The Guest & the Change (6 page)

CHAPTER 4

Sarah turned to walk back towards her house, Daniel following close
beside
her, making her feel safe.
 
It was raining lightly but persistently so they walked quickly.
 
She watched as Daniel glanced about, like he was looking for something, or someone, but he didn’t give anything away.
 
 
 

She thought that if they popped back to hers before heading out for a drive she would have another opportunity to check if Jo had returned home.
 
She didn’t know what to say to Daniel, so she kept quiet, wondering where this day was going to take them.
 
Would they find any clues to Jo’s disappearance?
 
God, they’d probably get back to her house and he would be there now.
 
That would be awkward.
 
She was going to be so angry with him if he came home.
 
And if he didn’t?
 
If he was
dead?
 
Abducted?
 
What then, how would she feel?
 
Thinking about it she felt confused.
 
She would be devastated - Jo had been in her life for so long.
 
And she loved him.
 
But things were difficult and she hadn’t forgiven him.
 

Part of her would be relieved.
 
She would be screwed, but she would be free.
 
She wouldn’t have to make up her mind about Jo anymore, about whether they should stay together.
 
But he would be dead, and she pushed the thought away as it was too ridiculous to contemplate.
 
Nobody she knew had ever died, except Grandparents, things like that didn’t happen around here.
 
Not to her.
 
Things just carried on.
 
But maybe she needed to make a decision.

If Jo was back he’d better have a bloody good explanation of where he’d been.
 
Something terrible would have had to have happened to him, for her to take him back.
 
If he’s just been gone, out of choice, for all this time then that will be it.
 
So great, that means I’ve lost him already, doesn’t it?
 
He’s either dead, and I’ve lost him tragically, or he’s run off and betrayed me, and Megan and Bea - either way I’ve lost him.
 
They’ve lost him.
 
They’re not going to have a father anymore, certainly not one who lives with them.
 

Sarah felt her anger building, she felt like hitting something, or running and screaming.
 
Suddenly her chest hit something, Daniel’s arm.
 
He whipped her
round to face him, ‘Sarah, what are you doing?’ he said angrily.

‘What?’
 
She saw his face soften, but she was in such a daze.

‘You were just about to step out in front of that car.’

‘What car?’ But anger turned to tears, her emotions weren’t going to stay in, she had lost Jo.
 
She couldn’t scream, so she cried.
 
Then Daniel was holding her and stroking her hair, and she balled onto his shoulder, her face against the soft leather of his jacket.
 
Sarah wanted to hug him, to hit him, to kiss him angrily.
 
She felt all over the place.
 

But Daniel just held her, there, by the side of the road, tolerating the concerned glances from strangers.

What must he think of me?  He’s only known me a couple of days, and I’m such a mess, she thought.
 
But he didn’t seem to mind and she felt looked after.
 
Her tears started to subside and she breathed Daniel in.
 
His delicious woody scent, like he’d been near a bonfire, she inched her head into his neck, and had an uncharacteristic urge to bite him, it almost made her laugh.
 
He leant back against her,
then
she released him and started to walk towards home again.
 
He didn’t take his arm off her
though,
he let it drop to her waist and continued to hold her close as they walked.

When they reached her drive Daniel released her, Sarah felt like he did so reluctantly and she didn’t want him to.
 
She could have just stayed there and blended
with him, never letting go.
 
But she walked on ahead and popped back into her house.
 
It was quiet, Jo had not returned.
 
She checked the answer machine.
 
There were four messages - one from her parents letting her know the kids were fine and asking if she’d heard anything, two from Jo’s parents and one from his sister.
 
They were all obviously concerned but Sarah didn’t feel like dealing with talking to them now.
 
She picked up her phone and tried Jo a couple of times.
 
His phone was no-longer ringing though, it just went straight to answer phone.
 
She left two messages, not concealing her anger and distress at his absence.
 
But she was
quick,
she longed to return to Daniel.
 
She freshened up and drank some water before leaving the house.

As she walked back towards her car, Daniel was there, leaning against her bonnet - looking gorgeous with a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
 
Her drive was lined with trees, so her car was not overlooked by other houses.
 
The sun crept out from behind a cloud, shining dappled light through the drizzle.
 
Daniel squinted towards her, looking
smoldering
.
 
His hair looked damp and messy, and drips ran down the side of his face from the rain.
 
Sarah was feeling reckless - the situation with Jo, alone without her kids.
 
She walked right up to Daniel and he stood.
 
They were so close and she looked into his eyes.
 
He stared back, looking right into her soul, and Sarah felt like she could see his.
 
It seemed like she
was looking into the stars, like his soul went on forever and she was melting into him.
 
