by M. D. Bowden
He did not want to waste that power, or those lives. He would have to find a way to make it up to the universe, to level out his debt.
It had been amazing when Sarah had awoken, not long ago. Now he was sure she would be OK, that she would awaken again. She hadn’t rejected him - she had looked at him in awe, with love.
But what had she meant about feeing different? Could all the power in his blood, in Sebastian’s, have altered her somehow? Was it being so close to death? Or had she meant something else, maybe she felt emotionally different?
He would have to talk to her about it, when she was fully awake.
***
Sarah felt awareness increase in her body - she was waking up.
She felt arms holding her against a firm chest. Her face was pressed onto a smooth leather jacket - Daniel.
He was with her.
He had come for her, he had saved her from Sebastian.
But where was Sebastian now?
That question could wait. She was just so comfy, so sleepy. Those strange waves of energy had gone and she was feeling more normal, accept she was feeling very thirsty - her throat was parched - when did she last have water?
It felt like she was waking after a nice long sleep, in a happy haze.
Sarah opened her eyes and looked into Daniel’s. Her face broke into a cheeky grin.
‘Hi,’ she said.
His answering smile was brilliant, and made her heart feel warm.
‘Hi yourself.’
Sarah sat up, so she was sitting on Daniel’s lap, and stretched - it felt good. She looked around, seeing soft light filtering through the dark green leaves. She looked at Daniel - he was watching her closely, looking happy but also concerned.
‘What is it?’
‘You said you felt different. I was wondering what you meant?’
Sarah pushed herself up from his lap, slightly reluctantly, but she wanted to see for herself. She moved her body - testing her limbs, and looked around to test her eyes. She listened to the forest to see if her hearing was normal.
‘I don’t know. I feel good. Really good. Except that I’m thirsty, I would love a drink. I can see clearly, I feel healthy. Strong. Eew - and dirty,’ she said, looking down at her clothes and feeling the blood around her neck.
Daniel laughed - a deep musical sound which filled her with joy - and stood up. He had an oddly shaped bulge in one side of his leather jacket, Sarah wondered what it was.
‘How long have we been here for?’ Sarah asked.
‘About two days.’
‘Two days? That’s crazy! No wonder I’m so thirsty. Have I been asleep all that time?’
‘Yes, pretty much. Except from when you woke up earlier, briefly.’
‘I remember.’
Daniel walked closer and she looked into his dark eyes.
‘Thank you for looking after me.’
‘That was not a problem. I love you.’
He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. His cool fingers sent tingles through her body, and her heart sped up. She wasn’t yet immune to his beauty - she wondered if she would ever be.
Suddenly everything that had happened flooded back. Sarah felt herself pale, remembering what happened to Jo. He was dead. He had tried to kill her, and now he didn’t even exist. He was gone. She gasped, choking back tears.
‘Sarah . . .’ Daniel said, pulling her against his chest, but she pulled back urgently.
‘My children, my family. We have to get back! They won’t know what’s happened.’
‘We have to get you cleaned up first,’ he said, tracing his finger across the blood at her neck, his eyes solemn.
‘Are we still in danger? Where’s Sebastian?’ Sarah asked.
‘Don’t worry - we’re safe. Everyone’s safe.’ Daniel paused, ‘I killed him.’
‘You did? How?’
‘I’ll fill you in later, for now let’s get you cleaned up so you can see your children. Will you be OK?’
Sarah nodded. ‘Yes, but this is all going to take some time for me to adjust to. Everything with Jo, it was so complicated, so messed up – but regardless of that, I cared for him deeply.’
‘I know,’ Daniel said, wiping her cheek free from a stray tear.
Sarah smiled at him, a slight reserved smile, his beauty making it hard to think straight. He dazed her, making everything seem surreal.
‘I’m OK, I’ll be OK, I have to be – I really have to be.’
