Dance Until Dawn (8 page)

It is actually forbidden to bring a human across without permission from the Elder of the city, but thankfully I do not have to explain my own actions.

Unfair, perhaps, but lucky for me.

I think the nights ahead will be difficult, but I remain optimistic. Elinor has begun to feed. I will not lose her.

Who knows what the next sunset will bring.

14 February, the previous year

Highgate, London

Valentine’s Day
. The Victorians loved this day, they celebrated with handwritten poetry and gifts of flowers. I wonder how many of them realised the tradition stemmed from celebrations for an early Christian saint named Valentinus. Although, apparently, the first association with actual romance should be accredited to Geoffrey Chaucer in the Middle Ages.

So, on Valentine’s night, I sit alone, writing this journal, just as I have done for more than three hundred years. Many things have changed over the centuries, not least the actual journal – and the writing implement. Perhaps one day I shall even use a computer, although the thought makes me smile.

I do not indulge in self-pity, for I choose to live alone. I am dangerous. Too dangerous, perhaps, to live with others. As a vampire – or, more precisely, the Vampire Elder of London – my responsibilities are many and varied, such is the penance for eternal life.

I have taken many lovers over the decades – a man is a man no matter how old he may be. But none have stayed. The human lovers perished, the vampires either left, or I tired of them. Never have I found the one true love for whom my non-beating heart yearns. Until … perhaps now – and I feel the urge to record my thoughts.

The awakening passion I feel for the beautiful red-haired dancer I first noticed some weeks ago at the Adelphi Theatre has hit me hard and fast. For some reason I cannot erase her from my memory. She moves like a dream, her grace and beauty so bright – like a captive star. She holds me in her thrall, and I have since returned several times to watch her performance. She never disappoints.

I cannot concentrate at the moment and feel the need to be outside in the cool beauty of the moonlight.

Later

Once again, I found myself standing just over the road from the stage door of the Adelphi, and stood watching for my quarry from the darkness of a convenient doorway. Eventually she emerged, surrounded by her friends. I heard them call her ‘Ellie’.

To my surprise she looked across the road – directly at me – and smiled. I felt as if my heart would burst. Could it be she had actually noticed me? Spotted me in the gloom?

An old woman stood nearby, selling long-stemmed red roses, and on impulse I purchased them all – at an exorbitant price – and took them across the road to ‘Ellie’.

She stopped when I stepped in front of her, and blushed most becomingly. She looked up at me with startling eyes like twin sapphires. I had never been so close to her before.

I wished her a happy Valentine’s Day and told her she danced like an angel, at which she laughed a little self-consciously. As she accepted the flowers, she said perhaps I could tell her choreographer that. Her friends had stopped a little way up the road in order to wait for her, and were looking back at us with more than a little curiosity.

She said she had to go and I stepped back to allow her to pass.

With her arms full of red roses, she walked away from me, glancing back to smile again before disappearing into the night.

Reluctance

The Thirst began to rage the moment my eyes were open. Clutching at my stomach, I toppled off the narrow bed onto the floor, the reverberation of my agonised screams loud in the darkness. ‘Will!’

I attempted to stand, but didn’t have enough strength, so I curled into a ball on the floor and wrapped my arms around my body. The lights came on then, and I sensed Will’s presence before I felt him beside me.

‘It’s worse. Why is it worse?’

Strong hands lifted me up and set me back onto the bed.

‘Calm down.’

‘You’re never here at sunset,’ I accused him through gritted teeth, as another wave of cramps and nausea clenched my stomach into a tight knot. He made no reply. I closed my eyes as the Thirst attacked me relentlessly. Tears welled beneath my eyelids, and I screamed again with pain.

‘Do something – anything.’

‘
Anything?
Are you sure?’

I nodded.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he pulled me into his arms and enfolded me within them, like a kind of strait-jacket. Instantly the searing pains began to subside. I wriggled feebly against his strong hold but managed only to get my hands flat against his chest in order to put some space between us.

He looked amused. ‘You did say
anything
.’

I glared. ‘Even when I’m feeling like crap, you take advantage.’

He stood up slowly, his eyes still glowing with amusement. ‘You need to feed.’

Even I could have worked that one out. Little old newbie vamp me. I gave him a somewhat jaded look. I felt sure he’d try to push his advantage while I was still feeling weak, but he merely helped me to stand. My legs weren’t feeling strong enough to support my weight and Will supported me with ease.

‘Shall we try again?’

Keeping one arm firmly around my waist, he guided me through the doorway and into the next cellar. Once again, I could smell warm blood and the Thirst was pleased. A man lay on the floor, his torso propped up against the damp wall, and his legs splayed out in front of him. His head drooped onto his chest and his eyes were closed. If it hadn’t been for the slight rise and fall of his chest, I would have thought him newly dead.

‘Another burglar?’

Will laughed a soft, sexy laugh that sent a sudden thrill through me from head to toe. Some distant part of my brain wondered how often he’d used that laugh as a tool of seduction.

‘Please tell me you’re not expecting me to bite him.’

‘That was my original plan I admit. Do you think you can?’

