by M. D. Bowden
He hoped all the bodies were gone, so they would not have to suffer any more onslaughts of the dead.
Daniel turned, twirling Sarah so he did not have to let her hand go, and looked the other way. He spotted Princetown, and the large prison that dominated the small moorland town. A few lights were sparking on, windows glowing with warmth in the distance. He shrugged his shoulders – could someone have escaped from the prison? If that person had been locked up their ability to do magic may have helped them escape. That would explain why this was happening here. He could ask around to see if there had been any reports of escapes, just in case.
That probably was not it though, thought Daniel, it just did not feel right. He suspected it was the stone circle itself, or whatever was below it, that was the reason why this was happening on Dartmoor, rather than anywhere else. Maybe they could go back to the stone circle again and he could extend his powers into the earth – or maybe he could dig to find out if there was anything there? But what if there was? What if they unearthed something that was best left buried?
Daniel continued to search the landscape. He wanted to make sure no-one was near, watching them, before they entered their new home.
He looked at Sarah and smiled, ‘Looks to me like it’s safe,’ he said.
She smiled gently back and they walked together down the final slope as the sun peaked over the top of a distant hill, exchanging glances as they went. Sarah’s looks were adorable, her eyes wide, revealing the depth of their color; a deep blue emanating hints of turquoise. Had they changed since she had turned into a vampire? Had the color increased in intensity? He could not quite remember, but whether or not they had; they did look truly magical. It was like they were hiding secrets and power in their depths.
They were now approaching the low stone wall that surrounded their quaint abode, and Daniel drew Sarah closer. He raised the hand that was not holding hers and stroked her ever so soft jaw, then raised her chin. He leant in and kissed her lips very softly, lingering, and then letting her hand fall free.
‘You go ahead inside, I will try and work on creating a barrier,’ he said.
‘OK,’ Sarah replied.
He watched as she opened the gate and walked towards their front door.
Chapter 7
Sarah glanced back at Daniel before opening the front door of their house, but he was already busy concentrating within, trying to work out how to erect a barrier. She knew he could do it; he was so talented at magic. He had brought down all those dead that had been attacking them, and it looked like he had done it with ease.
She wondered what anyone passing the bunker would make of the piles of ashes they had left behind, and the empty graves that no doubt filled the graveyard. It would not be hard for someone to figure it out if they put the two pieces of evidence together, but who would believe it?
Sarah felt uncertain as she stepped forward and entered the house. She flicked on the light switch and the low ceilinged, dark beamed cottage sprang to life. She looked about, searching, alert to fresh danger – what if someone had set a trap? What if there were more dead lurking in some corner?
She breathed in deeply. No. There were no dead, she was quite certain of it. The air smelt good, not of death at all. She relaxed her shoulders and inhaled again. She could smell wood smoke lingering from the fire Daniel had lit the previous day, and the scent of the wax that the floor boards were treated with. There was a hint of damp and mustiness, but in a good way. It reminded her of the age of the building, which, to her, was unimaginably old – hadn’t Daniel said it was fifteenth or sixteenth century?
She walked into the living room, and spotted the remainder of the bottle of champagne they had been drinking the night before. Their glasses were on the wooden floor next to it.
Sarah walked over and sat on the sofa. She reached down and poured the remainder of the bubbly into one of the glasses, then she raised it to her lips and downed it in one.
The fizz had gone but it tasted smooth and sweet, and it was still alcoholic of course. She rested her head back on the old sofa, which was surprisingly comfy, and stared at the dark ashes that were left in the fire place. A solitary tear rolled down her cheek.
They had survived, shouldn’t she be happy? She brushed the tear away. It was too much, she was still in shock she decided, and so tired. She missed her children - Megan and Bea. She longed to see them so much it made her heart ache. She even missed Jo, her husband who had been turned into a vampire by Sebastian. She wished he was still alive, that Sebastian had never changed him. She did not wish it because she wanted him back, she had not been happy with him, and she was completely and utterly in love with Daniel. Daniel was so hot, so sexy, he was intelligent and unbelievably good to her. It wasn’t that she was unhappy with Daniel at all. It was just that Jo had been such a big part of her life for so long.
She felt a wave of resentment at what Jo had put her through when he had had an affair. She did not want him back, but a part of her had loved him, and he was the father of her children. Now her children were with their grandparents, her parents. God, she even missed them.
She really needed to wash off the traces of the dead that lingered on her clothes, but she decided that could wait a little longer.
Sarah curled her feet up onto the sofa and hugged them tightly to her chest, and then she let her eyes close heavily. She did not even try to open them as her world faded away and went black.
Chapter 8
Daniel stood facing outwards from the cottage. What was he going to do? He needed to create a barrier. Unfortunately he was not strong enough for it to be a barrier of protection, it just needed to be something that was there so they would be alerted if someone came near. The wider the barrier the better, for the earlier warning they would receive, but if it was too wide they would be unnecessarily disturbed. He wondered if there was a way to do it so he would only be alerted by supernatural beings. Hmmm, he thought. He did not want the odd mouse or bat bothering him every time it came near their house.
