by T M Linville
Vincent didn’t say anything else, he simply walked off. He was tired of arguing with his wife about a subject that was just way too touchy for him. He knew Shay would be safer as a vampire but he had the entire vampire species to think about. With her blood, their numbers could grow again. Without the lingering effects of the change Shay’s blood could change women just as easily as men. That had always been a problem before. More men wanted to be vampires than women. But with a transformation period of less than three days… Vincent thought of all of the possibilities. He also thought about Eric getting his hands on her. He didn’t think that Eric would kill her because he needed her, but at the same time, Lily’s blood could do it in six days, which was what it once took for his blood to make the change.
Alexa walked out onto the balcony off of the living room. The view was spectacular. The penthouse overlooked Central Park from the west at 84th Street. The building took up half a city block, with the main entrance on Central Park West and side entrances on 84th and 85th. On the corner, above the balcony was one of four gargoyles. They sat perched on large spheres at each corner and was said to be the first guardians of the vampires. They were each twelve feet tall with tails that snaked across the rim of the building. Intricate stonework cast shadows onto the roof from huge spotlights placed on each side of the building, just below the balcony.
Alexa was fuming, but what could she do? She knew where Vince was coming from. But how could he not see that this time was different? Lily had never stayed away from the coven for anyone, much less nearly died for them. There was only one thing that she knew to do.
Vincent walked out onto the balcony off his bedroom on the 85th Street side. He looked over toward the park and tried to figure out a plan that would work for everyone. If he changed Shay, he would lose the catalyst in her blood that sped up the change. If he didn’t change Shay, it was a good bet that Eric would either try to take her or try to kill her. Eric hated Lily enough not to care about Shay’s life. But how badly did he want Shay’s blood? Would he be content just having Lily’s? Vincent didn’t know the answers. He just never knew what could possibly be going through Eric’s twisted mind.
Alexa walked out onto the balcony with Vince.
“Vince, we have company,” she said very seriously.
“Who?”
“Luther.”
“Oh shit, what do they want?”
“What do you think they want?” Alexa asked rhetorically.
Luther, Rex and Flynn waited in the living room. They were the leaders of the Guardians. They all wore black custom suits and shiny black wingtips. Their hair was cropped short and Flynn sported a five o’clock shadow. They looked like a bunch of FBI agents from the 1990’s.
“Luther, Rex, Flynn, what can I do for you gentlemen?” Vincent asked, trying not to be too formal.
“Eric has committed his final act of treason against this coven,” Luther said. His voice was deep and raspy. “He attacked this coven and threatened the lives of individuals within it. That is a capital offense and we are here to see that justice is served.”
“Do you know where he is?” Rex asked.
“No sir, I do not,” Vincent answered. “He disappeared into the Underground and no one has seen him since. I have trackers on him but they’re coming up empty.”
“We’ll find him,” Flynn assured.
“Would you like to stay for a drink?” Alexa asked.
“Scotch,” Luther answered.
Alexa nodded and walked over to the bar against the far wall of the living room. Above it was an original Warhol. She turned over five glasses from the top and poured the drinks. She took two at a time to her guests and husband.
“Sit, please,” Alexa offered.
“Thank you, Alexa,” Flynn said.
They all sat around the large living room. Flynn and Rex sat on the couch and Luther sat in the chair opposite them. Vincent sat in the chair next to Luther and Alexa sat on the arm of his chair. They all sipped their drinks for a moment before anyone spoke.
“So we hear that Lily and her lover have the answer to the vampire’s transformation problems,” Luther said out of nowhere.
How in the hell do they know that already? Was the first thought that went through Vincent’s head. He had no idea that the Guardians knew about Lily and Shay.
“Unproven,” Vincent said casually. “We have a working theory but we have yet to prove it.”
“I thought so,” Flynn said rudely. “How can a girl have more powerful blood than her makers? It just wouldn’t make any sense.”
Apparently the secret of Lily’s birth had remained a secret all these years. But then again, why would they question it? They would never believe that Lily had been born. They didn’t know about all of Dr. McGregor’s experiments, either. They were completely unaware of the breakthroughs McGoo had made in recent decades. That was because they really didn’t care about Jack. They had turned their back on him a century earlier after he confessed to the Whitechapel Murders. The only reason they didn’t kill him was because they were able to divert suspicion away from McGregor and the vampires. They told Jack he would never again be associated with the Guardians. And Jack was perfectly fine with that. He didn’t like their stuffy attitudes anyway.
The Guardians had to hear of Lily and Shay through their sources in the Underground. They had sources everywhere. But, luckily for the coven, the Underground gossip is just that, gossip. No one could prove anything. The only people that had seen Mark and Markus change would never go to the Guardians. Although the vampires in the Underground may have seen Mark or Markus, it was only Eric’s word and they really wouldn’t know how the new vampires were made. But it still raised questions. There hadn’t been a new vampire in decades.
We have to keep them away from Lily and Shay. There’s no telling what they would do with the power to create at will. Armies would only be the beginning, Vince thought. As long as they think it’s nothing but rumors, the girls will be safe.
