My hand was dropped and I felt warm breath on my neck, near the jugular, followed by a sharp sting. Either Owen or Luc’s mouth was sucking blood from my throat and I didn’t have the strength to fight them.
How long this went on I don’t know, but the weakness continued to spread through my body followed by a numbing cold. I was fading out. Someone held my head firmly while another’s arm cradled my back and shoulders.
‘Will it work?’ Owen’s voice pleaded.
‘Undo my shirt buttons, he’s nearly drained.’ Luc’s voice came from next to my ear. It had been him who took my blood. ‘Do you have your surgical knife?’ he asked.
‘Yes…’ I barely heard Owen’s reply, or the rest of the conversation that took place above me.
‘Slice just below my left nipple. I’ll do the rest.’
I felt my head turned and soft flesh pressed into my face.
‘Drink Doctor Munro or you will die,’ Luc’s voice said.
A hot, sticky liquid entered my mouth. Lacking the strength to resist, I gulped and partly choked.
‘Alec, please. Drink,’ Owen’s voice pleaded.
The liquid tasted warm and sweet and as I gulped more greedily my strength returned and slowly so did my awareness.
‘What about the bullet?’ Owen asked.
‘The enzyme will dissolve it.’
Their voices were clearer now. I felt a shudder from Luc. ‘Ah, nearly done. But the complete transformation will take a few days. He cannot stay here, I hope you realize that.’
‘Alec, can you hear me?’ Owen’s voice was close to my ear.
I angled my mouth away from the source of the liquid and tried to raise myself. ‘Owen,’ I managed to croak. ‘What’s happening?’
‘Um, I accidentally shot you. But you’re all right now.’
Luc snorted and I turned towards the sound. He had been holding my head while Owen supported my body. Seeing I was able to sit up on my own, he’d risen off the ground and began re-buttoning his shirt. I looked down onto my chest for the bloody hole that should have been there and saw—nothing. The skin was as smooth and an unmarked as a baby’s.
Shock rippled through me. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.
With a slight wobble I rose to my feet and looked from Owen to Luc when I was assailed by auditory overload. A cacophony of sounds assaulted my brain that made me clap my hands over my ears.
The night was alive with noises I’d never been aware of; insects scuttling nearby; the loud whirr of a moth’s wings as it fluttered around the light globe; the rapid beat of a heart. And there were voices—men and women—one discussing a patient’s medication, another reading a letter aloud and someone moaning. Yet we were in the Supply Depot, at least four hundred yards from the main hospital building. How could I possibly hear individual voices from that distance?
I panicked and spun around to see Luc and Owen’s eyes on me—one wary, and the other fearful. On one of the shelves behind Luc’s head, I easily made out the tiny letters on a jar of ointment although the light in the storeroom was dim. How could I possibly see as if it were daylight?
‘What’s happened to me?’ I demanded. Even my voice sounded different—deeper, stronger, more resonant somehow.
Luc was about to answer when Owen interrupted. ‘Alec, you would have died. I asked Luc to change you.’
‘Change me? What do you mean?’
Luc came toward me. We stood almost eye-to-eye. ‘Listen to me, Doctor Munro.’ His gaze—those strange lavender eyes—bored into mine. ‘Your body has undergone a physiological transformation. Over the next couple of days your eyes will grow sensitive to light and your skin will burn much more easily in the daylight. You will find your strength ten times greater than that of an ordinary man, and your sight and hearing, far sharper and keener. Nothing will escape you and nothing will be able to outrun you. You will also lose the taste for food as your body develops a thirst for blood only—human blood.’
My breath caught in my throat. This wasn’t possible, I thought. None of this is! My mind grappled with the implications.
‘I can help you through the change,’ he offered. ‘It will take time.’
‘What have you done to me?’ I repeated.
‘You are now a blood drinker with an almost unlimited lifespan and indestructible body.’ He paused. ‘My kind are generally known as vampires. Although we prefer to call ourselves, Brethren.’
