Wow! Another update in a week! I'm so proud of myself. If only I could find the work ethic and attention span to do this all the time! Oooo, look, a bug! (as you can see, REALLY short attention span) . Thanks to ben revell, Oak Tree Woman, shade StormRaven333, Lunatic Pandora1, Raptor-Chick, Prairiefire, and L.Byron for the reviews! Enjoy!
Chapter 16: Good News and Bad News
Ravyn blinked, "What?"
"I'm turning into a vampire," Tarn'se repeated.
Ravyn shook her head, shock slowing her thoughts, "No, it's not possible… the vampire virus infects humans… it doesn't take hold in other species."
"How do you know?" Tarn'se questioned sharply
"Ivy tested it! The virus isn't compatible with any other cells but humans. Hell, even monkeys can't be vamps. There is no way you could get it… it's impossible," ravyn said smoothly.
Tarn'se tilted his head, "Has she tested the virus against my species?"
"N..n..no," Ravyn stuttered, "but that's beside the point. You can't possibly…"
Tarn'se growled angrily and snarled, "Then you can't know for sure!"
Ravyn glared, getting aggravated. It was bad enough for her to be Turning without some paranoid alien thinking he had the virus too, "Oh? And how are you so sure you're Turning?
There was a long pause and Tarn'se spoke softly, "I killed one of my own, beheaded him, with a simple hit to the head. None of my kind can do that…" Tarn'se paused again remembering when he was on his ship when he had cut himself. Holding out his hand, he lifted his blood stained wrist blades and cut a shallow wound across his left palm. Ravyn watched in amazement as the wound began to close also immediately; it wasn't as fast as a full vampire could heal, but it was pretty damn close.
Ravyn put her hand over her mouth, "Oh God… I'm guessing even your kind doesn't heal that fast." Tarn'se shook his head and Ravyn began to shake her head, "But how did you get it? You'd have to be fed the blood of a vampire…" Glancing up, Ravyn shook her head, faster this time, "Hell, no… not Nacht… she didn't… she wouldn't…"
"Before I found you in Nacht's dwelling, I had battled her. At one point she knocked my mask off and bit me… I bit her back."
Ravyn stared at him. That dumb-ass! How could he do something so stupid? This alien with his lasers and spaceships and "superior intellect" actually bit a vampire in retaliation?
Ravyn sighed in defeat, "I can't help you."
Tarn'se mask pulled back sharply, "Why not?"
Ravyn felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes as the thought of her own impending doom rose. She struggled to hold them back and muttered angrily, "Damn it, if I could help you, I could help myself!"
Tarn'se simply stared at her for a few moments, whether confused by her words or tears Ravyn couldn't tell. Finally he asked, "What do you mean, you can't help yourself?"
Ravyn sucked in a deep breath but it only made the tightening feeling in her throat get worse, "We have the cure… but we killed the key to it… we need Nacht's blood, but she's dead." Ravyn quickly wiped away the tears that ran down her cheeks, "The whole cure freakin' worthless without Nacht's blood."
"Could there be another solution, another cure?"
Ravyn sniffed and tried to regain her composure, "Who knows. If there is, I had better find it fast. I've got a week, maybe two before I completely Turn. You only drank the blood a week ago. You might be in the Turning stages long enough to…" Ravyn trailed off when a confusing thought hit her, "Wait… how long since you bit Nacht?"
"About one of your weeks, maybe a little more."
Ravyn shook her head, "That can't be right… show me your hand again." Ravyn looked closely at his hand to see the cut was almost gone, with only a faint line left. "That's not right," she said, pointing to the cut, "A symptom that extreme only starts occurring in the late second or early third month of the Turning. Turning into a vampire is a gradual process; it takes about three months, give or take a few weeks. You shouldn't be able to heal like that for at least another month, if not more." Ravyn really didn't like where this was going, "Whatever's going on, I think you should see Ivy immediately."
"What can she do?" Though Tarn'se's words were beings translated through his mask, Ravyn picked up a hint of suspicion behind them.
"She'll take a blood sample and see what's going on with you. Hell, if you're really lucky, the blood might only be giving you some after effects."
Tarn'se growled, "A blood sample? And how am I to know that you won't just hand that over to your human authorities, the same ones that have been trying to capture my kind for many years?"
"Lighten up, E.T." Ravyn snapped, "Do you really think we care about you guys?" She gestured behind her, at the vampire house, "We are our own authorities. Whatever sample we take, we will dispose of. I give you my word on that."
Tarn'se was quite for a moment, "If you do not care about my kind, why are you aiding me?"
