I need to call my mom," Hannah said.
Thierry nodded. "But maybe wait until she's up. It's not dawn yet."
They were at Thierry's house, in the elegant bedroom with the softly burnished gold walls. The window
had just begun to turn gray.
It was so good to rest, to let go of tension, to feel her battered body relax. It was so good to be alive.
She felt as if she'd been reborn and was looking at the world with wide new eyes. Even the smallest
comforts-a hot drink, a fire in the fireplace-were immeasurably precious.
And it was good to be with Thierry.
He was sitting on the bed, holding her hand, watching her as if he couldn't believe she was real.
The healer had come and gone, and now it was just the two of them. They sat together quietly, not
needing words. They looked into each other's eyes,
and then they were reaching for each other, holding each other. Resting like weary travelers in each
other's arms.
Hannah leaned her forehead against Thierry's lips.
It's over, she thought. I was right when I told Paul the apocalypse was coming-but it's over now.
Thierry stirred, kissing the hair on her forehead. Then he spoke, not out loud but with his mental voice.
As soon as Hannah heard it, she knew he was trying to say something serious and important.
You know, you came very close to becoming a vampire. You 're going to be sick for a few days while
your body shifts back to human.
Hannah nodded without pulling away to look at him. The healer had told her all that. She sensed that
there was something more Thierry wanted to say.
And... well, you still have a choice, you know.
There was a silence. Then Hannah did pull away to look at him. "What do you mean?"
He took a deep breath, then said out loud, "I mean, you can still choose to be a vampire. You're right on
the edge. If you want, we can make you change over."
Hannah took a long breath of her own.
She hadn't thought about this-but she was thinking now. As a vampire, she'd be immortal; she could stay
with Thierry continuously for who knew how many thousands of years? She would be stronger than a
human, faster, telepathic.
And perfect physically. Involuntarily, her hand went to her left cheek, to her birthmark.
The doctors couldn't take it away. But becoming a vampire would.
She looked directly at Thierry. "Is that what you want? For me to become a vampire?"
He was looking at her cheek, too. Then he met her eyes.