[Carillon]

Finally word came from my colleague in Spellgard. They had analyzed the blood, and while most of it (around nine tenths, say), was no different than the blood that runs in my veins, a tenth of it was strange ... and that percentage was growing. But they told me they could not offer her aid unless they also had a more recent tissue and bone sample, to test the cure on or some such business. By that time I had read everything on vampires I possibly could, and still I did not know enough to save her.

Her mouth quirks up in a wry grin as she speaks.

She had to come to Spellgard for the "operation". And to be put unconscious with the use of certain alchemical herbs and potions, to spare her pain and trauma while they took a chip of bone. I expect you can imagine how well she liked that idea. I liked it little better, and part of me was all for chopping off a finger or toe and sending it to them in a box, then seeking a cleric and a good divine regeneration spell. (Regeneration magic, if you've never lost a body part, hurts like all hells but works like a charm. I had to regrow something years ago, and nearly fainted from the pain, but now I'm perfectly fine.)

Well, eventually I managed to convince her to go with me. She did it because she loved me and trusted me, and knowing she had placed her life in my hands ... that was a heavy burden. At the time, I thought it was just the weight of that responsibility that had me jumping at shadows. And yet I had a bad feeling, like you get when your skin prickles and the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Leading her into that place, I had the powerful feeling that all was not right.

She places a soft kiss on his shoulder and runs her hands up and down his back before continuing. When she speaks again, her tone is almost rueful.

Trust your instincts, Trouble. They're there for a reason. I should have listened to mine. I almost lost her that day. The surgeon permitted me to be with her when we flatly refused the affair otherwise, but made my colleague stand outside. I had a bad feeling then, especially when they locked and barred the door, but she was already nervous and I tried to hide it from her. They put her to sleep in that way that would allow them to proceed and then ...

She furrows her brow, running the memory over in her mind.

I do not remember exactly what it was. I knew something was wrong. The surgeon made some comment, or something about what he was doing. It all happened so fast that I can barely recall it. One moment I was at Laa'ra's side, holding her hand as she lay there, unconscious, and the next I was being seized by two guards and the surgeon was ordering them to escort me away.

Another wry smile.

My first impulse was to start throwing fire at anyone who tried to touch me or get in my way, but I knew I couldn't take them all on my own, so I threw sound magic at the heavy door, and made it ring like a gong. I managed a good hold spell on the surgeon too ... before the guards grabbed my arms and immobilized me beyond casting.

She smirks, her mouth hardening a little, and a glint coming into her eyes for a moment.

Well ... almost beyond casting. You don't have to move your hands to blind and deafen people, you know. Didn't stop them holding onto me and giving me a good jab in the kidneys, but it stopped them doing anything else or dragging me out. And it felt bloody good, too. I think I would have done more if I could.

And then my tutor was there. I never saw precisely how he got inside, but he was there and from that moment on I had every faith that it would be alright. I still wanted to burn the surgeon down to ashes for trying to hurt her (he had been going to lock her away and use her as an experiment, just keeping her barely alive for his research), and at that point I was actually glad the guards were still holding my arms and preventing me from doing anything. But I had faith it would be alright from the moment he entered the room, and it was. He made it alright.

In the end, the surgeon performed the surgery after all, and took the samples we needed. I was at her side, watching him like a hawk. He was not well pleased that his plans had been foiled, but with both my colleague and I standing over him and the guards dismissed there was little he could do. We made certain he was gone by the time she stirred and awoke. She looked up at me, vulnerable, and asked me how it had went ... and I told her everything had gone fine. I lied to her, and I have never told her the truth of it. Her distrust for Spellgard and the Lucindans is great enough already, and the man did not represent Lucinda's faith or the interests of Spellgard as a whole.

Still, I took her from that place in a hurry after I was done. I stayed with her while she recuperated ... a week at most before I left her. And then again we waited, but not as long this time, for word soon came that the little scientist (not the surgeon, the first one that had helped us) had an experimental cure. We took every precaution, but there was still an incredible risk. There was simply no way to know whether it would help her or not, and there was no way to test it further. I told her every risk, and never lied to her. She wanted me to make the choice for her, but I refused. Eventually, after hearing all the risks, she decided it was worth the gamble and we made the arrangements.