Lisa sat quietly, strangely happy in Cullen’s company. She felt at peace when she was with him. There was a soft knock on the door, and Lisa turned quickly as Syndil pushed it open and smiled at them.
“Good, you are awake. Is he being good and staying down?”
Lisa found herself smiling, she couldn’t help herself. Syndil was a tranquil, appealing woman, and Lisa couldn’t imagine her being anything but honest and sweet. “He’s being reasonably good,” she answered, brushing at Cullen’s hair to keep it out of his eyes. “I think his color is better and his voice is strong.” She turned to Cullen. “Are you hurting anywhere?”
She sounded so anxious, Cullen smiled, tightening his grip on her hand. “Surprisingly I feel pretty good. But I wouldn’t want to repeat the experience. It was fairly scary.”
Lisa and Syndil exchanged a very feminine look. “You were out most of the time, Cullen,” Lisa noted. “We were terrified for you.”
“I’m going to show Lisa the house,” Syndil told Cullen in her gentle voice, “while Barack takes a look at you. He wants to explain a few things to you.” She took Lisa’s arm firmly. “Come with me; I will show you around so you can find everything. If there is anything you need, please tell us immediately.” As she led Lisa through the door, she bent closer with a conspirator’s whisper. “It is obvious Cullen prefers your company to any other’s.”
Lisa found herself smiling up at Syndil, never feeling the cold air brushing her as Barack slipped past her unseen to go to Cullen’s side. Barack waited until the door was closed and he could hear Syndil talking to Lisa about the food in the kitchen before he materialized beside Cullen.
Cullen watched him with patient eyes. “I knew you were there. You gave me your blood, didn’t you?”
Barack shrugged his broad shoulders as if the tremendous gift of life had been a casual one. “You know how the women feel about you. I could do no other than to save your worthless hide or they would have been after me for centuries.”
“Darius?” Cullen said the name softly.
Barack grinned at him. “I would not want to be in your shoes when he comes to see you. It is not so much what he says; it is the look he gives you when you nearly get yourself killed that makes you wish your enemy had not missed. He is not happy you placed yourself in such a position. And, of course, there is Dayan.”
Cullen groaned aloud. “I don’t want to think about Dayan right now. How is Corinne?”
Barack sighed. “She does not have long to live if Dayan does not give her his blood and bring her fully into our world. But there is the complication of the child, it is said she is like Corinne, and we do not want to lose her either. They are trying.” He glanced at the door. “We have much to speak about and little time to do it. Lisa is anxious to be back in your company.”
“You are too hard on her, Barack,” Cullen said.
“So Syndil tells me,” he responded. “You know you are different now. You are connected to me for all time. You can touch me when you wish; there is an open path between our minds. The blood bond between us will remain for all your life. You know what we are part of the time, but we shadow your memories most of the time so you are not in danger. It is different now. You will always be a threat to our species. Should your blood be examined, you would endanger us.”
Cullen nodded his head, his eyes steady on Barack’s face. He had already guessed as much. He had known the moment he had awakened. His hearing was far more acute. It was night, yet he could see clearly in the dark. He felt different, stronger, healthy despite the terrible wounds. He was also aware that his body was healing at a phenomenal rate of speed.
Cullen had been traveling with the band members for some time. He had learned to accept the fact that sometimes he knew what they were and other times his memory of them was hazy and he couldn’t conjure up an image of what they looked like. On some level he knew it was necessary to protect the band from any other human seeking information about them. And it was necessary to protect himself from any vampires who might scan the information in his mind. As he traveled in the company of the band, it was likely he would someday encounter one. He knew that everything had changed for him when Barack had given him blood.