Shadow Guardians: The Beast
Chapter 20

Water droplets rippling off the fountain shimmered with the light of day, birdsong tweedled from somewhere in the trees, and the smell of morning breezed through the air.

Katherine was cozied up on the porch, taking it all in for one last time before her transition. Even dressed in light blue jeans, flats, and a thick knitted cookie-dough colored sweater, she soaked up the warmth of the sun’s rays into her aching bones and joints. She’d done her hair in a black, stringy, messy bun. She was waiting for Solomon to finish his morning duties, and then he would drive her to Thomas for her blood transfusion.

Magnus, Draven, and Zachiel were still up, cracking the chronicles in search of answers. She thought she ought to be nervous about the whole transition thing, especially about the blood transfusion because of her history.

Yet she felt a sense of calm, perhaps because this whole experience was somehow removed from the world she knew. Sure, it was a doctor, a hospital, and nurses. But they were nosferi, and they knew more about her biology, assuming Magnus had his psychic senses lined up straight, than any of the human doctors she’d ever been to. Her old doctors had probed around in the dark, had torn down her sanity piece by piece for years, with their questions and their theories never amounting to anything useful that could improve her life.

Now there was finally something near definite that could be done about her situation. And it involved her becoming a vampire. Talk about alternative therapies.

She was watching a monarch butterfly flutter around the hydrangeas, its orange and black colors striking against the clusters of blue flowers, when she caught movement in her peripheral vision. Her head swiveled in the direction of the fountain, and her mouth went slightly agape when she saw Etheria sitting on the edge with the water cascading down behind her. Her spectacular wings dragged on the ground. They were so white that they seemed to swallow the sun’s rays into their own glow.

Etheria tilted her head and gave her a soft smile. Katherine blinked, and she was gone.

“Mistress?” Katherine startled and swung around to replace Solomon standing behind her. The old man was bald on top of his head and had a long, lean body. He was dressed in a black morning coat, a white collared dress shirt, a slate vest, gray striped pants, and white gloves. His face was narrow, the eyes small but kind.

“Pardon, I did not mean to interrupt, M’Lady. If it is convenient, I would like to escort you to the physician now.”

Now the nerves started coming in. “Yes, of course. Thank you, Solomon.”

The old man smiled so brightly, she actually blinked. He was so honored to serve her that it made her a little itchy. She supposed that she would have plenty of time to get used to it after the transition.

He led her around the house to the front, where a black Bentley was waiting. He opened the back door for her and gestured a gloved hand, inviting her. She got in, and he closed the door. He settled in behind the steering wheel.

The Bentley had champagne leather seats, and the trimmings were done in rosewood. She could smell the leather in the car and ran her hand over its smooth surface on the back seat. It was peculiar, but the luxury of the car gave her a sense of comfort and eased her nervousness. She was going to a doctor. Nosferi or not, she hadn’t had the best experiences with doctors in the past, and she told herself that some nerves were perfectly acceptable, even if Ophelia had assured her that Thomas was very gentle and considerate.

They drove through the fissure of dimensions, and she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat.

“Gosh, Soloman. How do you stand driving through this?”

The old man chuckled. “I’ve been driving through this for fifty-eight years, Mistress.”

“How old are you?”

“Seventy-six. Lizbeth is my granddaughter.”

“And you’ve served the vampiric races all your life?” She found that talking to him while they were driving through the fissure helped keep the motion sickness at bay.

He smiled affectionately. “Indeed. My father started grooming me at age ten. There was no greater honor.”

She could hardly believe that humans were so willing to offer up their lives to serve others. It was a kind of indoctrination, she supposed. But he seemed genuinely happy to be able to take care of the household and all its citizens. All of them did. The more there were to take care of, the more the servants thrived. Perhaps safety was its own reward. They were out of the demons’ reach as long as they were at Grandfall Manor.

She opened her eyes and saw that they had moved through the fissure and were now traveling along Third Avenue. “How far is the hospital?”

“Only about fifteen minutes from here, M’Lady.”

She wrung clammy hands together. She was being ridiculous. There was no reason to be nervous about a blood transfusion. If anything, she was going to feel better after it. Maybe it was just the thought of a long, hollow needle pushing through the thin skin in her forearm... She sucked in breath and imagined how she would feel after it was over. Lighter on her feet, clear-headed, and energized. Maybe she would even be focused enough to start helping out with deciphering the chronicles.

The next few seconds were a mess of chaos for her.

She heard the screeching of tires and turned her head just in time to see a black vehicle heading straight for them through the window of the opposite seat. The black van smashed into the Bentley. She was thrown all over the place like she was inside a tumble dryer as the car rolled. There was another crash closer to the rear of the Bentley, which sent them into a spin. The impact jerked her head into her side of the seat. She felt a sharp sting of pain pierce through her temple, and then her vision went black.

Solomon’s body felt like it weighed six hundred pounds. He could scarcely turn his head. Smoke burned into his nose and down his throat. He managed to open his eyes into thin slits. From his groggy viewpoint on the ground, where he lay on his back, he watched several people dressed in red robes pull Katherine from the wreck. She was, oh gods, hopefully alive. They dragged her into another waiting van. When one of the men turned, Soloman’s heart hitched. He’d recognize that dead face and those empty eyes anywhere. Khad.

They drove off with her. Solomon tried to move. He had to call the brothers, but he couldn’t bring himself to even raise a hand. His mind was clouding more, his breath was becoming shallower, vision fading in and out. Somewhere, something was wet beneath him. He tried to look down to see what it was. Blood. He was leaking blood, but he couldn’t see where.

His vision went black. And then he saw a great white light.