Destined to Kill: A Destined Novel (Destined Novels Book 1) Read online

I vaguely register mum's angry voice. I try to move, to sit up, but my body is not responding. It feels as though I am in a pit of mud and I am trapped. My throat is dry and painful and the nausea is worse. I want to tell mum to not yell, but all that comes out is but a squeak of a sound.

  "Anala?"

  "Thirsty," I manage.

  Within minutes mum was back with a cup of water. My eyes burn, so I keep them closed as she helps me sit up and holds the cup to my mouth. The water does nothing to quench my thirst, but I drink every drop. Mum takes the cup from me when I finish and sets it aside.

  "You are so pale, honey." She places her hand on my forehead. "You do not feel feverish. In fact, your skin is cool to the touch. Does your stomach hurt?"

  I nod. "I do not feel well, mummy."

  "My poor girl. I will get your father in here to examine you. Maybe he will have something to make you feel better."

  She left to find papa, and I use every ounce of my strength to sit up. I hate being weak in front of papa. A Hunter must fight no matter if he or she feels sick or not. We are strong. I must be strong. But, I do not feel strong now.

  "He will be here soon, honey. Perhaps you should lay back down."

  "No. I want to sit up. Please?" I want to look at her and tell her I was fine, but lifting my head takes too much effort.

  "What seems to be the problem?" Papa was using his 'doctor' voice. Already I am feeling embarrassed.

  "Henry, she is pale and chilled. She says her stomach hurts," she explains. "Do you feel anything else, Anala?"

  "No, ma'am." I look up at her, and that is when everything changed for me.

  Mum let out a gasp and backed away from me as though I would bite her. At the same time, papa drew his sword, and while he did not exactly threaten me with it, he keeps it ready.

  "What!" I paw at my face, my neck. I cannot feel any wounds, so I do not understand what is going on.

  "Henry!"

  "I see, Eleanor. I see," father says quietly.

  "See what?" I exclaim. "What is going on!"

  "What happened today, Anala?" Papa asks. "Where did you go? What did you do?"

  This is not good at all.

  "Do not lie to me, Anala."

  "I...I patrolled the outskirts, papa."

  "I told you to stay away from there, Anala! What have you done!"

  "I am sorry, papa! But, I am a Hunter and you never let me go hunting with you! I needed to do something!"

  "Clearly you are not ready. I have told you time and time again never to be alone!"

  "I was not alone! Thomas was with me."

  Mum gasps again. "Thomas? Where is he? Is he hurt?"

  "Of course not," I answer. God, I am so confused. First they are scared of me, and now they ask if Thomas is hurt? Why can they not just tell me what is happening. "He should be at home."

  I turn towards papa, but I am careful not to get up or make any sudden movements. "Please tell me why you are scared of me."

  Mum begins to cry silently and it only makes me more confused and frightened.

  "Did you find a Cursed One, Anala?" Papa asks.

  For one moment, I think about lying, but I see in his eyes that he would know.

  "Yes," I answer, and see mum grip papa's arm.

  "What happened?"

  I tell him exactly what happened. Well, not exactly. I leave out the part where I thought the Cursed One had bitten me. How could I tell them - two of the most skilled Hunters - that their daughter may have let herself be bitten?

  "Thomas just left you there alone?"

  "I told him to go, papa. I can take care of myself."

  He sheaths his sword, and tentatively takes a step towards me.

  "Henry..."

  Papa nudges mum back and whispers to her that it is fine. He kneels in front of me and lifts my chin to look at me more intensely.

  "Did you tell me everything, Anala?"

  I hesitate, but I need to be able to trust him. Not only is he my father, he is my leader. If I cannot be honest with him, I have no business being a Hunter.

  "I don't know, papa." It is the truth. I really do not know what happened. I thought I was bitten, but there is no wound. I tell him as much.

  Slowly, he pushes my hair off of my neck and examines me.

