by Jenny Frame
* * *
Alexis was sitting at her writing desk making up this week’s security rosters. The Debrek clan had gone computerized many, many years ago and had moved into using apps on phones and tablets for the running of the banking business and clan.
Byron took to these changes like a duck to water, but Alexis was an old-fashioned person at heart. Nothing felt better than using a scratchy fountain pen and paper. She looked up at the painted picture of her mother that she kept on her desk.
“If only you could see me now, Mama.”
She often wondered if her mother would be understanding of her circumstances or if she would simply see her as a bloodthirsty vampire.
Not that she had a great deal of choice after Victorija had found her on the battlefield dying from her wounds. It should have been her fate to die with honour, fighting for King and country, but that was snatched away from her when Victorija fed her own blood to her.
Alexis put her pen in its holder and rubbed her face. She chose to believe that her mother would love her no matter what. She always had before, even when she found out about her interest in women rather than men, at a time when that was unthinkable.
Alexis was startled by a strange feeling passing over her body. The kind of feeling when it seemed like someone had walked over your grave. Then goosebumps erupted on her arms and legs.
She listened quietly for any sounds and then heard a woman scream from the other side of the house. Then a realization hit her in the chest. It was Katie. Alexis ran for her at full speed.
The staff rooms were on other side of the house from the staircase, and so she couldn’t be there instantly with her vampire super speed, but she was soon approaching the main staircase.
What she saw there made her feel like she was having her guts wrenched out. Katie was lying on the floor with Josie feeding on her neck. “No!”
Alexis pulled Josie off her, and without any thought, snapped her neck and threw her off the staircase. Josie landed on the marble floor below.
She fell to her knees and cradled Katie, looking for signs that she was okay, but her lips were turning blue. “No, no! Don’t leave me, Katie,” Alexis roared.
Suddenly Byron was by her side. “What happened?”
“Josie was feeding on her.” Alexis couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down her face.
Byron felt for a pulse on her neck and Amelia arrived by her side.
“Katie? Is she okay?” Amelia asked.
“There’s barely a pulse,” Byron said.
Alexis pulled up her sleeve and bit into her own wrist. The only way Alexis could see to save her was to turn Katie into a vampire. She was just about to drip her blood into Katie’s mouth when Byron caught her wrist to stop her.
“No, Alexis, she hasn’t consented,” Byron said.
Alexis wasn’t thinking about anything apart from Katie’s well-being and the rage and panic inside her.
Amelia gasped and said, “I…I think I can see her spirit leaving her body.”
Alexis growled, “I don’t care. I’m not losing someone else I love to a vampire. Let me go.”
Byron let her go, and Alexis brought her wrist close to Katie’s lips. “I’m only doing this because I love you. if you hate me for it, I’ll just have to live with that.”
“Don’t be like Victorija, Alexis. Remember what she took from you, and don’t take Katie’s humanity.”
Alexis looked up at Byron through tear-filled eyes. “I have to.”
“Stop.” Bhal came barrelling towards them. “Let me, Duca.” She kneeled down next to Katie and poured some liquid from her whisky flask. It looked like plain water when it pooled in her hand.
Bhal looked up at Alexis and said, “Trust me, Alexis.”
Alexis nodded and Bhal dribbled the water from her hands onto Katie’s lips and into her mouth. Alexis couldn’t breathe as she stared at Katie’s lifeless body.
After an anxious few seconds, Amelia said, “Her spirt is going back—it’s going back into her body.”
Alexis pleaded, “Breathe, Katie, breathe.”
Then Alexis heard the best sound she’d ever heard, Katie gasping for breath.
“She’s alive, she’s alive,” Amelia said.
Alexis had never felt such relief in her life. She took Katie’s hand and kissed it.
Byron stood and said, “Right, let’s get her to bed, and I’ll call the doctor.”
Alexis felt shattered inside but would allow no one else to lift Katie. She hesitated and said to Bhal, “Thank you, Bhal. I owe you everything.”
“You owe me nothing, Duca.” Bhal smiled.
Alexis had heard the rumours about Bhal’s so-called superpowers but had never seen them in action apart from her incredible strength. Clearly, she could bring life back from the brink too.
Alexis carried Katie to her room, followed by Byron and Amelia, and laid her down on her bed. When she took a step back, the realization of what had happened, and what she nearly did, hit her. Her hands started to shake and she twisted and turned.
“Alexis? Are you all right?” Amelia said.
“I need some air.” Alexis sped off down to the kitchen and opened the back door, just in time to vomit onto the ground.
Once she finished she wiped her mouth with her shaking hand. “What did I nearly do?”
Guilt descended on her like a cloud. Consent was sacrosanct in their clan, and she’d nearly violated it, violated everything she believed in. She was just like Victorija, and the scary thing was, she’d do it again if it meant saving Katie.
Alexis had to face it—she was in love with Katie and would do anything to make her safe and keep her alive.
* * *
“How is she, Doctor?” Byron asked.
Dr. Tyler McKenzie took off her stethoscope and ruffled her short blond hair. “It’s remarkable that she’s even alive.”
