He matched her soft voice and looked directly into her eyes, “I was. But, I think that feeling has since passed.”
“Good,” she responded as he looked at her with confusion. “I don’t want you to be in love with me. The last time a human was in love with me, he became like me. I don’t wish that for you.”
He chuckled, “I don’t wish that for me either.”
Glad to see a hint of a smile, she admitted, “However…I love you, too. That feeling has not passed for me.” She stood up and gave him a wistful smile before bidding him goodnight. She walked out of his room and shut the door behind her, leaving behind the memories of feeling human for the past couple of months.
Chapter 11
A couple of weeks had passed and Emma made sure to avoid Todd to the best of her ability. Her acute hearing, sense of smell, and speed came in handy as she would dodge him every time he was coming near. She hated feeling like this in her own home.
She knew she needed to get away. Far away. One day while they were filming she went to her room and plopped down on her bed. She thought about where she could go; perhaps a vacation somewhere by herself. But, Christmas was just days away and she surely didn’t want to spend it alone. She reached for her phone and scrolled through her contacts, hitting “call” on the one she could always turn to.
“Aidan, it’s Emma. I need to get out of here, mind if I come for a visit?”
She smiled knowing she was going to get to see her maker again so soon. She explained the reason why to him and he lectured her about getting involved with a human she didn’t plan to turn. While she normally became perturbed when others lectured her about the same subject, she couldn’t help but take Aidan’s words to heart. She wished she would have spoken to him sooner as he would have been the only one to talk her out of pursuing Todd.
She opened her laptop and began searching for flights to Glasgow and decided on the same one she had taken a couple months before, which meant she’d leave that night. She booked an open ticket so she could return when she felt ready to come back. She got her suitcases out of her closet and began to pack everything she would need. She needed this trip—to get away from Todd, from all the tension in the house, and even Zachariah, who was relishing in the break up between her and Todd.
She eventually went downstairs and waited for a break in filming. Once Zachariah and Daniel were available, she called them over to her. She saw Todd from the corner of her eye, who was watching her intently. It was the first time he had actually seen her in two weeks. She disregarded him and never returned his stare.
“I need to get out of here. I’m going crazy trying to dodge Todd all the time,” she quietly explained to them. “I feel like a bandit in my own home. I’m leaving for Glasgow tonight, so I’m going to spend the holidays with Aidan.”
Daniel looked at her with disappointment, “I have never spent Christmas without you, Emma. You’re the only family I have left.” Sadness saturated his voice. It pinched at her heart because he was one hundred percent right. She was his only family now.
Even Zachariah looked slightly forlorn, “I have never spent the holidays without you either. Over one hundred Christmases with you.”
Their heartbroken faces were killing her! So much for an escape, “Alright, when I get to Scotland I’ll ask Aidan if he wouldn’t mind if you two joined us. Goodness knows he has the room at his house.”
Later that evening when everyone was gathered in the parlor after dinner, Emma came downstairs with her suitcases and placed them in the foyer. She went into the parlor to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and safe travels to their homes on their break. She explained she was going to Scotland to visit her friend for a while and glanced around the room as she spoke. She made brief eye contact with Todd for the first time in two weeks. When she was done saying her goodbyes, he got up and sauntered over to her with his hands deep in his jean pockets.
“You have a Merry Christmas, Emma,” he gently said.
“You as well. Are you going back to London for the holidays?”
He nodded, “I am…will you be back before filming is done or is this our final goodbye?”
“I’ll be back before filming is done,” she started, hesitating on her next words. “But, it is entirely up to you if this is our final goodbye. I’m sure you have noticed that I can make myself scarce.”
He looked her straight in the eyes and replied, “I don’t want any of our goodbyes to be final.” He bashfully shrugged his shoulders, “I can’t not love you. Your absence around here for the past two weeks has been torture; I thought you were already gone.”
