The Guest & The Change

chapter 2





Daniel waited patiently while Sarah showered. He lay back on the bed, one arm supporting his head. He listened to the water splashing down in the bathroom and absentmindedly gazed at the clouds moving in, shading the sky.

He had an uneasy feeling that maybe everything wasn’t resolved. When Sarah had looked out of the window sounds in the forest had disappeared. That was strange, he couldn’t quite fathom it. He was a vampire, and when he walked in the forest life continued regardless, wildlife didn’t seem to notice him. When he had first been turned by Sebastian they had lived in the forest together, out in the wilderness on their own. No house, not even a hut - they had slept in the trees.

Wildlife hadn’t been affected by Sebastian either. Birds still sang in the trees, even if Sebastian was in them. And Sebastian was evil, as evil as anything he’d known.

What could have caused the birds to stop singing? He shook his head. Maybe it was a coincidence, yet he suspected something had been out there. The question was what, and what was it doing there?

And he still wasn’t convinced something wasn’t going on with Sarah. She said she felt really good, that she could see clearly. He wondered how clearly she could see - more clearly than before? As clearly as a vampire?

He hadn’t wanted to question her too much, not when she’d just woken up, when she was in such a hurry to see her family. She seemed in a surprisingly good mood though, considering all that had happened. He wondered how she was holding up inside. He could sense she was experiencing some turmoil, but he couldn’t tell how much. She was putting on a good show. She’s probably buoyed up by the whole experience, Daniel thought, happy to have survived; it must be keeping her going. He admired her strength.

She certainly wasn’t acting like a vampire, and she still smelt human - her blood smelt delicious, tempting. She wasn’t going crazy and didn’t appear to be desperately thirsty for blood, as newly turned vampires tended to be. He could still hear her rhythmic heartbeat pumping blood around her body. She was still human.

Could it be the residual effects of the power of his blood that was making her feel different, or had that power had a permanent effect on her? He would have to watch her closely, see if her behavior changed, to make sure she was ok.

***

Sarah stepped out of the shower. She picked up the largest white towel from the worn-looking pile by the sink and wrapped it around herself - it felt slightly hard and scratchy against her body. She found a smaller one and tossed her hair upside down, wrapping the towel into a turban so that her long wet hair wouldn’t drip down her back. She leant over the sink and wiped condensation off the undersized mirror, and peered at herself through the steam.

She smiled, pleased at what she saw - her skin looked clear, pristine, all imperfections gone. She also looked as though she had lost a little weight, her stomach was flatter and more toned - after all, she hadn’t eaten for two days and had lost a lot of blood. Yet she didn’t look sickly - her eyes were bright, with no tired shadows.

She wondered at the healing power of vampire blood - that must be why she felt different, right? All her ills and aches had been cured along with her wounds. That would explain why she felt great, why she was brimming with energy. It would also explain why she hadn’t practically died with thirst, why she wasn’t collapsing with hunger. Maybe the blood had helped her mental state too - she was coping well, managing to push the pain aside. Maybe if it wasn’t for its healing power she would be crumpled on the floor, not coping at all.

She thought of Megan and Bea, hopefully they weren’t too worried. They were probably having so much fun at her parents’ that they had hardly noticed her absence. She smiled wryly. It was hard not to be a little bit jealous of how much they loved her parents, Alice and Keith. They at least would have been wracked with worry at her absence. Her Mom had been mightily understanding on the phone. It wouldn’t surprise her if the police had been called in yesterday - she and Daniel may have some damage control to do.

Daniel. He was waiting in the other room for her. She felt her heart speed up and her cheeks warm at the thought of seeing him again. She had been in his arms, asleep for two days, but before that how long had she known him for? She had spent one day with him and met him a couple of days before that. How could he love her this quickly? Did she love him? She was certainly attracted to him, more than she ever had been to anyone, even Jo. But could she love someone so fast? She felt a pang of guilt for being with Daniel when she should be grieving for Jo. But he had cheated on her when Bea was a new-born baby, she thought bitterly - why shouldn’t she be with Daniel?

She fastened her towel tightly around her body and picked up her dirty clothes. She opened the bathroom door, feeling shy as she stepped through - wondering if Daniel had noticed the changes in her appearance.

Daniel quickly sat up.

‘My turn,’ he said with a grin.

As he walked past he stopped and lifted her chin. Her heart positively raced as he leant in and kissed her softly on the lips. She wanted more - wanted to grab him - but he pulled away before she could, and closed the bathroom door behind him.

Sarah rolled her eyes at herself - where were these reactions coming from? Her lips were burning where he had kissed her, her face flushed.

She took a deep breath, willing her heart rate to slow, and focused on the immediate issue. What was she going to wear? She picked up her jeans and brushed off as much dirt as possible. They didn’t appear to have any blood on them, but were lightly stained with dirt from falling in the alley, when Jo had attacked her.

Urgh - that had been horrible, seeing him acting feral, wanting her blood. An image of his snarling face leapt to the forefront of her mind - she quickly pushed it aside. It was too horrible, too painful to contemplate.

Her jeans were also tinged with green, like grass stains, probably from moss in the tree - where Sebastian had tied her so she couldn’t escape, where he had bitten her and painfully drank her blood against her will. That was another memory she couldn’t bear to think about, couldn’t deal with.

Well, her jeans were probably passable - she didn’t suppose Daniel would have any woman’s trousers lying about, so they would have to do. She didn’t fancy wearing the same underwear she’d had on, for what, three days now? Quite unappealing. So she pulled her jeans on, with nothing underneath.

