Enduring Service (18 page)

Sulie broke free of her brother’s hold and ran to the cell door. The smell of Dixon’s blood drifted in the air, and she recognized it as his. When she entered the hallway, she saw Dixon’s lifeless body on the floor. Her heart sank and she heard herself scream. Before she could throw herself to the ground, Ben had stood up and began carrying her back into the cell.

“Sulie, don’t do this to yourself,” Ben said as Raymond also restrained her.

She kicked Ben hard in the leg and elbowed Raymond in the chest, but the two only tightened their grip.

“I can save him!” Her eyes blackened and her fangs extended with her anger.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway and Sulie heard Raymond’s wife, Alex, scream. It was the escape Sulie needed. Her brother became distracted enough that she bit his arm, head–butted him in the jaw and forced him to lose his grip. She kicked Ben squarely in the shin and belted him across the head.

Now loose, she ran out of the cell and into the blood stained hallway. She pushed Alex and William aside and dropped to the ground to examine Dixon.

She moved her hands over his face and hair. He felt cold to the touch, with no heartbeat. She didn’t need her special ability to know that he was dead.

Raymond entered the hallway and tried to pull her away. “He’s gone. Sulie.”

Sulie burst into tears. “I won’t let him go.” She bit her wrist and placed it up to Dixon’s mouth.

“Drink!” She sobbed and repeated, “Drink, Dixon! Drink it now!”

Her purple blood dripped over his mouth and stained his cheek and chin. Raymond reached down to remove her once again. “He didn’t have vampire blood in him, Sulie. You can’t turn him after he’s dead.”

“Please drink for me, Dixon. Please!” she pleaded as she ignored her brother. She opened Dixon’s mouth more and held his head back. She massaged his throat and forced the fluid down. She sat silently waiting for his response.

She waited, tears streaming down her face.

“Sulie, unless he had vampire blood in his system ahead of time, his heart would not hold on for the turning,” Alex said.

“He has my blood in him. The turning will work!” Sulie bellowed out, still focused on Dixon swallowing her blood.

Raymond knelt down by his sister and put his hand on her shoulder. “He told me he was anemic. The turn may not even work with his weak blood.”

“No. It will work. My blood made him stronger. “ She leaned in and spoke directly into his ear. “Drink! Please Dixon. Drink!” She repositioned her wrist. “Please, for me. Drink!”

Minutes passed. It seemed like hours.

The cry she let out startled her. It was uncontrollable and she realized the cry was the sound of her heart breaking. It was the sound of all hope draining out of her body, her will to live escaping from her. She let out another wail and needed to gasp for breath.

Raymond started to pull Sulie away when a choking cough pierced the room, and Dixon started suckling at her wrist.

Sulie held her wrist still as Dixon drank readily from the offering. It was a slow drain, but understandable in his condition, especially with a broken jaw. She caressed his cheek and urged him on. “That’s it, Dixon. Just keep drinking.”

Through teary eyes, she looked at him. She had caught his life just in time to save him. More and more of her blood traveled into his body and she smiled at the prospect of having him with her forever.

“That’s enough, Sulie,” Raymond ordered, startling all the team members who stood silently watching the turning. “You’re aging too fast.” He began to pull her wrist away.

Sulie twisted in Raymond’s arms. He had no right to pull her away from Dixon. She could feel she had aged by the blood loss it took to turn her beloved Dixon, but she still had more to spare.

“We have to get him out of here,” Raymond said, tightening his grip around her. “You did your part. The turn has started.”

“He needs human blood,” Sulie cried.

Ben stood up. “There are still some humans alive upstairs. I’ll get one.”

“No,” Raymond immediately shouted. “Those humans are dying. They don’t have any blood to spare.”

“Well, Dixon was usually our blood on tap,” William said, looking down at Dixon. “What do you suggest?”

“Hold up,” Ben announced as he reached into his pocket. “This is vampire cord blood from Kate. I never had a chance to set it out as bait.”

Sulie felt her heart skip a beat. Kate had delivered her babies? She couldn’t wrap her mind around that, but saw what Dixon needed within her grasp. She grabbed for the vials and poured the life–giving liquid into Dixon’s mouth.

“Be on the lookout,” Raymond said. “We still haven’t found Trudy. She should be the last of the six. We have to find her.”

Ben spoke into his ear bud. “Sterling? Any sign of Trudy or any other vampire outside?”

A quieting deafness filled the room as there was no reply.

Sulie followed her brother at her best speed up the darkened staircase and into the kitchen, her heart pounding with every step. She couldn’t keep up with Raymond, not in her aged condition.

