Tiana squirmed to get a look as they walked back up the road. "Is that the person? I wanna see!"
Doug shushed her as they rounded the bend in the road.
As the vampires uncovered more, they found the parts were all still connected. Sabine found the wooden stake, sticking straight up from the middle of a woman's chest.
Sabine sat back, shaking with emotion. She stared at the stake, lost in a world of déjà vu. She felt a tear fall down her cheek. She sat there on her heels, staring as the others moved the dirt away until the woman was completely uncovered.
"I couldn't save her. I wanted to, but I failed her," Sabine said.
The woman looked to be in her twenties. Her straight dark-chocolate brown hair was cut shoulder length. A tattered button-down plaid blouse was pulled askew to make room for the stake. Ratty jeans with bell-bottom ends spoke to the woman's style. She was barefoot, with markings seared into her feet and palms.
"This year's victim, I presume," Lorenzo said, turning a palm up.
Sabine nodded as another tear fell down her cheek. She felt an overwhelming desire to find Neville Harcourt and make him pay. She gritted her teeth as rage swept through her, envisioning her hands around his aristocratic neck.
"I was buried just like this, a few yards over." She shared the memory with the group.
The others gasped.
"You survived a stake through the heart," Melina said.
Sabine nodded again, staring now at the stake poking out of the poor woman's chest. "Maybe not all the way through."
"Maybe she's like you. Maybe the stake is as ineffective as sunlight."
"You think if we pull it out-" Sabine reached forward.
"No! Wait," Lorenzo leapt forward, holding her hand. "If she was like you, then she'll awake thirsty. We need to think about feeding her."
"Without hurting anyone," Sabine added. "We'll need a ride back to the city, too."
They heard the footfalls of joggers coming down the path, and Sabine nodded to Ernesto. "Start collecting people. She may need five. Ethan, Deirdre... head back to the scenic outlook and find us a ride. A van or a truck or an RV. Preferably someone who isn't in a hurry."
The three vampires nodded to Sabine and climbed the hill to the dirt road.
"Shelby? Can you hang out with Doug and Tiana? It might make them feel better to know what's going on."
"Sure thing boss-mama," Shelby said, hopping up and dusting herself off.
"Boss-mama?" Sabine asked, looking up at her.
Shelby shrugged and smiled. "Hey, you're in leader mode. It suits you. Unless you prefer Mistress?"
Sabine sighed, shaking her head. "Just go and do my bidding, minion."
Shelby laughed and headed up the hill.
Sabine did her best to wipe all the dirt out of the dead woman's face, eyes, and hair. She wanted this woman's awakening to be less traumatic than her own had been. If she was going to awaken. Finally, Sabine sent Melina to handle the obscuring glamour in case anyone approached close enough to see them.
A few minutes or an eternity later, Ernesto returned with a half-dozen humans in hiking and jogging clothes.
Sabine grabbed the stake and pulled it out of the dead woman's chest. The sucking sound threatened to make her sick.
They sat there, watching the woman for several minutes. Sabine looked at their human blood donor buffet, and hoped the humans wouldn't notice the gap in time.
"Should I feed her my blood?" Sabine asked.
Lorenzo gave her a questioning look. "Do you want her blood-bonded to you?"
"Not really."
Sabine stared at the wound again. Did it shrink? It doesn't look like it. This is hopeless. She's dead.
Minutes turned into hours, and Sabine started taking pictures of the wound with her cell phone to compare as time went by. The wound seemed to be closing, but very slowly. They fed from a few of the joggers and released them, picking fresh ones, not wanting to have anyone miss too much time in their day and notice. Sabine had everyone stay in the shade to keep her energy up as the sun crept toward the horizon.
Finally, the sun set, and Sabine felt a wave of relief as her Family could once again support themselves.
The woman in the grave gasped and opened her eyes. She looked up at Sabine, then at the other vampires. She took a deep, gurgling breath and screamed for a half-second until it turned into a cough.
"It's okay! We're not here to hurt you," Sabine said, dropping the stake and holding up her hands.
