Conversion

Chapter 17 - Ya Tebya Lyublyu

 

  I was officially not a fan of being knocked out. In fact, I was a little sick of it. Not being real big on the whole mind-nerve connection that was pain, I didn't want to be hit again in this life-ever. Of course, as I opened my eyes and a pale, hazy light blinded my irises, it occurred to me that my life wasn't exactly going to be a long and prosperous one anyway.

  I groaned and placed a hand on the side of my head that had been clocked twice now. . . not to mention slapped. Oh, and shoved against a wall. I was fairly certain, by the sharp inhale I instinctively took as my fingers barely brushed my eye socket, that not only was I puffy, I was bruised as well. Great.

  "Emma?" A soft, pain-filled voice brought me out of my pity party, and I lifted my head from the floor. I could feel a layer of dirt along the side of my face, but I was too sore to brush it off.

  With a slow exhale, I carefully sat up on an elbow. A hand gently touched my shoulder and I turned my head to see Teren's light eyes inspecting me. I'd never seen such a look of worry and fear on his face. It made worry and fear surge through me.

  "Are you okay?" we both asked each other at the same time.

  He cringed and nodded as a twinge of discomfort passed through him. I forcefully made myself only look at his upper half. Seeing as how we seemed to be alone in our dungeon now-Buffy must have retreated upstairs to sharpen his stakes-I was sure that one glance at Teren's injuries would have me curled into a weeping, blubbering ball of worthlessness. And I couldn't do that. I needed to be strong for him.

  I nodded that I was fine as well, and then I scooted my body close to his, careful to only touch his torso. I slung my arm over his chest and laid my head on his shoulder. His shirt was lightly damp, like he'd run a marathon, and his face was still a horrid gray color. I hoped he wasn't bleeding too badly. . .

  His hand came around my shoulder and he clutched me tight; his other hand gently held my head against him.

  "Do you know what he gave you?" I quietly asked into the fabric of his shirt.

  "No," he replied, having heard me just fine, even through his fog of pain. He let out a ragged sigh. "Of course, I thought we were the only ones like us. " His voice was low. It broke a couple times as a tremor of anguish made his body stiffen beneath me. "I had no idea there were others. . . "

  Lifting my head, I cupped his cheek with one hand and made him look at me. He searched my bruising face and I felt his jaw tighten beneath my fingertips. "Are you in a lot of pain, Teren?" I knew it was a stupid question. I could see quite clearly in his rigidness and in the way his eyes focused and unfocused, that he was in a horrendous amount of pain. But sometimes, in bad situations, the stupid questions are the only ones you're left with.

  "It's not so bad. . . if I don't move," he said in a breaking, restrained voice that made my eyes water. I blinked back the tears.

  "Will you really heal from this?" My hand indicated his legs but I couldn't look at them again.

  He knew what I meant, and his eyes also avoided looking down at his bloody extremities. He nodded once. "Yes. . . I think so. " His face took on a seriousness that only comes when someone is about to utter something that will change your life forever. My stomach clenched at the intenseness of his eyes, and I knew exactly what he was going to say before he even said it.

  "You have to run, Emma. You have to try and escape before. . . " His voice lost all its intense power and he swallowed a couple times before trying again. "Promise me you won't try and save me. I need to know-"

  My eyes watered beyond anything I could blink away and tears streamed down my face as I cut him off. "I can't promise that. . . you know I can't. " My voice had an awful pleading quality to it and I desperately wanted to give him an empty lie again, desperately wanted to convince him that, of course, I would run and leave him, when I had no intention of doing such a thing. I couldn't though. I was too scared and overwhelmed to lie at the moment.

  His hand cupped my cheek and, gritting his teeth, he shook his head. "You have to, Emma. You have to find a way to get out of here, before I can hurt you. " His eyes filled with tears as well. "I don't want to hurt you. . . please. " The tears ran down his cheeks, taking all my hope of staying strong for him with them. "I can't live if I kill you. " His voice broke in emotion instead of pain, and he laid his head on my shoulder. "I can't take it if I kill you. Please, run. . . from me. . . " He started to sob on my shoulder.

