Breed of Innocence (The Breed Chronicles, #01) Read online

  “Sure it does,” I said.

  Doc nodded enthusiastically and went back to gathering her supplies. I looked around the room, trying to focus on anything but the needle and tubes she was laying out. To my immediate left, a long metal counter. Above it, on the wall, were three boxes of gloves. On the other wall, a red needle container. On the wall in front of me, an attached counter with a sink.

  Doc walked over to the sink and turned it on. Using the soap dispenser, she put four squirts of soap into her palm and started to lather. I counted down the time and tapped my foot. Thirty seconds later, she rinsed and dried her hands, and then turned off the water with a paper towel.

  Linc chuckled beside me. I looked up and glared. “What?”

  “Seriously, just relax.”

  “I am relaxed.”

  A snapping sound had my head spinning to the side. Doc pulled on a second glove as Linc laughed again. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” I asked, rubbing my palms over the tops of my thighs. She smiled in response. “You’re evil.”

  Relax. This is not a big deal. You’ve had blood drawn before. You’ve seen blood before. Heck, even today.

  My heart gave a hard knock against my ribs. Yeah, I’d seen blood before. Celina’s. My mother’s. My brother’s—

  “Jade!”

  My eyes popped open at the sharp tone. I had no idea who’d said my name. I glanced at both Doc and Linc, found concern on their faces. Forcing a smile, I said, “Sorry. Zoned out there.”

  I had no idea what my problem was. I’d been fine earlier, hadn’t I been? So what the heck was up with me now?

  “Jade.” Doc’s tone was low, soft. Kind. Too kind. It almost broke my control. “We can do this later. I can call Director Greene and tell him—”

  I shook my head. I didn’t want to say anything to Greene or give him any reason to rethink his decision to let me stay and start early. The sooner I started, the sooner I could hunt. And I didn’t want to have to come back and do this again. “I’m fine. I’d rather just get it over with.”

  They all knew the first part was a lie, but Doc nodded and tied the tourniquet around my arm, just above the crook of my elbow. She gave me a warm smile. “I’ll be quick and make it as painless as possible.”

  I forced myself to look away when Doc picked up a tube and a needle. “Appreciate it.” My gaze went to my other arm and I studied it as if the Universe’s answers could be found somewhere on it. Linc curled his hand in mine but I didn’t look up, didn’t acknowledge the move at all until he gave my hand a gentle squeeze. I glanced up then and smiled.

  I barely felt the poke to my arm. It was more pressure than pain. The urge to look down was strong. Some things are best left unseen, Jade, I reminded myself. And this was definitely one of those things, right up there with wrinkly old people in little-to-no clothing. Like Speedos or spandex. I shuddered.

  Linc squeezed my hand again. “You okay?”

  I made a face. “No.” I shook my head and suppressed another shudder, but not the wince. “Old man. Speedo. Bad visual. Need brain bleach.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Thanks for that.”

  “You know what they say about misery.”

  A clang of metal sounded and my attention dropped to my other arm in time to see Doc put a tube into the top of the needle. Unable to look away now, I watched as red pooled and filled the container.

  “Jade?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Stop looking,” Linc said with a small laugh. “Masochistic, are you?”

  I wasn’t. Was I? It was just hard to look away when someone was inflicting pain (however small) on me. I shrugged and forced myself to look away again. “Apparently.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me.”

  My mouth opened with a retort ready, but I was saved from answering when Doc shoved Linc out of the way. She placed a cotton-ball over the needle before pulling it away, then taped the cotton in place. “Okay, done with the vampire portion of the evening. Director Greene mentioned something about your ears bleeding?”

  “Yeah, thanks to a squealing demon.”

  “That doesn’t usually happen unless your eardrums are ruptured,” she said, but nodded and walked away. When she came back, she had one of those ear-checker things and checked both of my ears. “They’re a little red, but I don’t see anything wrong with them. Are you sure it was your ears bleeding and not something else? A cut, maybe?”

  “Unless squealing demons can cause cuts on my head, then yeah.”

