Midnight at St. Benedict's

Chapter 3

Here's an early update (as promised!).

Hope you enjoy!!!!!

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A sharp tap on the passenger side window alerted Lisel to the fact that Jax had gotten out of the car and was now waiting less than patiently for her to join him. Lisel opened her door and got out, still not taking her eyes off the massive stone building.

"You know, some of us really don't do well in the sun," Jax reminded her and Lisel noticed he'd already moved away from the car and was waiting for her to catch up.

"Right," Lisel hurried past the ornate fountain and joined Jax on the wide staircase. They paused at huge set of lacquered black double doors and Jax reached out pushing a hi tech doorbell with a speaker attachment, the kind that hooked up to a sophisticated security system. It seemed like a strangely modern touch in the otherwise storybook surroundings.

One of the doors opened and a petite woman with dark hair and a heavy bang peered out at them. Lisel knew immediately that the woman was a vampire.

"Jax, come in," she held the door wide and Lisel followed, though the vampire woman looked her over with suspicion.

"Lisel, Jenna, Jenna, Lisel," Jax said by way of introduction.

"Nice to meet you," Lisel held out her hand. Jenna ignored it, turning back to Jax.

"You brought a human here?" she accused.

"I brought a doctor," Jax corrected her. "She's here to see Christophe."

Jenna eyed Lisel again, but still directed her remarks to Jax.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she turned on her heel and led them through the circular entryway and into an open area with a great winding staircase covered in a deep, blood red carpet. Again, Lisel found herself completely taken in by the grandeur as they climbed the steps. The house was every bit as magnificent inside as out.

"What do vampires do for a living?" Lisel whispered to Jax as they passed an enormous stained glass window that depicted an intricate seascape.

"A bit this and that," Jax shrugged, non-committal.

As they approached a set of doors at the end of the hall, Lisel could have sworn she felt the tension building around Jax and Jenna. Whatever was behind those doors was something that worried them both.

Jenna turned the handles, opening the doors wide and leading the way into an oversize bedroom. At first, all Lisel could take in was the vastness of the room. She was pretty sure her entire apartment could fit into that one space. Probably with room to spare.

To her right was a seating area with sofa, wingback chairs and fireplace. Floor to ceiling drapery covered what was probably a wall of windows. The area was lit by lamps giving it a warm, though dim appearance, like eternal twilight. An enormous four poster bed took up much of the left hand side of the room and that was where Jenna and Jax were headed now. Lisel followed.

The size of the bed in no way dwarfed the figure in it. He was a large male, even by vampire standards, and his golden blond hair gave him the appearance of a viking king. But as Lisel took in her first sighting of Christophe, the leader of an army of vampires, the main thing she noticed was that he was clearly ill. He shook from chills and his face was covered in a sheen of sweat. His eyes were closed and Lisel didn't think he was fully aware of his surroundings.

"Christophe?" Jax spoke with a gentle quietness. "I've brought a doctor. This is the woman who fixed Belinda up."

Christophe did not respond. Lisel came to stand close to the head of the bed. She reached out to touch his brow. He was burning up.

"How long has he been in bed?" Lisel asked Jenna.

"He collapsed three days ago."

"And his appetite?"

"Gone," Jenna confirmed. "I haven't been able to get him to eat."

Lisel bit her lip. It was something she did when she was thinking. Or stressed. Or both.

"Well?" Jenna pushed when Lisel didn't immediately respond.

"If I didn't know better, I would say he has the flu."

Jenna looked from the bed to Lisel. "Vampires can't get the flu."

"Vampires also can't get sick," Jax pointed out. "But here we are."

Lisel looked at Christophe again. Jax was absolutely right. Vampires didn't suffer illnesses. They got injured, sure. They could die of starvation. But they couldn't catch a cold.

Yet here they were.

Lisel needed to think. What would she do if Christophe were a human who had a mystery illness?

"I'm going to get a blood sample," Lisel said. "Run some tests."

"Ok," Jax agreed. "Then what?"

"Then we'll see," Lisel answered honestly. "In the meantime, we may need to set up an IV. It would be easier to monitor him at the hospital but I'm assuming you don't want him moved?"

"He has to stay here," Jenna said.

"It's true," Jax agreed. "No one can know he's sick. It could lead to anarchy."

Lisel knew very little about vampire politics, but she figured what Jax said made sense. If word got out that their leader was weak some ambitious vampires might attempt a coup.

"All right," Lisel said. "Let's get started."