  I clutched him tight. Hearing him doubt his ability to not kill me, something he usually unwaveringly assured me of, was scaring me worse than being locked in this dank room. I swallowed and forced myself to answer him. "Okay, Teren. . . I'll run. I won't let you hurt me, baby. " I had no idea how I was getting out of an iron bar locked room that I was handcuffed to the wall in, but my vampire needed a lie, and I found some small well of resolve in my body to give him one. After that, I turned into that weeping, blubbering ball of worthlessness that I'd wanted to avoid becoming. Together, we set a new world record for the most amount of tears dropped, in the shortest amount of time.

  Eventually we regained control of ourselves. Teren laid his head on my lap, and I ran my fingers back through his hair. He started shaking, and I huddled as much of my warmth over him as I could. He relaxed, just the tiniest amount, as my heat seeped into him.

  "I'm so sorry, Emma," he muttered into my legs.

  I stroked his back and repeatedly ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm him and myself. "What? Why?" I didn't see anything about this that was his fault.

  He sighed and a heavy shudder passed through him. "I never should have stopped. We'd be at my parents' place right now. . . "

  I squeezed him tight. "Don't. . . don't you dare do that. " He shifted beneath me and I felt him squeeze my thigh. I wasn't sure if he did that out of reassurance. . . or pain. "Don't you apologize for being a decent human being. "

  He laughed once, a mirthless sound that hollowly echoed through his chest. "If I were human. . . we wouldn't be in this mess. "

  Sighing, I pressed my head against his back and listened to the steady thump of his still-beating heart. "Sometimes, Teren. . . being human has nothing to do with genetics. "

  He turned his head and carefully shifted his body to look up at me. Reaching out, he stroked my cheek. "I love you, Emma. "

  I clenched my jaw. "Don't do that to me," I choked out. He blinked in momentary confusion. "Don't you say 'I love you', like you're saying goodbye. " Renewed tears stung my eyes as I spoke. I was a little surprised my body was still capable of making them. "There are no goodbyes here. . . we're both getting out of this. " My voice broke on the end and I had to repeat my seemingly improbable statement.

  Teren nodded and I could plainly see that he didn't really believe my line either. He smiled a weak, fake smile and brought my lips down to his. I softly kissed him before pulling back and losing myself in his calming blue eyes. "It goes without saying, but. . . I love you too. "

  ****

  Fifty-seven. . . fifty-eight. . . fifty-nine. . .

  I was counting to five hundred. I was counting slowly and silently, biding my time to come up with a genius plan of escape that would get both Teren and I safely away from this mess. When I reached five hundred, I was going to act on that plan and be the superhero of my own life.

  Ninety. . . ninety-one. . . ninety-two. . .

  Now, I just needed that plan. . .

  I ran a hand gently through Teren's hair. He was still lying on my lap, his body angled out away from me, so I couldn't see his face. I wasn't sure if he was just being quiet or if he'd passed out again from the agony. He'd been in and out of consciousness for most of our time down here.

  I wasn't sure how much time had passed. It must have only been a few hours, but neither Teren nor I had a watch and there were no windows down here to judge time by the sunlight; just one bare bulb that illuminated the center of each of the four walls. The center, but not
the corners. And I knew that in those dark recesses, rodents and other unpleasant creatures that I didn't want to think about were scurrying around. And of course, I couldn't stop the thought that those creatures would probably take a nibble or two off of me, once Teren had sucked me dry. . .

  No. That wasn't going to happen. I was going to get us out of here.

  One hundred and twenty-one. . . one hundred and twenty-two. . . one hundred and twenty-three. . .

  Somehow.

  The room itself was lending me no bursts of inspiration. It was mostly empty. A few broken chairs, a few empty bottles and a couple bags of what looked like fertilizer. No helpful items, like a shovel, or a shotgun, or a key to these damn cuffs. My arm was numb from being attached to this stupid waist-high bar, suspended in the air, while I sat on the floor with Teren. I was beyond the tingly It's fallen asleep stage and was in the full-on My appendage is gone stage. I was actually grateful for it. Maybe I'd simply gnaw my arm off, and if said arm was completely numb. . . maybe I wouldn't feel it. My stomach churned at the thought though.

