Chapter 20

I tried to keep myself occupied for the rest of the day, but there wasn't much to do. They called down to the front desk and asked not to be disturbed, ordering food for me every three hours and forty-five minutes exactly. I contemplated the mini-bar but my few experiences with alcohol weren't pleasant so I rejected that idea. I couldn't sit still long enough to watch TV and there were no books or magazines.

Morgan and Chadwick sat, still as statues, their eyes following me as I moved restlessly about, silent except for answering my occasional questions.

I turned on my cell phone and listened to all seven messages from Claire, all basically telling me she was worried, that I should come back, that I should call her.

I asked Morgan if it was okay to call her and, after assuring her that my service provider was a nationwide company and my number wasn't listed on any paperwork, she agreed to let me use my own phone.

"Two minutes," she told me and I agreed, going back into the bedroom and shutting the door for the illusion of privacy.

I dialed her number, knowing that, like me, she'd be at work trying to keep busy and not worry. I also knew she'd be calling to check for messages regularly,

"Aunt Claire, its Tricia," I said into the phone after voicemail picked up. "I'm sorry I couldn't wait until you got home. I just had to leave. I got a call from Dad's phone and it scared me. I'm about half-way there and I'll call you when I get to Dad's." I hung up feeling depressed, knowing I'd have to shut my phone back off; it only had two bars of life left and I hadn't grabbed my charger.

I sat there for a minutes before returning to my keepers, surrendering my phone when Morgan held out her hand. "She'll understand," she told me, but I just shook my head dismally.

I could tell that the sun was setting by the thin rays that made it through the curtains and decided that I should probably lay down for a bit.

Morgan accompanied me, as if she'd suddenly grown tired of the other room. I crawled into the huge bed but left the lamp on, curling up on my side as she gracefully flopped down on her stomach beside me.

"Are you tired?" I asked her and she smiled.

"We don't sleep, silly, didn't Connor tell you?" I shook my head.

"But he has a bed in his room?" I was feeling confused.

"He enjoys sprawling when he relaxes," she said with a shrug of her tiny shoulders.

"If you don't sleep, what do you do?"

"If we feel the need," she explained, rolling onto her side to face me, "we retreat." She stopped, her face scrunched up as she thought. "Sleep is a time of inactivity that the body needs to recharge and heal. We heal almost instantly and we eat to regain energy." She sounded like she was quoting something, probably Marcus. "We do not tire unless we are thirsty and its still different than what humans feel.

"But sometimes our minds need a break. So we go into a trance of sorts. It allows us to relax completely. When we retreat completely, our bodies shut down and we drift." Her expression was peaceful and serene, like she was describing the best massage or something. "When we come out of it, its like we're new again and time is no longer a burden."

"How long do you retreat for?" I asked, stumbling over the term.

"It all depends. It could be a few hours or a few years." I gasped and she laughed. "I guess you could equate it with hibernation." I thought about that for a moment, then pushed it aside.

We laid there quietly, but sleep wouldn't come; I was still far too worried.

"Morgan?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think is happening?" I was carefully avoiding my own suspicion so I wouldn't flip out again.

"Josephine and Halibell were supposed to head south and west for as long as the male would follow. If he turned around, they were to head back to Harpers Roe and protect your aunt.

"Marcus wanted to lead the hunter north, away from people and far from help, wait until she got close and ambush her. At this point, no news is good news; it means that the hunter is too close and would possibly overhear."

"And Josephine?"

"I suspect the same thing," she told me simply.

"So you think they're safe, then?" I persisted.

"Tricia, how many times do we have to tell you that we are in no danger?" She sounded curious rather than annoyed, which I knew I would be.

"Until we're all home again," I told her quietly. "Would you tell me the truth, even if it wasn't good for me?"

"I will always tell you the truth." I could feel her honesty, her beautiful emerald eyes shining with sincerity.

"How do you become a vampire?" She looked surprised, rolling onto her back to stare at the ceiling; I sat up so I could see her face.

"You know I shouldn't tell you," her frown was more disapproval than rejection.

