The endearment startles me enough to have me looking up at him, eyebrow raised.
He ignores my look, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. "You look pale. Do you feel sick?"
"Yes. Feeling a bit nauseous."
Sam's hand drops, and he turns pale himself. The look on his face is - comical.
"Relax, Sam, I'm not pregnant," I chuckle.
"A-are you sure? I know we've been careful, but nothing is a hundred percent."
I doubt it's even a possibility. "I'm pretty sure. It's probably just something I...ate." I see his color returning to normal. "Besides, I don't even know if we've been together long enough for me to feel those affects. But, it's nice to know where you stand on kids."
"Ana, that's not. . I didn't mean...it's just that you're so young..."
"I was joking. Sam, we've only known each other for, what, a few weeks? Talking about babies is the furthest thing from my mind."
"Well, you know, if you ever do want to discuss it, we can," he says, sheepishly. "We never really talk about the future."
Wait. What? What's with the total about face? One minute he's paler than I am, and the next he wants to discuss babies and the future?!
"I..." I am at a loss of words, that's what I am. How do I discuss a future with him when I know there isn't one? There can't be. What I am prevents that. Damn it. I knew better than to get involved like this. Why couldn't I have just kept my heart out of this? "Sam, I -"
Whatever I am about to say is interrupted - mercifully - by arguing I hear in the training room.
"Something is wrong."
"Huh? What is it?"
I know he can't hear what I hear, and he's confused by my reaction. I grab his hand and tug him along with me.
"Zac, you can't do this!"
"She doesn't want me here, Amanda. Fine. I'll do it by myself."
Zac is throwing weapons into a duffel bag when Sam and I finally make it to the training room.
I'm standing behind him when he turns.
"No, you won't," my hand is solid against his chest, making him stop abruptly.
"Ana!" Zac's surprise is apparent. I don't know where he thought I'd be. This is my house. "Look, you don't want me in this Society. You've made that perfectly clear."
"I never said that, Zac." A patience I didn't know I had keeps my tone calm. "I said you needed to learn the code. Did you?"
"I know the code."
"Then tell me."
"Ana..."
"The code, Zac. Now."
"A Hunter's fundamental duty is to protect innocents at all cost - even if it means their own death," he recites, stoically. "A Hunter must kill any Cursed Ones he or she comes across, even if it is family. If you know someone has bitten, you must make sure they are dead by either beheading them or setting them on fire. Never, under any circumstances," he pauses. "Kill an innocent. And, never break any of the rules."
"I do not want you to leave. I merely want you to follow the rules."
Ugh. This nausea is really getting worse, and Zac acting like a petulant child is not helping.
"Those innocents are not following any rules!"
"They cannot help it."
"Really?" he scoffs. "Everyone has a damn choice, Ana."
"Not everyone," I say quietly. "They are being compelled."
"That's real?" It's the first time anyone else has said something since I came in the room.
I turn my attention to Amanda, and even that slight movement has me feeling dizzy. "Yes. I believe they're also being drugged."
"With what?" Sam asks. "The lab didn't find any trace of any known drug."
"Because it isn't known. I think they're being drugged with the blood of Cursed Ones."
"Wouldn't that turn them?" Emily shudders.
"No. Mere drops won't turn you." I sigh. "I'm still trying to figure all of this out, but these humans, these innocents don't know what they're doing. Killing them is not an option."
"What would happen?" Zac questions. "You never said what would happen if I broke the code."
I study Zac for a moment, trying to read his thoughts. Does he really want to kill a human? I can't imagine that would be true.
"The last ones to break the code were murdered," I tell him somberly, thinking of my parents.
I don't know how much longer I can handle this repugnant feeling, but being a leader, it is my job to be here for my team.
Sam clears his throat, breaking the deafening silence that fills the room. "So, what can we do?"
"Incapacitate them. However you do it, just make sure they stay alive."
