Her eyes fluttered and tried to focus as the rain beat down on her face, and Truman sobbed and begged God to spare her. He was crying in desperation as he looked at her body trying so hard to stay alive with little more than half the blood it needed. Her neck was still bleeding, and he tore the bottom of her shirt, holding the fabric tight to her neck. Her eyes occasionally opened before they fluttered shut once again. Her heartbeat was slow but so far steady, and he knew there was little anyone could do for her. She was envenomated but wasn’t left with the blood volume needed to survive transition. She was dying, and he couldn’t stop it. A blood transfusion would kill her instantly as the venom would react to the introduction of new blood in her system and break down every last tissue and fluid in her body. It would leave her looking like some hemorrhagic disease had ravished her body, and there would be nothing left of her. Lest she survive the blood loss on her own until her transition was complete, she would die before the venom could do its job.
He pulled her up to his arms and carried her back to his car. He listened intently to her heart as it plodded along, knowing it would eventually give up trying to pump the too little blood through her system. Her tissues felt cool, and her extremities were slowly dying from the outside in. He set her in the front seat and pulled the fabric from her neck. Her blood flow was slowing from the low blood volume, and the only good thing about that was it slowed the hemorrhage of blood from her neck. It trickled—one drop after another. He reclined her chair just slightly, and pulling her cardigan from her body, he wrapped it around her neck to slow the bleeding without cutting off her air supply.
When he returned to the driver’s seat, he sat and stared at nothing at all. He was covered in her blood, shaking, and in shock. He had to get them out of there, but he had nowhere to go. There was no safe place for him to take her. He couldn’t take her to his family because Mason would kill her just to spite him, and Thomas did nothing not endorsed by his brother, so this was their plan, not Thomas’ alone. What support he might normally be able to garner from the council was a pipe dream too.
After sitting next to her, listening and studying her heartbeat, he made his decision. It might get them both killed, but he couldn’t hope to keep her alive on his own. He would beg if he had to, he would sell his soul to devil if he must, he would sacrifice himself to their wishes if he was asked, but he had no choice but to throw them both on the mercy of the council and hope by some miracle they would let her survive. vzyl
Chapter 14
As he stood over her seemingly lifeless body, he waited. The council was convened, and he stood sopping wet in their large marble room. The group of four men sat in front of him, eyeing him and the small, frail heap of Ember’s body. He could still hear her heartbeat, and it was the only comfort he had. The council watched him with interest. They had none of the cruelty of his family, but they had their laws and mandates, and he was asking them to set one aside for him for no other reason than he’d fallen in love with a mortal.
The council hated his family, and they accepted him only because he hated his family as well. They had sought him to fill his family’s spot at the council table for years, but he had always refused. The problem with the council was that vampires were no longer allowed to sire, and the humans that were turned were exterminated. This was the council’s mandate, and it made them nearly as big of a threat as his own family. Standing over her body now, he felt the threat that loomed over her.
“You’ll need to give us time to discuss this, Truman.” This was spoken by the head of the council, Sylvan, a man who’d transitioned in middle age and commanded power by his imposing presence alone. He was a fierce leader and the reason their mandates were followed swiftly. All regional councils shared the same main rules, but not all were so regimented and swift with their punishments as his own, but that was simply the predicament Truman was in.
“She doesn’t have time!” Truman didn’t want to sound shrill, but try as he might, he couldn’t stifle his desperation and panic. She was still alive, but he had no idea what her chances of survival would be without their doctor.
“And what are you prepared to do to keep her alive?” Again it was Sylvan who was speaking for the group.
“I don’t… Whatever… Whatever I have to. Just please, help her.” His voice was pleading and desperate, and as he asked, he sank to his knees at her body and pulled her into his arms. If they weren’t going to help him, he wasn’t going to let her body loose until her soul had passed from it. They would have to pry her from his arms, and as they continued to watch him, he cried and begged quietly. “Please… Please… Please… I’ll do whatever you ask, just please help her.”
“Stand up, Truman.” He was reluctant, and he looked at the group with hesitation. He shook his head with slow, jerky movements, not willing to let go of her without some agreement. But as he held her tight, two men approached and grabbed her limp arms. They pulled, and he held tight, refusing to part from her until he knew what they were going to do. “We’ll help her, Truman, but you have to let her go.” He looked up to Sylvan’s eyes, and he nodded a tight nod. Truman relaxed his grip as one of the men lifted her to his arms. And as his gaze followed the two men from the room, he listened to her heartbeat as long as he could before turning back to the council.
“Please sit, Truman,” Sylvan spoke, and as Truman looked up, he caught the eye of Angus, a dark-haired man whom Truman had known for centuries. Angus had unruly hair and blue eyes just as crystalline as Ember’s. Angus had tried more times than Truman could recall to pull him to his place with the council, and while Truman had always refused, Angus had never sought retribution. They had a genial relationship, and while guarded, there was a degree of trust. Truman sat in the chair in front of the group, and Sylvan continued as the council listened to his words. “There will be … conditions.” Truman nodded. He would take whatever conditions they would give him. “We don’t allow vampires to turn humans anymore, so the fact that we’re making an exception should be appreciated, and you will be required to return the favor by taking your place at this council. And I’m going to tell you now, we intend to destroy Mason and the control he has over your bloodline. His reign will not continue, and you will take your place as the rightful leader of your family. This is not negotiable.” Truman only nodded in agreement. There was little to argue with, and this seemed the least of his worries at the moment. He simply wanted to get back to her.
“Should Ember survive, she will be yours. She was created against the council’s mandate, and she will not be allowed to survive without a sire. When she is strong enough, you will resire her in the traditional custom, and you will be responsible for her. She will not be allowed to feed or hunt or kill, and she will survive from your body alone for the rest of eternity. Should you be destroyed, she will be destroyed as well, so take care, Truman. Her survival depends upon your own, but it would appear, given your current state, that you’ve attached your own survival to her already. Impressive that you’ve developed such a bond with a human.” Again, Truman only nodded. He didn’t want her life tied to his own, but he wanted her to belong to him, and he wanted to care for her.
“We understand you wiped Ember’s mind the last time you had contact with her. Is that correct?” Truman continued to nod his head. “You must understand that with her transition, you will lose control over her mind. When she’s conscious enough, you may try to release her memories … but there may be little hope of unlocking them. The farther into transition she goes, the less control you will have, and given her current state, it may be some time until she’s conscious enough for you to try. You should be prepared for the fact that she may never remember you.” Truman’s heart broke at the thought that their memories could be lost from her forever, but it was her survival that mattered most, and at this moment, it was all he was focused on.