  “Hmm.” She looked in my ears again. “Well, they look fine to me. Any pain or problems with your hearing?”

  “No. They’re fine now.” In fact, I’d forgotten about the whole bleeding-ears thing until she mentioned it.

  “Okay, well, if you feel any discomfort or notice any changes in your hearing, come see me or find one of the other doctors, okay?” I nodded. “Then you’re all set.” Turning, she faced Linc. “And now it’s your turn.”

  His jaw dropped down. “What? I’m not due—”

  “Now.” A slow, vindictive smile raised the sides of Doc’s lips. “Director Greene decided since you were here anyway, you could go ahead and get your next checkup.”

  “He did not.”

  “He did, but it may have been my suggestion.” Her smile widened. “Payback.”

  Linc’s jaw dropped. “For the ‘what’s up, Doc?’ jokes? I’m hurt.”

  She shrugged. “I can’t kill you. This is the next best thing for now.”

  I bit my tongue to keep from laughing and had to turn around when Linc started to glare at us both. Yup, I definitely liked Doc.

  I turned my arm and pulled up the small ball of cotton. I couldn’t see where the needle had been, even though there was a dot of red on the cotton ball itself.

  “Leave it alone, Jade. You’ll only make it start bleeding again,” Doc said from behind me.

  Quickly covering it back up, I turned back. “Sorry. Bad habit.” I took a seat by the door—far from Linc who was getting his blood drawn. Whether it was mine or not, I didn’t really want to see it. I kept my eyes on anything but him. After a minute of twiddling my thumbs, I spun around in the chair and looked to Doc. “Do you know anything about Sharphynx demons? Greene says they’re hybrids.”

  “Anything in particular you want to know?”

  I bit my lip. “Survival rates?”

  Doc finished up with Linc and tapped him on the shoulder to get him to move. “It depends on different things. How long it was feeding, if it infected her, how much blood loss, etc.”

  “Oh. Okay, thanks.”

  “Why?”

  “I saw one today—it attacked a woman.”

  Her features softened immediately. “Someone you know?”

  “No, I don’t know her personally. I just…tried to help her. Greene said he was having her brought here, but I don’t know if she made it.”

  “Where’d they find her?”

  “Near the old Space Center.”

  She nodded and pushed the tray of supplies and blood in front of the metal counter. “Well, bringing her here was a good idea. We’re better equipped to handle demon attacks than most of the hospitals. I’d talk to Greene. He can probably find out for you.”

  “Thanks, I’ll ask him,” I said.

  Linc bumped me on the shoulder. “Are we good to go, Doc?”

  She nodded. “You’re free.” She rubbed her hands together and eyed Linc. “Until next time.”

  I waved as I headed out. Linc closed the door behind him, then put his hand on the small of my back as he lead me down the hall. We made it to the elevator as the doors parted. Director Greene steeped out. He saw me, smiled. “Ah, just who I was looking for.”

  My initial thought—which was more habit than guilt—was: I didn’t do it. I didn’t say it, but it was close. And I didn’t bother asking who he was talking about. I had a feeling it was me.

  “I was just going to take her to the café to grab some dinne
r.”

  “Would you mind meeting her there, Mr. Stone? There are a few things I’d like to discuss with her. It shouldn’t take long.”

  Linc couldn’t hide the questioning glance, and I wasn’t sure if he’d even tried. “Sure. I’ll meet you down there and save you a seat.”

  Nodding, I gave him a small smile and watched as he stepped onto the elevator. The doors slid closed and I found myself wanting to sigh. Why, I didn’t know exactly. Greene seemed nice enough, so I didn’t really mind him, but when people wanted to ‘discuss’ something with me, it was rarely a good thing.

  Greene laughed; I frowned. “You’re not in any trouble, Miss Hall. Earlier, you pointed out that I had only told you about the cons of staying here. I’d like to rectify that.”

  “Oh.” Succinct, Jade. Smooth, too. “Okay.”

