Dark Love (2 page)

He pushed the
spade further in with his foot, as it was stuck on some small
stones. He forced it through and scooped up more earth, his black
trousers now thick with mud. One more scoop and he decided the hole
was deep enough. He picked up the boy’s feet and dragged him in,
pushing him over so he was face down. He lay the girl down next to
him, also face down. That would mean he wouldn’t have to look at
their faces as he pushed the earth back in, covering their bodies,
burying them so they wouldn’t be found, so the bodies would never
be traced to Sarah.

That way there
would be a chance she could come back. If she could muster control,
maybe she could return to her children - while they still
remembered her.

It would be
difficult, as people would be wary of her, but she would be able to
project influence. She could change people’s memories with her
power. It would take time to learn, but in a few years she would be
proficient at it.

As Daniel
finished pushing the earth into the grave, and was flattening the
ground with his feet, the sky began to darken. He had brought Sarah
deep into the forest, so if she was to awaken without him there, he
would be able to find her before she hurt anybody.

She was a few
hundred meters away, and he would soon return to check on her.

It was hard not
to worry about how she would be, how deeply the transformation
would affect her. What if she was like Jo; bloodthirsty and unable
to reason?

Well, if she
was, he would fight for her. He couldn’t let her go. He certainly
could not kill her. He would need to take her away, far from anyone
she knows, far from anyone she may hurt. He would persevere. He
would teach her control, teach her to reason.

Daniel used his
finger tips to remove his boot prints, and scattered leaves and
twigs over the burial site. He stood back - surveying the scene. He
was relatively pleased; he didn’t think anyone who happened to be
passing would notice anything unusual.

It would
probably be best if he didn’t return the spade. He had taken it
from a shed in Sarah’s yard, but in case the bodies were found, he
didn’t want the spade to be associated with the burial. He would
need to leave it in the forest, but far from his present location.
Anyone finding a spade in the forest would be suspicious.

Daniel picked
it up and started walking back to Sarah; he wanted to be with her
before it was fully dark. If she woke up alone in the dark, she was
bound to be even more confused.

As he walked
through the forest he became aware of sounds ahead. His heart
accelerated in anticipation: Sarah was awake.

He sped up,
then seeing her ahead, he stopped. She was feeding on a young deer.
This was good. She was a natural hunter - one less thing he would
need to teach her.

Daniel hung
back, not wanting to disturb her feed. He watched as she drained
the deer. She looked savage - yet this wasn’t a shock. It was
inevitable. No new vampire was immune to the desire for blood.

There were
other desires that would be stronger too. Daniel smiled to himself
- there would be some good points to her turning. At least, there
would be if she still wanted him.

He stood
straighter, ready for action, as Sarah staggered up and moved away
from the deer. She looked confused, disorientated.

Daniel stepped
forward - ready to confront her, to comfort her. At that moment he
saw her look up, and her eyes met his. For a second she looked
confused, and then he saw recognition on her face. And panic.

She turned, and
sped from him. Racing away. Daniel’s heart leapt, he couldn’t let
her escape - she might hurt someone. He dropped the spade and
sprinted after her, adamant he would have her back in his arms.
Fast.

Sarah raced
on.
She was moving fast and it was exhilarating. What was going
on? She felt completely different than before. She had had power,
but she couldn’t move this fast. And what was wrong with her
memory? Why was she so confused?

Sarah saw the
trees clearly; their dark trunks and sparse leaves, evergreen even
in the cold. She whipped past them, easily avoiding obstacles. A
joy rose in her chest - this was so much fun! Feelings of guilt and
confusion paled as she leapt up, her legs feeling strong, and swung
off branches. A big grin spread across her face.

She turned as
Daniel skidded to a halt, stopping an inch from her body.
Electricity erupted between them, and she pushed him down to the
forest floor. She jumped onto him - playfully pinning him down.
God, he was hot. What had she been thinking running from him?

He was eyeing
her warily from beneath her, but that just made him sexier. His
dark hair was tangled with leaf litter, and his jaw was firm.

Ha! He was
trying to resist her.

