I will always remember those feelings Andrew awakened in me. Innocent, nervous feelings I have never experienced before. I convince myself that love was not in my future, not my destiny, and that it is better for Andrew to move on and hopefully he will think of me every so often.
I get up from the ground and stretch my legs. Slowly I walk back to the house and when I walk into the room we attempted to make livable, Amanda is already fast asleep. I sit down on the chair opposite her and then slowly, as it gets later, I start easing down toward the uncomfortable cushions, but sleep does not come.
Unable to fall asleep, I look through the window up at the many stars I have not seen in the longest time. I look for the Southern Cross, despite the fact that I know, you cannot see it up here in the northern hemisphere at this time of the year.
*
I wake up when Amanda touches my arm softly. Fleetingly I consider that I had eventually fallen asleep whilst looking up at the night sky.
When I open my mouth to ask her what her problem is, I hear her urgent whispered hush.
I sit up slowly, frowning, and she sits down next to me. She whispers, “There is someone here.”
Quietly I reply, “Can’t be. Maybe it’s rats.”
“Although it sounded like footsteps, I also thought it was only rats or something in the walls, but a loud screaming woke me up completely.”
I stand up and take her by the hand, but she pulls me back determinedly.
I hiss softly, “This house belongs to me and I am going to see what is going on. If there is anybody here, I will chase them away.”
Suddenly there is a loud yell from outside and hurriedly Amanda and I move toward the window.
I move the curtain aside and the railing falls from the wall with a loud clang.
Before terror fills me, I see six men running across the lawn. Two figures float across the old, broken pond while another man grabs onto a scared running woman and then I see that familiar stance as he bends down and hides his face in the nape of her neck.
One of the running men stops abruptly and turns toward the house. Searchingly he looks toward the house and then he sees me, as Amanda gasps.
I follow her gaze as the woman, in the arms of the man who caught her, collapse. He drops her to the floor without a care and I notice that she is lying deadly still. The other four men fall over her and I see them ripping her body apart.
Amanda says softly, “My god, Susie. Go hide. I do not know if we can defend ourselves against them. They are savage!”
I look back at the man who noticed me and I see him walking slowly, deliberately toward the house with a smug grin across his face.
The moon is bright and I notice his light colored hair, long enough to touch his shoulders. His shoulders are broad and strong. He strides with long steps and I am unable to move away from the window as I stare at him. He mesmerizes me by the sheer confidence he portrays.
Amanda turns toward me and it is the first time ever that I see fear in her eyes. She insists, “Susie. Hide.”
Rebelliously I reply, “No! If they attack you, you will need my help.”
She still wants to be firm, pushing me toward the door further away from the main door, when a deep voice resonates through the room. “What do we have here, uninvited in my home?”
“My home,” I reply defiantly.
Across Amanda’s shoulder I see him look at me more intently.
His eyes move from mine toward the portrait of my mother over the huge fireplace. He smirks, “My apologies.” He walks closer toward us and then I see a brief moment of disappointment in his eyes, when he realizes we are not dinner.
I hear the other five men come into the house noisily and when they walk in, I see one hurriedly wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. I hear another growl softly, deep in his throat.
They immediately take an attacking stance, but the blonde haired man standing only a few feet away from Amanda and me, holds his hand up in a cautionary motion.
Amanda moves in front of me and slowly deliberately, she nudges me backwards toward the door behind us.
The man says, “Forgive my rudeness. If I may introduce myself, I am Callum Duvereax.”
He steps forward and Amanda steps back, pushing me backwards with her body.
Callum stops and then he turns toward the five men standing behind him. Smiling friendly, he says, “May I introduce my companions. Justin.”
A blonde haired man, lean and effeminate steps forward and he bows at the waist, folding his one arm around his back and the other across his stomach. Amanda cannot help herself and she curtseys back involuntarily.
I move away from her, but she stops me with her arm, pushing me back behind her. I see Callum notice the way she is protecting me. I cannot blame her for being overly protective, especially after the fiasco with Ethan.
Callum says amused, “Peter,” and Peter steps forward. Peter is older looking with a hairless scalp and a full beard.
He announces them one by one and individually they step forward, bowing slightly toward us. Callum seems to be their leader and without his instruction or agreement, they would not kill Amanda and me.
He names the remaining three, Edward, who has dark, black hair and a goatee, Claude, who is extraordinarily tall and muscular with short, cropped brown hair and a jovial expression on his face and Herman, who is slim with reddish, curly hair and a serious appearance. It looks as if his frown is permanent.
Callum looks at Amanda enquiringly. “May we sit and have a civilized discussion. I have some questions.”
Amanda nods slightly.
We remain standing, while the six men sit down on the chairs. The dainty French antique chairs look too flimsy to carry their weight, but I am impressed with the durable quality when none of the chairs collapses under them.
