At First Sight (Persephonii Waters Book 1)

by Melanie Brown

  An onlooker might say her whole demeanor was slivery, with her silver blonde hair and darker eyebrows. Though she tended to keep her long hair up in a bun of some kind and under a hat, she had a soft spot for anything knitted. A beautiful, if pale, ‘tends to only come out after sunset’ type of complexion, though it could also be attributed to Washington's notoriously cloudy weather. Thanks to the family's genetics not a wrinkle was in sight even at her newly turned thirty years of age and wouldn’t be for a long, long time to come. Expressive mint green eyes were more often than not obscured behind a pair of specially made glasses which created a filter for her against the magical onslaught her sight constantly bombarded her with.

  Her more stylish pair was recently eaten by a warg they had been in the process of relocating. She was by no means, going to chase the creature down, again, to see if they came out the other end intact. Once again no amount of cleaning, bleach included would have made them sanitary in her mind. So that left an old pair of large black rimmed, 1970's aviator glasses, thick lenses with light grey tinting that in her mind, made her look like a mix of the uni-bomber and someone's Nona. Truthfully, the black frames were making a comeback and just might have been the most stylish thing about her.

  Over everything she wore a knee length dark grey pea coat which had seen better days. Its style and cut could be called classic, resting atop the other layers it camouflaged the overall display and lent her a more put together vibe. Though she owned a few other, more modern jackets, the Pea coat was another large purchase, one of her more valuable magical items. Its special weave made it as strong as elven armor, fire retardant, bullet proof and it served as her first line of defense for mid and low-level spells. Standing at five-four, a hundred and thirty five pounds the curvy, solid c-cup frame on occasion made her seem younger. Men often by passed the beauty not noticing what was hidden under so many layers. If Charles hadn’t been happily married and a few years younger he would have asked her on a date by now.

  Shopping always brought out awkward teenage memories with her sisters trying to dress her up. The inner debate, which mostly consisted of her being worried about trying to be a little more fashion conscious, buying something more feminine or stylish, would transform into additional insecurities like if she should spend the money to buy a gym membership or take Madison's advice and shop at the mall. Such thoughts tended to make her hurry through the process grabbing this and that. It was the only time in her life that seemed to bring out the fifteen year older girl in her, from a time when everything she picked was too nerdy or too out of date. All of which could be laid at the feet of her older sisters who towered a good six inches above her and where super-model gorgeous. She had never envied her sisters their looks, but they had made her loath shopping for clothes on an instinctual level, something that she had yet to truly shake nearly twenty years after their continued offers to 'help'.

  Charles was standing out by the car, watching the traffic down the road when she came out, by the time she reached the car door he was already there to open it for her. She thanked him profusely throwing the bags in the back seat while sliding in behind them. He smiled to himself, knowing the extra excursion had worn her out especially when she had been tired from her trip. Behind the wheel once more he expertly maneuvered the car through traffic, thinking not for the first time, that someone needed to take care of the little lady. She did so much for so many others, like tipping him extra when he was already paid to drive her around, giving him a bonus twice a year, right before the slower months. Or like when, a few months ago, he had mentioned that the elderly couple he often drove to appointments twice a month couldn’t afford to pay for the car service anymore. Later that week he had been told the service had been prepaid for them, he had finally worn Gladys down to telling him it had been Ms. Waters who had paid the tab. Smiling as he glanced up into the rear view mirror, he noticed she had fallen asleep head tilted to the side resting on the window frame. Who took care of her?

  Chapter 2: Para:

  Slang for anything or anyone possessing otherworldly or supernatural abilities.

  Office of Dr. Madison Underwood, Medical Examiner. Lakewood, WA. 9:15pm PST.

