The Guest & the Change (11 page)

‘I’m impressed.
 
You managed to restrain yourself until you were out of the bar, I wasn’t sure you could manage it.
 
It will be sometime until you can control yourself enough to interrupt the feed.
 
But you can kill; just make sure you hide the bodies.
 
Killing is all part of the plan.’

Jo regarded Sebastian, life strumming through his veins, he still felt eager, hungry for more.

***

Sarah was ready to leave.
 
She had put on tight faded jeans with black boots and wore them with a high necked black top.
 
The idea was, if vampires couldn’t see her neck it might reduce temptation.
 

She’d applied makeup to help her blend in.
 
Then she’d covered herself up in a very thick coat and hood to keep her warm and dry.
 
In the pockets she had stashed some wooden stakes Daniel had given her.
 
He’d even given her a little tutorial, getting her to practice on him, except without actually stabbing him,
of course.
 
They had spent an age waiting to go out, waiting until it was late enough.
 
Sarah had put on a movie to try and calm her mind.
 
Not that it had worked, although it was hard to think of anything apart from Daniel, with him so close.
 
Regardless of their situation.
 

As they left together to go out, it felt completely different from earlier.
 
Sarah couldn’t believe it was only this morning he had knocked at her door.
 
So much had happened.
 
She was feeling more comfortable with Daniel, and he was more protective than ever, as they headed out into the dark together.
 
He kept his arm around her and constantly looked about.
 
Sarah sensed he was on edge, like he was expecting someone to attack before they’d even left her drive.
 
The Victorian lamps only provided minimal lighting, enough for Sarah to see where she was treading, and the odd tree branch.
 
She suspected Daniel’s eyesight was much more acute though, and wondered how much of an advantage he had.
 

As they entered the main streets it was silent, nobody out in this region so late.
 
Even around the bars there wouldn’t be anyone out - if anyone went outside it would be brief due to the cold.
 
After a substantial walk, they reached the
grotty
area.
 
Daniel was more alert than ever.
 
Music pounded out of a venue ahead and they ducked inside, finding themselves instantly in a crowd.
 
Sarah felt Daniel tighten his grip on her.
 
Her heart pounded, it felt like
something could happen any minute and she had no idea how this evening was going to go.
 
She could barely believe that she might try and kill Jo.
 
Or Sebastian - not that she’d stand much chance against him.
 
Their best chance would be to tackle Jo
alone,
they might be able to kill him.
 

But could she do it?
 
She saw his image from earlier flash back into her mind
.
 
 
I could do it if he was acting like that.
 
She didn’t think she could if he acted normal.
 
She wouldn’t be able to believe what had happened earlier.
 
What if she had
hallucinated
the whole thing?
 
What if Jo wasn’t a monster at all?
 
What if she was actually going mad, seeing things?
 

Music thudded around her.
 
It was dark and people bumped into her.
 
The place smelt bad;
smoke, spilt drinks and sweat
.
 
She pushed through, looking for any sign of Jo, Daniel holding her hand.
 
He had explained to her what Sebastian looked like.
 
Very tall, thin, longish hair, dark eyes.
 
Probably dressed much like Daniel.
 
She hadn’t seen a photo though so really was trusting in Daniel to spot him.
 
Sarah looked hard, investigating every corner, but couldn’t see any sign of either of them.
 
She looked at Daniel and he gesticulated towards the door.
 

As the fresh air hit her Sarah breathed it in, relieved to be in the open.

‘Next place?’ she asked.

‘Yes, but first…’ and he leant in and kissed her.
 
She felt warmth spread through her, feeling giddy
with attraction, and broke into a smile as he pulled away.
 

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the next place, looking intently down every alley.
 
It was much of the same; dark, crowded, smoky. When they left this one Sarah’s unease increased.
 
It seemed likely they would have to face some kind of situation soon.
 
 

The next bar was quieter.
 
Sarah kept thinking she saw Jo in the dark, but at second glance
realizing
it was just her paranoia.
 
She kept looking for his short hair and warm brown eyes, or his chunky well-built frame.
 
The thing was, these weren’t uncommon features - it was easy to think that she was seeing things in the dark.
 
She was also keenly looking for blood, inspecting necks, seeing if there were any signs of bites.
 

She followed Daniel to the bar and he bought her a coke.
 
Not what she would usually choose, but she didn’t want alcohol obscuring her
judgment
.
 
The sugary liquid did perk her up, and soothed her throat from the smoke.
 
She leant into Daniel, feeling his hard muscles beneath his leather jacket, but kept looking about.
 
She didn’t want Jo to see her first.

They finished their drinks and decided there was definitely no sign of either Jo or Sebastian, and that it was time to move on.
 
