Chapter 55: Chapter Fifty-Five

I watched in horror as Bast fell to the ground, the shard of glass in her abdomen catching the light of the chandelier. My reflexes kicked in before my brain could, catching Bast before she could hit the ground.

"Lucifer-" I started to say, but felt my words catch in my throat when I looked up at him. His right eye was a bright, unmistakable gold, while his left was still blood-red. I knew immediately what this meant, and I wish I didn't. Bast was half dead, or very close to death, leaving Damien nearly recreant.

"My king..." Bartholomew said when he saw Damien's different eye colors, his brown eyes wide with shock and horror.

I didn't stick around to see what happened next as I quickly brought Bast's face into my throat, putting her legs around me as I ran towards the nearest hospital. I know for a fact the two things that would happen if Bast died. First; Damien would go fully recreant, causing unimaginable death and destruction to our city, or more accurately; our country. Second; The coven would launch a full-blown hunt for Damien, not resting until he was destroyed, voiding the new law on recreants.

'I do not want to become the vampire king in this way. I must make sure Bast lives.' I thought as I ran. I looked down at the nearly dead human in my arms, her heartbeat slow and to my chagrin, only growing weaker. 'Please, little human, you must survive. If not for Damien, survive for the world, which will surely suffer greatly from your demise.'

I arrived at the hospital in only a few minutes, calling out for the doctors and nurses to come help me. They quickly took Bast into an operating room, yelling and shouting to each other as they hooked her up to various machines. I began pacing back and forth, unable to still my body, or my mind as the various troubles demanded themselves be heard.

I knew all too well what would happen if Bast were to die, and the consequences would be insurmountable to say the least. Even more than the inevitable actions that would follow, if the human were to die, I knew what Damien would do if I even considered leaving Bast's side while she was fighting for her life.

"Alastair." Damien said, pulling me out of my thoughts as I turned to look at him. His eyes had remained the same, destroying any hope I had of Bast coming out of this hospital in one piece.

"She's being treated now, Lucifer. I've heard nothing yet." I said, pulling him into a hug. He tried to fight against me, but gave in when he realized I wouldn't release him.

"I can give her my blood, it will heal her." He said as he began walking to the operating room.

"Lucifer, you can't, it will kill her." I said, grabbing his arm before he could get too far.

"What are you talking about?" He snarled, pulling his arm free.

I sighed and pointed to his reflection in the windows behind the seats in the waiting room. When Damien saw the gold of his right eye, he backed away quickly, mortified by his own reflection. He tried to speak, but couldn't as he continued to watch his reflection, unsure of how to react.

"I'm turning recreant." He mumbled to himself as he finally broke away from his reflection and turned to face me, his face frozen in an expression of horrified agony. He stayed like this for a few moments before he crumbled to the ground, grasping for something to hold himself up, the reality of the moment seemingly hitting him all at once.

I tried to help him stand, but his weight pulled me down to my knees, leaving me unable to do anything but kneel in front of him. I wanted nothing more than to comfort him, but couldn't. The reality could not be ignored, no matter how much I wished it may. Bast was dying and there is nothing I could do about it, the moment Bast drew her last breath, Damien would inevitably turn fully recreant, and be lost.

'Wait, he won't be lost! Sinclair could help him.' I thought as I pulled out my phone and called Bartholomew. When he answered I quickly told him where to find Sinclair, and instructed him to bring him to us.

"Sam, you can give her your blood." Damien said, grabbing me by the collar, pulling me close. "Give Bast your blood, save her life!"

I felt like my heart was braking as I put my hands on Damien's shoulders, looking into his mixed eyes, struggling to force out the words: "I can't."

"Why?" He yelled, just under a shout, causing a few of the passers-by to stop and stare.

"Bast denied my blood, Damien." I whispered, trying again to help him stand. I hated to see him so broken and defeated, grasping at straws.

"Why did you have me called here?" Sinclair asked as he turned the corner. When he saw Damien on the ground, his eyes went wide in shock. He knew just as well as I did, the only thing that could hurt Damien in this way, was Bast. "Oh, no." He mumbled, rushing to my side. He grabbed Damien by the collar, slamming him against the wall. "What happened?"

Damien didn't respond, but remained limp in Sinclair's grip, his eyes closed. The pain on his face was agonizing to see, and matched only by the pain etched on Sinclair's face.

When Sinclair saw that Damien wasn't going to respond, he released him, letting him fall back to the ground. "What happened to her?" He asked, his voice wavering as he fought against himself to keep his composure.

"We don't know who, but someone in attendance threw a glass plate at Bast. One shard nicked her forehead, and the other lodged in her abdomen."

"Why didn't one of you give her blood?" He asked incredulously.

"Bast denied my blood, and Lucifer's blood would kill her."

"How so?"

"Lucifer." I said, kneeling back down to the man who'd remained completely silent, his eyes still closed.

He sighed and opened his eyes, looking up at Sinclair, his face still pained with agony.

"Oh shit!" Sinclair exclaimed when he saw Damien's one gold eye. He stared at Damien for a moment before grabbing him by the collar again, slamming him back into the wall. "Bast gets hurt, so you give up? You don't even try to avenge her? What kind of king are you? Not one I would respect." He screamed in Damien's face, his eyes darkening into an amber shade.

As Sinclair yelled at him, it looked like Damien was awakening from a slumber as his red eye slowly turned purple. Damien seemed to spring to life as he grabbed Sinclair's collar, growling.

"The king of vampires turns into a whimpering little bitch, leaving his bride to fend for herself while her attacker remains free to breathe the same air as her? You call yourself a man? You think you deserve a woman like Bast?" Sinclair continued to snarl in his face, awakening the beast inside of Damien.

"Sam." Damien barked, not breaking the eye contact between himself and Sinclair, his face now alive with murderous rage.

"I will stay with Bast, rest assured." I said, stepping forward to the two of them, growling softly.

Damien nodded as he and Sinclair released each other, then turned to Bartholomew who'd remained back, watching the interaction.

"I pledge my allegiance to you, and you alone, my king." Bartholomew said, bowing softly. "I will stay here to watch your bride, Alastair, you should be with them for this." He said before taking a few steps forward, looking at me, then Sinclair, until his eyes finally landed on Damien. "I don't care if you have to rip every one of them to shreds, avenge your bride."