by M. D. Bowden
Daniel was growing bored. He accelerated down the motorway; eager to reach their destination. It was late and the road was deserted, and sensible people had retreated to their homes to sleep.
Sarah was also asleep.
He had nothing to distract himself from wondering what dangers they would soon be facing. Had he made the right decision to get Sarah into this so quickly?
However many times he asked himself that question the answer could never be clear; it would all depend on what they faced. This case of missing people might be nothing of interest anyway, no paranormal involvement at all. Even so, maybe they could help? It would be better than doing nothing, and he would still be using his abilities to help people. What were the chances they really were going to be facing something supernatural?
Since he had become a vampire his whole world had revolved around paranormal phenomena, but how common was that really?
He rolled his eyes at himself again, and forced himself to concentrate on his journey. He had stopped off at a garage on route and purchased a map, which informed him there should soon be a turning off onto a smaller road. He needed to keep his eyes peeled so he would not miss it.
He thought longingly of sleep. He had not slept at all since his brief kip in the forest after burying Sebastian’s ashes and bound spirit. It was a good job he was a vampire, or he would be way beyond functioning right now. As it was, his reflexes were slowing, although he was still capable of reacting faster than any human.
He spotted a sign ahead and slowed just enough to read it. As he saw the sign read ‘Exeter’ he smiled with relief as their journey was nearly over. He sped through the night onto the dual carriageway; a smaller road that could still handle his pace. He was really pushing the car to its limits, for it was not designed for this type of driving. He had already had to refill the tank twice. The car would excel at moorland tracks and he wondered if he would get a chance to test it out.
Sarah turned in her sleep by his side and he wondered if she was having a nightmare. She often stirred in her sleep, but whenever he asked her what she had dreamt she always claimed not to remember. He wondered if her dreams might be prophetic, and if she could only tap into them, it may give them a clue to help them decide what to do. He had heard that some vampires, especially women, were known to have prophetic dreams, although he did not know if that was true. He had never had any himself. He thought maybe he could try connecting with her mind when she was dreaming and see if he could sense anything, but would she object? What if her dreams are personal? She might be remembering her husband and children. They may be about me, he thought with hope.
He decided he would ask her permission, rather than violating her trust. He supposed reading her dreams might be akin to reading someone’s diary.
Lost in thought he nearly missed the next turning. He quickly swung the car to the side and took the exit just in time. He was getting closer!
He navigated a couple of roundabouts then found himself on a windy road towards Moretonhamstead, a town he supposed was the gateway to the moors.
The road was completely deserted and it was dark. There was no street lighting, and even though the sky was clear and he could see the stars, the moon was dark. He had an eerie feeling and wondered if it was a premonition, or only a fear of the unknown.
He laughed quietly to himself and raised his eyebrows – a vampire afraid of the unknown?
When he reached the town of Moretonhamstead he checked out the signs and took a right at the square. The streets were narrow and the old brick houses close on either side. The deserted streets there were lit by streetlamps, but the windows of homes were dark. A sense of oppression gripped him as he drove through the town, what had they done coming here? What was going to happen?
But as he left the town behind and reached the moor his feelings changed. An expanse of open valleys, and rolling hills scattered with granite, were lit by starlight. It was beautiful.
He considered shaking Sarah awake right then so she could see it, but he had second thoughts and decided to let her sleep. She was exhausted, and he was too. He saw a car park ahead and slowly drove in, pulling on the handbrake gently so as not to disturb Sarah.
She looked serine now, her dreaming had stopped and her eyes were still. He laid his hand on her lap so he could feel a connection with her, and reclined his seat. He briefly looked at the clear night sky, appreciating the beauty of the stars glowing above, before giving in to his fatigue and letting his eyes fall shut.
CHAPTER 13
Sarah’s eyes rolled in her sleep; she tossed and turned trying to find comfort in her seat. Dreams and images flicked through her mind, never holding her attention for long. She stood in a stone circle surrounded by death. She ran across the moors trying to escape. Things reached for her, grabbed at her. She repeatedly fought for her life.
She awoke as the sun was rising over the horizon. She stretched and just in time, she saw Daniel’s hand fall from her leg. Warm appreciation flooded her. She had an odd sense of having dreamt something unpleasant, and shook it away – not wanting to recall it. There was no point getting immersed in darkness when she was surrounded by such beauty.
Looking about she saw they must have reached the moor. They were parked in a gravelly hollow surrounded by large stones that sparkled pink in the early morning light. She twisted her body to try and see more of her surroundings, but her view was blocked by tendrils of mist drifting though the valley.
Sarah considered getting out of the car and searching for her photo albums. She felt a sad emptiness inside without her kids, and wanted to at least see their faces. But she did not want to wake Daniel. He must have been driving for hours after she had fallen asleep and he had not disturbed her at all, it was so good of him. She would look at the pictures later, she decided. For now she would just have to look at Daniel instead. . . .
She gazed at him, knowing full well there was nothing that he could do to stop her. He was so beautiful, if it was even possible – more so than the surrounding countryside. Yet he looked out of place here, or did he? He was so mysterious that he could be a creature of darkness flitting through people’s dreams. He was also full of light and good intentions. He was a dream, like a guardian angel come to save her from the tragedy of her past.
