Two large bald men in white searched the sludge with a hook. Once they caught Sebastian, they heaved him out of the pool. Their faces scrunched as they lifted.
Sebastian hung over the hook, coughing. The thick black tar spewed from his mouth.
The men's noses wrinkled as they drew him out and put him into a wheelchair. They hurried and pushed him out of the darkly tiled room with spade motifs. The wheels squeaked into the next room, which was filled with vials, planets, and two microscopes on opposite-facing long brown tables. They stopped pushing him when they reached the middle of the room.
Sebastian's jaw hung open. His eyes fluttered constantly. A long, agonizing groan left him. The white-clad figures walked to a set of double doors.
Zephyrus appeared after a few hours. He pulled a stool from under the table and sat down across from Sebastian. His hands shot out immediately, going to the other man's throat. Zephyrus mumbled as both hands pressed flat on each side. He leaned forward and wrinkled his nose. "No scent internally." He pushed under the jaw, forcing the mouth open more.
Before he could continue, the doors burst open. "Where is my husband?" Mora demanded. "What happened to me? It felt like I had drunk from a dead man."
"I am busy, "Zephyrus shouted.
Mora's head tilted as her chin lifted. Her eyes blinked rapidly. "This smell." She inhaled. "I had never smelt it before, but it is similar. " It smells like unwrapping the dead of the old countries." Her eyes finally landed on Sebastian. Mora stormed up. She leaned over Zephyrus.
Zephyrus rolled his eyes; his lower nostril curled. His face slowly reddened. Mora pressed against Sebastian. Her hands and fingers darted between his shoulder and chest. "Soft and malleable, no rigor mortis. "Did he just die?"
Zephyrus shot out of his seat.
Mora moved quickly, barely missing his head to her chin. " She stood back, hissing. " No, that isn't right, is it." "Do you know how vampires are punished?"
Zephyrus spun around. His lips moved for a second before fading to neutral. "They are forced to drink from the body of an embalmed person."
"I never felt that sensation before, but I saw it. "Count Beliza and his wife Olfrig." As Mora spoke, her mind slipped to a memory. A dark circular stone room. Different shades of light and dark skin in fine clothing surrounded the kneeling pale couple. Two bodies were haphazardly thrown at them. Count Beliza glanced up and made motions with his hands as if pleading. The group tightened around the count and his wife. "I looked away, but I remember the aftermath and how they screamed."
"Did I kill my husband?" Mora asked softly.
"No, he was already gone, as you put it. Died a long time ago." Zephyrus turned heel. He started gathering various plants and pallets off the table at once.
Mora held her stomach. Her mouth opened while she inhaled roughly from her nose.
The sound of Mora's heavy breathing once again caused the doctor to roll his eyes.