The Guest & The Change

chapter 6





Jo sat waiting in his favorite tree. Darkness had fallen some time ago and he listened to the night sounds. Activity was increasing on the forest floor as night creatures came out to feed, he could hear them nosing around in the leaves. His thirst was increasing, not satisfied by his earlier hunt, still fuelled by memories of Sarah.

Sebastian had swooped off as a bat earlier and Jo awaited his return. Then they would go hunting. For real. For people. He felt his teeth extending at the thought and had to take deep breaths to make them retract. Finally he saw a bat flying back towards him. Sebastian landed next to him and took his human shape. ‘Hungry?’ he asked with a twinkle in his eye. ‘Follow me.’

And Jo did, eagerly. Sebastian ran, zipping through the forest, still in his human form. Jo sped after him, delighting in his new abilities, excited about the thought of densely packed bodies. When they reached the edge of town Sebastian slowed to a walk and Jo joined him.

‘Listen Jo, you can’t just jump people like you did earlier. When we reach a bar you need to focus within, try to ignore your thirst for blood. We will order drinks, blend in. Only then will you choose your victim. Find a girl, someone you find attractive if you like, and charm her, encourage her to leave with you. Then you can feed. Remember what you did earlier, sending out tendrils of power to coax a victim towards you? That’s another strategy. You can lurk in the dark and draw people towards you. But it will be harder in a bar with so many people, so many thought patterns tangling with your powers. It will be easier when you become stronger.’

Jo listened to Sebastian, but he found it hard to think past the word blood. He thought about all those people in one room and didn’t know how he would control himself.

They walked down dark streets, only the occasional lights illuminating their way. They were reaching the dodgy end of town, the old shattered windows and peeling paint Jo was already quite familiar with. He’d spent a fair amount of time in these bars as a human, when he couldn’t handle staying at home any longer. When he’d needed a break from the intensity of life with a wife, with children.

He may be recognized, but what did it matter? He could run if needed, could influence to protect himself. He could kill.

They stopped at the first bar they came too. Jo stood outside looking at the dim light radiating above the battered sign. He could hear people inside, music, talking, hearts pounding at different speeds. He could smell the scent of people and was drawn forward. Sebastian held out his arm to block his way, ‘Wait, remember control. Breathe deeply. Get your victim somewhere unseen before you feed.’

Jo nodded and opened the door. It was crowded and dark. Perfect. He had to push through warm bodies just to reach the bar. Sebastian was next to him, keeping close tabs.

Sebastian ordered drinks while Jo stood, captivated by all the people. There was so much blood. He looked around, trying to choose. His throat was so dry, every particle of his body longed to grab the nearest blood source, rip its neck aside and glug that warm sweet liquid. He struggled not to let his teeth extend, feeling Sebastian’s eyes on him. Then he was back, passing Jo a tumbler filled with liquor. ‘It will help keep you under control, until you find what you want.’

Jo necked it. Feeling the alcohol seep into his veins. It didn’t stop his hunger, but it allowed his mind to see through it.

‘Now watch me. When I take someone outside, follow, but keep to the shadows.’ Sebastian said.

Jo pushed through the crowd, fighting temptation. He leant against a doorframe to steady himself, his veins were aching for blood. He watched Sebastian, dark and tall, moving through the crowd, into the dancing throng.

Sebastian moved to the music, dark trances. If it hadn’t been so dim his height would have made him stand out, but his dark clothes and fluid movement let him blend. He moved through the room to a girl dancing alone. She looked like Sarah, with her long flowing hair and a thin frame. He saw Sebastian smile at her, moving closer, seducing her. He watched as he looked into her eyes, influencing her, then he took her hand and she followed him towards the door.

This is it, he thought, and moved through the crowd, finding it easy to copy Sebastian’s fluid movements, one of the advantages of being a vampire. He would never have danced as a human, preferring to drink and watch.

As he stepped out of the bar into the cool night, rain pummeled him and he pulled his jacket up to keep himself dry. He saw Sebastian disappearing around a corner with the girl. He quickly walked behind them, peering around into the alley.

There he saw Sebastian, up ahead, pushing the girl against the wall. She was giggling, looking up at him. He supposed Sebastian was actually quite good looking, tall and dark and muscular. He probably didn’t have much difficulty getting girls to leave with him, even without influencing them. Especially when they were intoxicated with alcohol. Jo entered the alley and leant against a wall, watching.

Sebastian leant down, smiling at the girl and picked her up so her face was at his level. She looked entranced with him, happy with herself for being out here, in an alleyway, with an unknown man. He leant in, Jo expecting him to go straight ahead with the feed. But instead he kissed her and pushed himself against her, feeling her all over. Jo felt impatient. He wanted to watch the feed, wanted to feed himself. He wanted to rip that girl out of Sebastian’s arms and feed on her. Drink her blood. Or go inside, choose his victim. But if Sebastian wanted him to watch, he would watch.

