The Guest & The Change

The Change



THE TWO VAMPIRES


chapter 1



Sarah woke up. She felt odd sensations rippling through her body - not exactly painful, although not pleasurable either. It felt like little waves of energy were traveling down her arms and into her fingers, rejuvenating her cells and tissues. Tentatively she moved her thumb, just to see how it would feel. Immediately she felt arms tighten around her.

‘Sarah?’

She felt cool fingers trace her jaw, touch her lips.

‘Sarah - can you hear me?’

The voice sounded familiar - an attractive southern drawl. She wanted to open her eyes and see the face that accompanied the sound, but they felt so heavy.

The waves of energy continued around her body. She felt them moving down her torso, into her organs and all over her skin. They moved down her legs, making her muscles feel strong again, stronger than they had ever been.

‘Sarah?’

That voice. Lips kissing her eyelids.

The waves of energy started to move upwards, from her heart, up her neck - soothing, enlivening. She felt them in her throat, healing all her tissues, calming her aches and nerves. They traveled over her lips and up over her nose and eyes. Sarah concentrated on the sensations, wondering what was going on. She breathed in deeply and smelt a delicious masculine scent and a fresh forest smell. She scrunched up her face, stretching it in preparation for opening her eyes, as she felt tingles enter her mind, clearing the fog from her thoughts.

Kisses swept over her cheeks, gentle fingers stroked her hair, her neck, her heart.

‘Sarah, open your eyes. Everything is ok.’

Sarah concentrated on her eyes. They felt different, but she couldn’t quite work out why. She could see light filtering through her eyelids, focusing on them she slowly let them open. Green light streamed in. She blinked and focused on the face in front of hers.

‘Daniel,’ she whispered.

He smiled. It was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. He leant over and kissed her on the lips, sending warm tingles over her skin. They replaced the waves of energy as they finally stopped their pursuit of every cell in her body. As he straightened up and looked into her eyes she smiled back, and basked in his beauty. She appreciated anew his silky dark hair, his rugged jaw and red appealing lips. She relaxed back against his supporting arm, and let herself gaze into his eyes. Those warm dark eyes, looking at her in wonder - stretching into her soul.

‘I didn’t know if you’d be ok,’ Daniel said.

Sarah could hear the angst in his voice. She could see tears in his eyes, and wondered how many he had shed.

‘I feel good. I feel different.’ Sarah whispered again. She didn’t want to disturb her connection with Daniel, the peace she felt in his arms.

‘How do you mean? What’s different?’

Sarah looked at his face, the little crease between his eyebrows.

‘You don’t need to worry, I will be ok.’

Relaxing more deeply she let her eyelids close again. They didn’t feel as heavy any more, but it felt natural that she should rest, let the changes happening inside her complete, take effect and rejuvenate her. She felt soft lips against her forehead as she drifted back to sleep.

***

She dreamt she was in a meadow with her children - Megan and Bea. They were playing together with a tea set, on a tartan rug. A breeze blew against her cheeks, cooling her from the hot sun. The grass was dotted with buttercups and daisies, all gently moving in the breeze. Bea let out a loud laugh that echoed through the valley, and Sarah lay back on her elbows, feeling the soft grass cushioning her body. She felt content, happy.

A wind started to pick up, blowing the blanket away, scattering the tea set. Megan ran after the blanket - giggling. Dark clouds appeared on the horizon, moving in at an unnaturally fast pace, towards their meadow. Megan caught the rug and ran back to Sarah as Bea pushed in closer looking anxious. Sarah wrapped her children in the rug, protecting them from the intensity of the wind. Her light shirt provided no warmth and she held Megan and Bea tight. As the clouds moved overhead the meadow became dark and rain hammered down. Sarah pulled the rug over their heads, trying to keep them dry. Fear and foreboding engulfed her. Her heart pounded and she saw dark shapes on the horizon, shadows moving, coming together in a patch of penetrating darkness. Sarah watched with wide eyes as leaves started to rise, sucked towards the darkness. She felt the pull begin, and hugged her children tight - she wasn’t going to let them be taken away.

