Nightshade (1)

by Michelle Rowen

  That thought lasted about two seconds. He knew. They all knew. And I could even see their point of view if I squinted really hard. I was the outsider here. The civilian who had only been allowed through the invisible gates of Silver Ridge because I was, as Declan had called me earlier that day, the reluctant courier of something vital that they needed.

  They didn’t want me here. They didn’t want their top-secret town to become public knowledge.

  I didn’t call out and I didn’t pound my fists against the door like some sort of imprisoned damsel in distress. But just because I wasn’t pitching a fit didn’t mean I wasn’t pissed about being caged like an animal.

  I tried to breathe normally and think it through.

  I wasn’t in any pain at the moment.

  I was safe. Relatively speaking.

  I was alive. For the time being.

  After taking a long shower and inspecting my various cuts and bruises in the mirror, I realized I had no clothes to wear to bed. I slipped under the covers naked, keeping my hand wrapped around the ivory hilt of the knife just in case I had any unexpected visitors that night.

  I WAS AWAKE AS SOON AS IT WAS LIGHT OUTSIDE. I dressed in my clothes from yesterday. Well, it was either that or a bedsheet toga. Then I waited.

  When there was a knock on the door a couple hours later, I went to it soundlessly. It creaked open. Noah stepped inside carrying a tray of food. He flinched when he saw me.

  “What are you trying to do?” he asked.

  I’d taken the back of the toilet off and was brandishing it like a weapon, ready to crack the porcelain lid over his head at the first sign of trouble. My arms ached from holding it steady.

  “Defending myself,” I said.

  “You don’t have to defend yourself from me. I come in peace. Bearing eggs.” He indicated the tray.

  I watched him warily. “The door was locked.”

  “So you’re going to murder me with a toilet because of that? Sorry, we take precautions here. Just the way it is. Put that down. Please.”

  I backed away from him and put my makeshift weapon down on the bed. I’d opted for the toilet lid rather than the knife since I would rather knock somebody out than try to slit their throat or stab them. Although if it had been Declan coming through that door, it was possible that I’d choose to watch him bleed a little after locking me in here without a warning.

  Noah brought the tray over to a small desk in the corner. “Eggs. Bacon. Toast. It’s just Wonder bread, but there’s extra nutritional grains baked into it. Says so on the label.”

  I looked at him skeptically. “How do I know it’s not poisoned?”

  “You have enough poison in you as it is. This is just food. Trust me.”

  “Why should I trust you?”

  “Don’t I have an honest face?” He grinned, but the expression faded quickly. “Look, your situation sucks, I’ll be the first one to admit it. But I’m not trying to kill you.”

  “What about my blood sample?”

  “Carson was up half the night looking at it. He’s still down there.”

  “And?”

  “And ... I don’t know. He isn’t really the sharing type unless he feels like it. However, he did say someone already checked out Anderson’s lab this morning and came up empty. He didn’t seem all that surprised about it.”

  I wrung my hands. “Where’s Declan?”

  “Out.”

  “Out where?”

  “Just out. He doesn’t always give me a detailed itinerary. But he’s supposed to be back soon. Why? Do you miss him?”

  That earned him a powerful glare I hadn’t even known was in my arsenal. It worked, since he visibly grimaced.

  I was about to say something, try to push past the anger I felt about feeling trapped and powerless, but a wave of pain closed in on me. I buckled over and fell to my knees.

  Shit. There hadn’t been anything for so long I’d thought it was over. This time it was even worse than the last. I cried out and Noah rushed to my side.

  “What can I do?” he asked. I hadn’t needed to explain what was happening to me. He just knew.

  “Bathroom,” I managed, but barely.

  He helped, half dragging me, to get to the bathroom just in time to make it to the toilet, where I emptied my stomach of the black inky substance that tasted like death.

  “Oh my God,” Noah exclaimed. “Jesus Christ.”

