Chapter 4

The trek back to her apartment was one of the most difficult experiences Magdalena could ever recall. She’d grown accustomed to moving amongst humans and was quite adept at it, but rarely did she touch us; and never for such a long period of time.

What made matters even more unbearable was the fact that she was being supported by us.  She had one of us on either side of her while we practically lifted her off the sidewalk in order to spare her the weight of her body on her bruised and broken limbs. The steady rhythm of our hearts pumping wondrous and addictive blood through our veins as we carefully positioned her onto her bed brought forth a surge of energy that was almost overwhelming.  Her weaknesses were threatening to free themselves of their own accord and overpower her.  She’d witnessed this happening to others a few times in her lifetime, but had never experienced it herself; nor did she wish to.

She needed us to leave before she lost all control.  She also needed to find a way to get us out before her body proceeded with its natural healing process. 

We were obviously adept vampire slayers and she was a vympire who was, for the moment, vulnerable. What would happen if we discovered this?  Would we drive a stake through her heart without a second thought to the process?  Would we kill her without discovering that, unlike the vampire -and under normal circumstances- she posed no threat to us?  

She could feel the mending process at work.  It wouldn’t be much longer before she was completely healed and would have to explain such a miracle. There was also the matter of her broken bones healing “as is” because they hadn’t been reset. She needed to act fast.  We had to leave now!

I looked down on the tortured face of the woman I’d watched brave a battle against not one, but two vampires and win.  My chest swelled with pride as if it was I who’d fought so valiantly. I was even more proud of this strange woman than if I’d battled them myself.  It was an amazing feat to witness.

Even twisted with anguish, she possessed the face of an angel. I hadn’t seen a woman fight like that since Mei-Lien, but she had vampire blood flowing in her veins.  This woman was certainly no vampire. She worked in a diner and walked in the daylight. I saw no signs of fangs when she was angered during the fight and her eyes... her eyes were a rich brown, not that vile orange-red that were the telltale sign of a vampire.  She was quite a woman. I had to get to know her better.

I reached for the coverlet that lay across the back of a nearby tapestry accent chair and shook it out in preparation of draping it over her.  My nose wrinkled as the stench of dog flew from its fibers.

Realizing my intentions, Magdalena shouted, “Not that blanket!”

It was Garth’s blanket and reeked of lycanthrope.  Draping that horridly stench ridden piece of fabric over her would have surely been the topper of her day of torture.

“Hell, I don’t blame you,” I said.  “Is it your dog’s blanket?”

“You might say that,” Magdalena replied.  “Over there,” she pointed to a blanket resting on the back of a Victorian fainting chair, “Bring me that one, please.”

Since Shen was closest, he reached for the blanket and started toward Magdalena.  Seeing the look in me eyes, he smiled and handed it to me before stepping back to give me some privacy.  He would’ve left the room, had there been more than one to go to. Magdalena’s home was in actuality a spacious loft with furniture strategically placed to give the illusion of rooms.

 “I still think you need to go to the hospital,” I said in a hushed tone as I carefully draped the fluffy, lavender scented quilt over her deceivingly fragile looking torso.

“I’ll be fine, believe me,” she replied, offering a slight smile of gratitude. She couldn’t help thinking what a shame it was that I was her nemesis. She looked deep into my eyes and spoke softly, “You must go now.”

I stood motionless for a moment, as if unable to cease taking in her beauty, before nodding my head and backing away. 

“Time to go, buddy,” I said to Shen as I walked toward the door without looking back.

Shen obediently followed me, but he looked over his shoulder at the woman lying peacefully on the bed as he did.

Magdalena closed her eyes. She didn’t want Shen seeing more than he already had. She could tell his mind was working.  She’d ensorcelled me right in front of him, hoping he wouldn’t notice, but he had.  She was certain of it.  The question was, what would he do about it?

Upon hearing the click of the door softly closing, she heaved a sigh. It was something she’d have to worry about later. The healing process had already begun.  If she didn’t straighten and re-align her broken bones soon, they’d heal as they were. 

She pulled at her cashmere tee shirt with great difficulty since it offered none of the elasticity of a terry tee and because of the necessity to be mindful not to move in a way that would cause her broken rib to puncture her heart.  When she finally managed to ease it over her head, she felt a euphoric sense of new found freedom. Tossing it to the floor, she dug her fingers into her flesh and grabbed the broken bone.  With focused deliberation she pulled it forward.  The pain was incredible as she watched her fingers disappear into the depths of her flesh.  Gasping for air and renewed strength, she gently pulled until she felt the bone lock into place before releasing it and allowing her hands to flop onto the bed.

Here’s one for the movies, she thought bitterly, I wonder if Dracula would be so damned popular if humans knew he felt physical pain.

Beads of sweat coated her brow from the exertion.  She was tired and would love nothing more than to rest for a while. She chuckled sarcastically.  That was another difference between vampires and vympires.  Vampires required sleep to regenerate.  They selected the daylight hours to do this since they were in a weakened state then anyway.  Vympires required very little sleep; not more than a few hours per week.  Now would be a great time for her to take those hours, but sleep wasn’t to be had. Not yet anyway. She still had her broken foot to contend with.

She looked down at her swollen appendage. The discoloring had almost completely faded.  She needed to act quickly or she’d be forced to re-break the bones.  That was something she sincerely didn’t want to have to do.

