At this point, he understood what had happened. He had died. It was hard for him to fathom that he was no longer alive. Yet, somehow by an unnatural occurrence, he was still there. He felt alive; in fact, he felt more alive than he ever had before. His senses were heightened, everything was intensified. He was aware of everything he heard, saw, and smelled all around him. His brain didn’t have to process each sense individually; he easily took it all in. But he couldn’t remember how he got there. Why did they turn him? Emma was always so against doing that, why the sudden change? He knew that there had to be a solid reason behind it all.
He wanted to speak, but it was awkward at first. At that moment, he realized he had not been breathing, which was odd, yet slightly liberating. He inhaled air into his lungs and found his voice.
“What happened?” His voice croaked.
Emma gently placed her hand on his arm as she explained, “We had to turn you.”
“Yeah, I kind of got that considering I just drank 2 gallons of blood.”
Zachariah chuckled as he finally let go of Daniel’s shoulder, knowing that it would be safe for the time being.
“The last thing I remember was being in my bed at home,” Daniel recalled. It frustrated him that he could not remember past that.
“We can explain everything in the car, honey. But for now, we need to get out of here,” Emma said as she gathered both of the empty jugs, and placed them in her backpack.
Daniel climbed off of the bed and stood up, thinking he would feel off kilter. On the contrary, he felt amazing! He didn’t have a single ache in his body; he felt strong and vibrant. It was like every ounce of weakness he ever had was gone.
He looked down at his hospital gown and raised an eyebrow, “So…did you guys bring me any clothes to wear?”
Zachariah clenched his teeth and smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I don’t think either of us were thinking about your fashion attire. We’ll run fast; no one will even see you.”
“How do I do that? Run so fast that no one will see me?”
“You just…do it. It will come naturally,” Zachariah responded with a shrug.
Emma opened the door just enough to peek out through the tiny opening. She turned back to the boys and asked, “You ready?”
Daniel looked to Zachariah with apprehension; not knowing if he would be able to run as fast as they did. Zachariah gave him an encouraging nod to reassure him that he could do it. Emma quickly opened the door and took off like a bullet. Zachariah gave Daniel a quick pat on the shoulder, urging him to begin running with him.
They both took off running at a speed that Daniel had only experienced while riding piggyback on the vampires when he was a child. He was fascinated with how naturally his feet moved so quickly; his reflexes were unparalleled to anything he had ever experienced before. They moved so fast through the hospital’s hallways that they could not be seen by the human eye. Their only giveaway was creating a breeze as they whooshed past people.
In the matter of less than a minute, they reached the car down in the parking lot. Emma had already pressed the unlock button on the keychain so they were able to jump in quickly. The sun was well beyond rising at this point, and the sky illuminated the entire parking lot. It was imperative at this point that Daniel remain unseen. Luckily, the back windows were tinted so he could easily stay hidden.
CHAPTER 3
Daniel breathed in deeply through his nose and smelled a familiar and intoxicating scent. His head whipped to face the back of the truck to find the source of it. He leapt over the seat and tore a box open that contained the several jugs of blood that they brought with them. He frantically pulled the cap off the first jug and began drinking to drown his hunger. It felt as though he just couldn’t get enough.
Emma glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure he was okay as Zachariah watched from the backseat. They were both glad that they had come prepared with several jugs for him to drink. They were even more pleased that they were able to get him out of the hospital without him attempting to attack someone.
They had originally planned to explain everything to Daniel while they drove home, but he was too absorbed in drinking the blood in the back of the car. They didn’t want to interrupt him and allowed him to satisfy his thirst before they got home. Their biggest concern was the humans in the house. Daniel knew that Todd and Kelly were living weapons, but they weren’t sure if he would be able to control himself since he had yet to drink blood straight from the vein.
They pulled up to the guard shack and Emma rolled down her window to speak to the guard. His eyes widened when he caught a whiff of the third vampire coming from the car. He knew Daniel’s scent as a human, but now he had the distinct vampire scent along with it.
