On the Edge of Humanity (31 page)

Kate leaned against the door watching me. Why wasn’t she helping me?

As if she read my mind she said, “You need to learn to adjust to your new body. You’ve been through hell and back. Nourishment is the key and I don’t mean blood. Human food will help.”

“Vampires get hungry for human food?” I asked.

“Girl, you have a lot to learn about the vampire world. My brother was right. You’ve either watched too many vampire movies or have read too many vampire books.”

I wasn’t in the mood to argue with her. I was more irritated that Webb had discussed my immaturity about the vampire world with her. What else had he told her? I guessed it wasn’t important right now. I needed to get my tush in gear and take a shower, but now that Kate mentioned food, my stomach growled.

I managed to shuffle to the door. I was afraid to pick up my feet. My legs were weak, but all my other body parts appeared okay.

I stood in the lab, glancing around. Everything seemed so new. My senses were sharp. My vision was crystal clear. I could read the anatomy chart that was plastered on the far back wall of the lab. Smells of alcohol, blood and rotten eggs washed through me. Noises that I hadn’t heard before buzzed in my ears. Computers hummed, lab machines beeped and other noises wracked my eardrums. But one steady beat caught my attention.

I walked over to Ben’s room and peered in through the glass. He was still lying on his back, eyes closed, not moving. His chest rose with every artificial breath of the ventilating machine. Bandages were still wrapped around his neck. I grabbed hold of the doorknob and turned it. The door was locked. I frowned. Why was the door locked?

I tried it again when Kate called out, “You’re not allowed in there. Now, let’s go.”

What did she mean I wasn’t allowed in there? Why not? I knew my father told me it wouldn’t be good for me to see Ben now, but he never said to stay out of his room. I peered through the glass one more time, then reluctantly met Kate at the double doors.

I was beginning to realize that my father’s presence was going to be a challenge…I smiled. More for him than for me.

Steven Mason’s room wasn’t just a room, it was an entire wing of the fourth floor. According to Kate, the fourth floor split into two sections: one half was the medical facility and the other half was my father’s apartment.

My mouth hung open as I surveyed the penthouse of the alpha-alpha vampire. The military didn’t spare any expense in making sure that Steven Mason was taken care of. The place was warm and inviting with a large, tan fabric sofa, two recliners that matched the couch, a square cherry wood coffee table and pillows galore decorating the living room. The best part was the thick, plush carpeting that covered the floor.

I walked barefoot, relishing the softness between my toes as I made my way to the wall of windows that lined two walls of the apartment, meeting together in a corner and framing half of the living room. I stopped in front of the window, just out of reach of the sun’s rays, which shone through, casting a beam of heat on the floor. I was reluctant to step into the sun’s path, afraid if I did, I would turn into a pile of ashes.

“It’s fine. You won’t burn,” Kate said. She walked up and stood beside me in the sun’s beam of light. “See, it doesn’t hurt. It actually feels good. While sun doesn’t affect us like you think it does, we can’t be out in it for hours on end. Although as you get older, your body will become accustomed to it and you can withstand its power longer,” she explained.

I wasn’t ready to test her theory, although she was proof of not bursting into flames.

“What’s in all these buildings?” I asked as I pointed to the three buildings that surrounded the courtyard below.

“Over there is where we keep our prisoners, when we have any.” She flicked her finger toward the building opposite us. “The two other buildings are empty at the moment.” She pointed, directing my attention to the brick structures that stood on the left and right side of us.

I thought of Jonah and Dr. Case and if they took up residence in a cell in that building. How did they prevent a strong vampire like Jonah from escaping?

“We have to get moving. Once we get through this mission, we’ll have more time for a tour. Your dad’s bedroom is in the back corner behind the kitchen. There’s also a bathroom in there.” She sat down on the couch and pulled a magazine from the coffee table.

