Breed of Havoc (The Breed Chronicles #3) (28 page)

“Yeah. Everything’s fine. Actually, I have a…weird request.”

“Weird I can handle. What do you need?”

I let out a breath. “Could I stay behind after one of my appointments and watch some of the videos that’ve been recorded? The ones with me and the demons.”

“Can I ask what you’re looking for?”

“I’m just curious about the demon’s reactions to me. I was hoping there’s something I can look for, some...sign that’ll tell me if it’s a Friend or Foe I’m dealing with.”

“Besides them snarling and trying to bite through glass to get to you?”

“Yeah, besides that.”

She sighed. “I heard about your hunt, Jade. If you’re looking for your reaction, to see if you have one toward the demons, you’re not going to find it.”

“Greene.” I muttered his name, half-curse, half-laugh.

“He told me about the hunt and that you were upset about the demons’ deaths. That has little to do with your DNA, Jade. I promise.”

“How can you be sure?” I whispered. I wasn’t even sure.

“Because I’ve been looking for the same thing, and I know you have, too.”

“But I’m sympathetic toward them,” I said, and then I told her what I’d told Linc. “That’s not normal, Dr. Cherry. You can’t tell me it is.”

“No, I can’t. But it’s not completely abnormal, either. Some people have deeper compassion than others—even for monsters. It’s how humans can forgive, because we are compassionate.” There was a pause. “Want to hear what I think?”

“Yes.” Did I? “Maybe.”

She laughed. “The truth is, you and certain demons share DNA. That’s an undeniable, irrefutable fact. Some of them appear to like you and some hate you. That’s another fact. Your reaction to them, under ordinary circumstances, is completely normal. I’ve compared you and Linc both and your reactions are almost identical.”

“Under normal circumstances. Most of my circumstances aren’t normal.”

“No, they’re not. But you’ve never liked a bad demon. You’ve never liked one that’s tried hurting you, your friends, or other hunters. Your DNA has made you…more receptive toward their feelings.”

“What the heck does that mean?”

“It means, I think there’s a connection between you all.”

I cursed.

“That’s not what you wanted to hear, I know, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“You think I’m connected to a bunch of demons. How is that not a bad thing?”

“You’re misunderstanding me. I don’t think you’re connected
to
the demons, at least not in the way you’re thinking. What you described as happening during the hunt? That hasn’t, as far as I know, happened before. Your DNA didn’t heighten only your normal senses—hearing, sight, sound, etc. I think it’s heightened your…intuition, for lack of a better word.”

I rubbed my head. “I’m demon-psychic now?”

“No,” she said, laughing again. “You’ve heard how some animals can predict natural disasters, right?”

“Yeah.”

“
That’s
what’s happening here. You’re able to sense the demons—good and bad. It explains why you were sure the Batcoons wouldn’t attack you, and how you knew, immediately, the hybrids weren’t to be trusted.”

“So my reactions to them aren’t abnormal?”

“They’re not abnormal for someone like you, no. If the demons aren’t threatening toward you, you’re not threatening toward them. It’s as simple as that, Jade. If the Sercoons, or even the Batcoons, would have shown any aggression toward you or your friends, you would have done what you were trained to do. You would have fought and defended yourself and those around you. Nothing I’ve seen, heard, or read has indicated anything different.”

“So I don’t like demons because of my DNA?”

“Not in a detrimental way, no. I think you would be nicer toward demons that were nicer to you, regardless of your DNA. You have a unique advantage to see the better side of demons. They’re not all evil, Jade, and that’s what your DNA is showing you. You know that, don’t you?”

“Aren’t they?”

“Not evil, no. Most, yes, but not all. Murder is bad, isn’t it?”

I frowned. “Yeah, it is.”

“But not everyone who kills someone is a murderer—at least not in the bad sense. Some people kill to defend themselves or others. They shouldn’t be treated the same as a serial killer, should they?”

“No.”

“There’s good and bad in every living thing, Jade. Even demons.”

“You’re right.” I let out a breath. I should’ve let her get back to work, but I needed more answers. “Do you mind if I ask one more question?”

“Sure.”

“I’ve been…moody. Like, getting angry to the point I’m shaking for little to no reason. Is that my DNA, too, or is that—” I broke off as someone knocked on my door, and then shook my fist at it. “Hold on, sorry. Someone’s at my door.”

