The Two Vampires (25 page)

Sarah finally had
the chance.  She opened up her rucksack and pulled out her photo album.  She turned the front cover and saw pictures of Megan and Bea one year ago.  She quickly flicked to the end where there were the most recent pictures which were taken only one month before.  There they were - Megan with a grown up, trying hard to be responsible, expression on her face, with her arms around Bea.  Megan had been trying to help Bea play with her toys – much to Bea’s disgust.  Sarah’s heart wrenched at the sight of them and she let herself shed tears.  She would allow herself this one moment of indulgence, to mope, to miss her two little loves, and then she would have to move on - for now. 

They would be fine.  They were with her parents, who loved them, who they loved.  They would be happy.

She wiped her cheeks dry on her sleeve and closed the album, before placing it at the back of an empty cupboard.

Daniel had left her alone ten minutes before.  He had driven into town to fetch some luxuries.  She suspected alcohol might be on the cards.  She hoped chocolate.

Before he had left he had brought in their luggage while she had lain on the bed in a daze.  She was surprised he had not kicked her up the butt and into action.  But now she was on the case.  She would have everything unpacked, including his stuff, before he returned.

Their bedroom was adorable.  That was one of the reasons she had not been tempted to leave it.  There was an old oak double bed made up with retro, flowery bedding.  The walls were rough and painted white.  There were wooden floorboards under her feet and there was one cupboard made of dark mahogany.  Beyond the bed was a small window which was deeply set in the wall.  She walked over to it and sat on the ledge. 

Outside it was stunningly wild.  There was a hill that steepened as it extended away from their house, and it was scattered with the stones that were everywhere on the moor.  Daniel had informed her they were granite and had been created by ancient volcanism.  In the distance she could see the steeple of a church and was eager to investigate.  She was tempted to give up on the unpacking and go directly to check it out, but what if there was someone there?  She did not want to risk hurting anyone just to satisfy her curiosity.  Instead she resolved she would persuade Daniel to accompany her later.  For now she would get on with the job in hand.

She returned to her bag and tipped it upside down, emptying its contents onto the bed.  She folded the clothes she had so hastily wedged into her bag upon leaving and put them away, before venturing out of the room and placing her bits and pieces on the window sill in the bathroom, which was tiny.  There was a toilet and a sink, and a low down shower, even she would need to duck to wash.  Hmm, washing.  Now that sounded like a good idea.

She quickly put away Daniel’s stuff too.  His items were very minimalist so her curiosity to discover more about him was not satisfied.

There were towels in a pile at the foot of the bed.  She supposed they had been on the bed before their, err… kinky action.  She grabbed one and rushed to the shower.  It was weak and disappointing.  She had had to stand under it for ages to get the bubbles out of her hair. 

Dissatisfied, she was just stepping out when Daniel came in with an enticing glint in his eye.  From behind his back he pulled out a glass of bubbly and pushed it into her hand.

She flushed – she was still naked!  She sipped the bubbly liquid, appreciating its smooth taste, and how it made her brain feel like it fizzed.

‘Thank you,’ she smirked, and reached for a towel.

Daniel stroked her tummy playfully before she managed to wrap it around her body, then he disappeared.  She heard his steps on wood as he descended the stairs and left her alone to get dressed.

She took a few more sips and then hurriedly threw on some clothes.  Now Daniel was back she wanted to explore.  She brushed and blow dried her hair and rejoiced in putting makeup on for the first time in days.

Finishing her drink she took one look around their new room then bounded down the stairs to Daniel.  She found him in the living room, relaxing on a worm sofa with his feet up – a glass of bubbly in hand.  He gave her a super sexy smile which did funny things to her insides.

‘Fancy an explore?’ she asked him.

‘Alright then,’ he said.

But his actions did not go with his words.  Instead of getting up he opened up his arms.  Sarah gave in and went to him and sat on his lap.  He picked up the bottle of bubbly from the floor, it was Prosecco from Italy, and refilled her glass.

‘Cheers,’ he said, and clinked her glass with his.

‘Cheers,’ Sarah giggled, and took a long sip.

She snuggled into his shoulder and finished off her drink.

‘Let’s go!’ she said.

It was her first time in England and she was eager to see her new surroundings.  She had been in a complete daze when they had arrived at the house and she had barely taken it in.

Sarah sprang to her feet and extended her hands to him, and this time it was him that laughed.  But he did take her hands and allowed himself to be dragged out of his comfort.  Sarah opened the front door and beckoned Daniel out of the house, then shut it firmly behind her. 

She looked about and could not see another house in sight, just the top of that steeple she had spotted from her window.  It was over the hill in the next valley.  The sky was dark, which added to the moodiness of the moor, although she supposed it was only about three in the afternoon.  A gentle breeze made the tall grasses sway and dim light glinted off patches of watery marsh.  Sarah breathed in deeply and did not smell the slightest hint of pine.  The air smelt fresh and damp, like it was going to rain. 