"Wait, this is bullshit. I didn't sign up for this!" Jenna pokes her finger at me, full of contempt. "You never said we would have to deal with brain-washed humans with guns and orders to kill us! I'm a cheerleader," she huffs. "I cheered at football games, went out with my friends, had great sex with my college boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend, since I no longer have time for him. If I'd known what we were up against, I never would have agreed to this! And, now I'm stuck here!"
"You are not stuck here, Jenna. You are free to leave at any time." I feel a twinge in my stomach. This can't be good at all.
"What?"
"I'm not forcing you to be here."
"But, you said we were bound..."
I gasp as the twinge becomes a full blown pain.
"Ana? Are you okay?" Sam takes a step forward, but I stop him.
"I'm fine. Bound by the rules, not the Society," I raise my eyebrow at Jenna. "It is your destiny as a Hunter, but it is also your choice." I turn to them all. "I will never force your decision. This is a dangerous, life-threatening duty. If you don't want to be here, I encourage you to leave."
"So, I won't get murdered if I leave?"
"Oh, I didn't say that, Jenna. Cursed Ones know who the Hunters are. Whether you are in the Society or not, they will come for you. Ugh!" I double over, pressing my hand against my stomach, hoping to relieve some of the pain. "But, it's your choice who you want next to you when they do," I'm breathless, and sick. Oh God, please don't let me be sick in front of them.
"Ana?" Amanda reaches for me, and I push her away. I'm going to be sick whether I like it or not.
"I'm sorry, excuse me." I run out of the room, praying I make it to my bathroom in time.
Slamming the door, I bend over the toilet just in time. Are you kidding me? I haven't been sick in almost six hundred years! In fact, the last time I remember being sick I had - my retrospect is interrupted by another bout of retching - just been bitten.
I hate vomiting. With a passion. I don't want to hear it, I don't want to see it, I don't want to smell it...and I certainly don't want to be doing it. Absently, I wipe my mouth and am surprised to see blood coating my hand. Blood? That's what I'm spewing? And, I get sick again.
"Ana?" Amanda knocks lightly on my bathroom door.
"Go away," I croak, my throat burning.
"Do you need something?"
Yes, to stop getting sick!
"No."
But, that's not true. I need blood. Ever since I - drank from Bernard, I haven't been feeling right. I grab a bottle from the fridge and drink half of it, hoping I can keep it down. The feeling reminds me of a commercial I saw once for that pink antacid, the one that coats the stomach and provides relief. Blissfully, I drink more.
I am a damn immortal. I can be shot, stabbed and pretty much anything else - with the exception of having my head cut off - and be just fine. One drink from Bernard, and I'm brought to my knees. Okay, so technically it wasn't one drink. But, I can regenerate, I shouldn't be sick.
Maybe...
I lean on the sink, close my eyes, willing myself to change. I feel the change, and it's peculiar how it seems as if it's happening in slow motion. Opening my eyes, I watch in the mirror as my eyes change color. The red ring is brighter, thicker. My mouth opens involuntarily as my teeth grow. Are they longer, or is my mind playing tricks on me? I shake my head, drink more of the bottled blood an
d wait. Turning makes me regenerate faster, and I feel my stomach begin to settle even more. With luck, my headache will go away as well.
Just as the thought enters my mind, my head explodes with pain. I grip the sink to keep my buckling knees from giving out on me. "Ahh!"
"Ana!" Sam bangs on the door - totally not helping me - his voice full of concern.
The pain subsides as quickly as it came on. I catch my reflection, and am startled by my appearance. The red ring is even bigger! It nearly covers all of the eerie white that being Cursed gives me.
"Shit." I try relaxing, turning back to normal, but the red is still visible. Well, this certainly will not do.
"Ana, answer me or I'm breaking the door down."
"Go away, Sam!" I snap, grabbing my hidden key. Papa's elixir has to work. Please, let it work!
"I'm not going anywhere until I know you're okay!"
"Did you do this to her?"
"What?"
"Is this your fault?"
