Dawn's Never Ending Glow

Toby held Anna's limp, dripping body in his arms and stretched her out on the bed, wrapping her up in the blankets. He draped her over his knees and pounded on her back. "Anna! Anna! Come on! Breathe!" He wasn't gone more than ten minutes. But, it was long enough for her to fall asleep and slide under the water. When he came into the room, her body was completely submerged. If something happened to her. He'd never forgive himself. "Anna please!" He would take her blood and give her his, turn her, if he had to. He couldn't lose her. It couldn't be too late. He exhaled a relieved breath as she coughed and sputtered, gasping for air.

Anna shivered violently, her teeth chattering, and broke out into tears, bouncing between coughing fits and sobs. She realized what had happened and if Toby hadn't come in when he had, she'd be dead by now. "Toby," she gasped. "Oh my God!" She let the tears fall like torrents of rain. Searching out solace in his arms.

Toby held Anna and rocked her in his arms. Her salty tears splashed onto his chest soaking though his t-shirt. Her body trembled beneath the layers of down that separated them. The scent of her fear saturated the room, leaving an acrid and bitter stench in the air. She wasn't frightened. She was terrified. He looked up when Chris and the others burst into the room in a frantic frenzy to help.

Alex skidded to a stop. The scent of fear in the room was almost permeable. She saw Anna's pale figure, stark in contrast to the vibrant red velvet comforter that enveloped her. Toby was briefly explaining what he thought had happened. She'd fallen asleep and almost drowned in the tub. Dane was already in motion, running to get the Shaman. Alex had another idea. Darting down the hall with Chance close behind she snatched a set of keys. The others didn't have much faith in modern medicine. But, she sure did. Anna needed a doctor, a real doctor.

Anna was growing paler by the minute. Her lips were a dusky blue around the edges. She shivered uncontrollably beneath the blankets. Chris's heart pounded in her chest with worry as she watched the Shaman perform his assessment. It seemed pitifully inadequate. There had to be something they could do. She stifled a cry as he shook his head. "There's nothing I can do. She's suffered a trauma and her body is exhausted."

Chris helped Toby stretch Anna out on the bed and dress her in dry clothes. Secured under a pile of warm blankets, Anna still shivered, barely responding to Toby's voice. "Toby, what can I do?"

Toby shot a beseeching look to Dane. He didn't know what to do. He'd bit his wrist and tried to give her some of his blood. But she refused to drink from him. She let the blood run out the corner of her mouth and dribble down her chin. He ran his fingers along the curve of her cool, pale cheek, blinking back a tear.

Alex burst into the room with Dr. Sterling in tow. "He can help her." The doctor had been able to restore her to health after a rogue attack left her almost drained to the point of death. The doctor knew about them and kept their secrets. Alex trusted him.

Toby stepped out of the way to let the doctor do his job. Thomas was an ER doctor at the local hospital. He knew how to handle emergencies. "Help her. Please."

Thomas slid back the blankets and checked Anna over, listening to Toby's recant of what happened. He unzipped the black canvas emergency bag and began to retrieve supplies. After checking her vital signs, he decided on a treatment. "She's in shock. I'm going to start an IV and give her some fluids and an antibiotic to prevent pneumonia. We should really take her to the hospital for observation."

"No, this is the safest place for her," Dane interjected. He didn't want to divulge any more information than he had to, only what the doctor needed to know. "Her life is in danger. A rogue has bitten her."

"Her life may be in danger if we don't get her to a hospital," Thomas protested. Skillfully, he selected a site and slid the needle into her vein. He collected a handful of vials of blood and dropped them into his pocket. After hooking up a bag of fluids, running them full force into her vein, there wasn't much else to do but watch her heart rhythm on the monitor and check her vitals. If she didn't respond, he was calling Mack and forcing the issue. He'd put the woman under protective custody and get her out of here, where he had proper equipment and fully trained staff. Vampires or not, they had no right to deny any human being treatment.

Anna flinched as the needle pierced her skin. Was someone biting her? Her consciousness wavered in and out. Struggling to open her eyes, she focused on the worried and concerned faces surrounding the bed. She looked up seeing the clear plastic tubing running from a bag to her arm.

"Anna, how are you feeling?" Thomas asked. She was on her second bag of fluids, her blood pressure and pulse finally leveling out. He hooked in a small bag of antibiotics and slowed the rapid flow of fluids. "Can you tell me what happened?" He pushed Toby back with his hand to give the woman some space.

