Reposted Chapter.
Chapter Nine: Dream if you can
"Oh god," Amelia gagged, "what is that smell?"
Michael took a step back from the autopsy table, coughing. The stench permeated the air, a mixture of burning sulfur and decaying human flesh causing the two cough violently. Their hyperactive senses adjusted and both returned to the vampire corpse. Michael picked up the clippers and went back to work, cutting each pair of ribs away from the sternum.
One last crack and Michael pulled the sternum free from the chest cavity, placing it on another table behind him. He put both of his hands inside of the still rounded rib cage, gently pulling away the tissue attached to the bones. In a swift move, he pushed all the ribs down, opening the body up fully.
The two doctors delved into their subject, slowly cutting away at the thin, but strong layers of gray-scaled muscles. Several trays set up behind both of them served to hold parts that seemed strange or needed to be examined further. Occasionally, Amelia would turn her head away, coughing at the pungent smell still emulating from the corpse. Michael just shook his head swiftly, shaking the ever lingering feeling of naseau for just a bit more time.
Thankfully, they drained away most of the blood and bodily fluids prior to opening her up. But still, things slipped and slid around in their grasps, causing frustrated grunts and sighs.
"There's something really wrong about of this," Amelia warned, lifting one of the grayish lungs up and probing the organs beneath it. "All of the organs are already in an advanced state of decay. Even the heart looks dilapidated. Look." She lifted the other lung up, catching it as it slipped out of her grasp twice. Michael leaned in, carefully looking over the surface of the heart.
What should have been deep red with blue arteries criss crossing its surface was a grey-purple color. The aorta coming off the top looked crushed, almost as if it collapsed on itself. Cutting away at its support structure, he lifted it out, holding it in the direct light. Amelia let go of the lungs, a wet slap following their return in the chest.
"I've never seen it like that before," Amelia said, accepting the heart from Michael.
"Neither have I. It looks like most of the heart was dead before she was killed."
"But how could she keep going? Even vampires need air."
"I don't know, but I'd venture to guess--whoa!" Amelia looked down at the table. Michael gently pushed aside the fatty membrane covering the intestines and pulled the stomach up and out. It was still attached, so it sat on an angle, but even that gave them a perfect view of a strange situation.
"Its black," Amelia gasped, placing the heart down by the female's head. "How the hell could it turn black?" She gently poked the slimy surface. "Its completely full, too."
"Blood?"
"No." She kneaded it gently, careful not to spill any of the powerful digestive acids on her hands. "Its thicker than blood. I'll do a drain and test it; maybe this will explain the rest of her." Michael nodded and gently closed the skin back over the opening. He pulled a blue pad over the chest to keep everything inside moist for the time being. They both exited to the room, two lycan females going in to clean up their instruments passing them by. They quickly removed their gloves and face masks, inhaling the fresh air from air conditioning in the wash room.
"Run blood tests on the stomach juices," Michael asked. "I want to make doubly sure of whatever happen to them and why they are..."
"...physically decaying?" Michael shrugged with a nod. There was no better way to describe it; those vampires were actively decomposing before they met their end at Nyssa's hands. Or wings would be closer to the mark, he thought with a tired sigh.
Is that humming? Michael slowed up his pace, stopping just outside the door to their quarters. Carefully, he pushed the door open and peered in. The room was empty, but the sound continued. He walked in, noting the towels laying across the back of the couch and one of the plush chairs missing. He moved around, looking to the bed and the vanity, but finding no one.
A cold breeze blew across his neck, the light in the room flickering as a curtain lifted in the current of air. He walked over to the balcony entrance, leaning against the door frame in silence. Selene sat, her legs curled under her, rocking gently in the missing chair. She cast a serene gaze upon the moon, now just past the apex of the sky. Her face turned downward as she gently stroked the loose brown curls on Nyssa's head. Her song never stopped even though Nyssa was fast asleep, curled into her mother, her thumb just slipping out between her lips.
"She okay?" Selene looked up, nodding with a soft smile. Michael squatted down next to the chair, resting his head on the arm. "No cuts or anything?"
"If there were, they healed up before her bath. It was mostly their blood on her."
"Mostly?"
"She said one slapped her and it caused her nose to bleed, but it stopped quickly." Another breeze came up and over the edge, colder, causing Selene to shiver. She started to stand up, but due to her awkward position, she would wake Nyssa if she did.
"Here," Michael offered, moving in front of her. She raised her arms, letting Nyssa shift into his grasp. A tired moan escaped the rosy lips and Michael soothed her quietly. Selene stood as they walked in, stretching her aching muscles before following. He laid Nyssa down softly, pulling the comforter up over her shoulders and watching as she curled up, sighing as she found her position to sleep.
"Goodnight, my princess," he whispered, kissing her temple softly. He watched her for a minute before moving back into their main room, shutting the door to the bedroom. Sitting on the couch, he gladly accepted Selene as she sat down beside him, laying across his lap and leaning against the cushioned arm.
