On the Edge of Humanity (20 page)

His eyes avoided mine when he looked up at me. A chill skittered up my arms. What did he mean by male family member?

“Sir?” A guy seated in the section over from us raised his hand.

“Yes, Thatch?”

“Do we know if Edmund has the commander in custody?”

“We don’t,” Webb replied.

“Lieutenant?” Another vamp spoke.

“Moffet?”

“Since the commander is family, wouldn’t Patrick just need to drink his brother’s blood? Wouldn’t that complete one of their plans?” Moffet asked.

“It’s not as easy as you drinking your father’s blood. There are a lot of factors against Patrick being successful. The first problem is Commander Mason and Patrick are from different mothers. We know the elder Mason was a vamp, but we also know he’s dead—the second problem. We don’t know if Patrick and the commander have the same blood type, which is important to the change—third problem. Aside from all this, the most important thing to consider is the genetics. Natural-born vampires are sired by a male vampire who mates with a human female. But that human female must have a blood type of Vel negative
,
which is a very rare blood type. And we don’t know if Patrick even carries the vampire gene.” Webb sipped from a cup on the table.

Ben was squeezing my hand so tight it was starting to turn blue.

I slid him a quick glance and he eased up.

“I feel like we’re in medical school,” he whispered.

Ben was right again. This was Genetics 101. I didn’t know what to process first. I was trying to understand the last part of what Webb said about the blood type of the human female. That meant my mother had a rare blood type. I was starting to relax a little. I wasn’t the only weird one carrying a rare blood type.

While the blood types were one thing, I couldn’t get my head around the idea of vampires and humans mating. I shook my head trying to clear it. Sam was the topic, not the mating of vampires.

I leaned in. “Is Webb talking about Sam? Is he the male family member?” I held my breath.

Tripp peered down at me. “I don’t know. Let’s listen.”

“Given what we discussed, we don’t know if Patrick will be successful in genetically engineering a blood serum, but one thing’s for sure: he’s one of the best in his field in this country, so let’s not forget that. If anyone can do this, it will be him. Any more questions before I move on?”

Two vamps raised their hands at the same time. Webb called on some dude named Talon first.

“You mentioned that the Plutariums want to build an army. Change humans into vampires. Is that even possible? Is sounds like cloning, if you ask me.”

“I can’t answer that. What I can share with everyone, which is common knowledge to the medical community, is that Dr. Mason has had a medical breakthrough in taking a rat and changing that rat’s genetic features. While this is far, far from changing a human into a vampire, we need to be cautious. We’ll discuss more of this as we find out more information.”

Great! But what did that mean? I wasn’t getting any warm and fuzzy feelings here. Besides he still hadn’t elaborated on the male donor. I was about to raise my hand.

“Sanderson?” Webb pointed to the other vamp who had raised his hand earlier.

“Do we suspect Cmdr. Mason is the male donor?” Sanderson asked.

“Thank you,” I muttered.

“We believe that the Plutariums have—” Webb looked directly at me, or so I thought.

Tripp grabbed my other hand and held it in my lap. He had a strong grip like Ben.

“We believe…it’s Sam Mason, the commander’s son.”

At that moment, all the blood rushed to my feet and I tried to stand up. I suspected even Ben knew to hold me down. My heart raced, then a warm, tingling sensation settled over me. Was Tripp using his power to calm me? My muscles relaxed and my consciousness was clouded in a fog.

“I don’t…understand.” My voice quivered. “Why Sam?”

Webb focused his attention in our direction. Tripp shook his head. I imagined Webb asked if I were okay through his telepathic connection.

“Let’s take a fifteen minute break and be back here at eight sharp,” Webb said to the crowd.

Some of the vampires filed out of the room, while a few hung out talking. One had cornered Dr. Vieira to probably chat about that needle.

I covered my face with my hands and tears began to fall. Why was this happening?

A hand touched my back. “Jo, they don’t know for sure if it’s Sam. Webb said he
believed
, he didn’t say it
was
Sam,” Ben said with a soft voice.

“Webb wants to talk to us,” Tripp said. “Ben, take her arm.”

I stood up and wiped my nose with the back of my hand. “I can walk.”

Tripp led us down the wide steps to the bottom of the meeting room. A door to the right of the conference table was open and a light trickled out.

“In here.” Tripp pointed to the door and waited for Ben and me to go ahead of him.

“Have a seat both of you.” Webb waved a hand at the table and metal chairs, which were the only items in the dimly lit room.

