B.O.E.- Chapter 14: Isaac

 

    I would recommend leaving her on the stretcher, Master Isaac,” the Doc’s eyes were wide with worry.

    “She wished to return to her room,” Isaac answered tightly. He glanced down at the woman in his arms. Her sharp green eyes were closed but her expression was so relaxed. She looked so delicate and yet he knew otherwise. The fact that this warrior woman was reduced to such a helpless state gave him a chill. He’d made her a promise to protect her and he could think of nothing else.

    “Perhaps that is not the most—”

    Isaac eyed the Doc and watched the thin vampire sigh in defeat.

    “Very well,” he picked up a plastic bag and slid her belongings into it. “The treatment worked well, given the circumstances.”

    Isaac could hear himself growl and the Doctor spun back to look at him. “She barely survived.”

    The Doc handed him the bag, extending his arm as far as he could to keep his distance. “An unfortunate possibility due to her humanity. She is quite resilient, however. By tomorrow, we will run another test to see how the treatment is affecting the toxin.”

    “You said it was promising,”

    “Tomorrow we shall see exactly how promising, I’m afraid,” the Doc held his hands behind him. “As for now, I recommend observing her temperature. Should she spike a fever, it must be dealt with given her weakened state. When she wakes, she may experience the side effects mentioned earlier and I recommend plenty of water and light foods until she feels stronger. She must not exert herself for a full twenty-four hours after the procedures.”

    “Got it,” Isaac gave him a nod. “Anything else?”

    “I suppose not,”

    Isaac began to turn away and remembered to move gently, “If you think of anything else, call me.”

    He walked away from the Doc as fluidly as he could and used his back to push open the swing door. He carefully moved down the hallway and up the first flight of stairs.

    A small sound had him frozen with his foot on the last step before locating the source of the sound.

    It came from Raven.

  He watched as her expression scrunched up for a brief moment before her weakness dragged her under again. She sighed and further relaxed in his arms.

  After a second, he continued up the stairs and down another hallway to the last flight that would lead to her door. He moved as smoothly as he could to not bother her again, hating his limp for the first time in a hundred years. He pushed the thought of how light she was from his mind as he moved.

    At her door, he adjusted his grip carefully to reach for the knob. He then pushed the door open with is foot and moved into the room. He moved up to the bed and carefully laid her on it, dropping the bag to maneuver her form better. He slid the bed covers out from under her and covered her with it. He stood still for a moment to listen to her rhythmic heartbeat and steady breathing before moving away from the bed.

    Isaac froze when his foot hit the bag, wincing as it rustled. With a quick glance to make sure she hadn’t stirred, he picked up the bag and took out her shoes. There was something shiny in one of the shoes. He plucked out a small oval locket from her right shoe and held it up.

    The silver chain matched the silver pendant as it glinted in the dim light from the surrounding lamps. He set her shoes down and moved to set the locket on the table beside the bed.

    This must be an heirloom, he thought, eyeing the necklace. It was small and delicate but quite ornate. Maybe it has a picture?

    Isaac frowned and held the locket out, almost placing it on the table. He really shouldn’t open it. He could already imagine Raven’s glare in the car when she suspected he’d listened to her conversation with her sister. Granted, he was guilty.

    She just granted me a way to earn her trust, he glanced at her sleeping form on the bed. This would surely make her backtrack. What’s one quick peek?

    Isaac grit his teeth and eyed her for a while longer, making sure she was still out cold. Then he opened the locket.

    Inside was a picture of a woman with long flowing black hair, holding a baby. Despite how small the picture was, he could tell the baby had green eyes. The woman wore a long elegant dress and a soft smile. She had a far look as if looking at whomever was holding the camera.

    This might be Raven’s mother! His mind yelled as he glanced back at the woman who gave him headaches. Except for her hair, Raven did not look like this woman. They shared a similar widow’s peak but Raven’s features were sharper compared to the woman’s. The baby, however, was strikingly similar to Raven… and she was smiling.

    Isaac stared at the baby. He wondered how such a pure, small thing could grow up to be a secretive, hardened killer.

    He closed the locket and quietly set it on the table. Then he fished out both the cell phones and set them on the table too. Just as he was making his way to the little sitting area, there was a knock on the door. The knock was soft enough that only his ears picked it up so he moved to it without checking on Raven.

    Isaac opened the door to see Luther holding up a tray with a pitcher, a glass and a straw.

    “The good doctor suggested I bring up some water for Ms. Raven,” he explained.

    Isaac took the tray and noticed the small brass bucket full of ice.

    “Ah, yes,” Luther noticed where his eyes had fallen. “The doctor had mentioned her side effects and I took it upon myself to include the ice and a few extra towels should they be necessary.”

    Isaac eyed the servant for a second. “Thanks, Luther.”