Once the girl was putty, completely succumbed to Sebastian’s charms, that was when his kisses reached her neck, Jo imagined his teeth extending then he heard the bite, heard her whimper as the twin fangs sank into her neck. He could hear Sebastian gulping her blood. Still pushing himself against her, into her. As her heart began to slow Sebastian withdrew his teeth from her neck leaving her just alive, eyes half closed leaning back against the wall, still supported by Sebastian. Instead of stepping back be bit his own wrist and pushed it against her mouth. She started to gulp at his blood, sucking it inside, her wounds healing. Then he snapped her neck, stepped back and let her fall to the ground. Jo watched, not quite believing what Sebastian had done, his control not to kill the girl, his enjoyment in the feed, beyond the pull of the blood, his decision to turn her.

Sebastian straightened his clothes and turned to face Jo, wiping all traces of blood from his mouth. He looked wild, smug, ready for more.

‘What did you do? Why did you turn her?’ asked Jo.

‘All part of the plan, it would take a long time to destroy the town just the two of us. I might get bored. Now, it’s your turn. I will watch.’

Yes, this is it. And Jo hurried back to the bar, into the crowd.

He moved smoothly onto the dance floor, entranced by the rhythms, the throng of hearts. He saw two girls ahead of him, and approached one from behind. Focusing on her blood flowing, he wanted to rip into her neck right there, but managed to resist, withholding temptation.

He sent out tendrils of power, coaxing her mind, making her more receptive, and she turned, eyeing him appreciatively. She began to dance with him, bringing her hands up to his shoulders and they swayed together. Her friend rolled her eyes and moved off.

The girl he’d chosen looked pretty but torn, short dark hair, dark eyes heavy with eyeliner. She danced like she was trying to lose herself with him, forget the normality of life.

Jo felt, heard and smelt her blood, flowing around her body, her heart beating fast with her movement, her attraction. He caught her chin with his fingers and brought her eyes up to his. ‘Let’s leave,’ he said, projecting influence. He caught her hand, and this time it was him leading the girl outside.

He pulled her into the same alley, but not so far down; he didn’t want her to notice the other girl lying on the ground. He couldn’t resist and turned to face her, his teeth instantly extending. She sensed the change in him, sensed she was in danger and tried to step away, but Jo grabbed her, he didn’t have Sebastian’s patience.

He did as he’d been longing to do all day, he yanked her head aside by her hair and sank his teeth deep into her neck. She yelled out and he reached around with one hand, smothering her cries, using his left hand and his teeth to keep her in place. He drank her as fast as he could, gulping the real, intoxicating liquid. So much better than alcohol, so much better than that deer.

She weakened and stopped fighting. He sank his teeth deeper, trying to get every drop of her before she fell, drained, dead, in a heap on the wet ground. He staggered back, buzzing with blood, with life.

Sebastian was there, watching. Jo had been so enthralled in his feed he hadn’t even noticed.

‘Pick up the girl Jo, take her further into the alley where your next victim won’t notice her.’

Jo did as he was told, feeling amazing. He picked the girl up, she was light like a doll, and carried her deeper into the dark. He discarded her by some bins and turned, wiping blood off his face, not giving her a second thought, and returned to Sebastian’s side, awaiting his next command.

‘I’m impressed. You managed to restrain yourself until you were out of the bar, I wasn’t sure you could manage it. It will be sometime until you can control yourself enough to interrupt the feed. But you can kill; just make sure you hide the bodies. Killing is all part of the plan.’

Jo regarded Sebastian, life strumming through his veins, he still felt eager, hungry for more.

***

Sarah was ready to leave. She had put on tight faded jeans with black boots and wore them with a high necked black top. The idea was, if vampires couldn’t see her neck it might reduce temptation.

She’d applied makeup to help her blend in. Then she’d covered herself up in a very thick coat and hood to keep her warm and dry. In the pockets she had stashed some wooden stakes Daniel had given her. He’d even given her a little tutorial, getting her to practice on him, except without actually stabbing him, of course. They had spent an age waiting to go out, waiting until it was late enough. Sarah had put on a movie to try and calm her mind. Not that it had worked, although it was hard to think of anything apart from Daniel, with him so close. Regardless of their situation.

As they left together to go out, it felt completely different from earlier. Sarah couldn’t believe it was only this morning he had knocked at her door. So much had happened. She was feeling more comfortable with Daniel, and he was more protective than ever, as they headed out into the dark together. He kept his arm around her and constantly looked about. Sarah sensed he was on edge, like he was expecting someone to attack before they’d even left her drive. The Victorian lamps only provided minimal lighting, enough for Sarah to see where she was treading, and the odd tree branch. She suspected Daniel’s eyesight was much more acute though, and wondered how much of an advantage he had.

