by M. D. Bowden
‘That makes sense,’ she acquiesced. ‘Somehow though – I don’t think I’m quite there yet – so please can you help me spare the life of the animal I feed off?’
‘Yes,’ he said.
With that in mind Sarah felt it was ok to return to the woods they had fed in before. She released Daniel’s hand and gave him a mischievous glance, before shooting off onto the moor ahead of him, the wind once again whipping at her skin, her clothes and hair; making her feel alive.
As she jumped over clumps of dry yellowish grass and avoided stones and gorse, she took a sneak-peak behind her to check that Daniel was following. She turned just in time to watch as his shape shifted and in one smooth motion he transformed into a buzzard and soared into the air above her.
Sarah realized she had stopped, open mouthed in awe, and firmly shut her brightly painted lips. She put on a burst of speed and raced as fast as she could towards the woods, seeing Daniel soar above her – he was so easily going to win.
He looked as sleek and powerful as a bird as he did as a human, his feathers were rich shades of brown, his wings were broad and muscular, his beak looked sharp and his eyes piercing. Sarah would have liked to get a closer look, and an amusing thought crossed her mind – what would it be like to walk about with Daniel, as a buzzard, perched on her shoulder?
She was just reaching the woods when Daniel swooped down and landed before her, blocking her path. She skidded to a halt as she got an intense look from his two bird eyes. She kept her eyes locked with his as they changed from a bird’s small beady round eye, growing larger, and became framed with white and dark lashes, still retaining the same blackness and depth. She thought she saw stars deep in his soul.
‘That was not a fair chase,’ she complained, but she laughed as she said it, for it had been an amazing show.
‘I’ll teach you tomorrow - if you want?’ Daniel said.
‘I would love that, do you think I’ll be able to do it?’ she asked.
‘I’m sure you will,’ Daniel said as he whipped to her side and threw her over his shoulder.
‘Daniel!’ she squealed - then became quiet for they had entered the woods and she did not want to scare away her prey.
Even with her over his shoulder Daniel still managed to move elegantly and ever so quietly. He stopped in a clearing and lowered her back down, so her chest was against his. She felt conscious of her breath and met his eyes feeling giddy, as he ran his hands over her shoulders. She was admiring his jaw and just leaning in to kiss it when she heard a nearby heartbeat - it instantly grabbed her attention as it was larger than any she had heard when there before. Instead of kissing Daniel her eyes snapped to his and she saw understanding flicker there. He nodded ever so slightly, and Sarah understood his meaning – he had got her back – he would stop her in time.
She left Daniel’s side and skulked towards the sound, her own heart now pounding in anticipation, her teeth extending ready to feed. She slid between two trees and came to a halt. A deer was before her, but this one older; an adult. It was a female, slender and beautiful, with fine ears and no antlers. As she watched its’ ears pricked and it turned and caught her eye. She fixed it with her gaze and tried something she had not yet attempted. She concentrated hard, sending out tendrils of power, of influence, towards the deer. She imbued the power with calming thoughts, and coaxed the animal closer. It responded slowly, and started to approach, still meeting her eye. She increased the calming influence, so the deer would not be scared when she did what she was about to do; she stepped closer and stroked the slender neck with her finger tips, feeling the course fur and hearing blood pumping through the artery there. She brought her teeth towards the animal, then instinct took over and she sank them straight into the jugular, warm blood instantly running down her throat and feeding her with its wild natural power. She grasped hold of the deer while she fed, holding on so it would not try to break free as she downed more beautiful blood straight from the thrumming artery…
‘Stop.’
The voice sounded loudly in her mind.
‘Sarah, stop,’ she heard.
It was Daniel’s voice.
‘Stop,’ it said.
What was she doing? She shook her mind and felt the animal start to weaken. She quickly retracted her teeth, and ran a smoothing finger over the deer’s neck. It was still standing. It was still alive.
‘You can go,’ she sent to the deer on more tendrils of influence.
