Chapter 4 - word count 2769 - Download the PDF
4.
      Drew trailed Seth through the entry hall of the mansion.  She could call it nothing else.  She had to keep reminding herself not to let her jaw drop.  The place was a study in opulence.  They moved quickly through the marble floored entry hall and passed an open archway.  Drew peeked in and was amazed to see a living room that was easily the size of a small home.  She noted the plasma TV against one wall and the entertainment center.  Then they were past the arch.  She was about to ask Seth to slow down a bit when he spoke.
      “I’m sorry I’m rushing you through the house.  I will give you a proper tour.  I just want to get you to Jess quickly.”
      He’d covertly watched her the whole trip here and was a bit worried because she seemed to be getting paler.  He’d never turned anyone before.  Hell, he’d never seen a turning.  He was a lycos-born.  Both his parents had been wereleopards.  
      He led her quickly past the grand staircase and down the passage to the infirmary in the back rooms of the mansion.  
      He knocked on the door.  
      “Come in Seth.” A man’s voice spoke from the other side of the door.
      Seth turned to smile reassuringly at Drew then opened and stepped through the door.  
      The first thing Drew noticed was that the room was a lab. From the little she knew about labs – and her obsession medical TV shows, it was an extremely well outfitted lab.  
      Then she saw the man at the desk, his back to her.  He wore a white lab coat and seemed to be immersed in something he was reading on the flat screen of the computer. This must be the Jesse everyone had been talking about.  His hair was almost the same color as Gabriel’s, maybe a little lighter, and he wore it in a long braid down his back.  Drew was pretty sure if he stood the braid would reach his thighs.  
      She made a bet with her self that Jesse would be gorgeous, that seemed to be the trend since she’d joined this group of people, sorry, mythos.  It had to be genetics.  These mythos were preternatural, they had abilities that humans did not have, so logically only the best genes would make it through to the children.  That would include genes for good looks, but who cared, every one she’d met so far was hot, and that was just too much of blessing to over analyze.  
      “How’d you know it was me bird brain.”  Seth grinned obviously pleased to see the man.
      Jesse turned in his lab stool and rolled his eyes.  
      “Your energy is unmistakable fur-face. I felt it when you pulled through the gates.”
      Drew sighed, she’d been right another hotty.  He looked a lot like Gabriel.  But there was something softer in his face, more relaxed and boyish.  Gabriel and Jesse were probably related, but then again, they weren’t human so she couldn’t be sure.  
      Drew was curious about something else so she asked.
      “Bird brain?”
      Her question was rewarded with laughter from both men.  
      Jesse stood up offered his had to Drew.  She’d been right about the length of that braid too.  It hung to mid thigh.  
      “Pleased to meet you.” He smiled when she took his hand to shake it.
      Seth felt his body tense when Jesse took Drew’s hand and firmly controlled himself, refusing to let this new weirdness get it’s hooks in him.  What the hell is up with me?
      “I’m Jesse, resident MD…”
      “And a heap of other letters that I’m sure he can’t even remember anymore,” Seth grinned. “but the bird brain is a reference to feathers.”
      Drew tilted her head and frowned at Seth for the cryptic statement.
      “I’m an angel.”  Jesse supplied when Seth just grinned at the confused woman.  
      “Ohhh!”  Drew felt like a light had been switched on.  Then her eyes widened.
      “An angel?”
      Wow, I’m actually in the presence of an angel.  The though flew through her mind.
      “You’ve met Gabriel?” Jesse asked.
      “Yeah she has, he greeted us when we got here.”  
      “I though so,” Jesse smiled at Drew “then you’ve been in the presence of an angel before now.  You just didn’t realize it.”
      “So Gabriel’s an angel too…” Her sentence trailed off and her eyes widened. “You read my mind?”  
      Jesse shrugged his shoulders and grinned unrepentantly.  
      “Its one of the perks of being an angel.”  
      Drew was still trying to digest everything else that had happened to her over the last couple of hours, now she had a mind reading angel to contend with too.  This was turning into the weirdest day of ten lives never mind her previously boring one.  
      “So what can I do for you Seth?”
      “I need you to check and make sure Drew is okay.”  Seth quickly explained to Jesse what had happened.
      “Well don’t worry, I’m sure the transition is progressing just fine.  Follow me Drew and we’ll give you a once over.”  
      He turned and walked through a doorway Drew followed him down the hall and to the door marked EXAM ONE.
      He opened the door motioning for her to lead the way.  He started to follow Drew but stopped short when Seth tried to follow her too.  
      He looked at Seth and raised one eyebrow.  
