A/N The secrets of the vampires are slowly unveiled. Will makes a stand, and the mentor/protege relationship must take new steps.

EIGHT

"I don't know, Will. It sounds quite risky. And besides, we don't even know what this ritual entails. All we've been told is that you might die."

Will bit back his frustration. He had reached a point where he knew this was something that he had to do, and he was like a dog with a bone unwilling to let it go. "I don't think that's what he meant. But look, Magnus, finally we have one of them offering to give us all the information we've wanted. About their history, culture, their purpose… I know I can do this. I danced for Kali once, for chrissake!"

Helen couldn't help but grin a little at that memory, but quickly forced herself back to the present. "And you died. That, however, was to stave off the destruction of three continents and possibly the rest of the world to follow. To risk your neck to find out something we've already made headway on with other resources … no. I can't allow it."

"Can't allow it?" Will stopped himself, breathing deeply, as he heard his own voice rising. "Okay … okay, I'll just try talking to him a bit more then." Working out a phantom itch under his shoulder blades, Will stalked out of the room.

Helen watched him leave with a note of regret. She adored and admired Will deeply for exactly this passion that he had, it was one that they shared. But his well being, as well as everyone else in the Sanctuary, was her responsibility. It was hard for her to tell him no, but she knew it was a hard job she had to do.

… the serving castes while strictly ruled, carry their own conventions and lives away from the observance of the sanguine vampires. … different terms to … to the carniviscus the sanguine are Los Maestros … to the halispirus the sanguine are La Familia … separate gods worshipped in secret … the Lord of Skulls given appropriate sacrifices of bones and skeletons … the halispirus worship the Silver Lady … the sanguine vampirus seem to hold no religion of their own and instead venerate their former kings and queens …

Nikola heard the door to Helen's office open and stiffened. He knew everyone's signature scent and heartbeat, and the person who had entered was not the lady of the house but a different visitor altogether.

"Get out." He said without turning around. His visitor stopped, as if wary to be caught, but proceeded forward anyway. Nikola turned to gaze sharply at the female Sybarite, who had an almost guilty expression on her face.

Nikola waited, an eyebrow raised quizzically. The female Sybarite, however, seemed cowed and would not raise her gaze from the floor or venture to speak. Finally, impatient, he snapped, "What do you want?"

"I am not sorry that the Family were attacked … but I am beginning to believe you are not truly of the Family. If that is so, then I am sorry you were hurt."

"That was incredibly convoluted and I'm not sure where the apology was hiding in there."

The female Sybarite winced. While she couldn't understand everything he was saying, the biting sarcasm in his voice carried over language barriers. "If you are not of the Family, then you do not understand our duties. You do not understand what is written in our blood to perform. But then … what are you?"

Nikola softened a little, the tip of his pen tapping impatiently against the journal he'd been studying. "I am a scientist and an inventor. I am also part blood vampire."

"Part?" The female Sybarite looked scandalized. He could only imagine how she thought a mongrel like him could come into being.

"It's a long story. Now, I have some work to get back to…"

She came over to him, an odd, thoughtful expression on her face. He could already sense that her manner around him had drastically changed after discovering his more bastardized lineage. She held no more reverence for him, but also no more fear or hatred. She noted the faded wounds on his neck. A few more days and they'd vanish completely.

Leaning in, she moved her face so that it was only a few inches from him. His hackles rose and his first instinct was to draw back, but the expression on her face wasn't of one who wanted to attack or seduce him. Instead, her lips parted and he saw a tendril of that same silvery mist leaving her own being, and curling towards him. Unsure of exactly what to do, he inhaled. The silver mist escaped into him, and he felt a faint tingling in his throat. His fingers went to his neck, and it was smooth and free from any scar.

She drew back, satisfied. "You have not been touched by the Silver Lady. But you can accept her gift."

He still had a stunned look on his face, pointing first at her and then to his neck. "What just happened here? And who's the Silver Lady? She's your deity isn't she? And what … what the hell did you just do to me?"

The female Sybarite just shook her head, a small smile on her face and made to leave. Nikola grabbed her wrist, desperate for answers. "Who is the Silver Lady? The Lord of Skulls? What is it that you feed on?"

The female Sybarite backed warily away from his touch, but considered his questions. Finally, she pointed to a spot outside the office windows. Nikola turned to look and saw a full moon hanging in the sky. By the time he turned around again with a million further questions, the Sybarite had left.

