"I believe you can help us with that," he says, fixing his dangling sleeves. "That's why I sent Lenar to meet you urgently." His brows knit as he pivots and stares at Laya. "But he hasn't returned." Facing Zhuri again, he asks, "Do you know where he is?"

  Zhuri's heart skips a beat as last night's incidents flash in her mind. Concealing her fear, she stares straight into his eyes, and answers, "He delivered your message in the morning and left. Haven't seen him since then."

  "Odd." He tilts his head and glances behind at Eisa and Jay on either side of the room. Holding his finger up, he looks back at her. "In case you meet him again, will you tell him I want to see him?"

  She bobs her head. "Sure."

  "When are you planning on seeing him?" he asks.

  It's not like Lenar is her friend. She hasn't met him before, and given that he's dead, she can't plan on meeting him ever. "How can I answer that?"

  He steps closer to her and stares deep into her eyes for a while. Snorting, he glances at her neck. "Perhaps you know him better than you think."

  Why is he acting like he knows something? Zhuri's throat turns dry. He's just trying to get inside her head. There's no wound on her neck. She has checked in the morning, yet with Mordon staring at her, she has a strong urge to check it again. But if touches her throat, it will be her confession. Forming a fist, she moves her hands behind her rear. "I think you are just assuming it."

  "Have you ever drunk someone's blood?" he asks.

  She stiffens. "I'm not a vampire."

  Ignoring her words, he continues, "Blood carries memories of the individual." He steps closer to her, eyes fixed on her neck. "By the lick of just one drop, you can learn so much about a person, their dreams, their desires, and even their world."

  He doesn't know anything. He just wants to know more about her, like the vampire who bit her. His curiosity is scary. However, as long as it's only curiosity, she's safe. After what happened last night, trusting these people will be foolish. They say they don't hunt humans, but Lenar's actions say otherwise. Despite knowing she has a meeting with Mordon, he dug his teeth into her neck.

  As Mordon moves his hand, near her throat, she turns red. "And you wish to learn more about me?"

  Pulling his hand back, he crosses it below his chest and chuckles. "Yes, but there are other ways of knowing a person other than drinking their blood."

  "Do you know any of them?" she asks with a hint of sarcasm.

  He leans back, nostrils flaring. For a second, he breaks his character of a god man. Forcing a smile again, he gestures towards the chair on the pedestal. "If you wish, I can show you."

  There's no one on the cathedra. Zhuri's forehead wrinkles as she glances back and forth between him and the chair.

  "I wish to speak to you in private," he says.

  "That's not possible," Dave intervenes. "I can't allow it."

  Etches of rage run over Mordon's face. "And why is that?" he spits.

  "For starters, she's a minor." Dave meets his eyes. Despite Knowing what this super can do, he doesn't look scared. "And apart from being a vampire, you are a stranger. I cannot let my daughter stay alone in a place like this."

  "Are you forgetting that this girl is from an outside world?" Mordon lifts his chin, taking a deep breath. "She's not Cara."

  "But she's in my daughter's body." He pushes Zhuri behind himself. "I have the responsibility to protect her."

  The skin on the back of his neck crinkles. Zhuri has become immune to Mordon's cold, but Dave is clearly in trouble. Regardless, he's standing up to Mordon unlike Jay and Eisa who are still in the corner doing nothing.

  "Very well," Mordon says. "Let, Miss Zhuri, decide what to do." He eyes her. "In her world, she's an adult. She is free to make her own choices."

  Dave faces her.

  Mordon has been too curious about her today. With her gaining powers and changing body, she has no idea what he is up to. Maybe he has noticed the changes, or maybe he hasn't, but the risk is too great. Not even Eisa and Jay dare to argue with him, and they have been supers for decades. She is no match for him.

  With Dave in front of her, she can deny the vampire leader's request. "I'll be more comfortable talking when you find a way to send me back."

  Mordon pauses for a second. His lips twitch, but he manages to hide his distaste for her answer. "As you wish. I'll have a chat with my people and meet you soon."

  "So we are free to leave now?" Dave asks.