She watched it as it walked off slowly, looking dazed. She hoped it would soon recover for it was an amazingly beautiful animal, and it had fed her, it had quenched her thirst.
She turned to Daniel, who was leaning against a tree watching, looking sexy, oh so fine, and attentive.
‘Thank you,’ she mouthed silently.
Daniel stood straight and they met between where they had each stood. He brought up a finger and delicately wiped a drip of blood from the corner of her mouth, then held out his finger for her to lick it off. She did, meeting his eye all the time.
She reached her arms over Daniel’s shoulders and held him around the neck, then her breath left her for she was flying around in a circle – Daniel was spinning her! He stopped and held her tight, as she giggled with her face pressed against soft leather.
When they left the woods the sun had already set, and the sky was darkening. The moorland looked stunning in the evening light. She could really appreciate it now she was satisfied and did not appear to be in any immediate danger. She had not seen the crow again, and there was no stream of dead coming their way. Sarah could hear the wind whistling over the stones and through the wood, which was now behind them, and she could see the clouds moving quickly overhead, for it was not yet too dark to see the landscape clearly.
She turned, taking it all in, breathing deeply the fresh moist air, feeling free. She spotted the faintly glowing moon on the horizon, looking wider than the day before, and she looked at Daniel inquiringly. She watched his brow furrow in thought as he studied the moon.
‘I think it’s probably between eight and ten days until it will be full,’ he said.
‘That gives us lots of time to prepare,’ she said, reaching for his face and running her fingers over his smoothly shaven cheeks - when had he shaved? Did vampire hair grow? Hmmm, she would leave questions like that for when they were home. Instead of asking questions she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips, seeing stars for real this time as he returned her kiss, holding her around her waist; sending delightful sensations to her heart.
As her heels returned to the ground she saw she had left a hint of red on his lips and wiped it off with a smirk, ‘Sorry,’ she said.
‘I am not complaining,’ Daniel said, his eyes twinkling at her again.
‘Shall we see what Princetown is like in the evening?’ she asked him.
‘Why not?’ he said, as he extended his arm and she linked hers through his.
As they walked towards the town, over spongy, tuffocky ground, avoiding granite and gorse as darkness descended. Sarah leant her head on Daniel’s shoulder. She was in no hurry for she had already fed. She felt good for she had not killed. She could truly appreciate the wild beauty before her, and having Daniel at her side.
As they neared the town the landscape began to smooth out and Sarah eyed the large prison with a wary eye – what was it about that structure that bothered her so? Was it merely the domineering building, or was it the thought of all those prisoners inside and what they must have done, or was it something darker still? Sarah forced herself to look away from the prison as she saw a couple of cars leave the town, their headlights blazing in the darkness, and drive along the thin moorland road that she and Daniel were about to join.
A couple of hardy sheep crossed the road and Sarah sent out another tendril of power, playing with her new tricks, to encourage the sheep to move faster and get off the road. She smiled in satisfaction as it worked, and waited until the cars had passed to step onto the road herself. It
occurred to her then that the woodlands were not the only places they could hunt; there were bigger animals on the open moor – she had seen not only plenty of sheep but also the odd cluster of ponies.
She stood up straight now, still linking arms with Daniel, who she looked at out of the corner of her eye, admiring his profile and dark shiny hair. Again. She felt she could never gaze at him for too long. He raised his eyebrows at her and she could not help herself; she giggled and tightened her grip on his arm.
They were just passing the first couple of slightly grubby houses and now walked on a pavement, separated from the road by a line of parked cars.
It was not a large town so it was not long before Sarah spotted something that described itself as an Inn, not far ahead. She wrinkled her nose slightly, for it did not look that appealing; there were football adverts outside for one thing, it was not exactly the romantic destination she had hoped for. She relaxed her face, hoping Daniel would not think she was acting like a snob. They would have time to discover other, err, nicer places, but she supposed they should go everywhere they could, and that a sports bar might be frequented with drunken young men for whom it would seem less strange to disappear outside, alone, for short periods of time.
