Dark Moors (THE TWO VAMPIRES, #4) (3 page)

Sarah nodded again to show she understood then turned to face the enemy that she could see getting closer under the starlight.  Their movements filled the night with creaking and crunching, but Sarah knew she would have to block this out. 
And the smell.  It must be her enhanced senses but it overwhelmed her, but she could not let that stop her.  She would have to ignore all of this or she would not be able to keep herself together.  She would have to remain strong, and she could not forget that she was a vampire now.  Physically she could do this.  Strength flowed in her veins.  She had power.

Just before the dead were close enough to fight Sarah glanced back at the darkness of the bunker b
ehind her, and wondered if they had made a mistake.  If they had to retreat into it, and the enemy proved too strong, they would be trapped.

She did no
t have time to dwell on it, she turned as the first of the dead moved before them.  She breathed a quick sigh of relief that they were not managing to approach in an organized way; the dead had sped up and separated in their desire to attack fast.

A blur to her right, and she saw Daniel soaring through the air and kicking the first
revolting animation before them.  She did not have time to register what happened after that as there were three dead approaching her.  She gulped and then took action; she was not going to let them grab her this time.  She too leapt forwards, her leg extended to her front, copying the martial arts films she had seen on TV.  Her foot impacted the first head which crunched and flew back.  She did not have time to deal with the revulsion that welled up within her so she pushed it down, and rotated her knee, sending another impact on an animated dead to her right.  It crashed against the one to its’ right and they fell away.  Sarah leapt back and kicked the fallen one in the head while it was down. 

Another one was close and she elbowed it hard in the side of its neck just before it had a chance to sink in its teeth.  This time her power had done it and her arm went straight through the bone of the neck and the body fell to the ground. 

More dead were approaching, thickly, coming all at once.  Sarah quickly moved back.  As she did she saw the bodies she had kicked down were rising; even the one with no head.  She choked back her reactions.  She knew Daniel was going to have to try and burn them.  She retreated and looked around for him.

‘Sarah!’ Daniel
shouted.

That was her cue. 

She leapt behind him, taking in his imposing height and character as he swept his hands across the sea of wreathing bodies, white fire igniting in the air and hitting the dead as they pushed forwards.  Sarah saw as the first body collapsed to the ground, vibrant flames making it crumble to ash.

One of the dead
broke through from the side and she leapt up again, kicking it back before it could reach them, then she jumped behind Daniel as he scorched this one too.  He returned his attention to the front as more dead advanced; no minds of their own to give them the sense to turn and leave.

She watc
hed as fire left Daniel’s hands.  She was amazed, in awe.  He looked stunning, powerful and in control.  His face was set, strong, yet droplets of sweat were starting to form on his brow.

Sarah crossed her fingers behind her back and preyed Daniel would b
e strong enough to kill every single one of the dead that were pushing forwards, that were trying to kill them.

Mo
re dead were burning and crumbling before Daniel.   The scent of burning flesh made her cough, but she stood upright behind Daniel, ready to protect him should it be needed.

There were no
t many dead left, and Sarah began to feel more positive.  At least this way she did not have to touch any more of them.  She wrinkled her nose; she could smell death on her clothes from where they had touched her.

But what would happen when the dead stopped, when they were all dest
royed by fire?  Would someone else attack them?  Would she and Daniel be strong enough then? 

Sarah scanned the horizon and l
ooked across the moor.  It was hard to see anything, the bright fire and smoke making it tough to see far in the darkness.

The final body
collapsed and turned to ash, and Sarah stepped forward so she was by Daniel’s side.  She took his hand, expecting it to be hot, yet it was cool.  She stood with her back to the bunker and looked out into the night as the flames faded and her vision cleared.

She was alert, as was Daniel by her side, and they searched the night together, ready for the next attack.

Wind whipped her face as she watched and waited.  Nothing happened.  Nobody approached.

She let herself look to
Daniel.  He met her eyes and brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, then led her into the bunker.  She pushed the door closed behind them, plunging them into darkness.

The sorcerer
stood back and continued to watch as the male vampire destroyed the last of the dead.

He
scowled at what he had witnessed; the vampire could wield magic.

The two vampires
stood side by side and stared out at the horizon.  The male was tall with dark hair and clothes - he looked sleek and powerful.  The woman was blond and feminine.  She did not look strong, yet he knew looks could be deceiving.  Her eyes were darting about the landscape; she was alert for danger.  She had barely fought so her power would not be depleted. 

The man was
looking around the moor with his jaw clenched and a challenge apparent on his face.  He looked ready for another fight.

The sorcerer thought back
to when he had first spotted these vampires.  It had only been yesterday.  He had been watching the stone circle; the site where he had conducted the first ritual which would bring back Nathaniel.  He had been flying in to check on the site regularly, as a precaution, as he did not want anything, or anyone, to get in the way of the final ritual – the one which was the most important – the one which would resurrect the old vampire. 

He had watched as the female vampire had spotted the stone circle, and the two vampires had gone
down into the valley to investigate.  The male had gotten down onto his knees and inspected the ground, finding traces of blood that still remained from the ritual just over two weeks before.  They had inspected the ground and followed the small traces of blood, and probably a trail of footprints and drag marks; that had led them to the bodies that he had discarded under a stab of granite. 

