Dash was determined to find out. He waited impatiently for my father to explain himself, and judging by the pulsing vein in Dash’s jaw, my father was running out of time.
“They’re the sole reason we’ve been trying to duplicate your cells,” he finally said.
“That doesn’t answer my question. What are they?” Dash demanded.
My father stared into the mist as if expecting another one of those things to come bursting out of the fog and attack him. “They were once humans.”
I gasped, and I wasn’t alone.
All around me, the mouths of the Night’s Guards who knew nothing of the Forsaken dropped open. Only a few weren’t shocked by this news. Ember was one of them.
No surprise.
My little sis seemed to be included in the Institute’s inner circle of trust and secrets.
“The mist has morphed them into something else entirely, something not human. For over a hundred years they’ve lived and breathed the toxicity of the air beyond the Heights.”
“You knew about them!” Dash railed. “And not once did you share the information that there was danger out there possibly deadlier than the mist. You’ve put us all at risk.”
“I’m trying to protect this land! If everyone knew that the Forsaken existed, it would cause chaos,” my father reasoned.
One thing was certain, I was never going anywhere without a weapon again.
“How long have you known? Why did you think it wouldn’t cross the boundary? Who else knows about them?” Dash rattled off questions like gunfire.
“Now you know why it is so important we study your DNA. We need to learn how to kill them and protect ourselves.”
“I don’t know anything. We’ve already established your word means nothing.”
“Let me make something clear. Neither one of you are to tell a single soul what you saw here.”
“Why would we agree to that?” Dash challenged him.
“Because I know you care about the Heights and the people in it. That’s why the Night’s Guard was established: to keep it safe. Until the time is right and we’ve learned more about what we’re dealing with, spreading the word will only create panic. Scared people get hurt.”
I feared my father was right, and I could see Dash did as well.
Could this be real—toxic beings? Nuclear zombies? No freaking way.
I didn’t think the world was ready for this. I wasn’t, that was for sure.
Dash palmed his blade, his expression unsettled. “How is it that we haven’t seen the Forsaken before?” The Heights was filled with people, and yet only a select group knew about the Forsaken’s existence.
“My best guess is they are dependent on the environment of the mist to survive. They particularly dislike the sun and stick to the shadows.”
“Are they evil?” I asked, my brain immediately recalling every vampire and zombie movie I’d ever seen.
“I don’t think that thing wanted to be your BFF. It looked like it was going to eat your face off,” Ember said dryly.
I shot her the stink eye.
“They’ve been here longer than we have, and like us, they want to protect what is theirs. Our being here threatens them. I don’t know that they are evil, but they are dangerous.”
Every time we got an answer, a new question popped up. Dash shook his head. “If they’ve been living in that kind of environment for a hundred years, they must have some wicked abilities. I don’t even want to think about it.”
“Which is why it is important that we can defend ourselves if the time ever came,” my father replied.
“You think they might invade?” Dash asked.
My father’s gaze flicked to the otherworldly body of the Forsaken. “I hadn’t, until today. Now I’m not certain of anything… except that you and Charlotte might be the key to our salvation.”
Dash’s jaw popped. “I find it hard to believe our DNA is going to save the world.”
“Possibly, but Charlotte might have the answer we’ve been searching for.”
All eyes turned to me, and I got a sick feeling in my stomach.
Dash immediately planted himself in front of me. “I don’t care what you think you’ve uncovered. The answer is no! I won’t allow you to use her, exploit her abilities. What you’re suggesting is preposterous. It could kill her. Are you willing to risk your own daughter?”
Silence.
“Well, I’m not,” Dash ground out, his muscles locking up.
“She wouldn’t be in danger. She would have a team of the best guards with her around the clock and that would include you. No one can protect my daughter better than you, Dash. We both know it, no matter how much I might not like it.”
Dash snorted. “You know nothing. I wasn’t talking about those kinds of dangers. Believe it or not, your daughter is capable of handling the hazards of the Heights, but her abilities have limitations. What you are asking of her is too much.”
This had to end, the back and forth. Neither of them could make the decision for me. In the end, it rested on my shoulders. Something they both needed a reminder of. “What are you talking about? What else could I possibly do?”
My father was all too happy to oblige me with an answer. He risked moving nearer. “See, I have a theory, and I’m willing to put it to the test.”
The guards closed in around us, and I got an inkling that crap was about to hit the fan. “What kind of test?”
“I won’t let you touch her,” Dash growled.
“Oh, Charlotte won’t be the guinea pig, but for your sake, Slayer, you better hope I am right in my theory or this might be the last moon you see for a while.”
His gaze narrowed. “Enough of the gam—”
I didn’t see the guard until he was suddenly behind Dash, a needle in his hand. I opened my mouth to scream Dash’s name, but it was too late. The syringe pierced his neck, and a clear liquid flowed from the tube into Dash.
He reacted immediately, grabbing the guard’s arm and flipping him onto his back. Dash quickly plunged his dagger into the guard’s chest, and then his eyes sought mine. “Freckles, are you okay?”
He’d just been injected with God knew what, and he was worried about me. “I’m not the one you should be concerned about.”
“She’s right, you know,” my father added.
Dash stumbled, dropping to his knees, and shot my father a glare of pure hatred. “What did you do to me?”
My father loomed over us, a shadow masking the side of his face. “It should be a familiar feeling, seeing as you’ve had it before.”
“Ceraspan. You injected him with the same stuff that made us sleep for a hundred years,” I seethed, anger lacing my words. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I believe you can save him,” he stated.
“Are you freaking kidding me? You had to do this now? It couldn’t have waited?”
“Yes, well, the Forsaken was an unforeseen surprise, but the Heights is notorious for being unpredictable.”
“As are you, I am learning,” I snapped. “What happens if I can’t wake him up?”