The Guest & the Change (16 page)

***

The dark mist drifted through the trees, seeking refuge.  It tried to think, but couldn’t do it properly - its thoughts were all jumbled, melting into each other.  It couldn’t form sentences in its mind.  Yet its
unsubstantiated form burned with anger and was intent on revenge. 

In moments of enhanced clarity it realized what it was, who it had been. 
Sebastian.
  That name rang true - he knew it had been his.  He had been a person, a vampire.  His life had been sucked out of him by Daniel.  He had lost his body.  Now what was he - a ghost, a remnant of humanity? 

He was simmering with too much rage to notice the odd sensations of his new form.  He couldn’t touch or talk, his perceptions were altered and he felt removed from reality.  One minute he was looking about, seething at Daniel, the next all was black and his mind was blank.  It was like he’d ceased to exist.

A part of him realized that to exact revenge he would need a form.  What could he do as a shadow?  The problem was
,
how was he going to acquire one?  This was all new and he didn’t know what to do.  He had tried focusing his energy, trying to make himself whole.  When he did this his swirling dark essence took form, looked human, but he still couldn’t effect his environment.  He had tried to blur himself with a tree, and later a rabbit, but each of these had been unsuccessful.  He thought he had felt some kind of connection with the rabbit but it didn’t stick, he couldn’t stay within it long enough to influence its thoughts.

A new idea surfaced inside him, not within his mind but in his intrinsic being.  He saw himself blurring with
a human, visualized the sensations he would experience, the control he would gain.  This idea grew like a spark in his darkness, his awareness opened up and he sensed the presence of people not too far away.  He saw houses and had a sense of active minds, warm bodies. 

He reverted to a dark mist and drifted out of the forest, slowly moving towards the town of Hartland.

CHAPTER 3

When they were ready Daniel took Sarah’s hand and led her out of the hotel - it was deserted, no owners or other guests in sight.  Outside Sarah breathed in the fresh air, cool and fragrant, the smell of wood smoke mingling with pine.  It reminded her of Daniel’s smell and she leant into him, inhaling his scent. 

Daniel led her around the side of the hotel, where a rough drive led to a car park.  A jeep was parked there - the only vehicle - and Daniel walked over to it.  The jeep was unlocked and Sarah climbed in when Daniel opened the door for her.  He was around at the drivers’ side within a second and climbing in.  Sarah leant over and put her head on his chest, wanting to be close to him before they were with her family again.  He reached his hands around and held her
tight,
she
smiled as he kissed the top of her head.

She had on odd feeling of uncertainty.  She knew things had changed.  Sebastian was gone, and Daniel had said he would stay.  But would he?  She couldn’t imagine a normal life with him. 
A normal life with a vampire?
  And what was she going to do now if he didn’t stay, how was she going to cope by herself?  How was she going to afford to exist?

She started to rise and took his face in her hands.  She smiled at him sadly and he leant in and kissed her.  It made her heart ache.

She pulled away and did up her seatbelt as Daniel started the car and pulled away.

They were soon at her parents’ house.  Sarah opened her door and smiled as she saw her mother’s face at the window.  She wondered how many times her Mom had looked out, worrying for her.  She heard a shout from within the house and the door was flung open.

‘Sarah! You
are
ok.’ Her Mom ran down the steps and flung her arms around Sarah.

‘I’m so sorry
Mom,
you must have been going mad.’

‘I can’t believe you got lost, you know those woods so well.’ 

‘We searched so far, and I was worried - I kept pressing on.  It got dark and we couldn’t find our way back,’ Sarah said.  She knew she was repeating the same thing she’d said on the phone - the problem was
,
she didn’t know what else to say.  ‘And Daniel doesn’t know this area very well.  Where are Megan and Bea?’

As she said their names they appeared at the door with her father, Bea in his arms.

‘Mommy, I missed you.’ Megan shouted as she too ran down the steps.  Alice let go of Sarah so she could pick up her elder daughter and give her a big hug.

‘I missed you too sweetheart.’ Sarah said while hugging her hard, glad to see her again.  Reluctantly she put Megan down and went to her Dad.

‘I’m sorry Dad.’ 

He smiled and gave her a one-handed hug, ‘I know - don’t worry.’

Bea reached out and Sarah took her, cuddling her soothingly.

