A Stone-Kissed Sea
Page 21
“So how do we do that?”
“By starving the host.”
Brigid’s face was stricken. “So that’s it? The humans die and the virus dies with them? That’s not good enough.”
“If you have some brilliant idea, I’d love to hear it,” Lucien snapped. “I’m sure your twenty-some years of life and brief stint as a vampire have prepared you for advanced clinical research.”
Brigid bared her fangs, but Carwyn leaned forward and put a steadying hand on Brigid’s knee. “You know this is personal to us.”
“It’s personal to all of us.” Had they forgotten Lucien had lost a human lover to this plague? Had suffered from Elixir poisoning himself? Rada’s pained eyes haunted him. “Pressuring me isn’t going to help.”
Carwyn said, “Baojia said Katya has given you another one of her people to help. A doctor?”
Lucien groaned. “Enough. I just came from a long night at the hospital. I thought we were having a drink and relaxing. I don’t want to talk about the new thorn in my side.”
“A thorn in your side?” Brigid said. “Sounds like I’m predisposed to like her.”
Lucien glared, but Carwyn only laughed. “Let the man have a few moments of peace, Brig. It’s not as if he doesn’t eat and breathe this project.” He turned back to Lucien. “I’m also curious about the new thorn though.”
“Dr. Makeda Abel. She’s human.”
“And?”
Lucien sighed. “Humans are fine for assistants. But not as collaborators. Her brain cannot work as quickly as mine.”
“So?” Carwyn said. “It seems to me that we need new ideas, not faster ones. Who cares if ideas come a bit slower for her if she has good ones? What’s her background?”
“Blood disorders.” He pulled at his lip as a thought began to form. New ideas, not faster ones. “She was working on some kind of… sickle cell treatment or something like that before she got pulled off her own work and put on mine.”
“So she’s there unwillingly?” Brigid asked.
“She knows how the game is played,” Lucien said. “She’s no dummy, and she grew up under Katya’s aegis. I’m sure she’s getting something out of this project other than just a paycheck.”
“Nevertheless,” Carwyn said, “sounds like both of you are stuck. She was forced into this and you were forced to work with her.”
“We stay out of each other’s way. She’s still coming up to speed on the research so far.”
“Try to make the most of it, Lucien. She may have ideas you’ve never even considered.”
Those words followed Lucien on the plane back to San Francisco. He rested in the belly of the converted cargo plane belonging to Giovanni Vecchio and let his mind wander.
What could Makeda Abel know that Lucien didn’t?
The Elixir infected human blood, unlocking a dormant virus in vampires. It took different forms in humans and vampires, but both forms led to a slow wasting disease. Starving humans of blood oxygen and vital nutrients, and starving vampires of amnis. But it all led back to blood.
Human blood.
Sickle cell was a blood disorder.
No, not sickle cell.
Thalassemia.
It was thalassemia she’d been working on, a human blood disorder affecting hemoglobin, the protein that carried oxygen to red blood cells. Patients suffering from it suffered from anemia because their red blood cells died, essentially of oxygen starvation.
Cell death. Starvation. Wasting.
“Thalassemia,” he murmured. Maybe…?
It was possible Makeda’s old research and Lucien’s had some overlap. What if, instead of bringing her up to date on what he’d done, she looked at Carmen’s blood as if it was a new case? No assumptions. No research parameters.
Not fast enough.
Nothing would be fast enough to save Carmen. Nothing would bring any of the victims back. But nothing was stopping the spread of Elixir either.
“…a death that will be inevitable unless you are successful.”
For the thousandth time, Lucien wondered just what his mother was doing traveling around the world. Saba wasn’t a recluse, but she loved her mountains and usually had no desire to go wandering. The fact that she’d left her home piqued his interest. She was poking around in the Eastern Mediterranean, probably accompanied by one or more members of her old cadre. The very cadre that had spawned the idea of Elixir in the middle ages.
It was not a comforting thought.
Ziri, cunning wind vampire and elder ruler of the northern deserts, was unpredictable at best. He was manipulative, vicious, and very smart. Ironically, it was Ziri who had been Saba’s lover when Lucien was sired. The blending of their blood was probably what had led to Lucien’s wandering ways, which were odd for an earth vampire.
Kato, ancient king of the Mediterranean, had once been a favorite uncle to Lucien. His theios. Kato was jovial and fierce at the same time. It was Kato whose lover had first taken the Elixir. Kato who had fallen into the mindless haze that had almost claimed Lucien’s life.
And Arosh. Fire king. Ruler of Central Asia. Saba’s favorite lover. They could never be in the same place for more than a few decades, but each held the other in greatest esteem. Arosh was fiercely loyal to Saba and all his friends. He’d been the one to shelter Kato during his illness. Now that Kato had regained his senses, Arosh could be out for revenge.
