He smirks as he nods, and then he motions for us to walk into a room off to the side. Hale takes my hand as we walk into the room full of sleek furniture and color splashed all over.
“Araya stepped in front of a whipmaster beating me for no reason. The devil was in his eyes, and he accused me of mouthing off after he gave me an order. I was a child, and she caught the whip. I’ll never forget her words, ‘if you like beating someone, then do it to someone who thrives on pain, you son of a bitch.’ It still gives me chills. She was my hero, and it wasn’t the only time she saved me from a beating. She made them believe she enjoyed it, when really she was just damn good at hiding the pain. It made it less enjoyable for them since they felt as though she was unaffected by the beatings. She fucked with their heads and took away the power they thrived on by standing up for all of us.
“That’s why I felt I owed this to you. I came out here to get away from the life of the forgotten, and so many followed me. I never thought of myself as a leader, but thanks to Araya, I knew how to stand up for those who needed a defender. Now I have an organic, thriving hybrid colony.
“The people you’re looking for came here looking for recruits. They thought since we believe in hybrids living with hybrids only, we would be compelled to create a world without any other species. The only problem is, I’ve learned not all full bloods are as vicious as the ones we endured at Cheyenne. I also know our breed would die out eventually without the other two producing our kind. Not to mention, what they’re proposing isn’t hybrid, it’s a new species all together, and one with deadly consequences. If they stabilize the components though, there’s going to be a war coming soon.”
My heart is pounding fiercely, and Hale’s arm rests over my shoulders as he leans back to let it all sink in.
“They need Araya’s blood, but why?” Clay asks.
“Her blood is the key. The emergents would have eventually led us into a world where all hybrids were like Araya, but the evolution fizzled out when the full bloods killed them all. Araya is special, different, and much stronger than she even knows. I played along for a while in order to gain as much information as possible, but when it got too deep, I bowed out. I knew you would be looking into this, and that’s why I risked it.”
“Gabe, that’s too dangerous. You shouldn’t have done that,” I murmur guiltily.
“You’ve spent your life watching after the rest of us. You saved my life, and you inspired others to do the same. Not to mention, I know it was you who leveled that hell. It’s time the rest of us follow your lead. If these hybrids are fully generated, they’ll eventually kill off those of us ungifted - possibly even some of the lower level gifted ones as well.”
“Indeed. So what do you know about the girl?” Clay asks curiously.
“What I know is something you’re not going to take very well at all. I’ll bring you a picture caught by my surveillance cameras when they came by.”
He walks over to a safe on the far wall of the room, and he returns with a file. Clay opens it up first, and his eyes widen as his skin pales.
“It’s not possible,” he breathes in disbelief while sitting back in his seat completely speechless.
“What?” Hale asks as he walks over to view the file, and then he pales as well.
“It’s Symphony,” he gushes in the same shock.
“What? She’s dead?” I murmur in complete objection as I walk over to see the impossibility for myself.
I’m dumbfounded, shocked, and completely astounded by the clear picture in front of me as the mystery girl in the hood is revealed. I lower myself beside Clay, and I pull his hand in mine as tears etch in his eyes.
“It’s not possible. I wept over her corpse,” he strains out. “I held her in my arms as she took her last breath. I mourned for her for years, I buried her body her for fuck’s sake. She can’t be here now.”
“She is here. Whoever is leading the rings injected her with dead man’s blood. As you know, that’s a strong serum which gives one the appearance of being dead. That’s why you couldn’t bring her back. It’s one of the few things that overrides blood need. For ten hours, someone appears as dead as a true corpse. You buried a girl who was still alive, and they were her heroes.”
The tears drip from Clay’s eyes, and he has to walk away from us as he tries to regain his composure and digest all the information.
“Symphony was Clay’s only love. They never got to find out if they were counters or not because Clay’s savage lies so dormant, and Symphony’s never emerged either,” I say to Gabe.
“I know. That’s why I knew this was going to be hard for him. It’s also why I wanted you here when I revealed it.”
“It didn’t matter. I loved her as though she was my counter,” Clay says with emotion rattling free.
“I’m sorry, but I knew you had to have the whole story,” Gabe says so softly.
“She wouldn’t do this,” Clay says while wiping the tears from his face.
“She wouldn’t have when you knew her, but they’ve done something to her. Her eyes are the same as a full blood’s at times and a hybrid’s at others. I don’t know what’s going on, but I know full bloods are involved as well. Someone used your blood to aide with their sun allergy, but they can only withstand the full glow for months at a time before the serum wears off.
“It’s one of the reasons they’re aiding the hybrid conspiracy. But they’re also doing this because full bloods can be changed into the new hybrid if they carry the right blood.”
“What?” I gasp in disbelief.
Clay seems catatonic at this point, and I’m not sure if he’s listening or not.
“I know. I was shocked too. I was more shocked to learn of full bloods wanting to be turned. It’s all dangerous though. If this new breed does find the last piece of the puzzle, they will be able to exterminate us all - all but you. You’re the strongest. They can’t control their power, and eventually they’ll implode. They’ll never be able to stabilize such power. That’s why you’re the only one of your kind to have ever lived for so long. You found balance where they’ll fail.”
