“I told you I would,” Gregory replied coldly.
I stared at him as though unseeing, overcome by shock and grief. “You killed our daughter. She is our child, Gregory!”
“She was. Be quiet, Juliana!” He slapped me, then took my wrist and held it in a bruising grip. “If you say anything about this, no one will believe you and you’ll end up just like Marie. Do I make myself clear?”
“You won’t get away with this,” I gasped. “I will tell—” Gregory struck me again. I cried out and he threw me to the floor. “Please, don’t hurt me anymore,” I whimpered.
“Do not say a word about this and I will not hurt you. Get up.”
I did as he said. Gregory grabbed my wrists again and dragged me to a room near the back of the house. I was sure he was going to kill me; he knew I would not keep quiet about what he had done.
The room, a tiny one we used for storage, had packed-down dirt for a floor and walls of cold stone. The remains of a candle lit earlier in the evening and forgotten gave me meager light. There was a tall window in the room, but I did not try to climb out. What was the point? I was exhausted and hurt, and had nowhere to seek safety. I huddled against the wall and sobbed as the candle sputtered. My daughter’s blood stained my gown, and I was numb with grief.
A long while later, I thought I heard a noise outside the window. I staggered to my feet and saw someone lurking outside. “Who —who is there?” My voice was hoarse, and I was shivering.
“Don’t be afraid, Julia. I am not going to hurt you,” an unfamiliar voice said.
“How did you know my name?” A man climbed onto the windowsill with easy, fluid movements. The candle brightened for a second, allowing me to see he had blond hair and blue eyes slightly darker than my own.
“I’ve been observing you. Do you want to escape this place? If you do, I will help you.”
I remembered the times I had felt as though someone was watching me from the shadows. Could it have been this man?
I sighed. “It is hopeless. No one can help me. Who are you?”
“My name is Samuel.” Then he smiled — a grim smile, I thought — and I glimpsed something that looked, incredibly, like fangs. “I can help you.”
“You aren’t human, are you?” I asked staring at him intently. Those teeth certainly weren’t human. And yet for some reason, though I was wary, I did not feel fear.
Samuel looked slightly surprised at my question. “Very observant. I am a vampire, Julia. I will explain later. We must go now before Gregory comes back.”
At the moment, it would not have mattered to me if he was Satan himself. All I knew was that he was offering to get me out of this hellish place when I had lost hope of doing so. “Aye,” I mumbled staggering closer. “Please take me away from here, Samuel. Please.” My voice trembled. I faltered in my resolve, though, when I realized I would not be able to bury poor little Marie. If my death could have somehow helped her live, it would have been worth staying. But she was beyond earthly help now. I had to flee our tormentor.
As I moved to the window I put a hand on my bloody and bruised face. Samuel saw me do it. “Do not fret about that. Everything will get better. I promise.”
“All right,” I mumbled, dropping my hand to my side. Samuel leapt down and helped me climb out. I felt my feet touch the ground and nearly collapsed. I hadn’t realized until then how badly I was injured. Strong arms steadied me. I didn’t understand why Samuel was helping me, but I was grateful.
“Easy Julia. God, you’re so cold.” He removed his coat and draped it over my shoulders. He took my uninjured hand and we started down the street.
After a short while, I stumbled and pitched forward with a small cry. My left ankle was throbbing and I was too exhausted to try and catch my balance. Samuel caught me before I could hit the ground. “What a brute to do this to you,” he muttered. Gently he picked me up and continued walking. I hesitantly rested my head against his shoulder.
We arrived at a house on the outskirts of town a little later. Samuel carried me inside. There were six others — vampires, I supposed—in the house. Samuel laid me on the only bed in the room. “Mary Anne, clean her wounds. I’ll bring in some more firewood. Matthew, you three leave her alone,” he said, looking at the other male vampires sharply. They nodded and he left the room.
