Pain rippled down Casey’s spine and she opened her eyes and reflexively swallowed the bitter and rust-fvored blood so she could speak. “Ow! Fubsp; What the hell…” She grabbed the back of Sylvie’s hand and shook until the vampire let go. “What a way to mess up a perfectly good…” Casey felt her wet cut short as Sylvie had her wrist pressed against her lips once again. Reality hit the former ward as she realized what was happening, and she settled dowing the blood flow dowhroat without aanbsp;

  -Thank you.-

  Was the st thought Casey had before a cloud of peaceful dark washed out her vision and her chest rose a couple more times before stopping.

  Relieved that Casey had awakened long enough to take the blood being offered, Sylvie kept her wrist pressed against Casey’s lips until she’d gone pletely still. Lig her wrist closed, Sylvie looked down at herself. “Lovely. Covered in blood.” She looked at her wrist and then back to the stained nightgown she was wearing. “Probably should have thought about that befrabbing a head full of your hair.” She leaned down and kissed Casey’s forehead. “Hey, I haven’t tried this in roughly fifty years, give or take.” Sylvie spoke softly to her unmoving friend.

  Climbing off of the bed, Sylvie kept talking aloud. “I think it would be best to get ged, then maybe get you in something more appropriate.” She walked over to her dresser and pulled out an oversized blue and gray tee, slipped out of the thin silk gown and dohe fy tee. “Much better and more my style.” Sylvie did a little twirl for Casey, “The least you do is open your eyes when I attempt to dance.” Knowing that she wasn’t going to get a rea just yet, Sylvie sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I know that it take a bit for your body and mind to decide if you want to be a vampire.” Sylvie dug out a small pair of loose-fitting shorts that matched her tee, and slipped them over her panties. “I like to think of it like you are in a a and hear what’s going on.” She walked to the door. “I will be right back.”

  Quickly going through Casey’s clothing, Sylvie found a full-length nightgown. “Perfebsp; Here I thought you just wore sexy things.” She held up the long beige garment with little es and suns imprinted oton. “This is certainly not sexy.” She snickered and took a bit loo find a pair of underwear that wasn’t a thong. “However.” Holding up a set of normal white panties with a little pink bow on them, Sylvie sucked on her lip for a sed. “These ’t be yours. One normal thing in a drawer of thongs.” Pausing to fold the underwear, Sylvie o herself. “It is what yetting all the same.”

  Within minutes, Sylvie had easily stripped off the bloody garment that Casey wore and had her iwo items she’d picked out from her room. Positioning her friend so that she was lying naturally on the bed, Sylvie grabbed the brush she’d tossed before and started to lightly get the knots out of the curly hair. “What to do?” Sylvie hummed lightly and pursed her lips thinking. “Humm, I don’t have much to say beyond what you should already know.” Looking up at her swirled painted ceiling, Sylvie struggled to figure out how to pass the nervous minutes. “Okay, this is going to probably bore you to death, but it is all I have. How’s a story sound?” She paused and looked at Casey’s fingernails as they turned from normal and clear to bd sharp. “That is a good sign, Casey. So it's story time.” Sylvie ehe brushing, “Although the others did the same. Hope, right?” Not waiting for a response, Sylvie resumed. “A story. We have a few options.” Sylvie held up one finger, “First we have curres, b but passes the time.” Popping up her sed finger, she tinued, “We could go into what happe with us, but holy, I would prefer that to be something you are awake for.” Third finger went up, “I could tell you about how I became a vampire.” Sylvie paused and shook her head and wiped a tear away, “That is emotional too, I would prefer to have you awake to respond.” Sniffling, she dropped her fingers. “So curres it is. Something mio discuss, Let’s start with something that s us both. Jester.”

  Climbing over Casey, Sylvie got to the empty side of the bed and k so she could finish brushing Casey’s hair. “His real name is Jason Roderick, He just likes everything to do with jesters, so he picked up the niame. He runs a small troupe named Sanguine Spark.” Sylvie thought about the vampires she’d taken apart earlier in the evening. “Smaller now thanks to the two of us.” She lightly nudged Casey’s body, “You did great by the way.” Pausing in thought, Sylvie took a few seds to study Casey’s features. “Nothing visible yet. Right, Jester.” Swiping a few strands of her blue and gray striped hairs from her eyes, Sylvie resumed. “Ultimately, it is a tattoo parlor. He set up shop for himself in Williamsburg and is pretty much the ohat knows the news for that area since Vivien. With the fact Oscar and Owehat far east, is almost problematibsp; It means he is seeking to expand his reatinia Beach.” Once Casey’s hair had been untangled and brushed into a light sheen, Sylvie pced the brush beside her phone and held her friend’s hand. “What you don’t uand is that Virginia Beach has been off-limits thanks to Viv. With her go is a new source of both brethren and blood.” Sylvie sighed, “You probably don’t know the vacuum that was left behind when she left for France.” She ughed, “Face it, our kind doctor is a gravity well, a force that is unbending and ’t be iated around. We’ve simply had to make due with what she allowed.”

  Sylvie stopped talking and quickly double-checked the house to make sure all of the doors were secure and all of her heavy curtains were ihe back to Casey’s side. “Sunrise is in a bit, I o make sure we’d make it through the day.” Curling up beside her lifeless friend, Sylvie she air and smiled. “Good, I still smell my blood, I also still taste yours. Better signs than I expected.” Swearing that she saw Casey’s lips move for a split sed, She raised one of her thin eyebrows aalking, “You already know that the regional cil that keeps the veil iion, was obliterated. My friend An is hoping to get a seat and given what I saw tonight, it looks like Jester is looking to occupy the seat for the eastern part of the region.” W if her mind ying tricks on her, Sylvie studied Casey for a couple minutes in silence before speaking, “Jester is a det enough guy, he did the tat’s on both shoulders and the third eye.” She scratched the tiny-eyed tattoo lightly, “He’s more heavy-hahan I am, likes structure.” She paused for a breath, “What is ing is that he was willing to take on Viv’s wrath by letting his minions try and take you down.” She lightly ran her hand over Casey’s unmoving tummy. “It could just be hubris.”

  -That you felt. Could it really be? e on, where is the vision this time?-

  Sylvie chastised herself when she felt Casey’s stomach tighten to her touch. “Casey?” Sylvie asked just in time to see Casey’s lips and body barely moving to the beat of a silent song. “Is it true?”