Taboo (A Tale of the Talhari Book 1) (11 page)

“Does it have to be human blood?” Sydney asked.

“No,” Trina said. “But nothing will satisfy you as fully as human blood. But there is even a loophole around that. You could drink human blood, but not kill the person you drink from.”

“And I would keep my soul?”

“Yes,” Trina said. “But make no mistake. Saul is timeless. He’s smart. If he sought to make you into a bloodsucker he won’t give up so easily. He’s your sire now. He’ll try to seduce you into the kill.”

“He won’t get near her,” Alaric said in a near growl. “And he won’t live long enough to try.”

He rose from the bed, but Sydney grabbed his arm. She pulled him, not expecting him to move, but was surprised when he came down on the bed so hard he actually bounced.

They looked at each other.

“I guess she’s got the strength,” Rhonda said.

“Good.” Sydney clasped Alaric tighter. “You can’t go. That’s what he wants. He said he wants to distract you. Said all of you had become nuisances. The creatures are his. But I don’t know for what purpose.”

“He’s not going to get away with this.” Alaric pulled free and got to his feet again.

“She’s right,” said Joshua. “You can’t react to him. You can’t do anything. We have to think this through, make a plan. We have to be smart. Saul is up to something. He has a plan. He wants you to react without thinking.”

“We can’t afford to make any mistakes,” Rhonda agreed.

Sydney looked at Alaric. “Please don’t run out after him. You’re emotional. You’ll need your wits about you if you plan to fight him.”

Alaric stared around the room, then focused on Sydney. “He’s taken you Sydney, taken all of your beauty and made you into a monster.”

His words were like a slap. She reared back, stung. “I’m not a monster. I’m still me. I still feel like me.”

“Right now you do, but you will kill. His blood is too strong.”

“We won’t let her kill,” Trina said. “And she’s right. She’s still, Sydney. She’s not a monster.” Trina looked at her. “You are not a monster.”

“Maybe this isn’t the worst thing that could happen,” said Rhonda. “I mean look at us. She’s a historian and now—”

Alaric turned on her. “If you think I’m letting her go out with us on our patrols you’ve got another thing coming.”

“You can’t decide that all on your own,” Rhonda argued.

“This is my team, so it damn well is my decision. She’s strong, and she’s dangerous.” He looked at Sydney again. “You’ve recently had Saul’s blood, so you’re not hungry, but you will be, and when you are you will pose a threat to every person you come across. And you cannot drink.”

“She can drink,” said Rhonda, “But she can’t murder.”

“If she drinks she won’t be able to stop herself. She’s too young. You have no idea what it means to be what you are, Sydney.”

“Neither do you.”

Alaric looked to Paul and Joshua to back him up.

“What about daylight?” Sydney asked before either of them could speak.

Trina came to the bed and sat on the edge. “You can walk in daylight. You can go into churches, you can touch crosses. You haven’t been cursed yet. That doesn’t happen until you murder.”

“So I have the strength of a vampire without the weaknesses of a vampire?”

“You say that like it’s insignificant. You have no idea what the hunger is. When it comes on you it will be strong. Alaric is right. You’re dangerous. I don’t think you should be among humans. At least not until we have a grasp on what this transformation means for you; what having Saul’s blood and surviving means. This has never happened in my lifetime.”

“Let me get this straight. You expect me to sit around in this house for days while King Saul is here in town trying to do God only knows what?”

“It doesn’t have to be a death sentence.” Alaric began pacing. “You’re still a historian. Do what you do best. Find out why Saul is here?”

Again, she looked at each of them.

If she thought about it, really thought about it, she’d have to admit they were right. She didn’t understand what she was now, or what she could do. And she didn’t know how dangerous she was to other people. She didn’t want to hurt anyone.

Sighing, she reclined, once again, against the headboard. “Okay. You’re right. But I don’t even feel hungry. I have no desire to drink……” she shivered at the thought, “…blood.”

“But you will,” Alaric said.

“So what now? What time is it?”

“Going on nine.”

Sydney jerked upright. “I was asleep all day?”

“It’s understandable and perfectly normal,” said Trina. “You did, after all, kinda change species. You’re not human anymore. It’s like you died and your body regenerated. Actually, it’s not like that, that’s exactly what happened. Your body expelled unneeded fluids and wastes, Saul’s blood mixed with yours—”

“Wait a minute. Back up. My body expelled what?”

Trina waved this off. “It’s all part of the process. Rhonda and I were looking after you. We cleaned you up after the physical aspects of the change were completed. The presence of fangs is typically the indicator that the transition is complete.”

“This sounds gross.”

“But perfectly normal.”

Sydney ran her tongue along the line of her teeth. “I don’t feel fangs.”

“They retract until you feed. Look at your nails.”

Sydney looked down at her hands and gasped. “My nails are nearly twice as long as they used to be.”

Trina nodded. “Don’t worry, your nails will retract. They’ll only get like that when you feed. You’re basically a killing machine now. You’re strong, you’re fast, and you’re deadly. You’re a predator and you’ve adapted aspects that will keep you alive.”

“Can I fly and read minds?”

“Hollywood.”

Sydney frowned. “Oh well, you can’t have it all.”

“For now,” Alaric said, “we need to patrol. Trina, you stay with Sydney tonight.”

“I thought you were staying,” Sydney said.

“If Saul is here I need to be out on the streets.”

The four began to file out of the room.

“I’ll check in with you in a few hours, Trina,” he said, then he was gone without so much of a backward glance at Sydney.

“Why don’t you try to get some sleep,” Trina said.

She looked at the empty spot where Alaric had been then shrugged. “I’ve been asleep all day. I’m not sleepy anymore.”

