6
THERE WAS LIGHT
STREAMING IN THROUGH THE WINDOW when I woke. I sat bolt upright in
the bed, but felt a firm hand on my shoulder.
“No, Jill. Lay
back.”
I blinked and the
world became less blurry. Declan was beside me. A quick scan of the
motel room showed we were alone.
“What—?” I touched
under my eyes.
“It stopped. The
blood stopped right after you passed out. Are you in any pain right
now?”
I felt achy, like I’d
run a marathon, but there was no intense pain like I’d felt before.
“No, I—did that really happen?”
“I’m afraid so.” His
expression was stony, cool, and collected, but his hands were warm
as he stroked the hair off my forehead. I settled back down on the
pillow. “I was worried about you.”
“You don’t look
worried.”
His gaze moved to my
face and there was again that frustrating flatness to his gray eye
thanks to the serum. “My emotions were all fucked up last night,
but I’m back to normal now. But don’t think for a moment that I
wasn’t worried. That I’m not worried now.”
“The Nightshade,” I
said, my voice shaky. “It’s killing me, Declan.”
There was a flicker
of something this time in that single eye of his. He knew I spoke
the truth. “There’s no reason to believe it’s that
serious.”
My throat felt thick
and the fear I’d felt before came flooding back. “It felt pretty
fucking serious to me. I was bleeding out of my eyes.”
“It
stopped.”
“So what happens
next?” My voice caught.
“I don’t
know.”
I laughed a little
and it sounded slightly hysterical. “Well, at least you’re
honest.”
He brushed away a
tear sliding down my cheek with his thumb. The color of it was
clear, not dark red, which was a relief. “I’ll never be anything
but honest with you, Jill.”
“Thank you.” I felt
guilty for holding information back from him, like who his father
really was, but it still didn’t feel like the right
time.
He stood up from the
side of the bed and walked toward the window to look outside.
“Matthias isn’t here anymore. Your blood was too much for him to
handle. I guess when it’s inside of you he can find a way to
control himself. When it’s not, he needs to be controlled. For his
own good.”
I glanced around the
room again, this time registering uneasily that several things were
askew and there was another deep splintered dent in the wall near
the door as if a body had been slammed into it. The lamp was on the
floor, broken, as was the television, its screen
cracked.
“Looks like there was
a fight in here.”
“It was over quickly.
The vampire was weakened, so I handled him easily.” At my look of
shock, he continued, “I didn’t stake him, even though I was
tempted. He seemed as worried about whether you’d live as he was
thirsty for your blood.”
I grimaced. “I don’t
suppose there’s a Hallmark card for that, is there?”
“I’ve contacted
Noah.” Declan pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and glanced
at the screen before putting it away again. “He needs to step up
his game and find out more about the Nightshade formula and what
the hell we can do to fix this.”
“You really think he
can get that information?”
“I hope
so.”
“Me, too.” The
achiness was fading away, so I sat up again. “I think I’m okay, at
least for now. I feel much better.”
“Good. I got you some
breakfast in case you were hungry when you woke up.” He sat down at
the small table in the corner of the room and pulled a large muffin
wrapped in cellophane and a small bottle of orange juice out of a
brown paper bag.
“Haute cuisine.” I
got up from the bed, testing my legs. Declan looked ready to come
to help me the moment I showed any signs of needing him, but he
stayed where he was. “Thank you.”
His attention didn’t
leave me for a moment as I made my way over to the table. I was
dressed, but the sweater and jeans I’d been wearing last night had
been replaced by a large black T-shirt—one of his. I looked down at
myself.
“You cleaned me
up?”
“I couldn’t let you
lay there covered in blood.”
I had to smile. “So
romantic.”
He looked vaguely
uncomfortable with the comment. “Eat something. You need your
strength.”
“What would I do
without you, Declan?”
His lips thinned.
“Likely you would have lived a long and healthy life.”
“What’s the fun in
that?” I was trying to make a joke to help push away the anxiety I
felt, but knew I was failing miserably. “Maybe I should inject the
fuser potion Matthias brought me last night right
away.”
“I think we should
wait. The fuser itself is too hard on your system to use it after
one incident. We’ll use it only for emergencies.”
“That felt like an
emergency.”
“But it passed, and
it was different from the original symptoms you had from the
Nightshade.”
Right. That was pain,
nausea, and vomiting up a nasty black inky substance.
Will the fun ever
end?
