Page 69 of Dark Island: Rescue
Frankie rubbed her arm, looking guilty. "I wanted to. God, I wanted to tell you so badly. But there are rules against that."
"Everyone keeps talking about rules! Screw the rules!" Angelica's attention shifted to Dagor, and her anger seemed to momentarily falter. "And you. I've always thought that you were too pretty to be real. That's because you're immortal too, right?"
Dagor cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable under her intense scrutiny. "Actually, I'm a god."
Angelica blinked, then laughed, a slightly hysterical sound. "Right. Of course you are. Why not? Edgar's got fangs, Frankie's immortal, and you're a god. This is the weirdest fever dream I've ever had."
"He's not joking," Edgar said. "Dagor really is a god."
"Okay, Mr. God." Angelica was wiping tears from herface. "Let me guess. You throw lightning bolts and seduce mortals in the form of a swan?"
"I'm not that kind of a god." He turned to Edgar. "What did you tell her so far?"
"Angelica knows that immortals are the children of gods with humans and that gods are really aliens and not deities."
"I know no such thing!"
Edgar turned to Angelica. "I just explained it."
"And you expect me to understand all of that jumbled mess?"
Frankie took her hand. "It's a lot to take in at once. Dagor comes from somewhere else in the universe, and his people are the gods who created humans and many other humanoid species all over the galaxy. Turns out we are not alone in the universe, but we are the forbidden planet, and others are not allowed to visit us or communicate with us."
Angelica rubbed her temples. "So how did your boyfriend get here?"
"That's a long story," Frankie said. "What we need to focus on right now is you and your transition. I'm so glad that it's finally happening for you." She cast an accusing look at Edgar. "It's about time."
"So, Dagor is an alien." Angelica looked at Edgar. "Is that true?"
He nodded. "But because the gods created humans, we are compatible."
"The gods are expert geneticists," Dagor said. "They created modern humans by manipulating the DNA of the proto-humans already on Earth. Later, when theysaw that humans were smarter than they initially intended them to be, attractive and compatible, the gods took humans as partners even though it was forbidden to do so with created species."
"So, the gods just showed up and started having sex with cavemen?" Angelica's tone was incredulous.
"They weren't cavemen by then. But yes, basically." Dagor shrugged. "That's how the first immortals came to be. The children of gods and humans."
Edgar took over the explanation, giving it another try and hoping that Angelica would absorb more now that she had mellowed out a little. "The first generation of immortals inherited the godly genes, but when they had children with humans, those offspring were born mortal. It was later discovered that the children born to female immortals carried a dormant version of the gene." Edgar moved closer to the bed, careful not to get within striking range. "The immortality gene is matrilineal—it passes through the female line. Males don't carry it forward. If a female immortal has a daughter, that daughter will be human but with dormant immortal genes. Those genes can be activated with venom."
"All male gods and male immortals have fangs and venom," Frankie added.
Angelica frowned. "Now I get why Edgar said that I was a sure thing because you transitioned. I'm the daughter of your mother's sister. We have the same dormant genes."
"Exactly." Edgar felt a flicker of hope. At least she was listening now instead of throwing things.
Angelica's eyes narrowed. "Wait. You said it's the venom that activates these genes."
"In adult females, it's venom and unprotected sex at the same time."
"You didn't want me to transition. That's why you insisted on condoms," Angelica said. "Even when I told you I was on the pill. Now I get it."
Edgar ducked behind Dagor to avoid the next projectile Angelica was sure to chuck at him.
"I'm sorry, but I wasn't ready to tell you yet. I wanted to be sure—" Edgar didn't get to finish his sentence.
The water cup flew past his head, close enough that he felt the breeze of its passage. It splattered against the wall behind him.
"You lying son of a bitch!" Angelica found her second wind. "You've been lying to me the whole time we were together! Manipulating my mind, hiding what you are, keeping me in the dark—" She grabbed a plastic tray from the bedside table and hurled it at him as well.