  "Yes." He points at the exit behind.

  As Dave turns around, Zhuri follows him. Eisa and Jay also trudge after them. Walking out of the cathedral, they get back into the car. No one utters a word as Mordon stands at the door, watching them drive away.

  The sun has melted the snow off the road. Though it's not gone completely, it's not bothersome anymore.

  Even after the cathedral is out of sight, nobody has broken the silence. If not Mordon, Zhuri's curiosity will definitely kill her. She twists back towards Eisa. "Why do you think he wanted to talk to me alone?"

  "Only he knows what goes on in his mind," he says. "But it can't be good."

  "Do you think he was planning to kill me?" she asks.

  Eisa doesn't reply. He keeps staring at her with a straight face.

  Maybe he thinks the truth will scare her. She waves at him. "Say something."

  Leaning forward, he stares at her. "What happened to your eyes?" He looks down at her palms on the backrest. "Why do you...." Words fade in his mouth.

  It has been so long, she hasn't expected him to notice.

  Jay moves close to her as well. As he touches her hand, she jerks back. "Zhuri," he says, concern reflecting in his voice. "You are cold."

  Took them long enough to notice, but if they can see it, then so can Mordon.

  Dave hits the brake and glances at them. "What happened?"

  "She has changed," Eisa answers.

  Chapter 26

  Changing is one thing, but turning into a different creature is another.

  Eisa and Dave stand in front of her. Jay takes a seat next to her on the bed. Thankfully, Sara has gone grocery shopping. She won't be able to hear them bickering.

  "How do you feel?" Jay asks.

  "Different," she says, not knowing how to explain her feelings. She has never liked the idea of supers, and now she has become one. Burying her face into her palms, she grunts. "Do you think this is reason Mordon wanted to talk to me alone?"

  "Why didn't you tell us?" Dave questions.

  She lifts her chin and shrugs. "What was I supposed to say? I had no clue what was happening to me."

  Getting to his knees, Eisa gazes into her eyes. His head moves side to side. "You look different."

  "I am different," her eyes widen as she speaks.

  "No." He holds her hand between his palms. "You don't feel like a vampire or a werewolf."

  Jay looks at her up and down, and moves a little further from her. "How is that possible? Lenar was a vampire." He faces Eisa. "Right?"

  "But she's not," Eisa says, eyes still fixed on Zhuri. He moves his hand close to her cheeks.

  Before he touches her, she slaps his palm away. What is his weird obsession with touching her face?

  "Sorry." He stands straight. "I've never seen someone like you."

  "What is happening?" Dave steps in.

  Eisa points at her. "She's not a human anymore."

  Glancing back and forth between her and Eisa, Dave asks, "Is it because of the bite? You said she'll be fine."

  "I don't understand." Eisa shrugs. "She's not a vampire."

  "Then what is it?"

  Their words dissolve into Zhuri's ears as hops up and moves towards the window. This doesn't make any sense. No one knows, but she has been feeling weird before Lenar bit her. Standing in front of the window, she lifts the door up. The afternoon sun splashes on her face. Vampire's are supposed to shine or burn under ultraviolet light. She glances at her hands. They look tan, just like before, nothing has changed.

  Lenar's venom hasn't affected her. Turning back, she stares at Eisa and Dave still discussing her powers, but Jay is gazing at her. There's something different about him. He's always looking at her like a wolf keeping an eye on its prey.

  Wolf? Zhuri's lips part. Before Lenar, Jay has injected his venom into her. Maybe the ointment has suppressed its effect the first time. It can be ture she has turned into a werewolf without turning into a dog. Her lips shiver as she gestures Jay to get closer.

  Leaving Dave and Eisa fighting with words, he moves next to her. "What is it?"

  "How do you transform yourself into a wolf?" she asks.

  He shakes his head, looking into space. "I just think about it. Why did you ask?"

  "It could be that I am one." She jiggles her arms and sucks in a deep breath. "What exactly do you do to summon your inner demon?"

  Jay looks at her up and down. "I don't think you are a werewolf."

