Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
He looked up, his broad shoulders hunched by his ears in denial. “Every single test subject goes through these stages because the immortality gene no longer requires such mortal things. It systematically shuts the host down, piece by piece, until you either dissolve or disintegrate.”
“And there’s no way to stop it?” My voice was cold.
“Not that I know of. Like I said...the Requiem code is rewriting you on a cellular level. Your old cells are dying off en masse. Your haemoglobin is breaking down, the iron in your blood is oxidising, and the cellular membranes are collapsing into necrotic sludge. Your blood is black because it’s filled with dead cells that tried—and failed—to complete the ascension.”
“But we triggered our ascension weeks ago.” Rook shot me a look before focusing on Frank. “Lucien did dissipate. I watched him die. But...I was able to bring him back.”
“What?” Frank blinked.
“Same for me.” I narrowed my eyes. “I woke to Rook dissolving into snow and used whatever gifts I have to stop her from leaving.”
Shock flared in Frank’s blue gaze. “You’re saying you reversed death?”
Rook and I nodded at the same time.
“So have I got it all wrong then?” Frank shot to his feet. “Did you actually achieve the impossible? Are you immortal?” Leaning over Rook, he studied her as if he could see evidence in her face. “But if you are...why do you look so terrible?”
Rook shrugged. “I’m saying we triggered it. Not that we survived it. Ever since I lost my necklace and Lucien broke the vitalsync core, we’ve worked as each other’s frequency blockers. We literally hold each other in stasis. But...that ability seems to have either worn off or is no longer working.”
Frank paced around the lab. “So you’re saying you ascended. You literally went through the breakdown like all the rest and somehow came back?”
“I guess?” Rook wrinkled her nose. “I mean...I seem to have an extra gift where I can...” She trailed off, looking at me. Should I tell him?
My hackles rose but I nodded. It might help figure stuff out.
“Lucien died. I saw it with my own eyes, but...I kind of turned back time just enough to prevent him from doing so.”
“You what?” Frank whirled on her. “How?”
“No idea.”
“And you?” Frank pointed at me. “Apart from yang-based power, do you have anything ‘extra’?”
I glowered at him. Fire coiled around my heart, killing me that much quicker, warning me not to tell him, but...this was our last chance. “You’re right that I can feed off other lifeforces. I...hear their heartbeats. By listening closely, I can gather their energy. I stole everything I could and gave it all to Rook. It prevented her from leaving me.”
Rook winced as guilt flowed down the bond.
Frank stumbled to the chair and sat heavily. He didn’t speak for ages, shaking his head.
“What does all of this mean, Frank?” Dillon asked, his fingers straying to Whisper’s head. “Can you fix it? They’re not going to die, right?”
The panther didn’t bite Dillon for petting him which gave me very mixed feelings.
Frank rubbed his mouth, his face white. “I honestly don’t know. All of this is new. There’s been no precedent because, until now, there hasn’t been a connected Requiem pair.”
“Connected pair?” I asked.
“You said it yourself. You’ve been holding each other in stasis ever since the tools to keep you from ascending broke. By that very definition something about your makeup affects the other which leads me back to quantum entanglement.” His face lit up as he warmed to the idea. “The combination of your energies is basically the sides of a single coin. Once together, you create a synergy.” His face fell. “Although, I’m guessing that the moment your blood turned black, all those special abilities vanished?”
“Not entirely.” Rook answered him. “I think I just manipulated time again to read the file I found when I was a child. And back in Ashfall Cliff when I was shot, we—”
“Hang on.” Frank gawked. “You were shot? When? By who?”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m fine now.” Rook waved away his concern. “Lucien healed me but not with his blood. We somehow tripped into a place that’s elsewhere and—”
“Here.” I shoved my arm under his nose, cutting her off. “Take my blood. You’ve taken hers and we’re running out of time.”
Rook scowled but then nodded when she understood my hesitation.
The dreamscape was yet another unexplainable element to all of this. I wanted to know if he could cure us physically before we went spilling what happened in a completely different realm.
“You’re right.” Shaking himself, he came to my side of the table and drew a couple of vials. Labelling them, he carried his tray to the microscope on the bench along the wall. Turning it on, a large flatscreen lit up above.
Pointing at it, he said, “This will allow you to see what I do. We’ve already concluded that your blood is breaking down, so I’m fairly sure I’ll see nothing helpful. However, I’m curious. Especially after everything you’ve just said. I’m going to mix your blood together and see if that gives me any answers.”