“I have no plans to stay. We can dispense with all the formal chitchat, I think. ”
“Yeah, we’re old friends now, aren’t we?”
“Geoffrey said you claimed to be able to do things. He said you would only show these things to me, though. I have spent much of my evening assuming this was a lie and once you had me here you would kill me and escape. ”
The man had a gift for calling a spade a spade.
“If you thought so, why did you come?” I had been sitting on the floor but got to my feet, wanting to see how he’d react. He didn’t flinch, barely seemed to register my movement at all. He also didn’t balk at looking me right in the eyes, which was unnerving.
“You intrigue me, Ms. McQueen. I have seen many incredible creatures in my time. Things you couldn’t imagine. ”
I snorted. My imagination had plenty of fodder to fuel it for a good long time. I was willing to bet The Doctor here had never been to a fae realm or had pixies give him the stink eye. If he wanted to trade notes on all the crazy things we’d seen, I was willing to bet I’d come out on top.
He’d be a clear winner if it came down to which of us had taken apart the highest number of mythological creatures, though.
“You scoff?”
“I don’t think you give my imagination enough credit. ”
At that he smiled. “No, perhaps not. But you asked me why I came here, if I believed it was your intention to kill me. First, I have a very good understanding of your healing capabilities now. I know how much strength you get from feeding, and I’m quite certain I’m in no danger from you physically. ” He gave an apologetic shrug, as if I might have found his assessment offensive.
“So you came because I can’t beat you up?”
“In part. I must admit, though, I thought on it for a long time. But what Geoffrey said piqued my curiosity. He suggested you might have gifts unlike any I’ve ever seen, and how can a man of science turn down such an invitation?”
That was the response I’d hoped for.
“I’ll show you, but there are conditions. ”
“I’d expect nothing less from a smart girl like you. ”
“I want out of this room. ”
“Go on. ”
“And I want you to tell me what happened to Holden Chancery. ”
“Wouldn’t you rather see him, instead?”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“He’s alive?” I asked, my voice trembling. I’d wanted to stay cool and pulled together, showing no sign of emotion, but when I’d asked The Doctor to tell me about Holden, a large part of me was expecting to see a corpse. Or worse still, a pile of ashes.
“We’ve had this discussion, you and I. A vampire is not a living thing. That’s what makes you so special. You’re one of them, yet your heart…”
When he said heart, I recoiled, my body shuddering violently. I turned away from him, momentarily wishing the wall would open up and swallow me whole. All from one word.
If he noticed my Pavlovian response, it didn’t slow him down any because he went on to say, “Your heart beats. It’s such an amazing thing. You are a true marvel. ”
The way he looked at me bordered on adoration. I couldn’t make sense of this man. He cut me open and wiggled his bare hands around inside me, stealing bits of my organs for God only knew what purpose, and yet he could still gawk at me like I was a beautiful sight.
“I want to see him,” I said.
“I know exactly what you want, and I intend to deliver. But I’ve never let anyone out before, you understand. ”
“You’ve never had anyone like me here before. ”
He laughed, and it was deep and warm, the kind of laugh a good man should have. This was not a good man. This guy was a modern-day Josef Mengele as far as I was concerned. I didn’t lightly go about comparing people to Nazi doctors with a penchant for human experimentation, but it seemed apt in his case. Regardless of what kind of monster he was, I was willing to do whatever it took to appease him if it meant getting out of this cell.