Chapter 7: Satisfactory Words
In the less than five minutes it took for Jeremy to arrive with two other operatives, Dwight heard no less than three more harsh collisions of Ceridwen against the cellar door, each followed with an inhuman howl of frustration and pain. Dwight felt himself cringe in natural fear. It seemed that this sound, the sound of a creature in ravenous pursuit of prey, made even the young vampire realize his immortal limitations. He had once heard that the roar of a lion could cause a heart attack in a man for up to a mile away. He had thought little of such facts until now. Thoughts about the prowess and primal power of all cats great and small came flooding back in a mental reel of horrible images. Pain began to course through his chest as he realized that Desdemona had scratched him as she had been released from the safety of the bundle. He breathed deeply, clutching the back of his head in a determined command to his body to not react to this. Jeremy had run faster than any Olympian, skidding to a halt in front of the door with two operatives not far behind. He stared at Dwight in confusion. The vampire was a sight sitting on the floor, leaned back against the wall in exhaustion as blood dripped from small wounds on his chest, arms, and hands. Jeremy hesitated for a moment, examining Dwight carefully. A thunderous slam into the cellar door broke the strained silence of Jeremy's observation and caused Dwight to jump in a natural reflex of fright.
"She's turned hasn't she?" Jeremy asked breathlessly. Dwight drew in a deep breath.
"She must have, but it did not look exactly like her," he explained as he rose slowly to standing. Jeremy frowned at him. Dwight stared at him angrily. "Why were you not making sure that she was properly medicated against this, Jeremiah?"
Jeremy scowled at him. "I've been a little busy covering for the rest of the mess you've landed my sister in. I can only do so much," he said defensively. "She is a big-girl, you know, and perfectly capable of keeping track of this kind of stuff."
"Be that as it may, she has been severely injured in the past three months and is probably still recovering. She needs the protection of her teammates whether they are busy or not," Dwight retorted angrily. Jeremy clenched one fist, then released it just as quickly.
"This isn't going to help her. She needs something to calm her until the sun rises," Jeremy said turning to the other two operatives. "I need lycan sedative, now." The two nodded and raced off towards the infirmary that had been created in one of the guest rooms. Dwight stared at Jeremy for a moment, then felt the world spin beneath him. He grunted angrily, reaching behind himself to hold onto the wall. Jeremy moved forward quickly, seeing the familiar swaying of someone in distress as well as the familiar gaze of an undernourished vampire beginning to manifest fully in his sister's charge. He frowned and looked to the side. "I'll need your help getting her the medicine."
"How?" Dwight asked as he closed his eyes for a moment.
"I'll need for you to hold her after I open the door. You're the only one with the strength to keep her from killing one of us now that she's transmorphed entirely," Jeremy explained. Dwight opened both eyes and stared at Jeremy in confusion. "Can you do that?"
"I cannot," Dwight replied sharply. "My strength is above average in human form, but not enough to do what you ask."
"I didn't expect you to do it in human form," Jeremy said in an uncomfortable tone. Dwight raised one brow at the boy in further confusion. Was Jeremy really suggesting that the operatives allow him to reach his full potential; while hungry? The look on Jeremy's face told Dwight that he feared more for his sister at the moment than anything. Dwight knew, from inductive reasoning, that the Bureau would not be at all pleased to hear that Ceridwen had succumb to her illness even for a short time. "I'm going to deactivate that microchip for a few minutes," Jeremy said. The tone of the boy's voice told Dwight that it was something he loathed saying or thinking about. "You keep hold of her until we get her sedated. So help me, if you try anything I'll..."
"Action, adjective, sensitive part of my body, length of time, eventuality for me," Dwight interjected. Jeremy glared at him. "I am well aware of your formula for threats, Jeremiah."
"Good," Jeremy shot back. "Then it won't be necessary to tell you what Ceridwen will do to you, either."
