บท 206: 6. Queen Of Rain.
The pack was still in my office, and I sat behind my desk, contemplating my next plan of action. It was clear that they were communicating telepathically. They were waiting for the witches from the magic house to arrive so they could see Bella's remains and bid their farewells. This would give me the opportunity to make arrangements for the transportation of the remains once I had all the necessary results.
Damon remained silent after the outburst from number four, while Colin sat on the sofa with the others. It was fortunate that my office had enough seating for everyone, although not everyone was present. Some were in the central hub, ready to offer assistance if needed. I had everything under control here, and despite having an enormous castle, I was considering moving on from Bulgaria. It would be beneficial to establish one or two new bases in this area. The facility we were planning to target was located on the other side of Bulgaria, quite a distance from our nearest base. The journey would take over three hours, providing us with limited options for housing any potential victims.
Damon spoke to Mariella and the entire pack while calmly observing Mimi, who was focused on her work and devoid of any emotions. Damon intended to shock her into feeling something, as even saying goodbye to Bella hadn't elicited a response. Now was the time to test their abilities.
His voice echoed in their minds, "Now, I am going to try and make that creature feel something. You all should join me once you notice her reacting. I will push her beyond her limits, where she can no longer avoid feeling. Then, we will distract her. Make sure Jarod doesn't interfere; he is extremely protective of her and may react negatively when he realizes I am pushing her to feel those wretched emotions, hurting her in the process."
Damon could sense the pack standing behind him. He stood up, walked over to Mimi, and closed the door. Magnum and the others entered as he had called them in. He began to sing to her.
I was completely focused on my work when I sensed a subtle presence trying to break through. Usually, if I ignore it and stay focused, it goes away. I didn't want to acknowledge this feeling, knowing it couldn't be anything good. Damon's warm voice interrupted my thoughts, singing Roxette's "Queen of Rain."
He walked near me, serenading me with the lyrics. "In that big, big house, there are 50 doors, and one of them leads to your soul..."
His singing was flawless, and something inside me noticed. No, I had to stop this. "In the time of spring, I passed by your gate, and tried to make a start.." Each verse made whatever this feeling was growing, ready to burst out.
I could feel something trying to rise up within me, but I fought to suppress it.
"All I knew was the scent of sea and dew. I've been in love before, how about you?..."
Damn it. He hit every note perfectly, infusing his singing with emotion. My favorite sing and he knew just how it was supposed to be sung.
I swallowed hard and weakly pleaded, "No... please, don't, please stop..."
As the chorus began, the other Salvatores joined in. "There's time for the good in life, time to kill the pain in life, dream about the sun, queen of rain..." It was something deeply moving ten salvatores singing at me, and in perfection.
I took a deep breath, and suddenly, a rush of emotions burst out of me. My hands trembled as waves of regret, longing, and remorse for getting Bella killed flooded over me. Tears welled up in my eyes, but Damon's voice showed no mercy.
"In that big old house, there are fifty beds, and one of them leads to your soul..."
Someone held me tightly, but my vision was blurred by tears, preventing me from immediately recognizing who it was. Normally, it would be Jarod, but the rapid heartbeat I heard showed that it was someone else. I was either being carried or guided to my sofa.
Damon continued singing, and a wave of pain washed over me, causing me to tremble. Someone was gripping me, so tight that I couldn't ignore it. When Damon reached the refrain, the entire Salvatore pack joined in, creating such a powerful performance that I couldn't help but feel it.
Then, as the next part began, I looked up through my tears and saw Wulfe standing beside me, singing, "Time went by as I wrote your name into the sky, fly, fly away, bye, bye.." It was almost like he was saying goodbye to me. Or something.
But he raised his hand, and with one finger wrote in the air in a very elegant style, "Bella, Rest Easy, You are not forgotten."
This intensified my emotions even more. All of the pain hit me at once, and suddenly my world was no longer colorless. Everywhere I looked, there were dark shades, and the pain didn't subside when the music finally ended.
Number four, who had been holding me, started talking to me.
