The Guest & The Change

chapter 7





Daniel’s heart exploded. Sebastian had taken Sarah. The first woman he had cared about since he had lost his wife, whom Sebastian had killed. Tears rolled down his cheeks, he felt helpless. Like an idiot. I should never have let her come. But she had been amazing, she had coped, she had held up that stake, prepared to fight as Jo had come for her. And she had stabbed it into him, piercing just below his ribs. Yet her angle hadn’t been right, she couldn’t reach his heart when Jo had been pushing her onto the stone. If he hadn’t attacked her I may not have been able to kill him.

When he was feeding off her Jo had been an easy victim. It hadn’t taken long to be at their side. To stab him in the back. He deserved it though. He would have killed Sarah. She was injured, she was weakened. I should have given her my blood, before it was too late, before he had a chance to take her. I should have known he’d come, I should have taken her away the second I killed Jo. I should have sped her out of here myself. Daniel let himself slip down against the wall in despair. There was no point following Sebastian now, he was much faster, he would have to think of a plan and track them down. Get Sarah back.

The alley was dark and still. It smelt strongly of blood. It made Daniel’s throat burn with thirst. He would have to hunt before tracking Sebastian, increase his strength if he had any chance of succeeding.

He forced himself to rise, to get it together. He had already healed, but he could feel dirt and dried blood on his face. He wiped at it with his sleeve, trying to make himself more presentable. He straightened out his hair and clothes, dirt falling to the ground.

He heard movement and was back on alert; it was coming from deeper in the alley. He walked towards the sound, proceeding with caution, feeling weak.

There, he saw bodies on the ground, his eyes focused in and he saw there were four, piled on top of each other. Four dead people. If only he and Sarah had come out a little earlier, they may have saved someone. Things may have panned out differently.

One of the bodies moved. He looked at the neck, healed, and surrounded by blond hair much like Sarah’s. Sebastian must have turned her.

Daniel grabbed another stake from inside his coat and stabbed it into her heart, before she’d even had the opportunity to open her eyes. She burst into flames. He checked the other victims. All dead, none to save, none that were going to turn.

He walked away from the scene, despair and desperation in his heart. He could go to the forest, hunt for bear. But as he was thinking this he saw the bar door open and a couple of men stepped out.

***

Sarah came to with something pressed against her mouth, cool firm skin, something enticing dripping into her mouth, sliding down her throat. Blood. She snapped her eyes open and the wrist pressed more firmly into her mouth, a hand held her head in place from behind. She gulped, swallowing more blood, feeling the pain in her head and neck ease. Then the wrist pulled away and, in the dim moon-lit night, she was looking into dark eyes that stretched to infinity. Only these weren’t the gentle smoldering eyes of Daniel, these were the black eyes of Sebastian.

They were filled with amusement and wickedness. His hair fell about his face - she almost wanted to reach out and stroke it, it looked so sleek and shiny. She shook her head, realizing she was under his influence. Her heart pounded, and Sarah realized Daniel’s influence had worn off. Daniel. Jo. Jo’s dead.

Tears sprang into her eyes and she let them fall. Without thinking she hit Sebastian. He obviously hadn’t been expecting it as he fell back, grabbing a branch and swinging back up. Sarah had been so absorbed she hadn’t even noticed their location. They were on a wide branch, perched in a tree. Her heart raced. It was so dark she couldn’t tell how high they were.

Hearing laughter she faced Sebastian. ‘How could you do this? You - you killed Jo. He was my husband.’ More tears fell down her face. Sebastian reached towards her and she flinched back, yet held tightly to the branch. She didn’t fancy falling.

‘Sarah, what shall we do with you?’ He said, and he smirked at her. She felt nausea threaten to engulf her.

‘Why did you take me? Why am I still alive?’

‘I wouldn’t kill you Sarah. I may turn you. I haven’t decided yet. You are too beautiful to get rid of. I might have you for myself.’ Sarah looked away as he looked her over appreciatively, her face heating. He was obviously rejoicing in making her feel uneasy.

She vowed not to say another word to Sebastian, she didn’t want to make things worse and she had no idea how to make things better.

She wondered where she was, smelling strong scents of pine. She supposed Sebastian had brought her here, therefore there may be a trail for Daniel to follow. To rescue her. But what could he do? Sebastian had taken her away and Daniel hadn’t been able to do anything. What made her think he would be able to do anything now?

