Part 2 (1/2)
”Bizarre? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Rayne shakes her head in disbelief. ”He mistook your neck for a juicy porterhouse, Sunny!”
”Vampires in gla.s.s rehabs shouldn't throw stakes,” I remind her dryly. After all, she was the one who couldn't control her bloodl.u.s.t and almost drained Corbin dry back in Ireland. (Which is totally against the Consortium code of conduct, which states vampires can drink only from licensed blood donors.) If Jareth hadn't stepped in and turned poor Corbin into a vampire at the last minute, the Alpha would have ended up a bloodless corpse. Which, in hindsight, wouldn't have necessarily been a bad thing...
She snickers. ”Well, I'm out of rehab now, baby. And as a slayer, I consider it my sworn duty to stake any vampire who doesn't behave around my baby sister.”
Baby. Please. She was born seven minutes earlier than me. And, I might add, has been late to everything ever since. ”Even if baby sister gave the vampire in question permission to bite?”
Her wide eyes tell me I've surprised her. Good. ”Since when did you go all willing-blood-donor chick on me?”
”I'm not. I just thought it might help him.” I explain to her my theory on the Holy Grail blood in my veins. ”I thought maybe... just maybe it would cure him.”
”Well, it hasn't,” interrupts a male voice.
I look up to see Magnus enter the room. My sister takes one look at the expression on his face and takes off running faster than the Road Runner. Coward!
”Hey, hon,” I say casually, trying to will my voice to sound steady and nonchalant. ”How's it going?”
He frowns, plopping down in the chair beside my bed. His usually perfectly pressed Armani suit is rumpled and his hair has come loose from its ponytail. ”Not great,” he replies in a disgruntled voice. ”I've missed my flight to j.a.pan and the Consortium has been ringing me off the hook, wondering why I'm not on it.”
”Okay...” I pause. ”And, um, why aren't you, again?”
He gives me a pointed look. ”Because a certain girlfriend of mine is in the hospital undergoing a blood transfusion after she decided to offer herself up as a gourmet treat to some hungry stray?”
Oh, right. That.
”Jayden's not a stray,” I protest. ”He's my friend. And friends help each other. At least, in my world they do.”
Magnus reaches over and brushes away a lock of hair that's fallen into my face. He gives me a small smile. ”You're very sweet,” he says. ”Always thinking of others before yourself. Honestly, it's one of the things that made me fall in love with you in the first place.”
Hmm. I'm sensing a big ”but” coming in for a landing here...
”But, Sunny!” Magnus continues, not disappointing me. ”You could have very well been killed out there, had I not come along. A new vampire like Jayden doesn't know his own strength. Especially one with no training-he literally wouldn't know how to stop sucking once he started-even if he wanted to. In fact, if I hadn't pulled him off of you, I am quite positive he would have drained every last drop out of your body and still been hungry for more.”
I hang my head. When he puts it like that, it does seem like a rather dumb move on my part...
”I mean, look at the mess your sister got herself in,” Magnus continues. ”She sucked the entire mortal life out of Corbin, forcing Jareth to turn him into a vampire. What if I had to do that to you? Would you be okay living the rest of your life as a creature of the night, just to give Jayden his afternoon blood and cookies?”
”I guess not,” I mutter, feeling ashamed and stupid. It had seemed like such a good plan at the time...
The two of us fall silent, each lost in our own thoughts. Actually, I'm just trying to work up the courage to ask the question I desperately need answered, but at the same time am afraid to know the answer to.
”How is Jayden, anyway?” I blurt out finally.
Magnus looks weary. ”He's stable now,” he replies. ”But I don't know for how long. I don't know if it's because of the manner in which he was bitten or his hemophiliac blood disorder-but his human cells aren't properly bonding with the vampire ones. Meaning he's not really a vampire. But he's not really human either.” Magnus reaches over and takes my hand in his, stroking the back of my palm. ”I'm sorry, Sun. I know he's your friend. But I think it might be kinder to just put him down instead of letting him suffer like this.”