She wasn’t going to lose them.

She felt herself moving, something shaking her, and the dream faded away.

More images formed in her mind. Jo, her husband, who had only days before been turned into a vampire. Horror and pain flooded over her as she relived how he had tried to attack her in the alley, to bite her, to drain her blood. She watched as his life was ripped from him by a stake penetrating his heart, rammed into him from behind. She saw him lying dead in the dark - his face bloody, his clothes torn. He had been taken from her, from their children. He was moving in and out of her grasp, of her consciousness. She saw her previous life fade away, moving further and further from her reach.

More shakes rattled her body and she drifted into dreamless sleep.

***

Daniel held on tightly to Sarah. He sat at the bottom of the same tree he had rescued her from two days earlier. He thought back to the state he had found her in. She was weak - bloody, at the edge of death.

He had thought he had lost her.

He winced as he remembered slicing open his neck, his blood flowing into Sarah’s mouth.

His blood had saved her.

She was alive.

He hadn’t stopped holding her since. He hadn’t moved from his position. Night and day had come and gone, and he had held her. Watching, waiting for her to awaken.

He hadn’t expected her to sleep for so long, but he had never experienced this kind of situation before. She had been through too much, lost so much blood. She’d been cold, very cold. He leant down again and kissed her lips. She twitched slightly in his arms, and he thought he saw the trace of a smile.

He hugged her tighter.

Color had returned to her cheeks and she was looking healthy again. She was still dirty, covered in dried blood. He had thought about taking her back to The Woodman, the hotel he’d been staying in, and giving her a bath. But in the end he had decided not to disturb her, to let her rest - let her heal.

It was strange though; while he’d been watching, holding her, he’d felt vague ripples of energy moving over her body. When he looked really closely, focusing his power on her skin, it looked like it was shining lightly.

He didn’t know if this was normal or not, under the circumstances. He hadn’t actually healed anyone with his blood before. He had watched as Sebastian had - although this was not done altruistically. Sebastian had used his blood for his own gain - to create more vampires. If someone died with vampire blood running through their veins, they would reawaken as a vampire, forever craving blood. Sebastian was the vampire who had turned Daniel, he had tormented him and killed hundreds, possibly thousands, of people. When Sebastian had used his blood to heal, Daniel hadn’t paid very close attention to the victims; instead he had removed himself from the situation, preferring to be as uninvolved as he could.

Sebastian’s victims hadn’t been through as much as Sarah had though, they had been healthy, apart from the sudden loss of blood from the feed, and they hadn’t slept after they were healed.

Daniel reached out and stroked Sarah’s face. She wriggled a little, snuggling into him, getting comfy. Her eyelids fluttered in a dream. He wanted to kiss her again, for them to melt into one another, to make love.

She looked beautiful as she slept, and he held her as if she were his own. He hoped that she would be his - but how would she feel after everything that had occurred? She may want to be as far away from him as she could be, as far removed from anything supernatural as possible. Her husband was recently dead and she had two young children to look after.

Daniel thought of his life up until this point. He had been a vampire for as long as he remembered. His human life paled into insignificance after so long, snatched away by Sebastian when he had turned him. For as long as he’d been a vampire, he had wanted to destroy Sebastian. Now he had done it. He was free to do something else - what would he do now? Could he stay with Sarah? He would need to live in this small town, to watch her grow old. Could he be a father to her children? How would that work - a vampire as a father - what would it mean for their future?

Could he live in this world? Or should he drift off into the shadows, find other evil to fight - destroy more vampires?

It would all depend on Sarah, of course. He had known her for such a short time, yet he was unfathomably drawn to her. He couldn’t explain it. Yes, she was beautiful, but that wasn’t it. There was a connection he’d never experienced with anyone else. He loved her. If she wanted him to stay, he would - he would not be able to help himself.

