Daniel took his time answering, to make sure his voice was calm. He didn’t want to do anything that might discourage her from finally opening up to him.
“How did you survive something like that?”
“I didn’t. Edward saved me. He followed me from the nightclub, after he saw me start a fight and then win it. He told me later he smelled the blood through the closed door, smashed it in, and found me bleeding out in the bathtub. He force-fed me the dose of Elixir he’d brought with him, and it closed my wounds and saved my life. He could have given me the choice to drink it, and I would have. I would try anything back then, the worse for me the better. And the Elixir made me the woman I am today.”
She waited, still staring out at the gloom, to see what he would say. Daniel slowly raised a hand and put it over hers, on his chest.
“So Edward caught both of us at the lowest point in our lives,” he said quietly. “I wonder if we might have chosen differently, under other circumstances.”
“We were both dying by inches,” said Tina. “Edward let our old selves die, so we could be Hydes. We have so much to thank him for.”
“Do we?” said Daniel. “I haven’t been a Hyde long, and already I’m worried I might become as much of a monster as the things I’m supposed to fight. I never killed anyone before I wiped out the whole Frankenstein family. Never wanted to, no matter how bad things got when I was in uniform. But then I lost my friends, my old life, and everything that mattered to me. I sometimes wonder if the best part of me died in that cellar. When Edward offered me the Elixir, I was ready to become a monster, just for a chance to get my life back. And for revenge, of course.”
“You are not a monster,” Tina said firmly. “Trust me, I’d know.”
“I believe you,” said Daniel.
They laughed softly, and snuggled together. Tina wedged a leg in between Daniel’s, and caressed his foot with hers. Daniel kissed her shoulder.
“So, Edward is sending us after the Vampire Clan next,” she said.
“The werewolves, the vampires, or the mummies?”
“What makes you think I know?”
“Because he spent so much time working with you. He must have discussed his plans.”
“Of course he did,” said Tina. “I couldn’t get him to shut up about them. The Vampire Clan should be next on the list.”
“Have you ever seen a vampire?”
“No.”
“I have.”
Tina looked at him sharply. “Up close?”
“Up close and personal,” said Daniel. “I thought my old friend Paul died in that cellar, but the vampires dragged him out and turned him, just so they could make him answer their questions. He came to my flat, after I thought he was dead, just so he could tell me I needed to see Edward Hyde.”
“What did he look like?” said Tina.
Daniel thought for a moment, considering his answer carefully. “He looked . . . different. As though he’d lost some important part of himself that made him the man I used to know. Or, more likely, it was taken from him.”
“Hardly surprising,” said Tina. “Vampires are just corpses disguised by a glamour. Leeches on two legs.”
Daniel stirred uncomfortably beside her. “He was still my friend. He sent me to the one man who could help me.”
“And you think he did that out of the goodness of his heart?”
“He didn’t have to do it,” said Daniel. “You know, I wasn’t scared of him, not really. I think . . . because I still felt bad, that there was nothing I could do to save him, back in the cellar.”
“You can still avenge him,” said Tina. “Wipe out the whole Vampire Clan, and make sure no one else will ever have to suffer the way your friend did.”
Daniel pushed his head back into the pillow and stared up at the ceiling, looking for answers he didn’t have.
“But what will I be like, after I’ve killed all the monsters? What will all that blood and death do to me? Would I even recognize the man I’m going to become?”
“You ask the oddest questions,” said Tina.
“Somebody has to,” said Daniel.
He turned his head to smile at her. He could see her face clearly with his Hyde eyes, and he wanted her to see his.
“Have you never compared the person you are now with who you used to be?”
Tina lifted her arms briefly, and then let them fall back again.
“That person is dead, and she was happy to die. I’m someone else now. Don’t you like her?”
“You know I do.”
“Good. Because you really wouldn’t have liked the old me. I didn’t.”
“Who was the man in the nightclub?” said Daniel. “The one who remembered you, from before?”
“Erik . . . ”
“Were you close?”
“We might have been,” said Tina. “But he asked too many personal questions.”
She smiled at Daniel, to show that was meant to be a joke, but Daniel wasn’t so sure. He looked steadily at Tina, to show he wanted a proper answer to his question, and she stirred uneasily.
“Back then, all I cared about was having a good time, all the time. And Erik had the money, and the connections, to make that possible.”
“But if you were having such a good time . . . ”
“Why was I so determined to kill myself? Because too much fun wears you out. The more you do, the less you enjoy it. Until finally I got so tired all I wanted was to go to sleep and never have to wake up again.”
Daniel could still hear an echo of that tiredness in her voice. He wanted to take her in his arms, and hold her so tightly it would drive all the bad memories away . . . But somehow he knew that if he tried, and it was the wrong moment, Tina would get up off the bed and walk away.
“Why do you suppose Edward decided to save you?” he said finally.
“Because he saw something in me that he could use,” said Tina. “The same reason he made you a part of Jekyll & Hyde Inc.: because he has a war to fight, and he needs people like us.”
“He said he wanted warriors,” Daniel said slowly. “But I think he meant patsies. People he could use and then discard.”
“Only if we let that happen,” said Tina. “We both have good reasons to want the monsters dead, but once they’re all gone . . . Edward won’t need us anymore.”
Daniel looked at her thoughtfully. “You think he might try to kill us?”
“Of course! He’s Edward Hyde!”
“Sometimes I forget what that name means,” said Daniel. “You remember how he walked right over that poor waitress?”
“I’ve seen him do worse,” said Tina. “In the end, it might come down to us having to get him, before he can get us.”
Daniel turned onto his side, so he could look at her directly. “You’ve given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?”
Tina smiled. “I had a lot of time to think, waiting for you to show up so I could get this war started.” She stretched slowly, as unself-conscious as a cat. “But who knows . . . maybe we won’t have to kill him. Maybe, once we’re not needed anymore, he’ll just let us walk away and make new lives for ourselves.”
“Maybe,” said Daniel.
“You don’t sound too convinced.”
“Give me time. I’ll work on it.”
They lay tucked in close together, riding each other’s breathing, staring out across the bedroom as the morning light slowly brought it to life. Daniel smiled suddenly.
“Conversations you never thought you’d be having . . . My life has gone through so many changes—from policeman, to cripple, to Hyde . . . ”
“I know what you mean,” said Tina. “Do you love me, Daniel?”
“Yes,” he said. “Somewhat to my surprise. It sort of sneaked up on me, and hit me over the head when I wasn’t looking. Do you . . . ?”
“No,” said Tina. “But give me time. And I’ll work on it.”
“Well,” said Daniel. “That’s something.”
They laughed quietly together, and then drifted off to sleep.