by M. D. Bowden
‘I guess I better wait a bit then,’ Sarah said, sounding disappointed. She was silent for a little, then said, ‘A good time to try would be between three and four ‘o’ clock this afternoon, then I should catch them before Megan goes to school.’
The stone circle was now before them, large gray granite slabs sticking out of the earth, and sparkling in the dull light. He stepped between the stones and stood in the middle of the circle surveying the scene as cool air blew his hair in his eyes. He held it back with one hand and looked closely at the ground. There was still a trace of blood lingering, not fully washed away, but nothing looked new or changed. He glanced at Sarah. She shrugged, as if to say she could not sense anything. Daniel checked the horizon again for the crow, but could not see any birds at all. He focused his energy within and then extended his senses into the ground, probing for other energies, for anything alive or anything that did not belong.
It was strange, as he extended his senses down he found an area that was blocked, that he could not penetrate with his mind or his magic.
He looked up at Sarah and she stepped closer, holding her own hair out of her eyes so she could see him regardless of the relentless wind.
‘There’s an area where I can’t sense anything, not the ground or the rock, or any kind of life,’ he told her.
‘Do you think it’s that tomb from my dream? Do you think it’s protected by a magical barrier of some kind?’ she asked.
‘I think it probably is, there must be something there, we definitely should come here at the full moon,’ he said.
Sarah frowned, she looked pale and worried.
‘You ok?’ he asked her.
‘Yes, no, well I just feel anxious I guess. We don’t know how we will stop the sorcerer, or whether we’ll be able to,’ she confided.
Daniel stepped closer to her and raised her chin with his fingers.
‘Hey don’t worry, we will be able to. We are strong and by the full moon we will be stronger still. We will stop it and we will be fine.’
‘But how do you know?’ she asked.
‘I… feel it,’ he said.
How did he know? He could not know for sure, but it was like an intuition or something – and was that really so different from a prophetic dream?
‘Well, I feel like something bad is going to happen,’ Sarah said.
Daniel drew her into his arms – ‘I will keep you safe,’ he said as he held her head against his chest.
She did not say anything but he felt her head move in a nod.
‘Shall we move on?’ she asked him.
‘Yes, I don’t think there’s any more to do here now, not until the moon is full. There’s one more place I want to go - the graveyard where all those dead must have come from, then I thought we could do something more fun…’
Sarah tilted her head back so she could see his face and looked at him appraisingly.
‘Like what?’ she asked.
‘Well, what would you like to learn to do first; light fires with magic or transform into an animal?’ he said.
A slow smile crept across her face as she thought about it.
‘Magic,’ she said, her face glowing in anticipation.
‘Alright then. Race you to the graveyard?’ he said.
She nodded, her smile widening, and shot off across the moor.
Daniel laughed, and took pursuit, easily shortening the distance between them, his extra time as a vampire giving him a few advantages.
He watched as Sarah sprung up the rocks that marked the top of the tor and jumped over the other side. He put on a fresh burst of speed and launched himself through the air at Sarah, tackling her and pinning her to the ground. She pushed him back playfully and rolled away, then was up again and soon accelerating past their home and towards the steeple Daniel could just see over the next rise. In an instant she was around the next corner and out of sight.
Chapter 13
Sarah came to a halt when she saw the graveyard before her. It was a mess. The graves were hollow holes and fresh earth was everywhere. Blue and white police tape surrounded the whole church and graveyard, and there was a sign asking for witnesses to come forward.
She felt the air shift as Daniel stopped at her side and put his arm around her shoulders. She rested her head against him and said, ‘I don’t know what I expected but they are all empty,’ feeling empty herself.
She knew that no-one had died there, but she felt sad for the families that would be torn by what had happened to the graves of their lost relatives.
‘What do you hope to find?’ she asked Daniel.
She hoped they would not have to be there for long, it was so creepy seeing the empty graves, a shiver of unease ran over her spine.
‘I wonder who is in that tomb under the stone circle - who it is that’s worth so much destruction?’ Sarah practically whispered.
‘I really have no idea, if I were to say anything it would be mere speculation,’ Daniel said.
Sarah felt herself nod, a part of her wanted him to speculate, if she had any idea who might be buried under the stone circle it might calm her sense of unease and help her understand why this was happening. But, she asked herself, would that really make her feel better? Or was this sense of foreboding an intuition; was something bad going to happen?
She shook her head to clear it as Daniel stepped away and leapt over the tape and wall, and landed in the graveyard. His motion was smooth and fast, which along with his sleek physique, dark hair and clothes, made him look like a wild animal.
Sarah just stood still. She did not want to see the empty graves; she did not want to imagine the bodies rising, as they had done not so long ago. She turned and scanned the landscape instead, looking again for a glimpse of the crow, or anyone else that might be watching them. She felt relieved when Daniel returned to her side. She gave him a questioning look, at which he shook his head; he had discovered nothing new.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ Daniel said.