But what would happen as she aged - would their connection remain? Would she ever want to become like him, a vampire? She had said that she didn’t, that she wanted to be there for her children. But if she turned into a vampire they could be together forever. He wanted this so badly, what if he lost control of himself someday and turned her against her will, or hurt her?

He could still feel the power coursing through him from all the people he had taken blood from to save Sarah, to gain enough power to kill Sebastian. But this power paled in significance to the centuries of power Sebastian had accumulated, which had all flowed into Daniel before Sebastian’s death. Daniel had not killed anyone himself, yet he felt the burden of responsibility for its origin. He had taken blood from people without their permission. He had weakened them. Yes, they would heal by themselves - but he still felt the guilt. Sebastian had killed numerous people - so many he felt sickened to think of them. Each life he had taken had increased his power. Now that power flowed in Daniel’s veins, in his cells - in his very being.

He did not want to waste that power, or those lives. He would have to find a way to make it up to the universe, to level out his debt.

It had been amazing when Sarah had awoken, not long ago. Now he was sure she would be ok, that she would awaken again. She hadn’t rejected him - she had looked at him in awe, with love.

But what had she meant about feeing different? Could all the power in his blood, in Sebastian’s, have altered her somehow? Was it being so close to death? Or had she meant something else, maybe she felt emotionally different?

He would have to talk to her about it, when she was fully awake.

***

Sarah felt awareness increase in her body - she was waking up.

She felt arms holding her against a firm chest. Her face was pressed onto a smooth leather jacket - Daniel.

He was with her.

He had come for her, he had saved her from Sebastian.

But where was Sebastian now?

That question could wait. She was just so comfy, so sleepy. Those strange waves of energy had gone and she was feeling more normal, accept she was feeling very thirsty - her throat was parched - when did she last have water?

It felt like she was waking after a nice long sleep, in a happy haze.

Sarah opened her eyes and looked into Daniel’s. Her face broke into a cheeky grin.

‘Hi,’ she said.

His answering smile was brilliant, and made her heart feel warm.

‘Hi yourself.’

Sarah sat up, so she was sitting on Daniel’s lap, and stretched - it felt good. She looked around, seeing soft light filtering through the dark green leaves. She looked at Daniel - he was watching her closely, looking happy but also concerned.

‘What is it?’

‘You said you felt different. I was wondering what you meant?’

Sarah pushed herself up from his lap, slightly reluctantly, but she wanted to see for herself. She moved her body - testing her limbs, and looked around to test her eyes. She listened to the forest to see if her hearing was normal.

‘I don’t know. I feel good. Really good. Except that I’m thirsty, I would love a drink. I can see clearly, I feel healthy. Strong. Eew - and dirty.’ She said, looking down at her clothes and feeling the blood around her neck.

Daniel laughed - a deep musical sound which filled her with joy - and stood up. He had an oddly shaped bulge in one side of his leather jacket, Sarah wondered what it was.

‘How long have we been here for?’ Sarah asked.

‘About two days.’

‘Two days? That’s crazy! No wonder I’m so thirsty. Have I been asleep all that time?’

‘Yes, pretty much. Except from when you woke up earlier, briefly.’

‘I remember.’

Daniel walked closer and she looked into his dark eyes.

‘Thank you for looking after me.’

‘That was not a problem. I love you.’

He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. His cool fingers sent tingles through her body, and her heart sped up. She wasn’t yet immune to his beauty - she wondered if she would ever be.

‘My children, my family. We have to get back! They won’t know what’s happened.’

‘We have to get you cleaned up first,’ he said, tracing his finger across the blood at her neck, smirking.

‘Are we still in danger? Where’s Sebastian?’ Sarah asked.

‘Don’t worry - we’re safe. Everyone’s safe.’ Daniel paused, ‘I killed him.’

‘You did? How?’

‘I’ll fill you in later, for now let’s get you cleaned up so you can see your children.’ With that he swept her up into his arms, and she let out a squeal of joy. Her skin tingled all over at his familiarity. He bolted through the forest with her in his arms, far faster than any human could. The trees went past in a blur as Daniel carried Sarah past them, narrowly avoiding branches, yet keeping her safe in his arms. Her heart felt light. She was safe.

