Daniel’s hand snapped up faster than he could think and caught the knife, stopping its point an inch short of his eyeball. He looked speechlessly at the woman, and she grinned back at him.
“Just checking you really are one of us. Nothing personal.”
“A knife to the eye strikes me as about as personal as it gets,” Daniel said coldly. “Please don’t try that again.”
“Of course not,” the woman said reasonably. “Not now. I’ve run out of knives.”
Daniel examined the blade. It was light and slender, with an excellent balance. “Is this what we’re going to use at the Frankenstein gathering?”
“Not unless the plan goes seriously wrong. I am Valentina Hyde; always Tina, never Val. I’ll be your partner in the mass slaughter to come.”
Daniel tucked the knife away in an inside pocket. “I’m still not sure how I feel about that . . . ”
Tina threw herself at him, like a jungle cat going for the throat. Her first punch was so powerful it would have taken Daniel’s head clean off his shoulders if it had connected, but his reactions started him moving the same moment she did, and her fist sailed harmlessly past his cheek. She lashed out with both hands, again and again, but he avoided most of the blows and blocked the rest. She tried a few karate kicks, and he evaded them easily, as though they were both just moving through the steps of a familiar dance.
Daniel finally decided he’d had enough, ducked inside Tina’s reach, and punched her right between the eyes. The blow rocked her back, and while she was off-balance Daniel grabbed her and threw her across the room. She tucked and rolled and was quickly back on her feet again, her eyes full of the light of battle and something else besides. She grinned at Daniel, snatched up a heavy chair and threw it at him. He backhanded it to one side, but while he was busy doing that she picked up the massive oak office desk and brought it slamming down on his head.
The impact alone should have been enough to kill him, but he barely felt it. Daniel punched her in the face again, putting all his weight into the blow. Tina fell back a step, but appeared entirely unhurt. The desk had split in two over Daniel’s head, so she tossed it aside. The two of them surged forward and slammed together, trading punches that would have killed a lesser mortal. And neither of them felt any pain or took any damage. Tina grinned, as she saw him realize that.
“Now you’re getting it,” she said, laughing breathlessly. “This is what it means to be a Hyde.”
She grabbed Daniel with both hands, and he grabbed her, and they wrestled fiercely, both of them using all their strength to try and subdue the other. Tina fought to get in close, her teeth snapping at Daniel’s face, and it took all his strength to hold her off. They raged back and forth across the office, smashing through the furniture and fittings as though they were made of paper. Daniel laughed loudly. He felt like he could do anything, because there was nothing in the world strong enough to stop him. The Elixir had rewritten all the rules in his favor. By the time the two of them finally broke apart they had wrecked everything they touched, and the rubber plant was in tatters.
They ended up standing head to head, so close Daniel could feel her breath beating against his face, and see the sweat running down hers. But he didn’t feel hurt, or even tired. He felt . . . exhilarated. There was a definite sexual charge on the air, an almost overwhelming attraction that was pulling the two of them even closer. Tina laughed at the look on Daniel’s face, and ostentatiously relaxed. She lowered her hands and stepped back, and after a moment so did he.
“I just wanted to be sure you were up to the job,” said Tina.
Daniel was still fighting a desire to get his hands on her, one way or another. He could tell Tina knew exactly what he was feeling, and that it amused her. He breathed deeply, forcing his raging blood down. Because he couldn’t do all the things he needed to do, if he couldn’t control himself.
“Just because I’m a Hyde, doesn’t mean I’m always going to act like one,” he said finally.
“Well,” said Tina. “You’re no fun.”
She turned her back on him quite casually, found a chair that had survived more or less intact, and sat down in the midst of the wreckage. Daniel searched for something to say, couldn’t think of anything, and settled for finding another chair and sitting down opposite her.
“Now we’ve introduced ourselves, I’ll brief you on the mission,” said Tina.
“That would be helpful,” said Daniel.
“We’ll be invading the annual gathering of the Frankenstein Clan. And just to put a smile on your face, we are talking about the entire family, so whoever destroyed your old life will definitely be there. What else do you need to know?”
“Edward assured me there was a plan,” said Daniel.
Tina shrugged. “The plan is simple: go where they are, kill everyone we see, and not get caught doing it.”
A cold rage seethed in Daniel’s heart, at the thought of finally getting his hands on the monsters from the cellar. The sheer strength of the emotion disturbed him, and he had to force it down before he could speak calmly and clearly.
“Will it be just the family at this gathering, or can we expect to run into some of those oversized thugs as well?”
“Each faction in the family runs its own collection of creatures,” Tina said easily. “Patchwork things, pieced together from graveyard leftovers. They act as bodyguards, to protect the factions from each other, and as general servants and security guards. Fortunately, they’re all muscle and no brain.”
Daniel frowned. “Exactly how many people, and creatures, are we talking about?”
“Around three hundred,” said Tina. “Maybe more, if we’re lucky.”
“You really think we can wipe out that many of them on our own?” said Daniel.
“Providing we use a big enough bomb,” said Tina. She laughed at the look on his face. “What did you think we were going to do—march in there and beat them all to death with our bare hands?”
“That does sound like something I’d enjoy,” said Daniel.
“Oh, me too,” said Tina. “But it would be far too time-consuming. And some of them might get away.”
Daniel leaned back in his chair, and studied her thoughtfully. “So, you’re my new partner. You’re not what I was expecting.”
“I know,” said Tina. “You thought I’d be taller.”
“I came here to fight monsters,” said Daniel. “Not act like a terrorist.”
Tina shrugged. “Potato, tomato. Hydes are all about the winning.”
“Question?” said Daniel.
“Ask away,” Tina said generously.
“Why is Edward trusting a newcomer like me with such an important mission?”
“You have more reason than most to hate Frankensteins,” said Tina. “And Edward believes in motivation.”
Daniel nodded slowly. “Do they really all have to die? Are none of them worth saving?”
“Long years of doing favors for those in power have made the Frankensteins untouchable,” said Tina. “And corrupt from top to bottom. The only justice they’ll ever face is what we hand out. Do you have a problem with getting your hands dirty?”
Daniel wasn’t ready to answer that, just yet. “Why is Edward only sending the two of us?”
“Because there aren’t that many Hydes,” said Tina. “Never have been. At present there are nine of us, including you. And everyone else is busy.”
“Why so few?” said Daniel.
“Because the Elixir kills most of the people who take it,” Tina said calmly. “Blows the heart apart like a firecracker in a rotten apple.”
Daniel stared at her. Tina grinned.
“You didn’t know that when you drank it, did you? Not everyone has a Hyde in them,” she said. “The Elixir needs rage and hatred to fuel the change, and the kind of inner strength you only get from seriously motivated people.”