  "Is this where it would have bitten you?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "I want you to stay here, is that understood? I want to speak to your mother and gather a few things from my lab." He rose to leave, turning back when he got to mum's side. "Stay here, Anala. Please."

  I do as he asked, afraid to even move. Not that I have much strength to move, anyway. Suddenly I feel incredibly tired and even weaker than before. My head is throbbing, my stomach is growling and it aches, so much. The thought of food, however, is not appetizing to me.

  "Did you see her eyes, Henry? What is happening to her?" Mum's voice is soft, but clear to my ears. Do they not think I can hear them right outside my door? They do not have to talk about me as if I were not there.

  "I saw." Papa answers. "I cannot explain what is happening. It is not possible. If she had been bitten, she would not be as she is now. We have seen it, Eleanor. We have seen what the bite of a Cursed One does. The bitten either die or turn. If they turn, you know they kill anyone or anything they see at once. She never once made a move to hurt us," he says, distractedly.

  "But, if she has not been bitten, why would her eyes look as they do? She is sick and pale. My God, Henry, she is our daughter. What are we to do?"

  "I do not know!" Papa answers angrily. "Nothing is making sense. We will do what we can to find out what is happening."

  "We cannot kill her if she has been bitten. I will not allow you to."

  My breath catches in my throat. I cannot believe they are talking about me the way they are. Kill me? This cannot be real!

  "I have no intention of killing our daughter, Eleanor. She means as much to me as she does you! If something has happened, we will find a way to fix it."

  "How do you hope to do that, Henry?"

  "We are Scientists, Eleanor. More than that. We will try everything we possibly can."

  "Magic?" Mum asks, incredulously.

  "Everything we possibly can," papa repeats.

  When they fall silent, I cannot take it anymore. I know I promised papa I would not move, but did he really expect me to just sit there after what I heard?

  "Mum? Papa?"

  I will give them credit for not screaming, as uptight as they were.

  "Anala, I told you..."

  "Not to move, yes, I know," I finish for him. "I want answers." I see them exchange a look, and I roll my eyes. "Do not pretend that I could not hear you out here. What is wrong with my eyes?"

  "How...Anala, how did you hear us?" Mum asks, her face filled with concern and even a touch of wonderment.

  "Please, mum. The walls are not made of stone. I can hear you out here through the door of my room."

  "Anala, honey. We were not in here. We were outside."

  "No. I heard you as clear as day. You stood here and talked about my eyes. You even discussed killing me! I think I deserve to know what is going on!"

  Another look is exchanged, and mum picks up the mirror next to the washbasin and comes to me.

  "We would never hurt you, honey," she says, and hands me the mirror.

  Lifting the mirror, I try to brace myself for what I might see. I have no idea what to expect, but if it scares my parents, it is likely to terrify me. Finally, I look at myself in the eyes and cannot comprehend what looked back at me. Normally a cool blue, my eyes are now so light they seem almost white or translucent. There is a faint ring around my irises not unlike those I saw on the Cursed One. Only mine are not quite as red as his.

  The mirror slips through my hands. "What is happening to me?"

  Papa is quickly beside me, holding me in his arms. "We're not sure, my girl. But, we will find out."

  "With magic?" I ask, unable to look at either of th
em.

  "If that is what is required, yes."

  "Do you even know magic, papa?"

  He laughs a little. It is a welcome sound with everything that is going on.

  "I have dabbled," he answers, vaguely. "Now, you must eat and get your strength up. I need you to be with me in the lab so we can..."

  "Determine what I am exactly." I say what he would not. "I am hungry, but I feel sick when I think of eating the stew."

  Papa is quiet for a moment, then an almost painful look crossed his face. "Your mother will help you get cleaned up. I will return with something that may...help you."

  Mum washes me gently, tentatively, seemingly always poised in case I make a move. It is torturous. How can she possibly think I would hurt her? I cannot blame her, of course. I would be scared of me, too, if I were not in my body. If only she could know how I felt inside.

