The Bloodline War by Tracy Tappan Read Free Book Online Page B

for its placement on the blood graph.”
    Toni nearly rolled her eyes. Jesus Christ, the man had a gift for talking around an issue; she still had no idea what he wanted. “There’s no technique for mapping blood that would result in anything called Peak 8, Mr. Mihnea, at least none that I’m aware of.”
    “Not with your methods, no. Dr. Jess’s analyses are unique.”
    She shot a narrow glance at Jess. Just what sort of doctor was he, anyway?
    “Peak 8,” Roth went on, “is representative of an element from a very ancient lineage, Dr. Parthen. In an earlier age, both of our cultures used to interbreed with a now-extinct race called Dragon. Not because they’re actual dragons, of course,” he hastened to add, “but because the people of this species were born with an extravagantly winged creature of brilliantly colored scales on their backs, almost like a tattoo. Of a dragon.”
    She smiled thinly. Right. As far as weird went, they’d sort of just left the playing field. “Okay,” she went along, “did someone contract hepatitis from one of these dragon tattoos, is that what you’re getting at? Or HIV, maybe, because if that’s the case, then—”
    “The tattoos are hereditary, Dr. Parthen, but that’s hardly the point.”
    “Then what is ?” she snapped. She was getting really sick of The Munster Family Story Hour . “I’ve been waiting forever for you to get to the punch line.”
    Roth sat back in his chair and drew a deep breath. “You have this special ancestry I’ve just described, Dr. Parthen. You carry the Dragon bloodlines we so desperately need bred into our population.”
    “I—” She slammed her mouth shut, then opened it again. “I what ?” What was this guy talking about? “I most certainly do not, Mr. Mihnea.”
    “I’m afraid you do, doctor.”
    “I’m a hematologist, for Pete’s sake. I think I’d know if I have a blood anomaly.”
    “You just haven’t been able to see it with the type of tests you use. With the right analyses, you could.” Roth pushed his chair back and opened his desk drawer, taking out a manila folder and placing it on his blotter. He pulled a sheet of paper out of it. “Here’s the blood graph Dr. Jess drew up on you based on the CBC Scripps ran while you were in the hospital. It clearly shows Peak 8 as a part of your makeup.” He set the graph on the edge of the desk facing her.
    She glanced dismissively at the unfamiliar hills and valleys spread out across the page. “I’ve never seen a chart like this before in my life.” Her patience growing thinner by the minute, she made a flip gesture at the paper. “For all I know, you generated this using an Etch A Sketch. Not only that, but my CBC wouldn’t exactly have been available for public scrutiny.”
    “Dr. Jess would be happy to show you how he performs his tests. I have no doubt you’ll find his methods adhere to all of the most rigid scientific standards.” Roth pulled out another sheet from the folder: an 8x10 photograph. “You also have the mark.” He spun the photo around and set it next to the graph. “Although you had it lasered off several years ago.”
    She looked down at the picture of her bare back, and gasped. It was from her confidential medical records!
    “It’s a dragon’s foot, you see.” Roth pointed to the left side of her spine, where a brown, irregular blotch marred her skin. “And claws: if you look closely, you can see them. The mark isn’t made up of colorful scales as it is with our race, and the majority of your dragon is missing, but that’s typical for someone of your—”
    “It was a birthmark ,” she cut him off coldly. This conversation was rapidly moving from ridiculous to downright irritating.
    Roth retracted his finger and slowly arched his brows. “Precisely.”
    “Oh, for the love of God.” She pressed two fingers to the middle of her brow. She might as well stick her head in a car door and slam it a couple of times rather than try to