“Actually, Jade, I need to go. I have work I need to finish before I leave for the night. Can we discuss this another time?”

Damnit!
“Yeah, of course. Thanks for helping, Dr. Cherry.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you soon, Jade.”

“Okay. B—” She hung up on me.

I glared at the phone, and then I glared at the door. I sighed. Linc. Did he think I was going to run away? I shook my head as I walked to the door and yanked it open. “I’m not running—Tasha.” I blinked back in surprise. My surprise turned to concern when I realized her eyes were red and cheeks wet with tears. “Are you okay? What happened?”

I’d known Tasha for almost two years, and in that time, I’d only ever seen her cry once—when she hurt Chris. As much as she chatted or nagged me about this or that, she was actually a pretty quiet person.

When she still hadn’t answered me, I pulled her into the room, kicked the door shut behind me, and led her to my desk. I sat her down and took a seat on my bed. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”

“Chris and I had a fight.”

“Why? What happened?”

The tears came down harder now. “I don’t know. I really don’t. We were talking, and then we were fighting.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that. He’s been freaking out since the beginning of Phase, ever since the fireworks thing. And it’s even worse now since that guy snuck onto the property and got him in trouble. You’ve seen him and know how paranoid he’s being. And I told him that.” She sighed heavily and looked up at me with puffy eyes. “It came out worse than I meant it to. A lot worse than I meant it to.”

“What’d you say?”

She grimaced. “I told him he was being stupid about it. Except it was more of a quiet yell than just saying it.”

“He’ll get over it. Everyone fights.”

“Well, it went a bit further than that. Because he yelled back at me and said I was being stupid in class.”

My jaw dropped. I sputtered for a full thirty seconds before I could get anything out. “But you’ve been better since he became your partner.”

“I know! Not great, but I only hit him every once in a while now, and before, I was hitting someone at least once an hour.”

“I can’t believe he said that. What a jerk.”

She rolled her eyes. “Exactly. He said ever since the accident that I’ve been a mess. Oh! And get this—he said I’m too good to be so bad. What the hell kind of thing is that to say? Too good to be bad at something.” She made an angry face. “Ha.”

I sighed. “Maybe he meant it in a good way.”

“Oh?” If her tone had been measured in temperature ranges, I’d say it dropped a good fifty degrees. “How can you call someone stupid in a good way?”

Great choice of words, Jade.
“I didn’t mean the stupid thing. I meant—”

“Well, excuse the hell out of me. We can’t all be Jade Hall, Prospect of the damn century.”

A ball of ice formed in my stomach and spread everywhere. “That’s not fair.”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?” She stormed to her feet. “You’re supposed to be
my
friend.”

“I am your friend.”

“Then can come find me when you’re up to acting like it.”

Tasha was halfway to the door before I caught up with her. I blocked her path with seconds to spare. “Sit down, Tasha. Let me explain.”

“I don’t need you to explain. I’ll just go talk to Linc, at least he knows how to act like a friend.”

I wanted to be angry with her, but she was right. I wasn’t exactly Friend of The Year. Pink was her favorite color and she was obsessed with shoes and all things fashion. My lack of fashion sense was more strange to her than my demony DNA. I knew little things about her but nothing major. Since I came here, I hadn’t exactly gone out of my way to get know…anyone, really, except Linc. With that knowledge came guilt, and a lot of it. It settled in my stomach, heavy as lead. “I deserve that,” I said.

Her glare faded after a second. “No, you didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You’re right. I’m not very good at this friend thing.”

“You’re fine.” She wiped her face. “I’m the mess.”

“Come on.” I led her back to the chair. “Let me explain what I meant, okay?” When she nodded, I sat on the edge of the bed. “In class, you’re—”

“A mess.”

“Not a mess. But you are kind of klutzy.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “Sorry. I’m not great at these talks. Just ask Linc.
I’m
the mess.”

“Well, go on then.” She fixed me with a prim look and folded her arms. “Fumble it some more.”