"I...," She sniffled as memories came flooding back. "I fell asleep in the tub and he... he came to me." Tears rolled down her cheeks. She shivered uncontrollably despite the pile of blankets covering her. "I couldn't help it. I wanted him to. I wanted him." Breaking down into a fit of tears she sobbed.

Toby lowered his head hiding his rage from Anna. He was going to find the son of a bitch and finish him off. Nothing Dane or anyone else could do, short of killing him, would stop him. Not this time. "Anna, tell me what he did."

"I can't." Anna shook her head, "It's too awful. I just can't." She sobbed and heaved deep shaky breaths.

Chris shooed the men toward the door. "Give me a few minutes alone with her." Anna was suffering. Something so terrible had happened that she didn't want anyone else to know about it. But maybe, she could get her to talk. "Anna," she said after she shut the door firmly behind the men. "Tell me what happened. It's just us now."

Anna shook her head fervently. "You'll tell them." Never in her life had she imagined secrets between the two of them. But, she couldn't tell Chris. She didn't want to tell anybody.

"If it's something they need to know about, yes. But if it's not, then it will just be our secret." She sat on the edge of the bed careful of the tube that came out of Anna's arm. "You know you can trust me."

Anna nodded. "I know." She looked at Chris imploringly. "You have to find a way to get him out of my head." She grasped Chris's arm desperately and dug her fingers in. "You have to. I'm so scared."

Chris wrapped Anna up in her arms and held her tightly. "I know." There had to be a way to keep Roark out of Anna's mind. She would tell Dane and the others. There had to be something they could do. Gently, laying Anna's head on the pillow, she went to the door and motioned for Janine to come in. She didn't want to leave Anna alone and she needed Toby to hear what she had to say. "Guys, let's take a walk." She waved the brothers away from the door, eliminating any possibility that Anna could hear them.

Janine tiptoed softly to Anna's bedside. "Hi." Anna looked horrible, gaunt and drawn, breathing shallowly with deep purple hollows under her eyes.

Anna played with a loose edge of the tape, securing the IV needle into her arm. "When do you think they'll take all this stuff off of me?"

Janine wrinkled her nose looking up at the tangle of tubes. "I don't know it looks kind of important." She smiled a worried smile at Anna. "You scared me. I thought I was going to lose my drinking buddy."

Anna scoffed and put on a brave smile for her friend. "Never. Look now I can take it straight into the vein."

Janine smiled and held Anna's hand. They talked about shopping, anything other than what was really going on. The danger Anna's life was in.

******

The brothers stood huddled in the hallway discussing strategy. "I can give her something strong through the IV tonight to calm her down. She needs to rest." Thomas scrubbed his hand through his thinning hair and exhaled. Sometimes, he wished he really didn't know about vampires. "I'll pull the IV before I go and leave some pills for you. She'll need to finish a course of antibiotics and I'll leave her something for anxiety. I'll come back tomorrow to see her."

The Shaman scoffed. "Modern doctors and their pills."

Thomas raised his eyebrow at Doc. "Have you got a better idea? I'm going to take some blood samples with me to run through the lab. Maybe the tests will show something."

Doc clamped his lips tightly shut, not answering the Thomas's question. The men were best friends and frequently got into in depth, very heated debates about treatments and modern medicine. Nothing in his jars, no potions he knew of would help Anna.

Toby didn't care what the doctors did as long as it helped. If Thomas knew of something, anything, he was willing to try. "Do it."

*****

Janine was helping Anna comb her hair back when the brothers came into the room. Quickly, she retreated to an empty corner to get out of the way. Reluctant to leave her friend's side, but helpless to really do anything more. The expressions on their faces were grim and bleak. She watched as Thomas pinched off the IV and injected a clear medication into the line. "This will help you rest," he explained.

Slowly, injected the medication. He'd given her a healthy dose and hoped it was enough. The woman was positively exhausted. "Before I take the IV out, I'm going to collect some blood samples for the lab to analyze." He had samples tucked into his pockets. But, a few more wouldn't hurt. He withdrew the syringe and fished in his bag for more supplies. He had taken similar samples from Alex, but the results had been inconclusive. There was nothing special about her blood that prevented her from turning. Maybe Anna's would yield a secret or two.

