him to the podium.
"Is he all right?" Lady Barrow asked in a whisper as Lucern paused in front of the microphone. He stared blankly out at the sea of faces. Kate wondered if the crowd looked like a feast of steaks to him, then nodded.
"Jet lag," she lied.
"Are you sure that's all?" Kathryn looked doubtful, so Kate added, "And a bit of a tummy flu, I think." Then she gave in, admitting, "He isn't at all well."
"Oh, dear," Lady Barrow murmured.
"But we're hoping it passes quickly," she assured the woman. "We might miss the cover model reunion to go to the doctor."
"Doctor? At night?"
"It was the earliest appointment we could get," Kate lied.
"Oh." Lady Barrow shook her head, then seemed to realize that Lucern had been standing silently at the microphone for several moments. The room had fallen into an expectant hush.
Kate moved to his side and gave him a nudge. "Say thank-you."
"Thank you," he said dutifully. It was a rather ungrateful growl. And he immediately stepped back after saying it. Kate cringed, but Lady Barrow saved the day by stepping up between them and catching his arm. She urged him forward again, then took control of the microphone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen." She added the last with a grin toward the table of male models, the only males present other than the handful of male publishing personnel and the occasional writer's husband. "As you can see from his pallor, Mr. Amirault isn't feeling well, but he insisted on attending today's ceremony to thank you all for your support." She allowed a moment to pass for that to sink in, then continued, "I for one am grateful he showed up. Let's all give him a round of applause and thank him for his wonderful stories. Thank you, Luke."
Kathryn Falk turned to give him a hug, and the crowd broke into applause.
Relief coursed through Kate. Lady Barrow had saved the day! Then she noticed how Lucern's nostrils were flaring, and that he lowered his face to the woman's neck. Even more disconcerting was the silver glow that had come into his eyes. His lips moved along Lady Barrow's skin in search of a pulsing vein.
Kate's eyes widened in horror. He was about to bite Lady Barrow right there on the damned stage!
"No!" The shriek left Kate's lips as she saw Lucern's teeth extend. It was a loud shriek. The entire room fell into stunned silence. But Kate didn't care, because Lady Barrow jerked out of Lucern's arms and whirled around in amazement. Lucern scowled at her for the interruption of his meal.
"Er" Kate said into the deafening silence. Moving to the microphone, she added, "No. There's er no need to thank him. Lucern is he's just grateful he er had this opportunity to thank you all. Er thank you."
The crowd began to clap again, but Kate hardly noticed. Lucern was moving closer to the unsuspecting Lady Barrow, that hungry look still in his eyes. Forcing a smile, Kate snatched his arm and marched him away.
"You were going to bite her," she accused.
"I just wanted a bit." He sounded sullen.
"Just a bit?" she exclaimed. "Right there on the stage for all to see?"
"They would have thought it a publicity stunt," he defended himself. Then he sighed and admitted miserably, "I couldn't help myself. She has strong, sweet blood."
Kate stared at him. "You didn't"
"No, you stopped me in time. But I can tell by the smell."
Kate grimaced, then noted that the lines around his eyes had deepened and were around his mouth as well. "How bad is the hunger right now?" It was a stupid question. The man had nearly bitten Lady Barrow onstage. The hunger was bad. What she really wanted to know was, "I mean, are you in pain?"
He nodded grimly.
"That little bit of sunlight yesterday caused this much trouble?" she asked. If so, it seemed to her that vampires were weaker than humans in some ways. Rather fragile, in this respect at least.
"That little bit of sunlight yesterday, the guy seated next to me on the plane with a cold who kept coughing at me, the"
"Being around sick people uses up more blood?" Kate asked with alarm. They were in a hotel with a couple thousand peoplegerms were probably rampant here. No wonder he was such a shut-in.
"Yes." Lucern nodded. "The nanos apparently surround disease and kill it off, but it takes up more"
"Blood," Kate finished unhappily.
"Yes. And then there is the sunlight in here today."
Kate peered around the