As I watched the people fight the flames, I became aware of a persistent thirst developing. I strove to ignore it as I had done in the past with many time wasting bodily functions. The longer I fought to ignore the thirst, the worst it grew. Until I had to crawl back away from the scene and lay on my back fighting it.

At last it drove me to my feet and I found that I could sense the people below. The thirst awakened a hunger in me , but I fought e urge to go down to the people. ThenI remembered the sheep and I found myself running down the slope in the direction of the flock.

In my mouth, I felt my canine teeth lengthening and all that I could think aout was my thirst. What had happened to me? Who had done this to me and why?

The sheep were in sight and I saw that several had been shorn. One hobbled along near the back of the pack and I found myself focusing on that one. I slowed to a stalking walk and headed for that sheep. The flock didn't scatter before me but parted to allow me through. I approached the sheep cautiously and it looked up and met my gaze. I found myself willing it to hold still and it appeared to be frozen in place.

What happened next disgusted me, I went for a vein that lay near the surface of the skin and plunged my fangs into it. The warm blood filed my mouth and after three swallows was satisfied. Then a curious thing happened, I felt something draining from my canine teeth into the sheep. Once my fangs were empty, I found that I could jerk myself back away from the sheep. it looked up at me and then returned to contented grazing. The strange thing was that it looked healthier than it had before my... Feeding?

I shook my head and moved away from the flock. The case that I had tried in vain to remember came back to me. The woman had been accused of drinking her son's blood. The definition returned to me with full force. A corpse that raised from the dead to feed on the blood of the living. A part of me wished that I had forgotten that fact completely but it did give me my answer.

My mind raced as I tried to decide what my next action would be. The first thing that I now considered was the fat that it was only a few hours until sunrise. I was unsure wether it was true that vampires turned to dust in the sunlight but I didn't want to chance it. From there I would have to find out who had set fire to my residence and see if there was someone trying to kill me. The words of my attacker returned to me. It would appear that my stalker believed that if I became a vampire that it would save my life.

I sighed and felt frustrated at the lack of data. All the people swarming over my burning house made it impossible for me to return there tonight and gather clues. So I would have to deal with the approaching sun instead.

I decided that I would go to my second house that no one knew that I owned in the country. It was purchased after I did some work for the British government in uncovering an elusive spy. My friend Watson had written enough about my exploits that I felt a second secret home was the only feasible option. It would be a perfect place to relocate and gather my wits about me and it also had some reference books that I could utilize. I turned and started off across the little travel paths of the downs towards my second home.