Not Sterling
, she thought. He was the weakest member of the team and always given the less dangerous tasks. As the team’s doctor, she spent more time patching up Sterling than anyone else since he was the only half–breed in the group.

She ran through the front doors of the abandoned restaurant and into the bright sunlight. She felt her inner eyelids slide into place as she desperately searched for any sign of Sterling, but found none. She wasn’t even exactly sure where she was, but suspected she was in a rundown suburb.

Her brother was already down the street at another set of stores and parking lot, and she ran towards him. Sulie knew Alex and William would take care of Dixon, but in her heart she wanted to be there for him too. She just couldn’t be in two places at the same time, and right now she needed to help Sterling — if it wasn’t too late.

The blue van sat behind some bushes, but easily within view of Vinos if you knew to look for it. Its back doors had been ripped from their hinges and the ground torn apart. She noticed Raymond stop running once he got to the van and evidently found no one inside.

Sulie finally made her way to the van. She entered the vehicle and pulled out the emergency supply of syringed blood. The supply was nearly tapped, but she pocketed the few remaining syringes and rejoined her brother who was scanning the area for any signs of his son.

Looking back and forth at all the empty stores, Raymond said, “He wasn’t alone.”

“There are more than two sets of tracks,” Sulie said as she knelt on the ground. “He must have been ambushed.” She could hear the soft, muffled sounds of someone calling out.

“That’s Sterling!” Raymond took off in the direction of the cries. Sulie struggled to keep up as they ran behind one of the buildings and saw Sterling lying in a ditch, a vampire standing above him.

Raymond ran faster than she had ever seen him run. He flung his body and crashed into the vamp, his head hitting the vamp’s back dead on. The vampire tumbled to the ground, taking Raymond with him. The two rolled down a hill towards a back road while Sulie ran to Sterling.

Instantly, she laid her hands on him and read him medically. He had aged, not as much as she had over the last few days, but he was about mid–fifties. His eyes were closed, and he had been badly beaten. Judging by his torn clothes, scuffed–up shoes, and tousled hair, he had put up a fight.

Black eye, broken rib, and a concussion were the first issues she detected. As she moved her fingers along his face, she knew his nose was broken. His heart–rate was lower and he had cuts along his abdomen. Even as she examined him, she could feel his body repairing itself.

She injected blood directly into one of his veins and then could medically read the signs of his body growing stronger.

While waiting, she looked down the hill and saw that her brother had subdued the vampire. She squinted into the sun to focus her eyes on the vampire. It was Julian.

Sterling gave out a moan. His skin now appeared smooth and youthful once again. His hair restored itself to its dirty blond color and he looked to be back to his Jahrling base age of twenty–seven.

Sterling’s eyes fluttered open and he instantly shielded them with his hands. Half–breeds didn’t have the same luxury of having an inner eyelid and Sulie knew how painful the light was to him. She held out her hands to help him block out the light as she called his name. Sterling glanced around and saw her, a huge smile appearing on his face. He quickly sat up and hugged his aunt, the woman who had raised him since his mother had died giving birth to him.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She knew her body was aged, but she was feeling fine now that she knew both Dixon and Sterling were safe. “Are
you
okay?” she countered, a smile on her lips as she gently stroked his cheek with her hand. Sulie was in mid–hug when she noticed Raymond had returned with Julian. He shoved the subdued vampire to the ground but put no restraints on him. “How is my son?”

“Dad, I had her,” Sterling said, cutting off his aunt before she could give a report on his well–being. “She was right here. The woman that killed Mom, and…,” Sterling looked down at his hands as if he was holding someone, “… and I let her slip through my fingers.”

Raymond’s jaw tightened. “You shouldn’t have risked your life,” he chided. “She’s a purebred and has cord blood in her system.”

“She tore into the van and pulled me out!” he said defiantly. “What was I supposed to do?” After his father took a deep breath, Sterling continued, “Besides, I’m not going to leave my wife a widow to raise our babies on her own. I’m not doing anything stupid.”

Sulie gabbed Sterling’s arm. “Kate. The babies?”

“They’re fine.” Sterling rested his arm on hers and smiled to reassure her. “Healthy. Beautiful. I can’t wait for you to meet them.”

“Are you all right?” Raymond asked.

“I’m fine, Dad, thanks to Julian,” Sterling said as he looked over to his savior. “You don’t have to compel him. He saved me. I think he’s trustworthy.” Sterling stretched his body and popped his back. “If it wasn’t for him, Trudy would have killed me.”

“Just one more reason for us to kill Trudy,” Raymond growled.

“Julian’s related to that bitch,” Sulie countered. “We can’t trust him.”