  He pressed the button for the elevator, and when it came back, we took it up two floors, to the fourth. I followed Greene left. I heard a lot of voices coming from inside a room on our right. As we passed, I peeked inside an open door and spotted a bunch of people sitting on couches or standing around.

  “It’s a common room,” Greene said from beside me. “The floors that house the Prospects—the third and fourth—each have one. They have TVs and some game systems. You’re welcome to go to one anytime you like, though I’m afraid they’re mainly first-come, first-serve for the games and control of the remote.”

  I nodded. “I’m not big on games, anyway.”

  Greene stepped in front of door 427. He pulled a card from his jacket and swiped it over a card-reader on the wall. There was a low hum and buzz before the door opened. Greene stepped to the side. “Go on in,” he said when I only stared at the entrance.

  I gave him a wary glance and pushed the door the rest of the way open. Lights came on automatically.

  “It isn’t much,” he began, stepping around me, “but it should suffice while you’re here.”

  Compared to the room I’d been sharing with three other girls, it was huge. In the left corner of the room, there was a twin bed with two pillows. Next to it, a nightstand and a metal desk and computer chair. A few feet from the foot of the bed was a five-drawer dresser that would probably hold all of my stuff with room to spare.

  “There’s a bathroom and a closet,” he said, pointing to two doors on the right. The bathroom was closest to the door and the closet was at the far right corner. “You’ll find sheets and pillow cases in the closet, as well as an alarm clock and a small desk lamp.”

  The closet I didn’t need, but the rest would be good.

  I went to the window between the dresser and closet and peered out. I could see the South Tower. Not the greatest view, but I’d manage. I turned around, glanced at the bed. “There’s only one bed.”

  “Are you expecting company, Miss Hall?”

  “Yes—no—I mean—” I broke off with a sigh. “Am I the only one staying here for now?”

  “It’s your room.”

  “Mine?” It’d been almost two years since I’d had a room to myself, or even space to breathe without at least one or two people in my face sucking up all the good oxygen.

  “Yours and yours alone.”

  Mine. And I had my own bathroom. And no bunk bed. I forced myself not to run forward and jump on the bed like a three-year-old on a sugar high, even though that’s exactly what I wanted to do.

  Something in my expression gave me away. Greene started laughing. “I take it you’re pleased?”

  I twirled around in a circle. “I am,” I said, stopping in front of the desk. There was a small tablet computer on it, so I picked it up and held it out to him. “Yours?”

  “Consider it a gift.” He smiled. “Besides, you’ll need something to study with. Along with your demon hunting classes, you’ll also be required to study for your GED. Normally, this is handled during the probationary stage, but you’ll have to find a way to fit it into your studies. You have five months for it, so this can be done at your pace—as long as you make progress.”

  I shook my head. “You like doing that, don’t you? Killing the moment.”

  His smile widened slightly. “Perhaps.”

  I looked around again. Everything was white—floors and walls and ceiling. I wasn’t a big color person, but all this white would drive me insane. Considering where I was and what I was going to be doing, I was afraid my sanity levels were already plummeting. “I’m asking for disappointment here, but I don’t suppose I’d be allowed to paint the walls?”

  His lips rose. “Of course you can.” I gave a preemptive wince as I waited for him to finish with something like, ‘in another year’ or ‘when you pay rent’. It never came. Instead, he said, “While you’re here, this is your home. Think of it as your own apartment—you can decorate and paint as you see fit. I just ask that you try not to put any holes in the walls that can’t be spackled over.”

  Code for: don’t punch holes in them. Which meant he knew I’d done that before. It shouldn’t have surprised me.

  My cheeks heated. “I’ll try my best.”

  His information about me was eerily dead-on. I didn’t know where he got it—or rather, how he got it—but he knew more than he should. More than I was comfortable with at times, especially when it came to hole-punching and my nightmares. It wasn’t necessarily his fault. Mrs. Gill was probably the one who gave him his information, and the Tadpoles had probably given it to her. They all would have been willing to blab my secrets to anyone who asked, especially if it made me look bad.

