I nodded and looked over at the three male vampires nervously. Samuel reentered the room a second later. He looked at me and then walked over to the fireplace. “Do not worry about them. They won’t hurt you,” he said, building up the fire.
I smiled in gratitude as new warmth spilled into the room. “Why did you help me?” I asked in curiosity. These creatures, these vampires that I had been told to fear, have been kinder than some of my own family.
Samuel concentrated on the fire. After a second he answered my question. “We can help each other, Julia.” He looked back at me. “We’re looking for someone who can challenge our current leader – fight him and win. We think you can be this person. Incidentally, that also means you can be free of your scoundrel husband.”
I frowned. “But why challenge the leader?”
Samuel leaned back and stared at me. “Because times are changing. We need to learn to mingle with humans, to live with them side by side before we’re discovered and hunted out of existence. This vampire doesn’t want to change. He doesn’t realize that mortals can be a great help to us and can even become friends.” A small amused smile crossed his face.
“What made you choose me? I’m weak, I cannot–” I started to protest.
The vampires all looked at each other in amusement. “You aren’t weak, Julia. You’re strong. You had to be to live through what you did. I assume this has gone on for a while?” Samuel asked.
I nodded and thought he sounded like he already knew it had been this way since the start. I thought of all the beatings I went through – all the times I had almost died.
Samuel was continuing. “You’re the one Juliana. All you have to do is agree and you’ll have eternity without the scoundrel.” He said it with absolute certainty. The other six vampires nodded agreement.
I looked around at the vampires. I was taken aback by their kindness. Slowly I nodded. “I can’t go back there,” I whispered, touching my cut face yet again. Honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time virtual strangers have went out of their way to help me.
Samuel got to his feet. “All right.” He walked over and sat beside me. “I’ll try to make it as painless as possible,” he promised.
“Aye, all right,” I said apprehensively. I bit my lip at the thought of more pain.
Mary Anne looked at me and then turned to Samuel. “It doesn’t have to hurt her at all, Samuel,” she reminded him gently. “Use your powers to hypnotize her – under the circumstances I think that will be easiest for her.”
Samuel nodded. He looked back at me and caught my gaze with his own. “Don’t be afraid Julia. You’re going to be all right,” he said softly.
I found that I couldn’t break away from his gaze. At first I felt a moment of panic and fear, but the fear drained away and I felt light, almost like I was floating. It was actually a pleasant sensation. I felt Samuel brush my hair aside but the feeling came from a long ways away. The floating sensation seemed to deepen and I felt wonderfully relaxed. I didn’t even have pain or any fear when something pressed against my neck. Nothing, no emotion, interfered with the peace I felt, not even fear when my vision suddenly went black.
I felt a sweet warm liquid touch my lips and immediately licked at it without understanding. A minute later full consciousness returned and I felt disorientated. I blinked and looked up, temporarily stopping my drinking. I saw Samuel had his wrist pressed against my mouth. When he noticed my eyes focused on him he smiled at me reassuringly. “You’re doing fine. Just drink,” he said soothingly.
I obeyed without a word. The liquid, his blood, tasted delicious. Although I knew what was happening, my mind couldn’t understand yet what it meant for me. Until an hour or so ago I really hadn’t even thought of life without Gregory; I had been too busy concentrating on the actual physical task of getting away. Was I finally going to be free?
I was dimly aware that Samuel was pulling away. I resisted his movements for a second and then realized we had to stop. I let him move his wrist away and licked my lips, noticing I had slumped back slightly. I sat up just in time to hear Mary Anne remark, “You look better.” Startled, I raised my uninjured left hand to my face gently but found all the cuts and bruises had miraculously healed. My eyes widened and I looked at Samuel.
“I told you everything would get better,” he answered my amazed look. I noticed he looked a little pale, but pleased.