Mary Anne came to my side with a bowl of warm water and a soft flannel cloth. “You poor girl. No one should have to go through what you did.” She began to clean off my face with great care.
“He killed my girl. He killed my baby girl,” I moaned, starting to cry again.
The dark-haired vampire turned to someone behind her. “Oh Jesu. Christy . . . .” she said, her voice trailing off in horror. One of the other female vampires came forward and sat beside me. She handed me a mug of warm tea.
“Drink this,” she urged softly. I sipped at the warm liquid. “I’m sorry, dear girl. Do not worry about him. He cannot hurt you anymore.”
I nodded and looked nervously at the three male vampires. Samuel reentered the room a second later. He looked at me and walked over to the fireplace. “Pay them no heed. They won’t hurt you,” he said, building up the fire.
I smiled in gratitude as new warmth spilled into the room. “Why did you help me?” I asked. These creatures, these vampires I had been taught to fear, were treating me more kindly than some of my own family had done.
Samuel concentrated on the fire. After a second he answered my question. “We can help each other, Julia.” He looked back at me. “We are looking for someone who can challenge our current leader — fight him and win. We think you can be this person. That also means you can be free of your scoundrel of a husband.”
I frowned. “Why challenge the leader?”
Samuel leaned back, still holding my gaze. “Because times are changing. We need to learn to mingle with humans, to live with them side by side before we’re discovered and hunted out of existence. This vampire leader doesn’t want to change. He doesn’t realize that mortals can be a great help to us and can even become our friends.” A small smile crossed his face.
“What made you choose me? I’m weak, I cannot—” I started to protest. And I am weary of conflict. So weary.
The vampires exchanged amused glances. “You are not weak, Julia. You are strong. You had to be to endure what you did. I assume it had been going on for some time?” Samuel asked.
I nodded and thought he sounded as though he already knew it had been this way since the start. I thought of all the beatings I had suffered, all the times I had almost died.
“You are the one, Juliana. All you have to do is agree, and you’ll have eternity without the scoundrel.” He said it with absolute certainty. The other six vampires nodded agreement.
I was taken aback by the kindness of these vampires. I could not remember the last time strangers had gone out of their way to help me. I took another sip of the tea and handed the mug back to Christy. I looked down at my other hand; the broken fingers were misshapen and swollen.
Become a vampire? I had heard they were vile creatures, always preying upon innocent people. And yet here I sit in a house with seven of them and I have not been harmed by a single one, I thought. “What if I say no?” I met Samuel’s eyes. “Would you force me to go back, even though Gregory will kill me?”
Samuel frowned and looked at Mary Anne. Watching them, I would have sworn they were talking, but I heard no words. After what seemed to be a long time, he turned back to me. “No. You can stay here for a few months while you recover, if you wish. Or you can leave right now. It is your choice, Julia.”
The words sounded foreign to me. My choice? I have never been given a choice in anything before. “I am sorry; I think I misheard you. Did you say it is my choice?” I asked.
“You heard correctly. The decision is yours.”
I looked around the room and realized that despite how crowded the room was, there had always been a clear path between me and the door. “How does o
ne become a vampire?” I asked.
“I will bite your neck and drink some of your blood. I will then feed you some of my blood and it will change you into a vampire.”
“Will it hurt?”
Samuel frowned but before he could answer Mary Anne said, “It doesn’t have to hurt at all, Julia. Samuel can use his power to hypnotize you.”
I was quiet. As time passed, the pain I felt increased. My face and left ankle ached, and new pain was blossoming in places I didn’t even known were hurt. But it was my hand that throbbed most of all. I lifted it and stared at my mangled fingers. “If I do not . . . will I heal?” I struggled to get the words out, afraid of their answer.
Samuel looked at the man he had called Matthew. Once again, I had the sense of a conversation being held without audible words. He turned to me again and said, “We will have to examine your injuries more closely to be sure, but yes. It will take a few months, but the injuries will heal.”