  She cocks her head. "Why?"

  "Wolves have a peculiar smell." He steps close to her and sniffs her hair.

  Cringing, she moves back.

  "Sorry, I was just checking," he says, turning red. "You don't smell like a werewolf."

  Dave darts in their direction. "How long have you been feeling different?" he asks her.

  There's no point in hiding the truth now that everyone knows it. "Before Lenar bit me."

  "What?" Eisa dashes towards her. "How is that possible?"

  "When he took me into the jungle, something happened." She moves her hand sideways, remembering the forest. "Everything became slow. I was able to see the breeze as well."

  "Powers manifest when you need them the most," Jay adds. "You were in danger. Could it be because of my bite?" he asks Eisa.

  "Possible." He nods and stares at the ground. "Then Lenar bit her." His eyes open wide as he lifts his chin and stares at her. "Powered by both a vampire and a werewolf."

  Jay gawks at her with an open mouth.

  By their looks, it's obvious this is bad, but the suspense is killing her. "What is it?" she asks.

  "You are a vaewolf," Eisa answers.

  Vaewolf? Judging by the name, it must be a hybrid of vampire and werewolf. These people aren't innovative when it comes to naming things. Vaewolf must be too rare for them to gaze at her for so long. She shrinks back, wishing she could disappear from their sight. "How many Vaewolves are there?"

  "None," Jay answers.

  Zhuri leans forward just to make sure she heard correctly. "None?" She looks around. "As in I'm the only one alive. Is everyone else dead?"

  "You are the first one to exist," Eisa says.

  Vampires and werewolves are at each other's throat all the time, it's impossible that no one has ever been bitten by both. "There must be someone. Getting attacked by both vampire and werewolf can't be so rare." She points at herself. "Look at me. I've been here for just a week, and I got both bites."

  "No, an attack by both the super beings is not rare," Eisa admits. "But surviving it is impossible. Everyone who has been bitten by both has died, except you."

  The bits are deadly, yet someone must have been able to run away. Especially if that somebody already has powers. She shrugs and points at Jay. "If you fight with Jay, he'll survive. There has to be at least one survivor."

  "That's not how it works," Eisa says. "In case there's a battle between a vampire and a werewolf, the first one to get a bite will win. Vampire's cannot handle werewolves venom. They perish."

  "And it works both ways," Jay adds. "Vaewolves are not supposed to exist. It's just a myth."

  The story she's in is also not real. None of this is supposed to exist, yet she's here, surviving in an imaginary world. "What next?"

  "Mordon must not find about it," Eisa says. "It will just make him more eager for your blood."

  Throwing her head back, she grunts. "Another rare trait. When will this end? I just want to go home," she yells, cupping her face.

  "Does this mean Zhuri is a vaewolf or Cara is a vaewolf?" Dave asks. "What happens to the powers when she returns?"

  Up until now, she hasn't given it a thought. "Since this body belongs to Cara, the powers should also belong to her," she says, looking at Eisa for approval.

  "But a human from this world has never become a vaewolf," Jay answers instead. "Maybe you survived because of your mind. You are different from the people here. Vampires can't read you."

  "Well, the power is in this body, not the mind," Zhuri argues. "There's no way I'm carrying this body outside of this world."

  "If that's true, then we might have a new problem," Eisa says, squinting.

  "What?"

  "Humans here can't tolerate both the venoms." He taps her temple. "You did it because your mind is different. Somehow it's acting as a barrier to prevent your body from collapsing. Once that mind goes away..."

  He stops midway. No one needs to hear the rest to understand. If Zhuri goes back to her world, Cara might die.

  Chapter 27

  "Before we send you back, we need to solve this issue," Dave says.

  Cara's death is a possibility, not certainty. Zhuri faces Eisa and Jack. "Won't this body get used to the venoms?" she asks.

  "I'm not sure about that." Eisa shrugs.

  She raises her hands, turning them back and forth. "It's still adjusting. When you got your powers the first time, you said you were jumpy. Now you are not."

  "We can control it," Jay says. "It takes time."

