“So when you say sadistic, what exactly do you mean?”
“He pushed everything further than it needed to be pushed. He wanted to know how many truth reads I could do before I blacked out from the pain. You’d think once would be enough to test that boundary, wouldn’t you? But not for Giles. He tried it over and over again. I lost days to blinding headaches and blackouts. He decided he needed to understand if I could do the same things under different conditions so he experimented with heat, cold, being wet…that last one was fun. He kept hosing me down with cold water between reads. For ten fucking days.”
“Was he trying to kill you?”
“Sometimes I thought so. He wanted to know if I could still work under the influence of drugs or booze.He had to strap me down for those. Forced me to drink alcohol. Injected me with who knows what. None of it made any difference. I can do what I can do but he was convinced there must be something that would stop me. He tried pain, a shock collar, all kinds of illegal shit. Then there was pleasure…forced stimulation…and denial…thirty days in a chastity cage. All the time I had to touch people, see their memories, test their truthfulness.”
“Fucking piece of shit.”
“Do you know what doesn’t work? Touching dead people. The recently deceased or long ago. I can’t do anything with a corpse.” Bryn’s hands were shaking. He hid them beneath the table.
“I’m not even going to ask where he got the subjects from.”
“Neither did I.” Bryn gave a wry grin. “It’s over. In the past. I was too stubborn for him to beat…and too fucking angry.”
“Took guts.”
“Or blind stupidity. One thing, though, I’ve always been interested in the idea that the gene mutation has happened before. That it reemerges every so often and that all the myths and legends about werewolves and vampires came from people trying to understand what was happening. Maybe not so many people were affected way back. I mean even now numbers are small. What if the Black Death was the same virus? Spanish flu? There are a ton of examples.”
“Seems possible, doesn’t it?”
“In Eastern Europe, vampires are often depicted as reanimated corpses that feed on the blood of the living to maintain their undead existence.” Bryn shuddered. “They can be repelled by garlic, crosses, and holywater, and can be destroyed by a stake through the heart. Something that I would have liked to try on Giles.” His grin was feral. Gunnar rolled his eyes. “In China, the jiangshi are reanimated corpses that absorb the life force of the living. They have stiff movements due to rigor mortis and are repelled by mirrors and the blood of a black dog. Bit random. Giles had no issue admiring his reflection but I never saw him pet a dog and the Facility had a few German shepherds on the security team.”
“The Native Americans had wendigos,” Gunnar contributed.
“Yes! And the Ashanti people have the asasabonsam and the Bantu have the impundulu. Even the Aztecs had the tlahuelpuchi, a vampire that could transform into different forms and sucked children’s blood. There are loads of others from cultures all over the world, some dating back centuries. Too many examples for it not to have been a virus.”
“And viruses evolve, it wouldn’t have always had the same effect on people. What about lupines?”
“Well, in Medieval European folklore, werewolves are often cursed individuals who transform into wolves during a full moon. They are typically depicted as bloodthirsty and driven by primal instincts.” Bryn eyed his partner. “Silver weapons are considered the most effective means of killing them.”
“Hmm.”
“But… In Norse mythology, warriors known as ulfhednar wore wolf pelts and could channel the spirit of the wolf, enhancing their strength and ferocity in battle.”
“I like that better.”
“Thought you would. Anyhow, I’m boring you. I could talk about this stuff for hours. Books were an escape and Giles didn’t object to me doing some research if it kept me quiet.”
“It’s not boring at all. We can talk about it more tonight if you like, but we’d better head back. It’s getting late and it’s been a long day.”
“Yeah. You know, I’ve never told anyone else any of this.”
“I have a trustworthy face.” Gunnar gave a lopsided grin. “And I won’t be sharing with anyone.”
“You think I’m crazy?” Bryn got up from his bench.
“I think you must be as traumatized as that kid from today, but crazy? Nope. You’re belligerent, stubborn and snarky, qualities that helped you survive. I see you, Bryn Ashton.”
“Guess I’m well and truly screwed then. Won’t be able to get away with anything.”
“You got that right. Now mount up. Let’s get home.”
Chapter Thirteen
“So tell me about this Wolf Run,” Bryn said as he pulled on his hiking boots. “It must be something special for Warden to give us all a day off.”
“It’s great,” Gunnar enthused. “There are three or four a year generally and they are competitive events. They’re not exclusive to lupines but you’d have to be an elite athlete to keep up if you weren’t. There can be anywhere from fifty to a hundred competitors depending on the date, so they are the biggest gatherings of wolves that happen.”
