The Fawx Bite

XVI.

The clock next to the bed glowed 4:10. It was too early to be up, but I wasn't tired. Careful not to disturb Marek, I climbed out of bed. Jin had found some clothes for me, though they weren't anywhere close to the style I normally wore. The jeans were too baggy, and I had cut the shirt in half to be similar to a crop top. My hand no longer hurt though it was covered in thick white wrapping. I wandered out of the bedroom, feeling along the wall to the next room. Quietly I opened the door to reveal a bedroom with a single lamp in it.

After we had escaped the PAU, Echo drove us somewhere near the border of California. Where temperatures were similar to Arizona, along with the landscape. I had to carefully cover Viola so the sun wouldn't harm her. Jin had managed to grab some sleeping pills, giving them to me to crush and mix with water. With Echo's help we had managed to stuff them down Viola's throat. Just to make sure she stayed unconscious until we found somewhere safe.

The house that Echo had found was in the middle of farm country, and on the outside looked about to fall apart. But once inside, it resembled a recently built house. On the fridge was a note, the paper old and worn with the message Genießen. Echo had quickly taken it down and thrown it away. In one of the several bedrooms, Viola had been placed and then strapped down. The windows of the house were barred and had blackout curtains. Despite my protests, no one wanted me to be in the same room as my sister when she woke up. But I couldn't stand it. What had happened to her?

Just as I began to sit down on the chair next to the bed, the door opened slowly to reveal Echo's form. She had pulled her hair up on top of her head. Paiute a tattoo once more on her arm. Despite her cold expression, I didn't move. With a sigh she slipped in to the room, closing the door behind her and skirting the bed to take a seat next to me. In the golden light, I could see the sharp bone structure of her face. And with her next to Viola, the similarity between them was startling.

I looked down at my hands, resisting the urge to try and flex my injured hand, feeling goose bumps begin to rise on my arms. "What happened to her?"

"Do you really want to know?" she asked, her voice a whisper.

No. "Yes."

"She's been transformed," Echo said quietly. "Into a vampire."

"A vampire?" even though that was what had jumped into my mind, the confirmation was like a knife to the heart.

"Yeah, and I don't think it was just any regular old vampire. There are several factors to take in with newborn vampires and the species in general. See, not many vampires – especially the old ones – bite others to transform another. It's a complicated process of draining, and then getting that person to drink their own blood. And then there is the doubt that they will even survive through the process of transformation. But those that do, they're like a newborn trapped within someone who is an adult – in most cases. They're rabidly hungry, yet they are also confused with the changes of their body. It's like a personality clash within someone's mind, with two different people trying to take control. Not only that, but the vampire who transformed said person is referred to as a 'sire' or a 'master'. And they have the ability to influence or control the newborn. And from the looks of it, Viola is suffering at the hands of a very powerful vampire." Echo watched Viola sleep. The latter's chest wasn't even moving up and down. She was so still.

"So, what does this mean for her? For us?" I asked.

"I don't know really," Echo bit her bottom lip, thinking. "I know that in order to break the bond, one of three things has to happen. A, the master has to die. B, the servant has to kill the master. C, we have to find an ancient druid, one with an immense power to help perform a ritual to break it. The last option though is the least doubtful of them all."