The Turning (4 page)

Now for the big one, I opened the blinds. The sunlight that shown in hurt my eyes, and I felt a little weaker and tired, but no flames. I opened the window and stuck my hand into direct sunlight. Still no flames, even after I held it out there for a few minutes. It did feel weird though. Almost like towards the end of a tanning bed session where someone felt it might be too much and they could end up sunburnt. That was it though, so I crossed sunlight off the list.

I made a few phone calls about my exams and certification before calling my parents, since I knew they would be dying to hear the results as well. I filled them in on what Dr. Warshak had said. Well minus the stuff about me being a vampire.

“There were no signs of rape or any sexual assault. Also she says I wasn’t drugged. It’s much more likely that I somehow bumped my head and someone found me out cold, looked in my wallet, and left me outside my apartment. Sounds odd. Why they wouldn’t call an ambulance? But they must have seen I was still breathing and didn’t want to deal with the police. Also I aced all my final exams. I start my internship in two weeks as planned.”

“Oh my, Kelly, that’s fantastic!” my mom exclaimed, just about causing me to go deaf. “Matt, pick up the line. Kelly’s on the phone and has some great news!” I could almost hear my mom doing a dance in the kitchen.

“Kelly? It’s Dad, I heard your mom yelling about something good.” My dad spoke with such relief in his voice it made my heart leap.

I repeated the same thing to my dad about school. I might be an adult but talking about the
stuff
with my dad was just… Well—no.

“Kelly, that’s great. I’ll have your mom fill me in about the visit to Dr. Warshak. You just get some rest. You have a break before you start your internship. We’ll talk to you soon. Love you, Kel.”

We hung up and I decided to make another call before getting some more rest.

“Hey, it’s me,” I greeted Nicole. She was my best friend. Of course she knew who
me
was.

“How are you feeling? Do you remember anything else? Are you okay?” she asked, talking a mile a minute.

“I’m fine, I feel great actually. I got all my exam results and I’m all set to start in a few weeks.” After she let loose a shriek, I filled her in on the same version of the doctor’s visit I told my parents. “I’m sorry I worried you. I would never do something like that intentionally but I wanted to fill you in as I found things out. Are we good?”

“Of course, we are. I love you like a sister. It’s just such a relief that everything turned out okay. I hope you’re not mad that I called your parents?”

“No! Not at all. You did the right thing. And I’m touched you love me enough to notice I was missing and contact my family. I’m going to get some rest but let’s have a girls’ night out soon, okay?”

“Sounds great, Kel. It looks like I’m free Wednesday, but I’ll give you a call tomorrow. Sleep tight.”

“Love you.” I stared at the phone a few moments after hanging up. I did love her. She was like a sister to me, but all the secrets I was keeping from the people I loved most were starting to take a very big toll on me.

Deciding I should do the last thing on my list to see what could affect me, I opened the door to the fridge. I pulled out an apple and bit in. It had no taste. That seemed odd.

So I tried a piece of cheese. Same thing. I ate five other things, all the same result. They had no taste but I could swallow them and felt nothing. I hadn’t tasted the garlic from earlier now that I thought about it… How had I not registered
that
?

I’m really off my game.
I shook my head as I threw away the apple and cheese.
It’s not losing three days and waking up with fangs is traumatic enough to be a little off balance or anything. I need some chocolate.
The cruel, cruel joke of that thought hit me and my fangs came out.

Some asshole took away my joy of chocolate?

Great priorities, Kel. Well I can’t gain weight then, right? Too fatty of blood? If I drink a skinny person’s blood will I
lose
weight?
I gave a snort. Yeah right. When did
anything
turn out to have such an awesome perk.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked the idea of never gaining weight again. But I would have liked to lose several pounds before I was turned if I was to stay like this forever. I was nice to look at, I knew that. But at five-ten and one hundred seventy-five pounds I would have liked to get a little more junk out of the trunk. I was very athletic, but there was some fat there too. At least I was curvy in all the right places.

