Replacement

by Wojciech Cram

  action immediately, rushing out the door. I could hear them calling for the resident witches in the hallway, but I gave them little attention. I knew they'd be back soon with someone

  who could heal Mare.

  I just thanked the universe that I was now a part of circle Daybreak. I didn't know what would've happened if I hadn't been. I was lucky that there were plenty of witches on hand,

  they were much more affective than any doctor.

  "I guess this is her," Rashel said, keeping her voice soft as though worried of waking the sleeping girl. It was ironic seeing as all I wanted was for her to wake up.

  I nodded my head in reply, not able to conjure any real words. I pressed MaryLynette's hand against my mouth, kissing her knuckles gently. I could faintly feel the pulse in her

  wrist, the blood pumping through her veins. Her fingers were so soft against my lips, like silk. I could almost fool myself into thinking that she really was just asleep, that she'd

  wake up any second, asking what all the fuss was about. The image made me smile.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rashel kneel beside me, tucking a lock of dark hair behind her ear. She seemed unfazed by the state MaryLynette was in, but I supposed she'd

  seen it all before. Another bloody vampire victim was nothing new to her. I wished I could share her calmness, because despite my insistence to want to stay strong for the girl I

  loved, I could feel myself starting to crumble.

  "She'll be okay, you know," Rashel said, running a delicate finger over MaryLynette's forehead. Her finger came away tinged red with blood. Her voice held such confidence that it

  was hard to disagree. I envied her sureness, for all I could think about was the worstcase scenario. What if I really did lose her, right when I'd just got her back?

  I shook my head as if that could physically rid my mind of such thoughts. "You don't know that," I whispered, tearing my gaze off of Mare's peaceful face for just a moment, to look

  at Rashel. "You don't know that she'll be okay. What if she's not, what if she doesn't make it? Oh, goddess, Rashel I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't pull through."

  I leant my head against the edge of the sofa, burying my face into the squishy fabric. My grip on Mare's hand was tight, probably too tight, but I couldn't bring myself to let it go. I

  needed the connection, a stronger connection than the silver link provided.

  "She'll make it through," Rashel tried to assure me, and I had to admire the way she said it without her voice wavering. "How do you know that?" I asked, and I knew that I was

  being pessimistic. I knew I should be the one with the certainty in Mare, the one who believed without a doubt that she'd be fine. But there was just so much blood; I didn't know

  how anyone could survive an attack like that.

  I'd seen my fair share of vampire attacks, and this was one of the worst I'd come across. Most vampires didn't kill their victims, and even if they did, they did it in a way that

  wouldn't cause much suspicion. But this had been truly savage. I wished I hadn't killed the bastard off so quickly, so that I make him feel the amount of pain he'd caused MaryLynette.

  "Because she's a fighter," Rashel replied to my earlier question. I lifted my head up to look at her, her green eyes filled with compassion. I nodded my head in agreement. She was

  right, MaryLynette was a fighter, and she'd do whatever it took to come back to me.

  A small smile pulled up the corners of Rashel's mouth. "She'd have to be a fighter to be able to hang around you for so long. You really are a pain in the arse, Redfern. You haven't

  even been here for two weeks, and already you're causing chaos." I laughed at her statement, forcing a smile. "Yeah, you're right about that. You hear that, Mare? They're bullying me already."

  Just then Hannah came bursting through the door, rushing to my side. "How is she? I tried to be as quick as I could?" Before I could open my mouth to reply, Thea and Gillian were

  there trying to move me out of the way. "We need room," Thea said, in the most demanding voice I'd ever heard her use. I felt a surge of relief that Thea was here to take care of

  Mare, I was sure that she'd be in safe hands. Thea was a pro.

  I reluctantly got to my feet, releasing MaryLynette's hand, which was a harder action than I thought it'd be. My skin felt cold now that we were no longer touching.

