Empress of Blood

Sally's mind exploded back into her body as she was suddenly pulled up from the frigid world beyond life. Her heart was beating again, though it was no longer the same heart she'd been born with; it had changed, like the rest of her. She felt strong. Not strong in the way a woman who worked out as much as she did would be, however, but truly deadly. Sally thought she could crush stone between her fingers if she wanted to. The room appeared clearer, too—the silk that had covered her eyes since birth had been lifted away, and Sally saw, truly saw, for the first time in her un-life.

"How are you feeling?"

Sally looked to where Mina's voice was coming from and was met with the vampire's vibrant face. People often say that some image or scenery is the most beautiful thing they've ever seen, and a vast majority of the time those people are not speaking in earnest. In that instance, though, with Mina staring down on her, Sally really was witnessing the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

Sally was about to open her mouth to respond when she felt the extra weight of the fangs, concealed between her other teeth, and stopped. They were now those of a true vampire—sharp and violent. This is what I am now, she thought. I chose this for myself. Sally ran her tongue over the tip of one those teeth and felt its point pierce into her, though it drew no blood.

"You must be thirsty," Mina said, and Sally realized she was. Her throat was parched. She felt as if she'd come out of the desert after days of sweating in the merciless sun. However, it was not water she thirsted for. Sally's only desire after waking up was to gorge on hot, sweet blood, to be filled with the essence of another. This instinct did not disturb her—a fact which, in of itself, was disturbing. Sally imagined pouncing out of the darkness at some innocent pedestrian and ripping at their necks.

"You won't have to drink from humans yet," Mina told Sally, as if reading her mind. "Animal blood will do for a while, but eventually, when your feeding cycle comes around, you'll have to find a more suitable form of nourishment. Don't move; I'll go get you something." Mina got up then and hurried out into the hallway. She came back a few seconds later with a glass of a red liquid that could only be blood. It sloshed around enticingly as she approached the bed.

"Here, take this."

Sally did, and took a long sip from the glass a mere second after it passed from Mina's hands to hers. Unsurprisingly, the blood's taste was strongly metallic, and Sally thought the liquid felt cold as it passed down her throat, no doubt a result of being kept refrigerated so as not to spoil. It was viscous, too, unnerving close to a weak simple syrup in consistency. All the same, Sally couldn't help but drink the entire glass with eagerness, practically gulping the cold blood down. Soon after, the tension which gripped Sally's undead body began to dissipate. Her thirst had been slaked.

"I'm alive," Sally said in wonderment. "I'm really alive again."

Mina leaned in to kiss her lover on the forehead. "You're more than alive," she cooed, "you're eternal. And better yet, you're with me."

Sally laughed then, sensing the last vestiges of her past life fade away like an unpleasant dream. "Did you see them too?" she asked. "Under the willow?"

Mina shook her head, somehow intuiting what the fledgling vampire meant. "It's different for everyone. At least, that's how the vampire who sired me explained it. I went to a city behind the stars when I died, actually, but that's a story for later." She snuggled in closer to Sally. "So, is there anything you want to do now that you've become one of us? Would you like to go for a night stroll? We have quite a bit of time until morning."

"I don't think I'm ready to be out and about," Sally said, flexing her fingers. "Could you just cuddle with me a little longer? I want to feel you next to me."

"Of course," Mina said, pulling the covers up to their torsos. "We can get nice and cozy, this way."

The wind gave a low howl outside the castle walls. Sally imagined it was her out there, crying out in pronouncement of her new beginning. That's right, she thought, I chose this existence. For once, I was able to take charge of my own fate. Sally thought about the town of Brimfield, the people sleeping away in its own little world, unaware of the two vampires living in their midst. But the pair didn't have to stay there, in Brimfield; the whole Earth was open to Sally and Mina. The castle would take them where they needed to go, and that was a liberating thought.

Sally let her body relax into the soft bed. She licked at her fangs again, fangs she would one day use pierce a person's throat. The former constable had few regrets about her decision, but that was one of them. The sun she could live without, but harming others, even if her bites weren't fatal, still wrong. Still, she was no longer alone. She would never have to be alone again. Mina's heart beat softly against her. All else was still.