Dark Moors (THE TWO VAMPIRES, #4) (6 page)

Daniel let his own mind relax, deeper and deeper, until it started to blend with Sarah’s. 
He found himself catapulted into another reality; Sarah’s reality, her dream world.  He was Sarah.  He felt his heart pound as one of the dead grabbed her foot and she tried to get lose.  She kicked and kicked, but it held on.  Daniel tried to abstract himself from seeing the dream from Sarah’s point of view.  He used all the control he could muster and changed his perspective – now he could watch as an outsider without getting involved. 

He saw the dead monster clawing at Sarah’s leg.  He wanted to save her.  He wanted to shake her awake so she would no
t have to suffer this dream anymore, but he had to know – was this her mind going over what had already happened to them, or was it prophetic – were more dead going to attack?

He looked about at the scene – there were more dead advancing, a good sized army of them.  They looked very much like the ones that had attacked
them earlier, and the same number.  He watched as he appeared in her dream and started pushing the dead away from Sarah.  It was weird watching himself, he felt like a ghost, but he also looked good, and he could not help but smile – he was seeing himself through Sarah’s eyes.  He looked quite different from how he saw himself when he looked in the mirror; his hair looked glossy and reflected rainbows, he looked tall and handsome, and his eyes sparkled with an impossible depth.

In her dream,
he and Sarah were fighting outside their cottage – in the same location where one of the dead had actually grabbed Sarah.  It looked like the same night, it felt the same.  He did not think this was a premonition.  He and Sarah started to run and Daniel continued to watch, just in case, then he saw Sarah look back over her shoulder and saw a dark shape, like that of a human, but hazier, moving behind the dead – was this whoever was controlling them?  But before he could look more closely his world shook and he found himself back in Sarah’s house in Canada – she was arguing with Jo, her face tear streaked and angry.  He knew that this was not prophetic as he had killed Jo himself, when Jo had been a vampire.  Daniel was just about to distance himself from Sarah’s mind, so as not to interfere, when her dream shifted once more. 

He was once more back on the moor, in the
darkness, with a full moon shining down.  Now this was not something that had happened to them; they had not been here for a full moon yet.  He looked around but could not see Sarah, or himself; they were not in this dream. 

The full moon illuminated the stone circle and Daniel moved closer
– there were four people tied up there!  A dark shape was approaching!  Daniel started to move towards it but the dream shifted again and he and Sarah were kissing passionately…

He let his mind fade awa
y from hers, himself blushing, and opened his eyes.  He focused them on Sarah, she was still dreaming – he wondered if she was still dreaming the same thing, then grinned. 

He thou
ght about what he had witnessed, had any of it been predictions of the future?  There was only one snippet that could possibly have been, the one with the stone circle.  That dream had had a different feel, and Sarah had been absent from it.  It may have been prophetic, or it may have been her imagining what may already have happened there, or what may in the future.  The moon had been full, so there was a possibility that another sacrifice might be going to happen at the next full moon.  Hmm, Daniel thought – how long away was that?  He thought back to the glints he had seen of the moon last night; it had been a thin strip in the sky – but was it waxing or waning? He would need to keep an eye on it and find out.

Daniel closed his eyes and let his thoughts run free, while his muscles relaxed and he faded quickly into a deep sleep.

Sarah woke and stretched.  She opened her eyes and squinted at the bright sunshine that was filtering through the half open curtains.  She spotted Daniel next to her on the floor, and her heart contracted; he had stayed next to her all night. 

He was still fast asleep, and in a very awkward position; it looked like he had fallen asleep sitting up, and had slumped over to the side at some point in the night. 
Or the day.  She supposed they had slept through the morning, and from the bright sunshine, and relative warmth, Sarah surmised it was mid-afternoon.

She thought back, not being able to stop herself,
to the events of the previous night.  She shivered, and pushed the thoughts as far away as possible. 

It was a new day, and she felt good. 
Happy.  The sleep had obviously done her good, and probably the blood she had consumed not long before had also helped. 

Later she woul
d get to drink human blood.  She felt a strange mixture of feelings at the thought.  One was hunger, and her teeth tingled delightfully.  If she had not recently fed and slept she was not sure the feeling of anticipation would be quite so pleasurable, but it was, for she was not desperately hungry; it would be an indulgence. 

She
visualized warm blood flowing down her throat, ummm…  The other feeling was guilt, guilt for wanting something that was not hers to take.  Hey, she thought, wasn’t I supposed to be trying to remember what I’d dreamt?  Hmmm, she tried to delve into her memories, but still found nothing.

‘Oh well,’ she whispered.

She rolled over and admired Daniel instead.  He looked much younger when he slept, and more vulnerable, less in control.  His silky hair had flopped forwards over his eyes.  Sarah wanted to reach out and push it back, or curl up on the floor next to him, but she did not want to break his much needed rest.  He had done so much for her, for them, and he had used a lot of magic.  Was magic something that strengthened as you slept?  There was still so much about this world that she still had to find out, so much to learn.  She thought it was about time for it now, if only no-one would attack them for a few days, then Daniel could teach her some tricks, and she could see if she could develop a little control; enough so she was less likely to kill someone when feeding.  That would be handy.

Instead of doing what she wanted and waking Daniel, she ever so slowly rose from the couch so as not to disturb him,
then crept out of the room and into the kitchen.  She was so used to her morning routine, as a human, of coffee and breakfast that it felt kind of wrong to skip it.  She opened a few of the kitchen units, wondering what was inside, and whether Daniel had purchased anything the day before apart from that bubbly.  It was a very small kitchen with a low ceiling and not many cupboards, so her search did not take long.  No food.  No coffee.  Hmmm. 

