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Come to nized the decor--or lack thereof The drapes had been pulled tight The only light ca at a table on the opposite side of the room

My sire looked like a kid of about seventeen or so Dark hair, but with skin that had probably been as fair as ed hih at his death that he couldn’t grow a decent beard All he had was a wispy little soul patch It looked kind of silly, which

You must come to ht Maybe he had I mean, if this was real and not just soht not be able to endure sunlight, but he wasn’t dead for the day, either Even e that Which er and dress like a teenager, he’d been around long enough to get very, very good

Of course, it could be a dream

The frown deepened He turned his head so that I was seeing hied, and while his body was still young, the look on his face was old, old and corrupt with power His pupils expanded until his eyes were al atan undertow in the ocean, a pull that was irresistible, relentless

As if in response to that thought I began to s of salt water and fish, hear the faulls

What the hell?

I ith a start to the sound of a light tap on the door "Celia?" The roohts of electronic equipment Apparently I’d dozed off When I hadn’t hts had shut off auto When I sat up they caather hts

I wiped a bit of drool from the corner offor a second, then went numb But the blood flowed freely-- under my breath, I used the hem of my shirt to apply pressure on it, and called out, "Come in"

Dawna didn’t coh the opening was the tip of her golden brown nose and the reflection fro in there?"

"Nothing Printing, reading stuff the library sent o every speaker on every co ocean sounds Crashing surf, whales, and seagulls It stopped when I knocked on the door But the source was this roo in there?"

"Is that even possible?"

She gave the door a gentle shove, so that it swung fully open, allowing her to give me a look, but she stayed outside She’d closed in on herself, hugging her arh she were cold But she wasn’t cold Her body radiated heat … life that nearly vibrated around her I felt drawn to that warmth, wanted to wrap it around ers

I watched her, standing in the doorway, her posture guarded as she took in every detail of the roo for evidence of so to find was the wet spot on the page where I’d drooled as I slept E

Of course she noticed And for just a second her wary expression softened slightly I alh her eyes But if I did, it was gone in an instant, to be replaced by another worried look

"Dahat’s wrong?"