Eye of the Storm
"Brendon?" Tanith inquired shortly as she ran.
"Warehouse," replied Émile, who had reverted back to his human form. Tanith nodded and the trio ran faster, Tanith the fastest of all. She was desperate to get to Brendon with the antidote so he could start to heal, and the sooner the better, considering the extent of the damage. Minuet grabbed her hand and squeezed it once briefly as a reassurance. Tanith flashed her a quick smile, but it was half-hearted. It seemed an eternity, but it was only a few minutes before they were back in the warehouse. Pete, who had taken Brendon, had laid the half-dead vampire on one of the couches. He looked up when the three entered with a very worried expression.
"He won't stop bleeding," Pete said softly. "And the burned skin smells like it's rotting. He hasn't been coherent since I got him out of there."
Tanith's face crumpled as she darted to her lover's side. "Benny? Benny, can you hear me? You don't have to say anything; just make some sound or movement if you can hear me, please."
"Nnn," Brendon groaned.
"It's OK now," Tanith said in the gentlest tone she could. "It's me, Tanith. You're safe now. You're far away from that hell. It's going to be all right now."
Pete stepped away to give her some vestige of privacy. "Where are the rest of the guys?" he asked Minuet and Émile in a low voice.
"They ran out with us," said Minuet. "They should be here soon; they were following in the car." Pete nodded, relieved. They had souped up their car so it was fast enough to outrace the vampires. If they had made it to the car, they would be all right. Sure enough, the warehouse door opened and closed suddenly and Pete could hear his friends' heartbeats. He relaxed knowing that they were safe.
"How's Brendon?" asked Andy as he and Patrick and Joe walked in.
"Not good," said Minuet sadly. "God I wish I hadn't seen all that."
"Where is he now?" asked Joe. Minuet nodded towards the couch when Tanith was still kneeling next to Brendon, holding his hand. Joe gasped in horror; Andy and Patrick stared. Tanith took no notice, just grabbed the medi-kit from the coffee table, took a syringe out of it, and filled the syringe with the antidote.
"Benny, where did he give you the poison?" she asked carefully. "Please, try to tell me."
"Neck," Brendon moaned. Tanith turned his head gently, held his hand tightly, and injected the antidote into his neck. "Owww, hurts…" Brendon whimpered.
"I know, I know sweetie," Tanith said soothingly, squeezing his hand. "But it'll help you, I promise. There, it's done now." She quickly dropped the syringe and took Brendon's fangs from her pocket, holding them carefully near the holes where they belonged until she felt the tug of his body reclaiming its missing parts and let his system realign and reattach them naturally. While she stayed next to him, Minuet went to the kitchen and got a wet washcloth and a hand towel, handing them to Tanith when she came back into the room. Tanith smiled her thanks and gently cleaned the blood off Brendon's body. Brendon looked up at her, shaking violently still but not whimpering in pain anymore. The wounds he bore were beginning to heal slowly, though Tanith was afraid Pete was right about the burned skin being rotted. She chewed her lower lip worriedly, tearing the skin. Brendon wasn't healing fast enough, and he had lost so much blood. He would die if he didn't feed. Stroking his forehead, Tanith bit into her own wrist and held it to Brendon's mouth.
"Tanith…" said Brendon softly, his lips brushing her skin. The sharing of blood between two vampires is a very intimate act, and not one done lightly. Tanith just smiled encouragingly and nodded. Slowly Brendon parted his lips and bit into Tanith's wrist. She barely even blinked, just kept smiling and stroked his head. Brendon's eyes closed and he relaxed, bringing his hand up to hold Tanith's. He drank faster, blood starting to trickle down his chin.
"Easy, easy," Tanith said gently. "Don't rush, baby. Slow down a little, that's it." As he drank, Brendon's wounds began healing much more rapidly. Tanith cut the palm of her free hand with one fang and touched the blood to the burned and rotten skin, which healed immediately. A healthy color began to return to Brendon's cheeks and he stopped shaking so hard. Joe moved forward and laid a soft blanket over Brendon to warm him. Tanith smiled appreciatively at him before looking back to Brendon. She pulled her wrist away and he sighed, leaning back against the mismatched pillows. He closed his eyes briefly, collecting himself, before looking around at those near him.
"I'm in your warehouse?" he asked Pete, who nodded. Looking from Pete to Andy, Joe, and Patrick, he quietly said, "I'm sorry for everything I've done to you guys. Really, I am."
"Hey, just forget it," said Andy genially. "It's fine now, right guys?" The others agreed and Brendon smiled.
Tanith also smiled and kissed Brendon's cheek. "You try to sleep now, all right? You've been through a lot; you need to rest. I'm sure you'll be good as new when you wake up." Brendon nodded tiredly and closed his eyes. He was sound asleep in a moment, and Tanith rose. "I'm going to dismember that hellion," she said venomously. "God, to think I ever let him touch me…"
"Not tonight, you're not," said Minuet firmly. "You're going to stay with Brendon."
"Of course I am." Tanith sighed, trying not to let her temper flare up. What was important was that she stay near Brendon and take care of him while he needed her. Turning to the band, she said, "I want to thank you for this, for everything. I know I'm not the easiest person to live with, so if I've been acting bitchy or bossy-"
"Don't worry about it," Patrick interrupted gently. "This has been hard on everyone. We're all a little bitchy sometimes; I guess you have to be if you want to stay alive in this city."