Sarah ran her
finger playfully across his lower lip. Mmmmm. She leant down and
kissed him. He wasn’t sure to start with; she had a feeling he
wanted to talk. But his lips gave at her pressure and she pushed
her tongue into his mouth. He returned her kiss fervently, pushing
her aside and lying on top. Sarah nipped at his lip. She instantly
tasted sweet blood, and sucked hard. Daniel moaned, holding her
tighter. She wanted him badly.

He pushed her
away - trying to detach her from his lip. She resisted, holding on
tight, running her finger tips down his spine.

‘Sarah. There
are things we’ve got to do,’ he said, from between gritted
teeth.

‘They can wait.
I want you,’ she whispered.

‘No, they
can’t. You need blood. HUMAN blood. I don’t want you to die,’ he
said.

The word
‘blood’ made her salivate. Her throat was already feeling dry, the
deer’s blood had been good, but she wanted more. What was going on?
Deer’s blood? What deer? What was that about her dying?

Sarah looked at
her hand again, puzzled. Where had that blood come from? She looked
up at Daniel, frightened by the jumble of her thoughts. He looked
back, full of concern, and tucked her hair behind her ear. He
kissed her cheekbones softly.

‘Don’t worry
Sarah,’ said Daniel. He looked intently into her eyes, ‘Don’t
worry.’

Sarah felt his
influence seep into her, and she started to relax.

‘What’s wrong
with me?’ she asked.

As he started
to talk she took in his words, letting them slowly sink in to her
mind. . . .

‘You died Sarah
- when we were fighting Sebastian. He killed you. I’m so
sorry.’

‘I’m dead?
What? - I’m a vampire?’ she asked, starting to cotton on.

‘Yes, it’s
because we shared blood. I’m sorry,’ he said again, pained.

Images surfaced
in Sarah’s mind, she had been fighting a woman. But she was
Sebastian - he had possessed her. Then her memory stopped, and she
remembered waking up in the forest. She remembered the deer, the
blood.

Megan, crying
in her room.

Megan. Bea.

‘My children -
are they ok?’ she asked, panicking.

Her children
were only small, two and five years old. Her two girls.

‘Yes, they are
with your parents. Don’t worry. Don’t think about them now,’ he
said.

Again Sarah
felt overcome by his influence, and her thoughts relaxed again. The
panic made her thoughts jumble. Relaxing helped.

‘Blood, I need
blood. Why might I die? Again,’ she smirked. His influence had
taken the pain, and the panic, out of her mind. She felt like she
had just taken a calming drug.

‘New vampires
need human blood, or they will die. I’m sorry, I don’t know why,’
he said.

‘But, I don’t
want to hurt anyone. When I drained that deer I couldn’t stop.’
Sarah felt concerned; her longing for blood was increasing and
talking about it did not help. But what if she killed someone?
Enough humanity still existed in her not to want that.

‘I will help
you, I will stop you killing. I will be right there, with you when
you feed. I will pull you off if need be.’

Sarah looked
into his beautiful dark eyes. Darkness had fallen, yet she could
still see. Her senses were heightened. Yet she felt jittery, her
throat was really beginning to hurt.

‘Daniel . . .’
she started.

‘Yes?’ he
spoke, softly, tantalizingly.

‘I think I need
blood now.’

Daniel stood in
one swift movement, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet.
She felt the electricity afresh, but she could ignore it now. The
need for blood was consuming.

‘I will take
you to a house in the woods. I will influence someone to leave, and
you can drink from them. Don’t worry,’ he soothed. ‘It won’t be
long.’

Sarah felt
reassured as he clutched her hand tightly. He started to walk, then
sped up – moving faster than she could imagine. And she could keep
pace! She was moving of her own abilities, merely guided in
direction by him.

Her body was
really becoming dry. She was so parched. She felt tight, like she
needed something; blood she guessed. Blood. Desire filled her and
she felt her teeth extending in anticipation. If Daniel hadn’t been
guiding her, she would have found it hard to concentrate on moving
at all. Her senses were extending. She could hear heart-beats
everywhere - birds in the trees and mice and bats and deer and
bear.

