Julian is just about to bury his fangs in the hunter's neck when the man buries the dagger in Julian's belly. White-hot agony explodes deep inside Julian and he lets out a blood-curdling scream. He rolls off the man and collapses on the grass, curling into a ball with his hands pressed against his wounded stomach.
The blood that gushes over his fingers is cold, useless, not so much sustaining life as a memory of it. But the pain, the pain is excruciating, so much worse than the boy vampire could ever have imagined.
"Ai..." he whimpers, pressing his face into the cool grass. "Ai, Leo, help me. Leo, please..."