Tanith smiled appreciatively. "Thank you." Turning to Émile, she said, "Émile, how about we get the venom I need for the antidote?"
"Sure," said Émile. "Anyone have a bowl?"
"Yeah, I'll grab one," Patrick said, heading to the kitchen. He returned with a cereal bowl that he handed to Émile. "So, uh…how does this work?"
"You can watch, if you want," Émile said with a shrug. He closed his eyes for a moment and morphed into his lupine form. He looked at Tanith with golden eyes and nodded, kneeling on the floor with his back to her, holding the bowl under his upper teeth in his wide-open mouth. Tanith placed her fingertips on either side of Émile's neck just under his jaw and pressed in firmly. Émile grunted and a milky white liquid trickled out of his fangs into the bowl. Tanith pressed a little harder, until the venom finally ran dry and she let her arms drop to her sides while Émile reverted back to his human form.
"Thanks E. I'll mix everything together later," said Tanith, sounding tired. She sat on the couch and took Brendon's head in her lap, stroking his hair lovingly but with a distinctly sad look in her eyes.
"Hey Moon," Minuet said gently. Tanith looked up at her. "It's going to be OK. You know that it will. We're all in this together." Tanith smiled faintly but didn't answer.
'She loves him so much,' Pete thought. 'And she hates William just as much. How can she be happy like that?' "Your friend's right, Tanith," he said aloud. "We've started this together, and that's how we'll finish it. William's going down."
Tanith managed a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess you guys are right. I suppose I should make an intro: these are my friends Émile and Minuet. Guys, this is Pete, Joe, Andy, and Patrick." Greetings were exchanged among the group an awkward silence fell. With nothing to say or do, everyone eventually decided to go to sleep. Tanith told Minuet to sleep in her closet-bed; she was going to stay up with Brendon.
"If you're going to do that, then here," said Patrick, pulling out the fold-out bed in one of the other couches. Tanith smiled gratefully as Pete lifted Brendon carefully and laid him on the bed. She said goodnight to the guys and watched them leave before lying next to Brendon and cradling him lovingly in her arms, singing softly to him until she too fell asleep.
Tanith opened her eyes to complete darkness. Stretching out exploring fingers she felt the lid of a coffin above her and pushed it open. Her mouth fell open in shocked horror: she was in the Dandies' lair again. Frightened, she leapt out of the coffin she had been sleeping in and raced out the door and down the halls. There were Dandies everywhere, but they all just laughed at her, leering. Brendon's face was not among them, and this only served to frighten her still more. She finally made it to the library and found William there waiting for her.
"Good evening, Tanith," he said with that insufferable grin on his smug face as usual.
"Where are my friends?! What have you done?!" she demanded, furious.
"What, no 'hello', no 'how are you'?" asked William, feigning hurt. "Darling, I thought we were closer than that. Don't tell me that my torturing your sweetheart and plotting your downfall have put a damper on our relationship. It was nothing personal, I assure you."
"Your soul to the Devil, you swine! Answer my question!" yelled Tanith, eyes blazing.
William only smiled darker. "As you wish." He indicated his right and Tanith looked. To her abject horror, she saw not only Brendon but Pete, Patrick, Joe, Andy, Minuet, and Émile standing there, all dressed as Dandies, all with blank faces.
"Guys…" she croaked, almost too aghast to speak. "What…how did this happen? Guys, it's me, Tanith. Can't you hear me?"
"Of course they can hear you," said William casually. "They just don't know you anymore. Now they belong to me." Grinning an evil grin, he said, "You should have known better, Tanith. If you had stayed, they would be your friends still and not my puppets. You've lost everything now. And I have won. Just accept it, Tanith. Accept it and come back where you belong. Be mine again, like you were before. You remember how happy we were, don't you?"
"I would rather die than let you ever touch me again!" Tanith's eyes darted around, finally settling on a fire poker. She seized it and spun to face William, who blinked in surprise, then smiled again.
"What do you hope to accomplish?" he inquired. "Attack me, and you may slay one of your loved ones instead. Can you live with that?"
"Can you?" replied Tanith bitterly. Her mouth twisted in an awful grimace as she turned the poker to herself and stabbed herself in the heart.
"No!" she heard William shout, but it was too late. Her body was already beginning to disintegrate. A twisted mockery of a smile spread across her features as she started to laugh. It was a terrible, hollow, metallic sound that grew louder and more hysterical as she watched William stare at her in shock. Her friends watched her from a distance, only vaguely recognizing what was happening before them.
"I love you all," Tanith whispered to them as blood bubbled out her mouth, dribbling down her lips and chin. Looking at William, she added, "But I will always hate you, even beyond death. I will haunt you forever. I promise you that you will never again know one second's peace. I swear it in this blood." And she laughed as she died…
…and woke herself with her awful, cold laughter.
Tanith clamped a hand over her mouth to suppress the terrible sound before it woke Brendon, or anyone else. She looked around herself. The doors of her closet-bed were still closed, indicating that Minuet was still asleep. Émile, in wolf form, lay curled up peacefully under the table. Brendon was still sleeping in her arms. The rest of the band were in their rooms, presumably sleeping as well. Tanith breathed a sigh of relief. 'What an awful dream,' she thought, shaking her head to clear it. 'I wouldn't hesitate to die for the people in this warehouse, but I pray it doesn't come to that. If it did, if I saw them all like that…'
She didn't sleep the rest of the day.