The Vampire's Assistant

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

My vision was hazy. Vaguely, I registered figures moving around the room and hushed but urgent female voices. I lay prone on a soft bed but I couldn't remember how I got there or what came before. What was happening? There was something important I had to do. I was sure I knew what it was but at the moment my mind just couldn't grasp it. It was like a dense fog had settled over my brain and the more I fought it, the thicker it got. I was so tired and my limbs were heavy.

The shadowy figures zig zagged across my field of vision but I couldn't make them out or understand the words they seemed to hiss at each other. There was a sense of urgency in the room and I knew it had to do with me. I opened my mouth to call to them, but it was so dry the sound I made was nothing but a raspy croak. One of the figures flew to my side.

"She's awake," she said, her words clear now but sounding like they came through a long tunnel. Suddenly there was a glass at my lips and cool water flowed over my tongue.

"She needs blood." The other figure appeared at the foot of the bed and I could hear the distress in her voice. Something was very wrong. "Eric's blood."

His name was like a bucket of ice water to my brain. Eric. Something had happened to Eric. Panic gripped my chest and I fought to sit up.

"Where is he?" I demanded, even as my head swam. Two sets of hands pushed me back down to the bed.

"Lie still, Abby," one of them said softly. I recognized the lilt; it was Maeve. My scrambled brain started to make sense of the situation. Maeve and Pam were here with me. The pieces started to come together. The vivid memory of blood pouring down my legs flashed across my mind. Oh God. Maeve saw the dawning horror in my eyes and took my hand in her comforting grip.

"I can't feel them," I gasped.

Maeve nodded. "I numbed you already, dearie. You were out for a while. The babies are coming early. I expected this might happen. But your body's in distress, so I don't want to take any chances. I'm going to do a c-section, Abby."

"Now? But where's Eric?" I was scared and struck by how much I needed him here for this. I needed him with me, my fierce and unyielding vampire. How I wished in that moment that I'd tried harder, that I'd made more of an effort to resolve things with him. Facing an imminent, uncertain future, I wished my last words to him hadn't been full of anger, spite, and pain.

"We don't know," Pam answered. Maeve shot her a warning look but Pam clearly didn't give a fuck. "She has a right to know," she hissed, "She won't settle until we tell her."

"Is he OK?" My voice came out weak and small.

Pam knelt by the bed so she was eye level with me and explained, the worry lacing her voice, "He was called to Shreveport to meet with a powerful vampire. He was wary of the meeting, but this is a vampire you don't refuse. It was urgent, but Eric didn't know what it was about. He told me he would keep in close touch in case we had anything to worry about. Their meeting should have ended hours ago but I haven't heard from him and I can feel that something is wrong. Our people in Shreveport can't find him. He's too far away for me to get a better sense of him... I'm not sure what's happened."

"He's just... gone?"

"He is an old and strong vampire. I'm sure he will be fine," Maeve said, "We need to handle the task at hand."

I nodded. "Whatever you have to do. Just get them out safely. Please." I could feel hot tears streaming down my cheeks. Maeve and Pam shared a look. "What?"

Maeve seemed to be chewing on her words so Pam beat her to the punch in her usually blunt way. "You could die, Abby. You need Eric's blood. We don't know that mine will be enough. We're trying to hold out for him as long as we can."