Sidney withdrew a bag of blood from the stash in the pool and tossed it into the crevice to Dainton. "Make it last the day. We don't have many supplies."

Dainton lifted it to his nose to smell the bag before turning it back and forth to examine the strange text on the label. "What is it?"

"What it looks like; blood."

"I can see that. How do I get it out?"

She sighed. Sitting on the ground next to the opening, she held out her hand for the bag. He reluctantly gave it back and watched with amazement when she pierced the corner of it with her fang before passing it back to him. "I've made a small hole in the top, either suck it out or squeeze the bag gently."

He put the bag to his mouth and squeezed firmly. His cheeks puffed out as his mouth instantly filled to overflowing. A small crimson river escaped the corner of his lips.

"Mmmm." His moan of pleasure followed his audible gulp when he swallowed before withdrawing the bag and licking his lips clean. "It tastes like it's straight from the vein. How do you get it in there in the first place?"

"A hollow needle attached to a tube is pushed into the vein, the blood flows out and into the bag if you do it right. The tube is inserted into the little white bit at the bottom of the bag." She pointed to it and as he turned the bag over to look, the contents began to pour out. "Hold it upright! Now that it's open it will spill."

He righted the bag and tutted in frustration at the waste. "So how can I make it last the day if it spills every time I move it?"

"Good point," she mused. "I suppose you'll have to finish that one and we can share each of the other bags. Assuming you want to accompany me."

"Of course," he agreed, "but where are we going?"

"First stop will be the nearest town, I need to get a lay of the land and find out what's going on."

He pushed himself further into the crevice, shaking his head vehemently. "No. No, I can't go back. They'll kill me for sure this time. I'm sorry."

"Fine." She shrugged and began picking dirt from under her fingernails in a show of nonchalance. "Then you had better start talking. Who is Mama? How, and why, did she bring me here?"

His shocked eyes shot up to meet hers. "How... How do you know about her?"

"Quid pro quo, my dear Dainton. You tell me what I want to know and maybe I'll share my secrets."

He closed his eyes and leant back against the rock behind him. "Well it looks like you have me at a disadvantage. I'm captive by the sun so I can't very well leave right now, can I. What do you want to know?"

"Mama, Who and why?" she reminded him.

"Mama is the leader of a coven of draoi, a spell caster and a visionary," he began. "During one of her visions she saw what the siofra were doing to my people and what they were going to do to hers next. We made a pact to join forces. We were to protect her people at night while they slept and in return, they would conceal us in our hides by day. Around a month ago, she called on the spirits to send the prophesized Deliver to save us. During the spell, a large spiralling vortex of light opened on the sacred ground and pulled her through, to where I don't know, but in her place, various races of people have been appearing there since. You heard the boy earlier; they have killed all the deochfola and captured the others. All except one, a young man who seemed to have no special abilities. When he tried to stop the siofra from killing one of us he was killed and thrown back through the vortex."

As he spoke, she was able to see his memories. She also saw how he distracted the band of siofra who were hiding around the clearing just before her arrival. He had killed one of them then walked into the middle of the clearing to taunt them into trying to catch him. She drew a sharp breath as she felt his pain when the arrow pierced his chest in his memory. He had saved her life and almost lost his own in the process.

"It would seem we are even on the saving life score," she told him after a moment of processing his thoughts. "Okay, next question. What makes you so sure that I'm this Deliverer you speak of?"

He frowned at her, thinking, How does she know? It's like she's reading my mind.

Sidney laughed and pushed her voice into his mind. You're pretty sharp, that's because I can.

He started at the sudden intrusion. "I wasn't sure before, I had hoped, but now I'm certain... The Deliverer, it is prophesized, will walk among the living in the light of day, control the beast with a single word, be heard without uttering a single sound by mouth, and hear what is not spoken. If that isn't you then we are all lost for the draoi, Mama, is dead and the vortex shattered."

"Well damn it! How the hell am I meant to get home now?" she demanded. "What is this Deliverer meant to deliver anyhow?"

"Us all. You will deliver us all from persecution and tyranny."

She shook her head in denial, letting it come to rest on the rock behind her back as she released a deep sigh. "I'm not the person you're looking for Dainton. I'm just a normal vampire, deochfola; nothing special or out of the ordinary. I'm just like all the other deochfola who came through the vortex before me. Now I'm stuck here with no way home." She sniffed and wiped at her running nose with her sleeve.

"There might be a way," he whispered hesitantly. "Mama told me that if anything happened to her then I was to go to the north coast and search for a draoi by the name of Lana, that she would help."

She searched his thoughts for deception and found none. "Fine, then help me free the others of my world from the prison in the town and we'll all go look for this Lana. My name is Sidney by the way, and we leave as soon as the sun goes down. I've no doubt the hunters will be back in the area come nightfall looking for you."