"I really don't need to sleep." Anna shuddered. "I really don't want to."

"Anna, I won't leave your side. If you have a bad dream, I'll wake you up," Toby reassured her. Gently grasping her cool fingers in his palm, he eased down onto the bed beside her.

Yawning and fighting to keep her eyes open Anna rolled her head toward Thomas watching as he filled the glass tubes with her blood, strangely disconnected and unaffected by the sight of her blood flowing into the tubes. "You're not going to drink those are you?" She snickered, feeling funky and very relaxed from the medicine.

"Not hardly," he replied. Loosening the tape he eased the IV out of her arm and secured a gauze square over the puncture. "I left you some medications. Toby knows how you're supposed to take them. Please do so. I'll check on you in the morning. Call if you need anything before then."

"Right-o doc," Anna said. Slouching back on the pillows, her eyes fell shut.

"She's out." Thomas exhaled a relieved sigh. He turned to the Shaman and nodded his head. "You're in charge now." He gathered his supplies and fell in line behind the brothers as they filed out of the room, leaving Toby to tend to Anna.

Chapter 14

Roark hissed in outrage. His eyes narrowed and lips pursed in a furious sneer of contempt. His plaything-what had the Sons done to her? He could not invade her mind. Oh, he could get in. But, there wasn't anything to work with. If she'd been a computer, he would have said she was offline. Her muddied brain was nothing but a blank spot. Somehow, the Sons had done something to her. Something intended to keep him out. And didn't that piss him off. He felt it when her mind slowed to a crawl and faded out of consciousness entirely.

The Sons had more power than he'd anticipated. They were well organized and efficient. During his last visit to their lands, he barely escaped capture. Oh they were good. But, he was better. When he'd heard the news about Kore and Kiros, for only one thing traveled faster than the dead and that was gossip, he'd developed a healthy measure of respect for the brotherhood.

The pair was known for their ruthlessness and when they raised a vampire army and invaded the Sons, engaging them in battle. He had expected a victory, not defeat. But Kore and Kiros had gotten what they deserved. Ushered into the underworld by the Sons' blades. He hadn't been upset about it in the least. The brother and sister had gotten way out of hand. News of human disappearances made headlines. The dead bodies left behind piqued more than morbid human curiosity. Any vampire who threatened the secret of his kind, needed to be dealt with swiftly and permanently. The Sons had simply saved him the trouble.

The brothers' devotion to the teachings of the Great Father was their downfall. The Great Father was once human, just like him. Roark didn't know who transformed the man and it really didn't matter. But, he had been the one to deliver the bastard into the hands of death. Someone had snatched the man out of death's cold grip. Since the man had deemed the title of the Great Father and began his peace loving, animal hunting, brotherhood Roark and his ilk had been forced to lay low.

The Great Father had been powerful, a natural leader in life. But, in death, he was even more so. The brotherhood needed new leadership, a change in command, so to speak. Leadership Roark was happy to provide. He could oust the Great Father and take over the Sons himself. Let them run through the woods half naked and drink the blood of animals. He didn't care. Their dietary choices weren't his concern. They weren't so different. He too kept willing humans around for feeding. But, unlike the Sons, once the humans out lived their usefulness, he got rid of them. The Sons held their donors as highly revered, caring for them until natural death claimed their lives.

Roark agreed with the brothers on one thing. The food supply had to be protected and rationed. When a vampire went rogue and was out of control, drinking and killing more than what was necessary, let the Sons swoop in and clean up the mess. He really didn't like getting his hands dirty. The existence of vampires had to be kept a secret from the populous. With all the new technology, if the myth of vampires became a reality to humans, who knew what the mortals could do to his kind. It could be a massacre, mortals hunting vampires and murdering them, just like the dark days he was born into millennia ago.

"Keene, prepare for the move. I think it's time to pay our friends a little visit." Roark was planning to have some fun with the Sons during the Spring Planting Festival. Decades ago when he purchased the Manor House, lying on the outskirts of the tiny burg. It was just another one of his myriad acquisitions. But, like so many other properties he'd acquired over the years, it proved quite handy. One never knew what the future might bring. Or where one was going to end up.