“It’s an exhausting process. I’m sure you could use a little more rest.”

“No, not so much. What I need is to move around. To get up and—I don’t know—do something. I’m restless.”

She stood and walked to her bedroom door. The feel of her body as she moved across the room was strange. She couldn’t say exactly what it was, but she did feel different. Powerful somehow.

“I’ll be in my office,” she said over her shoulder, continuing out into the hall.

Sydney sat in her office, staring at the monitor of her laptop. Her present condition was, in a word, inexplicable. She’d always been drawn by the lure research, discovering something new. She loved her work, but at present she couldn’t drum up enough desire to even boot up the laptop. She wanted, no, she needed to see what she could do. But more than that she wanted out of the house and into the night. Just for a little while.

And what was going on with Alaric? It was like he blamed her for being attacked by Saul. This wasn’t her fault. She didn’t want this. And now he wouldn’t even look at her. This shouldn’t hurt as bad as it did, they’d only known each other for a day, but it did hurt. He’d called her a monster.

She had to move, to get out, to do something. She’d go crazy locked up in this house.

She wanted to be outside. She needed to experience the world with her new senses; see what she could do with her new abilities.

She wasn’t hungry, so she couldn’t be a danger to anyone right now. She wondered if Saul’s blood inside her was powerful enough to stave off hunger for this long, if Saul himself ever had to feed.

The lights from the street below cast her office in shadow. It was close to ten. The streets would be quiet and nearly empty. That reason alone should have been reason enough for her to reject the idea as soon as it formed. But instead of remaining safe inside, she walked toward the door.

She listened for Trina, but couldn’t hear anything.

Slowly, quietly she opened the door and stepped into the hall. Just as slowly and quietly, she shut the door behind her. In less than two minutes she was on the street.

She walked the sidewalk in front of her house, shivering with the sensations. Everything was sharper, the colors were deeper, richer, and the sounds were like music. It was all so wonderful and overwhelming.

She looked back at her house, half expecting to see Trina appear in the doorway. When she didn’t, Sydney refocused on the street ahead.

She ran to the end of the street, turned onto Rivermont. The street was quiet, nothing moved, all she heard was the sound of crickets. The sound was so wondrous she felt a crazy impulse to dance, as though it really were music. But she wouldn’t dance. At least not yet. They had told her that she was strong now, and fast. Just how fast was she?

Only one way to find out.

She set off down the sidewalk. She’d dressed in her running sneakers, yoga pants and running shirt. So if anyone saw her, they wouldn’t find it odd that she was running. Even if it was ten at night.

She moved at a trot at first, then a jog, and then a run. It was effortless, so completely effortless. The first half mile was typically a bit uncomfortable for her as her legs and breathing adjusted, but tonight she felt like she could fly. She felt like she could run forever.

She pumped her legs faster, and faster still. She increased her speed until the world past by in a blur. Nobody seemed to be looking at her, so she jumped. She was curious to see if she could go as high as Alaric. She didn’t stop to worry about how she would land and if landing would break anything, she simply leapt.

She went up, sailing past the windows of the houses. Then she was coming down again. She landed soft. As an afterthought she stopped to look around and see if anyone had noticed her. Thankfully, no one had. The road remained deserted. She was stunned to see that in less than five minutes she’d made it to Trent’s Ferry. That had to be two miles at least.

She’d have to remember next time to bring her pedometer so she could track her speed and miles. But for tonight, miles didn’t matter. She could run again and be back home in minutes.

She ran down Trent’s Ferry, then leapt. This time she angled her body so she would land on the top of a house. She could see already that three stories was about her limit. At least that was the case tonight. But three stories was pretty damn impressive.

She landed on the roof of the house and sucked in a lung full of fresh air. She looked out at the city, her city, and almost laughed. She’d just jumped onto the roof of someone’s house. Had actually jumped.

Could she jump far enough to leap from rooftop to rooftop? She didn’t see why not. And if she missed the next house over, she’d just land on the ground. There was nothing to be afraid of.

So she ran, full out. When she got to the edge of the roof she leapt into the air. She flew high, felt the chill air around her body, almost like an embrace. She went up and up, then came down toward the next house. When she landed, she realized she hadn’t jumped one house, but three.

She didn’t pause long enough to look around this time, she kept running and leaping, running and leaping. She knew it was cold evening, but the chilly air didn’t touch her. She wasn’t hot, but neither was she cold. She felt just right.

She kept running, then leapt off the last house and onto the ground. She couldn’t fly, but this was pretty damn close.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

She jumped at the accusation. When she spun around she wasn’t surprised to see Alaric, staring at her, hands on hips and a little out of breath.

“What are you doing?”

She opened her mouth to respond, but found she had no excuse. “I wanted to see what I can do.”

“Murder somebody, that’s what you can do.”

“Come on! If you were me, you’re telling me you wouldn’t be a little curious to see what you were capable of now? You’d just sit in your house and not wonder at all?”

Running a hand through his hair, he shook his head. “I wouldn’t run off. You say you’re not hungry, and that’s fine, but have you forgotten about Saul? You may be stronger and faster than you were in your previous life, but you’re still no match for him. He’s centuries old and the very blood within you that makes you strong is his blood. But in him it’s un-distilled. He could be anywhere waiting for you…waiting for us.”

The thought that she may have put Alaric in danger touched her as nothing else could have in that moment.

“Okay, you’re right. I shouldn’t have run off. I didn’t think you’d follow me, either. I thought you were patrolling.”

“Trina called me when she saw you weren’t in the house. I didn’t know what to think.”

She looked down at her sneakers and exhaled. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to see what I could do. That’s all. I didn’t mean any harm.”