“Eight-thirty in the morning,” Annie contributed. “It’s in his records.”
“Gene activation can be very precise. The change must have happened after you got up this morning. Would you take off your sunglasses for me?”
Hand trembling, Bryn removed the glasses. The light hurt his eyes.
“Oh my.” Annie stared at him.
“What?” Panicked, Bryn went to look in the mirror on the mantel over the fire. “Fuck me.” His eyes were a far brighter shade of green than they had been and they seemed backlit, glowing like a cat’s in the dark. He put the glasses back on. “They weren’t like that earlier.”
“There’ll be a car here for you shortly. More tests will need to be done. I can come with you to your room, if you want to pack a few things.”
“When will I be back?” Bryn asked the question even though he already knew the answer.
“Not sure. It could be a while.”
He means never. Why me?Bryn wanted to scream but decided it would hurt his head too much. “Fine. You and the kids will have to share that cake, Annie.”
Charlie trailed him up the stairs then stood in the doorway while Bryn threw a few things in a duffel.
“You thought about running, didn’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“What stopped you?”
“Annie’s been the closest thing to a mother I’ve ever had. She doesn’t deserve trouble because of me.”
“Yeah, she’s one of the good ones.”
“Has this ever happened to you before… I mean the blue reaction?”
“Never. I’ve had a few wolves in my time and one or two vamps. This was new.”
“Great. Just fucking great.”Should have bought that lottery ticket.
“You done? Let’s go see if the car’s here.”
Some of the other kids had gathered in the hall. There was a clamor of questions. Annie ushered them away and raised a hand in farewell. “Good luck,” she mouthed.
Bryn gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile rather than a grimace. When the door closed behind him, it had an air of finality.
“They’re here,” Charlie announced.
A black SUV with heavily tinted windows drew up at the curb. Two armed men in black fatigues got out and one walked over. The other stayed by the vehicle, scanning the street as if he expected an attack to come out of nowhere at any moment.
“This him?” the man addressed Charlie.
“What am I, invisible?” Bryn muttered.
“It is. I sent through his test result already.” Charlie took a step back.
“He give you any trouble?”
“Seriously? Does it look like I did?” Bryn made a conscious effort not to be intimidated by the excessive amount of firearms the guy carried.
“Get in the fucking car.”
“A please wouldn’t go amiss.” Bryn stomped down the path. He tossed his duffel into the back seat then climbed in after it. He was followed by one of the men in black and before Bryn could come up with a suitable epithet, the guy stuck him with a needle. “What the actual…” He didn’t get to finish the sentence before the lights went out.