Sterling held up his hand; his gloves were off because of the fight. “I scanned him,” he said suggesting his ability to gather information by touch.

“I checked as well. He’s fine,” Raymond said.

Sulie’s face grew red. “I don’t care! This man helped them kidnap me. I was tied up, starving, and scared.”

Sheepishly, Julian commented, “I didn’t know they wanted to hurt you. I thought it was a plan to get you back together with Charles because that is what you wanted. I didn’t know you had no interest in a life with him.”

“Did you know Trudy was going to attack my nephew?” She demanded as she turned towards Julian. Her hands were up and ready to fight, but Raymond gently held her back.

“No,” Julian quickly replied as he scooted farther away on the grass. “I thought she was in the restaurant with you, hopefully dead.”

“Julian saw Trudy return to the restaurant,” Sterling said. “He told me she had spotted us. Before I knew it, she tore into the van and grabbed me. In the fight, Julian got out of the van. Because I had on my gloves, I was able to unchain him in time.” Sterling looked on the ground, but could not find his gloves that always protected him from flashing on every object he touched. “If Julian hadn’t jumped her when he did, I’d be dust.”

“And Trudy?” Raymond asked.

“She took off.” Sterling stood up and offered a hand to Julian. “I didn’t even see where she went.”

Sulie wasn’t as trusting. She took a good look at Julian. His face had aged due to the attack. His hair had whitened and his skin was wrinkled. He had a cut on his brow, but it was healing. Back when she was engaged to Charles, Julian was the gangly, awkward little boy she had babysat. He had always been happy to see her and deep down she had known he wasn’t anyone’s favorite relation — even though he had always been a good kid. He was the youngest, unwanted, with no room for him in any family line. He had probably spent his entire life under the heavy oppression of this family, but that didn’t matter. He had still been one of her captors.

Julian looked up at her and smiled. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Sulie.”

For a moment, she saw the boy she used to babysit. It finally dawned on her who had gifted her with blood during her captivity. For the blood, and for saving Sterling, she owed Julian two debts.

Dixon was awakened to the sound of typing. He didn’t know if he was bound for heaven or not, but he was pretty sure the afterlife wouldn’t include typing. So he couldn’t be dead.

He opened his eyes and noticed he lay in one of the two beds in the basement of Fang Manor. Bandages, antiseptic wipes and other hospital gear rested atop of a nearby counter. The smell of rubbing alcohol hung in the air and it smelled strong. He lay in the clinic and every muscle, every nerve, every inch of his body ached.

Dixon looked around and spotted his best friend, Raymond, sitting at the desk in the corner of the room busy on a laptop computer. Dixon could make out the concentration on the man’s face even though only a tiny light shined from the hallway and emanated from the computer. The room seemed so bright. Dixon cleared his throat to get Raymond’s attention and discovered how dry his mouth was.

“You’re awake,” Raymond said as he turned away from his computer and walked over to the bed, grinning from ear to ear. “How are you feeling?”

“S–S–Sulie,” Dixon managed to sputter out.

Raymond smiled. “She’s fine. She’s been sitting by your bedside for hours. She sated herself on blood when we got home. I only now convinced her to get some rest.”

Dixon let out a sigh of relief. Sulie was safe, she was home, and she was nowhere near a dangerous old age. He choked out the name “Briggs?” and glanced up at Raymond.

“Dr. Briggs’ name was really Charles Townsend. His family took Sulie.”

“I–I figured,” Dixon said, clearing his throat, “I figured Briggs wasn’t his name. His initials were different on the metal decanter he kept in his medical kit. The decanter had a ’CT’ on the front. That’s how I knew I was on the right track.”

“And you could have been killed,” Raymond scolded. “You had no backup, no plan, and no help from any of us. You should never have ventured off on your own.”

Dixon turned his head away. “Look…” he began.

“No,
you
look,” Raymond said, raising his voice. “You never should have put yourself at risk like that. You gave us two people to rescue instead of one. Not only did we almost lose Sulie, we almost lost
you
.” Raymond glanced away. “Never do that again.”

“I promise.” Dixon held up his hand in the boy scout salute. “You all were busy with Kate.” He paused a moment. “Are she and the babies okay?”

Raymond smiled back. “Two healthy boys and a healthy mother. They’re upstairs with Sterling.”

Dixon settled into his pillow. “That’s good.”

“You still should have called for backup,” Raymond chided.

“It was for Sulie,” Dixon said as his only defense. “Besides, I put a tracker in my pocket for you to find me. I knew you would.”

Raymond nodded. “As it turns out, we didn’t need the tracker. Julian led us to the restaurant.”