Sitting up, she pulled her foot close to her body and held it with both hands.  Running her fingers along its length, she determined a total of three bones were broken. The breaks appeared to be a clean, which would make them easier to put back onto place. One of the three bones was protruding through her flesh, which was beginning to meld with it as the healing process progressed. She quickly pushed the bone back beneath the skin while ignoring the ruby red blood that spurted onto her bed covers. She then reset the bones in her foot in the same manner as she’d re-set her ribs.

When she’d finally completed the grueling task, she sank back onto the bed and closed her eyes.  She hadn’t slept for almost a week and it was catching up with her.  Garth would be arriving soon and she’d be forced to tell him about her altercation with the mutant-vampires.  Until then, she’d rest.  She’d earned it.

The turning of the lock in the door brought her immediately to attention. Any tiredness she may have felt was pushed out as her body tensed and made ready to spring into action if need be.  She sniffed the air and relaxed. It was only Garth.

“I can smell humans,” he growled as he tossed his keys into an ornate Japanese bowl that was placed in the center on the half- moon table next to the door. 

“Yes,” she sighed. 

She had no desire to talk to him about the humans. She desired even less the lecture that she knew was to come.

“You know what they said about you fraternizing with humans. Who was it?” Garth asked as he sniffed dramatically. “Let me guess.  From the stink of it, I’d say it was the two men from the diner.  Am I right?”

“I’m tired,” she mumbled into the pillow.

“Why?” he demanded.

“Do I need a reason?” she asked.

Her voice hinted of the Vympirus lilt of speech that she normally kept repressed; making her exhaustion unmistakable.

“Normally I’d say ‘no’,” he said in a gentler tone as he eased himself into a nearby chair and pulled his blanket over his lap. He sniffed with disgust as he did. “Damn, their stench is all over my blanket.”

Magdalena rolled her eyes. She found Garth taxing during the best of times. Now he was damned near unbearable. She longed for some alone time. Time to rest and rejuvenate.  If he would only go somewhere.

She gave it another try.

“I need a little sleep and then we can talk,” she said into the pillow.

“No,” Garth said defiantly in a low, but firm tone, “We’ll talk now and you can sleep later.”

With a sigh of disgust, she sat up and swung her legs to the floor.  Her body was completely healed; as good as new.  If it wasn’t for the blood soaked bed covering, no one would have ever guess she’d been injured. 

She bent down and picked up her shirt, putting it on grudgingly while Garth smirked.  Nothing pleased a lycanthrope more than annoying a vympire.  He prided himself in his ability to annoy her on a regular basis.  The fact that he had the power to threaten her with the Committee certainly helped his cause.

“Keep smirking and I’ll send you packing,” she spat.

“Do you think that wise?” he asked while he inspected his sport length fingernails.

“Just because you were sent to watch me, don’t get cocky.  If it came down to a contest on who had more influence with the Committee, you would lose. You’d do well to remember that,” she hissed; displaying a bit of fang for emphasis.

Magdalena crossed the room and poured herself a tall scotch. The warm liquid felt good as it coursed down her throat.

Another myth shot to hell, she mused as she slammed the empty glass on the counter. 

Although she required the blood of animals and fowl for survival, she was quite able to ingest the byproducts of grains and vegetables if she so desired.

“You drink too much,” Garth said flatly.

“I killed two mutants tonight,” she said as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “They damn near killed me.”  She poured herself another drink and paused with the glass to her lips and added, “Help would have been nice.”

Garth had a look of genuine concern on his face as he stood up and inspected the bed.

“This is your blood?” he asked.

“Yes,” she muttered before downing the contents of the glass.

 “I thought...” he began as he moved toward her.  “Are you alright?  Are you healed?”

 She moved back to the bed and pulled the blood soaked covering off the mattress.

“Help he clean this up, will you?” she asked briskly.

Garth scooted to the bed and pulled its coverings off. Grabbing a garbage bag from under the sink, he stuffed the linens and comforter into it and slung it over his shoulder.  He needed to dispose of everything quickly.  Vympire blood was rich and could be smelled by predators from a greater distance than human blood.  If there were more mutants in the area, they didn’t need them tracking her back to the loft.

“I’m taking this to the incinerator,” he told her as he started out the door.  “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

She sighed her thanks and fell back onto the bare mattress.  She was actually grateful that Garth had insisted on putting a plastic bed pad beneath her sheets - ‘Just in case she brought home a more substantial dinner than the birds and squirrels she seemed to favor,’ he’d teased.

****

Shen waited until we were well away from Magdalena’s home before approaching me. If he was correct with his suspicions, the woman would have been able to hear our conversation for at least the first block or two.  What he had to discuss with me was something he didn’t want her to hear.

“We need to talk,” he said after looking around to make sure we weren’t within ear shot of anyone.

“Sure, buddy, what about?” I replied.

My mood was abnormally perky.

He stopped and scowled.

“Look at me,” he commanded with a voice that was full of concern.

When I obliged him by looking directly into his eyes, he was certain he saw Magdalena’s reflection in them. Stunned, he jumped back.

“What’s the matter, buddy?  You act as if you’ve seen a ghost,” I said in a quizzical tone.

“No ghost,” he gulped, “but I am pretty sure I saw a supernatural being capable of ensorcelling and you are not going to like who she is.”