***

Daniel walked towards the men; they were about forty, a bit ruff round the edges. Their clothing looked like tough work wear, they were probably employed in forestry.

They had definitely had too much to drink, and were having difficulty walking in a straight line. Daniel approached them, sending out calming tendrils of power. They both looked up, surprised to see anyone else out in the cold, not used to seeing anyone as good looking and well dressed as Daniel.

Before they uttered a word Daniel looked into their eyes in turn and said ‘No need to be scared. Please can you help me, I’ve lost my wallet. I think I dropped it over there.’ He pointed towards the same alley he had killed Jo in.

‘Yeah sure, what were you doing, lurking in the dark?’ one joked.

Daniel didn’t reply, his need was urgent. What if Sebastian killed her? Turned her? As soon as they were in the shadows, looking separately for a wallet, he touched one man on the arm. When he looked in his eyes he whispered, ‘Don’t move, stay quite.’

He rose and approached the other man who stood when he saw Daniel coming. ‘I don’t think we’ll find it out here, can we buy you a drink?’

‘Thank-you, but that won’t be necessary. Don’t fight, don’t be scared. You will not remember this, or that you met me.’ And Daniel bit into his neck. Warm luscious liquid spilled down his throat, bringing him life energy. He soaked it up drinking deeply. It had been a long time since he had drunk human blood, he usually relied on animals for sustenance. It would have been heaven if it wasn’t that his heart was breaking.

He made himself stop drinking before the man would suffer too much from blood loss. He pulled back and wiped up any visible blood, pulling the man’s lumber jacket high around his neck. ‘Stay still, this will not take long,’ he uttered, before returning to the other man.

Again he drank deeply, feeling giddy from the blood rush, before influencing them both to forget and return home.

He felt strength coursing through him, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough to defeat Sebastian. He straightened himself up and entered the bar, looking for more blood.

This one was very crowded, he had to push through. Long years of vampirism had trained him not to concentrate on the pulsing of blood around him. If he noticed it all the time it would drive him insane. He worked his way through the crowd to the bar, eyeing up potential victims as he waited to be served.

He ordered himself a large whisky, trying to keep himself in control with the new blood speeding around his body, his senses coming alive.

He needed to take as much blood as possible - the more heightened his senses, the greater chance he’d have of tracking Sebastian and Sarah. He needed a plan though. He’d never defeat Sebastian without one as he wasn’t going to kill humans. However much he drank he would never be as strong as him.

Figuring he might as well increase his strength while he was thinking, he chose a tall girl ordering a single drink at the bar. She smiled confidently as he approached her, looking into his eyes. It didn’t take much influence to get her to leave with him. She followed him out, slipping her arm under his jacket, making him feel uncomfortable.

He took her straight into the shadows and drank as much of her blood as he could risk, before covering her neck and making sure she would forget.

When she’d returned to the bar he stayed out thinking. The girl had reminded him of someone, her dark curly hair and slanting, heavily lined eyes. A witch called Heather. Someone he had known when he lived in New Orleans. It was too far away to go there now, there wasn’t enough time. Plus, it was a long time ago, possibly ten years. It would be tricky to track her down. But she did teach him a few tricks. If he could find the right spell, he might be able to use it against Sebastian, incapacitate him. It could give him the chance to finish him off for good. And rescue Sarah. His heart warmed thinking of seeing her again.

Fuelled by his increased intake of blood he transformed into a buzzard, and soared into the sky, back to his hotel, The Woodman.

***

‘You know Sarah, I really can see why Daniel likes you. Why he’s taking advantage of you.’ Sebastian said. He reached out and down the side of her face, pulling her collar down, exposing her neck. ‘Has he tried your blood?’

Sarah refused to look at him and stayed silent, still feeling sick. She had a bad feeling about where this was going.

‘Do you mind if I try it?’ he asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. His teeth sank into her throat, and again, searing pain ripped through her. He retracted his teeth, and forced her head around so he could look her in the eye. ‘This will not do, you need to relax. Relax. This will let you enjoy it too.’ Sarah’s heart pounded as he leant back in and she felt his teeth pierce her afresh. She focused on her breathing, trying to relax. But he hadn’t influenced her, he was just playing with her, having fun. She knew this, yet she couldn’t take it lightly. She couldn’t let herself enjoy the experience. If she was to let anyone drink her blood willingly it would be Daniel.

As she thought this, he pushed her away, causing her throat to tear. It hadn’t occurred to her that he had been able to read her thoughts, like Daniel had. She hadn’t been trying to project. She sensed that he was hurt and frustrated. He seemed to actually want her to like him.