The scruffy white units contained plates and pans, bowls and cups, vases and cutlery, but nothing to eat. 
It wasn’t exactly that she was hungry, but she wanted to experiment with food, experience the sensation of different tastes in her mouth.

She ch
ose a tall, thin glass and walked with it to the sink.  She put the tap on as gently and quietly as she could manage and filled it with cool, clear liquid.  She brought it up to her lips and drank, feeling the cool fluid on her throat.  It still tasted nice and refreshing.  It wasn’t rejuvenating, or strengthening - like blood, but it was nice to drink something else.  It was interesting.  The only food she had really tried since she had turned was that horrible airplane stuff.  She wondered what really nice food would be like to eat; would she still be able to appreciate the flavors?  She decided she would like to find out, and would have to see if there were any good restaurants on Dartmoor. 

But could she handle it?  Rest
aurants would be filled with people, their pumping hearts, blood running in their veins – would she be able to concentrate on her food?  Or would she lose it, lose control and attack someone?  It would not be quite the same romantic ideal if Daniel had to influence her not to eat the people who served them, or their fellow diners.

She put her glass down, the wooden worktop softening the sound as it hit the surface at a faster speed tha
n Sarah had intended.  She was not quite the master of her new body yet, she thought with two eyebrows raised.

She left the kitchen and poked her head back around the corner into the livi
ng room.  Daniel was still sleeping in the same position on the floor.  Sarah tiptoed up the stairs and turned on the shower.  She grabbed a towel and chucked it on the floor, ready to use when she got out.  She pulled off her long brown boots, her jeans, sweater and underwear, then she stepped under the water and washed.  She ignored the patheticness of the stream, and instead focused on what it was doing; cleaning her and washing away any residue of the night before.

Images of Megan and Bea swam in her thoughts.  Hugging them was always the first thing she did in the morning, and she felt a sense of emptiness without their
warm bodies in her arms.  Their little hearts beating…  Her teeth started to tingle, and then extend, and tears flowed down her cheeks as this reminded her exactly why she was not getting them up this morning.  She could not risk hurting them.

Sarah wondered if there were any internet cafes in Princetown.  It was doubtful.  How far would they have to go to find one?  If they could find one, and Daniel could influence her not to be consumed by her hunger, the
n she could ring her family on Skype – she could see them.  Or maybe she could try and use Skype on her phone? But what time of day would she have to ring; what was the time difference between here and home?  She could not remember what they had said on the flight, she had been too hungry to hear reason.  She wondered if Daniel knew.

When
she finally felt clean she exited the cubical and tossed her hair into a turban.  The towel was not really big enough and drips still ran down her back.  She walked into their bedroom, dripping on the wooden floorboards and found another towel on the bed.  It was still damp, she guessed Daniel had used it not long before.  She wrapped it around her and made sure her hands were dry, then she pulled her photo album from the cupboard and climbed under the covers of their bed.  She propped the pillows behind her and pulled the duvet up high, so she felt snuggly and safe, and opened up the album.  It was filled with pictures of Megan and Bea.  It began with their baby pictures then progressed as they got a little bigger.  Well, Bea was still only two, but she looked a helava lot different now than when she was first born.  Megan was completely transformed now she was five, she was still her baby but she was growing so fast.  Sarah turned the pages and she stared at their chubby cheeks and wavy hair and felt happy and sad and lonely, all at the same time.  Her heart was full of love for them, but they were so horribly far away.

She
put the album down and rested back in the bed, and she let her tears fall.  She would not allow herself to mope all day - she was just going to have these five minutes.  After that she would pull herself together. 

She heard movement downstairs, and for a
moment her heart sped in fear.  Then she realized it was just Daniel waking up, and she smiled softly and wiped her eyes.  In an instant he was in the room with her and climbing under the covers, and he was holding her, not saying anything.

He was firm and c
ool, and shivers that had nothing to do with his temperature, ran over her entire body.  His silky, dark hair pressed against her cheek, and his presence made her feel good.  The aching feeling in her chest started to subside a little, and she hugged Daniel back.  He raised his head and looked her directly in the eye, his gaze piercing, yet gentle and soothing at the same time.  She just stared deeper into his eyes, losing herself in their depth and magic.  They were getting closer and she was mesmerized and his lips were on hers and he kissed her.  Her body started to awaken as he kissed her jaw and neck and his kisses moved lower over her chest.  She closed her eyes then and allowed herself to get lost in the sensations of belonging and desire.

Daniel
’s fingers slid under her towel and caressed her stomach, then moved higher to her breasts.  She sighed and pulled his body closer.  She opened her eyes and pulled his t-shirt over his head, revealing his well-defined, yet not overdeveloped, smooth physique.  She trailed her fingertips tantalizingly over his body as he continued to kiss hers, her fingers moving down to his jeans and with one sharp tug, pulling them open.

She wrapped her legs firmly around his body, pulli
ng him up against her.  He did not resist, and pushed inside her, slowly, with irresistible control.  Sarah tightened her legs around him and forced him to move faster.  Her hands moved over his back, clawing at his skin, up to his jaw – which she brought to her mouth and kissed.  Then his lips were on hers again and his tongue was pushing against hers.  She pushed him back and locked eyes with him as he thrust into her, then she reached for his neck and pierced it with her nail.  A thin tendril of blood emerged. 

She g
rabbed him and bit hard, feeling the instant connection of their bodies and minds and she drank his blood which was sweet and magical whilst heavy and seductive.

He ripped her off roughly,
then returned the bite, sinking his fangs into her wrist, and watching her reaction.  As a human Sarah would have felt self-conscious, and a little of that remained, but mainly it was hot, fuelling heat in her body and sexual organs as he slowed his pace and released his teeth – which he then trailed up her arms and his mouth was back on hers.  He was kissing her hard and she could taste her blood in his mouth; it tasted more delicate than his, and even sweeter.