Breed of Innocence (The Breed Chronicles, #01)

by Jordan, Lanie

  “Thanks.”

  “Come on, Jade.” Linc put his arm around my waist. “I’ll get you back to your room.”

  Wordlessly, I let him drag me away. When we were on the elevator, I said, “I don’t want to go to my room. Not yet.”

  He gave me a quick nod, then pressed the button for the fifth floor instead. He led me to the catwalk.

  Just like that, he knew what I wanted, where I wanted to go, without being told. There weren’t exactly a ton of places we could go that would be away from people, but even if there had been, he still would have known my preference.

  “Are you okay?” he said after a few minutes of silence, once we were safely seated on the beam.

  I nodded and stared straight ahead. “I’m fine.”

  Gently, he grabbed my chin, pulling my face toward him. “Jade,” he whispered.

  “Okay, I’m not fine. I’m pissed. And sad. And…pissed, damnit.” I growled and angrily wiped at my eyes, surprised to find my face wet. I didn’t realize I’d started crying. I dropped my hands to my lap. “I had plans, you know? I mean, not before I got here. Before, I just wanted to find the demon that killed my family, survive until I was eighteen and could get the hell out of Mrs. Gill’s care, and that was pretty much it. I didn’t have any goals after that. But I’d joined the CGE so I could train and find the demon that took my family. Maybe it wasn’t the quickest or easiest goal, but it was a goal, and one I was working toward.”

  He nodded. “I understand.”

  That was one of the good things about being here: most of the people did understand. I wasn’t the only one who’d lost someone they loved or cared about.

  “I miss them,” I whispered.

  “Your family?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.” Despite having been there for over three months, I rarely talked about my family. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to, or because I didn’t trust Linc, it was just…hard to talk about. Being here, training, helped a little with the pain, because I was working toward closing that hole, I hoped. But at the same time, it was a constant reminder.

  I never forgot about my mother and brother. They were always in my mind. But I’d been trying to focus on other things. And now I really couldn’t.

  “I’m sorry, Jade.”

  I shrugged a shoulder. “Even though I never really thought I was wrong about demons, despite being told I was, I didn’t think I’d find them. I’d hoped I would, but I kind of always viewed it as…I don’t know. Some unreachable goal. Until Greene. He found me, proved demons were real, and promised me the resources to find the one I was looking for. And for the first time in almost two years, I saw light at the end of that tunnel.” I shook my head. “That sounds really stupid, considering I’ll be seeing a different light at the end of a different tunnel, but—”

  “Jade. Don’t make jokes.”

  “Sorry. I wasn’t really trying to. My brain is just…jumbled.”

  “There’s still hope. If anyone can find a miracle, it’s this place. It’s Doc. She’ll fight for you.”

  “I know. Thanks, Linc.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I sat quiet for another moment and stared ahead. “I made a list.”

  “Of?”

  “The things I remember about the demon that killed my family. I’ve crossed off some from the Demonology text, added a few slim possibilities, a few that might share the same traits—assuming I’m remembering those right.”

  His hand covered mine. “You want to find it.”

  I nodded. “I know it’s stupid to worry about it now because of…things…but yeah, I do. I know the odds are slim, since the books and the DBD won’t really let you access much info on anything other than C1s, but I still want to try.” My smile was wry. “I said I’d find it if it’s the last thing I do, and now it just might be.”

  “Jade.”

  “Sorry, I’m doing it again. But if it is the last thing I do, then I can live—figuratively—with that.”

  He rolled his eyes. “How can you be so calm about this?”

  “I’m not calm.” I shook my head. “I’m not calm at all. Everything is shaking, like I’m stuck in an earthquake, or maybe I am the earthquake. I don’t know.” I lifted my hands up, let them drop again. “I’m furious. I almost died because of a demon before I even knew what they were. I almost died again because of Felecia and my own stupidity. And now…” I laughed.

  “There’s still hope, Jade.”

  I looked into his eyes, to see if he really believed it. I couldn’t tell, but I doubted it. We’d both read the same books; we both knew the odds were against me.

  We both knew this story wouldn’t have a happy ending.

