The Watcher

I'M TREMBLING. WHETHER FROM STRESS AND FAtigue or the effects of whatever drug I've been given or from anticipation, I can't tell. I only know it takes conscious effort to keep my hands still. I finally press them against my sides.

Marta is cautious about opening the door.

She is a smart woman.

When the knob finally turns, I prepare to throw myself out of the way just in case she comes in blasting.

But she doesn't. Her hands are empty and hang at her sides. She has cleaned the blood off her body, too, and is dressed in a simple black skirt and white peasant blouse. Her hair is wet and hangs straight down her back. She is barefoot.

Her eyes glance behind me.

"You have seen that Max is alive."

I nod.

"It is my gift to you."

I narrow my eyes. "Gift?"

She nods, too. "I could have killed him. I could have killed you, too, while you slept. But I did not. It was a show of good faith."

She's not making any sense. I gesture toward Martinez. "I did that to your friend. Why would you want to show me good faith?"

She brushes past me and stands beside Martinez' cot. She places a hand gently on his shoulder. "As soon as I saw the two of you fighting, I knew how it would turn out. I tried to stop it. I plunged the needle into your arm, but the drug was no match for the strength of your rage. It took too long to work and when it finally did, it was too late for my son."

"Martinez was your son?"

Tears slide down her cheeks. "I tried to make him drink. I took your arm where I had cut it and pressed it against his lips. If he had only swallowed. Just one drop. He would be as you are."

I'm staring at her now in disbelief. "You tried to make him drink my blood? You tried to make him a vampire?"

She turns slowly. "I tried to save him. It's what any mother would have done. Your attack was too savage. He died in my arms. Now I exact the penalty for his death. For his murder. And you will pay it because I hold the life of one you love in my hands."

When she faces me, she has something in her hand. Another syringe. She holds it in front of me. "This is not like the others. This is poison. If I inject Max with this, he will die screaming."

She backs toward Max's cot. "You move quickly. I have seen it. But not, I think, quickly enough to prevent me from injecting Max. It takes only a tiny amount, a pinprick of the needle, and Max will die."

I take a step toward her. "Is this the gift you spoke of? You saved Max and me so that you could kill him while I watch?"

She smiles and lowers the syringe so that it rests on Max's chest. "Oh no. The gift is your lives. You and Max will be allowed to live. You will be flown to safety and I pledge no harm will befall you. What happened here will be forgotten."

"And what do you get in exchange for this generosity?" The smile this time is humorless and touches only the corners of her mouth.

"Immortality," she says. "You will make me vampire."