He said, "Baby baby, listen to me. Now talk to me in your mind. Come on, tell me about my shirt. Just keep your eyes shut and describe how my shirt feels. Don't try to suppress the pain. Let it be, but tell me about my shirt."
I could feel the fabric under my fingers, gripping his shirt as a desperate, crying person clings to their mother. I focused on the sensations in my fingers, analyzing what I was feeling, smelling, and sensing.
I replied, "It's not silk or satin, it's cotton. Not just cotton, but there's elastase mixed in. It's soft, so it's not brand new. You haven't washed it and you should have had a drink of blood. You smell like a smokehouse."
He chuckled, but the pain continued to consume my mind. I felt worthless, undeserving of being in his arms or being close to anyone.
He then asked, "Now, what am I doing with my left hand? Focus on that and tell me."
I felt him stroking me, his touch rough against my bony frame. It hurt, both physically and emotionally.
I answered, "You're stroking me, but it hurts. Your fingers are digging into my bones."
He grunted and said, "Oh, that's too rough. How about now?"
His grip loosened a bit, but the pain still made me wince.
I told him, "I'm too skinny, it still hurts, please stop."
He lessened the force, and the pain disappeared. I relaxed, and he grunted, asking, "How about now? Better?"
I replied, "Yeah, it doesn't hurt anymore. But I'm not okay. I don't deserve this. I destroyed the hive. I'm a mess. You should just leave me, or even better, make me unable to hurt or endanger anyone ever again."
He continued to stroke my back, skillfully massaging my tense muscles. I could feel them getting warmer and relaxing under his touch.
He said, "Tell me how this feels. Don't think about it, just focus on the sensation in your back."
I concentrated, feeling the warmth spreading through me. It felt... good? It wasn't a lot, but compared to the darkness and desperation in my life, it was the first glimmer of something better. A shade of color that wasn't so dark and hopeless.
I told him, "It feels good. I can feel that it feels good."
He kept massaging without saying much. The pain and desperation still lingered in my mind, but this new sensation made me feel tired. It was a good tiredness, but also exhausting. I didn't even react when I heard a knock on the door and it opened. Johnny stepped in and glanced at what was happening.
He carefully said to Jarod, "It's time to take tests again." Jarod nodded.
Number one asked, "What tests?"
He looked at the tall, brown-haired man wearing scrubs and remembered him as someone's son, another child following in their parents' footsteps.
Adam said, "Johnny, right? Dash's son. You're a medic, just like your old man."
Johnny nodded, showing a small box in his hands. He looked young, but he was well over 50. He drank my blood to keep himself young.
"I'll just take a spinal tap and be done with it," he said, looking at Jarod.
Number four, who was still holding onto Mimi and massaging her, noticed Johnny with hostility. But when Mimi started curling up, he helped position her for the spinal tap. Soon, he had securely bundled her up in his arms, curled up and exhausted.
However, as number one noticed the lack of gloves and the very small box with Johnny, he frowned and said, "Let me take it. Could you please provide me with the appropriate means to do so?"
His voice was clipped as Johnny had lifted Mimi's several shirts, revealing her skinny, bony spine which was covered in bruises. There were at least three types of rash on her skin. From what Damon could see, Johnny had not planned to use gloves, employ proper antiseptic techniques, or even clean Mimi's skin before taking a sample. It was clear to Damon that she was not healing well and her back was very sore. There was an infection starting on her lower back, which number four also noticed.
Handing his box to number one, Johnny said, "What do you need? The rashes are from an allergic reaction. I tried to clean her skin, but iodine and chlorhexidine both caused rashes. We don't have any other antiseptics here."
Damon opened the box and found little pads moistened with alcohol, but they were outdated. The needle was not in a sterile packet; the syringe was reusable, and the vials seemed non-sterile as well.
"This is ridiculous. You should not perform a spinal tap with this kind of equipment. There is an infection starting in her skin. She is bruised, and I'm not sure if the sample will be contaminated with germs," Damon said.
Johnny replied, "We are just checking the levels of dopamine, serotonin, cortisol, and oxytocin. Nothing more."
