The Ambrose Clique - now published on Amazon

21 - Count of Three

- updated -

Not for the first time, I remembered my initial excitement at the idea of never doing sports again. And yet I keep finding myself in situations that required exertion. Stupid vampires and their never ending energy.

The trail to Salderrock Mountain was a rocky terrain, and each step was higher than the last. The majority of rocks weren't secure either, dislodging themselves when I applied the tiniest amount of pressure on them.

We'd been walking up the trail for about an hour now. Aurel seemed to forget my non-vampire state, often bouncing ahead and leaving me to struggle over the rocks. Every once in a while, she would turn around to see me and curse to herself. I was never quite sure if she was cursing my slowness or her memory. She would come back to guide me momentarily, and dart off again.

Daisy trailed behind Aurel. I wanted to join her but from the set to her shoulders, I thought she'd prefer to walk alone. Jaspar was, as always, a gentleman; he spent his time helping and guiding me. Skye didn't seem to mind his attention focusing on me now, chatting happily to us both about trivial topics. I remembered Aurel had told me to ask Jaspar about vampire biology.

"Are you a biology fan, Jaspar?"

He gave me a look of bewilderment. "Can't say I am, why?"

"Aurel told me you studied for years, and I should ask you how it all works."

"Oh, yeah. Once I turned, I realised I had so much more time to fill. We need to sleep once a month, so our bodies can fully repair and restore itself. But other than that, we can sleep whenever we choose. Some sleep to avoid this eternal day but I wanted to make use of all those hours, so through the night I studied how we are who we are."

"What makes you turn?"

"This took me years to learn and study. When a vampire bites a human, they release venom into the bloodstream through their teeth. The venom expands their... victim's blood vessels to accommodate the vampire blood cells, which are larger than human red blood cells. The venom also retracts oxygen from the blood, which is why being bitten causes you to feel like you're suffocating. If a vampire were to leave the human in this state they would die as the venom would drain their body of oxygen. The vampire has to drain some blood from the human, to make room for the exchange. In order to change, a the vamp will then give the human their blood. The vampire blood travels to the heart, where it meets the venom. When they meet in the heart, it stops pumping human blood and will instead work as a vampire heart. It won't supply you with oxygen, but it works double the rate of your heart and runs on blood. Basically, a vampire needs to be supplied with blood to keep their heart beating." He smiled faintly, watching me think it over. "A lot to take in, huh?"

I laughed, my head whirling. Biology in school was bad enough, this had completely stumped me.

"And of course, there's the emotional side," Skye added. "Blood makes bonds, stronger than family ties. If a vampire only gives the human their blood, when the human becomes a vampire they will be infatuated with the vampire. But it isn't a returned feeling. To do that, you'd have to cut them open and let them bleed out without drinking any of their blood."

"Like Cal," I whispered.

"Now," she continued as if I hadn't spoken. "If they drink each other's blood, the bond is neutralised and it creates a healthy, neutral relationship. There's always a sense of the other's emotions, like with you and Aurel, but it fades with time and distance. If you and Aurel stay this close forever, that bond won't fade."

"Was it just Cal?"

"Who bonded with Aurel? Well, she turned Daisy as well but that was a neutral bond. Jas and Cal drink from humans all the time, so they have infatuation bonds with many girls. But they also have unfinished bonds with some vampires too. Apart from Daisy, she hasn't turned anyone at all."