Sure it would. With
my impending death.
A distraction would
be a good thing. Luckily, there were plenty to choose from. “If
Matthias couldn’t even hold his own against you, what chance does
he have against an indestructible immortal vampire like his
brother?”
“He has no
chance.”
“There you go again
with the brutal honesty.” I unwrapped the muffin and began to pick
at it. I was hungry, but my stomach felt unsettled. “We can’t just
sit by and let Kristoff start working on his new world order like a
Hitler with fangs.”
“No, we
can’t.”
It felt too big to me
to wrap my head around, especially since I’d never met Kristoff
before. All I had to go by was Matthias’s opinion of his brother,
but that was enough to make me terrified of him.
But how could he be
stopped if Matthias was in such bad shape?
Suddenly something
occurred to me. “What if Kristoff bites me?”
“What?”
I touched the fang
marks on my neck from the blond vampire from last night. “What if
he bites me and my blood strips away his immortality like it did to
Matthias? Then he could be killed.”
“That’s not going to
happen.”
“But—”
“No, Jill.” Although
Declan looked emotionless, there was command in his voice. “Put it
out of your mind. It’s a stupid idea.”
I felt his words like
a slap. “It’s not a stupid idea. It could work.”
He exhaled. “Okay,
maybe not stupid. But you’re being naïve. There’s already a rumor
about a woman with poisoned blood. He’ll know it’s you. If Matthias
can usually control himself around you, then so can Kristoff. If
the Nightshade was given to a number of humans, then maybe there’d
be a better chance. But there’s only one of you, and I won’t let
you put yourself in that kind of danger.” I opened my mouth to say
something but he held up his hand. “The discussion is over,
Jill.”
I wanted to argue
with him. One of the reasons I’d had a hard time keeping a job back
in my regular life was that I was allegedly “difficult to manage.”
I liked to do my own thing even if it didn’t follow the rules to
the letter. This didn’t go over well with management—any
management. I guess I just had a very specific way of thinking that
didn’t jive with most other people. When I got an idea into my
head, it was nearly impossible for me to ignore it. Even if it was
a shitty idea.
This wasn’t a shitty
idea, but I did get why Declan had a problem with it. He didn’t
want me to get hurt. He didn’t want me to put myself in harm’s way.
It was what he fought against on a daily basis. He tried to protect
me, even from myself. He even refused to teach me how to use a gun
even though I’d asked him several times. His theory was if I stayed
out of trouble, I wouldn’t need one. It was one of the many things
we disagreed about.
I inhaled deeply.
“I’m not that naïve.”
“Sometimes you can be
when it comes to shit like this, Jill. And that extends to your
dealings with Matthias, as well.”
My jaw tightened.
“Which means what?”
His knuckles grew
whiter on the edge of the table he currently gripped. “He’s not a
noble knight on a quest to save humanity. He’s a vampire who drinks
blood and lived a selfish life of luxury, using the fear of his
subjects to keep them in line, at least until that luxurious
existence of his was taken away.”
My mouth felt dry and
sour so I took a swig of the sweet orange juice. “I know all of
that. But I honestly don’t think he’d hurt Sara. He might be a
bastard when it comes to a lot of things, but I honestly think
he’s”—I hissed out a breath as I tried to think of the right
word—“sincere when it comes to his
daughter.”
“He would have sank
his fangs into you last night if I hadn’t stopped him. And if he
was right about his lacking immortality, your blood would have
killed him. He still couldn’t resist it. That worries me about his
impulse control.”
My grip tightened on
the bottle. “And what about you?”
“What about
me?”
“You said my blood .
. .” I hesitated. “Last night when you—when you lost control. I’m
worried that could happen again.”
He stood up from the
table so fast that I jumped. “Last night my mind was elsewhere. But
I can control myself when my head’s in the game. Your blood is
distracting to me, but it’s not torture being around you because
thankfully I’m not a full vampire. For Matthias, I believe it
is.”
“Quite a compliment,”
I said dryly. “I’m torture to be around.”
“If Anderson had
lived to see Nightshade in action, I’m sure he would have been
proud to see how successful it is.”
I shivered at the
memory of my bloody tears. “Matthias really couldn’t stop
himself?”
“That’s
right.”
I thought it through.
“So if we use my blood to get to Kristoff, I’ll have to cut myself
first. Make sure I’m bleeding. Then, just like Matthias, he’d have
a harder time controlling himself.”
