Chapter 25

Jim merely stood there, staring.

Nathan turned back to Sasha. The cut couldn’t be that bad judging from the small amount of blood left on the knife. “We’ll get you patched up,” he said, “I promise. It’s not like an iron knife does any extra damage to humans, right?”

Sasha cringed. He was shaking harder and looked about ready to crumble right to the floor. But there was something off about the panic in his eyes, something that looked like fear for more than just his wound.

It was Jim’s voice that spoke too loudly against the otherwise quiet night with a sense of understanding. “No, iron wouldn’t hurt a human,” he said, “but then…” Jim stepped closer, and with his free hand, he lifted Sasha’s shirt to reveal the wound.

It was small, just a little cut above Sasha’s navel, barely even bleeding. But what Nathan saw and couldn’t believe was the blue veins spreading outward from the cut like a virus. Like poison.

“You’re not human. Are you?” 9

Nine