When Darkness Falls - Six Paranormal Novels in One Boxed Set

by Shalini Boland

  ‘Not too lonely here for you? It’s a big place. You’re not rattling around too much?’

  ‘No. It’s completely amazing having all this space to ourselves. We’ve spent loads of time exploring.’

  ‘Find anything interesting?’

  Maddy smiled to herself at this question. He’d send her off to the nuthouse if she told him what she’d actually found here.

  ‘There’s a lovely river at the bottom of the grounds,’ she said. ‘And there’s a weird little tower you can climb up and see around for miles.’

  ‘Ah, one of the estate’s follies.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s amazing. Kind of like a lighthouse with no light. And I love the little chapel here. It’s very beautiful.’ She heard a car door slam. ‘Oh, here’s Ben. Morris sometimes picks him up from school, but I’m seventeen in a few months so I’ll be able to take my driving test and drive him myself. I can’t wait. Hang on, I’ll just go and tell him you’re here.’

  She walked out into the entrance hall to see Ben stripping off his wet coat. He hung it on the peg, but it slipped off and lay in a soggy heap on the floor next to his muddy shoes and school bag.

  ‘Hey, bro, we’ve got a visitor,’ she said loudly.

  ‘Can I just get some nosh? I’m starving. Who is it?’

  ‘Do you remember Mr Vasey-Smith, the solicitor?’

  ‘Yeah, cool. Hang on I’ll just get a packet of crisps and I’ll come in. You in the lounge?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she replied. And then she mouthed to him. ‘Remember, don’t mention Alex.’ She pointed down at the cellar.

  Ben rolled his eyes and zipped his mouth closed. He pulled a rude face and went off into the kitchen. She returned to the lounge.

  ‘Everything alright?’ the solicitor asked her.

  ‘Yeah, he’s just always hungry when he gets back from school. He’ll be in, in a second. He’s such a gannet.’

  ‘That’s teenage boys for you. How are the Foxtons?’

  ‘Oh, Esther and Morris are okay.’

  ‘Good, good. Aaah, Ben! Very nice to see you again.’ He stood up and extended his hand. Ben put some crisps in his mouth and wiped his hands on his school trousers before shaking hands. He finished chewing before speaking.

  ‘Hello. How are you?’

  ‘Very well, Ben. I just thought I’d pay you a flying visit to see how you’re both doing. I’m glad to see you so happy and settled. Madison tells me you like your new school.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s good.’

  ‘Have you made many friends?’ Mr Vasey-Smith sat back down.

  ‘Yeah, they’re all pretty sound,’ Ben nodded and sat next to his sister.

  ‘Horrible weather though isn’t it? They didn’t forecast this thunderstorm. It’s blowing a gale out there.’

  ‘Mmm,’ Madison and Ben both agreed.

  ‘Well,’ the solicitor stood up again. ‘My taxi is waiting outside and so I’d better get going. Sorry I couldn’t stay long but I really don’t want to miss my train.’

  ‘It was nice of you to come and see us,’ Madison said, relieved he was going. She liked him but found it hard going, trying to make small talk.

  ‘So,’ he said, putting his coat on. ‘Have you had any friends to stay with you yet? Shown off your new residence?’

  ‘Umm, no, not really. We had a party when we first moved in. But it turned out to be a bit of a nightmare.’

  ‘Yes, hosting events is not for the faint hearted,’ he smiled.

  ‘Yeah. I won’t be having any more parties for a while.’ She saw the solicitor out into the stormy afternoon. His taxi waited on the driveway, the cab driver immersed in a newspaper.

  ‘Goodbye, Madison. Thank you for the tea and conversation.’

  ‘Thanks for coming.’

  He climbed smartly into the cab and closed the door, giving Madison and Ben a short wave through the rain-stained window. Ben went back inside to watch TV and Madison stood in the doorway watching the taxi’s red tail lights disappear from view as the wind whipped her hair and the rain lashed her face.

  After Vasey-Smith’s departure, Madison went downstairs to see Alexandre. She knocked on the new door at the bottom of the cellar stairs.

