Breed of Envy (The Breed Chronicles, #02) (15 page)

And…I could seriously fall for him. Easily. And maybe I already had a little.

The realization left me with butterflies in my stomach.

I glanced over my shoulder, found him watching me. He smiled and my heart did a one-eighty. I waved and smiled back, then as a small bout of panic struck, faced forward again.

I spotted Greene.
Bad timing, Jade. You’ve got other things to worry about.

Whatever my feelings were for Linc, I’d have to figure them out later.

“Good evening, Miss Hall,” Greene said, speaking a little louder than usual to be heard over the noise.

Peter grinned at me. “Hey, Jade.”

“Hi.” I bit my lip.

Peter offered me some candy. “Having a good time?”

“No, thanks. And yeah. It’s been…” Terrifying, fun, make-out-y, terrifying again? “Something else.”

Greene’s eyes were dark and his lips thinned. “Is there a problem, Miss Hall?”

Did I ask them both, or just Greene? Peter was a hunter, wasn’t he? If Greene didn’t know the demon, maybe Peter would. “I have a question.”

Peter started to pick up his plate from the table. “Need me to leave?”

“No. Actually, you might be able to help.”

Both of their faces showed signs of worry, but it was Greene who said, “Is something wrong?”

“Chris mentioned he set up some of the holograms based off of real demon footage. I was just wondering if there was a way to find out what demons were actually used.”

“May I ask why you’re interested?”

“I recognized one of the demons.”

“From?” Peter asked.

Even though I’d come over here to ask them about it, I still had to steel myself again. I took a deep breath and let it out over a few seconds. “It was the demon that killed my family.”

Peter winced; Greene’s gaze remained steady. “Are you certain, Miss Hall?”

I nodded grimly. “I’m sure. I… I think it was the same one from that night. And I know that sounds impossible,” I rattled on, speaking quickly before anyone could interrupt me, “but I’m almost sure it was. It had the same markings.”

“Miss Hall, surely you realize that some demons share similar markings, or even the exact ones. It’s one of the indicators of a certain breed.”

“I know that.” I jutted my chin out. “But…”

Peter looked down at me. “But what, Jade?”

“But this wasn’t just a marking. It was a scar. From a wound
I
gave it.”

“You attacked the demon?” Greene’s voice wasn’t exactly hard, but it was more…severe now. “I read the reports, Miss Hall, and that wasn’t in them.”

“That’s because I didn’t tell anyone! By the time I mentioned ‘demon’ to the cops, they’d already decided I didn’t know what I was talking about. They’d already decided that I was crazy or delusional—” I waved my hands in the air. “—or whatever they think when they hear something they don’t believe.”

“You never mentioned it to me, either.”

“You didn’t ask about the attack,” I reminded him, forcing my tone to stay low. I wanted to yell, scream, but I knew that would get me nowhere with anyone. “You just talked about it, told me what you knew. Beyond that, you never asked what
I
knew.” And I’d never volunteered it. I knew that, too. But, after hours of being told you didn’t see what you knew damn well you saw, it was hard to tell the truth. It was hard to know when to.

Neither of them said anything for a full minute. The silence was getting on my nerves, making me antsy.

I glanced up, meeting both of their gazes. “Look, the fact is, I hit the demon in the chest with a lamp.”

Greene motioned for Peter and me to follow him. He didn’t go far, just away from the crowd a little, giving me a sense of déjà vu. “What exactly happened that night, Miss Hall?”

“Is that really important now?”

“It may be, yes. The more details we have the better our chances of finding it.” He gave me a stern look. “That is why you asked to speak with me, is it not?”

I’d come to ask for help, but rehashing what happened two years ago hadn’t been part of my plan. It was bad enough talking about it in general or thinking about it.

“He wouldn’t ask if he didn’t think it’d help, Jade,” Peter said, his tone soothing.

“I know.”

“If you’d be more comfortable discussing this inside, or perhaps with Doc or a psychologist, I can have that arranged.”

“I’m not talking to another shrink.”

“No, I didn’t think that would be an option for you. But I think it might help you to talk to someone. If we don’t have all the facts of the attack, then we could be missing something vital. Something that could help you find it. And honestly, speaking about it may help you.”

