Transformation: The Clandestine Saga Book 1 (8 page)

              He paused for a moment, letting the weight of that begin to sink in, but not so much as to cause another panic. He continued. “Now, we know her present location, we know who she has contacted, where she is going, etc.  We know that she is no longer in Iowa, and while she poses no current threat to your family herself at this moment, she has left associates, if you will, in the vicinity. “ He watched her eyebrows shoot up and assured her, “We have your family under constant surveillance and they are perfectly fine.  In fact, they are just sitting down for Thanksgiving Dinner.”

              Cadence had completely forgotten it was Thanksgiving! Her hands flew to her mouth and she was about to insist that he let her go home when he reached out and took her gently by the arm.  “It’s alright,” he said calmly.  “They know exactly where you are; they know why you are here, and the understand the urgency.”

              She slowly released the breath she had been holding and nodded her head. Still, she had never missed a Thanksgiving Dinner in her entire life and the thought that her family had to celebrate without her, and without Grandma Janette, made her a bit weepy again. 

              Seeing the tears well up in her eyes made him anxious. He did not want a repeat of the situation the night before. Today, however he had come prepared.  “Please, don’t cry,” he said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small package of tissues. “But if you do, these are much more absorbent than leather.”

              Despite the tears that were starting to spill down her cheeks, she couldn’t help but chuckle. She took the package and removed one of the tissues, dabbing at her eyes, trying to hold back any more tears.  “Thank you,” she said. “That’s very thoughtful.”

              He nodded, shrugging off the compliment. He wasn’t typically considered thoughtful per se but it was nice of her to say.  “Anyway,” he said, waiting for her to acknowledge if she were ready to return to the conversation. She nodded and he continued. “I just want you to be fully cognizant of the situation and aware of what Holland is capable of. Can we stop her without you? I hope so, but, “ he paused, making sure he had her full attention, “It will be a hell of a lot easier with you on our side.”

              Cadence sighed now, turning away from him, a bit frustrated. “See, now, that’s what I don’t get,” she said turning to face the door. “What is it that is so freaking special about me?”

              Aaron was a bit surprised to hear her say that. He thought the footage from the night before would be enough for her to realize exactly what her capabilities were.  “You seriously don’t know?” he asked crossing his arms and looking at her inquisitively.

              She turned back to face him. “No, I don’t know. I really don’t have a clue,” she admitted, waving her arms for emphasis.

              He scratched his head, pondering how best to explain it to her so that she would both understand and believe him. “Cadence, you’re the granddaughter of two Leaders.  That’s a pretty potent gene pool. Let me explain, briefly, and with no visual aides how mating works within the Clandestine Ternion.”

              She grinned at his attempt at humor and gave him her full attention.  “Are you going to tell me where babies come from?” she asked. He blushed and for a moment, Cadence forgot he was the invincible leader and saw him as he must have been as a human, just as vulnerable as any of the rest.

              After a moment, Aaron continued.  “Not exactly.  Quite simply, this is how it works. Vampires don’t procreate.  They don’t need to. They want more Vampires, they make more simply by infecting a victim with their venom.”

              “Three bites on the neck Bram Stoker style or any flesh wound Twilight style?” she asked.

              “It’s actually one of the few things that trilogy got right,” Aaron admitted. “It doesn’t have to be in the neck. I fact, any transfer of venom will cause them to change into a Vampire, assuming they don’t die first. And since their venom can also be found in their DNA even skin cells transferred from a Vampire to a human can cause the infection if they are transferred beneath the skin.”

              “So, if a vampire scratches a human, they could be infected with the venom?”

              “Yes, that has been known to happen,” he confirmed.

              She nodded and he continued.