She wouldn’t think about the loss now, she couldn’t - it was just too painful. She needed to block it out so she could keep her sanity. She was unbelievably relieved it was over.

The wind whipped through her hair as they traveled around the town of Hartland, not penetrating the outskirts, but staying out of sight, in the forest.

Sarah held on tight, looking around, looking at Daniel’s face. It was fixed with determination, concentrating on their route. He looked irresistibly sexy - she wanted to kiss him, but didn’t dare in case she distracted him, which could lead to a very fast collision with a tree.

Sarah shivered at the thought, and Daniel shot her a look, making sure she was ok, before speeding on. She admired his profile and leant against his jacket, breathing in his woody scent. A smile played at the corner of her mouth - she was extraordinarily glad to be with him, safe in his arms.

After whipping around yet another tree, Daniel came to a stop not far from a large hotel - The Woodman. He stayed far enough away that, if there was anyone looking out, they wouldn’t be spotted. Daniel set Sarah on her feet. She wobbled a bit, and laughed giddily, as Daniel took her hand to steady her. He led her on, towards the hotel. He looked around, peering at all the windows. He couldn’t see anyone so he continued up the steps and led Sarah to his room.

Sarah looked about the immaculately finished space - it was rather dull and lacked character, there were no personal touches at all. Housekeeping had been and everything was tidied away. There was a neatly made double bed in the center of the room, a hotel phone and a desk - that was about it.

A phone!

‘Daniel, can I use the phone? I can call my parents, let them know I’m ok - say hello to my kids,’ as Sarah said it, she longed to see them. It won’t be long now, she thought.

‘Yes, of course - but wait a minute.’

Daniel went through a white door and returned with a large glass of water. Sarah took it and gulped it down. God, it tasted good, heavenly. She put down the glass and rushed over to the phone, then she hesitated - what was she going to say?

‘We need to go see my family in a minute. Do you have any plan about what we should say happened to us? To Jo?’ she said pleadingly.

She felt a twinge at Jo’s memory, well, more than a twinge - the thought of it made her heart twist. It was painful. His death was still very recent, but she couldn’t focus on it with Daniel there, he was so distracting! And she wanted to see her kids, to be strong for them, to be strong for her family. After all, they had no idea what had happened and she didn’t want to let on that she knew anything about it. She’d have so many questions to answer, and what could she say? No-one would believe her. How could she explain to her children that they no longer had a father, that Jo was dead? How were they going to feel, how would they cope?

If she said she knew anything about Jo’s disappearance she’d be questioned by the police - what if she acted suspiciously? How would her kids fare then?

Daniel interrupted her thoughts, ‘I think we should say we don’t know what happened, we went searching for him but got lost in the woods and didn’t have a cell phone. It’s not entirely implausible, that could happen. It’s certainly more plausible than what actually happened. I think we should say that we didn’t find Jo, that we still don’t know anything - that he is missing.’

‘We got lost for two days? Seems a little unbelievable,’ Sarah answered. ‘But what else can we say?’ she sighed, exasperated at the thought of explaining everything to them. ‘If I tell them I’ve been unconscious for two days they will go seriously insane. So ok, I will tell them we got lost - I don’t know how I could tell them the truth anyway. But what about the fact you rang them and asked them to stay in?’

‘We could say you had a bad feeling, were worried they might be in danger with Jo missing.’

‘But according to what we’re planning on telling them, nothing has changed, the danger would still be there, Jo’s still missing after all. They might think someone is out there - kidnapping people, or murdering people.’

‘Yes, well, maybe it’s best for them to still be on alert, to stay inside.’

‘Why?’ Sarah eyed him wearily, surely they were safe now.

‘Sebastian may be dead, but there is a risk he turned someone else, there may still be vampires out there.’ Sarah looked at him searchingly, suspecting there was something he was leaving out.