  One hundred ninety. . . one hundred and ninety-one. . . one hundred and ninety-two. . .

  Teren twitched beneath me. He'd been doing that periodically, once his body had stopped shaking. I had no idea if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. Sometimes the twitch would elicit a quiet groan, sometimes they were silent. With that last one, he clutched my thigh. I flinched and bit my lip. He'd squeezed really hard and I was bruised for sure. I could take it though. His pain was so much worse. I ran my hand down his back until his body relaxed. He twitched again and then released his death grip on my thigh.

  I'd thought about offering him some blood, but I honestly didn't know if that would help him at this point or not. And a part of me was worried that he wouldn't be able to sense when to stop, what with his brain on sensory overload. Plus, I needed all of my strength for when my brilliant escape plan went into effect.

  Two hundred thirty. . . Two hundred and thirty-one. . . Two hundred and thirty-two. . .

  Still blank. Apparently, I hadn't watched enough horror movies. I had no idea what to do about this little situation, and I was sure there had to be a movie out there somewhere with an ending similar to the predicament I was in now. Of course, the woman in that film probably had a bobby pin tucked up in her hair and would know how to use one to unclasp her cuffs. I neither had one, nor knew how to use one like that.

  I exhaled in irritation and watched the barred door at the top of the wooden steps. The man hadn't come back. I supposed he wouldn't until Teren changed over. No point in watching it, really. We were securely locked in here. I was handcuffed to a wall for God's sake. Once Teren changed, and my demise was guaranteed, he'd drive a stake through Teren's beautiful, silent heart, before my blood had a chance to partially revive him. Then we'd both be dead and gone. Well, at least Teren didn't have to worry about a lifetime without me. . . just a few minutes really.

  No. . . no more Negative Nancy. I was getting us out of here.

  Three hundred and twenty-one. . . Three hundred and twenty-two. . . Three hundred and twenty-three. . .

  Teren gasped as a large jolt through his body stirred him. He made a strangled cry and I soothed his back again. Once the wave of pain ebbed, he twisted his head to look at me. His eyes had a dreamy faraway look.

  "Hi," he quietly said.

  I smiled down at him on my lap. "Hey, baby. Close your eyes. . . rest. "

  He half-smiled in that crooked, charming way of his. "Since you gave up all your coffee for my shirt. . . maybe I could buy you another?"

  I bit my lip and forced back the tears. He was slipping. The pain was making his mind look for ways around it, and he'd found a pleasant memory to linger in. Well, I'd play along. Delusion was better than screaming.

  "I'd love that. "

  He gave me a wide smile, but then sudden panic filled his eyes. For a moment, I thought his illusion had slipped and he was cognizant again, but when he spoke, he was still in the past. "Please don't leave if you find out what I am. Please don't hate me. Please don't run, like the others. Please don't think I'm a monster. . . "

  A not-stoppable tear rolled down my cheek. I sniffled as I ran a hand down his face. "I won't leave, baby. " I shook my head. "You're not a monster, Teren. . . you never were. " My eyes flashed back to the door. There was only one monster in this house and he was upstairs. And he would pay. . . somehow.

  Teren's eyes fluttered closed with a content sigh. I rubbed his cheek while his face relaxed beneath my touch.

  Somehow.

  Four hundred. . . Four hundred and one. . . Four hundred and two. . .

  Teren jerked on my legs and his eyes flew open. He clenched his jaw and looked around the room, like he didn't know where he was.

  "Baby. . . it's okay," I said in a soothing voice.

  His eyes found mine and he exhaled a choppy breath. "Where are. . . " His thought fell off his tongue as his eyes closed in remembrance. When he reopened them, he met mine again. "We're still here?"

  I weakly nodded and rubbed his cheek again. He clasped his hand over mine.