  Wasn’t stuff like that supposed to be private or something, though? Like, off-limits from the rest of the world? Probably. But not to Mrs. Gill. The only rules she’d ever followed were the ones that suited her and her wants.

  “What I said at Orientation was true, Miss Hall. While you’re here, essentially, you will be an employee of the CGE. Your room, food, toiletries, etcetera, will be paid for. Since you came here with little more than the clothes on your back, I’ll arrange for you to be driven to the city this weekend to pick up a few things.”

  “Do I have to wear a uniform or something like that?” If he said yes, that could be a deal breaker.

  “No uniforms. Just dress comfortably. You’ll want to pick up some workout clothes and a decent pair of sneakers, since two of your classes involve physical training.”

  “Workout clothes and sneakers. Check.”

  “Each week, you’ll be given an allowance of money. It’s not a great deal, but it should be sufficient to pick up a few things you’d like to have.”

  I stared at him. At this point, twenty a month would be twenty times the amount I got back at the Pond. He had to know that.

  “There’s not much you don’t know about me or my life, is there?” I asked, thinking of all the things he knew about me.

  “We specialize in research, Miss Hall. You, more than just becoming an employee, are also an investment. We take our investments very seriously.”

  I stayed silent for a moment and, thinking about Linc’s earlier words, asked, “Why me?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Linc said you don’t pick up all new Prospects personally. So, why me?”

  I expected him to fidget or look uncomfortable, but instead he seemed glad I’d asked. “Because you’re unique, Jade, even among those who are already rare.”

  “But we all have that DNA thing—”

  “You do, yes.” He chuckled. “When you were in school before…well, before—you did excellent. In fact, I don’t recall seeing anything below an A+ on any of your reports. The only thing I ever noticed in your school records was a habit of acting out.”

  I was the one who fidgeted. “I was bored.”

  “I know. I also know you read faster than any of your classmates and your ability to retain information is…well, as I said, unique.”

  “Oh.” I wasn’t really sure how to feel about that. Sure, I could read fast and I could usually memorize anything I saw one time, but did that really warr
ant special treatment? Did that really warrant having him—the director of a secret demon-hunting facility—come get me?

  “Now,” he said, continuing on before I could decide to press the issue further, “since you’re missing most of your Orientation, there’s a file on the tablet I’d like you to read. It’s on our rules. As I said before, there aren’t that many and they aren’t Earth shattering, but please look through them, as well as our confidentiality statement.”

  “Confidentiality statement?”

  “Yes. Some of what we do here is widely known, but the majority of it is not. There’s a…cover story, of sorts, for you to memorize.”

  “I will, and I won’t tell anyone about this place.”

  He smiled. “Good. I’m sure Mr. Stone will be able to answer any other questions you may have, but if he can’t, feel free to ask me. The others who arrived today have two days yet before they’ll be asked to make a decision regarding their futures with the CGE. Since you’ve already decided, and because I don’t foresee you changing your mind, I figured you might as well get settled in.”

  He pointed toward the bed. I hadn’t noticed it before, but my bag was sitting on the floor beside it. “Thanks,” I said. “And I won’t. Change my mind, I mean.”

  “I don’t believe you will.” There was a pause. “Mr. Stone is already aware of your situation, or will be, I gather.” One side of his mouth rose in a semi-smile. “However, I ask that you not share this information with any of the other newcomers. It shouldn’t be too difficult as they’ll be staying at another facility during their probationary period, but…”

  “If it comes up, don’t mention it. Got it. I won’t tell anyone.”

  He gave a nod. “Since you’re skipping the probationary period, you have a choice to make. The Prospects who stay won’t start Phase One until the end of October, after their probationary period. Now, you can use this time to learn more about the CGE before your first Phase begins, or you can start now and try to catch up before the others begin Phase Two. Though, if you choose that option, I’m afraid it will mean not much of a summer break for you.”

  Did I want to start now, or did I want to wait? The place was completely new to me and other than what he’d told me about it, I didn’t know anything. Some time to wander around would be nice.