Dark Moors (THE TWO VAMPIRES, #4) (11 page)

Daniel drew her into his arms – ‘I will keep you safe,’ he said as he held her head against his chest.

She did no
t say anything but he felt her head move in a nod.

‘Shall we move on?’ she asked him.

‘Yes, I don’t think there’s any more to do here now, not until the moon is full.  There’s one more place I want to go - the graveyard where all those dead must have come from, then I thought we could do something more fun…’

Sarah tilted her head back so she could see his face
and looked at him appraisingly.

‘Like what?’
she asked.

‘Well, what would you like to learn to do first; light fires with magic or transform into an animal?’ he said.

A slow smile crept across her face as she thought about it.

‘Magic,’ she said, her face glowing in anticipation.

‘Alright then.  Race you to the graveyard?’ he said.

She nodded, her smile widening, and shot off across the moor.

Daniel laughed, and took pursuit, easily shortening the distance between them, his extra time as a vampire giving him a few advantages.

He watched as Sarah
sprung up the rocks that marked the top of the tor and jumped over the other side.  He put on a fresh burst of speed and launched himself through the air at Sarah, tackling her and pinning her to the ground.  She pushed him back playfully and rolled away, then was up again and soon accelerating past their home and towards the steeple Daniel could just see over the next rise.  In an instant she was around the next corner and out of sight.

Sarah
came to a halt when she saw the graveyard before her.  It was a mess.  The graves were hollow holes and fresh earth was everywhere.  Blue and white police tape surrounded the whole church and graveyard, and there was a sign asking for witnesses to come forward.

She felt the air shift as Daniel stopped at her side and put his arm around her shoulders.  She rested her head against him and said, ‘I don’t know what I expected but they are
all
empty,’ feeling empty herself. 

She knew that no-one had died
there, but she felt sad for the families that would be torn by what had happened to the graves of their lost relatives.

‘What do you hope to find
?’ she asked Daniel.

She hoped they would no
t have to be there for long, it was so creepy seeing the empty graves, a shiver of unease ran over her spine.

‘I wonder who
is in that tomb under the stone circle - who it is that’s worth so much destruction?’ Sarah practically whispered.

‘I really have no idea, if I were to say anything it would be mere speculation,’ Daniel said.

Sarah felt herself nod, a part of her wanted him to speculate, if she had any idea who might be buried under the stone circle it might calm her sense of unease and help her understand why this was happening.  But, she asked herself, would that really make her feel better?  Or was this sense of foreboding an intuition;
was
something bad going to happen?

She shook her head to clear it as Daniel stepped away and leapt over the tape and wall,
and landed in the graveyard.  His motion was smooth and fast, which along with his sleek physique, dark hair and clothes, made him look like a wild animal.

Sarah jus
t stood still.  She did not want to see the empty graves; she did not want to imagine the bodies rising, as they had done not so long ago.  She turned and scanned the landscape instead, looking again for a glimpse of the crow, or anyone else that might be watching them.  She felt relieved when Daniel returned to her side.  She gave him a questioning look, at which he shook his head; he had discovered nothing new.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ Daniel said.

Sarah smiled weakly as he took her hand and they walked away.  Back outside their house Sarah raised her eyebrows in query when Daniel popped inside, telling her to wait by the gate, returning one minute later.  Each time they left the house Sarah felt a little tingle as the boundary that Daniel had put up to warn them of anything supernatural approaching faded away.  Each time they returned she saw an expression of intense concentration appear on his face as he reactivated it.  It would be fantastic to be able to do that, she thought.  Magic had always been the impossible, a dream, and now she was going to learn how to do it herself!

After a short walk they found a secluded hollow that was filled with
, and surrounded by, large granite rocks.  Sarah took a seat on a nice flat slab in the center.  She ran her fingers over the surface of the rock, marveling at the tiny crystals within that glinted in the day light.

She looked up at Daniel and eyed him from beneath her lashes.

‘So,’ she said, ‘is it time to teach me some tricks?’

‘I guess so.’

Daniel approached and sat cross legged opposite her on the rock.  Sarah looked at his mischievous eyes; he was obviously enjoying the prospect of teaching her.  He reached into the depths of his leather jacket and drew out two t-light candles.

‘Let me demonstrate,’ he said.

Sarah watched as Daniel focused his eyes on the wick and it sparked to life, then it was extinguished by a gust of wind.

‘I will try and teach you the same way that Heather taught me; mind to mind,’ Daniel sa
id as he reached for her head.

Sarah felt
herself tense in anticipation.

As Daniel
’s fingers touched her temples she felt his mind at the edge of hers and a picture appeared in her mind.  She instantly knew what to do.

Daniel’s fingers fell back, and her mind was hers again.  She picked up one of the candles and held it in front of her face,
then she focused on the wick as Daniel had done.  She fed it tendrils of power and sent a focused blast of power to the center of the candle.

Nothing happened.

‘Huh,’ she said, and gave it another go.

Still nothing.

‘Try again,’ said Daniel.

She tried.  She focused intently on the wick, and she was sure she was sending power to the right part, imagining it sparking before her.  She threw the candle down in frustration
and lay back on the stone massaging her temples.  Her head hurt.

‘Er
r, maybe you need more practice.  Try again tomorrow?’ Daniel asked.

Sarah rolled her eyes, her hopes of skill at magic lost, but she nodded weakly, still rubbing her temples, her eyes closed.

Daniel lay down by her side and kissed her head, making the pain fade.  How did he do that?

She propped herself up o
n her elbow and smiled at him.