  I wondered how long we had. I wondered if it was close to dark. The man said Teren would die by nightfall. Either way, our lives were completely different than they had been this morning. I flicked a glance at Teren's legs, and hoped he was right about them. I hoped he healed. They looked such a bloody, un-repairable mess; broken at the least, shattered at the most. I still wasn't about to take a glance under his jeans to find out. That sight would surely unhinge me, and I needed to stay somewhat focused on getting us out of here. I was pretty certain that if he hadn't been about to change, and I did get him safely away somehow, that his legs would probably have to be removed for him to remain alive. They looked that bad. I'd take him that way too, of course. I'd take Teren Adams any way I could get him.

  Teren noticed me glancing at his legs. "It's not so bad anymore. It's almost like they're gone. I can barely feel them. " He smiled when he said that, like it was a good thing.

  I feebly smiled back, then a thought struck me as I remembered nightfall. "Will your family look for us?"

  He was shaking his head as soon as the words left me. "No, I don't think so. Not tonight, anyway. " He stroked my fingers with his thumb. "They'll only know we turned away from the ranch. . . they won't know why. " He sighed a little as he stated, "We can't sense intentions. " He shrugged as he searched my eyes. "Not even when we want to. "

  My head dropped as I considered that. I wasn't sure if I wanted his family anywhere near this madman, but it would dramatically improve our odds if they were here. Teren finished his thought in a soft voice, momentarily free from pain, "They won't worry until tomorrow, when they can't reach me on my cell. Then they'll probably wait until dark, so Great-Gran can go with them-she's the strongest of us. By the time they track me here. . . "

  "We'll be dead," I quietly finished.

  With a warm, peaceful smile on his face, he shook his head and looked at the wall over my shoulder, like he could see right through it to the outside world. "No. . . I'll be dead. You'll be free. " His eyes seemed to glow with the hope of my freedom. I was positive that the only thing keeping him going right now was the thought of me escaping.

  "Teren. . . "

  His happy eyes shifted to take me in. "You'll be free," he repeated. "You'll run. . . you promised. "

  While technically I didn't promise that I'd run, now wasn't really the time to argue semantics. . . or the fact that I was still handcuffed to a wall. "Right, baby. . . I'll be free," I whispered instead. His grin widened, and his eyes fluttered closed again as he slung an arm around my waist.

  I commanded myself not to cry.

  Four hundred and ninety-seven. . . four hundred and ninety-eight. . . four hundred and ninety-nine. . .

  Teren jerked below me and his eyes flew open again, but this time, it was different. Confused, I watched his fa
ce contort in pain and wondered if I'd somehow jarred his legs. I was being exceedingly careful to not move him. His mouth fell open in a silent gasp and I could see fresh pain cloud his pale eyes-a lot of fresh pain. He jerked on my legs a couple of times, like he was struggling against some unseen force.

  I tried to still his body, so he wouldn't cause himself extra pain by banging his legs against the ground. "Teren. . . what is it?"

  He couldn't answer me. He could only open and close his mouth and make horrid gasping noises, like he was struggling for air. Then his hand went to his chest. Then I understood.

  Time was up. . . my vampire was dying. And this time he absolutely wasn't joking.

  "No. . . stop it," I croaked out unintentionally. I knew it wasn't possible to stop this, but I wasn't ready. Aside from the not having a plan part yet, and the fact that within an hour I was about to be a snack, I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to Teren's humanity. It was such a selfish thought to have at the moment that I hated myself a little for it. But the fact was, I would miss that side of him that was like me: his fierce thumping heart, his warm probing hands, our long leisurely dinners on his patio with a glass of wine. . .

  But that reality had ended the moment that bar had struck his shins. This would actually help him now. He'd heal and he'd be strong enough to get away from the lunatic upstairs. . . once he ate me, of course.

  I pushed aside my selfish thoughts and focused on the dying, terrified man before me. He clutched my free hand and, still gasping in pain, sought my eyes.

