by Nely Cab
“What if Olympia tells the Council about me?” I asked.
“She’s not empathic, so she doesn’t sense you’re different. Plus, she’s under the impression you’re a deity,” Nyx said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Well, your hand was fine after you struck her. What else would she think?”
“I hope you’re right,” I said. “It’s one less thing to worry about.”
“Indeed,” Alezzander and David said at once.
It was past eleven o’clock at night, and I told David I needed to go home. After seeing David had their furniture taken to a storage facility, Alezzander decided he and Nyx should check into a hotel in town. Nyx was hesitant to leave David and me alone because of the recent Turpis attack.
“Once I’m home, I’ll be fine,” I said to Nyx. “Galilea has a block placed on my house so no one can see it or me. And David isn’t the one the demons want.”
“But—”
“We’ll be fine, Mother,” David reassured her. “You should both get some rest.”
Alezzander and Nyx left to the hotel in their rental car, and David drove me home. As we drove under the streetlights on my block, I caught glimpses of David’s face. His jaw was tight and his brow tighter. I knew the look of worry on his face.
“You didn’t mean it when you told your mom we’d be fine,” I said to David as he parked.
“No,” he admitted. “But I didn’t want either of you to worry. I don’t want to leave you here by yourself.” He glanced at my house. “Galilea’s invisible block is down.”
“I was of afraid of that.” I said. “She did mention she could hardly handle it anymore. I guess she’s reached her limit.”
“It was bound to happen.”
“Yeah.” I glanced at the house and noticed the living room light was on. “My mom is still up—waiting for me, I’m sure.”
“I wonder,” David said. “Do you think she’d allow me to spend the night?”
“With me—in my bed? Oh…” I shook my head. “I doubt my mom will be okay with it. I might be pregnant, but we’re not married, and she’s old fashioned.”
“I’ll sleep on the couch. I don’t care. As long as I’m here in case anything…in case you need me.”
“So what? You plan on marching in there and saying, ‘Hey, Mrs. Martin, can I crash on your couch tonight? I don’t want the boogie man to get your daughter.’”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He gave me an annoyed look. “I wouldn’t use the term boogie man.”
“So what lie am I telling her this time?”
“You’re going to tell her there’s no furniture in my house because the movers took it. That’s not a lie.”
“It’s also not the entire truth,” I said.
“Isis, do you think I enjoy lying to your mother? But we have to for her own safety.”
“I know. I know.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thanks for being so considerate of my mom. Now, c’mon. Let’s go see what she has to say about our sleepover.”
The television was on, and Claire was asleep on the sofa. I picked up the remote control on her chest and clicked off the TV. She stirred.
“Mom,” I said. A snore. “Mom.” I shook her shoulder. “MOM.”
“What?” she mumbled, her eyes still closed.
“I’m home.”
“M’kay.”
“David’s here, too,” I said. She didn’t react. “Mom…” I shook her again. “Wake up.”
Claire opened her eyes. “What—what’s wrong?”
“David is here,” I said. “His house is empty. He has nowhere to sleep.”
“They got robbed?” Claire asked.
“No. Their furniture got moved into a storage facility.”
“Oh.” Claire sat up and rubbed her sleepy face. She looked over at David who stood by the door. “Hi, David.”
“Evening, Mrs. Martin.”
“Why is your furniture in storage?” she asked.
“The estate is up for sale,” he explained. “I planned on leaving tomorrow—my plans changed—and I’d already contracted the movers to take the furniture to storage. The last of it was taken this afternoon.”
“Really? Shame. That place is beautiful,” she said. “But where are your parents sleeping? Do they have a place to stay?”
“They’re at that new hotel in town,” I said.
“They were given the last available room,” David lied. “The hotel is sold out.”
“Because of summer vacationers,” I added. We waited for my mom to say something. She didn’t. “So is it okay if he stays on the couch tonight?”
“The couch?” Claire asked. “Why? Is there something wrong with your room?
“Oh, that’s a good idea.” I turned to David. “You can sleep in my room, and I’ll sleep with my mom.”
“That’s perfect,” David said. “Thank you, Mrs. Martin.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Claire stood from the couch. She slipped on her house slippers. “David can sleep with you in your room. It’s not like I can expect any more surprises, right?” She walked to the stairs. “Lock the front door and turn off all the lights before you come up. Good night, kids.”
I watched Claire walk up the stairs, my mouth half open. I heard the door to her room shut. I turned to David. “What just happened?”
“I’m not sure.”
I told David to give me a minute. He waited on the couch while I ran upstairs to tidy up my room and change into my pajamas. It would be strange having a boy sleeping in my room. Stranger still, Claire knew about it, and she was just across the hall. If she’d been the one with a man in her room, I’d be disgusted. I wondered what was going through her head. I was tempted to knock on her door and see if see if she really was okay or just playing it cool.
“So where am I supposed to sleep?” said a voice from behind me.
I gasped and turned around. “Galilea! You need to stop doing that.” I closed my eyes and touched my chest with a shaky hand. “What are you doing here?”
