Chapter Twenty-Six

Max's POV

Iggy stared at us like he didn't know who we were and Nudge had to nudge him to get him to speak. Even though the Cullen's had advised us not to get too close to our Flock brother until they were sure that he wasn't thirsty for our blood.

"Why are you all staring at me?" Iggy asked, eyeing Nudge in awe. He 'whispered' to her, "are they new here too?"

Nudge's expression changed, she caught my eye and I could see tears in her eyes. "He thinks he's dead. When he first woke up, he asked if he was in Heaven." She paused, glancing around the room. "Something amazing happened though, I think he got his sight back. I'm not sure if he even knows who he is though so that's not that big of a deal to him. And his skin sparkles a little bit and I can hear his heart faintly and doesn't he look so cute with his slightly more handsome face?"

I was too confused by her babbling to comprehend half of the stuff she said.

"Wait, what do you mean he has a heartbeat?" Bella asked, and all the vampires cocked their heads to the side listening. (that wasn't really necessary but I found it amusing)

"Its definitely still the same." Rosalie commented, then wrinkled her nose. "Though he doesn't smell appetizing anymore."

"But…how can he still have a heartbeat? And his wings still work? And he can see? And he sparkle? And--" Iggy cut Nudge off by giving her a look.

"Iggy, how are you feeling? Do you feel hungry? Thirsty?" Carlisle asked, jumping into doctor mode. The rest of the Cullens, most of the Flock, and all of the wolves took that as their cue to leave. Only Carlisle, Nudge, and I were left in the hallway with Iggy.

"I could go for a cheeseburger." Iggy joked, then gripped his throat. "But my throat is burning…." He admitted sheepishly, glancing at Nudge ashamed.

"Iggy, baby, don't you remember anything?" Nudge asked, for once keeping her chatter to a minimum. She glanced at me and mouthed 'he thinks we are angels.'

I sighed when he shook his head. "Maybe we could have Angel help refresh his memory." I commented and Iggy smiled at Nudge. Oh, brother.

Two hours later, after an intense 'memory reboot' session with the mind reader, Iggy was looking slightly pale. Which was strange considering he was now a vampire.

"You mean we honestly grew up in cages?" Iggy asked for the hundredth time. "And I'm now a vampire…or whatever?" He gestured to his chest, placing his marble hand over his heart.

"Yes." I replied a little sarcastically, my patience running out. "Congrats, Ig, you are officially the first Avian-Hybrid Vampire."

Nudge smacked my arm and I felt a little guilty. Iggy didn't mean to be a pain, he was just confused. I would be too if I lost my memory and had it forced in my head by a ten year old. Not to mention the fact that the whole story itself sounded ridicules.

"That's it." Carlisle vampire whispered, despite us all being able to hear him.

"What are you on to, Doc?" I asked, getting cranky from lack of food.

"We have been going about this all wrong." He said, looking at Iggy again. "We've been basing Iggy's transformation on a normal human's when he wasn't 100% human to begin with. That two percent bird must have had a greater affect than you guys thought."

"So, like, besides just the wings and our natural powers, there's still more to it." Nudge said, half confused.

"Its your blood." Carlisle said triumphantly. "It is quicker to move in your system, hence the fast transformation, but it also seems to have stopped the vampire venom from completely taking over his body like it did with the rest of us."

"But what does that mean for Iggy?" I asked, my protective instincts coming out.

"I'll have to get the blood results back, if the special needle we use for Renesme works that is, but I should be able to tell you just how much of a vampire he's become." Carlisle said, piercing Iggy's skin with a titanium needle. Iggy wasn't the only Flock member that winced.

A knock on the door revealed Edward. He stepped into the room and smiled. "While we run those tests, why don't you get some food, Iggy. What are you hungry for: food or blood."

Iggy looked between the four of us before he muttered, "blood." Nudge crinkled her nose in disgust but she hid it well.

"Okay. Do you have someone you'd prefer hunting with for the first time?" Edward asked, a smile on his lips as he read the answer in Iggy's mind.

"I want Nessie to if she's willing." Iggy said shyly. "She seems to be the most like me now…not quite human, not fully vamp." He smiled cockily. "Though I do have the added benefit of wings."

"That you do." Carlisle said with a laugh.

In that moment, I realized that our Flock would never be the same. Our little pyro was no longer one of us.