Damon rolled his eyes at their ignorance. Then he realized that Missy had given specific instructions on what to do and what to test. The guilty look on Johnny's face confirmed it, which he shared with Colin.
Colin stood up and said, "Fine, let me go and get something suitable for her."
He left the room, with Johnny following him. Damon kept himself calm as Mimi continued to shudder and cry softly. Number four was still comforting her, massaging her to make her feel as comfortable as possible.
Damon sighed as his headache became unbearable. It was time to relieve his fangs, so he summoned a jar and bit into the jar, draining from his fangs a potent black velvet substance inside. Mariella smiled at him as he rolled his eyes. After producing five large jars of the special black velvet, it was time to focus on something else. He filled a jar with various substances, knowing that he would have to mix them together.
As Colin returned, now carrying a big box of supplies, Damon was shaking his jar and said to Colin, "This will help with the starting infection and those rashes. First, we apply it topically, and then she needs to ingest it. It might not be tasty, but it helps. Let me perform a spinal tap so I can taste the spinal fluid. I have no idea if my fangs can help her, too."
Charles said to him, "Make sure she doesn't get a spinal headache if you remove too much of it."
Damon reassured him, saying, "No need to worry. This substance goes into her spinal canal as well. It's a healing liquid that will fill and replace her spinal canal."
He proceeded to put on a pair of sterile gloves, of which Colin had brought many packets. Colin was just as particular about sterility as Damon, and he knew how important it was to keep Mimi from getting any nasty germs in her weakened state.
The pain kept hitting me, and number four's caress made me so tired. I couldn't understand why there was so much drama surrounding my spinal tap. Why couldn't they just get it over with? Eventually, I started to drift off to sleep as I felt someone begin to wipe my back. It felt cool, and the rash that had been itching started to subside.
Again, I felt something good, but my mind tried to convince me that I didn't deserve that relief. However, I was too tired to argue. Someone kept telling me in my mind that I shouldn't worry about my mind right now, that it was still sick. I was about to fall asleep when a sharp sting made me almost move, but number four had positioned me in a way that made it impossible to do so. I had to endure whatever they were doing to my back.
As the numbness started to spread, I realized they had numbed my back and the spinal tap didn't really feel like much at all. I fell asleep in the middle of it, finally feeling something for the first time in months.
As Damon numbed Mimi's back and took samples of her spinal fluid, she fell asleep. It was still a challenge for her brain to experience sensations, but they were determined to help her. She needed rest, nourishment, care, and someone to keep her as comfortable as possible. Damon was deeply saddened by Mimi's belief that she didn't deserve happiness in her life.
He made a silent promise to himself that he would ensure Mimi's well-being. Mariella could sense Damon's pain and offered her support. They had learned the value of feeling and the emptiness that Damon had taken from Mimi's mind, which had motivated the entire group to help her recover. However, one question remained: what was the best and most efficient way to aid her physical recovery?
As they settled Mimi on the sofa and left her office, Jarod shared important information with them. "She has very few enzymes. Miss Parker isolated beneficial substances from those bugs she uses to enhance her enzyme levels, and we created a broth for her. It has helped increase her enzyme levels, but due to the stress she feels, her body is flooded with cortisol, hindering the enzymes from thriving."
Colin and Number Four were eager to learn more and headed towards the medical bay.
Mariella suggested to Damon, "Why don't you take charge of Mimi again and we can involve others this time? If you're unable, others like Wulfe can assist as well. I can make the arrangements in a few hours. This syndrome gives us plenty of reasons to do so, not to mention your biological connection and everything else."
Damon nodded, ready to take on the responsibility of caring for Mimi and others. Over the years, what had initially felt like a punishment had evolved into a caring relationship. This small piece of paper, officially making him the guardian of Mimi and the others, would help him keep them safe, healthy, and by his side.
And someday, he swore to himself, Mimi would become his wife – as a vampire, a shifter, and as a woman. They would share their lives and their powers. Damon eagerly awaited the opportunity to be a part of Mimi's extraordinary abilities.
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