Page 36 of Norah

No, not that! Anything but that!My cry is a broken denial. “No!”

It’s Time

ETHAN

Norah trembles in terror next to me.

The vibrations are so strong I can feel them resonate through my body, but she stands tall as she refuses Frederick’s demand. I want to punch the guy, throttle him, for all that he’s cost her. My eyes are burning with anger, jaw tight enough to crush stone, as I glare at him. “Why?”

He moves forward a few steps, still blocking the door, and stares at us without blinking. A flicker of an emotion I can’t quite name flashes in his dark brown eyes, and he tugs a hand through his long dark hair. His features are striking, but hard, though they seem to soften a bit as his gaze lands on Norah.

He’s dressed all in black, matching jeans, sweater, and pea-coat, all contributing to an aura of danger. He’s as tall as me, less muscular, but it’s clear who would win in a fight.I can’t beat this man physically, but I still have my brain. I just need to keep Norah safe.

“It’s just time. Right now, I can’t explain more. You’ll understand someday.” He pauses, then looks at Norah. “But itmustbe done.”

“No, I can’t.” Her voice cracks in a sob, devastated. “I can’t do it. Iwon’t.” She breaks into soft cries, shaking against me, tears streaking down her lovely face.

Frederick frowns at her. “You must. There is no other choice.”

My heart squeezes as Norah begs brokenly, “Please, don’t make me. I won’t let you hurt him, but please don’t make me do this.”

I can’t take this.Norah is completely sobbing now, her anguished cries ripping my heart into pieces. I hold her close, tucking her head into my chest, and look Frederick dead in the eyes. “Iwon’tlet you do this. Do you see how you’re hurting her? If you want to turn me, fine. Thenyoudo it, not her.”

A yelp comes from against my chest, but I hold Norah close and continue to stare at Frederick. He considers me, eyes narrowing in thought. “I think we need to speak about thisprivately.” Striding forward, he stops several feet from us and stares into Norah’s eyes. All at once, she goes limp, slipping to the floor.

“What have you done to her?” She’s boneless as I swing her up into my arms, and I press a shaking finger to her neck, searching for a pulse. Norah’s eyes are closed, rosy lips slack, head lolling against my shoulder. Fear grips me with ferocious claws.If he hurt her…

“It’s just a simple sleep. She’s completely fine. I’ll wake her back up once we’re done. We have something to discuss and I think it will be easier with no interruptions.” He sits in the chair opposite the couch where I’ve sat, holding Norah in my lap. “Why shouldIdo this instead ofher? She is to be your wife, isn’t she? Shouldn’tshebe the one to change you?”

I gently arrange her next to me, head resting on my lap, and face Frederick. “No,” I state flatly, “She shouldn’t. And I’ll tell you why. When I met Norah, she was completely alone, convinced she was evil, half broken because of what you did to her.” His face pinches in confusion, and he opens his mouth to speak, but I keep going.

“I know what happened. You took her and changed her, with no explanation. Then she’s trapped in a room with a dying man, no help in sight, and she thinks it’s all her fault he’s dead. Then she gets dumped back at her apartment with no information. She was terrified of leaving her home, being around people, taking the blood she needed to survive. It took me months to convince Norah that she’s not evil, and she’s only just started to truly believe me. She still has nightmares.”

I stare hard at Frederick, anger at his treatment of Norah making me fearless. “Norah is a beautiful person, inside and out. She is kind, and sweet, and funny, and I love her more than I ever thought it possible to love someone.”

“She is healing, and I will keep doing whatever it takes to make her happy and whole. But if you force her to turn me into a vampire,you will break her. And I’mnotwilling to allow that. If you want to change me over, I’m fine with it. I want to be with Norah forever. Butyoudo it. Don’t hurt her again.”

There’s a long silence after I finish speaking, as Frederick looks at me, then to Norah’s sleeping form. When he finally returns my gaze, his jaw is tight and eyes are full of regret. It’s such a contrast from his earlier expression, it hardly looks like the same person. Before, he appeared dangerous and flat. Now there is depth to him, emotion in his eyes, a downturn to his lips.

He sighs before speaking. “I did not know that my actions had caused so much pain. It was never my intention… I was not in a good place back then. It’s not an excuse, rather a reason. Recently I was told that I’ve become quite insensitive, and I’m afraid it’s the truth. Unfortunately, when a person lives for a long time, it takes work to sustain your humanity and emotions. And until a short time ago, I had stopped making the effort.”

“And now?” I lean forward expectantly.

“Now… I don’t want to hurt Norah. But youmustbecome one of us. Even though she doesn’t wish you to be.”

“Whynow? I’m hoping Norah will change her mind in time, and choose to change me herself.”

“It must happen now. I can only say it has been determined.” He stands up, takes off his coat and rolls up a sleeve. “Let us get this done.”

Well, that’s not ominous or anything. This should be fun to explain to Norah. “OK, let’s do it. I know the basics, but what should I do?” I’m trying to remain calm about this, but my heart is galloping in my chest.

So many worries run through my mind.What if this doesn’t work? What if he just kills me? And then kills Norah?What if this totally devastates her? But I know my worries are irrelevant, because I know this is happening, anyway.

“The floor is fine.” He pushes the coffee table out of the way with a flick of one finger, sending it sliding across the room.OK, super strength seems cool.“I’ll drain your blood. It will only hurt for a second. You won’t feel anything else until you awaken as a vampire.”

“And then what?”No crazy blood rampage, I hope.

“I’ll leave Norah with instructions. She’ll have some blood for you to help you regain your strength. I’ll wake her once the transition is complete.”

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