Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
SLOAN
“I’m not going to take any sides,” Edison said as he took a third vial of blood from Sloan. “As far as I’m concerned, you were both wrong.”
Elwood stood with his tiny arms crossed, shaking his head at Sloan. The gnome spoke a word of gibberish at her, but as usual, she had no idea what he was saying.
In the minutes after Aareth stormed off, Sloan was already sorry for her actions. They had both said things they shouldn’t have, but she had thrown the first blow.
“All right, band aid,” Edison instructed Elwood, then realized his error with an embarrassed twitch of his lips. “Oh, you heal lightning-quick, so there’s no need.”
Edison took his vials of blood and went over to one of the three tables that had not been destroyed in the fight. He immediately went to work placing blood from one of the vials on a glass slide to observe under the microscope.
“So let’s talk this out,” Edison spoke over his shoulder as she examined Sloan’s blood.
“We injected you with Phoenix Serum and the vampire elixir. We know you’re fast and strong but still tire like anyone else.
Along with these internal changes, you said you’ve noticed your canines elongate and your eyes redden when you’re in conflict. Anything else?”
“I don’t know how much I need to sleep anymore.” Sloan stared at the far wall like she was in a daze. “I didn’t sleep at all last night. I was dead tired this morning and went to bed after the funeral, but I must have only slept a few hours, and I feel … I feel fine.”
“Interesting.” Edison played with the magnification on the microscope’s lens as he jotted down information on a pad beside him.
Elwood, in the meantime, climbed onto a table and began mixing ingredients in a wide-bottomed beaker. He swirled the amber liquid together and placed it above a small flame to warm.
“Careful, Elwood.” Edison raised an eyebrow to his assistant. “Don’t let the Phoenix Serum boil; it just needs to be heated.”
Elwood looked over at his boss and gave the thumbs-up signal.
Sloan sat quiet in the presence of the inventor and his assistant doing what they did best. Along with her sense of inadequacy in being able to help when it came to the science aspect of their journey, Sloan felt ashamed once more.
The cellar was a mess of broken shelves, tables, and weapons strewn all over the floor.
Instead of sulking in her guilt any longer, Sloan hopped off the table and began gathering all of the broken wooden furniture.
She placed it into a pile in the corner of the room.
She did the same with the weapons that were left without shelves to hold them.
In minutes, the area began to look cleaner.
Sloan was grateful for the distraction from her guilt. It also took her mind off wondering what Edison would find.
“Well, let me tell you what I know, and then I’ll tell you what I suspect.
” Edison finally came away from his microscope with his pad of notes.
He pursed his lips as he looked at his own writing.
“When Doctor Livingston and I were first creating the vampire super soldier elixir, we were looking to enhance a soldier’s strength, speed, and healing factor.
Along with this came side effects of an aggressive and almost manic state around the sight of blood.
This varied on levels from subject to subject, but they all struggled with it to one extent or another. ”
Edison paused, thinking back to his time with the experiment in the early days. Sloan could tell this by the way the scientist’s gaze fell over her shoulder to stare at the plain brick wall behind her.
“I have a lot of regret.” Edison shook himself free of the feeling. “If I had known what the queen was really planning our work for, I wouldn’t have continued, and I know Oliver wouldn’t have, either. At least he suspected something. I had no idea.”
“It’s not your fault.” Sloan’s nature wasn’t necessarily the nurturing type, but she felt like her friend needed her in this moment. She went forward and placed a hand on his arm. She squeezed him gently. “The queen fooled us all. None of this is your fault.”
“Okay.” Edison winced under the pressure he felt in his arm. “Do you mind letting up? We aren’t all gifted with that super healing factor.”
“Oh, sorry.” Sloan released her grip and took a step back. “I forgot.”
“It’s okay.” Edison looked back down at his notes with renewed vigor.
“With training, the vampire soldiers were able to better control this blood rage, but who knows what form that will take in the future? So, now on to what I deduce will continue to happen. As your body finishes the change, you’ll get less and less tired.
Blood may play an important factor later in the transformation, as well.
The other subjects became weaker in the light of day, not quite back to their human level of strength and speed, but lessened dramatically.
That doesn’t seem to have happened to you, perhaps due to the Phoenix Serum.
We’ll have to keep a close eye on you for any changes that continue to occur. ”
Sloan was hoping for more, but she realized Edison was doing all he could; a voice inside her head screamed for more answers, but at the moment there were none to be had.
Part of her wanted to tell Edison about her dream of the woman with the fiery red hair, but what new information had that really given her? It was just a dream, right?
“Thank you, I’ll let you know if anything changes.” Sloan gave Edison and Elwood a small smile.
“Chin up,” Edison’s voice followed her out of the room. “The other subjects saw an end to their transformation within a week. Whatever last enhancements are being done to your anatomy will be over soon.”
Sloan left the cellar feeling a bit better about the news. If she’d known what was in store for her the following day, she wouldn’t have felt happy at all.