They were
overwhelming her. Pounding was coming from everywhere, every
direction.

Daniel started
to slow so she did too, becoming giddy – stars obscuring her
vision.

‘Sarah –
Sarah!’

Sarah knew it
was Daniel talking, but he sounded far away. She felt the ground
beneath her knees as she crumpled down.

‘Sarah – you
will be ok. Wait here my love, I won’t be long.’

Sarah couldn’t
reply, her thoughts were becoming hazy and her throat was bone dry.
She tried to swell saliva around her mouth – but it was no use, she
couldn’t produce any no matter how hard she tried. She let herself
lie down, after all – Daniel would be with her soon. It would be ok
if she slept. . . .

She was
drifting, seeing red blood dripping – running down the trees,
pooling on the ground. Then her taste buds sprang to life.
Something was seeping into her mouth, touching her lips. She
tentatively let her mouth open, allowing more delightful, life
giving warmth to enter. Her teeth were doing funny things again –
it felt like they were growing in her mouth. Yet she was lost in
the blood.

Blood. Ahhh -
she opened her mouth wider, instinct took over and she bit hard,
through the warm flesh that was pushed softly against her lips.
Fresh blood poured down her throat, and she gulped again, taking in
the beautiful life force of the warm human she realized she was
grasping on to – holding like her life depended on it.

She realized in
that moment that it did.

It was her life
to take.

She drank
deeper, feeling blood travel around her body, rejuvenating her,
giving her life, power.

She heard words
penetrate the edge of her consciousness – ‘Sarah, it’s time to stop
my love’, but she blocked them out, so engrossed in the feed.

Then she felt
that someone pulling at her arms, forcing them apart – tugging at
the human, a soft and pliable woman, in her arms. She dug her teeth
in deeper, not willing to let the woman go, but fingers entered her
mouth by force, pushing her teeth apart, and the women was pulled
from her grasp.

Sarah’s eyes
snapped open. They had been closed for the feed, tightly shutting
out anything but the blood, the power.

Anger flared
inside her and she jumped to her feet, a hiss escaping her mouth.
Then she gasped, and covered her mouth with her cool fingers as she
saw Daniel before her. Realization kicked in; she had nearly killed
someone, and that someone was lying before her on the ground, blood
at her throat - unconscious.

Daniel was
leaning over the woman, who - now Sarah studied her - had deep
brown hair, cut short in a boyish style. But her face was lined and
her skin was pale.

Daniel was
pressing his wrist against her lips -
his
blood was dripping
into her mouth. Jealously bubbled in her veins, she wanted to rip
Daniel away from her. She didn’t want anyone else to taste his
blood.

Yet she
resisted – the woman’s blood was in her veins, stimulating her
senses. Sarah’s thoughts were clearing. Things were starting to
make sense, but conflicting emotions wracked her body, conflicting
desires.

She still
wanted the woman for herself – she wanted to rip her life away,
take her power. Yet the part of her that remained from when she was
human wanted to nurse her, to look after her, to save her.

Sarah took a
deep breath to steady herself, to keep control. She moved closer to
Daniel and went to her knees next to him – watching closely. She
saw that color was returning to the woman’s cheeks, and realized
she was swallowing Daniel’s blood, that she was still alive.

Sarah exhaled
in relief, and was relieved twofold to realize that she still
cared. She realized she wanted more than anything to care, to keep
her humanity.

She resolved
right there that she would not lose herself to the blood again. She
would be strong. She would resist the desire of intoxication and
stay true to herself.

Daniel saw
the
woman was reviving – she was ok.

Phew - she had
responded to his blood.

He had only
just managed to save her in time as Sarah really had not wanted to
let go. He hadn’t relished forcing her mouth apart, ripping the
woman away from her, but if he had not Sarah would have killed
her.

He glanced back
at Sarah now. She looked stunning; her blond hair was wild and
tangled, she had blood smudged around her lips and her eyes looked
feral. She looked like a beast, a demon.