Family Secrets (Young Adult Edition) (Davenport Manor (Young Adult Edition)) (10 page)

However, there were certain ones of
their own kind that they shared special bonds with, especially
between a maker and their offspring. While the maker could easily
walk away without looking back, most did not. They were proud
creatures, and they usually chose the ones to change for a reason.
They rarely did it just because they could or in spite.

In Zachariah’s case, Emma just
couldn’t bear to live in a world without him in it. At the time,
her brother Christopher was the last remaining member of her
immediate family living at the Manor. He was married and had three
children, all boys. Zachariah was orphaned at age 16 and came to
Davenport Manor looking for work and shelter, which they complied
as they knew him from town. He became the property’s resident
stable boy, caring for the horses the family owned. It was on the
property that he met Emma, who was then known as Christopher’s
young cousin. She thought Zachariah was beautiful and wise,
regardless that he was a human, and ultimately carried on a love
affair with him for a few years. He eventually began to live with
her in her bedroom instead of in the small cottage outside of the
stable; she wanted to keep him near her at all times. It was to the
dismay of Christopher and his wife as Zachariah was considered “the
help”, but technically the residence belonged to Emma and she could
do as she pleased.

In 1839 at age twenty-five, he became
sick with pneumonia and Emma tried her best to care for him. He was
bedridden, pale, and suffered from a high fever. His cough was so
loud it could be heard echoing through the halls of the Manor. She
could hear the fluid gradually filling his lungs, making breathing
a difficult task every time he inhaled. The crackle in his chest
grew louder with every breath as he struggled to get oxygen. She
heard his heart getting weaker by the hour, his lips turning a
faint shade of blue, and he ultimately fell unconscious. He was
dying. She locked her bedroom door and as he laid in her bed,
unaware and fading, she made the rash decision to change him, not
considering what his wishes would be. Before his heart had a chance
to stop beating, she bit him and injected her venom into his
jugular. His body writhed and contracted for several minutes as it
succumbed to her venom and she listened intently as his heart
sputtered to a stop.

His eyes opened brightly, frightened
by what he had just experienced and feeling unlike himself. He no
longer felt pain, he no longer involuntarily breathed; in fact he
didn’t feel the need to breathe at all. He looked up at Emma,
wide-eyed with fear when he saw her beaming fangs stained with
blood. His vision was beyond perfect; he could see every detail
throughout the room, each distinct tree in the forest outside the
dark window. His hearing was amplified and he could hear the family
talking down in the parlor as if they were in the next room. He had
an indescribable craving consuming him, but he didn’t know what he
needed to quench it.

Struggling to find the breath to take
to utter a word, he finally sputtered, “What are you?”

Emma calmly touched his arm,
“Everything is alright, my love. This is what I have been since
1815—I am actually forty-nine years old…I am vampire.” She gave him
a moment to let it sink in. “You were dying and I couldn’t bear the
thought of you leaving me, my dearest.”

Fear rolled through him, however he no
longer had the adrenaline rush that one gets when afraid. “Am I
dead?”

“
Your body has died,
but
you
have
not.” She coolly replied.

“
I am like you now?” He
asked, exasperated at the thought.

“
Yes, my dearest, we will
be together forever.” She said with love filled in her voice. “We
will never die. We will never get sick. We will never be
apart…”

“…
I shall never see my
parents again!” He erupted.

At that moment, she realized she had
acted in haste and didn’t consider what his wishes may have been.
Of course he had looked forward to seeing his parents again one
day, he was a God-fearing young man. His Christian faith ran deep
and he attended the town church every Sunday. Undeniably, he
thought he would spend eternity with his parents and Emma one day
in Heaven. He wasn’t welcoming death at such a young age, but he
accepted it. That had all changed with one bite on his
neck.

Emma suddenly remembered the night she
was turned and the insatiable first thirst. She knew she had to get
him out of the house immediately so he didn’t hurt any of her
family members. They couldn’t go through the house as the family
was in the parlor, so their only way out was to jump out of her
second floor window. Zachariah quickly learned how to jump from
high places, his craving overpowering any fear he had to leap. She
taught him how to run at their top speed, leading him off of the
property and as far away from town as they could go before he
attacked his first innocent victim. They never knew who the man was
that met his demise by Zachariah that night, and oddly she felt
less guilty knowing nothing about him. He wasn’t a man with a
family; he was just Zachariah’s first meal.

Emma had to tell her brother what had
happened to Zachariah, and that the stable boy they looked down
upon was now immortal, just like her. He would now be a permanent
resident of Davenport Manor if he chose. He became a fixture, just
like Emma, being passed down from generation to generation and was
loved as a member of the family. She taught him everything she knew
and their bond was always strong, nearly inseparable. He, just like
any vampire, would have intimate excursions with others of their
kind, but his heart always belonged to Emma.

Emma finished the last drop in her
glass and followed Zachariah’s scent upstairs. He was in their
bedroom, sprawled on the bed and reading his script. He looked up
at her as she closed the door behind her and a wistful smile crept
onto his face.

“
I’m hurting you.” She
plainly said to him.

He shrugged, “Nothing I can do about
it,” and looked back down at his script.

She crawled onto the bed and plopped
down next to him, resting her head on his chest. He instinctively
began stroking her hair.

“
What exactly is it that
makes you so jealous?”

He hesitated for a moment then
responded, “I’m afraid I’m being replaced.”

She moved her body so she could look
him in the eye, “You will never be replaced. Ever. You are my
soulmate. Is that what you’re afraid of? That I’m going to turn him
and then you’d get cast away?”

He nodded with a childlike essence,
brow furrowed.

She touched his face, “I turned you so
I would never have to live without you. I promise you, I will never
cast you away. You will never be replaced. You are my
partner—you’re stuck with me for eternity.”