  Thea was checking Mare over, whilst Gillian was rummaging through a large bag of supplies. She was pulling out herbs, plants, tools and some stuff that I'd never even seen before,

  laying them out in a line.

  A frown puckered Thea's face, and I immediately jumped on her reaction. "What's wrong, is she going to be okay?"

  "Yeah, yeah. If everything goes smoothly she'll be fine," she replied, but she still looked distracted, as if she wasn't really focusing on what she was saying. I couldn't help but take

  that as a bad sign. "Tell me, Thea. Tell me what's wrong with her. Why do you look so confused?"

  She ignored me, grabbing ingredients off of Gillian and beginning to clean Mare's wounds. The look of uneasy puzzlement never left her face, setting me even more on edge.

  "Thea," I began again, striding up to her and placing a firm hand on her elbow. She span around to glare at me, but when she saw the worry I wore on my features, her expression

  softened. "She's in bad shape, Ash," she began, shrugging off my hand, getting back to work as she spoke. "You need to let me and Gillian do our jobs and concentrate on fixing

  her. You did a good job getting her here so quickly, but for now there's not much else you can do." I took a step back, clenching my fists at my side. I still felt as if she was keeping

  something from me, but didn't want to distract her away from MaryLynette.

  She looked at me over her shoulder, a piece of blonde hair slipping out of her ponytail and into her eyes. She brushed it a side, giving me a sympathetic look. "You should leave,

  get some rest. Like I said, there's nothing more you can do for her, she's in safe hands with us. When was the last time you fed? You need to have your energy for when she wakes

  up. She's going to need you, Ash." I tried to think back to the last time I'd had blood. I couldn't remember, no wonder I felt so exhausted.

  "I can't leave her," I said, shaking my head. No matter how much I needed rest, or agreed with Thea's argument, I couldn't leave her side, not again. Especially not while she was

  so vulnerable. It was strange to see her like that, when she was normally so full of fire. That fire was still in there, I knew it was, and it would help her burn through this bump in

  the road.

  I felt a slight pressure at my elbow, and looked down to see Rashel's hand. "Thea's right," she said gently, as if talking to a wild animal that she was scared would run away or lash

  out. "You've done everything you can, now you have to let other people take over. Standing here worrying won't make her get better; you'll only make yourself sick. Let Thea and

  Gillian work their magic and she'll be well in no time. You hovering round them will only get in their way."

  I was still extremely reluctant to leave, but could see sense in what they were all saying. In regular hospitals, family members had to wait outside, and I guess the same applied

  here. Gillian and Thea would be able to work quicker and more effectively without me breathing down their necks.

  Rashel tugged slightly on my arm, pulling me towards the doorway. I felt for the silver chord, silently sending a message to my soul mate. I love you; I'll be there for when you wake up. I promise. I watched her until the very last second, drinking in her features before the door slammed shut.

  I let out a long breath, running a shaking hand through my hair. Looking around the hallway, I couldn't recall a time I'd ever felt so lost. It was as if the last two weeks of living

  here had just disappeared, leaving me standing in a strange place, with no recollecti
on of why I was here or what I needed to do.

  "You okay?" Rashel asked, nudging me in the shoulder. I shook my head, because I was not. As long as MaryLynette was not at my side, fit and healthy, I'd never be okay again.

  Somehow I ended up in the kitchen, slumped across the small wooden table. "Here, drink this." A glass of dark red liquid was placed before, making me salivate with the promise

  of sustenance. But even as my mouth watered for the feel of the silky liquid running down my throat, I could only look at it in contempt. All I saw was the blood smeared across Mare's skin, matted in her hair, staining her clothes.

  I pushed the glass away from me, hoping that it would rid my mind of those awful images of MaryLynette lying in the alleyway all alone, except for the vampire feasting on her

  blood. What disgusted me even more was that before I met her, that vampire probably would have been me. I was never fussed about killing or hurting my victims. They were only

  humans after all. Knowing what I used to be like made me want to break something.

