Page 27 of Veradel
The Thirteenth Guardian has been telling me more about the nature of his kind as we plan for my pack to breach the Wall. Everything makes so much more sense than it used to.
Vampire venom, for instance, is a magical substance that interacts differently with a variety of objects or subjects.
“I was so desperate to get back to you that I started to rush through them,” Lucan admits in a grumble behind me, but I shush him with a flap of my hand.
In regular humans and animals, vampire venom slowly fossilizes the organs from the inside-out, turning the victim to stone.
In some creatures such as ourselves—werewolves—it simply causes excruciating pain, due to our antibodies fighting it off.
I stare at those last words. Antibodies.Antibodies. My mind races at a dizzying speed, and my fingers quake over the pages as thoughts and ideas flash through me faster than I can grasp them. Of course, if the immune system was activated to such an extent, it would cause pain…
Pain. My own stomach clenches with pain right now, hunger ripping through me at such an inopportune time. Although, I suppose I’veonly eaten a handful of wild berries over the last few days, so that would be expected.
As soon as I finish reading this, I’ll find something to eat. But for now…
In inanimate objects, vampire venom strengthens and fortifies, effectively turning the material into something impenetrable as long as the venom resides in the material in an active state.
“That’s it,” I breathe as Lucan reads over my shoulder. “The Wall. It was wood, but the vampires injected it with their own venom to turn it to stone.”
“But how? Just by biting into the railings or something?” Lucan asks.
“That, or maybe they found a way to concentrate their venom and inject it somehow.” My voice seems to be slurring against my will. My blood sugar must be dropping, but I don’t want Lucan to worry about me, so I try to push through. “Lucan, if those veins in the Wall are filled with vampire venom, then it hurts you to touch it because your immune system is being activated every time you do.”
I drop my eyes to the next passage in the journal, realization after realization coursing through me.
And in someone with the vampire gene…
My vision blurs. My head spins. My stomach roils, like the riot of Xantera has invaded my very bloodstream. I snap the journal shut and rattle in a deep breath.
“Is everything all right?” Lucan narrows his gaze at me.
“Yes!” My voice comes out about two octaves too high, but I clear my throat. “I just need to pee. I’ll be right back.”
Before he can peer too closely at the mask I just so haphazardly constructed, I jump up, totter on my feet for a moment, and hurry out of the study, through the skeletal remains of the house it resides in, and out the door. Just in case Lucan is moving to a window to watch me, I veer in the direction of his own house, where I skirt around it—
And into the woods beyond.
The truth of everything that journal just revealed is hammering itself against my skin, the words so glaringly obvious right in front of my eyes, but I don’t want to let it in. If I let it in, my veins will wilt, my bones will crack, and the entire foundation of the world will turn upside-down. Even now, the trees around me swirl, like I’m flipping anyway, despite my best attempts to push the dizziness away.
All I know is that I cannot stay here. I don’t belong, and I never will. The entire city of Xantera and everyone in the ghost town here are better off without me.Lucanis better off without me.
He’ll see. He’ll figure it out when he reads that passage in the journal. He’ll be glad I left.
Still, I don’t let the truth in. I just push forward, past tree trunks that warp around me, and soon enough I’m doubling over from theneedthat pierces inside me.
Need. I need…
My palms crash against the ground, grinding against rocks and pine needles. I crawl forward, desperate to get as far away as possible, retching as I go. When the last of my vision snags on a crisscross of fallen logs up ahead, I use all my remaining strength to haul myself into the dark, cavernous space between them, slathered in ferns.
Maybe I can’t run from the Monster, but I can hide.
Right?
The last thought that whispers across my mind is that at least it was nice, getting to experience life beyond the Wall. At least I got a few good memories with Lucan to carry with me to wherever I go next. I hope he can say the same.
Then I slump sideways, my cheek slamming into moss-slicked ground, and darkness gobbles me whole.
Ijust need to pee.