“Guarding you. Duh.” She sat on the bed. “By the way, you made me proud today. When you punched Olympia…” She laughed. “And she went down…hit the floor.” She snorted. “Man, oh man! The look on her dumb face… And the best thing…” She snorted again. “I took pictures!”
“You’ve been following me? Since when?”
Galilea held up her index finger and laughed some more. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she caught her breath.
“Yeah, I never left,” she said at last. “I snuck into the backseat of David’s car when he came to knock on the door to pick you up.”
“You’ve been watching me all this time?”
“Not the whole time.” She grinned and rolled her eyes. “I waited downstairs until it quieted down in David’s room. Oh, and thanks for not bothering to close the door.” She frowned at me. “That house is not soundproof. At all.”
“Ugh.” I covered my reddened face. “I can’t believe…”
“You don’t have to apologize. I know what it’s like to be in love. This one time, Galen and I rented a suite in Cabo. Long story short, management kicked us out because the guests complained we were too…uh…never mind. My point is, I’m glad you and David are together, but this sleeping arrangement, it’s not gonna work for me. I can’t be more than thirty feet away from you tonight or the block goes down. I have just enough energy to cover you and me and no more. So…looks like you’re going to have to kick David out.”
“I’m not doing that,” I said. “How long do you need to recuperate or charge up or whatever it is you do to function again?”
“About five days. But I can’t risk letting the block down completely. I’m taking thirty-minute breaks every two hours. It’ll have to be this way from now on.”
“At this rate, you’re going to burn out,” I said. “Take the block down completely until you’re ready to use it again.”
“Mmm-mmm.” She sho
ok her head.
“Will you be able to fight if Turpis attack?”
She huffed. “You know I’m too weak to do anything when I’m this tired.”
“How do you plan on protecting me, then?” I asked. “Take it down, Galilea. You don’t have a choice.”
Galilea pursed her lips. “You’re not my mother. Stop telling me what I can and can’t do.”
“Look.” I put a hand on my hip. “David is here. He’s still got some of his abilities, and I didn’t do so badly last time I fought demons.” Galilea crossed her arms. I pulled her up and off my bed by the arm. “Stop being stubborn. Go home and get some rest.”
She dragged her feet to my bedroom door. I twisted the knob and led her down the stairs.
“Galilea?” David said, surprised.
“Hi,” she said. “I would love to stay and chat, but I’m being kicked out.”
“Because you need to rest.” I pushed her toward the door. “Go.”
Galilea looked back at David. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”
“I won’t,” David said. “Have a good night, Gally.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Galilea muttered.
I ushered her out the door and locked it.
“How is she getting home?” David asked.
“She hides her car in the alley behind the dumpsters. Dumpsters are her favorite parking spot, I’ve noticed. So…” I said, “I don’t suppose you want to wait a bit longer while I finish cleaning up the mess in my room?”
“That’s what you were doing up there? I don’t care how clean or messy your room is.”
“Good. Because I don’t want to clean it now.”
I turned off the living room lights. David and I walked up the stairs to my room. I locked the door behind me.
“Be right back,” I said to David.
I brushed my teeth and changed into my pajamas. David was sitting on the bed shirtless when I came out of the bathroom. His belt was on the nightstand, his shoes lined up neatly by the door.
“Is that what you’re sleeping in?” I pointed to his jeans.
“Well, I didn’t bring a pair of pajamas.”
“You can sleep in your underwear,” I said.
“I didn’t bring a pair of those either.”
I giggled and clicked off the light.
CHAPTER 15
Dr. Gunn closed his laptop. He looked at me for a moment, and then slid a plate from the center of the table toward me. There were pieces of raw, cubed meat on the plate numbered from one through six, each with a different texture, color, and smell. It was incredible how my nose could discern the scents of each square even arranged so close together. I glanced at the spectators standing around me in Galilea’s kitchen—Alezzander, Nyx, the doctors, Galilea, and David. The way they were staring at me made me feel like a sideshow freak.
“You don’t have to start with number one,” Dr. Gunn said, placing a fork on the side of the plate. “Those numbers are there for accuracy. We don’t want to get them mixed up.”
“That won’t be a problem. I can tell what four of them are from the smell. The other two I’m not sure about.”
“Interesting.” Eileen swiped her tablet’s screen and set it down. “Tell me which four you can identify.”
“Number one is fish. The scent is strong, so I know it’s not fresh. Number two is chicken. Beef is number three. Four is pork.”
“That’s right,” Gunn said, raising his brows at Eileen. She picked up the tablet and typed on it. “Now,” Gunn circled his finger over the plate, “out of all these six pieces, which smells the most enticing to you?”
“None of them. Least of all the fish.” I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not sure I want to eat this, Doctor.”
“Sometimes,” David said, “food doesn’t look appetizing, but once you taste it…”
“Lots of cultures around the world consume raw meats.” Galilea walked to my side of the table. She picked up the fork and put it in my hand. “Just try one.”
“Both of those statements are true,” Dr. Gunn agreed. “And you might be able to control your hunger now, but as the pregnancy progresses, the baby will demand more nourishment.”
“Will you be able to control your hunger in two or three months?” Eileen asked. “That’s one of our main concerns.”
