Chapter 69
Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 1885
“Are you going to sleep all day, Baby Jamie?” The annoying voice was accompanied by the sound of a pillow striking the headboard near his own crown, and if he hadn’t been so completely exhausted, he might’ve jumped out of the bed and chased her out of the room.
Thoughts of what had transpired last time his eyes were open brought a flood of questions. Was that Margie’s voice, and if so, how was that possible? Hadn’t he left her crumpled on the sofa downstairs?
Tentatively, James opened one eye and peered out into his room. It was her, all right, sitting on the foot of his bed, looking as bright as the day. The room was also quite sunny, and he wondered what time it was. Perhaps everything he thought had transpired was just a bad dream.
Rubbing his eyes, he rolled over and dragged himself up into sitting. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I’ve come to see how you’re doing. You can’t sleep all day, not on a day like this.”
At first the meaning of her words was lost on him, but then he remembered today was her birthday. She was twenty-two. Why, then, was so she incredibly obnoxious, like a child? “Happy birthday. Now get out.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “But that’s not why today is such a marvelous day. Don’t you remember what happened last night, little brother?”
James yawned, realizing his mouth was sticky, his throat dry. He looked around the room to see if there might be a glass of water anywhere but didn’t see any. “What are you talking about?” he asked, returning his gaze to her.
Margie was dressed in a mauve colored sweater set with long black trousers on. They were wide-legged, so they might look like a skirt, but they were trousers nonetheless. Her hair was pulled back in some sort of a curly bun, messy but out of her way. With a glowing complexion unlike anything he’d ever seen before, she smiled at him. “You must recall how we chased the Vampire last night, how I got hit by the trolley, and how you saved me. Surely, that hasn’t slipped your mind, even though you’ve been sleeping for nearly fourteen hours.”
“Fourteen hours?” James repeated. A glance at the clock on the wall confirmed it was nearly 10:00 in the morning. “Dear, God. I’m late for my shift.”
“Don’t worry. Father went to the hospital for you. He told them he’d cover for you. Said you weren’t feeling well. And I imagine you’re not. My arms and legs have been aching all day. I bet yours are, too. Uncle Culpepper said that’s to be expected, and that it will only get worse if we don’t get the injection straight away.”
She was talking so quickly, he was having trouble keeping up. The part about his father covering his shift made him sigh in relief, but everything else seemed like gibberish. But then, how could she know about his dream? “Did you say, Vampire?” he asked.
“Yes, of course I did. I had no idea you could do that magical healing bit, but I’m glad you can. Uncle Culpepper said that will come in most handy. He said he’s never seen anything like it before in all of his days, and that’s a lot of days.”
“Uncle Culpepper is here? Now?” James hadn’t seen their uncle in so long, he was shocked to hear he’d shown up out of the blue. But then, it was Margie’s birthday.
Before she could answer, footsteps sounded outside of the door. A moment later, Felicity stuck her head in. “Margie, I told you not to wake him. He needs his rest.”
“He needs his rest? I’m the one who nearly died a few hours ago.” She crossed her arms, pouting.
“And you’re fine today, thanks to your brother. Now, go downstairs.”
Margie looked as if she might protest, but then, she stood and began to walk to the door. Before she reached it, she turned back to face James. “Anyway, thank you Jamie. For saving me. I’d be dead if it weren’t for you. Don’t think I don’t know—or appreciate it. You are the best little brother a girl could have, even if you’re a big cry baby.” She winked at him and slipped past her mother into the hallway who called her name as if to reprimand her for being rude, but James couldn’t help but laugh. No one could apologize in quite the same way as Margie.
“How are you, darling?” his mother asked as she crossed over and sat down next to him. She felt his forehead, like any mother would. “Are you feeling better? Do you need more rest?”
James actually felt more refreshed than he had for a while, although his throat was parched. And to a degree, he could still feel the energy Margie spoke of running through his extremities. It didn’t hurt; it wasn’t even unpleasant. But it was a strange sensation, nevertheless. “I believe I’m all right now, thank you.”
“Good. When Uncle Culpepper brought you upstairs last night, I thought you might never wake up. I wasn’t able to rouse you even to change you into your bedclothes.”
James glanced down and noticed he was wearing the bedclothes she spoke of. His mother shrugged. “I managed.”
Shaking his head, James asked, “Did you say Uncle Culpepper brought me upstairs?”
“Yes, he walked in just as you fell off of the sofa, he said. He told us he thinks whatever power you used to save Marjorie drained all of your energy. He assured us you would be fine in the morning, though none of us thought you’d sleep quite this long.”
The words his mother spoke made sense, and her tone was matter-of-fact, but none of it was truly registering with him. It sounded like the same sort of silly nonsense his sister had been prattling on about for years. But it wasn’t a fanciful young woman speaking these words; it was his wise and experienced mother. “I’m afraid I don’t understand, Mother. Then… you’re of the opinion…. That is, you also agree with Margie in that… we actually… That is to say….”
“Jamie, darling, you did chase a Vampire last night. I’m certain of it. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to do the things you did to save your sister. Unfortunately, both of you triggered the Transformation process while doing so, and while Uncle Culpepper says that sometimes it will go away on its own if you don’t make some sort of an effort to turn it on, chances are that there’s nothing you can do to prevent the full metamorphosis from taking place. He also said that, with your particular skill, it is even more unlikely you can stop it.” She hung her head low, as if she was lamenting the fact that her children would now change into something she’d done her best to protect them from for several years.