Callum looks up at Amanda. “Would you take a seat?”
Amanda says defiantly, “Say what you need to say. I think you should ask your questions and leave, it is improper to be here at this time of the night.”
Callum looks at her amused. “This time of the night?” He laughs suddenly. “This is our day and yours too. Am I wrong in presuming you are not human?” I see a greedy glint in his eyes. He did not get any blood from the woman earlier on, because he came to investigate us and thought we were people who found an empty château and decided to spend the night.
I feel Amanda gasp, because this confirms her initial guess that they are savage. They do not move in the normal circles of the community, because then they would have known that times have changed, they would have known about the big yellow ‘sunshine’ pill. These six men have continued to live at night and I realize that the rumors are true. There are still savages amongst us.
Amanda says adamantly, “No we are not human, but we have evolved and can live under the glaring sun.”
Callum sits up straight. There is shock on his face. “What? Why don’t we know about this?”
He looks toward the other five men and they shrug while looking up at Amanda expectantly.
I feel Amanda sigh. She reaches for my hand and then she pulls me along. We sit down on a chair, away from them and Amanda makes sure she is still between them and me.
She asks Callum directly, “Where have you been all these years that you do not know this?”
Callum answers, “Living at night and hiding in old houses and cellars. We have been keeping to ourselves.”
Claude says, “We have always wondered what happened to everybody. We never came across anybody. The two of you are the first other vampires we have seen for decades.”
Amused Herman affirms, “We thought we were the last of our kind.”
I feel sorry for them, as I say, “You have missed so much. The day is so beautiful.”
Amanda nudges me and I hear her soft hush.
Abruptly Edward says, while looking directly at me, “You look very familiar. What is your name? Have we met?”
Amanda r
eplies, “No, you have never met her. She has always been with me.”
Callum looks at me ponderingly, while Edward continues thoughtfully, “You look familiar.”
Amanda replies hurriedly, “This house belongs to her.” Amanda points up toward the portrait up against the wall.
Edward smiles as recognition dawns in his eyes and then he says skeptically, “You are Susanna? You are William’s Susanna?”
Amanda says, “Yes, she is.”
Edward laughs unbelievingly. “You must be kidding me!”
Callum interrupts him, “Later, Edward.” He turns toward Amanda again. “Tell me how you are able to live in the day.”
Amanda starts to explain, “Joseph, a vampire, who grew tired of living by night invented a serum. After drinking it for a prolonged period, it builds immunity in our systems against the sun.”
Callum shakes his head doubtfully, while the other five men stare at us in amazement.
Callum asks after a while, “You live amongst humans?”
I reply, “Yes, we do. We live normal lives.”
Amanda interrupts me and says admonishingly, “We do not live savagely and we do not kill indiscriminatingly. We live with humans as their neighbors. We shop with them and are friends with them.”
Claude asks curiously, “You do not need blood?”
I laugh. “Of course we do but there are ways to deal with it. If you have lived amongst humans for a while, you are able to resist as long as you drink one human every thirty days or so.”
I see a despondent longing in Callum’s eyes and I feel immeasurably sorry for him.
Peter and Justin become restless and then Peter says, “It is almost dawn, we must go down.”
I have forgotten and have lost the ability to sense dawn as it approached.
They stand up as one and then they move toward the door.
When he reaches the door, Callum turns around. He looks directly at me, and asks, “You will be here?”
I nod my head yes and I remind him, “This is my house.”
Chapter Thirteen
I did not fall asleep after that and I see the sun peek up over the horizon while staring at Amanda, fast asleep on the opposite couch, unseeingly.
I think about Callum, who is handsome and confident, secure in himself. His jaw is square and muscular. His blonde hair falls softly around his face and brushes his shoulders. His eyes are a dark, dark blue. He is built powerfully and he has a brilliant, dazzling smile.
Andrew is also handsome, but more boyish, not so secure within himself, but to his defense, he is seventeen and only seventeen. His dark coffee-brown hair is short and his dark brown, almost black eyes are broodingly serious. He is lean and muscular and his arms when he folds them around me are strong. Unfortunately, he is very human.
I wait for Amanda to wake up and it is a long time before she eventually opens her eyes lazily.
She stretches. “I cannot remember when last I stayed up so late or, must I say early.”
I reply, “It’s been a while.”
She stands up from the couch. “We better get ready to go to the shops and get those supplies. I wonder if there is a refrigerator here.”
“I doubt it. No one has lived here for almost a hundred years.”
“We will have to buy one then, and a generator, unless you want to go the electricity department in the village and have it reconnected.”
“The electricity wiring in the house was installed when electricity was first discovered and we will have to rewire everything, before having the current reconnected.” I add, “Besides, who will I say I am? Although we know I am the rightful owner of this property, I am going to have to proof it and that involves paperwork.”