"I think I need to know." My voice, while not as firm as I'd like, was better than earlier.

"Yes, but Connor won't be happy," she sighed and I waited. "He'll be incredibly angry with me," she re-iterated.

"This is between you and me. He wouldn't have told you not to tell me if it wasn't important. Morgan," I reached out and touched her hand, "please, as my friend," I pleaded. And we were friends. I trusted her completely, more so than anyone save Connor and my dad. We'd probably become best friends one day.

She nodded wisely, her glorious eyes finding something about me that convinced her; maybe she Saw something.

"I'll tell you what I can," she said finally, mirroring my positions as that our knees were almost touching. "I don't remember much, though, for the others, the Change was their sharpest human memory.

"Anyway, a vampire is a powerful being with a larger than necessary arsenal." Her voice took on the tone and cadence of a lecture and my hands itched for a pen and paper. "We're very fast, very strong, our senses are very acute and some come with extra abilities."

"Like you, Connor and Chadwick," I said.

"Exactly," she smiled and continued. "But those are just the obvious. Some are also physically attractive to our prey, much like a carnivorous flower." Memories of Valentine's Day flashed through my mind, Connor demonstrating those very points in an attempt to scare me off. "Well," she went on, "we have another weapon that isn't as obvious: our bites are poison." She smiled at whatever expression I was wearing. "It's only active when our fangs lengthen to drink." I sighed with mock relief and she laughed. "However, unlike the movies, it isn't pleasant, though it does incapacitate the victim. It's painful, you see. It also paralyzes so that they can't escape. As if that were possible," she rolled her eyes at the very thought. "Well, I guess there's been at least on exception: Marcus."

"So its your venom that brings about the change?"

"You're quick! Yes, if the victim isn't devoured, the venom will move through the bloodstream, healing and changing the body as the heart continues to pump. When the conversion is finished, the heart stops.

"But its not quick. It takes days, depending on the amount of venom, how healthy you are and how close the bite is to the heart. And the entire time, all you want to do is die."

I closed my eyes, the better to absorb the information. I came to the conclusion that Connor would never willingly make me a vampire, not just because he doesn't want to take my life, but because he wouldn't want me to go through the pain.

"There's more, isn't there?" I asked after a moment.

"Yes. It's a very difficult and chancy thing to do." She waited until I opened my eyes to finish. "We are very much great predators; once we see, smell or taste blood, we go into a frenzy that is almost impossible to resist. So it's a double-damned situation: the feeding frenzy on one hand, the terrible pain on the other."

"And you don't remember?"

"I was already in so much pain that it made little difference." She sighed. "I forgot Connor hadn't told you my story; he likes mine even less than Josephine's." She waited until I'd re-settled into a more comfortable position before she resumed her tale.

"I am originally from a gypsy clan that roamed southern Europe and into Asia. I Saw things from the time I was born and became my clan's special secret, a prize beyond value, especially when we dealt with outsiders." Her expression suddenly darkened.

"One day, we were passing through a town, offering our services, meeting with people to share the news of the world. Back then, there wasn't any other way to pass along information," she told me. "I was the apprentice to the Wise, the person who performed readings and oversaw spiritual matters.

"The Wise, the leader and his wife and I sat in the tavern with the town mayor and his wife for lunch when two men walked in. They were fairly young, well dressed and carrying weapons. They were sons of minors lords out slumming. I could tell that they were no good, and I had a vision just before entering the town. Lucky for us, the mayor heeded the warning and chased the two men out of town."

"What did you see?" I asked, drawn into her story.

"They enjoyed torture and rape, among other things and this town was to become their new play ground. They issued empty threats of retribution, about their fathers seeking revenge for the insult and left.

"We camped just north of town in a fallow field and were just into our blankets when we were attacked. They believed that we were the reason for them getting thrown out and that we should pay for the insult and entertain them." Her eyes were dull, seeing something far away, something horrible. "They burned the wagons that held the children, slaughtered the men and older women, then proceeded to enact their fun." My stomach was roiling with emotions, fear, anger and revulsion first among them, but there was more.