The Immortal Hunter(71)

A no-fanger, she thought unhappily. Even though Dani still really didn't know what that was, the possibility that her being one might make Decker despise and apparently want to kill her was gut-wrenching. While she hadn't been sure if she'd wanted to make a life with him before this, having that possibility taken away was enough to sweep aside the uncertainty. It certainly would have been preferable to what she was now faced with.

Leonius had ruined her, she accepted sadly. He had utterly destroyed her and might as well have killed her, because it was the only acceptable end she could now see for herself. Dani was not going to allow herself to become like him, killing innocent people to revel in their blood. She had become a doctor to save lives, not to destroy them.

Becoming aware of an unpleasant acidy feeling in her stomach, Dani closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced herself to think calmly. She needed to find a way to get this couple out of here so that they were out of both her and Leo's reach by the time he got back...

and then she had to figure out how to kill the no-fanger and herself. She'd rather be dead than a monster.

Her mind made up, Dani opened her eyes again and moved carefully back to the archway. She was about to head back to collect the tools she'd set on the workbench, hoping to use them to force the upstairs door open, but paused at a moan from the farmer. Her gaze slid to find him rolling onto his side. Dani started to go to him, but had taken only one step when the acidy feeling in her stomach increased to a brief stabbing pain. Sucking in a shocked breath, she stumbled, bumping into the arch. She grasped it, and then slid down its length when pain stabbed through her again. By the time the second one passed, she was on her hands and knees, panting heavily.

Finally she lifted her dazed eyes to find the farmer now grunting and making other sounds trying to get her attention. The man was also squirming on the floor, appearing to be trying to move closer to her, his head bobbing. It took her a moment to realize the head bobbing was a silent gesture meant to get her to come to him. Her eyes slid to the blood still dripping from his head, and Dani shuddered as she recalled Leo's claim that in less than an hour the couple would look like big juicy steaks to her.

They didn't have much time. She had to get them out of there, Dani thought faintly. She had to .get them untied so they could help her find a way out. Even if they couldn't come up with anything, it would be better if the couple were untied and could at least fight her off if she did lose control of herself.

Determination coursing through her, Dani started to shift to stand, but groaned and fell back to her knees as the action brought the stabbing pain again. Whimpering, she took a moment to wait for it to ease and then crawled across the floor to the husband. Tears were bleeding from her eyes by the time she reached him, but she ignored that and untied his hands. The moment she'd accomplished the task, he brushed away her clumsy hands and took over the job of freeing himself.

Dani fell back with relief, finding the sight and smell of his blood disturbing. She rolled away from him, curling into a ball on the floor and hugging herself around the waist. She heard him grunt and a rustle she suspected was his getting to his feet, but didn't look. Instead she pressed her hands into her stomach, wishing she could dig out Leo's blood and stop all the pain.

The farmer moved past her, coming into her line of vision again as he moved quickly to his wife. Dani watched him untie the rope that bound the woman to the chair, but when he set the rope aside on the floor, she said, "Tie me up."

The farmer and his wife both turned to glance at her with surprise.

"Tie me up," she repeated. "You'll be safer."

They exchanged a glance, and then he returned to untying his wife, concentrating on the rope around her wrists now.

"If we can't get out of here," she began desperately, "I might-"

"Don't worry, girl," he interrupted. "I know a way out."

Dani felt a moment's hope, even thinking for one moment that she too might escape and perhaps find a way to stop what was happening to her, or to at least get help from Decker and the others. There would be a better chance of their stopping Leo and ensuring he never did this to anyone else than she had by herself... and they would keep her from hurting anyone too, Dani thought, but then closed her eyes and shook her head. She couldn't risk going with them. There was no way to know how long she could control herself. Her gaze slid back to the farmer as he finished untying his wife's hands and she said, "Tie me up and you two go without me then."

The wife reached up to remove her gag now her hands were free and said firmly, "We're not leaving you here for him to abuse."

"You need to get away from me. If what he said is true, I could attack you."

"What? That blood and vampire business he kept going on about?" The husband snorted as he straightened and helped his wife to stand. "The man was high on something. It was all bunk."

"What did he give you, dear?" the wife asked with concern, moving toward her as her husband rushed off through the boiler room to the long narrow room with the pump and water softener.

"His blood," Dani said on a sigh. "Now I'm becoming a vampire too."

The woman stopped beside Dani, her mouth opening to speak, but she paused and glanced around as her husband reappeared and rushed to the workbench. They both watched him grab the claw hammer Dani had set there, and then he rushed away again. There was a squeal of nails being torn from wood, and then the wife said, "What's your name, dear?"