Ian smiled. "Ye saved my life."
Angus took a deep breath, then unwrapped the shirt from Emma's neck. He'd have to drain the last drop of blood from her. It had to be done by a vampire in order for her to slip into a vampire coma. Then he'd have to feed her his own blood. If she accepted it and drank, she'd become one of the Undead. If she rejected his blood, she would die.
"Can I borrow a sgian dubh?" He'd have to slice his arm to feed her.
Ian handed him a knife.
Angus glanced at all his friends. "Could ye leave us alone?"
Chapter 23
Emma remembered pain and darkness. Fear and terror. Katya's fangs ripping into her neck. A last cry for survival and the desperate use of her stake. More darkness. Murmuring voices. More fangs. How could Katya be back? Hadn't she killed that bitch? More darkness as Emma slipped deeper into a black pit.
Then a strange dream. Her mouth tasted of blood. She choked on the metallic bitterness.
"Swallow," a voice urged her. "Ye must swallow."
More blood drizzled into her mouth. She was drowning in blood. Katya was killing her. She turned her head and coughed.
"Emma," the voice pleaded. "Drink it, please."
Angus? She opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come. She couldn't even open her eyes.
More blood poured into her mouth. She swallowed, and a comforting warmth spread through her body. She swallowed again, and it tasted sweet. What a silly dream. This couldn't be blood. It tasted too good. She drank and drank.
"That's it, sweetheart. Ye're doing fine."
Angus was happy with her. Angus loved her. Emma smiled. Angus was with her, and Katya was gone. This time when the darkness descended, she wasn't afraid.
With a jolt, Emma woke up. Her heart pounded in her chest so loud, she could hear it. A moment of panic seized her. She must be having a heart attack. She felt so strange, and she didn't know where she was.
"She's awake, Darcy! Get a bottle ready."
Emma saw Austin standing by an open door. He had found her? Then she and Angus must have been rescued.
"I just popped it into the microwave," a woman's voice yelled from a distance.
Emma sat up. Black dots swirled around her head.
"Easy." Austin stepped toward her with a worried expression.
"I - I guess I'm still weak." Emma blinked and focused on Austin. He seemed sharper than usual. She could see the stubble on his chin and every individual strand of hair on his head. And his heart was beating so loud. How could she hear that? How could she hear her own heart? She pressed a hand to her chest and noticed she was wearing flannel pajamas. "How did I get these?"
"Those are Darcy's," Austin answered. "She tried to clean you up a bit."
Right. Katya had attacked her. Emma suspected her old clothes were covered with blood. Her stomach rumbled. "I feel so hungry."
"I'm sure you are." Austin eyed her warily.
She looked around the room. It was a nice bedroom. Blue comforter. Full-sized bed. No windows. Only a night light in a wall socket. How could she see so well? Her stomach rumbled louder, then cramped. She pressed a hand to her belly. "Ouch!"
Austin strode toward the door. "Hurry, Darcy!"
Emma inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. "Where am I?"
"Zoltan Czakvar's house in Budapest."
"Who?" Another hunger pang rocked Emma. She grimaced. Austin's heart seemed to pound in her ears. She could hardly hear. Hardly think.
"Zoltan Czakvar. He's the coven master of Eastern Europe."
"I'm in a vampire's house?" Emma noticed the vein in Austin's neck. It was pulsing. And it smelled so good. Like food. "What's happening to me?" A hunger pain struck her hard. With a cry, she fell back on the bed and curled into a ball.
"Is she all right?" Darcy rushed into the room with a tray and set it down on the bedside table.
Darcy was so close, and she smelled so good, Emma fought an urge to grab her.
"I have your breakfast." Darcy offered her a glass. "Type O. A little bland, but you should start off with a simple diet."
Emma's eyes widened. The glass was filled with blood. "No!" A sudden jab of pain pierced her mouth. She cried out.
Darcy set the glass down. "You poor thing. The same thing happened to me. They always come out the first night."
Emma covered her mouth and whimpered. Her gums were ripping in two. With a scream, she felt them rip. She lowered her hand and saw blood splattered on her palm. It was horrible! And it smelled delicious. The pain in her mouth subsided as another hunger pang struck her.
Darcy plopped a straw into the glass and handed it to Emma. "Here. It's hard to use a glass when the fangs are out."
Fangs? Emma touched her mouth. Her canine teeth were long, pointed, and sharp. "No!" She shook her head. This was another bad dream. It couldn't be true.
"I know it's upsetting." Darcy perched on the bed beside her and pressed the glass into her hand. "You'll feel better once you eat."
Emma's hand shook as she took the glass. She had a terrible desire to throw it away and sink her teeth into Darcy. Oh God, it was true. She was a vampire.
She stared at the glass, stunned. The blood actually smelled good. Was this the sort of agony Angus had endured all night when he'd refused to bite her? She closed her mouth around the straw and sucked. The blood was sweet and warm. It flowed into her, filling her with an energizing sense of strength and power. Too soon, she reached the bottom of the glass.
"I need more." Her gums tingled, and she realized her fangs were retracting.
"I'll be right back." Darcy stood, taking the glass. "It's normal to be very hungry the first night."
"You were a vampire," Emma whispered.
"Yes, for four years. But you needn't stay this way for long. Roman can change you back. You'll be all right."
Emma nodded. She watched Darcy leave the room. Austin smiled at his wife as she passed by. A gentle, loving smile. And Emma knew exactly what she needed. "Where is Angus?"
Austin's smile faded. "He's, uh, not here right now."
Emma looked around the room. She still felt strange. Sort of numb. Maybe this was all a dream. She'd had a lot of them lately. Or were they memories? She'd made love with Angus. Katya had dragged her away and attacked her. Good heavens, Katya had killed her.
She lifted a hand to her neck. The skin was smooth and unbroken.
Austin walked toward her. "You healed during your death-sleep. One of the advantages of being undead." He smiled. "You look great, but you'll have to take my word for it. You can't see yourself in a mirror. One of the disadvantages of being undead."
"There are no disadvantages." Giacomo strolled into the room, sipping blood from a wineglass. "Buona sera, signorina. I came to see how you are faring." His brown eyes twinkled. "And to welcome you to the club."
The full extent of her circumstances sank in. She was dead. She pulled the blue comforter up to her chin. Where was Angus? She wanted to see him. She wanted his strong arms around her. She felt her neck where he'd fed from her while making love. The puncture wounds were gone. As if it had never happened.
Robby sauntered into the room. "How are ye, Miss Wallace?"
I'm dead. Emma wrapped her arms around herself underneath the comforter.
"I think she's in shock," Austin whispered, but Emma could hear it.
She could hear everything, even the whir of a microwave across the house. "I want to talk to Angus."
Robby exchanged a worried look with Giacomo. "He's no' here. He went to Paris with Jean-Luc and Ian."
"Then call Paris and ask him to teleport here. Please." Emma shuddered under the blanket. She hated being this needy. She'd always been strong and decisive before. But then, she'd never had to handle being dead before.
"He was going on to New York," Robby continued. "He willna be awake now."
New York? She was going through a crisis, and he was in New York? She gritted her teeth. He needed to be with her. She was dead, dammit. He needed to show respect for the dead. And for the woman he loved. "I need to talk to him."
"I'll send an e-mail," Robby offered. "He'll see it when he wakes."
"I bet you'll see him soon," Austin added. "As soon as you're strong enough, you can go to New York and have Roman change you back."