    The servant bowed and made his way back down the stairs.

    Isaac closed the door and locked it. He carried the tray to Raven’s other bedside table and then took a seat in one of the sofas. He suddenly noticed he’d taken her seat when he’d first shown her the room. He realized that he had a clear sight of the windows that faced the grounds and of both the exit door and bathroom door.

    Of course, she would choose this seat, he chuckled to himself.

    For the next few hours, he sat there and periodically paced the room. He had wished he’d brought a book to read to pass the time. Or perhaps a smoke. Would the smell bother her? He had sworn to protect her but… protect her from what?

    The Brotherhood of Eternity lived here and very few were privy to that information. Hence, the shock of her ability to find this place. This was the safest place for her.

    All he could do was wait for her to wake up and make sure she wasn’t heating up.

    Oh, right… he made his way back to her and eyed her. She hadn’t moved a muscle for hours except to breathe. She didn’t seem to be perspiring either. Yet, he figured he’d be remiss if he didn’t at least check.

    He raised his hand and pressed the back of his hand softly onto her forehead.

    He could feel how soft her skin felt against his own as her natural heat seeped into his cold hand. He kept his hand there for a second before moving on to the side of her face. Against his icy skin, he could only guess that she was at her normal temperature. She didn’t feel drastically hot against him so he began to move his hand away when she stirred.

    He froze.

    Raven sighed and he swore she had leaned ever so slightly into his hand.

    There was another knock on the door and he quickly snatched his hand back. He kept still to make sure she wouldn’t stir again before practically speeding toward the door.

    That didn’t just happen, he thought as he reached for the doorknob.

    “Good afternoon, Master Isaac,” Luther was back.

    “Luther,” he greeted automatically, his mind still on what happened.

    “I brought you a few reading materials should you need them,” he held up two books.

    Isaac took them and eyed the servant, “Luther, be honest with me.”

    “Of course, Master Isaac,” Luther bowed.

   “You can read minds, can’t you?” Isaac asked for the hundredth time since he’d known the servant.

    Luther fisted his hand over his chest, “It would be an honor to hear your thoughts, Master Isaac, but I would never accede having such a burden.”

    Isaac stared as the servant bowed again and left swiftly. He closed the door again to go back to his seat. Luther was a crafty one. He always seemed to have a different answer. He wondered over the man’s words as he took his seat and set a heavy booted foot on the little table before him. He forced himself to relax as he opened a book but could still feel Raven’s warmth on his skin.

    He sighed. Being basically dead, he was accustomed to being cold. He always figured it a poetic way of being frozen in time. He had seen many lives come and go; always doing his duty since his transition into a full vampire. Hollywood was misinformed in that vampires are made. Fact was, they were born. Born of both human and vampire or two vampires; as his niece was. Dead yet alive and ageless.

    He glanced over to Raven again. Human born yet somehow had transitioned into a killer.

    Goddess, watch over Leela, he prayed suddenly. When Leela turned twenty-two, she would transition into full vampire, and he hoped all went well. He knew his niece to be a sweet, intelligent, little child who already demonstrated a physical strength akin to his kind. He hoped that even with her father and uncle being warriors that she would live a life away from their war. He couldn’t imagine her taking up a sword against the Disciples.

    Soon, he got lost in his book and managed to finish it. When he looked up, the blinds automatically opened to let in the moonlight and the dim lights began to brighten a bit. He set the book down just as he heard a grumble on the bed.

    Crap, I should have turned those things off, he cursed and stood up.

    Raven groaned softly as she forced her eyelids open before wincing them shut again.

    Isaac quickly grabbed the remote and dimmed the lights. He guessed his quick movement was a mistake as Raven suddenly turned to him. She let out a strange, raspy shout before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she was out cold again.

    With a curse, Isaac pressed a hand into her throat. He relaxed when her heartbeat felt like it was growing steady again. He kept the lights dim and kept his position in case her condition declined.

    After a few minutes, he heard her breathing change and she was forcing her eyes open again.

  “Easy, Raven,” he muttered before she stressed herself again. “You’re back in your room, as you asked, and it’s just us. You’re safe.”

    Raven’s muscles visibly relaxed and he wondered if she was aware of it. Her eyes slowly opened this time and stared up at the ceiling for a second. Then she found his eyes.

    “How do you feel?” he asked carefully.

    He watched her throat work before she moved her lips. Her voice was a raspy burst of air but he could make out, “Like… train wreck…”

   Isaac moved to the tray and poured some water into the glass before adding the straw. He held it so the straw would tickle her lip. “Here,” he offered and he could make out the gleam in her eye. “The Doc recommended water,” he added innocently.

    He watched as she took in the straw and drank half the glass of water. Then he set it back on the tray.

