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“It’s a false front,” my father said. “Honey, think about it. It doesn’t make any sense that creatures that have so much power and are superior to normal humans would be willing to just live among us and accept our rules. At some point their real agenda is going to come out, and it won’t be good for our kind.”

  “It’s been fifty years. Kind of a slow coup,” I argued.

  “Not for vampires that are functionally immortal or werewolves that live longer than normal people.”

  The master waved his hand impatiently. “Why are we engaging in this pointless discussion? We know what we have to do.”

  They headed for the door. I fought down the urge to throw myself at my father, beg for help. It would have been pointless, and I might not have had anything else, but I still had my pride.

  20

  Pain screamed through my body and ripped an actual scream from my throat. I sat up on my cot and hunched over my knees, groaning in agony. The ceiling lights were fluttering, a maddened blinking that sent pain stabbing through my eyes. I could feel bones moving beneath the surface of my skin, and I screamed again. Total darkness engulfed the room as the lights, even the UV lights over David, failed. Some of the overhead bulbs burst, sending glass showering down on me. Despite the darkness I was still seeing flashes and streaks of red as all the nerves in my body were lit on fire. It went on and on, and then I passed out.

  Shouts and pounding footsteps from beyond our prison door pulled me back to awareness. A trembling ran through all the muscles in my body, and I was shuddering and shaking. My body seemed alien and unfamiliar. I rolled onto my side and vomited.

  “Lynnie?” David’s voice, thread-like out of the darkness. I was perversely relieved. He hadn’t spoken or made any kind of sound for almost a day, and I had feared he was truly dying.

  “Oh, thank God, David—” I clapped a hand over my mouth. An alien voice had emerged.

  “Lynnie?” Then he added fearfully, “Who are you? Who’s there?”

  I wanted to call back, David, it’s me, but I wasn’t sure I was me. I hesitantly touched my throat. Cold air washed across my midriff and I realized my sweater was riding up above my waist and there were tears at the shoulders. My pants were also uncomfortably tight.

  The door flew open, and beams of light from flashlights being held by shaky hands went bouncing around the room. I shaded my aching eyes with a hand. The guards, the master, Ken, and several other of the top officials. They all froze and words tumbled over each other.

  “Jesus Christ!”

  “What the hell?”

  “How?”

  Ken cut through the babble. “Oh, this is wonderful!” He even clapped his hands, which made me long to rip his face off.

  The master turned on him. “What? What are you talking about?”

  “You’ve just watched evolutionary science in action. The parasite can’t propagate until it’s ingested by a vampire or werewolf, and it can only survive and grow in a human female. The Powers respond by setting an absolute ban on Making a human female, so they put in place a strictly enforced ban on a vampire or werewolf ever even biting a woman. So the parasite evolves, changes. It’s like the Wolbachia bacteria that affects wasps, but in reverse. Instead of turning males into females it turns females into males.”

  Horror washed through me. I looked down. My breasts were gone, my chest was wider, hence the torn sweater. Now that the pain was receding I could think again, could notice that my pants were way too short in the rise and far too tight as well as too short. I was clearly taller, though I had no idea how that happened. It was all too much. John, and now this horror. I had been violated as an infant and now it had happened again. Helpless, a pawn in the hands of evil men. Conflicting emotions warred in my chest—devastating, numbing grief and murderous rage. Which would win out? I decided on rage. Somehow these people would pay and pay and pay.

  The unbroken lights came back on, and the UV light once again washed over David. I looked at him. He was sitting up, his eyes wide with shock, but even the brief respite from the burning rays had given his body a chance to heal. Our asshole captors might not have noticed, but I knew that beloved face very well, and I could see that the skin was less ravaged by blisters. I stood and found it hard to find my balance. My body had become a stranger.

  “She’s bigger, taller,” one of the men said. Wonder and disgust were equally blended.

  “How is that possible?” the master asked. “Conservation of mass should have made that impossible.”

