The Purity of Blood: Volume I

by Jennifer Geoghan

  “Well, that explains a lot,” I mumbled as I pushed back from the desk, leaning onto the two back legs of the chair. “Poor guy. Wonder what really happened to him.”

  It made me wonder when the last time someone had thought of Daniel Bennett was. I might be the first person in seventy five years to even remember how he died and feel sorry for him.

  It reminded me of our conversation in the woods yesterday, about how quickly people forget and move on as if you never even existed. This was the letter in the desk drawer that had brought his memory back to life.

  Kind of a coincidence, I thought. Daniel Bennett and Daniel Simmons.

  It also reminded me that I wanted to look up info on blood disorders that would require transfusions. I did some searching online and came up with a few, but none of the symptoms listed seemed to fit Daniel or the Professor. They were too healthy looking to possibly be suffering from any of the maladies I’d come across.

  I searched Blood Stockpile and came up with a lot of bizarre results, most of which were about vampires or people who like to dress up and pretend they were vampires. The strange things people do. I even read about some folks who actually cook gourmet food with pig’s blood.

  Starting to get bored, I clicked on a site that looked like it might have some interesting vampire trivia. I was looking for something to be for Halloween, and hoping I might find some costume tips, opened it up. These people were way too serious here. A page entitled ‘Ten Ways To Spot A Vampire’ drew my attention and sheer curiosity compelled me to click on it. A blood red page with a frilly black background opened up. The page was so completely over the top, it was hard to tell how seriously these people took themselves. But looking for a good laugh, I started to read the list.

  Number One: don’t believe anything you’ve heard or seen about vampires from television or the movies.

  Humm … This doesn’t seem very practical if you’re trying to spot one in a crowd I thought.

  Number Two: Vampires have super strength.

  Number Three: Vampires can influence your decisions.

  Number Four: Vampires don’t eat food.

  Number Five: Vampires don’t sleep.

  Number Six: Vampires don’t cluster together; they are solitary creatures and won’t travel in groups of more than two or three.

  Number Seven: Vampires don’t sweat.

  Number Eight: Vampires will kill animals if they can’t find a human victim.

  Number Nine: Vampires have very pale skin that feels room temperature to the touch.

  Number Ten: Vampires don’t age.

  Well, that’s not very sexy, I thought to myself. Where is Count Dracula sweeping in to drink the beautiful damsel’s blood in the middle of the night? What about the bats? And the ruby red eyes?

  Having had enough for one night, I turned off the computer and tidied up my desk. I’d work on Sophronia’s tree a little later. Maybe the library would have something on the deaths. After all, it was local history.

  After I brushed my teeth and got my backpack ready for the morning, I put on my old sweats and a ratty tee-shirt and slipped into bed. Turning off the light, I laid back and closed my eyes, but my mind was too active to calm down.

  Why did Daniel have all that blood? Why couldn’t I just ask him directly? I mean, he probably had a reasonable explanation. It’s not like he was going to say Gee, that’s because I like a snack sometimes and well … I’m a vampire.

  Yes, it’s true he was a pale guy but so what? And his skin did feel kind of odd, like room temp, and yes, he was extremely strong. I should be grateful he was, after all he did carry me all that way through the woods to his house. Then I remembered that I’d seen Daniel nibble on some food in the dining hall a few times and that set my mind at ease. At least until I remembered that his kitchen cabinets were bare … bare with a layer of dust in them.

  I forced myself to think about something else for a while and finally started to drift off to sleep. The last thought that flitted through my mind as I faded out, was hiking with my friends in the forest and hearing Mike saying “We found a couple of bloody dear in the woods.”

  Chapter Six

  DANIEL

  The past twenty four hours had been some of the most difficult of my life, and tonight probably wasn’t going to be any easier. Even now the scent of the blood hunter still lingered on the fringes of the quad.

  Sara’s tumble couldn’t have been better timed. Had she slept in her room last night, he would have seen her through the window I now perched by. Would he have killed her, or would he simply have continued to stalk her? I’d run into one or two of his kind over the years. He got off on the hunt, wanting to know her as intimately as possible before he reveled in her.

  Staring at her window, I couldn’t get the image of her lifeless body sprawled on the floor of her room out of my head. She was lying in a pool of her own ruby red blood, her deep brown eyes staring out at nothing, lifeless. I closed my eyes tight and shook my head to chase the disturbing image from my mind. It was her eyes, that earthy brown under those thick lashes, always so full of life, full of questions. To see them lifeless made me shudder involuntarily. No matter what her other allurements, how could anyone want to snuff the light out of those amazing eyes? And yet, I knew perfectly well why.

  In the end, I still wondered if I’d be the one to blow the light out of them. I was walking a thin line – one forced on me – one I wouldn’t have wished on myself for the world. I wanted her, wanted her desperately. But my desire was dangerous for her and ultimately for me as well.

  If she was so important, how could he have left her unprotected like this? She was so frail, so human. I remembered the look on his face when he’d left. He was scared. She must have some meaning to him, something beyond those amazing eyes, curves and questions. But what?

