The Vampire Tapestry (36 page)

Then for a time came an unexpected gift. The voices of the people returned vividly to him, their faces, gestures, laughter, the swirling brightness of the opera crowd, the jingle of coins in Irv’s pocket, Mark’s warm, bony shoulder under his hand as they walked toward the river, the scent of Floria’s skin. Intense pleasure filled him as he yielded himself to the mingled ache and joy of memory, as he gathered in his Weyland life.

At length, when possession of that life was achieved, all was effortlessly let go like a release of breath. In the still vault of his mind darkness began to thicken and drift. Tranquilly he recognized the onset of sleep. He did not resist.