Turning my back to the door, I turned the knob, but it was locked, of course. No surprises there. I was looking for another way out when the door opened and Travis stepped into the lab.
“Where’s Rafe?” I demanded.
“In his cage, like a good little guinea pig.”
A cage! “What are you going to do with him?”
“Whatever the hell I want.”
Taking me by the arm, Travis led me out of the lab, then guided me, none too gently, down a narrow corridor. He turned right into another corridor and opened the last door at the end of the hall. When he switched on the light, I saw a small, square room. The white walls and the tile floor were bare. The only furnishings were a narrow cot topped with a dark gray blanket, and a three-legged table. A pedestal sink and a toilet occupied one corner.
“Make yourself at home,” Travis said, and pushed me into the room.
It was getting to be a habit with him. One I didn’t like. I spun around to face him. “I want to see Rafe.”
Travis snorted. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what you want.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“It’s us or them, missy. Haven’t you figured that out yet?” He snorted softly. “Too bad you’re on the wrong side.” Moving behind me, he removed the handcuffs.
I rubbed my wrists. “How long are you going to keep me here?”
“Until the tests are over.” He winked at me. “You’re a guinea pig, too.”
My insides turned cold. “What do you mean?”
“My grandmother and Edna think they’ve found a way to cure the Weres and the Vamps and restore their humanity, but before we add their formula to the world’s water supply, we need to test it and make sure it’s harmless to the general population.”
“Vampires don’t drink water.”
“But they drink human blood. They’ll ingest the formula that way.”
“You can’t do this! What if it doesn’t work? What if…what if it kills the Werewolves and destroys the Vampires?” Surely Pearl and Edna realized their so-called cure wouldn’t work on the Undead. Vampires didn’t have a disease. Did Pearl and Edna really think they could restore life to the Undead? And what about the shape-shifters? They weren’t made or brought across, they were born that way.
“If they die, they die,” Jackson said with a shrug. “Either way, there will be a sudden decrease in the Supernatural population. Either way, we win.”
“I’m not a Supernatural creature.”
“True, but that’s why you’re here. We need to test the effects on a few regular people, too.” He ran his hand across my cheek. “I’m sorry you had to be one of them.”
I jerked away, repelled by his touch and the merciless look in his eyes. “What happens when the tests are over?”
A muscle worked in his jaw.
It was all the answer I needed. Whether the cure worked or not, they couldn’t leave any witnesses behind. Feeling suddenly numb, I sat down on the edge of the cot. What they were doing was not only against the law, it was inhuman, immoral.
“Try and get some sleep.” Travis looked at me a moment, the way a man might look at a pet dog that was about to be destroyed. “I’m sorry you got involved in this,” he murmured, and left the room.
The rasp of the key turning in the lock sounded ominous.
And final.
Rafe took several slow, deep breaths in an effort to breathe through the pain. The silver binding his wrists and ankles burned his skin like the very fires of hell, stripping him of his strength, making it hard to think of anything else. All he wanted to do was sleep and escape the pain sizzling through him, but rest eluded him.
Lying there in the dark, he quietly cursed himself for being caught like a rat in a trap. If he had been paying attention to his surroundings, Jackson and his cronies would never have taken him unawares, but he had been thinking about Kathy and how good she had felt in his arms the night before, and how much he missed her when they were apart. In spite of the obstacles between them, he couldn’t imagine his future without her. He had been trying to decide whether or not he should propose to her again when Travis Jackson had stepped out of the shadows and thrown holy water in his face.
Rafe had yelped in pain. Before his vision cleared, Jackson and five of his buddies had wrestled him to the ground and cuffed his hands behind his back. He had tried to dissolve into mist, but the silver manacles had quickly drained his strength, leaving him weak and powerless.
Bound like a hog for the slaughter, they had shoved him into a cage and dumped him in the back of a van. Hours later, he had been carried out of the van, cage and all, to wherever the hell he was now. He tried to shake off the hood that covered his head, but it was tied in place, leaving him in darkness. He reached out with his feet, measuring his prison. The cage was barely large enough to hold him. He swore under his breath. Trapped in the dark and bound with silver, he was virtually helpless.
Where was Kathy?
He closed his eyes, focusing on her image. She was near, he was sure of it, but he couldn’t find her, couldn’t concentrate.
