by D McEntire
"Hello, Si. I'm Robyn. This is Rosa, Vane's mate, and Marie, Kern's mate."
The expression on Si's face showed determination to remember everyone's names. "Is Sonya here?"
Robyn crouched at eye-level with Si. "Yes, she's here. Tank's taking care of her so she can get better. I'm sure you're hungry, but I think it would be better if you get cleaned up first. Would that be okay?"
Trigg watched the interaction as Si nodded vigorously. Robyn straightened, returning her attention to him.
"Do you think we should wake her and clean her up?"
Trigg didn't want to wake the child sleeping peacefully in his arms, but she did need a bath. "Yeah, I think you're right. After she eats we can lay her down somewhere to sleep."
"I'll hunt for something they can wear. It'll have to be T-shirts until we get to the store." She halted, glanced at the clock on the wall. "Dawn's coming. We can't run out and buy anything tonight," Robyn said.
"I'll call in one of the human assistants and have them pick up clothes and bring them over sometime during the day. We'll get the sizes off what they have on," she added.
Trigg had known once they arrived at the Cell with the children the women would jump into gear to take care of them. He watched Robyn grasp Si's hand in hers. As she led the boy up the stairs, he followed with Mya still fast asleep in his arms.
It had only been a couple of hours since David had left Sonya and returned to his home. Not only had he needed a change of clothes since his were splattered with Sonya's blood, he'd needed to burn off some aggression. Being with Sonya and trying to take his time with her had him wound tighter than a drum.
With a smile, he recalled taking her blood and forcing her to take his several times in his drive to bring the change upon her slowly. He wanted her to crave him and his blood, and vowed to savor every minute of taking her blood over and over and marking her flesh as his as he did so.
Gripping the steering wheel he scowled at the snow, which had started to fall once again, leaving the trail up the hill to the sanatorium slippery. He pressed on the gas to give his car more speed, but it didn't matter. Sliding in reverse several feet, it drifted sideways before it became stuck.
"Dammit!" he spat, smacking his hand on the steering wheel. Shoving open the door to his car, he got out and slammed it shut. With clenched fists at his sides, he turned and walked the rest of the way up the hill.
David noticed immediately the open gate and the lock and chain in the snow. Narrowing his eyes, he searched the area as he neared the building.
Two male voices caught his attention. Bypassing his normal entry into the sanatorium, he continued to the rear, heading toward the source of the voices.
Easing around the corner, he froze. A black hearse backed to one of the side doors sat with its rear door open. A sign on the vehicle read Louisville Crematorium.
A man stepped out the sanatorium, lugging one end of a black body bag. When he reached the hearse, he turned and hefted his end inside the vehicle. A second man emerged from the doorway holding the other end of the bag, which he lifted and shoved forward until the entire bag was inside.
After the men returned inside the building, David growled a curse. "Those idiots! Someone'd discovered their leftovers."
David took in the scene, suddenly thinking it odd no police surrounded the area with the discovery of bodies inside the old sanatorium. The crematorium employees were the only ones here. Who'd called them?
After a few moments, the two men emerged with another body bag and shoved it into the hearse with the first bag. One of the men shut the door to the building while the other closed the rear door of the hearse before they settled inside the vehicle and drove away from the building.
David stepped out of the shadows and watched the hearse exit through the gate. A wave of panic suddenly washed over him. He'd been so focused on the voices and why the men were at the sanatorium he'd forgotten about his own reasons for being here. Sonya.
Yanking open the door the men had exited, he burst inside and sprinted down the hallway. Once he neared the doorway to where he and Sinclair called home, he slowed his pace. After turning the corner, a cold, empty feeling came over him. The door to the lower level sat wide open, and David knew something wasn't right.
With slow, calculated steps, he descended the stairs, readying himself for whoever had dared to invade his personal space. Even Sinclair's brain-dead friends knew better than to show up uninvited.