I smiled in sudden happiness. I’m sure the last time I had felt this happy was the last time I had seen Adam – over a year ago. Impulsively, I leaned forward and hugged Samuel. “Thank you,” I exclaimed, meaning all the vampires. His smile widened and the other vampires laughed. I suddenly realized just what I was doing. I was hugging a strange man. Something completely improper. I jerked away and cringed by instinct, fully expecting to be hit.
I heard one of the vampires sigh, another one remark, “This is going to be a long year.” I then felt Samuel touch my shoulder. I was very surprised to find the touch was extremely gentle.
“It’s all right, Julia. We’re not going to hurt you because you want to show us you’re happy. Being happy is a good thing.”
“I – I’m sorry. I guess I just thought . . . .” I stammered embarrassed.
“That with all this kindness there’s got to be a drawback? I know why you feel like that but we don’t act like that. Julia, your husband and whoever else treated you like that ... well ... they’re Mortal,” Mary Anne said as if that explained everything. “You also happened to have lousy luck. I can assure you that this is going to change now. And we’re going to help you through this.”
“We’ll help you remember how to really live. There’s so much out there,” Christy added. I nodded, not trusting my voice. I understood what they were saying but I still couldn’t believe it.
“Let’s introduce Julia to our four all–so–silent friends. The night is still young. After you introduce yourselves you’re free to go hunt if you like,” Mary Anne said quietly.
The blonde female vampire near the back of the room scowled. “I’m Sharon,” she said and left the house.
The dark haired male vampire Samuel had called Matthew turned to me. “Don’t mind her. I’m Matthew. Sharon is just non–friendly towards newcomers. She forgets she used to be a newcomer too.” He didn’t move any closer to me and I was glad. He smiled and left the room.
The other two men stared at me. One had brown hair that was slightly lighter than Matthew’s, the other had black hair. “I’m Jeffrey and he’s Robert,” said the man with lighter hair. “See you later Samuel.” They also left the house. Mary Anne shook her head and followed them. Christy disappeared in the direction Matthew had gone in.
I sighed and looked at Samuel. “Do we have to go out?” Samuel shook his head.
“Nay. We’ll stay in tonight. It’ll be better for you anyway. I don’t think you want to go out yet.”
“Nay. Will they be all right out alone?”
He smiled, amused. “Trust me when I say they can take care of themselves,” he answered. “Anyway, I can answer some of your questions now. If you have any.” There was a hint of mischief in his voice.
Forgetting my earlier discomfort I picked up a pillow and threw it at him. A second later, I looked at my hands as I realized the broken fingers on my right hand did not hurt anymore. They looked completely healed. “Of course I have questions!” I said indignantly. I caught him off guard and watched with pleasure as the pillow hit his shoulder
Samuel began to laugh and he put the pillow back. “I’m only teasing Julia. I know you do. Ask something before you hit me again.”
“Do not make me laugh,” I warned as my lips turned up into another unwilling smile.
Samuel rolled his eyes. “So ask a question.”
“How old are you?” I asked, turning serious.
“Julia!” Samuel protested, looking shocked. He then noticed my serious tone and calmed down. “I’m much older than you,” he answered. His eyes grew distant.
“How old?” I asked when he went silent. “How old Samuel? You say you’re older. Tell me. You said you will answer my questions,” I said irritated.
“I said that, didn’t I? Relax, Julia,” he said mildly. “I’m just giving you a hard time. I’m about five hundred years older than you.”
“Oh Goodness,” I whispered. “That’s quite an age difference. Are the others that old too?”
“Mary Anne and Matthew are. The others are younger – but everyone except Sharon is over a century old. Sharon was our youngster until now. She’s only about fifty years old.”
“Oh. I think she’s jealous.”
“I think so too,” Samuel said.
I peered about the room. Everything was becoming sharper, clearer. I began to hear things I couldn’t before. I could hear Christy arguing with Matthew. I could even hear the crickets outside. “What’s happening to me? What can vampires really do?” I asked worriedly.