              “Guardians, Hunters and humans can all create off-spring . . . children,” he corrected, attempting to sound less scientific. She smiled and nodded, clearly amused that he also had an awkward side. “If a Hunter or a Guardian has a baby with a human, that human will carry the gene from their parent’s Passel.  Upon Transformation he or she will be what we refer to as either a Level One Hunter or a Level One Guardian.” She was nodding and so he continued.  “Now, if a Hunter or a Guardian has a child with another Hunter or Guardian—someone of the same Passel, well then that creates a Level Two Hunter or a Level Two Guardian. Slightly more powerful, generally speaking, though not always, than your typical Level One.  Okay?”

              “Got it,” she said continuing to nod her head.

              “Alright, but when we cross Passels, something truly powerful happens.  Children always get their dominant gene from their mother’s side.  So, if your mother is a Hunter, you will be a Hunter. If she’s a Guardian, you’ll be a Guardian.  But, the children always retain many of the skills contained in the gene pool of the secondary Passel as well. So, the result is an extremely talented individual, such as yourself, who is able to come to full power quickly and have quite an impact on the mission of the Passel.”

              Now Cadence became slightly confused. “But, my dad carries the Hunter gene and my mom is a human. So, wouldn’t that make me less powerful?”

              He was shaking his head. “Your dad is a Dormant Hunter. And so is your mother.”

              Though he had said it calmly, this information caught Cadence off guard and she backed in to the wall again. “What?”

              Again, Aaron stepped away from her, giving her some space to breathe. “It’s okay,” he said reassuringly. “I know this is a lot of information. Your mother’s line has been dormant for centuries.  In fact, she didn’t even know she had the potential to become a Hunter until after she met your father and was introduced to the Clandestine Ternion through him.”

              “So Papa Jim and Grandma Shirley had never been Hunters or Guardians or Trolls or Fairies or Wickens?” she asked, her head circling around on her shoulders as a sign of her inner confusion.

              He couldn’t help but laugh, “No,” he assured her. “They have always been essentially human.”

              “Well, I certainly know what it feels like to be
essentially
human,” she said sarcastically, running her hands through her hair and looking up at the ceiling.  He said nothing, giving her time to ingest everything he had told her but when she glanced his way, she could see he was trying to hold back a grin.  “You know what I mean?” she asked.

              Even though he hadn’t been human for quite some time, he knew exactly what she meant.  “Yes, yes I do,” he agreed.

              “Okay,” she said, rapidly shaking her head again, attempting to clear her mind. “So, you’re saying if I fully Transform, I’ll be some sort of She-Ra Princess of Power, some sort of bionic woman or something? Wow, listen to those ‘80s references coming through,” she muttered under her breath.

              “I believe so, yes,” he said nodding along with her.

              She was pacing now. “And, I’ll be able to use these super powers to defeat the powers of evil, such as that bitch Holland?”

              “With the right support and training, I think you’ll be able to defeat just about anything the Vampire Passel throws in your direction.”

              “And who, exactly will be training me?”

              “I will,” he stated assuredly.

              She continued to pace the small area from the door to the wall, about three steps in each direction, before she pivoted around and went the other way. Her hands were alternating between pulling on handfuls of hair and fanning her face.

Again, he thought it would be best to let her absorb this information on her own so he said nothing.

              Finally, after a few moments she turned and faced him.  She knew he was right, that this was her destiny, that despite the fact that she was frightened and questioned her own abilities, that, clearly he had no hesitation whatsoever.  And if he believed in her, she truly felt she could do anything.  After all, he had no doubt trained and supported thousand of Hunters over the years and if he said she could do it, well, then, surely she could.

              Aaron stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to speak.  Though no words came out of her mouth, she slowly began to nod her head.  “Yes?” he asked, clarifying.  “You’ll do it?  You’ll Transform?”

              At first Cadence still couldn’t form the words but finally, she was able to overcome the lump of anxiety in her throat.  “Yes, I’ll do it. I’ll Transform.”

              Aaron was so relieved, he did something totally out of character for himself and pulled her in, giving her a big hug.  “That’s wonderful, Cadence. Thank you so much for having faith in me and my team.”

