The Embrace (19 page)

It didn’t excite me or fill me with the feeling of strength and power that comes after the perfect kill, but it would keep me going and that was all that mattered. I had killed two victims and my body was full.

I pushed Angus and Becky to the edge of the back seat and climbed into the front. Luckily this taxi was run down and old so it didn’t have the plastic screen that has become customary.

I had to get rid of the taxi driver next. I wasn’t at all hungry and so draining him didn’t seem necessary but I had never killed anyone without drinking their blood.

“Find a river. I don’t care where, just somewhere quiet. Drive fast.” I said to him. The taxi driver was still under my compulsion and so he obeyed my command. It took us about 30 minutes to find a large pond with no-one around.

The driver pulled up beside the water and took his hands away from the wheel. He sat still in the chair, probably awaiting further instructions. I put a hand on either side of his head and tensed my muscles. On the surface I may look fragile but my strength reaches far beyond any human.

I twisted his head to the side, breaking his neck with one swift movement. I undid the seatbelt and pulled the driver’s heavy bulk into the back seat, sliding into the driver’s seat. I was impressed with myself. I knew I was strong but pulling a grown man into the back seat of a car was still impressive.

I had never learned to drive as a human but I was a quick learner. I positioned the car facing the river. I picked a rock up from next to the car and put it on the accelerator. The car raced forwards and disappeared under the water in seconds.

The water rippled out and then became still again. I imagined the car sinking to the bottom of the water and taking the bodies with it. It was the most successful solo kill I’d ever had and I hoped to God that these bodies wouldn’t be discovered. I didn’t need any more stress on my plate.

I walked up the embankment and back on to the deserted path. I focused my energy and tried to pick up any lingering heart beats in the surrounding area, but no-one was there. The sky was pitch black but the moisture of the rainy period hung in the air. Despite it being Easter, the weather could chill you to the bone. Most people would be tucking themselves up in a warm bed by this time.

As a vampire I couldn’t feel the cold anymore. I maintained a steady internal temperature most of the time but even I found something uncomfortable in the humid weather. I wasn’t sure of the time but I could tell that sunlight was approaching faster now that summer was coming. This was bad news for the vampire species. Humans had no power over us, but just the natural changing of the season could expose our weaknesses.

I knew I should return to the nest sooner rather than later.I walked along the path more quickly, enjoying the solitary sound of my high heels clattering along the ground. I maintained my mental exploration of my surroundings. I had a strong internal radar and I could pick up other beings in my vicinity with ease.

As I walked a mental brick wall came thundering down, cutting me off from my psychic exploration. I had only experienced this once before. Most human beings didn’t even realise I was watching them, and they certainly couldn’t see me unless I wanted them to.

Yet someone knew where I was, they were putting up a barrier to stop me finding them. The last time I had experienced this feeling was the night I’d killed Ben. That meant that somewhere in the sprawling grass around me there was another vampire, watching and waiting for me.

It had to be my stalker. Gabriel had told me there were very few vampires in Britain due to it being cut off by the seas around it. I knew I was too young to be of any interest to most of the vampires who chose to live here, so I was still no wiser about who was watching me. 

I tried to convince myself it wasn’t the same vampire. Maybe it was another creature, someone who had stumbled upon me by coincidence. It was pointless. It had to be my stalker, there was no way around it. I just had to hold on to the vain hope that he was far away from me.

I carried on down the path, speeding up a little just in case I was being followed. I was confused about my situation with Gabriel, but I had no intention of giving up and letting myself be killed by an obsessive vampire, especially when Gabe didn’t even know where I was.

I guess a part of me still held on to some small sliver of hope: Gabriel would forgive me and we would be back to the way we once were. I knew that was unlikely but I couldn’t surrender just in case, and so I focused on getting back to the apartment before sunrise, or before I was cornered by my stalker.

Finally the large entrance gate appeared in front of me. It signalled the end of the expansive grounds and the beginning of the streets outside which were filled with late night stragglers. It would be impossible to kill me in amongst all these human beings. If I crossed through the gate then I would be safe.

If I’d been alive my heart would have been pounding and I could feel my body tensing up, almost as if adrenalin was pumping around my dead veins.

I stopped at the gates, sensing the heartbeats of the people near me. It soothed me to know I was so close to being away from the unseen threat. I turned around to look at the sprawling grass behind me. The mist was gathering heavily over the expansive green but I could see through it. Like Orpheus from the ancient Roman tales and Lot’s wife from the Old Testament, I realised too late that I should never have turned around.

A silhouette appeared from the depths of the mist. It was still several yards away and I knew I would make it out to the street before the owner of this silhouette could reach me, but it was there. This shadowy figure was watching me and had revealed itself to me on purpose. It wanted me to see it, to know it was following me. It was showing me how close it could get to me.

I wanted to flee. I wanted to scream and run as fast as I could until I reached the nest. I felt like one of my own victims just before they resigned to the fact they were facing death. Even in this terrifying situation, the irony was not lost on me.

Then just seconds later the creature was gone, a blink and you’ll miss it moment. The silhouette was there, watching me and taunting me, and then it was gone.

I stood in shock by the gates. Eventually I tore myself away and started back on the journey to my nest. My feet instinctively carried me back to my home but my mind was elsewhere.

No matter what I did I couldn’t stop thinking about this silhouette. Whoever was following me was getting closer. They had started off trying to push me away, inflicting that hunger on me so that I couldn’t follow them. Then he had let me know he was watching me from afar with the creeping feeling he inflicted on me almost every night. Now he was showing himself to me in person.