“Aside from that, Isis, you need to eat to maintain your strength,” Alezzander told me. He hadn’t said much since we arrived at Galilea’s house. “You do remember the conversation we had last night?”
“I do.” Fight demons. Stay alive. Have a baby. Don’t screw up.
I scanned the plate in front of me, studying the six cubes of meat. I selected the one labeled with a three—the beef. I inserted the fork into it. Holding my breath, I put it in my mouth. I chewed it once. It was softer than I imagined. The metallic taste of iron met my tongue. It wasn’t the same taste of Eros’s blood; his was sweeter and more metallic. I wasn’t fond of this taste—of raw beef—but it wasn’t terrible. I chewed a second time. The flavor that followed reminded me of butter, creamy and smooth. Was it fat? A stronger taste came next—bitter and vinegary. It made my jaw lock. I gagged and coughed and spit the chewed-up piece of meat into my hand.
“No.” I coughed. “I can’t.” I heaved. “I don’t like it.”
“I’ll get some water,” Galilea said, walking to the cupboard.
Eileen handed me a napkin. I wrapped the meat in it and set it aside. David crouched next to my chair and rubbed my back.
“I’m okay,” I told him.
Galilea handed me a glass of water, and I took a sip.
“You don’t have to taste anymore if you don’t want to,” David said.
“David.” Nyx gave him a reprimanding stare.
“If it’s making her sick, what’s the point?” David stood up. He turned his attention to Dr. Gunn. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else she could try?”
“Well…” Dr. Gunn tapped his chin. “Isis, have you attempted to eat anything that wasn’t a raw vegetable in the past month? Cooked meals?”
“No.”
“Maybe—” Dr. Gunn’s watch beeped. “One minute, please.” He flipped open his laptop. His eyes skimmed the screen. “This is not…”
I took a deep breath and braced myself for more bad news.
“What are you looking at, Tobias?” Eileen peeked at her husband’s computer over his shoulder. “Are those both today’s and the previous test results?” she asked. Dr. Gunn nodded. “What’s this happening here?” She pointed at the screen. “It doesn’t look like the initial cultures in her file.”
“The Isis or Creatura cells—I’ve renamed them—are no longer the dominant cells. There’s a new cell.”
“So I’m still changing?” I asked.
“Yes,” Dr. Gunn said. Nyx had been wrong about the pause in my transformation. “But not like before.”
“Is that good or bad?” I asked.
“Good, in my opinion. Let me explain.” He pushed his glasses up the rim of his nose. “The first results—the ones I read you in Athens—indicated the Creatura cells were acting like a bacteria, infecting the human cells, killing them off, and delving into your DNA, which was causing the physical changes in you.” Gunn scratched his head. “But these recent tests, including today’s, show the human cell count has increased. They’ve almost eradicated the Creatura cells.”
“Like a retrogressive effect?” Alezzander asked.
“You would think so, but no.” The scientist motioned me over. David joined me. “You see here?” He pointed to the video playing on the screen. One round bubble was sucking in a misshapen object. “The human cells are absorbing the Creatura cells, much like amoeba do, but keeping some of the Creatura cell traits. Your body has found a way to defend itself; it’s fighting back in a most peculiar way.”
“Her plasma levels are higher than they should be for the first trimester.” Eileen pointed to numbers on the screen. “By eighty percent.”
“Close. 82.3 percent,” Gunn corrected his wife. “And I think I know why.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because your heart is pumping more blood than normal,” Gunn said. “Your body is demanding iron and folic acid for the fetus. Hormones are also involved. Your progesterone and estrogen levels are…freakish.”
“That’s why you’re so moody,” Galilea said. “Freakishly moody.”
“So what does this all mean?” I asked. “What’s happening to me? Am I turning into a monster or not?”
“It means,” Gunn tugged on his lightning bolt earring, “your pregnancy has stopped the Creatura mutation.”
“Stopped.” I glanced at Nyx. “You were right, and maybe,” I looked at David, “that’s why you’ve kept some of your abilities. Maybe you’re staying like this too.”
“That’s a good hypothesis. But…” Gunn shrugged.
“There’s a but.” My hopes deflated. “Of course there’s a but.”
“But,” Gunn reiterated, “because of all the working factors—one of your birth parents isn’t human, the presence of Creatura cells, the pregnancy diverting the changes—it makes you not fully human. By the time the human cells do away with the Creatura cells, theoretically, you’ll be,” he jerked his head at David, “33.3 percent like him, 33.3 percent Creatura, 33.4 percent human.”
“Holy…” Galilea gasped. “You’re like an X-Man.”
“Wait, wait.” I blinked. “What you’re saying is while one third of my genetic makeup is undesirable, the other two-thirds of me won’t want to eat you, so it makes the good part of me the one in control, right?”
“That’s one way of explaining it, yes,” Gunn said.
“How long before the Creatura cells are all absorbed?” I asked.
“I estimate two, three days.”
“Doctor, how does all this affect our child on a genetic level?” David asked.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Gunn said. “I’ll need to gather blood samples. Do you have one of those special Lutetium and diamond blades with you—the kind that can break your kind’s skin so I can get a blood sample?”