Declan looked at me
directly. “I advise you to let this subject drop,
Jillian.”
I bit my bottom lip.
“Uh-oh. Full-name usage. Somebody’s not happy with me right now.”
My gaze moved from him to something laying on the table next to us.
It was a file folder. “What’s that?”
He put his scarred
hand on top of it. “Some research I’ve been doing.”
“On
what?”
“Dhampyrs.”
“What about
dhampyrs?”
He eyed me.
“Sometimes I forget how many questions you ask.”
Despite everything, I
almost grinned. “If you want answers, you have to ask
questions.”
He flipped the folder
open and inside I saw printouts, photos, handwritten notes, and
other typed documentation. “I’ve been looking into other dhampyrs
that have existed in the area, trying to understand more about what
I am. Carson never wanted me to learn about this. But the events of
the past couple of weeks, his association with Dr. Gray all of
these years, and everything he kept from me, have made me question
a lot about what he always told me and what he made me
do.”
“Like the original
serum.”
“Yeah.” He paced to
the other side of the room and back, his arms crossed over his
chest. “When I went off it I felt fine, other than having to
suddenly deal with my fucked up emotions. So I thought he was wrong
about everything he’d ever told me. He made me believe that without
the serum I’d eventually become just like the monster
dhamps.”
My chest tightened. I
wasn’t sure I liked where this conversation was headed. It reminded
me too much of the one I’d had last night with Matthias on this
very subject.
Declan’s emotionless
face was like stone as he looked down at the research he’d
gathered. He said nothing for so long that I reached out and
touched his hand.
“Declan . . . what’s
wrong?”
He blinked. “I don’t
want to be a monster, Jill.”
He said it flatly,
but there was pain in his expression. “You’re not.”
He shook his head.
“I’ve killed a lot of vampires in my life and I’ve done so without
any guilt because I hate them. But . . . but last night . .
.”
“You didn’t hurt
me.”
“I wanted to. For a
second, I wanted to. And that’s not acceptable to me.”
“It’s the new serum
that caused that,” I said firmly. “It’s a shitty side effect, and
with Noah’s help we’re going to find a way to get it out of your
system completely. It’s simple.”
“You’re right, it is
simple, but not for the reasons you’re thinking.”
“Then
what?”
He glanced at the
damage he’d done to the bed last night before looking at me. “My
father was right about everything.”
I shook my head,
panic rising inside me again. “No, he was only saying those things
to keep you in line.”
“He was saying those
things because they were the truth. I didn’t want to believe it,
but it’s the truth. And the research I’ve been doing the last week
has led me to that conclusion.”
“Research,” I
repeated, glancing at the thick file folder. “Is that where you
head off to all alone?”
“Yes.”
“And that’s the
reason we’re in Los Angeles right now?”
“I had a few things I
needed to check here.”
So much for him not
keeping secrets from me. But I didn’t hold it against him.
Sometimes you had to handle personal matters personally. And this
was about as personal as it got. But now that it was out in the
open ...
I grabbed the file
folder and looked at some of the pages. Each one seemed to be a
case study with a name at the top and a date. Two dates. The birth
date and the date of death for whomever was mentioned.
My hands felt cold as
I flipped through the papers. “And what did all of this tell
you?”
He scrubbed a hand
over his scalp and came to stand next to me, looking down at the
papers. “It tells me that my father was right. A dhampyr born with
the human side dominant will become more violent the older they
get. In fact, there are very few dhampyrs who live beyond three
decades.”
My gut churned. “Why?
Do they get sick?”
He shook his head.
“Nearly every case I’ve found, the dhampyr has been killed. Usually
in self-defense. I only found one other than me that’s still alive
and in the area. The rest are dead.” His face had paled and the
scars on his left cheekbone looked like shiny streaks. “Look for
yourself at my notes. They’re murderers, rapists, child molesters.
At a certain point, even if they are on medication like I was, it
stops working. The proof is right there.”
“You’re different,” I
said without hesitation, although my heart was sinking. This is
exactly what Matthias had told me. I hadn’t wanted to believe it
then, either.
“When I was on the
regular serum, I was different, because
that side of me was repressed. But the new serum can’t control the
monster that’s waking up inside of me. There’s no going
back.”
My eyes burned. I
closed the folder and stood up. “I don’t accept that.”
He snorted. “You
don’t?”
“No.”
“Just like
that.”
