by ID Johnson
“How was your nap?” he asked, surveying the room.
“Fine,” she said, though memories from the excruciating process of waking up still lingered freshly in her mind. “I’m a little surprised to see you,” she admitted. “I thought if your choices were this evening or tomorrow, it would probably be tomorrow.”
He looked a bit uncomfortable which surprised her. She would not have thought he had an embarrassed or shy side whatsoever. “Well, I hadn’t planned on coming so soon,” he conceded, “But I really felt like it would be best if I just spoke to you myself.”
“As opposed to those two incompetents you’ve got downstairs?” she asked sarcastically, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow.
“No,” he said, shaking his head and looking down at the floor. “They could do it, they’re . . . they’re fully competent,” he was stammering a bit and it caught him off guard. Why was he having such a difficult time expressing himself to her? She was, after all just one more human about to be Transformed into a Hunter. This shouldn’t have been such a big deal. And yet, the weight of it just then seemed enormous. “It’s just, I’m not sure if they realize the gravity of the situation, honestly,” he said slowly nodding his head.
Cadence took a step backward and slowly began to nod her head as well. “I see,” she said, and then, taking a cue from her inquiry based learning teacher she added, “Tell me more about that.”
Once again, Aaron ran his hand through his hair, attempting to choose his word with caution but still insure that the message was conveyed adequately. “We are on a bit of a precipice here. Obviously, you know I am aware of everything they told you earlier.”
She nodded. Yes, she was aware that he was present during any and all conversations she had had with members of his team.
“Well, something that was not mentioned to you is that, while the Vampires don’t typically have a leader, they are attempting to organize. Now, this happens occasionally and we are able to track down this newly appointed figurehead and eliminate them, thus mediating any potential uprisings.” He glanced back in her direction to make sure she was following, which she was. “However, in this instance, it’s a bit different. If Holland is able to organize her clan and the rest of the Passel come on-board, well, she’s going to be much more difficult to defeat than your typical Vampire Leader.”
He paused then, giving her an opportunity to ask for clarification, which she did. “Why is that?” she asked. He had noticed that she absently twirled one strand of hair around her finger when she was deep in thought, a habit she was performing just now so he was certain she was contemplating what he had to say.
“Holland is what we refer to as an Ancient Vampire. She’s not one of the originals, none of them survive, but she is incredibly old. In fact, I’m fairly certain she predates the assigning of the name Holland to the location you’re familiar with. Over the millennia she has increased her knowledge and power, as well as her sway with the other members of her Passel so much so that, should she decide to attempt to lead a Vampire revolt, it could be quite difficult for us to hold them in check. The potential for a holocaust is certainly present, and of course, that is something we must avoid at all costs.”
She could tell by his tone that he was not embellishing the facts in order to sway her to join his side, and yet it was nearly impossible for her to wrap her mind around the idea of a legion of Vampires sweeping in and destroying humanity. “That sounds pretty serious,” she said, withdrawing her hand from her hair and resting her pointer finger against her chin. “Do the others know this?” she asked, referring to Eliza, Jamie, and whoever else had joined them downstairs.
“Yes and no,” he admitted. “They have received the information, but I think they don’t truly understand the ramifications, considering they’ve never lived in a time or place when Vampires had free reign.”
The way he said those last few words caught Cadence’s attention. She looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face. “And you have?” she asked quietly.
He nodded. “It’s not pretty,” he said pushing those memories aside and focusing on the task at hand. “We want to avoid that no matter what.”
This information intrigued her and Cadence made a mental note to find out more information about this at a later time. For now, she wanted to know exactly what he thought she could do about this. “And how do I fit into this proposal for preventing a Vampire uprising?”
“Well,” he said, digging his hands into the pockets of his jeans, “Your fully invested in this situation now, whether you want to be or not. I think you need to be completely aware of the situation, and once you realize exactly how Holland’s rise to power may affect you and your loved ones, you’ll know exactly what you need to do.”
He looked her right in the eyes with that last remark and those penetrating blue eyes seemed to stare right into her very soul, causing her to shutter and take a step back. In doing so, she pinned herself against the wall, and even though she knew there was no reason to consider escape routes, she suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
Sensing her fight or flight reaction, Aaron took a step back and turned away from her a moment, giving her some room and letting her come down a bit from her initial panicked state. One thing he could do extremely well was read the emotions of others, and he knew that Cadence was reaching her breaking point. He would either have her resolve in the next few moments, or he would completely destroy any chance he had of her joining them, and they would have to start all over. This was one of the parts of his job that he disliked the most. Recruiting was never fun, especially in these pressure filled situations.
After a moment, she cleared her throat and said, “I guess I need to hear more about that.” She propped one foot up against the wall behind her to steady herself.
He turned back to face her but was more careful not to look directly in her eyes. For some reason, that seemed to make her nervous, which he found odd. Most people felt comfort when they looked into his eyes, which was a tactic he generally employed in these situations. “Well, Holland has your card,” he said laying it out for her in black and white. “She holds you personally responsible for Carter’s death—her mate of over three thousand years—and she wants to destroy you and your family.”
