Eddie's face darkened, and he looked down at the table.
"Last Christmas, my best friend Mason and I got some people together and took off to hunt Strigoi on our own. We were senior novices, you know, we thought we had it all in hand. We couldn't have been more wrong."
His eyes were distant, and there was a darkness and a sadness there that told of a deep, deep pain.
"The Strigoi captured us. They fed from me for days, I can hardly remember most of it. But when I came to...Mason was dead. My best friend since I was a kid. And I'd been too weak, too under the effects of Strigoi venom to help. If I'd only been stronger - "