Chapter 30
The three crossed the highway, waiting inside the tree-line -- shaken and confused -- out of sight of those who came to investigate before the police and paramedics arrived. Constance and Isabella wanted to leave. Alexis refused to move -- resisting their efforts in making her. They could go if they wanted but she had to remain. In spite of their telling her he was dead -- she couldn't bring herself to accept it.
"You two wait here. If I don't come back, go to Adrian's and Anastasia's estate. If you can retrieve the luggage, do so -- if not, you can hitch a ride. If you want, you can change form and wing your way up north."
"Wait -- Alexis. Are you sure you're all right. Maybe we should stay together," Constance said looking concerned.
Alexis reached into her purse, putting her sunglasses on -- tapping the nose-piece firmly in place with her finger. The same finger she used in poking him, so many times. The sunlight was bright, too bright in spite of the contacts she wore. Besides, she didn't want them to see her reddened eyes. It was enough they could read her thoughts and feel her feelings, telepathically.
She made haste returning to the wreck -- almost flying across the highway -- to him. The front half of the limo looked like an accordion. When she saw Kitty -- her lifeless body -- she touched her cheek, whispering something in some language. The closest meaning or translation was:
"Sleep well, sweet kitten."
A few motorists cared enough to stop, to ask if they could help. The look of horror in seeing the driver and Kitty spoke loud enough. Obviously they were sickened by the sight. Alexis told them she was a nurse -- they should wait for the ambulance.
"Demetri -- can you hear me," she asked though he remained unconscious -- bloodied, with little pulse. Right or wrong she did what she felt she had to do -- biting him as hard as she could -- sinking her teeth into him. In a few moments she heard him moan -- moving slightly, a tremor.
"It's all right darling. I'm sorry we couldn't wait. I can't bear the thought of losing you. I have to risk it now -- changing you. It's in the name of love -- as selfish as it may seem."
He heard her words in his head, not knowing if he was dreaming. He managed to take hold of her hand -- too weak to squeeze it. He felt her squeezing his, reassuring him while she remained busy at his neck. His eyes moistened as he felt a mix of joy and sorrow. There wasn't a cold well into which he fell. Instead, it was a warm sensation spreading through him -- one of intimacy and surrender. All the things he once thought were important were fading, becoming meaningless as a new, different awareness came forth.
While she was still at his neck, Constance and Isabella entered, taking what they could of their luggage. She felt one of them touching her. No words spoken. She and they knew all there was to know. The three of them heard the sirens far off in the distance prompting their leaving. Alexis remained doing what she could to conceal the puncture wounds -- wiping the blood from her teeth and smearing it on her face. She wanted to appear as though she'd been injured too.
On the way to the hospital, while in the ambulance, one of the paramedics told her how lucky she'd been -- not to have been injured seriously. With tongue-in-cheek, she told them it was because she was wearing a seatbelt. Also, telling them Demetri was her fiancΓ© -- she needed to stay with him.
He remained unconscious until late that night. She sat in the chair beside his bed, in the darkened hospital room -- closing her eyes, beginning to sleep. About an hour later, he opened his vampire eyes for the first time -- sensing and feeling things he couldn't before. He didn't know why his senses were enhanced and what happened. He remembered being in the limo, bouncing around like a die in a shaker-cup and then the deafening sudden impact, being hit.
He was about to find out soon enough -- what happened to him. The first thing he sensed was her presence. He turned, seeing she was resting peacefully -- lifeless. He reached, taking hold of her hand. Her first response was reflex, ready to fight until she saw it was him -- awakened at long last. She moved onto his bed, asking how he felt.
"I feel weird -- what happened," he wanted to know.
"We were in a bad accident. You were close to death and I felt I had to -- to do something."
He couldn't believe it -- what he thought she was saying but he could feel it -- in his newfound awareness. It was more a sensation than mental telepathy. His hand went to his neck, feeling the telltale bumps. He looked at her in disbelief -- she smiled with her eyes in confirmation. It was wonderful for her -- changing him -- fulfilling some innate instinct.