  The smell hit me, making me feel things I never felt before. I do not know what it is, but it is glorious - and hideous at the same time. My eyes burn again, my teeth ache and I cut my tongue as I run it across them. I feel a ravenous hunger I have never felt before, and I will do anything, fight anyone to satisfy it. I do not realize I had hissed until mum quickly backs away from me and grabs her sword that is leaning up against the wall.

  "Eleanor, wait!" Papa cries and positions himself between us. "Anala, fight this! Whatever it is you are feeling, fight it!"

  I can hear papa's voice loud and clear even through the pounding in my head. I want to do what he says, but I am so hungry. I want to rip something - or someone - apart and sink my teeth into it. The thought scares me enough to try to do what papa is telling me.

  "Anala, you have to be stronger than it. You are a Hunter, use your training to help you. Use everything your mother and I have taught you. You do not want to hurt us, do you?"

  Of course I do not want to hurt them. I use every ounce of training I had, I think about how I would feel if I did something to mum or papa. Gripping my throbbing head, I fall to my knees and begin breathing deeply. After a few minutes - intensely hard minutes - I feel my body begin to relax.

  "That is it, Anala." Papa kneels down beside me and carefully places his hand on my shoulder. "You can do this."

  "Please, papa, get away from me. Both of you, leave me until I have all of this under control."

  I know papa wants to protest, but what can he say? He has no idea what I can or will do. I do not even know that. So, they both leave and I sit there alone. This is impossible. How am I supposed to live like this? I do not have the strength to fight this all the time. But, if I do not, it will take me over and I will be nothing more than an evil killer like the other Cursed Ones.

  Ugh, the smell is still so intense. I see the a plate and cup papa left beside the door. If I took the time to think about what I see on the plate, I wonder if I would be disgusted instead of almost drooling with hunger. I crawl over and grab the bloody slab of meat and sink my teeth into it. A small sound of pleasure escapes as the blood satisfies what I thought was an insatiable hunger. I do not bother looking in the cup, I can smell the lovely red liquid. I drink it as if my life depends on it. Sadly, I think it just might.

  I am finally beginning to feel normal again. The hunger is gone, the throbbing stopped and I feel in control enough to join my parents in the main room. They sit, huddled together, with mum wringing her hands together in sheer anxiety. She is always so calm and collected that this is startling to me.

  "Mum?"

  "Anala." Father rises quickly and grabs a nearby garment. He dips it in the washbasin and begins washing my face.

  I lower my head. "I'm sorry, papa." I am embarrassed that I did not think of the mess I must have made when eating.

  "Do not be, daughter. This is new to all of us." He lifts my chin and looks me in the eye. "Do not be embarrassed. We will figure this out together."

  "That is right, honey," Mum says. She wraps her arms around me, and holds me tight.

  "Anala," papa looks up at me over the rim of his glasses. "You know you will not be able to go outside of this house as you are now."

  I have been sitting in his laboratory - a bit uncomfortably - as he scrutinizes me. Old books, in a language I do not recognize, were strewn across his desk and he would read a page, then look up at me, shake his head and read again. It is actually quite annoying being looked at as a science experiment.

  "Yes, papa."

  He glances up again at the sound of my voice. "I understand this will be hard for you, daughter. But, I am afraid other Hunters will only see you as…different."

  "Cursed, papa. You can say it."

  "I am not even positive of that, Anala." Distractedly, he searches his desk until he finds what he is looking for. The needle was large and menacing. Again, he looks me in the eye. I have to appreciate the fact that he can look at me without grimacing. "I need some of your blood."

  In the years I have seen papa at work as a surgeon, never once have I seen him unsure of his actions. The request is almost timid. I outstretch my arm in front of him and say nothing as he ties the tourniquet around my upper arm. What follows are a series of frustrated grunts.

  "I have never had problems with this," he mumbles. "I cannot seem to pierce the skin."

  "Let me try." I take the needle from him, and though it grosses me out, I try. And fail as well.

  "Well, this is unfortunate." Papa rose and pilfers through his exorbitant amount of gadgets and gizmos to find something that may work on me.

