Camden took a seat on the couch and leaned forward. He clasped his hands in front of him. "In that case, the possibilities would be endless."
Dr. Brennan's smile broadened and he proudly leaned back into the chair. "Exactly." He looked exponentially calmer than before, and maybe even a little arrogant. "And we did it."
Camden rested his elbows on his knees and leaned a little further forward, mimicking the doctor’s pose. “But how? What is in the formula that it made it so special?”
Dr. Brennan turned his gaze to Camden and gave him a serious look. “The Petonukili Tribe, South Africa,” he said matter-of-factly.
Rayne listened intently as she too took a seat in a straight backed armchair. “Petonukili?”
He nodded. “They were an ancient, witch-doctor tribe that was said to have magical powers, holy even, contained in their blood. Their people were never sick; even when disease and famine wiped out entire civilizations, theirs remained.” He shrugged. “Harry and I did some research, found the last two living members, both knocking on one hundred years old, and traveled to Africa. The things they could do, it was amazing. Anything they touched seemed to prosper: plants, animals, people.”
Rayne titled her head slightly. “People?”
His smile widened. “Even those who suffered from the most horrible ailments, diseases, sickness…” he paused, and his face lost all expression. “Cancer.”
Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked to Camden. His mind was churning just as fast as hers, taking it all in.
Dr. Brennan continued. “We took samples and brought them back for research. The blood on a cellular level was even more remarkable than the people themselves. Anything combined with it, chemicals, the blood of another species even, the cells would bond to it and change the genetic makeup. It was unbelievable!”
Camden shook his head and gave a questioning look. “So why didn’t you stay on the project? What made you leave?”
Dr. Brennan’s mouth pressed into a thin line and his gaze became distant, as if he were looking off into space. He became quiet and shook his head. “Because I realized we were playing God. Something like this could change the world, and possibly not for the better. I couldn’t live with myself if my name were on something that we were all damned to Hell for. Every time we duplicated the cells, they lost some of their power. Four replications, and it had little more effect than your everyday antibiotics.”
He clasped his hands yet again and stared down at them. “If we could only make five usable doses from the samples we took, who were we to make the decision which five should be cured? That’s not for man to decide.” He shook his head and refrained from looking at the two strangers in his home.
Rayne understood what he was thinking and feeling. She couldn’t agree more, and wasn’t in the least offended by his statement. She wouldn’t have been able to make a decision like that, either. Who was to say a five-year-old’s life was more important than the mother of a newborn child’s, a father supporting a family of small children on his own, or a brilliant scientist with a mind that could change the world? Who was to say that those five were chosen to live, and the rest were not good enough? Not her, and she wouldn’t blame anyone else who wouldn’t make that decision, either.
Dr. Brennan finally glanced up long enough to make eye contact with her. “I am glad that at least one person benefitted from it,” he said quietly. “I was very disappointed to hear that it had all been destroyed; that is, until Harry called me and explained what happened.”
Rayne’s eyes widened. “So you knew that he’d given my grandfather the formula?” she asked.
He nodded. “A few days before he was killed, he contacted me and said that it had worked and that he’d found a buyer willing to pay a high price for it, and said that I should rightfully get part of it.” He shook his head. “I told him that I didn’t want any part of it, and within a few days, he was murdered.”
They sat in silence for a moment, letting it all sink in. Finally, Dr. Brennan spoke. “Would you be willing to give a blood sample? It would be interesting to see how it has affected you on a cellular level after all these years.”
Rayne immediately nodded. “Of course. It’s the least I could do after all the information you’ve given us.”
A faint smile played at his lips. “Thank you.”
Chapter 18
Rayne sat on the decrepit couch in her tiny apartment’s living room, her laptop across her legs, and occasionally glanced at Camden as he paced near the windows and front door, peeking out ever so often.
The two of them had discussed and debated all the new information at least a thousand times since they’d made it back to the familiar confines of her home a few hours ago. They’d bantered back and forth about this and that, trying to piece together the puzzle. She decided that the best way to do things was to give it a scientific approach, and resorted to her computer to type up a clear view of the timeline, however vague it might be.
Chain of Events
- Schultz and Brennan discover ancient tribe.
- Research and take samples.
- Develop the serum.
- Brennan leaves project.
- Government denies trials and orders everything destroyed.
- Martin takes the serum and gives it to Rayne.
- Camden approaches Schultz about a business proposition and reveals the existence of Vampires.
- Schultz becomes greedy and seeks out other avenues.
- Offers Brennan a slice of the profits.
- Camden approaches Martin.
- Schultz is killed.
- Martin agrees to Camden’s proposition.
- Fakes Martin’s death.
- Martin lives in hiding with Camden for twenty years, somehow getting treated blood.
Rayne grabbed her head and sighed. It was all too much. Looking at it all written down didn’t help clear it up at all. In fact, it only made her feel a little crazier.
Camden sighed and finally moved away from the window to lean on the back of the couch and stare at the screen over her shoulder. “It just doesn’t add up.”
Rayne nodded. It seemed as though the more information they gathered, the more confusing it all became.
“If it wasn’t Brennan, then who else would have access to the blood?” he asked, more to himself than of her.
She shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t know, but obviously the people hunting us do,” she said quietly.
She stared at the screen, rereading the information once again. “We need to know how these people found out about it.”
Camden shrugged. “Schultz had to have told them. That’s the only way.”
