Chapter 39 – Mai’s Accident

I was still a little sore walking down to the bath; even a full minute of my mana wasn't enough to completely heal the abuse done last night. I feel bad for my new and only follower. I still don't know what to do with her. I'll have to ask Yuki about it. She's strong and knowledgable so she should be helpful. I don't really mind marrying her; I've heard most noble marriages have a few girls who are there not for love but for other reasons. Mistress let her up, so she likely wasn't part of the group that planned to hurt us.

I'm with the crowd bathing today, and not seeing Mai in the bath, I decided to just use magic and check for Mai in the kitchen. The pool does seem to treat sex-related injuries really well, but I want to talk to Mai. Even in the kitchen, I can't find my kitty, so I check the lounge next, which is empty, besides a few young orphans. Panicking, I run up to the third floor; Mai is never late; there is no reason for her not to be downstairs already.

Pushing through the pain, I quickly reach the third floor and rush to her room near the middle of the hallway. All the customers have already left, so I barge in. Mai has done it enough times to me that she can't complain about it. The first thing I see is red splashed against the far wall, then a stained tail lying still.

"MIA!" I shout; I rush to her side as my mana surges forward, fast enough to manifest physically, pushing the blood-stained sheets off her bed. It searches for a target to heal. Mai is crumpled on the floor, blood slowly pooling around her stomach. I search for a pulse but I've only seen Kelly do it, I'm not sure what to really look for. Fuck my useless mana and classes. How can't I heal my friend with this much life mana? "Come on, Mai. You aren't dead. Please wake up. Flick your tail, breath, make fun of my useless ass. Come on, why are you still bleeding?" I cry out. Tears blur my vision. I don't know what else to do, just push my mana to her and hope it does something. I have no healing skills and no mana training. The only knowledge I have of healing is moving my mana around and watching Kelly.

"Come on, kitty, come back to me. I haven't had your litter yet. You can't leave me," I mumble out. Her bleeding has stopped, but I'm not sure if that is from running out of blood or if I'm actually doing something for her.

"Alzi, can you move. Keep your mana up; just let me see her," Yuki says behind me. I'm not sure when she got here, but I'm not willing to let my kitty go. Frozen in fear, I just sit there mumbling. "Alzi she'll be ok, but you need to move. Please, I need to get to her." Yuki ends up needing to peel me off her, leaning me against the wall. My body was soaked in Mai's blood, body shaking. Luckily, I still can't move, or I would likely fight Yuki to get back to Mai.

Yuki's back hides what she is doing, but I feel my mana finding a target to actively heal. I'm not sure if that is Yuki herself or Mai. Kelly steps into the room, and Yuki moves to the side so they can both work on Mai together, leaving stupid me off to the side.

The stress must have put me to sleep as I was shaken awake sometime later.

"Hi Alzi, come on. They took Mai downstairs to Kelly's room. Get up. They say they could use your help," Vasati says to me.

"Is she ok?" I whisper, fearing the answer.

"She's alive but hurt. I'll help you up here. Mai needs you now," she answers. She puts her hands under my armpits and starts to lift; I get my feet under me and rise. She quickly walks out of the room, and I stumble after her.

Inside Kelly's room, I see Mai on the table. Her stomach has been stitched close. She is extremely pale and I don't see her breathing. Yuki and Kelly are on either side of her, poking and prodding.

"I've brought her down, Yuki," Vasati says, getting both girls to turn to us.

"Good, Alzi, you still have mana, right?" Yuki pleads.

"Yes," I say. Yuki said she'll be fine, yet Mai looks like she's already dead.

"Perfect, come here. I'll do everything. I just need you to be the power source, ok? Together, we'll get Mai to pull through, ok?"

"Ok, please help her." Tears come back as I make my way to Yuki. Kelly is still searching for something.

"Alright, just relax; I'll handle everything," she warns right before pain explodes in my stomach, and I pass out.

Yet again, I'm shaken awake. I think I'm still in Kelly's room; the first-floor ceilings are slightly darker than the higher floors.

"Alzi, how are you feeling?" Yuki asks me. I sit up, looking for Mai. I'm still in Kelly's room, so she should still be here. Yet only Yuki and I are present; the table Mai should be on is empty.

