Page 187 of Eternal Surrender

Reading his nametag, I sent a trance wave and said, “Dr. Cass, open the lab.”

He stepped back, unaffected.

“Mercury,” I said, realizing, and quickly applied a choke hold until he’d lost consciousness. I threw him over my shoulder.

Sebastian unclipped Cass’s ID and swiped the card through the mechanism. The small light on the security pad blinked green. The door clicked open, and we headed in.

I laid Cass’s unconscious body in the corner. Sebastian, Ingrid and I set to work, searching for anything that might reveal what the scientists were working on.

Ingrid flipped over one of the computer keyboards and peered beneath. “Secret codes are only useful if kept that way.” She righted the keypad and typed away.

“Are you in?” Sebastian asked her, peering over her shoulder at the screen.

“Yes.” Ingrid began opening files, trying to decipher what she was reading. “Blood results?”

“We have to get you out of here,” Jacob called over to us. He was standing in the doorway, and he was yet again wearing reverend attire, his clerical collar neatly fitted.

“That’s the priest I was telling you about,” Sebastian whispered.

“How did you get in?” Ingrid rose from the chair.

Sebastian took a protective step toward her.

“We can trust him,” I said.

“I stole one of the guard’s IDs,” Jacob said.

“How many Hail Mary’s will that be?” Sebastian asked.

“I’m not Catholic,” Jacob said flatly. “God will understand. I’m assisting my friends, after all.” He stepped closer. “Lucas has the scrolls. It’s too dangerous for you to stay here.”

“Paradom?” I asked. “I’m not leaving without him.”

“I’ll find him,” he said. “Please, get out of here. Before they find you again.”

“How did you get into the castle?” I asked.

“Bodiam once belonged to the Stone Masters,” he said.

“You’re still a Stone Lord?” I asked.

He raised his eyebrows gesturing his sincerity. “For all the right reasons.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

“I needed you to trust me.” Jacob relented and gestured to the equipment. “Sovereign are researching the alteration of DNA from continued mercury intake. Their notion is that over many generations of mercury ingestion, human DNA tolerates higher levels.”

“Human cell mutation?” Sebastian clarified.

Jacob looked woeful. “Sovereign’s long term plan is to alter the DNA of every human on the planet. Provide a form of immunity to vampires.”

“Deliberately poison everyone?” Ingrid asked, astonished. “So that we’re all contaminated with mercury?”

“Yes,” Jacob said. “They’re adjusting DNA in order to turn off what makes mercury harmful.”

“They’re planning on contaminating water and food sources,” Ingrid realized.

“Ancient Egyptians were the first to discover the power of mercury,” Jacob explained. “They ingested it to aid health and discovered it had other uses.”