‘I better ring my parents now. Just try not to listen - you’ll make me feel self-conscious!’

‘I’ll do my best,’ he said smirking at her.

That smirk - it drove her insane. It made her want to rip his clothes off right there, to forget about ringing her family.

But she couldn’t. She needed to know her kids were ok, and she didn’t want to be entirely inconsiderate of her parents’ feelings.

She picked up the phone and dialed their number. She listened to the phone ringing - her heart was pounding with anxiety, not knowing how they were going to react.

‘Hello?’ her Mom answered, a concerned and desperate edge to her voice.

‘Mom, it’s me!’ Sarah said.

‘Sarah?’

‘Yes Mom, I’m ok. I’m so sorry - we’ve been lost. Unbelievable - I know! We were looking for Jo and went a really long way. It got dark and we carried on, I know we were stupid, but because we went so far in the dark we lost track of our bearings. We couldn’t call as I’d forgotten to take my cell phone. Everything looked the same! It was crazy Mom, I’m so, so sorry. Are you ok? Are Megan and Bea ok? Is Dad angry at me?’ Sarah couldn’t help but rabbit on. She wanted to elaborate, to create some drama in the situation - at least to create some sympathy. What she had actually gone through was far worse than what she was saying, but she felt like she deserved some reassurance and comfort - and didn’t know how else to reach out for it.

‘Sarah, calm down. It’s ok, everyone is fine. We’ve just been so worried! Where are you now?’ her Mom asked. She sounded immensely relieved.

‘I’m at The Woodman. It’s where Daniel’s staying. When we arrived back at the edge of town it was the closest place to come to. I need to have a shower before I come and see you all, I’m disgustingly dirty after two days in the forest.’

‘Yes, that’s fine. Really. Take your time and clean yourself up. We will be here, waiting for you. Megan is missing you, and Bea is a little confused - she’s asked after you, but they are fine. Your father isn’t angry, he’s just been worried.’

‘Can I talk to Megan?’ Sarah asked.

‘They’re in the bath, your father’s with them, so best if you wait until you get here.’

Sarah paused, disappointed, she really wanted to hear their voices.

‘Don’t worry - you’ll see them soon!’ her Mom said.

‘Yeah, ok Mom. I really won’t be long - I’ll be with you soon. Bye,’ Sarah said.

‘Bye Sarah, see you in a bit.’

Sarah put the phone down. She was relieved - her Mom had been pretty understanding. Her kids were ok and she would see them soon. She smiled slightly at the thought of their faces, and imagined them running towards her, delighted to see her after so long.

‘Sounded like that went well,’ said Daniel. He’d been hovering around the corner, out of her line of sight.

‘You weren’t supposed to be listening!’ she said.

She threw a pillow at him, but he dodged it.

‘How could I not?’ he said mischievously.

Sarah walked across the room and looked out of the window. Endless conifers reached to the horizon. The sky was dark, a storm approaching.

She shuddered, remembering a hint of her dream. Looking back, she saw Daniel had sat on his bed. He gestured towards another door, which Sarah presumed led to the bathroom. She smiled shyly at Daniel, feeling self-conscious about being covered in dirt and blood - it was much more apparent in the spotless room.

She stepped through the door and got the shower running. She peeled off her dirty clothes and stepped under the warm water, letting the blood and memories wash away.

***

Outside the hotel, the forest became very still. The birds were silent, and small animals hid out of sight. A patch of darkness materialized between two trees.

At first it had no visible form. It was a hazy outline, surrounding an intensely black, swirling mist. It was slowly taking shape - the shape of a human man. He was tall with dark hair and black eyes. His form was still fluid, like he wasn’t quite there - not whole yet.

His piercing eyes looked up, towards the hotel. He caught a glimpse of a pretty blond woman - she was looking out of the window, at the horizon.

Anyone who was watching would have seen his eyes darken, and his shape disintegrate before their eyes.

He returned to a swirling blackness, and moved off, deeper into the forest.