  I wasn’t all that religious, but it was a good suggestion to start praying. Pain wracked through my body for a couple more minutes until it passed and I collapsed on the floor. Unfortunately I was still conscious. I wiped my mouth off with the back of my hand, tasting oily, rancid death still on my tongue. Just the thought of it made me feel sick all over again, but there was no more pain. I blinked watering eyes and looked up. Noah stood over me, his hand held to his mouth in shock.

  “That shit’s not right,” he said.

  “Tell me about it.”

  “That is one nasty-ass side effect.”

  “I know.”

  “Are you okay now? Can you get up?”

  “I think so.”

  It took a minute or two, but Noah helped me back to my feet. I washed my face and rinsed out my mouth. There was a fresh toothbrush in the otherwise empty medicine cabinet, which I’d used last night and again today with a squirt of some generic toothpaste.

  “What was that shit that came out of you?” he asked.

  “I thought you were a scientist?”

  “No. I’m a research assistant. I’ve dealt a bit in forensics, but never ... I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

  “That’s not very comforting.”

  My stomach growled loud enough for Noah to hear. “Are you going to be sick again?”

  “I don’t think so.” I covered my stomach with my hand. “Believe it or not, I think I’m hungry.”

  “That is messed up.”

  Messed up or not, I was hungry. So I ate the breakfast Noah had brought me. He stayed with me, although he still looked disturbed.

  “Did you make this?” I asked.

  “I did. Nothing special.”

  “It’s good.” I looked at him skeptically. “How long have you been here?”

  “Almost a year.”

  “Fighting the vampires.”

  “I try to stay inside away from vampires whenever possible, actually. I leave fighting the vamps to Dec.”

  “You and Declan ... are friends?” If I wasn’t going to get any more answers out of the one-eyed Batman himself, I may as well grill his much more amiable Robin-like sidekick.

  He pursed his lips. “Kind of hard to be friends with somebody like Dec, but I’d say we’re as close to it as you can get.”

  “Why’s it hard?”

  “He’s not exactly racking up congeniality points on a daily basis, as I’m sure you’re well aware. He keeps to himself mostly. Except for Molly, that is. They spend a lot of time together.”

  Molly? There was a woman in Declan’s life? This revelation caused an immediate and very unwelcome sliver of emotion to run through me.

  I think it may have been jealousy.

  I really was sick. Mentally. But then again, that wasn’t news to me.

  “So Molly’s his girlfriend?” I asked.

  Noah stared at me blankly for a few long moments. “Molly’s his cat. A rescue he found half-dead and nursed back to health. She’s only got one eye, too, so I always figured that was the attraction since otherwise she’s a flea-bitten miserable little bitch. No, Dec ... he’s not exactly somebody who would have a girlfriend.”

  I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Noah grimaced. “Forget it.”

  “You can’t just say something like that and tell me to forget it. I spent all day with him yesterday and I’m trying to figure him out.”

  “It’s probably best that you don’t try too hard.”

  “Has he ever had a girlfriend?”

&n
bsp; Noah looked uncomfortable with this conversation. “Not on my watch, but ... uh, it’s not easy for him, you know.”

  “Because of his serum?” I asked. “He said it flattens him out emotionally—when he was off it yesterday for a while he started acting ... well, he acted differently. Then when he started up again, he changed back to normal.”

  “That sounds about right.” He cleared his throat. “I’m surprised he told you any of this.”

  “We had a lot of time to chat.” I blinked, thinking through it all. The serum flattened him out. No emotions. No desire, no lust, no chance of turning into his biological father. That’s why he didn’t have a girlfriend. The serum took away any lust he might feel.

  Those moments in the truck, when he’d admitted that he desired me—no wonder he’d seemed so disturbed by that. It might have been ages since the last time he’d felt that way.

  I chewed my bottom lip as I sorted through everything I’d been told. “How long has Declan been on that serum?”

  “Forever. Since he was a kid, I think.”