“And if I agree, how fast will the wounds heal?” I whispered, holding Samuel’s gaze.
“They will heal within minutes, hours at the most.”
“Truly?” I asked in awe. They nodded.
I could let the injuries heal themselves, but that meant suffering for months longer. I was so tired of pain. My only reason for staying human had died tonight by Gregory’s hand. The idea that I could be without this agony was a temptation I could not resist. Slowly I nodded. “Please stop the pain,” I whispered, touching my cut face yet again.
Samuel got to his feet. “All right.” He walked over and sat beside me. He caught my gaze with his own. “Do not fear, Julia. You are going to be all right,” he said.
I couldn’t break away from his gaze. At first I felt a moment of panic, but the fear drained away and I felt light, almost like I was floating. Surprisingly, it was a pleasant sensation. I felt Samuel brush my hair aside, but the feeling came as if from far away. The floating sensation deepened and I felt wonderfully relaxed. I felt neither pain nor fear when something pressed against my neck. Nothing, no other emotion, interfered with the peace I felt, not even fear when my vision suddenly went black.
I felt a sweet warm liquid touch my lips and immediately licked at it without understanding. A minute later full consciousness returned and I felt disoriented. I blinked and looked up, pausing the licking motion. Samuel’s wrist was pressed against my mouth. When he noticed my eyes focused on him he smiled at me reassuringly. “You’re doing fine. Just drink,” he said soothingly.
I obeyed without a word. The liquid, his blood, tasted delicious. Although I knew what was happening, my mind hadn’t yet fully grasped what it meant for me. Until an hour or so ago I really hadn’t even thought of life without Gregory; I had been too busy concentrating on the actual physical task of getting away. Could it be true? Was I finally going to be free?
I was dimly aware that Samuel was pulling away. At first, I resisted his movements, but then let him move his wrist away. I licked my lips and noticed I had slumped back slightly on the bed. As I sat up again Mary Anne remarked, “You look better already.” Startled, I touched my face carefully with my uninjured left hand and found all the cuts and bruises there had miraculously healed. My eyes widened.
“I told you everything would get better,” he answered my unspoken amazement. He looked a little pale, but pleased.
I smiled, suddenly happy for the first time since — when? The last time I had felt this happy was when Marie and I were in the gardens. Impulsively, I leaned forward and hugged Samuel. “Thank you,” I said, and looked around the room at the rest of them. “Thank you all.” The other vampires laughed. I suddenly realized what I was doing. I was hugging a strange man, something completely improper. I jerked away and cringed instinctively, fully expecting to be hit.
One of the vampires sighed. Another said, “This is going to be a long year.” Samuel touched my shoulder, and the gentleness of his touch surprised me.
“It’s all right, Julia. We’re not going to hurt you because you want to show us you’re happy. Being happy is a good thing.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I just thought . . .”
“That with all this kindness there has got to be a drawback? I know why you feel that way, but that’s now how we are. Julia, your husband and whoever else acted in violence towards you ... well, they are Mortals,” Mary Anne said, as if that explained everything. “You also happened to have bad luck. I can assure you that will change now. And we are going to help you through this.”
“We’ll help you remember how to really live. There’s so much out there,” Christy added. I nodded, not trusting my voice. I understood what they were saying but I still couldn’t believe it.
“Let’s introduce Julia to our four quiet friends. The night is still young. After you introduce yourselves you’re free to go hunt if you like,” Mary Anne said.
The blonde female vampire near the back of the room scowled. “I’m Sharon,” she said and left the house.
The vampire Samuel had called Matthew turned to me. “I’m Matthew. Don’t mind Sharon. She is not friendly towards newcomers. She forgets she was once a newcomer too.” He didn’t move any closer to me and I was glad. He smiled and left the room.
The other two men stared at me. One had brown hair that was a little lighter than Matthew’s, the other had black hair. “I’m Jeffrey and he’s Robert,” said the man with lighter hair. “See you later Samuel.” Mary Anne followed them out. Christy disappeared in the direction Matthew had gone.