Fortunately, the Guardians didn’t have any more questions about them. They just assumed that Vincent was telling the truth about the unproven theory and Vince couldn’t be happier about that. If they knew what Lily and Shay could do, they would not hesitate to take both of them. Vincent wouldn’t allow that, regardless of who the Guardians were. And he didn’t need a fight with the Guardians.
After a brief casual conversation, the Guardians left. Vincent escorted them out of the building. He didn’t want them taking any detours on the way out.
Vincent closed the door to the stretched limo and waved goodbye.
“Whew,” he sighed.
Eric was now also the responsibility of the Guardians. With the coven trackers and the Guardian trackers after him, Eric won’t be able to hide for very long.
Turning Shay Black
When Vince got back to his apartment, Lily was waiting in the hall for him. The look that she gave him let him know that this was going to be serious.
“Come in,” he said.
Once inside, Lily said hello to Alexa, who was sitting in one of the chairs, still sipping on her scotch. Then Lily turned to Vincent.
“If this is about Shay, the answer is still no,” he said.
“Vincent! Come on!” Lily yelled. “Vincent, you have to let me turn Shay. If you don’t, Eric will kill her! You know it as well as I do.”
“I’m not turning her, Lily,” he said calmly.
“How else can I prove to you that she is my one true love? I would’ve died for her on that roof and I never even thought twice about it. I didn’t care about the sun or about the burns or about dying. All I cared about was her. Why can’t you see that?”
“You’ve known her less than three months Lily and she’s safe here. No one is going to let Eric within fifty feet of either of you.”
“Vincent…” she pleaded.
“No, Lily!”
Lily stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her so hard that the Boccioni sculptu
re on the mantle shook. She ran down the hallway to the elevators. She punched the down button and waited. At her apartment, Shay was waiting. Lily walked in the front door and Shay knew from the look that Vincent had said no again.
“He’ll come around,” Shay reassured.
“Come on,” Lily said holding out her hand. “Let’s go talk to someone else.”
“The Doc?” Shay asked.
“Yes, but first I have to tell you what he’s going to tell you if he agrees.”
She took Shay’s hand and pulled her into her chest.
“First of all, I love you, Shay, and if I didn’t fear for your safety, I would not be pressing this issue so hard. Eric is just evil and he will not stop until one of us or both of us are dead.”
“Yeah, I know. He almost succeeded, remember, still pretty fresh in the memory. You lying burnt to a crisp on my couch, a knife to my throat then blood, everywhere.”
“Right. I didn’t die, see! Neither did you,” Lily said, pulling Shay closer and hugging her tight.
“OK, what is McGoo going to tell me?”
Lily pushed Shay away until she was at arm’s length then held her shoulders. “He’s going to try explaining just how painful being turned is going to be. He’ll ask you if you’ve ever had surgery. Then he’ll ask you to imagine that you’ve had a heart transplant. The doctors cracked open your chest, moved around the other organs, cut out the heart, put the new one in then put everything back together. Now image that the doctors replaced everything. Shay, baby, in all seriousness, are you sure that you’re ready for this?”
“Yes, for the fifteenth time, yes. I’ve seen, and felt, what Eric is capable of and next time we may not be so lucky. Another five minutes on that roof and you would not be here. And if Erica hadn’t been here… my throat was slit, Lily. I want to know that I can fight him, too, if I need to. And I’m not going to lose you, Lily. I can’t.”
Shay put her hands on Lily’s cheeks and kissed her lips softly.
“I love you so much,” Shay whispered.
“I can’t lose you either but what I’m about to ask someone to do, could kill you. I want you to understand just how hard this is going to be, for both of us. There will be nothing I can do for you once the procedure is started. There is no going back and there is no undoing it. You will either become a vampire or you will die. There is no halfway here.”
“Baby, I know. We’ve been over this a dozen times. All I know is that I love you enough to know I will pull through. I know why I’m doing it and that will give me the strength to fight through it. I will not leave you willingly, Lily. I promise.”
“You have no idea how hard this is,” Lily said.
“Yes, Lily, I do. I was there when you almost didn’t make it. I know how it feels to think you might lose the most important thing in your life. I almost lost you, Lily, and I will not just stand by and let Eric do that again. Trust me, I know what you must be feeling right now, but I will make it through this.”
Lily took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around Shay.
“I love you so much, Shay,” she said.
“Let’s talk to the good doctor,” Shay said.
They took the elevator down to the sub-basement, hand in hand. When they got there they headed toward the lab. They knew that was the most likely place he’d be. When they got there he was hunched over a microscope.
“Jack,” Lily said.
“Well, well, well. It’s about damn time you came to see me,” Jack said, still looking in the microscope.
“Why don’t you use the monitors?” Lily asked him.
“Old school, darling, I prefer doing things the right way. Old school. There’s nothing like really seeing the stuff for yourself, you know.”
“Old school?” Shay quizzed. “What is ‘old school’ and why is it right?”
Lily laughed and explained to Shay that old school was the way things were done before the more modern inventions.
“So what can I do for you?” he asked.
“As if you don’t already know why we’re here,” Lily answered.
