by Tara Brown
Page 25
He dug the hole with his bare hands.
He lay her in the shallow grave, her soft skin still held a tiny amount of color. He knew the blood would keep her heart beating, even if it were weak. Vampire blood was like blowfish poison, the heart seemed to be stopped. The person appeared dead but in reality they were alive.
He covered her with the dirt, just enough to complete the transformation. He wouldn’t leave until it was completed.
Three days would go by slowly, waiting to be able to see her smile again. He thought about the random crazy things he found amusing and annoying about her. Like how she never stopped talking and how she abbreviated everything she said. Tmi, ftw, omg, ttyl, omfg, cya, lol, rofl, T. A. B. B. Y and many others he had to Google.
He watched the mound of dirt lie still, knowing it would be interesting when she woke. He wondered why he felt such guilt over her death, why he couldn’t just let her be? He realized he was getting peace and joy from saving her. Saving Giselle had replaced helping the families his father had hurt. He looked at the mound of dirt gratefully.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Out Damn Spot!!
Hanna
The Tudor never looked so good. She hobbled along the gravel driveway, remembering climbing out of the trunk and hobbling the same path only months before.
"My dear girl, come inside immediately. " Roland rushed out onto the gravel and scooped her up.
He smelled clean like Old English.
"Roland. " She sobbed.
"We will talk about this but right now you need a shower. You stink and you're filthy. "
She nodded. She owed him a huge apology, "I'm sorry I lied to you about going to Lydia's. "
"It's nothing Hanna. "
"I really will go there. "
"You should stay here and get better first. "
He placed her inside the bathroom off the garage. She had never even seen inside but knew what it was immediately. It was her father decontamination chamber. He had built a bathroom in case the beast had ever gotten out.
"Towels are below the sink. Throw out your clothes and everything else. "
She nodded, turning on the shower as Roland closed the door.
The shower had a seat in it thankfully. She sat letting her feet rest. Everything felt out of control.
She wanted Marcus. She wanted him to touch her and make her feel good. She wanted to feel pretty, regardless of the grotesque monster she turned into. She shivered seeing his face in her mind, his face screaming at her as her beast ran off into the woods. Why had he not chased after her?
Tears slipped down her face as she realized he had only ever been after her blood. She wondered what he was getting out of it all? What had he received as payment for her blood?
She watched the dirty water drain from the shower, as the filth was washed off of her. No amount of water would take the blood from her hands. She understood Lady Macbeth suddenly.
She sat in the shower, letting the water sooth her. She really could go for one of Annabelle's baths. She longed for the smells of the oils and soap mixed with the haunting songs Annabelle would sing. She barely knew her and yet felt instantly as if she loved the ghost.
She thought about Lydia's house realizing she didn’t completely agree with their actions, but she understood their beliefs and justifications. She would never want something such as herself out in the world.
The hand with the platinum wedding band filled her mind. No matter how long she stayed in the shower, she would never rinse that off. She had taken a human life.
****
She climbed into her bed after the shower, donning her favorite fleece pajamas and wrapped herself in her blankets.
Roland came in with a small kit.
"We need to bandage that toe. I have actually got a few things left over from your father's injuries. This is his old kit. "
"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. "
He sat and looked at the toe, "No my dear. This has been a hard few months for you. I cannot imagine what it's been like. "
"Something is wrong with me Roland. Beyond the other stuff. I have never been one of those sort of girls, you know the ones who, uhm well mess around. "
He snickered, "Hanna we don’t need to have this conversation. "
She gulped nervously, "I know but I feel weird. "
He nodded, "It happened to your dad a lot. He felt off or odd. " He patted her leg and stood from her bed, "It's all better. "
She smiled, "Thanks. "
He nodded and walked from the room, "Sleep tight. "
She lay back wondering how it had all changed in such a short amount of time.
"I'm sorry. "
She looked up to see Marcus in her doorway.
"I'm too tired Marcus. I can't do this right now. "
He walked toward her slowly.
She could see the worry on his face.
"I came to explain. "
She closed her eyes, not wanting to hear him out and rolled over away from him.
She felt his weight on the bed near her feet.
