I fell back hard onto a gravestone, the sound of my ribs cracking as I tumbled over it. I lay on the ground looking up at the sky. Everything was going dark, and the sun had still not quite set. I winced in pain as I tried to roll over to get a look at what was happening. The man carried Ali into the mausoleum. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Charlotte," Holden's voice said urgently. I looked up and saw him looking down at me. Faint smoke floated off of his slightly sizzling skin.
"Holden, it's daylight." I said reaching out to him.
"Only for a few minutes. I have to heal you." He bit into his arm, blood trickled down to his elbow. "Here, drink." He placed his arm next to my mouth.
"Holden, I don't want to become a vampire."
"You won't. Just drink!"
Initially horrified, I felt the p
