***
“Please let this be a nightmare,” I mutter. I study myself in Nick’s bathroom mirror, checking over my reflection for other significant changes. I’m not impressed by the “fangs” Nick noticed earlier; they’re more oversized canines than anything else. They’re slightly longer and sharper than they used to be, but nowhere near as long as Nick’s fangs are… were. Other than that, I don’t seem to have changed much. I’m still 5’7”, still lean and muscular, still Heather.
Nick stands in the doorway, and I can see in the mirror that he’s watching me carefully. He should be grieving the seemingly permanent loss of his family, but instead, he’s focused on what’s going on with me. Probably burying all that emotion and saving it for later. “I was afraid this might happen,” he says after a long pause.
“What…?” I slowly turn to face him. “You knew?”
“First things first, did you feel anything weird when we… when I bit you?”
I think back on the incident, and whisper, “Yeah. It felt like my veins were on fire. It faded quickly, but it was still weird.”
“Something happened on my end, too.” Nick pushes himself away from the doorframe, and says, “When I bit you, it was supposed to be just that – a bite. The second I tasted your blood, I felt this intense pain in my chest, and everything started warming up, and somehow, I guess I relaxed too much and some of my venom made it into your system.”
I nod, and lean against the sink, taking care to put less pressure on my recently bandaged hand. He’s just confirming what I’ve been suspecting; my blood somehow changed him back into a human. I have so many questions, but the only one that Nick can answer for me is, “Why did you wait until just now to tell me?”
“Normally, when vampire venom enters someone’s bloodstream, it effects them right away. They go into a sort of coma, as close to death as they can get without actually dying. Their heart rate drops to zero, they stop breathing, and their body goes cold. Their brains are still active, though, adapting to all the changes in their body, letting some systems go into stasis while others alter their purpose. Then after three days, they wake up, hungry enough to attack the first person they see. None of that happened to you, so I figured I was imagining what happened during the bite. I guess I was wrong.”
It feels like the bathroom is spinning around me. I can’t be a vampire. This is just a cruel joke. I didn’t “die”, and I have no interest in blood, so Nick is just screwing with me, he has to be. “What else?,” I ask, staring hard at the ground. “What else happens to you when you turn?”
Nick thinks for a moment, then says, “All of your senses get sharper. At night, you can see everything as clearly as you would in the daytime. You develop superhuman reflexes. You can run faster and jump higher than you ever thought possible. Your body can take more damage. You basically become the perfect hunter.”
“Go on.”
“You won’t be invincible, though. A stake to the heart would kill you, and so would losing your head, so don’t let either happen.”
“Well then. Being a vampire is going to be fun.”
“I could be wrong. You could still be just human.”
I turn away from Nick, and take another glance at my reflection. I’m not sure, but I think my skin’s turning even paler than usual. For some reason, my thoughts drift to a few nights ago, to Michael and his revelations. A hollow laugh escapes my throat. “I don’t think just human was ever an option for me.”
5
When I wake up the next morning, I can’t immediately place why I’m so unhappy. I’m exactly where I usually want to be; huddled against Nick in his bed, with his arm around me. I’m even wearing one of his shirts, a gray and black striped T-shirt from Old Navy that’ll smell like him no matter how many times it’s washed. This is my favorite place to be when I wake up, with my favorite person in the world. So why am I feeling so hollow?
Then my eyes fall upon my bandaged hand, and I remember. Nick decided to wait until last night to tell me he might have accidentally turned me into a vampire. Until I started showing signs.
I wriggle out of Nick’s grasp, and tiptoe into the bathroom down the hall to get a look at myself. Other than my curls looking a lot wilder than usual, there’s nothing different about my reflection. I don’t even have protruding fangs anymore, which is a relief; for some reason, they wouldn’t recede to their normal size last night. Maybe last night didn’t happen at all. Maybe it was just a dream.
Nick is still asleep when I return to his room, snoring softly. I’m still getting used to him doing normal things like snoring and breathing. His personality may not have changed, but he seems different. Younger, somehow. More alive, which I guess is technically true. But from what I can tell, he’s still my Nick. And hopefully, regardless of how badly he screwed me over, he always will be.
Part of me wants to get back in bed and pretend that everything is alright, while the rest of me wants to scream, run, punch something. Anything to distract myself from what’s going on. While I’m standing in the middle of Nick’s room conflicted, my eyes fall upon a folded scrap of paper on his bedside table that wasn’t there the night before. Normally I’d ignore it, but upon closer inspection, I notice it’s addressed to me. I pick it up, and quietly unfold it, my eyes scanning the note quickly in the early morning sunlight:
Heather,
I know what you are, and what you’re going through. It’s not what you think. I can explain, but for security reasons, I can’t call or visit you personally, so you’ll have to come to me. Meet me at the address below anytime before 11 a.m., and we’ll talk.
Sen. G. Navarro
P.S. Bring Nick if you can, I’d like to see what he’s become for myself.
I frown at the note in my hands. I’ve never heard of a Senator Navarro, and I’m pretty sure that there’s nothing he can tell me that I don’t already know. But all the same, I’m curious enough to consider hearing what he has to say.