Back out in the cold Sarah held Daniel’s hand, tightly.
 
She kept her other hand in her pocket, gripping onto a stake.
 
It was so quiet, there
were only distant sounds - the odd drunken shout in the distance, music muffled by heavy walls.
 
It started to rain again and Sarah pulled her hood further over her face, catching Daniel’s eye and trying to smile.
 
He gave her a gorgeous smile back, making her feel a little easier.
 

They rounded the next corner and saw another bar ahead.
 
This one looked rough, the sign only just readable under the poor lighting, curtains drawn, front door closed.
 
It didn’t look very welcoming.
 

She felt Daniel tense and looked up at him,
then
he pulled her into the shadows.
 
Her heart pounded hard, she felt it in her throat and ears, but Daniel held onto her and she felt protected.
 
It didn’t escape her mind how much older and stronger Sebastian supposedly was.
 
She knew Daniel wouldn’t necessarily be able to protect her.
 

In the dark Daniel pulled at her chin so her eyes met his, ‘Calm down,’ he said.
 
She lost herself in his eyes, feeling his influence seep in and her heart rate slow.
 
She took a deep breath.
 
He put his finger to his lips to indicate silence, then he kissed her, but this kiss was not like any they had shared before.
 
It was like a doorway had opened and she could see into his mind.
 
She felt awe, but this was soon interrupted by Daniel’s voice - speaking directly into her mind.
 

‘I influenced you to calm down as I didn’t want any vampires to sense you.
 
The sound of your heart beat is driving me wild.’
 
Sarah felt her face heat, his lips
still against hers.
 
Then his mind turned serious, ‘I pulled you back here because I can smell blood.
 
I think we must be close.’

Sarah hesitated a second, not sure how to return his thought.
 
Then she felt his mind enter hers and he showed her, it was like a little release, neurons changing paths, an opening.
 
‘What shall we do?’ she asked.
 
The thought flowed smoothly to
Daniel,
it felt amazing to communicate like this.
 
She would have dwelt on it longer had it not been for the urgency of the situation.

‘Let’s move closer, hide in the shadows and watch.
 
We’ll see if they appear.
 
If you want to communicate again do it mind to mind.
 
You will be able to do it now just touching skin to skin, holding hands.’

‘OK,’ Sarah said, feeling a touch of apprehension.
 

Daniel took her hand and led her closer, keeping close to the sides of buildings.
 
They saw the bar door start to open and ducked into the shadow of a doorway.
 
Daniel’s trick had worked well - Sarah’s heart didn’t speed up and she remained in control.
 
 
Standing as far back as she could, she watched closely as Jo emerged from inside, pulling a young brunette behind him.
 
She was small and skimpily dressed.
 
Sarah instantly felt betrayed, seeing Jo with another woman, just as she’d dreaded.
 
This situation wasn’t even close to anything she’d ever dreamt about though.
 
Sarah saw the girl wrap her
arms around herself as the cold air hit her, Jo leading her on towards an alley.

Daniel tightened his grip on her hand and spoke mind to mind.
 
‘This is it, Sebastian’s not in sight so we need to act now.
 
When they go round the corner we follow.’

‘We need a plan,’ Sarah projected back.

‘You stay back, watch, and I will attack.’

Sarah felt a rush of dread engulf her - if he attacked he would kill Jo.
 
She felt sick.
 
But again, visions of his snarling blood covered face entered her mind.
 
She nodded and held tightly to Daniel as they quickly followed Jo, entering the alley they’d seen him and the girl disappear down.
 
It took her eyes a minute to adjust as Daniel raced forwards, then she saw Jo.
 
He was against the wall, holding the girl tightly.
 
Feeding on her.
 

His eyes snapped up and met Sarah’s - she stepped back as she saw them glow red, and he dropped the girl, discarding her.
 
Blood dripped from his mouth and he snarled.
 

In that second Daniel hit into him and Jo turned his attention to his immediate threat.
 
Sarah watched as they fell to the floor, pulling a stake out of her pocket, holding it ready to strike.
 
Jo rolled over, away from Daniel, they were moving so fast she could barely see what was going on.
 
She didn’t dare move any closer, not wanting to get in Daniel’s way.
 
Daniel jumped on Jo, his teeth extending.
 
Sarah felt even
sicker,
she
didn’t know what to do.
 
A big part of her just wanted to run, but she was frozen to the spot, staring wildly at the action before her.
 

Another part of her wanted to jump in, to end this now.
 
She felt angry at Jo, and disgusted by his actions.
 
But she also felt sorry for him, that this had happened at all.
 
She still felt guilty at her anger.
 
This really wasn’t his fault.
 
But there wasn’t anything she could do about it now.
 
He’d killed a girl, right in front of her.
 
He had to die.