Closing her eyes, she brought herself back to the scene. She loved to dabble in human occupations; detective work had been one of her favorites. She’d been forced to quit when she made waves as the only female detective in Chicago in the nineteen-thirties… and the youngest. “Hang on, I’m putting you on speaker with Quinn and some of the team. Walk us through how the change works.”
Pacing to quiet the baby, Quinn stood back as Adair set the phone on the table.
“Hey guys. So, the change is rough on both the fledgling and the sire. First the sire drains the human victim until they’re depleted, like critically anemic and inches from death. It takes a lot of control. Then the sire replenishes the drained human by feeding them. It’s a lot for the sire, to give so much. As the fledgling’s human blood is replaced by the vampire’s, the demon blood innervates the tissue, restructuring the fledgling from the inside out. It’s beyond exhausting for the fledgling; they’re pretty much comatose through the process, barely waking enough to feed.”
Bodie cleared his throat and interjected, “What if it’s not enough? I mean, you take a small sire and a big human, he’s probably got a good pint or two on her.”
“Exactly,” Logan said.
Astrid nodded, seeming to realize the implications. “More than one feeding, or perhaps more than one sire. That must be why demon hunters can’t be changed. It would take so much vampire blood to overcome a demon hunter’s ability to regenerate.”
A sinking feeling in her gut, Adair feared the answer as she flashed back to the wreckage in the warehouse. He’d fought off dozens. Near where she’d found his sword, there had been a lot of activity that had stirred up the rubble, and a strong scent of fresh vampire blood. “A demon hunter would need a dozen sires. Maybe more.”
Quinn asked the question that needed asking, even though they all knew the answer already. “And if the fledgling receives enough to start the change, but not enough to finish it?”
Long pause. “The fledgling’s body will try to fight it. Like an organ transplant. Except it’s every cell in their body.”
Biting her lip, Quinn furiously muttered, “Bennett doesn’t look like he’s winning any fights.”
Logan’s heavy exhale silenced the room. “Once the demon blood has entered their vasculature? There’s no going back. If they’re interrupted before the sire can feed them enough… or the fledgling is too strong for the sire and can’t get enough, they’ll die within hours.”
Bodie was already out of the chair and moving to the door. “Come on, let’s go hunting.”
Adair took a long breath, backing toward the stairs as she realized what needed to be done. Bennett was out of time.
Her brother’s voice sharp through the phone, knowing exactly what she was thinking, he barked, “Adair? Don’t. He won’t have enough control yet. He’s too strong and could kill you before he even realizes…”
“He won’t,” she said, hoping she was right.
Astrid’s phone chirped in her pocket. She held up a hand, a desperate edge to her expression. “Vann?”
Adair heard a rich, rumbling voice laced with dread on the other end of the call. “Why is Bennett asking me to bring vampire blood, stat?”
She tore down the stairs and swallowed the burning fury that boiled in her throat. Bennett was sitting up in bed, head buried in his hands, his complexion ghost white.
“You knew.” She sneered, slamming the door shut behind her.
“What?”
She lowered to the bed and moved her hair off her neck. “Come on. Now I see why you were planning to call me before calling your team, but chained yourself up instead of hitting send? You don’t plan to taste me like I think?”
A weak smile teased at his lips. “I’d rather taste you in a very different way.”
“Well too fucking bad. Don’t die because you’re too stubborn.”
Snarling, he pulled back. “I can’t even remember how many vampires have already died trying to change me. I can’t risk you.”
“Take it slow. It shouldn’t take much to finish it.”
His eyelashes fluttered as he struggled to stay conscious.
“Dammit Bennett. They won’t get the blood to you in time.”
Fingertips trailing over the angle of her jaw, he traced her skin until he landed on the pulse of her neck, gently grazing his thumb over her skin. “I’m not going to forgive myself if I hurt you.”
“Have a little faith in me,” she said, leaning into his touch. How many days had she laid awake, craving his touch, to feel his skin against hers one more time? Exactly why she should have left him alone to begin with; he didn’t deserve this. “I’ve lived half a millennium. I can handle one overeager demon hunter.” Her lips quirked into a smile as she goaded him, needing him to give in.
Pressing his lips to her neck, he didn’t bite. “I missed you,” he uttered so softly she couldn’t be sure he’d said it. He smiled weakly against her skin, the heat of his lips radiating through her veins. “This whole thing is like one bad sexual innuendo.”