  Rashel slid the glass back across the table, until it was right under my nose and I could smell the sweetness of it. "You need to drink this," she insisted, talking as if she was my

  parent. "No, I don't. All I need is to see my girl friend, knowing she'll be okay."

  She gave an exasperated sigh, but didn't take the glass away. "That's the first time I've heard you call her that," she said, leaning back on the kitchen counter. Despite her lazy

  posture, it didn't go unnoticed that she'd positioned herself in a way that gave her easy access to both the window and the door, allowing her so see anyone entering the kitchen

  before they could see her. I don't even think she knew she was doing it. It was just a habit that had been ingrained into her from childhood; she did it for every room she went in.

  Not for the first time, I wondered what had happened to her during her early years, that she was forced to pick up such habits. She'd never mentioned any of her family before, and

  rarely talked about her life before becoming a vampire hunter. It was a question for another time.

  I shrugged my shoulders. "I've never really had any reason to, it kind of just slipped out." She nodded her head as if she understood, but I doubted that she'd ever be in a situation

  like this.

  Quinn came in shortly after that pulling Rashel into a one armed hug. I only wished that that would be MaryLynette and me by tomorrow. Thea and Gillian had been in there with

  her for quite a while now, and I had to remind myself that they'd tell me if there was any news. Every time I'd begin to question the lack of information being relayed to us, Rashel

  was always quick to jump in saying, "No news is good news," and Quinn was always there to back her up. I knew they were right, but it didn't make the waiting any easier.

  After I'd been banging my head against the table for half an hour, and a silence had fallen over the kitchen whilst the other two pitied me, Rashel piped up. "So, what was at that

  apartment you two were checking out? Find anything out of the ordinary?"

  "Empty," I replied automatically. I'd almost forgotten the reason Quinn and I had been in the middle of Vegas in the first place. Thierry had sent us to check the place out after

  someone had reported traces of dark magic coming from there. He was worried that someone was planning an attack on circle Daybreak, especially since the apartment was a little

  too close to the mansion for comfort. When we'd gotten there, we'd discovered that the place had been emptied; whoever was there had packed up and left, taking all their stuff

  with them. From the state of place, it looked as if they'd left in a hurry, probably after gaining wind that we were on to them.

  "Did you fill Thierry in?" I asked, lifting my head from the table. In all the chaos, I'd completely forgotten about the mission. I'd practically torn out of the apartment when I'd felt

  Mare's fear through the link. After that everything was a blur. I was relieved that Quinn had kept his head, remembering to report back.

  "Yeah," Quinn replied, taking the glass of blood off of the table and downing it in one big gulp. Rashel hit him on the arm, throwing him a glare. "Hey, that was for Ash. Get your

  own."

  "Well he wasn't drinking it, was he?" Quinn through the glass in the sink, while Rashel muttered a string of profanity under her breathe. I smirked at their argument, which was a

  regular sight at the Daybreak mansion.

  Just then, I heard a door behind me open, and I instantly leapt to my feet. Running out of the kitchen, I met Thea in the hall. "Well, how is she?" I demanded, peeking over her

  shoulder in the hope she'd left the door open. She hadn't.

  She sighed, running both hands through her blonde hair, which had fallen out of its ponytail at some point. "She's stable. I have every confidence that she'll make a full recovery,

  the blood made her injuries look worse than they are. She banged her head pretty good and lost a lot of blood, but apart from that it's just minor cuts and bruises, with a few

  stitches. She'll be sore and weak for a while when she wakes up, but apart from that everything should be fine." Again, I got the sense she was keeping something from me, by the

  way she couldn't look me completely in the eye. I wanted to question her on it but I was too distracted by the news I'd just received. I was ecstatic at her words, never in my life

  had I felt such relief. I couldn't help the relieved grin that spread across my face.