Amelia gripped Byron’s hand tighter. Tyler checked the lines on the blood transfusion bag that she had set up by the side of the bed and looked up at the housemaid standing by the door. “Could you get Katie as many hot water bottles as you have?”
“Yes, Doctor.” The maid quickly left the room.
“Despite the fact that she should be dead,” Tyler said, “she’s doing as well as can be expected. The blood transfusion should make her stronger, but she will need time to recover.”
Tyler’s family had been serving as the Debreks’ private doctors for two hundred years. They were another human family who had earned the Debreks’ trust. Not that vampires needed much medical care, but they did from time to time, and the humans in the household certainly did.
Byron was thankful for Tyler. Otherwise they’d have to find a way to explain to the accident and emergency department at the hospital why Katie was drained of blood and had bite marks on her neck.
“What do we need to do for her?” Amelia asked Tyler.
“Mostly give her time and complete bed rest. Whatever Bhal did, I don’t know, but Katie was dead and had her soul literately ripped from death, then put back into her body. That shock will take its toll on the body and mind. Katie will be weak and will need to regain her strength slowly.”
“We’ll take care of her, Dr. Tyler,” Amelia said.
Byron nodded. “Like the finest of china. You have my word.”
Amelia said to Byron, “I’d better go and tell Alexis. She’s waiting at the door.”
“Of course.”
Amelia walked to the door and slipped out quietly. She found Alexis pacing up and down.
“How is she, Principessa?”
Amelia had never seen such panic, such strength of emotion, from Alexis since she had met her. In fact until now, Amelia thought Alexis would never let anyone see the strength of the feelings she had for Katie. She was in love and had announced it to everyone as Katie lay dying. “She’s doing okay. Dr. McKenzie says she will recover, but it will take some time and a lot of care. What happened to Josie?”
�
�By the time our guards were alerted, she had fled,” Alexis said with anger.
“But you snapped her neck and threw her off the stairs. She must have broken every bone in her body.”
“She’s a vampire.”
Even though Amelia knew that logically, this was all still new enough that the vampires’ healing ability still caught her by surprise.
“She will be fully recovered?” Alexis said anxiously.
“What?” Amelia had been lost in her thoughts.
“Katie, will she be fully recovered?”
“Yes, Katie’s getting a blood transfusion now to help her recover. Come in and see her.”
Alexis had a look of fear on her face. “No, I’ll leave her to rest. Thank you, Principessa.”
She gave Amelia a bow of the head and walked away quickly. Amelia sighed. Alexis was one loved-up vampire, but she was terrified of it.
* * *
Alexis awoke with a start, her heart pounding incredibly fast. She was sitting at her desk and must have fallen asleep. Alexis rubbed her face and then looked at the time.
“Five in the morning.”
She couldn’t remember what her nightmare was about exactly, but she woke up screaming Katie’s name. Katie. Now, what happened last night and what she had nearly lost and done hit her like a ton of bricks.
Guilt enveloped her, and she hurried over to the whisky decanter and poured out a large glass, to take the edge off her emotions and hunger to feed. As she lifted the glass, her hand shook.
“Shit.” Alexis put her hand to her forehead in frustration. “I’m just like Victorija.”
She could have changed Katie’s life forever. She fully expected Byron to take her position as Duca from her and banish her from the clan. Alexis had broken their most sacred rule and she deserved everything she got.
But her banishment from the clan would be nothing compared to not seeing Katie again, even if it was only from a distance. How could she live with this love and not act upon it, bare her soul to Katie, and beg her forgiveness for nearly turning her into a vampire?
* * *
Katie slowly became aware of voices around her. She opened her eyes and saw Amelia beside her bed, talking to some woman she didn’t know. Then she felt the pain in her neck and deep cold right down into her bones.
“You’re awake.” Amelia smiled.
“Yes,” Katie said hoarsely.
“How do you feel?”
“My neck hurts, and I’m so cold.” Katie pulled the covers right under her chin.
The woman she didn’t know said, “I’m Dr. Tyler McKenzie. May I take your pulse?”
“McKenzie? I know that name,” Katie said.
Tyler smiled. “You probably remember my father. He was the Debrek family physician. I’ve taken over from him.”
When Tyler lifted her hand she felt the drip in her arm for the first time. Then what happened last night hit her.
“Josie,” Katie said with panic.
Amelia stroked her hair. “It’s okay, stay calm. She’s gone.”
“But she caught me and was feeding on my neck…What happened after that?”
Amelia looked at Tyler, “Could you excuse us, Doctor.”
“Certainly. You’re doing fine, Katie. Just get lots of rest.”
Tyler gathered her bag and left the room. Amelia sat down on the chair at the side of Katie’s bed and took her hand.
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
Katie squeezed her eyes shut and saw Josie looming over her in the kitchen. She opened her eyes and looked at Amelia.
“I was in the kitchen making tea—” Katie rubbed her throat with her other hand. It was raspy and sore.
“Take your time,” Amelia said.
“Josie came in and wanted my blood. I threw my cup of boiling hot tea on her and ran. I got to the landing and then up the stairs, and Josie was already there. Then I just remember her biting my neck and drifting out of consciousness. What happened after that?”