It wasn’t even worth inspecting her tops, she tossed those on the floor - they were covered in too much blood. Her bra was ok and she hurriedly put that on, reaching behind to clip it up. She walked over to the desk and opened some drawers, searching for one of Daniel’s tops. The first contained a laptop, the second underwear - blushing, she closed that drawer - the third had some plain black t-shirts and shirts. She pulled a t-shirt over her head - it was a bit loose, but it would do. The material felt soft and smelt good. She was relieved to be wearing something clean. She picked up a shirt and put that on too, it wasn’t particularly warm in the room.

She looked around, wondering where to find a hairdryer, usually they were kept in hotel bathrooms, but sometimes they were stored in a drawer. She eyed up the drawers in the bedside table, and had a look inside. Lucky first time - a hairdryer and a brush. There was nothing of Daniel’s in there at all.

She quickly set to work on her hair, hearing Daniel turning the shower off. Her honey blonde hair was fairly long and had tangled considerably in the forest, so it was a challenge to get the brush through. She struggled, tackling the knots slowly. She didn’t have any makeup with her so was going to have to go barefaced, although her face looked so flawless that maybe she didn’t need makeup.

Sarah looked up as she heard the bathroom door open and watched as Daniel stepped out. Steam drifting around him - a towel wrapped around his hips. She couldn’t help gaping at his exposed chest, and wanted to run her fingers through his gorgeous dark hair - damp and falling about his face. He looked so hot that Sarah’s face burned, and she smiled shyly up at him. Despite the recent changes to her complexion, she felt naked with no makeup on and her hair in a tangled mess, but she rose and moved closer to him regardless - his power over her drew her in.

He moved towards her too, his eyes smoldering, looking into hers, glancing down at her lips. They met at the foot of the bed and she reached out tentatively, stroking him across his firm stomach, letting her hands rest on his waist. She looked back into his eyes and as they connected once again she felt a sense of friction pass between them, energies colliding, and it seemed as though his eyes opened up, that she could see to infinity - that same feeling that had happened before, like she was looking into his soul. It felt as though he could see her for everything she was, her beauty and her faults. She felt his love radiate into her, making every part of her come alive. He placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her closer, so that their bodies were pressed against each other, still looking into each other’s eyes, still feeling the powerful connection.

With one hand he traced down her back, over the shirt she had borrowed from him, and tucked his hand in underneath the t-shirt. She shivered as his cool fingers touched the small of her back, but then felt heat and tingles burning her skin. She reached her hands around his back and stroked up and down, feeling his firm muscles. When her hands reached his neck she pulled his head towards hers and kissed him urgently on the lips. His lips gave way and passion flared inside her. His tongue pushed into her mouth and tingles rose from her core. He pushed his other hand under her clothes and pulled her tightly to him - she felt like she would explode if he didn’t take her.

Her hands traveled down his body, while she massaged her tongue against his. She grabbed at his towel, pulling it off, exposing him to the air. She stepped back and admired his body. He looked perfect, and was clearly aroused by her. He grabbed her and she let him pull off her clothing. The air was cool on her body as he pulled the t-shirt over her head, but she barely noticed it - she felt so flushed from her desire for him.

She couldn’t keep her hands off him as he pulled open her jeans and pushed his hand down the front of them, rubbing her. She pushed against his fingers, planting kisses all over his face, his neck, running her tongue over his collar bone. He was delicious, he smelled and tasted completely different from Jo.

Daniel smelled sweeter, and it had such an effect on her, his scent full of pheromones, making her crazy for him. Her hands wrapped around his entirely too sexy bum and pulled him against her, falling back onto the bed. She felt her heart wrench as he stepped away from her for a moment, but he quickly pulled off her jeans and jumped onto her, agilely supporting his weight as he landed, his body touching her gently. But she didn’t want gentle - she pulled against him furiously - and his weight intensified on top of her. He kissed her passionately again, running his fingers through her wet hair, sliding them down over her breasts. She contracted against him and he pushed his erection into her, making her gasp.

He began easing into her slowly, but his pace increased and she felt herself melt into him, their rhythm turning them into one creature, moving together. She exploded around him, feeling him climax at the same time. She felt incredible, nothing like she’d ever experienced before. So alive, captivated by his very being, his masculinity and irresistible magnetism.

She basked in the moment - she wanted to lie with him there and hold him, but she was still full of energy, and they had so much to talk about, and her family to see. She sat next to him, stroking her hand across his chest and smiling mischievously. She reached over and grabbed the hairbrush from the floor, tackling her tresses as she continued to gaze into his eyes, as her legs pressed against his side. She felt electricity travel over her body from where she touched him.

She forced herself to deal with what was needed - talking about plans and family.

‘Daniel,’ she started. She grinned and he returned her look with amusement, his presence distracting.

‘What is it?’ he asked.

‘Nothing,’ she said. Actually, she didn’t want to talk about it all yet - she just wanted to see her kids. They could talk about Sebastian and all that had happened later. ‘We need to get going - I really want to see Megan and Bea.’

‘Of course, let’s get ready,’ he replied, smiling at her understandingly.

Sarah’s heart melted at his look - how was he this beautiful?

She finally untangled her hair and rose, Daniel rising with her. He started to rummage in his draws for clean clothes. Sarah pulled her clothes back on and sat on the floor, hurrying to dry her hair with the hairdryer - thinking about their plan, their situation.

***

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.