When the woman crawled back and saw the humans standing around, her fangs descended. She stared at Sabine with eyes so dilated they were almost black, squinting against the glare of the sunlight.
Sabine tried to look as harmless as possible, wishing she'd worn more normal clothes. "We're here to help. I know what you're going through."
The woman shook her head. She coughed out dirt, clearing her throat. "Where am I? What did you do to me?"
"We just dug you up," Sabine said. "You were left for dead on Halloween night. Look at your chest."
The woman stole a glance down and did a double-take, touching the healing wound and wincing.
"Check your palms," Sabine said, holding up her own.
The woman stared at her own palms and saw the symbols on Sabine's palms.
"They did the same thing to me last year. I'm sorry we didn't get to you sooner, to save you. We tried."
"So thirsty," the woman choked out.
"You need blood. We need to show you how to feed without killing."
The woman shook her head. "Blood? You're kidding." She moved her tongue and winced as a fang stabbed it. "Omigod. I have fangs. You're not kidding!" She moaned out a cry. "This isn't happening. I'm having a nightmare." She looked around, seeing the seriousness in everyone's expressions. "It's daylight for God's sake! See? Not a vampire."
"Actually, the sun just set," Sabine said. "It's twilight. You need blood. Let us help you. My name is Sabine Christiansen. What's your name?"
"Kelly," the woman said, crawling to her feet. "Kelly Jacobs."
"Hi Kelly. I wish we could have met under different circumstances."
Kelly started walking towards the humans. "They smell so good!" She stopped in her tracks, whimpering. "Oh God, what have I become?"
Sabine read Kelly's mind and found a swirl of emotions that felt very familiar. The woman started to shake her head as Sabine probed deeper to see her memories. She had been a barista at a coffee shop and a part time protestor for anything related to peace, love and harmony.
"What is that? My head feels funny," Kelly said.
"I was reading your mind, to see what type of person you are," Sabine said. "Now it's time for you to get your vamp on. We'll make sure you don't hurt these people."
Kelly stared at Sabine. "This is insane. You realize that?"
Sabine lifted the nearest jogger's arm. His pulse felt like a throbbing dinner bell. She let her fangs descend and bit into his arm, making sure to send a little pleasure in as she did. She pulled back and held the arm out for Kelly.
Blood welled up in the open wounds. The smell had all the vampires' fangs out.
Kelly moaned, and descended toward the arm with a fierce look on her face, totally overwhelmed by the thirst.
Sabine put a hand on Kelly's sternum to hold her just out of reach of the bleeding arm, and was surprised by Kelly's growl. Sabine whispered through her fangs. "Gently."
Kelly took a breath, barely in control. She nodded; a gesture that Sabine figured took every bit of focus the newly minted Damphir possessed.
Sabine let go, and Kelly immediately suckled on the bleeding arm.
A minute passed, then another. When Sabine felt that Kelly had taken enough from the one jogger, Sabine touched Kelly's shoulder. "Lick the wound to close it. We'll move to another donor now."
Kelly whimpered and kept suckling.
Sabine grabbed a handful of Kelly's hair and pulled, forcing Kelly's head up. She stared into Kelly's
frantic eyes.
"Lick it closed. We have more joggers. You have to let this one go so we don't hurt him."
Kelly moaned and did as Sabine told her, and they moved to the next jogger. Kelly bit into the woman's arm and started drinking.
They worked their way through four people, Sabine coaching and Ernesto releasing the humans for Melina to take over and guide back to the path.
Kelly looked at the fifth and sixth humans, and shook her head. "I don't want to be this! I could catch a disease from these people. Oh God, I hope I'm not infecting them!"
Sabine noticed that Kelly's eyes were less dilated, making them a deep mahogany. She tried to make her voice as soothing as possible. "You're not infecting them, Kelly. You'd have to share your blood with them to do that. I know it takes some getting used to, but you're pretty much immune to disease now. We aren't hurting these people. They'll never know they stopped here, much less that they were bitten. Do you feel the thirst still? Your stomach will hurt if you need more."
"I'm okay. It doesn't feel right, feeding off innocent people like this," Kelly said through her fangs. "I can't believe I just bit those people."