She nodded and placed the laptop on the couch before standing to pace the tiny living room in thought. “Ok. Say he did, and used my grandfather’s name as a successful client. That doesn’t tell me how they found out about me.”
Camden clasped his hands and stared down at them. “Schultz probably mentioned that it was Martin’s granddaughter who was treated.”
Rayne held up a finger. “Then why didn’t they come after me twenty years ago? Why did they wait until now to pursue me?”
His face twisted in confusion as he realized that she was onto something. “You’re right. That doesn’t make any sense.” He stood and began pacing as he had before. “Something had to have happened or changed,” he paused, “but what?”
They both racked their brains, trying to figure what had changed over the last few weeks.
What was new
? But nothing came to mind.
The brainstorming duo was interrupted by the chirping of Camden’s cell phone. With lightning-quick reflexes, he reached into his pocket and brought it to his ear. He said nothing, only stared at the floor as he nodded. He gave a quick, “Ok,” and replaced it in his pocket.
“That was Connor. They must have somehow known that we were onto them. They packed up shop.”
Rayne nodded. Her mind was too busy trying to process everything else to really worry about anything taking place in Louisiana at the moment. Finally, she quit her pacing and grabbed her computer from the sofa. Closing the lid, she tucked it under her arm and sighed. All the mental exertion was giving her a headache. “Guess I’m going to head to bed.” A faint smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. “I know how Layla’s shopping trips can be. I’ll need all the rest I can get.”
Camden straightened and studied her for a moment, trying to assess her emotions. He wasn’t sure why he even tried. She was the hardest person to read that he’d ever met. “Are you ok?” he asked quietly.
Rayne pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I think I’m just suffering from brain overload.”
He nodded and watched as she padded down the short hall and disappeared into her room. She didn’t bother to close the door behind her.
This is all wrong.
He typed out a quick text to Connor and sighed.
The more we know, the less we thought we knew. How does that even make sense?
He resumed his pacing and ran his hand through his short black hair. It’s a good thing that vampires didn’t need to sleep. There would be no chance of getting any rest now.
Rayne dug through her bag, pulled out her grandfather’s old copy of, “The Iliad,” and threw back the covers on her bed. She crawled beneath them and snuggled in. As ratty as they may have been, she had to admit that it felt nice to be back in familiar territory. She just wanted to relax for a few minutes and forget all about everything else. Her brain needed some time to decompress.
Wiggling around until she found a comfortable position, she opened the book and propped it against her knees as she folded them up to her chest. She rifled through the pages, inhaling the musty scent that wafted from the yellowed paper as the memory of her grandfather returned.
It may have been twenty years since she’d last seen him, but the fondness she felt for him was still there. It was almost as if she could feel him sitting next to her, watching her just as she remembered.
But he wasn’t there. She was alone, completely alone in a world where people wanted her captive, or worse, dead.
Sure, Layla and Camden were there for her when she needed them, but it didn’t feel the same as having her mother or grandfather. There was nothing other than friendship holding them together, and an unsolved mystery for her and Camden. Who was to say that at any moment, either of them could decide they didn’t want the trouble that was following her around every corner and just up and leave. There was nothing stopping them, and it scared the hell out of her.
Her mind drifted to the insanely beautiful vampire just a few feet away in her living room. As if this whole ordeal wasn’t enough, she also had to worry about him and what effect he was having on her. One moment, she was so attracted to him that it was nearly painful and she didn’t care what the potential consequences of pursuing him would be. The next, she was running because she was afraid of getting hurt. She was in over her head, and she knew it.
Sighing to herself, she pushed all other thoughts to the back of her mind, and was about to flip to the page where she’d last left off, when something caught her eye. She opened the back cover, and a smile broke out across her face as she read the scribbled message in her grandfather’s handwriting.
Don’t live in fear of things that
May never happen.
A life like that, is not worth living.
A tear rolled down her cheek and she half-laughed, half-sobbed at the hilarity of it. Martin Slade had last seen his granddaughter twenty years ago, when she was only five. He’d never met the adult Rayne, never saw her personality or her heart. Yet, somehow, it felt as though he were reaching through the years to send her a message, telling her that he did know her and who she had become.
She stared blankly at the disintegrating binding of the cover and smiled. Slamming it shut, she placed it on the small table beside her bed. That was the little push she needed. Her mind was made up.
How could he have known that?
Turning out the lamp, she snuggled further into the covers. “Camden?” she called out.
It was less than a second and he was standing at the doorway in all his shirtless, muscled glory. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyebrows creased in worry.
The smile that she was holding back appeared in full force at the vision of him standing there. “Will you stay in here?” she asked quietly, almost fearing his answer.
He stood silently for a moment and then sighed, running his fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck. “Are you sure?” he asked.
Rayne hesitated, but nodded and gave a soft, “Mmhmm.”
Slowly, and with graceful, almost catlike movements, he crossed the room to the opposite side of the bed. He pulled back the covers and climbed beneath them, smiling when she turned to face him and scooted closer to rest her head against his hard chest.
He adjusted so that his head was on the pillow and hers on his arm. It was almost magical, the way she melded against him, as if they were meant to fit together. Her warmth felt foreign to him, something that he hadn’t enjoyed for quite some time. It felt good. It felt right.
Rayne looked up at him through half-lidded eyes, the bright green almost glowing in the darkness of her bedroom, and his expression softened. Whatever she was thinking, whatever she was feeling, he was sure that it was peaceful.