A smart person would ignore a mysterious summons from a stranger.
A smart person would crumple the note and throw it away.
A smart person would get back in bed.
What I do instead is shake Nick’s shoulder roughly, and whisper, “Feel like going on a field trip?”
***
It takes a little coaxing to get Nick out of bed, but after a cup of coffee, he’s more than happy to come along for the visit to meet Navarro. We hop on the subway, and ride it downtown towards the address Navarro left us, somewhere in Gramercy. Once we’re above ground again, away from people who could hear us, Nick explains exactly who it is we’re going to visit. Apparently, Navarro is New York’s representative in the Vampire Senate of America. They come together to vote on important matters like blood distribution, how and when to enforce their own set of laws, and the proper way to deal with vampire organizations in other countries, to name a few.
“Why do vampires even need a senate?,” I ask.
Nick shrugs. “It’s just nice to be organized. Spellcasters have clans, werewolves have packs, and vampires have a senate.”
“Right, but the other groups don’t have a single force governing the little people. What sets vampires apart?”
“I don’t know. They’re practically immortal, so I guess they’ve had more time to figure things out.”
After a few minutes of wandering around Gramercy, Nick and I happen upon the right building, a beautiful red brick townhouse standing in the middle of the block. I ring the doorbell, and almost immediately, the door swings open, seemingly of its own accord. Nick closes it behind us while I inspect the building’s interior. The first thing that catches my eye is the wrought-iron spiral staircase leading up to the second and third floors, as well as down to the basement. Surrounding the staircase are bookshelves, lined with encyclopedias and novels alike, as well as artifacts from all over the world. The shining mahogany floor creaks a little as I step closer to the staircase, and I can hear Nick’s sharp intake of breath
as he realizes how perfect this place is. “I knew Navarro was loaded,” he says, “but this is amazing.”
“You think so? I’ve been considering downsizing a little.” I look over my shoulder at the man that appeared behind us, casually leaning against the doorframe. I can’t tell if vampires can teleport, or if he somehow managed to move faster than the human eye can see, but either way, I’m impressed. These days, it’s hard to sneak up on me. “Thanks for closing the door on your way in,” the man says. “Not a lot of people care enough to do so.”
“Are you Navarro?,” I ask.
“I am.”
“Why did you have us come here? Why not meet us somewhere public, or-“
“Heather, all you need to know for the moment is that you don’t get to where I am today without making a few enemies. Come, have a seat in my office. I’ve been expecting you two.” Navarro leads us up to the third floor, and gestures for Nick and I to sit in the leather chairs positioned in front of his desk. He sits across from us, and folds his hands together, studying us carefully. Navarro looks like he’s in his thirties, or at least, has been in his thirties for a long time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was just an average, human businessman, judging by the black suit and white collared shirt. There’s a tie around his neck, but it’s undone, and I can’t tell if he’s on his way to work or coming from it. “So, I’m guessing you two have a lot of questions,” Navarro says as he leans back in his chair.
“You bet we do.” I sit up straight in my chair, and glance at Nick, whose arms are folded across his chest. I raise my eyebrows, and he shrugs, which I take as my sign to do the talking. “For starters, how do you know what you know about us?”
Navarro laughs at that, and replies, “I’m in the government. It’s my business to know your business, sometimes even before you do.”
“So, the Vampire Senate is an actual part of the U.S. government?”
“Aside from the supernatural world at large, the VSA is one of the best kept secrets there is. They’re both right up there with what really happened at Roswell… spoiler alert, it’s not what you think.”
“Wait,” Nick interjects. “What you’re saying is, the government knows that metahumans exist?”
“Who do you think covered our asses last year, after someone pretty much blew up Grand Central?” Navarro looks pointedly at me, but I stare him straight back in the eye without a hint of guilt. If we’re being technical, most of the damage to the building itself was mostly Alyssa’s fault. He continues, “The short answer is yes, they know. And for the most part, they leave us alone. Most of the officials are well aware of humanity’s tendency to make life torturous for anyone different. They’re also aware that trying to wipe us out would cause a lot more problems than keeping us swept under the rug.”
It feels like the past year of my life has been a lie. I may throw caution to the wind when I’m confronted in public, but in the back of my mind, I’ve always wondered what would happen if spellcasters, werewolves, vampires, and everything else were to become common knowledge. I’ve always worried that the government would round us up, run tests on us, segregate us. But it turns out they’ve known all along, and I’m reasonably sure they have been doing exactly what I expected quietly for years. Now isn’t the time to process that information, though; Nick and I weren’t invited here to talk about government cover-ups. I clear my throat, and ask, “Why did you ask us to come here, Mr. Navarro?”
“Please, call me Gene. You could also call me Senator, but only when I’m on duty.” Navarro waits expectantly for us to laugh, but Nick and I don’t even break a smile, so he says, “Right, okay. Down to business. I have a proposition for Nick here, and information for Heather.”
“For me?” Nick shifts uneasily in his seat, and says, “I’m not even a vampire anymore, what could you possibly want from me?”