  ‘Come in!’ she heard him call. She turned the knob and walked into his lounge. He lay on his front on a rug on the floor, watching yet another film. ‘Madison,’ he laughed. ‘You have to watch this film with me. It is … what is your word? Hilarious. These gentlemen are dressed as women and they are fleeing from …’

  ‘Yeah, Some Like it Hot. Great movie, but can we watch it later?’

  ‘You look worried. What is it? Is it the man who was just here? Did he do something?’ Alexandre looked suddenly fierce. ‘Do you want me to find him?’ He turned off the television and leapt up.

  ‘Slow down, chill. No, there’s nothing wrong - I don’t think. It was the solicitor, Vasey-Smith. You know the one I told you about. The one whose company tracked down me and Ben, about Harold’s will and everything.’

  ‘What did he want? There is a problem with the will?’

  ‘No, nothing like that. That’s what I first thought, but he said he just wanted to see how we were getting on.’

  ‘But that is kind. That is a normal thing to do. You are young and he was concerned.’

  ‘Yeah I know. It’s just, I told him about a party I had and I still feel like I’m this irresponsible child and he’s the disapproving grown-up. And I’ve just had a thought, maybe Esther or Morris mentioned you were here and now he might think you and me are … you know.’

  Alexandre looked taken aback. ‘I find I still cannot get used to your straight talking.’

  ‘Believe me Alex, that ain’t straight talking. If you wanna hear straight talking you should meet my mate, Lois.’

  ‘Maybe in a few years when I am more acclimatised. But if this Vasey-Smith thinks these things, there is nothing you can do about it. Are you worried for your reputation?’

  She laughed. ‘No, not really. It’s better he thinks I’m a slut than I’m living with a vampire, right?’

  ‘Uh, a little less straight talking if you please. Come. Watch the rest of this film with me.’

  ‘I think you’ve already watched a century’s worth of films. Your eyes’ll go square.’

  ‘Really? Square? This can happen?’ He put his hands to his eyes and looked doubtfully at Madison.

  ‘Really. Too much telly equals square eyes. Everyone knows that.’

  He frowned for a moment until he saw the smirk on her face.

  ‘Yes and too much lying equals death by tickling. Everyone knows that.’ He grabbed her around the waist and began tickling her under her arms until she squealed for mercy. He ignored her cries. ‘Sorry, Alexandre, are the words I am looking for,’ he said, unrelenting in his tickles.

  ‘Sorry, sorry! Alex, I’m sorry. Stop, please.’

  ‘Now, will you please watch this film with me?’ He lay back down on the floor and beckoned her over. As she lay down, he hit the remote and Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis resumed their antics on screen. Alexandre smiled at Madison. Her heart did a front flip followed by a back flip and she forgot all about Vasey-Smith.

  *

  ‘I can’t believe I haven’t brought you here before,’ Madison said as they queued to get into the large grey building. A blue neon sign glowed above their heads, couples held hands and groups of youths jostled each other and joked as they waited to get tickets for the fairly tame action movie that Madison had decided wouldn’t be too hardcore for Alexandre’s nineteenth century tastes.

  ‘So this will be like watching it at home, but on a bigger screen?’ he asked. ‘What is the point of that? What difference does a bigger screen make? Why would you watch with a group strangers? If you have the choice, surely it is better to watch in the comfort of your own home?’

  Two and a half hours later Alexandre emerged from the cinema with a look of wondrous rapture on his face.

  ‘Enjoy that did ya?’ Ma
dison asked, knowing it had probably been the most amazing sensory experience of his life.

  ‘But I had no idea you could experience something so … so ...’

  ‘Intense?’ she offered.

  ‘Yes, yes. Intense. Unbelievable! It was completely thrilling, as if I were there myself.’

  ‘It wasn’t that good, mate,’ a young lad called out. He and his mates laughed at the awestruck Alexandre. Maddy stuck the Vs up at them and led Alexandre out of the cinema by his arm.

  ‘But that plane journey at the end was terrifying. I do not think I am so keen to travel on an aeroplane anymore.’

