Called by the vampire.., p.6
Called by the Vampire - Part 6,
p.6
I’ve had a double bed since I was young so that Mom could sleep by my side on the nights she was worried about my heart, and it’s comforting to me when she climbs in and cuddles up next to me. She hums a lullaby for us both to fall asleep.
When I open my eyes again, it’s still dark. My mother breathing softly next to me is the only noise I can hear, and I wonder what woke me up. I try to take a deep breath, and it’s then I realize I’m out of oxygen. I could wake Mom, and I’m sure she’d run out and find more, but as I stare up at the ceiling, I realize if I don’t, I could die.
I remove my mask and turn my head to face my mother, who is on her side. I kiss her lips lightly before I whisper, “I love you, Mom.” No tears come as I watch her sleep, and for a brief moment, I think about what she’ll feel when she wakes up in the morning to find I’m dead. But I push the thought away quickly, because hanging on for a few more days isn’t going to lessen her pain.
My chest hurts as I begin to gasp for air like a fish out of water, and I know it won’t be long before I pass out from the lack of oxygen in my blood. As my brain gets less and less air, my body will begin to shut down, all while I’m blissfully unaware. I suppose of all the ways to go, this isn’t so bad, and I welcome the stars that float before my eyes while I lose consciousness.
I feel as if I’m floating in water, and I open my eyes to find I’m rising above my own body. My mother is still asleep, and my room is illuminated by early morning light because we forgot to pull the shades. I notice how pale my skin is and that my lips are blue from the lack of oxygen in my blood. I move toward the window to pull the shades before the sun rises so my mother can sleep, but when I get there, I realize I don’t have a physical presence to make it happen. I believe I’m dead, and it occurs to me that I don’t see a light the way so many people have told me I would. Panic takes hold as I wonder if I’m stuck in this room until I do. I glance around, hoping I somehow missed it, and that’s when I hear banging on the front door. Glass rattles in the window frames, and the whole house shakes as if we’re in the midst of a tornado. Mom bolts up from bed to answer the door.
I follow her to the hallway as Sebastian yells my mother’s name. “Cathy! Let me in!”
I scream, “No!” as if she’s in a horror movie and I know what’s on the other side. She yanks the door open. “What—”
Sebastian pushes past her with Alexander on his heels as he says, “Where is she?”
He sniffs the air and makes a beeline toward my bedroom. I rush by them and hover over my body as if I can protect it from them. Alexander stops in his tracks. “We’re too late.”
“No!” cries Sebastian. He sits on the edge of the bed to lift my body and hold me in his arms. Elizabeth sends a tiny trickle of love for him through me. It’s so faint I barely feel it, and I think it’s because her heart is… am I still alive?
Alexander places his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder, and I see tears in his eyes. “She’s gone,” he says. Sebastian glances up at Alexander, and his eyes flash as he clutches me tightly. ”No!” I want to reach out to comfort him.
Alexander says, “Sebastian.” And he pulls me from his brother’s arms to lay me back down.
My mother is crying too, and she crawls onto the bed to be close to me. She places her fingers on my neck to check for a pulse and lets out a gasp.
“She’s still alive,” says Alexander, and he takes my face in his hands. “Maggie. Stay with us.”
“No,” says my mother in a determined voice. “This is what she wants.”
“But—” Alexander’s pain covers his face before he drops his head to lean his forehead on mine, and his shoulders shake as he begins to sob.
Sebastian says, “We knew she was dying, but I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.”
“I know.” Mom says as she hugs herself.
Alexander sits up and pulls himself together. He twirls a strand of my hair around his finger and whispers, “I love you, Maggie,” before he leans down and brushes his lips over mine. He gets up from the bed as sunlight begins to stream in, and he walks over to the window to pull the shades. I will myself to go to him, and what must be my spirit tries to hold the man I love, but he doesn’t seem to feel a thing.
I hear my mother say, “It’s time.” Something tugs at my spirit, and I frantically reach out to hold on to anything as I feel myself being sucked away. I attempt to cry out as I pass through the roof of my house and up into the sky. But just as suddenly as I was sucked upward, I fall back into the house.
I sit up and scream. The coppery flavor in my mouth makes me want to gag, and I thrash at the hands grabbing me as I choke. I realize I’m back in my body, and anger gives me strength enough to push Sebastian out of my way as I gasp for air. My lungs inflate to a point they feel as if they’re going to burst. But it’s not like I’m used to. While I can’t seem to breathe, I realize I don’t need to. I feel… healthy.
Alexander grabs my shoulders. “Stop, Maggie. You’re making it worse.”
I wipe at the moisture I coughed up on my lips and glance down to see it’s blood. I smear it over my palm before I realize it’s not mine. “No!” I scream.
“My god!” shouts my mother. “Sebastian! What have you done?”
Maggie struggles with being a vampire while Lyndsey must rise to the ultimate challenge. Called by the Vampire - Part 7.
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V. also writes about werewolves, bears and aliens. Find out more at www.violetvaughn.com.
About the Author
V. Vaughn lives on an island in Maine with her three Portuguese Water dogs.
V. Vaughn also writes Contemporary Romance as Violet Vaughn and Cozy Mysteries with her bestie as Lucy Quinn.
www.violetvaughn.com
violetvaughnauthor@gmail.com
V. Vaughn, Called by the Vampire - Part 6