  “Is that what you are wearing?” Shifting her gaze from her work to Persephonii’s outfit, Madison Underwood's assessing gaze raked over her friend. Over the years many other friends and relatives had tried to buy Percy clothing of a style they would like to see her in, Madison included. Though it had been a while since she had tried to convince Percy to dress a little more stylishly. The majority went unworn, the rest got nabbed by visiting sisters or cousins, while the unlucky items made their way to the donations piles at the very places Percy shopped. Despite her occasional longing for her friend to look a bit more fashionable, which would result in more of a social life, Maddie understood her decision early on to be practical and it worked for her job, just not romance. Although...

  “Keep your jacket on and take off that hat.” It wasn’t said with malice or derision so Persephonii tended to listen to Madison’s advice. Friends for almost a decade now, the two were very much opposites, which is why they tended to get along so well. Two years older, Underwood, whose rich chestnut hair and deep brown eyes with pale refined features, was a classic beauty. Her recent divorce had been a few years too late in both their opinions but Maddie's new single status had her practically glowing and looking for some fun. Sadly that often meant she tried to rope Percy into it with her. Which was part of the reason Percy found herself dressed and on the opposite side of town from her comfy bed.

  After she had gotten home, wishing Charles goodnight, Persephonii had done her chronicling, updating the Coda while the bundles of clothes, from both the latest trip and what was left in her closet, were in the wash. Finally taking that shower and later dressed in warmer clothes, she had been fiddling with the heating system pondering a good night's sleep when Madison had called. There was a body that had been flagged for a.s.a.p. consultation in one of the isolation rooms. As both the Medical Examiner for the city Preternatural or Paranormal Police Department, P.P.D. and Persephonii’s friend, who had only heard bits and pieces of the latest escapade, Madison had called her in, killing two birds with one stone. The call hadn’t been just about the urgent flagged consultation, earlier that evening Dr. Underwood had been guilted into attending a regional meeting for the P.P.D. and wanted some company.

  The body had presented little work for Persephonii who had immediately authenticated the Werewolf’s death as due to natural causes, though it presented more than a few questions as it appeared the Wyr had died from a severe case of anaphylactic shock. Something that should have been physically impossible as the Wyr's Lycanthropic virus created a nearly perfect immune system. There were a few strains that had some idiosyncrasies but the majority of them had only one allergy, silver. Reactions to silver usually presented with burns, more like fire or heat creating rashes which lasted a day or two. She had seen silver burns as severe as a third degree burn, and Wyr could die from silver poisoning. This young man showed an onset of full anaphylaxis with swelling of the eyes, tongue, and throat. The examination showed no sign of silver poisoning or burns. The wolf strain was one of the more robust forms of the virus, creating an incredible immune system, so how could a Wyr die from anaphylaxis?

  In the end, the two were left with more questions like; what could have caused such a fast onset of symptoms? Had the episode been deliberate or accidental? Why hadn’t the antibodies kicked in? He seemed to have been healing well enough, but the allergy attack, whatever it had been, had caused enough respiratory distress that he had died from asphyxiation and cardiac arrest. Persephonii could see no magic, spells or other non-natural energies on the body, her sight was clear of all magical foul play. What was left of the aura was intact and other than a few particles from the area he was in when the attack occurred, he had no powders or potions in his system that could have caused this. Wolves-bane powder could occasionally work on a Wyr like a h
allucinogenic, but neither had heard of it causing allergic reactions in Wyr. Wyr biology was so advanced, any threat to the body, especially the immune system, tended to be annihilated before the infection or agent could take hold.

  Dr. Underwood had been working as M.E. for the last five years, and in the P.P.D. lab before then. After so many years being up close and personal with the areas large and expansive paranormal community, she had seen her share of the strange and unusual. Rarely did something like this come down the pike. From what was known about the virus, this young man shouldn’t have been dead, but here he was on the table. Unfortunately, the paperwork didn’t ask for explanations, just confirmation that it was not a homicide. Though it was rather improbable, it appeared to be a completely natural cause of death. With that cleared, the body would be released to the family or Pack in this instance. The rest would be left to whoever took the case, if there was a follow up.

