Breed of Envy (The Breed Chronicles, #02)

by Jordan, Lanie

I paused as I walked by him and glanced over my shoulder, but I looked beyond him, to the wall. “To show my compassion to someone who doesn’t see it as a weakness.”

  *~*~*

  Greene sent someone to find me a few minutes later and told me to go see Doc. I’d tried arguing but it didn’t work. It never did.

  “I’m not hurt,” I muttered under my breath when I knocked on the TT room door. I was still in a bad mood. Linc was being…something. A jerk, maybe. Or maybe he was being normal and I was being the jerk. I sighed.

  Doc answered almost immediately and gave me a stern look. “I’m the one who gets to decide if you’re hurt,” she said, which told me I hadn’t been as quiet with my mutter as I’d thought.

  “But I don’t hurt. At all. Not even an ache.”

  Doc raised an eyebrow at me. “I was told you fell out of a tree.”

  “Jumped.”

  “You what?” she screeched, yanking me in the room and slamming the door shut behind me.

  “Okay, so I started to fall and then jumped so I had a chance to land on my feet. Which I did,” I pointed out. “I’m not hurt. At all.”

  “Well, you should be. Landing like that could have seriously hurt your knees, ankles, or feet.” When I didn’t move, she pointed. “Go get changed.”

  I just sighed and went to change into the gown. I came out a minute later, walked to the TT, and stepped on the base to wait.

  “No electrodes,” she said. “Just a quick, basic body scan.”

  “Okay.”

  Once she started the scan, she looked up. “I heard about the other…stuff. The demon’s reactions to you,” she said quietly.

  “Yeah. It was weird.” I frowned. Really weird, if I was being honest. Almost as weird as the Sawthorn demon coming after me like it had. But at least the Sercoons hadn’t tried killing me.

  Doc made a sound.

  I was facing her, so I saw the expression that went with it. She managed to look confused and concerned at the same time. And almost secret-y. “What is it?”

  She stopped the scanner before responding and motioned me over to her. She pulled out a chair beside her, so I sat down. Her eyes darted to mine for a second then flashed away. “I’ve been doing some research.”

  I couldn’t even pretend to be surprised. “On?” I asked, though I knew the answer. She meant research on me.

  “On your DNA. I heard about the Sawthorn demon’s strange….pull to you.”

  “Pull?” I said, laughing bitterly. “That’s a nice way of saying it was hell bent on killing me.”

  “I read the report, but is it true it ignored Linc to go after you?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. It just knocked him aside like he didn’t matter.”

  She nodded and that weird look crossed her face again. “I see.”

  “What, exactly, do you see?”

  “I think I know why the Sawthorn went after you.”

  “What’s your theory, Doc?”

  “I’ll tell you, but keep in mind I am not an expert. You’ve read that certain demons avoid each other, and how certain demons have been known to, on rare occasions, pack together?” At my nod, she continued, “They all have an uncanny ability to know friend from foe, to seek out their own species or avoid other ones entirely.”

  “Doc. Just spill it.”

  “The Sawthorn demon went after you, I believe, because you have DNA it was, almost quite literally, made to go after.”

  “But demons are enemies to humans in general, or vice versa. Yet it still ignored Linc.”

  “True. However…” She paused, typed something on the screen. A weird tier chart appeared as a hologram in front of us. “The top tier would be its enemies DNA—the enemy it’s almost forced to go after. Humans would be in the second tier.”

  “It has an enemy tier?”

  “Basically, yes.” She gave me a stern look. “Don’t you? Which would you see as a bigger threat—a demon, or, say, Rachel?”

  “Okay,” I grumbled. “Point seen and taken. It has an enemy teir.”

  “You were at the top of that tier in the Sawthorn’s case. You were the bigger threat. Linc didn’t even register, and he wouldn’t have until you were out of the picture.”

  “Great.”

  “I’ve talked to Director Greene and Dr. Hamilton. They’ve both never seen or heard about this kind of thing happening before. I think they both suspected it after the first attack, though, because neither of them seemed that surprised when I offered the theory.”

  “You guys talked about it?”