‘Mommy home,’ Bea said.  Warm comfort spread through her as she hugged Bea, her fluffy hair, still damp from the bath, against Sarah’s cheek, Bea’s chubby arms around her neck.  Sarah gave her little cheek a big kiss.  Megan was hanging onto her other leg, so she let one arm go and stroked her head, while Bea still clung to her.

Sarah glanced up at Daniel.  He was hanging back - looking hot - not involving himself in their reunion.  But at a glance from her he stepped forward.

‘Keith,’ he greeted her father. ‘I’m sorry
too,
I can’t believe we got lost.  I’m also sorry I wasn’t at work.’  Daniel had been working in the same office as Sarah’s Dad, helping him to sell cabins in the woods.  Getting
a job had been Daniel’s way of blending in in a new town.

‘Don’t worry - I’m glad you kept her safe.’

‘Any word on Jo?’
Daniel asked.

‘Unfortunately not.
  We’ve had the police ‘round - in fact I’d better call them now, let them know that Sarah’s safe.’  He patted Daniel on the shoulder and walked off.

Sarah was glad her parents weren’t asking many questions, relieved it wasn’t going to be too difficult after all.  She followed her Dad into the house, and everyone else came in too.  Sarah sat on the sofa - holding Bea - and Megan climbed up next to her.  Alice went in the kitchen to make some tea.

Daniel came in and sat in an armchair across from her and Sarah looked up at him.  He was watching her hugging her children with loving eyes.  And he looked so gorgeous, so sexy.  She couldn’t believe he was interested in her at all.

‘What have you been up to kiddies?’ Sarah asked them, turning her attention away from Daniel.

‘Painting.’

‘Bricks.’

‘Writing.’

‘Trains.’

‘Running.’

They bombarded her, and Sarah laughed, glad to be back in their lively presence.  She was happy she was
ok,
she had come very close to dying, to losing them. 
The thought of it made her heart hurt.

She hugged them both again, looking up and meeting Daniel’s eyes, smiling.

Alice bustled in with two cups of tea, passing one to Daniel before coming back to Sarah.  Sarah released her kids and took the tea to please her Mom.  Alice surprised her by kissing her hard on the forehead, ‘Don’t you disappear like that again.  You have no idea how worried I was, your father too.’

Sarah saw Alice had tears in her eyes.

‘I really am sorry,’ she said, feeling her own eyes well up.  She wanted to tell her Mom the whole story - how Daniel was a vampire, how another vampire called Sebastian had turned Daniel, and then turned Jo.  How Daniel had killed Jo to save her, then Daniel had killed Sebastian.  But it all sounded crazy - she couldn’t say anything.  There was no way her parents would believe her, they’d think her crazy and call the doctor in.  She also couldn’t let her family know that she and Daniel were together - she would have to watch how she behaved around him.  But maybe she could elaborate a little about where she had been…

‘It was so cold Mom,’ Sarah said.  ‘We were in the woods for a long time - I thought I was going to get hypothermia.  Fortunately I was dressed very warmly.’

‘What about food?  You must be starving.’ Her Mom said, looking very concerned. 

Keith was looking on - leaning against the door frame - listening in.

‘Yeah - I am pretty hungry now you mention it.’  Sarah said.

Her Mom got up instantly and hurried into the kitchen. 

Keith rolled his eyes and took her seat.

‘Any news from the police?’
Daniel asked.

‘No, he said other people have gone missing too.  It’s very unusual and worrying.’ Keith shot a glance at Sarah - trying to judge how she was holding up.

Sarah took a deep breath.  It was strange - she seemed to be dealing ok with the situation, with Jo’s death.  She wondered if she was in denial.  She felt upset, yes, but she didn’t feel devastated, or unable to function.  Of course, her parents didn’t know that Jo was dead, or that she knew anything about it.

Alice came back with poached eggs on toast for Daniel and Sarah.

‘Thank you so much Mom,’ Sarah said.  ‘And thank you both for looking after Megan and Bea all this time.’

‘Really - don’t worry about it.  You’ve got a lot going on, we’re perfectly willing to help out as much as we can until it’s all sorted out,’ said Keith.

Sarah noticed her father didn’t mention Jo’s name again.

‘Where’s Daddy?’ asked Megan. ‘I miss him too Mommy.’

Sarah pulled her back to her side and kissed her on the head, in between mouthfuls of food.  She was
incredibly hungry, what with all that had been going on she’d hardly realized.  It wasn’t long before she’d finished and Daniel slipped her the rest of his.  It was hard to resist kissing him right there, in front of her parents, she only just managed not to.