I was blessed with a 36D rack and ran about a size twelve, sometimes a size ten, depending on the style. And I liked to show off what I had. I’d always believed in the thought of
if you’ve got it, flaunt it…
Within reason of course.

I grabbed one more pint of blood. After drinking it, I slipped into an unsettled nap that only lasted to nightfall. That’s when
he
showed up at my door.

The knock startled me and like a shot I was at the door looking through the peep hole. “Can I help you?”

“I am your maker.” And with those four little words, I knew he was telling me the truth. He also said it so softly I knew no ordinary human could have heard him. But it was the Irish accent that really caught me off guard. Fear gripped me first, but then I realized if he wanted to hurt me, he would have already done it. I opened the door and saw the most beautiful man I had ever seen. “May I come in? We have a lot to discuss.”

“Who are you? I’m sorry, yes, please come in,” I greeted, trying to reign in the emotions clawing at me. I swallowed a few times even as I shut my mouth. I really didn’t want to have this conversation in the hallway. Much better to bring it inside.

As I stepped out of the way, and he walked in, everything about him took my breath away. He seemed flawless.

“My name is Brian Grady. I made you a vampire.” He was tall, lean, about six-three with bright green eyes, shorter blond hair, and absolutely gorgeous.

“I got that when you said I’m your maker. Why did you leave me alone outside my apartment?” I asked, suddenly feeling the need to sit down. Closing the door behind him, I barely made it to the sofa before my knees gave out.

“I am sure you have a wide array of questions. I will give you five before I tell you all the information you need to know. I left you because you did not have your purse. So no keys to get in and I did not want your neighbors seeing a strange man hanging around you while you were unconscious.” He smiled at me like a man who sees a big steak grilled perfectly that he’s about to eat.

“The keys were in my pocket. I never keep my wallet or keys in my purse in case it gets snagged.”

“That is very smart. See that is one of the reasons why I picked you. I find your intelligence very alluring,” Brian just about purred, standing over me.

I looked at him with my mouth open, trying to figure out what to say next. “Picked me? Why me?” I stared at him a long time, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar to me.

“I chose you mainly because of your humanity. You are incredibly moral, and I find you more and more beautiful every time I see you.” As Brian declared all this to me, I kept waiting for the wave to hit me that he was lying, but it never came.

Instead I sat there like an idiot for a while with my mouth just hanging open. “You’re not lying. You really think that of me?”

“Kelly, you are an amazing woman. I have never encountered another human like you, ever. I have been a vampire for over four hundred years, and I have never had the pleasure of knowing a woman like you.” His eyes looked at me as if he’d known me all my life. Almost as if he could see into my soul and saw something I could never see about myself.

“Well, thank you, but let’s put that all aside for a minute. How could you know all this about me?” I probed, still trying to get anything to sink in as I rubbed my arms… And not from being cold. I had dealt with a lot in the past twenty-four hours.

“I’ve been watching you for months, deciding if you were the right one,” he answered matter-of-factly.

“The right one for what?” Sweat started to form on the back of my neck. I didn’t see an answer to this I was actually going to like.

“That is your third question. The right one to help me regain my humanity because I have lost mine. It has left me, like my ability to love and care.”

The way he said that with such sadness in his eyes it touched me. When he sat down on the couch next to me, I put my hand over his. He stared at it a moment before meeting my eyes.

“See, that is exactly what I mean. Most people would not try to comfort a vampire, much less a vampire comforting another vampire. You are more special than you realize.”

Deciding to ignore his compliments because there was no way I was going to add that to list of things to process, I focused on learning as much as I could. “Okay, well I figured out that I needed blood. That I have an aversion to silver, garlic is okay, so is sunlight, but I assume in small doses. And regular food has no taste. Not to mention the increased speed, hearing, smell, and sight. What do I need to know that I missed?”

“You figured all that out in one day? Most new vampires barely get blood without killing a bunch of people. You are very amazing, Kelly,” he said, eyeing me slowly. “To answer your question—and you are wise to ask a broad one that covers a lot of ground—yes, you can go out in sunlight. Limit it to a half hour at a time or a few hours if in the shade.

