Chapitre 8: Conversion

I groaned as I rolled over in bed, annoyed by the sunlight in my face. I knew if the sun was finally in my face it had to be late in the afternoon and I slowly sat up, annoyed by my slight headache as my body complained about my lack of caffeine. Some things never change.

I dragged myself from the bed, slowly forcing my body into the hall and down the stairs in search of the liquid gold my body craved. Lee was in the kitchen, sitting on the table as he enjoyed his own cup. The clock read 5pm, so I knew I had about an hour before Luc would wake up for the night.

"Good to see you are still alive."

"Unfortunately." I groaned, heading straight for the pot and after pulling down my favorite mug, quickly prepared my drink to my liking. Before falling, I liked my coffee black, the bitter taste contrasting with the almost suffocating sweetness of most drinks in Heaven. Now, I preferred a sweeter taste, a reminder of a place I rarely got to visit. Sipping from my cup and sighing with contentment, I faced the pixie on the table.

"Any luck with Sammy?"

"I can tell you more about what she isn't than what she is." Lee sighed heavily, taking a gulp from his own cup. "I really am sticking to my theory that they plucked her out of thin air. If the other two really did die in ritual settings, Sammy might be the product of that."

I mulled over the idea in my mind. "Would explain her desire to die and use her death to reveal their crimes."

"The police are also trying to get permission to exhume her body, saying that her parents buried her in order to hide evidence of their involvement." Lee revealed, pausing as he took another drink from his coffee. I took the moment to sip from mine, still keeping my eyes on the pixie. "They probably want to know what she did so they can fabricate their lies to match her injuries. Pretty much any inconsistencies at this point will have them arrested and more thoroughly investigated."

"Hm." I answered, thinking to Katie as I remained silent. Katie was right to be scared: no doubt the Hendersons would have killed her even if she did tell them the location of the journal and Sammy would kill her if she suspected Katie had told them. I mentally prayed to the Creator that my spell would be enough, noticing that Lee was watching me.

"Something to share with the class?"

"Thinking that maybe that journal should wind up in police hands." I shrugged, closing my eyes as I finished my cup.

"Yeah?"

"I'm just saying if you happen to come across evidence to help the police, maybe you should deliver it to them." I continued, opening my eyes to see Lee's mischievous smile.

"And? How did I come across this evidence?" The pixie pressed and I scoffed, turning to refill my cup.

"I'm sure you can come up with something. We're going to Storm Coast; you do guest lectures sometimes right?" I offered, turning to face the pixie again as I started my second cup of caffeine and sugar. Lee seemed thoughtful as he finished his cup, his insect-like wings fluttering. I fluttered mine in response, unable to help my body's reaction to seeing his.

"Guess I'll conveniently show up at the school tomorrow." Lee agreed, lifting himself from the table as he dropped his cup in the sink. The pixie took a moment to meet my gaze, still smiling softly. "Just don't cause a scene tonight? Or at least if you do, have Jinx fix it before you leave."

"Duh." I agreed, watching as Lee chuckled, flying up to his room. No doubt he had plans to finish fabricating his lie before turning in for the night. Unlike Jinx and me, who had a habit of being night owls, Lee preferred to be active during the day. He rarely stayed up late unless he was waiting for me or Jinx. Thinking about the witch caused worry to fill my chest again and I glanced at the clock as I worked on finishing my second cup.

"Should be up soon." I murmured, downing the rest of my beverage and after filling both mugs with water to soak, I headed back up the stairs. I could feel my embarrassment rising as I neared the top, remembering what Luc and I had done. I gently dragged my hand against my neck, only slightly surprised to find no bite marks. No doubt Lee would have commented on it if there had been one, and likely all of Luc's licking had been to heal the wound.

I gently knocked on the door, waiting to see if I could feel Luc's presence behind the wood. The room still felt dead, but I pushed on the door, surprised to find it locked. I definitely had not locked it when I left at sunrise, so was Luc up after all?

"Luc?" I called out, trying the handle again. Nope, it was definitely locked. "Luc, are you up?"

"Go… away." Luc's voice sounded muffled, but I knew it wasn't because of the door. It sounded more like Luc was muffling his own voice, trying to prevent me from hearing him.

"Luc, the sun is almost down, we need to head to the school if we want any chance of finding Sammy and Jinx."

"I can't. Not tonight."

"Why the-" I paused, forcing myself to swallow my annoyance. If there was one thing I knew for certain, it was that Luc did not refuse me lightly. If he was telling me no, there was something distressing him or holding him back. I took a deep breath, speaking more gently. "Why not?"

"Can't… let you see me… like this." Came the muffled reply. I felt my annoyance rising again but did my best to squash it.

"Luc, whatever it is, I'm sure it's fine." I insisted, gently trying the handle again. "Can you please let me in?"

Silence came from the other side of the portal and as it dragged on, my patience started to wane. I was about ready to use my powers to unlock the door when I heard the latch click and Luc's frantic movements back to the bed as I opened the door.

The vampire was hidden under the sheets as I stepped into the room, not even his red eyes watching me from the darkness he was hiding in. I could feel his demonic aura in the room, the sensation starting to repulse me. Considering his own dislike for this side of himself, I was no longer surprised he wanted to hold off on going to the school. However, the longer we waited, the more dangerous the situation became.

"Luc?" I called out softly, slowly stepping toward the bed, despite my body wanting me to either attack or flee. The vampire responded by retreating more into the sheets, wrapping himself in more darkness. Once I stood in front of the bed, I seemed to tower over the vampire, despite the fact he was far taller than me. "Luc? What's wrong?"

"I don't want you to see me like this." Was his soft reply and I finally noticed the change to his voice. It sounded more… feminine? A thought flashed through my mind, reminding me of an old lesson I had about demon physiology, and I stared down at the vampire in surprise.

"Luc… did your body…" I paused, not sure what the correct term was. The class had called it 'conversion' but I knew it was more like a 'switch'. Demons were truly agender, but their body could switch between being feminine or masculine based on how they wanted to appear. Genetic features, like hair, eye color and basic body build would stay the same, but they could be any sex they wanted. I had never seen Luc as anything other than male, but based on his voice and how he was acting, I was starting to suspect his body had switched without him wanting it to.

Carefully, I reached to gently touch Luc's shoulder, feeling as he froze under my touch. Very slowly, I started to pull the sheet back and the vampire didn't fight me, although I noticed he moved his face away from mine. Long dark hair tumbled over his shoulders as I pulled the sheet away, and I immediately recognized that the shape of his body had changed. He was still tall and built, but there was definitely a softness to his body that had not existed before.

"Luc?" I asked again, my heart pounding as I waited to see his face.

When he turned to face me, I almost fell to the floor. Staring back at me was the face of the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, her face housing the beautiful red eyes that belonged to my friend. His eyes were red from crying and I could see the frustration and annoyance in his expression.

"Yeah," he whispered, his voice soft and alluring, but still repulsing me as it carried the slightest hint of his demonic power.

"It's me."