Survive the Dawn (21 page)

“There is a great sense of foreboding in the catacombs. I don’t want you there alone. So much destruction, I’m afraid.”

Alex winced and sat back. “First Tatiana, then Leigh, now we have to worry about Kendra. Who’s next?”

Gaylen
gave her a curious look. “You still don’t understand. It’s no longer a matter of whom but when. Sebastian is on her way to becoming a member of the hierarchy alongside
Nicholae
, who doesn’t want that to happen. I’m sorry, darling, but if you’re looking for a life filled with lazy Saturday nights and spaghetti dinners, you’re going to be disappointed.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Spaghetti?”

“If I recall, in my human days, I adored spaghetti.”

Alex rubbed her temples and thought of exactly what
Gaylen
was saying. He was right, of course. Even though Sebastian didn’t want it, she had to deal with Tatiana and present events of her world. When Sebastian put that ring on her finger, her fate was sealed. There was no turning back now; Alex had to make a choice.

A choice. How could she choose? And what would she choose?

“It’s a tough one,”
Gaylen
said, idly running his fingers through his blond hair.

“If you don’t stop reading my thoughts…”

“I have to do something, I’m bored senseless. Now Sebastian is off in Ireland and I wanted to go, too.”

Alex heard the pout in his voice. “What stopped you?”

“My word. I gave it to Sebastian to watch over you.”

“I’m not a baby.”

“No, but you are a mortal, and frankly, darling, somewhat defenseless when it comes to vampires.”

Alex let out a loud groan of frustration. “Then what am I supposed to do?”

“What you started out doing. Making sure Sebastian and the rest of us can go out in the light of day. You still have work to do, Dr. Taylor.” He walked over and pulled her up by her shoulders. “So stop feeling sorry for yourself and get back to work. Sebastian is doing what she needs and so must you. I’ll keep my word and tag along.”

It was eerie to walk into the quiet dark lab as Alex flipped on the lights. The iridescent overhead lamps flickered to life. She organized her work area and looked over her notes.

“All set?”
Gaylen
asked as he came around the corridor.

“Yes. Where have you been?”

“I went on a reconnaissance mission, General. All is secure. Now how can I help?” He put on a pair of goggles and happily picked up a beaker and a test tube. “Need these?”

Alex took them out of his hand and set them down. “Sit still and don’t touch.”

Gaylen
pouted and hoisted himself up on the counter. “I have to do something.”

Alex was about to scold him again when she had an idea. “You will be able to help. When I’m done running a few tests here, I’m hoping I can manufacture my blood and have a supply on hand. With my plasma and the antibodies, I might be able to reproduce it. If I can, you’ll be my guinea pig.”

“Wonderful!”

“Until then, sit still.”

Hours later, Alex was stymied. Nothing was working. She tossed down her pen in frustration.

“No go?”
Gaylen
asked as he lay on his side across the counter. He
propped
his head up on his hand.

“No. It’s what I was afraid of, my blood. I can’t reproduce it, and the antibodies only work with my blood.” She stopped and looked at
Gaylen
, who raised an eyebrow. “Explain the physiology of vampire blood.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope, you’re a vampire, explain it.”

“There is no human physiology. A vampire is dead, they have no soul, they have no appetite or hunger, well except for human blood.”

“But you have blood flowing through your veins.”

“Not exactly. We live on the blood of others. We can regenerate our bodies and our blood supply, but without any living source of blood, we would not survive. We exist to feed off of humans, animals. I have a supply of blood I procure from a nearby blood bank. I donate quite a bit of money to this organization. Therefore, my supply is adequate.

“This is what keeps a vampire alive, as it were. That living source of blood keeps our bodies intact. Without it, I would be killing and hunting as I had been for centuries. I find it distasteful now, as does Sebastian. But make no mistake, the hunger for human blood is always there, however we try to deny it.” He sat up and looked at Alex. “It really is a miserable existence, thank you for reminding me.” He laughed as he jumped off the counter. “And now you’ve made me hungry. I’ll be back.”

Alex called after him when
Gaylen
walked out of the lab. “It’s in the refrigerator, take the oldest bag, they’re marked.”

Minutes later,
Gaylen
joined her. “Ah, much better.”

“I’m so glad,” Alex said irritably.

“Alex, take a break. You must be exhausted. Now if you were a vampire, you wouldn’t really have to worry about fatigue.”

“From what you say, you don’t have human blood in your veins, so no oxygen to supply your brain or your muscles. If I were a vampire, I…” Her voice trailed off as a thought struck her then. “If I were a vampire,” she repeated.

“That is something you truly need to think about, as we talked the other morning. You need to think of what you are prepared to do.”

Alex was only half listening as her mind raced. She looked at
Gaylen
then. “
Gaylen
, if I allowed Sebastian to turn me, my blood then would be like a vampire’s. No oxygen, no antibodies, no—”

Gaylen
blinked in confusion several times until it struck him, as well. He leaned against the wall and groaned. “No serum.”

