Lucien settled into bed and lay down with an exhausted sigh. It had been quite a week. A week of panic and danger and apprehension. But also a week of great relief. Everything that had been plaguing them had been solved. Almost everything, at any rate.
It had nearly destroyed Lucien to have been stuck at home on bedrest when Jean and Alice went to see the Tynemans after Lawson informed them that Patrick owned the abandoned barn where Lucien had been attacked. He made Jean swear to come right home and tell him everything when she finished with Patrick and Susan.
Only she hadn't come right home. He hadn't even learned of events from Jean herself. The phone rang and it was Alice immediately telling him not to panic.
"Why would I panic? Where's Jean?" Lucien asked, instantly in a panic.
"She's fine. She's taking care of things with the police. It's all over now," Alice explained. "I'm at the hospital dealing with things for the Tynemans."
Lucien was about to drop the phone and get in the car with his pajamas on and drive to the police station and demand answers of his own, but thankfully he was prevented from that.
"Jean will explain everything when she gets back, and I can't say much over the phone without being overheard, but please just stay there. She didn't want you to worry about her when she didn't come home when you expected, so she asked me to call. And now I've called you, and you can stop worrying."
Fat lot of good that did. Lucien paced up and down the entryway of the house, waiting for Jean. Finally, a police car drove up. Lawson had given Jean a ride, which was good of him. Lucien ran out onto the porch as Jean got out of the car, prompting her to scold him for going outside in his dressing gown and slippers.
Once they were safely inside the house together, Jean fussed over Lucien still recovering and made him sit down on the sofa. He had to use all his control—and there wasn't much of it—to keep from getting too worked up and demanding to know what was going on.
At last, she sighed and wrapped her arms around him, careful to avoid his stitches from where he'd been stabbed. "Jean, what's happened?" he asked quietly into her ear, holding her in his arms.
She pulled back and told him the whole thing. How they'd found Edward feeding on Susan with Patrick discarded off to the side. How she chased after Edward, turning herself into an eagle to find him and fly out to that same terrible barn. How he had told her his tale, how he'd showed no remorse, how she saw the evil in his mind as he tried to attack her. How she unleashed her power on him and sent him flying into the wooden wall that splintered into his chest to kill him.
"I went back to the house after that to check on Alice with Patrick and Susan, and the ambos had just arrived. I was able to speak with Alice. She said the Tynemans were alright, just weak from blood loss, but she made sure the wounds wouldn't harm them any further. We came up with a story to tell them when they woke up and for the doctors treating them and for me to tell the police. That's what took me so long," she explained.
"What did you come up with?" he asked, amazed at all these two incredible women had managed. And much better than he'd have ever come up with on his own. Well, obviously, seeing as they were unscathed and solved everything and Lucien was stuck at home with a dozen stitches in his belly.
Jean took a deep breath. The exhaustion was starting to show on her face in a way he'd never quite seen before.
Lucien put his hand on her cheek and murmured, "It's all over now, my darling. We can talk about it in the morning if you want."
She shook her head and turned to kiss his palm. "No, I'm alright. I want it over and done with now. Tomorrow will be a new day."
And so Lucien sat quietly and held her hand as she told him that she and Alice decided that the story for the police and everyone else would be that Edward had returned home after getting involved with some unsavory people in Melbourne and had been intoxicated when his father refused to give him any more money, causing him to attack his parents. He fled and went to the barn where he had been hiding out and where he had carried out his crimes against Sara McKenna and Lucien, and he was found dead after tripping over a pitchfork and falling hard into the wall that broke and killed him. Alice would arrange for Edward's blood test to contain what it needed to in order to support their story. Jean planted the memory of discovering Edward's body into Bill Hobart's mind, as Sergeant Hobart was not a person who would ever doubt himself or allow others to doubt him.
"That all leaves us with one problem," Jean concluded.
Lucien frowned. "What problem is that?"
"Melbourne. Matthew will make inquiries about Edward's involvements there."
"Oh dear."
"So it looks like Alice gets what she wants. We'll have to go to the council for their help in handling that end of things."
The prospect of going to the vampire council was rather terrifying to Jean, Lucien knew. She didn't want to talk about it before this. She wouldn't even entertain the idea until now. And Lucien had not been eager about the prospect either. He did not know the degree to which his involvement and knowledge would help or hinder Jean. None of them knew what to expect, not even Alice. They would be going in blind, and the soldier in Lucien hated that more than anything else. And the idea that Jean would go without him was entirely out of the question. He would be there beside her though everything from now on.
Alice had been in touch with people she knew in Melbourne to arrange things, and Jean had been able to stall Lawson off making his inquiries for a few days so that Lucien could heal enough for his stitches to come out and he could be free of the prison of bedrest. Lucien drove the two vampire ladies to the city the very day his stitches were taken out. The ride was practically silent as all three of them sat with their anxiety over what might come to pass.
And in the end, all that worry and resistance and stress was for nothing. Alice led them to where the council met, telling the vampire at the front desk—they had a reception area, imagine that!—who they were and that they had an appointment. Two minutes later, they were led into a conference room. It did not look much different from the one at Ballarat Hospital where the board met each month. It was all so…ordinary. There were five men and two women sitting at the table, watching them enter.
"Doctor Harvey, you have informed this council that there was a rogue vampire in the town of Ballarat and that you and as-yet-unknown vampire Jean Beazley took care of the problem?" a man asked without any introduction whatsoever. He sat at the head of the table, and he wore an expression that could almost be called bored. The others looked much the same.
