Page 17 of Inhuman Natures #1

“Are you serious?” DJ squeaked.

Rake scrubbed a hand over his face. “When did you start to believe this?”

Shaun sighed. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

“I don’t know if you’re meant to use the word ‘crazy’ anymore,” DJ said.

“Well, either way, I’m not.” Shaun pointed to his mouth. “Look.”

DJ grabbed hold of Rake’s hand when Shaun’s canines elongated. Rake was dumbfounded. Shaun held up his hands, his nails lengthening and becoming claw-like at the ends of his fingers. And then Rake blinked, and Shaun was gone.

“Proof enough for you?”

Rake whirled around, bringing DJ with him as he turned to face Shaun, who was, inexplicably, behind them.

“Oh my god!” DJ screamed.

“Uh. Maybe I could have gone about this a different way,” Shaun said, running his fingers through the tangled mess on his head and grimacing when his fingers got stuck in his matted hair.

“You’re a vampire ,” Rake said, not quite able to believe even his own words.

“Oh my god!” DJ screamed again, apparently unable to utter anything else.

Shaun’s teeth retracted. He looked like a normal person once more .

“I don’t know how to react,” DJ said. “How are you real? I mean, I can see you’re real, you’re right in front of me. Vampires, though. They’re not real. Oh my god. Vampires are real. What is happening.”

“Breathe, Deej,” Rake said, rubbing at his back to comfort him. He wasn’t sure why he was so calm himself, but now he knew Shaun wasn’t imagining things, the information made things slot into place like they hadn’t before. “Lawrence…” he said slowly, coming to a conclusion. “He’s a vampire too?”

Shaun nodded curtly. “My creator.”

“And he attacked you?”

Shaun didn’t look happy about admitting it, but he inclined his head.

“Because of what we did together the other day?” Rake didn’t want to hear the answer, but he had to find out if this had all been his fault.

“Partly,” Shaun admitted.

DJ made a noise like he’d been punched in the chest. Rake didn’t fare much better, his stomach churning with guilt. “You don’t want to be with him at all, do you?” he asked.

Shaun took a few moments before answering. “No.”

“He made you a vampire, and he’s been hurting you.” Rake said it more to himself than as a question for Shaun, who said nothing. His face was answer enough.

DJ squeezed Rake’s hand so hard he thought he might break a bone. “If you don’t mind me asking,” DJ said. “Do you have any family?”

Shaun started fidgeting with his hands. “Yes. Parents.”

“Do they know what you are?”

“No. ”

DJ seemed unable to stop himself from asking more questions. “Are they looking for you?”

“No.” Shaun hesitated. “Lawrence compelled me to write a suicide note, then left it with my phone near a river. I’m pretty sure everyone thinks I drowned myself.”

“Christ,” DJ breathed.

Shaun shifted on his feet. Even Rake could sense he was uncomfortable with the current direction of conversation, but he didn’t know how to move on from the revelation.

“Are you going to eat us?” DJ asked, surprisingly placid, given the nature of his question.

“Fuck no.”

“Language,” Rake said reflexively.

Shaun raised a brow. “Hell no?” he tried.

Rake nodded absently. He needed to process all the information, but his mind was scattered in a million different directions.

“I won’t hurt you,” Shaun stated. He was still standing on the opposite side of the room.

“I know you won’t,” DJ said. “I’m not scared of you. Maybe a little of your fangs, not gonna lie. But not you .”

Shaun brightened, but remained where he was, separated from them. “Do you have questions? I’ll answer whatever you need me to.”

“Can you pick me up?” DJ asked, as if that was of the utmost importance.

Shaun laughed, surprise crossing his face. “Do you want me to?”

“I want to see how strong you are.”

“I can pick up something much heavier than you, DJ. ”

“Prove it.”

Shaun glanced around the room. In a flash, he stood in front of their fridge, lifting it clean off the ground. He turned, eyebrows raised. “Does this satisfy your curiosity?”

“Yes, and I’ll need you to do that again sometime so I can hoover under there,” DJ said.

Shaun bit his lip, smiling tentatively, and placed the fridge back down. The faint clinking of glass bottles from inside was the only sign of Shaun’s exertion. A second later, Shaun was back, standing in the centre of the room. This time, Rake swore he saw the blur of his movement.

“You can’t eat or drink anything other than blood, can you?” Rake deduced.

“Only blood,” Shaun confirmed.

“And you needed to get in here via my invitation… to escape from the sun?”

Shaun looked impressed. “Correct and correct. Invitations from human residents are required to enter. The result of some old-timey curse a witch cast on us, or something like that.”

Before Rake could ask what the hell that meant, DJ chimed in. “I’ve got one!” he said. “Stake in the heart. Does it kill you?”

“Straight to planning my murder, I see how it is,” Shaun said with a wry smile. “I wouldn’t survive that, but then again, neither would you.”

“Fair, fair. I don’t plan on cosplaying as Buffy anytime soon. Her outfits are to die for, though. Nineties realness.” DJ proceeded to list his reasons for rating the vampire slayer’s wardrobe so highly. Rake half-listened as he studied Shaun instead .

Shaun was paying attention to DJ’s ramblings as if DJ was imparting sage wisdom, as opposed to spouting inanities. It was sweet and slightly unnerving now that Rake had got a glimpse of what Shaun was capable of.

Rake wanted to let them continue talking, but something occurred to him. And once he had a question, it was hard to keep it contained. “There’s something else I’d like to know,” he said.

Shaun made a ‘go on’ gesture.

“How did you find out where we live?”