"'Cause no one deserves to be Turned into a vamp against their will. Plus, I owe you one for saving my ass against Nacht. Now, let's get moving, shall we? Our temporary headquarters is pretty close by."
---
"Hey Ravyn, how'd the raid go?" Ivy asked, typing something on her laptop. When the Ash Guild House burned, Ivy's underground lab was one of the few things that hadn't been completely destroyed. Before heading off to the Ice Guild, Ivy had gathered what supplies she could and brought them with her. Now, she had her own miniature lab set up in her bedroom. It wasn't much, consisting of her laptop, a small lab station with a Bunsen burner and few test tubes, a microscope, and a few other random tools scattered about, but it was functional. A smaller adjoining room was attached to the main one, which Ivy used for general storage of chemicals and the like.
"Fine," Ravyn sighed, holding the door open for Tarn'se, shutting and locking it behind him. He had gotten through the house unseen easily due to his little cloaking devise. Damn, Ravyn really wanted one of those…
"I've been working with the cure and experimenting with a few chemicals, though I haven't much… woah!" Ivy jumped in her chair and nearly knocked over a set of test tubes when Tarn'se instantly appeared a few feet away from her. She scrambled to grab the tubes before they could fall. "Damn it! Next time, tell me when he's around! Jeez, you're gonna give me a heart attack!" Ivy barked at Ravyn. Tarn'se made the hissing rattle that was his version of a laugh, when a loud yelp came from the adjoining room.
Ivy looked over and shouted, "Nathan, get the hell out of there before you blow something up!"
Nathan's voice called from the other room, "Um… Ivy… is it bad when Nitric Acid comes in contact with copper?"
Ivy's face blanched, "Holy hell! Nathan you idiot! Excuse me…" Ivy bolted for the storage room as Nathan raced out of it. From Ivy's curses Ravyn guessed whatever Nathan did wasn't a good thing.
"What's up Ravyn? Hey! You're back! We though you were gone for good!" Nathan said excitedly when he spotted Tarn'se who was lounging by the door. Nathan seemed to have decided to idolize the alien hunter soon after Nacht's death. Ravyn quietly prayed to whatever gods there were that Nathan did not ask Tarn'se for an autograph.
Attempting to steer the conversation away from Tarn'se, Ravyn gestured to the storage room, "So… what did you do back there?" Another curse and some banging came from the room.
"Well, I was reading on of Ivy's chemistry books and it said that Nitric Acid reacts with copper and, from the picture in there, the reaction looked pretty cool. So, I took one of those beakers Ivy had back there, poured in some Nitric acid and dropped a penny in it."
"And…" Ravyn prompted.
"It… uh… turned neon green and started belching this rust colored smoke…"
"Poisonous rust colored smoke!" Ivy shrieked from the other room. She marched out looking disheveled and extremely pissed, "Nathan, if you so much as touch any more chemicals, I'll go into you're head and make you permanently believe that you're a sixteen year old drama queen with a fetish for leather! Thank god there was a vent that went outside in there!" Nathan smiled sheepishly and quickly got out of Ivy's way.
"So," Ivy ran her fingers through her hair and looked to Ravyn, her gaze flickering to Tarn'se, "What brings him?"
Ravyn bit her lip, "He has a bit of a problem…" Ivy raised her brows in question and Ravyn continued, "He might have been contaminated with the vamp virus."
Ivy raised one brow, "The vamp virus isn't compatible with non-human species."
Ravyn snorted, "Tell that to his buddy he accidentally decapitated with his bare hands." Ravyn ignored Nathan as he murmured "sweet" and looked at Tarn'se with renewed awe.
"Well," Ivy said calmly, "there is only one way to find out for sure." Ivy walked towards a desk and opened a drawer, murmuring, "I know I have a syringe around here somewhere…"
"There is no need for one," Tarn'se growled, holding up a rather large syringe of a strange alien make. Inside Ravyn glimpsed some glowing green liquid. She winced at the size of the needle on the syringe; jabbing himself with that had to hurt.
"Oh…" Ivy said softly as she reached out, took the syringe from the reluctant alien, and moved over to her microscope. Placing a few drops of blood on a slide, Ivy leaned in and began to scrutinize the sample carefully, looking skeptical.
She eyes narrowed, then widened as she gasped, "When was he infected?"
"About a week ago," Ravyn answered, not liking the look on Ivy's face.
"This is very bad," Ivy said shaking her head and looking scared, "It looks as though the virus has accelerated. Hell, if it keeps going at this rate, he'll be a full fledged vamp in two weeks tops, most likely less."
