Conversion Book Two: Bloodlines

by S. C. Stephens

  Gabriel gave me a sideways glance, also looking cautious. He straightened, his eyes emotionally detached again. “Yes. He chose to let his human side die. He should be awakening at any moment actually.” Gabriel looked through the walls of the home, to where the seemingly dead person was changing. “I should be there for that.” When he looked back at us, his face switched back to concern for his “family”. “I always try to be there, to help the new ones.” His eyes shifted over to Teren, and I clenched Teren’s hand tighter. “That first moment can be quite…terrifying.”

  “What will he eat,” Teren asked smoothly.

  My eyes widened as pieces of the conversation fell into place. Gabriel cocked his head at Teren, twisting his lips. “You are not the only one that has come across hunters.” Gabriel sighed, coming over to stand in front of us. Sitting on the edge of a table, he crossed his arms over his chest. “We found one a few nights ago, trying to…remove, one of my children.” A hard edge was in his voice and my face paled.

  “He’s here, alive?” A shiver went through me, remembering the muffled cry I’d heard.

  Gabriel shifted his cool, green eyes to me and nodded. “For a little while longer.”

  Knowing I sounded hypocritical, I sputtered, “You can’t just feed him to a vampire. That’s murder.”

  Gabriel stood and walked over to me. Tilting his head, his ageless, attractive face said, “If you found a predator at your ranch, picking off your cattle, what would you do with it?”

  I shook my head. “It’s not the same…” My voice was small and weak, knowing I was sort of condemning him for something I’d actually done myself, at one point in my life.

  Gabriel, not knowing that part of our story, shook his head. “To us, it is. The people here rely on me to protect them. I can’t do that, if I let him live. He could spread the word, tell others where we are.” Walking up to me, he ran a finger through my hair. Teren stiffened, but did nothing to stop this powerful man who had agreed to try to help us. “I’m sorry if you don’t approve of our methods, but our survival depends on secrecy.”

  “You have full vampires. You could wipe him? Take everything?” I tried again. I wasn’t sure why I was fighting for the human. Maybe to atone for my own sins, or maybe because I still saw myself as completely human and I was campaigning for my species. But honestly, the man had chosen his own fate, when he’d started a fight with these people.

  Gabriel shook his head. “I have hungry mouths to feed.” He shrugged his shoulders, dropping his hand from my hair. His eyes rested on my stomach. “I’m…killing two birds with one stone.” He looked up at me, a slight grin on his face.

  I swallowed at seeing it, not entirely comfortable with this situation. Teren finally took back the conversation. Pulling me slightly behind him, he quietly said, “What you do with hunters…is your own business. We won’t interfere.” He squeezed my hand after he said that, non-verbally telling me to drop this. I bit my lip, not wanting to drop it, but not wanting to upset the man who may have potentially saved the lives of my children.

  I squeezed his hand back to let him know I’d be good, and he continued, “What will happen to Emma? Have you ever tried to change someone?”

  Gabriel shook his head, walking over to another table, where closed vials of pure red blood waited. He lifted one and my eyes tracked the movement of the sloshing liquid inside. Even though I’d had a pick-me-up in Starla’s car, staring at a clear vial of the stuff, amped up the vampire reaction in me.

  Not able to help myself, I dropped Teren’s hand and stepped forward, a low growl leaving my chest.

  Gabriel paused from examining the container and peeked up at me. With a tiny smile he said, “She is close, isn’t she?” His smile dropped as he looked over at Teren. “I wouldn’t wait too long to give her that first dose.” He cocked his head as I stopped moving, stopped breathing. “We could do it now, here?”

  My breathing started again, faster, and my heart matched pace. I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready to possibly die. I twisted to look at Teren, pleading in my eyes. He swallowed, torn between wanting to help, and not wanting to accidentally kill me. His eyes not leaving mine, he whispered. “We’ll wait.” In a calmer voice, he narrowed his eyes at me and added, “We’ll do it at home…with our family.”

  My heart and breath relaxed, and I nodded. Teren’s head turned back to Gabriel, still thoughtfully holding a container of blood. “You still haven’t answered my question.” I could hear some of that impatience creep back into his voice, and I held my hand out to him, silently encouraging him to relax. He exhaled as his cool hand clenched mine. I nearly sighed with relief; his impatience had gotten us into enough trouble lately.

  Gabriel smirked at Teren’s restraint and then finally answered him. “I have not done it myself, but I have seen it done.” He sighed and raised the vial of blood to his eye. “Some mixed try and turn their spouses, try to keep their loved ones for eternity.”

  “And?” Teren whispered, taking a step towards the man who had all our answers.

  Gabriel lowered the vial and sighed again. “It almost always leads to their loved one’s death.” His ancient eyes lost their detachment and seemed genuinely sad. “I have held many a vampire, who inadvertently destroyed their mate.” He held the vial up to Teren, holding the top and bottom with his fingers. Controlling myself, I fought back another growl trying to rise up in me. My body really wanted that stuff he was holding.