              She was taken a back when he embraced her but once the initial surprise subsided, she loosely hugged him back.  “Sure,” she said. “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

              He released her and took a few steps back.  “I agree,” he concurred.  “Believe me, you won’t regret this decision.”

              She snickered, “No, but
you
might!”

Chapter Six

Over the last century or so, Jamie had transformed many Hunters and Guardians using the serum method.  He had not originated the idea or developed the serum but he had made many improvements to the procedure and while Cadence was still extremely nervous, she felt assured that she was in the best hands possible.

She was lying in her pajamas on her grandmother’s guest bed, still a little stuffed from the Thanksgiving Dinner they had thrown together. It didn’t have every dish one might imagine for the traditional holiday, but it was sufficient, and after the late football game had concluded, Jamie had asked if she was ready. Now was as good a time as ever so she had gone upstairs to prepare herself for a nice long snooze.

Grandma Janette and Eliza stood at the foot of the bed while Aaron tended to linger farther away, closer to the door. Elliott had been there for a few hours during the afternoon, but Aaron had sent him back to check on the situation in Shenandoah.  She knew that Aaron would be leaving soon as well, but she had made him promise to stay until she fell asleep.  For some reason, she just felt better knowing the man in charge was present while the procedure was taking place, though Aaron certainly did not have the same calming affect on her that Jamie did.  Even now as she watched him removing hypodermic needles and vials from the small black kit he sat on the nightstand next to her, she felt as if she could trust Jamie completely.

“How you doing, Cadence?” he asked pausing for a moment to glance down at her. 

She nodded her head.  “I’m a bit nervous,” she said, “but I trust you.”

“Good,” Jamie replied smiling.  “Do you want me to explain to you what I am doing as I go or would you rather just let me do it and get it over with? Either way works for me.”

She considered the options.  She already knew the gist of what was going to happen. Jamie was going to insert some sort of serum into her bloodstream, which would activate her DNA and make her Hunter abilities dominate her human limitations.  She would be able to run faster, jump higher, aim more accurately, all of the skills she would need in order to successful hunt and kill Vampires. She knew he was also injecting a medication that would make her sleep for at least twenty-four hours.  This was essential for two reasons. First of all, it would allow her body to Transform while in a dormant state, which allowed the process to happen more quickly and any damage to be repaired without delay. Secondly, while some Hunters never felt a twinge of pain while undergoing Transformation via serum, for others it was excruciatingly painful.  Jamie had perfected this method so that no one need suffer for no reason.  “You can just do it,” she finally decided.

“Alright then,” he said, his smile reassuring her once again.

“Will it hurt at all?” she asked. She had asked that question earlier and she felt like she got a non-answer so she decided to try again. 

Jamie cleared his throat, an indicator that Cadence was not going to like his answer. “There is a possibility that it might hurt a little at first, depending upon whether or not you are predisposed for a painful Transformation.”

Cadence glanced past him at Aaron who was avoiding eye contact with her now. Clearly, he had known about this possibility and left it out of his rousing recruiting speech.

“And what sorts of Hunters are predisposed toward painful Transformations?” she asked.

Jamie glanced at Aaron this time, and by his expression he could tell his leader would not be fielding this question.  “Well, usually those who have the most genes to transform are the ones who are most affected by it.” Her eyes widened and she glanced at the faces at the foot of the bed and then back to Jamie.  “But don’t worry,” he assured her again, “It will only last a few minutes, and then you’ll be out.”

“What do you mean by a few minutes?” she asked. “And what do you mean by excruciating?”

Jamie already had the first syringe ready to inject.  Her arm had been cleaned, tourniquet wrapped, Hello Kitty Band-Aid ready to apply.  “I promise you Cadence, you’ll be just fine,” he said, glancing at Eliza who was nodding. “There are a few minutes between when the serum begins to activate the DNA and the medication kicks in, but I’ll be able to help you through those.”

“Why can’t you just give the medication first then?” she asked.

He chuckled a bit, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “Because I don’t want to kill you,” he said.