  Madison laughed. ‘It’s just a film. Apparently flying is the safest way to travel.’

  ‘Hmmm,’ Alexandre didn’t sound convinced.

  *

  When does day turn into night? And when does night turn into day? Is there a single severed second where it switches from one to the other? Or does it just shift gradually by degrees? Alexandre knew the answer to all of these questions. His body knew just when shimmering daylight would fade into black sanctuary and when the cool darkness would again be shot through with bright danger. He knew these things. They defined him.

  The days grew longer and this meant more confinement. His patience became as short as the nights, and his temper bubbled beneath a surface of forced calm. As soon as the sun set each night, he came slamming out of the cellar and out of the house, before returning to see her. He needed to be in the open air for at least an hour, to shake off the claustrophobia that pressed in on him.

  Madison tried to think of things to amuse him during the day, as he hardly ever slept, but it was difficult. After his initial love affair with films, he grew fed up watching television. The internet gave some kind of distraction and ate up the hours, but he found the sheer volume of information could be quite overwhelming. Reading books was always pleasant, but no substitute for living a life.

  June came along and the nights were so short, he could only venture out between the hours of nine thirty at night and four thirty in the morning - a mere seven hours out of every twenty four. On the twenty first of the month, the longest day of the year, Alexandre left the house at dusk and did not return until 1.30am Madison paced inside, her stomach in knots, worrying about his whereabouts and his fragile state of mind. When he finally returned they sat together at the kitchen table. His mood was morose.

  ‘You’re just on a bit of a downer,’ she said. ‘You miss your friends and family. It’s natural to feel pissed off. The days will start getting shorter soon and then you’ll feel better. I promise.’

  He spoke slowly: ‘I miss my friends, I miss my family, I miss my country and I miss my freedom.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I miss the daylight and I want to go back.’ Despair clouded his dark eyes.

  ‘Back?’

  ‘Yes! Back! Back, back, back! To my time and my home. Back to before I turned into this ... monster.’

  ‘You’re not a monster.’ Madison was dismayed by his anger and distress. She knew he felt frustrated by his circumstances, but she had no idea how deeply his feelings cut. ‘Is there anything I can do?’ she asked, feeling inadequate.

  ‘Sometimes,’ he said. ‘I wish you had succeeded that day.’ He clenched his fists.

  Madison didn’t want to hear this.

  ‘That day when you tried to kill me. It would have been better if you had finished the job.’

  ‘You don’t mean that, Alex. Don’t ever say that. I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you. Maybe we should think about trying to wake up the others? Maybe … maybe if you had them with you, they’d cheer you up. I know what it’s like to get down. I know. But we’ll get through it. Together. Alright, Alex?’

  ‘I like it when you call me Alex. It reminds me of Jacques. He always called me this. He was the only one who …’ He angrily wiped away a tear and Madison scraped her chair closer to his and put her arm around his hunched shoulders.

  ‘We’ll work it out. Whatever’s making you feel like this, we’ll sort it. We’ll fix it. Yeah?’

  ‘If not for you, I do not think I could be responsible for my actions. I can see how easy it would be for those like me to eventually turn into monsters. I hope it is not inevitable.’

  ‘Nothing’s inevitable,’ she said and kissed his porcelain cheek. He turned to her and kissed her on the mouth. Madison opened her lips and sank into his kiss. She felt the deep pull of desire as he lifted her off the chair and drew her close to his body. She felt his anger and despair and passion and she knew he needed this from her.

  He lifted her easily into his arms and took her upstairs into her bedroom. A half-moon shone through the open window, onto the wooden floor. Alexandre lay her down onto the unmade bed and gazed at her. She stared back up at him, her lips parted and her breathing heavy.

  ‘I love you,’ he said. ‘I have never felt this sure about anything.’

  She smiled at him tentatively, forcing herself to be brave and say the words back to him. She had said them to him often enough in her head, but to say them aloud was to leave herself exposed and vulnerable, even though he’d spoken first.

  ‘I love you too,’ she finally said. ‘I really do, Alex.’

