by M. D. Bowden
Yes, this is it. And Jo hurried back to the bar, into the crowd.
He moved smoothly onto the dance floor, entranced by the rhythms, the throng of hearts. He saw two girls ahead of him, and approached one from behind. Focusing on her blood flowing, he wanted to rip into her neck right there, but managed to resist, withholding temptation.
He sent out tendrils of power, coaxing her mind, making her more receptive, and she turned, eyeing him appreciatively. She began to dance with him, bringing her hands up to his shoulders and they swayed together. Her friend rolled her eyes and moved off.
The girl he’d chosen looked pretty but torn, short dark hair, dark eyes heavy with eyeliner. She danced like she was trying to lose herself with him, forget the normality of life.
Jo felt, heard and smelt her blood, flowing around her body, her heart beating fast with her movement, her attraction. He caught her chin with his fingers and brought her eyes up to his. ‘Let’s leave,’ he said, projecting influence. He caught her hand, and this time it was him leading the girl outside.
He pulled her into the same alley, but not so far down; he didn’t want her to notice the other girl lying on the ground. He couldn’t resist and turned to face her, his teeth instantly extending. She sensed the change in him, sensed she was in danger and tried to step away, but Jo grabbed her, he didn’t have Sebastian’s patience.
He did as he’d been longing to do all day, he yanked her head aside by her hair and sank his teeth deep into her neck. She yelled out and he reached around with one hand, smothering her cries, using his left hand and his teeth to keep her in place. He drank her as fast as he could, gulping the real, intoxicating liquid. So much better than alcohol, so much better than that deer.
She weakened and stopped fighting. He sank his teeth deeper, trying to get every drop of her before she fell, drained, dead, in a heap on the wet ground. He staggered back, buzzing with blood, with life.
Sebastian was there, watching. Jo had been so enthralled in his feed he hadn’t even noticed.
‘Pick up the girl Jo, take her further into the alley where your next victim won’t notice her.’
Jo did as he was told, feeling amazing. He picked the girl up, she was light like a doll, and carried her deeper into the dark. He discarded her by some bins and turned, wiping blood off his face, not giving her a second thought, and returned to Sebastian’s side, awaiting his next command.
‘I’m impressed. You managed to restrain yourself until you were out of the bar, I wasn’t sure you could manage it. It will be sometime until you can control yourself enough to interrupt the feed. But you can kill; just make sure you hide the bodies. Killing is all part of the plan.’
Jo regarded Sebastian, life strumming through his veins, he still felt eager, hungry for more.
***
Sarah was ready to leave. She had put on tight faded jeans with black boots and wore them with a high necked black top. The idea was, if vampires couldn’t see her neck it might reduce temptation.
She’d applied makeup to help her blend in. Then she’d covered herself up in a very thick coat and hood to keep her warm and dry. In the pockets she had stashed some wooden stakes Daniel had given her. He’d even given her a little tutorial, getting her to practice on him, except without actually stabbing him, of course. They had spent an age waiting to go out, waiting until it was late enough. Sarah had put on a movie to try and calm her mind. Not that it had worked, although it was hard to think of anything apart from Daniel, with him so close. Regardless of their situation.
As they left together to go out, it felt completely different from earlier. Sarah couldn’t believe it was only this morning he had knocked at her door. So much had happened. She was feeling more comfortable with Daniel, and he was more protective than ever, as they headed out into the dark together. He kept his arm around her and constantly looked about. Sarah sensed he was on edge, like he was expecting someone to attack before they’d even left her drive. The Victorian lamps only provided minimal lighting, enough for Sarah to see where she was treading, and the odd tree branch. She suspected Daniel’s eyesight was much more acute though, and wondered how much of an advantage he had.
As they entered the main streets it was silent, nobody out in this region so late. Even around the bars there wouldn’t be anyone out - if anyone went outside it would be brief due to the cold. After a substantial walk, they reached the grotty area. Daniel was more alert than ever. Music pounded out of a venue ahead and they ducked inside, finding themselves instantly in a crowd. Sarah felt Daniel tighten his grip on her. Her heart pounded, it felt like something could happen any minute and she had no idea how this evening was going to go. She could barely believe that she might try and kill Jo. Or Sebastian - not that she’d stand much chance against him. Their best chance would be to tackle Jo alone, they might be able to kill him.