Daniel brushed her lips with his, making her face tingle, and this time she gave him a real smile. The pain was still there, but Daniel had a way of nuzzling in, making the sorrow move aside, letting life in.
‘Are you ready to go?’
‘Yes, I am.’
With that he swept her up into his arms, and she let out a squeal. Her skin tingled all over at his familiarity. He bolted through the forest with her in his arms, far faster than any human could. The trees went past in a blur as Daniel carried Sarah past them, narrowly avoiding branches, yet keeping her safe in his arms. Her heart felt free. She was safe.
She wouldn’t think about the loss now, she couldn’t - it was just too painful. She needed to block it out so she could keep her sanity. She was unbelievably relieved it was over.
The wind whipped through her hair as they traveled around the town of Hartland, not penetrating the outskirts, but staying out of sight, in the forest.
Sarah held on tight, looking around, looking at Daniel’s face. It was fixed with determination, concentrating on their route. He looked irresistibly sexy - she wanted to kiss him, but didn’t dare in case she distracted him, which could lead to a very fast collision with a tree.
Sarah shivered at the thought, and Daniel shot her a look, making sure she was OK, before speeding on. She admired his profile and leant against his jacket, breathing in his woody scent. A smile played at the corner of her mouth - she was extraordinarily glad to be with him, safe in his arms.
After whipping around yet another tree, Daniel came to a stop not far from a large hotel - The Woodman. He stayed far enough away that, if there was anyone looking out, they wouldn’t be spotted. Daniel set Sarah on her feet. She wobbled a bit, and laughed giddily, as Daniel took her hand to steady her. He led her on, towards the hotel. He looked around, peering at all the windows. He couldn’t see anyone so he continued up the steps and led Sarah to his room.
Sarah looked about the immaculately finished space - it was rather dull and lacked character, there were no personal touches at all. Housekeeping had been and everything was tidied away. There was a neatly made double bed in the center of the room, a hotel phone and a desk - that was about it.
A phone!
‘Daniel, can I use the phone? I can call my parents, let them know I’m OK - say hello to my kids,’ as Sarah said it, she longed to see them. It won’t be long now, she thought.
‘Yes, of course - but wait a minute.’
Daniel went through a white door and returned with a large glass of water. Sarah took it and gulped it down. God, it tasted good, heavenly. She put down the glass and rushed over to the phone, then she hesitated - what was she going to say?
‘We need to go see my family in a minute. Do you have any plan about what we should say happened to us? To Jo?’ she said pleadingly.
She felt a twinge at Jo’s memory, well, more than a twinge - the thought of it made her heart twist. It was painful. His death was still very recent, and she had to remind herself to block out the pain. She wanted to see her kids, to be strong for them, to be strong for her family. After all, they had no idea what had happened and she didn’t want to let on that she knew anything about it. She’d have so many questions to answer, and what could she say? No-one would believe her. How could she explain to her children that they no longer had a father, that Jo was dead? How were they going to feel, how would they cope?
If she said she knew anything about Jo’s disappearance she’d be questioned by the police - what if she acted suspicio
usly? How would her kids fare then?
Daniel interrupted her thoughts, ‘I think we should say we don’t know what happened, we went searching for him but got lost in the woods and didn’t have a cell phone. It’s not entirely implausible, that could happen. It’s certainly more plausible than what actually happened. I think we should say that we didn’t find Jo, that we still don’t know anything - that he is missing.’
‘We got lost for two days? Seems a little unbelievable,’ Sarah answered. ‘But what else can we say?’ she sighed, exasperated at the thought of explaining everything to them. ‘If I tell them I’ve been unconscious for two days they will go seriously insane. So OK, I will tell them we got lost - I don’t know how I could tell them the truth anyway. But what about the fact you rang them and asked them to stay in?’
‘We could say you had a bad feeling, were worried they might be in danger with Jo missing.’
‘But according to what we’re planning on telling them, nothing has changed, the danger would still be there, Jo’s still missing after all. They might think someone is out there - kidnapping people, or murdering people.’