  Ken glanced around at the shattered glass on the stone floor. “I didn’t really accept the idea of magic until now, but I think it’s a mix … of science and magic. I think the creature used raw energy to fuel the change. Hence the power failure. I’d be interested to see how far it extended. Was it just this house or the neighborhood? I’d love to calculate what was required to effect this change.”

  “Yeah, study this, you son-of-a-bitch,” I yelped, and tried to charge him. I was desperate to batter at him, beat him to the ground.

  I was shocked by the level of rage and the pulsing need for violence that beat through my veins. That, together with my unfamiliar form, betrayed me. I lost my balance, my feet tangled up, and I fell hard.

  My captors all laughed, amusement yes, but a sense of relief. The master expressed it. “This is going to work, gentlemen.” They exchanged smiles and nods and even a few handshakes.

  One of the guards stepped forward. “Should we try it now?”

  “No, let’s starve this bastard for one more day. Then offer him this tasty morsel.” They laughed again and started to leave.

  Ken held back. “I’d really like to examine her. See how much the internal structure has been changed or if this is mostly just cosmetic. Monitor hormone levels, that sort of thing.”

  “Later, after it’s done, and the Spook has been released to spread the infection,” the master said.

  “I might be examining a corpse,” Ken objected.

  “Don’t be greedy, Doctor. We gave you an opportunity to study the predator, but our objective is the priority. Your research is a curiosity that won’t have a lot of relevance after we return the world to human control.”

  “Can I at least do an external exam now?” the scientist asked.

  The masons exchanged glances, reached an agreement. “I don’t see why not.”

  They left. Ken was eyeing me. I backed away. I knew what was coming was going to be incredibly humiliating. The guards closed in on me.

  * * *

  It had been humiliating as hell to submit to my privates being inspected. Creepy as hell to accept that my privates had changed. I had considered trying to struggle, but unfamiliarity with my changed body would have made that difficult, and a wild thought had occurred to me during the inspection. My guards were as disturbed and weirded out by what had happened as I was, but I noticed they handled me exactly as they had before the change. It gave me an idea.

  After they left I straightened my clothes as best I could. The zipper on my pants made it partway, but there was no chance I could close the top button. I then sidled over to where David lay cooking in the circle of light. I knelt down on the floor next to him. He pried open his eyelids, which were gummed shut by the weeping blisters that covered his face.

  “Don’t,” he croaked. I could barely distinguish the word.

  I backed off a bit, but not much because I needed him to hear. “Why not?”

  “You smell … different. Right. Not sure … can … control myself. So hungry.”

  “David, once you feed how fast will you regain some strength?”

  “We’ve discussed—”

  “Just answer the question, damn it!”

  “Quickly.” His eyes reddened as if flames were dancing deep in the irises and he suddenly growled and grabbed at me.

  I gave a squeak of alarm, which sounded ludicrous in my new baritone, fell back on my butt, and scooted away from him. A rough spot on the stone caught on the material of my w
ool slacks and ripped the seat. For some reason that bothered me worse than any of the rest of the horror I’d endured. It was deflection, as any shrink could have told me, but it was the final indignity to have my butt cheek hanging out. I burst into tears.

  “Lynnie, Lynnie. I’m sorry…”

  “It wasn’t you,” I snorted and sobbed. “I tore my pants.”

  “Oh … uh … okay. I’m sorry … scared you.”

  “’S okay…” I mopped at my cheeks.

  He groaned. “Want you.”

  “Well you can’t have me. Look, just be ready, okay?” I whispered. “And … uh … don’t hold back.”

  I retreated, and began pacing the cellar, circling David, but keeping close to the walls. I was testing out my balance, finding the center of gravity for this unfamiliar body. Years of dressage had given me incredible isometric control over different muscles groups. I applied that now, locating muscles and flexing them. I was only going to have one chance.