He paused for a moment, letting the weight of that begin to sink in, but not so much as to cause another panic. He continued. “Now, we know her present location, we know who she has contacted, where she is going, etc. We know that she is no longer in Iowa, and while she poses no current threat to your family herself at this moment, she has left associates, if you will, in the vicinity. “ He watched her eyebrows shoot up and assured her, “We have your family under constant surveillance and they are perfectly fine. In fact, they are just sitting down for Thanksgiving Dinner.”
Cadence had completely forgotten it was Thanksgiving! Her hands flew to her mouth and she was about to insist that he let her go home when he reached out and took her gently by the arm. “It’s alright,” he said calmly. “They know exactly where you are; they know why you are here, and the understand the urgency.”
She slowly released the breath she had been holding and nodded her head. Still, she had never missed a Thanksgiving Dinner in her entire life and the thought that her family had to celebrate without her, and without Grandma Janette, made her a bit weepy again.
Seeing the tears well up in her eyes made him anxious. He did not want a repeat of the situation the night before. Today, however he had come prepared. “Please, don’t cry,” he said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small package of tissues. “But if you do, these are much more absorbent than leather.”
Despite the tears that were starting to spill down her cheeks, she couldn’t help but chuckle. She took the package and removed one of the tissues, dabbing at her eyes, trying to hold back any more tears. “Thank you,” she said. “That’s very thoughtful.”
He nodded, shrugging off the compliment. He wasn’t typically
considered thoughtful per se but it was nice of her to say. “Anyway,” he said, waiting for her to acknowledge if she were ready to return to the conversation. She nodded and he continued. “I just want you to be fully cognizant of the situation and aware of what Holland is capable of. Can we stop her without you? I hope so, but, “ he paused, making sure he had her full attention, “It will be a hell of a lot easier with you on our side.”
Cadence sighed now, turning away from him, a bit frustrated. “See, now, that’s what I don’t get,” she said turning to face the door. “What is it that is so freaking special about me?”
Aaron was a bit surprised to hear her say that. He thought the footage from the night before would be enough for her to realize exactly what her capabilities were. “You seriously don’t know?” he asked crossing his arms and looking at her inquisitively.
She turned back to face him. “No, I don’t know. I really don’t have a clue,” she admitted, waving her arms for emphasis.
He scratched his head, pondering how best to explain it to her so that she would both understand and believe him. “Cadence, you’re the granddaughter of two Leaders. That’s a pretty potent gene pool. Let me explain, briefly, and with no visual aides how mating works within the Clandestine Ternion.”
She grinned at his attempt at humor and gave him her full attention. “Are you going to tell me where babies come from?” she asked. He blushed and for a moment, Cadence forgot he was the invincible leader and saw him as he must have been as a human, just as vulnerable as any of the rest.
After a moment, Aaron continued. “Not exactly. Quite simply, this is how it works. Vampires don’t procreate. They don’t need to. They want more Vampires, they make more simply by infecting a victim with their venom.”
“Three bites on the neck Bram Stoker style or any flesh wound Twilight style?” she asked.
“It’s actually one of the few things that trilogy got right,” Aaron admitted. “It doesn’t have to be in the neck. I fact, any transfer of venom will cause them to change into a Vampire, assuming they don’t die first. And since their venom can also be found in their DNA even skin cells transferred from a Vampire to a human can cause the infection if they are transferred beneath the skin.”
“So, if a vampire scratches a human, they could be infected with the venom?”
“Yes, that has been known to happen,” he confirmed.
She nodded and he continued.
“Guardians, Hunters and humans can all create off-spring . . . children,” he corrected, attempting to sound less scientific. She smiled and nodded, clearly amused that he also had an awkward side. “If a Hunter or a Guardian has a baby with a human, that human will carry the gene from their parent’s Passel. Upon Transformation he or she will be what we refer to as either a Level One Hunter or a Level One Guardian.” She was nodding and so he continued. “Now, if a Hunter or a Guardian has a child with another Hunter or Guardian—someone of the same Passel, well then that creates a Level Two Hunter or a Level Two Guardian. Slightly more powerful, generally speaking, though not always, than your typical Level One. Okay?”
“Got it,” she said continuing to nod her head.
“Alright, but when we cross Passels, something truly powerful happens. Children always get their dominant gene from their mother’s side. So, if your mother is a Hunter, you will be a Hunter. If she’s a Guardian, you’ll be a Guardian. But, the children always retain many of the skills contained in the gene pool of the secondary Passel as well. So, the result is an extremely talented individual, such as yourself, who is able to come to full power quickly and have quite an impact on the mission of the Passel.”
Now Cadence became slightly confused. “But, my dad carries the Hunter gene and my mom is a human. So, wouldn’t that make me less powerful?”
He was shaking his head. “Your dad is a Dormant Hunter. And so is your mother.”
Though he had said it calmly, this information caught Cadence off guard and she backed in to the wall again. “What?”
