Revolutions (Davenport Manor Book 3)

by Melissa Zaroski

  Emma, who was already prepared to defend Todd, stormed into the parlor with Zachariah and Daniel, ready to protect him. But, when they found that Vivienne was biting his neck, they stood helplessly in shock, not realizing that there was more to Vivienne’s death wish. Emma watched in horror as her best friend of many decades latched on to Todd’s neck, knowing his blood was going to kill her. They anticipated seeing Vivienne drop dead at any moment.

  After Vivienne had injected Todd with her vampire venom, she began to excessively drink his blood. Todd’s eyes were wide in painful shock, his mouth opened to scream, but the agony would not allow him to. Vivienne pulled away and waited for death to come. She and Todd now sat facing each other as she backed away, both with horror painted across their faces. The others were confused as Vivienne did not immediately drop to her death.

  Todd dropped to his knees and began shaking uncontrollably as he held his rigid hands out in front of him. And agonizing finally scream erupted from the bottom of his lungs as he hunched over into a ball. Terrified, Emma ran to him and quickly wrapped her arms around him, not knowing what was happening.

  “Todd! Todd! What’s happening?” She panicked. They had never seen anyone willingly bite a living weapon, and assumed this was the after effect. She could hear his heart racing out of control.

  He rolled onto his side, causing the tears from his eyes to drip down sideways and onto the floor. Between his yells, he managed to sputter out, “It burns! I feel like my entire body is on fire on the inside!”

  Emma looked up at Vivienne, who should have been dead on the floor by now. Her face was still covered in shock; her eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Her fangs began to retract as she grabbed her mouth in confusion and discomfort. She, too, dropped down to her knees, but not in agony; instead it was a sensation she had never felt before, which frightened her. She felt as though she was suffocating.

  “What did you do to him?” Emma screamed at her as she tried, without success, to aid Todd.

  Vivienne responded by shaking her head, perplexed as to why she herself wasn’t dead. She opened her mouth to speak, but instead she sharply inhaled a breath of air. It was involuntary; a feeling she hadn’t experienced since she was human. It was as though she had held her breath for a long period of time, and finally allowed herself to breathe. More breaths followed, rhythmically and desperately filling her lungs. By now she was on all fours, panting as if she had just run a marathon.

  Suddenly, Todd’s heartbeat was not the only one in the room. A second one had started up like an engine; fast at first, and then slowing to a constant pace. All eyes in the room turned to Vivienne as they realized that the second heartbeat came from her direction. She grabbed at her chest and clutched her shirt, not understanding what had happened. She closed her eyes tightly and reopened them, realizing that her vision had greatly diminished. She lost her acute sense of smell and her hearing was far less fine-tuned. She began to feel hot, a sensation she hadn’t felt in nearly one hundred years. She wiped her brow, which was becoming damp with sweat. She felt a pang in her chest; a rush of adrenaline that caused her to panic.

  Zachariah cautiously approached her with his hand extended. He knelt down next to her and touched her face, which was beginning to gain color and warmth. He put his nose lightly to her neck and breathed in her scent. He slowly pulled back, astounded with what he found.

  He turned around and flatly announced to the others, “She’s human.”

  Vivienne began to frantically cry as she tried to understand what had happened to her. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her shaky hand and examined her skin. The tears were no longer blood, they were clear, and her throat was raspy as her body desperately needed water.

  Todd’s cries became weaker as the pain began to subside. He breathed heavily, relieved from the torture that battled inside his body. He began to uncurl from the fetal position that he had taken and his muscles slowly relaxed. He was soaked with sweat, as if he had a fever that broke.

  As Todd began to calm down, Emma repeated her question to Vivienne, enunciating each word with demand. “What did you do to him?”

  Vivienne gasped in between her cries and finally admitted, “I turned him before I drank his blood. I don’t know what has happened to me! I feel so weird!”