She turned and looked at the house she now lived in.  They lived in.  Together.

It was as cute as it had looked in the pictures.  The old stone it was made of was rugged in shape, and grey with an array of colors providing gentle variation.  Every stone was different, giving the house a truly unique look.

Daniel took her hand and led her away, and she exchanged a grin as they started to walk, not down the track to the road, but off onto the wild moor.  The ground was soft beneath her feet.  She just had to make sure she avoided all the pieces of granite that were everywhere.

‘So, did you pay for this place?’ she asked him while trying not to sound accusatory. 

She was hopeful for an answer that would not fight within her conscience, or make her think less of him.  She loved it and did not want to have to let it go.

‘Yes, one thing you don’t need to worry about is money,’ he answered.

Unfortunately that did not answer her question.

‘But why, were you rich before you became a vampire?’ she asked.

He threw his head back laughing.

‘No, we really weren’t.  Sebastian taught me some tricks early on, before I left him,’ he said.

Sarah felt shocked – so it was something bad.  She felt he must have seen her reaction for he continued.

‘Nothing bad – not very Sebastian!  Just ways to make money with stock markets, that kind of thing.  He’d had plenty of time to work it out in all his long years. . . .’

‘Oh, that’s great.  One less thing to worry about,’ and she gave him a cocky smile.  ‘Sorry for questioning you.’

He did not say anything, but pulled her towards him and kissed her.  Sarah assumed that meant she was forgiven.

By this time they were trekking up the hill towards the summit that protected their house from behind.  It felt good to be out, and walking was a breeze now that she was a vampire.  She could just as easily have run, but she wanted to take it all in and she wanted to see everything.  Daniel seemed in the same frame of mind as she, because he kept looking around with a look of quiet peace on his face.

A large crow flew overhead, and she watched as its feathers were buffeted by the wind.  She wondered how easily she would find it to transform into an animal and looked forward to learning.  That could wait a day or two though as they had lots to see and clues to look for.  After all they did have a purpose in being here; there was some kind of danger around and they needed to find out what it was, and try to prevent more people getting hurt.  That was, if in fact, anyone had been.  The people in the newspaper article were described as missing, not dead. 

Looking around at the wild beauty of the landscape it was not too hard to believe that something bad may have happened.  It was so strange here, so foreign.  It felt like a different world.

They reached the summit and climbed the large granite protrusions that topped it.  Standing at the top she clung to Daniel’s hand – it was dizzying.  She could see a long way in each direction and it opened up her view of their surroundings.  She could see to Princetown, the large prison was hard to miss.  She could see their house and the church she still wanted to investigate, and could now see it was surrounded by a graveyard and a low stone wall which was much like the one around their house.  Beyond the church the moor extended as far as she could see.  She turned and realized it was the same in every direction – an extension of hills topped with granite and further moor, and the odd area of woodland nestled in a valley.  It would be easy to lose yourself.

She spotted a stone circle in the next valley.

‘Daniel – look,’ she said, pointing in its direction as the wind whipped at her arm.  The stone circle had a strange sense of familiarity, like déjà vu, but she was not sure why.  She felt drawn to go and see it, to see if it stirred some kind of memory.  Maybe she had seen it in a picture?  ‘It looks familiar.  Do you recognize it?’

Daniel squinted in the direction of the circle, ‘No, I don’t think so.  But you do?’

‘I think so, I’d like to go and see it,’ she started moving towards it, but Daniel pulled her back.

‘Hang on a minute.  I’ve been wondering whether you might be having prophetic dreams – do you think it’s possible you remember it from a dream?’ he asked.

Sarah thought hard but she really could not remember any of her dreams since she had turned. 

‘I don’t know, it’s possible I guess, but if that’s it the memory is entirely subconscious,’ she said.

‘I was wondering if you’d mind if I tried tapping into your dream, next time I think it looks like you’re having one, and see if I could see if they might give us a clue as to what to do,’ he said.

Sarah felt her cheeks heating; what if she dreamt about him?  But so what?  He knows she likes him now, loves him, so would it really matter?

‘Ummm, that would be ok – but if it’s obviously not a prophetic dream you have to stop watching, ok!’ she scolded him.

He nodded with a grin, ‘Sure,’ he said.  ‘But listen, just in case . . . if you do recognize this place from a dream, it might be relevant as to why those people are missing, so look out for clues, and danger.’

‘I will,’ she said, suddenly serious.

They exchanged a glance of agreement and started to descend the hill towards the stone circle.

