Thirteen (Otherworld 13)

Was he breathing? It didn't look like it.

The first thing Sean did was fix Bryce's hair.

"Hey, Bryce," he said. "I'm back. I brought Savannah with me."

I moved up alongside him and said hello. Sean talked a bit more to him, somehow managing to relate the last twenty-four hours with no mention of dungeons and sham trials, the death of our grandfather and the utter devastation that had befallen the Nast Cabal.

When Sean stopped talking, we sat with Bryce for a minute. Then the doctor poked his head through the door, and instead of waving him in, Sean motioned him out of the room.

"But I'd like to hear--" I began.

"Out there," he said.

We followed the doctor to the office where I'd called Adam.Sean explained to me that he'd insisted no one discuss Bryce's condition in the room. Comatose patients sometimes could hear what was going on around them, and he wasn't taking that chance.

"His condition is stable," the doctor said. "At this point--"

"That's all we can hope for," Sean cut in, uncharacteristically impatient. "Yes, yes. I know. Until you know what it is, you can't treat it."

"We are making inroads," the doctor said. "We've finally been able to analyze his DNA and pinpoint the modifications that were made."

"Modifications?" I said. "To his DNA?"

Sean's nod to me was curt, just short of "shut up and listen." Then he caught himself and squeezed my arm. "Sorry. This is all new to you, isn't it? Bryce's genetic code has been altered. It sounds scary--it is scary--but we presume the changes are supernatural in nature. That's what happens, for example, when a vampire is reborn or a werewolf is bitten. A makeover at the genetic level."

"That's what it is, isn't it?" I said. "Vampire."

"In part," the doctor said. "It's a hybrid, which is why it was so difficult to analyze. There's also werewolf."

"Werewolf and vampire?" Sean said.

"Yes, and a third strand, too. We're . . . we're still running tests on that. We have preliminary results, but I'm reluctant to say anything yet. Even if we are correct, we've seen no signs that it's had any negative effect, despite what one might think--"

"Zombie," I said. "That's the third type, isn't it?"

He hesitated, then nodded.

It wasn't a lucky guess. We had known from Cassandra's WWII run-in with Giles that his immortality experiments combined vampires with zombies.

The doctor hurried on, "But we've seen no signs of deterioration. The Boyd Cabal has been experimenting with zombie DNA for years, in hopes that it might unlock the secrets to immortality, and they've made some advances. We think some of their researchers were involved in this. It seems--"

He stopped and cleared his throat. "Mr. Cortez will want to explain all that. It isn't my place. But I can assure you that your brother's condition is stable. We are, however, going to keep him in the coma, while the DNA transformation continues. That seems . . . best."

"What happened?" I asked.

The doctor looked over sharply. "I didn't say--"

"Something happened when he woke up, didn't it?"

The doctor looked at Sean with anxious eyes.

"Please answer my sister," Sean said.

He hesitated, then said, "We are unfamiliar with the transformation process of a bitten werewolf. Fortunately we have someone here who has taken one through the Change successfully."

"Jeremy Danvers," I said. "With Elena."

He hesitated. "Yes, sorry, I forgot you are acquainted with them. We are also fortunate that Mr. Danvers was in the building when your brother woke and with his assistance--"