They Rise at Dusk (Book #1) ✔️

Chapter 7: Sacrifices

Doctor Martin was one of the oldest vampires I knew; he had been my mother's doctor when she was pregnant with Lucien, almost sixty years ago. By now, he must have been pushing a hundred.

However, the age didn't show on his face. He looked like a man in his forties, but it was mostly due to the way he dressed and the authority he oozed. He wore a brown tweed suit with a wide lapel, hidden behind the doctor's scrubs, a fedora and oxfords on his feet. His shoulder-length hair was tied in a ponytail on his neck and his sharp blue eyes narrowed as he gazed at Lucia's flow sheet.

I sat on the couch, my elbows on my knees, as I waited for his professional opinion.

Despite being unconscious mere minutes ago, Lucia was in a good mood. She ignored the doctor looming above her and searched something on her laptop, eyebrows furrowed and eyes focused.

"Her vitals are fine." Doctor Martin's melodious voice reached me. "The baby's vitals are fine, too. Her blood pressure dropped during the night, so she felt dizzy."

I gritted my teeth, "She was unconscious when you arrived."

"Yes, it tends to happen when the blood pressure drops." Doctor Martin's voice held no emotion. "I want to increase the number of visits in the last months of pregnancy."

My stomach twisted in a knot. I barely managed to pay the visits we were having now, twice a month. But I knew things were about to get far worse. The closer Lucia was to labour, the more dangerous she became.

"How long until labour?" I asked, trying to figure out whether I should just start selling my body or dealing drugs.

"The baby is growing at the vampiric rate." Doctor Martin put the flow sheet down and looked at me. "It would be best if she could postpone the labour as long as possible. But I don't think she'll make it to the eighteenth month."

"How long?" My voice sounded gruff. "Two months, three months?"

"If we made it to the sixteenth month, the baby would have better chances of surviving." The doctor said. "So, two, two and a half months."

"And how often would you visit?"

My words bathed in hate, even though I understood him. If someone found out about this, they'd kill us all – me, Lucia, the baby, and everyone else who knew about it. I wouldn't risk my life for nothing either.

"At least once a week." Doctor Martin answered. "Leaving this to chance doesn't make me feel good."

Passing on an opportunity to make more money also didn't make him feel good.

"I'm fine with once a week." Lucia murmured, her eyes on the screen.

Two grand per week. Eight grand per month. And the labour, which would cost me more than I dared to imagine. The cost of living in Brooklyn, because Lucia couldn't move, four grand per month. The money I owed the good doctor because I haven't had a job in six months – thirty grand.

I had to come up with at least one hundred grand in the next two months, or we'd pay the price with our lives.

How I still had dignity was beyond me.

"We can stop anytime." Doctor Martin said. "You can try your luck without a doctor."

A brittle laugh left my lips, bordering on hysterical. If it weren't for me needing him, I might cut his throat right now, and see if money mattered once one was staring at the gates of Hell.

Lucia's sharp intake of breath made me reconsider my actions, though.

"Once a week is fine." I said. "Now, if this appointment is finished, I'd kindly ask you to leave."