”Put him down?” My heart reels. I yank my hand away. ”Magnus, he's not a dog! You can't just-”
”He's sick, Sun. He can't get proper nutrients from drinking human blood. And so he's literally starving to death, even though we've pumped him with every blood type known to vampire.” He shakes his head. ”And a sick vampire can be more dangerous than a rabid dog.”
I cringe. ”But maybe he'll get better! Maybe he just needs more time...”
”Normally I'd say yes, but we're in Code Red right now, in case you forgot,” Magnus reminds me gently. ”The Alphas are readying for battle. And we have no idea what they have in store for us. We need all our top doctors and scientists working on ways to stop them from creating an army of vampiric fairies.” He gives me a pitying look. ”We just don't have the time or resources to deal with one sick vampire when the whole vampire race is in danger of being obliterated by our enemies.”
”But this isn't just any single vampire,” I whimper, my voice breaking as I think of my poor, sick friend. ”This is Jayden.”
Magnus lets out a slow breath as he rises to his feet, his eyes tormented and sad. ”Sunny, I know he's special to you. But I don't see any alternative in this case. I wish I did. I really do.”
I smile at him, appreciating the effort he's making for my sake. Especially since he's not exactly Jayden's number-one fan. It'd be much easier for him to just let Jayden die-and wipe his only compet.i.tion off the face of the Earth. But he loves me too much for that. And I love him for loving me that much.
”Master!” A vampire in a white lab coat suddenly bursts into the hospital room, a large clipboard clasped in his hands. He pushes it toward Magnus, pointing down at the charts with a shaky finger. ”You said to inform you of any changes. Well, take a look at this.”
Magnus studies the chart carefully, his face a mask of solemnity. Then he looks up at the doctor and nods his head. ”Thank you,” he says. ”Keep me posted of any other changes.”
The doctor agrees and heads out of the room, clipboard still in hand. I look up at Magnus, who is watching him go, a thoughtful expression on his face. ”What?” I demand, my heart thudding in my chest.
”Is this about Jayden?”
Magnus pauses, then nods reluctantly, as if he doesn't really want to tell me the news. As if he has a choice...
”Come on, Mag, spill!”
”It would seem...” he says slowly. ”That your blood actually did do some good for him after all.”
My eyes widen. ”You mean because of the Holy Grail antibodies in my bloodstream?”
He nods. ”While a fully formed vampire would die from receiving a transfusion of Holy Grailinfused blood, since Jayden's still partially mortal, the Grail antibodies actually seem to be helping his human cells fight off the vampire cells. Much like an antibiotic might kill harmful bacteria.”
”I knew it!” I cry. ”That's awesome news!”
”Don't break out the celebratory champagne just yet,” Magnus warns. ”He's still got a long fight ahead of him. Vampire cells are extremely strong and he's going to need a lot more antibodies if he has any hope of destroying them altogether.”
”Well, I can help. I can give more blood. Whatever he needs!”
My boyfriend shoots me a sharp look. ”Believe me, I'm well aware of your willingness to slash open a vein for this guy,” he replies. ”But it may not be enough to save him. After all, you've only got a trace amount of antibodies in your blood. He'd have to drink gallons for a chance at a real cure. And you just don't have that much to give.”
My heart sinks. Was all this hope for nothing then? ”What we need is a very concentrated dose,”
Magnus muses. ”Straight from the source.”
The source? ”You mean like the actual Grail?” I ask. ”Going back to the druids and asking for another drop?”
”Maybe,” Magnus hedges. ”I just wish this wasn't happening now. The druids are not going to just talk to any vampire who walks up to their door. But I don't know if I can take the time out to go myself.” He rakes a hand through his hair. ”I've got my duties to the Blood Coven to consider. The Consortium needs me in j.a.pan, like, yesterday.”
”Well, the Consortium can hold their vampire horses,” I growl, not willing to let this shred of hope be ripped away. ”I mean, England's on the way to j.a.pan anyway.”
Magnus raises an eyebrow. ”Now I know why you're getting a C in geography.”