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A mouthful of hot water entered her lungs as she fell in the bath with her mouth wide open in surprise. Her forehead made sharp contact with the bottom of the pool, and as her vision grew dark, she thought she saw a twisted reflection of her face glaring at her from the surface.

Josephine spun around the moment she heard a squeak and a splash. “Aurora!” she screamed as the water became tinted red. She jumped into the water and pulled out the unconscious Isabel, and laid her out on the edge of the pool.

“No, no, no,” she muttered as she checked for signs of life. Finding no breathing, Josephine began giving CPR. She only got five compressions in before water shot from Isabel's mouth and she began to cough.

Josephine turned Isabel on her side as the coughing continued. “There we go. Get it all out, okay? You're going to be alright. Just get all that water out.”

When Isabel returned to consciousness, she found herself laying on the warm stone floor. She was covered by a towel and Josephine knelt by her side, eyes wide with concern.

“Oh, thank goodness you're awake,” she cried when Isabel's eyes opened. “What happened? I heard a sound and when I turned around, you were floating at the bottom of the pool!”

Isabel groaned and rolled to her side, covering her pounding head with her arms. “I was getting in and my foot slipped. But I think I saw the shadow again just before I passed out. I feel awful. So tired and my head hurts so bad…”

She pulled her arms away from her head for a moment and found them covered in blood. Terror filled her stomach as she realized she was laying completely naked in a hive full of vampires, bleeding everywhere. Even if she had the strength to run, she would have no idea which direction to go.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Josephine assured her, shifting the towel to more fully cover Isabel. “This is going to be really strange, but do you trust me? I can make the bleeding stop and heal your body. But you have to trust me for a minute.”

Isabel closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “What real choice do I have? If you, Sebastian, and the others have bad intentions, I’m already so deep that there’s nothing I can do. Just do whatever you have to do.” She waited a moment for her throat to be ripped open or something, only to open her eyes and see Josephine watching her with sadness.

“We aren’t going to hurt you. I swear it. I’m going to bite your wrist, but it will only hurt for a moment. My venom will heal your body. Most vampires have minor healing in their saliva to cover over the wounds they make when feeding, but for some reason my venom contains the healing compounds instead of the compound that knocks out our prey. None of which probably makes you feel any better…”

“Not really,” Isabel admitted. “But at least you warned me you're about to bite, even if you're lying.” She held out her blood-covered wrist with a wry, pained smile. “It's even pre-seasoned for you.”

The statement was so ridiculous that Josephine began to laugh. “I'm not taking any of your blood, baby girl. But I suppose a little ‘seasoning’ is a bonus.”

Josephine took Isabel's arm in both hands. “Here we go. You can close your eyes if you need to.” She brought her lips to the thin skin of Isabel's wrist, and Isabel pinched her eyes shut.

Isabel felt a pain like two bee stings, then a warm sensation began traveling up her vein. The heat was so distinct that she felt it travel all the way up her arm, across her chest, and into her heart. The next pump, her whole body went fuzzy. Her forehead began to tingle and the headache began to fade.

Josephine licked the shallow puncture marks and they immediately disappeared. Her tongue tickled Isabel's skin, causing her arms to erupt into gooseflesh.

Within sixty seconds, the pain was gone. Isabel sat up and stared at her wrist, mystified that she could find no sign of the bite. “Okay, yes, that was definitely weird. Especially when you licked me…was that entirely necessary? I know you’re a vampire and all, but licking the blood off my arm? That’s gross.”

“I wasn’t licking the blood off,” Josephine laughed. “I was healing the entry wounds. My venom still has anticoagulant, and my saliva counteracts it. It’s weird, I know. But after this many centuries, I just accept it. Let’s get you cleaned up and back to the kitchen before Sebastian gets back, yeah? He’s going to freak out if he can’t find us.”

Isabel stared dubiously at the water, but the blood all over was beginning to dry and itch. “Yeah, I better wash up so I’m not walking the halls like a chicken wing covered in buffalo sauce.” She shifted her body so her feet were in the water and carefully scooted her butt over the edge so there would be no repeat diving performances.

The water felt good as she dunked herself and scrubbed three days of life from her body. The soap was rough, as if it had sand or salt in it, and left her skin very soft. While Isabel washed, Josephine sat at the edge of the bath with her feet dangling in the water. It took a bit of getting used to, but eventually Isabel relaxed. “So…when were we sisters? Assuming that’s true?”

Josephine smiled softly and brushed the surface of the water with her toes. “You were born in 1215. I was 5 at the time. Sebastian showed up on your 18th birthday and tried to steal you away from me. But you only agreed to join (well, rejoin) the coven if I could come with you. You always were a feisty one! But I secretly thought being a vampire would be cool, so I was okay with it. My knowledge of herbal medicines was useful to the coven, so Victor was willing to Turn me.”

“This Victor guy seems pretty focused on things that ‘help the coven.’”

“It’s definitely easier to convince him to agree to things if you can show him how it helps the whole family,” Josephine agreed. “I don’t know how Sebastian has presented him, but Victor is a good man. Being the master vampire comes with a lot of stress and sometimes requires making hard decisions. He and Sebastian haven’t seen eye to eye in centuries, but the fact that he finally brought you back here is a really good sign.” She stood and shook the water from her toes. “Almost ready to get out?”

Isabel nodded and waded to the edge of the pool where stairs had been carved into the edge. She accepted the rough towel from Josephine and dried herself quickly. The air outside the water felt cold, and she began to shiver. Josephine handed her a robe, which was surprisingly heavy. It felt like it was made of wool and lined with silk. It felt strange to put it on without any undergarments, but she figured she could get clean underthings from her bag after she ate.

Once Isabel was dressed, Josephine gave her a look-over and her eyes grew soft. “You really look like a member of the family, now,” she said softly. “Maybe this time Sebastian will finally be successful in Turning you, if you still want to be.”

Isabel recoiled at the thought. “Why would I want that? That sounds terrible!”

Josephine’s shoulders lowered slightly and she suddenly seemed very interested in getting packed up. “I suppose you’re right. We should hurry. Sebastian might be back by now.”

CHAPTER24

Venice, Italy. 9 June, 2007

Sebastian stood in the doorway of the empty kitchen and frowned. In one hand he held a to-go container, and the other, 3 vials of blood. “I should have known they wouldn’t stay put,” he grumbled and set down his acquisitions. But before he could even decide where to look for the women first, they entered the kitchen. Isabel’s dark hair hung in wet, chunky strands, and she’d changed into coven robes.