  “What do you mean you turned him? He’s still human. I can hear his heart beat…and yours.”

  They all sat in silence as they tried to figure out what went wrong. Todd was finally able to sit up and made an internal checklist. Still involuntarily breathing? Check. Still have a pulse? Check. Still warm? Check. Still human? Check. Still a living weapon? Unsure.

  “You tried to turn me?” Todd asked Vivienne with exasperation. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Ashamed, she replied, “Yes. I wanted you to suffer for what you did to Declan. I wanted to make sure to get the venom in you before I drank your blood and died. I don’t know what went wrong—perhaps your living weapon blood rejected the venom.”

  “No,” Todd said as he came to a startled realization. “My blood didn’t reject the venom. Instead, as it seems, my blood might now be the cure to vampirism.”

  CHAPTER 9

  “I’m hungry,” Vivienne flatly stated.

  “For…?” Zachariah lingered his question.

  “Food. Actual food that I can chew on. And I’m thirsty. But, not for blood, for…water.” She stared blankly at the floor as she spoke, feeling defeated.

  Zachariah could pour a glass of water, but no human would want to eat any food prepared by him. He didn’t know the first thing about cooking and had no intention of learning either. He felt that the most reliable human under the roof was Kelly, so he bolted upstairs to ask her to fix something for Vivienne to eat.

  Kelly timidly came to the parlor a short time later and asked her what she would like to eat. Vivienne, who hadn’t eaten human food since the 1920s, had no idea what to ask for. Since it was dinnertime for the resident humans, Kelly said she would prepare something simple since it was Vivienne’s first time eating in several decades.

  “How does lemon chicken, mashed potatoes, and some steamed veggies sound?” Kelly asked.

  Vivienne held her shoulders in a shrug, “I guess it sounds good?” She nervously laughed at the situation. She couldn’t really remember what any of those foods tasted like. She thought about blood for a moment and was repulsed by her memory of the taste.

  Kelly smiled, “Coming right up. You can join us humans for dinner.”

  She pulled back for a moment and shook her head—joining the humans for dinner meant joining Todd as well.

  “Viv, you’re human now,” Zachariah took her warm hand. “You’re just going to have to deal with this. Move on…life’s too short.” He chuckled at his own sick joke.

  “Very funny, ass,” she replied while rolling her eyes. Her emotions were having an internal battle. On one hand, she was actually relieved to be a human once again. Declan had turned her against her will and forever was an awfully long time. At what point do you become utterly bored with being alive? On the other hand, she felt as though she had just been kicked out of an elite club. She often enjoyed being a vampire; fast, strong, and ageless, she never worried about time making its mark on her face. She was never tired or sick or achy. She liked being a dangerous predator. Being a vampire was the highest that one could ever get on the food chain. Now, she felt fragile and vulnerable.

  “I’m glad and sad at the same time, does that make sense?” She asked while squeezing his hand just a bit tighter.

  “It does. Being a vampire is pretty cool…but, in the end, you want there to be an end. There’s something about existing forever that seems to be pretty tedious and boring after a while.”

  “Exactly,” she answered, relieved that he understood exactly what she was feeling. “I just feel different. Earlier, I was hell-bent on dying. I was ready to go, and at the same time, turn Todd’s life upside down. But now, I’m glad to b
e alive…like really alive! It’s an odd feeling after so many decades.”

  Zachariah fixated on her with envy. He, too, was turned against his will by Emma so long ago. He never wanted to be immortal and never got to have his say in it. It was not a life he would’ve chosen for himself. When he became an orphan, he was comforted in the fact that he knew he would see his parents once again in Heaven. However, it was hard to get to heaven when he couldn’t die. Of course, vampires could die by drinking the blood of a living weapon, but he was unsure if he would be welcomed at the pearly gates.

  “Will you come with me to dinner?” She asked. “I’ve come to realize that I’m in a shortage of friends here now.”