“Another thing I will have to add to my ‘to do’ list.” Amanda always makes sure to get the correct paperwork required whenever we move - she has become very experienced in the art of forgery.
She throws her head forward and puffs her hair vigorously. She throws her head back again and her silver blonde hair cascades over her shoulders. She is the envy of many human girls. She asks, “So? Are you ready?”
“Yeah, let’s go and get it over and done with.”
We walk out of the house and down the stairs toward the rental car parked to the side of the house.
“I wonder how Callum never noticed the car last night.” I say.
“The grass is long here and the car is hidden from that side of the house. If you did not rip the curtain from the wall, they probably still would not know we are here.”
I look at her apprehensively, but she is smiling. Laughing I defend myself. “I did not rip it off the wall, you know. I touched it to pull it aside and it must have rotted out of the wall, and only needed that final prod to fall.”
We slam the doors and Amanda starts the car. She laughs hysterically. “I wonder if they know about cars.”
I laugh loudly with her. “And airplanes, and nice clothes and meat.”
We laugh unstoppable. It is unbelievable that there are still vampires in this day and age who live the way Callum and his merry five live. At this moment, they are hiding in the cellar, too scared to come out, because if they did, they would turn to dust when the sun touches them.
Amanda stops laughing and says seriously, “Shayne would have been fascinated to meet them. They are like a lost breed. Like a cave man to the humans.”
I agree with her and a quiet sadness fills the car. It is still going to take a very long time for Amanda to be able to laugh without feeling guilty. Vampires are like the albatross that may fly great distances over the oceans, but despite its extensive travels, it will always return to the same place and the same partner when it is time to breed.
We stop in the small village. It still looks the same as when I was little and it is as if time has stood still here. The structures have changed in the building materials used, but it is still the one main road running through the centre with all the businesses alongside it. Each inhabitant of the village owns a business and they live on the second floor above their individual business premises. The village services, and always has serviced, the surrounding wine producing farms.
The villagers are friendly, although some of them look at us suspiciously. Amanda still speaks French fluently and she talks casually and naturally. My French is rusty, but here and there, I understand a word or two. She tells them conversationally that we have been employed by the owners of the château to restore it.
The woman behind the counter warns Amanda to be careful, because people have been disappearing from the village.
I feel apprehension and I know if Amanda and I want to stay here, we will either have to convince Callum, Justin, Peter, Claude, Herman and Edward to move away or to stop feeding on the villagers. I feel sorry for them and I would like to help them.
After Amanda buys enough cleaning products to clean a lot of houses, hardware products and utensils, orders a fridge/freezer and a generator, we drive back to the château in silence.
When we get there, Amanda starts cleaning immediately. I can sense she does not want to talk and I respect her need to be with her own thoughts. I clean with her and at lunch, Amanda takes the two steaks she bought from the bag. She had also bought paper plates and plastic knives and forks. Amanda believes that no matter where you are there is no excuse not to behave civilized.
She puts the raw meat on the plates. She pulls the dusted, shiny chairs closer to the occasional table in the centre of the room. We sit down and hunched over toward the plates on the table, we eat silently.
When we are finished eating, Amanda clears the plates and cutlery into a plastic bag. She walks out to the kitchen and when she comes back, she says, “There is so much to do here. There is not even a bin in the kitchen. Thank goodness we do not cook either, because the stove is still one of those coal burning furnace things.”
I smile. “You said there is nothing else to do and just imagine how nice it will be when we are finished. We could li
ve here like they did in the olden days, with all its splendor and grandeur.”
She smiles softly. “I do miss those days.”
We continue cleaning and Amanda makes a list of all the damages that need repairs. She taps the walls, rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet on the wooden floors, and then scribbles in her notepad.
I hear her mumble, “They do not build houses like they used to anymore. After all these years, this house is still in a good condition.”
Later in the afternoon, a truck arrives with the generator and refrigerator Amanda ordered.
The four men carry the appliance and generator into the house. I catch a word or two as they mumble amongst themselves in French. I smile at their amusement of two women trying to restore this dilapidated building, while they follow me toward the kitchen.
Too late, I realize that the stairs to the cellar lead off from the kitchen, but then with a sigh of relief, I notice the bright sun filling every corner of the kitchen as it shines through the wide windows.
When the men return to their truck, Amanda thanks them and asks where she would be able to employ some strong men.
We would not need them, obviously, but when they started seeing the restoration and refurbishment of the old house, they might start to wonder how two woman did it all by themselves without the brute strength of a few capable men. Before Amanda can even think of employing any local people though, we will have to get rid of Callum and his friends.
I walk back into the house and I hear a piano faintly. Frowning, I tilt my head slightly to the sound and I follow it. The sound leads me back to the kitchen and I am just about to take the first step into the cellar, when Amanda asks behind me, “Where do you think you are going?”
The Vampire Pirate's Daughter Page 9