  With a cocked eyebrow, he said, “It is so rare for a human to be able to accept our blood.” He lowered the vial and smiled at me. “As I said before, it is a miracle that you are even alive, my dear. A mixed successfully turning someone is not common.” His focus shifted from me to Teren. “Especially from your blood.” Gabriel raised an eyebrow at him. “What generation are you? Third at least, correct?” Teren feebly nodded, looking stunned and still a little confused. Gabriel’s eyes came back to mine, his beautiful face still shining. “You are very rare, indeed.”

  “So I keep hearing,” I muttered, still not sure what my fate was.

  Gabriel cocked his head at me, the scientific detachment coming back to his expression. Completely serious, he said, “I’d love to study you.”

  My eyes widened at that and Teren shifted his stance to slightly stand in front of me. With his brow furrowed, he ignored Gabriel’s comment. “So, what happened to her doesn’t happen to most. But…what did happen to her?”

  Gabriel set the blood filled vial back down into a tray containing other, similar vials. He tilted his head at Teren. “Fascinating creatures, mixed vampires. Not quite human, not quite vampire, we exist almost as a species all our own.” He raised an eyebrow at Teren. “If you are interested, I could explain to you the difference between what happens when a pureblood vampire changes someone – how their blood completely eradicates every human cell and takes over.” Gabriel smiled warmly and extended his hand to indicate Teren’s body. “I could explain to you how a mixed vampire’s blood works in a completely different way – bonding with any human cells left in the body, working in conjunction with whatever trace amounts of human genes are left.”

  He continued smiling, as I stared at him with what had to be a blank expression, my hormonal brain busy absorbing the distinction between the two seemingly similar species. Teren nodded, looking interested, but also impatient; more than a vampire biology lesson, he wanted to know my fate.

  Gabriel’s emerald eyes still on mine, he said in that scientific voice, “I could go into an intricate amount of detail on how mixed blood needs the perfect balance of human blood left behind to work properly.” He raised his hand and indicated a small amount with his finger and thumb. “Too little left leaves it with nothing to attach to, and too much,” he opened his fingers and splayed his hands wide, “dilutes it to a point where the vampirism is ineffectual, and does nothing.” He swished his fingers, miming nothingness.

  While Teren looked like he was replaying the night of my attack, mentally recall
ing how much blood had been left in me, Gabriel shifted his stance, crossing his arms over his chest. Looking like a teacher tutoring a couple of students after class, he continued, since we hadn’t interrupted. “I could explain all of this and so much more. How intricate and fascinating the fine line is for mixed turnings. As I already mentioned, how rare it is that a human has the genetic disposition to even accept the foreign blood entering it.” He nodded his head at me, indicating my body, “It’s like having to be the ultimate universal receiver.” His hand flashed out from his chest to indicate Teren again. “How the chances are better, the closer to pure the mixed is, with the third generations being about the last that can do it, and even then, rarely.”

  His voice took on a look of wonder as he gestured in the air with that hand. “Like a masterful, complicated surgery, the act of a mixed vampire successfully changing over a human…is full of the potential for disaster. And usually is.” He shrugged.

  I tilted my head, feeling like I was back in human anatomy, only now all the rules were suddenly changed. Gabriel smiled at Teren and me, his captivated students, and continued. “I could explain all of that in excruciating detail…but…” He glanced at me. I could tell my brows were drawn into sharp points. This was a lot for my already strained pregnancy brain to try and take in all at once. He smiled wider. “I wouldn’t want to confuse you anymore today, than you probably already are.”

  He crossed both arms over his chest again, looking elegant and undeniably intelligent. “Just know that a mixed turning creates what could easily be classified as another mixed. When a list of specific conditions are met, the new, nearly symbiotic blood, keeps the human body alive. That human then, for as much as you need to concern yourself with, becomes a near carbon copy of the mixed that created it.”

  I nodded, finally feeling like I was understanding some of it. It usually doesn’t work…got it. When it does, a mixed creates another mixed…got it. Gabriel smiled at my comprehension, then frowned. “But, exactly like a mixed born into the world, the human side will wear down from the strain.” He frowned further as his eyes turned sympathetic. “However, unlike born mixed, this will happen much, much faster for you. A pure human just hasn’t had a lifetime to be conditioned to the strain, like a vampire born into it. As a result, their body wears out, and that dormant trait awakens, within a few months.”

  He sighed and shook his head, his gaze redirecting to Teren. “To my knowledge, most convert within a month or two of the initial blood transfer. I’ve yet to hear of one making it to three.”

  I paled at that, mentally calculating how much time had gone by since Teren had given me his blood. It had been awhile. I’d been secretly hoping that my stopwatch had started that night, and that my body could handle the strain for a full twenty-six years. But it would seem that Teren was closer to the truth, and my birthday was really my end game, since it was pretty close to two months after the attack. And he’d said “maybe”. I guess I was pretty lucky that my heart was even still beating. Hoping that I’d make it to three months was probably pushing the limits of my “rareness”.

  Gabriel looked over my pallor and smiled warmly. Twisting back to Teren, he shrugged and said, “But, to answer your original question, if she has made it this far, I see no problems with your blood being enough to complete her conversion process.”

