“Yeah, I’ll be there in a bit,” I said. “I just need to sit for a while.”
“Ok,” he said, kissing me on the forehead and bounding up the stairs. He was filled with hope and who was I to take that from him?
I sat on the couch and looked out the large picture window and into the darkness. It was mid-summer and the trees were dancing in the night breeze again, something I had watched from this particular window many times, both before and after the renovation Gavin had completed on the house. The structure and the circumstances had changed multiple times over the years, but the view was the one thing that remained constant.
I remember my mother looking out the same window and remarking on how much she enjoyed the peace and quiet of this little hidden spot in Soldiers Cove. Both my parents had been born and raised there, and neither of them within the confines of their very short lives ever had the desire to live or to visit anywhere else. This had been their home and had always been mine.
From my living room window all I could see was a line of trees, beyond that of course was the sanctuary, and a little beyond the other side of that was the home of Gavin’s parents. They still ran their little farm but now the children they had raised were grown and gone and they were getting their affairs in order to go into their period of sanctuary. Their children were fully formed adults, able to care for themselves. All except for Alexander who had gone back to living with them after Leiv’s death.
Alex still didn’t speak and it was doubtful that he ever would, but even if he did, he certainly would never speak to me anyway. From the night I killed Leiv and up until that very day the silent communication we had enjoyed after waking up from his transformation had ceased. When it came to Alex all I had been given the proverbial cold shoulder. On the rare occasion we had to be in the same room together he wouldn’t even look me in the eye. More than once I had sat and cried tears of grief and regret for having killed my own progeny. I wondered many times if I had made the decision out of necessity, or out of anger because he’d tried to kill me. I dwelled on it to the point of obsession sometimes, only to be reminded by Duncan and Holly what a danger he had shown signs of being.
Deep down I knew they were right, of course, but still…
Holly and Duncan, now married, were living in a little house on the other side of the cove with Ruby, now the same as Jade. They didn’t have any children of their own yet and truth be told Duncan was dragging his heels. Not because he didn’t love Holly or want children with her, but he doubted his ability to parent. I couldn’t understand why given that he was a wonderful father to Ruby already, who was under the impression that he was her father and not her stepfather. The reason, I was certain, had something to do with me, but I never felt right asking the specific question. That seemed like something they had to work out between them.
In regards to everything else they were happy and Jade spent an ample amount of time with them, the two girls being as close as sisters. This year they had been separated into two different classes at school and it led to such an upset between them that the school ended up shifting Jade into Ruby’s class so that they could be together. I played the part of ‘responsible parent’ in pretending that I was concerned that one couldn’t get along without the other, but deep down I was happy. I hoped the two of them would always be close. I’d had no brothers or sisters and although I had the most loving husband I could imagine, it wasn’t the same as having a sibling.
Although I had promised Gavin I’d be up to bed shortly, I ended up spending the rest of the night sitting on the couch, all manner of thoughts rumbling around in my head like a thunderstorm. I didn’t even realize the sun was coming up until I heard Ryan’s big steps thumping down the stairs on his way to breakfast.
I’d spent so much time contemplating his loss that night that when he appeared, hair down to his mid back all tangled and strewn, pillow marks on his face, that I jumped up and hugged him as tightly as I could. After a moment I realized I was probably squeezing him too hard and let go.
“Breakfast?” I tried to say casually.
“Yeah. I’m starving.” He was always starving. This morning I was determined to give him the biggest breakfast he’d ever seen. I cooked an entire package of bacon, eggs, hash browns, and gave him large pieces of toast made from homemade bread. The smell drew the other two members of the household to the kitchen as well and I served everyone, eating along with them. I wasn’t actually hungry, but I needed the ritual. The comfort of being able to sit in completeness with your family is not one that should be taken for granted. At some point the unit gets fractured. For humans and vampires alike this is the way of things. The only thing that is constant is change, and our world was about to change drastically because as Ryan was sitting, finishing off the last of his bacon, he became flushed and doubled over at the waist from the sudden heat.
“What’s the matter?”
He started fanning himself with his hands rapidly. “Did you put any spices or anything in the food?” he asked.
“No, nothing you haven’t had before,” I said.
“I’m so warm.”
Suddenly beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and he wiped his brow with his arm. I moved toward him and put my hand on his cheek and right away felt the reason for his sudden perspiring. Ryan was burning up.
Gavin and I looked at each other with concern, each knowing what the other was thinking. It was too soon. We still had two weeks didn’t we? How could this be happening now?
“Go upstairs and get back in bed,” I said. “You’re not going anywhere today.”
When Ryan disappeared from the table I said to Gavin, “Take Jade to the bus stop. I’m going to call Holly.”
Chapter Two
Holly finished her examination and pulled the covers up to Ryan’s chest. He was shivering now, alternating between extreme heat and extreme cold. She tucked him in and said. “You just have the flu, sweetheart. Looks like it’s a bad one. I want you to stay in bed for a few days, ok?” Ryan shook his head, ‘yes’ and closed his eyes.
