Urban Vampire The Turning

by Pepper Pace

  I placed my palms on his cheeks. "How did you get here?"

  Finally he pulled back enough to watch me. He gently brushed some of my stray hairs behind my ears. "How I got here is a long story and I'm still not sure about everything. Monica contacted me after you had left for Alexis'. She wouldn't tell me anything over the phone so I'm surprised I didn't friggin...wreck getting there. Then when I did get there the house was a mess...I-" Paul swallowed.

  I caressed the stubble on his cheek. "It's okay. I'm okay."

  "I shouldn't have left like that, not that night of all nights. The way that place looked, I just knew that everything had gone to hell and you were ashes or something. When I get there the girls and Tony are already there and they piece everything together for me." He took my hands in his and looked at them. "Your poor wrists. They're still not healed..."

  I gently pulled my hands out of his grasp and this time I held his hands. "Paul I'm so sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it-"

  He was shaking his head slowly. "I didn't leave because of what you said. It doesn't matter right now. Kim, what I don't understand is how you could...make the decision to die. I mean...what were you thinking? Was it me? Because-" He looked so torn up I couldn't let him even finish that thought.

  "No no no. It wasn't you." I looked past him at the wall. "Mostly it was Tige and an overwhelming desire to protect him. But I'll admit that it wasn't all Tige. Paul, I just wanted to give up. Hell I'm only existing on borrowed time. I'm such a fuck up at this! I have no idea what I'm doing half the time and Tige is supposed to be here, not me-"

  He shook his head violently. "Tige's life is no more important than yours!"

  "Paul, it doesn't matter now because neither of us has to die. I can save Tige's life as well as my own."

  Paul's expression became guarded. "How?"

  "I have so much to tell you, but-" I was looking around unsure on how much I could say...

  "Tony said no one can over hear us in here. What?"

  "The sun won't kill me. I'm a day walker."

  Paul's face grew hopeful, and then he looked at me doubtfully again. "I don't see how...you're so cold...like death. I don't see how."

  I told Paul about the meeting Alexis had with the Elder Council and how it was determined that while I could take Tige's punishment, I would be required to relinquish my life. Then I quickly explained that Alexis had managed to get the law amended to allow me a punishment that would normally result in death but that wouldn't actually kill me. He was just as confused as I was about that. I told him that all I knew is since Alexis and I were linked the punishment would not cause me death...I didn't mention how we had strengthened the link to lessen the pain. Dying in a matter of moments was one thing...prolonged pain that normally resulting in death was quite another. But what was done was done. Tige was free and I would live. Beyond that I didn't want to think about it.

  Paul gathered me in his arms and held me again. "I love you Paul." I said quietly. He placed his lips on the top of my head and rested there.

  "I know you do. Are you okay?"

  I nodded. "Yeah, I am now. You never told me how you got in here."

  "Oh, that. Tony left us to search for you and Alexis and he apparently had a helluva time doing it. The ladies told me how you handled yourself. They were real proud of you. I hear that you're setting up shelters for the humans forced into slavery. She said that you also put the word out that you were going to kill anybody involved in forced slavery." I felt his chest sigh. "It would be pretty bad if you allowed yourself to die after making a move like that, Kim. You're going to have so many people depending on your protection."

  I glanced up at him. "I know. IknowIknowIknow..."

  He kissed my forehead again. "Alexis is no where to be found and Tony...is not as bad as I thought. I still don't like him but I don't hate him either. He...is really trying hard for you."

  I looked at him again but his expression was blank. It sounded as if he was giving his permission to pursue something more with Tony.

  "He called a spur of the moment meeting with the council and I suppose they convened late into the night. He sent word to us that Alexis had brought you here and so here I am. Before you ask where he is, he's looking for Alexis."

  "I wasn't going to ask that."

  "He also warned me not to try to break you out, convince you to run away, or in any way interfere with the law. His exact words were, 'then he'd have two people to save.'

  "He doesn't even know that I'm not going to die."

  "I'll tell him." He stood up reluctantly. It felt so good engulfed in his warmth that I was instantly cold when he wasn't there.

  "I'll be back." When he left I stood up and stretched. There was an exposed light bulb in the ceiling that made everything look harsh. It was truly a cell, no bigger then maybe twenty by eight. Everything was cement, no windows, no place to sit, no place to lay down. Tige must have gone crazy in here, knowing that he was going to die.

  I'm going crazy knowing that I'm going to be tortured.

  With a sigh of resolution I smoothed back my hair and straightened my clothes. I would have liked a shower and a change of clothes...but what's really the point?

  The door opened but it wasn't Paul. It was Tony that entered. I wanted to jump into his arms, I wanted to cover my face in shame, I wanted to hide from his anger.

