It was close to three o’clock when Beatrice rose, helped Nima to her feet, then walked inside, shutting the door to the sun for the last time. She walked down the hall to the practice room to find Tenzin sitting there with her father. She looked into the storm-grey eyes of her friend.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t.” Stephen shook his head. “I can’t drain her, Tenzin.”
“It has to be you. That’s what needs to happen. Her fate lies with water, not air.”
“I can give her my blood. I just can’t drain her.”
Tenzin scowled. “You’ll be very weak if you don’t.”
Stephen still shook his head. “I can’t do it.”
Beatrice put a hand on her father’s arm. “Tenzin, is it that important who drains me? As long as I have Dad’s blood to turn, right?”
“Yes, but his amnis will be drained from giving you his blood. I don’t like the idea of him being so weak.”
“Then you can give me some of yours later. And I’ll feed after,” Stephen said, “but you cannot ask me to drain my daughter to the point of death.”
“Fine,” Tenzin rolled her eyes. “I’ll probably need the strength when he wakes, anyway.”
Beatrice shuddered at the thought. “He’s going to be furious. Tenzin, I’m sorry for anything Giovanni—”
“Please,” she snorted. “It’s not like he can hurt me. This is one of those situations where it is better to ask forgiveness than permission. Besides, he knows it’s coming.”
“That’s not going to make him any less angry.” She felt a churning in her gut as she remembered his plea before he fell asleep. She felt like she was betraying his trust, but she also felt as if she had no other choice.
Tenzin grabbed her arm. “Are you ready? Really?”
She nodded. “Okay, dirty details time.”
“Fine. I’ll drain your blood, you’ll probably pass out, but your father will feed you his. It won’t be instinctive for you to drink from him at first, but don’t worry, we’ll make sure you get enough. He’ll be able to use amnis to make you swallow the blood until you latch on.”
She bit her lip. “And I won’t remember any of it?”
“Probably not much. I’ll use my amnis to keep you from struggling. Your body will fight the blood loss instinctively, so it’s better if I use it to keep you calm.”
Beatrice hated the thought of that, but agreed it was probably for the best. “Okay. What happens after that?”
Tenzin and her father exchanged a look. “Your body will go through quite a few changes at first. The first couple of hours it will expel anything from your digestive system. But you won’t be awake for that.”
“Oh, ew.” She took Tenzin’s hand. “I want you to promise me that you will not let Giovanni be here when all that stuff is going on. One, gross. Two, he’ll freak out.”
She shrugged. “I’ll be able to keep him away. Once it’s done, he’ll understand.”
Beatrice thought Tenzin might have been a bit overconfident on that one, but she didn’t have much choice but to trust her. “Okay. Then what?”
“Your body will shut down for about twenty-four hours, or until first dark. Then you’ll wake up and be a vampire.”
“Am I going to be hungry right away?”
“Not immediately, but definitely the first night.” Tenzin just shrugged like it was no big deal.
She sighed a little and saw her father’s mouth quirk into a small grin.
“And?”
“What? We’ll find someone to feed you. It’s not a big deal. There are lots of bowing people around.”
“Um… that’s not exactly… can I have donated blood at first? I don’t want to drain anyone.”
Stephen was quick to reassure her. “We won’t let you kill anyone. We’ll make sure you have some fresh blood, but you will need a lot.”
“How much?”
Tenzin said, “About a person’s worth.”
Her mouth fell open. “That much?”
“Just at first. The first year or so, you’ll have to drink a few cups every night and then you’ll need much less.”
She began to feel her heart rate pick up. “Don’t let me kill anyone. I… I can’t—”
“You won’t.” Tenzin reassured her. “We’ll have you fully stocked with fresh blood that hasn’t been preserved. No preserved blood for a while. You need the fresh stuff to be strong. Animal will do if you must, but human is always the best.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “Okay.”
“Any other questions?”
“What will it be like? At first?”
Tenzin frowned. “I don’t really remember. It’s been a long time. Stephen?”
Stephen took a deep breath. “You’ll feel very overwhelmed. All your senses will be heightened. Your hearing will be better. Your sense of smell. You’ll feel the electrical currents almost like a web around you. This place is ideal because there is so little electricity, it won’t be as overwhelming as—”
“Oh!” Beatrice gasped.
“What?” Stephen looked at her in panic. “B, you can change your mind at any time, you don’t have to—”