Lily
Lily didn't know how to feel in that moment-in fact, she felt painfully numb. She had never felt differently than others, aside from the abnormal dreams, the voices-well-voice-in her head.
She turned teary eyes to Ward, "You're lying."
His face grew stern, "I would never lie about something like this."
He had to be. She didn't have an insatiable yearning for blood. The sun didn't burn her skin. "You have to be." She said rather abruptly, "It's not possible. I-I feel-" perfectly human.
"It works differently with you, Lilith." He said as if reading her thoughts.
"No-" she snapped, "determined to not believe a word of it. "You're speaking untruthfully."
"What reason do I have to conjure such a lie?" he bristled.
She clenched her teeth at the insanity of his words. "What are you saying?" as she peered at him intensely, "If it killed my mother-why didn't it kill me? How did I become-this-" she couldn't even voice the word hybrid, it sounded bizarre and absolutely crazy.
He regained his pacing, "Your mother's body rejected the blood, killing her-but somehow your body absorbed it. I have spent half your life attempting to better understand how this came to be-it could be due to various reasons-" he paused, taking a breath. "-I injected the blood into your mother's peripheral vein, which flowed directly into her bloodstream, passing with ease to each organ, but eventually your mother's body rejected it."
"And me?" she pressed, feeling the room beginning to spin.
"You were nestled quite comfortably in your mother's womb; I believe once I administered the blood, you were most susceptible to it, accepting it far more quickly than your mother's system. It could have been a number of reasons-lessened clearances in kidney function, the lack of stomach acid-whichever the reason; it somehow altered your genetics, transforming you into what we call the hybrid."
She felt a panic erupt in her chest, "I haven't felt any differently-what if what you're saying isn't true?"
He sighed, "I hadn't noticed any signs early on, and at first, I thought all my efforts had failed, but than I noticed subtle diversities. You aged differently than other children, not quite at their rate but slightly behind. Whenever you scraped your knee, bumped your head, opened a small gash-it healed a little more quickly than the average child."
"I don't remember this." Lily interjected.
"How could you?" he said, "You weren't looking for them."
"And the vampire?" she demanded-she refused to say Varian's name to Ward-it seemed a bit too personal.
His broad shoulders stiffened, "I began to notice that there was another who knew of you. I should have known that with the blood came other certainties. You did a lot of talking as a child, mostly to yourself, I pegged it for silly childish nonsense, but than you spoke of a voice, constantly in your head-"
She shook her head, "I don't remember-" she had only just recently heard Varian's voice in her head but truly had no recollection of such as a child.
"You were at an impressionable age; it was easy to manipulate you. I simply told you it was all in your head, figuratively of course, and eventually the voice went away."
"Why did you tell me it was nothing?"
"Having spent centuries tracking and hunting vampires, I became well acquainted with their many attributes-one in particular being their ability to communicate with their thoughts, most specifically to those who share a blood link. The creature knew nothing about you, he knew only of you. You managed to block the voice from your head, another ability you acquired, and as the years transpired, you led a semi-normal life-until now." His blue eyes darkened, "I needed you guarded, unaware, until the time was right. I had to mentally and emotionally prepare myself for this day. I pushed you away, I rejected your affections as a child, because this-" He waved a hand before her, "-is what I have worked centuries to obtain."
"And now?" she felt empty inside, "What do you have planned-since I am nothing more than your little project." She said this lastly with heavy disdain.
"Part of you is human and it is that part that hinders my work-I can only do so much with you which is why I need the vampire. He is naturally drawn to you-he smells his own blood coursing through you, and I'm sure by now, he's aware of how."
His face twisted with a mixture of anger and frustration. "I have tried countless times to lure him, but as always, he evades my advances."
He fell silent and was quick to note the swarm of emotions clouding her face. "You have to understand-" he felt compelled to say, "-this was all devised at a time where we were centuries apart. I had never imagined having a wife and child-"
"But it proved to work in your favor, right?" she snapped heatedly, "Whether I was apart of your initial plan or not, it all worked so efficiently for you." She laughed coldly, "Your self-crazed obsession with your so-called science will ruin you. You don't realize the danger you're tampering with."
"And you do? You seemed to have spent a little time with your supposed sire, why not share a word or two on the topic?"
She stiffened defensively, "I wouldn't betray him to you."
A look of surprise settled on his harsh face, "Have you developed feelings for the vampire?"
She clenched her mouth shut, knowing he was attempting to pry something from her and by damned, she wasn't about to fall for his tricks.
His eyes narrowed shrewdly, "I will gain something before the night is done."
Ward stepped toward her and Lily stiffened as he withdrew a scalpel from his pocket. "What are you doing?" she jerked against her restraints.
"Though his blood flows in your veins, I'm sure he is undeniably drawn to the human part of you-" he stepped forward and reached for her arm, "He is the key to unlocking your hybrid, and in order for me to obtain that, we need our vampire."
Varian
No matter how hard he tried, tugging on those mental strings, Varian couldn't connect mindfully with Lily. He couldn't tell whether she was unconscious or dead and the latter of the two turned his heart over in fear.
She wasn't quite aware of the abilities open to her, therefore hindering her chances at using them.
Surely by now-she knew everything that had led up to this point.
He would explain more to her once he had her safely in his arms.
It was a trap; of that he was certain, just like all the other futile attempts.
He'd like nothing more than to burn the structure down; destroy every last remnants of science McDermott had worked so hard in gaining, but the man was no fool; he wouldn't carelessly store his work in a building like this-he had a discreet location somewhere-Varian would find it- and destroy it.
He felt a sudden jolt of pain and tensed-only the pain was not his own.
Her mind was opening to him, but the small entry only allowed him a piece of what she endured but it was enough to propel him furiously into the dark.
He felt pain, anger, tears-all of which came from one source-Lily.
But it was more than that, no matter how small of a drop, he could smell blood.
Enraged by the thought of something marring her perfectly flawless skin-he moved toward the brick building in a blind rage, but something swept his path, stopping him.
He glared murderously down at the arm that stayed him. "You don't know what you do." Talon warned, "Let me help you."
"No." he growled venomously. "This is my fight."
"It is not the fight that lures you-it's her blood." Talon's eyes widened alarmingly, "You haven't fed, have you?"
He shook Talon's hand from his arm, "I can handle it."
Varian moved with such incredible speed, Talon hadn't a chance to stop him. He was endangering not only himself, but the woman. Even Talon could smell her blood and it appeared to be a significant amount. He wasn't so sure Varian could stop himself from feeding while attempting to rescue his damsel.
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