Parahuman (Parahuman Series) (28 page)

     “I
did what anyone would have done.” Devan protested, uncomfortable with her acclamation

     “I
can’t say whether that’s true or not for anyone else, but you did do what any
decent, brave
person
would have done.” She stressed the word ‘person’,
looking him in the eyes as she did.

    Devan
had tried to be as honest with Laney as possible, but he couldn’t go into his
apprehension about the potential changes that could develop in his body;
changes that could make him more animal than human…that was between him and his
paranoia.  

     Uncomfortable
with the subject he decided to try a tack that Laney often threw at him…subject
change. “I can’t believe your father is still out looking for those wolves.”
His comment, pulled out nowhere, had her smiling dryly. She allowed herself to
be diverted though. 

     “He
called right before I came here and told me he was going to the vet’s to find
out more about the dead wolf. He wants to know if this one was sick and if the
others may be also.” 

     “It’s
not sick,” Devan stated.

     His
words had her eyebrows flying upwards in astonishment. “So you said before, but
how can you be sure of that?” She asked.

     Devan
waved for her to follow him. “The samples I took; I’ve already tested them for
all manners of disease and they’re clean, very clean.”

    
Stepping into the office he motioned her toward the microscope and samples on
the desk.  “I’ve been through everything, and I don’t have a clue as to why
those wolves attacked in such a way. The only weird thing about it is its overly
healthy.” Devan remained silent on their irregular features still unsure about
sharing certain information.

     Laney
gazed around in amazement at the collection of instruments amassed in the
office. “You guys have your own little mad science lab here.” She made her way
to the desk and looked through the microscope. “What do you mean ‘overly
healthy’?” 

     Devan
walked around the desk, needing to keep some sort of barrier between them. “The
wolf didn’t have any parasite infection at all; it was like it had been
vaccinated for them.” 

     She looked
up with a frown. “Vaccinated?”

     “It’s
possible the wolf was part of some test study, but if that was the case it
should have some tag or chip on its body somewhere. I didn’t see anything on
the outside of the animal, but it could have an internal implant.” Knowing that
the pack had been part of some simple test study would relieve him of a lot of
anxiety.

     “If
the animals not sick then why did it attack that way? I’m not an expert on
wolves, but I do know wolves don’t normally seek people out and attack for no
reason; at least not the healthy ones.” She declared in confusion.

     “I
don’t know.” Devan answered. With no abnormalities in the blood he wasn’t sure
why the animal did what it did. He had a few theories but they were just
theories, and he did not want one of those theories to even be a
consideration.   

    
“Maybe they’re attracted to your animal magnetism.” She joked, though her
statement had a hint of a question behind it.

     “I
don’t think that’s likely; remember when I said that horses don’t really like
me?” 

     She
nodded her head.

    
“Well, it’s not just horses; most animals shy away from me, as though sensing
I’m something altogether different. This pact seems to be following me around
though, which is unusual.”

     “What
do you mean, following you around, you’ve seen them before today?” She jerked
in surprise.

     “No,
I haven’t seen them, but I have caught their scent around the perimeter of the
house. They’ve been leaving a lot of markings.”

     Her
attention drifted over the samples on the table again, focusing on the
particulates he’d obtained from the wolf’s fur. “Is this stuff you got from the
animal’s fur?” She asked looking up at him. He gave a nod. “Did you find
anything interesting?” She picked up a pair of tweezers lifting up the portion
of leaf he had been inspecting when the sound of her vehicle had interrupted
him. 

    
“Actually, I did.” Devan leaned forward instinctively to enlighten her at the
same time she lifted up her head inquisitively. The sudden proximity was
jolting, but he stopped himself from jerking away, remembering the frowns she
threw his way when he did. “That bit of leaf your holding is from a birch that
doesn’t grow in this area or anywhere near here.”

     “How
do you even know that?” She exclaimed in amazement.   

     Devan
drew back some, but made sure to do it in a way that wasn’t obvious. “I’ve made
a study of different foliage.”

     She
appraised him incredulously. “Of course you have.” She set the tweezers back
down slowly. “And why is this relevant or interesting?”

     “The
interesting and disconcerting part is the leaf particle isn’t from the Colorado
region or any state nearby, rather it’s a northern species of birch.” 

     “So
the wolves or at least this wolf has possibly just moved in.” She speculated.

     “It
would seem. It’s just remarkable that the wolf traveled so far.” This little
piece of information was gnawing at the back of his cerebellum. It was
significant, but the lines weren’t connecting—as yet.

     “When
you explain it like that it does seem odd.” She granted, gazing at him with
narrowed eyed thoughtfulness. “You think it’s more than odd though, don’t you?”

     Dean
was silent, wondering if he should share his notions with her. The expression
on her face was completely trusting and he wanted it to stay that way, but
sharing was a new concept to him. 

    
“Yes,” he confirmed.

     She
rolled her eyes and grinned at the epigrammatic answer. “Please don’t overwhelm
me with all the finer points,” she replied sarcastically.

     Devan
smiled. It was weird that he took pleasure in her sarcasm.

    
“Sorry, I don’t have any factual data to overwhelm you with. All I have is my
instincts, and they’re not really quantifiable.” He stated.

     She
sighed and scowled good-naturedly. “I’ll take whatever you’ve got.”

     Well
if she wanted to hear conjecture that’s about all he had.  

     “The
wolf’s an anomaly; in fact the whole pack is. All of them are larger than the
standard Gray wolf, the way they prowled the parking lot and attacked us wasn’t
typical, and the absence of any kind of parasite or disease in the one I killed
is odd. Each one of these circumstantial details leaves me with an
uncomfortable feeling.” 