  Zachariah threw his arm around her, pulling her into a hug and planting a kiss on her forehead. “Of course. And don’t worry about the others; I’m sure Emma will come around to you eventually.”

  Vivienne shook her head in disagreement, “No, I don’t think she will. She has no reason to anymore—I’m no longer one of her subjects. I’m not under her rule anymore. I’m not the same species. At this point I feel like I had better watch my back, I know Emma doesn’t take kindly to her loved ones being attacked.”

  “She also forgives,” he added.

  She appreciated his optimism, but she knew that there was a limit to Emma’s kindness. By attacking Todd in an attempt to turn him, Vivienne knew she had burned that bridge to ashes.

  They joined Todd and Kelly in the kitchen. Zachariah went into the fridge to pour some blood for himself as Vivienne timidly sat down at the kitchen table. She avoided making eye contact with Todd, but felt his eyes burning a hole in her. She was ashamed for what she had done, even though it wasn’t a spontaneous action. It was all premeditated and she had planned everything out before she left Los Angeles.

  Once dinner was ready, Vivienne fixed herself a plate and went into the dining room with the others. Conversation was nonexistent while they ate and all that could be heard was the clinking of silverware against the plates. Vivienne kept her face down as she re-accustomed her body to food. Todd was eating slowly as he continued to stare her down, waiting for her to say something to him. Kelly shifted in her seat from the awkwardness filling the room. She glanced at Zachariah who had a smirk plastered on his face. He raised his eyebrows, acknowledging their uncomfort.

  “Is it just me, or is there a hint of awkwardness in the room?” Zachariah teased with a voice thick with sarcasm. He tipped his glass back and relished in it.

  Kelly shot a daggered glance toward him, much to his amusement.

  “You’re not even going to look at me are you?” Todd snapped as he slammed down his fork.

  Vivienne raised her head to meet his fiery eyes, her heart pounding. Her hands began to tremble for the first time in decades due to the adrenaline rushing through her.

  Vivienne felt a lump in her throat and her stomach was in a knot. “Todd,” she began. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t know what to say? Are you serious?” He narrowed his eyes at her. “I always thought you were my friend, but tonight you just proved that you are no better than that sad excuse of a man who was your maker.”

  Exasperated, Vivienne’s mouth hung open in disbelief, angry that he would speak of Declan like that. “How dare you…” If she had still been a vampire, she would have already leapt over the table and killed him. However, now she no longer possessed the strength against him. She knew that she was now far weaker than he.

  “How dare I? Really? You tried to turn me tonight, Vivienne. I’ll wait while that sinks in.”

  Zachariah clapped his hands once and exclaimed, “Alright! Now we’re making some progress!” He was clearly enjoying the show, just short of making some popcorn.

  “Todd, why don’t you and I go eat in the kitchen?” Kelly suggested as she began to stand up.

  “No,” he snapped, remaining glued to his chair. “I live here, this is my home, and I didn’t do anything wrong. She’s going to have to avoid me, not the other way around.”

  Vivienne took a deep breath, slightly puffing her chest with pride. “Fine,” she replied while standing up and taking her plate. She arrogantly raised her head before turning on her heel and walking out the dining room.

  Todd turned his eyes towards Zachariah as if he was asking which side he would choose. It put Zachariah into an uncomfortable position, no matter how hard he tried to be snarky. On one hand, he had known Vivienne for decades. On the other hand, what she did to Todd was wrong, and Todd had become one of his best friends.

  “Look, I’m not going to take sides,” Zachariah confessed while holding up his hands in protest. “Vivienne’s an old friend who has been through a lot. I’m not defending her actions, because what she did to you was unacceptable and you have every right to be mad. But, she wasn’t thinking straight…at least I don’t think she was. She acted out of grief and I can only imagine her pain.”

  “Just keep her away from me,” Todd stated unforgivingly. He understood where Zachariah was coming from and could even understand Vivienne’s pain. However, he wasn’t quite ready to forgive her for trying to turn him into an immortal just yet.

