A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

Page 110



What if she let Dominic make her a vampire?

She thought of all the things she would be giving up—food, sunlight, vacations with her family, a normal life,children .

She thought of what she would gain—a love that would last forever, a life that would never end, the ability to travel great distances in the blink of an eye, eternal youth and vigor.

Would it be a fair trade?

But, what if, after it was done, she was sorry? There was no going back, no way to return to mortality if she suddenly decided she didn't want to be immortal any longer.

What would her parents say if they found out their daughter was a vampire?

Dominic made the life sound appealing, but in books and movies, there was no happiness for vampires. They were constantly being hunted, destroyed in truly horrible ways. Gruesome images of Van Helsing driving a stake through the heart of a vampire, or cutting off its head, or setting one on fire, sprang to the forefront of her mind.

Dominic said mortals were unaware that there were vampires in their midst. But what if he was wrong? What if even now there were men in theworld who were hunting vampires, destroying them where they slept?

She stared at the painting she had created. To be a vampire was to live a life against nature.Would her soul be forever damned if she accepted the Dark Gift?

Dropping her brush into ajar of cleaning fluid, she put her paints away, stripped off her smock, and left the house.

She practically flew down the stairs to the beach. It was a beautiful day. Everything looked fresh and clean after last night's rain. Standing there, with the sand warm beneath her feet, she closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sun.

She didn't know how long she had been standing there whenBryan 's voice sounded behind her. "Hey, sun bunny!"

Opening her eyes, she turned to see him striding toward her."Hi, Bry ." "Hi. How's it going?"

"Fine.I'm taking a break."

He nodded. "I'm glad you decided to take it here. Wanna come up to the tower and have a Coke?" "Sure, thanks."

Side by side, they walked down the beach.