Sarah decided the best policy for her children would be honesty.  ‘I don’t know where Daddy is sweetheart - I’m sorry.  He might not be coming back.’ She said as she hugged her tightly.

Megan didn’t say anything else.  She looked a bit sad, but not too bad.  Sarah guessed Megan didn’t yet understand the seriousness of the situation, her mind too young to grasp it.

Daniel looked around at her family and spoke, ‘I think its best that you all stay in as much as possible now.  You shouldn’t go out alone, certainly not at night.  Not when we don’t know what’s going on, and other people are missing too.’

‘You’re probably right Daniel - I’m not going to argue with that,’ said her father.

Sarah leant back in relief - she’d been worried her Dad
would
argue about it.  They were talking about all this very calmly in fact.  Sarah eyed up Daniel, wondering if he had anything to do with that, wondering how far his influence could stretch.

She still hadn’t had a chance to discuss with him how he had killed Sebastian, but as she looked closely at him she realized she could sense something.  Energy, light - they seemed to be radiating off him. 
She looked around at her family and didn’t sense the same thing.  She wondered how much power Daniel was holding, and at her ability to sense it. 

Alice went back into the kitchen to prepare an evening meal.  Clouds had obscured the setting sun and a wind was picking up.  Sarah shivered and wondered if it would snow.

Sarah gave her kids the attention they deserved, playing games with them and reading stories.  She let her father talk to Daniel so she could spend this time with her
kids,
she really had missed them so much.  It was hard to believe she sometimes found them as stressful as she
did,
how much they could drive her crazy.  Right now they were comfort to her soul and being with them made her feel complete.

Rain started hammering against the windows and Sarah glanced out disappointed, no snow after all, but then continued to play with her children and hug them - trying to make up for their time apart.

***

Sebastian emerged from the forest and through hazy vision saw a large wooden house ahead.  It was a detached structure with an old shambling vibe.  He sensed warm bodies within and drifted towards the house figuring he’d be able to pass through the walls, as it wasn’t a problem with other solid objects, like trees.  When he passed through a tree he felt ripples course through his essence, but wasn’t met by any obstacles - it was easy.

As he approached he made sure he didn’t take his human form, he didn’t want to alert anyone to his presence.  However - if this worked - he suspected there wasn’t much anyone would be able to do to stop him. 

His energy swirled as he headed up the steps and moved forwards towards the wall, but as he hit it he came to a halt.  His darkness collided with solidity and he couldn’t move forwards at all.  His anger increased at this obstacle, he obviously wouldn’t be able to penetrate the house unless he was invited in, and he suspected his powers of persuasion would be less developed in his insubstantial form.  If he couldn’t construct proper sentences in his own mind he wouldn’t be able to influence others.

He let his energy dissipate - no one would notice his presence as he had no form at all.

He would wait, soon someone would leave the house, and that person would be his.

***

After dinner Daniel drove Sarah back to her house to pick up her car - she would need the child seats to bring her children home.  Once back at her parents she thanked them profusely as she strapped Megan and Bea in.  She would be at home with them at last.  It was dark and her kids were sleepy.  She drove home and Daniel followed behind, a backup in case of danger. 

She glanced in her rear view mirror but couldn’t
make him out - his headlights were blinding.

Finally they pulled up at her house.  She got out at the same time as Daniel and couldn’t help but smile coyly at him.  He actually winked in return.  Sarah looked away, blushing and rushed around to get out Megan.  Bea was already asleep in the back. 

Daniel waited by the car, looking out for Bea, as Sarah took in Megan and tucked her up in bed.  She kissed her softly on the forehead and sang to her gently as she left the room.  Megan curled up in her bed and quickly closed her eyes, hugging her teddy close.

Next she got out Bea, who whimpered and snuggled in close.  Daniel followed as she took Bea inside and he waited downstairs as she tucked her in too.  Bea stayed sound asleep throughout the process.  Sarah stroked her blond curls and kissed her cheek, before leaving her alone for the night.

Putting her kids to bed was her favorite time, not only because they were much easier when they were asleep, but because they were incredibly adorable tucked up and quiet.  The peace that reigned after they were in bed was amazing, such a contrast to the noisiness of the day.

She tiptoed back down the stairs, so as not to disturb Megan and Bea now they were in bed, and saw Daniel waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.  He looked sexy in that leather jacket, now lacking that earlier bulge - she wondered what it had contained.