Dwight frowned and watched the two operatives return. He looked back down at Jeremy and nodded to him. Jeremy sighed heavily and took a small device from his pocket, moving around Dwight to stand behind him. The vampire braced himself, closing his eyes tightly as he heard the small 'pop' that alerted him painfully to the chip's inability to function. Jeremy grunted slightly in frustration with himself for allowing this to happen as he moved away from Dwight. He turned to the operatives who displayed the long hypodermic needle attached to the syringe of medication. He turned towards the door.
"Stand back," Dwight instructed.
Jeremy muttered something slightly obscene as he moved backwards. The youth's anger was building into resentment for both Dwight and himself. The hatred, at the moment, could be easily directed toward the vampire in a healthy manner. Once alone, Jeremy could focus on his self-loathing uninterrupted before Ceridwen had a chance to come around and begin blaming herself as well. Dwight reached forward, mustering all the strength he had ever known both physically and mentally. He pictured in the back of his mind what was to follow for the next few moments, but always found himself drawn in paralyzing fear to the image of Ceridwen in lycan form. If his form was anything similar to hers, then it was no wonder average people collapsed in fear at the sight of him. He forced all the images away, deciding it better to act on instinct rather than plan at the moment since that would be exactly how his opponent would behave. He drew in a sharp breath and grasped the handle, waiting for a moment of silence from behind the door before opening it. As the door creaked open, Dwight noted that there was nothing behind it. He narrowed his eyes and examined the darkness carefully. Nothing, neither the glow of her eyes nor the outline of her body, was visible to him. As he relaxed his senses and moved forward, a flash of black fur and a loud barrage of hissing sped past him. Dwight cried out in agony as he felt four enormous wounds form on his arm. Ceridwen's claws had embedded themselves and ripped free in long gashes within nanoseconds. She moved more quickly than any creature he had ever seen. He grasped his arm, feeling pain and anger take precious energy from him. He recognized this feeling. It would be only a matter of hours before an uncontrollable rage overtook him and forced him to kill anything in sight.
He knelt, clutching his maimed limb gingerly. Through a mist of red, he could hear the operatives shouting to one another and Jeremy. Dwight concentrated his energy into his eyes, trying to determine what his next course of action should be. As his vision became clear enough to discern, he saw Ceridwen, a grotesque and gorgeous creature combination of young woman and black cat, standing a few feet away from him and only inches away from her brother. Her tail twitched back and forth in irritation and she growled in sheer hatred, but made no other movements whatsoever. She seemed affixed on the sight of Jeremy. Jeremy stood perfectly still as one of the operatives raced forward and dove to the floor, jamming the needle into her thigh on the way down. Ceridwen howled in pain as the man rolled away from her; coming to a halt beside Dwight. The two watched the girl crumple in unconsciousness. Jeremy caught her quickly, not allowing more than three feet between her body and the ground as she fell into the drug-induced sleep. Dwight breathed deeply as Jeremy gave orders to take Ceridwen to the infirmary and send for their father immediately. The operative beside Dwight rose and quickly began helping his partner take Ceridwen back up the stairs. Jeremy moved towards Dwight, staring above him in utter bewilderment. The haze over the young vampire cleared slightly.
"What is it? What has you so dumbfounded?" Dwight asked softly.
"Sh-she didn't attack," Jeremy muttered. He looked down at Dwight, his eyes emitting a curious glow. "Lycans attack anything in sight unless they've fed. There was nothing for her to feed on. She wasn't vicious, she just stood there."
"You are her brother," Dwight reasoned. "Part of her must have recognized that."
"Lycans can't recognize family, they don't remember," Jeremy muttered quietly. "She didn't attack me. She isn't like any of the others we've treated together."
"How many times has she attacked someone?" Dwight asked as he groaned and tried to stand.
Jeremy turned and grabbed him harshly by the arm; helping him stand, but only in as much as to glare hatefully at him. "Ceridwen's never attacked anyone like that before," he snapped. "She's never transmorphed fully, not like that. She has gone very wild, like that time she tore into you, but she's never had this happen before....ever."
"I could tell. She was not as accustomed to stalking and attacking prey as any other creature," Dwight said as he pulled away from Jeremy and grasped his arm in a cry of pain. He breathed cautiously through clenched teeth. If he didn't feed soon, Jeremy's fate would be sealed where Ceridwen had just failed. "She will be fine."