"Where is she? Why isn't she here? You said I just needed to relax, and she would pull through. What happened."

"Calm down, Alzi. Answer my question first then I'll answer yours."

"I'm distressed, Yuki. Alright. Now where. Is. Mai?" Anger is replacing my fear. How hard is it to let me know Mai is fine? She promised me Mai would be fine.

"Alzi, how are your kids?"

"No, I answered your question, answer mine."

"Alzi, that is a longer discussion. We need to worry about you first."

"Fuck that! I don't care about these bastards I'll never see again. Tell me where Mai is!"

"Alzi, tell me how the kids are doing."

A command, the screen is forced into my vision.

"Womb is perfectly healthy."

"Good, your fall scared us. We saw the twelve dots dull out for a while and got worried. I'm going to move the covers and check that they are still pulsing ok."

"Yuki, stop ignoring me." Tears bursting through my anger. How hard is it to talk to me? Blame the fucks that hurt Mai and have the Duchess fuck me again. I can't replace Mai.

She continues to reveal my naked body, my tattoo glowing as normal. "I'm not, and I can see twelve pulsing dots."

"I told you I don't care."

"I know. Look, Mai is. Well, she did make it through the ordeal. But she had some changes happen. All her blood was gone by the time I got there. Your life mana swamped the room, letting her stay alive through unnatural means. Mai should be dead right now, Alzi. That obviously means she had some problems."

"What do you mean problems." I can handle it if she is crippled. I just need her alive. I just need to be able to hug her, maybe see her smile.

"I'm going to work with her to fix the problems. Don't worry. Just you won't be able to see her for a while, ok? I promise she is alive. You'll marry her and me. Ok, we'll have our happy family. Just give me some time to help get her strength back."

"My soothing touch can help after her sessions. My mana is good for recovery." My tears cloud my vision, anger, fear, and worry swirl around in my head. "Just tell me what is happening, Yuki. Let me see Mai. I don't believe you. I should be able to help her." I'm shaking again. How could they keep Mai from me? I could help, right?

"Look, your mana would hurt her right now."

"Did she turn into something?"

That question makes her wait, staring at me, uncertain of how to respond. What did I turn Yuki into? If I knew how to heal her, this wouldn't have happened. Damn, Mistress is forcing me to be ignorant of mana, having these useless classes. She cost me Mai. My little kitten.

"Yes, if you really would like to help, I could use some of your blood."

"Vampire. I turned my friend into a vampire." How did I manage that? I healed her. How did I make her into a new being? What is going on?

"No, we turned her into a vampire. By the time I got there, this was the only option. Your mana would keep her alive but not heal her. I'm sorry I took too long to get to you and her. The only option was to turn her into an undead creature. Vampires are the best option; they at least have ways to stay sane."

"Doesn't it take another vampire to create one?"

"Most of the time. There are a few other ways to do it. This method is the most dangerous one, emptying the person of blood but keeping them alive. There are a few potions they need; all are actually common healing potions and antidotes. The last thing I needed was a spark of life. That is what made you pass out and why I needed to check the kids. I took a bit of life from the twelve to do it. Adults hold onto theirs too well to use," Yuki pulls me into a hug. "She'll take some time to adjust. Bloodthirst is something she has to get used to. She'll have a hard time being near you as her progenitor."

"As her what?"

"You turned her, so you'll be her progenitor. Since you aren't a vampire, it won't do anything special besides making her love your blood. So just give it some time, and you'll have Mai back in your arms, ok. Now, let's move you back to your room so Kelly can sleep."

"How long was I out?"

"I don't know. It's midnight now, but I didn't pay much attention to the time you passed out. I had a lot going on handling the new vampire. The brothel will be closed tomorrow; today was also closed. Just get some sleep. There should be some food in your room." Yuki pulls me off the bed and out of the room. I expect Kelly to be waiting, but the next room is empty. Yuki heads straight up the stairs, pulling me along.

"Ok." Finally, not needing to worry about Mai's survival, I feel my hunger. The food would be nice. Making it to my room I see the food Yuki mentioned. I quickly eat it and fall asleep.