He was Daniel.
She smiled and sighed, contentment and pleasure mixing with sadness and loss.
As she gazed at him he opened one eye and caught her staring. Her cheeks flushed and she grinned.
‘Hey,’ she said.
His returning smile filled her with love. She scrambled up in her seat and climbed onto his lap, curling up like a child. He encircled her with his arms and she just sat there while he held her, breathing together, seeking solace and comfort in his arms.
She closed her eyes and drifted in and out of sleep as Daniel rubbed his lips against her hair, and stroked her gently. Tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks as she allowed herself to feel, to miss her children without pushing the hard emotions deeply inside her and out of reach.
She started to feel better and wiped her tears away.
‘I need to go find us a place to stay soon,’ Daniel muttered against her hair. ‘Then we’ll have somewhere we can just be ourselves.’
Sarah looked into his eyes and nodded, before climbing back into her seat. Daniel started the car and they were moving. She did not feel the need to speak, or to even know where they were headed, so she just gazed out of the window at the passing landscape; admiring its barren and windswept expanse.
The hillsides were covered in scattered stones, tufted wild grass and marshes. What made the area truly different from anywhere she had ever seen were the hills, or mountains, or whatever they were . . . They were topped with massive stones that looked like they must have been placed there by giants.
Wild ponies roamed the land, and sheep ran in droves across the road before them. Daniel had to slow to wait for animals to pass on a few occasions, and she could no
t help but exchange the odd glance of amazement – for Daniel seemed to be in just as much of a dream as she.
Sarah saw a dark fortress ahead and recognized it instantly from the picture in the newspaper. She knew they had reached Princetown. The town itself was unremarkable - painted houses, possibly Victorian, were accompanied by the odd café, quirky shop and Inn. The prison dominated the town – it was enormous and made of dark stone, with a hundred tiny barred windows.
Daniel pulled up the four by four on the pavement, outside a small real estate agent.
‘Do you want to wait here?’ he asked her.
‘Yes, I think I better – I’m kinda thirsty,’ she said.
She did not want to be tempted to feed on someone else who was trying to help them. She wanted her next feed to be animal blood, less satisfying but better for her soul. She seriously doubted there would be any bears to feed on though.
‘How thirsty?’ Daniel asked, concerned. ‘Do you think you need me to help you?’
Sarah nodded; she did not want to risk it.
Daniel fixed his eyes to hers and she felt his power rising.
‘Stay here and wait for me, I will not be long,’ he said, infused with his strong will.
Sarah knew she could not move now, however much she wanted to.
She watched as Daniel entered the real estate agent and wondered how he would go about this - they had not even talked about money. Did he have much? Did he have any, or did he use his influence to get what he wanted? The idea made her uncomfortable, and she hoped that was not it. She would need to talk to him about it later.
She was skint. She had not been when Jo had been providing for them, but she had just assumed any money that remained would be used for her kids, by her parents. At least they were not poor – they would manage without her earning any money. But what about now? Daniel had sorted out the flights and now he was looking for somewhere to stay, but they had not talked about what they could afford. He had been earning money in Hartland, back in Canada, working for her Dad, but he would not have earned enough to rent somewhere here without some extra source of funds, and he had not talked about finding work. She knew there was no way she could work as she would end up eating whomever she worked for. There was no avoiding that reality.
As she sat there couples walked past pushing children in pushchairs. It reminded her painfully of what she had had to leave behind.
Only minutes had passed when Daniel reappeared trying to suppress a grin. He slid into the car beside her.
‘Sorted,’ he said.
‘You’ve found somewhere already? How did you wangle that?’ she asked, amazed.
He tapped his nose, ‘I happen to have certain powers of persuasion,’ he said.
Sarah decided now would not be the best time to bring up the money issue as she did not want to ruin the moment, plus she was desperate to find out what he had found.
‘Well?’ she asked, spotting a piece of paper in his hands.
He presented her with it, and she looked down to inspect it. Before her was a picture of a tiny stone cottage, entirely on its own and backed by moor. Underneath was a description of the rooms. There was only one bedroom, perfect, plus a bathroom, living room and kitchen. There was a small yard with a stone wall, and it was so remote you needed to drive up a track to reach it. Good job they had got the four by four, she thought.
‘It looks lovely,’ she said. ‘When can we move in?’
She met Daniel’s eyes, and saw how much he had hoped she would like it. She grinned to show her appreciation of his efforts. He reached into his pocket and brought out a set of keys, and tossed it to her. She was so surprised she nearly dropped them, but caught them just in time, giggling.
‘Can we go there now?’ she asked, not even trying to hide her excitement.
‘Yes, we certainly can,’ said Daniel.
‘Yay. I didn’t know what to expect, but this place looks so cute! And old, do you know how old it is?’ she asked him.
‘No, but I’d guess at sixteenth century,’ he answered.
‘Whew, there was no-where any-where near that age in Hartland,’ she said.