This revelation made things complicated all over again. When she was convinced that he no longer had feelings for her it was easy for her to let him go. Now, she contemplated canceling her trip, but the pull of seeing Aidan was far stronger than any love she felt for a human. As they hugged goodbye, they lingered with her head pressed against his chest.
He kissed the top of her head and said, “Have a safe flight, love.”
She looked at him with a smirk and replied, “I think any flight would be safe for me…I’m not exactly fragile.”
He chuckled and gave her one more squeeze before letting her go.
She gave Daniel a tight hug and told him she would call to let him know if Aidan would allow him and Zachariah to join them. She picked up her suitcases and walked out the door to her driver that was waiting in the black Escalade.
Later that evening Todd sat on the couch in his room and sipped a glass of wine while going over his script. He heard a knock at the door and for one fleeting moment he wondered if Emma may have changed her mind and returned. He carelessly jogged across the room and opened the door, surprised to find Zachariah standing there. He, too had a glass with red liquid, but Todd was certain it wasn’t wine, now that he knew their secret.
“Can I come in?” He asked as Todd looked him over.
“Yeah, of course, sorry. I’m just a bit surprised. Come on in and sit down.”
Zachariah sat down on the couch and could still smell Emma’s scent all over it, reminding him that he already missed her. Todd knew that he wasn’t there to become best buddies and hang out together; there had to be a point to his visit.
“Well, let’s have it. I know you’re not here to shoot the breeze,” Todd said as he plopped down on the couch.
Zachariah gave an appreciative nod and started, “I never had a problem with you, man. I just want you to know that. I admit, I got a little jealous when you and Emma started seeing each other. I normally don’t get jealous, but this time I just did.”
“She’s obviously been with other men before I came along, so how come you were jealous of me?”
“Because you’re a human,” Zachariah replied matter-of-factly. “Vampires are bound to this Earth for a very long time; being with one person for an eternity can get boring. It’s in our nature to be with other people from time-to-time.” He paused, taking a sip from his glass. “Even when we’re in love with someone, we stray, but our emotional makeup is different from humans. It is accepted. I guess it’s like an eternal open relationship.”
“So, you guys sleep around and always end up back with each other?” Todd asked, trying to understand how they could freely be intimate with other people and still be in love with each other.
“Being intimate is in our genetic makeup, just like humans. However, our urge is far more dominant than yours. We have guiltless romps with whoever we are attracted to, then always come back to one another. We’re like boomerangs.” Zachariah laughed.
Todd rubbed his face with his hands and looked up at the ceiling, wondering how the hell he got into this completely surreal situation.
Zachariah continued, “The real reason I behaved the way I did towards you is because you were headed down a very dangerous path—you still are. I’ve been down that same road and the destination isn’t one I would wish on my worst enemy. Emma loves you, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. She ob
viously loves you enough that she would fight to protect you. But, she may also love you to the point where she may not be able to let you go, just like she did with me.”
Todd appreciated Zachariah’s concern with his mortal fate. They continued to speak about the situation and Zachariah answered the questions that had plagued Todd for the past couple of weeks. His number one question was mere curiosity, but he didn’t know how to ask it delicately without sounding like he had a hidden agenda.
“I don’t want to sound suspicious, but I have to ask,” he hesitantly started. “I know you’re all immortal, so does that mean there is no way for you to be killed?”
Zachariah was a little taken back, but not entirely surprised. “No, we can be killed. But, I don’t know if I should tell you…” he playfully raised an eyebrow.
Todd waved a hand and said, “Nevermind, I don’t want to know.”
“There are a few ways, but we aren’t allowed to speak of them to humans,” he replied immediately without looking at Todd. “It’s not a stake through the heart or ripping us to pieces like Hollywood would have you believe. The one weapon that is the easiest way to kill us is very hard to find. There is a reason we’re called immortals…because killing us is next to impossible. I’m not sure if the weapon even exists anymore; the ancient vampires did their fair share of eradicating them as each was found.
