The Chosen Ones (24 page)

“My lab.”

Lab. I searched my mind, trying
to define the word but the only thing that came to mind was
Frankenstein,
and that made me more than
nervous. It was a place where he worked, studied, obviously. Thane moved into
the room even more cautiously than I did. Either he was showing his emotions
more often, or I was actually coming to understand the dhampir.

I went to the shelves and picked
up a jar. What seemed to be an eyeball floated in some sort of liquid.
Swallowing down the bile in my throat, I quickly replaced the jar and turned
toward my grandfather. “You’re a scientist?”

“Doctor. Or I was a doctor, at
one time, for the chosen ones.”

He’d been a doctor? He’d seen
those compounds, had known why they were there. When he’d escaped, had he bothered
to try and help anyone else, or had he immediately hidden away, thinking only
of himself?

A skeleton in the far corner
caught my attention. A full-sized body. “What is that?”

“A skeleton,” he said gruffly.

“A human?” I asked, feeling
slightly ill. How the hell had he gotten a skeleton?

“No,” Thane replied. “A
beautiful one.”

A beautiful one. A monster. Yet,
now a mere pile of bones. I moved slowly toward the object and stared hard at
it. I had to remind myself that it was dead, it couldn’t hurt me. The huge
gaping holes for eyes, the laughing mouth of teeth, all harmless. “How is it
different from ours?”

“It’s not. Not really.” He moved
toward it. “That’s the odd thing. These ridges, they’re where the muscle
attaches to bone. They’re bigger than in most human skeletons, but that’s it as
far as I can tell.”

“What does it mean?” I asked. I
really wanted to know where he had gotten it, but didn’t dare ask for fear of
his response.

He lifted the arm, making it
wave. “It means that it’s not the skeletal structure giving them their
strength.”

“What is?”

“Their blood, their genes, the
brain… I’m not sure.”

I glanced at Thane to see how he
was taking this all, but he was leaning nonchalantly against the door frame,
arms crossed, face passive. I took in a deep breath and faced my grandfather. “You
were a doctor. Is that how you escaped? Or did someone help you? Like Thane?”

“On my own.” He moved toward a
shelf and pulled down a bunch of books. “When I had my chance, I took it. This
was before we had help. Before your Thane.” He paused near his jars of
specimens, his back to us. I didn’t miss the way his hands trembled as they
rested on a shelf. “I was making sure humans were healthy, only to know that it
didn’t matter. They would be murdered anyway. It was slowly driving me insane.”

I wasn’t quite sure if he was
sane even now, but I was glad to know he had a conscience. I thought about our
doctor back at the compound and how odd he seemed, how anxious and timid. I
wanted to hate him, but couldn’t for I knew that one day they would have no use
for him.
 

Thane strolled toward the
shelves, and picked up a jar that looked deceptively like part of a brain.
“They’ve decided to use blood suckers now as doctors. No more humans.”

“Yes, I heard.”

Heard from who? It was new to
me. I wondered what had happened to our doctor, but pushed the thought aside. We
had more important things to worry about, and as much as the room fascinated me,
I wondered if Grandfather had brought us here for a purpose other than showing
off his collection.

Thane replaced the jar. “They
use the chosen ones less and less these days. They don’t trust them.”

“Imagine that,” I whispered.

Thane looked at my grandfather. “You
said you have something?”

“Yes!” He struggled to his knees
and gripped the corner of a floorboard. I shifted, uneasy. But surprisingly, the
slat lifted and he pulled out a black case of some sort that had been hidden.

With a grin, he stood. “The
ground keeps it cool and the floorboards hide the case.”
 

“What is it?” I asked.

“You’ll see. So impatient.” He
settled the case on top of the table. Thane still stood by the shelves, but I
moved closer, unable to resist. “This, is the answer to our problems.”

He flipped open the lid. The
case was filled with bottles and bottles of clear liquid. At least fifty, maybe
more. Water? Vaccines? What was he getting at?

He just stood there, grinning,
as if we should understand.

“What is it?” I finally asked.

He huffed out a breath of
annoyance. “Our way of destroying the beautiful ones, of course.”