  Zachariah reached across the table with his hand balled up, reaching toward Todd for a fist bump. Their knuckles bumped against one another as if signing an imaginary manly contract. They were cool with each other and Todd accepted that Zachariah would be friends with both him and Vivienne.

  Zachariah breathed in through his nose to follow Vivienne’s sent, which led him to the kitchen. He darted in there, and found her sitting at the kitchen table finishing her meal alone. For a moment, he looked at her with sympathy. There she was, a shell of her former self; just hours ago she was immortal. Powerful. Strong. Nearly invincible. Now, she held all the qualities of a fragile human spirit.

  “Try not to worry about it,” he spoke when she noticed him standing there.

  “Do you know how bad I wish I could just go back a few hours and redo things?” She asked.

  “I think everyone wishes they can do that from time to time. But, what’s done is done and you can’t do anything about it.”

  “With just one action, one stupid decision, I drove away my best friend, and nearly ruined the life of a friend. They’ll never trust me again. I highly doubt they’ll ever forgive me.”

  They continued to talk long after Vivienne was finished with her first human meal. Vivienne did most of the talking, beating herself up while replaying the event over and over in her head. Zachariah mostly listened, offering up advice where he could. He knew Emma the best out of everyone in the house. He knew she was forgiving and often gave people second chances. However, there are some times where an apology could not and would not be accepted. He feared for Vivienne that this was one of those times.

  They decided to move their conversation to the parlor since Todd and Kelly would need to get into the kitchen eventually. They settled onto the couch and Zachariah threw his arm around her, letting her know that he was there for her when she felt the most alone.

  “So, how are you doing after your first meal?” He asked with genuine curiosity.

  Vivienne half-grinned as she pondered the right word to say. “Satisfied,” she replied with a smile. “It actually feels really good having a full stomach of food. Real food. After being on a liquid diet for so long, I have to admit that physically eating food was sensational.”

  Zachariah laughed at her choice of words. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard the process of eating food be called ‘sensational’! Makes me a bit jealous!”

  “Jealous? Are you crazy?” She laughed incredulously. “You can’t possibly be serious. Being a vampire is about the best that you can get. I feel so weak and delicate now, I didn’t miss this feeling.”

  “That’s where you and I are different,” Zachariah explained. “While there are several parts of being a vampire that are enjoyable and fun, this isn’t what I would have chosen if Emma had given me the option. I can honestly
say that I miss being human.”

  Vivienne tilted her head ever so slightly to the side, “What are you saying, Zach?”

  He nervously laughed and shook his head, “I don’t know.” The confusion that was running through his brain was making him wonder if he was losing his sanity.

  “I kind of have an idea of what you’re thinking, you know.”

  He didn’t respond.

  Vivienne continued, “You want to be human again, don’t you?”

  He still remained silent, afraid to say the words out loud. He not only feared that Emma would hear, but he was afraid to hear himself say it. After an awkward silence, he chuckled as he abruptly stood up from the sofa. “I think I’m going to go upstairs before I dig myself into a hole here. Do you want me to walk you up?”

  Vivienne nodded, partly because she was enjoying his company and also because she was afraid of being confronted by Emma. She hated to admit it, but she wanted Zachariah with her to protect her if Emma attacked. She knew firsthand that even the most docile vampires could be pushed too far. She had known Emma for a long time and knew how absolutely vicious she was deep inside. And frankly, Vivienne knew she didn’t stand a chance against her. However, she couldn’t be certain that Zachariah would protect her; Emma was his maker and was devoted to her. But, he had a way of talking Emma down when she was out of her mind.

  They walked in silence to gather up the stairs and down the hallway until they reached her bedroom door.

  “Thank you for being a friend to me, Zach,” Vivienne said as she reached for his hand. “At this point I feel like you’re the only one I have left.”