‘I’m not?’
‘No, little one. Youaremy supper.’
Chapter 27
Sadie | Highlands, present day
‘Now, Floss, or he’ll die!’ I insist.
With a moan of despair, Floss holds out her wrist to me, and I puncture it with my fangs. She holds it over Damian’s lips, and her blood drips into his mouth. He swallows feebly, and I feel reassured by that. ‘That’s good,’ I tell her. ‘If he can ingest enough, then the transition will start taking place.’
‘Oh god,’ says Floss, sounding freaked out. ‘I’m turning him. I can’t believe this is happening.’
‘Didn’t you talk about this with him?’ asks Hester, kneeling on Damian’s other side. ‘He kind of knew it had to happen. Since Alexander threatened to kill you both.’
‘Of course. But I didn’t think I’d be doing it right now.’ She closes her eyes and tilts her head back. ‘I feel a bit sick. H-how is he doing?’
Hester feels for Damian’s pulse. ‘He’s still alive, if that’s what you mean. Not undead yet.’
Damian’s face is a mottled grey, and his lips are tinged with blue. A stark contrast to the scarlet blood currently sliding through them. I watch from the sidelines in part horror, part fascination. I haven’t seen many people transition before. I’ve been practising sustainable feeding for decades. And I’m super careful with Elliott, though he’s been asking me to turn him for years.
‘Sorry, Floss,’ I say guiltily. I know she wanted to make it a romantic occasion for him with lighted candles, incense, his favourite music, etc. But realistically, what were the chances of that happening? I certainly never got that, and neither did the other two. She really does live in a fantasy world sometimes.
Floss ignores me. She wipes a trickle of blood oozing from the side of Damian’s lips and cradles his head in her lap, rocking him. She starts crooning, ‘Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home ...’
I shudder. Alexander sang that to her when she transitioned; it feels creepy somehow. ‘You can stop singing that right now,’ I say. ‘If you want to sing him something rousing, try“Born This Way”by Lady Gaga.’
Hester snickers, and I throw her a grateful glance, glad to see that someone appreciates my sense of humour.
Damian’s legs start twitching, his head lolls back, and the whites of his eyes show under his lids. He lets out a lowmoan.
‘There you see, it’s happening!’ I exclaim, patting Floss on the arm with what I hope she takes as reassurance. I almost suggest I film it on my phone so they can watch it together later like a macabre wedding video.
Hmm, maybe not. But still—it’s exciting!
***
Twenty minutes later, I’m not so sure that ‘exciting’ is the right word for it. Damian is certainly transitioning, but not in a good way. After his body spasming for a bit, he crawled off into the far corner and is now lying there groaning, and occasionally hiccuping.
Hester and I sit on the bed while Floss kneels near Damian, attempting to connect with him. ‘Babe, are you OK? Babe, say something.’ He only growls and whimpers like he’s in pain. She stretches out her hand to touch his shoulder, but he snaps at it, and she hurriedly draws it back. His eyes are red and sore-looking, and his mouth is bunched up weirdly.
‘Is this normal?’ she whispers worriedly, looking over at us. ‘I can’t hear his thoughts or get him to respond to me at all.’
‘Perfectly,’ I say with a confidence I don’t feel. ‘Everyonetransitions differently. He’ll be fine.’
‘Yes,’ Hester agrees uncertainly. ‘It’s probably only teething issues. I’m sure he’ll be hunky-dory in no time.’
Damian lets out a noise that sounds like fingernails scraping down a blackboard, and I scooch back behind Hester just in case he goes for us. Newbie vampires are unpredictable, and their bloodlust is at an all-time high. I vaguely recall my own experience; there were a lot of sore necks the following night!
Damian suddenly leaps into a crouching stand, his eyes are now neon-green and he has pale skin. His purple-streaked hair adds to the whole supernatural effect. He touches the tips of his white pointed teeth gingerly with his tongue, as if they’re an equal source of pain and fascination.
He takes a step forward, baring them menacingly, and we all shrink back in fear.
Boo!
His voice comes through loud and clear in my mind, and from the looks of surprise on Floss’s and Hester’s faces, they heard it too.
Floss smiles with pride.Aw, babe! That’s great, you can talk to us! Say something else.
