Free Crimson Dawn by Ronnie Massey

accusations, "What?! Are you crazy, woman? Look at her!" I pointed to her reddening arm, "She looks like a goddamned sausage getting ready to pop. Exactly how would I accomplish that without magic? This room is warded to high hell and back!"
     
    The bewildered nurse shoved a finger into my chest and started shrieking at me as if she were part howler monkey, "You were the only one in the room with her! She was fine before you got here!"
     
    Her finger snapped like a pencil between my own. She screamed, and I tilted my head towards the bed. "While you're throwing blame, she's getting worse! In case you didn't notice, I'm a Vampire, Bitch! We’re not exactly known for baking people alive.” My assumption of what was going on with Amanda was more on point than even I realized. The blisters and pustules covering her body were now releasing little streams of steam, her complexion akin to a lobster.
     
    Amanda chose that moment to let loose another blood-curling scream that set the hairs on my arm on end. The nurse lost her color and fell back against the door with her eyes so wide that the phrase 'like a deer in headlights' came to mind. She babbled something about help, and tore out of the door as fast as she could, cradling her broken finger as she went.
     
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
     
    A team of hospital staff rushed into the room, all staring with horror at the sight of Amanda on her bed, her back arched so high it looked as if it would snap at any moment. The staff looked bewildered and frightened. They were entirely unsure which of them should make the first step towards Amanda whose face had locked into a soundless scream.
     
    One brave soul finally pushed through the crowd making her way towards the bed. The temperature in the room had skyrocketed to resemble the interior of an oven on broil and it continued to climb as more steam escaped from Amanda's body. Sweat poured off me, the heat of the room becoming increasingly uncomfortable with every passing second. The nighttime hours were Vampires' natural domain - the cool nighttime hours. I wasn't built for this type of heat.
     
    Everyone watched anxiously as the lone nurse shook off her hesitation and grabbed Amanda by the shoulders. No one expected the intense heat of her body to interact with anything other than the air in the room. If we had, someone would have made a move to stop the nurse from going to that bed. The instant her hands made contact, they began smoldering and burst into flames. The stunned woman tried to let Amanda go, but their flesh fused so quickly all she could do was scream and cry out for help, feet fumbling for enough purchase to pull her away from the nightmarish situation.
     
    I finally came to my senses and tried to reach the brave nurse’s side. As I came within inches of her body, some unseen force hurled me backwards through the air into the group of spectators crowded into the room.
     
    The heat and smoke intensified until the unit's sprinklers sparked to life bathing the room in a blanket of water. We watched too stunned to look away, unable to do anything but witness the horrific ordeal as it unfolded before our eyes. It only took five minutes to burn two women alive, but it felt as if we'd stood there hours watching the flames claim them.
     
    When it was over, the whole room was drenched except for the small area surrounding the bed. The report would later show that the area around the bed had been so intense that the water from the sprinklers evaporated before it even touched the bed.
     
    I noticed the contents of a few stomachs becoming acquainted with the wet tiles as I pushed my way through the mass of bodies to the hallway. The room was now a crime scene. I needed to get a clean-up crew up here before the medical staff contaminated any evidence they might be able to find. In the back of my mind, I knew they wouldn't find anything outside of their charred remains, but my training was finally kicking in.
     
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