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He walked the streets for hours after he left the orphanage, his thoughts filled with Sara, her fragile beauty, her sweet innocence, her unwavering trust She had accepted hie cut hi her, did not like hiding the dark secret of what he was, nor did he like to think about how badly she would be hurt when his nighttime visits ceased, as they surely must

He had loved her from the mo her as the ht, but wisely staying away lest he be burned

And now, foolishly, he had strayed too close He had soothed her tears, held her in his ar, like awith need With desire

With an unholy lust, not for her body, but for the very essence of her life

It sickened him that he should want her that way, that he could even consider such a despicable thing And yet he could think of little else Ah, to hold her in his arms, to feel his body become one with hers as he drank of her sweetness

For a ine it, and then he swore, a long, vile oath filled with pain and longing

Hands clenched, he turned down a dark street, his self-anger turning to loathing, and the loathing to rage He felt the need to kill, to strike out, to

Pity the poor ave hih him

She woke covered with perspiration, Gabriel&039;s na, she drew the covers up to her chin

It had only been a drea comfort in the sound of her own voice A distant bell chi returned to norain, but it had been so real She had felt the cold breath of the night, s fro in the shadows She had sensed a deep anger, a wild, uncontrollable evil personified by a being in a flowing black cloak Even now, she could feel his anguish, his loneliness, the alienation that cut him off from the rest of humanity

It had all been so clear in the dreaht shake of her head, she snuggled deeper under the covers and closed her eyes

It was just a drea more

Sunk in the depths of despair, Gabriel prowled the deserted abbey What had happened to his self-control? Not for centuries had he taken enough blood to kill, only enough to ease the pain of the hunger, to ease his unholy thirst

A low groan rose in his throat Sara had happened He wanted her and couldn&039;t have her Soled up with his lust for blood

It couldn&039;t happen again It had taken hiive himself the illusion that he was more man than iveness, but he had forfeited the right to divine intervention long ago

"Where e go tonight?"

Gabriel stared at her She&039;d been waiting for hiht with anticipation Her goodness drew him, soothed him, calmed his dark side even as her beauty, her innocence, teased his desire

He stared at the pulse throbbing in her throat

"Go?"

Sara nodded

With an effort, he lifted his gaze to her face "Where would you like to go?"

"I don&039;t suppose you have a horse?"

"A horse?"

"I&039;ve alanted to ride"

He bowed from the waist "Whatever you wish, "

It was like having found a ic wand, Sara mused as she waited for him to return She had only to voice her desire, and he produced it

Twentyblack stallion It was a beautiful ani mane and tail

She leaned forward to stroke the stallion&039;s neck His coat felt like velvet beneath her hand "What&039;s his name?"

"Necromancer," Gabriel replied, pride and affection evident in his tone

"Necromancer? What does it mean?"

"One who colanced at him over her shoulder "That seems an odd name for a horse"

"Odd, perhaps," Gabriel replied cryptically, "but fitting"

"Fitting? In ay?"

"Do you want to ride, Sara, or spend the night asking foolish questions?"

She pouted prettily for a rinned at hi through the dark night, heading into the countryside

"Faster," Sara urged

"You&039;re not afraid?"

"Not with you"

"You should be afraid, Sara Jayne," he muttered under his breath, "especially with me"

He squeezed the stallion&039;s flanks with his knees and the horse shot forward, his powerful hooves skiht as they raced through the darkness This was power, she thought, the surging body of the horse, thearh her hair, stinging her cheeks andher eyes water, but she only threw back her head and laughed

"Faster!" she cried, reveling in the sense of freedo farmhouses passed by in a blur Once, they ju Sounds and scents blended together: the chirping of crickets, the bark of a dog, the smell of damp earth and lathered horseflesh, and overall the touch of Gabriel&039;s breath upon her cheek, the steadying strength of his arm around her waist

Gabriel let the horse run until the ani and covered with foaently but firmly, and the stallion slowed, then stopped

"That onderful!" Sara exclaiht of the moon, he saw that her cheeks were flushed, her lips parted, her eyes shining like the sun

How beautiful she was! His Sara, so full of life What cruel fate had decreed that she should be bound to a wheelchair? She was a vivacious girl, on the brink of womanhood She should be clothed in silks and satins, surrounded by gallant young , he lifted her frorass, he sat down on a large boulder, settling her in his lap

"Thank you, Gabriel," she murmured

"It was my pleasure, rin "I&039;h the dark astride a big black devil horse"

"No," he said, his gray eyes glinting with amusement, "they don&039;t"

"Have you known many ladies?"

"A few" He stroked her cheek with his forefinger, his touch as light as thistledown

"And were they accomplished and beautiful?"

Gabriel nodded "But none so beautiful as you"

She basked in his words, in the silent affirmation she read in his eyes

"Who are you, Gabriel?" she asked, her voice soft and dreaician?"

"Neither"

"But still h, she rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes Hoonderful to sit here in the dark of night with his aret that she was crippled Almost

She lost all track of time as she sat there, secure in his ar of the wind through the trees, the pounding of Gabriel&039;s heart beneath her cheek

Her breath caught in her throat as she felt the touch of his hand in her hair, and then the brush of his lips

Abruptly, he stood up Before she quite kneas happening, she was on the horse&039;s back and Gabriel inging up behind her Hea fence

She sensed a change in him, a tension she didn&039;t understand A moment later, his arh the night

She leaned back against hiainst the solid wall of his chest She felt his arhten around her, felt his breath on her cheek

Pleasure surged through her at his touch, and she placed her hand over his forear hiasp, as if he were in pain, but she shook the notion aside, telling herself it was probably just the wind crying through the trees

Too soon, they were back at the orphanage

"You&039;ll co her as if she were a child