“And part of the reason I can deal with you is that you are,” he said, looking straight into my eyes. “Your blood does not smell as tempting as a normal person would. Your illness is my blessing.”
I stared at him, shocked.
“How could you say that?” I asked. “How could you say that…?”
“Amy,” he shook his head, and then groaned again. Out of sympathy, I took another step forward, even though I was trembling in fear. “You don’t have to be afraid. These chains have held me almost every night for three years. They’ll hold now. And even if they don’t…I won’t hurt you, Amy. Ever.”
Suddenly, it dawned on me, all the facts swimming in my head. Stunned, I felt dizzy, and sat on the ground, a few feet from Liam. I held my head, trying to make sense of the clues he was giving me.
“What are you, Liam?” I asked, finally.
“What do you think?” he asked, baring his fangs to me. The word burned on my tongue, but I didn’t want to say it. I felt like I was going to pass out.
“Is this a joke?”
“Yes, Amy, it’s a joke. An elaborate hoax, and every night I visit the hair and makeup department in the hopes of tricking you,” he turned his face towards mine, and I saw the scars of tears.#p#分页标题#e#
“Why are you crying?” I asked, sympathy overtaking me. He winced.
“Because it hurts.”
“Why?” I was here now, and whether I believed him or not, I wanted answers.
“Legend has taught you to believe that vampires are forever in their demonic form, day and night, and can’t walk in the sun,” he said, leaning against the wall. “But the truth is, the reason you don’t see vampires in the sunlight is because we are human during the day. And every night, as darkness takes the city, we die and change. It’s a painful process and we crave blood every second of the night. And then, as the sun rises, our hearts start to beat again, our demonic form recedes, and we change back.”
“That night. We first kissed,” I spoke in a voice I felt was not my own. “I saw…you looked different.”
“Yes. I shouldn’t have stayed that long,” he said, shaking his head. “But then, we didn’t expect you.”
“We.” I repeated. “Porsche knows?”
He laughed at that.
“Yes, she knows. And unlike Peter, who thinks I should stay in every night and fight it, Porsche encourages me to be who I am. If I go out at night, it’s always with her.”
“Peter locks you up here?” I said, aghast and he nodded.
“Don’t look so surprised, Amy, it’s my choice. As much as I crave blood, I don’t really want to spend every night on a killing spree.”
“Do you?” I asked, watching him. “Do you kill?”
“Sometimes,” he said, although he seemed truly sorry for it. “As the popular stories go, we can survive on animal blood, although it’s not always very fun.”
I fell silent. I couldn’t deny what he was saying. There was too much evidence in front of me.
“Is that why you hang out with Porsche? Her blood is infected?”