  Generally, the Para groups tended to monitor and govern themselves. It was only when rogues targeted humans, or humans targets Paras that the P.P.D. got a hold of a case. More recently there had been humans trying to mimic Para attacks as Anti-Para sentiment rose. There were humans who wanted to blame the Para for the problems of the world. Para attacks, those against humans, were easily discernible from those perpetrated by humans, especially to gifted people like Persephonii.

  Quite frankly, Wyr victims tended to end up in some far, remote section of town or forest, decomposing beyond recognition and were mainly attributed to violent crime or wild animal attacks in the later cases. Vampire victims tended not to show up at all.

  One might have thought the two should have been reversed. With Vampyres draining their victims and leaving them out for nature to do the rest, where Wyr, whose reputation had touted them as human killers and eaters, would jump at the chance for a good meal. Thus, leaving little to nothing behind for others to find. But for those who chose to do their own research rather than listen to the media hype, Wyrs tended to dislike human flesh. From what she had gathered, she attributed it to a few factors, something about the taste having to do with the different proteins and amino acids in human versus animal meat. Too many bones and not enough meat, or the fat to flesh ratio getting leaner on the one end and fuller on the other. She tended not to ask that and similar questions straight out as it was considered extremely rude, but she had a few Wyr friends and had discussed that and other issues...for research of course.

  In any case, Wyr attacks tended to be due to instinct rather than hunger. Instincts were strongest on the days closest to a full moon where senses were extra receptive and emotions already ran high. Wyr energies tended to circle and vibrate at higher levels, Persephonii often thought their insides had to be equally turbulent. All in all, it was a wonder that more attacks didn’t happen. True the P.P.D. was busy all year round and her job was by no means idle, but the true level of destruction that the Para’s represented was always held in check by their will and control. The same couldn’t be said of the humans.

  Around the turn of the 20th Century, about the same time the U.S was facing the industrial revolution, the Wyr and Vampyres had emerged. The revelation was mostly led by the Vampyres, who had apparently looked back at their hiding throughout human history and thought they had run things from the shadows for long enough. It was time to step into the light...so to speak. The government, upon having to face the full on, unabashed existence of the Vampyres and Wyr had at first through to create a separate branch of government, a fourth branch devoted to Para and their specific needs. It seems that even back then there had been some rather P.C. law makers who had brought up the fact that the protests and intent were to support the once human Paras as an extended part of the human world. And as someone had no doubted pointed out, would be an untapped market and provide a new and growing constituency, which would limit potential votes if it was to form its own administration within the U.S. government.

  Flash forward to present day, the different departments had a few decades worth of working side by side with the Para-legal's. Pun-intended. While the interaction and relationships was often biased and worked at times about as well as a lead balloon, it was just as fair as any of the other forms of government, which some might have said wasn’t a compliment at all.

  While the general pro-vampyre sentiment seemed to stay steady, usually in the good graces of the population, the pro-Wyr sentiment was usually low., While a vampyre president was going to be a long way off, their media presence and culture continued to fascinate the masses. Currently, vampyre rights included the ability to vote and own property, they kept the basic rights after ‘death’ as they had in life. Wyr rights didn’t seem to change though many Wyr kept their status low key as Wyr sentiment tended to be ever in the bottom percentile. How the populace thought the Wyr virus was more infectious than the Vampyre she didn’t know, but then again Persephonii had years of research, study and the Waters library at her disposal and did not rely on media coverage to inform her decisions.

  Wyr attacks tended to end in two ways for their victims, either in a very messy death or severe, often critical care. It was rare that those unfortunate enough to come across a rampaging Wyr left the scene unscathed. Those who did survive the initial physical attack could then look forward to the virus. The transformation from human into full fledged Para was again an either or scenario, there tended to be no in-betweens, at least none that were readily apparent.

