“Thanks for your input, Christopher,” Matthew said stiffly. “I’ll be sure to pass your ideas on to the rest of my team.”
“So what are we going to do about all this?” Fernando asked. “There may not have been any urgency before, but now . . .” He looked to Matthew for guidance.
“The Bad Seed’s breeding program changes everything,” Chris proclaimed before Matthew could speak. “First we have to figure out if blood rage really is what makes conception possible or if it’s a combination of factors. And we need to know the likelihood of Diana’s children contracting the disease.
We’ll need the witch and the vampire genetic maps for that.”
“You’ll need my DNA, too,” I said quietly. “Not all witches can reproduce.”
“Do you need to be a good witch? A bad witch?” Chris’s silly jokes usually made me smile, but not tonight.
“You need to be a weaver,” I replied. “You’re going to need to sequence my genome in particular and compare it to that of other witches. And you’ll need to do the same for Matthew and vampires who don’t have blood rage. We have to understand blood rage well enough to cure it, or Benjamin and his children will continue to be a threat.”
“Okay, then.” Chris slapped his thighs. “We need a lab. And help. Plenty of data and computer time, too. I can put my people on this.”
“Absolutely not.” Matthew shot to his feet. “I have a lab, too. Miriam has been working on the problems of blood rage and the creature genomes for some time.”
“Then she should come here immediately and bring her work with her. My students are good, Matthew. The best. They’ll see things you and I have been conditioned not to see.”
“Yes. Like vampires. And witches.” Matthew ran his fingers through his hair. Chris looked alarmed at the transformation in his tidy appearance. “I don’t like the idea of more humans knowing about us.”
Matthew’s words reminded me who did need to know about Benjamin’s latest message. “Marcus.
We need to tell Marcus.”
Matthew dialed his number.
“Matthew? Is everything all right?” Marcus said as soon as he picked up the call.
“Not really. We have a situation.” Matthew quickly told him about Benjamin and the witch he was keeping hostage. Then he told Marcus why.
“If I send you the Web address, will you have Nathaniel figure out how to monitor Benjamin’s feed 24/7? And if he could find where the signal is originating from, that would save a lot of time,” Matthew said.
“Consider it done,” Marcus replied.
No sooner had Matthew disconnected than my own cell phone rang.
“Who now?” I said, glancing at the clock. The sun had barely risen. “Hello?”
“Thank God you’re awake” Vivian Harrison said, relieved.
“What’s wrong?” My black thumb prickled.
“We’ve got trouble,” she said grimly.
“What kind of trouble?” I asked. Sarah pressed her ear against the receiver next to mine. I tried to flap her away.
“I received a message from Sidonie von Borcke,” Vivian said. “Who is Sidonie von Borcke?” I’d never heard the name before. “One of the Congregation’s witches,” Vivian and Sarah said in unison.
14
“The coven failed the test.” Vivian flung her satchel-size purse onto the kitchen island and poured herself a cup of coffee.
“Is she a witch, too?” Chris asked me in a whisper.