Sabine smiled. "I wonder if Neville has radar for our personality type or what."
"Who?" Kelly stopped and stared at Sabine.
"Do you remember anything about the resurrection ceremony? Regina? Michaela?"
"Regina and Michaela? They're regulars at the coffee shop. What do they have to do with this?"
"Spend the evening with us and let's trade life stories. In the meantime, we have to let these people go."
Kelly nodded, and Ernesto walked the last two humans back to the trail, sending them on their way. The vampires scrambled up the hillside, and walked to where Shelby stood with Doug and Tiana.
Tiana stared wide-eyed at the woman covered in dirt residue. Doug glanced back and forth between all of them, his eyes settling on Sabine. He asked with his eyes, and Sabine knew the question without being able to read his mind. It would be the only question that mattered: would Tiana be safe?
Sabine gave him a small nod, smiling when he looked visibly relieved. "Kelly, this is Doug and his daughter Tiana. Doug's a psychic and led us to you."
"Hi Kelly," Doug said, a slight edge to his voice.
Kelly nodded, looking anywhere but at Doug and Tiana.
Sabine realized that Kelly was trying to make her fangs go in. Kelly was probably still thirsty, and Doug and Tiana would look like food. Maybe a distraction would be good right about now. "We need to get going."
They walked back to Conzelman Road, and spotted Deirdre and Ethan by a Winnebago motor home at the scenic outlook up the hill. They made their way to the RV and piled in, Sabine putting herself between Doug and Kelly the whole way.
Deirdre sat in the front passenger seat as Ethan got into the driver's seat. Lorenzo, Ernesto and Melina went to sit in the bedroom in back, while Doug and Tiana and Shelby shared the sofa opposite the dinette. The dinette had room for four, but the seats facing backward were occupied by an elderly couple. They sat like statues.
Kelly slipped into the dinette, and Sabine slipped in next to her, blocking her in.
"What's with them?" Kelly asked, pointing to the couple.
Sabine sighed. "It would be really difficult to explain why you're covered with dirt and have blood all over your chest. So Ethan and Deirdre put them in a trance."
Kelly shook her head weakly. "So how can you- we- I thought vamp-"
"First things first," Sabine said, holding up a hand. "Doug, can you take Tiana in the back? Maybe you should see if you guys can stump Melina with trivia questions. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
Tiana's eyes had rarely left Kelly, except to check with Sabine that everything was okay with having a freshly dug-up person walking around with them. Tiana nodded a little.
Doug lifted Tiana up and walked to the back of the RV. Ethan put the RV in gear and pulled onto the highway heading into town.
Once Doug closed the door separating the back, Sabine continued in a hushed whisper. "Okay, first thing, we need to keep the whole 'being a vampire' thing on the down-low whenever humans are listening. There's a Council that leads the vampires. They might go hurting people that learn too much. The less people know about us, the better. Second, you and I aren't your run-of-the-mill vampire. We have our souls bound to us, which is kind of a huge deal. We're called 'Damphir'. The rest are hanging onto their souls by a thread, cursed to walk in darkness. Thanks to me and a thing called a blood bond, the vampires in this RV can walk around during the day without turning into a fireworks show."
Kelly shook her head. "This has to be a nightmare."
"It's not Kelly, I'm sorry. Neville did this to me last year. I didn't have anyone to help me when I was fresh out of the ground. You have us, and I plan to stop Neville if I can, before another girl has to wake up like you just did."
"I need to make a phone call," Kelly said, then looked around. "How long was I buried?"
"Two days. You can't tell anyone you're a Damphir or vampire though. I mean it. Unless someone's around to erase their memories if they freak out," Sabine said, as they stopped in the traffic for the toll booths. "People running around with knowledge of vampires have a way of getting killed."
"I don't want to drink blood anymore," Kelly said, looking a little panicked.
"Look, I totally know how you feel. Been there. But there are people who actually can benefit from giving blood to you. People with high blood pressure and diabetes, and a few other things. The healing properties of our saliva actually have some very beneficial effects. And you can transmit pleasure into your donor. I've spent the last year trying to figure out a way to live with this without hurting people. I was actually thinking about starting a clinic."
