thanks for the reviews peeps...JG


Jaden awoke feeling strangely well rested. She didn't want to climb out from under the blankets; so warm and close, like a hug. She rolled over and yelped, flying backwards out of the bed, scrambling away from the woman leaning against the wall next to her bed.

Vanessa Cartier grinned devilishly and murmured, "good evening."

Jaden, trying to return her breathing back to normal, climbed to her feet. When she opened her mouth to speak, Vanessa held up a hand and said, "Save it. I don't care." Jaden frowned, which made Vanessa's smile widen. She threw a fluffy bathrobe at Jaden, instructing her to shower and then put it on.

Taking it, Jaden scurried into a newly discovered bathroom off her chambers, and closed the door. Sighing heavily she leaned against in, rubbing her eyes, and just as she got calm, there was a loud pound on the door and a yell of, "Now Korr!" from the other side.

Sighing, Jaden stripped and stepped into the shower, the hot water soothing her raw nerves as she tried to wash the dirty feeling from her skin. When she was washing herself, she noticed that a bump on her side, which had become so familiar, was gone. The scar from her first mission, in which a vampire threw a dagger that sliced her side open, was gone. Gone also was the jagged burn mark on her left thigh, when she'd had a Vampire throw acid on her leg.

Every blemish, every imperfection of the skin she had gotten since birth, was gone. The parts of herself that she disliked were fixed; her assets were improved. When after she got out of the shower, she rubbed the steam from the mirror and saw someone who looked like her, but wasn't quite, staring back. It was Jaden, but perfect. She held her head in her hands, and then rubbed her neck.

She froze. She had discovered another difference. Lifting her hair, she discovered two marks on either side of her neck; terrible looking wounds that were scabbed over, leaking slightly.

Unceremoniously, Jaden threw on the robe Vanessa had given her, and burst into the bedroom, yelling, "What did you do to me?"

Vanessa, who had been talking with an unseen person out in the corridor, turned to Jaden and raised an eyebrow. She smiled, and said gently, in the kind of tone one would use to explain something to an idiot child, "we made you a Vampire, dear."

Jaden scowled, "I know that!" she said exasperatedly. "I meant, what happened to the scar that was here," she laid a hand on her side, "or the burn make here?" she tapped her leg. "Where did they go?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest, then realized that it had grown, "And why do I have more of certain other features?" she asked, a little embarrassed, waving her arms in the general direction of her breasts.

Vanessa laughed slightly and asked, "didn't they teach you anything about the Turn in your precious Academy?" When Jaden frowned, she continued with a sigh, "When a Vampire is Turned, physical imperfections are eliminated or modified, and the already capable assets are intensified or enhanced."

Jaden, suspiciously said, "Okay. But," she pulled down the neck of her bathrobe, and asked, trying to hide the trembling in her voice, "how do I get rid of this?"

Vanessa frowned and stepped forward to inspect the wounds on Jaden's neck. She touched one, ignoring how Jaden flinched away. Shaking her head Vanessa simply said, "In time, those will heal. Those are the marks of your Turn, and you should be proud." Jaden stared incredulously.

"Proud?" Jaden repeated indignantly.

Smiling slightly Vanessa nodded. "They give you status. Humans will know to serve you should they not recognize you. The marks will show you are not a Faithful, but a fledgling Vampire." Jaden frowned, and opened her mouth to say something, when Vanessa cut her off saying, "The marks will fade when you have consumed enough blood. Don't worry though, two months tops, and they will be gone without a trace."

Vanessa turned to leave, but Jaden stopped her, saying, "Um, Vanessa?" the woman turned and raised her eyebrows, Jaden blushed and averted her eyes, asking, "what do I wear?"

The other woman smirked slightly, and opened the door to the armoire that Jaden had been leaning against, showing her two racks of clothing. One rack was formal clothing, with dresses that were so expensive looking that Jaden dared not touch them; then the other side was filled with regular, casual wear. She chose to wear a pair of blue jeans, and a green t-shirt. Feeling slightly chilled, she pulled on a green sweater as well. Once Jaden was dressed, Vanessa motioned for her to follow, and led her from the room.

Ten minutes later, Jaden was led into James' office. He smiled slightly at her, when he glanced up from his desk. As he got to his feet, he asked how she was feeling. After she answered that she felt tired, he smirked slightly.

"What?" Jaden asked, raising an eyebrow and folding her arms over her chest.

Still smirking, James replied, "Fatigue is the first sign that you need to consume blood. I believe that you have drank more blood in your first day of existence as a Vampire, than most do in a month!" He glanced to Vanessa and said, "You can leave now," before turning his gaze back to Jaden.

Jaden looked away, a quiet part of her wondering what sort of a monster she'd become. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vanessa exit the room, pulling the door closed behind her. James, who was chuckling, opened a section of the armoire behind his desk, and drew out a large bottle, filled with blood. Jaden hissed slightly, wincing, when her senses suddenly attuned to it, and there was a throbbing ache that suddenly arose in her mouth. The older vampire filled a glass and carried it over to his student.