  Tony watched me from the door. Like the first time he ever saw me he studied me from my feet to the top of my disheveled hair. He reached behind him and closed the door.

  "Here." He tossed me a roll of bandages.

  I caught it easily.

  "Wrap your wrist."

  In understanding I did this quickly and when the crucifixes were completely concealed Tony sighed in relief. He walked to me. What was he doing?! I took a step back.

  "Tony, don't!"

  He reached out with a frown. When I was backed against the wall he placed the tip of his fingers on my shoulder. There was a loud crack of electricity and Tony went flying back until he hit the adjacent wall.

  "Ow...Shit!" He cursed shaking his hand.

  He was staring at me like I had three eyes.

  "Tony?" He straightened with that same look on his face.

  "You're going to attend your first true Council meeting. Unfortunately it's so that we can punish you." He shook his head, still frowning. "For me to have to punish you is like a death sentence for me."

  "Didn't Paul tell you that I don't have to die-"

  Tony's eyes closed. "Alexis didn't tell you what your punishment was going to be?" His eyes were still closed.

  "What?" I said while straightening my back.

  "To be wrapped in a sheet of silver."

  My eyes got big. "For how long?" I said when I could speak.

  He looked at me. "From midnight until just before dawn."

  I inhaled deeply and stared at my wrapped wrist. "That's not possible. The silver will melt through me in seconds."

  Tony didn't speak.

  My mouth formed a big O but not a sound escaped me.

  "It's not too late, baby." I heard him say quickly.

  I walked slowly to the far wall and sat sliding my back down it.

  This was the equivalent of being burned alive. And I was going to have to...live through it? There wouldn't be anything left of me. How could that be possible? I needed Alexis to tell me what was going on. He couldn't possibly think that I'd be willing to exist as so many pounds of melted flesh? I shuddered then remembered that Tony was watching me.

  I gulped in some air and spoke. "It's going to be okay. You didn't tell Paul-"

  "I'm not going to tell him. That's your job. He's going to insist on being there-"

  "No." I was shaking my head. I did not want that. "I just need to speak to Alexis."

  "I would kill him if I could." He said bitterly. "I would wish for you a quick death, not the torture that he has arranged for you. As far as you seeing him it's not going to happen. I can't contact him. No o
ne can. He'll just show up when he wants to."

  I sighed. "I don't want to talk about this anymore." I stood up. "I ..." I couldn't speak the words, but I trusted Alexis. I did not want Tony to convince me otherwise.

  "I'm going to say this to you and then I won't say anymore about it."

  I forced myself to look at him.

  "I'm in love with you."

  Tears welled up in my eyes.

  "And I'm really pissed off at you. You've made so many bad decisions and yet like a cat with nine lives, you always end up on top. I wish...that I could hold you right now. But your bad decisions have made that impossible."

  I looked down and felt the tears sliding down my cheeks.

  "I want you to know that tonight, watching you punished is going to kill a big part of me."

  I nodded.

  "I love you, baby." He said.

  I started sobbing. "I love you, too."

  I heard the door open and then it closed firmly.

  For the second time in two nights I cried my heart out.

  When the door opened again a short time later I was too ashamed to look up. I knew that bloody tears had streaked my face. Thank goodness I was wearing black so that I could use my shirt to wipe my face.

  Paul sat down next to me and he placed his arm around my shoulders. Other than that he didn't say anything or make a move.

  An hour later when I was feeling calmer I turned my head in Paul's direction. I had my head resting on my bent knees with my arms grasping my legs.

  "I'm not crying because I'm scared or anything."

  He nodded. "I know."

  I lay down on the floor and placed my head on his lap. Paul's hand stroked my hair.

  "What time is it?"

  "Almost ten." He said after a moment.

  "Paul?"

  "Hmmm?"

  "I don't want you there; for the punishment."

  "I know. I'm going to be there anyway."

  "It...will make it worse for me."

  "Maybe. Maybe not."

  I tilted my head so that I could look up at him. "Won't work, if you're trying to mesmerize me. You can't do that in this room. You can't read my mind and you can't influence my thoughts."

  I lowered my eyes ashamed. "It might be bad."

  "Don't think about it, okay? Look, did you know that there are more supernatural beings out in the world then just Vampires?"

  "Alexis had kinda alluded to that."

  "Mara knew a lot about it. I've been thinking..."

  "What?"

  He shrugged. "I don't know. I've just been thinking about it." He looked at me suddenly. "I don't want to be a Vampire anymore."

  I raised a brow. "Really?"

  "Yeah. I don't ever want to be as cold-blooded as Tony, or as cruel as Alexis."

  "You heard about Kaniji, then?"

  "Yeah. And we're changing the subject."