Dixon made eye contact. “Who is Julian?”

“An ally,” Raymond answered, and then added, “We hope.”

Ally?
“How long was I out?”

“We found you… unconscious so it’s hard to tell. You’ve been out a good eighteen hours though. We expected it to be longer.”

Dixon nodded. “I guess I was put through the meat grinder.” A thin white blanket covered him and he realized he didn’t feel cold. He didn’t feel hot either. He gave Raymond a questioning look when he noticed he was in a hospital gown.

“We had to cut your clothes off. They were torn and covered with your blood.” Raymond gestured over to the metal trash bin near the door where Dixon assumed the clothes had been tossed. “Sulie cleaned you up and put the gown on you.”

Dixon had never been modest, but knowing Sulie had bathed him sent a chill up his spine. He wondered how thorough of an undressing job she had done. He knew certain body parts looked more wrinkled and pruney than others.

As he looked at his forearm, he noticed tubing sticking out of his vein. His eyes traveled the tube’s path up to a bag dangling from an IV rack near his bed. He thought it would be an IV, but was surprised to see a red liquid in the bag instead of clear. “A transfusion?” He stared over to Raymond. “How badly was I hurt that Sulie wants me to have a transfusion?”

Raymond fell silent.

“Well?”

“Sulie wanted to tell you, but I don’t think she’d mind if I shared this.” Raymond walked over to the bedside table and handed Dixon a mirror. “You were fatally wounded.”

“Fatally?” he asked as he took the mirror from Raymond. Dixon glanced down at his fuzzy reflection. An aged man with old–age spots, pitch–white hair, and glasses did not stare back at him. Instead, his hair was jet–black, his skin vibrant and youthful, and his eyes sharp and vampire black. Dixon swallowed the lump in his throat. His hand went to his face and inspected what he saw in the mirror, as if touch would confirm it. He couldn’t look away from his reflection. “Am I a…” he took a deep breath, almost too scared to ask. “Am I a vampire?”

Raymond smiled. “It’s what you had wanted, before the Council rejected your request.”

“You turned me,” Dixon said, grinning.

“No. Sulie turned you.”

“She did?”

“Yes.”

“I am,” he said excitedly, as he continued inspecting his face in the mirror. “My eyes… .”

Raymond smiled. “They’re black due to the turn and the blood in your system. They’ll revert back to their original color once the blood drip is gone.”

“Oh,” Dixon said, “I’m not worried. It’ll just take some time getting used to it. That’s all.”

Raymond furrowed his brow. “You seemed surprised by the turning.”

Dixon beamed a smile to Raymond. “I am surprised. Pleasantly surprised.”

“In order to turn, you need vampire blood in your system before you die. What did you think my sister was going to do once you ingested her blood?”

Dixon set the mirror down. “I’ve never tasted her blood before.”

“Before yesterday, you mean?”

“No,” Dixon corrected. “She’s never given me any of her blood.”

“During your turn she said that she had.”

Dixon recounted the events to Raymond, from the moment he retrieved the dagger and syringe from the office to the time he subdued and killed Charles. He looked quickly over to Raymond once he had mentioned the syringe and dagger.

Raymond gave his friend a halfway smirk. “The team has known about the precautionary dagger and syringe for a long time now.” He ran his hand through his hair. “What I don’t understand is how you had vampire blood in your body before your death. If it wasn’t Sulie’s blood, then the blood must have been from one of the kidnappers. Perhaps you bit Charles before you killed him.”

Dixon furrowed his brow, not remembering the specifics. “Perhaps.”

“However it happened”, Raymond said, “I’m just glad we didn’t lose you.”

Dixon glanced down at his hands and made two fists. “I feel stronger than I have in years, maybe even more than I’ve ever felt in my life.”

“You look younger than when we first met. In fact,” Raymond said, “Your turn is progressing faster than any of us would have guessed.”

Dixon felt a heaviness settle on him. “What do you mean? Is something wrong?”

A reassuring smile came from Raymond. “Not at all. We gave you vampire cord blood from Kate’s delivery to complete the turn. Your body is processing the change faster because of it being pure blood, plus the extra enzymes vampire blood has in it.”

“Kate’s blood?” When Raymond nodded, Dixon added, “I’ll have to thank her for donating the blood for my turn.”

“She was happy that it helped you.” When Dixon shifted his body on the bed, Raymond asked, “Are you all right?”

Dixon placed a hand on his chest. “I’m not really in pain. I just ache everywhere.”

