Chapter 76
Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 1887
James studied the beaker in his hand, certain this time that he finally had the formula right, though he’d still have to test it on tissue donated from a few Hunters and Guardians before he was ready to try it out on a live specimen. Thanks to the lab Jordan Findley had set up for him, James was able to contribute quite a bit to the cause outside of his work in actual hunts. While he’d only participated in combat a few times in the last year and a half, and never by choice, he had saved quite a few Hunters from either pain or death. Now, with this newest experiment, he was certain he was onto something that would change the way Hunters and Guardians went through the Transformation process from now on.
The door to his laboratory opened, and Uncle Culpepper passed through. “You sent for me, Jamie?” he asked as he approached. “Do you think you’ve finally got it figured out?”
James’s assistant, a human by the name of Dewey, followed Culpepper into the room. Even though he’d chosen not to Transform himself, Dewey was a reliable helper, trained in both medicine and scientific experiments, despite the fact that he had no degree. He knew about the Ternion because his brother was a Vampire Hunter. James was often jealous of his assistant’s status. If only he’d been able to avoid all of this himself.
“I believe it’s correct now,” James nodded. “I’ve revamped the old solution. I still need to do some tests, but from now on, whenever we put someone through the Transformation process, it should be relatively painless compared to what we’ve been experiencing in the past.”
“Very good,” Culpepper said, looking at the vials in front of James and the beaker but seeming disinterested.
“We’ll have to give the shots separately, I’m afraid,” he continued. “If you mix the pain medication with the Transformation serum, it could potentially cause more harm than good.”
Culpepper nodded again. “Very good,” he repeated. “Once you’ve done your tissue sample testing and you’re sure it’ll work, let me know, and I’ll pass the information on to Jordan.”
“I will,” James assured him. His uncle clapped his shoulder hard enough to jar him, and he was glad he had a firm grip on the glass beaker. Even though Culpepper had little interest in James’s experiments, he was still the Area Leader, and James was required to pass all of his findings along through his uncle.
“You going with us tonight?” Culpepper asked as James straightened up his work area. “We could use you.”
James was aware that there was a hunt that evening, but he had no idea how complex it might be or if his services might be needed. “Do you want me there?”
“I do,” Culpepper nodded. “I’d also appreciate it if you’d go ahead and complete your training.”
James let out a sigh and ran a hand through his short brown hair. His uncle had been pestering him to complete the training program so that he could assist in the field, but James was hesitant. It had never interested him to actually hunt Vampires. All he ever agreed to was protecting and healing Hunters who were injured. “Uncle Culpepper….” James began, but before he could finish, his uncle was speaking.
“I know how you feel. But you were a huge help last week when Nickodemus went in without another Guardian nearby. And you’ve already done so much to improve our operations. I don’t know why you can’t just become a full-fledged member.”
Thinking about his uncle’s words only served to irritate him. It wasn’t his fault the way they’d operated before made little sense. It’d just seemed logical that any time a Hunter was engaged and a Vampire seemed to be winning that the Guardian would step in. Jordan had mentioned this was more of a regional decision than a worldwide mandate, and James had explained that they’d lose less Hunters if Guardians were given discretion instead of waiting for Hunters to realize they were failing. This change had been a logical one, as far as James was concerned.
His other suggestions had been trivial compared to that one, mostly having to do with how best to attack under certain circumstances so as to hit the Vampires in the most vulnerable places. He’d also helped to improve their communication and tracking tactics, though he hated that Vampires had telepathy while they had no way of communicating with each other outside of shouting to each other.
Despite his observations and comments, James wasn’t keen on actually going through the training process so that he could officially be designated to protect a Hunter during battle. He had begun carrying a weapon recently, but he still avoided actual conflict whenever possible. The few instances where he’d intervened had been when there was literally no one else to help and the Vampire was gaining the upper hand. It seemed like training for combat would go against the oaths he’d taken while preparing to become a doctor. How could he vow to protect and heal and still destroy and conquer?
“I’m not sure, Uncle Culpepper,” he admitted, staring at the beakers. “I’m not certain that’s the life I want.”
“We’ll keep things as close to the same as possible, Jamie. I’ll only assign you for protection if need be. I’d just feel better about your abilities if I knew you’d completed the training. You’ve already shown you can handle a blade with the best of them. We need to get you up to speed with the crossbow as well.”
They had silver-tipped arrows that could take a Vampire down pretty quickly if they hit in a precise location, namely the heart, and while there was talk of developing guns that could fire silver as well, so far nothing was being used across the board, though some Hunters had created their own. James considered moving on to that as his next topic of research once he was certain the Transformation serum was perfected, but he didn’t know how he could focus on weaponry and train for battle at the same time.
“Look, boy,” Culpepper said, pulling James around to face him. “For right now, you’re assigned to me, and I can be sure that you’re never in over your head. But there may come a time when Jordan sees fit to move you somewhere else.” James’s eyes widened. He had no idea that was even a possibility. “I don’t think it’ll happen anytime soon, but if it does, I want to know that you’re ready. What do you say? Let me send you down to Cornelia once you’re sure this serum is where you want it to be, and she’ll put you through your paces.”
The idea of training with Cornelia was almost as unappealing as spending time with Hezekiah, but James found himself nodding. If there was even the slightest possibility he might be sent elsewhere, he wanted to make sure he was ready. He didn’t want to cause the Boston team or his uncle any grief for being unprepared or shoddy at his job. “All right then,” he finally acquiesced.
Culpepper laughed heartily. “Very good, then. We’ll start tomorrow. If… your concoction is ready. And for tonight, I’d like to take you with us so you can watch your sister in action. She’s quite the scrapper, that Margie.”
James knew his sister had a reputation on the team for being formidable, and while he’d gone out on many a hunt with her, Culpepper usually tried to keep them separated for obvious reasons—she still saw him as a bothersome little brother most of the time. “Sounds like a plan,” he admitted, making his uncle chuckle with glee again. Somehow, James would have to figure out a way to observe his sister without drawing her attention to him instead of the Vampire. The last thing he wanted was to spar with Margie.