Dammit, where was Mara when he needed her? And then he remembered; she had gone to Rome to confer with the Italian Vampires. She had taken Roshan and Brenna with her; his parents were still in South America. And Rane, who the hell knew where he was?
Rafe swore softly. For the first time in his life, he was truly alone. He swore again, wondering if Kathy, like the woman in his dreams, would be the means of his destruction.
The hours dragged by. Eventually, exhaustion took over, and I collapsed onto the cot. Pulling the blanket over me, I closed my eyes and slept. My dreams were fragmented, filled with images of Cagin caught between the transition from man to beast, his face and body hideously distorted. I turned away from him, running for my life. Seeking shelter, I clawed my way up an icy mountain to Susie’s house, realizing too late that there would be no help for me there. She was one of them now, no longer human, no longer my friend. Travis Jackson rose up out of a dark mist, the blade of a knife shining like molten silver in his hand. Edna and Pearl loomed behind him, their faces wreathed in insincere smiles. There was only one person I dared trust, one man I could turn to, and I ran on and on through the endless night, chased by the fear of what I might become if I couldn’t find him….
I woke to my own screams echoing off the walls and ringing in my ears.
The sliver of light streaming under my door told me the night was over. I worried about Rafe, wondering if they had provided a dark place for him to spend the day.
Rising, I relieved myself, then paced the floor, my thoughts chasing themselves like a cat chasing its tail. Where was this place? Where was Rafe? Tests, Travis had said. Tests to see if the formula concocted by his grandmother and Edna could cure the Werewolves and the Vampires. Tests to see how the shape-shifters, and ordinary people like me, would react to their so-called cure. I broke out in a cold sweat. What if it had no effect on the Supernatural community? What if it turned me into some kind of ravenous monster? Suddenly, being a run-of-the-mill Vampire didn’t seem so bad.
The hours passed with agonizing slowness. A man wearing a mask and a white lab coat brought me a breakfast tray. The smell of scrambled eggs and sausage made me sick to my stomach. I drank the coffee, ate a slice of toast, and left the rest.
Agitated, worried for my future and Rafe’s, I paced the floor again.
Lunch arrived a little after noon. Even though I wasn’t hungry, I forced myself to eat a little of the turkey sandwich, felt a rush of unwanted gratitude for whoever had included a chocolate malt.
Sitting on the edge of the cot, I stared at the opposite wall. Time hadn’t passed this slowly since I was a little girl waiting for Christmas morning.
Rising, I paced until my legs ached, then stretched out on the cot and closed my eyes. What were Edna and Pearl doing now? Where was Rafe? Had anyone noticed that I hadn’t opened the store today? If I never returned to Oak Hollow, would anyone even miss me? I wished that I had told my mother that I loved her the last time we talked, just in case it really was the last time.
As the hours passed, I grew increasingly more fearful. “Rafe.” I whispered his name, wondering if I would ever see him again, wishing that we had made love when we had the chance. “Rafe, where are you?”
Kathy?
His voice whispered in my mind, calming my fears. “Rafe!”
I’m here.
“Are you all right? I’m so afraid.”
I know. Strange, I tried to contact you before and couldn’t.
“That is odd,” I agreed. He was the one with the Supernatural powers. I had always seen things, heard things, through him. I was about to ask him if he knew where we were when the door to my room opened and two men wearing white lab coats stepped inside.
Without saying a word, they took hold of my arms and escorted me back to the lab I had seen the night before.
Something new had been added, a double row of large animal cages, six on each side of the room, facing each other. Seven of those who were locked inside were strangers to me, but I knew the people in three of the cages—Cagin, Susie, and Rafe. The fourth was a pretty girl with dark blond hair and violet eyes. I frowned, thinking she looked familiar. Of course, Jennifer Something-or-other. She had come to the bookstore once or twice.
The last cage was empty, the door open. I knew it was for me.
I fought a losing battle as the two men dragged me toward the cage. They locked me inside and then left the room.
I stared at Rafe. He sat hunched over in the middle of his cage. He stared back at me, but said nothing. His face and neck were badly burned where the holy water had touched him. I felt his pain as if it was my own, wondered what drug they had used to subdue him.