“There are several ways to weaken a vampire, though. The vampires who get into trouble with a king or queen gets confined and is subject to starvation, which weakens them. However, none have the easy weapon to kill the troublemaker. Then, of course there are other ways to kill us, put that involves a fight.”
“So, a wood stake through the heart is just a bunch of malarkey?”
“Tell me, Todd, how would a human sneak up on a vampire to try and stake them through the heart? We can hear you coming, we are faster than you, and we have the strength of a thousand men. Hell, how did you think Emma was able to avoid you for this long? She’d hear you or smell you and disappear.”
Todd looked at him with a subtle shock in his eyes. He didn’t realize that Emma had been purposely avoiding him.
“There were several occasions where she would be in the parlor and would be gone by the time you walked in the room. She could smell you coming and hear your footsteps.”
Todd chugged the last of his wine, feeling both hurt by what she did and fascinated with her abilities. Zachariah stood up and stuck out his hand, offering his reconciliation, to which Todd responded with a firm shake and a quick nod.
As Zachariah walked towards the door, he said, “I’m waving my white flag. I’ve said what has needed to be said since day one.” He glanced back at Todd, “Just be careful, man. She’s an amazing girl; a one-of-a-kind. But, don’t get in over your head.”
Daniel sat on his bed and flipped through a photo album filled with memories of past Christmases. They began with a little baby boy dressed in a tiny Santa outfit being held by his parents. He sadly smiled at the joyful images of them watching their only son open presents. Their extended family had diminished over the years and Daniel was now the last living Davenport as far as he knew. Their family that resided in the Manor was small compared to his ancestors who had grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins living here as well. Growing up, it was just him, his parents, Zachariah, and Emma, who also graced the pages of the photo album. They looked exactly the same throughout the years; they had the same youthful, porcelain skin as those around them continued to change. His parents’ faces gradually gained fine wrinkles while he grew into a teenager. But, Emma and Zachariah were both frozen as twenty-five-year olds.
He knew what she was from a young age and never in his life did he fear her. She was as normal to him as having blue eyes. She was just known as his “sister” throughout his life, even though she was his sixth-great aunt. He thought about the things she did with him when he was just a child. She would make him squeal with giggles when she would pick up an entire couch with one arm. He would watch her flit to the top of the tallest tree and then perform several flips on the way down, always landing on her feet. Every time she would remind him to never try that himself. He liked when she would tell him bedtime stories—tales of their ancestors, silly stories, and as he got a bit older, the scary stories. He chuckled to himself when he remembered how she would always end the scary stories she made up: “And then…I ate them. The end.” She became his confidant; she had seen it all and done it all, so there was nothing that would shock her.
When his parents were killed, Daniel remembered Emma did all she could to comfort him. She cried with him, consoled him, and reassured him that everything would be alright. As a fifteen-year old boy, he was afraid of what would happen to him since he had no immediate family left, but Emma made sure that his life remained as normal as possible and was awarded guardianship of him. She had no qualms with having to use her charming abilities if the judge didn’t rule in her favor, but luckily she didn’t have to.
Not only did he have Emma by his side while growing up, he also had Zachariah, who was like a big brother to him. As Daniel surpassed his teenage years, he became closer than ever to him. While Zachariah wasn’t a blood relative, they had a bond that paralleled ancestry.
He didn’t know what he would have done without Emma and Zachariah in his life. They kept him stable during his darkest times; they mourned with him, but didn’t allow him to spiral down into depression. They picked him up when he was down and would gently urge him to move forward. They did their best as acting parents and guided him when he needed it the most. The amount of normalcy he had after his parents died was owed to them.
He reached the end of the photo album where the pictures abruptly stopped several pages before it was filled. Six years-worth of pictures that were never taken, only because it was too painful. Christmas just wasn’t the same even though Emma tried her hardest to make it as festive as possible. She helped his mother’s legacy live on by continuing her traditions; using her recipes to make cookies on Christmas Eve, even though she had no idea if they tasted good or not. She allowed Daniel to be the judge of that. A Christmas Story played on repeat in the parlor while she listened to Dean Martin and Bing Crosby Christmas music in the kitchen. It was then that Daniel was reminded that this may be the first Christmas that he spent without Emma and it turned his stomach into a knot.