  Teren slumped down as relief washed over him. I could smell the fear evaporate as he covered his face with his hands. I watched his body vibrate and knew he was struggling to not break out in sobs. I smiled, my own relief filling me. It was like a shot of cold water to the face, suddenly believing that I may actually make it through this. I placed a hand on Teren’s back and he instantly turned to sweep me into his arms. He grabbed my face and rested our heads together. Tears dripped off my cheeks as I watched his fill to the brim. “You’re going to live, Emma.”

  The anxiety leaving my body came out in a nervous laugh. “Once I die,” I added to his comment.

  His anxiety left his body in small chuckles, and he leaned in to kiss me repeatedly.

  Chapter 21

  Hope

  Gabriel laughed softly as I listened to him walk up to us. We stopped kissing as he put a hand on my shoulder; his was as chilly as any other vampire that had ever touched me. “You two really are quite lovey-dovey.”

  Starla’s words coming from his ancient mouth made me grin and start to laugh. I held onto Teren, not wanting to separate yet. His arms slung around me too, his hand coming down to rest on my stomach, also comforting our children. They squirmed and wriggled at his touch, one kicking me in a sore rib.

  Gabriel smiled at hearing them. “Twins among our kind are exceedingly rare.” He smirked at me. “Rarer than you, my dear.” With a technical demeanor, he shrugged and said, “If they survive this, I’d be very interested in watching their development.”

  Teren’s hand firmed on my stomach. His jaw tightened too and I could see the protective instinct flare up inside him, it flared up in me too. I was very grateful to Gabriel, for giving us hope, for giving our family a chance, but I didn’t exactly want him poking and prodding our kids like tiny little science experiments. Before I could say anything in rebuttal, Teren responded with, “We are extremely thankful, for everything you’ve done for us. We will never forget…your friendship.”

  His tone was tight when he said that and I knew he was having the same thoughts I was – you’ll never get so much as a drop of blood from our babies - but he couldn’t be that blatantly rude to this ancient, well connected vampire. We needed him to be firmly on our side, especially if we ever needed more life-giving vials of his miraculous juice.

  Gabriel didn’t seem to take any offense to Teren’s words or tone. With a smile, he indicated the door to leave the room. As we exited the soundproof lab under the house, the sounds of dozens of bustling people filled my ears. I didn’t know how many I was hearing, or what species they all were – mixed or pure – but there was a harmonic quality to the cacophony and I found myself smiling. Being in that room had been too quiet. Considering how I used to wonder how Teren could stand all of his extra abilities, it was pretty interesting how I’d already adapted to mine.

  Occasionally, the human hunter’s cry would hit my sharp ears. I did my best to ignore it, but every wail and every plea for help, only made me feel even worse. As we walked back up the hallway, passing a few mixed vamps along with a couple that I thought were purebloods (being surrounded by so many vampires, I was beginning to notice a very faint difference in the smell between the two), I tried to remember that the person being served up as dinner, had brought this upon themselves.

  That really didn’t excuse what they were doing, but Teren and I were not strong enough to take on a house of vampires to save him. Teren was right with his non-verbal warning, this was just something I was going to have to let go. I just wished I could block out the pleading.

  Teren squeezed my hand as we walked back into the main house. Looking up at his face, I could see the haunted expression in his pale eyes. He was hearing it too, and it bothered him as well. He glanced down at me, smiled briefly, and then looked over at Gabriel. “Emma’s conversion…you said she was basically a carbon copy of me. Does that mean that she will she come out like me?” I knew he’d said that not only out of curiosity, but also to distract us with something pleasant to think about.

  We walked through a set of glass doors into an arboretum. A few more vampires nodded at Gabriel, before leaving us to our privacy. A couple cast hard looks at Teren, and I thought maybe he’d pissed off people they knew. Marble paths laced through raised, barked gardens, holding just about every medium to small sized tree I’d ever seen. The air was warm in here, and I could feel my feet swelling even more. As he walked us to a stone bench, I noticed a few more sets of full vampires. They seemed to like the almost tropical air.

  Gabriel plucked a deep red flower with a dark, black stamen and gave it to me. I took the flower as we all sat down, a little marvel
ed by the botanical beauty around us, enclosed under a huge glass roof, showing us the pitch black night outside.

  Sitting on the other side of Teren, Gabriel smiled. “She has your blood. She will share all of your attributes and weaknesses.” He grinned wryly. “Or lack thereof.”

  I gasped, a little surprised. As I did, the smell of hundreds of flowers assaulted me, made me a little dizzy. I’d sort of not let myself hope that I’d come out of this like my husband. Really, I’d sort of figured I wouldn’t be getting out of this. It was pretty shocking to learn that I probably would, and I’d be at the same level of normalcy as Teren. That just seemed too much to hope for. “I’ll get to be in the sun?” I whispered, stunned.

  Gabriel looked around Teren, who also looked a little stunned as his beautiful eyes swept over my body. “You have no issues with it now, I’m assuming, since you made the trip okay?”

  I nodded my head, my eyes watering again. All of this new hope combined with pregnancy hormones wasn’t mixing well. Gabriel smiled at my reaction. “Then yes, you should be able to endure sunlight, among other things.”