Sarah smiled weakly as he took her hand and they walked away. Back outside their house Sarah raised her eyebrows in query when Daniel popped inside, telling her to wait by the gate, returning one minute later. Each time they left the house Sarah felt a little tingle as the boundary that Daniel had put up to warn them of anything supernatural approaching faded away. Each time they returned she saw an expression of intense concentration appear on his face as he reactivated it. It would be fantastic to be able to do that, she thought. Magic had always been the impossible, a dream, and now she was going to learn how to do it herself!
After a short walk they found a secluded hollow that was filled with, and surrounded by, large granite rocks. Sarah took a seat on a nice flat slab in the center. She ran her fingers over the surface of the rock, marveling at the tiny crystals within that glinted in the day light.
She looked up at Daniel and eyed him from beneath her lashes.
‘So,’ she said, ‘is it time to teach me some tricks?’
‘I guess so.’
Daniel approached and sat cross legged opposite her on the rock. Sarah looked at his mischievous eyes; he was obviously enjoying the prospect of teaching her. He reached into the depths of his leather jacket and drew out two t-light candles.
‘Let me demonstrate,’ he said.
Sarah watched as Daniel focused his eyes on the wick and it sparked to life, then it was extinguished by a gust of wind.
‘I will try and teach you the same way that Heather taught me; mind to mind,’ Daniel said as he reached for her head.
Sarah felt herself tense in anticipation.
As Daniel’s fingers touched her temples she felt his mind at the edge of hers and a picture appeared in her mind. She instantly knew what to do.
Daniel’s fingers fell back, and her mind was hers again. She picked up one of the candles and held it in front of her face, then she focused on the wick as Daniel had done. She fed it tendrils of power and sent a focused blast of power to the center of the c
andle.
Nothing happened.
‘Huh,’ she said, and gave it another go.
Still nothing.
‘Try again,’ said Daniel.
She tried. She focused intently on the wick, and she was sure she was sending power to the right part, imagining it sparking before her. She threw the candle down in frustration and lay back on the stone massaging her temples. Her head hurt.
‘Err, maybe you need more practice. Try again tomorrow?’ Daniel asked.
Sarah rolled her eyes, her hopes of skill at magic lost, but she nodded weakly, still rubbing her temples, her eyes closed.
Daniel lay down by her side and kissed her head, making the pain fade. How did he do that?
She propped herself up on her elbow and smiled at him.
‘Thanks for trying to teach me,’ she said.
‘I’m sure you’ll have more luck tomorrow,’ he reassured.
Sarah suspected she wouldn’t, and contented herself with stroking Daniel’s tummy with her free hand. She sat and dug her phone out of her pocket as she suspected it was not long till three; when she could call her kids.
She turned on her phone and it lit up with a photo of Megan and Bea which pulled at her heart. It was half past two.
She stood, and rolled her head around, stretching her neck to try and eradicate the last traces of pain. In an instant Daniel was up to.
‘To high ground?’ he said, before shooting her one of his most stunning, stomach turning smiles, and bolting off out of the hollow onto the surrounding moorland. Sarah could not help but laugh. Without a thought she sent power into her muscles and practically flew after him, leaping out of the hollow and springing from rock to rock in pursuit.
She collapsed in laughter when she finally caught up with him, and brought him down with her; they had reached the highest tor in the immediate vicinity. She could see more hills with differently formed stacks of granite at their tops - in every direction. She had never seen anything like it.
She pulled out her phone and was relieved to see four bars of reception. That should do the trick, she thought, now just twenty minutes to kill before she would hopefully see Megan and Bea, and talk to them, and see how they were doing without her, how they were coping. Of course they would be coping fine, Daniel had practically guaranteed it with his skillful mind control, but she still wanted to see it with her own eyes. And she wanted Megan and Bea to see her, so they would not forget her, so they would know that she still loved them and that she would return.
She rested her head on Daniel’s shoulder and thought of all the things Megan and Bea did, that she was missing, until the twenty minutes, that felt like forever, passed.
She dialed the international code followed by her home phone number, and listened anxiously as she heard the phone ringing.
‘Hello?’
‘Mom!’
‘Sarah! – Is that you?’
‘Ah Mom I’ve missed you and Dad, and Megan and Bea so much,’ Sarah said.
‘We miss you too Sarah, how’s your trip going? Any idea how long you will be?’
‘It’s ok, I’m learning stuff, but still not sure how much longer for. I will try and be back as soon as I possibly can Mom. Are Megan and Bea up – can we talk on Skype like Daniel showed you to?’
‘Yes – I’ll just go turn on the computer,’ Alice, her Mom, said.
‘Great, I’ll try and ring you on it in a couple of minutes,’ Sarah said, and she hung up.
Sarah exchanged a glance of exasperation with Daniel, he knew as well as she that it would not be safe for her to return yet - she may have done well the previous night, but that was after she had already consumed lots of blood.
What if she was hungry?
What if Daniel left her alone for one minute?
The thought could not be comprehended.
She found Skype on her phone and touched the ‘home’ contact. It started to ring, and then her Mom’s face appeared before her, closely followed by Megan pushing in front. Sarah broke into the biggest grin.
‘Hi sweetheart,’ she said, not attempting to contain her happiness.
Megan looked healthy and happy and she was jumping up and down in excitement.