When she made a reach for it, James held it away from her, smiling mockingly. Jaden whimpered unintentionally, and James grinned. Still taunting her, James drained the glass before her eyes, struggling to keep a straight expression upon seeing the look of horror, shock, and Blood Lust on the face of the former Agent. She made a slight strangled sound, not unlike a mouse getting run over by a car, and stared at him in outraged shock.

James couldn't help but laugh, and laugh he did; cruel, loud and mockingly as the Agent stood before him, overcome with her Lust and outrage. Still chuckling, he poured the girl a glass of blood, and held it out to her. As she took it, James said quietly, "do not drink too quickly, or the Lust will take you." Nodding, Jaden took the glass. "Savor it," James murmured as she brought the glass to her lips, "make it last, for you have the time." Nodding, she drained the glass slowly.

As soon as the blood touched her lips, she felt an undeniable urge to just drain it, fast, so as not to put off the pleasure of it. But she fought the feeling, forcing it away, slowly drinking in the splendor. She stood trembling, her eyes closed, as James took the glass from her limp hand. When he laid his hands on her shoulders, she felt something rise up in her, like a snake of flames rising from the ashes. Her eyes snapped open, she saw world was red, and, the only thing she wanted to do was to slam the man against the wall and drain every last drop of his blood. It pained her just to look at him, for the urge to kill him was so strong. Jaden looked at a blank space on the wall over James' shoulder, commanding her emotions to settle. The turmoil within her mind was agonizing, but slowly she beat it back. Closing her eyes once more, she slowly exhaled, then she opened her eyes to look at James.

James watched his student battle her Blood Lust. He saw the vicious and cold-blooded gaze in her eyes as the Lust turned her irises scarlet. James sensed how very deeply the girl wanted to kill him, to rip his throat out. The girl looked away from him, staring off into space at a wall behind him, a strange look on her face. Soon she squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them blinking rapidly, and stared up at him.

James smiled at her, saying, "Congratulations."

Jaden frowned, "For what?" she asked.

"For managing your Blood Lust," he said simply, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

"Don't touch me!" Jaden snarled, jerking away from James' hands. "You make me into a bloodthirsty freak and you congratulate me?" Her voice had now risen to a yell. She gave James a hard shove in the chest, making him stagger backwards into his desk. "Who the fuck do you think you are? You presume that I'm happy that you made me into this sort of monster." Jaden was positively quivering in her rage.

James gave her a cold look, "I presumed that you wanted to live."

"Not like this," Jaden practically shrieked.

The older Vampire took a menacing step towards his student, "Then how, pray tell, did you want to?" he took another step, "Did you want the Organization find out about your heritage and have you executed? Or did you wish for one of the Nichelle enemies take you and use you against us, using you as a trainer for their newborns, or as some sex toy?" James was an inch away from her, staring down into Jaden's face.

Jaden mumbled something as she tried to back away, terrified in the change in the man, but James wasn't going to let her back down so quickly. He continued advancing as she retreated, and in a few steps, Jaden was pressed up against the office door, with nowhere to run. James gripped his student's chin and forced her to look up at him, "Would you rather I'd killed you?" he hissed, his hand traveling down her neck, a sharp nail digging into the flesh above her jugular. Jaden cried out in shock and lashed out at James.

Her wild punch landed on his jaw, making his lurch to the side. As James stumbled slightly, Jaden hooked her foot under his leg, jerking it from under him. He crashed to the ground. Jaden whirled around to yank open the door and flee, but something heavy slammed into her from behind, crushing her into it.

Viciously, James dug his teeth into the girl's neck. Jaden screamed in agony, clawing at the door, trying to push the other Vampire away. She could hear his breath, ragged in her ear as he drank her blood. Then James released her neck and threw her to the ground.

The girl lay facedown on the floor, her Vampire Master standing over her, licking her blood from his lips. Looking down at her with loathing, James snarled, "It wasn't my choice to Turn and train you. If I'd had my way, you'd never have lived to see the compound, Agent," he said the words with such disgust that Jaden knew he spoke the truth. "Because of you," he spat, "your father has taken over my job, so that I could play baby-sitter for someone's mistake." The Vampire turned, yanked open the door and shouted "Maddox!" out it. An instant later the huge man appeared in the doorway. He jerked his head in Jaden's direction and ordered, "bring her," as he strode out the door. Roughly, Maddox pulled Jaden to her feet, shoving her in the direction of the entranceway.

Jaden was led along a long corridor, down an elevator, then through a security door, into an area that didn't look too different than the holding cells in the lower levels of the Organization's compounds. The entire area was a labyrinth of cement. The place looked and felt familiar, and she dreaded wherever James was bringing her to.