  The key rattled in the lock, and the guards came in with my dinner tray. I bit the inside of my cheek bringing tears to my eyes, but it wasn’t enough to really set me to bawling. In the past, I would have remembered when my father left me on the pier when he’d taken me at age eight to live with Meredith and that would have gotten the waterworks flowing. Now that memory just brought rage, not sorrow. I thought of John, but that too, brought rage and the promise of vengeance. I was desperate, I needed them to see weakness. My brain was flitting from memory to memory and then I recalled the night when my first horse had died and the tears came.

  The men exchanged glances as I turned to face them with tears running down my face.

  “Come and eat,” the dark-haired one said. “I think this will be over soon,” he added and his tone was kind.

  And one of you will be dead soon, I thought.

  * * *

  A few hours later the leaders of the cabal arrived. Both Ken and my father were with them. He stared at me in horror and fascination, extended a hand, and said with a mix of wonder and doubt, “Lynnie?”

  “Yeah, Daddy, it’s me. Happy? You’ve got two sons now.” He flinched at my tone. “Of course, I’m probably going to be dead soon.”

  My father looked like he wanted to say something, but the master pushed him back. “Enough. Let’s finish this.”

  The men’s attitude seemed calmer, more confident. The guards took my arms and frog-marched me to David, who was twitching, rolling from side to side as his flesh continued to burn away layer by layer. I resisted, but only a little. Close enough now to see that the blazing light was back in his eyes. David’s hands were flexing, reaching for me, and those terrifying nails were extruding from his fingertips.

  “Look at that,” Ken said excitedly. “The attraction is overwhelming now that the impediment of the host being female has been removed.”

  “We know from the ancient texts we’re supposed to release the vampire after it’s fed to spread the contagion, but how can we be sure that will happen?” another officer asked.

  “Look at him.” Ken gestured at David. “He’s beside himself, completely attracted to the host. Once he drinks I’m pretty sure the pheromones that are attracting him to the host will propagate in his body, along with the pathogens that are going to kill him. But before he dies he’ll become a lure to both Suckers and Hounds. A regularly little honeypot.” I hated hearing those pejorative words coming out of Ken’s mouth. “Just make sure you release him in a target-rich environment.”

  “But will they? Bite him, I mean,” my dad asked.

  Ken shrugged. “There’s no prohibition against Hounds and Vamps biting each other since they’re all male. That one”—another nod toward David—“is going to be irresistible. I’m also going to bet he’ll be driven to attack. The parasite is going to force him to spread the infection. He’ll be bitten, the pathogen and the pheromones will propagate in the next one, and it will spread out exponentially from there.”

  “He’ll warn them!” I yelled. Since David was growling and howling and jerking at his chains that seemed like a rather faint hope. Or maybe he would act so crazy he’d just get locked up before he ran across another of the Powers.

  Ken gave me a condescending and pitying look. “Have you ever seen a host under the control of a parasite? It can force creatures to kill themselves if that’s in the interest of the parasite. He’ll follow the evolutionary imperative set by the parasite.”

  “Enough,” the master snapped. “While that’s all very fascinating, we’re not in a biology class.”

  I was forced onto my knees, head jerked to the side, throat offered. We were all in our familiar positions. The guards were pinioning my arms and using me as a human shield. David, his mouth opening and closing like a baby’s seeking a tit, teeth clashing together. Me, heart thundering, knowing if he dug those fangs into my throat we were both doomed. He wouldn’t sip. He would rend and tear, and that was, perversely, what I was counting on. David lunged at me. I tensed every muscle, and spun my body hard to the right. The man holding my left arm was taken by surprise at my strength and leverage. He lost his footing, stumbled on the rough flagstone floor, and fell against David. Everyone was shouting. David let out a shriek like a hunting cat.

  With my left arm now free I was able to reach across my body and scrabble at the gun in the holster at the other guard’s waist. He tried to push me away, but his partner screamed, distracting him. It was a horrible animal sound, and a gout of blood, warm and sticky, splashed across the side of my face. The fountain of gore struck the other guard full in the face. He yelled in horror.

