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"I’ll do it, ly, "I’ll do it"

"Then we in, for the sun is not far off An important lesson, Duncan The sun is our eneh the day, and if we are exposed to its light, ill burn unto ash if left there It is perhaps our greatest vulnerability"

"Can we be killed otherwise, h the heart, or a sword, if wielded properly Fire, if the dareat to be healed And no one, not even a vahed nervously "Good to know, my lord"

Raphael clapped him on the shoulder, then stood and looked around "Lie over there," he said

"My lord?"Duncan asked, looking up at him in confusion

"Lie down," Raphael repeated "It will be easier for both of us"

Duncan’s heart stuttered a bit, despite his earlier words "Now?"

"Now, Duncan," Raphael said gently

Duncan rose to his feet It was nearly too dark to see, but he could ainst the far wall It was little more than a wood frame and slats, not even a straw mattress Whoever used the place in su behind It would have been crawling with vermin by the next season He shuffled over to the cot, then reached doith one hand, putting weight on the slats to test their sturdiness They gave a bit, but held, so he lowered hiround he’d slept on for the weeks since he’d been swept up by General Bragg’s ht he could probably sleep, except--

"Comfortable, Duncan?"

"Er, yes,to bite you," he said as he knelt next to the cot "On the neck, because it’s fastest"

"Will it hurt?"

"Only at first," Raphael said with surprising honesty "But after that, you’ll experience the pleasure of a vampire’s bite for the first and last time Vampires cannot feed from each other, nor does their bite have the same effect as on a human"

Raphael turned Duncan’s head firmly to one side and held him there His breath was hot as he drew closer, and Duncan’s heart kicked furiously in his chest There was the touch of so hard and pointed, and then a pain as sharp as a knife slicing into his neck He had one moment to think perhaps he’d been played for a fool, and then his blood heated and his body stiffened in a way it hadn’t in the months since his wife died So, but it didn’t feel wrong It feltwondrous! And then he felt nothing at all

When Duncan woke, he lay still for a , astonished at the multitude of sounds all around hi noise and knew there was a h he couldn’t see it Outside, an oooped overhead, its wings a hard flutter of sound Duncan smiled It was as if he’d lived in only half the world until noith the other half beyond his pitiful senses But no longer

He stretched, feeling strong and lirin stretched wider, and he wanted to throw his head back and laugh with a joy he hadn’t felt in years

"You’re awake" Raphael ducked as he stepped through the doorway, and Duncan realized it was still night Or was it?

"How long did I sleep?" he asked

"Just the one day," Raphael said "You’ll sleep later into darkness than soth will build up fast enough After that, it’s up to you No one can predict what gifts Vaift enough," Duncan said enthusiastically He stood, testing his legs one at a tie to laugh<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>