Grey Eyes: Book One of the Forever Trilogy

Chapter Sixteen

When I came to, I was inside one of the empty examination rooms.  Well, it wasn’t empty anymore.  My grandmother stood beside me, holding my hand, while Dr. Roberts stood over me, doing his best to smile.  “Good to have you back.”

Once I remembered where I was, and why I was here, I looked for Duncan.  He wanted this reaction, pushed for it, and I wanted to know why.  I found him perched sideways in the doorway.

“Why?” I asked him. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

“Because, you needed that moment, for it to be etched into your brain forever.  Your mother is one of them now, Ana, and there will be times when you’ll want to convince yourself that it’s not true, that she’s not really a murdering savage.  Now, whenever those lies come, this memory will come too, and you’ll remember.  You’ll know.  You may not understand it right now, but you will.  Trust me, you will.”

He was right about how my mind worked.  I was quick to hold on to whatever sliver of hope allowed me to stay positive, it was how I chose to deal my mother’s attack, and I’d been right that she’d had a way to safety.  How else to explain her getting to that hospital?  I thought about our conversation that night, and how quickly I’d dismissed the possibility that she was a vampire.  He must have feared that the obstinacy was still there, stronger after being right the last time. He had done what he needed to crush it.  To protect me.  Once I realized that was what he was doing, I felt the willingness to be angry slip away from me.  But it still hurt, still felt like a major violation of trust.

I dropped my head and took a deep breath.  I could feel the tears coming and this time they were for her.  She was a vampire.  A monster. 

“What will you do with her?” I asked.

Duncan started to say something more, but Dr. Roberts cut him off.  “She’s really only technically dead.  Her body hasn’t fully undergone the transformation just yet, and with the venom preserving her body tissues, all we would really need to do is to reverse the process somehow.  A couple of my colleagues and I have been developing some new treatments in Egypt.  We haven’t had any real success yet, but we’re very optimistic.  I wouldn’t give up hope just yet.”

My grandmother scoffed.  “You will not use a Rasputin as some guinea pig for pointless experiments.”

 Duncan seconded her thoughts.  “You’ve done what you could Julio, there is no point in getting the girl’s hopes up for nothing.”

“Do it,” I demanded.  All three of them turned to me.  “I’m the heir, and I order you to try.” 

Dr. Roberts turned to the other two.  Duncan rolled his eyes, while my grandmother held her mouth open in shock. 

“In fact,” I said, while I still had a spark of courage in me, “the two of you can leave since you don’t think it’ll work.  I read that really sick people can sense negativity in a room, and I don’t want that for her. Don’t bother coming back  until you’re ready to believe.”

Feeling my courage wane as the two of them stared at me in disbelief, I slid off the bed and started for my mother’s room.  Duncan was still blocking the door, and I didn’t meet his eyes for fear that they would strip me of whatever strength I had left.  I waited there patiently for a few seconds before he moved to let me through.  I said “Thank you,” in a small voice and turned up the hall. 

Dr. Roberts ran to catch up with me, and as he unlocked the door, I could hear my grandmother and Duncan arguing.  I took a deep breath and readied myself for the worst.  I prepared myself for a monster that wouldn’t recognize me, that might even try to kill me.  It would be hard, but maybe these treatments would work, and if they didn’t, and she did become a monster, then maybe I could save her humanity.  If what Tristan told me was true, then maybe I could do it again.  Maybe I could make up for being such an awful daughter.