Daniel wrapped his arms around her, she felt tingles race all over her body and he pulled her right up against him.
 
His body was firm and he felt so good, he pulled her hips against his and she was drawn closer.
 
Her lips met his with force, and with her hands she pulled at him tightly - so his heart was as close as it could be to hers, melting in together, like one.
 
He kissed her, opening her mouth and forcing in his tongue - it was exquisite and she felt like she was going to explode.
 
Then he released her and they breathed hard, foreheads pressed together, absorbing each other.
 
She wanted him so badly, but she didn’t speak and neither did he.
 
They just breathed, energy coursing through her body, completely lost to her surroundings.

From a nearby tree Sebastian watched their display of passion with delight.
 
He hadn’t expected this but he could definitely use it to his advantage.
 
It could be fun to torment Jo, to make sure he had no desire to return to his former life.
 
And he could have fun in other ways; he could expose Daniel, and watch to see how Sarah would react.
 
Would she hate him?
 
It would be fun to see Daniel tormented.
 
He couldn’t believe he was acting like this, and with a human!
 
It was so unlikely.
 
Hmm, but this Sarah was quite
stunning,
Sebastian could see why Daniel was so smitten.
 
In fact, he was taking quite an advantage, she was obviously hurting.
 
And she lived in another
world.
 
Maybe Sebastian could turn her.
 
- If he could get her alone.
 
He suspected Daniel would protect her now.
 
He must suspect the danger in his situation.
 

Hmm, if he could just exert a little power, maybe Daniel wouldn’t even notice, he could plant an idea in Sarah’s mind.
 
A location to visit.

Sebastian flew off, from tree to tree, back towards Jo and their night of hunting.

Jo awoke to find a bat hanging upside down, right in front of his face.
 
The bat was staring at him intensely with those large dark eyes.
 
They looked like they stretched to infinity.
 
Sebastian.
 
The bat looked amused and transformed back into a man.
 
A man who perched next to him on his branch.
 
From the light shining through the leaves Jo guessed it was mid-afternoon.
 
He felt hungry, his throat dry, parched.
 

He breathed in deeply, taking in nearby smells.
 
He could hear Sebastian’s blood pounding through his veins but it didn’t hold the same appeal as that delicious girl’s blood.
 
Sebastian’s heart beat was slower, inhuman, and his blood wasn’t as fragrant.
 
He listened to sounds of the forest.
 
He could hear birds in the trees and small mammals scuttling in the leaf litter.
 
But he couldn’t hear any people.
 
He wanted to hunt.

‘Not yet,’ said Sebastian, seeming to read his thoughts.
 
‘We need to wait until late before we head into town, until the bars are buzzing and crowded, until people are intoxicated and won’t notice us.’

‘But I want to hunt now.’

‘I could teach you to hunt animals; they can still quench your thirst.’

‘Yes, let’s do that.
 
What can we hunt?
 
Bear?’

‘Yes, if you like.
 
Deer and wolf are also good.
 
You can eat small mammals too, but they don’t have much blood so it’s best to save those for when you have no other options.’

Jo wasn’t sure about the idea of animal blood, it didn’t sound as tempting as human.
 
But he was so thirsty.
 
He felt restless and wanted to learn.
 

‘Tomorrow I will teach you animal transformations, but you’re not powerful enough yet.
 
You need more blood.’

The word blood made Jo’s thirst increase.

‘Follow me,’ said Sebastian.

Jo watched as Sebastian jumped down from the tree, landing lightly.
 
Sebastian quickly transformed into a wolf, sleek and long and grey, but with eyes like a bat, dark and stretching to infinity.
 
Eyes you could get lost in.

Sebastian shot off, faster than any normal wolf could travel.
 
Jo hesitated for a second.
 
Then he ran, following Sebastian’s trail.
 
It wasn’t difficult, he could sense his movement ahead, and Jo found he was fast.
 
He was racing through the woods, wind blasting against his face and neck.
 
It was cool, and had Jo been human he would have been freezing.
 
But he felt exhilarated, adrenaline pumping in his veins.
 
Every
tree Jo passed was in sharp relief, he just had to focus with his mind and he would zip past, narrowly avoiding branches, still keeping Sebastian in site.
 

Sebastian stopped by Jo’s car and transformed back into himself.
 
Jo approached him at a rush and came to a quick halt, skidding on the forest floor and pounding into his old car, denting it lightly.
 
He felt the bonnet, memories of past drives with his family flicking into his mind.
 
Sarah.
 
The thought of her filled him with an intense longing.
 
Feeling his teeth extending, Jo imagined sinking his fangs into her neck and draining the life out of her.