Aeromancist, The Beginning (SECOND EDITION) - Charmaine Pauls Page 0,30
duty.”
“Then do it. She’s waiting.”
If it were the last thing he did, he’d do his duty. Lann inclined his head stiffly when he passed Joss. He made his way upstairs, but didn’t go to Katherine immediately. Instead, he walked to the room Eve had converted into a lab.
The doctor was bent over a microscope when he entered.
“Have you found out why my fertility reversed?” he asked, angry with himself for something he didn’t understand.
“Good evening to you too.” Eve didn’t turn away from the microscope, but she acknowledged him with a smile.
“I’m sorry. I…” He wiped a hand over his chin.
“No need to apologize.” Eve typed something on a keyboard before facing him. “I can’t give you any definite answers yet. I’m looking into that, but my focus is rather on helping Kat.” She sighed and walked to the coffee machine on the table in the corner. “Want some?”
“Yeah.” He noticed the dark circles under her eyes. “I appreciate your effort. I know you’re putting in long hours.”
Eve poured two mugs and handed him one. “All I can tell you is that it’s not easy. Your physical morphology is not exactly what we know as normal. From what I can see, your hormones changed when you started having intercourse with Kat. I checked the blood samples I routinely took from you before and after. I have a theory though. I think something in Kat’s body triggered your hormonal change.”
“And that reversed my infertility?”
Eve leaned against the desk and cupped her mug. “Maybe you were never infertile.”
He frowned. “What are you saying?”
“That you only needed the right female to breed. By our standards, you would’ve been classified as infertile, but maybe not by your kind’s.” She left the mug on the counter and picked up a piece of paper that she handed him. “I found some old scripts. At first, I didn’t take them for more than the usual folklore, but that story captured my attention.”
Lann’s scanned the printout.
“It’s a translation,” Eve said, “of what I’m now thinking is some kind of ancient medical report.”
Lann stabbed his fingers into his hair. “This aeromancist needed a specific female to breed?”
“What we mistakenly assumed was infertility, was, in fact, just a normal condition. Your sperm count doesn’t rise unless you’re with a female that can provide the right cocktail.”
“If that’s the case, it explains a lot.” He left the report on the counter. “Has anything new about gifted births turned up?”
Eve gave him an apologetic look. “I’m not going to give you false hope. Your kind … there’s too little information for me to pull other case studies.”
“Has her body altered more?” he asked, dreading the answer.
“Yes. The baby is changing her.”
“Can’t we create some kind of serum, antibodies?”
“I’m working on it.” Eve paused. “The problem is that I won’t be able to test anything before the birth.” Her tone held a warning. “You do realize that Kat’s going to be a guinea pig for whatever I can come up with, right?”
Removing his glasses, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
He looked back at her and tried to smile. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”
“Stop saying that. It’s not helping you or Kat.”
Lann finished his coffee and left the mug on the counter. “I’ll speak to Cain tomorrow. Maybe we can pull in another expert.”
“I’m the only one and you know it.”
Yes. He knew he was grasping at straws. “I’m losing it, Eve.” The storm outside … he almost couldn’t stop himself from calling down lightning. He’d never lost his control. He was finding it harder to hold back. If this carried on, Cain would have him locked up.
“It’s emotional. You’ll get a grip.”
Lann patted her shoulder. “Let me know if I can do anything to help.”
“Bring Kat in tomorrow early. I’ll run another test to measure her change.”
Lann left the lab and went in search of his woman. He found her sleeping in their bed. Her hair was spread out around her face. Her long lashes brushed her cheek. The movement of air around him was faint. She seemed pale. He got undressed and slipped into bed next to her without waking her, putting his arms around her body. Despite the covers, she was cold. He placed his hand on her chest. Her heart was beating fast. Too fast. He didn’t need Eve’s tests to know the truth. Kat’s body had turned more. The difficult part was only starting.