“That’s just it. People have been working diligently for centuries on a cure for vampirism, but you just happened to come by one organically… I want to know your secret.”
Nick and I share a look. Neither of us knows exactly what happened the night he became human again, but we both assume it has something to do with me. At least, I’m sure that’s what he thinks. We’ve never actually spoken about it. But Navarro can’t know that I might be the cause, no one can. So I’m relieved when he says, “I don’t know what my secret is, sir. I just remember feeling this intense pain in my chest, and then feeling my heart start beating again, like it had never stopped.”
“I figured you would say that, which is why I have an offer for you. I’d like to run some tests on you, see if we can’t figure out what’s going on in your body that caused the change.”
“And what’s in it for me?”
Before answering, Navarro reaches into an open drawer on his side of the desk, and pulls out a gray folder marked Brandt. He drops it on the desk in front of Nick, and asks, “How would you like to know who turned you?”
This time, when I look at Nick, his eyes are trained on the ground. He’s never talked about how he became a vampire, at least not with me. I never pried. But I can see the gears turning in his head; I imagine he has a list of things he’d like to say and do to whoever turned him. Nick lifts his head a little, and asks, “How could you possibly know who-“
“Again, it’s my business to know. And naturally, we’ll turn a blind eye to whatever you decide to do with that information. What do you say?”
There isn’t even a hint of hesitation in Nick’s voice when he replies. “I’m in.”
I stare incredulously at the man sitting next to me. Surely he considered that whatever tests they run on him, they’ll eventually lead back to me. Meaning that when it comes to him meeting his maker, I come second. Even if he doesn’t realize it, he’s willingly throwing me under the bus to get his hands on that information. I thought I was upset with him before. Now I’m furious.
“Now for you, Heather.” I direct my glare at Navarro, who carefully slips the folder back into his drawer. “I’m sure the past few hours have been hard on you, but I’m going to put your mind at ease. You’re not turning into a vampire.”
Nick and I let out a simultaneous, “What?”
“Under normal circumstances, you should have. Let me explain… when someone becomes part of the supernatural world, they can only ever belong to one ‘species’ at a time. For example, if a vampire were bitten by a werewolf, he would either remain a vampire or make the change to werewolf. It all depends on which bite has a stronger influence on the individual, and usually, that’s the original bite.”
I nod, but I’m only partially listening. The other part of me is silently thanking the universe for making sure there won’t be any immortal vampire-werewolf hybrids running around. “Okay, what’s all that got to do with me?”
“You’re a special case, Heather. Spellcasters may come under the supernatural umbrella, but you’re still technically just humans. Special humans, but humans nonetheless. Meaning that any bite at all should have turned you immediately. But you’re still breathing.”
My pulse is pounding now, and I’m gripping the arms of my chair more tightly than I should. “What does that mean?”
“It means that you’re not entirely human.”
Those were the words I’d been dreading to hear. I slump a little in my seat, and ask, “Then what am I?”
“I was hoping you’d be able to tell me.”
“I… I know less about it than you do.”
“That’s a shame… oh well. Like with some people that are bitten but not turned, you might enjoy the benefits of vampirism like agility and night vision under duress, maybe prefer your steak cooked rare once in a while. But I’m afraid you can never truly be one of us.” Navarro folds his hands, and watches me carefully from behind them. “In fact, you don’t seem to fit in perfectly in either the human world or the supernatural one. Whatever you are, Miss Santos, you might want to be careful. When you stand out, people will either want t
o exploit you, destroy you, or make you their own.”
***
Navarro releases us after setting up appointments to meet with Nick and a team of researchers at a lab near NYU. Nick asks if I want to grab lunch, but I insist on going our separate ways. My head is spinning, and I feel like I need some time alone. He gives me his sad, wounded puppy look, but doesn’t question it. He kisses my forehead as we say our goodbyes.
Instead of kissing him on the cheek like I normally would, I turn and walk down the steps to the subway.
The whole ride home, I keep replaying the conversation with Navarro in my head. I feel even more empty than I did this morning. At least this morning, I knew what I was. I’d been born a human being. Now, I have no idea what to call myself.
Then, my conversation with Michael creeps up again, and I remember how evasive he became when I asked if he was a spellcaster. If he’s something other than human, and really my father, that would explain why I am the way I am. It’s a long shot, but it’s all I have to go on. More than anything else, right now I just want answers.
The minute I get home, I turn on my laptop, pacing impatiently while it’s booting up. I turn to Google, and realize as I’m staring at the search bar that I have no clue what it is I’m looking for. First, I try Conduit, but that only turns up results about electrical currents that I don’t understand. Then I remember the other, older term Michael used for people like me. Nephilim.
Nephilim at least leads me to a page that feels relevant. I scan through the paragraphs describing their lore, and finally come upon one that explains what they are. Goosebumps spread across my skin as I read the words, “According to Genesis 6:4, Nephilim are the offspring of the sons of God, and the daughters of men.” I still don’t entirely understand what that means, so I click on the segment ‘sons of God’, which links me to a picture of a man with white feathered wings expanding from his back.
And I gasp.
Shattered (the Spellbound Series Book 2) Page 4
