Dagon looked at her as if she had just announced she was a shape-shifting unicorn that farted pixie dust. “You need a great deal more than that, Eliana.”
CC spoke in her calm voice. “Skull fracture detected. Concussion detected.”
“That explains the headache,” Eliana muttered.
“Multiple burns and lacerations detected on face, neck, shoulder, arm. Oblique nondisplaced fracture detected in right ulna. Metal fragments embedded in musculature of same arm. Deltoid. Biceps brachii. Triceps brachii. Brachialis.”
Eliana clamped her lips together as the computer continued to list what sounded like every muscle in her arm.
“Oblique nondisplaced fractures detected in seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth ribs.”
Damn it.
“Internal bruising detected. Malnutrition detected. Dehydration detected. Transverse fracture detected in right femur. Transverse fracture detected in right fibula.”
Well, crap. The computer or scanner or whatever then went on to list every muscle in her leg that contained shrapnel, making it sound a lot worse than it was… for an Immortal Guardian anyway.
Dagon’s countenance grew more grim with each pronouncement.
“Severely depleted blood volume detected. Cellular anomalies detected.”
Aaaaaand there it was.
“Virus detected. Warning. Possible contagion.”
Dagon stared at her.
Eliana couldn’t tell if he was alarmed, appalled, or furious. “It isn’t contagious,” she assured him. “The virus poses no threat to you or your crew. The Lasarans would’ve never let me board the Kandovar if it did.”
A long moment passed before he spoke. “You are certain our blood is compatible with yours and won’t harm you?”
“Yes.”
“All of our blood, not just one type?”
“Yes.”
“CC, begin transfusion.”
Eliana warily eyed the robotic arm that descended toward her. She would much rather just sink her fangs into a bag of blood as she had on the Lasaran ship but feared such would repulse Dagon.
A spritz of cool liquid coated the bend of her left arm before a grid pattern lit up her flesh. Eliana tensed as the needle drew closer.
A large hand gripped hers, offering comfort.
Surprised, she glanced up.
Though Dagon’s expression remained hard, his touch was gentle.
“Thank you,” she murmured. “I’ve always hated needles.” Silly that something so small would bother her when psychotic vampires had been trying to cut her up and decapitate her for centuries. She felt a prick on her skin. Then blood rushed into her parched veins.
“Resume your explanation,” Dagon ordered softly.
She nodded. “There are two species of mankind on Earth: humans and gifted ones. Most humans are unaware that gifted ones even exist. And those who discover it usually either try to kill us because we’re different or use us for nefarious purposes.”
“You are a gifted one?”
“Yes. That’s why the computer detected cellular anomalies. It was expecting a human and got me instead. Gifted ones are men and women who were born with more advanced DNA.”
“What is deoxyribonucleic acid?”
His translator must have only told him what DNA stood for, not its definition. “It’s… the carrier of our genetic makeup, I guess you’d say.”
He nodded.
“Those of us with more advanced DNA tend to have special abilities. We also tend to react differently when infected with the virus your computer detected.”
“What is the nature of this virus?”
She shook her head. “It’s unlike any other virus on our planet. Our doctors and scientists”—those who worked for the Immortal Guardians—“are still trying to understand it. We didn’t even know where it originated until Ami’s brother showed up.” Anger filtered in through the pain. “Apparently the damn Gathendiens tried to do to us what they attempted to do to the Lasarans. They manufactured a virus and released it on Earth, expecting it to kill us all off so they could sweep in and take our planet’s resources.”
Dagon’s lips tightened. “It’s what they do. Gathendiens do not wage war when they find a planet they wish to claim for their own. They use bioweapons instead to exterminate any beings upon it who would oppose them.”
“Well, evidently they didn’t realize gifted ones existed, because their plan failed.”
“What does this virus do to Earthlings? Is it the same one they unleashed upon the Lasarans?”
The Gathendiens had released a bioengineered virus on Lasara that had rendered almost all the females infertile. Those who were able to become pregnant had incredible difficulty carrying their babies to term. Which was why all the Earthlings who had been traveling on the Kandovar were female. Lisa was proof that Earth gifted ones and Lasarans were biologically compatible and could procreate together. And when Seth had explained the situation to ten gifted ones, every one of them had volunteered to journey to Lasara, eager to make a new beginning on a planet where they would no longer have to hide their differences and could fall in love and help Ami’s people repopulate.
Eliana and the other female immortals had accompanied them as their guards.
“No,” she told Dagon. “The virus the Gathendiens released on Earth behaves almost like a symbiotic organism instead of a virus. It conquers the body’s immune system, then takes its place, performing any and all repairs needed. But it takes it a step further than that. Those infected with it heal at a vastly accelerated rate and are much stronger and faster than ordinary humans. They also don’t age.”
His frown deepened. “How would that be a disadvantage?”
“Well, those are actually the perks. There are some downsides, one of which is extreme photosensitivity.”
“That word is not translating.”
“Sunlight harms us. If we’re exposed to it directly, our skin will almost instantly begin to redden, then will blister and worse. If we don’t find shelter, it will kill us.”
“Then it’s fortunate you weren’t floating near a sun while we searched for you.”
“Yeah. That would’ve definitely killed me. The virus also causes progressive brain damage in humans, swiftly eroding their impulse control and driving them insane. And the more the virus works to heal us and prevent us from aging, the more blood we need. So humans infected with it—we call them vampires on Earth—hunt and kill other humans for their blood.”
“When was this virus unleashed on your planet?”
“Thousands of years ago.”
“How have Earthlings continued to survive?”
“The advanced DNA gifted ones are born with protects us from the progressive brain damage. We get the strength, the longevity, the ability to heal swiftly, and the unfortunate photosensitivity. But we keep our sanity. So under Seth’s direction, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to hunt and slay the vampires who prey upon humans.”
“You’re a warrior?”
“Yes. We call ourselves Immortal Guardians. Seth, the oldest and most powerful among us, is our self-appointed leader. And so far we’ve managed to foil the Gathendiens’ plan and keep humanity from dying out.”