A Whisper of Eternity - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,61

precious new life in his arms, hear his child's laughter, or dry its tears.

And neither would she, if she accepted the Dark Gift.

Pushing such disturbing thoughts from her mind, she struck out for shore.

On the beach, she shook the water from her hair. She waved toBryan ,then trotted toward the steps that led toward home.

Dominic rose before the setting of the sun. Here, deep within the earth, he could rise before night spread her cloak over the land, though until the sun set, his powers were weak. Still, it afforded him an extra hour or two of awareness, of life. Even after all these years, he dreaded the approach of the Dark Sleep, hated the sudden lethargy that engulfed him, knowing he would be trapped in oblivion until sunset. And yet, since he had foundTracy , his sleep was not completely dreamless. He often dreamed of her, sometimes seeing her as she had been in ages long past, sometimes seeing her as she was now, and sometimes, best of all, dreaming that she had accepted the DarkGift, that she shared the endless night with him.

He sensed her now in the house above, knew she was preparing her evening meal. It had been so long since he had tasted food that was not warm and liquid. He had a sudden, unexpected yearning for a slice of dark brown bread and butter and a glass of goat's milk. What would happen should he attempt to eat solid food after such a long time? Would he be able to swallow it? Would it stay on his stomach, or would he vomit it up again?

What wouldTracy say if he appeared in her kitchen and asked to join her at her table?

The thought no sooner crossed his mind than he was there.

"Oh!"Tracy pressed one hand over her pounding heart as he appeared before her. "I wish you wouldn't do that!"

"Forgive me. I will come in the door next time."

"Thank you."

Dominic closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his nostrils filling with aromas he knew only from memory.

"Are you all right?"

He opened his eyes to findTracy staring at him, her brow furrowed.

"Would you mind a guest for dinner?"

"Who?"Her eyes widened."You?"

He nodded.

"But... how? I thought you could only drink... you know."

He shrugged. "I have a sudden craving for food."

"Really?That's odd, isn't it?"

"Yes, extremely."

With a shake of her head, she pulled another plate from the cupboard and set it on the table, along with a glass and silverware. "Sit down."

He did so, his gaze watching her avidly as she pulled pans and dishes from the oven and the cupboard.

"We're having chicken, baked potatoes, and asparagus," she told him. "What would you like to drink?"

"Goat's milk."

She bit back a smile. "I'm afraid I'm fresh out.How about just regular milk, from a cow."

"All right."

He watched her fill a glass with white liquid. Lifting it, he took a sip, and grimaced. He didn't remember goat's milk as being so cold, but of course there had been no refrigeration when he was a young man. He took another sip, then set the glass aside and stared at the silverware. He had never used a fork, only a knife and a spoon. But he had watched countless people eat, had pretended to do so on occasion.

Taking a resolute breath, he cut a piece of chicken, speared it with the fork, and put it in his mouth. He chewed carefully, his mouth filling with myriad tastes - the juice of the chicken, the meat and skin, the herbs she had cooked it with. He tasted the potato and the asparagus, conscious ofTracy 's curious gaze watching his every move. He had almost forgotten how to chew food, so accustomed was he to a liquid diet.

"How is it?" she asked.

He swallowed the last bite of chicken, felt his insides begin to burn. And churn. "Very good," he said, and bolted from the table.

Outside, in the cover of darkness, he fell to his knees and retched until he was hollow inside.

And then he went hunting a meal fit for a vampire.

Tracylet out a sigh as she rose and began clearing the table. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. His stomach had rebelled against ingesting solid food. Even if he hadn't been a vampire, his body probably couldn't have adjusted from a liquid diet to a solid one so quickly.

Poor Dominic.Again, she wondered what it would be like to be a vampire.

And then, while standing at the sink rinsing the dishes,