Daniel tentatively allowed the power inside him to rise and gather near the surface of his body. Very slowly he let it leave, his skin tingling as it passed outwards, mingling with the air around him. Daniel stepped backwards, through the gate, and stood near the front door. He let the magical energy move away from him, the field of power moving outwards in every direction, but he kept it in control, in his awareness. He concentrated hard and the boundary expanded beyond the defines of the house, then beyond the wall that surrounded it. He kept expanding the boundary until it reached about fifty meters further in each direction, expanding onto the wild moorland that circled the cottage.
That was far enough. Now he had to make sure the boundary served its purpose. He focused his will and sent out tendrils of thoughts that were imbued with magic into the mix. He made those tendrils rich with the ability to detect power.
He would need to stay connected to the boundary for it to work, but he could manage that without too much concentration. The effort would slowly drain him of energy, but he could keep it going long enough for them to rest and wash. When they left to seek sustenance he could let it go, then he could re-activate it when they returned.
If any supernatural being stepped across the boundary, the power he had placed there would pull at his skin and he would know. He and Sarah could escape.
Daniel let himself smile in self-satisfaction; he had done it. He glanced around his surroundings one final time before walking towards the front door and stepping over the threshold. All was quiet except for the gentle sound of breathing.
Daniel walked softly into the living room and spotted Sarah; she was fast asleep on the sofa. She looked so peaceful it pulled at Daniel’s heart; he wanted to go and kiss her, but thought better of it; he might disturb her. It would be a good time to try tapping into her dreams, he had not thought he would have an opportunity this soon.
Daniel watched Sarah closely and gently probed at her mind, but it was as peaceful a
s she looked. She was at the wrong point in her sleep cycle, he would need to try again soon.
Daniel crept back out of the room and up the narrow staircase. He took a clean towel from the floor at the foot of their bed and entered the bathroom. He groaned when he saw the shower; this was not going to be pleasant. He turned it on and groaned again as he saw the weak trickle of water descending from the very low shower head. He was amazed Sarah had not complained about it.
Daniel took off his clothes and discarded them on the floor before stepping under the water, his knees bent so he could fit into the cubical. There were some bottles of wash products on a shelf, left there by Sarah he presumed. He poured some shampoo into his palm and lathered it in his hair. He breathed in deeply, recognizing the smell from Sarah’s hair. Daniel closed his eyes and let the bubbles slowly wash over his body, while thoughts ran around his mind; all the possibilities, the avenues of investigation, the uncertainties. He felt restless. He wanted to feed again, to further increase his strength. He wanted to feel like he was prepared should they be attacked again.
Right now he was not prepared. He was not strong enough to go through what they had just been through again, if anything happened they would have no choice but to flee.
He was also tired. He had had so little sleep recently, and he longed to catch up, but first he needed to wait and see if he could access any of Sarah’s dreams. After that he would rest. Later he would feed.
Satisfied he was at last clean, he turned off the water and scrubbed himself dry with the old towel. He rubbed as much of the water out of his hair as was possible, then crept into the room he shared with Sarah. He opened the cupboard and raised his eyebrows. He laughed quietly with amusement; Sarah had stacked his clothes in perfectly neat piles. It was adorable.
He picked up a black t-shirt and pulled it over his head, before grabbing some underwear and blue jeans. He pulled those on too, before walking barefoot back to Sarah’s side. He sat down on the floor next to the sofa, as close as he could get to her without disturbing her, and rested his head back on the cushioned seat. What a night! He turned his head so he could see Sarah’s face. She still looked peaceful, but her eyelids were fluttering gently. This was his opportunity. He reached out and touched her hand as gently as he could manage, to form an easy link to her subconscious. It was possible to delve into her mind without touching her, but it required more effort.
Daniel let his own mind relax, deeper and deeper, until it started to blend with Sarah’s. He found himself catapulted into another reality; Sarah’s reality, her dream world. He was Sarah. He felt his heart pound as one of the dead grabbed her foot and she tried to get lose. She kicked and kicked, but it held on. Daniel tried to abstract himself from seeing the dream from Sarah’s point of view. He used all the control he could muster and changed his perspective – now he could watch as an outsider without getting involved.
He saw the dead monster clawing at Sarah’s leg. He wanted to save her. He wanted to shake her awake so she would not have to suffer this dream anymore, but he had to know – was this her mind going over what had already happened to them, or was it prophetic – were more dead going to attack?
He looked about at the scene – there were more dead advancing, a good sized army of them. They looked very much like the ones that had attacked them earlier, and the same number. He watched as he appeared in her dream and started pushing the dead away from Sarah. It was weird watching himself, he felt like a ghost, but he also looked good, and he could not help but smile – he was seeing himself through Sarah’s eyes. He looked quite different from how he saw himself when he looked in the mirror; his hair looked glossy and reflected rainbows, he looked tall and handsome, and his eyes sparkled with an impossible depth.