The smile spread before I could stop it. “I’m sure I will. What I’m trying to say is, during our first Phase, when you practiced outside of class, you were always really good. You knew exactly what you were doing, you had no doubts, no problems. In class, you second guessed what you were supposed to do or you forgot altogether. It was like you were scared or nervous, but you’re the most outgoing person I know. You tell everyone how it is, what it should be, and you don’t care if they agree or not because you figure you’re right.” I paused. “You usually are, but we try not to tell you.”

That got a laugh out of her. “You’re right. I am usually right.”

“See? And you’re humble, too.” I smiled. “The point is, when Chris took over as your partner, you were great inside
and
outside of class. But since he got hurt, it’s like you’ve reverted back to the old Tasha, the one who thinks she’s bad when she isn’t. I think that’s probably what he meant, only he said it badly. Like me.” I gave her a pointed stare. “But he was still being a jerk when he said it, so he loses points.”

Tasha didn’t smile again like I’d hoped. If anything, she actually looked more unhappy.

“I’m sorry, I suck at this friend thing. But whatever he said and however he meant it, he was out of line and he was a jerk.”

She shook her head softly. “You don’t suck at this. I don’t need patted on the shoulder and told ‘there, there’, even though that’s partly what I want. But it’s not what I need.” Her shoulders moved restlessly and her eyes brightened with tears. “I hate that he’s right. But he is.” She let out a loud breath that sounded as miserable as she looked. “So are you.”

“No, he wasn’t. At all.”

“You don’t understand.” The tears in her eyes spilled over again and made my heart ache for her. “We’re all connected because of demons. They did something to us or hurt someone we know. We all share that in common.”

I wasn’t sure where she was going, so I only nodded and waited.

“Before I came here, I lived in a rough neighborhood. Grew up there. Not because we had to, obviously. Your dad is a head scientist somewhere, he’s bringing in the cash. But our family had lived in the same house for over fifty years and it was home. But because it was a bad neighborhood, he insisted on some basic defense training. A little karate, some kick boxing. I was a damn good fighter and ended up in competitions.”

“Bad ass as always.”

“Basically. But I was
that
girl, Jade, the girl who never lost or backed down from a fight. The girl who was invincible. Until.”

I nodded my understanding. “Until you weren’t.”

“Exactly. I wasn’t like the rest of you. The demon didn’t find me. It wasn’t a case of wrong place, wrong time. Or not entirely.”

“Tasha—” I’d started to reach for her, but she shook her head.

“Let me get this out, okay?” She took a deep breath. “The point is, I knew how to defend myself. Or so I thought. I didn’t go looking for the demon—didn’t know they existed, to be honest, since my dad never said—but when I found one attacking someone, I jumped in. I didn’t call for help because I wasn’t scared. I was a fighter, wasn’t I? I could handle some creep in a costume hitting a woman.”

“Tasha, you don’t have to explain to anyone, least of all to me.”

“Don’t I? Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone has a story they need to tell.”

“Okay.” I grabbed her hand before she could protest this time and gave it a hard squeeze. Even when she tried pulling it back, I held on.

“I saw the guy hitting the woman. Something else my dad taught me, to stand up for people who couldn’t stand up for themselves for whatever reason. I wasn’t allowed to start fights in my house, but I was expected to finish them.” She let out a steadying breath. “I tried fighting the guy—the demon, but I still thought it was a guy until later—and I got my butt kicked up, down, and sideways.”

“You tried to defend someone. There’s nothing wrong with that. Absolutely nothing.”

“No? Trying isn’t doing. I stormed up to the guy, so full of myself and what I’d learned. I knew karate, damnit. I’d had kickboxing training. I could kick ass. And you know what I did? I panicked, that’s what.”

“Tasha. It was a demon. Even if you didn’t know it at the time, you can’t expect to—”

“Jade, I hit the girl I was trying to help. I went to kick the demon, missed, and got her instead. I hurt
her
and not the demon.”

“It was an accident. Nothing more. You have to know that.”

“I do. Just like I know that girl wouldn’t have been as hurt if I hadn’t helped the demon out. If I would have just called for help instead of thinking I could handle it. My pride got that girl hurt. Not the demon.”

Her eyes filled with tears again, but unlike before, these trailed down her cheeks. I reached for her and pulled her to my side. “It wasn’t your fault,” I said, my tone hard. My own tears burned in the back of my throat, but I forced them back. If I started crying, then we’d both be a slobbery mess and I couldn’t help her like that.