Before I turned, something below caught my attention. I squinted to focus on the shadowy figure running across the courtyard. My gaze moved from right to left following the man who was looking behind him as if someone or something were chasing him. Who was that? Then the man stopped and rummaged around in the back pocket of his camouflage pants and pulled out a cell phone. Was that one of the Sentinel guards? Then a phone rang in the apartment, startling me. I spun around and looked at Kate.

“Ignore it. It’s your father’s private line. It will go directly to his cell phone if he doesn’t pick it up in here. Um, shower, clothes, dress—in that order. Hurry, Jo.”

Was the guard trying to call my father? Maybe he was keeping his commander informed of what he was doing. It seemed logical that all the guards were instructed to do that.

I shrugged and traipsed off, passing the kitchen, which was separated from the living room by a large island. The sounds of the appliances hummed loudly in my ears as I entered the hallway. Every little noise no matter how soft or loud, drove me crazy and set my eardrums rattling and my head pounding. Somehow I needed to filter out all the background noise, but I didn’t know how.

I walked down the hall, passing a bathroom and two empty rooms before opening the door at the end of the hall into my father’s bedroom. My jaw dropped when I entered. It was as if I had stepped into another world—the military world.

This wasn’t a bedroom; this was a military command center. The only thing telling me it might not be was the large king size bed that sat against the wall directly opposite me. Alongside the right and left walls were maps of the United States and other countries. Two credenzas lined half of the right wall. Above them, glass cabinets displayed a multitude of weapons. Why would my father want to sleep among all these daggers, swords and guns when there were two empty rooms in the apartment? It was as if I were in a military museum.

I walked over to the cabinets, trailing my finger along the credenzas. The first cabinet had several different types of dagger. Under each one there was a small typed card explaining the weapon above it. Out of the five daggers, one in particular caught my attention: the
British Knuckle Duster, circa 1943.
This was the dagger that Jonah used to fight Webb. The handle had finger holes with four protruding studs—for punching, according to the card. I wondered if this type of weapon would’ve really taken out Webb.

As I made my way farther down the line, there were four unique swords in different shapes and sizes. Like the daggers, each of the swords had a card underneath it explaining its origins, with the exception of one—the Sentinel sword. Unlike the red handle on Webb’s sword, the one on display had a camouflage handle, but the blade wasn’t exposed. I studied it, trying to figure out where the button to engage the blade was. I pulled on the cabinet door, but it was locked.

I had moved down to the gun section when the apartment door closed. It was weird how clearly I could hear the quiet squeak of the door from this distance. Whoever came in or went out didn’t slam it. They closed it softly, the door clicking in place. Maybe Kate left.

I didn’t move. I tried to see how good my new vampire senses were and closed my eyes, trying to tune out the noises around me.

As I stood there listening, the doorknob to the bedroom turned. I spun around, adrenaline shooting through my veins. My throat started to burn, and the room around me momentarily vanished, then reappeared.

What just happened? Was I shifting into a vampire disguise or something? I ran into the bathroom to find a mirror, not caring about the intruder. I looked down at my body. It was still me. Had my face changed? I patted myself around my cheeks, nose and mouth—still me. I pulled open a drawer in the bathroom cabinet and it flew across the room, landing on the toilet.
Jeepers, did I do that? I didn’t pull it that hard or did I? This new body is going to take some getting used to.

I looked at the contents of the drawer, which were strewn on the toilet lid and the floor below. A compact of some sort lay on the cover of the toilet.
That’s weird. Is my father using make-up?

I picked it up, opened it, and inside was not only a mirror but also several bullets. What were bullets doing in a make-up compact? I jerked my head and flared my nostrils as if I were some type of police dog. The unknown person was now in the bedroom. Unlike Kate’s cinnamon scent, this intruder had a woodsy scent.

As the bathroom doorknob turned, I jumped to the side of the door. The man walked in and my animal instinct took over. With my left hand, I grabbed the man by throat and pinned him against the marble wall near the sink. His hands wrapped around my wrist and tugged, trying to release my grip.

“Let go,” Webb said, his voice strangled.