“Is Daniel…?” He began to ask, but was too surprised to finish the sentence.
With a half smile, Emma replied, “He is.”
“Congratulations?” He said with wide eyes and a shrug.
“I’ll let you know about that,” Emma chuckled as she waved, pulling the car forward to head toward the Manor.
She parked the car and turned off the engine, causing a complete silence inside the car. She turned around to look at Daniel to find that he had finally stopped drinking. Zachariah was still keeping a watchful eye on him, but refused to interrupt him.
“How are you doing, Dan?” Emma asked.
Daniel looked up at her with a blood-crusted mouth and replied, “I think I’m good. This is just so weird.”
Zachariah lightly patted the top of the back seat and replied, “You’ll get used to it; we know how you feel. We’ll explain everything that happened once we get inside.”
“Aidan is going to be very eager to see you,” Emma added. “He’s technically your immortal grandfather now.”
Daniel had to take a moment to think about that, but then his eyes widened with happiness when he realized the bloodline. “If Aidan is my grandfather, then…”
“…I’m your immortal mother. I’m your maker,” Emma finished his sentence.
“And I’m your immortal brother,” Zachariah chimed in.
Daniel sat back with a smile. Since his parents had passed away so many years ago, Emma was always a second mother to him. Zachariah was always the big brother that he never had. Then he thought of Aidan, who was just plain scary. Frankly, he had been no fan of Aidan since he found out the truth about his parents’ death. Oddly though, he didn’t hate him any longer. As much as he wanted to despise him, he felt an involuntary respect for Aidan. He knew that it was because of their blood bond.
They entered the Manor through the back door, which led through the kitchen and down a long corridor to the grand foyer. The Royals were still in the parlor, waiting for their new arrival. Their idle chatter ceased when they caught the scent of a new vampire inside the house. They knew exactly who it was.
As Emma and Zachariah entered the parlor, everyone rose from their seats to greet them, waiting to meet the newbie vampire. Genetically, Daniel was considered a vampire Prince, as was Zachariah, since their maker was the Queen. Daniel was embarrassed as he followed them into the parlor wearing nothing but a bloodied hospital gown. He had tried to wipe the mess of blood off of his face with his arm, but all it did was smear all over him. Here he was, a new vampire Royal, looking about as undignified as ever.
However, the Royals were willing to look past his disarray, knowing what had happened to him that night. Aidan wasn’t as messy as Daniel, but he too had blood smeared across his face, but from his own tears. He was still upset about the death of his second-in-command, Mackenzie earlier that evening. He had moments where he would fall apart, causing bloody tears to spill down his face. Every time he washed off his face, the tears eventually began to fall again. It was the first time that any of the Royals had seen Aidan in that state. He was the strong one; sometimes cold and unfeeling, but underneath his tough exterior was a vampire who loved his offspring.
Aidan knew that Daniel had previously hated him;
he didn’t blame him for it either. After all, he was the reason that Daniel became an orphan at fourteen years old. But, he also knew how blood ties worked, and he knew Daniel may not have forgiven him, but respected him. He had a pull toward him for reasons he couldn’t explain. Aidan and Daniel were now closely related by blood.
With a subtle, yet proud smile, Aidan sauntered over to Daniel with his arms spread. “Welcome to the family, kid,” he said as he embraced him tightly.
“Thank you, sir,” Daniel awkwardly responded. He wanted so bad to hate Aidan, but he physically couldn’t. Instead, he was pleased that Aidan had accepted him so openly. He was proud to be related so closely to Aidan and that he so quickly gained his approval.
Zachariah tried to hide his smile, but couldn’t hold back any longer. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was glad that Daniel was now one of them. It would take some getting used to, but he looked forward to having eternity with his “brother”.