Tarn'se's head jerked back sharply and a soft rattle came from him. Ravyn couldn't help but pity him. He was in the same situation as her.
"Can't he use the cure?" Nathan asked flipping through one of Ivy's notebooks.
"He was infected by Nacht too," Ravyn answered, "Damn it!" She slammed her fist down on one of the metal lab tables angrily, "Why does the blood have to be specific?"
"Perhaps we could use the blood of the vampire that changed Nacht… it might have a stronger effect," Ivy suggested, "The only problem is we have no clue who that vampire was or if it's still alive."
"What of the other vampires made by Nacht?" Tarn'se asked.
Ivy shook her head, "Good guess, but we've already tried it. It seems to have some effect, but nothing permanent."
As they continued to suggest possible ideas, Nathan said, "Hey, I've got an idea!" He was completely ignored. After a few minutes of trying to interrupt, he ended up raising his hand as if he was in school, waiting with a patient smile on his face.
Ivy glanced in his direction, rolled her eyes, and asked, "Yes, Nathan?"
"Why don't you ask Eve?" At the blank looks he received, Nathan elaborated, "Eve is Nacht's twin sister right? She looks exactly like her so she had to have the same blood as Nacht when she was human, and they were both changed by the same vampire. Wouldn't she have the same blood as Nacht?"
The group stared at Nathan in shock. Ivy murmured quietly "That could work… that very well could work."
Ravyn leapt over to Nathan and hugged him tightly in an uncharacteristic display of affection, "I can't believe an idiot like you could come up with something so brilliant!" Ravyn said, grinning widely at him. Nathan seemed surprised, but proud all the same.
"Where is Eve?" Tarn'se asked, his voice sharp and quick with anxiousness caused by Nathan's stroke of brilliance.
Ravyn looked at Ivy who returned her gaze with a blank look.
"Aw, crap…" Ravyn grumbled.
Who knew where Eve could be?
---
Aboard the Yautja ship, Jaelre stood nervously as the final ship arrived and docked with his clan's. The main docking bay was a large empty room with a bulky door that would open when a ship would dock. At the moment the normally roomy space was completely packed with every Yautja that was present on the ship.
Tarn'se's desertion had not only confused, but raised the suspicions of most of the warriors on board. Murmured questions and accusations flew back in forth, the most common being, "Why did he run off?" and "How did he behead Nerma?" The recent events in the training hall had raced around the ship at lightning speed and had been exaggerated beyond belief. Even those that had been present were beginning to believe the bizarre tales.
Leader Macre stood at the docking entrance, looking like his usual stern, grumpy self. However, if one were to look him in the eyes they could see the many concerns and fears that raced through his head every second.
There was a dull thud and the ship docked completely and a light hiss as the doors of the docking bay opened wide revealing the visitors. The group of five Yautja walked onto the ship with careful, measured strides, radiating an aura of power and intimidation, especially the one at the head of the group.
Macre walked stiffly up to the leader of the group and shook his shoulder in greeting. The warrior was rather tall and thin for a Yautja, but it would be surprising if a single warrior on the ship would willingly fight the warrior, Macre included. The tall Yautja was about as close to a celebrity as a Yautja warrior could get.
"Greetings, Arbitrator Far'hnde," Macre said gruffly.
"And greetings to you, Leader Macre," Far'hnde replied, returning the shoulder-shake greeting. Lowering his voice, Far'hnde murmured, "I heard that you have a problem with a warrior?"
Macre's lower mandibles tightened, the equivalent of a human biting his lip nervously, "The problem is more complicated than what I told you before." Glancing around at his clan who weren't even trying to hide the fact they were straining their ears to hear the conversation, "It would be best for us to continue this in private."
Far'hnde gave a sharp nod and gestured to his four fellows who dispersed amongst the crowd, greeting old fellows amongst the group. Following the two leaders, the rest of the clan filed out of the bay until only Jaelre was left.
"This is bad," Jaelre thought. With an Arbitrator involved, especially one of Far'hnde's prowess, it was very possible that Tarn'se would have some company very soon. If Macre and Far'hnde came to the conclusion Tarn'se ran for an ill reason, which was likely, they would go after him immediately. And if Tarn'se resisted, also very likely, it was doubtful that Far'hnde would hesitate to injure or even kill him.
Jaelre stood in the bay as minutes passed by, trying to think of the best way to aid his friend. Deciding, Jaelre raced out of the bay and hoped he could find Macre in a good mood.
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