"What did you find out?"
"Well, they were wearing some sort of cream on their skin. It blocks out the pheromones that someone emits so you can't smell them. It was actually pretty thick on their skin so it must mean that a small dose doesn't really work on lycans. Also, their bodies were in some advanced stage of decay by the time they got here."
Selene frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Vampires' organs usually remains the same color and shape as a one's in a human. We both require oxygen and our bodies continue to function basically the same way. But for some reason, these women's bodies looked like they were in the final stages of death when they were killed.Amelia is running tests on their blood and a substance we found in their stomaches. Until then, we've got to wait."
She shifted into him, her head against his shoulder, hands linking with his. A weary sigh escaped her lips and Michael gently kissed her forehead. A amiable silence settled between them as they both tapped their hyper senses to listen to the gentle breaths of their sleeping child. It was nearly dawn before Michael finally broke their silence, brave enough to say out loud what they both thought.
"She's not safe here anymore."
Erika did not like this. In fact, it really made her blood boil. She smoothed her black jeans again, running her fingers over the intricate design of lace and sequins that ran from the thigh to the ankle of her right leg. She exhaled her frustration and rocked on the bench slowly. One of the nearby Death Dealers leered at her, eyes studying her with a lustful gaze. Usually, she would figure out some clever way to flash the beautiful insignia ring of an elder's consort, stopping most vampires short and causing them to look away in embarrisment, praying she wouldn't tell.
But she really didn't care about that right now. Her informant was late and she feared the worst.
"Here." She jumped slightly, accepting the offered snifter of blood. A long drought of the chilled fluid, ever so slightly flavored with bittersweet chocolate, revitalized her. She sighed with stained lips curled into a smile.
"You seem to know what people want all the time," she admitted with a grin. The female vampire, Lakelann, laughed lightly, sipping at her own glass.
"No I don't, but I've seen you sitting here among the, uh," she gestured to the dojo filled with Death Dealers with slight disgust, "sweat and blood of the coven for nearly three hours. And you didn't take any blood when you woke. I just guessed." She paused, looking at Erika carefully. "He hasn't come yet, has he?"
"No, but he's been later than this before. They have our mansion monitors about as closely as we have their's under our eye. Its getting harder for him to get here, I understand. Its just the waiting that gets to me." Lakelann nodded, taking another sip from her glass. In truth, meeting with him in the middle of the dojo filled with Death Dealers was the best course of action.
He was a trustworth spy, but you could never tell.
Commotion in the corner of the room drew her attention and she rose, watching as five of Marcus' finest escorted her contact through the crowds of vampires. Quite a few of them stopped their activity, looking the lycan interloper over with dangerous eyes. But a word from one of the five guarding him and they returned to their exercises.
"M'lady Erika," he bowed deeply, waiting for her signal to rise. She waved her hand and he rose as she dismissed the five a distance from them. Lakelann looked at her friend, silently agreeing to wait for her. Erika turned on her heel and walked him to a private room, one used for the meetings between the vampires and humans when such events needed to take place.
"My apologies for being late, m'lady. The surveillance on the mansion has tripled in the last few weeks. I had a hard time getting through--"
"Enough," she said, holding her hand up. "I understand the need for precaution; its something we all must exercise at this point. But enough of that, what have you brought me?"
A large brown envelope produced pictures, papers and a map for her. "The attack on the child proved enough to scare Selene and Michael. They've decided to move her to another location in three days time. Selene is to accompany the child that day; he'll join them later on, but they did not say when." He shifted one of the maps out, flattening it.
"They are going to a safe house in Montana. It's set back in the forest quite a bit, but that provides enough cover for anyone to move in. It has security, but since it has yet to be discovered by your forces, they rely more on the secrecy of the location than force."
"How many guard it?"
"Twenty. But I'll bet she's going to have it doubled to forty for the child's sake."
"And what of our experiments?"
"They've been keeping tight-lipped about it. The one guard, Thomas, who saw what happened was sworn to secrecy and even I could not break him of it. They did autopsies on the bodies, so I was unable to find out exactly how they were killed. The lab rat, Amelia, just recieved the results back when I left, so its only a matter of time before they figure it out."
Erika nodded, paging through the various pictures absent mindedly before looking at him again. "The money has been transferred into your account and they will escort you back to your transport." He bowed deep again, rising up and walking out of the room.
"Oh," she said, turning him back to her, "do be careful, Samuel. I would hate to soil my hands killing that traitorous bitch for harming my nephew."
A grin passed over Samuel's face, his naturally gray eyes flickering in the light as he bowed again.
A/N: a quick story: my friend read this chapter and was so angry with Samuel, she told me to kill him in the next chapter.
but fear not, our traitorous lycan will be hanging around for a bit. i'm not finished with him just yet. (my goodness, i sound a tad evil today.) thank you for all the wonderful reviews.
EDIT: Just to get rid of confusion, Samuel is Erika's nephew, not her cousin.
until next chapter,
anthestria