Don ran a hand through his gray hair, looking as tired as I’d ever seen him.
“Madigan tried making Brams first with vampire, then ghoul blood, but it failed. Full alteration from human to undead changed the genetic code too much for him to manipulate. Only Cat’s blood, with its human and vampire DNA entwined on a cellular level, yet not fully transformed, was suitable.”
Marie glanced at the Remnants still framing her, arching a brow. I gave my head one angry, negative shake. No, I wouldn’t sic those creatures back onto my uncle even if he had let a megalomaniac use my blood to formulate a secret drug that healed broken bones and bleeding wounds like magic. When Don first told me about it, he said it came from filtering out the components in undead blood, so we’d called it Brams in honor of the world’s most famous vampire writer.
Seems we should have called it Cats after the world’s most gullible half-breed. I’d thought all the blood extractions and tests were because Don was paranoid about my “going evil” by drinking vampire blood. Little did I know Don was the one secretly making deals with the devil.
“How long did Madigan use her blood, cells, and tissue for his filthy experiments?” Bones asked in a flinty tone.
I didn’t have to bite my lip and repeat the question. Don seemed eager to reply.
“I shut him out as soon as I realized I was wrong about Cat. She wasn’t corrupt like my brother—”
“Or you,” Bones added.
“Or me,” Don conceded wearily. “So when Madigan refused to back off his experiments with her, I had him fired from the program.”
At last, here was the source of the enmity between the two men. No wonder Don had wanted to take it to his grave and beyond. If he’d been alive while recounting this, I don’t think I could’ve stopped Bones from killing him, judging from the rage wafting off his aura.
“I don’t believe you,” Bones bit out. “You didn’t fire your silent partner because you suddenly remembered your conscience. Madigan must have wanted to do something truly appalling for you to finally act.”
Don’s gaze skipped to me, then slid away. “No.”
“Liar.”
The accusation didn’t come from me, though I thought it the instant before Marie said it. The voodoo queen’s hazelnut-colored gaze zeroed in on Don like twin lasers.
“Lie again, ghost, and I will release my servants.”
Don looked at the Remnants and shuddered. Their mouths were open obscenely wide, and they began racing around Marie as if they couldn’t wait to tear into him again. Dexter whined while cowering behind Tyler’s legs. Even the dog was afraid of them.
My uncle opened his mouth . . . and nothing came out. Then, with one final shudder, he squared his shoulders and spread out his arms.
Let them come, his posture nearly screamed.
I bit my lip so hard that my fangs went all the way through. “What else did Madigan want to do, Don? Harvest my organs? Vivisection?”
Those were the most horrible things I could think of, but when his head snapped up and his expression was a mixture of abject shame and a plea for understanding, I knew it was worse.
“He wanted to forcibly breed you in order to produce more test subjects with your tri-species-compatible DNA, but as soon as he suggested it, I threw him out—”
I felt the crack in Bones’s shields right before the urn sailed through Don and smashed into the wall behind him. Though it had been hurled with enough force to send up a fine cloud of ash amidst the broken pieces, none of us had touched it. Marie’s eyes widened as she looked around. Then a slow smile spread across her lips.
“Interesting,” she said, staring at Bones.
“More like freaky when he does that,” Tyler muttered to no one in particular.
Bones didn’t seem to care that he’d outed himself to Marie over his telekinetic abilities. His glare was all for Don as he stabbed a finger in my uncle’s direction.
“You deserve to remain a ghost forever.”
“I-I didn’t,” Don began.
“Shut it,” Bones thundered.
The ground actually began to shake as he dropped his shields and the full weight of his fury-fueled power crashed into the room.
“You allowed Madigan to see how valuable she was to his supersoldier plan, then you whetted his appetite by refusing to let him near her for years. Bloody hell, she’s a full vampire now, yet he is still obsessed with her! But you knew that when he rushed to take your job after your death, yet you still refused to divulge the truth, so you get to say nothing in your defense now.”