“Good to see you’re okay,” Oliver said, gripping Schuyler’s shoulder tightly. “I’ll just be outside.”
Once Oliver was gone, Dr. Pat shone a light into each of Schuyler’s pupils. She made a note on her chart, while Schuyler waited patiently for the diagnosis.
Dr. Pat examined Schuyler closely. “You are fifteen, yes?”
Schuyler nodded.
“Inducted into The Committee?”
“Yes.”
“Like I said, you had very low red-blood cell counts. Yet your blue-blood cell counts are off the charts. In some ways, you already have the blood levels of a full-fledged vampire, and yet your body went into hibernation, which means you aren’t producing the right levels of antigens.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the transformation is going a bit haywire with you.”
“Excuse me?”
“The transformation is a process in which your blue-blood cells—your vampire DNA—starts to take over. You grow your fangs, your body switches from needing nourishment from food to needing nourishment specifically from human blood. The memories start to come back, and your powers, whatever they are, begin to manifest.”
Schuyler nodded.
“Yet there’s something odd in your blood analysis. The vampire cells are taking over, but it’s not a normal, gradual process, wherein the human self is shed for the immortal— like a snake shedding its skin. I’m not sure, but it’s almost as if your human DNA is fighting the vampire one. Resisting it. And so to overcompensate, your vampire DNA is fighting back, hard—sending your human blood counts way below where they should be. The shock sent your body into hibernation. Did something happen? Sometimes it’s triggered by a traumatic event.”
Schuyler shook her head. The night before had been uneventful.
“Sometimes, it can be a delayed reaction,” Dr. Pat surmised. “It must be your mixed blood,” she added. Dr. Pat knew all about the circumstances of Schuyler’s birth. She had been Allegra’s obstetrician.
“No one has ever documented what happens when human DNA mixes with vampire blood. I’d like to put you under observation for a while.”
EIGHTEEN
A week later, Schuyler still felt a bit woozy after the “episode,” which is what she and Oliver were calling her emergency visit to Dr. Pat’s office. Oliver had offered to pick her up in his car to take her to the first day back at school. Schuyler, who would usually resist such a gesture since she lived across town and out of the way, had meekly agreed to such an arrangement. Oliver was her Conduit—he was supposed to take care of her, and for once, she was going to let him. The spring semester at Duschene was officially opened by an assembly, in which the Headmistress welcomed all the students back for another exciting term, followed by a tea of currant scones and hot chocolate in the belvedere. Oliver and Schuyler found their usual seats in the back pew of the chapel with the other sophomores. There was a lot of cheerful greeting and exchanging of vacation stories all around. Most of the girls looked tan and rested, trading cell phones to show pictures of themselves in bikinis on the beaches of the Bahamas, St. Thomas, or Maui. Schuyler saw Bliss Llewellyn walk in with Mimi Force, the two of them with their arms linked around each other’s waists as if they were the closest of friends.
Mimi’s hair had been made even lighter by the sun, and Bliss sported a few copper highlights of her own. Jack Force walked slowly behind them, hands jammed in the pockets of his Duckhead chinos. He had a bit of a ski-mask tan around his eyes, which only made him look more adorable.
Oliver noticed where Schuyler was looking and didn’t comment. She knew how he felt about her crush on Jack Force.
Sensing her friend’s pique, Schuyler leaned down and rested her head affectionately on his shoulder. If it hadn’t been for Oliver . . . she might have . . . what? Passed out forever? Joined her mother in the comatose room uptown? She was still having trouble understanding everything. What did it mean that her vampire cells were fighting her human cells? Would she always be torn in two directions?
The hunger she had felt in Venice had abated somewhat with the transfusion. Maybe that was all it was. She had needed blood. Maybe she could just get transfusions instead of having to feed. She would have to ask Dr. Pat if that was a viable alternative. It was just too weird to always look at Oliver and think he’d taste delicious. He was her best friend, not a snack.
Bliss Llewellyn looked around and met Schuyler’s eye. The two girls waved shyly to each other. Bliss had been meaning to tell Schuyler about Dylan’s return, to have the conversation she had started at the ball, but somehow the opportunity never seemed to come up.