When we didn’t respond, too
confused to speak, he sighed loudly, raking his hands through his white hair so
it stood like a puff of a cloud atop his head. “If we can taint the human blood
so that vampires can’t ingest it, yet it doesn’t make the humans sick…well, we
might have a fighting chance.”

Taint human blood? That sounded
dangerous. “How does it work?”

“Simple. We merely need to
inject the liquid into the blood stream.” He pulled a bottle free with
trembling fingers, that wide, demented grin back in place. “This,” he said,
holding up the long needle, filled with liquid. “Will save us all.”
 

I slid Thane a glance, hoping he
would respond. But he seemed just as surprised and unsure as I did. In other
words, no help.

Grandfather looked at us
expectantly. “So, who’s first?”

Chapter
14

Thane wouldn’t let Grandfather
give me the injection. And considering I wasn’t quite sure if he was crazy or
not, I didn’t argue. We would wait, he had insisted. I wasn’t sure what we were
waiting for and I realized that there might come a time when I would be forced
to take the serum, but I trusted his instincts, and more importantly, I trusted
mine.

And although I hadn’t gotten the
“miracle cure,” as grandfather called it, I felt safe there on that island,
where my grandfather had lived in peace. Safe for days as Thane and I rested,
waiting, while Grandfather went over his serum again and again, testing it on
various wild animals, and even himself, to make sure it wouldn’t kill humans.

But I knew the safety was an
illusion and Thane was right, in this world we should be very leery of any cure
that seemed too good to be true. And so we would wait some more. And a part of
me, that selfish part, didn’t mind waiting. I liked it here.

I waded out into the water up to
my thighs, staring at the area where I knew the mainland was located. Out
there, somewhere, but it was too cloudy to see. Was Will still alive? Did Kelly
still live? Tony? Or had one of them led the others into a trap?

I brushed my hands over the surface
of the water, watching the ripples move out toward the shore and wondered if
those tiny waves might make it to the mainland. Kelly had never taught me to
swim. Probably never would. Not her death, not even her possible betrayal could
bring me to tears. I didn’t cry anymore. I couldn’t. My emotions had dried up
and at times I wondered if I was still human. Even seeing the books in
Grandfather’s house didn’t thrill me like they would have two months ago. Yes,
I’d desperately wanted to read them, but merely to gain knowledge that might
defeat the beautiful ones. Not for pleasure.

I sank into the water, letting
the cool waves reach my shoulders. This, though, felt as close to bliss as I
supposed I would ever feel again. I could admit that much. I didn’t even mind
the salt water that occasionally splashed into my mouth, tasting bitter and
tangy. The water cleaned my body, the smooth pebbles on the bottom massaged my
feet and the cold numbed the aches and pains.

But my moment didn’t last long. I
heard the snap of a branch and spun around to face the land. Thane stood on the
shore, casually watching me. I found it somewhat amusing that he made noise to
warn me whenever he approached, when he could have walked quietly by and I
wouldn’t have noticed. Amusing and yes, somewhat endearing.

“Swimming or trying to escape?”

I flushed. “Swimming. Well,
trying. I don’t really know how.”

He pulled his shirt over his
head.

Startled, I stiffened. I wore my
underwear and shirt but I still felt underdressed with him near. I’d never been
this embarrassed around Will. What was it about Thane that made me feel like a
bumbling fool? “What are you doing?”

“Same as you. Swimming.”

I spun around, giving my back to
him as he reached for the waistband of his trousers. “I sort of wanted to be
alone.”

“Being alone is dangerous.”

“We’re on an island.”

I could hear him move into the
water, the gentle splash of the waves against his body. “Never let your guard
down, Jane.”

I watched him from the corner of
my eye as he dove into the water and swam out, a blur of a man underneath the
surface, like one of the mere-folk I’d read about in a book. He stood some
distance away and raked his wet hair back from his face. I tried not to stare,
but he was truly stunning. Even the scars didn’t take away from his fine
features, and for some reason the water made his eyes look even bluer.

“Just when you think you have
someone, or something figured out, is probably when they surprise you, turn on
you.”

Was he speaking of the beautiful
ones or himself?