"I have fed off women, I know you said you didn’t want to talk about this but I have to explain. From the moment I met you I have not been with anyone. I have bitten them and that’s it. I never give my blood to anyone. What you and I did where you had some of my blood and I had some of yours. I have not done that in hundreds of years. Until today. I made a vampire today. "
He sounded stressed. She wanted to ignore the pain in his voice.
"I turned that girl Aleks wanted to save. I did it for you. I want to be a man worthy of you and she was an innocent who was dying because of men I created. I love you and I only ever gave your blood to the idiots in Boston because they have a new young chemist who is smart. He's smarter than I am and he's only in his twenties. I can't even imagine him in twenty years? I wanted him to make the cure for you so I traded him your blood. I was at a dead-end and so was your father before he died. The new chemist is changing the formula, he's making progress. I will have your cure before the end of the week I believe. If it means the Dark Ones get some weapon from your blood, so be it. I would let them amass an army if it meant I could cure you. "
She turned over to reach for him but he was gone already. She could smell him in the air still. Tears filled her eyes but exhaustion took her before she could cry.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: So like, can I fly
Aleksander
The dirt shook as if an earthquake were occurring. He watched as her small hand broke through the dirt.
He jumped down into the hole and began pushing dirt off of her.
He grabbed her hand, pulling her from the mound of dirt.
She gasped, "What, what is happening?" She kept her eyes closed as he pulled his jacket off her face. He brushed her off and made sure no dirt was in her face. In the moonlight it was hard to see.
"Giselle you can open your eyes now. "
She opened her dark brown eyes, fluttering her long lashes, "Where are we? My stomach hurts. Is that a river? You smell good. "
He laughed, "We will find you someone to eat but in the mean time I brought you this. " Her ADHD seemed worse.
He bent over to the cooler he had grabbed on the first day she had slept. He pulled a bag of blood out. He had stolen a few bags from a blood bank.
She looked at it hungrily and grossed out simultaneously, "Is that blood?"
"Yep, you need to drink it. "
She scrunched up her nose but put her hand out. She looked at her hand and gasped pulling it back in, "What's wrong with me?"
"Drink this and we will talk. "
She took the bag, she tore at the top of it and sucked from the hole she made. She guzzled the whole thing in one breath. Her red stained lips smiled, "That was good. Weird huh?"
He shook his head, "Not so weird. Come sit by me. " He sat down on a huge rock, overlooking the
frosted hillside and river.
"Shouldn’t I be cold?" She asked walking to where he sat.
He laughed, "Yeah but you wont get cold or hot any more. After you drink blood your body will be at its warmest and then it will cool off incredibly slowly until you eat again. "
"Am I vampire?"
He nodded, "I did this to you so if you want to hate me forever I understand. "
She smiled, "I feel amazing. You stopped all the pain. " She grabbed his face roughly and kissed him.
He laughed, feeling her lips crushing his and the taste of the blood on them.
"Wait, you will have to listen to me for a minute. "
She giggled, "Okay. "
He sighed, "You can't go out in the sunlight, ever. You'll burn up. No more sunshine, no matter what. "
She nodded.
"You have to eat blood. If you eat human food you will have to use the bathroom. If you eat only blood, you will never have to use the bathroom. "
She smiled showing her bright white fangs, "I have new teeth. "
He tried not to notice how sexy she looked with them.
"You will be very fast and strong, you will kill people if you aren’t careful. Your strength is going to take some getting used to. "
"Will I be desperate to eat every person I see?"
He laughed, "Were you addicted to food, shoveling it into your face as a human?"
She shook her head.
"Then I wouldn’t expect it. You will need to be careful of your compulsion. Marcus doesn’t make vampires anymore because his vampires are the strongest in the world. If a regular vampire makes you then you'll be weaker than him and anyone who is older. Because Marcus made you, you will be stronger than any vampire. Only Marcus's other vampires will be as strong as you. "
She grinned a fanged grin, "Sweet. "
He nodded, "I guess yeah. So ready to go home now?"
She leaned in kissing him very softly, "Thank you. "
He felt his face blush, "Don’t thank me. I have cursed you. "
She grinned, "At least we have each other. Can I fly?"
"No. "
"Can I swim really fast?"
"Not sure, I've never watched Marcus swim laps. "