  Since he was a kid? So if he’d been taking it every three hours like clockwork since then, did that mean he’d never been with anyone romantically?

  “Are you feeling better now?” Noah asked after a moment of silence passed uncomfortably between us.

  “A little.”

  “Thank God.” His brows drew together with concern over what he’d witnessed. “How often does that happen to you?”

  “Too often. The last time was early last night. But that was just pain. I haven’t puked since yesterday afternoon.”

  “Noted.” He glanced at my now-empty breakfast tray. “Looks like it hasn’t affected your appetite, so that’s a good sign, right?”

  “My compliments to the chef.”

  “What’s going on in here?” a deep voice asked and I jumped. Our backs were to the door that had been left ajar.

  Declan stood there, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “You’re back,” Noah said.

  “Does Jillian need a breakfast companion?”

  Jillian. Full-name usage. When I’d told him my name, I’d said my friends called me Jill.

  “She wasn’t feeling well,” Noah replied. “To put it extremely mildly.”

  His gaze moved to me. “You had another spell?”

  “I did.” I stood up to face him.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Still breathing.” It was going to be my answer now to that question. Still breathing. Because I couldn’t say I was fine or a-okay. I was still breathing. At least, until I wasn’t.

  “Carson needs to speak with you.”

  I glared at him. “You locked me in here last night.”

  He just looked at me without saying anything for a moment. “Yes, I did.”

  “That wasn’t necessary.”

  “Like I said, Carson needs to speak with you.”

  “Has he found something in my blood sample?”

  “Yes.”

  “So I have your official permission to leave this room now?” I didn’t try to make it sound the least bit pleasant. After everything that had happened yesterday, I couldn’t help but feel betrayed that he’d treated me like nothing more than a prisoner.

  “Yes.”

  “Then lead the way.” I looked at Noah. “Thank you for breakfast.”

  “Anytime.”

  Declan led me out of the room and back down to the basement lab. I wanted to feel the same level of anger toward him as I’d felt last night, but I couldn’t. This wasn’t someone I could feel any emotion for anymore. It was like he wasn’t even here.

  And it didn’t matter, anyway. Carson had looked at my blood sample and analyzed it or whatever he was supposed to do with it. He would have found a way to clean my blood of the poison by now.

  There were several other people with Carson downstairs speaking with each other. When Declan and I entered the room they stopped and looked over at us. Or rather, at me.

  “Jillian,” Carson said and beckoned me toward him. “This is Dr. Monica Gray.”

  The attractive older woman had long, slate-gray hair that hung in a long ponytail down the center of her back and skin that was lined but otherwise flawless. She reached forward and took my hand in hers as she studied my face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jillian. You look ... well.”

  “Thanks.” I felt uncomfortable at her scrutiny, like I was a slide at the end of her microscope.

  “Anderson must have failed,” she said.

  Carson looked at her. “Why do you say that?”

  “I don’t see any physical indication that she’s been given the Nightshade. I expected something tangible.”

  “She was given it. Declan witnessed it himself.”

  “Perhaps it wasn’t a viable sample. After all, it was untested.”

  “Who are you again?” I asked.

  Her intense examination of me ended and she stepped back. “I’m so sorry. We’re being rude. But it’s just hard for me to believe that this could have happened to a civilian.”

  “Dr. Gray is the head of research for the Nightshade program,” Carson said. “The others have flown in from Washington D.C. Dr. Peter Singh and Lieutenant Joseph Franklin. They’ll be observing today.”

  The other men didn’t approach, but nodded curtly at me.

  It didn’t put me totally at ease, but my comfort levels didn’t matter that much at the moment. All that mattered were getting the results I wanted. “Did you find a way to help me?”

  “We do want to help you,” Carson assured me. “I need to ask you a couple more questions. I already got a full debriefing from Declan, but I’d like it in your own words, if I may.”