She grasped at her neck, trying to stop the blood flow, trying not to cry at the pain. Thoughts of Megan and Bea popped into her head, and she pushed them away, not wanting Sebastian to sense them, what if he hurt them to get at her?

***

Sebastian looked at Sarah, frustration burning in his veins. She sat on the branch, thinking about other men, about her children. And how did she feel about him? Revulsion. That much he’d gained from the thought fragments he picked up.

She did look beautiful though, sitting there, tormented, blood flowing down her neck. He reached out and wiped at a trickle before it ran into her top, bringing it up to his mouth with his fingers and sucking at it. She didn’t even look at him. This really wasn’t as much fun as he’d hoped.

Maybe he should just change her. Then at least she’d be wilder, and she’d be sired to him. Maybe he’d stand a chance.

But for now, he couldn’t just let her bleed to death. That would be no fun at all. He let his desire for blood filter in and extended his teeth. Then he bit into his own wrist, feeling a sharp tang, and pushed it against her mouth. She didn’t object to this at least, he thought, as he watched her gulp hungrily, resolutely avoiding looking into his face. Feeding her like this wouldn’t turn her, he needed to kill her for that. But it would heal her, rejuvenating her supply of blood for later.

***

Daniel landed at the foot of a tree near the hotel, first checking there was no-one looking out the window, he transformed back into his human shape. The hotel was a large wooden-fronted building, set back in the woods. He was guessing it had seen better days, but it served his purpose as he wasn’t bothered while staying there. He also had all the resources he needed, including wireless internet.

He opened the door to the hotel with his own key and walked upstairs to his room. It was very tidy - room service had obviously visited in his absence. He pulled out his laptop and hastily turned it on, trying to think where to start.

The witch, Heather, had shown him various web-sites only readable by those with supernatural abilities. You had to have better vision than any human to read them. There were sites with spells, designed for witches to communicate worldwide, allowing new spells to be developed and shared.

He could remember a few sites, but would there be any spells against vampires? It wouldn’t surprise him. Heather had also taught him some simple spells, for example how to light a fire with his mind.

It took a certain focus to learn spells. Heather, a witch by blood, had the ability to communicate by mind. A bit like he’d taught Sarah earlier that evening. Heather had shown him the exact way to focus, making his learning of magic substantially faster. The fire lighting was a good trick and he’d used it a few times, even to kill Sebastian’s vampires. He’d need to use something stronger than that on Sebastian himself though.

He connected to wifi and typed in the first web address he remembered. It took him to a general witch craft site - he just had to find the link to the hidden material. He spotted it in the bottom left hand corner - he clicked - and up popped a box. It contained links to spells - that even he could only just read. There were lots of subheadings, spells for séances, rituals, even housework.

Then he spotted one to try - defense. He clicked on it and it took him to another list. This list had various options too; general, humans, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, amongst others. He clicked on vampires and was presented by a list of spell types, he read down the list carefully, trying to work out which one would be most useful.

There were quite a variety, it looked like he wouldn’t need to bother with the other sites at all. There was the one he knew, fire, along with others like decapitation, forcing a stake in with greater power, a spell to weaken with sunlight. There were also spells for mummification. The one for decapitation could be handy on a lesser vampire, but Sebastian would be too quick - he would dodge the spell, as he would a stake. The idea of mummifying him was interesting. He could mummify him, then kill him.

He clicked on the mummification link. It took him to one page, one spell. He read through it closely. At its heart the spell looked simple. He would have to make skin to skin contact with Sebastian, visualize the spell in his head, then pull his energy out of him. Once the flow of energy started Sebastian would be so weakened he wouldn’t be able to fight back. If he drew out all his energy Sebastian would become mummified, but could be brought back to life with fresh blood.

He wasn’t sure whether Sebastian would have heard of this magic, whether he’d be prepared for it. Even if he has, he thought, I’m sure he wouldn’t imagine I would have learnt it. There was one problem; the spell would take the energy of a powerful witch to perform. As he didn’t have natural magical power he would need to increase his power by other means, by consuming more blood.

He sighed, feeling the burden of his predicament. He hated feeding on humans. He loved the taste of blood, the life energy it infused him with. But even if he stopped himself killing he still felt guilty. He hated manipulating people, weakening them, risking killing them. He pushed this thought aside, burying it deep within, and prepared to go back into the night.