CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Viktor's attorneys were as good as their word. After taking Selene's photograph, they handed her a newly minted passport and a driver's license. To Michael's extreme surprise, they returned his own battered documentation. "There is no need to create an identity for you, Dr. Corvin. It was an easier matter to clear up the criminal charges made against you."

Phones and credit cards were handed to them. Selene looked down at her hands blankly when these were passed to her. "The staff is at your complete disposal. All invoices for purchases, bills, and requirements for legal representation will be handled through this firm as they have always been. We will need a list of individuals to whom you plan to disperse monetary support. Will you need an automobile?"

Selene looked up. She seemed stunned, confused. "I'm sorry. What did you ask me?"

Michael put his hand on her shoulder. "Yes, she needs a car. I think this has all been a lot to take in. Do you have somewhere she can sit for a few moments?"

"Yes, yes, of course." They were ushered to a beautifully furnished, dimly lit room. Selene sank down into a chair and closed her eyes. Her heart was beating at twice its normal rate and the walls seemed to be closing in around her.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I couldn't hear anything anyone was saying."

"Your entire life has changed. No one expects you to…" Michael stopped when Selene suddenly reached out and grasped the wrist he had not offered to Kahn. She looked at it closely and then turned it upward.

Michael sighed and looked away for a moment. He swallowed and then looked down at the scars he had put there. "That's what I did when my life turned upside down. It didn't work. It won't work for you either, Selene."

"What did work?" she asked. "Can you tell me that?"

Michael sat down and took Selene's hands between his own. "I stopped thinking about my whole life and focused on the five minutes right in front of me. And when I lived through that, I went on to the next five. While I was busy doing it, I wasn't thinking about how much I wanted to die."

"Honestly?"

"Honestly. I know it sounds simplistic. It is, but I swear it's true. You need to stop looking at the big picture for awhile and get used to the little things around you."

Selene shook her head. "I don't know how to turn my mind off. Before last week, I'd just take a gun and shoot whatever bothered me." She smiled and added, "I don't think I can do that anymore."

"Unless you're going to shoot me, I think you're right."

Selene leaned forward until her forehead touched Michael's. "Never crossed my mind," she told him.

Michael chuckled. "I'll bet it hasn't. Come on, you'd better go tell them you want a car with some speed."

While arrangements were made, Michael read several days worth of newspapers to reorient himself with the world. He was surprised to find it was Thursday and that his native Long Island was in the midst of an ice storm. He was thinking of the stark beauty of Sag Harbor in winter when a soft voice interrupted his reverie.

"May I ask you a question, Dr. Corvin?"

Michael lowered the paper. "Pardon me?" he asked politely.

An earnest, nervous young woman stood before him. She seemed to be struggling with fear as well as intense excitement. She was gazing at Michael as if he were a holy grail of sorts. A dangerous but priceless relic just the same. "I wanted to ask you…" her voice cracked.

He leaned forward, "Yes?"

She stepped back so quickly that she stumbled. Without thinking, Michael rose and took her elbow. Her eyebrows shot up and she gasped at the unnatural speed of his movements. Eyes wide, she pulled away in panic.

"God, no!" Michael cried in frustration. "I wasn't going to hurt you!" He sat and placed his open palms on the table with exaggerated slowness. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Well, I…um. What…what is it like?"

He didn't have to ask what she meant. He knew well enough. How did he feel? How had he changed? How had he adjusted? What meaning did time have for him, now that his days stretched into eternity? Did he value human life now that he was no longer a mortal? Was he, even now, fighting a hunger to bury fangs into her fragile flesh and steal her life away as hot blood filled his mouth? Was he a threat to all he encountered? Did he have a right to life now that he was a potential killer?

"It's nothing like you are thinking," he told her. "Had I been given a choice, I would have refused."

She took a step closer, her eyes shining.

"Stop," he warned.

"But you'll live forever!"

"You'd give up your life for this?" He asked.

"Yes!"

He laughed, a harsh, disgusted sound. He shook his head. "You think you would, but you're wrong."

"Dr. Corvin, I…"

"Please, don't call me that. My name is Michael. I'm not 'doctor' anything anymore." With that, he picked up another newspaper and pointedly directed his attention to it. After a few moments, the woman turned and quietly left the room. "Shit," Michael muttered and slammed the paper down. He was angry at himself for being angry. He was angry that it now took so little to incite him to anger.

When Selene returned, she handed him a strip of paper with an address written on it. "We have an appointment with Ziodex tomorrow morning," she announced.

"Why not today?"

"I imagine Kahn wants his car back," she answered with a smile. "Let's go. You can follow me there."