Peter nodded. “You need to talk to someone, Jade, if you haven’t already.”

“If you feel, however, that you can’t discuss it now, or with me or Mr. Holt, then I understand. But we can’t help you if we don’t know how to, Miss Hall.”

I looked away, trying to find Linc in my peripheral vision. Seeing him would help. He’d smile at me or just give me his I’ve-got-your-back look and it’d be better. But I didn’t spot him.

I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. But if it helped them find the demon, then that would help, wouldn’t it?

Turning back, I sighed. “I’d just gotten home from a friends Halloween party. When I walked in, I saw—” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to force images from my mind that I didn’t want to see. I’d tried to keep my tone even, to speak like I was talking about the weather and not the worst night of my life, but it didn’t work. It didn’t help. “I saw the demon hit my mom and heard her whimper.” My voice broke, so I took another breath and ran my hands through my hair. “I just reacted—badly—and tried jumping on it. It knocked me back. I don’t know. It’s kind of blurry from there. I think it knocked me out, because the next thing I remember is seeing…them.”

And blood.

The house had been dark, but the windows had been open and moonlight shone through, making the blood visible. Even in the dark it was visible. And even if it hadn’t been, the scent was unmistakable. Unforgettable, nearly as much as the scene itself. Maybe more so, in some strange way.

“I remember picking up the lamp from the end table and charging the demon. I made some sound because it turned around. And then I hit it in the chest and it…ran. It’s the only reason I’m still alive. Because I got in a lucky shot and they didn’t,” I said, biting the words out because they left a bitter taste in my mouth. I’d gotten in a lucky shot and my mom, a hunter, hadn’t. How was that fair?

“I know that was difficult for you, Miss Hall, especially given the last few days you’ve had.”

My eyes were watering but tears didn’t fall over. I kept taking deep breaths and releasing them slowly.

“Can you tell me what the demon looked like, Jade?” Peter asked. “I might know what it is, or at least be able to narrow it down a little.”

I described what I saw, giving as much detail as I could. Bits and pieces of that night were blank. Until tonight, the demon had just been an image in my mind, one that was covered with a layer of fuzz, making it hard to see through. But now, after seeing it again, I remembered it vividly.

Director Greene shot Peter a look. “Is it familiar to you, Mr. Holt?”

Peter shook his head sadly. “No, it’s not. Sorry, Jade.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised. It seemed like every time I got one step closer to finding it, I ended up two steps back. I thought if I at least had a clear image of it in my mind that it’d be easier to handle. But it wasn’t. Now I knew exactly what the monster that took my family looked like and I still had no way to find it or stop it.

One of the CGE’s top agents didn’t even recognize it.

“Do you think you’ll be able to find out from the video Chris used tonight?” I asked Greene.

He didn’t answer immediately. “I can’t say with any certainty. I believe Mr. Stevens wrote some kind of computer script for it, based off of choices I provided. I’ll have our head scientist in R&D look into it. He may have a better understanding of the script used and may have ways to sort it out. But as I said, I can’t guarantee it.”

“I understand,” I said with a small nod.

“Was there anything else you needed?”

I started to say no, but then I nodded. It was a stupid question, unimportant compared to everything else going on. But I still wanted to know the answer. “I’ve been reading my mom’s journals still and she mentioned a Robert.” I bit my lip and looked up. “Do you know if that was my dad or just…just some other guy?”

“There were, as you can imagine, more than one Robert around at that time, but if I’m recalling correctly, he was the only one she spent any time with outside of class. So, if I had to guess, I’d say that, yes, she was speaking of your father.”

At least that was one bit of good news. Still, I struggled to smile. “Okay. Thanks.”

“Anything else I can help you with?”

“No, that was it. Thank you.”

“I’ll speak with Mr. Monroe, if possible, and let you know as soon as I have an answer.”

“Okay. Thanks again.”

He nodded. “I’ll speak with you later, Mr. Holt,” he said, then walked away.

Peter turned to me, gave me a warm smile. “We’ll find it for you, Jade. It’s only a matter of time.”

I sighed. “I guess I have plenty of that.”

Peter laughed. “You do.”

