James held her down for only a few minutes before she went limp. The timing was good, as he was beginning to lose feeling in his own hands. Mary was shivering violently now, but no longer struggling.

James: "Are you okay?"
Mary: "N-n-n-o, y-you b-b-b-lockhead, I'm d-dying of hy-hy-hyp-p-cold!"

Mary began singing. She stuttered out the words, horribly off-key, and had gotten through quite a few verses before James realized it was one of This Velvet Oblivion's songs.

James: "That's one of our better ones. Or rather, it was. I'm not sure I'll be able to do it justice anymore after hearing your version."

Mary started singing something else. It sounded strangely familiar, but James couldn't quite place it.

Mary: "Because the earth is standing still, and the truth becomes a lie. A choice profound is bittersweet, no one hears Cassandra cry... "

Her voice began to get scratchy and slower, the fluid of her words freezing to a sticky syrup. She started sinking lower into the tub. James pushed his hand back through the ice, holding the back of her neck so that her nose and mouth stayed above the water. Her lips were tinged with blue. When the shivering stopped completely, he added more ice to the tub and pulled her arms and legs out of the water, concerned that her fingers and toes might not emerge from this intact.

If she emerged from it at all.

Mary: "It doesn't hurt anymore… this is nice…. but it's taking so long… It was supposed to be a few minutes but it's been hours and hours and at this rate the sharks and platypuses will get me before the cold does… James!"
James: "Yes Mary?"
Mary: "Don't let them amputate. If I get bitten. I'd rather have scars."

Mary's eyes closed and she went completely still. James twisted his neck to catch a glimpse of Tristan and Abigail. Tristan was sitting cross-legged in the circle and seemed to be hovering an inch or two off the floor. Abigail's skin had gone ashen, and the words she was chanting grew louder. The stale air in the room suddenly seemed full of electricity; James' hair started to float and stick up.

James: "Mary? Are you still with me?"

Mary didn't answer. James pushed one of her eyelids open, then the other. Her pupils had dilated to the point that they eclipsed her irises, which were condensed to a thin, bluish-violet rim around the black. He put his ear to her mouth; the breaths were shallow and slow, and finally stopped. He could no longer see, hear, or feel a pulse. Tristan was still present, Abigail was still chanting. James began to wonder if perhaps his vampire senses weren't much better than medical equipment after all.

He pulled Mary partially out of the tub, pressing his ear to her chest. There was a beat. Then another. Then nothing. The chill of the ice water was nothing compared to the chill that went through his heart.

James looked up. Tristan was still there. Mary had said to wait at least fifteen minutes before pulling her out of the tub if Abigail's magic didn't work. He checked his watch and decided to give her two minutes. Five, tops.

He fought back the urge to shout at Abigail, whispering to himself instead.

James: "Come on, come on, come on…"

He started to get that feeling he used to get as a mortal, the blind panic when one suddenly realize one had done something incredibly stupid and is now in over one's head. It was a feeling he hadn't had in quite some time, having vowed to live life freely, to take risks, and not to agonize over the consequences. Everyone had to go sometime, might as well live life to the fullest while you can.

He looked back at his watch. Four minutes. Tristan was still present, in the circle.

And then he blinked and Tristan was gone.