"Sinclair?" No answer. No sound except the echo of his own voice. Walking through the room, he searched for anything out of place.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary in the room, the back room or the kitchen, David headed for the door to the lower level. Discovering this door open, his heart rate quickened. Not a good sign, he told himself.
Two steps at a time, he descended the stairs and made a dash to the room where he'd left Sonya. Once inside he skidded to a stop. The room was empty except for the lone stainless steel table. His breath came fast and his pulse raced, refusing to believe she was gone.
David tore out of the room, tossing dirty, rusted equipment out of his way and searching through piled debris for Sonya.
"Sonya? Where are you? You can't hide from me, Sonya."
Sweat beaded across his brow.
"Answer me. Sonya!"
No. She can't be gone.
The hearse. Had she been in one of the body bags? She'd taken his blood and had been going through the conversion. Surely, she couldn't have died as a result. No, he reassured himself.
A growl of anger made the walls shake. He ripped a pipe from the ceiling and flung it into the wall, sending dust and plaster flying in all directions.
David turned on his heels and returned to the upper level. Earlier he'd been looking for Sinclair, but now his search was focused on Sonya.
The children.
David narrowed his eyes at the thought that popped into his head. The children must have somehow helped Sonya escape, his mind reasoned, still refusing to believe Sonya dead and taken away in the hearse. Where was Sinclair? How did they get past him?
Fists clenching so hard, his palms bled. If Sinclair did something stupid, such as leave the building without ensuring the door to the lower level was locked, he was going to kill the bastard.
He searched every room, checking underneath Sinclair's bed and behind old, threadbare furniture before entering the kitchen and opening every cabinet, yanking out the contents and sending them flying across the room. Lips rising to reveal sharp fangs, he hissed.
Chest heaving, David stood in the middle of the kitchen. Turning in all directions, he roared at the top of his lungs. Sonya and the children were gone.
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Chapter Seven
"Si. Si. Water. Please."
Tank jerked awake. He'd dozed for a moment. Anger gripped him for doing so. Intending to watch over her until she'd regained consciousness, he'd managed to remain awake through the remainder of the night. But, his body had had other ideas. He'd lost the battle against fighting the daytime sleep.
After he'd bathed Sonya and cleaned the blood from her hair and body, he had dressed her in the flannel shirt Robyn had left outside the door.
With a quick glance at the bed, Tank noticed Sonya stirring as she called out for water. Quickly vacating the chair, he filled a glass from the bathroom faucet, then returned to her side.
"Sonya." Tank spoke her name softly, hoping not to startle her with his voice. He knew she was anticipating hearing Si's voice and not his deep baritone.
As expected, she stiffened, freezing every muscle in her body. If not for his keen hearing, Tank would've thought she'd stopped breathing. He spoke again before fear ran rampant through her mind.
"Sonya, don't be afraid. My name is Tank. I'm here to help you. We found you at the sanatorium and brought you to our home. No one is going to hurt you. You have my word." Pausing for a moment, Tank thought of what else to say to make her relax. "Si a
nd Mya are here as well." He'd evidentially picked the right thing to say. The tense look on her face seemed to soften.
"Would you like some water?"
"Yes," she whispered.
Seeing Sonya in this condition made his gut clench.
Tank knelt at her side. "I'm going to lift your head so you can drink."
When she nodded slightly, he eased onto the edge of the bed, slid his arm behind her head and then lowered it to her shoulders. With her head cradled in the crook of his shoulder, he brought the glass to her mouth and held it there a moment, giving her a chance to open her mouth and settle her lips on the glass before he tipped it slightly. He tried his best not to let the liquid pour too quickly into her mouth. As she swallowed he watched the ripple of her soft skin along her long, slender throat...
Cough...cough. Sonya jerked away from the glass, choking on water that must have flooded her mouth and throat. Tank gathered her to his chest and lightly patted her back.
"I'm so sorry, Sonya. I should've been paying closer attention. Are you okay?"