  "When can I see her?" I asked eagerly, already beginning to move towards the door that concealed MaryLynette. "Gillian's just making up a solution that will help with the pain, but

  we've done everything that needs to be done. You can go in now if you like."

  I didn't need to be told twice. I raced into the living room, only slowing when I got to MaryLynette's side. She looked miles better than when I'd left her, still a bit banged up, but

  not as if she was on death's door. The girls had done a good job at cleaning away the blood, leaving me a clear view of MaryLynette's perfect features, as she slept. Her skin,

  although a little paler than I was used to, had more colour to it. The gash on her face had a thin white bandageplaster on it, hiding the worst of the gore, so did the wound on her

  neck.

  "Beautiful," I whispered, running my hand down the side of her face in a soft caress.

  "She really is," Gillian said from beside me, hauling her bag of supplies onto her shoulder. She smiled at me tenderly, and I had to fight my embarrassment at being heard.

  She handed me a small bottle filled with a sky blue liquid, which looked as if it had the consistency of syrup. "She'll have to take around a teaspoon of this every morning until she's

  fully recovered. Tell her to come and find me if the pain gets too much, and I'll fix her up with something stronger, but hopefully that'll do the job."

  I took the bottle, eyeing it suspiciously. Gillian let out a tinkling laugh at my reaction to the liquid. "Do you really think I'm going to poison her, Ash? Especially after the trouble we

  went to fixing her up."

  "Sorry," I replied, tucking the bottle into my back pocket. "I was just always taught to never trust a witch." Glancing over at the petite girl, I saw her roll her eyes shaking her head.

  "Oh, Ash. How did we ever get by without you?" She laughed again, walking around to the other side of the sofa, placing a hand on MaryLynette's forehead to take her

  temperature. I shrugged at her remark. "I often ask myself the same question."

  She shook her silvery blonde head again, stepping back from the sofa, making her way to the door. Looking over her shoulder she called, "She needs rest for now, but you might

  want to move her some place more comfortable. The others will be back shortly, and you don't want to leave her down here to be trampled."

  I nodded my head in agreement, sobering up again. I
hadn't taken notice of how peaceful the mansion was. It was always quieter at night, because that was when most of us went

  out either on missions, or to make the most of our time off. There was rarely anyone in during the night, but I could make out the sun beginning to rise through the gaps in the

  curtain.

  Wasting no time, I scooped MaryLynette up into my arms, so that her head was once again resting against my chest. She was unbelievably light against my vampire strength.

  "When will she wake up?" I asked, passing Gillian to make for the stairs. The witch just shook her head. "It could be any time within the next couple of hours. Thea had me give her

  something so that she wouldn't wake up while we worked. It's hard to tell when it'll ware off, but it shouldn't be too long. When she does finally come to, give either Thea or me a

  call so we can check up on everything."

  I gave her a sincere smile. "Thanks, Gillian." She returned the smile, backing up into one of the other rooms. "I owed you, Redfern."

  I chuckled to myself at her words, and at the mischievous smile on her face. I guess now we were even; I saved her life, and now she saved Mare's. Still, I could never put into

  words how grateful I was to her and Thea. Where was Thea anyway? She hadn't followed me into the living room when I'd left the hall. I brushed it off; she was sure to be around

  somewhere. I'd thank her later.

  Quinn and Rashel stood in the kitchen doorway, looking up at me from below. I gave them a quick nod, indicating that Mare was okay, and that we'd talk later. I had no doubt that

  they were listening to my conversation with Thea earlier, but still felt the need to offer them something. They both gave me sly grins, and I knew that after Quinn saw how frantic I

  was in the cab, that I'd never hear the end of it. I wondered how long it'd take for him to spread around how I'd actually sent up a prayer, and for it to become the latest source of

  gossip.

  I took MaryLynette up the grand staircase, still being careful not to jostle her around too much. This wasn't exactly how I'd imagined introducing Mare to the mansion. I'd wanted to