‘Yes, well, maybe it’s best for them to still be on alert, to stay inside.’
‘Why?’ Sarah eyed him warily - surely they were safe now, weren’t they?
‘Sebastian may be dead, but there is a risk he turned someone else, there may still be vampires out there.’
Sarah looked at him searchingly, suspecting there was something he was leaving out.
‘I better ring my parents now. Just try not to listen - you’ll make me feel self-conscious!’
‘I’ll do my best,’ he said smirking at her.
That smirk - it drove her insane. It made her want to kiss him, to hold him, to forget about ringing her family.
But she couldn’t. She needed to know her kids were OK, and she didn’t want to be entirely inconsiderate of her parents’ feelings.
She picked up the phone and dialed their number. She listened to the phone ringing - her heart was pounding with anxiety, not knowing how they were going to react.
‘Hello?’ her mom answered, a concerned and desperate edge to her voice.
‘Mom, it’s me!’ Sarah said.
‘Sarah?’
‘Yes Mom, I’m OK. I’m so sorry - we’ve been lost. Unbelievable - I know! We were looking for Jo and went a really long way. It got dark and we carried on, I know we were stupid, but because we went so far in the dark we lost track of our bearings. We couldn’t call as I’d forgotten to take my cell phone. Everything looked the same! It was crazy Mom, I’m so, so sorry. Are you OK? Are Megan and Bea OK? Is Dad angry at me?’ Sarah couldn’t help but rabbit on. She wanted to elaborate, to create some drama in the situation - at least to create some sympathy. What she had actually gone through was far worse than what she was saying, but she felt like she deserved some reassurance and comfort - and didn’t know how else to reach out for it.
‘Sarah, calm down. It’s OK, everyone is fine. We’ve just been so worried! Where are you now?’ her mom asked. She sounded immensely relieved.
‘I’m at The Woodman. It’s where Daniel’s staying. When we arrived back at the edge of town it was the closest place to come to. I need to have a shower before I come and see you all, I’m disgustingly dirty after two days in the forest.’
‘Yes, that’s fine. Really. Take your time and clean yourself up. We will be here, waiting for you. Megan is missing you, and Bea is a little confused - she’s asked after you, and Jo, but they are fine. Your father isn’t angry, he’s just been worried.’
‘Can I talk to Megan?’ Sarah asked.
‘They’re in the bath, your father’s with them, so best if you wait until you get here.’
Sarah paused, disappointed, she really wanted to hear their voices.
‘Don’t worry - you’ll see them soon!’ her mom said.
‘Yeah, OK Mom. I really won’t be long - I’ll be with you soon. Bye,’ Sarah said.
‘Bye Sarah, see you in a bit.’
Sarah put the phone down. She was relieved - her mom had been pretty understanding. Her kids were OK and she would see them soon. She smiled slightly at the thought of their faces, and imagined them running towards her, delighted to see her after so long.
‘Sounded like that went well,’ said Daniel. He’d been hovering around the corner, out of her line of sight.
‘You weren’t supposed to be listening!’ she said.
She threw a pillow at him, but he dodged it.
‘How could I not?’ he said mischievously.
Sarah walked across the room and looked out of the window. Endless conifers reached to the horizon. The sky was dark, a storm approaching.
She shuddered, remembering a hint of her dream. Looking back, she saw Daniel had sat on his bed. He gestured towards another door, which Sarah presumed led to the bathroom. She smiled shyly at Daniel, feeling self-conscious about being covered in dirt and blood - it was much more apparent in the spotless room.
She stepped through the door and got the shower running. She peeled off her dirty clothes and stepped under the warm water, letting the blood and memories wash away.
***
Outside the hotel, the forest became very still. The birds were silent, and small animals hid out of sight. A patch of darkness materialized between two trees.