I felt myself turn pale as the full force of his words sank in and knew them to be true. There was no denying the changes already beginning to take effect: my sudden night vision, enhanced hearing and—strength? I bent down to pick up the small iron wedge used to keep the door open. It felt soft as clay between my fingers. Automatically I ran my thumb over my teeth for the telltale fangs, but everything there felt normal.
‘Ah, they will appear in a couple of hours Doctor Munro,’ Luc said as he observed my self-examination.
Revulsion, disgust and horror raged within me and I turned on Owen. ‘You were party to this?’
‘I didn’t want you to die. I had no choice!’ he wailed.
‘There’s always a choice,’ I yelled at him before turning back to Luc. ‘And you listened to him! Why?’
‘Owen is my first priority. Some day I’ll explain it to you.’ He reached into the front pocket of his jacket and removed a small mirror. I recognised it as one of the types he used in his photographic work. He handed it to me. ‘Look at your eyes.’
I took the mirror from his hand when the thought came to me. ‘Aren’t… vampires… incapable of casting a reflection?’
Luc snorted. ‘What rubbish! We’re physical beings—’ he poked me lightly in the shoulder ‘—and anything physical has a reflection!’
I lifted the mirror and stared at my face. A cold pit opened in my stomach. My eyes were no longer brown but lavender, the same colour as Owen and Luc’s.
As I glanced between them both, the dreadful realisation of what had been done to me sank in and the shock was unimaginable, unbearable… and all Owen’s fault.
My hand tightened around the mirror and crushed it to a million shiny shards.
‘Does that mean you’re a vampire, too Owen?’
‘Oh no, not me. Only Luc. I’m human, but… well, it’s complicated.’
‘Your eyes—’
‘That’s the complicated part.’ He didn’t volunteer any more.
A red haze of rage burned within me. I stared at him as he stood there, silently observing me and watching my transformation. I took a step toward him and he slunk back against the wooden wall. I could actually smell his fear—another new sensation. ‘Why did you shoot me? Of all the bloody mindless things to do!’ My hands balled into fists and I had to resist the urge to use them.
‘Alec, please, it was an accident. It was Luc I wanted to shoot—not you!’
‘Why not just let me die then, instead of allowing me to be changed into this… thing I am now!’
‘I would have been court-martialled and hanged for your murder!’ he blubbered, yet had the effrontery to sound indignant.
‘Never thinks of anyone but himself,’ Luc said.
‘It’s my neck!’
‘And my life!’ I roared. ‘I should kill you for this!’ I reached out and grabbed him by the throat. It was easy to lift him up, to see his legs dangling in the air as he struggled to prise my fingers apart.
‘Doctor Munro, unfortunately, I need him alive,’ Luc stated.
Owen’s open mouth gasped for air like a fish.
‘Why?’
Owen’s lips began to turn blue, but his feet were still kicking.
‘Family connection. I’ll explain one day. Please release him.’
If not for Luc, I may have killed Owen that day. I let him drop to the ground where he crawled behind Luc’s legs, rubbed his throat and whimpered hoarsely. He was pitiful… and he had destroyed my life.
I looked around for something that would help me end it. Spo
tting a bottle of mercuric chloride on the top shelf, I grabbed it and attempted to empty its contents down my throat. Luc’s tight grip on my wrist forced my hand down.
‘That will not help,’ he calmly stated. ‘It’ll only cause you great pain, without the result you seek. As I said, your body is now indestructible. No matter whether you shoot, stab or poison yourself, your body will heal itself completely. You can only be killed by being beheaded, burned or exposing yourself to the sun.’
He took the bottle from my hand and in a more sympathetic tone added, ‘I understand what it is you’re feeling, Alec. I went through it, too.’ It was the first time in the two years since I’d arrived that Luc called me by my first name.
I sank to my knees in the dirt, buried my head in my hands and begged God to take me.
‘Alec,’ Luc placed his hand on my shoulder. ‘You can live with this. I’ll show you. Your physical state has altered, but you are still you—your character and personality do not need to change. Let me help you.’
