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"Do you think I could start infusions soon?" I asked. When I saw the way his expression immediately went blank, I almost regretted it. "Just so you don't have to waste your time training me while I'm still weak."
"It's not a waste of time, for one thing," he replied. "Even if you were to take infusions of vampire blood, it would only scale up your strengths and your weaknesses. Without a solid foundation to build on, there's no point."
"Oh," I murmured. "I guess that makes sense, but… do you think I could eventually?"
He heaved a sigh, making it clear this was something he had hoped I wouldn’t bring up. I wasn't sure what to make of that.
"You're not a normal hunter," he said pointedly. "You would only be able to be infused with vampire blood, and considering that's never happened before, we don't know what effects it would have on you. Or if it would dilute the potency of your wolf blood. We don't even know if it would work, for that matter."
"Oh," I said. "That reminds me of something, though.”
"Yes?" he asked in a tone that made it clear I was burning through his patience. Compared to Arrow, though, he had an abundance of it.
"Why don't you guys turn into vampires?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. I just wanted to make him say it before I asked what I truly wanted, even if it meant I had to play dumb.
He snorted a laugh. "Like I told you, we don't just take the blood raw unless it's an emergency. Our alchemists distill and formulate it carefully, removing the pathogen that's responsible for the transformation. And the venom, in the case of werewolves."
"Then it shouldn't have any adverse effects on me," I pressed. "Besides, it's not like I could be a vampire and werewolf at the same time."
Something in his silence gave me pause.
"Right?" I asked warily.
"It has happened before," he conceded. "Only once that I know of personally, but it is a risk."
"Really?" I breathed. "There's a hybrid out there? What's it like?"
"Obscenely powerful," he said pointedly. "If it was up to me, the damn thing wouldn't exist."
"So why don't the hunters take it out?" I asked.
"Easier said than done. Even if we could technically kill it, the hybrid belongs to a very powerful vampire named Alphonse Blanchard, who just so happens to be on good terms with Father Marius."
"Father Marius?" I echoed in disbelief. "The head of the Sanguine Church is friends with a vampire?"
"A bit ironic, no?" he asked dryly. "Regardless of how I feel about it, they're both off-limits."
"But he's a monster," I protested. "Doesn't he kill people?"
Castor paused, and something about the question seemed to have made him uncomfortable. "Not humans, no."
"He hunts monsters?" I asked in disbelief.
The scowl on Castor's face made it clear he didn't appreciate the direction my line of questioning had taken. "Like I said, most of your kind police themselves. The same with vampires."
"Huh," I said, unable to quite mask my curiosity.
"Don't get any ideas," he said firmly. "The hybrid is an exception in a myriad of ways."
"But there are others, theoretically," I reasoned. "If my wolf was already a monster to begin with, maybe it would help rather than hurt."
"Or maybe it would make you an unstoppable, insatiable hellbeast with the appetites of not one but two monsters," he shot back.
I grimaced. "Point taken."
"Come on, back to work," Castor ordered.
I knew better than to press him any further. For the moment, he wasn't furious with me, and that was a victory in and of itself.