“That’s your body processing the turn. Your heart is still beating. Since you can no longer make your own blood, your heart is circulating the borrowed blood in your body. As it pumps the blood repeatedly, the blood will change from human red to purple, then to blackened goo — all the time aging your body. You’ll get accustomed to the feelings of rejuvenating your cells and of aging.”

Rubbing his fingertips on his chest, Dixon felt his heart beating.

Raymond pointed to the bag of blood, which dripped into Dixon’s arm. “Since you’re awake, we can stop the transfusion and you could try drinking the blood. It will give your spleen a chance to process the blood from your digestive track to your circulatory system.”

He grimaced. “My stomach may not be up for that yet.” As Dixon enjoyed the feeling of vitality, reality set in. He looked up at his friend. “I died.”

Raymond’s eyes softened and in a quieter tone he replied. “Yes.”

Death. He had escaped its grasp. He remembered the battle, so he knew how badly he had been wounded. He would have died had it not been for the turning. He was no longer human, no longer with a timer that was quickly counting down. He had time. All the time in the world. More time than he had ever dreamed of.

He knew what he wanted to do with that extra gift of time.

“Now that I am a vampire, I don’t want to retire,” Dixon said. “I want to join the Colony. This time I want to be where all the action is — with all of you out in the field. The team could definitely use the extra help.” He balled his fists and flexed his muscles. “I’m up to the task.”

Raymond held up his hand. “One thing at a time. Before we put you on active duty, you need to rest. Plus,” Raymond added hesitating, “you died with the subroutine still in place.”

Dixon’s eyes widened. “Is that bad?”

Shaking his head, Raymond answered, “I don’t think so, but I am curious to test a few things once you’re feeling better.”

Dixon realized he was Raymond’s equal. Actually, the whole team’s equal. Just as strong. Just as powerful. No more medicine, no more food, no more limitations, no more… loneliness. He had found a family to belong to and a woman to love.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. A woman to love. He wasn’t a frail old human, all wrinkled and fat. He looked down at his hospital gown. Thank goodness Sulie didn’t see him like that. He was now a strong, vibrant vampire — someone Sulie could see as an equal.

A chill ran up his spine. He could actually ask Sulie out. They were best friends; they did enjoy each others’ company, so, why not? He was now a vampire, like her. Equals. Deserving of her love. But, would she even like him now that he was a vampire? He was still the same person… but could she ever see him more than just as a friend? Could she love him?

Dixon looked around the room. “I guess I could even live here in the mansion,” he suggested excitedly. Seeing Sulie every day. Well, he already saw her most days, but this would… well, be exciting.

Raymond chuckled. “I suppose so, although I believe all the rooms are taken.” Raymond glanced down at Dixon and a moment later, his eyebrow rose. Clearing his throat, he looked away. “I guess you could always check with Sulie. See what kind of sleeping arrangements she could come up with.”

That was a great idea. Dixon wanted to see Sulie. She was alive and upstairs. So close.

Raymond turned back towards his computer. “Sulie suspected you’d be out longer than this, but she did ask me to call for her the second your condition changed. Personally, I think you need your rest.”

“I can rest later,” he said, halfway sitting up. He had to see her. Had to tell her how important she was to him. He loved her. He needed to hold her. To smell her sweet scent. To caress her soft skin. To kiss her full lips… .

Dixon looked over at Raymond.

His friend.

Her brother.

There had to be a bro–code violation going on here if he didn’t say something.

Should he tell Raymond now, while he still lay in a hospital bed? What if Raymond grew angry? No, he knew Raymond well enough to know that he wouldn’t attack him for wanting to date his sister. He knew Raymond would certainly not like finding out after the fact either. The walls of the mansion were thin. What if Sulie did love him and Raymond heard them engaged in… His thought’s trailed off, and he felt his fangs extending.

It wasn’t painful, but he bit his tongue in the process.

“I’m in love with Sulie,” Dixon blurted out, being careful with his fangs. It was the first time he confessed his love for her and it really should have been to Sulie and not her brother, but he couldn’t keep his feelings in. Plus, he respected Raymond too much not to tell him ahead of time.

“I know,” Raymond said as he sat back down in front of his computer.

Dixon stared at his friend. “How?”

“Your mental patterns of love and affection for her are, let’s just say, overwhelming.”

Dixon didn’t know if he was blushing or not, but his thoughts were very focused at the moment on Sulie. “I can’t help it.”

“She is my sister. I’d appreciate it if you could tone your more vivid mental images down a bit.”

For being as old as he was, Dixon felt like a teenage boy in love. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I love her so much.” He bit his lip. “I know I’ve always been the older human buddy of the group, but do you think, maybe now that I’m a vampire, that she might… see me a little differently?”