‘How?’ I croaked.
‘I’ll teach you… and show you ways in which you can be an even better doctor with your new faculties.’
I glanced up at him—what choice did I have?—and nodded in resignation.
‘Good. Now, it’s more important to ease your transition into a new life. There will, of course, be some adjustments and apart from a new diet, nothing else much will change.’
‘Can I go back to the hospital?’
‘I’m sorry, no. The physical changes in you will become too obvious. And since you’re an infant, so to speak, there might be some regrettable accidents.’
‘You mean I’ll bite someone?’ I glared at Owen.
‘And probably kill them. Self-control takes time to develop. You don’t want to destroy, just take enough to satisfy.’
‘Then I can’t stay here.’
‘What will I say to the staff? How will I explain your disappearance, Alec?’ Owen whined.
‘You’re lucky I don’t take a bite out of you now,’ I growled and the new sound that came out of me was truly menacing.
Luc barked out a laugh. ‘Owen, for once this is your problem. You wanted me to save your life from a court martial and a hangman’s noose. I’ve done that, here’s what you can do. Make it look like Alec took an ambulance out. Walk past the main building with him. Talk loud, make sure everyone can hear Alec, see him get into the vehicle and drive off towards the front lines. They’re your witnesses. I did this for you,’ he stubbed his finger into Owen’s chest. ‘Now you deal with the rest of it!’
To give him credit, Owen managed to concoct a believable story about my disappearance. We made sure several of the staff saw me climb into the ambulance and head out to the lines. I deliberately kept my cap low to avoid them seeing my eyes. He later told them he’d tried to stop me.
I was officially listed as Missing In Action, presumed dead. Thankfully there was no one alive back home in Australia who would miss me. I had been an only child and both my parents were dead. No, I would not be missed.
Luc met me at a rendezvous point and that same night brought me to Paris. The next day the Armistice was declared and the war was over, but mine was just beginning—I battled my new nature. I tried eating ordinary food, which my stomach rejected, while a gnawing desire for human blood grew daily. It wasn’t a matter of denial but defeating this monster that had taken up residence in my body.
I avoided human contact, ignored Luc’s warnings and tried to satisfy my craving by feeding from animals, particularly from nearby farms. I drained several and unintentionally deprived local farmers of some of their livestock. But it never satisfied and I grew weaker.
Luc disapproved. ‘Alec, you can’t go on like this!’
‘I won’t take from humans,’ I said weakly.
‘Your stubbornness angers me. You know there are many here who willingly share their blood with us. Let them and stop doing this to yourself… and destroying the local economy,’ he said as an afterthought.
I gave in.
Luc owned a large three-story house in the suburb of Le Vesinet in Paris. With its many bedrooms and beautiful landscaped gardens screening it from the street, it was a home as well as a gathering centre for most of the blood drinkers in that city. It was also frequented by humans who knew our secret and who allowed us to feed from them whenever necessary. They were known as Donneur de Sang or Donsang—Bloodgivers.
Many had blood drinkers in the family and their kindness and sympathy enabled me to accept what I had become. Others simply came to enjoy the thrill of being bitten and the excitement that came with a sexual encounter with a vampire. Apparently this was nothing new in Paris.
Eventually my cravings were brought under control and I learnt to feed from several individuals—preferably women—every few days. Luc became my mentor and master for the next one hundred years. Everything I needed to survive as a blood drinker—I still hadn’t come to grips with the term “vampire” yet—I learnt from him, including shutting my mind off from the myriad sounds and voices around me to concentrate on one alone.
‘Otherwise you’d go mad,’ he explained.
My new sense of hearing picked up everything within a six-and-half mile radius. Silence became a luxury, as did sunlight. Unlike Luc, I wasn’t able to walk around during the day. My skin burned and my retinas felt like they were being scalded. I was restricted to the night.
Winter was the best time. In the northern hemisphere, the days were shorter and darker and they were a welcome relief. I could venture outside for longer periods without pain—no hiding in the shadows.