“That’s right. Let me
tell you something, Declan. I know you. Sure it’s only been a
couple of weeks and those weeks haven’t exactly been a joy ride,
but you’re a good man. You’re one of the best—if not the best—men I’ve ever known in my entire
life.”
He shook his head.
“Jill—”
“No, you have to
listen to me. This”—I pointed at the folder—“means nothing. You’re
different. You’re better than this.”
He looked at the
folder, his expression bleak. “How can I be different or better
when the proof is right there in front of us?”
“You can be different
because anything else is unacceptable.”
His gaze snapped back
to me. “So whatever you say goes, is that how you want to play
this?”
“Pretty
much.”
“And last night . .
.”
“Last night was a
little glitch.”
“I wouldn’t use the
word glitch to describe what happened.
I could have hurt you—I could have killed you.”
“But you didn’t. And
I’m still here. I’m not running away because I believe in you.
Everything’s going to be okay.”
I meant it, too. I’d
never been a major optimist in my life, but one of us had to be. I
had to find out what Matthias knew, how to fix this and make it so
Declan could be different from the others. But I didn’t
understand—if there was a way, why wasn’t it common knowledge to
prevent disasters like the ones in the folder?
His expression
tightened. “It might be a good idea if I left. Sorted through this
on my own.”
The panic I felt
deepened. “No. That’s a seriously bad idea.”
“You’ll be better off
without me, Jill. And if you’re not going to leave, maybe I
should.”
“No, Declan. Please—”
My voice cracked. “Say you won’t leave me. Say you’ll stay with me
no matter what.”
He was silent for a
long moment, studying my face. “Why do you want me to
stay?”
“Because I—” I
swallowed hard. “I need you. I think I’d be lost without
you.”
“I get the feeling
that Matthias would be happy to help you find yourself if you let
him.”
I glared at him.
“Fuck Matthias. Seriously.”
That earned a full,
deep laugh from him. “I think he’d like that, actually. Just try
not to bleed around him.”
I was surprised how
emotional I was getting over this. I prided myself on being fairly
tough, considering everything that had happened. I might not have
Declan’s muscles, but I was a survivor. I did what I had to do. But
this had thrown me. It hadn’t occurred to me—even after the close
call with Declan’s violent side last night—that he’d suggest
leaving me. “Say it, Declan. Please. Say you’re not going to go
anywhere.”
His Adam’s apple
shifted as he swallowed hard and stared at me for a long moment.
“Fine. I’m not going anywhere.”
I inhaled. “Promise
me.”
“I promise.” He shook
his head and a humorless smile played at his lips. “I’m all yours,
come what may.”
I grinned shakily.
“You and me till the end.”
“Let’s just hope it
doesn’t come to that.” He drew closer to me, took my face between
his hands, and looked deeply into my eyes. “You scared the shit out
of me last night.”
“Bleeding from my
eyeballs isn’t a very good sign, is it?”
“No, it sure the fuck
isn’t.”
I wanted to touch him
so badly, but I kept my hands at my sides. While I didn’t want to
believe what he’d said—that being a dhampyr went hand in hand with
what happened between us—I didn’t want to play with fire. I didn’t
think the motel could take any more damage.
I frowned. “Did you
say that one of the dhampyrs you found is still
alive?”
“Yeah. It’s a female,
too. She’s in her early thirties. An impressive age, given what
I’ve recently learned.”
“Show
me.”
He went to the file
folder and sifted through the papers for a moment before he pulled
one out. “The source I was talking to said she’s being kept at a
vampire-run amusement park not too far from here.”
“Being
kept?”
“As a
prisoner.”
I drew in a breath.
“How can you say that so calmly?”
“Which part? The
dhampyr being kept against her will or the fact that there’s an
amusement park run by vampires?”
“The first part.
Although the second is equally as disturbing.” I looked at the
handwritten piece of paper. Declan’s penmanship left a lot to be
desired. Attached to the location and name, which was Jade
Connolly, was a picture. “This is her?”
“According to my
source.”
She was pretty, with
freckles on her nose, and long flowing red hair. She didn’t look
like much more than a teenager in this picture, so I figured it was
probably taken at least ten years ago.
I chewed my bottom
lip as I stared at the picture. “Wouldn’t she be in danger from the
Amarantos Society? She’s female.”
“From what I’ve
heard, the dhampyr must be less than two years old in order for the
immortality ritual to work properly. Unlike Sara, she’s in no
danger from them.”