"Sorry little guys … I hope there's lots of cheese for you in the big wheel in the sky." Henry poked a finger into the mice cage wistfully as the two furry inhabitants squeaked and nosed around curiously.

The Big Guy and Helen finished strapping sensors to the Sybarite's temples and along the backs of their necks. She motioned for Henry to bring the mice over.

The male Sybarite carefully took one mouse out of the cage, observing it gently in his cupped hands. "Are you sure you want us to take them fully?"

Helen nodded grimly. "Yes. We need to see the entire process from start to finish." She keyed a command onto her computer and then nodded towards them. "Whenever you're ready."

The Sybarites held the mice to their faces, gently brushing against them as if in a way of thanks and apology. Then their lips parted and a thin, silvery mist began to unfurl from the nostrils of the mice. After only thirty seconds the mice began to squeak in alarm, before their cries of distress were cut short. They twitched and stiffened, finally dead. It all happened under a minute's time.

Henry stared sadly at the two, still mice.

"It's absolutely incredible," Helen breathed. Her eyes flickered over the scan results in wonder.

Will was studying them as intently, surprise registering on his face. "They don't have any psychic abilities. Then how can they gather information about someone just by sucking in their breath? How do they kill them?"

Tesla pointed to a specific stream of data on the screen. "That's simple enough, their victims become asphyxiated. They suffocate. But look here…" He brought up one of the scanned images of the Sybarite's brains. "… their brains are very different from ours. Their parietal and temporal lobes are exponentially larger than we see in any living being. Their occipital lobes to an extent. And during feeding they positively light up."

"Memory, perception, stimuli…" Will looked just as stunned as the rest of them. "They essentially have all the tools to do my job hardwired into their brains."

Helen began printing out their results, her entire body almost humming with excitement. "They can read genetic codes…"

Will and Tesla looked at her curiously. She drew up the departmental files on telepaths so they could view them side-by-side. "I think that any physical material from a person's body would allow them to read that person. Their species just concentrates on feeding on breath, rather than blood or flesh like the other vampirus. They can read the genes from our exhalations and that gains them access to our memories, our physical makeup, but not our current thoughts like the telepaths can read."

"Which is why they can pick up our language after feeding," Will continued slowly, the amount of information he had to process overwhelming, "but don't know what I'm about to say to them."

"It's the most elegant information carrier system I've ever seen. It's exactly like how the sanguine vampirus can read an entire person's history through a drop of their blood." Nikola's grin was starting to widen. He lived for the thrill of a new discovery.

Will's hand suddenly slammed down on the table. "That's how they communicate. They feed each other, and that's how they pass on language. Magnus – this is what the Sybarite meant. He wants to feed me so I can learn about their history."

Helen was taken aback. "Is … is that even possible?"

Nikola quietly said, "Yes." But didn't elaborate. Helen saw the fire stoked in Will's eyes again, and unexpectedly felt afraid of the all-consuming eagerness that had taken over him. "I don't know if that's wise, Will…"

He looked like he was ready to scream. "Why not? We know what the ritual entails now. We've run tests on what the process is. We know more now. This is … this is huge. Thousands of years of history downloaded into my brain in a few minutes."

"Exactly," Helen hissed, "we have no idea the ramifications of such an exchange. We don't know what it will do to you, Will. If the human brain is even capable of handling it, or if your body can handle having their breath funneled into you in such vast amounts. We need more time … more tests."

"How many tests did you run before you injected yourself with original source blood? How much did you know of what it would do to you or anyone?" Will exploded.

Helen gaped, it was as if Will had slapped her across the face. She could feel her temper, and a healthy amount of shame, bubbling up inside of her. Will was already regretting his outburst, but his flash of anger was hard to disperse. Before either of them could say anything, Nikola opened the lab door and gestured with his head for Will to leave.

"Go on. We'll all talk later."

Grateful for an excuse to leave, Will stormed out of the lab. Helen was still reeling in shock and her mouth worked furiously, trying to think of an adequate response. Nikola sat down beside her, looking concerned.

"…cheeky git. What gives him the right to say those things?"

Nikola shrugged nonchalantly. "Probably because he's right."

Helen sighed, deflated. "I know. But, I don't want him to make the same mistakes I did."

"You'll have to let go of his hand at some point, Helen." Nikola smirked, rising from his seat and blew a kiss at her before leaving as well.

Helen slumped over her workstation, feeling drained.