I pinched a drop of milk onto the nipple and waited until the goat bleated again before sliding it into its mouth. The first two times, the stubborn kid shook its head and cried louder than ever, but the third time, it finally realized what I was offering. Clamping its jaws around the bottle, it started drinking in earnest, gurgling through the milk, and my audience clapped in relief.
Before I knew what was happening, Caleb sat down on one side of me, Bethany on the other, and leaned against my arm. I stiffened, holding myself rigid, but they didn’t seem to notice my discomfort, and the kid on my lap cried greedily when I didn’t hold the bottle up far enough. Resigned, I leaned back, watching the three young creatures around me, trying not to breathe in their scent or listen to their hearts. Teresa looked over at me and smiled, and I shrugged helplessly.
“You know,” I muttered, mostly to keep my mind distracted, so I wouldn’t think of blood or hearts or how hungry I was getting, “I think this little guy needs a name, if he doesn’t have one already What do you think?”
Caleb and Bethany agreed. “What about Princess?” Bethany suggested.
“Stupid,” Caleb said instantly. “That’s a girl’s name.”
She stuck out her tongue, and Caleb returned the gesture. I watched the kid suckle at the bottle, milk dribbling down his chin. He was mostly white, except for a few black splotches on his back legs and one large circle over his eye. It made him look like a bandit or a pirate.
“What about Patch?” I mused.
They clapped in delight. Both thought this was a perfect name, and Bethany even kissed Patch on his furry head, which the goat ignored. After a moment of watching him guzzle milk, Caleb suddenly let out an explosive sigh and slumped against me.
“I don’t want to leave,” he muttered, sounding tired and world-weary even for one so young. “I don’t want to keep looking for Eden anymore. I’d rather stay here.”
“Me, too,” Bethany mumbled, but she was half asleep now, curled up into my side.
Caleb reached up and scratched Patch on the shoulder, making its skin twitch as if it was shooing off a fly. “Allie, do you think there’ll be goats in Eden?” he mused.
“I’m sure there will be,” I answered, holding up the bottle so the kid could get the last drops. “Maybe you could even have a few of your own.”
“I’d like that,” Caleb murmured. “I hope we get there soon, then.”
Not long after, the bottle was empty, and all three were asleep, curled up on my lap or leaning against my ribs. Teresa had also dozed off, her head against her chin, the quilt fallen beside her. It was very quiet in the barn, except for the livestock shifting in their sleep, and the beating of the three hearts surrounding me.
Bethany suddenly slumped over, her head falling to my leg, her golden hair spilling over my thigh. I stared at her. Flickering lamplight danced along her pale little neck, as she sighed and pressed closer, murmuring in her dreams.
My fangs slid out. Her heartbeat was suddenly very loud in my ears; I could hear it, pulsing in her wrist, her throat. My stomach felt hollow, empty, and her skin was warm on my leg.
Brushing her hair aside, I slowly leaned forward.
Chapter 16
No! Closing my eyes, I jerked back, thumping my head against the wall. The baby goat let out a startled bleat, then tucked its nose beneath its hindquarters with a sigh. Caleb and Bethany slept on, unaware how close they had come to being food.
Horrified, I looked around for an escape route. I couldn’t keep this up. The Hunger was slowly taking over, and it wouldn’t be long before I gave in to temptation. I needed to feed, before it grew too strong to ignore.
Gently, I extracted myself from the sleeping kids and returned the newly christened Patch to his pen, where he promptly fell asleep. Once free, I slipped outside and leaned against the barn, pondering the inevitable question. It was time. That had been way too close. Who was I going to feed from?
Not the kids. Never. I was not so inhuman that I would draw blood from a sleeping child. Teresa and Silas were so old, though, too weak to lose any blood, and I was not going to bite them in front of two sleeping children. Jake and Darren were on guard duty, and Ruth was with Zeke.
Zeke was definitely out of the question.
That left Dorothy the crazy woman, who was in the farmhouse gossiping with Martha, who didn’t go to bed until midnight, apparently, and Jebbadiah Crosse.
Yeah, right. I might as well just shoot myself in the face than go anywhere near Jeb.
I growled in frustration. This wasn’t getting me anywhere. When had I gotten so close to the people I was supposed to be feeding from?