Kelly stared at Sabine. "Are you insane?"
Sabine laughed. "I sent Tiana out because we really need to avoid filling her head with too much vampire stuff. It'll be bad enough if the vampire Council finds out that humans are running around with knowledge of us. A human with intimate knowledge, well... the Ancients are apparently ruthless in enforcing secrecy."
"Great. So how do I explain being gone for two days?"
"Maybe an accident. You had amnesia, and just woke up. Tell people you're gonna need to go to the doctor and get it checked out. We'll get you home so you can use your own phone so there are fewer questions. We can help you adjust. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing control and being declared a Rogue."
"I work at a coffee shop. My boss is an ass. He's probably already fired me. I'll lose my apartment!"
"Relax. We'll help you with money if you need it for now. Besides," Sabine added with a smile, "you'll find that you can convince your boss of just about anything now."
Kelly stared at the old man sitting in the dinette for a minute, and waved her hand in front of the old guy's face. "You think I might lose control?"
"This thing we are, it's like having an addiction that can drive you insane. If you go without blood too long, then you start losing your inhibitions. Eventually, you lose your morality, then your sanity. The desire to feed overwhelms everything. If you let that feeling take hold, and nobody can control you, then you're called a Rogue. Then the other things that go bump in the night will try to hunt you down and kill you."
"Why?"
"To keep you from exposing our existence. For fun. You name it," Sabine said.
Kelly nodded.
"Where are we heading?" Ethan asked from the driver's seat.
"Excuse me for just a sec, Kelly." Sabine gave directions to Mike and Esmerelda's house. Then she dialed the number on her cell. "Hi! Who's this? Mike? I'm so sorry for your loss–"
"That's nice of you, but we're very busy at the moment," Mike replied.
"Yes, if there's anything I can do–"
"I promise to let you know."
"I was wondering if I can come over and see Trent. In about twenty minutes?"
"Sure."
&nb
sp; "Can I bring my people?"
"If they want to guard the perimeter of the property, that's fine. But we can't afford any vamps in the house right now. Everyone is tense, and the slightest provocation might push them over the edge."
"Okay, thanks Mike. See you soon," Sabrina said, and clicked "end" on her phone.
"That's so freaky," Kelly said.
"What?" Sabine asked, putting the phone in her pocket.
"I could hear that guy Mike's voice on the other end like he was standing here."
"The hearing is great, unless you're trying to sleep. You'll find that sleeping during the day is much easier. The sun will make you dead tired - literally - unless you're really well fed," Sabine said, then gestured to Shelby. "Shelby and the rest are lucky. They're dead to the world during the day unless I juice them."
"I miss dreaming though," Shelby said, a faraway look in her eyes. "But the whole world is like a dream come true now. Sorry Kelly, but I totally love being a vampire."
They arrived at Mike's and Esmerelda's house, and Sabine introduced everyone out on the porch since the werewolves weren't willing to invite vampires in. Val decided to leave, complaining of the smell, but the rest were cordial. Trent still had a limp. They hadn't repaired the damage to the house yet. Bullet holes riddled the siding, and several exterior walls looked like they'd been hit with a wrecking ball in the shape of a man. Or a wolf. A small nearby tree lay felled, splintered as though it had been snapped by blunt force.
When Kelly found out Esmerelda was a witch, she hissed like a scared cat.
Sabine stared at Kelly. "You need to feed."
Kelly clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide. "I'm so sorry." She started pressing her temples. "God, I hate this."
Sabine took Kelly's hands and looked into her eyes. "It's going to be okay. We'll help you. Esmerelda is a good witch."
Esmerelda had them sit in the chairs on the porch, and brought out a cup of tea. She handed it to Kelly. "This might help soothe your nerves."
"Is it a potion?"
"It's just Earl Grey, with two sugars; the way you like it," Esmerelda said, sitting in a chair across from them.
Reborn to Bite (Vampire Shadows Book 1) Page 27