But could she do it? She saw his image from earlier flash back into her mind. I could do it if he was acting like that. She didn’t think she could if he acted normal. She wouldn’t be able to believe what had happened earlier. What if she had hallucinated the whole thing? What if Jo wasn’t a monster at all? What if she was actually going mad, seeing things?
Music thudded around her. It was dark and people bumped into her. The place smelt bad; smoke, spilt drinks and sweat. She pushed through, looking for any sign of Jo, Daniel holding her hand. He had explained to her what Sebastian looked like. Very tall, thin, longish hair, dark eyes. Probably dressed much like Daniel. She hadn’t seen a photo though so really was trusting in Daniel to spot him. Sarah looked hard, investigating every corner, but couldn’t see any sign of either of them. She looked at Daniel and he gesticulated towards the door.
As the fresh air hit her Sarah breathed it in, relieved to be in the open.
‘Next place?’ she asked.
‘Yes, but first . . .’ and he leant in and kissed her. She felt warmth spread through her, feeling giddy with attraction, and broke into a smile as he pulled away.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the next place, looking intently down every alley. It was much of the same; dark, crowded, smoky. When they left this one Sarah’s unease increased. It seemed likely they would have to face some kind of situation soon.
The next bar was quieter. Sarah kept thinking she saw Jo in the dark, but at second glance realizing it was just her paranoia. She kept looking for his short hair and warm brown eyes, or his chunky well-built frame. The thing was, these weren’t uncommon features - it was easy to think that she was seeing things in the dark. She was also keenly looking for blood, inspecting necks, seeing if there were any signs of bites.
She followed Daniel to the bar and he bought her a coke. Not what she would usually choose, but she didn’t want alcohol obscuring her judgment. The sugary liquid did perk her up, and soothed her throat from the smoke. She leant into Daniel, feeling his hard muscles beneath his leather jacket, but kept looking about. She didn’t want Jo to see her first.
They finished their drinks and decided there was definitely no sign of either Jo or Sebastian, and that it was time to move on. Back out in the cold Sarah held Daniel’s hand, tightly. She kept her other hand in her pocket, gripping onto a stake. It was so quiet, there were only distant sounds - the odd drunken shout in the distance, music muffled by heavy walls. It started to rain again and Sarah pulled her hood further over her face, catching Daniel’s eye and trying to smile. He gave her a gorgeous smile back, making her feel a little easier.
They rounded the next corner and saw another bar ahead. This one looked rough, the sign only just readable under the poor lighting, curtains drawn, front door closed. It didn’t look very welcoming.
She felt Daniel tense and looked up at him, then he pulled her into the shadows. Her heart pounded hard, she felt it in her throat and ears, but Daniel held onto her and she felt protected. It didn’t escape her mind how much older and stronger Sebastian supposedly was. She knew Daniel wouldn’t necessarily be able to protect her.
In the dark Daniel pulled at her chin so her eyes met his, ‘Calm down,’ he said. She lost herself in his eyes, feeling his influence seep in and her heart rate slow. She took a deep breath. He put his finger to his lips to indicate silence, then he kissed her, but this kiss was not like any they had shared before. It was like a doorway had opened and she could see into his mind. She felt awe, but this was soon interrupted by Daniel’s voice - speaking directly into her mind.
‘I influenced you to calm down as I didn’t want any vampires to sense you. The sound of your heart beat is driving me wild.’ Sarah felt her face heat, his lips still against hers. Then his mind turned serious, ‘I pulled you back here because I can smell blood. I think we must be close.’
Sarah hesitated a second, not sure how to return his thought. Then she felt his mind enter hers and he showed her, it was like a little release, neurons changing paths, an opening. ‘What shall we do?’ she asked. The thought flowed smoothly to Daniel, it felt amazing to communicate like this. She would have dwelt on it longer had it not been for the urgency of the situation.