Oh, come on! Are Sam and Amanda really talking about this, now? I hope against hope that they're alone, but I can smell the others. Fantastic.
Even through the ache of my burning insides from drinking the elixir, I notice Sam hesitates. Does he still think I'm pregnant? I want to scream at him that it's not possible. Hell, I just want to scream! Instead, I quickly rinse my mouth out, splash water on my face and make sure I am clean.
"She seems to think it's not. She says it's something she ate."
"I swear, Sam. If you did this..."
"Look, Amanda, whatever is going on between..."
I open the door quickly to stop him. "Really?" I scorch both of them with a look. "You all did not have to stand in here and listen to me getting sick."
"Are you dying?"
"No, Jenna. Thanks for your concern."
"We are concerned, Ana."
Eric's voice is so soft, I almost don't hear him. I flash him a smile.
"Food poisoning."
Amanda and Sam don't look convinced, but, oddly enough I think it's actually true.
"Well, you look better," Zac affirms. "You're not as pale."
"I feel better. Now, since you all witnessed that, and I'm completely uncomfortable, we should go to the dining room and discuss what I found out at Bernard's."
I spread the books and papers that I took from Bernard's out on the table.
"What is all of this stuff?" Amanda picks through the papers, flips through the books.
"This is everything I found at Bernard's." Minus the phone, but no one needs to know that. "Most of it is from my f…um, family. My ancestors. They contain formulas and notes."
"I don't get it. How is this supposed to help us?" Jenna has gone back to smacking her gum.
"Knowledge is always helpful, Jenna."
"You can read all of this?" Emily asks. She is changing, very slowly and subtly, but the confidence is growing inside her.
"Yes."
"Wait," Jeremy interjects. "You said formulas. What kind of formulas are we talking about?"
Here goes. I open one of papa's books, one I had not seen before I took it from Bernard.
"Back then, the country was being plagued by a disease called the Black Death."
"Anala!" Eric gasps, and I think my heart literally drops, stops or flips - who knows which, but it was bad.
"What?"
"I read the journals. The Black Death is what Anala died from."
Good Lord! Don't people know they're not supposed to scare old people! Cursed or not, I think I could have died just then.
"Um, yes. Ironically, her father," I almost say 'my father', "spent much time trying to find a cure before…she was even born." I flip through pages in the old book, stopping at the page I want. "It says here that the king sought, um, Henry, Anala's father, out requesting - or rather ordering - him to find a cure. Magic, back then, was more science than anything else, so the formulas you see here were for elixirs or potions, if you will."
"He obviously failed," Jenna says, quietly, and I give her a nasty look. "I'm just saying, his own daughter died of the damn disease..."
"He did everything he could," I say, coolly. This is the part I'm afraid to talk about. I haven't even had time to process it myself. "He talks here," I point to a paragraph in the book, "about experimenting on two patients. He would administer two separate medicines and record the effects, if any. Patient one is given what he called 'Antidote A', but after a time, it was clear it did not work. When he goes to give Patient two 'Antidote B', it was too late. The window of time to work with those with the Black Death was very short," I explain.
"Without another patient ready, Henry has no choice to but administer 'Antidote B' to the first patient. The effects were…not what he intended. What he created was..."
"Cursed Ones," Amanda finishes in a whisper.
"Yes."
"Your ancestors created Cursed Ones?" Jenna asks as though it's too unbelievable to be real.
"Yes. Then created the Society."
"To try and correct their mistake," Sam announces.
"Exactly. But, he had an apprentice who wanted fame and fortune more than anything else. He tried to convince the king that Cursed Ones were a good thing."
"Did it work?" Amanda asks. They all look to me, completely taken by the legend.
"Thankfully, no. He was run out of town, humiliated." I flip further to notes about me. "When Anala got - sick - Henry sought out his apprentice for help in finding the cure." I tread carefully here.
"Why would he bring that creep back?"
"Because she was his daughter, Jenna. He would do anything to help her." Oh, yeah. Emily's confidence is certainly growing.
