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He reached his lair in Crosswick Abbeythe door behind hiainst the solid wood, his skin still tingling fro his eyes, he tried to reht of day, to welcome the touch of the sun on his face, to bask in its warmth

With a muttered oath, he pushed away froe, thronelike chair that was the room&039;s only piece of furniture, he stared into the blackness of the hearth

She was in pain, and she wanted to end her life There were all kinds of pain, he thought Sara&039;s wasn&039;t physical; it wenther heart, her soul Sweet and sensitive, she felt she was a burden to the handful of nuns who ran the Sisters of Eternal Mercy Orphanage

His heart ached for her She had been born to wealthy parents, but froued by a constant strea to the fleet owned by her father were lost at sea; a fire destroyed a part of their hoave birth to a stillborn son Shortly after Sara&039;s third birthday, her father was killed in a carriage accident Only then did his wife learn that he had ga line as well His creditors, previously kept at bay by his good naood on hisnotes, had foreclosed on the family estate Sara&039;s mother, stricken by her husband&039;s death and the loss of her hoain

It was no wonder Sara was bitter, he le ray of sunshine in his own miserable existence, that her life had purpose, even if it was only to bring light into one man&039;s world of darkness

But he couldn&039;t tell her that Much as he longed to give her coive

He felt the sun rising, felt the faint lethargy that caer until it rendered hio, he had been unable to withstand the overpowering weakness that had coth, he had been forced to seek total darkness during the daylight hours, to sleep the restorative sleep of the undead But as he got older, and stronger, he found that he was able to take his rest later in the day, to rise earlier at night, though the touch of the sunlight still ony of a fiery death, as he feared nothing else

Those early days had been filled with confusion and frustration The lust for blood had filled hie to drink, and drink, and drink, until he was sated with it His hearing, sharpened to a neareness, was bo Only with long practice did he learn to shut out the thoughts of others, to regain a sense of inner quiet His eyesight was nothing short of th was that of twenty men Like a child with a new toy, he had tested the li, he had heedlessly brought pain and death to those helpless ly crossed his path

Filled with loneliness, cut off froh the world, searching for a safe haven,anew place to call home Gradually, he had learned to control the blood lust He had learned it wasn&039;t necessary to drain his prey, or take so much that life was lost He had learned to hypnotize a victih to appease his need, and leave, with the victi what had been done And still there were ti, when even his considerable willpoasn&039;t enough to keep hi a life

It was not an easy burden to bear, knowing he must exist on the life&039;s blood of others or perish, knowing he was hated and feared by all mankind

Some accepted the Dark Gift and reveled in it, as he had Others went mad