At first it had no visible form. It was a hazy outline, surrounding an intensely black, swirling mist. It was slowly taking shape - the shape of a human man. He was tall with dark hair and black eyes. His form was still fluid, like he wasn’t quite there - not whole yet.
His piercing eyes looked up, towards the hotel. He caught a glimpse of a pretty blond woman - she was looking out of the window, at the horizon.
Anyone who was watching would have seen his eyes darken, and his shape disintegrate before their eyes.
He returned to a swirling blackness, and moved off, deeper into the forest.
Chapter 2
Daniel waited patiently while Sarah showered. He lay back on the bed, one arm supporting his head. He listened to the water splashing down in the bathroom and absentmindedly gazed at the clouds moving in, shading the sky.
He had an uneasy feeling that maybe everything wasn’t resolved. When Sarah had looked out of the window sounds in the forest had disappeared. That was strange, he couldn’t quite fathom it. He was a vampire, and when he walked in the forest life continued regardless, wildlife didn’t seem to notice him. When he had first been turned by Sebastian they had lived in the forest together, out in the wilderness on their own. No house, not even a hut - they had slept in the trees.
Wildlife hadn’t been affected by Sebastian either. Birds still sang in the trees, even if Sebastian was in them. And Sebastian was evil, as evil as anything he’d known.
What could have caused the birds to stop singing? He shook his head. Maybe it was a coincidence, yet he suspected something had been out there. The question was what, and what was it doing there?
And he still wasn’t convinced something wasn’t going on with Sarah. She said she felt really good, that she could see clearly. He wondered how clearly she could see - more clearly than before? As clearly as a vampire?
He hadn’t wanted to question her too much, not when she’d just woken up, when she was in such a hurry to see her family. She seemed in a surprisingly good mood though, considering all that had happened. He wondered how she was holding up inside. He could sense she was experiencing some turmoil, but he couldn’t tell how much. She was putting on a good show. She’s probably buoyed up by the whole experience, Daniel thought, happy to have survived; it must be keeping her going. He admired her strength.
She certainly wasn’t acting like a vampire, and she still smelt human - her blood smelt delicious, tempting. She wasn’t going crazy and didn’t appear to be desperately thirsty for blood, as newly turned vampires tended to be. He could still hear her rhythmic heartbeat pumping blood around her body. She was still human.
Could it be the residual effects of the power of his blood that was making her feel different, or had that power had a permanent effect on her? He would have to watch her closely, see if her behavior changed, to make sure she was OK.
***
Sarah stepped out of the shower. She picked up the largest white towel from the worn-looking pile by the sink and wrapped it around herself - it felt slightly hard and scratchy against her body. She found a smaller one and tossed her hair upside down, wrapping the towel into a turban so that her long wet hair wouldn’t drip down her back. She leant over the sink and wiped condensation off the undersized mirror, and peered at herself through the steam.
She smiled, pleased at what she saw - her skin looked clear, pristine, all imperfections gone. She also looked as though she had lost a little weight, her stomach was flatter and more toned - after all, she hadn’t eaten for two days and had lost a lot of blood. Yet she didn’t look sickly - her eyes were bright, with no tired shadows.
She wondered at the healing power of vampire blood - that must be why she felt different, right? All her ills and aches had been cured along with her wounds. That would explain why she felt great, why she was brimming with energy. It would also explain why she hadn’t practically died with thirst, why she wasn’t collapsing with hunger. Maybe the blood had helped her mental state too - she was coping well, managing to push the pain aside. Maybe if it wasn’t for its healing power she would be crumpled on the floor, not coping at all.
She thought of Megan and Bea, hopefully they weren’t too worried. They were probably having so much fun at her parents’ that they had hardly noticed her absence. She smiled wryly. It was hard not to be a little bit jealous of how much they loved her parents, Alice and Keith. They at least would have been wracked with worry at her absence. Her mom had been mightily understanding on the phone. It wouldn’t surprise her if the police had been called in yesterday - she and Daniel may have some damage control to do.