As they entered the main streets it was silent, nobody out in this region so late. Even around the bars there wouldn’t be anyone out - if anyone went outside it would be brief due to the cold. After a substantial walk, they reached the grotty area. Daniel was more alert than ever. Music pounded out of a venue ahead and they ducked inside, finding themselves instantly in a crowd. Sarah felt Daniel tighten his grip on her. Her heart pounded, it felt like something could happen any minute and she had no idea how this evening was going to go. She could barely believe that she might try and kill Jo. Or Sebastian - not that she’d stand much chance against him. Their best chance would be to tackle Jo alone, they might be able to kill him.

But could she do it? She saw his image from earlier flash back into her mind. I could do it if he was acting like that. She didn’t think she could if he acted normal. She wouldn’t be able to believe what had happened earlier. What if she had hallucinated the whole thing? What if Jo wasn’t a monster at all? What if she was actually going mad, seeing things?

Music thudded around her. It was dark and people bumped into her. The place smelt bad; smoke, spilt drinks and sweat. She pushed through, looking for any sign of Jo, Daniel holding her hand. He had explained to her what Sebastian looked like. Very tall, thin, longish hair, dark eyes. Probably dressed much like Daniel. She hadn’t seen a photo though so really was trusting in Daniel to spot him. Sarah looked hard, investigating every corner, but couldn’t see any sign of either of them. She looked at Daniel and he gesticulated towards the door.

As the fresh air hit her Sarah breathed it in, relieved to be in the open.

‘Next place?’ she asked.

‘Yes, but first…’ and he leant in and kissed her. She felt warmth spread through her, feeling giddy with attraction, and broke into a smile as he pulled away.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the next place, looking intently down every alley. It was much of the same; dark, crowded, smoky. When they left this one Sarah’s unease increased. It seemed likely they would have to face some kind of situation soon.

The next bar was quieter. Sarah kept thinking she saw Jo in the dark, but at second glance realizing it was just her paranoia. She kept looking for his short hair and warm brown eyes, or his chunky well-built frame. The thing was, these weren’t uncommon features - it was easy to think that she was seeing things in the dark. She was also keenly looking for blood, inspecting necks, seeing if there were any signs of bites.

She followed Daniel to the bar and he bought her a coke. Not what she would usually choose, but she didn’t want alcohol obscuring her judgment. The sugary liquid did perk her up, and soothed her throat from the smoke. She leant into Daniel, feeling his hard muscles beneath his leather jacket, but kept looking about. She didn’t want Jo to see her first.

They finished their drinks and decided there was definitely no sign of either Jo or Sebastian, and that it was time to move on. Back out in the cold Sarah held Daniel’s hand, tightly. She kept her other hand in her pocket, gripping onto a stake. It was so quiet, there were only distant sounds - the odd drunken shout in the distance, music muffled by heavy walls. It started to rain again and Sarah pulled her hood further over her face, catching Daniel’s eye and trying to smile. He gave her a gorgeous smile back, making her feel a little easier.

They rounded the next corner and saw another bar ahead. This one looked rough, the sign only just readable under the poor lighting, curtains drawn, front door closed. It didn’t look very welcoming.

She felt Daniel tense and looked up at him, then he pulled her into the shadows. Her heart pounded hard, she felt it in her throat and ears, but Daniel held onto her and she felt protected. It didn’t escape her mind how much older and stronger Sebastian supposedly was. She knew Daniel wouldn’t necessarily be able to protect her.

In the dark Daniel pulled at her chin so her eyes met his, ‘Calm down,’ he said. She lost herself in his eyes, feeling his influence seep in and her heart rate slow. She took a deep breath. He put his finger to his lips to indicate silence, then he kissed her, but this kiss was not like any they had shared before. It was like a doorway had opened and she could see into his mind. She felt awe, but this was soon interrupted by Daniel’s voice - speaking directly into her mind.

‘I influenced you to calm down as I didn’t want any vampires to sense you. The sound of your heart beat is driving me wild.’ Sarah felt her face heat, his lips still against hers. Then his mind turned serious, ‘I pulled you back here because I can smell blood. I think we must be close.’

Sarah hesitated a second, not sure how to return his thought. Then she felt his mind enter hers and he showed her, it was like a little release, neurons changing paths, an opening. ‘What shall we do?’ she asked. The thought flowed smoothly to Daniel, it felt amazing to communicate like this. She would have dwelt on it longer had it not been for the urgency of the situation.