‘Thanks for trying to teach me,’ she said.

‘I’m sure you’ll have more luck tomorrow,’ he reassured.

Sarah suspected she wouldn’t, and contented herself with stroking Daniel’s tummy with her free hand.  She sat and
dug her phone out of her pocket as she suspected it was not long till three; when she could call her kids.

She turned on her phone and it lit up with a photo of Megan and Bea which pulled at her heart.  It was half past two.

She stood, and rolled her head around, stretching her neck to try and eradicate the last traces of pain.  In an instant Daniel was up to.

‘To high ground?
’ he said, before shooting her one of his most stunning, stomach turning smiles, and bolting off out of the hollow onto the surrounding moorland.  Sarah could not help but laugh.  Without a thought she sent power into her muscles and practically flew after him, leaping out of the hollow and springing from rock to rock in pursuit.

She collapsed in laughter when she finally caught up with him, and brought him down with her; they had reached the highest tor in the immediate vicinity.  She could see more hills with differently formed stacks of granite at their tops
- in every direction.  She had never seen anything like it.

She pulled out her phone and was relieved to see four bars of reception.  That should do the trick, she thought, now just twenty minute
s to kill before she would hopefully see Megan and Bea, and talk to them, and see how they were doing without her, how they were coping.  Of course they would be coping fine, Daniel had practically guaranteed it with his skillful mind control, but she still wanted to see it with her own eyes.  And she wanted Megan and Bea to see her, so they would not forget her, so they would know that she still loved them and that she would return.

She rested her head on Daniel’s shoulder and thought of all the things Megan and Bea did, that she was mi
ssing, until the twenty minutes, that felt like forever, passed.

She
dialed the international code followed by her home phone number, and listened anxiously as she heard the phone ringing.

‘Hello?’

‘Mom!’

‘Sarah! – Is that you?’

‘Ah Mom I’ve missed you and Dad, and Megan and Bea so much,’ Sarah said.

‘We miss you too Sarah, how’s your trip going?  Any idea how long you will be?’

‘It’s ok, I’m learning stuff, but still not sure how much longer for.  I will try and be back as soon as I possibly can Mom.  Are Megan and Bea up – can we talk on Skype like Daniel showed you to?’

‘Yes – I’ll just go turn on the computer,’ Alice, her Mom, said.

‘Great, I’ll try and ring you on it in a couple of minutes,’ Sarah said, and she hung up.

Sarah
exchanged a glance of exasperation with Daniel, he knew as well as she that it would not be safe for her to return yet - she may have done well the previous night, but that was after she had already consumed lots of blood. 

What if she was hungry? 

What if Daniel left her alone for one minute? 

The thought could no
t be comprehended.

She found Skype on her phone
and touched the ‘home’ contact.  It started to ring, and then her Mom’s face appeared before her, closely followed by Megan pushing in front.  Sarah broke into the biggest grin.

‘Hi sweetheart,’ she said,
not attempting to contain her happiness.

Megan looked healthy and happy and she was jumping up and down in excitement.

‘Mommy!  Are you having fun in a country Mommy?’ Megan asked.

‘Yes, it’s beautiful here – have a look,’ and Sarah turned her phone full circle so they could see the view.

‘Mountains!’ said Megan, as Bea and Keith, Sarah’s father, appeared at the side of the screen.

‘Bea! 
Dad!’ Sarah squealed.

‘Hi Mommy,’ said Bea, and she waved.

Sarah put one hand over her heart, ‘I love you Bea,’ and she looked at Megan, ‘I love you too sweetheart,’ and as an afterthought, ‘and you two of course,’ she said smiling wryly at her Mom and Dad.

‘How has everything been? 
Any news?’  Sarah asked, she thought she should keep up the pretense that she did not know what had happened to Megan and Bea’s father.

Her own father’s face was
somber and he shook his head, ‘No, I’m sorry.’

Her Mom added, ‘But everything here is great, we’ve been having fun haven’t we kids?’

Megan nodded with gusto, and Bea struggled in her Grandfathers grip so she could get closer to the screen.  Sarah longed to reach through the phone and hold Bea and Megan close, but had to content herself with touching their faces on the small screen with her fingertips.

‘Are you ready for school Megan?’ Sarah teased, for they were all still in their pajamas.

‘No, it’s breaky time Mommy,’ Megan said.

‘I better let you get on with your morning then, but I will ring you again soon, ok?’ Sarah said, then added, ‘Remember how much I love you,’ to Megan and Bea. 
‘And Mom and Dad, thankyou so much for looking after them.’

‘Don’t worry, you do what you need to do Sarah,’ said her father.

‘Take care of yourself,’ said her mother.

Sarah waved to Bea and blew her a kiss, which she imagined implanting on her cute baby cheek.  She blew a kiss to Megan too, and waved to her parents, ‘Bye
,’ and they disappeared.

Sarah sighed and rested her head back on Daniel’s shoulder, and she snuggled into him as he put his arms around her.

‘I miss them,’ she said, tears sliding over her cheeks.

‘I know.’

She sat with Daniel in silence for a while before saying, ‘I don’t want to go out tonight Daniel, can we do something more normal?’

‘Like what?’ he said, smiling.

‘Oh I don’t know – watch a cheesy movie?  Veg out?’ she said.

‘Ok, we can check out that pub tomorrow,’ he said.

‘Thankyou Daniel.’

Before she
realized it Daniel had her in his arms and she felt like she was flying through the air, but she knew she was headed for home, for their cottage.