  She nodded. “Yes. We were as curious about it as I’m sure you were.”

  I sighed. “So I really am a demon magnet?”

  Doc’s eyes were guarded. Slowly, she nodded. “In some way, yes.”

  “Ah, hell.”

  CHAPTER 19

  I dropped my head to my hands and sighed. Demon whisperer, demon magnet. What was next?

  “Jade…”

  I shook my head at her. “Peter and the other hunters—they have demon DNA, too, yet you said this hasn’t really happened before. Explain that.”

  “I can’t. It’s a question we’re all wanting the answer to, though. Kind of like how you have vampire DNA when, until we found it in you, it wasn’t possible before. The other hunters have different DNA, but it isn’t.... I’m not sure how to explain it other than to say it’s basically invisible to them. The demons can’t….read it from them like they can read it from you, apparently.”

  “Great. So Peter and the others have DNA that’s basically invisible ink, and I’m the demon whispering magnet. Terrific.”

  Hell. If my mood hadn’t already been bad, this would have done it.

  “Demon whispering magnet?” she asked.

  I frowned. “Adam’s calling me Demon Whisperer now, because the Sercoons didn’t attack me.”

  She nodded. “I think what I told you explain their reaction, too.”

  “The tier thing?”

  “Yes. I haven’t done the research on them yet, because you just got back, but I’m betting if I looked, I’d find that you either share their DNA, or you have a friends DNA.”

  “Can you find out? For sure, I mean?” I asked quietly.

  “Yes. Do you want to wait? It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”

  “Yeah, I’ll wait. But I need to…move.”

  She nodded and turned away so her focus was on the computer. I rose from the chair and paced the room.

  How was I supposed to react to this? I didn’t want to be a demon magnet. Or a demon whisperer. And if I really was a demon magnet—even to only some species—Greene wouldn’t let me go on hunts, would he? Not if he thought the demons would just come after me.

  I’d make great bait though, I thought with a laugh.

  Maybe I could have a reverse DNA treatment. Or a…DNA tweak. Something.

  I kept pacing, trying to think of my options, but I couldn’t think of any good ones. Most of them left me with not-so-great feelings, because they meant everything I’d worked for so far had been for nothing.

  “Alright,” Doc said a few minutes later. She tossed a look over her shoulder, motioned me forward. “I think I found it.”

  I immediately went to her side and retook my seat. I tapped my foot on the ground anxiously. “Lay it on me, Doc.”

  “I’m…not sure it’s what you want to hear,” she said carefully.

  “No, it’s probably not. But I need to know either way. Just tell me.”

  “You do have Sercoon DNA.”

  I expected that news, but even now, hearing it, made my stomach drop. “Great.”

  “It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

  “No?” I pushed up from the chair and started pacing again. “There’s a good side to having demons like you?”

  “You mean, besides the fact that, if it likes you, odds are it won’t try to kill you? I’m not a hunter, Jade, but even I think that’s a good thing.”

  “Yeah, it’s gre
at. It just means everyone will know they like me. And around here, that’s not a good thing. Especially when the feeling is…not quite mutual, but not quite not, either.” I frowned and stopped pacing. Slowly, I turned to face Doc. “Does this thing go two ways? The…reading or the knowing—whatever you want to call it.” I let out a harsh sigh. “What I mean is, if they don’t view me as a threat, then is it possible I wouldn’t view them as one either?”

  From her expression, I figured it meant she hadn’t considered that. But I was sure Greene and Dr. Asshat had, or would soon if they hadn’t already.

  “I’m not sure, to be honest. I suppose it is possible. Dr. Hamilton would know more about that then I would.”

  “But you’ve known everything else!”

  “I know how to research, Jade. I’m in an advanced medical class, but I’m not a doctor. I’m not a geneticist. I can read the reports, I can compare samples and make what I hope are plausible theories, but that’s all they are. Theories.”

  I shook my head and then lowered it. “They won’t let me hunt,” I said quietly. “They won’t risk it. Not if your theories are right, and I don’t see how they aren’t.”