"Do...?" She cleared her throat then tried to speak again. "Do I know you?"
"No. I know who you are from when you spoke on the news recently about your students' concert."
Her face brightened at the mention of her students. Tank could tell she held great affection for them. He almost felt envious.
"Where am I?" she asked as she eased out of his grasp and rested her back against the headboard of the bed.
Tank figured she hadn't caught what he'd said earlier since she'd still been pretty out of it. "You were sick. I brought you to the Ce...my home to take care of you."
With eyes closed, and her face turned downward, deep furrows formed between her brows as if trying to put pieces of a puzzle together.
"Sonya. We found you in the basement of the old sanatorium. Do you remember how you got there?"
She lifted a shaky hand and settled it on her forehead, rubbing back and forth slowly.
"David."
Her voice was so soft, so small Tank almost missed her answer.
"David?"
An almost unperceivable nod followed his question.
"He's a fellow teacher at the school. He came to my house sounding very upset, so I let him in. We were talking, then he..."
Her entire body started to tremble. Tank placed his hand on her shoulder. He wanted to do more. He wanted to gather her into his arms. Instead, he settled for this small gesture. She didn't know him and had already been brutally attacked by someone she did know. David. He hoped this to be the same man he'd snapped like a twig at the sanatorium.
"Is there anything you can tell me about him, any description at all?" Tank felt almost foolish asking such a question since Sonya was blind. What kind of description could she give?
She grew quiet once more as if thinking. "The only thing I can tell you is that he has a mustache. I felt it once when he kissed my hand. I don't know much else. He does have somewhat of an accent. A northern one. He's from Boston, I believe."
Damn. Tank closed his eyes. The Rogue he'd killed at the sanatorium had definitely not been David. The vamp had had no mustache, and his speech had been about as country as one could get. Obviously, the presence of the cologne on the bloodsucker had meant nothing but a possible coincidence.
The deep furrow returned. "I must've been unconscious when he took me from my home. When I awoke, I was in someplace that smelled musty. Si found me, and..."
Like a train jumping track, her expression changed from tired and confused to frightened and anxious. She started to slide out of bed.
"David killed Si and Mya's adoptive parents. We've got to call the police. We..."
Tank wanted to kill the son-of-a-bitch, but right now, he had to calm Sonya. Calling the police was definitely out of the question. This was a matter for the Watchers, and he planned on being the first in line to take care of David. He grasped Sonya's wrists to get her attention.
"Whoa. Okay. Settle down. I know about the children's adoptive parents, and I'll take care of David. I just need to know more about him and where to find him."
Her eyes still closed, Sonya shook her head.
"No. You don't understand. He's crazy. He'll kill someone else if the police don't lock him away."
Tank didn't know how to break the news to Sonya that she was no longer human and now lived a different life--a life among the vampire society. He doubted she had any idea what David was, and since she was blind, it would've been even harder to detect how different he was. The hunger would come upon her soon. He couldn't wait any longer. She had to be told.
"Sonya, listen to me." Tank waited until she stopped struggling. "Do you recall what happened to you at the sanatorium?" He hated himself for reminding her of that horrible place and what David had done to her there, but he needed her to remember some very important things that would reinforce what he was about to divulge.
Sonya became utterly still. Her mouth opened on a small gasp. She was remembering. Tank slowly released her wrists.
"I'm sorry to have you think about this. David bit you and took your blood. He also gave you his, right?"
The shaking hand returned, this time settling on the side of her neck.
"Yes. He did. Then I got terribly sick. What did he do to me?"
Sonya's voice wavered as she whispered her question. The fear resounding in her tone was unmistakable. Tank wanted nothing more than to turn back time. He silently damned David and vowed to tear the vamp apart when he found him.
"Sonya. You're no longer human. You've been ill because your body has gone through the change. You're now a vampire. Just like Si and Mya. Just like me."