“By starving the host.”
Brigid’s face was stricken. “So that’s it? The humans die and the virus dies with them? That’s not good enough.”
“If you have some brilliant idea, I’d love to hear it,” Lucien snapped. “I’m sure your twenty-some years of life and brief stint as a vampire have prepared you for advanced clinical research.”
Brigid bared her fangs, but Carwyn leaned forward and put a steadying hand on Brigid’s knee. “You know this is personal to us.”
“It’s personal to all of us.” Had they forgotten Lucien had lost a human lover to this plague? Had suffered from Elixir poisoning himself? Rada’s pained eyes haunted him. “Pressuring me isn’t going to help.”
Carwyn said, “Baojia said Katya has given you another one of her people to help. A doctor?”
Lucien groaned. “Enough. I just came from a long night at the hospital. I thought we were having a drink and relaxing. I don’t want to talk about the new thorn in my side.”
“A thorn in your side?” Brigid said. “Sounds like I’m predisposed to like her.”
Lucien glared, but Carwyn only laughed. “Let the man have a few moments of peace, Brig. It’s not as if he doesn’t eat and breathe this project.” He turned back to Lucien. “I’m also curious about the new thorn though.”
“Dr. Makeda Abel. She’s human.”
“And?”
Lucien sighed. “Humans are fine for assistants. But not as collaborators. Her brain cannot work as quickly as mine.”
“So?” Carwyn said. “It seems to me that we need new ideas, not faster ones. Who cares if ideas come a bit slower for her if she has good ones? What’s her background?”
“Blood disorders.” He pulled at his lip as a thought began to form. New ideas, not faster ones. “She was working on some kind of… sickle cell treatment or something like that before she got pulled off her own work and put on mine.”
“So she’s there unwillingly?” Brigid asked.
“She knows how the game is played,” Lucien said. “She’s no dummy, and she grew up under Katya’s aegis. I’m sure she’s getting something out of this project other than just a paycheck.”
“Nevertheless,” Carwyn said, “sounds like both of you are stuck. She was forced into this and you were forced to work with her.”
“We stay out of each other’s way. She’s still coming up to speed on the research so far.”
“Try to make the most of it, Lucien. She may have ideas you’ve never even considered.”
Those words followed Lucien on the plane back to San Francisco. He rested in the belly of the converted cargo plane belonging to Giovanni Vecchio and let his mind wander.
What could Makeda Abel know that Lucien didn’t?
The Elixir infected human blood, unlocking a dormant virus in vampires. It took different forms in humans and vampires, but both forms led to a slow wasting disease. Starving humans of blood oxygen and vital nutrients, and starving vampires of amnis. But it all led back to blood.
Human blood.
Sickle cell was a blood disorder.
No, not sickle cell.
Thalassemia.
It was thalassemia she’d been working on, a human blood disorder affecting hemoglobin, the protein that carried oxygen to red blood cells. Patients suffering from it suffered from anemia because their red blood cells died, essentially of oxygen starvation.
Cell death. Starvation. Wasting.
“Thalassemia,” he murmured. Maybe…?
It was possible Makeda’s old research and Lucien’s had some overlap. What if, instead of bringing her up to date on what he’d done, she looked at Carmen’s blood as if it was a new case? No assumptions. No research parameters.
Not fast enough.
Nothing would be fast enough to save Carmen. Nothing would bring any of the victims back. But nothing was stopping the spread of Elixir either.
“…a death that will be inevitable unless you are successful.”
For the thousandth time, Lucien wondered just what his mother was doing traveling around the world. Saba wasn’t a recluse, but she loved her mountains and usually had no desire to go wandering. The fact that she’d left her home piqued his interest. She was poking around in the Eastern Mediterranean, probably accompanied by one or more members of her old cadre. The very cadre that had spawned the idea of Elixir in the middle ages.
It was not a comforting thought.
Ziri, cunning wind vampire and elder ruler of the northern deserts, was unpredictable at best. He was manipulative, vicious, and very smart. Ironically, it was Ziri who had been Saba’s lover when Lucien was sired. The blending of their blood was probably what had led to Lucien’s wandering ways, which were odd for an earth vampire.
Kato, ancient king of the Mediterranean, had once been a favorite uncle to Lucien. His theios. Kato was jovial and fierce at the same time. It was Kato whose lover had first taken the Elixir. Kato who had fallen into the mindless haze that had almost claimed Lucien’s life.
And Arosh. Fire king. Ruler of Central Asia. Saba’s favorite lover. They could never be in the same place for more than a few decades, but each held the other in greatest esteem. Arosh was fiercely loyal to Saba and all his friends. He’d been the one to shelter Kato during his illness. Now that Kato had regained his senses, Arosh could be out for revenge.