"I have no doubt about that," Jeremy muttered.
He grabbed Dwight by the arm once again, pulling him towards the stairs and then towards his room. Dwight found it hard to see and comprehend the passage of time as Jeremy led him to his room and left for a moment to get a dose of blood. He felt his features lose all strength and found himself lying in an awkward position on the bed. Jeremy must have arrived only a few minutes later. Dwight opened his eyes, not realizing that consciousness had left him, as Jeremy was holding the container of blood to his mouth. Dwight's eyes began to glow an unnatural hungry red. He quickly snatched the package away from Jeremy, holding the precious fluid with great relief. The cool, thick life-force filled him with the promise of survival and rest. He breathed deeply, flaring his nostrils with delight as the last few satisfying drops of whole blood coursed over his tongue. He threw the container to the side, panting heavily and enjoying the feel of strength returning to every nerve once again. He looked around the room, noticing that Jeremy still sat waiting. He sighed and nodded to him, feeling yet another stab of pain rip through the injured flesh on his arm. Jeremy stood and walked towards him, handing him a second dose of blood.
"I am satiated for the time being," Dwight replied dismissively. Jeremy grabbed Dwight's good hand and placed the container in it.
"For now, but you were pretty weak a moment ago. One dose wouldn't do it. Drink that before I get back with the medical equipment," Jeremy commanded.
Dwight felt too complacent with contentment to argue at the moment. As the door closed behind Jeremy, Dwight felt an electric twinge move through him at a disturbing realization. The blood had tasted delicious and felt satisfying, refreshing, almost enjoyable. At any other moment, it would have made him slightly ill. Even the thought of taking this second dose now was nauseating. Was that the precursor to his sprees? Did he truly lose himself to an animal that delighted in blood-letting? He had never remembered losing control. He furrowed his brow as he forced himself to drink the second dose. He didn't want to allow that scenario to happen again, but he needed to know whether or not what he thought was a normal part of the food web was, in fact, simply another blood-thirsty monster like many of the humans he destroyed. Jeremy returned quickly and set to work treating and bandaging Dwight's arm.
"I think Ceridwen might have been injured on the door," Dwight said.
"They're looking at her right now. Our nurse says that Ceridwen's medicine levels were basically what they should have been," Jeremy said shaking his head.
"What does that mean?" Dwight asked, trying his best to ignore the pain.
"It means that the moon phases alone weren't enough to change her," Jeremy explained. "Either someone did something to her or she reacted to something that has affected her virus violently in the past."
"And you think I am behind either?" Dwight asked in amusement.
"Actually, no." Jeremy reached back down, withdrawing something that Dwight couldn't quite make out. He grabbed the vampire's chin, forcing his head to the side. Dwight complied, but found this a little odd since his neck had, thankfully, not been injured at all. "As powerful as you are, you don't have what it takes to bring out the worst in her," Jeremy said in an almost disappointed tone.
Dwight felt a sharp sting on his neck. He grunted in pain and shoved Jeremy away from him, instinctively. Jeremy smiled.
"What was that?" Dwight demanded. Surely Jeremy hadn't just reactivated the chip. That felt nothing like it had in the past.
"That was a pain-killer. It'll send you right off to sleep," he explained. "I'll be back when you're due to feed again. Ceridwen says you're still fragile, so don't over-exert yourself, or I'll kill you. Rest. Ceridwen will be fine in the morning."
Dwight barely heard the last few words from the youth's mouth as the room began to grow dark and warm. His head fell backwards, hitting the pillow as his consciousness drifted above him. He replayed all of the events and words of the evening, trying to make sense of it all and compute it properly. One phrase kept repeating more than all the others and brought him a satisfaction that he hadn't expected. As powerful as you are, you don't have what it takes to bring out the worst in her, he heard over and over again. He smiled brightly as he stepped into a dream. He might have been a blood-thirsty monster, but at least he was not a cad.