I almost jumped right
out of my skin when there was a sharp knock at the door. Declan
pushed me behind him before he moved toward it, glancing out from
the curtained window before opening the door.
“How did you know we
were here?”
“Hey, Dec.” It was
Noah’s familiar voice. “Great to see you, too. Lovely day today,
isn’t it? Matthias told me where you two lovebirds were holed
up.”
Declan opened the
door wider so I could see Noah standing there wearing jeans and a
tan T-shirt under a leather jacket.
“Jill!” He was
smiling. “You look—well, uh, you look pretty good all things
considered.”
“Thanks,” I said
dryly. “I feel like a million bucks.”
He stepped into the
room and glanced around at the damage and bloodstains. “Is this one
of those theme motels ? Like this is the death and carnage
room?”
I grimaced. “Not
exactly.”
“Then I’m hoping you
didn’t pay with a credit card because they are so going to charge
the shit out of you if you did.”
I tried to keep my
hope at seeing him from rising too much. “Have you found out
anything about the Nightshade since last night? About Declan’s
serum?”
His cheery expression
faded. “I’ve been trying. Really. But I’m not having much luck. I’m
sorry, Jill. It’s just that the parachemist who developed it didn’t
keep any notes other than those in his head, which, of course,
Declan put a bullet through. I downloaded the computer files and
some email exchanges between him and Carson before I left the
compound, but there’s nothing that I’m finding very
helpful.”
I felt a fresh well
of disappointment flow through me, but I couldn’t say I was
surprised. “And what about Declan’s serum?”
“Same people
developed it as his original dhampyr serum. Nothing nefarious
there.”
“Forget about the
serum,” Declan said. “Jill had an issue last night that’s very
serious.”
“I know.” Noah
grimaced and shot me a pitying look. “Matthias already told me
about it. Bleeding eyeballs are not a good sign, like, ever.
Looking into removing the Nightshade is a lost cause. It’s too late
for that.”
“So what I do I do?”
I asked. “Just give up?”
“No, don’t be
ridiculous.” He took a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking about this
pretty much nonstop for the last week. I’ve decided the fusing
potion is the best bet for your continuing survival. It’s what Dr.
Gray said before the monster dhamp ate her.” He cringed and glanced
at Declan, but he didn’t react at all to the mention of his birth
mother’s violent demise. “I think if Jill takes a shot of it every
two weeks like clockwork, it’ll keep things steady. I brought
another vial of the fuser for you to keep in reserve.” He pulled it
out of his pocket and placed it on the table. “Ta-da.”
I eyed it. So that
was my Plan A. I’d been hoping for a nice and easy Plan B, but that
hadn’t happened. Instead I’d met face-first with a brick wall. “I
guess that’s that then.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t
be more help.”
I shook my head and
reached out to touch his arm. “I hoped for a miracle, but didn’t
really expect it. This will have to do.”
I didn’t let on how I
really felt. That he was wrong, that Dr. Gray was wrong, and that
the fuser wouldn’t make much of a difference in the long run. My
days were numbered. I didn’t know how I knew it for sure, but I
did. This was only duct tape to bind together a rusty car that was
steadily falling apart. A human couldn’t survive long with
poisonous blood flowing through their veins. I was already living
on borrowed time.
Noah looked at
Declan. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like
what?”
“Like you want to rip
my head off.”
Declan snorted
humorlessly. “I’ll try not to kill the messenger.”
“This messenger
appreciates it.”
Declan’s eyes
narrowed. “Didn’t realize how friendly you and Matthias
were.”
Noah laughed
nervously. “We’re not.”
“Friendlier than I
thought,” Declan said pointedly, and Noah flinched.
Noah had been working
as Matthias’s informant long before Declan knew anything about it.
The news had not gone over very well. Declan had trusted Noah since
he’d come onboard Carson’s research project and they’d forged a bit
of a friendship. Declan didn’t trust easily—about as easily as I
did—and when that trust was shattered, it was difficult to piece it
together again.
“He’s dying, you
know,” Noah said.
Declan’s flat
expression didn’t change. “Can’t honestly say I’m too upset about
that.”
“I know you don’t
like the guy, but think about it, Dec. If Matthias bites it, then
who’s going to stop Kristoff when he’s awakened?”
“I
will.”
I looked at Declan.
He hadn’t mentioned this to me before and I didn’t like the sound
of it. “You’re going to stop an immortal, indestructible
vampire.”
