Chapter 13 Nova #2
"Whatever's in that vial," Calix explained, his voice taking on the clinical tone he used when discussing his work, "attacks a supe's DNA and inflates it.
Almost makes the cells stronger, more powerful than they should be.
Over some time, the cells eventually run out of power, and the enhancement slowly disintegrates them from the inside out. "
He pressed another key, and the screen switched to a grid showing multiple videos of the same horrifying process I'd just witnessed. Each one followed the same pattern—initial attack, enhancement, then destruction.
"I tried this with different supe races’ DNA and got the same result every time," he continued, his finger moving across the screen to point at various examples.
"Except," and, here, his voice took on an even more ominous tone, "with human DNA.” He pointed to the only video where the cells hadn’t turned green.
“Instead of destroying it, the substance clings on and adapts with it, almost like a parasite finding the perfect host."
As I watched the human cell video, I could see he was absolutely right.
The green cells didn't attack and destroy like they had with the supernatural DNA.
Instead, they simply clung to the sides of the human cells like some kind of symbiotic organism, but the effect was still disturbing in its own way.
The human cells moved in a faster, more agitated motion, as if they were being pushed beyond their normal limits.
"What the hell is it doing to them?" I asked, though I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.
Looking up at my brother, I saw him shrug with the kind of casual gesture that belied the seriousness of what we were discussing, then he sighed like this was far more work than he'd wanted to do on a weekend, which was typical Calix. Brilliant but perpetually lazy.
"I don't know, and I won't know unless I test it on actual humans, and we're absolutely not doing that," he spat out, disgusted with the idea.
Even though my brother could be lazy and was, admittedly, emotionally unstable, he still held certain principles that he refused to compromise on.
One of his strongest beliefs was that you didn't mess around with genetics and cellular makeup.
He always said that experiments like that almost never went the way you wanted them to and that combining magic with DNA manipulation was just asking for absolute disaster.
I knew that Ezra didn't share his moral concerns about such things.
Early on, she wanted to see if Calix could create something that would boost supernatural powers, pushing the boundaries of what our kind could achieve.
He had refused her request outright, and it ended up becoming an issue at the Syndicate boss table.
We voted on it. The final tally was two to three, with Calix winning the argument.
Ezra had to drop that particular idea and move on to something new.
I thought it would be an issue, something that would divide us, but in typical Ezra fashion, she pivoted to the next opportunity without holding onto any emotions, putting her laser focus on legitimizing our portfolio instead.
That was when I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Ezra would do anything for us. She could tear another person into shreds, but when it came to the family, to keep the Syndicate whole, she would sacrifice anything. Even her own goals.
As I sat there staring at the computer screen, watching those horrifying videos play on repeat, a spike of pure rage hit me like a physical blow. The emotion was so intense it nearly knocked me backward.
I should have been notified that something like this was out there! What the hell were my lieutenants doing? Were they just sitting around twiddling their thumbs while this nightmare unfolded in my territory?
This was my damn city, my territory, my responsibility! The thought burned through me like acid, but just as quickly as the rage had come, it was replaced by something even worse… shame.
Pictures of Ezra's furious scowl and my parents' disappointed faces floated through my mind like accusatory ghosts.
How the hell had I not known what was going on in my own backyard?
The question haunted me, and with my recent failures piling up, I was forced to face a devastating realization: this was on me.
All of it.
I was the boss, the one in charge, the person everyone looked to for leadership and protection.
I should have had a tighter grip on everything and everyone under my command.
There should’ve been no cracks in my organization, no weaknesses wide enough for this kind of threat to slip through undetected.
My thoughts flashed to the last couple of days, and I felt sick with self-recrimination.
I'd been focused on all the wrong things.
Who cared about mates or this temperature-changing tattoo when something potentially catastrophic was loose on my streets?
What kind of Rossey boss let this shit slide under their watch? !
