Chapter 7

"Stay back, cherie," Stefan said, easing himself between her body and the door, blocking the way out.

"Will's in trouble. Someone just attacked him. We have to go and help!" She pushed against him, but despite his slim form, it was like trying to move stone.

"There is nothing you can do out there, believe me. There is nothing either of us can do until it is over, one way or another."

The cries and scuffling noises that had been coming from the other side of the door abruptly ceased. The silence that followed hung heavily and felt so absolute to Darci that the sharp knock on the door startled her. Her heart missed a beat.

Stefan listened for a moment, poised as if waiting for some kind of signal. Whatever it was, he must have received it since he stepped back and swung open the door. Will stumbled inside, and Stefan hastily slammed the door shut behind him.

"You are going to ruin us all!" Stefan folded his arms and glowered, stepping back to let Darci pass.

Her hand fluttered to her mouth, a gasp escaping her lips as she took in the horror before her. There was blood everywhere, spurting unremittingly out of a gaping wound in Will's neck. His shirt was ripped to shreds, barely clinging to his blood-smeared torso, and every inch of exposed skin was covered in cuts and scratches. His breaths came in heavy gasps, and his face was so pale and drawn that he looked like a spectre.

"Will, oh God, we have to get you to a hospital."

"No!" Will coughed, spluttering yet more blood, as he tried to give some force to his weak, thin voice.

"He is quite right, cherie, the hospital is not a good idea," Stefan chipped in as he lounged casually against the wall. "Are you going to take her then?" Stefan gestured in Darci's direction.

"Not… her." Will stumbled, pushing Darci away as she tried to step forward to help him, leaving a bloody handprint on her arm.

"Very well then, although I have no idea why I'm being so caring under the circumstances. Liza!"

There was a movement on the stairs, and Darci looked up to see Liza slowly descending. Darci's head was spinning and the sight of all that blood made her stomach churn. It was taking all of her mental strength to hold herself together against the light-headedness threatening to overcome her. Her mind couldn't come to grips with what was happening. Why had someone attacked Will? Why couldn't he go to the hospital? What was this slip of a girl expected to do to help him when he clearly needed a surgeon?

Stefan waited 'til Liza reached the bottom of the stairs before speaking. "Dear one, Will is hurt and needs to drink so he can heal. Would you oblige him? Not too much," he said, addressing the last comment to Will.

Darci watched as Liza approached Will. The girl's eyes were wide, but if she felt either horror or surprise at his appearance, she did not show it. She stepped close to his left shoulder then held out her bony arm towards him, her palm facing upwards.

What the hell is going on? The question had barely entered Darci's mind before she saw Will grab hold of the proffered, pale limb and bite into the girl's exposed wrist.

The stream of blood that dripped from Liza's wrist to the floor and the metallic aroma in the air tipped Darci's mind over the edge. Her eyes rolled back, her head lolling on her neck, and her body folded in on itself. Then she felt no more as she lost consciousness.

* * * *

The voices floated around her, snippets of conversations she couldn't get a hold on long enough to make sense of them. The sounds echoed around in her head, sometimes seeming close and other times at a great distance. Trying to latch on to them sent them spinning away, farther out of reach.

Finally, the echoing ceased, and the voices became focused. She anchored herself to them, pulling herself out of the blackness that had engulfed her. She began to gain awareness of her body once more and realised she was lying down. Stretching her fingers experimentally, she caressed the silky material beneath them. The cloth was luxurious and oddly comforting.

"What are you going to do with her now?"

She'd regained her senses enough to recognise Stefan's voice. Someone answered him, but that voice was too low and soft for her to make out the words. She focused on her last memory: Will drinking blood from that girl's wrist. Her instincts were trying to foist one explanation on her, but her reason refused to believe it.

It's just not possible! She needed to move, to do something, so she slowly tried to pull herself up into a sitting position. She hadn't been aware of anyone approaching until hands eased their way beneath her arms, helping to lift her upwards. With their support, she leant back against a sea of soft, pliable cushions and pillows.

Will's face appeared, his anxious ice-blue eyes boring into her. She found her own gaze travelling down and fixing on his neck where a gaping wound had been. Now only a pinkish patch of skin surrounded by white scar lines remained. She wasn't aware of her fingers reaching out to touch it until he caught her hand in his, leading it away from him and back onto the bed, where he continued to hold it, his skin cool against her clammy palm.

"How?" she said him. "How is this possible? Your neck…"

"You already know. You know what you saw."

She could hear the edge of bitterness and pain in his usually calm voice. A new wound had replaced those that had healed. She longed to comfort him. But now was not the time when she was still so unsure of her own feelings.

"What I saw cannot have been real; it's just not possible." She heard Stefan laughing in the background. She chose to ignore him.

"Tell me what you think you saw then."

"You were biting into Liza's wrist, drinking her blood."

"What does that tell you about me?"

"That you're a vampire. But Will, you can't be. You've walked around in the daylight. I've seen you. Assume for a moment that I go along with this, are you now going to tell me the myths are all wrong and that vampires can actually walk around in the sunlight too?"

"No, that is just Will," Stefan said, appearing by the bed. "I, for one, am very much bound to the night, as are most of our kind."

Darci squeezed her eyes shut against the onslaught of emotion and tried to gain control over her thoughts and feelings. Fact: Vampires existed. She had seen too much in the last few hours to think otherwise. Will was a vampire. Did that change her feelings for him? Her mind was telling her she should be afraid of him, but strangely, she wasn't. When she'd first seen him drinking Liza's blood, she had been horrified, but that feeling was gone. She remembered he had refused to use her blood to heal himself, and somehow she knew with absolute certainty he would never harm her.

"I think you had better tell me everything," she said, opening her eyes and looking into his.

"It is easier if I show you, if you will allow." Will released her hand and brought his own up to his mouth, nipping at his thumb.

Darci watched in fascination as a single crimson droplet formed, quivering on the surface of his skin. Then he slowly moved the hand towards her, careful not to spill the blood onto the bed.

"Take this one drop of my blood onto your tongue. Don't worry, it won't harm you in any way, but it will allow me to reach out to your mind and draw you into my memories. Do you trust me, Darci?"

She paused, turning her face from him as she considered his question. Over the past weeks, he had become a part of her life to such an extent that she couldn't imagine him not being there. They had been alone together on numerous occasions, and he had never done anything to hurt her. She didn't believe he would lie to her now. "Yes, I trust you." She leant forward and grasped his hand, holding it steady as she licked the tiny wound.

"Now, lie back, close your eyes and I will try to show you my past."

Darci did as he instructed, sinking once more into the luxurious satin bed. The blood on her tongue was coppery and warm. She could feel every tiny movement as it gradually rolled down her throat. Her eyelids began to feel heavy, lowering farther and farther, bit by bit, until her eyes closed. Something probed at the edge of her consciousness seeking entry, and she tried to relax her mind and let it in. Then the memories consumed her.