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He woke at dusk For a long while, he stayed where he was, recalling what had happened earlier in the day Filled with rage, his body racked with pain, the hunger slicing through him like hot knives, he had been on the very brink ofhim the surcease he needed And he, cursed wretch that he was, had taken it

Even now the thought of what he had done filled hi

Why had she helped him? Once she knehat kind of ht him here?

"Because I love you"

He sat up at the sound of her voice "Don&039;t"

"You said that before, remember?" Sara remarked as she entered the room "I said I loved you and you told me not to"

"You should have listened"

"That story you toldman who traded his soul for another chance at life, that was you, wasn&039;t it?"

He nodded, too ashamed to speak

She sat down on the foot of the bed and studied hiuileless eyes

"How old are you, Gabriel? You would never tell me before"

"I was born in the winter of 1502"

She frowned a moment "But that would hty-four years old"

It was impossible, inconceivable And yet she kneas true

"You always said you were too old for h uncontrollably

Gabriel watched her from beneath hooded lids, his eiven her his blood and taken hers Though he had not taken enough of her blood to initiate her, they now shared a bond that could never be broken

Sara looked at hihter dissolved into tears And then he was holding her, his face buried in her hair She felt his shoulders shake and she kneas crying, too

"Gabriel?" She dreay, her own tears forgotten in her need to cole tear hovered in the corner of his eye A tear tinged with blood Very carefully, she wiped it aith a corner of the bed sheet

She stared at the bright red stain on the white linen and realized, for the first time, the full horror of who and what he was

Vampire

The undead

Creatures who slept in coffins by day and prowled the darkness at night, preying on the weakness, and the blood, of others

Gabriel was a vae in her eyes, saw the realization that came as she recalled incidents from the past

"That&039;s why I never saw you eat," she said tonelessly "Why I never saw you during the day Why the burns on your face healed so quickly"

She gasped as another startling realization cahto

"It&039;s true," he said flatly "All of it Look at me, Sara What do you see?"

"I see the man I love" She spoke the words confidently, but he saw the doubt shadowing her eyes

Gabriel shook his head "No, Sara, I&039;row old, but I don&039;t age Face it Accept it"

She looked at hi why she wasn&039;t ed at his features; his eyes were haunted, filled with more pain than a mere mortal could ever endure

"Do you despise me now?" he asked

"No"

"But you&039;re afraid of me"

"A little"

"I won&039;t hurt you, cara Believe that And if you can&039;t believe my words, then look inside my mind and see the truth for yourself"

"Look inside your mind? What do you mean?"

"We share a bond, Sara A blood bond If you but try, you can readto ical step

"But I heard you before you tookas he watched her try to fit the pieces together "Have you taken ave me yours" It wasn&039;t a question, but a state suspended while she waited for his answer

"Yes"

"When I was burned," Sara said "That&039;s why I got better so fast You gaveIt made me walk"

"Yes"

"But that wasn&039;t the first tiave ht I was never going to see you again I reht it was another dream, but it was real, wasn&039;t it?"

"Yes"

"You saved h it ht be"

He yearned to hold her, to bury himself in her sweetness, but he could not In spite of the blood bond between them, he felt as if a chasm as wide and deep as hell separated the, to ask the question that had been gnawing at the corner of her mind

"Am I a vampire now?"

"No!" The as torn fro you over, Sara Youelse"

The relief in her eyes was like a dagger in his heart

"Sara" He glanced at the open door, then slid out of bed "Soot he was coet back?"

"No I&039; him to stay, yet afraid of what it would nant Unbelievable

Before she could speak, she heard Maurice&039;s knock at the door again

"You&039;d best go let him in before he breaks down the door," Gabriel said dryly

"Don&039;t go," she said, and left the roo the bedroom door behind her before he could reply

She ran to the front door and opened it, forcing a s, Maurice"

"Sara" He frowned "You&039;re not dressed," he said, taking in her disheveled appearance "Am I early?"

"No, I&039;m late Sit down Have some wine I won&039;t be but a moment"

"Hurry, cheri We dine at seven"

"I will"

She paused outside her bedroom door, took a deep breath, and stepped inside

Gabriel was standing at theHe glanced at her over his shoulder as she closed the door behind her

He didn&039;t look like a deone froer looked like old parchain, huly attractive Suddenly she yearned to be in his ar her name, to taste his kisses Man or monster, she loved hih it was difficult for hio, she had seen him at his worst, seen hier was fast upon him and lived to tell the tale

He wished he could hold her

He wished she would go away

"Was there so you wanted, Sara?"

"I Maurice is here We&039;re going out to dinner"

The faintest glimmer of amusement flickered in Gabriel&039;s dark eyes

"Yes," heout for dinner myself"

He watched the color drain fro

"How can you make jokes about about what you do?"

"Believefunny about it"

"Have you ?"

"Have I what?"

"Have you killed a greatnot to be offended by the revulsion in her voice, by the morbid curiosity in her eyes

"Not many," he replied coldly "Are you in fear for your life now?"

"No! I just thought I mean"

"It isn&039;t necessary for reat deal of blood, nor do I need it each day"

His gaze held hers He wanted suddenly to hurt her, to shock her, or perhaps he ulf between them

"If I&039;m desperate, the blood of animals will suffice In extreme cases, I&039;ve been known to dine on the blood of rats"

"Why are you telling me this? Do you think it willto drive er, couldn&039;t abide the overwhelered in her eyes

Cursing softly, he turned to stare out theagain "You&039;d better go," he said tersely "Your youngfor you"

She wasn&039;t ht She picked at her food, re what Gabriel had said If I&039;m desperate, the blood of animals will suffice In extreme cases, I&039;ve been known to dine on the blood of rats Had he been serious, or was heto drive her away? And yet, deep down, she knew that everything he had said was true He lived only by night He fed off the blood of other living creatures How could he exist like that?

She stared at the dark red wine in her glass Gabriel drank wine It was the only nourishment she had ever seen hilanced up, aware that Maurice had asked her a question "What?"

"You see?"