‘Let’s move closer, hide in the shadows and watch. We’ll see if they appear. If you want to communicate again do it mind to mind. You will be able to do it now just touching skin to skin, holding hands.’
‘OK,’ Sarah said, feeling a touch of apprehension.
Daniel took her hand and led her closer, keeping close to the sides of buildings. They saw the bar door start to open and ducked into the shadow of a doorway. Daniel’s trick had worked well - Sarah’s heart didn’t speed up and she remained in control. Standing as far back as she could, she watched closely as Jo emerged from inside, pulling a young brunette behind him. She was small and skimpily dressed. Sarah instantly felt betrayed, seeing Jo with another woman, just as she’d dreaded. This situation wasn’t even close to anything she’d ever dreamt about though. Sarah saw the girl wrap her arms around herself as the cold air hit her, Jo leading her on towards an alley.
Daniel tightened his grip on her hand and spoke mind to mind. ‘This is it, Sebastian’s not in sight so we need to act now. When they go round the corner we follow.’
‘We need a plan,’ Sarah projected back.
‘You stay back, watch, and I will attack.’
Sarah felt a rush of dread engulf her - if he attacked he would kill Jo. She felt sick. But again, visions of his snarling blood covered face entered her mind. She nodded and held tightly to Daniel as they quickly followed Jo, entering the alley they’d seen him and the girl disappear down. It took her eyes a minute to adjust as Daniel raced forwards, then she saw Jo. He was against the wall, holding the girl tightly. Feeding on her.
His eyes snapped up and met Sarah’s - she stepped back as she saw them glow red, and he dropped the girl, discarding her. Blood dripped from his mouth and he snarled.
In that second Daniel hit into him and Jo turned his attention to his immediate threat. Sarah watched as they fell to the floor, pulling a stake out of her pocket, holding it ready to strike. Jo rolled over, away from Daniel, they were moving so fast she could barely see what was going on. She didn’t dare move any closer, not wanting to get in Daniel’s way. Daniel jumped on Jo, his teeth extending. Sarah felt even sicker, she didn’t know what to do. A big part of her just wanted to run, but she was frozen to the spot, staring wildly at the action before her.
Another part of her wanted to jump in, to end this now. She felt angry at Jo, and disgusted by his actions. But she also felt sorry for him, that this had happened at all. She still felt guilty at her anger. This really wasn’t his fault. But there wasn’t anything she could do about it now. He’d killed a girl, right in front of her. He had to die.
She stepped closer, but as she did she saw Daniel pin Jo on his back and draw out a stake. Before he got a chance to use it Jo mustered all his strength and pushed him back, then jumped up and kicked him in the stomach with both feet, sending Daniel and the stake flying back. Jo ran at Sarah, so fast that she barely saw him coming. She braced herself, holding her stake, ready to fight. But he grabbed her hard, pushing her to the floor.
Her head hit stone paving, splitting with pain and he bit straight into her throat. Pain seared through her and she jammed the stake into his side, she felt it puncture him but knew she’d missed his heart. Then an impact took her breath away, and Jo was forced hard against her. But his draw of blood stopped and his teeth retracted from her neck. The weight disappeared from her as Daniel pulled Jo off. She gasped for breath, putting her hands to her neck to curb the blood flow. Weakness engulfed her as Daniel pulled her to her feet, supporting her weight. Jo lay before her, a stake rammed in his heart from behind. She watched as he caught alight, right in front of her eyes. Tears welled up as she watched Jo burn.
Daniel was suddenly rasped from her side. With a blow she stumbled away, seeing Daniel ram against the far wall, thrown against his will. She saw a blur of movement then there was someone pummeling Daniel. Someone tall, dark and thin, wearing a leather jacket. Sebastian.
Her heart contracted as she saw Daniel, his face cut and bleeding. He managed to land a blow into Sebastian’s stomach and he fell back. Sarah saw Sebastian’s face, chiseled and handsome and angry. ‘He was mine Daniel,’ and he rammed into him with fresh kicks, making Daniel fall to the ground.
Daniel was soon on his feet again, an angry snarl on his face, ‘You have to stop this now, I can’t let you keep killing people.’ And he lunged at Sebastian, knocking him off against the paving.
