Danny ignored me and hauled out another microscope from beneath the table. He wiped his finger with alcohol and pricked it with the edge of a lancet. His hands shook as he smeared his blood along the slide and examined it under the scope. He raced back and forth between his blood and the infected vampires until the preservatives holding the bloodlust together broke apart and the cells disintegrated to ash.
Sweat moistened Danny’s brow, and the whites of his eyes bulged like ostrich eggs. My tigress stirred with growing angst. So did Aric’s wolf. He fixed his alpha stare on Danny. “Dan. What did you see?”
Danny’s troubled expression bounced from the ash-coated slide to Aric. His voice trembled as he spoke. “The vampires are infected…with human blood.”
CHAPTER 25
Aric’s rage filled the small room. “That’s impossible. All preternaturals are immune to human infection.”
Danny backed away from Aric’s wrath. “I know, but those are human cells.”
I blocked Aric’s path as he moved toward Danny. He wouldn’t hurt Danny, but his formidable presence intimidated the hell out of him. “Danny, I saw the green blood coursing beneath the skin of those severely infected. No human disease does that.”
“Celia, the fluid surrounding the cells is green—the bloodlust, I presume. But the cells are human. There’s no doubt in my mind.” Danny scratched his thick curls. “They have the same shape, size, and single nucleus as mine. If they were vampiric or were, they would have been smaller and held three nuclei—like the ones you saw.”
Aric shoved his hands to his hips and swore. “How the hell are humans becoming infected?”
Danny didn’t answer. His eyes darted back and forth on the floor, and he appeared lost in his thoughts. “So much of this doesn’t make sense.” He turned to me. “Celia, if you were to eat a burger, your digestive system would break down the food—not send cow cells into your circulatory system. When a vampire feeds, the process should be the same.”
Aric stepped around me. “So then why were there human cells in this infected vamp’s system?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you know?”
“Nothing yet.”
Danny backed away at Aric’s growl. I placed my hands on Aric’s chest. “Aric, please. You’re scaring him again.”
Aric covered my hands and took a breath. “I apologize, Dan. My anger is not directed at you. Nor will it be taken out on you. I’m worried about what’s to become of the innocents.”
Danny’s shoulders slumped with relief. I could have told him Aric wouldn’t harm him, but it meant more coming out of the big, scary werewolf’s mouth. He returned to examine Misha’s blood. He sighed. “Misha’s blood holds no trace of human cells. Which supports my theory that their digestive process mimics ours. Something else is happening….” He rose and rubbed his chin, springing up when his mind latched onto a theory. “Celia, have any of the human populace come to your hospital with any unusual symptoms or strange infections?”
My eyes widened; I knew the direction his mind had wandered. “No…if they had, the Centers for Disease Control would have been contacted and we would have been notified across the board.”
Aric frowned at Dan. “Why do you ask? Bloodlust doesn’t affect humans.”
I twisted my hands to grip his. “I think Danny is suggesting they might be carriers.”
Aric’s jaw tensed so tight, I feared the bone would snap. “Carriers of a virus. A goddamn bloodlust virus.”
I nodded. I wanted to tell him no; the possibility too frightening to admit. But living in denial solved nothing.
The air surrounding Aric heated, but not in a good way. Fury cloaked us like an invisible sheet. “So you’re telling me there are humans infecting the vampires—but we can’t tell which ones, since they likely aren’t developing symptoms?”
Danny glanced at me nervously. “Ah. Yeah. That’s what it seems like.”
I released his hands. “But until we know for sure, it’s not safe for the vampires to feed.”
“Shit.” Aric rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “But if they don’t eat, they’ll develop the other kind of bloodlust.” He whipped out his phone and hit a number on his speed dial. “I have to call my Elder— Martin, it’s Aric. We have a situation.”
I called Misha while Aric growled into the phone. Misha had just finished his conference call with Uri. And while he didn’t say how the conversation went, his icy tone told me it hadn’t been a pleasant chat. But when I shared Danny’s findings, he flipped out.