Daniel started the engine and drove out of town.
Her throat hurt - it was so dry, and she knew what that meant. She needed blood. She felt antsy, restless, and was starting to feel violent. It was hard to focus on where Daniel was going as he drove, and it seemed like no time at all until she felt the bumps of a gravel track and the car came to a halt.
Why did blood lust hit her like this? She was ok, not doing too badly at all, then smash, she was a wreck and likely to lose it at any second.
Her car door opened and Daniel was lifting her out.
‘Shhh,’ he said – ‘you will be fine, you can drink from me.’
A groan escaped her lips, but she did not even have the energy to cover her mouth. She heard a key turning in a lock, and things become fuzzy as she ascended the stairs in his arms.
‘Daniel?’ she asked, uncertain that it was even him here with her.
She heard the faintest swish and smelt the heavenly odor of intoxicating liquid. Her eyes flicked open and she saw deep red drips running down Daniel’s neck. Instantly she moved, she had to – she sank her fangs into his neck and drank. It was totally different from when she had fed on a human, or an animal. Daniel’s blood was rich with a different type of power, and it had an entirely different effect on her.
Passion. Desire.
They ignited inside her, and she wanted him.
She broke away; her thirst abated and lunged for his mouth, his too utterly sexy for his own good lips, and kissed him deeply, intensely – taking him in for what he was – an amazing, giving, sexy, dynamic man.
I love him, she thought, and pulled off his clothes as he ripped hers away.
She was naked and fell back on a soft, already made bed. Daniel was on top of her, moving against her as she melted into him, her world dissolving around her.
CHAPTER 14
Sarah finally had the chance. She opened up her rucksack and pulled out her photo album. She turned the front cover and saw pictures of Megan and Bea one year ago. She quickly flicked to the end where there were the most recent pictures which were taken only one month before. There they were - Megan with a grown up, trying hard to be responsible, expression on her face, with her arms around Bea. Megan had been trying to help Bea play with her toys – much to Bea’s disgust. Sarah’s heart wrenched at the sight of them and she let herself shed tears. She would allow herself this one moment of indulgence, to mope, to miss her two little loves, and then she would have to move on - for now.
They would be fine. They were with her parents, who loved them, who they loved. They would be happy.
She wiped her cheeks dry on her sleeve and closed the album, before placing it at the back of an empty cupboard.
Daniel had left her alone ten minutes before. He had driven into town to fetch some luxuries. She suspected alcohol might be on the cards. She hoped chocolate.
Before he had left he had brought in their luggage while she had lain on the bed in a daze. She was surprised he had not kicked her up the butt and into action. But now she was on the case. She would have everything unpacked, including his stuff, before he returned.
Their bedroom was adorable. That was one of the reasons she had not been tempted to leave it. There was an old oak double bed made up with retro, flowery bedding. The walls were rough and painted white. There were wooden floorboards under her feet and there was one cupboard made of dark mahogany. Beyond the bed was a small window which was deeply set in the wall. She walked over to it and sat on the ledge.
Outside it was stunningly wild. There was a hill that steepened as it extended away from their house, and it was scattered with the stones that were everywhere on the moor. Daniel had informed her they were granite and had been created by ancient volcanism. In the distance she could see the steeple of a church and was eager to investigate. She was tempted to give up o
n the unpacking and go directly to check it out, but what if there was someone there? She did not want to risk hurting anyone just to satisfy her curiosity. Instead she resolved she would persuade Daniel to accompany her later. For now she would get on with the job in hand.
She returned to her bag and tipped it upside down, emptying its contents onto the bed. She folded the clothes she had so hastily wedged into her bag upon leaving and put them away, before venturing out of the room and placing her bits and pieces on the window sill in the bathroom, which was tiny. There was a toilet and a sink, and a low down shower, even she would need to duck to wash. Hmm, washing. Now that sounded like a good idea.
She quickly put away Daniel’s stuff too. His items were very minimalist so her curiosity to discover more about him was not satisfied.
There were towels in a pile at the foot of the bed. She supposed they had been on the bed before their, err… kinky action. She grabbed one and rushed to the shower. It was weak and disappointing. She had had to stand under it for ages to get the bubbles out of her hair.
Dissatisfied, she was just stepping out when Daniel came in with an enticing glint in his eye. From behind his back he pulled out a glass of bubbly and pushed it into her hand.
She flushed – she was still naked! She sipped the bubbly liquid, appreciating its smooth taste, and how it made her brain feel like it fizzed.
‘Thank you,’ she smirked, and reached for a towel.
Daniel stroked her tummy playfully before she managed to wrap it around her body, then he disappeared. She heard his steps on wood as he descended the stairs and left her alone to get dressed.
She took a few more sips and then hurriedly threw on some clothes. Now Daniel was back she wanted to explore. She brushed and blow dried her hair and rejoiced in putting makeup on for the first time in days.
Finishing her drink she took one look around their new room then bounded down the stairs to Daniel. She found him in the living room, relaxing on a worm sofa with his feet up – a glass of bubbly in hand. He gave her a super sexy smile which did funny things to her insides.