Samuel regarded me quietly. “Your senses are sharpening, becoming vampire–like. Our sight, hearing, and smell are twice as good as a mortal’s, at least. You’ll develop incredible strength overnight and the ability to speak directly from mind to mind.” He paused. “Each vampire develops other powers that set them apart from others. Occasionally a vampire might find they are the only ones with that gift.”
I nodded slowly. “Can humans have any of these abilities?”
“Some mortals also have some of these gifts, but don’t worry about that now.” He paused again and added delicately, “And you’ll develop a craving for human blood.”
Horrific images of killing innocent people crossed my mind, including ripping apart a little girl’s throat. “Do I have to kill?” I blurted out.
Samuel looked at me carefully. “No. You don’t have to kill. Though killing murderers can be quite fun,” he mused mostly to himself. “But you don’t have to kill the innocents you feed from.”
I was reassured. “Good. You prey off the evil?”
“We do here. Other vampires . . . do not. Like mortals we can be both good and bad. And there are many who are in between.”
I nodded. “Do vampires usually live in groups like this?” I asked. I was kind of surprised that he didn’t get tired of my endless questions.
Samuel looked thoughtful. “It depends on the vampire. Some prefer to hunt and live alone but most like to live with at least one other vampire. Actually, almost all the vampires who live alone are insane. There are also several very large groups that we call covens elsewhere in the world. They have to be extremely careful because so many live together. But it’s not unusual to find small groups.” He looked away and added, “Eternal life can get very lonely.”
I thought about that for a while. “It would get lonely,” I said after a few minutes. He nodded. I decided to change the subject. “So do vampires have rules?” I asked. I was determined to find out as much as I could now about my new existence. I also decided if I kept my mind on asking Samuel questions, I wouldn’t have to think about what led to my being here.
“Oh yes. Of course, some of us make it habit to break them.” His tone was dry.
I looked at him curiously. I heard no anger in his voice which logically meant he was the one breaking them. “Do you – um– break the rules?” I stammered. “What are the rules?”
“This group always disregards the rules. As I said before our goal is to change the way the vampire society does things. We’re Resistance.”
I stared at him, wondering about what they were trying to change. “So what are the rules?” I asked.
“Valentino enforces three essential rules. The first one is you’re allowed to hunt humans, even kill them, but you’re not allowed to befriend them. Secondly, you mustn’t let humans know of your existence unless you plan to change them.” Samuel watched me cautiously.
“He may have a point about not telling humans, Samuel. Most would tend to believe you’re evil,” I pointed out.
“Most, but not all,” Samuel answered. “However, according to Valentino, you really shouldn’t interact with humans except to feed.”
“Well, that may be overreaching a bit,” I replied.
“The third rule is never to betray one of your own kind, especially your maker. This rule tends to get broken more frequently by hunting disputes. The other two rules are broken as well but few vampires do it. They’re afraid of being punished.”
“You do not seem to like Valentino very much,” I said mildly.
“We hate each other. Immensely,” Samuel answered. A bitter smile touched his face. “He calls us all troublemakers.”
“Are you?”
Samuel shook his head. “I don’t think so. We are just . . . different.”
“Is he older than you?”
“No . . . but unfortunately, he’s more powerful. He detests the fact that we’re opposed to him. If he could he would kill us. However, since we haven’t confronted him directly, he can’t because it would be an assassination.”
“Why haven’t any of you confronted him?”
“Because I doubt any of us are strong enough by ourselves. I’m close but I am sure I’ll still lose.”
“And you think I can,” I said in skepticism.
“I know you can. Not now,” he said seeing my dubious look, “But a few centuries down the line . . . .” he finished thoughtfully.
“I think that’s absurd,” I replied. “I do not even know how to fight.”
“Nay. It’s not funny. We’ll teach you how to fight. I think you’ll be pretty good at it.”
“Fight in a dress? That’s really funny,” I said sarcastically.
