48

"That sounds reasonable enough," Jordan says. "Maybe it really is that simple."

"Mekuztli! Jordan!" Qui's voice echoes down the stairs, reverberating off cold stone. "I need you to help get Vivian down and remove the stake!" The two of you race up the stairs to join the Sheriff. He's moved the servant's body, clearing space in front of the crucified Primogen. "Take her right arm," he gestures to Vivian's side and you take position. "Jordan, I need you to hold her by the hips and help lower her once we unwrap the wire."

It isn't until you begin unwrapping the wire loops wrapped around Vivian's wrists that you notice the thorny barbs peppered at regular intervals, digging into her dead flesh. You wince as you unravel the bonds—each thorn sticks in the skin, tearing small patches off as you go. A distressed grunt from the Sheriff suggests that her other side has received much the same treatment. When Vivian's wrists are finally freed, the three of you lower her to the floor and lay her on her back, arms flat at her side. A part of you left over from before the Embrace finds it almost impossible to believe that this mangled corpse has yet to meet final death, but Corliss's training has taught you better. A stake through the heart does not destroy a vampire, it merely leaves them paralyzed, and sometimes if enough vitae has been lost they enter torpor—a suspended state of unconsciousness from which it is next to impossible to wake oneself. Unless you have outside help.

You jump to your feet as the front door bangs open, but Qui councils you to calm. "I called my ghouls while you were searching the rest of the house," he says. "Ms. Maier will need to feed when we bring her back." Two plain-clothes detectives enter the room and one of them looks sick when he sees what's been done to Vivian. You imagine that Qui briefed them on what to expect, but sometimes foreknowledge isn't an iron-clad remedy for a weak stomach.

"She'll kill me," the pale officer says. "I've seen it happen; she won't be able to stop herself."

"I'll make sure you aren't drained," Qui says. "You'll live to serve another day, Officer Dova. And you'll be provided with a substantial cash bonus for services rendered."

The man shivers as he unbuttons the top of his shirt and kneels down by Vivian's body. "Of course. Yeah. Let's get this over with, eh?"

Remove The Stake