She took that to mean he had tried it that way before, hopefully on lab rats or something, not actual Hunters, and it hadn’t worked out right. 

“Alright. You all set?” he asked in that soothing voice.

She nodded, and he began to slide the needle into her arm.  She had to look away.  She had never been a big fan of needles, and the fact that she was growing more terrified by the minute would only make matters worse.

At first, there was just a slight burning sensation at the sight of the injection.  Then, it started to radiate up and down her arm.  Jamie was saying something about waiting two minutes before injecting the medication, but by the time he completed his sentence, Cadence could no longer hear a word he was saying. The serum was spreading through her body quickly, and she felt like surely her veins must literally be on fire.  She could feel the tears rolling out of the corners of her eyes, but she was powerless to move or even speak. In fact, she was in so much pain, she was finding it hard just to breathe.

Upon her initial reaction, Aaron had crossed the room immediately.  She could feel his hand on her arm, but she couldn’t really see him or anyone else. The room was a blur. She was slightly aware that he was giving some sort of command to Jamie, ordering him to do something, to do it now, and the next thing she knew Jamie had climbed on top of her. Initially, the weight of his body seemed to increase the pain, but after a few seconds, she began to feel a warmth spreading across her skin wherever their two bodies met.  It was as if some sort of medicinal property was radiating out of him and into her.  After a few moments, she began to feel the pain subside and felt her breathing return to normal. 

Once she regained her ability to see, she realized her grandma was crying and Eliza had her arm around her shoulders. Aaron still had her arm in his hands, but she couldn’t turn her head to look at him because Jamie was blocking her view. Still, knowing he was standing there made her feel much better, despite the fact that she was currently furious that he had not mentioned this transformation being painful when he had initially told her about it.

Though the pain prolonged the passage of time, Cadence realized it hadn’t even been two minutes yet or else someone would have administered the medication.  With Jamie sprawled on top of her and seeming to be having some issues himself, this responsibility fell to someone else. 

In his weakened condition, Jamie could barely get the words out to ask Aaron to administer the medication. Luckily, Aaron knew the procedure and realized he was the most qualified to do so. The syringe was loaded and ready, he would just need to find a vein.  He had seen Jamie complete this procedure dozens of times but he had never done it himself.  He knew that it had to be done before Jamie was unable to continue to help Cadence and that, if she went back into her prior state of intolerable pain, there was a possibility that her body might start shutting down in an attempt to protect itself. 

Jamie felt utterly helpless. He was afraid this might happen and had considered showing Aaron what to do just in case it was necessary. Though he had seen several Transformation patience go through similar cycles of pain at the beginning of the procedure, he had never seen a reaction like this.  And, since Cadence was so very special to all of them at this point, he hated to see her suffer when he knew he could prevent it. Still, if Aaron failed to get the medication into her vein, it would do not good and could potentially cause grave danger.

Jamie could see Aaron checking Cadence’s arm for a vein. He knew she had a good one. Aaron should be able to use the same one that he had just injected the serum into.  Though it may roll a bit, hopefully, he could use the injection sight from the last needle prick as a guideline. He could tell Aaron had already come to this conclusion as he began to feel around in that vicinity for the vein. Luckily, Cadence was completely still at this point and her arm was relaxed, giving him the opportunity to check it thoroughly.

Aaron thought he had located the same vein Jamie had just used.  He lined the needle up and looked at Jamie, hoping to get some sort of indication that he was safe to precede.  From his vantage point, Jamie concurred that it looked like the placement was right. He slowly nodded his head just once, giving Aaron the motivation he needed to follow through.  He felt the needle slide into her vein and breathed a sigh of relieve.  Slowly, he pushed down on the plunger, letting the medication flow into her body.  As the last few drops exited the syringe, there was a collective exhale from those in observation.  Aaron applied pressure to the injection sight with a cotton ball and secured it with the Band-Aid.  He continued to apply gentle pressure for a few more seconds until he was sure that the bleeding had stopped.