  Impatience ate away at me. After my most recent bout of pain, I didn’t want to wait too much longer for some sort of relief. “What do you want to know?”

  “Declan said you were attacked by a vampire at a rest stop during your journey here.”

  “I was.”

  “How did this vampire react to you?”

  I forced myself to think about what had happened at the diner. “Initially she was normal. I mistook her for a human, but then again, I’d never seen a vampire before. When she caught a whiff of me, she seemed to change, lose control.”

  “As if she couldn’t resist trying to bite you?” Dr. Gray asked.

  I nodded. “That’s exactly what she wanted to do. Luckily she didn’t.”

  “So she didn’t break the skin at all?” She brushed my hair back so she could inspect my neck more closely.

  I stood still and didn’t pull away from her. After all, she was trying to help me. “No. Declan stopped her just in time.”

  “He also said that he noticed your scent as well and was drawn to you, more so when he wasn’t taking his serum.”

  I shrugged, trying not to think about how “drawn to me” Declan had been yesterday. It didn’t seem to matter anymore. “I assumed that vampires or half-vampires are simply drawn to the scent of humans.”

  “They are. But not quite like this. Nightshade was developed to draw the vampire, to entice it, to make the kill much quicker. Almost as if the creature is choosing its own death—much like a moth to a flame.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t really understand any of this.”

  “We wouldn’t expect you to.” Carson flipped through several pages on a clipboard. Then he set it aside and looked at me. Tension etched his features. “The Nightshade formula has been in development for over a year. It’s cost a great deal of money.”

  His comment made me feel defensive. Was I supposed to feel bad about the money lost? “I didn’t ask him to inject me.”

  “I’m not saying that you did. But”—he sighed with frustration—“since being administered to you, its properties are no longer evident. Such a result is both the strength and weakness of using parachemistry.”

  “Parachemistry?” I repeated.

  He just looked at me patiently. “It’s the st
udy and application of drugs, toxins, and potions in combating preternatural creatures such as vampires. Bottom line, there is no way for me to duplicate the formula. The only way would be to have Anderson’s notes, his computer files. Or Anderson himself. He was the expert on the subject. But now that he’s dead, that’s not an option.”

  I didn’t know what Carson wanted me to say. The formula was ruined. While I was sorry to hear this, I couldn’t do anything about it.

  He looked over his shoulder at the two men and woman. “Monica, please take the others and wait for me in the observation room.”

  She nodded. “Very well.”

  Without another word, they departed.

  I glanced nervously over my shoulder to see Declan standing near the stairwell leading to the main house. He’d remained so quiet I thought he’d already left.

  “Jillian experienced more side effects this morning,” Declan said. “I wasn’t there, but Noah was.”

  Carson’s brow furrowed. “I’m sorry you’ve been inconvenienced like this, Jillian. I realize it isn’t very fair to you.”

  “I just want you to fix me,” I said, ignoring the lump in my throat. I could hold it together. I could.

  “I wish it were that easy.”

  My breath caught. “Are you saying you can’t help me?”

  “It’s possible we have a drug that could help you. One that could work as an antidote.”

  “Only possible?”

  “Yes.”

  “If it’s just a possibility, then what am I doing here? I need to go somewhere they can definitely help me. The poison is in my blood. It’s killing me, right?”

  His mouth thinned. “I believe so.”

  I’d wanted him to say something, anything else. But he hadn’t.

  Hope faded away, leaving behind only a dull ache in my chest. It had been there since the beginning, but I’d thought there might be a possibility, even if it was a slight one, that this could still turn out all right.

  I’d wanted to wake up this morning, come downstairs, and have him all ready with a magic pill that would heal me. So I could go back to my regular life and visit with my sister and her kids, and go back to my job that had bored me to death before, but now I remembered fondly. A life when my biggest trouble was a dark mood ruining a day or two.

  Finding a solution had only been a pipe dream from the very beginning. I had poison in my veins and it had now been there for an entire day. There was no going back.