  He lay down on his side next to her, propped up on one elbow and he kissed her cheek.

  ‘That kiss was incredible,’ he said. ‘I could kiss you like that all night.’

  ‘Please,’ she said. ‘Kiss me like that all night.’

  He straddled her and pushed her arms back above her head, lowering himself down. She felt the weight of him as he kissed her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks, her lips. She gently bit his bottom lip and pushed his mouth open with her tongue to feel his deep kisses again. She moaned and arched her body into him. But then he suddenly rolled off her and opened his eyes, realising he had probably gone too far.

  ‘Forgive me,’ he said. ‘You are irresistible to me but that is no excuse for my behaviour.’

  ‘Forgive you? For what?’

  ‘I have taken advantage. I love you and I do not wish to disrespect you.’

  ‘Alex, you are the most respectful person I know. Haven’t you ever heard of mutual consent?’

  ‘I am older. I am a man. I have made too many mistakes in the past. I do not wish to make these mistakes with you.’

  ‘Listen, Alex. If you were doing something I didn’t want, I’d tell you about it. You haven’t done anything I didn’t want you to.’

  Maddy rolled on top of him, still in awe of his astonishing beauty. But he was more than just this stunning creature – he was kind, generous, vulnerable and funny. He was everything to her. She smiled and kissed him again. Alexandre responded immediately, but then he groaned and lifted her off him. He ran a finger down her cheek, kissing her hair and she ran her hands across his hard stomach.

  ‘Please stop, Madison. I fear I am completely unable to resist you.’

  She stopped instantly and drew her hands up to her cheeks. ‘Is this a rejection then?’ she asked, feeling sick and slightly humiliated.

  ‘Madison,’ he said sitting up. He looked at her but she refused to catch his eye. ‘This is the opposite of a rejection. Did you not hear me before when I said I loved you? I have never said that to anyone, because I have never felt this way about another living soul. I love you. Why won’t you look at me? I cannot tell what you are thinking when you look the other way.’

  She finally relented and looked up.

  ‘I want this more than you know. But there is much to consider and now I only have myself to answer to. Please give me some time.’

  She lay down and curled into a ball. He spooned himself around her and kissed the back of her neck.

  ‘Why don’t you sleep now? I will stay with you for as long as I can.’

  ‘I won’t be able to sleep,’ she said in a small voice.

  He stroked her arm and inhaled the apple scent of her hair, listening as the sound of her breathing became more even and slow. He knew she wa
s not entirely happy with him, but maybe tomorrow she would see he had been right not to rush. That kiss had been so intoxicating, it had taken all of his willpower to end it. He knew it was the right thing to do; to stop it there. He did not trust himself otherwise.

  His depression had entirely vanished. He was transformed, in love and the feeling was reciprocated - she loved him too. Maybe the world was not the bleak place he had inhabited only hours ago. Maybe there could be something good in it for him, something wonderful.

  ‘Sleep well, Madison,’ he whispered into her ear. ‘I love you.’

  She slept.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  *

  Alexandre left her bed at around 4am, his mind a blur of thoughts and emotions. Was he doing the right thing? Or was he being selfish? He tried not to think about what his parents would have said. But it wasn’t that simple. He lived in a different era now where different rules applied. What he had done was apparently not scandalous at all, but normal.

  What had Madison said? Mutual consent. He liked that. Yes, what business was it of anybody else’s? Neither of them had to answer to anyone, which was a blessing and a curse. All they had done was fall in love and kiss. And what a kiss! She was unbelievable. How could he curse his bad fortune at becoming a vampire, when it had led him to her? Maybe this was meant to be.

  *

  Madison woke up about seven. She felt strangely happy and then she remembered why. She and Alexandre. It had happened. They had kissed and it was everything she’d thought it would be. Of course she’d thought about it before, but she’d never believed it would actually happen. He was from another era, he was older than her and he was a vampire. She hadn’t even known if vampires had those kinds of feelings or if they were just all about the blood. Well now she knew they most definitely did have those feelings. And had he said … Yes. He said he loved her. He loved her – Madison Greene.