Alice stood tall and proud, hiding what Lucien knew was a deep discomfort of being put on the spot like this. "That is correct."
The man nodded. "I'll ask that you not shield so we can handle this efficiently."
Lucien felt his mind whirl. It was like when Alice read his thoughts, only far more bewildering as multiple vampires all searched through his memories at once. They saw Jean attack him that first time. They saw Alice reveal herself to him in the kitchen with Jean. They saw Jean under the moonlight telling him they were soulmates. They thankfully allowed his thoughts to skip over what had occurred after that; some things needed to be kept private, after all. But they also saw all the work Lucien had done to try and help Jean and Alice conceal their secrets and to find the vampire that had caused these deaths and then the attack from that very vampire on Lucien himself.
And then it was over. He looked over to see Jean and Alice looking as overwhelmed as he felt.
"Doctor Harvey, please wait for your friends at reception," the man said.
Alice nodded and turned quickly to leave the room, leaving Jean and Lucien standing there.
The man spoke again. "I know you're quite confused. I am the chair of the vampire council in Melbourne. My name is Frank Carlyle. And I am sorry you've been so concerned about us. I promise we aren't going to punish either of you for anything. Mrs. Beazley, I know that isn't really your name but it's the one you feel most comfortable with, correct?"
Jean nodded. Lucien had forgotten that she pretended to be Christopher's war widow in Ballarat; he knew they'd never gotten married and she'd never gotten to take his name properly during his life.
"Mrs. Beazley, your history is very interesting and also very unfortunate. Doctor Harvey's experience has colored your view of us, I know, but we exist to help vampires. We want to keep our kind safe and to assist wherever we can. The only time we bother anyone is when a vampire is a danger to the wider world, like Edward Tyneman was. You've done nothing at all that would ever warrant our involvement. But on behalf of the entire council, I am truly sorry that you were not brought to our attention sooner so we could have helped you. I'm sorry you've been alone for so long."
Lucien looked over to Jean and saw her swallow hard. The relief all of this must have caused her. He could hardly imagine.
Frank Carlyle continued, "Your powers are not unique, though they are rare. We know of your sire, Christopher Beazley. He had similar powers, though had never really discovered them and therefore never taught you how to use them. His sire is a member of the council in Paris. He discovered his powers long after turning Christopher, and those powers flowed through Christopher to you. We can give you his information if you ever wish to contact him. So you see, your fear that we would lock you away to study you is quite unfounded. Again, I'm sorry you've been so worried about us."
The man had a kind smile on his face that almost put Lucien at ease until attention was brought to Lucien himself.
"Doctor Blake, you're quite a remarkable man. I think we can all agree that we have seen great kindness and bravery and love within you."
The other vampires at the table all nodded and murmured in agreement.
"I don't know if many of us have seen such qualities in a human before today. You are rather fascinating, I must say, and personally, I think I'd like to have a beer with you sometime, if you're ever in Melbourne again."
Lucien chuckled at that, not knowing what else to do. "I appreciate that, Mr. Carlyle."
"You can call me Frank, Lucien. Since I know you prefer to avoid formalities."
It was all in his head, so of course Frank knew that. But it was a bit off-putting.
Frank turned back to Jean. "Next week, he'll be ready," he told her. "He's ready now, but you were right to wait for his body to heal. And the method you've got in mind, that will work perfectly. Not everyone is as privileged to be turned as kindly and lovingly as Christopher did for you. And you'll be fine turning Lucien. But if you think you need any assistance, you can always call our office and someone will be happy to come help you."
Jean glanced at Lucien, and they shared a relieved smile.
"And lastly," Frank said, "the entire council is grateful to your work with Edward Tyneman. We have his memories through your mind, and we will take care of things here. The vampire that turned Edward against his will needs to be found and stopped before inflicting the same harm on others. And I work for the state police when I'm not here, so I can speak to your Chief Superintendent Lawson and we'll sort it all out."
"Thank you," Jean said. Frank nodded politely and the two of them shared a meaningful look that Lucien did not quite understand.
With that, they were dismissed. They closed the door to the conference room behind them. Jean glanced around to see if anyone was in the corridor, and when she saw there wasn't, she went up on her toes and kissed him. "What was that for?" he asked, grinning.
"Well everything went much better than we imagined," she said. "But more than that, Frank spoke into my mind and let me see some of his thoughts and memories. He told me how lucky I was to have a soulmate. And he shared with me that he recently lost his soulmate. She knew about him but didn't want to be a vampire, so he never turned her. They were married and happy for a few years before she died, and he misses her very much. He told me that you were a worthy soulmate and you'd make a fine vampire for the rest of time, so long as we're careful."
Lucien kissed her again and said, "I'll be careful, Jean. I promise."
She smiled and shook her head with a small chuckle. "Now where have I heard that before?"
He laughed to himself at the memory, lying safely in bed at home, just before sleep claimed him.
"What's so funny?" Jean asked, getting into bed beside him and turning out the light.
Lucien pulled her into his arms. "Everything's worked out so well," he said. "And I'm just very happy to have you here with me."
She hummed happily, snuggling into his embrace. "It's our last night like this. Will you miss it?"
"No," he said. "Tomorrow you'll turn me into a vampire and I'll be grateful for my time as a human for the rest of my life, but I intend to make immortality all the better because I'll get to spend it with you."
Jean allowed him to kiss her for quite some time after that, but eventually she pulled away. "We have to get some sleep," she whispered. "Big day tomorrow."
"Yes," he agreed. "Big day."