Sonya couldn't breathe. The pounding of her heart was so intense, she could hear it in her ears. Emotions tumbled through her mind in a frenzy. The intensity of her denial burst through her throat and past her lips. "Nooo!"
She felt herself gathered into strong arms. The thought of refusing the comfort of a protective embrace from a stranger was far from her mind at the moment. Her fear had seen to that.
"Sonya, I know this is hard. Unlike Si and Mya, I wasn't born a vampire. I went through the change many years ago, but unlike you, it was something I chose. You're not alone in this. I know you're afraid, and I wish I could take that fear away, but I can't. The fear is something you'll have to work through yourself."
Sonya sniffed and wiped at her eyes while struggling to find her voice. "What...what does this mean? Am I going to turn into some mad killer like David?"
Waiting for his answer, Sonya could almost hear her teeth chatter. His hold tightened, but she felt nothing but warmth and safety.
"No."
The one word had been spoken with sincerity, but there had also been hesitation.
"There's one very important thing I need to tell you," he continued. "You'll feel what's called the hunger soon. Your body needs more blood to replenish what it used to convert your organs, tissues and cellular structure. I'll help you get through it."
Sonya couldn't believe what this man was telling her. It wasn't possible. Vampires didn't exist, did they? Yet, a part of her whispered he spoke the truth. David had taken her blood and had forced her to drink his. That was what vampires did, at least according to what she'd read in fiction novels.
The incessant pounding of her heart had only just begun to return to a normal rhythm, but this latest revelation and other thoughts that followed catapulted her into panic mode once again.
"If what you are saying is true, and I'm a vampire, does that mean I'll have to drink people's blood?"
Tank's voice was soothing as he spoke. One large hand skimmed up and down her arm, leaving goose bumps in its wake.
"Only immediately after the change will you need a substantial amount of blood. After that, you can get what you need through raw meat. In fact, you'll find you've developed a real fondness for rare steak."
Though Sonya appreciated Tank's attempt at humor, she was far from finding hu
mor in anything right now. "What's going to happen when the hunger comes?"
The mattress moved beneath her as Tank shifted on the bed. She held her breath while waiting for an answer.
"Your fangs will elongate..."
"Fangs?" Sonya had never thought about growing fangs. She brought her hand to her mouth and examined her teeth. So far, nothing out of the ordinary, but Tank was telling her this was going to change.
"Hey. Listen, it's okay. Yes, your fangs will elongate, but it won't hurt. It may ache a little at first and probably feel pretty weird since you won't be used to the fullness in your mouth."
"Will they stay that way?"
"No. You'll learn how to retract or elongate them at will."
Still trying to get her head around this nightmare, Sonya couldn't speak for several minutes. She didn't know what to say, until she remembered Si and Mya. Tank had said the children were vampires. "Can I talk to Si?"
"I can check to see if he's still up, but considering the time, he's probably asleep."
"You sound very tired. Why aren't you sleeping as well?"
A low chuckle filled the room. "Because I wanted to keep an eye on you, not to mention the fact you're in my bed."
Her heart skipped a beat. She was in his bed? Sonya moved.
"Whoa. You just relax. It's no problem, really."
Sonya did manage to relax somewhat, but felt guilty at putting him out of his bed.
"What time is it? Actually, I guess I should ask what day it is as well."
"It's Monday, and it is about eight-thirty--" he yawned, "--in the morning."
Tank couldn't hold back the yawn that had suddenly overtaken him. His body was wearing down after the long night, it now rebelled because the sun had risen...hours ago. He didn't know how long he could keep up the fight against the daytime sleep, but he needed to stay awake for Sonya. The hunger waited just around the corner. He could sense it. Fear was going to grip her hard, and he wanted to be with her when it happened.
Sonya rubbed her forehead again. "He took me from my home Saturday night after the concert."
The revelation squeezed Tank's chest. He'd seen her to her house, but she'd been attacked after he'd left. If only he'd stuck around a little longer...