of place one. And it came from behind the door on his left, from a room that was completely dark beyond the mesh-lined safety glass.
That told him two things very clearly. Someone was in there, and they were not supposed to be.
It was too much to resist. Will glanced up and down the hallway, saw no one, and quietly put his hand on the doorknob, then turned it. It was unlocked and gave easily. Pushing the door open, he slipped inside, noting how much more effort it took now to move soundlessly. He used to be able to slide through shadows like a panther. Now his gait was uneven and slow, and he had the damn cane to deal with, keeping one hand constantly unavailable.
The front section of the room was empty, but he sensed someone in the rear. He really had no reason to go any farther. Common sense told him to notify security and back off. But he didn’t. He hadn’t seen any action in so long that he was aching to know just how good he could be in this state. How effective. Could he handle something as mundane as an employee stealing a little medication for recreational use?
That wasn’t what he found, though.
What he found was a man who seemed about to leap out the open window. His back was toward Will. He wore a black cotton shirt and dark blue jeans, and one foot was already up on the sill, hands braced on both sides, a sack slung over his shoulder by a long strap.
“Don’t jump,” Will said quickly. “There’s no need. I’m not security, I’m a patient.”
The man stilled, then slowly set his foot down on the floor again and turned to face Will.
Will studied him, frowning as a creeping familiarity rinsed through his mind. The man’s skin was pale, but not in an unhealthy way. It was luminescent, like a pearl. His eyes, too, held a strange glow, an undeniable power. It was invisible, but palpable. There was something else about him, too. Something that marked him as “different” to Will’s trained mind, but he couldn’t for the life of him define how. Just that this man was not like others.
And then it hit him. It was the same sort of perception he’d had of Bartrone, the vampire in the fantasy.
The man’s eyes widened just a little as he studied Will in return. But he quickly schooled his features. Will could see him trying to hide the startled expression, though he didn’t know what had startled the man.
“You look familiar to me. Where have I seen you before?” the man asked.
Will shrugged, then glanced at the bag hanging at the man’s side. “So what are you stealing? Drugs?”
“I have no use for drugs. What happened to your foot?”
“It was injured. How come you’re using the window instead of the door?”
“I…opened it for the fresh air. Why are you wandering around the hospital in the dead of night?”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
The man’s mouth pulled a little at one side, as if he were fighting a smile. “You’re very good at answering questions without saying a thing.”
“So are you. So what’s in the bag?”
The man only shook his head and glanced toward the window once more. Will looked around the room now that his eyes were adjusting to the darkness. He saw the refrigerator, the label on the front, the Red Cross logo. “This is where they store the blood.” He said it very softly, but the man heard him.
He nodded. “That it is.” He got up on the windowsill again, then he paused, turning back. “ Time Magazine ,” he said.
“What?”
“That’s where I’ve seen you before. You were on the cover of last week’s Time Magazine . I read the article, too.”
“That’s really nice, but it doesn’t explain why you’re stealing blood from a hospital at 3:00 a.m., pal.”
“Oh, let it go already. You guessed what I was the moment you looked at me, though how you knew, I cannot say. Who is this ’Bartrone’ you thought I resembled?”
“A figment of my imagination.” Will stopped there, lifted his gaze. “I never said that out loud.”
“Of course you didn’t. I’m a vampire. I read your mind.”
“Oh yeah? Prove it. What am I thinking right now?”
The other man stared at him, frowned hard. “I don’t know. You’re blocking.”
“I’m blocking?” Will repeated.
“Perhaps subconsciously, but yes. You have a very strong will, don’t you?”
Will shrugged. “If you can’t read me now, how could you before?”
“How would I know? You’re the one who let your guard down, let your thoughts slip out.” He shrugged. “Perhaps you were startled.”
Will rolled his eyes and moved closer, using the cane to help him bear the weight, though every step shot bolts of pain through his body. When he got close enough he reached out, tugged the side of the bag open and glanced inside. Plastic bags filled with blood.
“You really are stealing blood.”
The other man nodded. “It’s better than the alternative.”
“You mean killing for it?”
“I meant starvation. I would no more kill an innocent than you would.”
Will shook his head. “This isn’t real. There are no such things as vampires.”
“Then how did you know what I was the moment you looked at me?”
Lowering his head, Will said, “I don’t know.”
There was a pause. “The article said you withstood weeks of torture and never broke. It said your silence saved the lives of countless American soldiers.”
Will shrugged.
“It said you walked twenty miles through the desert when you escaped.” He glanced down at the foot. “As painful as that is even now, I can’t imagine how you managed that.”
Will shrugged again, shook his head. “Yeah, okay, you really read the article. What do you want, an autograph?”
The vampire smiled. “I have to go.” He turned again to the window.
“No, wait. I need to talk to you. I have questions-”
“Questions I cannot answer, my friend. Even for an exceptional mortal like you. I’m sorry.” He turned to face out the window again, then quickly ducked back inside and to the left of the glass. “Hell, I’ve been seen. There’s a crowd below, looking up here and pointing.”
Will glanced toward the door at the sound of running feet. “Someone’s coming. Tell me, vampire, are you a man of your word?”
“I am.”
“Then