This couldn’t be happening. Any minute now I’d wake up in my own house in my own bed. Yet even as I told myself it was nothing but a nightmare, I registered the fact that the cages held two human men, three Werewolves, three Vampires, and three shape-shifters. The Vampires and Werewolves were bound with silver, which drained their Supernatural strength. Each group consisted of two males and one female, all between twenty and thirty years old.
Edna and Pearl were totally insane, I thought. Effectively testing something as radical as this would take years. You couldn’t test a new drug on twelve people and call the results conclusive. And what about its effects on dogs and cats, on birds and fish and livestock? On the water supply and agriculture, the atmosphere itself?
I noticed that Cagin was holding Susie’s hand through the bars, though she seemed unaware of it. I was surprised to see them there, since Rafe had told me that Cagin was taking Susie away from Oak Hollow.
The other prisoners sat in silence, their faces reflecting nothing of what they felt, if indeed they felt anything. Drugged, I thought, all the Supernatural creatures had been drugged to render them incapable of fighting back.
I tensed as the door to the lab opened and Edna and Pearl walked briskly into the room. In addition to their usual colorful skirts and sneakers, they wore lab coats, rubber gloves and hospital masks. The two men who had brought me into the lab earlier followed them inside. I fought down a rising tide of panic as Edna and Pearl moved around the room. Why had I never noticed that insane gleam in their eyes before? Hard to believe it had always been there and I had never seen it. I had been amused by their outrageous appearance and eccentric behavior and dismissed them as two slightly unconventional grandmothers. How could I have been so blind?
I couldn’t help wondering where Travis was. I thought it odd that he wasn’t there to watch the tests.
“We’ll start with the shape-shifters,” Pearl decided. She picked up a small glass bottle, removed the cap, filled a nasty-looking syringe with dark green liquid, and moved toward the first cage.
One of the lab assistants unlocked the door. He grabbed hold of the shape-shifter inside and held him down while the second assistant extended the shifter’s arm. Quickly and efficiently, Pearl injected the serum into his vein. The assistant locked the cage door, and then Pearl and her assistants moved to Jennifer’s cage. She offered no resistance.
Cagin was next. He snarled when they opened the door. In spite of being drugged, he tried to put up a fight, but in his weakened state, he was no match for the two burly assistants who held him down while Edna administered the dose.
“The Werewolves next, I think,” Edna said, filling another syringe, “and then the Vampires.”
Pearl looked at me. It was hard to read her expression behind the mask, but it seemed her eyes were sad. “And then the humans,” she murmured.
I could only watch in horror as Pearl and Edna moved from cage to cage, injecting the Werewolves. My stomach clenched when they opened the door to Susie’s cage. She seemed unaware of what they were doing to her.
Rafe’s gaze locked with mine when they opened his cage. Bound with silver chains, he was helpless to resist, but his eyes never left mine.
The other two Vampires were quickly inoculated.
I glanced at the shape-shifters. They sat as before, unmoving, and I wondered how long it would take to see what the serum’s effects would be, if any.
Minutes passed and then the first Werewolf that had been injected howled with pain as he changed into a wolf and then quickly resumed his human form. He howled again and then, foaming at the mouth, he collapsed and lay still.
In moments, the second Werewolf let out a long wail that sent chills down my spine, and then he, too, collapsed.
I stared across the aisle at Susie. She lay on the floor of her cage, her teeth bared. She moaned piteously as her body convulsed.
In the cage beside hers, Cagin growled softly.
I glanced at the other two Vampires and then at Rafe. They didn’t move, only sat there, unblinking. And then, one by one, they toppled sideways and lay still.
“Rafe.” His name whispered past my lips. He didn’t seem to be breathing.
I watched with mounting horror as Pearl injected the two human males, and then one of her assistants unlocked the door of my cage. I stared at the needle in Pearl’s hand, more frightened than I had ever been in my life.
I screamed, “No! Let me go!” when the two men grabbed me. Though there was little room in the cage to maneuver, I kicked and bucked for all I was worth in an effort to free myself, but I was no match for their greater strength.
Terrified and helpless, I stared up at Pearl. The needle in her hand looked huge and deadly. “Please,” I begged, “please don’t do this.”
“I’m sorry, dear,” she said, and jabbed the needle into my vein.