“But I want that demon. I won’t stop until I find it.” Especially now.

“I know that. You want revenge; I get that as much as anyone else.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Greene knows that’s my plan. He knows that’s why I joined.”

“Even if either of us had known what demon it was, you know he wouldn’t have let you go after it immediately. Definitely not by yourself. And before you get even more defensive, I’m not saying he won’t ever. But I know the director, and I know he won’t let you go after it if he thinks there’s a chance you’ll get yourself killed.” He took a step closer, lowered his voice. “Even if you had found it tonight, you’re not ready. I’ve seen you fight, and I’ve talked to Director Greene and your teachers. You’re good. No one will deny that. But you’re not ready, and I don’t think
you
can deny that.”

“I know that.”

“You’re a smart girl. But even smart people make dumb mistakes. Until we do find it, use the time to your advantage.”

“I will. I am.”

“And, as one hunter to another, I’m telling you to take this time to train, to learn everything you can. Not just about that demon, but all of them. Know your enemies, Jade. Because the demon you’re after isn’t your only one.”

“I am, or I’m trying. But the stupid texts only let me read about so many.”

“You know there’s a reason for that. One class of demons per Phase. But look, if you promise not to do anything stupid, I’ll talk to the director and see if I can get you access to P3 or P4 texts.”

My nod was enthusiastic. “You have my word.”

“Alright. Give me some time to talk to him. He’s already got a lot on his plate with the construction and upgrades. Plus, I don’t think he likes having all these new people around.”

“What is that about anyway? All the construction.”

Peter winked at me. “Just what Director Greene said it was. Expansions and upgrades. Nothing fancy.”

I didn’t buy that for a second, not anymore. If it wasn’t anything fancy or secretive, then why, specifically, tell everyone they weren’t allowed inside when it’d already been a rule? Why have blockades up that no one could see through?

But I didn’t say any of that. I just kept my thoughts to myself. “Thanks for the help, Peter.”

“Not a problem. We’re a team, all of us. Just remember that, okay?”

“I’ll try.”

“I’ll catch you later, Jade.” His gaze went over my shoulder. “Think someone’s waiting for you.” He winked and walked away.

I twisted around and found Linc walking toward me.

“How’d It go?” he asked when he reached me. “Can he find out the demon for you?”

I shrugged helplessly. “He’s going to look into it.” I stayed quiet for a minute, and then I told him everything I’d told Greene and Peter about the night my family died. They were right—I needed to talk to someone about it. Linc was my best friend. I’d already kept other things from him, and I didn’t exactly feel guilty about it, because there were some things that people just didn’t share. But…it was Linc.

“Come on.” He took my hand in his and started to pull me away. “Let’s get out of here. I think we’ve had enough festivities for the night.”

I didn’t argue. As fun as most of the night had been, the rest had been like my nightmares brought to life.

*~*~*

The following week was an emotional battle, much like the week before had been. The reasons were kind of the same, yet totally different. The morning after Halloween, Greene found me, but he hadn’t delivered any good news. Charlie Monroe, the head R&D guy at the CGE (and also Tasha’s dad, which everyone neglected to mention), hadn’t had any luck finding which demons had been used for the holograms. They had managed to narrow the list of suspect videos down to, oh, about a thousand, but Greene wouldn’t let me watch those. He said it was thousands of hours of video and my focus needed to be on my schoolwork.

I understood his stance, but he was basically asking me to sit by and do nothing. And if Peter hadn’t already agreed to talk to Greene about letting me look in the other texts, I would’ve asked Greene about it myself. Peter’d said to give him some time, but I wanted to look now, while it was fresh on my mind. While I could still see the demon every time I closed my eyes.

But I hadn’t even seen Peter all week, so I couldn’t even ask him if he’d talked to Greene yet.

It felt like I’d spent the whole week waiting. Waiting for Greene, waiting for Peter. Waiting for trouble.

Tracking had been just another normal class, but Combat… Well, that’d been another story altogether. Brian was still a jerk with his rude, bossy commentary on my Combat skills and his judgmental attitude on everything I did. I didn’t hit hard enough, or high enough. I was too relaxed, too chatty, too smiley. I was just waiting for him to say I was breathing too hard or not hard enough.