  I was pondering this as I watched her light go out. She must be going to bed. The tree outside her window where I now sat was thankfully not losing its leaves yet and I was able to hide, motionless in its branches with no one the wiser. This was the first time I’d come so close to her window. I usually just patrolled around the perimeter of the building at night. But ever since she’d told me her roommate wasn’t staying with her, it didn’t feel right letting her out of my sight. The hunter wouldn’t attack when her roommate was in the room with her. He’d want her all to himself, without the lesser blood of the blonde on his palate.

  Nestled among the thick branches and withering leaves of the elm, I thought back to last night. I’d checked on her several times as she’d slept in my bed. Something about the peacefulness of her sleeping form made me feel uncomfortable. To see her lying there motionless, it brought back the visions of her dead body. But it was her face. It wore the most peaceful expression in sleep, so innocent, like Eve before the fall. Last night, in the dead quite of the house while she slept in my bed, my natural instincts had been hardest to fight. The parts of me that didn’t want to fight them anymore only grew stronger as the sun began to rise.

  Her scent had permeated the house by then. My only escape was the balcony. From there I could still sense her presence without getting too close. She was like a lightning rod for me, drawing me in, yet completely unaware of the danger I posed. I didn’t want to be the monster that snuffed out this light, but wondered if I even had a choice. Like it or not, I was what I was and there was nothing I could do about it now or ever. I was fighting it, but God help me, I wanted her so desperately, I wondered how much longer I could possibly hold out. Unfortunately, what I wanted wasn’t good for either of us. In the end, her light would be gone as would any I might still have left within me.

  Through the window I could hear her breathing start to slow down as she drifted off. She was a sound sleeper, even the noises of the drunken students stumbling home down the hall just feet from her head didn’t rouse her in the slightest.

  Looking closer, I could tell her windows were unlocked.

  Oh, Sara.

  I fel
t the wind as it started to pick up, and afraid the parting of the branches by a gust of wind might allow my position to be compromised, I looked around for better cover. It was a short leap to the outcropping of her brick window sill and I managed it easily. Lightly grabbing the window, I eased it up. As she continued to breathe softly, I slid in around the blind on her absent roommate’s side of the room.

  Pulling out her roommate’s chair, I gently placed it in the shadows on the far side of the room and sat down. There was no harm getting this close. After all, he’d said to guard her with my life, right?

  I lifted my chin and sniffed the air. The room was full of her smell, sweet and flowery. Her soft perfume hung in the air as well, but it did nothing to mask her natural scent. I closed my eyes and breathed. Ahh … So much more enticing than any store bought perfume could ever possibly hope to be. Shaking my head, I did my best to snap myself out of the trance I’d found myself in. I had to keep my guard up as much as I could this close to her.

  I sat there for some time just listening to the rhythm of her breathing, concentrating on the sound of it. She had no idea how much danger had sat outside that window just last night. It was that same danger that had been hunting in the woods she’d hiked just last week.

  She rolled over. I could see her face now, circled by a halo of soft red hair. I shouldn’t have feelings for her. It wasn’t natural. It was confusing, so confusing. Here in the dark of her room, I didn’t understand what was happening to me. Were they physical instincts, or emotional instincts? Something inside me felt as if it was waking from a long deep slumber. It had slept so long I wasn’t sure I understood what it was anymore. Yet, I knew exactly what it was. It had just lain forcibly dormant so long, its memory was just a distant echo of things that once were.

  An hour passed. I concentrated even harder on her steady breathing. I’m pretty sure it was the only thing keeping me in the chair.

  The hallway outside was silent now. How could anyone stand to live in such a place? So much noise, so little peace. And yet she slumbered on, blissfully unaware. So innocent, so sweet. Yet could one really describe this creature as sweet? Some small voice inside me was whispering that she might be something else entirely, somehow in a class all her own.

  In … out … In … out, she breathed.

  She shifted her position again. Now when she breathed, the swell of her breasts beneath the sheet was more than evident. That and the gentle curve from her waist up to her shapely hip. I stared, transfixed by her. No, this wasn’t right.

  Desperate for a distraction, I got up and crossed the room to look out the window. Still no sign of him. I turned and glanced at the top of her desk. I frowned. No Art History book to be seen.

  Humm, I hope she’s studying. I was thinking about a pop quiz tomorrow.

  I picked up a legal pad with notes scribbled on it and saw Sophronia’s name and family tree. I shook my head silently. I should have known she’d do something like this.

  Another hour passed with agonizing slowness as I sat motionless, listening, watching. But I could have listened and watched for a hundred years and still not have been prepared for what came next.

  “Who are you?” a voice said in something just above a whisper.

  I froze for a moment. There was no one else in the room except us, I was sure of it. I scanned the room quickly only to confirm I was right. When I looked over at her face, I saw that her expression had changed. It was no longer the soft features Sara wore in sleep, but an empty face, devoid of expression. Yet, she was asleep.

  Then the voice spoke again.

  “You’re not the other one,” it said. The voice sounded bland, monotone almost.

  No, she was asleep. How was she talking to me, or was she? She might be dreaming, but on all the previous night’s I’d staked out her room I’d never heard her talk in her sleep before.

  “The other one?” I whispered, talking more to myself than the voice.