I stared at him a little desperately. The man on the floor still looked like a man, not food. I really didn’t want to feed straight from a person. Will pushed me gently towards the unfortunate man, stopping me once I was very close to him.

Fascinated, I watched the man’s pulse beating in his throat. I could even hear it beating in my head. I sniffed the air and smelt the warm blood coursing through his veins.

I wanted blood.
Needed blood
. I knew that now. But he was still a
man
– not food, not really.

I looked at Will, who watched me silently, waiting for me to make a move. I stayed still, unsure and unhappy. Will crouched down and turned the unconscious man’s face to one side, stroking the neck invitingly with his other hand.

‘This is the bit you bite.’ He sounded like a sarcastic teacher. ‘There is a very nice vein here called the jugular, and it contains nourishing, warm blood. Very good for little vampires.’

I crouched down too, and put a tentative hand out to touch the man’s neck. I felt the warmth of his blood just below the skin’s surface. I slid my fingers over the pulse. Its measured throb seemed hypnotic. I looked at Will again, and he smiled encouragingly – well, encouragingly for him, anyway. I moved in closer to the man, and stroked his warm throat.

I had a sudden flashback to myself at the age of ten, cuddled into my father’s neck, and I moved back onto my heels so suddenly that I lost my balance and sprawled on the floor.

I drew my legs up, and put my head on my knees. I felt weak and very hungry, but I still could not feed on a person. Will squatted down in front of me, and put his hand under my chin, raising my face until he could see my eyes. I looked into those spectacular green eyes as he arched dark eyebrows at me. ‘What is the real problem here?’

‘He’s a
person
– someone’s lover, husband or father.’ I closed my eyes as another bout of pain attacked me.

‘I did not ask you to kill him.’ Will’s voice was oh-so-reasonable. ‘Just feed, and I will then take him back to where I found him. He can afford to lose a pint or so, people often donate that much and recover in an hour.’

‘He’ll have bite marks. People will come looking for us.’

‘People do not actually believe in vampires, Elinor. You did not. In fact, I am not so sure you do even now.’ He stood up, and helped me to my feet again, holding my arm firmly. ‘So, I ask again, what exactly are you having the problem with?’

‘Seeing him just as food and not as a person. I know, I’m an evil monster now, and I should be able to feed from him, but I really can’t. My head won’t let me.’

‘Well, I am having some considerable trouble seeing you as an evil monster.’ Will smiled, but the smile was gone instantly, as he saw the look on my face. ‘Child, you need to feed to survive. It is the rule of nature. Every creature on earth needs to feed to survive. Humans kill animals for food, animals kill other animals for food. We need blood in order to survive. A vampire deprived of blood is a frightening sight, believe me, I have seen it.’

‘What happens?’ I vaguely remembered the answer.

‘Vampires cannot die. We are undead. It is the blood that animates us, allows us eternal life.’

‘What happens?’

He gripped both of my arms with his strong hands and stared down at me, his eyes glinting eerily. ‘A vampire that cannot, or will not, feed becomes a walking skeleton. It does not die, but its flesh withers and falls from its bones. Trust me on this, it is not a pretty sight.’

Will spoke, I realised then, from painful experience. His eyes stared into space, looking at a place I never wanted to see. ‘I will
not
allow that to happen to you.’

I bowed my head, as a fresh bout of pain and nausea tried to tear me apart from the inside. Will held my arms, and cursed quietly under his breath. I looked up at him, startled, and he ran a hand through my hair, winding a thick bunch of it around his fist tightly, so I couldn’t look down again.

‘Do you understand me? I will not allow you to waste away in front of my eyes.’

‘I can’t do this,’ I said, my voice sounding strained. ‘Why couldn’t you have just left me alone?’

Will stared at me, still holding my hair firmly. ‘I will do whatever it takes to get you feeding properly.’ He began leading me back towards the man, who was still mercifully unconscious.

Releasing his hold on my hair, he knelt and took hold of the man’s arm. He got a small penknife from his jeans pocket, and swiftly sliced open the man’s flesh. Blood welled from the cut immediately and the now all too familiar buzzing started in my head.

Will dipped his fingers in the blood and, leaning forward, put his fingers to my mouth.

Before I knew it, I had licked them clean without even thinking about it.

Warm, nourishing blood. I licked my lips, all the while staring at Will.

He smiled a self-satisfied smile.

‘Come here to me kitty,’ he coaxed softly. ‘Come and drink.’

I found myself on the floor next to the man without even realising I’d moved nearer. Will lifted the man’s arm towards me, and the smell of warm, living blood pervaded my nostrils and my senses.

‘Drink.’

I leaned towards the arm, but a wave of gut-clenching nausea swept through me, and I shook my head.

‘I can’t. Not from a person. Please don’t make me.’

Will stood in one smooth, elegant movement and held his hand down to me. After a moment’s hesitation, I took it and allowed him to help me up. His strong fingers clasped mine, and his eyes glittered like emeralds as he looked down at me. Releasing my hand, he gently moved a strand of hair from out of my eyes, his touch lingering on my face slightly longer than it needed to.

‘Back to the china mug, I think. Come back and sit down and I will sort it out for you.’

