• tab Heather barely had the strength to chew her own food. Shawn chewed her food for her, slipping the soft meat through her bright red lips. Each day Heather stayed at the small cottage, the more her hearing and vision improved. After three days, much to Shawn’s amazement, she was even able to walk straight, with breaks every few minutes. Finally, after a week, Heather was fully metamorphosed, and Shawn stared at her as she went through an average day’s work in less then ten minutes.
    tab “Would you like to see yourself?”
    tab Heather’s eyes sparkled, and she smiled.
    tab Shawn led Heather by the hand out of the cottage and to a crystal clear lake. The pristine water reflected the sun’s rays, sparkling into the glasslike pool.
    tab “This is an ancient lake. Only you can see your reflection- your true self. Look carefully, you’ve never seen yourself like this.”
    tab Heather’s face turned serious, and nodding, she knelt down to see herself.
    tab She wasn’t the slightly chubby brunette brown-eyed girl she was last week. Heather’s hair shone copper, turning it auburn. Her eyes stared back at her, glowing a faint red, and her pale chalky skin accentuated her petite blood red lips. Heather had also grown at least two inches, and her limbs were lacking any meat.
    tab Shawn bent down, but Heather couldn’t see his reflection.
    tab “I guess there are some truth in human vamp stories.”
    tab “Actually,” corrected Shawn. “This just happens when vampires look into bodies of water. Glass doesn’t affect our reflection in any way.”
    tab Heather smiled. Leaning back, she stared at Shawn.
    tab “So what do I do now?”
    tab “Now? Now we train you and fight the Breathers.”
    tab “Train? Wait, you’re telling me that I left school, my life, just to train more and get myself killed by breathers?”
    tab “Well, yes. You’re not a full fledge vampire yet, not until you mate with another. But you-“
    tab “What?!?!” Heather screamed, jumping up. “Fight? Train, ‘mate’ with someone? No… N-n-no way. I, how- I’m a vampire? No! No!” It all crashed down on Heather’s shoulder in a wave of emotion.
    tab Heather stormed away, her eyes turning bright red, glowing faintly. Her nails grew long, her strides faster, and Shawn had to tackle her before she grew into a Dealin. A demon unleashed when a recently transformed human loses control of their new vampire power.
    tab Heather screamed, struggling to break free of Shawn’s grip. But he had learned to control his power so that he could transfer his energy into his limbs. Heather shrieked one last time, and then started to relax, her arms and legs getting limp. She yelled one last time, then rested her head gently on Shawn’s shoulder. Shawn sighed, not moving from under Heather’s now light body. It felt nice to be so close to a body that didn’t feel as cold as his. For a few minutes, they laid like that, unmoving, until Heather started to stir.
    tab She looked at Shawn, her face so close to his she could smell his minty breath. For a moment, she didn’t move. Heather continued to stare into Shawn’s silver eyes, when she did what most young vampires can’t do until they mate. She spoke to Shawn with her mind.
    tab I’m sorry, but I don’t know if I’m ready for this.
    tab Shawn’s eyes widened.
    tab “How did you…”
    tab Abruptly, Heather got up and walked away from Shawn, not saying a word to him.
    tab “Heather, wait! The whole reason I went to your school was to find you and protect you,”
    tab “No,” Heather said with an edge on her voice. “You didn't. I don’t need protection, and you certainly didn’t need to get me,”
    tab “Heather!”
    tab “Stop! Just stop!” Heather stopped walking, turning to face Shawn one last time. “You came to find Helina, not me, so don’t use my name.”
    tab With a desperate attempt to bring back Heather, Shawn screamed:
    tab “You’ll regret it!”
    tab But by then, Heather was already gone, running at an inhuman speed back to her former house.