They were nearly
there, and Sarah took a break from watching where she placed her feet to look up at the stone circle ahead.  It was large enough for a small party to picnic in, and she imagined witchy ceremonies being conducted in ages past.  The granite stones were all different shapes and sticking out of the ground at odd angles, some of them as tall as her chest.  They clearly formed a circle.  She wondered who had made it. 

On the furthest stone was another crow.  As her eyes fixed on it it flew off and settled out of reach, yet seemed as if it was watching them. 

She shivered, was it the same crow she had seen before?  It looked awfully big, yet she supposed she was not used to the wildlife around here; maybe all crows were that large.

She stepped into the circle and instantly smelt blood.

Her eyes darted to Daniel’s and he nodded.  He had smelt it too.

She watched as Daniel got down on his knees in the center of the circle and inspected the ground.

The wind kept blowing her hair across her face so it was hard to see.  Sarah pulled a band out of her pocket and pulled her hair up into a pony tail, out of her eyes, so she could see better.

Daniel was pulling apart blades of grass and poking the ground with his fingers.

‘There is blood here – it’s absorbed into the soil.  It’s not that old either, maybe a week or two.  I’m thinking that this could have been a sacrifice,’ Daniel said.

Sarah continued to watch him as he looked about, inspecting the site.

‘I can sense the traces of magic,’ he said.

‘Looks like it’s going to be more complicated than a rogue vampire,’ Sarah pointed out.

She looked about the site herself.  She did not exactly recognize it, but she still had that sense of déjà vu.  And she also had an uneasy feeling, but was that just triggered by the blood?  It sure made her thirsty, and her senses were heightened.

She looked back at the crow and met its beady eye, and then it turned and flew against the wind, disappearing from view.

‘Did you see that crow?’ she asked Daniel.

‘Hmmm?’ he said, he was focused on the ground once more.

‘The crow.  Did you see it?’

‘I caught a glimpse, why?  Was there something strange about it?’ he asked.

‘No, I just had a sense it wasn’t quite right.  I thought it looked like it was watching us,’ she said feeling silly. 

In retrospect it seemed quite unlikely.

‘Really?  I will look out for it.  Point it out if you see it again,’ he said.

Sarah was pleased he took her seriously, although wondered if he was humoring her.  But why would he – he himself could turn into a bird.  The crow could have been another vampire. 

‘Can you tell if someone, or something, is a vampire?’ she asked him.

‘Yes.  Their heart beats slower than a human heart, so it’s not hard once you get used to it.  I’m not sure if I could tell if a bird was a vampire though,’ he said, picking up on her trail of thought, ‘I don’t know what happens to my heartbeat when I transform.’

‘So you think the missing people were killed right here?’ she asked.

Daniel nodded sadly.

‘I think you
must
remember this place from a prophetic dream.  It seems too much of a coincidence that we would have found this place so quickly otherwise,’ Daniel said.

He stood and walked closer to Sarah.

She inhaled as he stepped very close and brought his hand up to her cheek.

‘How are you doing?’ he asked.

‘I’m ok,’ she shrugged her shoulders, ‘A little freaked, but ok.’

She did not step away though; she leant on him, taking his comfort.

‘I wonder where the bodies are,’ she said loudly, so her voice carried over the building wind.

Daniel stepped away and went back to inspecting the ground.

Sarah continued to look about, trying to search her recollections, or remember her dreams.

Nothing.

She did remember feeling uneasy when she had woken up that morning and shaking away memories of a dream.  She resolved she would not do that again.  She did not want to miss any important clues.  It would be exciting if she was a prophetic, she thought, wondering at what mysteries she might uncover.

‘Hey Sarah, I think I can trace a trail,’ Daniel said.

He was outside the stone circle and beckoned for her to follow.

‘A blood trail?’ she asked.

‘Yes, and the odd footprint and flattened grass.  It’s subtle and hard to see, but it is there.’

Sarah followed Daniel slowly, looking at the ground too.  She could still smell the blood, very faintly on the air.  It didn’t smell good as it was too old for that.  It smelt stale, dead.  It made her feel sick. 

She could see the odd flattened impression on the ground, and could imagine that bodies might have been dragged this way.  They were walking deeper into a valley and Sarah spotted a trench ahead.  She had a bad feeling.

Daniel continued to look at the trail, she was not sure he had even noticed the trench.  She did not say anything as she did not want to distract him, in case she was wrong.

She knew she was not.

The smell of death grew stronger as they got closer, and Daniel shot her a look of concern.  She knew he could smell it too.

They arrived at the edge of the ditch and looked inside.  Sarah could not see anything at first, and then pointed to a gap in the ground under a large slab of stone.

Daniel nodded and went to investigate.

Sarah stayed where she was.

She kept looking around for the crow, and then she spotted it far off in the distance.  It was still watching them.  She wondered if it had been the whole time.

‘Daniel – the crow!

Daniel stood to look and Sarah pointed him in the right direction, but the crow had gone.