He guided me back through the cellar to the narrow bed in my ‘cell’ and made me sit down. He stood and looked at me for a while without speaking a word.

‘I suppose I’m more trouble than I’m worth.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘If I thought that, you would not even be here.’

I was suddenly very sure of that. I didn’t think Will would ever allow himself to be compromised in any way, or take on anything that wouldn’t directly benefit him. I wasn’t quite sure yet where I came in, but I felt convinced I’d find out before too long. I had a feeling he had some kind of game plan, and somehow I would have an integral part to play.

I looked at him as he stood in front of me, this tall, dark charismatic stranger who appeared to know me so well already. Who somehow seemed able to awaken a primal desire in me with just the slightest touch of his hands, or a deep laugh. How the hell I had managed to become entangled in all this weirdness seemed to be a question I had no hope of answering.

I was still having trouble remembering many details of my last few days as a human, yet I could now remember much of my earlier life. I wanted to remember how I had become a night creature, and, more importantly, I really wanted to know
why
.

‘I will be back as soon as I can,’ Will said, interrupting my thoughts, and I nodded. He returned after about fifteen minutes carrying the
Buffy
mug.

‘You couldn’t find something less ironic?’ I commented, and a smile quirked his lips briefly.

‘It is functional, and she is fictional.’

Good point. I took the mug and sipped at the contents. This was marginally better than staring at a comatose person whilst drinking. If I had to drink the stuff at least I could pretend it was something else when it was in a mug.

‘Perhaps I could have some vodka in it next time?’ I suggested, with an attempt at a feeble joke.

He simply took the now empty mug from me and went to refill it. All the time I couldn’t see where it came from, I seemed to be all right. Perhaps I could be a blindfolded vampire.

Will returned within minutes and handed me the newly filled mug.

‘I need to return our friend,’ he said. ‘I may be a little while. Would you like to go out when I return?’

I sipped at the mug’s contents with my eyes closed, and I remembered the trauma of my return the previous night. What little confidence I did have instantly evaporated.

‘Could I just sit in the garden and look at the moon?’

‘Of course, if that is your preference.’

He strode toward the door, but turned back when he reached the doorway. ‘That sounds almost romantic. Perhaps we should have done that on Valentine’s Day.’

‘You are so full of crap.’

His deep laugh floated back to me. He never missed a chance. One minute, he was the scary creature of the night who’d brought me forcibly to this existence, and the next he was like any other man who fancied his chances with a woman. He leaned against the door frame, a vision in denim and leather. I’d met many gorgeous men in the last few years, but most had turned out to be either complete bastards, or nice – but gay.
Cynical? Me? Oh yeah.

‘I have been called a bastard many times,’ he said. ‘But I am definitely not “gay” in the modern meaning of the word.’

‘Stay the hell out of my head.’

‘My apologies. I shall be gone about half an hour. Would you like to take a shower or bath?’

‘Are you going to trust me in your bathroom alone?’ I put the empty mug down on the floor.

‘Not entirely,’ he replied. ‘If you would like to shower or bathe, I shall provide everything you need and then lock you in.’

‘You really know how to make a girl feel special don’t you?’

‘Yes or no?’

Anywhere was preferable to that miserable cellar, and I really fancied standing under that state-of-the-art shower for about twenty minutes.

‘It’s a yes, of course.’

He waved me through the doorway and I followed him upstairs to the bathroom. It was still gleaming and spotless, and I wondered vaguely who cleaned it. Somehow, I couldn’t picture Will doing it.

‘Can I have some other clothes?’

‘Of course. Do you have any preferences?’

‘These jeans are fine, but I’d like clean … underwear … and a black top. Any top will do, and my leather coat if you have it.’ I stumbled over the underwear request, feeling embarrassed, but for once, he behaved like a gentleman, and ignored my awkwardness. He merely nodded and went through the opposite door. He came back a few minutes later with a bundle of my clothes that, to my delight, included my much-loved leather coat. I smiled to see it, remembering how hard I had saved in order to buy it two years ago. I’d worn it so much, the leather now felt meltingly soft, and the coat fit me like a glove. It was worth every penny I had paid for it.

‘Nice coat.’

‘I know.’

Will put the clothes down on a nearby wooden chair, and taking a bunch of keys from his pocket, locked the door he’d just come in by. He walked over to the other door, and I couldn’t resist another cheap jibe.

‘You really trust me alone in your house, don’t you?’

He turned back to regard me with a kind of detached amusement. ‘It is as much for your own safety as mine.’

Oh yes, that made a lot of sense – not. I watched him go out, and heard him lock the door behind him. From the exact moment he left, I missed him.
Strange
. I really hoped he wasn’t wearing down my resistance. This existence was going to be hard enough to bear without me developing a crush on the head honcho. I really did not want to become part of the harem I felt certain he had stashed away somewhere.

I stripped off my clothes and walked over to the shower. Sliding back the door, I turned the shower on and closed the door behind me. Powerful warm jets of water doused me immediately, and I revelled in it. I lifted my face up to the shower head, and let the hot water cascade through my hair and down my body.