“Alexis found you,” Amelia said.
“Alexis?” Katie had been dreaming about her for a reason.
“Yes, she pulled Josie off you, broke her neck, and threw her off the stairs.”
“And I was okay?” Amelia hesitated, making Katie suspicious. “Please tell me? I want to know the truth.”
“Byron and I got to you after that and I saw…I saw your spirit lifting out of your body. That only happened to me once before, when my grandmother was dying, when I was a little girl, but my mum always told me I was dreaming. It must be one of my abilities, being part witch.”
Katie felt even colder than she had before. “I was dead?”
Amelia hesitated to tell Katie the truth. It would be upsetting but Amelia would have liked to know if it was her. The only thing she wouldn’t tell her was that Alexis tried to turn her in order to save her. That was not her truth to tell—it was up to Alexis, and she didn’t want to make things worse between them.
“Very near, but Bhal saved you before we lost you.”
“The same way she saved my ancestors?” Katie said.
Byron had told Amelia that Bhal had saved Katie’s ancestors after Byron lost control and attacked them.
“Yes, it seems to be one of Bhal’s superpowers to bring people back from the brink of death by drinking water from her hands.”
“And Josie?”
“Escaped once she recovered enough from her injuries. Everyone was distracted by gathering around you. But she won’t get near you again, I promise.” Amelia noticed Katie was shaking badly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m so cold.” Katie’s teeth were chattering too.
Amelia picked up her phone and dialled. “I’ll get your hot water bottles refreshed. Norah is looking after the house management while you’re not well. Hi, Norah? Could you refresh Katie’s hot water bottles? Thanks.”
Amelia got up and took a blanket from the armchair on the other side of the room. “In the meantime, this will help a bit.” She tucked the fleece blanket around her. “The doctor said being cold is a side effect of being brought back from the edge—”
“Of death?” Katie finished for her.
Amelia nodded. “Yes, but don’t dwell on that. You’re here now, and we’re going to look after you. Byron will come and see you soon. Is there anything you’d like?”
“Hot tea please, oh, and could you ask Bhal and Alexis if I could see them. To thank them?”
Amelia smiled. “Of course I will.”
She didn’t know how Alexis would react to that. She was so emotional after what happened last night.
“Alexis was right,” Katie said.
“Right about what?”
“About The Sanctuary being too dangerous for humans alone, at the moment. I caused all this because of my stubbornness, by not listening to Alexis.”
“No,” Amelia said firmly, “it happened because you have a kind, loving heart and wanted to save someone who had been attacked and turned by a rogue vampire. You weren’t to know that Josie would struggle to cope with her blood hunger. You’re a kind soul, Katie.”
* * *
Alexis got a message from Byron to come down to her office. After last night she didn’t even know if she would still be the Debrek Duca. She had broken their most sacred rule, or at least tried to.
She hesitated on the top landing and looked along to Katie’s room. There were members of the household staff coming and going, taking care of Katie as she should have done. Her security measures had failed and allowed Josie to escape.
She didn’t blame the guards on Josie’s holding room. She had slipped out while the guard was changing shift.
Alexis blamed herself. She should have been there, guarding that vampire every second, and protecting the woman she loved. There was no point hiding it or burying it deep down any more—she loved Katie Brekman, and she’d nearly lost her.
God knew what Katie thought of her now—probably despised her now that she knew what A
lexis tried to do. Alexis despised herself for it. She shook her head and carried on downstairs to Byron’s office.
Alexis took a breath, knocked, then entered. Byron was working on her computer, her lit cigar burning in the ashtray. Without looking up Byron said, “Sit down, Duca.”
This was it, she was going to lose her place in the clan, and her life would have no meaning.
Byron lifted her cigar and took a puff, then sat back in her leather chair. “Have you been in to see Katie?”
“No. How is she?”
“Dr. McKenzie tells me she is in no danger but is extremely weak and will take some time to recover.”
“I’m glad to hear she’s well,” Alexis said.
“I wanted to talk to you about two things—”
“You don’t have to, Principe. I’ll resign and make the way clear for you to appoint your new Duca.”
“What are you talking about?” Byron said with a confused look on her face.
“I broke our most sacred rule last night,” Alexis said.
“You didn’t break it.”
“I was about to and would have if Bhal hadn’t stepped in. I was going to keep Katie alive without her consent and only to stop the pain I would feel if she died, and to tell you the truth, I’d do it again. I’m no better than Victorija. That’s exactly what you said to me last night, and you were right. So I’m not fit to be Duca.”
Byron put her cigar in the ashtray and leaned forward. “I said that to try and bring clarity to your mind, but you and Victorija were doing it for very different reasons. Victorija turned you for the sport of it and to add to her foot soldiers. You were doing it for love.”
Alexis hated to acknowledge her love for Katie out loud, but she had already betrayed her feelings the previous night.
“The result is the same. I didn’t have Katie’s consent to turn her. She could be waking up this morning having to choose whether to take the final step and turn or let herself die. I know what pain you go through making that decision, while fighting the insatiable need for blood. It was unforgivable.”
