DANGEROUS LIAISONS
CHAPTER 11
Julian
I knew the exact moment Advani’s adrenaline left her. The energy shifted in the car and her hands started shaking violently. Her heart beat sped up and the hysteria began.
“Oh God. Oh God! Julian, what did I do?” she questioned over and over as, no doubt, flashed of the past fifteen minutes replayed in her head. “I think I-I, oh God! What did I do?”
“Calm down and breathe, baby,” I spoke easily.
“Calm down?’ she asked, “Calm down? Julian, I KILLED a man. I’m going to go to jail. Better yet, I’m going to get the death penalty. Oh God!”
“You did not kill a man,” I assured her.
Truthfully the blood loss alone would have killed that despicable human had I not stepped in and closed his puncture wounds. The man deserved everything Advani gave to him and so much more…raping a woman-hell raping anyone-was a crime my people punished very harshly. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you looked at it, the man was lucky that I knew Advani wouldn’t be able to handle a death at her hands or his body would be sinking to the bottom of the Hudson River.
“What do you mean Julian?” she asked is a brusque tone. “There is no way he could have survived that.”
“I handled it,” I answered simply.
“You handled it?” she asked.
“Yes,” he answered. “As far as that man is concerned, he raped a woman and was found by several people who had come to use the back room. In the distraction you fled and a fight ensued. The cops and paramedics should be called as we speak.”
“What is happening to me? Wh-what did I do?” she asked after a moment of silence.
“You defended yourself,” I answered simply.
“I don’t react like that Julian. I’ve never reacted like that.”
“This was the first situation you’ve ever been in like this,” I explained. “Normally the dominant side of your personality takes over in stressful situations, your human side. However, this situation was much more dire than what you’ve previously experienced and you didn’t have anyone there to help you. No one could hear you, or so you thought, and your subconscious took over and the other side of your personality came out to play. Your vampiric side.”
She ingested what I had to say and I could hear her mind working overtime in an effort to try to come to terms with what I just told her. Truly, I could have delved into her mind to see how accepting she was of this new turn of events, but I couldn’t deprive her of her privacy. Anyone else, I would go into their mind without a second thought. With her…with her, I was more lenient.
“Will this always happen?” she questioned quietly.
I nodded my head affirmatively. “If you continue to get into dangerous situations like the one you had tonight, your vampiric side will continue to take over. Right now, it’s as if you have two separate personalities and they don’t communicate with each other at all. Each of us has what is considered to be humanity; we have a conscience and ethics, but in your case your personalities are split so severely that your vampiric side doesn’t have much of a conscience at all and since it’s only brought out when you’re in life threatening situations what little bit of empathy you would normally show doesn’t even come into play.”
“So basically whenever I’m feeling endangered, I’m going to morph into this killer?” she asked in disbelief.
“I wouldn’t really call that part of yourself a killer as I would call it self defense. As you can attest to, you’ve lived the majority of your life in all sorts of crazy situations and it only came out when you were about to be attacked. It never happened when you fought other girls, in intense verbal spats, or anything like that. Your form comes out when you truly need it. Unfortunately once that side comes out, very little can stop you.”
“How can we fix that?” she asked immediately.
“There’s only one way to “fix” you,” I told her knowing that she probably wouldn’t like what that was.
“And what is that?”
“You would have to go through the full transition.”
Advani
You would have to go through the full transition ran through my mind over and over. I didn’t know if I was truly ready for that right now, but I also knew that I couldn’t continue to go on the way I was. Basically, I was a ticking time bomb and at any moment I could go 730 and basically maim someone. I could not do jail. That wasn’t an option at all.
“Will it hurt?” I asked once we were in the safety of our apartment.
“I won’t lie, you will be in more than a fair amount of pain,” Julian answered. “I’ll have to take quite a bit of your blood and replace it with mine. During the transition a fair amount of your cells will die, some will multiply, and others will be replaced. Bones and muscle mass will increase and it just….it’s painful, but when it is all over your senses will be greatly enhanced. You’ll be stronger, live longer, and you’ll undoubtedly have several gifts.”
“Gifts?” I asked. I already knew about the other as they were the stereotypical enhances a human received when they turned to a vampire in all the movies and books.
“Yes, gifts,” he reiterated. “For instance, I can read minds and have telekinesis.”
“Really?” I asked truly interested now.
“Really,” he answered with a smirk. “The gifts take time to master, but they are truly worth the transition.”
“Saying the man who was born this way,” I spoke sarcastically before getting serious. “So when can we do this?”
“Are you serious?” Julian questioned.
“It’s either this or become a killer in waiting. I’d rather the transition to that,” I answered honestly.
“Well, then I want you to be comfortable. Go to the bedroom and I’ll meet you there in a moment,” Julian ordered before heading to the kitchen.
Nicole
Sobriety was lingering dangerously close and after all those shots I’d taken, too! The girls and I were going to get one more round of drinks before calling it a night when all hell broke loose. Cops and EMT’s flooded the club and basically shut everything down as they headed to one of the back rooms. The back rooms were notorious for being spots where the adventurous exempted a bit of voyeurism while indulging in public fornication. It hadn’t been a place I’d delved, but I knew a few who did. Unfortunately, as that was technically illegal, I didn’t see my current hot spot being open too long.
“I think it’s time to go,” I called out as we were pushed back by the crowd. “Is everybody here?”
“All of us except Advani!” Joy yelled.
“Julian came for her a while ago so she’s probably already gone,” I called back.
“Lets get out of here before the police decide to start rounding up people,” Olivia called out. I nodded and we pushed our way to to coat check to get our things and left.
Julian
I closed my eyes and clenched my fist as Advani screamed at the top of her lungs. Her back arched off the bed, bending her body in two as she flailed around the California king. Her nails had ripped through my Egyptian cotton sheets long ago leaving shreds of the navy fabric within her tight clutches. Dried blood coated her thigh from where I’d initially bitten her, but other than that she wasn’t anymore worse off than before we’d exchanged blood.
If I had not had the foresight to soundproof my walls, I was sure we would have NYPD banging down my door from the high pitched screams coming from Advani’s raw throat. Shortly thereafter her screams stopped and her body slumped on the mattress. I could tell by the faint beating of her heart and her light breathing that she was out cold. I walked over to the left side of the bed and lifted her from the mattress and made my way to the bathroom so I could cleanse her of the dried blood and the sweat she’d exerted during the change.
I took her in closely and while she didn’t change too much to cause a second look from any humans, I caught the slight differences. Her skin had always been beautiful as it had both obvious hints of red and yellow undertones to it, but now her skin had a noticeable golden tone to it that was a sign of more than being healthy…it was radiant. Her once rounded incisors had sharpened a bit and her thick curls had tightened and had a natural sheen to it that wasn’t there before. The pink in her lips deepened to a healthy coral that popped against her brown skin and her nails lengthened slightly and were naturally stronger than the thickest overlay of acrylic.
I patted her body dry, being mindful of her sharp nails, before covering her in a silk La Perla chemise I’d picked up on a whim. I carried her back into the bedroom, lying her down on the cool leather chaise lounge as I made quick work of changing the bedding and placing her gently at the center of the bed. I joined her after I disrobed and held her close in my arms.
