Dane

Chapter 16

A/N As always many thanks for the reviews. I'm going to try and post as many more chapters today, as its my daughter's 5th birthday tomorrow, and don;t know when I'll be at the computer. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

/

Julia turned to Willie with anguish in her eyes. "Willie, how long has as he been like this?"

"He didn't seem well when he went out a few hours before dawn. When he awoke tonight he, was like this. He's been gettin' worse."

"Why didn't you come for me sooner?" she demanded.

Willie turned away from her. "I did," he said in a small voice.

She turned her attention back to Barnabas, who tossed restlessly in his chair. She touched his pale, glistening forehead, and was shocked by how hot he felt. He obviously had a raging fever, and his uncontrollable shivering bore her diagnosis out. His teeth clicked, and he muttered under his breath.

His eyes fell upon hers, unseeingly. His dark eyes were filled with fear and pain. But what frightened her more, was the reddish cast to his eyes.

As she continued to watch, the reddish tint, seemed to move with a life of it's own. It wasn't until the light from a glittering candle; sparkled on it, following its movement that she realised what it was. A tear - a tear of blood. He was crying.

"Barnabas," she said taking his shaking hand. "Barnabas can you hear me?"

He seemed to rally at the sound of her voice. He turned to the sound, and gazed at a spot just above her left shoulder. "Julia?" he croaked, in a rasping, frightened voice. "Is that you?"

"Barnabas, try and think. When you went out, did you...take someone's blood?"

He frowned, trying to follow her instructions, but a cramping pain seized him, making him whimper. He's body, convulsed and shuddered, he's whimpering turning to cries of agony.

"Barnabas!" said Julia, trying to soothe him, but he seemed unaware of her.

"Willie, help me hold him down."

Willie, grabbed Barnabas by his shoulders, and gently pushed him back into the chair, as Julia continued to talk to him.

"Barnabas, listen to my voice. Try to think. When you went out, just before dawn, did you consume any blood?"

The sound of her voice seemed to reach him, and he quietened down. "Blood?" he croaked, his words, sounding strange and slurred. "Blood?" he repeated, with a sense of horror. "No." he whispered. "No, blood…please…no blood..."

"Is that what you think is wrong with him Julia?" asked Willie from her side.

"I don't know, Willie. I'll need to take a blood sample before I can determine that. If he's telling the truth, I can only assume that he's had a severe allergic reaction to the treatments I've been giving him." She turned to him. "Haven't you noticed any kind of change in him? Something that might have led up to this?"

Willie shook his head after a few minutes' thought. "Only that he seemed restless lately. I just put that down to his..." he stopped, knowing he might have gone too far.

"Put it down to what Willie?" demanded Julia. "Tell me! It could be vitally important!"

Willie shook his head, stubbornly. He wanted to help Barnabas, but he couldn't without telling her about the ring. "I can't Julia. He made me promise not tell you. You know how he is when he's made up his mind about something."

Yes, she did know. But now was not the time to hold to promises. "If you know something that could help him, you have to tell me, Willie!"

"This hasn't anythin' to do with what's happenin' to him..." Willie tried to stall her.

"You don't know that Willie!"

A sharp intake of breath alerted them to Barnabas' dire condition. He thrashed in his chair, his hands clenching and unclenching as another spasm of pain swept over him like fire. Julia, realising that Willie wouldn't divulge his secret without force, turned back to her patient.

"Afraid." muttered Barnabas. "Julia...afraid…protect…afraid."

"I'm here, Barnabas," she soothed him, as she took a syringe from her medical bag. "Willie, help me roll up his sleeve.

Barnabas lolled in his chair, unresponsive to what was going on around him.

As Willie rolled up the sleeves of Barnabas' jacket and shirt, the flesh of his arm was revealed. The flesh, showing a return of blood circulation on her last examination of him, was now pale, bloodless, except for the livid spots of previous injection sites.

As she withdrew a sample of his blood, he muttered in his delirium.

"Angelique... protect.. didn't...save…protect.. Julia.. Julia.. not true…tried .save."

Julia shushed him gently, as she swabbed his arm. He twisted, grimacing in pain. He bit his lip, drawing blood. He clenched his teeth, his fangs showing clearly.

"Oh my God!" said a familiar voice behind them. Willie and Julia turned guiltily towards the voice, to see Dane standing between the two pillars. "My God, he really is ill!"

"What are you doing here?" demanded Julia, hoping that he hadn't seen anything he shouldn't have.

"I followed you here. I didn't believe Barnabas was this ill. What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know yet, I haven't had the chance to examine him properly yet. You shouldn't be here Dane."

"Maybe there's something I can do to help."

"You can best help by leaving now," said Julia, eyes narrowing, and tilting her head. "I can best help him alone."

Barnabas seemed to come out of his delirium briefly, as he stared at Dane.

"You!" he croaked, and tried to lunge for him. Willie spun to hold him back. The gesture was un-necessary as Barnabas slumped weakly in his chair.

"You're disturbing him," said Julia. "It would be best if you left Dane. I have a patient to treat."

Dane looked from Julia to Barnabas to Willie. Who stared back with undisguised hostility. He might be a coward on his own thought Dane. But he's a person to be reckoned with when it comes to Barnabas and Julia.

Here, at least, he was unwelcome and he knew it. Without a word he turned and left. Willie breathed a sigh of relief.

"I want you to stay with him, Willie, " said Julia. "Try and keep him calm. I may need you, once I've analysed this blood sample." She headed towards the cellar steps. "You'd better bolt the door, too. Just in case."

/

Julia straightened up and rubbed her eyes and aching muscles. Would there be no end to this? Why hadn't she seen this before? Because her thoughts hadn't been entirely on the problem. She had allowed Dane to distract her. And now Barnabas was suffering because she hadn't seen this in time.

She removed the slide she'd just viewed and replaced it with the slide she'd taken the night before. That too showed the same kind of cells…misshapen, and oversized. They attacked the healthy cells that had been overtaking Barnabas' bloodstream, making him more human.

But what had triggered such a reaction? There had been no trace of the fresh human blood she had expected.

She walked over to the cold storage unit that had been installed, which worked off a generator. She took out, a test tube; she'd filled from a previous sample, before they had embarked on this avenue of research.

She clenched her fist in frustration as that sample too, showed the same misshapen and oversized cells. But there was something slightly odd about them. There were few deformed cells in this sample than in the other two. Was that significant? she wondered.

She reached for the tube, intending to do another test, when it shattered. She cursed to herself at her clumsiness, and began to immediately clean up the mess. As she did so, a sliver of glass pricked her.

Before she could attend to it, Willie spoke from behind her, startling her.

Her startled reaction caused a bead of blood to fall, on the slide she had just been viewing.

"I'm sorry if I startled you, Julia. But he's callin' for ya. When you were talking to him before, it seemed to soothe him."

"I'll be there in a moment, Willie. Once I've cleaned up this mess," she said, cleaning her wound, and bandaging it up. "Those slides are ruined."

She was about to scoop them up when she had an impulse to check them. She bent down, and almost immediately straightened up and looked at Willie.

"What is it, Julia?" he asked seeing her expression.

"A temporary solution. Willie, I'll need your help, with a blood transfusion. Set up the equipment as quickly as you can."

"But Julia, he can't stay in the drawing room."

"You're right. We'll have to move him, to Josette's room. We must darken the room, first."

"Why Josette's room?"

"Right now, the last place he needs to be is down here. I can monitor him better in Josette's room. Hurry now Willie. We haven't much time."