‘Mommy! Are you having fun in a country Mommy?’ Megan asked.
‘Yes, it’s beautiful here – have a look,’ and Sarah turned her phone full circle so they could see the view.
‘Mountains!’ said Megan, as Bea and Keith, Sarah’s father, appeared at the side of the screen.
‘Bea! Dad!’ Sarah squealed.
‘Hi Mommy,’ said Bea, and she waved.
Sarah put one hand over her heart, ‘I love you Bea,’ and she looked at Megan, ‘I love you too sweetheart,’ and as an afterthought, ‘and you two of course,’ she said smiling wryly at her Mom and Dad.
‘How has everything been? Any news?’ Sarah asked, she thought she should keep up the pretense that she did not know what had happened to Megan and Bea’s father.
Her own father’s face was somber and he shook his head, ‘No, I’m sorry.’
Her Mom added, ‘But everything here is great, we’ve been having fun haven’t we kids?’
Megan nodded with gusto, and Bea struggled in her grandfather’s grip so she could get closer to the screen. Sarah longed to reach through the phone and hold Bea and Megan close, but had to content herself with touching their faces on the small screen with her fingertips.
‘Are you ready for school Megan?’ Sarah teased, for they were all still in their pajamas.
‘No, it’s breaky time Mommy,’ Megan said.
‘I better let you get on with your morning then, but I will ring you again soon, ok?’ Sarah said, then added, ‘Remember how much I love you,’ to Megan and Bea. ‘And Mom and Dad, thank you so much for looking after them.’
‘Don’t worry, you do what you need to do Sarah,’ said her father.
‘Take care of yourself,’ said her mother.
Sarah waved to Bea and blew her a kiss, which she imagined implanting on her cute baby cheek. She blew a kiss to Megan too, and waved to her parents, ‘Bye,’ and they disappeared.
Sarah sighed and rested her head back on Daniel’s shoulder, and she snuggled into him as he put his arms around her.
‘I miss them,’ she said, tears sliding over her cheeks.
‘I know.’
She sat with Daniel in silence for a while before saying, ‘I don’t want to go out tonight Daniel, can we do something more normal?’
‘Like what?’ he said, smiling.
‘Oh I don’t know – watch a cheesy movie? Veg out?’ she said.
‘Ok, we can check out that pub tomorrow,’ he said.
‘Thankyou Daniel.’
Before she realized it Daniel had her in his arms and she felt like she was flying through the air, but she knew she was headed for home, for their cottage.
Chapter 14
Sarah found herself back on the stone, in the hollow, at midday following her relaxing and soothing evening of wine and funny films.
She felt rejuvenated, ready to try again.
She held the candle in front of her face and focused on the wick, while Daniel touched her temples and led her through the steps he had shown her. She fed more tendrils of power into the wick. She could tell they were there, taking hold, for she could see the wick was glowing gently, almost imperceptibly, but it was.
Once again she sent a spark of power to the center. The wick flickered, then stopped. She tried again. Another flicker.
An image appeared at the forefront of her thoughts, sent by Daniel, his fingers still gently holding her temples. She saw him enforce the power with a strong will and a belief that the candle would light.
She tried again.
Flame.
It sparked and grew, then it too was blown out by the wind. She turned and wrapped her arms around Daniel, ‘Thank you,’ she said, dropping her arms to rub her head again.
Daniel kissed her temples one at a ti
me, ‘It gets easier,’ he reassured her.
‘I hope so,’ Sarah said, as Daniel kissed her forehead and the pain dissipated, ‘but that’s some skill you have there – is that something you can teach me too?’
‘No, you already have that power over me,’ he whispered into her ear.
Sarah found herself giggling.
‘What next?’ she asked.
‘Well, do you want to have a go at animal transformations?’
‘Yes,’ she said, nodding with enthusiasm, she supposed she looked much like Megan; young, eager and excited, and she laughed at herself.
Daniel shot her an enquiring look, but she just shook her head, ‘What do I do?’ she asked.
Daniel reached forward and touched her temples and she once again felt him at the edge of her mind. She rolled her eyes - that meant another headache coming her way.
An impression formed at the edge of her consciousness, it was amazingly clear what she had to do. As Daniel dropped his fingers she concentrated on her core – right deep inside her heart – and felt a surge of primal energy within.
Animal energy.
She wanted to turn into some kind of bird. She wanted to fly. She searched within her own essence for the bird her soul most highly resonated with and felt a switch take place. She went with it and felt her body turning to fluid; melting and re-phasing at once, shrinking and reforming, until she was perched, instead of sat, on the granite stone.
She looked across at Daniel, but he was no-longer there – instead a buzzard was perched at her side – fixing her with its beady dark eyes. She looked down at her chest and wing, finding that her vision was uncompromised by the change in form; she did not possess the vision of the bird, she retained the clear sightedness of vampire. Her chest and wing were both pure white. She stretched out her wings and tentatively used the strong muscles there to flap a little. Had she been human she would have laughed, for her talons had left the stone and she was in the air. She flapped harder, until she was high enough to soar above the trees.