I don’t know. There’s a lot that isn’t adding up. So, keep your mouth shut. And remind Owen to do the same. You could be placing us in danger.”

  My friend scoffed, “I wouldn’t say a word. Nothing is going to happen, Hazel. I promise.”

  “Well, something is going on in Chronos, so be careful.”

  “Be careful.”

  Saying our goodbyes, I hoped that stupid thought wasn’t a forewarning. I’d been part of Chronos and the New York Clan for years. Aurev, himself, told me he loved me. But none of that would save me should I cross a line. And where that line was at, was anyone’s guess.

  As the plane started to move, I took some calming breaths. No one could be aware of what I was doing other than those I trusted. Trying to relax, I downed my wine and laid my head back against the rest.

  It was okay, my brain just needed to calm down and stop being so paranoid.

  Then the plane jolted to a stop, and I heard the main cabin door open.

  Murmured voices, a man looking for his daughter.

  Then there stood Karsten in the entrance to first class. Pushing the curtain to the side, he motioned to someone and Aurev stepped into view.

  Fear and lust shot through me.

  To an outsider, my boss would look neat and perfect. But I knew him better. His usually perfectly combed hair hung down into his face, and his mahogany eyes were minutely narrowed. Beneath his tie, the top button had been undone.

  Our gazes locked in an agonizing long instant, his eyes warm and sparkling, his jaw ticking with worry or anxiety.

  I sucked in a shaky breath, unbelieving that he would be so bold as to pull me off a commercial flight, in broad daylight.

  He watched me and must have read my expression. Then understanding dawned on me, because he tilted his head slightly. Aurev was the soul of discretion; he wouldn’t do something like this unless it was vitally important.

  With my eyes I pleaded with him not to do this. Straightening my back, I tilted my chin up in defiance.

  He shook his head imperceptibly and held a hand up to me.

  “Ellie,” he said, his eyes burning into mine. “Let’s go.”

  “Ma’am?” The steward asked me. “Are you Ellie Richards? Can I see some ID?”

  Pulling out my passport, trepidation ran through my veins like ice as I looked between the steward and my dark angel.

  “What if I don’t want to go?” I asked.

  “You’re a minor, you have to go with your father. There’s been a family emergency, and your father is here to take you home.”

  Taking a shaky breath, I stood. The steward picked up my hand luggage and handed it to Karsten. “Th
ey’re unloading her suitcase as we speak.” Turning to me, he asked, “Just the one bag?” To which I nodded mutely.

  There was no use putting up a fight. In the human world, I was a minor. If Aurev posed as my dad, there was nothing they could do.

  As I neared and took his hand, I realized that his expression was a careful façade. The twitch in his cheek and tightness of his eyes told me that he held back a tsunami of emotion.

  Pulling me into an embrace, his body pressed against mine in a none too fatherly way. His hand smoothed my hair, and I glanced up at him through my eyelashes.

  Bracketed in between Aurev and Karsten, they led me down a staircase at the tip of the jetway and into a waiting town car on the tarmac.

  Something was definitely going on in the Chronos Clan and I needed to figure it out.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sandwiched between the two men inside the town car, my nerves felt raw. I clenched my hands in worry, creating small half-moons in my palms with my fingernails.

  “What’s this about, Aurev,” I asked finally, breaking the silence.

  His eyes met mine briefly before he turned and looked out the window. “I thought you’d leave this alone.”

  Turning, I leaned away to catch his eye. “I can’t. I’m part of this. I want Chronos to be my home. How can I do that when all these secrets, all these accusations are flying around? How can I be part of the clan if I’m second guessing you?”

  His lips tightened. “Second-guessing me? Why didn’t you just come to me? Ask me?”

  My mouth gaped open like a fish. “I did, the night before I left!”

  “And I told you I would explain everything. Just at a later date.”

  “Will you? Really?” My heart thudded as the town car pulled up to the flagship of the Chronos Jets, the large Falcon 8X. “Where are we going? You know you just cost me a ten-thousand-dollar plane ticket.”

  “We’re going back to New York, and you’re going to explain everything. You’ll also be explaining why you bought that ticket in the first place. Why Italy?”