  “Why wouldn’t they? If there are demons that won’t attack you, then that makes you an asset, not a detriment.”

  “But demons like the Sawthorn. It came after me and kept coming after me. If more demons respond like that…” I looked up, met and held her gaze. “Can they undo it? The treatments. Can they undo whatever they did or fix it or—”

  “Jade, those treatments are what have kept you alive so far.”

  “Yeah, and they’re going to keep me from the one thing I want!”

  “Isn’t your health more important?”

  I wasn’t sure how to answer that. Staying alive was important. I mean, I couldn’t hunt demons if I was dead. But I wouldn’t be allowed to hunt demons with these…hiccups in my DNA.

  When I didn’t answer, Doc sighed. “Look, I’ll call Dr. Hamilton in, or maybe Director Greene. They likely have the answers you need. Or at the very least, they’ll have better answers than the ones I can give you. You can ask them questions and, hopefully, not get only theories as answers. Because that’s all I can give you right now. Theories. Speculation. Educated guesses.”

  The last person I wanted to talk to was Dr. Hamilton. Greene was a close second. If I asked them what I needed to know, wasn’t that just bringing attention to the problem? Then again, it’s Greene. He already knows— or at least suspects— the problem and hasn’t said a word to me.

  I gave Doc a jerky nod. “Go for it. Call them in. I guess I need to find answers before…before the Phase is over.” So I knew what I was going to do when it ended. If they weren’t going to let me hunt, then I would have to leave, wouldn’t I? What would be the point in staying if I couldn’t do what I’d joined to do?

  Doc nodded in return, then stood from her chair and went to the panel on the wall by the door. I heard someone on the other end—a security guard, I guessed—ask if there was a problem. She quickly told them there wasn’t one but asked if they could contact Dr. Hamilton and Director Greene for her.

  A minute later, she walked over to me. “They’ll be here in a few minutes. Why don’t you sit down? You look tired.”

  “I’m fine. And I’m okay with standing.” I was tired. Not so much physically, just…mentally. I was weary. I was fighting with Linc again. And now there was a real possibility that, in just a few minutes, I’d learn that I wouldn’t be able to become a hunter, and I couldn’t even talk to him about it.

  He’d probably think it was for the best. Hadn’t he called me soft less than an hour ago? Hadn’t this been one of his concerns, that I could be a problem on hunts, because I hadn’t wanted to hurt a baby demon? Maybe he was right after all.

  Greene and Dr. Asshat showed up a few minutes later. Greene looked slightly worried and curious, where Dr. Asshat just looked annoyed. His eyes were narrowed and he ran a hand through his hair impatiently. He spared one glance my direction, then shot Doc a rude look. “What is so important that you couldn’t have arranged a meeting instead of summoning us here? From what I was told, Miss…Hall…was uninjured and only in need of a basic scan. I thought you could handle those without supervision, Miss Jones.”

  Doc’s cheeks turned pink. She opened her mouth—to apologize to the jerk, I was sure—but I cut her off with, “Don’t snap at her,” and glared at him angrily. Maybe his nickname wasn’t quite as accurate as it had been last Phase. He was still an asshat, but now he was a pompous one. “I was the one who asked to talk to you two.” I rolled my eyes when Dr. Asshat glared at me. “Just forget it. I knew it was a bad idea. Thanks for the scan, Doc. And the help.”

  I started for the door, stomping as I went. I’d disliked the guy last Phase, but now I really, really disliked him. And not just for me, but because of how he treated Doc, like she was a lapdog and not a person. I would’ve gladly taken one of Doc over ten of him. Any day of the week. Hell, every day of the week.

  “Miss Hall,” Greene said. “I’m sure you wouldn’t have called us if it weren’t important.”

  I stopped, slowly turned. “No, I wouldn’t have.” Though my idea of important was likely to be different from theirs, at least Dr. Asshat’s. Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at Dr. Asshat, then said, “I want to know what’s going on with my DNA. I want to know if—if you’re still going to let me be a hunter.”

  For once, Greene actually managed to look surprised. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because that stupid demon came after me. Because it…was made to.”

