Adagio (Book One of the Muse series)

19. Contact

Something about the way she had conducted this entire conversation made me cold with not only fear at being held against my will by a psychopath, but a new, numbing terror that this unstable woman was talking so matter-of-factly about the depths of the occult. She didn't just talk about these things, though; she had concocted a fully fleshed-out and detailed alternate reality that revolved in part around keeping constant watch over me, and she had included herself as a central figure in her fantasy realm. There was no part of this situation that was safe or sane in the least, and I had to find a way out.

As I reconfirmed my desperation for escape, from the corner of my mind came the unaskable question: What if Hendry was supernatural? Could it be possible, in any conceptualization? I could just imagine having this conversation out loud, say, with Mills. The second I brought up the concept she would be face-down on the couch, laughing hysterically. Why on Earth was I even considering it? But, I thought to myself as I watched Vermont continue to speed by, while I'm entertaining the ridiculous, let's do it up right!

Now then, what did I know about the realm of what she was calling the "supernatural" being? What did I see in the movies? There were werewolves, witches, vampires, and what else? Raiments, I guess . . .

Anyway, let's start with vampires. First, they were supposed to drink blood. No indication of that with Hendry, but she also hadn't eaten anything in terms of regular food, at least as far as I'd seen. Second, they couldn't walk around in the daylight without getting french-fried . . . or sparkling like diamonds like the characters in Twilight. Clearly not an issue for my uncorked friend here—she was driving around in the middle of the afternoon with me as a hostage instead of hunkering down underground or sleeping it off in a coffin.

Third, fangs. So far, none that I had noticed. Fourth, strength and speed. She was a strong chick, and had carried me to the car with no problem, but I hadn't perceived anything of X-Men caliber at all. And fifth, from what I'd seen in the movies and read in books, vampires looked dead, felt dead and were cold and clammy. Not Hendry—her eyes alone were on fire, and the rest of her wasn't far behind.

But speaking of fire, I challenged myself, let's talk about those eyes, and what they had done during the concert. That was not normal. They had been glowing--other-wordly--and aimed at me like a weapon. With them, she had made me hear her language somehow. Was she hypnotizing me, "glamouring" me, as the lore goes? That was something a vampire could do . . .

My alter ego notched a "#1" on the imaginary blackboard she now had in front of her, and then proceeded to ask me a little bit more about the language in question on that very bizarre night. Hungarian. And what else did she speak? Russian? Croatian? Perhaps there could be some Romanian in there too? Hmmm, she intimated with a smirk, how coincidental that vampires are supposed to come from that general part of the world? And with that, she proceeded to notch a "#2" onto the board. Presumptuous little twerp.  Still and all, though, the cards were stacked against "vampire" in this ridiculous game of supernatural Old Maid.

So what else? What about a witch? She certainly didn't look like any witch I'd ever read about. I looked over at her again out of the corner of my eye, silently hating myself for realizing that she was not just attractive but patently sexy. I shook my head and blinked to clear my mind. Enough, Elma. She's not a blind hag from Hamlet, let's just leave it at that. However, if Hendry were indeed a witch, why on earth would she need to tie me up? My alter-ego jumped out of her chair at this, raising a triumphant finger in the air as if to say "Aha!" and proceeded to draw a heavy line through "Witch" on her imaginary chalkboard.

OK, then, what about werewolves? They only turn wolfy when there's a full moon, right? Or at the very least, there's some kind of transition thing that gets triggered? Otherwise they basically operate just like any old average human Joe. Plus, wouldn't werewolves come from the same global region as vampires?Werewolf status would also perhaps explain Hendry's strength, and maybe even the glowing eyes. My alter-ego tapped at her chin thoughtfully and winked at me. Yep, much more likely than a vampire.