  "Similar to you," she says, and points at him, "I will also adjust to the changes. Maybe I already have because I don't feel on guard."

  Eisa and Jay look at each other. "It's odd." Eisa rubs his chin and faces her. "You are taking control over it quicker than anyone else."

  Everything about her is odd in this world, so it doesn't surprise her that she is minimally affected by supers' venom. The important thing is, this poison needs to stay in this universe and not follow her beyond the story.

  "Does this mean Cara will be fine?" Dave asks.

  It's normal for a father to worry about his daughter's safety, but his first concern should be finding a way to bring her back. Judging by the lust in Mordon's eyes every time he sees Zhuri, it doesn't seem he'll help them. "Right now, we don't even have to plan to travel between worlds."

  Dave glances at Eisa and Jack. "I'm running out of ideas."

  "We must change Cara's fate," Jay says.

  Technically they have changed Cavery's fate. None of this happens in the real story line. "Cara is a vaewolf now." Zhuri pokes her own chest. "This is not in the original plot. Though I didn't read the series completely, I remember my roommate saying 'the girl turns into a vampire', not a vaewolf. If anything, I should have been sent back by now."

  Eisa studies her body. "We must be missing something," he says the obvious.

  Zhuri rolls her eyes. "I know genius. The question is what are we missing."

  "What was the key moment in the story?" Jay asks.

  She touches her temples, pondering about the plot. "I guess her marriage to Eisa, but it's not in my control. No matter what I do, I can't change that. If she wants to marry him, she will."

  "Do you want to marry me?" Eisa asks.

  "What?" everyone says unanimously, and stares at him.

  He takes a step back. "Just confirming. Maybe instead of Cara, you are supposed to marry me to change her fate. That will also stop her from marrying me."

  "He could be right," Dave says.

  Both of them must have lost their minds to think so. Zhuri shakes her palms dismissively. "Enough with these marriage ideas. It won't change anything." She points at Eisa. "Once I go back to my world, he will be single again."

  "If I come with you, then things will change," he says.

  There's something wrong with him. Though it's weird, it might be true that he has developed feelings for Cara, but Zhuri is not Cara. "This is the place you are supposed to be in. You don't belong in my world."

  "You don't belong here either, yet you are here," he argues.

  "What is going on?" Jay asks, crossing his arms. "Why do you want to go with her?"

  "I'm just suggesting ways to fix things," Eisa says. "One way to stop Cara from marrying me, is someone else marrying me before."

  "But I don't want to!" Zhuri spreads her arms. "It's not an option."

  "Why not?" he asks.

  Is he being serious right now? Vampires are creepy, that's the main reason Zhuri has no desire to include him in her plans. There's definitely something wrong with Eisa, and she needs to find out what it is. She knits her fingers and glances at Dave and Jack. "Can I talk to him alone? Just for a minute."

  They both nod and stroll out of the room. As they close the door, Zhuri slams the window behind her shut and crosses her arms. "Why are you acting weird?"

  "How am I weird?" he asks, acting clueless.

  Her nostrils flare as she sucks in a deep breath. "You are suggesting we should get married."

  Shrinking back, he stares at the floor. "I was just suggesting it."

  She needs to remind him of the difference in what he sees and what is real. "Listen, Eisa." She gestures towards her face. "In this world, I perceive things differently than you. When you look at me, you see Cara."

  Slapping her arms to her thighs, she shakes her head. "But I'm not her. I know this can be difficult for you as you were supposed to marry Carvery, and we are trying to change that."

  Rubbing his feet on the ground, he lifts his chin. "No," he mutters. "It's not her. It's you."

  That's an unexpected reply. Maybe he's still confused. "Eisa, you don't know what I look like. You see this face, this body, and you think if I leave, Cara will leave."

  "I like you, not her," he says, and presses his lips together.

  Zhuri's mouth gapes. "You haven't seen me yet."

  "I don't care." He steps closer.

  "Trust me, it's Cara you like," she says, moving back. "You never met me."

  "I only met you, not Cara," he says.

 

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