After just a few moments, Cadence began to feel extremely sleepy.  Her body was already warm from whatever it was Jamie was doing to take away her pain, but the medicine coursing through her veins seemed warmer still, and she began to feel completely relaxed. 

              Sensing that she had stabilized, Jamie began to attempt to pull himself off of her. He could hardly left his head by himself, however, and he relied on his teammates to lift him up off of her.  Once he lost contact with Cadence, he began to restore himself and felt a wave of energy wash over him.  “I think I’ll be okay in a few moments,” he said to Eliza and Aaron who were moving him towards the door. He really wanted to stay with Cadence until she was fully asleep.

              “I know you want to stay,” Aaron said, “But you’ve got to take care of yourself, too.  That was a huge drain to your system and you need to replenish.” He and Eliza continued to walk Jamie to the door.

              “Take him to my bedroom,” Janette yelled after them. “He can rest in there.” Eliza acknowledged that they had heard her and they made their way out into the hall.

              Janette stepped around the side of the bed.  Cadence’s eyes were barely open and her breathing had become deep and slow.  “How are you doing, darling?”

              Cadence was aware that her grandmother was nearby, but she wasn’t sure exactly what she was saying. She felt much better now, so much better. In fact, she couldn’t remember a time when she had felt any better than she did right this moment.

              “Do you want me to stay?” Janette asked, seeing that her granddaughter was quickly falling into a deep slumber. Cadence did not answer and so she lingered for a moment, wishing there was something she could do. Watching her go through such a painful episode was almost more than she could bear, and she almost wished Cadence had never agreed to do this.

              After a moment, Eliza and Aaron returned. They both approached the bed and could see that Cadence was almost out.

              “How’s Jamie?” Janette asked.

              “He’ll be okay,” Eliza replied. “He just needs to rest for a few hours.  I’ve never seen something zap him so quickly,” she added.

              Janette nodded.  “Well,” I think our little princess is about out,” she said, gazing down at her granddaughter’s slumbering face.  “Do you think she’ll be okay now?” she asked Aaron.

              He nodded. “Yes, I think she’ll be just fine.”  He knew there had been a possibility that Cadence would have some pain with her Transformation simply because of all of the coding on her DNA that would be activated. He had never expected anything like that. This was one time when he was especially glad that Jamie was a Healer.

              “Alright then,” Janette, nodded. “I guess there are other things we should be doing.”  She squeezed Cadence’s arm and whispered, “Sweet dreams, my darling.”

              Eliza glanced down at Cadence and smiled a sympathetic smile before meeting Janette at the foot of the bed and escorting her out of the room. She paused for a moment to see if Aaron would follow, but he seemed to be staying. She wasn’t quite sure why he would stay, clearly Cadence was asleep and there was nothing more he needed to do, so she shook her head in confusion as she exited the room.

              Aaron wasn’t quite sure why he was still there either.  He had promised Cadence that he would stay with her until she was asleep and he had done that. Though her eyelids fluttered every once in a while, he knew she was out and would remain so for quite some time. He knelt down next to her again, studying her face.  Though her lids were closed and he could no longer see those curious brown eyes, he couldn’t help but find himself reflecting on just how beautiful she truly was. In the brief seconds during the Transformation gone wrong when he thought there was a slight possibility that they might lose her, he didn’t find himself wondering what his team would do if she was no longer able to help them defeat Holland; rather, he found himself pondering what he would personally do if something happened to her.  This feeling both excited and terrified him at the same time.  In his position, it was never a good idea to become emotionally attached to anyone, particularly a Hunter he was attempting to protect. As much as one attempted to always make rational decisions, nothing was as likely to interfere with decision making like emotional reaction. And so, he had attempted to avoid emotions as much as possible.  Though it sometimes made others describe him as too direct or impersonal, this style of leadership had worked for him for more years than he cared to count, and he knew it was not in his best interest to let Cadence or anyone else interfere with that.