Michael woke in a haze of agony. Pain as he had never felt before flooded his senses, filled every inch of his body. And he was so thirsty, his mouth so dry that his tongue cleaved to the roof. The edge of a cup pressed against his lips and he opened them, begging for succor. Thick liquid flowed over his tongue, coated his mouth with ambrosia. He had ever tasted anything as sweet. And every swallow pushed back the pain, brought him a little more into himself.
His eyes burned in the harsh glare of light streaming through the window. Sunlight. The cup pressed against his lips again and Michael brushed it aside with his hand. In confusion he looked up at the vampyr that leaned over him. Any of the fear he felt was gone, buried beneath the abject horror of what he had become. But still there was the sunlight. How could he possibly be in the sunlight?
Michael turned his hand in the light. Back and forth, entranced by the movement.
“You are something else now. Something more than what you were.” The vampyr’s voice sound hale, hearty. It had obviously recovered from the pains thrust upon it in the dungeons. “We stay to the night merely because it is easier to hide our otherness, not because we are required to.”
The surprise must have shown on Michael’s face because the vampyr laughed. “I suppose you were under the impression we were banished to the night because we had no soul.” That was precisely what Michael thought. Precisely what his father had told him. “Sorry to disappoint. My soul is very much intact, as is yours.”
“Why have you done this to me? Why me?”
“I told you why. It is a gift not a punishment, priest.”
Michael flinched at the title. “Don’t call me that. My name is Michael.”
The vampyr studied him for a moment before nodding once. “Very well then. Michael. I am Gerard. I will teach you to blend in, to hide with those around you, but first there are things we must do.”
Michael wiped a trembling hand across his lips. It was still difficult for him to comprehend what had happened, how things had changed. But he knew they had. He felt…stronger, vibrant, more aware. More everything. His eyes met the vampyr’s again but this time he dared to hold the gaze. “What is it that you would have me do?”