protect vampires like Julien, who’d be fighting those out for Dominion. To protect them as well as work cases.”
I nod. “My mother could fight. How was that possible?"
"She was one of the very few natural anomalies found due to genetic screening. They were fast, but they didn't have fight sight. That was just your group. Eve, your DNA was enhanced using Ancient DNA, and from them, DNA from the Grigori.”
“Grigori,” I say, scoffing. “I don’t believe in any Fall.”
He sighs. “Regardless, when the Grigori fell, they infused their DNA into that of humans and it’s been passed on for thousands of years, mostly silent. When it is expressed, it causes more problems than it solves. Your mother’s abilities caused her so many problems until she understood they were gifts."
I frown, not knowing what that meant. “What problems?”
“Like you, she had touch telepathy and saw violence in the objects she touched. But unlike you, she grew up in a very violent home and so she was almost driven mad by it. She ran away, lived on the streets, was a prostitute and drug addict in Brooklyn. Like Kate. That’s how she became infertile.”
"Kate was an Adept?"
"Yes," he says, shaking his head. "She was a natural anomaly like your mother. But she wasn't discovered until it was too late for her. She couldn't be saved. All I could do was care for her until she died. I couldn't cure her, even after I transformed."
I exhale, wanting to keep pushing him to get more answers.
"You met my mother because of your work.”
He nods. “I was in New York for a while doing outreach for the Council. We looked specifically for runaways and street youth. Because of their gifts, natural Adepts most often had problems in school and with their families. I found your mother and realized she was an Adept. I brought her to our rehab facility. She blossomed. Went to school, got her degrees, met your father…”
“Julien said I was meant for him. My mother wanted me to be his Adept, if I chose to join the Council when I reached eighteen.”
Michel looks away and I follow his gaze out the window at the mountains surrounding the Abbey.
“ Technically , you were intended for one of us. Your mother wanted it to be Julien because she trusted him. I wasn't an operative at that time, but Julien was, so you would never have been mine."
"An operative?"
"Undercover," he says. "Working to infiltrate Blackstone. I was at the SCU."
"Why are Adepts like me so important?"
Finally we sit up and he takes my hand, leading me to chairs along the wall. I sit and he stands in front of me. I look at my coach and he’s standing with his head down. Michel must have compelled him to comply, no questions. Michel sits beside me on a chair, one arm on the back behind me. I move away from him.
"We discovered that those of you created under the new program have this unique ability. When you drink our blood, you can connect telepathically to us and we can connect to you. If you drank the blood of ten vampires, you can connect us all. Genes we didn’t understand from the Grigori were transferred, giving you this ability. You’re a conduit.”
I move farther away, for when he's so close, I can't help but feel something from him.
“Why is that important?”
“It would link all of us together so we’d know exactly what each one was doing and thinking. Like a collective. Like the Grigori before they fell. It would be amazing for warriors. Or strategists. Or angels who just want back a bit of the heaven they lost when they fell. That's why Soren wants you.”
“This is insane,” I say and turn my face away. “The Grigori. Fallen angels. I don’t believe it. They’re just mutated humans. They have some ability to project into our brains and make us think we’re experiencing things. Like you making me see wings, manipulating my dreams or my mind. That’s it.”
He sighs. “You just won’t believe, will you? No matter what.”
“I’m a skeptic,”
I nod. “My mother could fight. How was that possible?"
"She was one of the very few natural anomalies found due to genetic screening. They were fast, but they didn't have fight sight. That was just your group. Eve, your DNA was enhanced using Ancient DNA, and from them, DNA from the Grigori.”
“Grigori,” I say, scoffing. “I don’t believe in any Fall.”
He sighs. “Regardless, when the Grigori fell, they infused their DNA into that of humans and it’s been passed on for thousands of years, mostly silent. When it is expressed, it causes more problems than it solves. Your mother’s abilities caused her so many problems until she understood they were gifts."
I frown, not knowing what that meant. “What problems?”
“Like you, she had touch telepathy and saw violence in the objects she touched. But unlike you, she grew up in a very violent home and so she was almost driven mad by it. She ran away, lived on the streets, was a prostitute and drug addict in Brooklyn. Like Kate. That’s how she became infertile.”
"Kate was an Adept?"
"Yes," he says, shaking his head. "She was a natural anomaly like your mother. But she wasn't discovered until it was too late for her. She couldn't be saved. All I could do was care for her until she died. I couldn't cure her, even after I transformed."
I exhale, wanting to keep pushing him to get more answers.
"You met my mother because of your work.”
He nods. “I was in New York for a while doing outreach for the Council. We looked specifically for runaways and street youth. Because of their gifts, natural Adepts most often had problems in school and with their families. I found your mother and realized she was an Adept. I brought her to our rehab facility. She blossomed. Went to school, got her degrees, met your father…”
“Julien said I was meant for him. My mother wanted me to be his Adept, if I chose to join the Council when I reached eighteen.”
Michel looks away and I follow his gaze out the window at the mountains surrounding the Abbey.
“ Technically , you were intended for one of us. Your mother wanted it to be Julien because she trusted him. I wasn't an operative at that time, but Julien was, so you would never have been mine."
"An operative?"
"Undercover," he says. "Working to infiltrate Blackstone. I was at the SCU."
"Why are Adepts like me so important?"
Finally we sit up and he takes my hand, leading me to chairs along the wall. I sit and he stands in front of me. I look at my coach and he’s standing with his head down. Michel must have compelled him to comply, no questions. Michel sits beside me on a chair, one arm on the back behind me. I move away from him.
"We discovered that those of you created under the new program have this unique ability. When you drink our blood, you can connect telepathically to us and we can connect to you. If you drank the blood of ten vampires, you can connect us all. Genes we didn’t understand from the Grigori were transferred, giving you this ability. You’re a conduit.”
I move farther away, for when he's so close, I can't help but feel something from him.
“Why is that important?”
“It would link all of us together so we’d know exactly what each one was doing and thinking. Like a collective. Like the Grigori before they fell. It would be amazing for warriors. Or strategists. Or angels who just want back a bit of the heaven they lost when they fell. That's why Soren wants you.”
“This is insane,” I say and turn my face away. “The Grigori. Fallen angels. I don’t believe it. They’re just mutated humans. They have some ability to project into our brains and make us think we’re experiencing things. Like you making me see wings, manipulating my dreams or my mind. That’s it.”
He sighs. “You just won’t believe, will you? No matter what.”
“I’m a skeptic,”
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