  I had the gun. I glanced down quickly, the safety was on. I thumbed it off and did as Meredith had taught me all those years ago when I’d turned fourteen. I clutched the grip with both hands, braced, and aimed for his body mass. Somewhere deep in my conscience a little voice was yammering at me that this was murder, and I couldn’t do this, but fear, fury, desperation, and meticulous training were stronger than the little voice. This was also the man who killed John. That added to my resolve and rage. I pulled the trigger twice. Once again, the strength in my upper body and arms took me by surprise. In the past the recoil would have had the barrel climbing to the sky and I would have had to pull the gun back down level. This time it scarcely moved.

  The guard was bending over the bleeding wounds in his chest and belly, collapsing in segments, a broken puppet. I risked a glance at David. He held the body of the first guard between his hands. The guard’s throat had been torn out, and David had his face buried in the gaping wound. Blood coated his face, and his throat was working. I was rather glad the report of the gun had deafened me so I couldn’t hear what I was sure were horrible slurping sounds. I leaped to my feet and whirled to face the leaders of the cabal. My father, never a fool, was already bolting through the door. The rest were fleeing after him.

  From behind me came the muffled sound of snapping metal and the clash of chains falling on stone. Then David was at my side, naked, bloody, his face filled with rage. He leaped toward the men. He hesitated, looking hungrily at me. I took a step back and snatched the kukri off the dead guard’s belt. I held it out menacingly. “Hungry,” he grated.

  “I’m off limits, but…” I gestured at the stampeding crowd. “Buffet’s open.”

  David whirled and ran across the cellar. Most of them were through the door, but the guy bringing up the rear wasn’t so lucky. David fell on his back, grabbed him by the hair, and jerked his head back. David buried his fangs in the man’s neck, tore open the jugular, and drank deep.

  One of the Masonic officers paused to try and shut the door. I fired twice to discourage that behavior. One shot grazed his shoulder. His mouth worked, though I couldn’t hear the yell through my ringing ears, and he bolted. David dropped his latest meal with the air of a man discarding a melon rind. His belly was hugely distended, filled with the blood of two humans. Even as I watched, the swelling began to slowly recede as, bit by bit, the blisters that cove
red his body began to heal.

  He was staring at me. I wanted to think it was admiration and appreciation of our daring escape, or at least the first step in our daring escape, but it wasn’t that. He was forcing air through his nose and mouth. “I smell you. More than just blood. It’s maddening. I want you.”

  I once again brandished the big knife at him.

  “You’d kill me?”

  “To keep you from killing the rest of your kind and the werewolves as well. Yeah, I’d kill you. And you’d do the same if you were thinking straight.” It was bravado. Only the desperate knowledge that my life and David’s life depended on me pulling that trigger had allowed me to shoot the guard. There was no way I was going to find the strength to kill my friend.

  “Once I’m back to full strength you wouldn’t be able to stop me.”

  I stiffened. “Oh yeah? Well, you can…” I broke off, thrown off balance by my challenging stance and aggressive tone. I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead and relaxed from my stiff-legged pose. “Wow,” I muttered. “Testosterone really is poison, isn’t it?”

  David gave a shout of laughter. “Oh, Linnet, my dear.”

  I pointed at him. “And that’s the other reason you won’t do it. You do care for me and you wouldn’t violate me that way.” Tears flooded my eyes. “I’ve already been violated … so … much.”

  “Oh my dear heart. No, but the desire is overwhelming. I’ll fight it, but I’ve got to get away from you and soon.”

  “Right, yeah. We need to get the hell out of here before they come back with chain saws or torches and gasoline. You lead,” I added with an abundance of caution.

  David started for the door. I paused to drop the clip and check my ammunition. Five bullets remained. I ran back to the body of the other guard and took his pistol too. Another thought occurred and I riffled through his pockets and held up a cell phone with a cry of delight.

  It was awkward with a gun in each hand, but I started to dial 911. “And you’re going to tell them to come … where?” David asked in his smoothest and snottiest vampire tone.