“Matthias did nearly
thirty years ago. Even if he can’t be killed by normal means, I can
find a way to lock him away again, and this time I’ll throw away
the key.”
“Why don’t you just
get him to bite Jill and then—” Noah began, but then stopped
talking when he saw the unpleasant look on Declan’s face. “Oh, I
see. You’ve already had this discussion, haven’t you?”
We’d had the
discussion, all right. The one where Declan refused to let me even
think about putting my neck on the line. And yet, here he was
willing to do the exact same thing.
“How long do you
think Matthias has?” My voice was tight. “He seemed to think it was
only days. And he didn’t look so good.”
Noah shrugged. “No
idea. Nightshade’s supposed to kill vamps right away, not give them
a terminal illness.”
I walked over to the
table, glancing at the file folder with all of Declan’s research in
it. “Noah, what do you know about dhampyrs other than
Declan?”
“A little. Not much.
They’re rare. Like, really rare. And most of them are big,
black-eyed monsters without the charming personality Dec
has.”
If he was trying to
break the icy feel in the room with some humor, he was failing
miserably.
Declan moved toward
me and grabbed the folder off the table. “I found another dhampyr
nearby. A thirty-two-year-old female.”
“A female?” Noah
brightened. “For real? Talk about a needle in a
haystack.”
Declan glanced down
at his notes. “The older the dhampyr is, the more unpredictable
their violent natures become.”
“You’re worried about
that?” Noah asked.
“The new serum isn’t
working properly. There have been issues.” He didn’t look at me.
“And I need to figure out a way to deal with them. And more serum
isn’t the solution. I thought doing some research on others who’ve
existed might help, but I haven’t found anything that I could use.”
There was an edge of defeat to his voice that worried
me.
No, he hadn’t found
anything helpful. All he’d gathered was a pile of notes. Research
material was great at giving an overview of a subject, but to
really understand what was going on, he’d need to talk to one of
the dhampyrs face-to-face.
I stood up from the
table. “If Jade’s really being held prisoner at that vampire
amusement park we need to rescue her. She could help us understand
what’s happening to you.”
“You want to rescue
her?”
“I’m surprised you
don’t. If we talk to her, question her, she could help you figure
out what to expect. Maybe she’s different from the others, which is
why she’s still alive.” Suddenly it sounded like the best idea I’d
had in a very long time. “Besides, no one should be kept anywhere
against their will. Your informant said she was a prisoner there.
Why would they be keeping her?”
“An adult female
dhampyr?” Noah said. “Shit. A female her age has blood that can
cure a vampire’s aches and pains and severe injuries. The female
dhampyr has always been revered, almost like a goddess. Her blood
is even painted the color of gold in some illustrations I’ve seen
to show how valuable it is. Her blood wouldn’t be able to give
actual immortality, but she’d be able to heal—” He stopped talking
and looked at me. “She’d be able to heal Matthias.”
A breath caught in my
chest. “How do you know all of this?”
“Consider it a bit of
a side project I’ve been working on. I’d hoped it would benefit a
friend of mine before he decided he hated my fucking guts.” Noah
flicked a glance at Declan. “Oh, and by the way, Molly’s fine. I
set her up with a family who love cats, even one-eyed flea-bitten
bitches like yours. No offense.”
His voice was distant
to me now because I was trying to sort out what he was saying.
Jade, the dhampyr, wouldn’t have blood that could imbue true
immortality like a child’s, but her blood would be able to heal
Matthias and give him his strength back.
Then he could go and
stop Kristoff when he was awakened. And Declan could put going
after the vampire king out of his mind. I didn’t want Declan to
die. Dhampyrs weren’t immortal. They might be able to heal horrific
injuries in record time, but they lived the same lifespan as a
human. Less by the sound of
it.
A glance at the
dhampyr in question made me realize that he’d been following my
train of thought and the expression on his ragged face wasn’t one
of approval.
“You’d offer up this
dhampyr to Matthias and let him drink her blood to heal him?” he
asked.
“Yes,” I said without
hesitation. “In a New York minute. Are you in?”
“I’m not sure I feel
quite as strongly about Matthias’s recovery as you
do.”
“Then do it for
purely selfish reasons. She can help you, too.” I turned to Noah.
“Tell Matthias we’re going to get her tonight.”
“Awesome.” Noah
nodded, although he looked nervous. “I love amusement parks. Do you
think they have a Ferris wheel?”