The side of his mouth inched up in a
half-smile, “Can I get that in writing or something?”

She smiled and added with a wink, “…in
blood.”

She rested her head back down on his
chest, and they both laid there in a comfortable silence while he
memorized his lines. Emma thought about how her life would have
gone on if she had just let Zachariah go that fateful night—time
would have healed her pain. He wasn’t the first person she wanted
to change though; she had contemplated it with her parents, William
and Victoria, and her brother Christopher. She looked up at a
portrait of her sister, Elizabeth, who was murdered. She closed her
eyes and remembered what she used to look like, the conversations
they used to have, and their laughter together. They were as close
as sisters could ever be.

Chapter 7

She often wished she could go back to
the night she was turned and stay inside. Instead, she decided to
take an evening walk through their woods to visit her newly-married
sister, Elizabeth, who lived in the first cottage they built on the
property. The family wasn’t fond of her husband, they felt he only
wanted to marry her because of her riches, but for some odd reason
she loved him.

She put her cloak on and lit a lantern
as the sun had recently set. She told her mother that she was going
to go visit Elizabeth and that she would be back soon. She stepped
outside and began walking down the path that led into the woods and
to the cottage. The night air was chilly and ominously silent; the
only sounds were the leaves cracking and the dirt under her feet.
As she quickly walked to the cottage, she had a feeling she was not
alone. She stopped short and listened to the quiet air, thinking
about turning back and running home. But, she lingered and said,
“Hello? Is someone here?” Hoping she would hear Elizabeth’s voice
respond, she did not. Instead, it was a man’s voice, which made her
jump.

“
Hello? Who’s there?” He
replied, sounding alarmed.

“
This is Emma, who are
you?” She was glancing all around her, but it was difficult to see
within the shadow of the trees.

A tall man appeared on the pathway
ahead of her, casually walking closer.

“
I am Aidan O’Shea,” he
began with his thick Scottish accent. “Are you the Emma I met in
town earlier today?”

“
Mr. O’Shea, yes I
remember.” She walked toward him, letting her guard down slightly.
She had met this man while she was in town that afternoon, he was
passing through. He was a charming gentleman; tall and rugged with
scruff covering his handsome face. He took a fancy to her, and they
spent an ample amount of time chatting when he introduced himself
to her. He was initially drawn to her striking beauty, but it was
her vivacious personality that caused him to linger. He asked her
many questions, getting to know her, learning that she had no plans
to get married or have children. That she would rather see the
world and live a free life—those words sealed her fate.

“
What are you doing in my
woods?” She asked him.

“
I’m sorry, I decided to
go for an evening walk and wandered a little too far. These are
your woods?”

By now, they approached each other and
she could see his face. She smiled, “Yes, this is part of my
family’s property. That’s alright though, I can point you in the
direction back to town.”

He took a deep breath in through his
nose and looked down at her with a manic gleam in his
eyes.

“
If I were to ask you to
spend the rest of your life with me, what would you say?” He asked
with a playful grin on his face.

This was an odd conversation to be
having in the middle of the woods with a practical stranger at
night. “You’re a fine gentleman, but I hardly know you.”

“
You are an independent
woman, I can tell.” He said as he moved closer to her, causing her
to carefully step back.

“
I suppose you could say
that I am. Unlike other ladies, my biggest wish is
not
to be married and
have children. Instead, I would prefer to go on adventures and see
the world. Unheard of, I know.”

A sly smile crept on to his
face.

“
What? Why do you smile
like that?” She asked, becoming nervous.

“
You’ve just become afraid
of me, haven’t you?”

Her heart was pounding and her brain
was screaming at her to run. But, her body wouldn’t allow her to
move. “Why should I be afraid?”

“
You shouldn’t…” His smile
faded and his eyes had a hungry glare.

That was her cue. Her muscles finally
listened to her brain; she turned around and began to run back
toward the Manor. She didn’t hear his footsteps chasing her, but
she didn’t take the time to look behind her either. She just
barreled forward, trying to get to the safety of her home. Aidan
was suddenly standing directly in front of her, causing her to
scream. She fell and skidded on her side as she tried to stop her
momentum. She scrambled to get back up, trying to untangle herself
from the flowing material of her long dress. Once she was back on
her feet, she hiked the front of her dress up so her legs could run
freely back toward Elizabeth’s cottage.

This time she looked behind her and he
wasn’t there, but she kept sprinting, the cold air stabbing at her
panicking lungs.

“
I told you that you
needn’t be afraid.” His voice came from above. She looked up as she
ran and he was in one of the trees hovering over the pathway. Her
“flight” reaction turned to “fight” and she stopped, ready to take
him on.

“
What do you want?” She
screamed at him, breathless and angry.

He appeared directly in front of her
again, now inches away. She held still, glowering at him and ready
to fight tooth and nail.

“
I knew there was
something about you,” he began. “There’s a fighter in you, a wild
spirit as well as a lady.” He examined her while she stood there,
her fists balled up and preparing to take a swing at his handsome
face. He then said, “This will only hurt for a moment…”

Before she could react he was behind
her, one arm wrapped around her so she couldn’t move and his free
hand grabbed her by the hair, pulling her head to the side. He
struck like a snake, so fast she didn’t have time to think about
it. The pain in her neck was so immobilizing it left her
breathless. The pain moved to her heart within moments, it felt as
though it was being crushed from the inside. Quickly, the sensation
spread throughout her body and felt as though every organ was
struggling to survive. He released his mouth from her neck and laid
her on the ground, her body tensing and her mouth gasping for air.
Her lungs would not allow air to be drawn in as she frantically
tried to breathe. The pain in her chest was excruciating, she could
actually feel her heart fighting against itself to keep
beating.