Blood Shaper

Book 6: Chapter 18

“It’s time to move on to full testing,” Zeia said as soon as her meeting with Kay started.

They were in one of the many meeting rooms available in the palace, specifically one of the ones deeper in the complex that were easier to secure. The fact that they were working on countermeasures to the vampyr taint wasn’t a secret, in fact it was a useful morale booster to let the news spread, but the details were a little more restricted. Like Kay had told Eleniah, fighting people’s transformation into vampyr by turning them into vampires was a good thing, but many people would refuse to see the benefits or use that knowledge to further their own goals. Someday, if Kay had his way, vampires would be seen as perfectly normal citizen of Torotia, but until the stigma of the vampyr was ripped out the newly rediscovered species was going to face prejudice and distrust.

“It feels like it’s too early for that. You’ve been working with...” Kay’s face scrunched up in a mixture of embarrassment and distaste, “You’ve been experimenting on my bodily fluids for what, a week or less? That’s nowhere close to long enough to determine what’s dangerous and what’s safe.”

“What else would you have me do?” Zeia asked, “Every test I’ve done shows that we can safely transform someone into a vampire using the methods you’ve described from your original world’s folklore. Without actually trying the process I don’t see how else we can proceed. With your unique version of Purify Blood not being passed down to any of your students, even Lauren who also became a vampire, the only way I’ve been able to find that will allow wide spread treatment of vampyr infection is through changing the victims into vampires.”

Eleniah put a hand on Kay’s arm, “Somewhere along the line this became my permanent job, research into different fields can go a lot faster here than on Earth, thanks to Skills and magic. Many researchers have Skills that tell them if certain attempts or theories will be dangerous and at higher tiers there are even Skills that can simulate experiments. No one’s rushing into this without as much preparation as possible.”

Zeia nodded in agreement. “All of my non-combat Classes are research or study based Classes, and all my Skills plus my knowledge tell me that this will be as safe as possible. The only warning I’ve been getting is that allowing large amounts of your ‘venom’ will kill me. Which we already know about.”

“That doesn’t help.” Kay groaned as he dropped his head into his hands. “It doesn’t confirm your theory about the transformation resuscitating the person infected?”

“Ah. Sadly, no. That Class is only tier three and all warnings I get end with death, it doesn’t tell me anything that would hypothetically happen to my body afterward, even if I’d only be a dead body for a few moments.”

Eleniah squeezed his arm.

After a few moments of rough internal debate, Kay glanced up from his hands. “Tell me about your preparations.”

“I’ve already secured a handful of volunteers. They’re fighters that got bitten while performing rearguard actions to get the refugees they were protecting to safety. They all managed to win by the skin of their teeth or just survive somehow and make it to safety, but they’re all infected. All of them are right on the edge of turning, the healers with Classes from your line have been able to stave it off, but they’re losing ground. These people are the ones that attempting to make them into vampires would help the most and they have the least to lose right now.”

“And if you’re wrong and this kills them?”

Kay nodded his acceptance.

“Our healers, doctors, and medics are on standby in case something goes wrong and our volunteers can be healed. Our combatants are on standby in case things go the worst possible way.”

“And I will be on standby after I finish my initial duty in case the turning does not look like it will be successful.” Kay looked directly at the three volunteers and hoped they were able to understand him. “Should it look like the venom isn’t enough, I will be using my Skills to ensure our volunteers come out the other side either way.”

Zeia bowed her head for a moment before she looked up and panned her gaze across the room. “Does anyone have any questions or concerns before we begin? This is the one and only chance to say something.”

No one spoke up.

“Very well, your majesty, if you will.”

Kay stepped forward and grabbed the first woman’s neck. The potentially intimate action was completely robbed of that kind of feeling thanks to the dozen or so people watching and the context of what was happening, which somehow helped. Guided by instincts that had come with his transformation and that were very hard to explain, Kay sunk his fangs into the woman’s neck. Those same instincts told him when he’d injected “the right amount” of venom, however much that happened to be, and he gave it two more seconds just to be sure. After that he stepped to the other woman, then the man.

A handful of minutes passed as everyone observed the three volunteers. During their moments of lucidity they began to look uncomfortable, then one of them began groaning in pain. Soon the room was filled with the sounds of agony and the volunteers were no longer struggling against their restrains because they were being driven by madness, but because what was happening to them hurt so badly. Some of the healers rushed closer and began laying spells and Skills on them, which seemed to dull the pain but didn’t remove it. Still, Kay knew that less pain was infinitely better than feeling all of it in that situation.

At times it looked like something was shifting beneath the skin of the three of them, like something was burrowing through their bodies but the longer it went on the less that happened. Small, subtle changes in their bodies, almost unnoticeable marks of eldritch corruption, were eaten away and erased, returning their bodies closer to their original state. The moments where madness and rage were visible behind their eyes in addition to the pain decreased, until there was only sanity visible next to the agony. Kay could feel the need to destroy and eradicate everything eldritch fade away, bit by bit.

After almost and hour, the beastkin man slowly stopped screaming, his cries become quieter whimpers and moans that petered out themselves soon after. He sagged against his his restraints before slowly lifting his head up. He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped as he glanced off to the side, obviously reading a System notification.

“Miss Zeia, I...” His voice was harsh from all the screaming and his eyes started welling with fresh tears. He tried to clear his throat before continuing. “I do believe it worked.”