Holly then nodded toward the door indicating that we should follow her out into the hallway. When we were out there she shut the door quietly behind her and made her way down the stairs. We followed but said nothing, both wanting to know but fearing what she would tell us.
“Sit,” she said pointing to the couch. She took a seat in the easy chair close by and rubbed her forehead in hesitation.
“Well?” I said finally.
Holly spoke, her voice quiet and sombre. “It’s definitely begun.”
Exactly what we didn’t want to hear.
Devastated, Gavin’s eyes reddened. “But, he’s not fifteen yet. Everything I’ve read said that it should happen after his fifteenth birthday.”
“That may be the case most of the time, but there are exceptions and it looks like Ryan is one of them. There’s no denying that his body is physically ready and has been for a while. The boy is as big as a house.”
“This can’t be,” Gavin said. “It just can’t. It can’t!” he repeated to himself.
As much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn’t fall apart. We were only going to get one shot to turn him and keep him with us. I held it together and white knuckled through my fear and worry. I had to be pragmatic and if Gavin fell apart I’d have to be strong for both of us.
“Tell us what to do, Holly,” I said. “Do we try to turn him now?”
“No, not yet. The transformation takes days, probably to give his father an opportunity to sense it and come to get him. Let’s wait until morning. That way we can have everything ready to go. How much blood do you have?”
“Almost an entire mini fridge full,” Gavin said.
Holly stood. “Show me.”
We took her out to the shed behind the house and Gavin unlocked the mini fridge. It was simply a pad lock which he’d installed but it was unusual enough that we kept it hidden lest anyone get curious as to the contents of the guarded fridge.
<
br /> Holly did a quick count of the bags. “It won’t be enough,” she said. “You’re short about a pint.”
“An entire pint?” I said. That was a lot to take from a little girl in one night, and especially since we’d just taken a quarter of a pint the night before.
“I know it’s a lot,” Holly said. “But if you want to do this there’s no point in doing it half assed. You’ll have to take the required amount tonight or just let it happen.”
I felt sick. Let it happen? After all the time, thought, and effort we had put into stopping it? It was truly the worst decision I’d ever had to make. I loved Jade just as much as I loved Ryan but how could I risk one to save the other? How could I ever justify putting Jade in any type of danger?
“Holly, what will happen to Jade if we do that to her? Isn’t that an awful lot of blood for her to give at one time? She’s so small.” My voice broke. I couldn’t stand the thought of hurting my little girl and I knew Gavin couldn’t either.
“We’ll make sure she’s ok. I’ll get everything set up and we’ll make sure she’s hooked up to fluids and I’ll get some bags of blood to replace the blood she’ll lose. I’ll get Duncan to put her under a deeper blood influence so that both of you can be with Ryan when he transforms. Have you given any thought as to which one of you it’s going to be?”
Gavin had been quite adamant that it would be him at a certain point, but over time I had convinced him that I was Ryan’s mother and I felt it was my duty to be his maker if I could, although technically his maker would be Jade, as it would be her blood that would turn him. Whatever she had in her veins was the only thing that could save him and we had no way of knowing what kind of bond that would create between the two of them since in the process one of the children usually died.
“It’s going to be me,” I said.
Holly nodded. “I figured as much. Ok, I’ll be back. I have to go get everything we’ll need and call mom and dad to sit with Ruby for the next few days.”
“You think it will take that long?”
“We have no way to know. Honestly, we’re swimming in uncharted waters here you guys. If you ask me something and I don’t give you a straight answer it’s because I just don’t have it.”
“We know you’re doing your best, Holly,” Gavin said. “We all just want what’s best for Ryan here.”
Holly was silent for a moment, as if in thought. “What’s best for Ryan…” She draped her coat over her shoulders and turned to head out. “I want the two of you to think about that. I mean, really think about it. What’s best for him might not be the result you want.”
“We know,” Gavin said and opened the door for her.
Holly left and I waited until her car was out of sight to turn back to Gavin. “Do we?”
“Do we what?”
“Do we really want what’s best for him? We’re taking an awful risk here, Gavin.”
Gavin let out a long, frustrated sigh. “We’ve been over this a million times.”
“I know we have, but now that it’s come down to it I have to wonder if we’re doing the right thing.”
“There’s no more time for debating, this is happening and we have to be ready. Holly will be back here in a little while. The time for questioning is over, the time to act is now. He’ll turn, Rachel. You’ll see. And he’ll make a good vampire. He’s a quiet, obedient, thoughtful child. He’s already got a degree of control that most kids his age don’t have.”
“I know he does. I just wonder how much of that is his true personality and how much of it is his satyr personality, which effectively we’re killing.”
Gavin bristled at the mention of the word ‘satyr’. “I refuse to believe that. He gets it from us. We’ve raised him to be that way, it’s got nothing to do with Aries.”
“And is that what we tell Aries when he comes looking for his son to take him to finish his transformation?”
Gavin clenched his jaw. “By the time Aries comes around Ryan will already be one of us, and as soon as I know everything is going to be all right with Ryan I’m going to go find him.”
“To what end?” I had a feeling I really didn’t want to know the answer to that, but Gavin swallowed hard and told me anyway.
