"How can you sleep like that?" He'd left his blanket in a pile at his feet. She covered him up, then added her blanket on top.
"Is that better?" She tucked it in around his chin.
He didn't seem to be breathing.
"Gregori?" She leaned over him, but felt no air escaping his mouth. "Hey." She patted his cheeks.
No response.
She yanked the blankets down and ripped open his shirt. No heartbeat.
"Gregori!" Panic seized her. She forced his mouth open, felt around inside, then breathed into him.
She planted her hands over his heart and pushed.
"What are you doing?" Howard slipped around the screen and started toward her.
"CPR! He's dying!"
"He's already dead."
"Don't say that!" She pinched his nose and breathed into his mouth again.
"Miss Tucker!" Howard knelt beside her. "There's no point in doing that."
"I'm not giving up on him!" She went back to pressing against his heart.
"Abby! The Vamps always die at sunrise. This is their death-sleep!"
She sat back on her heels. "Their what?"
"Death-sleep. Gregori didn't tell you they go into a death-sleep?"
Tears stung her eyes. "He - he's really dead?"
"Yeah, but don't worry. He'll wake again at sunset."
She swallowed hard. "He's really . . . dead?"
Howard nodded. "But it's just temporary, you know."
"How can death be temporary?"
Howard shrugged. "I don't know. It's a vampire thing."
She looked at Gregori, and a tear ran down her cheek. "Oh my God! He's really dead?"
"Well, Undead is more accurate, I guess, considering that he wakes up again." Howard gave her a curious look. "He didn't tell you?"
"No." Or did he? She thought back to when they'd returned to the cave. She'd been worn out from their lovemaking and gone straight to the sleeping bag. He'd stretched out beside her.
"I need to warn you," he had whispered. "I sleep like I'm dead."
"Me too," she'd mumbled before slipping into a deep sleep.
"Oh my gosh," she whispered. He'd meant it literally.
A rush of anger swept over her. "That's how you tell me?" She yanked the blankets back up to his chin, then slapped him on the chest. "You scared the hell out of me! I thought I'd lost you!"
Tears streamed down her face. "He can't hear me, can he?"
"No, ma'am." Howard rose to his feet.
She stood and wiped her cheeks. "I'll have to wait till sunset to vent my rage."
Howard nodded. "Good plan." He shifted his weight. "You want a donut?"
A burst of laughter escaped her. "Oh God, I'm going crazy."
Howard stepped back with a worried look.
"Not really crazy," she assured him, then took a deep breath. Good Lord, it was after two in the afternoon. She'd cuddled up to a dead body for hours. "I need to get out of here."
"This way." Howard led her around the screen. "We put the screen up as a safety precaution. If any sunlight hits the Vamps, they'll die for real."
She shook her head. Death-sleep. Gregori had always inferred that he spent the day sleeping in the usual fashion. Why did he lie to her?
He was really dead. The poor guy had actually died while she'd slept next to him. Had he suffered any pain? He must have. She shuddered. It was terrible to even think about.
Howard pulled the bamboo door away from the cave entrance so they could slip outside.
"Miss Abby!" Rajiv waved at her. He had a fire going and a big pot suspended over it. "I make you hot pot."
"Thank you." She walked over for a closer look. "It smells wonderful."
He looked at her and frowned. "Miss Abby cry?"
She took a deep breath and gazed up at the blue sky. "I'm all right now. Thank you."
"She didn't know Gregori would be dead," Howard grumbled.
"Oh." Rajiv grimaced. "That's bad."
Abby nodded and motioned toward the other end of the island. "I'll be over there for a little while."
Rajiv nodded.
She went behind the hill and found a place to relieve herself. She washed her hands in the lake, then straightened and gasped. Now that it was daylight, she could see the south side of the lake. Gray stone stalagmites jutted up from a flat field. She'd read about karsts in her research, but hadn't realized how unearthly they would look. She stared at them for a while, then headed back to the shifters.
Howard had rolled up his pants and was standing knee-deep in the lake. He leaned over, concentrating, then suddenly swoosh! He scooped a fish out and tossed it onto the beach.
Abigail smiled. He fished just like a bear.
Soon he had a dozen fish on the beach.
"Are we supposed to eat all of these?" she asked.
Rajiv grinned. "Howard is big bear. He eat eight."
The were-bear lumbered out of the lake, then pulled a knife from his belt and hacked the heads off the fish.
"Fish heads!" Rajiv grabbed two heads and rinsed them out in the lake. "Good for hot pot." He dropped them into the pot with the chicken feet.
Howard beheaded all the fish while Rajiv insisted he was throwing away the best part.
"I have noodles." Rajiv ran into the cave and came back with a bag of noodles he dumped into the pot. Howard retrieved a frying pan and some oil from the cave.
Late that afternoon, they feasted on Rajiv's noodle soup and Howard's fried fish.
Abigail sat on the beach, propped up against a boulder, gazing at the karsts on the south side of the lake. "I'd like to see those close up."
"We have a boat," Rajiv said.
"We do? I didn't see it."
Rajiv smiled. "We hide it good. You want to go across the lake?"
"No," Howard said sharply. "She can't leave the island."
She winced. It was happening again. She was being told what she wasn't allowed to do. The Vamps had wanted her to stay in Japan. She'd had a hard time convincing Gregori to bring her back here, and now she was just sitting here spinning her wheels.
She motioned to the sun, which was lowering in the west. "Don't we need to go to the village over there?"
Howard nodded. "It's three miles across the hills. The Vamps haven't been there before, so we'll have to hike."
"In the dark?" That might not bother the Vamps, but she preferred hiking in sunlight. "Why don't we hike over there now, then when the sun sets, we can call the Vamps and they'll teleport over?"
Howard frowned. "I'm sorry, but you're not leaving this island until the Vamps wake up."
She clenched her fists and released them. Was this what life would be like with Gregori? Always waiting for him to wake up?
She stood. "I'm taking a walk."
She paced around the island, feeling more and more trapped, more and more upset. Why did Gregori lie about his death-sleep? Was there anything else he was hiding from her?
She made a complete circle and sat on a boulder by the cave entrance. Rajiv washed his pot in the lake, then doused the fire. Howard retrieved his box of donuts from the cave and gave her one as a peace offering.
She ate and watched the sun lower on the horizon. The lake sparkled. The sunset painted the sky with shades of pink, orange, and gold. It was absolutely beautiful. It was something she could never share with Gregori.
Tears came to her eyes. That was what really had her upset. She was completely, totally in love with Gregori. She'd realized that when she thought she'd lost him.
But what kind of life could she have with someone who was literally dead all day long? Would she end up wishing away her days, putting her life on hold, while she waited for him to wake up?
Her parents would never approve. She sighed. More people telling her what she couldn't do.
The last rays of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, and the temperature dropped a few degrees. She zipped up her jacket.
"I'll go see if they're up." Howard went inside the cave.
She turned toward the entrance. She could barely see it in the moonlight, but she heard some mumbling voices inside. A loud voice shouted, Gregori's voice.
"What? Shit!"
She winced. Howard must have told him.
Gregori ran outside, a bottle of blood in his hand. He paused on the beach, facing her.
Rajiv stalked toward him. "You make Miss Abby cry," he growled, then strode inside the cave, leaving her alone with Gregori.