Reveille (The Hybrid Disasters, Book One)

Chapter 8: Men In Black

I woke with two unsettling realizations. One, Lyric was no longer in the bed with me, and two, I had never slept better. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. The sun was shining brightly through the crack in the curtain, so I knew I had slept in. I just didn't know how long. I jumped as the door unexpectedly opened. Lyric strode into the room with breakfast in hand and a smug grin on his face.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," he said. He handed me a muffin and a coffee. "You look nice like this by the way," he added.

I cocked my head to the side, unsure of what exactly he was trying to convey. I was dressed like a boy, I had no make-up on, and my hair seriously needed to be brushed.

"Your hair. It's all curled up and natural looking. It's nice. It, uh... it suits you," he confessed with some difficulty. When I didn't respond, he continued. "It's just a thought I had, and I figured after everything that happened yesterday, you might like hearing something nice."

"Oh. Thanks," I responded meekly. "I usually straighten it because it's so poofy like this," I rambled. I needed to change the subject from my bedraggled appearance. "Please tell me yesterday was just a really bad dream," I begged hopelessly.

"Unfortunately not," he sighed. "I was right by the way."

"About what?"

"You breathe much quieter when you sleep." He grinned.

I nearly choked on my sip of coffee as I recalled how it did not take much convincing on his part to get me to snuggle up next to him. I knew my face was red, and I also knew it did not have much to do with the hot coffee burning my tongue.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked as I cleared my throat. He grinned at my second attempt to change the subject.

"DPO is sending a few agents to retrieve us. They'll take us to one of their headquarters and more than likely run a few more tests on you. They'll want to know what you're capable of."

"What I'm capable of? I don't think I'm capable of anything. I'm just a normal girl whether I have some weird genetic makeup or not. I think I'd know if I had any kind of superpowers."

"You appear to be a mix of Faery, Djinn, and Lycanthrope, and that's just what they know from host DNA samples they have stored in their system that they ran your DNA against. There could be more."

"You keep saying these words like I have any idea what they mean," I mumbled. "And speaking of DNA, when I first met you, you said you knew who I was because you had my father's DNA on file. Cynthia seemed to think my father isn't my real father. If that's the case, it doesn't make any sense for you to have known who I was."

"Okay, Sherlock. You caught me. I knew you were Charles Harper's daughter from the moment I saw you because I've been surveilling him for a while. As for your supernatural affinities, I'll try to break it down for you. Being part Faery is the most peculiar fact about you simply because there hasn't been a Faery, or even a Changeling for that matter, spotted in over a half of a century. The Fae Court sealed off their world from the human world nearly a century ago. Since Fib bowed to you, I'm assuming he thought you were full-blooded Fae, which are like royalty in his world, but that isn't possible with your mixed genetics. Since Faery does appear to be your dominant trait, that means one of your parents was probably a full-blooded Faery. That has significance for two reasons. First, you may have the capabilities of a Changeling, which is what the offspring of Fae and humans are called. Second, there may still be a full-blooded Faery in our realm. Full-blooded Faeries are the most powerful Earth Elementals. They can use telepathy, mesmerization, and sometimes even telekinesis. They have superhuman strength, and extremely powerful Fae can transport and even become invisible at will. They also have very powerful magic, called photokinesis, at their disposal. DPO will be most interested in this side of you since Faeries are rare and are practically drugs to Nightwalkers. Your Fae blood is the reason the Nightwalkers at Club Dread reacted so ferociously."