  “The one that usually comes.” The voice, like the face still emotionless.

  “Sara?”

  There was no answer.

  “Who are you?” I asked, but I didn’t really know why.

  After a long pause, I heard “I am the part that does not sleep.”

  I was frozen, unable to find words in my mouth to express the confusion of my mind. I had no idea what to say. Sara was sleeping, her breathing and heart rate hadn’t changed one bit since she’d first fallen asleep.

  After a few minutes it spoke again.

  “Who are you?”

  Ignoring the question, I asked “Who is the one that usually comes?”

  “The one like you. The one that has come our whole existence.”

  The blood hunter? I thought to myself. Was that possible?

  “Why did he come?” I asked.

  Was she really aware of him? How long had he been stalking her anyway?

  “We do not know. He asks questions without words and takes answers we do not give.”

  “Who is ‘we’?”

  “The part that sleeps and the part that does not.”

  “Where are you when the part that sleeps is awake?”

  “Here.”

  I had no idea who or what I was talking to. Did he know about this? Was this part of why she was so important to him? I sat there in silence for a few moments trying to figure out what was happening.

  Then the voice spoke again.

  “Why are you here?”

  “To protect her,” I said.

  “Protect us from what?”

  “One like me that wishes to harm her.”

  The voice paused for a moment.

  “Are you sure?”

  I didn’t answer right away. I was even more confused than before.

  “The other never means to intentionally harm us.” It paused for a moment then continued. “You can not harm us.”

  “Yes, I can,” I said to myself with more sadness in my voice than I usually betrayed.

  “You think this, but it is not true.”

  The silence of the room was shattered by an intoxicated group of students stumbling along loudly as they made their way down the corridor. Sara rolled back over.

  In … out … In …out, she breathed, and the voice spoke no more.

  Chapter Seven

  SARA

  Monday morning woke me the same as any other day. My alarm sounded, rousing me out of a deep sleep I didn’t want to abandon quite so easily. After reluctantly opening my eyes, I began to go through the motions of my normal routine. Clothes, hair, make-up, fruit loops, O.J., teeth, and then off to class. As I grabbed my backpack and opened the door to leave, Tabitha almost hit me. She’d been about to knock on my door.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked with a smile. I’d missed my friend over the weekend.

  “Mike told me about your accident so I brought you a present from home.” She handed me a crutch.

  “Did you just happen to have one lying around?” I laughed.

  “I broke my leg a few years ago. It was still in the back of my closet at my parent’s house, so I brought it back for you. You probably won’t need it for long, but it’s a long walk around campus when you’re hopping on one foot.”

  I laughed. “I suppose so.”

  I put my backpack on and tried it out. It worked pretty well and was probably a good idea. My ankle actually felt much better today, but I’d forgotten how much walking I had to do while getting from one class to another. All things considered, fast healer or not, I probably shouldn’t push it too much.

  “Thanks,” I said with a grateful smile. “We’d better get going or we’re going to be late.”

  “Yeah” she said. “I don’t want to be late and have Daniel call on me today. I was a bad girl and didn’t study much over the weekend.”

  When she turned, I tried out my crutch and followed her down the hallway.

  I was startled at the casual way in which she had said his name. What would she see on my face w
hen I actually saw him in person? Would I smile like some ridiculous school girl like the rest of them, or would I have fear in my eyes while visions of the back of his closet flooded my mind? Either way, I knew I had to hide any feelings from her. I’d always had a hard time with that, and now was not the time to have Tabitha’s imagination kicking into overdrive.

  On our way over to the lecture hall Tabitha asked about my weekend and told me about what she’d done at her parent’s house. I regurgitated the same horrible lies about my solo day of hiking and fall down the stairs. In all honesty, I’d actually considered telling her the truth, I really had, but something held me back. Maybe it was because I didn’t want the bubble to burst. Like speaking his name would break the strange spell between us.

  Maybe that would have been the best thing for me. She could have talked me out of the dark ideas that were forming in my head. But something told me involving her might not be the best thing for her. I was beginning to think whatever hidden subtext I’d stumbled upon could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

  I’d decided one thing in my evening of not thinking about Daniel, and that was that there was no denying he was not normal. My rational side wasn’t sure what he was, but there were facts at hand that said clearly how very different he was. My emotional side saw this too. It also told me that he knew all this and tried to make these differences less noticeable. He didn’t want people to see what I’d been able to. Of course all this felt foolish to me, because after all, what did I really know?

  After we took our seats, Rodney entered through the side door and went about his usual routine of setting things up. A moment later Daniel strode in just as he’d done all the days before, and quickly jumped into his lecture without looking up at the class.

  I noticed nothing discernibly different about him. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting. Maybe it was because I felt I knew him a little better now. Perhaps I’d anticipated that the scraps of what little knowledge I now had about him would give me some insight into the mystery that was Daniel. I think I’d hoped to be able to read him differently. But he looked like the same man who’d stood there and lectured us last week. I had no idea why, but I think I was a little disappointed. I guess I wanted to think that I knew him well enough now to be able to interpret the hidden meanings in the smallest of his gestures. Could I be any bigger of an idiot?