‘Let’s move closer, hide in the shadows and watch. We’ll see if they appear. If you want to communicate again do it mind to mind. You will be able to do it now just touching skin to skin, holding hands.’

‘OK,’ Sarah said, feeling a touch of apprehension.

Daniel took her hand and led her closer, keeping close to the sides of buildings. They saw the bar door start to open and ducked into the shadow of a doorway. Daniel’s trick had worked well - Sarah’s heart didn’t speed up and she remained in control. Standing as far back as she could, she watched closely as Jo emerged from inside, pulling a young brunette behind him. She was small and skimpily dressed. Sarah instantly felt betrayed, seeing Jo with another woman, just as she’d dreaded. This situation wasn’t even close to anything she’d ever dreamt about though. Sarah saw the girl wrap her arms around herself as the cold air hit her, Jo leading her on towards an alley.

Daniel tightened his grip on her hand and spoke mind to mind. ‘This is it, Sebastian’s not in sight so we need to act now. When they go round the corner we follow.’

‘We need a plan,’ Sarah projected back.

‘You stay back, watch, and I will attack.’

Sarah felt a rush of dread engulf her - if he attacked he would kill Jo. She felt sick. But again, visions of his snarling blood covered face entered her mind. She nodded and held tightly to Daniel as they quickly followed Jo, entering the alley they’d seen him and the girl disappear down. It took her eyes a minute to adjust as Daniel raced forwards, then she saw Jo. He was against the wall, holding the girl tightly. Feeding on her.

His eyes snapped up and met Sarah’s - she stepped back as she saw them glow red, and he dropped the girl, discarding her. Blood dripped from his mouth and he snarled.

In that second Daniel hit into him and Jo turned his attention to his immediate threat. Sarah watched as they fell to the floor, pulling a stake out of her pocket, holding it ready to strike. Jo rolled over, away from Daniel, they were moving so fast she could barely see what was going on. She didn’t dare move any closer, not wanting to get in Daniel’s way. Daniel jumped on Jo, his teeth extending. Sarah felt even sicker, she didn’t know what to do. A big part of her just wanted to run, but she was frozen to the spot, staring wildly at the action before her.

Another part of her wanted to jump in, to end this now. She felt angry at Jo, and disgusted by his actions. But she also felt sorry for him, that this had happened at all. She still felt guilty at her anger. This really wasn’t his fault. But there wasn’t anything she could do about it now. He’d killed a girl, right in front of her. He had to die.

She stepped closer, but as she did she saw Daniel pin Jo on his back and draw out a stake. Before he got a chance to use it Jo mustered all his strength and pushed him back, then jumped up and kicked him in the stomach with both feet, sending Daniel and the stake flying back. Jo ran at Sarah, so fast that she barely saw him coming. She braced herself, holding her stake, ready to fight. But he grabbed her hard, pushing her to the floor.

Her head hit stone paving, splitting with pain and he bit straight into her throat. Pain seared through her and she jammed the stake into his side, she felt it puncture him but knew she’d missed his heart. Then an impact took her breath away, and Jo was forced hard against her. But his draw of blood stopped and his teeth retracted from her neck. The weight disappeared from her as Daniel pulled Jo off. She gasped for breath, putting her hands to her neck to curb the blood flow. Weakness engulfed her as Daniel pulled her to her feet, supporting her weight. Jo lay before her, a stake rammed in his heart from behind. She watched as he caught alight, right in front of her eyes. Tears welled up as she watched Jo burn.

Daniel was suddenly rasped from her side. With a blow she stumbled away, seeing Daniel ram against the far wall, thrown against his will. She saw a blur of movement then there was someone pummeling Daniel. Someone tall, dark and thin, wearing a leather jacket. Sebastian.

Her heart contracted as she saw Daniel, his face cut and bleeding. He managed to land a blow into Sebastian’s stomach and he fell back. Sarah saw Sebastian’s face, chiseled and handsome and angry. ‘He was mine Daniel,’ and he rammed into him with fresh kicks, making Daniel fall to the ground.

Daniel was soon on his feet again, an angry snarl on his face, ‘You have to stop this now, I can’t let you keep killing people.’ And he lunged at Sebastian, knocking him off against the paving.

Sebastian laughed, a bitter spiteful sound. Sarah leant back against the cold wall, trying not to fall down, she was so weak. Her neck and head really hurt.

‘It’s not up to you Daniel, I do as I please. You can’t stop me.’ Sarah’s breath caught in her throat as Sebastian appeared before her. She hadn’t even seen him coming. ‘I will take her in exchange.’

‘No!’ she heard Daniel shout. But it was too late, she could feel herself moving off at high speed, dizziness engulfed her and all went black.