Ben and I sat down, while Tripp stood at the door with his hands crossed in front of him.

“Jo, I’m sorry you had to hear about Sam in there. We don’t know for sure if your Uncle Patrick has Sam or not. We’re speculating. But it’s a realization that we have to consider.” Webb bit his bottom lip.

“But why Sam?” Ben asked. “Why not their father?”

“The Plutariums could very well have both of them. We can’t confirm the validity of what we suspect because the Plutariums’ compound is just as heavily guarded as our own. Remember what I explained. It’s not as easy as Patrick drinking the commander’s blood.” Webb looked directly at me as he spoke. “What we suspect, and Dr. Vieira is researching this, is that Patrick needs the DNA of a family member who has not
yet
become a vampire. He will need to isolate Sam’s adolescent vampire gene for him to study and test it. Plus, he will need Sam’s blood to extract the white blood cells and then the marrow. I know this is a lot of information and probably doesn’t make sense, but the bottom line is if Patrick can study Sam’s genetic make-up, then Patrick is halfway to reaching his goal.” Webb sat back in his chair.

Was Sam being used as a lab rat? My stomach twisted into a knot of nerves.

“What else does he need?” I asked.

“He will need to use a vampire’s blood to create the serum,” Tripp said. “And that blood has to come from a family member. One key element, though, is that Patrick’s blood type has to match your dad’s blood type.” Tripp had moved away from the door and was now standing next to Ben.

“So that’s why we think he has both your dad and Sam,” Webb added.

I blew out all the air in my lungs. I was still a little hazy from Tripp’s medicinal touch.

“Can’t you just put together a team and break into their compound?” Ben asked. “You’re SEALs. That’s what you guys do.”

“Sure, we could. But we don’t think Sam is at their compound,” Tripp said.

“No, that would be too easy. The Plutariums are waiting for us to do just that. However, they could have Commander Mason there,” Webb explained.

“Then where’s Sam?” Ben asked.

“We don’t know. We’re checking a few places we suspect, but haven’t been able to confirm anything yet,” Webb said. His voice sounded tired.

“Why separate the two?” I asked.

“Remember I told you that your father is a very powerful vampire?” Webb asked.

I nodded.

“Well, they would need to lock him up at their place in a very secure room and keep him sedated until they needed him.”

“A little lost here. What do you mean by powerful?” Ben asked.

Webb had told me my dad was a powerful vampire, but he didn’t elaborate on it and I was just as lost as Ben.

“His mental abilities far outweigh any other living vampire. When they crossover, all vampires go through physical changes, and when they emerge on the other side, they’re stronger, their eyesight is ten times sharper and their hearing is better than the canine species. But we also inherit one or two unique mental acuities, such as the ability to compel humans or speak to other vampires through a telepathic connection. Those are just a couple of examples.” Webb paused and stood up. He walked around the room with his head down. It looked as if he were struggling with something…or stalling.

He stopped and clasped his hands together with his fingers touching his mouth. Then Tripp nodded at Webb.

I was beginning to hate this telepathic thing.

Ben stared at Webb waiting for him to speak.

“There are no other vampires that we know of who have more than two mental acuities—other than Commander Mason. He not only has the ability to do what we can do, but he also has a unique psych strength that no other vampire has—he can
read minds
. He can get in your head and read your thoughts. This ability is something that the Plutariums are concerned about. They think Commander Mason will discover the ins and outs of their plan.”

“So why not just kill my father? Then they wouldn’t have to worry about him reading anything. Why go through all this trouble of blood serums and kidnapping my brother?” I asked.

Webb began pacing. It seemed he wasn’t ready to answer any of my questions. As I waited for him to speak, I thought of how easily I could kill my father. Better yet, maybe I could take a contract out on his head. Then all of this would be over with. Although, with Sam missing, it probably wasn’t a good idea right now.

“Edmund Rain,” Webb said, jarring me from my sinister thoughts, “the leader of the Plutariums, is a twisted individual. He and your father go way back and, at one time, were best friends. Well, Edmund got mixed up with the wrong people and he was dishonorably discharged. He believes your father betrayed him. Now he wants revenge, not only against your father, but the government as well. Killing your father would be too easy. Vampires settle their scores by making their enemies suffer for a long time before ending their lives. Edmund knows if he’s caught committing any crimes, our vampire laws are strict. The penalty could be as high as death. He has a plan. Knowing Edmund, he’s going to make your father’s life a living hell. If he’s successful with creating a vampire army, then he’ll kill your father and his whole family. Until then, we have our work cut out for us.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was I only a pawn in the bigger scheme of things? It seemed the Sentinels were using me as their sacrificial lamb while Sam was being used as one by the Plutariums. Foster care was looking better by the minute.