  “I apologize, Director. I strictly forbade Miss Jones from discussing the matter with Miss Hall until we knew more.”

  “And now we do,” Doc said defiantly. “She has Sercoon DNA, which explains—”

  Dr. Asshat cut her off with a nasty snarl. “It explains absolutely nothing without proof.”

  “And have you found any?” Greene said. “You were asked to look into the possibility. What have you learned?”

  “I hadn’t heard about the C&C until you mentioned it. And before that, we only had the one incident. One incident does not a problem make. I assumed you wanted actual proof.”

  “So you never looked into it, as asked?”

  “No. I chose to wait.”

  “Miss Jones?” Greene said. “I’m assuming you have a theory.”

  “Yes.” She kept her gaze on Greene and didn’t look at Dr. Asshat at all. “I believe Jade has DNA that, in these two cases, has either made the demon have an adverse reaction to her, or, like with the most recent hunt, a positive one.”

  “I see.” Greene nodded. “And you believe this will prevent you from hunting, Miss Hall?”

  “I don’t see how it couldn’t. It doesn’t mean anything good. Either the demons are going to come after me like crazy, or they’re going to like me. And I might like them back.”

  Greene nodded again. “Do you also believe, Miss Jones, that these reactions might not be isolated to only the demons, but to Miss Hall as well?”

  “That’s something I don’t know.”

  Greene looked to Dr. Hamilton, who looked, I thought, like he was sulking. “And now that there has been another incident, do you have anything to add to Miss Jones’ theory, Dr. Hamilton?”

  “Without more research done, no.”

  “Which is why I had asked you to research it in the first place.” Greene gave him a stern look. “Do you, at this time, believe it is possible that the reactions could go both ways?”

  “Yes. I do. And because of that, I believe it would be prudent to keep her away from any more demons until we know more.”

  My stomach dropped. “Then change my DNA! Tweak it, or take out the demony stuff! Just fix it!”

  “Your DNA is invaluable,” Dr. Asshat said. “Changing it wouldn’t help us any.”

  It took a minute before his words sank in, before I realized what exactly he’d said. My blood ran cold and
my eyes narrowed. “No, it wouldn’t help you, but it’d help me.”

  “We could hardly continue to study your DNA if it were changed. This is bigger than you or your wants.”

  My hands started to shake. I’d disliked a lot of people over the years, but I’d never really hated anyone. Until now. Until him. “Oh? How do you think your research is going to go if I refuse to have my blood drawn or refuse to do your stupid little tests? How’s it going to go then?”

  “Surely you wouldn’t—”

  “Stop agreeing to them? Why wouldn’t I? My wants are bigger than yours.”

  “Researching your DNA is a condition upon your staying here, is it not? Refuse that and leave.”

  I nodded slowly, even as my throat constricted. “Okay then.”

  “Enough!” Director Greene snapped.

  Dr. Asshat’s eyes rolled. “She isn’t serious, Director. She needs us.”

  “Do I? Really?” I asked, my tone steely. “Because right now, I think you need me a lot more than I need you. I don’t really want to leave, but if my wants and wishes aren’t even a blip on anyone else’s radar, then why would I stay?” I turned away and focused on Greene. “I don’t want to go back to The Pond—I really, really don’t—but I will. It’d only be for a year, until I turned eighteen. I could last that long. And if I have to, I can, and will, hunt on my own.”

  “You wouldn’t last a week,” Dr. Asshat said with a sneer.

  I glared at him. Sometimes, I wondered if all the jerks in this place were related to Rachel. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “I said enough,” Greene said again, this time stepping between me and Dr. Asshat.

  “Surely you aren’t going to let a child dictate the rules.”

  “I’m not trying to dictate anything! It’s my life, for crying out loud, and my DNA. I have a say in those things!” Didn’t I? Even here, didn’t I get some say? Maybe I wasn’t an adult, but neither was I a child. I wasn’t an idiot, either. At least not when it came to demony stuff.

  Greene held up a hand and turned his attention to Dr. Asshat. “What, exactly, is it that you believe Miss Hall is trying to dictate? None of her requests thus far have been unreasonable.”