  I stared into his pale orbs, willing him strength. The whites of his eyes had been faintly glowing in the pale light of the bulb. They seemed to intensify as his body struggled to remain alive. I imagined that I heard his irregular, wet, thumping heart, pulsing unsteadily and uncertainly. Fighting for every last beat, before the weakness of its humanity claimed it, and the tired organ completely surrendered to the foreignness of his vampire blood.

  "I'm here, Teren. . . I'm here. You're not alone. " Not ever having comforted a dying person before, I had no other words.

  While his body jerked in painful spasms, his eyes stayed locked onto mine, refusing to leave them. I knew he was soaking me in, trying to force himself to remember what I meant to him. . . to outsmart the thirst. I was pretty sure that was a losing battle.

  A second later, he seemed to realize that too. His face hardened into stone concentration. He forcibly ripped his eyes from mine and lifted himself off my lap. With one hand still clutching at his chest, like its very presence was keeping that organ beating, he reached out with his other hand, took a deep breath, and letting out a scream of pain and frustration, ripped the iron bar that was anchoring me to the wall off its heavy support brackets. It clanked onto the floor a few feet away from us; my arm burned with fire as the blood suddenly rushed back into it.

  Teren, his strength gone, collapsed back to my lap. I clutched him with both arms now, the empty manacle uselessly dangling from my wrist.

  "Baby. . . ?"

  His hand reached up to stroke my face and a calm peace swept over him. Terror filled me as that peace spread from his face to his body. His shaking stopped. His gasping stopped. Looking up to my eyes with an expression so full of love, I thought my heart would burst, he whispered, "Ya tebya lyublyu. "

  I waited for the reciprocating inhale after the air from saying those words passed his lips. It didn't come. His hand dropped from my cheek to land by his side with a non-resistant thud.

  My vision obscured and I blinked the tears down my cheeks, so I could watch his eyes, still locked onto mine, slowly lose their focus. The glow that painted the whites of his eyes vanished and his head drifted down, finally breaking our eye contact.

  "Teren. . . ?"

  I shook his shoulder in a hopeless attempt to revive him. It was a joke. . . all of this was some elaborate practical joke, and any minute he'd jerk awake and say "got-ya" and I'd smack the shit out of him for scaring me. But he wasn't moving and he wasn't breathing. I shook him again, in the near maniacal way of someone trying to force a reality they wanted into existence. It still wasn't working, he still wasn't moving.

  "No. . . please, no. . . "

  I gave up trying to force my will into being. I gave up trying to pretend that the man I loved was only joking. I gave up trying to hold back the racking wails of sobs that my body demanded. I closed his eyes, so I wouldn't have to endure the lifeless stare any longer, then I hunched over his limp body and completely gave myself over into grief.

  Teren Adams was dead.

  ****

  I don't know how much time I spent huddled over Teren's lifeless body. I knew it was pointless. I knew I couldn't bring him back, and I knew that he would come back to me shortly, but it's not every day that you watch the light of consciousness fade from someone you immensely love. It affected me. I'd darn near say it wrecked me.

  I even tried CPR. How ridiculous is that? I knew it was hopeless the moment I started the compressions on his chest. This was no sixty-year-old man with coronary failure. This was a vampire whose human heart could no longer handle the strain of his mixed blood. There was no artificial stimulation that could be done on his organ that would overcome that fact. It was simply. . . done. I still tried though. For a longer time than I cared to admit, I tried.

  When that failed, or more appropriately, when my arms couldn't handle another forceful push, I slumped across his silent chest and cried some more of those useless tears. I knew he wanted me to run far away from him before he woke up, and I knew I was running out of time. . . but Teren had only freed me from the wall. I was still padlocked down here behind an iron barred door.

  All I could do was wait for Teren to wake up and eat me. Then the man would hear my death and open the damn door. I sat bolt upright as my mouth dropped open. Oh crap. Did I just finally have an idea on how to get out of this hellhole? My mind tumbled over the details and I had to stop thinking for a second. I slowly exhaled for ten long counts before I tried again to think in a more organized way.