Ben stood up and sidled next to me. He rubbed his chin. A small amount of facial hair had grown in since we left for school this morning.

“Back to Sam. How we going to find him?” Ben asked.

It seemed clear Ben didn’t care about my father or his enemies. He wanted to find Sam. I wanted to jump up and hug him. But I was also surprised at how serious and in control Ben seemed. During the last few hours I’d seen his emotions rise and fall between shock, horror, excitement and anger. This demeanor of bravery was new.

“We’ve been looking. Our team has been following the Plutariums. Understand, though, it doesn’t take long for them to figure out what we’re doing. The vampire senses are strong and sharp, so it’s hard to catch them off their game,” Tripp said.

“We need…to...” Webb stood still and rubbed his right hand over his face. He seemed to be struggling with the words.

“Sir, do you want me to explain?” Tripp asked.

Webb shook his head. “No.” He took a deep breath and knelt down with one knee in front of me. “Jo?” He paused.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The gesture looked as if he were about to propose. He had one hand on his knee. I studied him as he looked up at me through his long, dark lashes. I tried to ferret out his thoughts, but the doleful expression etched on his face spoke volumes. I grabbed the seat of the metal chair and held my breath.

My heart raced and blood snaked through every pore in me. He raised his hand from his knee and placed it on mine. His touch sent a spark, which rifled through me, slowing my heartbeat. My emotions were scrambled, as if a mixture of fear and anticipation were fighting each other for control.

I dropped my head. He touched the bottom of my chin and tilted it up. Our eyes met and my body trembled. I squeezed the chair tighter, bracing for the dreadful news.

“Hey, man, don’t touch her,” Ben said sharply.

Webb snapped up his head and glared at Ben. His eyes vacillated from blue to black. Did Ben think Webb was going to hurt me? After the incident with Dr. Vieira, I imagined Ben wasn’t too trusting of the vampires in the building.

I uncurled my fingers from around the chair and gently touched Webb’s face. He turned his gaze toward me. Tripp grabbed Ben and pulled him away from my chair.

“What is it?” I whispered, words barely audible, hands shaking.

Webb cleared his throat as he grabbed my hand. “Jo, I need you to be prepared for something. When we spoke in my office, I mentioned to you about choices, about choosing our path. Do you remember?” His eyes were pitch-black now with a hint of red dots inside.

I nodded, afraid to speak, but thankful he held my hand.

“If we do find your brother, he may be on his…deathbed. Meaning, for us to save him, he will need your blood to survive.” He paused.

Save him? Deathbed? Did I just hear him correctly?

My hand trembled beneath Webb’s, while the other one was gripping the metal chair, holding on to it for dear life. I surveyed each of the men in the room. Tripp had his head tilted a fraction, looking at me. Ben was staring at me with a pained expression and Webb watched as if he were searching for a green light from me so he could continue.

“My blood? You mean transfusion?” I asked. “I can share some of my blood with him.” I prayed Webb wouldn’t let go of my hand. I was afraid the rest of my body would start shaking and I wouldn’t be able to stop. This was one of those moments that I wanted Tripp to hold me, to calm me.

“I’m not sure you understand, Jo. What I mean is, Sam will need your
vampire
blood to survive,” Webb whispered.

My body went numb. I sat statue-still and couldn’t move. I probably looked as pale as the white tile floor beneath my feet. Forget my suspicions about things happening in threes.
No, the universe is spitting out terrible, horrible things in tens. What the hell is going on? Why can’t I catch a break?

“We don’t know for sure if it will come to that, but you do need to be prepared. You do have a choice,” Tripp chimed in.

A choice? What kind of choice was that?

“I don’t…don’t…even know what that means. Are you saying that I need to become a…vampire…to save my brother?”

“It may come to that. We’re trying to find Sam first, to confirm his physical state. We want you to be prepared to make the decision as soon as we know. It will take at least twenty-four to forty-eight hours for you to make the transition. This is strictly your decision,” Webb explained.

Tears spilled, overflowing freely down my cheeks. Wrapping my head around the fact that vampires were real was one thing. Asking me to become one was an entirely different story. The thought of immortality was nauseating. I couldn’t imagine walking around this earth for eternity. I had a life, albeit not a perfect one, but I believed the future held promise for me, for Sam. Now my world was turned completely upside down and I didn’t know which way to go.