Again, Aaron stepped away from her, giving her some space to breathe. “It’s okay,” he said reassuringly. “I know this is a lot of information. Your mother’s line has been dormant for centuries. In fact, she didn’t even know she had the potential to become a Hunter until after she met your father and was introduced to the Clandestine Ternion through him.”
“So Papa Jim and Grandma Shirley had never been Hunters or Guardians or Trolls or Fairies or Wickens?” she asked, her head circling around on her shoulders as a sign of her inner confusion.
He couldn’t help but laugh, “No,” he assured her. “They have always been essentially human.”
“Well, I certainly know what it feels like to be essentially human,” she said sarcastically, running her hands through her hair and looking up at the ceiling. He said nothing, giving her time to ingest everything he had told her but when she glanced his way, she could see he was trying to hold back a grin. “You know what I mean?” she asked.
Even though he hadn’t been human for quite some time, he knew exactly what she meant. “Yes, yes I do,” he agreed.
“Okay,” she said, rapidly shaking her head again, attempting to clear her mind. “So, you’re saying if I fully Transform, I’ll be some sort of She-Ra Princess of Power, some sort of bionic woman or something? Wow, listen to those ‘80s references coming through,” she muttered under her breath.
“I believe so, yes,” he said nodding along with her.
She was pacing now. “And, I’ll be able to use these super powers to defeat the powers of evil, such as that bitch Holland?”
“With the right support and training, I think you’ll be able to defeat just about anything the Vampire Passel throws in your direction.”
“And who, exactly will be training me?”
“I will,” he stated assuredly.
She continued to pace the small area from the door to the wall, about three steps in each direction, before she pivoted around and went the other way. Her hands were alternating between pulling on handfuls of hair and fanning her face.
Again, he thought it would be best to let her absorb this information on her own so he said nothing.
Finally, after a few moments she turned and faced him. She knew he was right, that this was her destiny, that despite the fact that she was frightened and questioned her own abilities, that, clearly he had no hesitation whatsoever. And if he believed in her, she truly felt she could do anything. After all, he had no doubt trained and supported thousand of Hunters over the years and if he said she could do it, well, then, surely she could.
Aaron stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to speak. Though no words came out of her mouth, she slowly began to nod her head. “Yes?” he asked, clarifying. “You’ll do it? You’ll Transform?”
At first Cadence still couldn’t form the words but finally, she was able to overcome the lump of anxiety in her throat. “Yes, I’ll do it. I’ll Transform.”
Aaron was so relieved, he did something totally out of character for himself and pulled her in, giving her a big hug. “That’s wonderful, Cadence. Thank you so much for having faith in me and my team.”
She was taken a back when he embraced her but once the initial surprise subsided, she loosely hugged him back. “Sure,” she said. “I think it’s the right thing to do.”
He released her and took a few steps back. “I agree,” he concurred. “Believe me, you won’t regret this decision.”
She snickered, “No, but you might!”
Chapter Six
Over the last century or so, Jamie had transformed many Hunters and Guardians using the serum method. He had not originated the idea or developed the serum but he had made many improvements to the procedure and while Cadence was still extremely nervous, she felt assured that she was in the best hands possible.
She was lying in her pajamas on her grandmother’s guest bed, still a little stuffed from the Thanksgiving Dinner they had thrown together. It didn’t have every dish
one might imagine for the traditional holiday, but it was sufficient, and after the late football game had concluded, Jamie had asked if she was ready. Now was as good a time as ever so she had gone upstairs to prepare herself for a nice long snooze.
Grandma Janette and Eliza stood at the foot of the bed while Aaron tended to linger farther away, closer to the door. Elliott had been there for a few hours during the afternoon, but Aaron had sent him back to check on the situation in Shenandoah. She knew that Aaron would be leaving soon as well, but she had made him promise to stay until she fell asleep. For some reason, she just felt better knowing the man in charge was present while the procedure was taking place, though Aaron certainly did not have the same calming affect on her that Jamie did. Even now as she watched him removing hypodermic needles and vials from the small black kit he sat on the nightstand next to her, she felt as if she could trust Jamie completely.
“How you doing, Cadence?” he asked pausing for a moment to glance down at her.
She nodded her head. “I’m a bit nervous,” she said, “but I trust you.”
“Good,” Jamie replied smiling. “Do you want me to explain to you what I am doing as I go or would you rather just let me do it and get it over with? Either way works for me.”
She considered the options. She already knew the gist of what was going to happen. Jamie was going to insert some sort of serum into her bloodstream, which would activate her DNA and make her Hunter abilities dominate her human limitations. She would be able to run faster, jump higher, aim more accurately, all of the skills she would need in order to successful hunt and kill Vampires. She knew he was also injecting a medication that would make her sleep for at least twenty-four hours. This was essential for two reasons. First of all, it would allow her body to Transform while in a dormant state, which allowed the process to happen more quickly and any damage to be repaired without delay. Secondly, while some Hunters never felt a twinge of pain while undergoing Transformation via serum, for others it was excruciatingly painful. Jamie had perfected this method so that no one need suffer for no reason. “You can just do it,” she finally decided.