The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,27
age, but at a much slower rate than our human counterparts.”
She paused in her lecture. “Following so far, Mr. Moore?”
Connor nodded. “I think I should sit down for the rest.”
“Probably a good idea,” she agreed, pausing long enough for him to take a seat.
“Now, with time, these gifted ‘people’ recognized their superiority and banded together forming clans or families. Soon these families began vying for power and rank; it didn’t take long for war to break out and humans were dragged into the mix. The war was so devastating to every side that only Five Families survived. These remaining Five Families called a truce and created a Council and a list of rules to abide by to ensure a war of this magnitude would never occur again.”
Morrigan walked over to a bookcase and produced a rolled up scroll. It was cracked and dusty but still legible. She carefully unrolled it and handed it to him. “Please read it out loud.”
Connor gingerly took the scroll from her and cleared his throat. “The Law. One. We will remain hidden and value discretion above all else. Two. Under no circumstances will one Elite kill another. Three. Under no circumstances will any Elite kill or enslave a human. Four. Elites will not turn humans or mate with them.” Connor gently placed the scroll on the small table next to his chair.
Morrigan continued, “Since the signing of the Law, the remaining Five Families agreed the best way to avoid confrontation was to separate themselves and assign regions for each of their clans. The known world was split into five territories; Asia, Africa, The United Kingdom and the remaining two families agreed on dividing Europe.”
Connor raised his hand, unsure of the best way to interrupt a sorceress.
“Connor, put your hand down and just ask me,” she said, half laughing.
“Oh, thanks. You didn’t mention North or South America, or Australia.”
“When the Law was written and the known world divided, those countries hadn’t been discovered, but we’ll get into that.”
“Now, there have, of course, been instances of disobedience and breaking of the Law, but these have been dealt with quickly and severely by the Council. Almost every major conflict in history has been due to the breaking of one of these four Laws. In 1692, the breaking of the first rule led to the Salem witch trials. A few Elites thought it would be fun to show off to the human population. World War I started when one member of the Five Families killed a member of another family over a land dispute. In 1939, World War II started because Adolf Hitler broke the third rule about killing and enslaving humans.”
“Wait, are you telling me that Adolph Hitler was an Elite?”
“Yes, I am. Oh, yes, and of course the American Civil War in 1861. There was a group of Elites that thought they could turn humans and create their own army so they could claim a nation for themselves.”
“What do you mean by ‘turn’?”
“Only pureblood members of the Five Families are born with these abilities. Those who are of mixed blood, or half-blooded, still have the Elite gene, but they need an extra ‘push’ to reach their full potential.”
“Extra push?”
“Yes, if you’re not pure-blooded, the gene will lie dormant unless you are bitten by a pure-blood member. In a sense, this kickstarts the process and your dormant abilities will be very alive and very real.”
“What if an Elite bites a human? Does it work the same way?”
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t. The normal human body wouldn’t have any way to respond. They would eventually die.”
Connor nodded, then ventured a guess on his own. “The physical manifestation of being an Elite is different colored eyes, isn’t it?”
“Yes, eye color distinguishes the Elites when they’re in their normal human form. Each eye color is specific to the family in which they originated. When they show their true identities, their eye color changes—yellow, black, red, orange or white—and their fangs protrude. These traits have led to names like vampires or werewolves throughout the years. If people only knew—the truth is so much more frightening.”
“Laren and her brother are from an Elite family, and so is Randolph, right?” Connor knew the answer to this question but he had to ask it anyway.
“Yes, Laren and Lu are descendants from the Roman family; Randolph from the German.”
Connor saw all the subtle hints now—how tense Laren had been right before they even saw Randolph at the Italian restaurant, how fast and strong she was, how she had