But more importantly, he had to face the fact that what he’d been fearing had come true – Jillian had grown tired of being a vampire. He’d changed her in order to save her life, and though she was grateful, he knew she was right – she was destined to be a light in the darkness, a goddess of the sun. Someone with her beauty and bubbly personality wasn’t intended to live a life in the shadows.
The silence was awkwardly overwhelming, but it was like neither of them knew what to say. Jillian was feeling guilty having confessed the truth to Isaiah prior to actually testing whatever Austin and his team of scientists had come up with. Suppose it didn’t work. Then Isaiah would forever be burdened with the knowledge that Jillian hated what she was as much as he did, and neither one of them could do a thing about it. Plus, it made her sound like an ungrateful bitch, because if he hadn’t changed her, she would have died.
It was true that she’d discussed becoming a vampire with Isaiah one day, but she hadn’t thought long and hard about the long-term effects. She thought she’d be willing to give up the sun and a life of sandy beaches and going out with friends with no barriers like sparkling sunscreen, plus a normal social life with her family. But it had only taken her a few months for the regime to grow old. What did that say about her? And what did it say about her relationship with the man she supposedly loved?
“I’m sorry,” she finally blurted, her tone earnest. “I shouldn’t have told you the way I did.”
“Told me what?”
“I don’t want you to think that I’m ungrateful, that I hate my life, that I don’t want to be with you.”
“Jillian, I was with you when you were human, and it never bothered me. If you can go back to being what you truly desire, why would that bother me?”
“That’s not the problem. If this doesn’t work, I’ll still be a vampire, and you’ll see me as being something I hate, and you’ll blame yourself for it.”
“No. I won’t. Because I refuse to lose you. If there’s anything I can do to save you, to protect you, I’ll do it.”
Jillian bit her lip. He wasn’t making this any easier on her. But it was still comforting to know that he didn’t hate her, and wasn’t angry at her, either.
At last, they arrived at the clinic, which doubled as the science lab in Appaloosa Plains. They strolled in, hand in hand, and made their way to the science portion of the building. After the receptionist paged Austin to meet them, he greeted them and led them back toward a brightly lit laboratory.
“Let the record show,” Austin stated in all seriousness, “that I advised against you two being the first outside testers for this thing.”
“How did you even do this?” Isaiah asked, curious despite himself.
“Jillian was right about one thing,” Austin replied. “A lot of vampires were eager to try reverting back to their human forms. We got a lot of alpha and beta testers and tried a number of different factors, and thankfully several scientists besides myself were anxious to try to develop something like this. Normally, such a process would have probably taken years to create. Anyway, regarding those different factors I mentioned, werewolves have said to be lethal to vampires, right? We have werewolves on staff who have given blood, so we tried creating something with that. Not enough to harm a vampire, of course, but enough to maybe spark some kind of reaction. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. Jillian, remember when I told you I had a lead? Well, I contacted Paige’s coven, and it turns out that pure blood may have the effect we wanted. The purest blood known to exist belongs to fairies. So, we hired some fairy interns and experimented with their blood. The purity of it overshadowed the, theoretical, impure vampire blood. It didn’t turn vampires into fairies, but it purified the blood enough that it began to flow like a human’s again, and all vital signs of a human were present. They were all able to walk out in the sun, too, with no adverse side effects. Of course, other ingredients had to be used in addition to the fairy blood, so if a vampire were to drink fairy blood, it wouldn’t turn them into one in the process.”
It all seemed a little too complex for Jillian to wrap her mind around, but truthfully, she didn’t care. The important thing was that there was a cure, and she was about to possess it.
“Are you two sure you want to do this?” Austin inquired, a note of concern obvious in his voice.
Jillian looked at Isaiah. He was looking at her, as though asking for permission. But it was he who spoke first.
“I think we’ll take it home and celebrate privately,” he stated. He glanced at Jillian again and gave her a private, sideways grin. She grinned back and blushed.
“Okay, well, be sure to contact me, or this lab, with any side effects,” Austin instructed as he vacated the room and returned with two sealed boxes. He gave them to his friends, visibly hesitating while explaining the possible side effects (like shortness of breath after getting used to their lungs taking in more oxygen than was needed as vampires), as well as how long the cure would take to kick in. He then wished them luck as they left.
“We’ll take it at home,” Isaiah said as he drove, “and make a toast to our new lives together.”
“I love you, Isaiah.”
“I love you, too.”
They both felt it. The bond between them was even stronger than before, and now they could live a normal, happy life. Nothing could stand in their way now.
*********************************************************************************
They arrived back in Midnight Hollow within a few hours. It was dark by then, so unfortunately they wouldn’t be able to test out the cure’s effects with the sun.
The cure turned out to be in liquid form, sealed inside a very intricately designed bottle. It wasn’t what either Jillian or Isaiah was expecting, but at least it would make their “toast” more official.
“So, two bottles, and each of us drinks one,” Isaiah said as he read the instructions inside the box.