I watched the sickly green liquid disappear into my arm. A burning sensation shot through me, and I went limp as the two men released me. My blood felt like it was on fire, my body felt heavy, numb. Helpless, I could only lie there, wondering if I was going to die like a lab rat in a cage.
As from far away, I heard Edna’s voice. “It’s obvious the formula doesn’t work on the Werewolves.”
Pearl picked up a long stick and poked Susie with it. She didn’t move. “Perhaps it was too strong, or we used too much.”
“Yes, perhaps,” Edna murmured thoughtfully. “We’ll have to change the dosage and round up more subjects.”
“Yes, dear, I think you’re right,” Pearl agreed. Removing her mask and gloves, she tossed them on a table.
“I didn’t expect the results on the others to take so long,” Edna said. She peered into the cages that held the two human males. Like me, they lay unmoving and unresponsive when she poked at them.
“Why don’t we go have dinner while we’re waiting?” Pearl suggested.
“We might miss something.”
“Nonsense! The cameras are recording,” Pearl said, glancing up at one of the monitors mounted on the wall. “We can watch from the kitchen.”
“You’re right, as always,” Edna said with a smile. She peeled off her gloves and removed her mask.
“Let’s go, dear,” Pearl said. “Travis should be back by now.”
Unable to move, I lay there for what seemed like forever, only gradually becoming aware that some of the others were moving.
And then I heard Rafe’s voice. “Kathy? Kathy! Are you all right? Dammit, answer me!”
With a great deal of effort, I managed to roll over so I could face him. “You’re alive.”
He grunted softly.
“Are you still a Vampire?” Even as I asked the question, I wondered if I wanted him to be cured. I had fallen in love with a Vampire. Would I feel the same about him; would he be the same man, if he were human?
“I don’t know.” Head cocked to one side, he touched his elbow to one of the silver bars that imprisoned him and quickly jerked away. “I’d say so.”
I was relieved and disappointed, but mainly glad that he was still alive, still my Rafe.
“Can you move?” he asked.
“I think so.” I sat up cautiously. The world spun around me for a few seconds before righting itself. So I could sit up. Big deal. I was still locked inside a steel cage.
Moving carefully, Rafe sat up. “Dammit.” He closed his eyes for several minutes. I could almost see him conquering the pain the silver caused him, feel the effort it cost him to gather his power and focus his energy. He stared at the lock on the door of my cage.
I held my breath, afraid to move or speak for fear of distracting him, even though I wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing.
Several long moments passed into eternity and then, miraculously, the padlock fell open.
“Find the keys,” Rafe said. “Hurry!”
I found a set on the counter, near several bottles of serum. Grabbing the keys, I opened Rafe’s cage. Moving cautiously, careful to avoid touching the bars, he crab-walked out of the cage. It took me several tries to find the key to the shackles that bound his hands and feet. My stomach churned when I saw the angry red burns at his wrists and ankles.
But there was no time to do anything about them now. I quickly unlocked the other cages. The two male Werewolves were dead. Susie lay unmoving. Her face was pale and sheened with perspiration, but she was still breathing.
As soon as I unlocked the door to Cagin’s cage, he scrambled out and drew Susie into his arms. I freed the other two Vampires, then removed their restraints. I had the feeling they were both very young in the life.
“What now?” I asked when the last cage had been opened.
“We need to gather up everything we can find,” Rafe said. He pointed at the two human men. “You two, gather up all these bottles and anything else you can find.”
Without a word of argument, the two men quickly found a couple of empty wooden crates and began filling them with bottles of serum, along with the contents of the drawers and cupboards.
It took only a few minutes.
“Cagin,” Rafe said, “take everybody to my house. Kathy, go with him.”
“No way.”
Cagin looked at me. “You staying or going?” he asked impatiently.
“Staying.”
For once, Rafe didn’t waste time arguing with me.
“Be careful, you two,” Cagin said. Opening the door, he glanced up and down the hall before leaving the lab. The shifters moved out behind him, followed by the Vampires and the two men.
“What are we going to do?” I asked.
“Look for the formula to that damn serum.”
“Do you think it’s here?”
“I don’t know.” He checked the drawers to make sure nothing had been left behind. “Come on, let’s check the rest of the building.”
I followed Rafe down the hallway. He stopped at each room along the way to peer inside. Most of them were empty; two contained cots, no doubt for the guards. A third was the room where I had been held. The last room was an office.