"Fuck!" The word exploded from me as I slammed my fist down next to the computer, the sound echoing through the sterile lab like a gunshot.
"Hey! Hey! Easy!" Calix zoomed around me, his movements a blur as he frantically clicked on the keyboard, caught several things that had fallen off the table from my outburst, and finally began petting the machine like it was a beloved pet. "Don't take it out on Maria! She's just the messenger!"
The fact that he'd named his machine Maria would have been amusing under different circumstances, but I was too wound up to appreciate the humor. I jumped off the seat and began pacing, my body filled with spiky jitters that made me feel like I might explode if I didn't keep moving.
I forced myself to pause, think rationally. Why would someone create something so volatile and dangerous?
From a business standpoint, it made no sense at all.
Even if someone wanted to rig fights and make their supernatural fighter extra strong, the enhancement would just kill them later, destroying their cash cow.
So, it couldn't be for business purposes, which meant it probably wasn't a rival coming for us either, since they would be affected by this, too.
Maybe it was a human? Someone trying to systematically wipe out supernaturals? But then, why had it been found with Donnie, a turned werewolf? If genocide was the goal, Donnie definitely wouldn’t be where I'd start. He was hardly a significant target.
"You okay, Nov?" The concern in Calix's voice was genuine and unmistakable, cutting through my spiraling thoughts.
I raised my head, folding my arms to make myself stop moving. To look calm. "Yeah, why?"
He had settled onto the stool I'd vacated, crossing his legs at the ankles and folding his arms in a gesture that reminded me of our father, Falcon.
The resemblance was striking and somehow comforting.
"Because you were sitting on your bike in a complete daze when I first saw you, then you freaked out over this whole mad scientist situation. "
I gestured toward the machine that had analyzed the samples, exasperated by his casual attitude. "What do you mean? This is huge, Calix! There's about to be complete chaos in my city, and I should have known about it. I should have been on top of this from the beginning."
Calix's eyes narrowed, and his head cocked to the side in that particularly annoying way he had—telling me I was stupid without saying the words. It was infuriating.
"Nova," he said, rising from the stool with deliberate slowness, "this," he flicked his fingers dismissively at the computer, "this can be handled. You will handle it. It's what we do. It's what we've always done for generations."
He took a few cautious steps toward me like he was approaching a wild animal that might bolt or attack at a moment's notice.
"You know we have your back, and you have the full power of the Syndicate at your disposal.
All you need to do is make one phone call, and you'll have an entire army at your command. "
He moved closer, his expression softening into something that looked almost sad. "But whatever's going on in here," he gently tapped my forehead, "and here," he tapped my sternum, right over my heart, "is messing with you, Nov. I can see it written all over your face. What's really going on?"
Fuck. He was absolutely right, and I hated that he could read me so easily. I rubbed my face with both hands, trying to get a grip on myself and my scattered emotions. "I'm just..." I started, then stopped. How could I possibly explain everything that was tearing me apart inside?
I was heartbroken over someone I should let go of but couldn't seem to release.
I was perplexed by some turned wolf I shouldn't see again but knew I would.
I was trusting a turned vampire I had just met based on nothing more than this inexplicable feeling in my gut.
I shouldn't be focused on any of that romantic drama when I had real, serious problems to deal with.
But I couldn't say any of that to him. If I did, that would mean I needed help figuring it out, and the one thing I was not going to do was ask my brother for relationship advice. Other than Aniyah, my other siblings weren't the best source of info in that department.
I also didn't want to admit how completely my personal life was interfering with my professional responsibilities, so instead, I avoided his perceptive gaze and settled on a half-truth. "Tired,” I puffed out. “I'm just tired."
His frown deepened, and I could see he wasn't buying my explanation for a second. "I know when something's bothering you, Nova. I've known you your entire life."
I blinked, and a set of strong arms pulled me into a hug. It felt like being embraced by steel. Despite the hardness of his vampire physique, the coolness of his skin was oddly comforting, a balm to my overheated emotions.