      Seth felt his cheeks flush.   
      “I’ll just wait outside.”  
      Jess just smiled and walked into the exam room, shutting the door behind him.
      Seth started pacing outside the door.  
       He felt the cat stir inside him.  It had been a while since his inner animal had made his presence known so strongly.  
      The idea that Jesse was touching Drew for the exam had Seth seething.  
      He didn’t have a clue why he was reacting this way and it was starting to freak him out.
      Starting to, yeah right, I’m seriously freaked out and I don’t know why I’m reacting like this.
      He threw up his mental shields.  He was close to more than a couple of mythos who could read mental energy in some form or another and the way he was feeling he was probably broadcasting for anyone who wasn’t mentally deaf.  
      He tried to examine the feeling.  If he didn’t know better he’d think he was jealous.  
      “I don’t do jealous.  I don’t even know the woman, how can I be reacting like this?
      Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that I turned her?” he mumbled to himself
      Yes that had to be it.  These intense feelings must be connected to the turning in some way.  He was in the right place for answers.  He’d ask Jesse about it.  If anyone could answer it would be Jess.  
      
      Inside the exam room Drew was perched on the edge of a hospital bed and Jesse was preparing a drip.  
      “Is a drip really necessary?”  
      “Yes, I’m afraid it is.  You’ve just recently been turned and you haven’t eaten anything since then.”  
      “Can’t I just go eat a burger or a pizza?”
      Jesse placed the drip down on the bed next to her and smiled.  
      “No, unfortunately you can’t, this drip contains all the nutrients you’ll need for the change and some vitamins and minerals.” He raised his eyes from his work and commented. “You know, I don’t have to be able to read minds to figure out your scared of needles.”
      Drew raided an eyebrow
      “Ya think?”  
      Jesse chuckled at her sarcasm.  
      “Well, think of it this way.  I’ve been putting drips in for a very long time.  I’m going to make you a promise that you won’t even feel it.”
      “If you say so.” Drew scooted back and leaned against the raised headpiece of the bed.  
      “So what do you think of the compound so far?” he asked distracting her from the drip he was inserting.
      “I haven’t seen much of it yet.  What I’ve seen is… well, wow is the only word that comes to mind.”  
      Jesse smiled at her.
      “Yeah it can be a bit daunting when you first come here.  There, all done.”
      Drew’s eyes widened she looked down at the top of her hand where Jesse had inserted the needle for the drip.
      “You weren’t kidding when you said I wouldn’t feel it, were you.”  
      He smiled, “Nope.”
      He pulled a lab stool closer.  
      “Now while we wait for the drip to start working and some color to come back to your cheeks, you can ask me some questions and get more comfortable with your new home.”
      Drew breathed a sigh of relief, she’d been dying to ask some things.  So his offer was fantastic, but then he could read her mind.  
      “How much of my thoughts can you read?”
      He laughed, “I had a feeling that would be one of the first things you asked.”  
      “I can read what you’re broadcasting, unless I go paging your mind.  I consider that bad manners though.  Not all mythos with a mind ability would.”
      She frowned
      “Don’t worry about it, you can learn to shield your thoughts from Mythos with mind abilities.  The only reason I can read you so well right now is because you’ve had a very traumatic night.  With the fight and the turning.  Strong emotions tend to make anyone broadcast.”
      “Can lycos read minds?” she cringed at the thought that Seth might have been able to see everything she’s been thinking of him.
      “Lycos are more empathic than telepathic.  Which basically means they can read emotions.  Usually better when they are strong emotions.  They can’t read thought or put thoughts into another’s head unless they are bonded very strongly.  And even then it’s only very rarely that they can do that.”
      She breathed a sigh of relief.  
      “Are there many compounds filled with mythos like this one?”
      “There are a couple, more than you’d think.  But they aren’t well known, there are shieldings all around the compounds. With this one, normals think its some reclusive star’s compound.”  He grimaced, “No offence, I know you were human up to a couple of hours ago, but humans scare easily.  If they knew they had so many mythos a stones throw away from them they might panic.”  
      “Yeah, I see now, that even though we,” she frowned “sorry, humans know there are mythological creatures amongst us.  We don’t really hear about you unless something drastic happens.”
      “Then there is the opposite of that, the stalkers, you get humans who think it’s a good idea to find and latch onto a mythos in the hopes that they themselves will become one.”
      “I’ve heard of those types of people.  Mythos freaks, is what they like to call themselves.”
      He chuckled.
      “Yeah so we like to keep a low profile. Sometimes you do get rogue mythos. We do our best to find the rouge and stop him, her or it, before they can do something bad.”