  “Come on,” he said, standing up and holding out his hand for me.

  I blinked at him. “Where?”

  “We’ve got research to do.”

  “Linc…I appreciate the offer, but that wasn’t a subtle hint for help.”

  “Get off your butt, Hall, and let’s get this thing done.”

  I looked up at him for a minute and said nothing as my heart puttered weirdly, like it wasn’t a heart but a trapped butterfly trying to flap its way out. “Thanks, Stone.” I gave him a quick grin. “You’re not so bad. For a guy. But you’re still bossy.”

  *~*~*

  For the next three days, Linc and I researched demons. We hadn’t found anything yet, but considering it’d been a week exactly since I’d been bitten, I thought it was a good sign that I was still alive to research. When we weren’t doing that, Doc was busy drawing enough blood to start a Jade-blood bank by running this test or that test.

  Doc had sent Linc away a few hours ago, demanding I get some sleep, but it just wasn’t happening. Every time I closed my eyes, I had flashes of memory or bad dreams and I’d wake up covered in sweat with a scream lodged in my throat.

  I felt…weird. Not necessarily bad weird, just…not normal. Not like myself. I had a dull throb behind my eyes, like a headache was trying to form but hadn’t quite surfaced yet. One minute I’d feel like I was baking in the sun and the next like I was stuck in an ice cavern.

  I hadn’t told Doc or anyone else, but Linc may have noticed. Before he left, he gave me a strange look. Then again, I thought, pushing up to a sitting position, maybe he hadn’t. Odds are, if he had, he would have told Doc and she would have been back here bugging me relentlessly.

  Shaking my head, I got out of bed and made my way to the restroom. I flipped the light switch and blinked against the brightness. They lights swirled in my vision. I turned the water on and splashed my face. With drops running down, I looked into the mirror. My reflection was kind of scary. I barely recognized myself. My normally bright eyes were dull again, lifeless. My complexion was pasty white. I looked like crap. Or like a vampire, I mused.

  I winced as my neck started to burn and itch, and pulled away the bandage covering it. I angled my head to the side and frowned. After a second, I felt another burn and my eyes went wide.

  As I watched, the marks began to vanish.

  It completely healed itself, leaving no scars. Nothing. There wasn’t even the slightest sign that I’d been bitten a week before.

  Vampire bites didn’t heal.

  But mine had.

  I backed away from the sink until I hit the door, and then turned and ran out of my room. I went down to the infirmary. Someone called my name. Doc, I thought, skidding to a stop. I whirled around, saw questions in her eyes, and before she could ask any, I said, “What’s wrong with me?”

  Her concern turned to pity in a flash. “Jade…you know what’s wrong.”

  “No, I mean—my neck, it’s—”

  “Shh. Slow down.” She started walking toward me. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s better,” I said, still speaking quickly. “My neck. It’s healed. It’s better.”

  “Jade, you were probably dreaming. You know vampire bites don’t heal—” The words died on her lips when she reached me and I pulled my h
air back. “Oh.”

  “Don’t ‘oh’ me! What does it mean? Is it good, bad, what?”

  “Come with me,” she said briskly, latching onto my arm and pulling me behind her. “I need to call Dr. Hamilton and Director Greene.”

  “But you’re my doctor—not Dr. Asshat.”

  “Dr. Asshat?” She shook her head. “Never mind. You know I’m not a real doctor.” She ushered me into one of the infirmary rooms and pushed me onto the bed. “I’m not equipped for…this. I—”

  “Can guess. Tell me something, Doc.” When I started to rise, she pushed me back down. “It’s a good sign, right? It has to be.”

  “Jade.” Her tone was soft, quiet. Full of sympathy. It wasn’t a good thing. “The only time I’ve seen a vampire bite heal itself was—” She let out a harsh breath. “The only time I’ve seen anything like this is on a vampire.”

  “Oh.” I wasn’t dying, then. Only turning into a vampire. I let out a painful laugh.

  “There has to be some other explanation. None of this makes sense. There should have been signs.”