Emma felt a sense of relief, which surprised her. She never realized just how much the weight of dread sat on her shoulders, knowing that she would one day lose Daniel. Now that he was immortal, she was liberated from that impending doom. During his entire life, the thought of the day she would have to bury Daniel would pop into her head. She felt that she would never have been able to mentally handle it. Now, all the anxiety that had once plagued her was now gone. In an odd way, she was glad that he was now a vampire. But, there was a sense of innocence about him as a human; that was all gone as well. That was the only part that made her sad.
“Zachariah,” Aidan started. “I am going to put you in charge of teaching Daniel for now. There are still very important matters that the Royals need to discuss.”
Emma knew exactly what he was talking about; there was mention of the vampires coming out in the open. The Royals needed to discuss strategy so that a majority of the human population accepted them. Without careful planning, it could be a disastrous situation. Even though Aidan was grieving, business was business. Life would continue to go on whether he was in mourning or not. It was one of those rare times that all the Kings and Queens were all together, and he knew it was an opportunity to make the final decision.
“Okay, can you just give me a few minutes so I can take a quick shower? I’m still filthy from the battle last night,” Emma replied.
Daniel, Zachariah, and Emma all made their way upstairs to their bedrooms to each take a shower. At this point, they were all a mess from the night before. As they got close to their bedrooms, Daniel abruptly stopped and his head whipped toward the direction of Kelly’s room. He could hear the human hearts beating from the other side of the door. A heartbeat meant blood, which naturally caused his fangs to appear. That was a sensation he was going to have to get used to. His eyes were locked on the door; the thumping putting him into a predatory trance.
Emma and Zachariah wasted no time and shot ahead of him, guarding Kelly’s door. They stood like statues, waiting for him to make a move.
“You don’t want to do that,” Emma warned as Zachariah shook his head slowly. “If you go in there for a meal, that will be your death sentence.”
“We didn’t go through all the trouble tonight to save you from nonexistence, just to have you go and nosh on a living weapon,” Zachariah added. “Those are living weapons in there, do you remember what those are?”
Daniel came back into focus and voluntarily tucked his fangs away. He remembered.
“I’m going to go take that shower now,” Daniel said with embarrassment. He didn’t like the lack of control he had at the moment. He practiced his running and ran full speed to his room, disappearing behind the door to clean himself up.
After he was gone, Zachariah and Emma looked at each other with relief.
“That was close,” Emma stated.
“Too close,” Zachariah replied. “Perhaps you and I take turns taking a shower; that way one of us can guard the door.”
“Good idea,” Emma agreed as she listened intensely. “Notice there are two heartbeats in there.” It was an odd feeling for her knowing that Todd most certainly spent the night in Kelly’s room. He was no longer hers, so she knew she had no room to be jealous. She held her head up and flipped her hair, as if trying to shake the thought from her mind.
“Go take your shower,” Zachariah gently encouraged, knowing she was feeling a pang in her heart. “I’ll stand guard first.”
Emma nodded with gratitude and turned away to take her much-needed shower. Zachariah stood motionless, silent in front of the door. He could faintly hear the Kings and Queen down in the parlor quietly chattering; all of them solemn from the previous night’s tragic events. He heard one of the heartbeats in Kelly’s room speed up and the covers ruffled, indicating that one of them was getting out of bed. He heard the footsteps toward the door, but he didn’t turn around; he continued to face Daniel’s door so as not to be surprised.
The door opened behind him and Kelly let out a yip when she saw that there was someone standing there. “Zachariah? What are you doing?”
“Standing guard,” he answered without turning around to look at her.
It took her a moment to understand why but then the realization slapped her in the face. “Is it done? Did you turn him?”
He nodded once, “Emma did.” Kelly standing in the doorway was making him uneasy, he feared that Daniel might fly out of his room at any given moment. “Daniel’s safety is my concern right now; he seemed…ah…fascinated with the sound of your heartbeats. I fear he may not have enough control to stop himself if he sees you. Do you mind stepping back into the room and shutting the door?”