"He thought he had no choice," I say. "The apprentice knew how Henry worked, was talented in his own way."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Ana," Eric says shyly. "But, does it say in the book why he thought he could find a cure for Anala when he couldn't do it before?"
To say that hearing my Hunters say Anala was disconcerting is the understatement of the year.
"He speaks of having the blood of Cursed Ones to work with. Vampires can regenerate. They do not get sick," Unless they drink putrid blood, apparently.
"Ah, I see. That makes sense."
"They did not find a cure to the Black Death, though. What Henry did find was, well, the Fountain of Youth, essentially."
I place a vial that consisted of my blood on the table.
"A drop every now and then can give eternal life."
"As a human or Cursed?" Amanda asks, curious.
I give her my attention. "Human. You do not become immortal, but ageless."
"Seriously? So, a drop of this makes you young forever?"
I grab Jenna's hand before she can touch the vial. My eyes bore into hers. "Yes." I slip the vial back into my pocket. "But, once again, Henry's apprentice sees fortune and fame." I look pointedly at Jenna for an instant before continuing.
"Henry restricted his access to everything. He had no idea how long term use would affect anyone using it, so he could not allow it to get out." I pause. The day I found my parents lying there, motionless - dead - fills my mind. "The apprentice would not be denied again," I whisper. "He had my family killed and took everything. Vials, potions...books."
"Oh my God. Bernard."
I nod, affirming Amanda's assessment.
"Bernard? He was your ancestor's apprentice?" Sam asks, incredulously.
"Yes."
"So, he took the 'youth juice' and he's here from the 1400s?" Jeremy is completely enthralled. This has to be even better than the Sci-Fi movies he watches. 'Youth juice' tickles me, even if this is the furthest thing from a laughing matter.
"I guess we know it doesn't have any adverse side-effects," Jenna says, smugly.
"Is that what you think?"
"He seemed normal to me."
"Hmm. He created more Cursed Ones."
"He's responsible for this?" Sam demands.
I c
lose papa's notebook and reach for another.
"This is Bernard's. The first few entries were made centuries ago. He talks about his dealings with Henry, his suspicions that Henry was keeping something from him. When he discovered what Henry had created he began plotting."
I turn pages.
"He grilled Henry about the, er, 'youth juice', wanting to know the formula, with no luck. He risked everything by going to a Cursed One. 'I am astounded by their ability to speak'," I read. "'Once I convinced them I was there to help them, it was easy. I offer them the Leaders of the Society of Hunters in exchange for their help. Of course, they want more. I cannot make the mistake of trusting them completely. However, I will help them find what they call "The Cloaked One". It is worth it for the use of their blood'."
My heart aches reading how he gave up my parents without even the smallest hint of remorse.
Amanda gasps. "They were searching for the Cloaked One? Why?"
"The Cloaked One was killing them off faster than any group of Hunters combined. But, Bernard was right not to trust them. They did not live up to their end of the bargain. 'They deny me their blood!'."
"What did he do?" Zac, who has been extra quiet, asks.
"He created his own."
"How?"
"My...Henry had stashes of Cursed blood everywhere in his lab. Bernard used that."
"Does he say who he used it on?" Sam is hopeful that the books will tell us who the Maker is.
I flip to a tear in the book.
"That page is missing."
They all groan at the same time. Believe me, I know the feeling. Nothing can ever be easy.
"I think Bernard went mad."
"Why do you say that? I mean, besides him creating monsters and all."
I slant a look at Amanda. Monsters. Still hurts.
"If you look here in his notes, in the beginning, they are comprehensible. As the years go by the notes become more jumbled and deranged. They don't make sense, and then just become unreadable."
"What was he like when you spoke to him," Sam asks.
Crap.
"He - wasn't there," I lie. "I tried contacting him, but it's like he just...disappeared." Okay, so that part is actually true.
Destined to Kill: A Destined Novel (Destined Novels Book 1) Page 17
