John rubs his hand over his face, unsure what to do. He looks at Becca. His friend for so long, and now maybe more than just a friend. “Becca, what do I do? Would you think less of me if I turned this girl who hasn’t asked to be turned?”
Becca takes a breath. “John, I don’t know this boy or this girl, but I would think less of you if you allowed her to die. If she’s an accidental witch, and without you she’ll be dead, I’m sure being an accidental vampire will be okay by her.”
John still looks torn. “Fletcher, this could damn me.”
“I thought vampires were damned, anyway?” Becca says, snuggling Cooper.
“Who am I kidding? Becca, do you want to come or hold the fort?”
She kisses his cheek and rests her forehead on his for a moment. “I’ll stay. Cooper and I have some binge watching to enjoy.”
He laughs and grabs hold of Fletcher’s arms. “Take me to her.”
Fletcher lets out a whoop and they run outside before Fletcher holds on to John and flies them back to Ellis.
As they walk inside the house he is muttering under his breath. Be alive, be alive, be alive. He can hear John mutter the same words just behind him.
He pushes open the door and can tell from his mother’s face that they’re not too late. He glances at Thea who smiles nervously at him, but barely registers Ember, Talia or Vann. His mind is on one thing only.
Elodie stands up, taking her hands off Ellis for a second. “No, Fletcher, no. this isn’t a good idea.”
“Mum, it’s the only way.”
“It’s...” She shakes her head. “As may be, but you cannot do this to her.”
John bows. “Elodie, I said the same thing when Fletcher came to me, but I take it she will die without my intervention?”
Elodie closes her eyes. “I think so. Magic isn’t working. Matthew isn’t able to help. Matthew. John. John. Matthew.” She introduces the men, who awkwardly shake hands.
Fletcher is beside Ellis, holding her hands, brushing her hair off her forehead. “Mum, she’s barely hanging on.”
“You take away any semblance of a normal life if you do this to her, Fletcher. She’ll outlive her family, she won’t be able to live with them, she won’t age, she’ll want to drink blood.”
John clears his throat and Elodie touches his arm. “I don’t want to offend you, John. You’re a lovely vampire, but you can’t turn Ellis without her consent.”
“She cannot give consent, mum. She’s almost dead. Please. Let John save her, let her live.”
“What sort of life?”
John clears his throat again. “I have a life I love, Elodie. I live, I laugh, I love.”
“You drink blood?”
He nods. “But I don’t kill anybody, and Ellis won’t need to either.”
“I think you should do it,” Ember says, receiving a withering look from Elodie.
“Nobody asked you, husband stealer.”
“I didn’t technically steal him. I just-”
“Shut up!” Elodie and Fletcher shout at her at the same time.
John kneels next to Ellis, touches his finger to her throat. “She hasn’t got long.”
“What do we do, mum? I can’t let her die. John, do it.”
John hesitates.
Elodie hunkers down beside Fletcher. “She’ll outlive you. Please Fletcher – this is too big. If magic can’t save her and medicine can’t save her, then maybe she isn’t meant to be saved.”
He shakes his head. “No. Magic is meddling with nature, mum, meddling with the way things should be. If magic could save her life, we wouldn’t think twice but to do it. This is the only way to stop her from dying. She’s my girlfriend and I love her. She will not die. John. Do it.”
Fletcher refuses to look at his mum and refuses to look away from John. John looks to Elodie, who slowly nods and to Matthew who also nods and to Fletcher whose eyes flood with tears. He nods his head. He will save this delightful girl.
He takes one of her hands and holds it up to his lips, kisses her cold skin, and whispers, “forgive me.” Then he leans in close, breathes in the delicious smell of her skin and turns to Matthew. “Stop me. When she gets too close to death, closer than she is now, stop me from killing her. The blood lust will take over... I don’t want to be crude, but it’s been a long time. I don’t want to hurt her. Take her pulse the entire time. Stop me before it’s too late.”
Matthew takes his place on the other side of Ellis, and Fletcher holds onto her feet. The only place he can reach without being in the way. He has to be holding her.
“I’ll begin.”
John leans close, close, closer, and when he can resist no longer, he bites into Ellis’s throat, into the soft flesh and then he feeds on her. He hasn’t turned many people into vampires – only a handful of poor souls when he was a young and foolish vampire high on his power and heady with the thrill of blood – but he knows what to do instinctively and he does it.
He keeps his conscious mind as alert as he can, as the rush of somebody else’s blood fills his veins, and he keeps his eyes open, so he doesn’t get too lost.
This girl was kind to him when they first met; she didn’t look at him and judge him poorly just because he was a vampire. She trusted him and made him laugh. He doesn’t want to hurt her; he wants to save her.
The room seems to stand still, the hairs on everybody’s arms and neck rising, the ticking of the clock the only sound, and then Matthew pushes John away, off Ellis.
John growls and tries to go back to the blood, but Fletcher grabs hold of him. He slaps his face. “John! John!”
John’s eyes change from black back to their normal colour, and he nods his head. “Is she okay? Did I do it right?”
None