“Yup, I know. But…” he began before turning around. “But I’m one step ahead of you. We, my dear, are first going to have to get as much of Shay’s blood as we possibly can. I’m sure I can synthesize it, but it’s going to take time. In the meantime, your blood alone will have to suffice.
“But Jack…” Lily began but was interrupted.
“Ah! Wait,” he said and held up his finger. “I believe that your blood will change her faster than Markus, simply because her blood is special. Instead of giving her a little bit of the catalyst, she has a whole body full of it.”
“That makes sense,” Lily said with a head tilt.
“It only stands to reason,” Jack said.
“Which means what?” Shay asked.
“I don’t know yet. But, I do know that your blood is more likely to change you in less than two days. The only drawback being… Vincent is going to be furious.”
“And what if it doesn’t change her in less than two days?” Lily asked.
“Then it will take as long as it takes and everyone is none the wiser,” Jack answered matter-of-factly.
Lily shook her head and kissed Shay on the cheek.
“You are absolutely sure about this?” Lily asked Shay.
Shay just nodded and kissed Lily gently on the lips. “I’m sure.”
“Shay, dear, I assure you this is going to be much harder for Lily to endure than it will be for you.”
“I know,” Shay said softly. “See, Lily, I’m going to be fine.”
“Well, come on, what are you two waiting for?” Jack urged.
“You’re going to do it now!?” Lily asked, surprised. “We can’t do it right now.”
“Why not, everything is ready. Shay is here, you’re here, I’m here… What’s the hold-up?” he asked.
“But right now!” Lily said nervously.
“She will be fine. I’ve seen it a million times. Your bond is strong enough to overcome even death. Trust me, you two, it’s strong enough. I can see it when you look at each other. The way the sides of your mouths curl up the tiniest bit. The way you watch each other across the room. The way you would die from sun exposure rather than let her be hurt by Erica’s evil twin brother. I can see it. It’s very obvious if you know where to look. Trust me, young Lily, your love will survive this.”
"I guess we're doing this now," Lily sighed. "Shay?"
"I'm ready. I promise I will come back to you," Shay replied.
They walked into the experimental procedure lab and everything was already set up. There were bags of blood lying on a cart next to the transfusion machine. Syringes were lined up next to the lines of tubing on the cart on the other side of the table.
"I set everything up about twenty minutes ago. Weren't figuring on you arguing with Vince so long. Are you ready Shay?" Jack asked.
"What about Vincent?" Shay asked Lily.
"He’s probably going to disown me, but he still needs my blood to change humans to vampires," Lily answered.
"This is true. He can’t exactly kick you two out. Alexa and Erica would not allow that. They both are all for changing Shay. Neither one of them trust Eric. They’re afraid that he’d kill her the first time he got a chance."
McGoo handed Shay a hospital gown and turned to leave.
"I'll give you two a few minutes," he said before leaving the lab.
Lily helped Shay out of her clothes and into the gown. Shay hopped up on the bed and sat with her hands in her lap. Lily placed her hands between Shay's knees then spread them apart. She slid her hands up Shay's thighs and around her hips as she stepped in between her legs.
"I will be right here," Lily told her. "I'll be here the whole time. From what I've heard, you probably won't even know anyone is around, but I will be. I'll be right here, ok."
Shay looked into Lily’s eyes and smiled.
“I never believed that I would feel lo
ve like this. I’ve waited all my life to feel butterflies in my stomach every time I kissed someone and that someone is you, Lily. I promise you, I will make it through this,” Shay said teary eyed.
"I love you, Shay. I wish I could tell you that once it starts you'll be a vampire in a few hours and that was it, but like over half of the people that start this, you can end it if the pain is too much to take. If you give the word, they will drag me away kicking and screaming and someone else will stop the process, because I will not be able to. I won't."
"I won't do that," Shay stated.
"You just never know," Erica said to Shay as she walked into the lab.
"Jack will be the one to do it if you do decide the pain is too much. I love you Shay, you know that, but this is going to be just as hard, if not harder, for Lily. I wish there was an easier way, but there isn't. Shay, all I can tell you is that Lily loves you more than you will ever know and you'll have an eternity to learn just how much."
"Wait. If I want to end it? What do you mean ‘end it’?" Shay asked.
“I’ll take this,” Erica said to McGoo. "Your version is just hard to hear.
“But it’s factual,” McGoo countered.
“Humph!” Erica snorted. “There is a point at which the change will make you immortal, but the transformation will not be complete. You will still be in extreme pain, but even if you mentally give up, your new body will not. So after that point, if you choose to have your life ended the only way to do that is to have someone end it for you. It used to be by beheading but these days, a scalpel, rib splitters and the removal of the heart is the only permanent way to end the life of a vampire."
"Oh," Shay said flatly. "Lily told me about the point of no return."
"But no," Lily interrupted. "I didn't tell you about being able to be put down after that point. I figured that if you made it that far, you would be able to pull through the rest of the way. Well, I hope, anyway."
"I will pull through I promise," Shay reassured.
"I don't think there is anything else we can do to prepare you, Shay. Do you have any questions?" McGoo asked as he picked up a syringe.