I sighed and looked at Samuel. “Do we have to go out?” Samuel shook his head.
“Nay. We will stay in tonight. It will be better for you. I don’t think you want to go out yet.”
“You are right.”
“I can answer some of your questions now. If you have any, that is.” There was a hint of mischief in his voice.
Forgetting my earlier discomfort I picked up a pillow and threw it at him. “Of course I have questions!” I said. A second later, I looked at my hands as I realized the broken fingers on my right hand did not hurt anymore. They looked completely healed.
Samuel put the pillow back and laughed. “I’m only teasing Julia. I know you do. Ask something before you hit me again.”
“Do not make me laugh,” I warned as my lips turned up into another unwilling smile.
Samuel rolled his eyes. “So ask a question.”
“How old are you?” I asked, turning serious.
“Julia!” Samuel protested, looking shocked. Then I think he realized I was serious, and calmed down. “I’m much older than you,” he answered. His eyes grew distant.
“How old?” I asked when he went silent. “How old Samuel? You say you’re older. Tell me. You said you would answer my questions,” I said with a hint of irritation.
“I did say that, didn’t I? I’m about five hundred years older than you.”
“Oh, goodness,” I whispered. “Are the others that old too?”
“Mary Anne and Matthew are. The others are younger, but everyone except Sharon is over a century old. Sharon was our youngster until now. She’s only about fifty years old.”
“Oh. I think she may be jealous.”
“I think so too,” Samuel said.
I peered about the room. Everything was becoming sharper, clearer. I began to hear things I couldn’t before. I could hear Christy arguing with Matthew. I could even hear the scampering of a small creature outside. “What’s happening to me? What can vampires really do?” I asked. I was worried now. I had made an irrevocable decision without even knowing what it entailed.
Samuel regarded me quietly. “Your senses are sharpening, becoming vampire-like. Our sight, hearing, and sense of smell are twice as good as a mortal’s, at least. You’ll develop incredible strength overnight, and the ability to speak directly from mind to mind.” He paused. “Each vampire develops other powers that set them apart from others. Occasionally a vampire might find they are the only one with that gift.”
I nodded slowly. “Can humans have any of these abilities?”
“Some mortals also have some of these gifts, but don’t worry about that now.” He paused again and added delicately, “And you’ll develop a craving for human blood.”
Horrific images of killing innocent people crossed my mind. “Do I have to kill?” I was sure he must have heard the panic in my voice.
“No. You don’t have to kill. Though killing murderers can be quite fun,” he mused, mostly to himself, I thought. “But you don’t have to kill the innocents you feed from.”
I was reassured. “Good. So you prey off the evil?”
“We do here. Other vampires, though, do not make that distinction. Like mortals, vampires can be either good or bad. And — like many mortals — many vampires are somewhere in between.”
I nodded. It made sense, but I wondered how they knew the difference. “You said you prey off the evil, but how do you know who is or isn’t?”
“Sometimes we catch a murderer or rapist in the act. Other times we know because we read the person’s mind.”
I was a little surprised that he had not yet tired of my endless questions. “Do vampires usually live in groups like this?” I asked.
Samuel looked thoughtful. “It depends on the vampire. Some prefer to hunt and live alone, but most like to live with at least one other vampire. Actually, almost all the vampires who live alone are insane. There are also several very large groups that we call covens elsewhere in the world. They have to be extremely careful because so many live together. It makes an easy target. But it’s not unusual to find small groups.” He looked away. “Eternal life can get very lonely.”
I thought about that for a while. “I suppose it would get lonely,” I said after a few minutes. He nodded. I decided to change the subject. “Do vampires have rules?” I asked. I was determined to find out as much as I could now about my new existence. I also decided if I kept my mind on asking Samuel questions, I wouldn’t have to think about what led to my being here.
Lost Soul (War of Destiny Book 1) Page 7