"As you wish." Keene nodded to his master and prepared to round up the rogues and humans, Roark referred to as his family. Keene didn't know what Roark had planned. And he sure as hell knew better than to ask. But, if it involved the Sons, there was going to be trouble. He'd take every precaution he could. Anticipate what his short sided, power hungry master failed to see. And maybe, he'd get lucky and The Sons would rid the world of his master and finally, he'd be free.

*******

Bryce slammed the cell phone shut and turned to his friends. A deep frown marred his features into a mask of rage and fury. After hunting, they'd all met back at Anna's place. Hoping for an ambush. Hoping the Rogue Master would show up and they would have grounds to end this once and for all. "Anna's in bad shape." He ran his hands through his thick wavy black hair and winced at Marcus and Sam. "They had to sedate her."

"Damn," Marcus hissed. It was time to step things up a bit. Let the Rogue Master know the Sons meant business. No more of this creeping around in the shadows bullshit, waiting around with his thumb up his ass. He was tired of his friends and the brothers being fucked with. If it hadn't been for the rogues, Candace would be home with her son, living her normal, mundane life. And he'd still be smoking like a chimney and flipping pancakes at some greasy spoon, barely getting by. And they'd still be alive in the literal definition of the term. Nah "Bryce, you still have that C-4 back at your place?"

"Yeah, why?" Bryce could see the wheels in Marcus's head turning and not in a good way. Well, at least, not good for Roark. Marcus had something in mind.

"It's time we paid the Rogue Master a visit." Marcus grinned wildly and rubbed his hands together in eagerness. Yeah, he had an idea or two. And maybe being a vampire didn't change everything about him. There were times to make a stand, to hell with the consequences. What were the brothers going to do? Kill him? "It's time we paid Roark a little visit. No one fucks with a Son and gets away with it. Nobody."

Sam gasped in horror. Not for Roark, hell she could give a damn less what happened to him. In fact, she'd light the fuse herself, if it were up to her. It wasn't. They had specific orders. Fact finding only. Observe. Gather information. Report back. Self-defense only if engaged. If Marcus disobeyed a direct order from Dane, he would be severely punished. Maybe, even thrown out of the brotherhood. "Marcus, we can't."

Marcus ran a finger along Sam's chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. He would never do anything to implicate her in his plans. She was born to be a Son. She could claim innocence and he'd willingly shoulder the blame. After all, this bunch, especially Sam, didn't know C-4 from silly putty. Dane would know where to place the blame and who to punish. And he'd gladly shoulder any wrath alone. "Honey, WE'RE not. I am."

Bryce narrowed his eyes and chuckled. Marcus had a set of balls. He had to give the wiry bastard that. He didn't completely get what Marcus had in mind. Personally, he was a blade man. Explosives weren't his thing. But, he was always willing to learn. Besides, they were a team. If one of them went down, they all went down together. "I'm in."

Bryce gave Marcus a high five. Anna was his friend too and he couldn't stand on the sidelines and do nothing while she suffered. Marcus would need someone watching his back as he went in and did the dirty work. Bryce had all the facts he needed. The bastard had to be stopped.

Lance clucked his tongue at his partners. They were going to be cleaning toilets and pressing John Mark's boxer shorts until the Second Coming. That's if Dane didn't decide to pitch the lot of them out on their ears. But, at least, he'd be in good company. "Why not." He gave Marcus and Bryce the thumbs up. He wasn't going to miss out on the action and let these two knuckleheads take all the glory. Besides, Marcus was fast, but he was shit with a blade. And Bryce, sometimes he thought his brother and best friend needed glasses. The nearsighted jackass couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a bullet. They needed him, if they were going to pull this off.

Sam shook her head at the three of them. And despite her better judgment, held out her hand. "We're all going to hell." She feared that without her help, these idiots would most likely blow themselves to kingdom come and save Roark the trouble of having to kill him. The others piled their hands on top of hers in a pledge. They'd either do the job or go down trying. Together.

Chapter 15

Anna awoke dizzy, disoriented, and with the worst case of cottonmouth she'd ever had. Her eyelids felt like they had weights attached to the lashes. She blinked and forced her eyes open, waiting for the blurry world to come into focus. The horrors of last night slammed into her head, sending a spasm of panic surging through her body. She'd nearly drowned. Gasping and shaking, she clutched the blankets in her fists and bit back a scream. Toby was there, sliding his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. His hand smoothing up and down her back. Whispering incomprehensible words intended to soothe her.