Jack shot straight up in bed, the intense burning in his throat almost more than he could bear. He looked around the room, only vaguely remembering where he was and what had happened to him. It was still dark outside, and glancing at the clock, he could see that it was only 5:15 AM. He remembered Giovani saying that older Vampires rarely slept, so he was hopeful that his brother would be available to tell him what to do about this condition. Pulling on his crumpled jeans from the floor and a T-shirt, he went out to investigate.

Giovani was sitting on the couch, game controller in hand, steering some...