Kissed by Darkness(59)

“When I reached the hospital in London, undercover MI8 operatives recognized the true nature of my injuries and immediately shut me away in a special ward and kept me under surveillance. Fortunately for me, British policy prevents killing the infected until they’ve fully turned, just in case.” I’d been really glad of that policy when I finally woke up, though I was convinced the real reason for such a policy was the military’s hope they’d eventually be able to weaponize vampirism.

I didn’t mention that, though. Didn’t want to sound like a conspiracy nut.

Eddie pulled at his lower lip. “Interesting policy, since ‘just in case’ has never been an issue.”

He was right about that. “Nope, never in recorded history. No one has ever been attacked and not turned. Not until me, and not since.” I doubted the Sunwalkers had made it into any official historical documents. They were too careful for that.

The transmission of vampirism, on the other hand, had been studied by scientists probably since the day the first vampire showed up. There were still a lot of unknown factors when it came to turning into a vampire. Most people who got bitten didn’t turn, though there were some who did succumb even from the simplest of bites. I supposed in the same way that some people were more prone to getting the flu than others. But an attack like mine where the victim actually died after being nearly drained meant turning was inevitable.

“I’m surprised they didn’t stick you in a lab and study you.”

I shrugged. “They might have if it hadn’t been for Kabita. She’s got some clout over there.” A surprising amount, actually. Something to do with her family, though I’d never understood exactly what. I knew her mother was from India and her father was British and that she’d been raised in Malaysia, but I didn’t know anything else about her family ties. I tried to talk to her about it once, but she shut me down so fast I’d never brought it up again. Sometimes being a friend meant knowing when not to pry.

“And she got you into the Hunting game.” He folded his hands over his ivory colored waistcoat-clad tummy. I nodded. “She trained me, gave me a job. She doesn’t like dealing with vampires, so I took over hunting them while she stuck with anything demon related.

“After I’d been working with her for about a year, the US government started recruiting. They didn’t have enough trained Hunters and Europe was practically overflowing with them. Since Inigo was already living here, and it was my home turf, it was a natural fit.” I shrugged. “She changed my life. I owe her a lot.”

How different my life might have been if it had been someone else who’d come to the hospital that day instead of Kabita. I’d probably still be locked up in a lab somewhere. Worse, if they’d figured out what I really was, they probably would have tried to turn me into some kind of weapon.

He gave me a shrewd look. “So, I take it you healed faster than you should have?”

I grinned. “Yes, but that was probably the least weird thing that happened. After I got out of the hospital and started training as a Hunter, I realized a few other new things about myself.”

Like the fact I was faster and stronger than a human should be, not to mention I could heal not just fast, but almost instantly. And then there was the whole Spidey sense thing when it came to vampires. I still hadn’t mentioned the Sunwalker theory, but I had a feeling Eddie was getting there on his own. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

He pulled at his lip some more, frown lines creasing his brow. “So you inherited many of the Nightwalker’s characteristics, without actually turning into one. Interesting. This Darkness thing is new, is it? You’ve never been able to do anything like it before?”

I shook my head. “Not even close. It’s only been since we took on this new client. It happened after I met with him, before I met Jack. The Sunwalker.”

He smiled. “Oh yes, the Sunwalker.”

I glared at him. He cleared his throat, an expression of amusement on his face. Cheeky git. “To be perfectly honest, this is all new to me. I’ve never heard of anything quite like it.” He frowned. “No, I take that back. I do recall … “

He jumped up without another word and headed for the hole in the floor and that damned aluminum ladder. “Come on. We need the Book.” With that, he disappeared down the ladder.

Oh, joy. More ladder climbing. I shook off disturbing memories of the past as well as worries about my future and headed down the ladder to join Eddie. He already had the Book out. The thick creamy pages made a rustling sound as he flipped through.