“Same with human food, limit it to a little here and there to pass as human. If you ingest too much at one time, it will cause you to become very sick and vomit. You will vomit a lot, and a lot of blood, which will leave you weak for months.”

“Well that sounds pleasant,” I grumbled, putting my head in my hands, trying to take this all in.

“Yes, very unpleasant, like silver.” He nodded. I was momentarily mesmerized with his body when he moved and crossed one ankle over his other knee. “No direct contact with silver, it can even affect you if in the same room. I would recommend getting rid of it entirely. The only things you really have to fear are fire and decapitation. Stakes in the heart do nothing but really upset you and hurt. You can feel pain but at a lesser degree than what you have been used to. Do you notice the humans you’ve been around smell sweet, desirable?” he asked me with inquisitive eyes.

“Yes, like I’m drawn to them. I don’t understand why I’m even more drawn to you?” Yeah, I would need to be mortified about saying that later. Glad to know
all
my emotions seemed to come in greater doses now that I had fangs… Even the ones attached to my libido.

“I will get back to that. There are certain types of illnesses that humans can have that you will have to avoid. If you drink their blood you will get very sick and maybe never recover. If they have HIV, AIDs, cancer, or any type of hepatitis, they will smell like rotten eggs or maybe less so like spoiled milk.” He waited a few moments to let all this new information sink in before continuing. “The reason you are even more drawn to me than sweet smelling humans is that I am your maker. You will always be able to find me or feel what I am feeling and the same is true for me in relation to you.”

“Jensen Ackles, that’s who you look like,” I blurted when the realization hit me. “You look like an even more handsome Jensen Ackles. I knew you looked familiar.” I was even more drawn to him when I realized that.
Down girl, focus on the problem here.

“I do not know who that is, but I assume it is a compliment so thank you.” He smirked like he knew what I’d just been thinking. “There is one more thing that you need to know, and this may be shocking to you.” He paused and waited for me to give him the
go ahead
gesture with my hand. “You can no longer have children.”

That stopped every thought in my head and muscle in my body. My eyes burned as I slowly turned to him. “No children? Why would you have done that to me?” I whispered, getting up and going into the kitchen so he didn’t see me cry.

“Kelly, I’m sorry that you can no longer have children—” Brian started to say as he stood and followed me.

I interrupted him right there, spinning on my heel to face him. “I can’t because
you
did this to me. It’s not a medical condition. You changed me and you took that away from me. Get away from me!” I pushed him then and he went flying across the kitchen. “Oh shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you that hard. Are you okay?”

I rushed to him to make sure he wasn’t hurt, and then saw he was
laughing
.

“Kelly, I am just fine,” he assured me, his wonderful eyes shining.

“Then why the hell are you laughing? You think this is funny? I’ve always wanted children, at least four. You took away my dream!”

“No, not at all, well yes,” Brian digressed as he swallowed and shook his head. “I do not find it funny that you are upset and in pain about not being able to have children. And while I took away that dream I have given you limitless power and abilities. I am laughing that you are so angry with me, yet you pushed that aside to make sure I was uninjured when you thought I was hurt. You really are an amazing woman and I cannot wait to see the vampire you will turn into.”

I barely heard the last of that, my chest aching where my heart should have been beating over the loss of never being able to have children. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and I pushed him away, rubbing my sternum with the heel of my hand. He didn’t take the hint, pulling me against him as I started to break, letting loose a silent sob and several tears.

“Shit, your shirt. I’m so sorry I got blood all over it.”

“I have more. Do not concern yourself with my shirt. Are you all right? I am not very good at these kinds of situations,” he fumed.

“When you say things like that it makes me not want to hate you anymore. You’re doing fine, don’t worry,” I assured him, somehow wanting to make him feel better. I also felt stupid, leaning like that all over a man I didn’t know.

“Let’s sit back down on the couch and you can ask me anything else you want. I promise.” He gently kissed my forehead.