Regardless of the fact she had just fed, a wave of thirst spread outwards from her throat, through her veins, making her feel jittery and violent. An uncharacteristic urge to rip open a throat - to feed, to kill - possessed her. She whimpered slightly and stopped.
She truly looked forward to when she had developed better control and was not so easily swept up by the thought of blood. When that time came she would be able to see her children again. She would be able to be confident she would not hurt them. She hoped that time came soon.
Daniel turned to face her and she looked into his eyes uncertainly, not sure what he would think of her – shouldn’t she be better at it than this by now?
But Daniel did not look surprised.
‘Hey Sarah, what’s wrong?’
‘You know what’s wrong,’ and then, very quietly, she said, ‘blood.’
‘You want my help?’ he asked, while stroking her jaw softly, soothingly.
Sarah nodded. She needed his influence to stay strong, to be sure she would not just lose it when finding herself surrounded by people, that she would not feed right there in the middle of it all. She looked into those eyes that were looking at her so intently and she allowed herself to get lost in his message. She felt influence sweep over her, and felt tingles shoot up her arm as he touched her hand lightly.
He projected into her mind: ‘Stay calm and in control, you do not need blood yet. Stay with me.’
Sarah felt the patterns in her thoughts change as Daniel’s mind coaxed hers into obeying his will. It was like a buzz of calming drug had engulfed her mind, but she could still think clearly and be herself; she just would not attack anyone, well, at least she would not until she was outside, away from the watching public, and she had Daniel with her to make sure she did not cause any lasting damage to anyone.
Daniel’s lips pressed against her forehead, cool on her skin. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, and pulled him into a hug; their hearts pressing together.
‘I love you Daniel,’ she said.
‘I love you,’ Daniel whispered while kissing her hair. ‘Shall we get a drink?’
Sarah was not sure if he was referring to alcohol or blood, but she nodded anyway.
‘Just one sec,’ she said.
She turned from him and fumbled in her bag to find her compact. She held it up so it caught the yellow light of an old street lamp and adjusted her makeup. She was pleased her lipstick had not smudged too badly with the feed.
She snapped the compact shut and slid it back in her bag. Returning to face Daniel she gave him her most dazzling smile, attempting to imitate his that affected her so, and he laughed. She followed him to the door and stepped over the threshold into a room full of people, full of lively thrumming hearts.
Chapter 11
Warm heat pumped onto her face from a heater above the entrance, and the lifeless carpet felt hard beneath her feet, but other than that she was pleasantly surprised. The place had some character; there were low ceilings and beams, and even a fire blazing in the hearth. She spotted a small TV in a back room where there was a game playing, a few men drinking beer at tables, but the sporty atmosphere did not take over the whole place. There were a few older men sitting at the bar drinking, and most of the tables were filled with people eating. She wondered what day it was; was it the weekend? It certainly seemed surprisingly busy for a weekday.
Sarah followed Daniel to the bar. A young woman was pouring a drink for one of the older men. When she looked up at Daniel Sarah saw the girl’s face heat, and she felt a surge of jealousy mixed with a sense of pride. She hated it when other women noticed Daniel as it made her feel insecure – what if he chose some other girl over her? And she hated herself for hating it, how ridiculous was it to doubt him? He had never given her reason too.
Sarah turned and spotted a vacant table. She decided to ignore her stupid possessiveness and leave Daniel to it, so she ambled across the room and took an empty seat. There was a t-light candle burning in a small glass in the center of the dark wood table which was scattered with beer mats advertising brands she was unfamiliar with. Cheesy radio music played in the background, but there was no dance floor. She surmised it would be hard to get anyone to leave with them without being noticed, it was just not busy enough. Maybe later she thought, after all; darkness had not fallen long ago.