“And do you trust my
grandfather?” I asked.

He lifted his dark brows. “Are
you asking because you don’t?”

I shrugged, wading a little left,
further away from him. Looking at his beautiful face, his muscled chest, those
brilliant blue eyes, made it hard to think. I knew what I was
feeling…attraction. But how could that be? I didn’t like him, I didn’t trust
him…did I? “I learned not to trust anyone.”

The amusement in his gaze seeped
away and he looked out onto the water, pensive and moody in a way he rarely was.
“There are people you can trust, you know. But when it comes down to it, you
only have yourself.”

I frowned.

“I don’t find it depressing,
although some might. It’s not as if people don’t care about each other. It’s
that everyone has their own issues to deal with. It just means you should
always rely upon your own instincts and trust yourself over others. The power
is in your own hands.”

I didn’t feel powerful. Maybe
that was my problem, I was having a hard time trusting myself. I wished I’d
been stronger those first two weeks, I’d lost such precious time. And why
hadn’t I sensed that someone in our group was a traitor? “You didn’t answer my
question though. Can we trust him?”

“You can. He means you no harm.”
He went under water and I could see him swim ahead. What did he mean by that
response? He pushed through the surface about ten feet from me and brushed his
hair from his face again. This was the closest I’d ever been to seeing Thane
relaxed, at ease…dare I say enjoying himself?

“And you?” I asked, not letting
him get away with his half answers. “Can you trust him?”

He turned toward me, grinning. A
smile that made me catch my breath. A smile I’d never seen on him. In that
moment he looked young, handsome, like any other man. “I believe he’s seriously
thinking of keeping me here as a specimen to study.”

I gasped, horrified.

He laughed, truly amused. “Don’t
worry. It won’t happen.”

“But you won’t hurt him, will
you?”

He rolled his eyes skyward. “Glad
you’re worried about my welfare.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“No. I won’t hurt him.” He held
out his hand. “Now come here.”

A V formation of geese flew
overhead, squawking and momentarily distracting me. “Why?”

“You need to learn to swim,
right?”

Startled, I tore my gaze from
the sky and focused on him. He wanted me to be close to him? A least when we’d
slept in that cabin we’d been wearing clothes. Being that close and wearing
practically nothing wouldn’t be proper. Just the thought sent an embarrassed
flush to my face. “No. We don’t have time.”

He started toward me. “We have
plenty of time.”

Before I could come to my senses
and lunge for the shore, he grabbed my hand and pulled me close. So close I
fell into his chest. Horrified, I shoved my free palm into his shoulder and
pushed back. “Thane, no!”

“Jane,” he said wryly. “You
trusted me enough to swim you across the ocean.”

“Trusted? Ha!” I frowned at him
as he pulled me further away from shore, the water growing colder with each
step. “I didn’t have a choice!”

He paused chest deep and tugged
me toward him, the tips of my toes skimming the smooth pebbles below. “Trust
me.”

I swallowed hard, my mouth
suddenly dry. “You told me to trust no one.”

He grinned, a flash of white
teeth, and that’s when I saw them…the canines. Sharp and pointed, just like the
beautiful ones, and reminding me just in time that he was only half human. The
unease that was slowly drifting away returned.

“Just those who can’t be
trusted,” he said.

I shivered, tearing my gaze away
from his mouth and focusing on his eyes. Thane was a blood drinker. A vampire.
As much as I was attracted to him, I couldn’t forget what he truly was. Sensing
my discomfort, Thane’s smile fell. Had I hurt his feelings? Was that truly
possible?

“And I can trust you?” I
whispered.

He pulled me further into the
water, his hands warm on mine. “What do you want to know, Jane? I have nothing
to hide.”

I frowned. This was getting much
too personal. “We’re going too far.”

“Too far? You haven’t even asked
me anything.”

The tips of my toes no longer
touched the bottom. “No, I mean the water.”

He pulled me closer, supporting
me where the water didn’t. “You need to learn to swim.”

But the further out we went, the
more fear began to weave its way through my body. I could drown, and I had to
trust Thane to protect me. Thane, a man who was half monster. “Why? I’ve been
fine not knowing all this time.”