“I’m going to kill him, Rachel. I’m going to find Aries, and I’m going to kill him.”
Chapter Three
Holly and Duncan sat at the kitchen table. Duncan sipping a cup of tea I’d offered him upon arriving, and Holly going through her supplies, laying them out and counting the things she’d need. There was an array of needles, catheters, IV bags filled with saline and most of all, blood.
The blood was divided into two different groups. One was for Jade and one was for Ryan, should something go wrong. Holly had enough of both children’s blood types to transfuse them in case of a major loss.
Gavin came in from the shed carrying a large cardboard box filled with Jade’s blood, the blood we were going to use to transform our son from human/satyr child, to full-fledged vampire. My role in all of this would be to drain Ryan to the point of death. In order for him to be able to take on Jade’s blood he had to be deprived of his own, as we all had to be, only when it came time for him to drink, he wouldn’t drink mine.
“You’re going to be pretty sick, Rachel,” Holly said. “This is like taking in a large quantity of animal blood and you won’t have time to stop and spit it out once you get started. The faster you drain him the better his chances. That means you’re going to have to keep going. You’ll have to ingest it. Do you understand?”
“I do,” I said.
Gavin put the box down on the table and Holly laid it out with the rest of her supplies. “There’s still time to change your mind,” he told me. “I’m totally willing to do this instead.”
Gavin loved Ryan with everything he had and from the day he’d been born had never thought of him as anything other than his own son. I knew he was willing to be sick or die as much as I was in order to keep him with us. “I know,” I said. “But this is something I have to do.”
He nodded in understanding and sat down at the table. I joined him and looked at the clock. It was almost time for Jade to come home. “I should cook something for her, shouldn’t I?” I asked Holly.
“No. That might complicate things. I want to get started as soon as she gets home from school. It’s going to be a long night.”
I knew she was right.
This was it. We were really going to do this. I stood, making my way to the stairs. Gavin followed me but I turned, putting my hand on his chest. “I just want to sit with him alone for a bit,” I said. He nodded and went back to the table to join Holly and Duncan.
Quietly I made my way into Ryan’s room and looked around. It was a fairly large room and cluttered to some extent. Ryan never threw anything away and I never made him. I told myself it was because I didn’t care how he kept his own room, it was his space and he should be able to do what he wanted with it, within reason. Deep down I knew that wasn’t the case. I wanted everything he valued. I wanted to have it near me and with me in case this didn’t work out. There was a real possibility, no matter how much we wanted to deny it, that someday Ryan would leave this room forever, either through death or through transformation, and I wanted to keep as much of him with me as I could. My son. My first born child. He was never going to get a chance to live a normal human life.
I cursed myself for having done this to him. Making a bargain with Aries for help saving Gavin’s life had paid off, but the price now seemed much too high.
I sat on the bed, where he slept fitfully, tossing and turning, his hair damp and his brow wet with perspiration. I reached over and touched his forehead, blood influencing him ever so slightly to sleep more deeply. It worked because a moment later he became peaceful and slept the way he always had when he was a small child, turning onto his side and sliding one hand under his pillow.
A few tears fell. I felt as though I was grieving for him already, even though
he was still here with me, asleep on his bed.
After a time I heard Jade’s tiny footsteps outside and I wrapped Ryan up tightly then headed back downstairs. I got into the kitchen with the others just as she was coming through the door. Her eyes widened upon seeing a table full of medical supplies and everyone gathered around it.
She said nothing but the look on her face told me that she instinctively knew something was wrong. “How was your day sweetheart?” I said, coming up on her to take her jacket and backpack.
“Good. Why is everyone here?”
“They’re just visiting,” I said. “Holly needed to use our kitchen table for a bit. She didn’t have enough room at home. Come and sit in the living room with me and Daddy for a minute.”
She followed Gavin and I onto the couch and we sat her in between us. Gavin stroked her long dark hair and she snuggled into him as she usually did. She was daddy’s girl and Gavin spoiled her, but then again he spoiled Ryan too and I had a feeling had there been more children he’d have spoiled each and every one of them rotten.
After a few minutes of sitting in blissful silence I saw Holly and Duncan out of the corner of my eye. They had risen from the table and were coming toward us. Holly stood off to the side while Duncan stood in front of the couch, the crouched down to be able to look Jade in the eye.
“Look at Grampie,” he said in a soft, loving tone. She did. “Everything’s all right,” he told her. “You’re going to take a little nap, and I’m going to sit with you while you do.”
“But I’m not tired,” she said. “I want to play.”
“We’ll play later. We’ll play whatever you want. Right now you’re exhausted. What a long day that was.”
Suddenly Jade was yawning. “I had a long day mommy,” she said looking at me now. “I want to lay down.”
“That’s a good girl,” Duncan said. “Now sleep.”
On the word, ‘sleep’ Jade’s eyes closed and she went deep under into unconsciousness, her head lolling forward. Duncan picked her up and her head came to rest on his hefty shoulder.
The Vampires of Soldiers Cove: Sacrificial Children Page 12