“There’s got to be a way,” Alex said in a determined voice. She paced back and forth. “Okay, vampires do not have real blood, correct? I mean real as in oxygenated, venous, and arterial return throughout the body. You have no red blood cells to transport the oxygen, no white blood cells to fight off infection, and no platelets to aid in the clotting.” She looked up for confirmation from
Gaylen
, who was just staring, looking decidedly lost.

“If you say so.”

“Yet there is blood in your veins.” She looked at
Gaylen
and grinned. “What if I ingested just a bit of your blood. Would I become a vampire?”

Gaylen
shook his head rapidly as if to shake the cobwebs free. “Yes, darling. It’s not a taste test. Once ingested, you’re one of us.”

“You’re right. What am I thinking? This is precisely what Sebastian doesn’t want.”

“No, Alex. Sebastian is afraid you’ll be Anastasia and despise her as she did. In the end, Sebastian drove a stake through Anastasia’s heart to release her. She will not take that chance with you. Though I can imagine it is extremely difficult for her not to turn you. It truly is our way. Our existence has been turning the human or feasting on you. Thus ending your life and we obtain your life force.”

Alex said nothing as she comprehended what
Gaylen
had said. “You are a wealth of information,
Gaylen
.”

“It’s information you need to know. You are faced with a grave decision here. I’m sure if there were no urgency in Ireland, Sebastian would be having this discussion with you.”

Would she? Alex thought. She was not sure of anything anymore. The idea of Sebastian alone, having to battle yet another vampire, Nina, made her sick to her stomach with fear and anxiety. She remembered how close Sebastian came to being destroyed by Leigh; she hoped Nina was not as powerful as Leigh.

“Sebastian is stronger now. And yes, I am reading your mind,” he said as Alex opened her mouth. “I felt the power she possesses, as any vampire will now. We are not unlike animals that live in packs. They know the alpha, or dominant, of the pack. So do we. Once Sebastian obtains all of Tatiana’s power, she will be as powerful as
Nicholae
. However, she will have the advantage now. The advantage you gave her.”

Alex let out a long sigh. “If we can keep the serum working. It only works because I have the enzyme from a dormant blood disease. No one else. My goal is to find a way to produce more. To get it out of my body and into you vampires.”

“Seems easy enough. If you keep producing all your red, white, and platelet thingies you were rambling about.”

“That’s fine, but you can’t take enough of my blood at one time. While it flows freely through my veins,
Gaylen
, I’m still human. I need blood to survive and my body needs time to reproduce all those red, white blood cells, and platelet thingies.”

Was this hopeless? she thought. Would she be able to find a way to get the serum out of her bloodstream and reproduce?
Gaylen
and Alex sat in silence, the questions unanswered.

“Maybe we can learn something if we see what Kendra is working on.” Alex saw the hesitant glance on
Gaylen’s
face. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“
Gaylen
, you know something,” Alex said in a challenging voice. She brushed the red curls away from her face. “Tell me or I’ll tell Sebastian.”

“Oh, Lord, don’t do that,” he said. “While on reconnaissance, I found another lab deep in our catacombs.”

Alex’s eyes lit up. “Really? Show me?”

Gaylen
winced. “I shall regret this. I just know it.” He groaned as Alex pulled him down the corridor.

“Where are we?” Alex asked as
Gaylen
led her through the narrow halls and alcoves. “Who built this?”

Gaylen
stopped. “Here we are, and I don’t know.”
Gaylen
glanced around the lab. “I can only assume it’s Kendra’s lab.”

Alex picked up Kendra’s notes. “Why would she have another lab? What’s wrong with the one I’m working in?”

“Well, again, I would assume, she wanted privacy.”

“Or secrecy.” Alex leafed through the notes. “Yep. Here it is.”

“I must tell you, I don’t like the feel of this,”
Gaylen
said. “Kendra may come by at any moment.”

“I just need to understand what she’s doing. If she was working on the same experiment, then why the secrecy from me? We’re working for the same goal.” Alex leafed through the notebook.

“Perhaps Kendra is not as noble as one would think. If a vampire can be noble.”

Alex put her hand up as she read. “Oh, boy,” she whispered. “Look at this.”

Gaylen
peered at the scribble on the pages and cocked his head. “It looks like hieroglyphics to me.”

“Chemical equations,” Alex said absently. “I’ll need to write these down. I’m not sure what they are.” She cocked her head in thought. “Stronger, faster. Those words keep coming back.” She turned the page and looked at
Gaylen
. “She isn’t working on a serum for vampires to be able to sustain sunlight. She’s working on something to make them stronger, more powerful, I believe.” She scribbled the chemical equations on a piece of notebook paper, tore it free, and stuffed it in her pocket. She then closed the notebook and took off her glasses.

“Sebastian will not be amused,”
Gaylen
said.

Alex heard the serious tenor in his voice and had to agree. “Let’s get out of here.”