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"That's absolutely correct. You'll only go into a panic when your brain tells you to breathe and your body isn't prepared for it. You can take a deep breath and let it out, but you have to prepare the lungs for movement or you'll disrupt your body. It's all part of the transformation." I kept hold of her hands as she focused on relaxing.
Delilah entered the room at that point, followed by Tim. "Is everything okay?" She knelt a few feet away, watching cautiously.
Erin looked over at her. "Hey, Delilah. I… I'm not sure… I mean, what do I do! I can't run my shop, can I? I can't just go home. Menolly, what happens to me next?"
I gave her a gentle smile. "You learn from the best. Delilah, take Roz and go over to Sassy Branson's house. Ask her to come back here. If she's not there, call Wade. In fact, call him first. He specializes in helping newborns adjust." I tossed her my cell phone. "He's in my contact list."
Delilah punched a few buttons. "Static. I'll have to go topside."
"Don't go alone. Take Roz with you. Come back and let me know if you get hold of Wade before you head out for Sassy's. We don't have time to waste so don't dawdle."
Tim cleared his throat. "Erin, I can call someone to take over your shop for a few days. Lindsey, from the Green Goddess Women's Shelter. She has clients who need a temp job." He bit his lip and I shook my head at him, motioning to the blood that welled up on the pale pink flesh. Wiping it away, he shrugged a smile at me.
Erin was still fighting for control. And doing a damned good job. Most vamps went a little crazy when they turned—the ramifications don't sink in until you realize that your entire life has just been turned upside down and you can never, ever go back to the way things were.
"Thanks," she said. "Please, don't tell her what happened. Not yet. I need to come to grips with this first. Just tell her I'm sick."
"No problem," Tim said.
"You'd better go into the other room," I broke in. "She needs to rest and to quit thinking about your heart, which is beating a staccato tremor so loud I can hear it all the way over here."
He nodded. "Okay. But, Erin, I still love you. I wouldn't have offered to be your donor if I didn't."
She managed a faint "thank you" as he left the room. We sat in silence until Delilah returned.
"Wade will be here in a few minutes. He said not to bother going to Sassy's, he's coming from her place, and she's already preparing a room for Erin." A few moments later the door opened and Wade strode in.
"Delilah told me all about it," he said. "You took out the newborns?"
"Most of them, though I think a few might have escaped. We'll have to all be on our guard. We'll talk about catching them after I destroy Dredge. But for now, can you escort Erin to Sassy's? And will you make sure Tim gets home safe? He's still in danger since he's my friend, and frankly, Erin drank a little too much from him, I think. He's pretty wiped out, even if he doesn't realize it."
Wade shook his head. "I think it would be safer if Tim went back to your house. Iris is more than capable of protecting him, isn't she?"
"You're probably right. Delilah, ask Roz to take Tim back to our house and then return as soon as possible. I'm not sure just how he travels so fast, but the important thing is that he does."
As she headed out the door, I turned to Erin. "Listen to me. Wade is a good friend of mine. He runs an organization that I belong to. You've heard me talk about it. Vampires Anonymous?"
She gave me a vigorous nod of the head. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Hi, Wade."
"Hey, Erin," he said softly. "Welcome to the underworld."
"Wade's going to take you to Sassy Branson's house. She helps out at the V.A. and she's a vampire, too. She and Wade will keep you there for a while and help you learn how to adjust. I've got a battle to fight tonight. If I win—and trust me, I'm planning on it—I'll come visit you. Probably tomorrow night once sunset hits. Meanwhile I want you to go with Wade and do what he says. You can trust him."
As I hoped, her intense desire to please me reared its head and she held out her hand to Wade. He helped her up.
Dredge had sent me home to destroy my family in the same way I was sending Erin to Sassy's. Luckily my anger and memories of the torture intervened. I'd managed to lock myself away before I could attack Camille. The OIA had taken it from there. At least Erin wouldn't have bad memories of me, and her transition was running far more smoothly than I'd hoped.
Wade led her away and I followed, watching as he guided her out under the night sky. Erin would never again look on the sun, never again bask under a warm summer afternoon. But it had been her choice—although not much of one. Die or live for an eternity. No vampire I knew of was over five thousand years old, so whatever happened to the ones turned before that… who knew?
Maybe there were none. Maybe whatever forces had started vampirism hadn't existed before then. Maybe… maybe all ancient vamps committed suicide after eons trapped in their bodies. I didn't plan on waiting that long to find out. Until my sisters left to meet our ancestors? Sure. A thousand years? Possibly. Most of the Fae lived that long. Forever? No chance.
After Wade led Erin away, I turned to the others. "She should be okay. I think she'll actually make it. But I wish it hadn't come to this."
Chase cleared his throat. "Yeah. And I'm going to have to come up with an excuse for her absence or the tabloids will have a field day rooting around for what happened to the owner of the Scarlet Harlot."
"We'll help," I said. "At least Erin can call a few friends, say she's taking a vacation. Something like that."
"Well, I guess we're done here," Camille said. "What next?"