  "How much do you need?" I ask.

  "Enough to fill that container," he gestures to a small cup on his desk, still looking around.

  Without much thought, I bite into my wrist - easily and painlessly (thank God) - and fill the cup.

  "Anala!"

  "It does not hurt, papa." When the cup is full, I slide it towards him and absently bring my wrist to my mouth to lick the blood.

  "Give me your arm, child. Let me bandage it."

  I do as he asks. He takes gauze dipped in some concoction and begins cleaning the wound. But, it is no longer a wound. The bite - like the one on my neck - has completely disappeared.

  "Impossible," papa whispers. "Regeneration does not happen until after the initial change."

  I say nothing. I do not think papa is talking to me anyway. He just examines my arm as if he were a child with a shiny new toy.

  "Papa." I take my arm back. "Thomas is here."

  My statement confuses him, but does his best to hide it. "It is late, child. No one is here."

  Just then, mum rushes into the laboratory. "Henry, Thomas is here asking to see Anala."

  Papa's eyes slant towards me. He shakes his head before heading out. "Stay with her," he tells mum as he passes by her.

  "He seems a bit flustered," she says with a small, nervous chuckle.

  "He did not believe me when I told him Thomas was here."

  "You heard him?"

  "No. I...smelled him."

  "Oh! I, well, I do not understand."

  I smile a little. "I am learning that people have unique smells. You and papa have your own smells, as does Thomas."

  "But, how do you know what Thomas smells like?"

  "This afternoon, after what happened to me, he came back before I could get away. He did not see me," I say, quickly. "But, I remember his smell."

  "Amazing." Mum sits down in front of me, close enough where our knees touch. I imagine she wants me to realize she is not scared to be near me without a weapon of some sort. "Tell me, what else is different besides the heightened hearing and smell?"

  I tilt my head and study her for a moment. She is genuinely curious.

  "Um. Papa says regeneration, which apparently should not be possible."

  "That is right," mum agrees in awe. "From what we have seen, Cursed Ones go through a period of transition. We call them Hybrids. During that time, most of the things you are experiencing now are not as magnified as yours are. We have never been aware of a Hybrid or Cursed O
ne that could speak or even be aware that they are - or were - human. It is why we are so perplexed by you."

  Papa pokes his head through the door before I can answer.

  "Eleanor?" He motions for her to join him in the other room. "He is worried about Anala. Said she ran from him when he got back to her where they were patrolling."

  I wonder if they are mindful of the fact that I can hear them or if they think their whispering is enough to keep me in the dark.

  "I explained that she is ill, possibly contagious, so she cannot receive visitors. He apologized to me for letting her patrol today."

  Letting me! Thomas better be glad I cannot receive visitors, because I would happily kick his ass for that!

  "I do believe that boy is in love with our daughter."

  That statement rattles me to the bone. In love? Thomas Lagan is in love with me? Papa surely is mistaken.

  "Well, then we need to work on finding a cure," I hear mum respond. If it is possible, I think I even sense a smile from her.

  They come back into the laboratory, and I deliberately pretend I have no idea what they were talking about out there.

  "Papa, Mum said something to me earlier and it made me remember something." I wait until papa is seated behind his desk again before continuing. "The Cursed One that attacked me, he spoke."

  "What?" They both spoke at the same time, then papa, "What did it say?" He grimaces a little when he said 'it', but I let it go.

  "His voice was odd, almost like a hiss. But, what he said was pretty clear. He knew who I was. Said 'A Hunter's daughter', then something about me being useful to them."

  "They're evolving," mum declares.

  "They must be," papa mumbles. He tends to mumble when his mind is full.

  "Evolving or not, he still would not have passed for human," I say. "There was nothing human about his voice."

  "And, yet, you speak as clearly as you did before..." Papa's voice trails off. It always strikes me as odd that a Hunter as great and as disciplined as my father could be so absent-minded at times. He picks up the container with my blood and swishes it around. "Well," he says. "Let's see if we can get to the bottom of this."