“That’s quite a lot for one person,” Jillian observed.
“Imagine how much it would have taken just to test out the effects. I guess they want to be thorough, and ensure there’s enough to be effective.”
Isaiah set the box back down and took Jillian’s hands, looking into her eyes.
“Jill,” he said, “I never apologized to you.”
“For what?”
“For giving you this life. I know we discussed it, but you clearly never wanted it. I never gave you a chance. I was selfishly thinking only of myself.”
“That’s not true. You were thinking of me, too. And Kenzie, and all our friends. Not to sound conceited, but you all would have missed me. And you’d blame yourself for not changing me when you could have as much as you’re blaming yourself now.”
Isaiah smiled. “You’re so perceptive. I think you and Kenzie should open your own private practice.”
“Very funny.”
Isaiah chortled, then grew serious. “I think you should do the honors first.”
“Why?”
“Because this was your idea, and without your persuasion, there probably still wouldn’t be a cure for vampirism. And it is for your birthday present, after all, even if it’s still a month away.”
“Well, okay…if you insist.”
“I promise I’ll drink mine as well. I just want you to have your wish come true first, and it’ll be more special if it happens on its own rather than to me at the same time. Don’t worry, we can still have our toast.”
Jillian wrapped her arms around Isaiah, her heart hammering inside her chest. She knew this was what she wanted, but she was still nervous. But she had to face it. Austin himself had given her this cure, and it seemed to beckon to her like a bottle of promises that could never be broken.
Staggering forward, breathing heavy, she grabbed one of the two bottles and unscrewed the top. The noise was like a celebratory bottle of champagne opening, only this would taste much sweeter with her vampire taste buds.
There were some things she’d miss. Her fast speed, superior senses, rapid healing, and increased energy benefited her well. But that wasn’t what was most important to her, nor what truly mattered.
More than anything else, she wanted to be with her family again. And as long as she was a vampire, she couldn’t be. And she couldn’t be best friends with Cheyenne, either, because she feared her so, especially around her son.
Which was why Jillian felt nothing but confidence and bliss as she finally acceded and lifted the bottle to her lips.
It tasted like succulent blood with a faint sour tinge, but at least it was tolerable. And the end result would be worth it, she knew.
She licked her lips after downing the last gulp, waiting for the result. Austin had said that it usually only took a few minutes for the cure to take effect, and she waited while watching Isaiah eye her curiously.
“How does it feel?” he asked.
“Honestly, I don’t feel any different.”
“Odd, but maybe that’s a good thing.”
Before they could any anything more, Jillian felt a bubbling feeling rise in her stomach. It wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t particularly pleasant, either. Her vision blurred and she heard a loud pop in her ears, and her breathing rapidly increased as a red aura surrounded her, not unlike the one that had enveloped her when she’d turned into a vampire.
She realized suddenly that this was the cure’s effects taking hold. Her vision wouldn’t be as acute as when she’d been a vampire, and her eardrums wouldn’t be as strong. And of course the rapid breathing was a side effect explained to both her and Isaiah by Austin.
“Jill?” Isaiah asked, alarmed.
Jillian looked up at him, her eyes focusing at last, just as they had been before she’d transformed. It would take some getting used to, seeing without super vision again, and not hearing something as quiet as a pin drop, but her face broke into a broad smile. It had worked. The cure was a success.
“It worked!” she exclaimed. Isaiah’s face also broke into a smile as he walked toward Jillian and scooped her up in his arms, carefully as though she were a fragile piece of glassware (though she was much more fragile than before).
“How do you feel?” he wanted to know as he felt her lips, jaw, shoulders, and everywhere to make sure that she was still intact.
“I’m okay,” she laughed, feeling carefree for the first time in a long time. “I feel great. This is amazing!”
“No kidding. And this time, it’ll be your turn to teach me.”
“What?”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been a human. You’ll have to show me the ropes again, how it’s done without superior senses and the like.”
“Anything you need.”
Isaiah kissed Jillian tenderly. Her skin was already warmer to the touch than his own, and her blood was rushing through her veins at an alarmingly more rapid rate. It made her whole aura seem delectable, knowing how happy she was to be human again, and it was all he could do not to give into his nature, the one he’d had for nearly a century, and engage in their private erotic biting session.
Instead, he then made his way to the second bottle to take his turn. He was just unscrewing the cap when Jillian’s phone rang.
“Oh, come on,” she groaned. Isaiah snickered. “Just get it. I’ve waited this long, I can wait a little longer.”
Jillian rolled her eyes and answered her phone without even looking at the ID.
“Hello?” she said.
“Jillian,” Austin’s voice sounded in an alarming tone, “did you and Isaiah drink the cure yet?”
“Uh…I did. Isaiah is about to. Why?”
“Don’t do it. Swear to me right now you won’t let Isaiah drink it.”
“Why? What the hell is going on?”
“Jillian, if he drinks that cure, he could die.”
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