Kelly had never heard Zachariah sound so stern; he was always so snarky and lighthearted. She knew just by his tone that he was anxious with her presence. She backed up quietly and shut the door, not wanting to put Daniel in danger.
“Kelly?” She heard Zachariah’s muffled voice from the other side of the door.
“Yeah?”
“Is Todd in there with you, too?”
“Yes, he’s sleeping.”
“Once Emma’s done taking a shower, she’s going to stand guard so I can take one, too. Do not exit this room without notifying us first. If you need one of us for anything, just tell us.”
He heard Kelly crawl back into bed and remained at his post. He heard Daniel’s shower turn off, which made him even more alert. His eyes remained glued to Daniel’s door; his muscles twitched, ready to fend him off if he tried to attack. Daniel eventually emerged from his room wearing warm-up pants and a T-shirt. His pale complexion took Zachariah aback; he had to get used to the fact that Daniel would no longer have a “living color”.
Daniel’s eyes immediately darted back to the sound of the heartbeats coming from the room across the hall. He exposed his fangs at Zachariah with an involuntary hiss, which was a strange feeling that came up from the back of his throat. Zachariah held his hands out in front of him in peace, but prepared to hold Daniel back.
“No,” Zachariah sternly said. “Living weapons, remember?”
Daniel flicked his fangs back in and put both hands on top of his head in frustration. “When am I going to stop wanting to attack them? I don’t want to attack them! They’re my friends!”
“It’s okay, man,” Zachariah soothed. “It just takes a little time. You’ve only been a vampire for a couple of hours. You’ll get used to it and you’ll be able to control yourself around them, I promise. Emma and I have lived with humans our entire vampire lives.”
“I just can’t shake this feeling! I want to bite someone, a human, so bad! It’s all I’m thinking about. It’s like every nerve in my body is telling me that’s what I need to do. Then, I hear the heartbeats…” Daniel paced a small circle in aggravation.
Zachariah knew that there was going to be only one way to alleviate Daniel’s craving. When a person is turned, their natural instinct is to kill. He went through it, Emma went through it, and nearly every vampire on earth with through it
. After that first kill, they had more control over themselves and could curb their cravings. They were able to suppress his urge to kill by immediately feeding him the bottle blood, but he would constantly yearn for the real deal until he got it.
“Alright, Dan,” Zachariah said as he clapped his hands once. “While Emma is tending to royal vampire business today, you and I are going on a little field trip. We need to get you some blood straight from the vein or else you’re going to lose your mind around here.”
Daniel’s face lit up like a kid on Christmas; just the thought of drinking warm, fresh blood was enough to send his cravings through the roof. “Where are we going to go?”
Zachariah opened his mouth and took a breath to speak, but paused before saying, “I haven’t quite figured that out yet. Because…I’m going to be honest here…whoever you end up drinking from is probably going to die. We may be predators, but I certainly don’t want someone who has a whole life ahead of them to be your victim. I’ll think of something.”
“When can we leave?” Daniel asked with urgency in his voice.
Zachariah explained that they would leave after he took a shower because he still felt disgusting from the night before. They could hear Emma blow drying her hair in her bathroom, so they knew it wouldn’t be much longer. Zachariah suggested for Daniel to stay in his bedroom since his bloodlust was making him nervous. The newbie vampire pacing around the hallway, constantly glancing at Kelly’s door, was putting Zachariah on edge.
“Go on! You’re creeping me out!” Zachariah exclaimed with a wave of his hand.
Daniel reluctantly retreated to his bedroom, but not before taking one more glance at Kelly’s door. He was like an alcoholic standing outside of a closed bar. His fix was just on the other side of the wall.
Emma’s bedroom door open and she emerged in jeans and a form-fitting T-shirt. Her raven black hair was finally clean and bounced far past her shoulders. She had put on just a slight touch of makeup so she would look presentable during the Royals meeting.
Revolutions (Davenport Manor Book 3) Page 4