  Though there tended to be exceptions to every rule, current information on the Wyr and Vampyre Viruses showed a very grim either or scenario. You either survived the change or you died, it either worked one-hundred percent or it didn’t. Certain strains of lycanthropy were more devastating than others and often the higher level of transmission the less deadly the virus. Thus, wolf and bear populations were more common than say the leopard, tiger or even snake varieties. A few of the later were venomous, Persephonii often wondered how anyone survived to begin with.

  One key for the victims survival in the event of an attack was the position and depth of the bite, the main source of transmitting the virus. Smaller, more shallow bites were less likely to kill you straight off. The other main factor being that once bitten the virus tended to strengthen rather than weaken its new host. It was surviving the journey from human to Wyr that truly limited their number.

  Other popular misconceptions, touted by the media, were that humans became vampyre through blood transfusions, in reality it worked very similar to lycanthropy. It was false propaganda that a single Vampyre would turn an army if they desired. The Turning process was long and hard, otherwise the human population would have been overrun centuries ago. As it was the Vampyre population drew in the media, as the majority of their numbers were both striking and cultured. Persephonii knew better than most that looks could be deceiving, her sight stripped away any spells or glamour's, leaving her to experience the hard, real truth when so many others saw light and beauty.

  She often thought Vampyres were not so different from their once human selves, and likened their choice of vetting companions to choosing your dinner from the menu, only a small fraction, say one or two out of fifty, of those surrounding a vampyre could be Turned. But the truth didn't stop throngs of people from flocking toward the Vampyres to try and receive a piece of their supposed immortality. For Persephonii it was like watching a diner, who tended to gravitate toward the wonderful, full color images on the glossy paper. The more pleasing to the eye, the more scrumptious they seemed. Vampires appeared to work along the same shallow lines as the rest of humanity. Their numbers spoke for themselves, beautiful alluring individuals, manly chiseled physiques, luscious curves, an onlooker could map the slow change in the definition of ideal beauty in their numbers, forever preserved in living flesh. Yes, Vampyres were 'alive'.

  The Human Vampyre Virus was a highly complex almost symbiotic virus, which essentially rewrites D.N.A., altering the human genetic code. Ensuing countless alterations, transforms the human's biological m
akeup, creating an almost indestructible biological structure and gaining a near immortality to the cells. These changes result in wider, less human-like traits including hyper awareness, superior senses, strength and higher cognitive functions, as brain chemistry advances to be able to keep up with an influx of electrical currents and stimuli. As their digestive system changes to cause them to hunger for the blood of uninfected species, mostly humans but other animals, including the Wyr could be used for a blood source. Though Vampyres preferred human blood as the Wyr virus changes those infected, which in turn changed the way the Vampyres process Wyr blood, leading them to consume larger quantities in order to get the same results. Again, Persephonii had heard that the Wyr blood tasted off, not quite human and tended to be a back up to human blood.

  Persephonii stayed in contact with quite a few people who were studying the viruses using modern technology and continued to collect samples, information and compile research herself. For someone less invested in the scientific processes, she often drew on the process and metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a butterfly, to explain the transition. Though a little off for an example, the change from Human to Para tended to increase the senses and desires that were already there. In this case the exterior stayed the same but the interior, organs and bodily processes changed. The process of metamorphosis involves a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. In the Vampyre and Wyr cases the body is changing on a cellular level, emerging after the virus as a new, hardier structure.

  In regards to the young Wyr-wolf, twenty-four year old Nolan Conner, whose case, though interesting, was taking a back burner to the media sensation that was following the Norman Fischer case. Though the P.P.D. and F.B.I. task force had been called in to handle the media darling's supposed Turning and subsequent rampage through a large Pro-Para rally three months or so ago, the rest of the local departments were meeting that night to discuss rising tensions and devise a plan to keep all citizens safe. Persephonii had gotten a message from the head of the Local P.P.D. divisions, an old friend, Liam Studwick, asking her to drop by if she was up for it. At the time she had not felt anywhere near ‘up for it,” anymore than she was ‘up’ for much of anything now. That had been before Madison’s call, and subsequent personal guilt trip.