Sebastian laughed, a bitter spiteful sound. Sarah leant back against the cold wall, trying not to fall down, she was so weak. Her neck and head really hurt.
‘It’s not up to you Daniel, I do as I please. You can’t stop me.’ Sarah’s breath caught in her throat as Sebastian appeared before her. She hadn’t even seen him coming. ‘I will take her in exchange.’
‘No!’ she heard Daniel shout. But it was too late, she could feel herself moving off at high speed, dizziness engulfed her and all went black.
Chapter 7
Daniel’s heart exploded. Sebastian had taken Sarah. The first woman he had cared about since he had lost his wife, who Sebastian had killed. Tears rolled down his cheeks, he felt helpless. Like an idiot. I should never have let her come. But she had been amazing, she had coped, she had held up that stake, prepared to fight as Jo had come for her. And she had stabbed it into him, piercing just below his ribs. Yet her angle hadn’t been right, she couldn’t reach his heart when Jo had been pushing her onto the stone. If he hadn’t attacked her I may not have been able to kill him.
When he was feeding off Sarah Jo had been an easy victim. It hadn’t taken long to be at their side. To stab him in the back. Jo deserved it though. He would have killed Sarah. She was injured, she was weakened. I should have given her my blood, he thought, before it was too late, before he had a chance to take her. I should have known he’d come, I should have taken her away the second I killed Jo. I should have sped her out of here myself.
Daniel let himself slip down against the wall in despair. There was no point following Sebastian now, he was much faster. He would have to think of a plan and track them down. Get Sarah back.
The alley was dark and still. It smelt strongly of blood. It made Daniel’s throat burn with thirst. He would have to hunt before tracking Sebastian, increase his strength if he had any chance of succeeding.
He forced himself to rise, to get it together. He had already healed, but he could feel dirt and dried blood on his face. He wiped at it with his sleeve, trying to make himself more presentable. He straightened out his hair and clothes, dirt falling to the ground.
He heard movement and was back on alert; it was coming from deeper in the alley. He walked towards the sound, proceeding with caution, feeling weak.
There, he saw bodies on the ground, his eyes focused in and he saw there were four, piled on top of each other. Four dead people. If only he and Sarah had come out a little earlier, they may have saved someone.
Things may have panned out differently.
One of the bodies moved. He looked at the neck, healed, and surrounded by blond hair much like Sarah’s. Sebastian must have turned her.
Daniel grabbed another stake from inside his coat and stabbed it into her heart, before she’d even had the opportunity to open her eyes. She burst into flames. He checked the other victims. All dead, none to save, none that were going to turn.
He walked away from the scene, despair and desperation in his heart. He could go to the forest, hunt for bear. But as he was thinking this he saw the bar door open and a couple of men stepped out.
***
Sarah came to with something pressed against her mouth, cool firm skin, something enticing dripping into her mouth, sliding down her throat. Blood. She snapped her eyes open and the wrist pressed more firmly into her mouth, a hand held her head in place from behind. She gulped, swallowing more blood, feeling the pain in her head and neck ease. Then the wrist pulled away and, in the dim moon-lit night, she was looking into dark eyes that stretched to infinity. Only these weren’t the gentle smoldering eyes of Daniel, these were the black eyes of Sebastian.
They were filled with amusement and wickedness. His hair fell about his face - she almost wanted to reach out and stroke it, it looked so sleek and shiny. She shook her head, realizing she was under his influence. Her heart pounded, and Sarah realized Daniel’s influence had worn off. Daniel. Jo. Jo’s dead.
Tears sprang into her eyes and she let them fall. Without thinking she hit Sebastian. He obviously hadn’t been expecting it as he fell back, grabbing a branch and swinging back up. Sarah had been so absorbed she hadn’t even noticed their location. They were on a wide branch, perched in a tree. Her heart raced. It was so dark she couldn’t tell how high they were.
Hearing laughter she faced Sebastian. ‘How could you do this? You - you killed Jo. He was my husband.’ More tears fell down her face. Sebastian reached towards her and she flinched back, yet held tightly to the branch. She didn’t fancy falling.