That lead me to one thought: What would come next? How far would this stalker go before they were satisfied? I felt ashamed. I was a true monster, but this creature scared me more than I’d ever been scared before.

Yet, some part of me also felt exhilarated. Gabriel no longer spent any time with me. I loved him with my whole being, but I had no idea if he returned my feelings. This stalker may have been waiting in the wings to kill me but at least they showed me some attention.

In a strange way I enjoyed knowing that I mattered to someone again.

When I returned to the nest I decided to sleep in the bathroom again. I didn’t see Gabriel, but I could sense he was in the apartment. I couldn’t face an awkward conversation with him, if he even allowed me that, so I thought it would be best to sneak in quietly. 

I didn’t know where he’d been during his night alone. I didn’t want to have to explain myself to him either. Any conversation he initiated would undoubtedly involve him questioning me, implying that I couldn’t be trusted. I had done nothing to show him I was trustworthy, that much was true, but I was sick of being treated like a child.

The next night I woke up with thoughts of my follower still lingering on my mind. I felt groggy, with a dry mouth and aching back. Sleeping in a bath tub every night was not what I’d imagined when I’d agreed to become a vampire.

The vampires of old would sleep in coffins and crypts purely to hide themselves from the sunlight in the most secure place imaginable. Over time vampires developed, or maybe they wanted to be part of something the humans were so proud of. Vampires are now often found in the most lavish houses in the world. Each vampire has different preferences when choosing their nest, but I can guarantee that none would choose to sleep in a bath tub, locked away from their mate. I decided at that moment that I didn’t intend on being there for much longer.

I was feeling empowered after my successful solo hunt and the attention I had received from my stalker. I could detect the deathly silence of Gabriel’s slumber. In my old home town I had always been the first to wake up and I had loved watching Gabriel’s quiet sleep. My heightened hearing meant that everything left a trace, even silence. Even his sleep left a trail for me to follow.

I left the bathroom with absolutely no idea what I was going to do. I’d never been one for planning every detail but normally I had some kind of idea what I was about to do. Instead I felt myself walking towards my former bedroom with purpose, a woman on a mission. My mind was screaming at me: What the hell are you doing? You can’t just barge in like this. What are you going to say?

Despite the little voice niggling at me, my feet seemed to have a life of their own. I threw rational thought aside and opened the door.

He was lying on the bed as I’d expected. His dark hair blending in to the silk sheets. Even when he was sleeping I saw nothing but beauty in his face. There was something so powerful about him. He held a delicate balance between authority and compassion, drawing you in until you find yourself surveying every inch of his face.

My loud entrance was enough to rouse him from his sleep, coupled with the nervous energy I was creating. He sat bolt upright, his eyes wide and alert automatically. I had never been able to shock him before. He was so in tune with my emotions that he could almost predict my every move. Obviously my behaviour had created a new experience for both of us.

I didn’t know what I was going to say until the words actually came out. They poured out of me when my usual filter didn’t come in to play.  My voice came out stronger than I’d expected, almosr a shout. I didn’t like this tone but I couldn’t control it.

“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t spend the rest of eternity locked away because I’m scared of you. I love you Gabriel and I’m supposed to be your mate.” I saw him bursting to protest against me but I cut him off with my new found confidence.

“No, we’re doing this now. I can’t leave you. My body won’t let me even think about leaving. I have to stay and I’m sure as hell not staying here with you mad at me. I did something wrong, I admit that, but it’s not the end of the world. No-one has linked the crime to us, and even if they did we could just leave town and no-one would find us. Nothing has changed.” I trailed off. I was running out of steam but I guess my point had been made.

Gabriel’s eyes were still wide and I saw several emotions flashing through him. The chilling look of threat came in his eyes at first. He got up from the bed and started walking towards me, and then something in his eyes softened. The threat, the intent, it was all still there. He still had a passion behind his eyes that told me he was set on carrying out something, but this was something else, something new.

He grabbed me by the arms. I was strong but he was stronger, and I knew that there was no point fighting his grip. I saw his muscles flex as he used all his strength to hold me still.

“Louisa...” he murmured. There was a softness to his voice, almost as if he was purring.

He brushed the hair out of my face. That had been a frequent habit of his over the years. He had always done it with gentle touch of a lover, but now there was something different there.

I don’t know what I expected to happen. I tried to see something in him, to predict what he was about to do, but before I could sort through his murky expression he kissed me.

His kisses had always been able to take my breath away. He could sweep me off my feet with just one touch. It was almost as if his touch erased everything. For the moments when his lips lingered on mine I had no past and no future, just the feeling of that moment.

This was unlike any kiss we had shared before. This was stronger, raw and wild like I had never experienced. This kiss was made of pure passion.

His fingers twisted in my hair and together we fell on to the bed. Our kiss didn’t break once. I felt almost as if this embrace was my life support machine. If I broke it I would be cutting off everything that kept me alive.

As the seconds passed the kiss grew more aggressive. My clothes were ripped from my body and his fingernails tore down my flesh leaving thin but deep cuts. I felt the blood begin to surface and Gabriel moved down to lick the wounds.

He had never tasted my blood before, at least not since turning me into a vampire. It felt like a primal act. I felt some of my consciousness leave my body and join with his, changing us and moulding us into something entirely new.

That night was the first night I didn’t go out and hunt. I had grown to know the ritual: we rise, we feed and we sleep. However this night was different. I made every second count while we lay together in a tangled embrace. I had tried to remember every detail of his body during our separation but he was far more perfect than I could ever have remembered.