I blinked a few times. His face faded out. It went dark for a split second before I could see again. What was happening to me?

I stumbled backwards. “You shouldn’t walk in on a girl in a bathroom, especially a vampire one.”

“I heard a crash. I thought something happened, but I see you’ve been productive,” he said as he looked around, his eyes resting on the contents of the drawer.

My cheeks suddenly burned with embarrassment. “I think I’m losing my vision,” I blurted out.

“Does the room disappear for a moment then return?” he asked.

I nodded.

“You’re eyes were shifting colors.”

“But that didn’t happen when I was human.”

“As a vampire, you’re more sensitive to things now. I’m sure your vision blurred slightly when you were human. You just didn’t notice it. As you grow into your new vampire body, you’ll find you get used to things like that.” He walked to the door. “I put your clothes on the bed. Your father is waiting for you. So hurry up and get downstairs.”

I locked the door behind him and leaned against it, breathing deeply, trying to calm my nerves. All these heightened senses, my hearing, my sight and my strength were too much to handle. Would I feel the same way when it came to boys? Would my feelings be stronger, sharper? Then it hit me. My stomach didn’t flutter or do somersaults when Webb walked in. Nope, not like it did when I first met him. Did becoming a vampire change that? Would I have those butterfly feelings when I first kiss a boy? Or when a boy touched me like Ben did the other day? I shivered.
Erase those thoughts.
Boy problems would have to wait for another day. Hell, who was I kidding? A girl like me didn’t have boy problems. I would be waiting an eternity for a boy to like me.

I peeled off my dirty clothes, turned on the water and jumped into the shower. The water pressure sent a shiver down my spine. I hadn’t showered for a couple of days and I stood in the stall, enjoying the spray as it washed the sweat, blood and muck from me.

After I showered, I discovered the clothes Webb had folded on the bed. I surveyed my new wardrobe and laughed. Did he think I was a size two? The jeans looked way too small and I had my doubts on the short sleeve V-neck t-shirt. The good news was my boots were sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed.

I tried on the jeans slipping in one leg then the other, pulled them over my hips and shock washed over me—they fit. I wasn’t even going to look at the size. Normally I wore a size ten because of my wide hips. I usually had to get one size bigger in jeans because of it, which caused a huge gap between my pants and my waist. Hey, maybe with my new vampire body, I would slim down—at least a girl could wish.

I dressed as fast I could, not wanting to piss off my dad. I was already taking too long. I couldn’t do anything with my hair since I didn’t have a band to wrap it back into a ponytail.

The living room was empty when I walked out. Where was Kate? I stilled for a moment trying to see if I could hear or smell her—nothing. I guessed I should get down to the war room. As I made my way to the door, it opened and Kate stood there, arms crossed over her chest.

“Are you trying to get me in trouble?” she asked, a scowl forming on her face.

“No. I’ve been waiting for you,” I lied. I had only been waiting a few minutes.

She gave me a baleful look as I walked past her into the hall. I followed her, matching her in fluidity as we jogged down two flights of stairs, through several hallways and corridors until we walked into the war room. I was surprised at how easy that was. Normally, as a human, I would be panting for breath after a mile long jog. Maybe there were benefits to being a vampire.

My dad stood near a podium at the bottom in front of the movie screen, head moving from side to side, scanning the crowd. Every seat in the room was occupied.

Kate and I stood at the back of the room, just inside the entrance. I leaned up against the wall just to the side of the door, while Kate took the post on the opposite side of it. I glanced around, trying to catch the attention of my father, letting him know I was here, but he was staring at the people in the front row as if he were listening to what they were saying. I shifted my gaze. Who was he focused on? All I could see were a couple of bald heads.

As I waited for my father to speak, I became keenly aware of the subtle noises in the room. I still couldn’t get used to hearing the crisp sound of hearts beating, people breathing, stomachs growling and people yawning, let alone the scents that mixed together, creating a hodgepodge of fragrances that made my nose wrinkle.