"Live?" Live? Leave Shadow Falls? Kylie shook her head. "I can't. I'm going to Shadow Falls boarding school."
"You don't understand the danger you are in, child," he said.
"From ... Mario?" Kylie asked.
His brow wrinkled. "Is Mario part of the FRU?"
"No." Kylie hesitated to get into a conversation about the FRU. "He's part of a rogue organization."
"The organization you need to fear is the FRU. They are affiliated with your camp, but they are not what they seem. I have reasons to believe they are responsible for your grandmother's death."
Unwilling to lie, Kylie nodded. "I know."
His expression hardened. "You know what?" When she didn't immediately answer, he continued, "Did she tell you something about it?" His tone matched his expression-serious, demanding.
Unsure if confiding in him was best, but sensing it would be wrong to keep it from him, she nodded. "She was paralyzed from the operation. The one they did on both of you. They killed her."
His blue eyes filled with rage and his hands tightened into fists. "Murdering bastards! Only over my dead body will you return to that school!"
Kylie tried not to react to his threat. But yes, she saw it as a threat. She inhaled a breath to calm herself. "I understand how you feel. I was outraged myself. But Burnett assures me-"
"Burnett works for them!" her grandfather roared, and even the trees seemed to cringe at his fury.
Kylie's aunt moved in and rested her hand on his arm. Kylie recalled how the woman's touch had been so warm the day they'd shown up, pretending to be the Brightens. Was the woman fae? Part fae, perhaps?
"Yes," Kylie said. "Burnett works for the FRU, but he assures me that the people who did that are no longer with the organization. And-"
"And you trust them knowing what you know? Trust him, knowing who he answers to?"
"I don't trust the FRU, but I trust Burnett," Kylie said. "He's on our side. And even more, I trust Holiday."
"You are naive and young. You don't know what's best for you."
She tried not to take offense. "Young yes, but not so naive," Kylie said. "I'm following my heart."
"Your heart will mislead you," he said. "Mine did. I trusted them. I was blinded to what they really were. Heidi knew ... or she suspected, but I didn't listen to her."
"I'm sorry," Kylie said, "but I can't-"
"You can," he demanded.
"No, Malcolm! The child must make up her own mind." Her aunt spoke to Kylie's grandfather, but looked at Kylie. The woman didn't look angry, but disappointment gripped her expression. Kylie's chest tightened at the thought of hurting these people, but giving in wasn't an option.
Her grandfather swung around and stared back at the tree. His sorrow, his anger, his loss filled the darkness like a living, breathing thing. Kylie went to him. Even frightened, she needed to offer comfort.
"The last thing I want to do is to hurt you. You have been hurt too much. I'm sorry that I can't do what you want, but I have to follow the path I believe is right." Some slight movement in the sky caught the corner of Kylie's vision; she didn't look up, but she suspected that speck answered to the name of Perry. He'd obviously found her. Her time was running out.
"And what if you are wrong and I'm forced to face another death in my own family? One whom I didn't even get to know?"
"I don't think that'll happen," Kylie pleaded.
He stared at the ground as if in defeat.
Feeling certain her time ran short, Kylie continued. "I still have so many questions. Please help me understand what I am."
He looked up. The fury faded from his eyes. "It is impossible to teach you what you want to know in a few minutes, hours, or even weeks. It could take years."
"Then I will be coming to you for years with my questions," she said. "But please, answer me this. What does it mean that I'm a chameleon?"
Her aunt came forward. "Like the chameleon lizard, we can change how we appear to the world. And for our own protection, we have had to hide ourselves to avoid persecution."
"Hide from the FRU?" Kylie asked.
"Sadly, from everyone," her aunt said. "The few who did not hide were viewed as outcasts, freaks, and not belonging to any one kind. At first they thought we had brain tumors and then they just assumed we were insane."
Kylie couldn't deny that she related. Though like most prejudices, it had probably been worse in earlier years. While sometimes she felt like a freak, for the most part, she was accepted at Shadow Falls.
"The FRU studied us like lab rats," her grandfather added. "The elders and Councils of all the species viewed us as mutants. Some were forced to work as slaves for other supernaturals."
The truth stung, but she needed to know it, know all of it. "But what are we? A new species?"
"Not really," her aunt answered. "Normally when supernaturals produce offspring, the dominant DNA is passed on. The child will generally have weaker powers than those who were born from parents of the same species. Chameleons maintain the DNA of both parents and those of their forefathers. Chameleons carry a blend from all species."
Her grandfather met her eyes. "My father was vampire and were. My mother fae, witch, and shape-shifter."
"Wait," Kylie said. "Are you saying that I have the gifts of all species?"
"When you wear that pattern you do. Except..." His expression showed concern. "If the rule of protector is the same with a chameleon as the others, then you wouldn't be able to use any of these powers to protect yourself."
She shook her head, trying to soak it all in. "But your pattern shows human," Kylie said.
"It is safer to pretend to be one of them," her aunt answered.
"But I'm half-human," Kylie said. "So how could I be that special blend?"
"At first, it didn't make sense," her aunt said. "But when we studied your mother's family history, we found that she came from-"
"An American Indian tribe," Kylie finished for her. And suddenly a thought hit. "Does that mean that my mother's supernatural?"
"Not supernatural, just gifted," her aunt said.
"Like how?" Kylie asked.
"She may be psychic. Or an empath," her grandfather said. "It is believed that those from this tribe can distinguish supernaturals from humans-sometimes they aren't even aware of it, but are simply drawn to them. There are more gifted humans married to supernaturals than regular humans, even though they are much less in the world population."