The vampires
definitely knew something was going on, and they seemed to be very interested in the outcome.  Now that they had survived the attack of the dead, surely their curiosity would be strengthened.  In a way, he supposed, he had set a trap for himself in his attempt at setting one for them.  They would investigate further.  They very well might try and stop him conducting his next ritual, for even if they did not care about him and whether or not he found immortality, or about people dying, they would now want revenge for what he had put them through.

The sorcerer
watched as the man and women exchanged a glance, then turned and retreated into the protective embrace of the bunker.

He
shivered, and used a small blast of magic to bring him warmth. 

He
still had no idea how strong the vampires were; he could not risk fighting them.  He needed to develop another plan; he needed to stop them getting in his way.

‘Wait a sec,’ Daniel said, and she heard him fumbling through objects in the hut.

She felt a spark of power and the small, cluttered, rectangular stone room was lit by a flickering warm light.  From behind it Daniel smiled slyly.

‘We did it,’ he said.

‘You did it,’ Sarah laughed, ‘I barely helped.’

‘But you did help, and you were perfect,’ Daniel said while moving closer.

As he reached her she stayed still as he held the candle out to one side and stood so close that electricity rumbled over her skin.

‘Do you think we’re still in danger?’ she asked him.

‘Yes,’ he whispered and he kissed her.

His mouth was firm against hers, sexy, and she melted into him, returning his kiss. 

She flung her arms around his back and kissed him harder, tears rolling down her cheeks from relief and horror and every other emotion that she had been suppressing during her fear and their flight.

‘Daniel – we can’t do this – what if someone is outside?’ Sarah whispered.

In reply Daniel kissed her again, and she gave into him – how could she not?  He was entirely irresistible, and no-one was bashing down the door.

One of Daniel’s
hands travelled over her shoulder and down her back so it was resting on her bum, then he was clutching her and pulling her against him.  She sensed his desperation, the adrenaline of the night still running in their veins, and she felt him harden against her. 

She
jumped up, wrapping her legs around his hips.  The candle swayed then fell, extinguishing on its way to the floor, and his other hand was on her bum, pulling her tightly against his erection.  She pushed into him with her hips, rubbing against him, while he pushed through her jeans, making her feel hot and frustrated.  His hands came lower and rubbed her from below as he pushed against her, and she moaned; she could not help herself.  Then she was slammed against cold stone, Daniel forcefully pushing her back, dust and small stones pattering down.

She pushed her tongue against his and moaned again as he continued to rub against her while kissing her roughly, passionately. 
Then she exploded, ripples of pleasure and pain travelling through her pelvis.  She yelled out then his mouth was on hers again and he was kissing her deeply, still hard against her and filled with desire.  His hand went around to the front of her jeans and she let her legs go as he ripped the buttons open and pulled them down, then he was pushing into her, filling her, pounding deeply inside her.  She was gasping in pleasure, satisfied yet hot, her pleasure building once more.  She heard his breathing quicken and breathed in his heavenly scent, masking the smells of death that were behind them.   His sexy, irresistible pheromones turned her to mush as he moved, getting deeper and deeper inside her, massaging her, shaking inside her and she was blown away as she came again, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks as he brushed them away with his firm jaw and lips, holding her tightly in his arms.

Then sh
e broke and sobs wracked her body from her heart.  All she had been through; the shock and fear, it rolled over her, paralyzing her.  Daniel continued to hold her, saying nothing, and she stayed still in his arms until she began to feel better.

‘How are you doing?
’ he finally asked.

Sarah laughed, ‘Yeah, great,’ she said, and gave him a wry smile
that he probably could not see as it was still pitch black.  ‘Do you think you can find that candle again?’

Daniel let her go and fumbled around on the ground.  Sarah sensed one
more weak spark of power from Daniel and the candle flickered back to life.  Sarah looked around at the odd assortment of items lying about in the bunker.  There were coils of wire in one corner, stacks of boxes which were accumulating dust, a cupboard, a table and a couple of broken chairs.  There were odd bits and pieces lying around; she spotted a torch and a couple of empty drinks cans, a shelf with more candles and matches and some long life packets of food.

She looked back to Daniel.  His dark hair was falling in his eyes.  She reached out and brushed it back.  He looked tired. 
Drained.

‘How are you doing?
’ she asked him. ‘You must have used a lot of power out there.’

Daniel took her hand in his and spoke through their connection, rather than out loud.

‘I feel weak, I want to feed but I’m not sure if we should risk going out yet and exposing ourselves.  It would be better to wait until daylight,’ Daniel said.

Sarah projected back, ‘Are you sure?  If we leave you could feed now and become stronger, then we’d have a better chance if we’re attacked again.  Do you think we will be?’

‘I don’t know,’ Daniel returned, tickling Sarah’s mind with his words – she was still unused to the sensation of communicating like this.  ‘I would have expected to be attacked by now if someone else was coming – whoever arranged this must have had some purpose – other than to frighten and disgust us.’

‘Maybe we’ve proved ourselves
’ Sarah said, ‘Maybe you frightened them away…  You looked mightily intimidating out there.’

‘
Did I really?’ Daniel teased.  ‘Maybe we have scared them off for now, but if whoever did this could be bothered to create that challenge for us, then he must be planning something else.  He must want us out of the way.  I doubt he plans to leave us alone.’

‘We must strengthen ourselves…’

‘Yes, we must.  I think we will have to take human blood…’

‘Really?’
Sarah asked.  A wave of hunger came over her and her teeth tingled.  She covered her mouth with her free hand, ‘Sorry.’