Samuel looked horrified. “Heaven forbid, Juliana. You can barely run in those things,” he said. “To fight well, you really shouldn’t wear a dress. But . . . we’ll save that discussion for another night,” he said, looking at the window. The sky was lightening and the other vampires reentered the house. I was somewhat surprised; night was almost over.
Mary Anne looked at me critically. “Let’s get you out of that dress before sunrise,” she said with a frown. “Come on dear.” I slowly followed her into a back room. “This will work,” she said, holding up a black dress. She helped me get out of the bloody material and slip on the dress. It helped me feel a bit better, even if the dress was a little plain.
“Thank you.” Mary Anne nodded and we walked back into the main room. She put the bloodied dress in the fire.
Samuel looked at me and nodded. “I’m sure you feel better wearing something else.”
I nodded and smiled tentatively. Sharon scowled at us. “Where is she going to sleep? I‘m already sharing my room and there’s only two beds. One of them is just a single bed,” she complained. She obviously didn’t like me much.
Matthew and Christy emerged from the room they had been in. He looked at her and then at me. “I don’t think Julia wants to share a room with us,” he snapped back. “Not with three men she does not know.”
I remained silent, although I agreed with him. I just didn’t trust them yet. They were strangers and men. Most men I had known had treated me very badly.
Christy spoke up delicately. “You are right Matthew. I think that if Julia feels comfortable enough she should share this room with Samuel until we can arrange the spare room in back. We’re not exactly very organized people,” she said in apology to me. “At least not lately.”
“Not many people are,” I replied tiredly. “I guess the sleeping arrangements will do for now,” I said, looking sideways at Samuel. He shrugged.
“Whatever you want, Julia,” he said gently, sensing once again my discomfort.
I did my best to shake it off. After all, these people had probably saved my life. “It’s fine,” I answered looking at Christy.
She nodded. “Well, good night everyone,” she said. Everyone else repeated the line and left the room. The sun was rising, they were getting tired and so was I.
I walked back to the bed. “Just to war
n you, I’m not taking any nonsense from you, Samuel. I just want to sleep and forget.”
Samuel put out the fire and walked to the other side of the bed. He pulled back the covers and stared at me. “No nonsense. I promise.” His voice softened. “You won’t be able to forget, Julia.”
I got into bed. “I’ll do my best to,” I replied and closed my eyes. I grabbed the covers and pulled them up to my chin. I suddenly felt very cold and nothing could warm me up. I let the darkness of sleep overcome me.
***
Chapter 7
I awoke the next night from a nightmare, screaming, “No! No! Please!”
I sat bolt upright in the bed. I felt someone put their arm around me. “Julia, it is all right. It’s just a dream,” Samuel said softly. “You’re safe.”
I felt him hold me tighter. “Oh,” I said shakily. I hid my face in my hands. “Oh, what a dream,” I moaned in remaining terror. “I hate him, Samuel.”
“I know, Julia. I know,” Samuel murmured. “He is not going to hurt you anymore. In fact, you could kill him now.”
I raised my head and stared at the far wall. I am not going to cry, I am not going to cry, I thought fiercely. I spoke in answer to Samuel. “I cannot. I cannot imagine seeing him again, even if it is to kill him. I’m afraid of seeing him again. I can’t do it. I can’t,” I stuttered.
“Shh. If you cannot bear to see him again, that’s fine. You do not have to see the fiend unless you want to,” Samuel said soothingly. “Do not worry about him. I am sure he’ll be taken care of soon.” A peculiar note entered his voice, but I chose to ignore it.
I got out of bed and looked around. Mary Anne and Matthew were up; they were in the middle of a discussion. I nodded at them in greeting. They nodded back and not a word was said about my screaming fit. I was startled by their acceptance of my behavior. I looked back over at Samuel. “Are we going out tonight?”
“If you wish to.”
“I think so. I want to go out for a while.”
“Very well. Your family will probably be the topic of choice tonight, Juliana,” he warned.
Lost Soul Page 8