  The man was waiting for Teren to kill me. After that happened, he'd have a very short window of opportunity, before Teren became too strong for him to easily stake. So he'd be listening closely after nightfall. Since Teren was lying dead before me, I was going to assume it was.

  So the man was listening right now. In fact, he'd probably heard my heart wrenching sobs, I hadn't exactly been quiet. He was probably on the other side of that door, perched on a dirty little chair with his sharpened stake in his hand, waiting for a bloodcurdling scream. Once he heard that scream, he'd open the door and. . .

  That was it.

  Nervous butterflies swarmed my stomach by the hundreds as I considered everything I was going to have to do for this to work. I didn't know if I had the skill or strength to pull this off, but I knew it was my only chance. Once Teren woke up. . . well, I really didn't want to be anywhere near him when that happened. My only chance at freedom resided in that fanatic lunatic on the other side of the door.

  Great. When did my life take such a drastic turn? Just months ago, I was plugging along at my tedious job, wishing something would come along to break up the monotony of endless days of copying and faxing, and endless nights of watching eighties sitcom reruns on the television. In truth, I'd been hoping for Clarice to retire, so I could have her more appealing job. And then maybe one of the firm's more prestigious clients would have taken an interest in me, and swept me off in his private jet to Paris, for an authentic French dinner and a romantic stroll down the Seine.

  But instead, I'd crashed into a vampire.

  I smiled, and my nerves settled somewhat as I thought over that day. The look of surprise and pain on his face as my drink had spilled down the front of him. His hands brushing mine as he'd taken my card and shoved it in his pocket. And now that terror was clearing my brain cells, I could clearly recall the crooked grin he'd given me, as I'd hurried away from him in embarr
assment. I'd been awaiting an irate phone call that day, but he'd never been angry at me. Even back then, he'd been more amused by me than anything else.

  I smiled wider as I looked back down at Teren's still body and stroked his hair. No, no bigwig sweeping me off to a foreign country could have measured up to the man that fate had forcibly led me to. My life with Teren was exactly what I wanted it to be, what I always hoped it would be. . . once we got past this little speed bump, of course.

  I kissed Teren's forehead and scooted around his broken body as I stood up. I left him slightly turned toward the wall and facing away from me; he almost looked like he was sleeping that way. Silently, I grabbed the iron rod that Teren had pulled from the wall. It was contorted on one end, where the metal had twisted from the strain of wanting to stay attached to the stone wall. Teren's pure vampiric strength had disagreed, and brutally ripped it from its home. Luckily, the squeal of its removal hadn't attracted the vampire hunter upstairs; he'd either discounted it or Teren's loud yell had masked it. Either way, now I was free and now I had a weapon.

  My nerves came back, and I inhaled and exhaled as slowly and smoothly as I could. One shot. . . no chance at a redo. Either the man or Teren would kill me if this didn't work. Nope, no pressure at all. Silencing the fear and doubt in my mind, I focused instead on the tiny things that I could control-my grip on the twisted end of the rod, my feet soundlessly crossing the dirt floor, retreating into the shadows under the stairs, and lastly. . . screaming.

  "No, Teren. . . please. . . don't. . . please. . . no. . . "

  Then I let loose all the terror and fear I'd been struggling to rein in for the last several hours, and I let out the loudest scream my body was capable of making. I was sure I was making every horror movie vixen very proud, as the scream rang throughout even my own ears. At the very highest point, I clamped a hand over my own mouth and shut off my vocals.

  I was no actress, but I was appropriately terrified, and letting out that scream had been astonishingly easy and a little cathartic. Glancing at Teren's form, bathed in the soft light from the bulb, I took in his stillness as I stared at his back. He hadn't moved, hadn't reacted to my voice. Loud sounds didn't bother the dead. I tried to not reflect on how his skin had looked paler, sallower, and when I'd kissed his forehead, he'd felt cooler than usual. Now was not the time.

  I firmly grasped my iron rod in both hands while I waited for sounds of movement upstairs. There was no way the man hadn't heard that. He would give Teren a few moments to finish his meal, and then he'd saunter down to stake my honey.