He later revealed the reason for his ability to walk unhindered during the day. That’s how I learned about the Bloodgifted or Ingenii, as they were known, and the special relationship that existed between them and Luc, and the rest of the Brethren community.
All the things I once believed impossible—vampires and the power of ancient curses—were now a part of my existence.
That memory brought me back to the present.
I stared at the lights of the city and wondered whether Owen’s granddaughter, Laura Dantonville, would ever want to set eyes on me again. Yet, I needed—wanted—to see her again and prepare her for the most frightening experience of her life.
Invitation to coffee perhaps and a bunch of flowers?
Chapter 6
A Secret Shared
LAURA
‘Laura?’ Matt poked his head into the small alcove along with several other people. My scream must have brought everyone in the cathedral running to see what had happened. He barged his way through to my side and wrapped his arms around me. ‘What happened?’ His voice sounded curt, concerned.
For a moment I simply couldn’t speak. Part shock, part guilt tied my tongue. After all, I’d persuaded Alec to prove to me he was a vampire and now I’d have to explain it to Matt. I was working out just how much to tell him when he lifted me up off the stone floor and held me close till my body calmed.
‘Did someone hurt you?’ he demanded, his voice soft.
I shook my head, wrapped my arms around his neck and just clung to him.
‘Give—me—a minute,’ I managed to say between hiccups. It didn’t happen very often, but when I become upset or if I attempted to tell a lie, I hiccupped.
Matt took a handkerchief out of his trouser pocket and wiped the tears from my cheeks before offering it to me. ‘Laura, look at me, Babe, tell me what happened.’
I glanced at him and then at the sea of curious faces behind him. ‘Shall we call the police?’ Someone suggested.
‘I am the police,’ Matt said over his shoulder to them.
‘I’ll bring the young lady a glass of water,’ another voice said.
‘I’m all right—really—just shock. Please—tell them—to go—away,’ I hiccupped and looked imploringly at Matt.
Matt turned his head toward the curious onlookers. ‘Thank you for coming, but the young lady will be all right now.’
He waited for them to disperse.
Only one elderly gent came back with a glass of water and handed it to Matt who passed it to me. ‘Drink, Babe.’ He nodded his thanks to the man.
As I drank, Matt reached for a nearby chair and placed it opposite me so that our knees touched. He waited till I’d finished it all before placing the empty glass on the seat of another chair. He then took my hands and turned them so my palms faced upwards and stared down at them. When his gaze returned to me, they were glacial. Matt’s eyes were normally the colour of an overcast sky, a light grey-blue, but when angry they turned icy-blue. I looked down as well and saw red blotches covering my wrists. By tomorrow they’d be blue.
‘Okay to talk now?’
‘Yeah.’ The hiccups had stopped and I felt more composed.
‘I want to know what frightened you and how you got these red marks on your wrists, Laura.’
‘Is this Matt my boyfriend or D.I. Sommers asking?’
‘Both!’
I was silent for a while as Matt waited. Unless I gave him an answer we could be here all night. No pressure!
‘Laura!’
‘Okay. Let me ask you something first.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Go ahead.’
‘In the time you’ve known me, have I ever lied to you?’
He raised one eyebrow. ‘No, because you’re a lousy liar—you hiccup.’
For once it was going to work to my advantage. ‘If I tell you what happened, you’ll know whether I’m lying or not?’
‘For sure,’ he answered confidently.
‘Good.’
I took another deep breath. Matt hadn’t yet released my hands and his thumbs stroked the inside of my wrists. This was going to be interesting. ‘I was sent here to meet a man named Alec Munro. He’s a… vampire’—I winced—‘and closely connected to my family. Aunt Judy knows all about it and she told me when we went for our walk. Like her and Grandpa Owen, I carry something in my blood that keeps me young and gives long life. It’s what makes these creatures stronger and able to walk around in the daylight. But only one of them is allowed to feed from us and he’s the Guardian. Aunt Judy is getting old, so now it’s my turn to take over. She gave me her ring.’
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