  “I wasn’t bitten by two vampires. I killed the first one before it ever touched me. I mean, I know some things are still kind of blurry, but I would’ve remembered that. And both the vampires were male.”

  She started to pace, stopped, turned to face me. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  I reached out for her, to stop her, but she was sneaky and fast, dodging out of the way before my hand caught her arm. She ran out of the room and I cursed under my breath. I gave her a minute (probably less, but who was counting?) and followed after her. A few feet from the door, it opened and Doc was back.

  “They’ll be here in a moment.”

  We both just stared at each other in silence until the door burst open a few minutes later with Doctor Asshat in the lead and Director Greene following closely behind. “What’s the problem?”

  “See for yourself.” Doc walked over to me and turned my head to the side. She pulled my hair away from my neck.

  Dr. Asshat marched over to me, exasperation clear on his face. “You could have just—” He broke off, took a step back like I’d pulled a weapon on him. He seemed to regain some of his composure and looked to Greene. “Were there any experimental treatments used when she was bitten? Any afterward?”

  “What?” I squeaked.

  “No.” Director Greene shook his head. “The team that worked on her wanted to, but I said no.”

  The doctor stood beside me and inspected my neck again, though he kept a good distance between us. “And you’re sure it was a vampire bite?”

  “Fangs, leapyness. I’m sure it was a vamp,” I muttered.

  “There were three other agents, and two Prospects, who witnessed the attack. They all verified it was a vampire.”

  “Did they capture?”

  Greene’s head shook again. “No. They were too far away and Miss Hall’s life was in jeopardy, so they were forced to terminate.”

  “Miss Hall is sitting right here.” I didn’t know why I’d bothered wasting my breath—everyone continued to ignore me.

  “Maybe it was a new hybrid,” the doctor said, speaking low, as if questioning himself. “I’ve never seen anything like this—even with experimentals.” He turned his attention to Doc. “When was the last time you drew blood?”

  “About three hours ago,” she said.

  I groaned, even before the doctor said, “Let’s get some more.”

  Doc nodded and headed for the door. Before she reached it, the doctor pulled her aside. He and Greene both said something to her, then she nodded again and left.

  “What?” I said. When no one responded, I stood up and waved my arms. “Hello? Dead girl talking!”

  “Yes, Miss Hall?”

  “What’s going on? What does this mean? Am I still dying? Am I turning into a vampire?” I really disliked that idea. Actually, I disliked both ideas, but I’d take death over vampirism. “I can’t be turning, can I? I mean, even if I had been bitten by two vampires, the signs usually show within a day. It’s been a week. I feel fine.” Better than fine, actually. Before the bite had healed, I’d felt kind of weird. Now, other than being a little shaky with the vampire-prospect, I felt strong. Stronger than normal.

  And I wasn’t craving blood, which I thought was a really good sign.

  “It’s too soon to tell. We’ll know more after we get the tests done.”

  “I’ve been having my blood drawn every four hours for the last three days,” I muttered. “It can’t have changed that much. How many times do you have to run the damn tests to know if I’m dying or turning into a vampire!”

  “More than we have,” Doctor Asshat said. “This is unusual. Until we run more tests and figure out what’s going on, I can’t tell you anything else.”

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at Doctor Asshat until Doc came back a few minutes later, pushing her usual tray of supplies. “Is there an award, or maybe a reward or something, for the person who has the most blood drawn in a week?”

  Cause if there wasn’t, there needed to be. With a good reward, too. Like cookies.

  “Do you want me to run these?” she asked the doctor when she was finished taking more blood.

  He shook his head. “No, I’ll handle it myself.”

  She looked like she wanted to argue but didn’t. Instead, she waved and then left. Maybe she wasn’t a real doctor, but I wanted her back anyway. I knew her and, despite her want-to-be-a-doctor craziness, I liked her. More, I trusted her. I didn’t like or trust Doctor Asshat.

  “You need to stay here, Miss hall,” he told me before turning to Greene. “I’ll keep you informed.”

  I glared. “You mean, you’ll keep us informed. This is my…whatever…on the line. I think I have a right to know what’s going on.”

