'Qui: The Fall of Ottawa' Part 2, Chapter 9

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Previously: Qui and Sam visited a mechanic shop in the south end of Ottawa, investigating a murder. They surprised a Tzimisce vampire, resulting in a vicious battle. Sam helped Qui drive the murderous creature away, but now she'd seen far too much for Qui to leave things to chance.

He had a choice: Kill her or bring her into the fold. There were no other options. He chose to tell her the truth and he very much hoped that he wouldn't have to kill her afterward. Once the truth about his nature was revealed, Qui offered her a taste of his own Blood to ensure her silence.

Chapter 9:

Sam hesitantly brought her lips to the small incision Qui had made on his forearm. She gagged when she first tasted the Blood, but her revulsion almost immediately disappeared once the addictive substance worked its way into her system. He'd need to pull her free soon to make sure she didn't ingest too much all at once and overwhelm herself.

She'd come around to the idea surprisingly quick once she got past her disgust at the initial suggestion. The explanation of his Blood's benefits–an end to the aging process and superhuman vitality–had eased her decision, although she momentarily balked once he admitted that the vitae was highly addictive. It was possible to go back to normal, of course, but he made sure to explain the effects of withdrawal.

He pulled his arm away and she grasped at him, trying to return it to her greedy lips. He held her back the same way he'd had to hold back others in the past. Once a mortal had a taste of the Blood, they always got like this. He couldn't blame her for reacting the same way anyone else would.

"That's enough," he said, easing her off. He was feeling slightly dizzy and in desperate need of feeding. Between this and his expenditures during the fight with the Tzimisce, he could feel the siren song of Hunger threatening to override his senses. 

He'd need to give Arundel a call and arrange to see one of the blood dolls. 

"I feel amazing," Sam said as she pulled back, licking her lips. She was salivating. "I never thought anything could feel this way! That pain I always had in my leg is gone and I feel like I could run laps around the city!"

"You remember the warnings I gave you?" he asked.

She nodded. "They make a lot more sense, now. I can see how people get addicted to this."

"You may feel like you're invincible, but you need to remember that you aren't. If you jump off a building, you'll die. Take too many bullets and you'll be six feet under just like any normal mortal."

"Too many bullets? You mean…?"

"I mean you can probably survive more physical trauma than you could have yesterday night, let's put it that way. But you don't want to put that to the test. If I wanted to be responsible for your death then we wouldn't have gone this route in the first place."

Qui started up the car and pulled back onto the road.

"So what do we do, now?" Sam asked.

He needed to feed, but he didn't think he wanted to expose Sam to that aspect of his existence quite yet; he'd already thrown her in the deep end to see if she could swim. Accidentally drowning her in revelation would be counterproductive. "I need some rest," he said. "Between the fight back at the auto shop and the Blood I gave you, I'm just about done for the night."

"So you get tired just like we do?" she asked.

Qui nodded. "In a way."

"Wait," Sam said. "I should have thought of this before, but…I can still go out in sunlight, right? I won't spontaneously combust or anything?"

"You have nothing to worry about," he replied. "I know we've moved very quickly here, but that's something I would have told you about beforehand if it would have effected you."

"But you can't go out in the day? I guess all the night shifts make sense, now."

He nodded in acknowledgement as he pulled into traffic on the busier main road. They would be nearing the station soon. He wondered if he should feel worried about leaving her alone with everything she'd learned. He doubted Sam would be stupid enough to say the wrong thing to the wrong person after everything that had happened, but if her common sense wasn't enough, the budding blood bond between them would have to do. He wasn't quite sure about the intricacies of how it worked, but he knew from experience that mortals who drank from him became far more receptive to his suggestions. 

Qui hadn't bonded with many mortals since his embrace all that time ago–the drifter lifestyle didn't mesh well with the keeping of Blood-addicted servants–but he felt differently about Sam for some reason. In a way she was like him; she hadn't put down roots in Ottawa. She had no romantic partner and she wasn't terribly close with her family. She didn't fit in at the station despite working there for years and she'd been the only cop on the force who seemed pleased that Qui was there to clean the place out. And yet… the two of them had developed a bond since he arrived. Two loners meeting in the unlikeliest of places. There had to be something to that. 

He shook his head. He was romanticizing again. It was an old habit that he'd thought long dead, but here it was again, getting him into trouble. He told himself that he'd bonded her out of necessity–he didn't want to be forced to kill his primary mortal ally here in the city, not when she was his most useful link to understanding how the police department functioned. She knew all the names, all the dirt, and yet she was clean from it. Cranston had given him three months to prepare the city for her coup, and with Sam's help, he'd neatly trimmed the police force's disloyal mortals away in half the time he expected, leaving him more time to learn about local Kindred and contemplate his reward. He could swear he felt the sword back in his haven, beckoning. 

Qui had never expected Cranston to allow him to take the blade with him–he'd requested it on a whim to see how much he could get away with and test just how badly the woman wanted Prince Jonah gone. Relinquishing the weapon told him more about her desperation than words ever could have. There was more at play here than simply wanting to depose an inept ruler, but when it came down to it, Qui still didn't want to sweat the details. Once the job was done, he'd be out of here. Maybe he'd even bring Sam with him. 

"You got awful quiet all of a sudden," Sam said, jolting him out of his thoughts. "If you're worried about me ratting you out, don't even think about it. I saw what you were fighting tonight with my own eyes and I know that the commissioner is one of them. So I'm not going to tell anyone at the station. You mentioned the media, but how would that benefit me or anyone else? As far as I'm concerned, you've done far more for the city than most normal people." She stuttered for a second. "Not to imply that you're not normal."

"I'm not normal," he said. He pulled the car into its parking spot beside the station and put it in park before looking over at her. "And now neither are you. That's not a bad thing."

"I guess you're right," she said sheepishly, brushing her fingers through her hair. "It might take me a few days to really wrap my head around all this."

"That's understandable," Qui said, not without pity. "But consider yourself lucky that you have someone here to teach you where to step and what pitfalls to avoid. Many mortals who stumble into this world need to find their own way, and that rarely ends well for them." He got out of the car, walked to the passenger side, and opened her door. "You're feeling okay? Any dizziness? Overwhelming sensation?"

"It's a bit much, yeah," she said. "Like blood rushing to my head."

"I'll take you to your office and get you some privacy. Anyone who asks, I'll tell them you're writing up reports for me for the rest of the shift. Don't drive home until you're sure it's safe."

Sam blinked at him. "You're not leaving me alone here, are you?" She reached out a trembling hand before pulling herself back into decorum.

"There's something I have to do that won't wait," Qui said. He licked his lips unconsciously. He needed to track down Arundel as soon as possible. His voracious Hunger was driving him to distraction. "I might come back for a few minutes before dawn, but I can't guarantee it. I have faith that you can handle this, but if you need to stay home tomorrow night, call in sick and I'll come to check on you as soon as I can get away from my desk."

"I just need to know something first," Sam said. "Aside from you and the commissioner, are there any more of them in the station? You know…paranormals?"

Qui shook his head and flashed her a grin. "Only you, Sam."