She fiddled with one of the beer mats until a movement caught her eye. She looked up and saw Daniel approaching. This time it was her who was blushing. She had not exactly forgotten how good looking he was, yet she was getting used to him. It was not until they were in public, and she saw him alongside other people, that she realized just how stunning he was; every aspect of his looks was perfect – but he was not too perfect as he still had a sense of ruggedness and his eyes sparkled with life and depth. She could not look away.
As he sat down opposite her he pushed a large glass of red wine into her hand, and she automatically raised it to her lips, still captivated by Daniel’s eyes. The wine was rich and fruity, with a slightly sour tang which brought her back to herself and she realized Daniel was grinning at her in amusement. She smiled self-consciously and took another sip.
‘Thanks for the drink,’ she muttered, her cheeks now burning as Daniel continued to smile.
She gave him a sharp kick under the table when he started to creep her out with his incessant amusement at her expense. He was looking just a little bit too self-satisfied for her liking.
She drank more of her wine, her mind and body enjoying the sensation of the alcohol in her veins, mixing with her blood. She was still feeling shy, and could not think of much to say, so she just kept looking around at her surroundings, shooting glances in Daniel’s direction. He reached over and took her hand.
‘Let’s drink our drinks and then we could go for the ‘lurking in shadows outside technique’ – we’ll not get to feed without suspicion here,’ he said, his words tumbling silently into her mind.
Sarah nodded. She brought his hand up to her cheek and held it there, feeling cool tingles warm her skin. She felt hungry but was still under Daniel’s control so she could wait for the right opportunity to drink what she really wanted, what she needed to develop the strength that would be required to prevent whatever was going on near this town.
She picked up her glass and took a long sip of the dark red liquid that filled it. It was her blood substitute. She looked around at the tables of the diners to see if any food tempted her, but it all looked dull and bland, not tempting at all.
She looked back at Daniel and watched as he drained his glass of wine. She followed suit and they stood together. Sarah grinned at Daniel as he took her hand and led her back outside, and at once she began to giggle.
‘Sorry about that -
I guess I felt awkward in there,’ she said, still laughing.
She was in a strange mood, she wanted something but her body felt detached from its desires, she surmised it was the effect of not being fully in control of her vices.
She gasped as Daniel drew her close and kissed her full on the lips, and she felt his influence on her lesson. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, releasing herself to his powers, letting herself become lost. Daniel started to pull away but she held on, until she felt words in her mind…
‘People coming,’ Daniel said.
Sarah drew her lips back, laughing again, and they darted around the building into a narrow road that led back onto the moor. They stood in the shadows, Sarah breathing deeply.
‘Did they see us?’ she asked.
‘Yes, I think so, but I don’t think anyone saw them…’ Daniel said.
‘Let me try and coax them this way,’ she said.
Daniel looked thoughtful, then nodded, and Sarah edged to the corner and glanced around. There were three women, probably in their forties, walking along the street. They were dressed up for drinks, and looked like they may have already had a couple, as they were laughing and not walking particularly straight. Sarah felt a moment of doubt – would she manage to influence three people at once?
‘You can do it,’ Daniel whispered in her ear.
She took a deep breath and started doing what she had done with the deer. She sent out tendrils of power towards the approaching woman, coaxing them to move in her direction. She felt the tendrils enter their minds, and she saw them exchange glances, and then shrug. They started to walk her way.
She looked back at Daniel, pleased with herself, but lost the connection as she did. She saw them turn and walk away, one of them muttering; ‘That was weird.’
Sarah huffed, then refocused her mind. She sent out more tendrils of power, this time infusing it with a calming influence, as Daniel had so often done to her. The women changed their path again and headed in her direction. This time Sarah did not look back at Daniel, but continued to focus on what she was doing. She wanted blood. Her throat was dry, the anticipation of a feast increasing her hunger. But she would have to wait for Daniel to feed first. He needed to be strong in order to control her, to make sure she did not kill, did not get lost to her vampire instincts that she so wanted to fight.