  Good.

  We talked for a long time, about everything under the sun. I told him about my best friend Arnitra, about my first crush, my favorite music...He talked about Amanda, his job, his favorite vacation spots. Why hadn't I done this with him before? Just taken the time to talk to him as if we were two people getting to know each other?

  When the door opened we both looked up in surprise. It was the human guard.

  "It's time." He said.

  Paul stood first and offered me a hand up. I kept my mind carefully blank. When we left the cell and the guard led us through the short hall and out into the main room I inhaled deeply. I understood then that I wasn't being suffocated of air, but suffocated of my powers.

  We weren't alone in the room. Tony and three of the Council members were there. Kaniji wasn't present.

  It was Cyrene that spoke. She and everyone else was dressed in white so she looked like a Goddess again.

  "Council member Kim Russell, you have made a request to be punished in the stead of Tige Lafayette. His crime was the creation of a Third level Neratomay without the authority of a Master. As the Second in Command to Council member Tony Yates, this crime is especially distressing. The punishment for creating a Third Generation Neratomay is death. As Council Member Kim Russell has requested to replace Tige Lafayette, her punishment will be, as decreed by the Elder Board; to be wrapped in metal until such time that she is dead, or until one hour before dawn." Cyrene paused here to narrow her eyes momentarily. "You have one opportunity to retract your request, Kim Russell."

  I looked at each of my colleagues. "No."

  "Then you will be escorted to the torture chamber of this Council. Your punishment is to begin at the last stroke of midnight.

  Paul clasped my hands tightly. The human guard escorted me and Paul out of the room.

  Paul stayed at my side and the Council was at my back. The door out of that room led to a narrow hall way.

  Even though I was working hard to keep my mind carefully blank, each step down that dark hallway towards the torture chamber made me shake. But I didn't want those that loved me to read my fear. So I tried not to think and I concentrated on Paul next to me. He was keeping his mind blank also.

  The hallway led to an even more narrow flight of stairs. We were already a great deals underground...The air became chillier and damp. The darkness was so complete that even as a Vampire I had a hard time seeing. The human in front of us picked up a lantern that was hanging from the wall. It was a battery operated flashlight/spotlight and it illuminated the remainder of our way.

  The staircase wound around on itself so that you could never see what was at the very bottom. Finally we were so far underground that no matter how loud I screamed no one from the outside would ever hear me. I assumed that was the reason it was so far underground. The human opened a door and led the way into a surprisingly large room. The ceilings were at least 15 feet high and I'd say that it spanned the length and width of the entire house.

  A long table had been set up in the middle of the room; another council table. It was sheathed in a billowy, white table cloth and there were goblets set on it. The room was not empty. Alexis was standing behind the table with his hand clasped calmly in front of him.

  He, too, was dressed in all white that made his pale skin look like it was illuminated by some strange silver glow. The veins that had lined his flesh had now disappeared; perhaps due to a feeding. He watched me without expression and I carefully looked away, taking in my surroundings.

  Again the floor, walls and ceiling was stone. Torches kept the room from falling into total darkness although it did little to illuminate the scary corners of the large room. There was water somewhere, I could hear it and smell it. This place felt like a cave. I was cold and scared.

  The Council filed past me to their position behind the table. Kaniji's spot looked strangely empty and so did mine.

  The human turned to me and took hold of my hand. He unwrapped the bandages from my wrist which surprised me. This was a weapon to all present with the exception of him, Alexis and Paul.

  "Council member; you will remove your clothes." Cyrene's voice rang out clearly.

  I was trembling. What kind of freaky shit is this...I heard Tony's voice in my head.

  "You do not want clothes to burn into your body."

  I dug my hands into my pocket searching...there; the crucifix. I gripped it in my fist and placed it in Paul's hand. He looked down at it and slowly placed it around his neck again.

  I clenched my teeth and quickly pulled the t- shirt over my head. Next came the black chemise. I kicked off my shoes quickly and pulled off my jeans and panties in one fluid motion.

  What I wanted to do then is cross my arms, cross my legs, stare at the floor. What I did was throw back my shoulders and stare at the empty space above the Council's head. At least now I wasn't thinking about the torture, now I just wanted it to hurry up and be over.

  Paul stood next to me so close that his arm brushed mine. I didn't want to see Frank's eyes sweeping over my nudity, or even Keada's. And poor Paul I could feel his rag
e. He could barely contain his desire to cover me and whisk me up the stairs and out of the room.

  At least I could do one thing for him. I brushed his hand with mine. He looked at me and I caught his eyes with mine.

  "Peace, no fear,-"

  He forced his eyes away from mine. He didn't want me to force him to think any thoughts, even if it would benefit him.