     “Uncomfortable
in what way?” she asked.

    
“Let’s just say that I would like to get my hands on that tracking chip, if
there is one.” Devan said urgently.

     “My
dad’s with the vet right now, I could call and ask him.” Her hand reached for
the phone in her pocket.

     Devan
held out his hand to stop her, but didn’t touch her. “No, I think it would be
better if I stopped by again to take a look.”

     Her
eyebrow was rising again. He really liked that look on her, it was sort of
devil-may-care. 

     “And
why would that be better?” She questioned in bewilderment. 

     “I
would like a chance to check it out myself, and if the vet gets her hands on it
I might not get that opportunity.” He explained. There was no telling what the
vet would do with it.

     “What
are you going to do, break in again?” She quizzed.

     “I
didn’t have to break in, everything was open.” Devan protested, not wanting her
to think of him as some criminal. “I doubt very much if it will be locked
tonight either.” Small towns were pretty predictable.   

     She
smiled. “Okay, you’re not breaking, just entering. When were you thinking about
doing this?”

     The
longer he waited the less likelihood of acquiring the tag, if there was one. It
was doubtful the vet would even look for an embedded tag, so he wasn’t worried
on that end, but it was possible that she could dispose of the animal before he
could get at it again, or have it shipped off somewhere else. 

     “I’m
going to have to go back tonight.” Devan stated. Looking up at the clock on the
wall he was a little surprised at how the time had flown since Laney’s arrival.
He also realized that she needed to depart soon if she wanted to make it home
before dark. The very thought of her riding home alone in the daylight caused him
some concern.

     “It
would probably be a good idea for me to follow you home. It’ll be getting dark
soon and we do have wild wolves roaming around. You probably shouldn’t have
ridden out here all by yourself in the first place.” Devan reprimanded.

     He
couldn’t miss the stiffening of her body at his words.

     “I am
perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’ve ridden in these woods for
years.” She retorted. She turned to head out of the office, her back ram rod
straight.

    
Sighing in frustration at his failure to word that the right way Devan followed
her. “I wasn’t trying to infer that you couldn’t, but there seems to be an
added danger of wolves in the vicinity, that’s all I’m trying to say.” He said
in way of apology. “As I’m going into town anyway I would like to follow you,
just to make sure you get home safely.”  

     She
stopped and turned abruptly causing him to halt before he ran into her. She
reached out and poked him in the chest with her index finger. Actually poked him
in the chest! Devan couldn’t halt his eyebrows from rising in astonishment.

     “You
haven’t even had any rest yet; like you should be out run..ning around.” Her
voice had started out accusing, but stammered toward the end. Lowering her
finger she backed up a step; a slight pink was coloring her cheeks. Devan
attributed it to the irritation she was feeling. 

     “I
told you I feel fine,” he assured her, “but I do need to change the dressing on
my arm before we leave. You’ll wait here?” He looked down at her questioning.
If she decided to leave before he could change it then he would skip it and do
it later. He wasn’t going to let her ride back home by herself.

     “Yes,
I’ll wait.” She crossed her arms over her chest attempting to appear austere,
but he could see a twitch trying to pull the corners of her mouth up. 

    
Returning to Brett’s office Devan grabbed some fresh bandages and an antibiotic
cream.  Walking back out he passed Laney to go to the bathroom, she was still
standing in the same spot with her arms crossed over her chest, eyeing him
closely.

     In
the bathroom he unbuttoned his shirt and flung it into the hamper, intending to
grab another when he was done. Starting at the elbow he began unwinding the wrap;
it was sticking to the healing scratches so he had to pull at it carefully so it
wouldn’t reopen the cuts. When it was completely removed Devan examined it in
the mirror and was pleased at how well it looked. 

     He
had always been a fast healer. Back at the facility he’d broken some fingers several
times and they had healed up in just a few days. Scratches and bruises would
normally only take a day to heal. This injury was slightly more than a scratch,
so it would probably take an extra day.

     It
looked as if the subcutaneous tissue and dermis layers were already healing
together. Devan didn’t see any open areas that allowed for bleeding any longer.
He estimated that by the end of tomorrow the skin would be completely mended,
without even a scar to show for it. Dabbing some peroxide on it he watched it
fizzle up around where the deeper cut areas had been located.

     Devan
heard Laney take a few step nearer to the bathroom. “Is everything alright?”
She asked tentatively.

     “I’m
rewrapping it now.” He called through the open door.

     “It
didn’t open did it; you’re not bleeding are you?” She asked, sounding anxious.

     “No,
the tissues halfway repaired already.” Devan reassured her.

    
Grabbing the antibiotic tube he smeared some on, more to keep the bandage from
sticking than for its medicinal purposes. He was ripping open a new bandage
package with his teeth when Laney’s footsteps tentatively stepped down the
hall. She stopped a few feet from the door.

     “How
can it be halfway healed already?” She asked from around the corner.

    
“Salamander DNA, tremendous rejuvenating capabilities.” Devan pulled the
bandage from the wrapper.

     There
was a pause and Devan thought her questions were done.

     “Can
I see?” Laney’s tentative request caused Devan to freeze in disconcertment. He
wasn’t reluctant to show her his arm, it was just that he was without a shirt
again; his birthmark available for her to see. Although, she
had
already
seen it.

     Devan
twisted slightly so his back was away from her. “Uh…sure.”