Finished with his speech, he opened the door and gestured me inside, his expression back to the bland politeness of before. I held his eyes for a stubborn moment before preceding him into the room.
It wasn't like most doctor's offices. That was for sure. One—it was in a mansion full of vampires. Two—it lacked the sterile brightness of most medical offices I've been in. It looked like a regular home office, granted nicer than I was accustomed to with its antique wood furniture, expensive artwork, and heirloom decorations. The only nod to the fact it belonged to a doctor were the medical instruments laid out on one of the tables and an examination table tucked into the corner of the room.
The office was warm and cozy and invited its occupants to sit down with a cup of tea or maybe a glass of scotch. The man standing next to the desk didn't fit this scene. He was a caged tiger that looked like it had already eaten the zookeeper. Wild, and convinced nothing could ever challenge its spot in the food chain. Arrogance showed in every line of his posture. Arrogance and superiority.
"You're late," he barked before we were even all the way in the room.
"Yes, there was an unexpected complication," Thomas said in a smooth voice.
The other man sneered, but refrained from saying anything else. "Is this her then?"
He studied me from eyes that would have been beautiful, if they hadn’t been glaring at me. He was tall, with skin the color of coffee, eyes a light hazel, and a face that invited sin.
"It is," Thomas said.
The other man tilted his head toward the table. "Get on."
"With a bedside manner like that, I'm surprised you don't have more patients," I said in a dry voice as I made my way to the exam table and took a seat, feeling like a teenager about to have a checkup.
"What would I do with more idiots running around?" the tiger asked. He stepped closer, picking up a stethoscope and putting one end to his ear.
"How does this work anyway? I thought the thing that made us was magic. How can science help figure this out?"
"Be silent." I kept my response to myself and complied. He listened for a moment then moved the stethoscope again. "Breathe deeply."
I took a deep breath.
Thomas stood across the room, his arms folded over his chest, and a watchful expression on his face.
The doctor stepped back, setting the stethoscope down on the desk behind him and picking up a needle. I couldn't help my grimace. I'd never been a fan of needles.
The doctor gave me a dry look. "You're a vampire with fangs more dangerous than any needle, yet you're afraid of this tiny little thing?"
I shrugged. "It's not a rational fear."
One side of his mouth quirked up. "Phobias so rarely are."
He prepared my arm as expertly as any human doctor I'd ever met. Better even, because as a vampire, he had an instinctual feel for where the vein was.
"To answer your question, the critical component of our transformation is magic, but it acts more like a virus. It's spread through blood and saliva much like a human STD," he explained in a grudging voice.
"And looking at my blood under a microscope will show you this magical virus?" I asked.
"Not exactly. We've found that certain markers are produced when the virus is present. Those will also tell us a little about the human you were."
As he talked, I caught movement out of the corner of my magic-seeing eye. Little black dots, the size of ants oozed out of his skin and marched down his arm to where he was holding me. The little ants disappeared into my skin, making it quiver and dance under the sting of phantom bites.
I jerked my arm away, or at least I tried. The other man held tight, not letting me budge an inch.
"Is there a problem?" Thomas asked.
"She's fighting me."
"Of course, I'm fighting you. You're hurting me," I said through gritted teeth. I put more strength into trying to pull away until we were in the oddest arm wrestling match I'd ever been in.
"Joseph."
"I don't know," the man holding me snapped.
"Let go of me." My mouth felt crowded as my fangs came out to play. It was now more than merely small ant bites and the little suckers had made it all the way up to my shoulder.
"Almost done."
The pain crested, and I screamed as it coursed throughout my body. Fuck this. This exam was done. I balled up my fist and hit Joseph with everything I had, which was a lot since I had Liam's super-charged blood coursing through me.
Joseph's head turned with the force of my blow. His grip didn't budge. He turned back to me and licked the blood off his lip. "That all you got?"
I drew back for another blow. Thomas appeared, grabbing my arm and forcing me down so I was lying flat on the table.
The black ants poured out of Joseph, biting and stinging as they burrowed their way into my body. I writhed and kicked as the pain invaded.
"Damn, she's a fighter."
"Will you hurry up?" Thomas growled. He glared at the other man, holding me down quite easily.
"Yeah, yeah." Joseph's forehead furrowed in concentration. "That should do it."
He withdrew, the ants disappearing as if they had never been—only the memory of the pain they caused remaining.
Joseph released me and stepped back. Thomas did the same, though a tad slower.
"What just happened?" Thomas asked, his voice thunderous. "You said it wasn't supposed to hurt her."
I struggled to sit up—one thought on my mind. Kill.
Joseph looked thoughtful. "Yes, she had an interesting reaction."
That lamp would do. It was the closest object.
I was up off the table, the lamp in my hand. Thomas looked around, my name on his lips, just as I brought it down on his head. He fell to a knee, blood flowing from an inch-long gash. Joseph's mouth fell open as he wavered between looking scandalized and entertained.
I brought the lamp down again, missing his head this time and getting his shoulder. The world retreated in a red haze as I became consumed with the thought of removing Thomas’s head from his shoulders. My memory got foggy after that.
*
I came back to myself to the sound of shouting. "What the hell is going on? I leave you with her for a couple of hours, and this is what happens?"
Hmm, that sounded like Liam.
I shifted only to find my movements impeded.
"Easy there, enforcer. He had no choice. The woman went apeshit on his ass. It was actually pretty funny."
"She already didn't trust you before this. How is she going to trust you now?" Liam's voice was hard.
Answer—she wasn't. If Thomas thought I was antagonistic before, just wait. I was going to blow his mind with the hostility I treated him to now.
"I know." Thomas didn't sound happy. "It wasn't supposed to happen like that. I was assured that it was painless, and she wouldn't even feel it."
"I'd like to know how she performed that little trick," Joseph said. "I've never had a patient feel my aura when I scanned them. The way she was acting, it was like she could see it."
"How is that possible? There's nothing to see. It's magic," Thomas said.
"I've no idea," Joseph said.