“Hey Zach, can you come here?” He said with a normal volume, knowing he could hear him.
Within seconds, his bedroom door opened and Zachariah poked his head in. “What’s up, Dan?”
“This is so weird with Emma being gone. Do you think that Aidan guy is going to let us go there?”
Zachariah shrugged, “I dunno. He’s different than Emma. He’s still baffled at the fact that she has remained with humans all this time.”
“Why did she want to go so bad?” Daniel never could comprehend the pull that a vampire had toward their maker no matter how many times they had tried to explain it. Zachariah didn’t bother trying again.
“She just wanted to get away from the whole situation with Todd. She was tired of constantly running from him in her own house. Although it sounded like they kind of made up right before she left.”
They continued to chat well into the night and ventured off the subject of Emma. They ended up flipping on Daniel’s TV to play Mario Kart on his Wii. Although Zachariah almost always won due to his quick reflexes, Daniel gave him a run for his money and would occasionally beat him. Other guests could hear them throughout the halls, yelling at each other and talking smack while racing. Their laughter and colorful language spilled out of the room like a tidal wave.
Chapter 12
Once again, Emma found herself in Glasgow and the internal satisfaction from being with her maker was calming to her. She unpacked her suitcases and got settled in her room while Aidan prepared a snack for her in his living room. She went out to join him and saw a man and a woman, both roughly in their early twenties, sitting on the cou
ch. The both smiled at her looked pleased that she was there. She could tell by their beating hearts and scents that they were human. They both looked troubled, as if they had lived rough lives.
“Emma, this is Chris and Nicole, they are my current live-in donors. Please, have a drink…” Aidan said in his gravelly voice saturated with a thick Scottish accent, while motioning to the smiling humans.
Emma hadn’t drunk straight from the vein since she was in Glasgow the last time. It was never really necessary since she befriended Patricia Miller, the vampire who owned the local funeral home and her source of bought-blood. With as much humanity that was left in her, Emma still couldn’t argue that blood was best right from the human body. When she was with Aidan, she felt darker; instead of longing to be human, she embraced being a vampire and dangerous predator.
She walked over to Chris who continued to look up at her brightly as she neared him. Aidan had certainly charmed a number on these two, they looked completely dazed and oblivious to what was going on around them. She slinked down onto the couch so she was situated next to him, politely greeted him, and guided his head to tilt to the side. She pushed her fangs out and bit into his jugular, gulping down the blood that his heart was pushing into her mouth. Aidan sat down next to Nicole and in the same movement he pushed her head to the side to begin feeding from her. Neither human made a sound as Aidan and Emma fed on them, their eyes remained glazed over and empty.
Emma had nearly forgotten how good blood was coming directly from the vein. The only way she could compare it to humans who didn’t understand was that it was like having a filet mignon as opposed to a fast food hamburger. Both will fill you up and satisfy you, but the filet mignon tastes so much more succulent.
Before they could take too much blood from their donors, they pulled away and pierced their fingertips with one of their fangs. They rubbed a drop of their own blood on the human’s puncture wounds to heal them quickly. Once Chris’ wound healed, Emma lightly licked the little bit of remaining blood off of his neck. Aidan had taught her to never be a sloppy drinker; to savor each drop and not let it spill all over the place. He explained that blood was the life source for both humans and vampires, to carelessly allow it to overflow was wasteful for both lives. The way he explained it to her when she was a new vampire made sense: rarely did you see a human dive face first into their dinner plates, allowing their food to smear on their face. It was uncivilized and lacked manners. The same rules of etiquette applied to vampires. He hated how Hollywood films depicted vampires with blood running down their chins.
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