In her dream, he and Sarah were fighting outside their cottage – in the same location where one of the dead had actually grabbed Sarah. It looked like the same night, it felt the same. He did not think this was a premonition. He and Sarah started to run and Daniel continued to watch, just in case, then he saw Sarah look back over her shoulder and saw a dark shape, like that of a human, but hazier, moving behind the dead – was this whoever was controlling them? But before he could look more closely his world shook and he found himself back in Sarah’s house in Canada – she was arguing with Jo, her face tear streaked and angry. He knew that this was not prophetic as he had killed Jo himself, when Jo had been a vampire. Daniel was just about to distance himself from Sarah’s mind, so as not to interfere, when her dream shifted once more.
He was once more back on the moor, in the darkness, with a full moon shining down. Now this was not something that had happened to them; they had not been here for a full moon yet. He looked around but could not see Sarah, or himself; they were not in this dream.
The full moon illuminated the stone circle and Daniel moved closer – there were four people tied up there! A dark shape was approaching! Daniel started to move towards it but the dream shifted again and he and Sarah were kissing passionately…
He let his mind fade away from hers, himself blushing, and opened his eyes. He focused them on Sarah, she was still dreaming – he wondered if she was still dreaming the same thing, then grinned.
He thought about what he had witnessed, had any of it been predictions of the future? There was only one snippet that could possibly have been, the one with the stone circle. That dream had had a different feel, and Sarah had been absent from it. It may have been prophetic, or it may have been her imagining what may already have happened there, or what may in the future. The moon had been full, so there was a possibility that another sacrifice might be going to happen at the next full moon. Hmm, Daniel thought – how long away was that? He thought back to the glints he had seen of the moon last night; it had been a thin strip in the sky – but was it waxing or waning? He would need to keep an eye on it and find out.
Daniel closed his eyes and let his thoughts run free, while his muscles relaxed and he faded quickly into a deep sleep.
Chapter 9
Sarah woke and stretched. She opened her eyes and squinted at the bright sunshine that was filtering through the half open curtains. She spotted Daniel next to her on the floor, and her heart contracted; he had stayed next to her all night.
He was still fast asleep, and in a very awkward position; it looked like he had fallen asleep sitting up, and had slumped over to the side at some point in the night. Or the day. She supposed they had slept through the morning, and from the bright sunshine, and relative warmth, Sarah surmised it was mid-afternoon.
She thought back, not being able to stop herself, to the events of the previous night. She shivered, and pushed the thoughts as far away as possible.
It was a new day, and she felt good. Happy. The sleep had obviously done her good, and probably the blood she had consumed not long before had also helped.
Later she would get to drink human blood. She felt a strange mixture of feelings at the thought. One was hunger, and her teeth tingled delightfully. If she had not recently fed and slept she was not sure the feeling of anticipation would be quite so pleasurable, but it was, for she was not desperately hungry; it would be an indulgence.
She visualized warm blood flowing down her throat, ummm… The other feeling was guilt, guilt for wanting something that was not hers to take. Hey, she thought, wasn’t I supposed to be trying to remember what I’d dreamt? Hmmm, she tried to delve into her memories, but still found nothing.
‘Oh well,’ she whispered.
She rolled over and admired Daniel instead. He looked much younger when he slept, and more vulnerable, less in control. His silky hair had flopped forwards over his eyes. Sarah wanted to reach out and push it back, or curl up on the floor next to him, but she did not want to break his much needed rest. He had done so much for her, for them, and he had used a lot of magic. Was magic something that strengthened as you slept? There was still so much about this world that she still had to find out, so much to learn. She thought it was about time f
or it now, if only no-one would attack them for a few days, then Daniel could teach her some tricks, and she could see if she could develop a little control; enough so she was less likely to kill someone when feeding. That would be handy.
Instead of doing what she wanted and waking Daniel, she ever so slowly rose from the couch so as not to disturb him, then crept out of the room and into the kitchen. She was so used to her morning routine, as a human, of coffee and breakfast that it felt kind of wrong to skip it. She opened a few of the kitchen units, wondering what was inside, and whether Daniel had purchased anything the day before apart from that bubbly. It was a very small kitchen with a low ceiling and not many cupboards, so her search did not take long. No food. No coffee. Hmmm.
The scruffy white units contained plates and pans, bowls and cups, vases and cutlery, but nothing to eat. It wasn’t exactly that she was hungry, but she wanted to experiment with food, experience the sensation of different tastes in her mouth.
She chose a tall, thin glass and walked with it to the sink. She put the tap on as gently and quietly as she could manage and filled it with cool, clear liquid. She brought it up to her lips and drank, feeling the cool fluid on her throat. It still tasted nice and refreshing. It wasn’t rejuvenating, or strengthening - like blood, but it was nice to drink something else. It was interesting. The only food she had really tried since she had turned was that horrible airplane stuff. She wondered what really nice food would be like to eat; would she still be able to appreciate the flavors? She decided she would like to find out, and would have to see if there were any good restaurants on Dartmoor.
But could she handle it? Restaurants would be filled with people, their pumping hearts, blood running in their veins – would she be able to concentrate on her food? Or would she lose it, lose control and attack someone? It would not be quite the same romantic ideal if Daniel had to influence her not to eat the people who served them, or their fellow diners.