  I went over everything Lita and Hot Ben had ever taught me in kickboxing class. True, it wasn't exactly the same as what I was about to do, but similar logic could be applied. Power comes from the hips-twist them, use the strength of your lower body. Aim for the soft spot of the temple. Commit to the hit and follow through. Abandon all fear. Breathe. . .

  I heard the sound of metal scraping against wood and I knew the man was lifting the bar away from the door. Moments later, I heard the pop of the door unlocking. I closed my eyes and forced peace into my body. Ignoring my childhood fear of what monsters typically lurked there, I stepped further back into the shadows under the stairs. This time, the monster was walking down the stairs instead of lurking under them, and this was one monster I was going to deal with head on.

  Heavy boots clomped down the long steps. I briefly considered just tripping him down the stairs, but I discounted it. That might only mildly hurt him, and I needed to massively hurt him. I only had one shot at this, and surprise was on my side, since he assumed I was hanging against a wall, dead.

  His hoarse voice broke the stillness, "So, you finished her off, huh? Knew you would. . . they all do. Are you crying? Sometimes the bloodsuckers actually cry afterwards. " His boot stepped off the last stair and he turned towards Teren's curled form on the floor. "Sometimes they even beg me to stake them. Don't worry. . . you won't cry long. "

  The man was too intently focused on the supposed threat of the hungry vampire lying on the ground. He hadn't noticed that my body was nowhere to be seen. Well, he was about to see me. With the stealth of a stalking predator, I stepped away from the staircase and close to his side.

  "Neither will you," I hissed.

  The man startled and twisted to look at me. His eyes widened in shock at seeing me alive, and right next to him. He never even had time to realize I was armed. As soon as his head was facing me, giving me an ideal target, I focused all my pain, fear and rage at the maniac. I brought my arms around, twisting my hips and reinforcing the strike. Surprise and adrenaline gave me speed, and he never even moved to defend himself. He didn't have time. My hit was true, and the rod connected to his temple with a sickening thud that reverberated all the way up my arms.

  The man's head snapped to the side. Just as I feared that I didn't have the strength to knock him out, his knees buckled and he dropped like a ton of bricks. The wooden stake fell away from his relaxed fingers and rolled onto the dirt beside him. I kicked the vile, symbolic thing under the stairs. The iron rod felt red-hot in my hand. Not wanting the metal touching my skin any longer, I dropped it to my side. It thudded to the ground and rested near my feet.

  My vision swam as the adrenaline rushed out of my body and the realization of what I'd done, swept in. The man was very still and I really didn't know if he was alive or not. My stomach rose into my throat and I pressed on it to make it stop. Now wasn't the time to lose my last meal or stare at the downed man like an idiot. Now was the time to do what I'd told Teren I'd do. . . now was the time to run.

  Just as I was mentally preparing myself for the flight away from this rickety farmhouse, and wondering how I'd get a hold of Teren's family in time so they could come help him, I heard it. A low growl was coming from one side of the room; an impossibly deep growl that sent shivers up my spine and dotted my skin with goose bumps. A growl that I'd heard a few times before, but never once directed towards me. An inhuman growl that made me afraid I'd lose control of my bladder.

  Tracking the sound, I turned to stare over at the piece of ground where I'd left Teren's broken body. Only, he was no longer where I'd left him; only our ripped apart belts were lying on the ground. He was standing in a low crouch, his body lightly shaking as he wobbled on his feet. That wasn't what sent ice cold fear throughout my veins though. It was his face.

  His skin was still ashen, and he had the sunken look of someone very ill. The whites of his eyes faintly glowed in the dim light, and his pale, light blue irises were locked onto me. They danced with a near frenzied excitement. His mouth was open in a vicious looking snarl and his teeth were extended to sharp points; his fangs were longer than I'd ever seen them.

  He looked like a pure animal, nothing left of my Teren at all. And for a split-second sadness swept through me at the thought that maybe he wasn't my Teren anymore. Maybe that man really had died today. My sadness shifted right back to fear when the starving creature before me let out another deep, menacing growl, and took a step forward.