  He sent a condescending smile, one of those looks that was usually followed by a head pat. “Of course you do.” His attention went straight back to Greene. “I’ll call you later, Director,” he said and then left.

  I ground my teeth together and stood up. “I want Doc back. I have a right to know what’s going on before anyone else, even you. And I don’t mean that to sound rude, but this is my life. Not his, not yours.”

  “You’re a minor, Miss Hall.”

  “I’m sixteen. I’m not a kid. My condition, or whatever you want to call it, is my business and no one else’s until or if I want to share it.” I really wasn’t trying to be difficult, and I didn’t care if Greene knew what was going on with me, but Doctor Asshat didn’t have the right to tell anyone else before he told me.

  “Do you have a problem with me knowing what’s going on?”

  “No, I don’t.” I sighed. “Look, I’ve spent the last two years with some adult telling me what they thought I needed to know or what they thought I deserved to know. I don’t care if you or the rest of the world knows I’m dying or not, because I realize you have the other Prospects and agents to worry about. I just think I have a right to know first. Or at the same time at least. I came here to be trained, to get some control in my life—not to hand it over to someone else entirely.”

  He nodded at me. “You’re absolutely right, Miss Hall. I suppose I never looked at it that way. If you don’t mind my being here, then I’ll inform Doctor Hamilton of your request.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “Very well. The tests will probably take a few hours. Would you like me to stay and keep you company?” He smiled. “Or I could call Mr. Stone, if you’d like. It’s late, but I don’t think he’d mind.”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. What was the point in waking him to tell him something I didn’t know? My neck had healed itself, but right now, no one knew for sure what it meant. Either I was dying or I was turning into a vampire. In the end, it meant the same thing for me. “Let him sleep.”

  “Very well. I know I said you could stay in your room, but until we know more…”

  “I’ll stay here.”


  He nodded. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. Perhaps you should try to get more sleep. As I said, the tests could be a few hours.”

  “Yeah, I will.” I faked a yawn that ended up not being all that fake. “I’ll try.”

  And then I was alone, I thought as Greene said bye and left. I lay down and curled up, pulling the blanket over me. Maybe I could sleep until they figured out what the heck was going on. Maybe, by the time I woke again, they’d know if I was getting remarkably better or remarkably worse.

  *~*~*

  Greene and Dr. Asshat piled back into the med room in the morning. Neither of them seemed particularly pleased.

  “I ran the blood tests, Miss Hall,” the doctor said, looking from me to Greene. I tried ignoring his expression, because it left me with a bad feeling. “And everything indicates—”

  “Is it good or bad?” I interrupted.

  His hands went to his pockets. “I’m afraid it’s bad.”

  “Oh.”

  Everything went fuzzy, like some filter had been put in front of my eyes and in my ears somehow. Words were garbled; faces were blurs.

  “You’re positive?” I heard Greene say, though I wasn’t sure why he’d said it. I’d missed part of the conversation.

  Less than a week ago, they’d told me I had a week to live. I hadn’t really let myself believe otherwise, but deep down, I hoped I’d be proven wrong. The CGE was filled with brilliant scientists who had made a lot of medical breakthroughs, so I’d kind of hoped they’d come up with one for me.

  And apparently they hadn’t.

  Who the heck would’ve guessed that healing would be a bad thing?

  “What is it?” I finally asked. “Why is this happening when it shouldn’t? What did the tests say exactly?”

  “If I could speak with you in private, Director,” Dr. Asshat said, ignoring me for the umpteenth time in a matter of hours.

  I jumped to my feet. “Oh, no you don’t. This is my life—”

  “As I said before,” Director Greene started, giving me a look that shut me up, “if this is in regards to Miss Hall’s health, she has a right to hear it.”

  “I believe this would be best for you to hear first—” Director Greene gave him the same look he’d just given me. “Very well.” Reluctantly, the doctor turned to me. “I believe, somehow, that the bite has mutated your DNA. I believe it’s changing you, even though, according to everything we’ve learned about vampires, it shouldn’t be possible on its own.” He looked to Director Greene now. “It’s the only thing we can think of. The only explanation that makes any kind of sense out of this. And even then, it’s only a best guess.”