      He stood up and squeezed the drip bag to make the fluid start moving.  
      “Why don’t you ask what you really want to ask?”
      “Honestly,” she looked at her hands as she fidgeted with the cover of the bed. “I’m not sure I want to know.”  She looked up at him a little panicky then rushed out the question.
      “Am I really going to turn all fury every full moon?”
      “Well…” He started then changed his mind.  
      “It depends, let me explain how lycanthropy works.  As archaic as it sounds there is a class system amongst lycos, well not really that archaic considering they date back to the beginning of everything.”
      She shifted on the bed not wanting to be rude but wishing he’d get to the point.
      “Erm, ok, so I’ll get to the meat of the matter then.”  He grinned
      Drew felt a blush creep up her cheeks.  
      “There are three classes amongst lycos, the Du’call – or royal class.”
      He shifted to get more comfortable on his chair.  
      “These are the most powerful of the lycos.  They can change any body part or their entire body at will, also, they are not governed by the moon.”
      Drew almost snorted, “Shows you what I know, I assumed all were creatures had to change during a full moon.”
      He shook his head.  “Not the case.  It would save you a lot of trouble if you forget everything Hollywood has created when you think of the Mythos.  Most of what you’ve seen in movies is utter rubbish. With Du’call lycos the urge to change is stronger during the full moon.  But they don’t have to change.”
      “What’s the second class?”
      “That would be the Dresdan, they are the middle class of the lycos.  They don’t have the ability to change any body part at will, but do have the ability to change into animal form when there is no full moon.”
      She nodded.
      “Lastly we have the Fillias, they are the servant class of the lycos, the weakest of the three.  They cannot change form unless there is a full moon and they are the only lycos that have to change at full moon.  They have no control over the change.”
      “Do any of them retain some form of themselves when they change or do they become completely animal?”
      Jesse could see the question had been burning her.  She was worried that she’d be turning into a ravening beast.  
      The door opened a crack and Seth popped his head round the edge.  
      “Since I have great hearing, and I know you’re done with the exam, plus I’m a lycos and could probably answer these questions just as well, I’m coming in.” he grumped then thought he’d better ask nicely. “Is that okay?”
      Jesse gestured at the other stool.
      “Sit yourself down fur-face.”
      He turned back to Drew “To answer your question.  Not one of the lycos classes turn into monsters without human thought when they change form.”
      “The animal is there, don’t misunderstand Jesse.”  Seth leaned forward and clasped his hands together.  
      “It’s stronger or weaker depending on your class. What I mean is you have more control or less control over its actions.  Because, and this is important, your animal is not you.  It’s like having multiple personality disorder.  It’s a separate entity altogether.”
      “I’m assuming you will have more control if you are a Du’call?”  
      He nodded.
      “Ok, so which class will I be?  Can either of you tell me?”   
      When silence answered her question she frowned
      “I suppose you can’t.”
      “It’s not that simple…”  Seth started
      “The change will take about three days.” Jesse interrupted.  “We’ll know for sure by the end of the third.”
      “But,” Seth smiled. “I’m Du’call, and the good news is that you have a higher chance of becoming Du’call because I’m the one who turned you.”  
      Jesse was shaking his head,  “Not much higher.  So don’t get her hopes up.”
      Drew decided to ignore Jesse’s bit of pessimism.  A girl could hope couldn’t she?  
      If she was going to be forced to carry an animal around inside her she was going to hope she’d be the strongest of the classes just so she’d have more control.
      “So is there any pain involved in this change?”
      “I knew you were going to ask that as some point.” Jesse grimaced.  “Yes there is pain involved.  But like your class, we won’t know how much until you start to exhibit symptoms.”
      “Great,” she rolled her eyes, so you can’t tell me what class I will be or how much pain I’m going to have.”  
      Seth admired her strength, most people would be completely stressed out, she seemed to be taking this whole business in her stride.  
      “No, but I’ll stay near you.  If you need anything at all I’ll be right there to help you.”
      If he was going to be honest with himself, he didn’t think he’d be able to be far from her, turning or no turning.  The five minutes he’d been waiting outside had left him feeling like he had ants under his skin.    
      “That’s a good idea Seth, in fact I think the room that connects to yours is open.  Put Drew in there.” He got up and checked the flow of the drip.  “I’ll feel better is she has someone near her who knows what going on.  Short of making her stay in the infirmary the best plan is for you to stay close to her.”  
      Seth nodded.  
      “Ok will do.”
      “As soon as the drip is done you can show her to her new room and let her start getting settled in.”