I looked at the gore coating the white porcelain bowl—it looked like a murder scene. The thought turned my stomach and I was sick again…and again and again.
Finally, when I had no more in me to throw up, I rested my forehead on my crossed arms and cried. Cried for Allegra and my place in her heart and home and for all I had lost in the blink of an eye. It was like The Fire all over again—the people I loved being torn from me by some outside force I couldn’t control.
Only this time, the force wasn’t outside—was it? It was inside me and there was no getting rid of it…ever.
I bent over the bowl and was sick again.
31
Kaitlyn
“There must be something wrong with her,” Megan said worriedly, after I had finished my third round of puking. Her face was pale and worried but that pretty much applied to all my friends. They were standing around me in a semi-circle—well, except for Emma who can’t be around someone puking without having to puke herself.
The Healer was there too, with a grim look on her face.
“What kind of blood was that you gave her?” she asked Griffin, who was still looking stunned at the sudden turn of events.
“Just animal blood—beef blood,” he said at last. “I ran over to the Dining Hall to get it. It’s the same kind of thing she’s been eating all week so I thought it would be the easiest for her to digest.”
“You thought wrong,” the Healer said, frowning. She sighed and shook her head. “It’s been a while since I studied Made Nocturnes but if I remember correctly, once the initial transition is past, they can’t live on animal blood.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Megan demanded. “I mean, Kaitlyn has to live on something. If she can’t drink animal blood, what can she drink?”
The Healer’s face got even grimmer.
“Human blood,” she said shortly. “Hang on—I have a stock of it in the cooler in case of injuries.”
She went and got another big glass of chilled blood and handed it to me.
By that time I had gotten shakily to my feet with Avery’s help and rinsed out my mouth at the sink. The glass filled with crimson liquid didn’t look very appealing to me and the fact that it was cold was even less so, but I took it from her anyway and took a tentative sip.
The chilled human blood went down smoothly enough…but then it came right back up again. I barely had time to get back to the toilet before my body rejected it—violently.
“Oh dear!” Megan was wringing her hands in agitation. “This is bad, isn’t it? What does it mean that she can’t drink human blood either?”
“It means,” Griffin said smoothly, “That her system is still upset. We need to take her back to the Norm Dorm where she can rest and relax before she tries to drink again.”
“If you think I’m letting a sick student out of my office—” the Healer began but Griffin cut her off.
“Excuse me, Healer, but while we value your knowledge and healing ability, I think I am a better judge of Nocturne constitution than you. I can tell you right now that Kaitlyn’s system is simply overloaded.” He gestured towards me. “Her body has only just adapted to process blood as its main source of nourishment and it was forced to get rid of the wrong kind of blood only a moment ago. Before she can try again with the right kind of blood, she will need to rest and let her body settle for some time. The best place to do that is somewhere she feels comfortable and safe. Which is why we need to bring her back to her dormitory.”
“Well…” The Healer frowned deeply. Clearly she was considering what Griffin had said.
“Please,” I whispered, pleading with her. “I just…I just want to go home.” Then I realized that the home I meant—the home where little Allegra was—was now closed to me. Bloody tears started leaking down my cheeks again and I brushed them away with trembling fingers. “Please,” I repeated.
At least I still had the Norm Dorm. At least I still had my friends.
The Healer sighed deeply. Putting her hands on her hips, she studied me for a long moment, then nodded.
“All right,” she said reluctantly. “You can go back to your dorm but only if you all promise to come get me if her condition changes or worsens in any way.” She pointed at Megan and Griffin and Avery who all nodded solemnly.
“We promise,” Megan said earnestly. “We’ll stick to Kaitlyn like glue—won’t let her out of our sight.”
“All right then. Go.” The Healer made a shooing gesture. “And don’t forget to take the blood,” she added, speaking to Griffin. “She’ll need it when she starts to feel better.” She shook her head. “What a mess. I don’t know what the Headmistress is going to say about all this when she gets back from her conference. I wish she hadn’t chosen this week to be gone!”
I didn’t know either but at the moment, I was too gutted by despair to even think of it. With Avery supporting me on one side and Megan on the other, I made my way out of the Healer’s office and back to what was now the only place I could call home.
32
Kaitlyn
“I could feel how eager you were to get Kaitlyn out of the Healer’s office and back down here where it’s private,” Megan said to Griffin, as soon as they had arranged me on one of the old blue sofas in the Norm Dorm common area. “Why was that?”
He