    “Doc wants to run another blood test to see how the treatment affected the toxin,” he reported and heard her sigh heavily.

    “How… long… asleep?” her raspy voice asked.

   “About twelve hours,” he watched her eyes widen before she looked him over curiously. “I read a book,” he lied casually.

    Her expression practically screamed, ‘for twelve hours?’. He gave her a tight smile. “I’ve had practice sitting around for hours.”

    Raven glanced away from him and began wiggling her fingers.

    “The doc says to take it easy for a while,” he continued, watching as she rotated her arms experimentally. “Which means your fight with the cop will have to wait a few days.”

    Raven sighed and stopped moving. “Not… set… yet…”

    Isaac chuckled. “That’s good, then,” movement made him glance toward the end of the bed. She was wiggling her toes. “You don’t need to get up, you know.”

    Raven met his eye and he could practically see her waging war with herself.

    The wiggling stopped.

    “Awake…” she rasped. “Relieving… you…”

    Isaac stared at her. Seriously? He felt his face muscles frown at her as his insides began to boil over. He wanted to snap at her. Wanted to curse and yell so loud at her stubbornness that the windows would shatter. It took most of his effort to stop his growl. If he let loose, this infuriating woman would shut down again and he would get no answers. His duty to the Brotherhood relied upon determining if this woman was a threat to them. All he could determine now was that she was a giant pile of questions and, by God, he was going to get some damn answers.

    Not even a deep breath could erase all of the frown as he spoke, “My agreement was to watch over you after the treatments. As I understand it, there will be more. Unless you plan to ask me every time, I think my agreement still stands.”

    He watched her eyes widen indignantly but continued anyway, “Besides, you couldn’t defend yourself against attacks right now anyway. Until you’ve fully recovered, you’ll have to rely on my vampy strength.”

    At this point, she wasn’t glaring at him but her eyes were narrowed into slits. If she could move, he was sure she’d have thrown a punch.

    Hoping to ease the tension, he raised his arms, “Hey, Doctor’s orders say you can’t stress yourself for at least a day or two. Take it up with him… if you can speak loud enough.”

    Raven’s expression darkened for a second before she relaxed and the tension left her muscles. She let out a long hissing breath and seemed to consider his words. Then she looked up at him again, a spark of panic in her eyes. “Anise…?”

    “We’re doing shifts at night and the cop has four of those days covered,” he could see her question and continued, “He’s randomizing the day watch and Luther’s covering the last three days.”

    Raven’s jaw worked like she wanted to say something.

  “I know he doesn’t look like it but Luther can hold his own,” he defended the servant and she shook her head.

    “Not… that…” she rasped and tried again. “Feel… bad…”

    Immediately, he felt himself tense up. “Why? Do you feel a fever? Or do you have to throw up?”

    Raven grimaced and spoke again, “No… never mind…”

   Isaac relaxed but knew she wanted to say more. He sped around the bed to the other bedside table and picked up her new phone. He reached over and set it into her left hand as she turned to him. “Try texting?”

  Raven’s muscles shook with effort as she lifted the phone and tossed it toward her right hand before collapsing. Then she weakly moved that hand. She unlocked the phone screen and opened a notepad app. Then her thumb slid over the keyboard.

    Isaac moved back to the other side as she worked and looked at the screen when she tilted the phone his way.

    I feel bad Luther is part Anise’s detail. I know you giants have your own business but that dude does so much already.

   Strangely, he felt his chest expand as she looked back into her green eyes. “He’s happy to do it. I think he has a soft spot for you.”

    Raven began typing beneath her first message, Is he human?

    Isaac shook his head. “He’s not a vampire if that’s what you wanted to ask. He’s immortal but none of us are exactly sure what he is. He’s been with the Brotherhood since before I joined. I suspect he’s been here even longer. We trust him.”

   Raven seemed to accepted this and typed again, Is the Doc coming or do I have to go meet him?

  “I think he’s coming here,” his phone starting ringing at that moment. “Hold on.”

    He checked the ID and answered on the second ring, “Hey, Doc.”

    “Master Isaac, how is my patient?”

    “Losing her patience but she’s conscious,” Isaac reported.

    “Excellent. I will be there soon to collect a bit more blood and ask some questions,” the Doctor said. “Have her drink some water and we’ll see if she can stomach food after my visit.”

    “See you then,” Isaac hung up and turned to her. “Doc’s headed up.”

    Raven sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

    “He said to give you more water,” Isaac picked up the glass with the straw again and this time, she drank without issue.

    “Thanks,” she croaked, her voice a little stronger.

    “No problem,” he set the empty glass on the tray. Silently, he hoped he’d been able to get through to her at least a little bit. Those were some high walls she had (for good reason) but even the slightest budge would ease some of the tension in his shoulders.

     Before they could say more, there was a knock on the door and he went to answer it.