Page 53 of Death Dance

I worried my father would start growling. “Darcy, Anne, does the idea of becoming vampires bother you?”

The girls shook their heads.

Well, that was something. “Were you aware the people who hurt your parents are vampires?”

Once again, they shook their heads. After a moment, Anne frowned, and she wiped her eyes with Ben’s handkerchief. “I should have guessed. He was afraid of a stick. Sticks don’t hurt vampires, Pepper. They have to be carved first.”

I wondered about that. “Well, they’re wise to be afraid of sticks, especially if I’m the one holding them. Your uncle is coming, and we’ll see where we go from there, okay? But in any case, you’re safe now.”

The same could not be said for the filth I hunted, and when I finally crossed paths with them, I would paint with their blood rather than drink it. There would be no doubt of their fate—and no hope they would ever rise.

Their every dream, their every ambition, all of it would be crushed to powder beneath my heel.

Robert Caulder, a reclusive brood master from Delaware, held his nieces and wept.

The confirmation they’d been fed sufficient vampiric blood to begin the process of turning them would prove to be Breckenan’s undoing. Without remorse or hesitation, my father began making phone calls to notify the broods of the world of Breckenan’s sins—sins that would be paid back as full as we could without having the ability to turn back time.

He also made a point of informing everyone of my situation, how I had been raised to adulthood despite my severe case of vampirism, and that our family would be making certain the twins would likewise enjoy prosperity should they choose to become vampires.

It would just take some time and a great many changes to their lives.

At a slow blooming seven, the girls should have had bright childhoods filled with laughter and light. Instead, they would choose to live or die—and we couldn’t guarantee they would live, although we would do everything in our power to make it so.

In some ways, Darcy and Anne reminded me of me—steadfast, intelligent, and adaptable. Unlike me, they would receive support from every adult vampire in their impending eternal life.

Because of me, they would grow to become vibrant women.

No, because of my father and mother, who had loved me enough to sacrifice just about everything to make certain I could grow to become a vibrant woman.

I took the stakes I’d carved on behalf of the girls, settled beside the trio, and patted Robert’s back. “It’s not a death sentence,” I reminded him. “Look at me—and actually see me. Once upon a time, I was just like them. If my father managed to get me to adulthood, you can get them to adulthood. We can help. My father has already notified the predominant broods around the world we’ll see them through this. Breckenan did this because he knows the old ways while we’re forging new ones. He didn’t send them here to kill vampires. He sent them to demoralize you. There’s a chance their parents are still alive, too.”

Robert nodded, and he held his nieces closer. “I didn’t even know my brother was missing.”

“We will hope for the best and prepare for the worst. That’s all we can do—and we will make certain your nieces get the best care possible. Once you’re ready, you need to talk to them and explain everything that will happen in the coming days. With so many vampires on board, we will have no problems providing enough blood. The donors will lounge about and be treated like the kings they are for the day. I shall enjoy being pampered like the queen I am.” I raised a brow at my husband. “I’m expecting exceptional pampering after today.”

“How about I delay Ben beating you with a stick for a day?”

Only a fool wouldn’t accept that offer. “That sounds reasonable. I think I should get two days, though. I actually escaped him.”

Ben, who had been conferring with my father and his uncles, considered me with a raised brow. “If you’re donating blood for both girls, you’re getting the rest of the voyage off from the stick with endurance building exercises as soon as one of the doctors clears you.”

My father made a thoughtful sound. “There is likely a compulsion requiring the girls to stab somebody—a vampire—with a stake. If our speculations are correct, this will begin the turning process in earnest. We should separate them for the start of the turning, make sure each drinks enough from Pepper and Emerick for them to solidify a hold on them, and then we’ll all donate smaller amounts to help get them through the transition. Once they’ve finished the first stage of turning, we’ll keep them together. Pepper’s stakes will not hurt her, and if Pepper is helping them, for all we know, her stakes might assist with the process. She works with stakes in fashions I never have, so I simply do not know what will happen. After the girls are settled, have awoken, and have fed, Robert can bring them into his brood. For the turn, it’s better for them to be part of the Lowrance brood, Robert.”

Their uncle nodded his agreement.

All I could do was hope the stakes offered the girls comfort and peace no matter what happened.

I sighed. “Robert? Are you going to be okay?”

“I promised them many things I won’t be able to give them now,” the brood master confessed in a hoarse whisper. “Trips to amusement parks. Walks on sunny beaches.”

My father joined me in sighing. “You can still give them those things even as vampires. If I cannot help with the magic needed to allow them to walk underneath the sun, my uncles can. They won’t be as plentiful, but those days are not behind them. Most days, they won’t even really realize they’re vampires. They’ll just have stricter rules than before and a special diet. Should all go well, they’ll even be able to go to school with regular kids, although the local broods will have to send vampires to watch their classes to make certain there aren’t any accidents. That part of things was a challenge when Pepper grew up; several members of my brood doubled as janitors and administrative staff to keep an eye on her. Her nature helped.”

“They have a lot of advantages I didn’t. My father couldn’t afford to tell me what I am. We’re already seeing growth in Edgar. If we can get Edgar maturing, we can help them. It’ll be easier, too. You don’t have to hide their nature from them. They’ll be able to understand what is going on and why. I mean, look at me. I couldn’t smell more of roses despite my rather odd childhood.”

Robert nodded. “You want to do them one at a time?”

“Having two girls drinking off my wrist at the same time will get a little tricky to manage,” I replied with a wry grin. “See if one of them will volunteer, and we’ll make them understand whichever girl goes second will see her sister taking a nap and that it’s normal.”

“Taking a nap is one way to put it,” Robert muttered.

Their nap would make it appear there was no life left in them, and we’d wait for several days to see if they would awaken into their second lives. If not, we would make use of the morgue on the ship, and Breckenan would pay for the deaths of the two beautiful little girls.

“For them, they’ll take a nap and wake up feeling a lot better. We’ll give them mashed potato volcanoes with gravy that fills their need for blood, and they’ll otherwise be the same little girls. And unlike the rest of us, when we get it right, they’ll be able to have all the ice cream they want.”

Robert laughed at that. “They do love nothing more than taunting vampires when they get ice cream. I hope by the time they’re adults, they’ll have changed their pranking to something that won’t make them sick.”

“Lactose-free ice cream is real, and it’s fun tricking other vampires into thinking you have the wrong stuff. I’m sure we can find many ways they can fill their days and nights with good humor.” I gave Robert another pat on the back. “We’re going to give you some space so you can explain the situation to the girls. When they’re ready, either way, please let us know. I’d say take your time, but…”

“We’ve run out of that,” he acknowledged in a solemn tone.

I nodded.

“It makes me grateful I had this talk with them last year. I just hope I can truly make them understand what comes.”

“I think they’ll be fine. They have you, and they have us. And unlike those who came before him, they will not have to live long in a world with Jeremy Breckenan in it. He sealed his fate tonight, that much I can promise.”

While it took him a few moments, he nodded his agreement, and I left so he could have at least the illusion of privacy while explaining what would happen in the next few hours.