As Twilight Falls

Chapter 38

Saintcrow stood beside the bed in his lair. There had been other times in his long life when what he wanted wasn’t right, but never before had he faced a decision like the one he had to make now.

Kadie was only a few moments away from death. Her body was shutting down. They had never discussed the possibility of her becoming a vampire. She had never expressed any interest in the Dark Gift. He knew that, deep down, she found his lifestyle repulsive.

Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he stroked her cheek. It was cold, so cold. Her breathing stopped.

Should he let her slip away into eternity?

Would she hate him if he didn’t let her go?

How was he to know what to do?

Desperate to buy a little time, he bit into his wrist and forced a few drops of his blood down her throat, hoping it would revive her long enough for him to ask her what he should do.

“Kadie? Kadie! Dammit, wake up!” He shook her lightly, then a little harder. “Kadie! You will do as I say and open your eyes!”

He hadn’t expected it to work, but a moment later she was staring up at him.

“Rylan?”

“Kadie, listen to me. You’re dying. What do you want me to do?”

“Do?”

“I can save you.”

“Be . . . like you?”

“Yes, but you need to decide right now.”

“I . . . don’t want . . . to be . . . vampire.”

He nodded, knowing, in that moment, that his life had no meaning without her. When her life was over, he would bury her in the cemetery, and then he would burrow into the ground and sleep beside her.

“Don’t . . . want . . . to leave you.”

Taking her hand in his, he said, “I love you, Kadie. I should have told you that sooner, and often.”

“Love . . . you.” Her eyelids fluttered down. For a moment, he thought she was gone, but then her hand squeezed his. “Want to . . . stay . . . with you.”

“Are you sure? You know what that means?”

“Do it.” Her hand fell away from his, her heartbeat slowed again.

“Dammit! Kadie, hang on!”

She had to live long enough for him to drink from her, long enough for her to drink from him.

Tears stung his eyes as he pulled her into his arms. She was weak, so weak. With a sob and a prayer he had no right to utter, he drank from her, drank until her heart stuttered, and then, cradling her to his chest, he bit into his wrist and held it to her lips, one hand lightly stroking her throat, urging her to swallow. Had he taken too much? Waited too long?

“Drink, Kadie,” he pleaded desperately. “Drink.”

Nothing.

“Kadie, dammit, don’t leave me!”

One swallow, two, three. She clutched his arm, drinking greedily.

Saintcrow blew out a sigh of relief as a hint of color gradually returned to her cheeks. Her heartbeat grew stronger.

“That’s my girl.” He closed his eyes, content to let her drink her fill.

Later, when she was sleeping soundly, he left his lair. Feeling restless, he walked down the driveway and kept going, his mind filled with thoughts of Kadie. She would sleep through the night and the next day and when she woke tomorrow night, she would be a vampire. Would she regret her decision? Or would she embrace her new lifestyle? Only time would tell.

He paused when he caught Ravenwood’s scent. A moment later, the other vampire came into view.

“How is she?” Micah asked.

“Sleeping.”

“You turned her, didn’t you?”

Saintcrow nodded. “It was her choice. She was dying.”

Micah shook his head. “I hope it works out, man.”

“Thanks. And thanks for helping Kadie find me.”

“How’d you know about that?”

“I read it in her mind.”

“So, how’d Andrews bring you down? I thought you were impervious to just about everything.”

“Yeah, me, too. Apparently some scientist came up with a Mickey Finn for vampires.”

“What the hell’s a Mickey Finn?”

“You are young, aren’t you? It’s an old slang term for a drink laced with drugs to knock you out.”

“What are you going to do about Kadie’s old man?”

“I haven’t decided.” Saintcrow drew a deep breath, then frowned. “You’ve been with Shirley.”

Ravenwood nodded. “Yeah. We’ve been . . . dating.”

“Dating? She’s a little old for you, isn’t she?”

“Maybe, but . . .” Micah shrugged. “I like her, you know?”

“Have you fed on her?”

“Hell, no!” Micah said. “Not that I haven’t wanted to.” He glanced toward Saintcrow’s lair. “Guess I’ll have to find a new place to hole up during the day.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I hope Kadie’ll be all right.”

“Yeah.” Saintcrow raked a hand through his hair. “Me, too.”

Later, walking back to his lair, he couldn’t help wondering how what he had done tonight would affect his relationship with Kadie. Being selfish and territorial, vampires rarely paired off. That so many of them had lived together in Morgan Creek had been something unique. There were numerous stories of vampires who had destroyed their fledglings, stories of fledglings who had turned on their sires, and of fledglings who had so despised what had been done to them, that they had destroyed themselves.

It was out of his hands now, Saintcrow mused as he made his way down to his lair and closed the door. There was no way of knowing how Kadie would react to her new life.

For good or ill, tomorrow night would tell the tale.

Kadie woke feeling as if she were waking from a nightmare. Or maybe, she thought, looking around, she was still dreaming. The room was pitch black, yet she could see everything in vivid detail—each individual stitch in the blanket that covered her, the finest grain in the wood of the wardrobe, the hairline crack in the ceiling.

A moth fluttered in one corner. Not only could she see the tiny creature clearly, she could hear the whisper of its delicate white wings.

A deep breath carried Saintcrow’s scent, and she realized that she was in his bed.

Sitting up, she wrapped her arms around her middle, a groan rising in her throat as a pain unlike anything she had ever known knotted in the pit of her stomach.

“Kadie.”

She turned toward the sound of his voice. He stood on the far side of the room, watching her intently. He looked the same as always, and yet different. It was as if she was seeing him clearly for the first time.