Dark Moors (THE TWO VAMPIRES, #4) (4 page)

‘Yes,’ Daniel said, his eyes glinting in the darkness.  ‘But I’m too weak to influence anyone to leave their house right now. 
If we do as you say, and leave now, we should hunt on animals, back in those woods we passed through.  It’s not far from here – if we sprint there now and feed we will feel more in control of ourselves, and like you said, stronger if there is another attack.  But we must stay on alert, and can retreat back here if we find fresh danger.’

‘The question is,’ Sarah said, ‘
after we have fed, do we return to our house?’

‘What do you think?’ Daniel asked her
, still communicating directly into her mind.

‘I think we should.
  Now we know that something bad is going on here I feel we must do something about it – that’s why we came here after all, and what’s the point in hiding out somewhere else?  Whoever raised those dead is probably watching us!  He, or she, can probably change into that horrible crow that was watching us before and follow us where-ever we go.  I know we’ve only just got the cottage, but all our stuff is there – it feels like as good a home as any…’

‘OK, that’s fine with me.  We will need to try and find out who’s behind this whole thing anyway.  It will be good if we’re in the middle of it all.’

‘So we have a plan?’ she asked him.  ‘We will leave here now, feed, then return home.  Investigate what’s going on, and seek out human blood - tomorrow?’

‘Yes, ok then,’ Daniel said
as he dropped her hand, and shot her a stunning smile that made her insides wreath.

She gave him a playful push
before making sure her jeans were back on properly, and straightening out her clothes and hair.

Daniel was just reaching for the door when Sarah remembered something.

‘Wait,’ she said.

Daniel turn
ed and stepped back towards her.  He took her hand and spoke into her mind once more, ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

‘You know after I spotted the stone circle, and had that odd sense of déjà vu
- you mentioned my dreams, and whether they might be prophetic?’ she said.

‘Yes.’

‘Well, urgh, when that dead body grabbed my foot outside our house I had that sense again.  It felt like it had happened before,’ Sarah emphasized.  ‘So I just wondered…’

‘Whether I
should try tapping into your dreams?’ Daniel finished.

Sarah nodded.  She was still w
ary of the idea – but what if it helped?  It might warn them of any approaching danger so they could make sure they were more prepared next time.

‘I think it’s worth a try.  I’ll stay awake when we get back…’

‘But you’re tired, you need sleep too,’ Sarah protested.

‘I will feel fine after I’ve fed,’ Daniel said.

Sarah nodded again and gestured to Daniel that it was fine to leave now.  She resolved she would let Daniel sleep too, that they would take it in turns keeping a look out incase anything else bad should happen.  She did not need to push the issue now.  Daniel needed blood, and she was waylaying him.

As they stepped back out into the night the smell of burnt flesh was still rich in the air.  Ashes covered the tuffocky ground in heaps which were slowly spreading out in the wind.  Sarah wondered where all the dead bodies had come from, and then she remembered the church and graveyard she had so wanted to visit, and she felt sick.
  She felt tense, half expecting to be attacked again at an instant, but the moor was quiet except for the grasses blowing in the wind, and she could not see any wildlife, or any supernatural presence.

She looked to Daniel, who was searching their surroundings with his eyes
and ears, and she grasped hold of his hand.  She exchanged a quick glance with him and they started to move at lightning speed back towards the old oaks over in the next valley.

Daniel
had not let on to Sarah just how weak he really was.  He was desperate to feed, but still worried about what might be waiting for them around the corner, or behind them in the dark.  He hated not knowing who their enemy was.  When fighting Sebastian it had not been easy, but he had always known what he was facing.  This was unchartered territory.

Daniel was glad that Sarah had persuaded him to leave that bunker.  The smell of burning flesh had quickly penetrated the building, and was not allowing him to forget what they had just been throug
h.  Plus, his throat!  It was incredibly dry after expelling all that magic, all that power.  He wanted human blood now, he craved it.  It was his weakness.  But alas, animal would have to do this night.

The wind buffered his hair as they approached the woods.  He came to a stop before they entered, still holding on to Sarah, unwilling to let her go.  His eyes pierced the landscape while searching for danger.  He did not
want Sarah to be at risk while he fed.

The sky was starting to lighten along the horizon.  He looked the other way and saw low clouds moving in.  They were obscuring the tops of the hills and their granite outcrops. 

He spotted movement in the distance, and his eyes focused acutely in that direction.  A bird; was it a crow?  He stretched his eyes, concentrating hard.  No – it was a buzzard.  Daniel smiled ruefully; after all, it was the bird he himself frequently transformed into.  Was it possible their enemy might be able to change into more than one animal?  He hoped not.

‘Sarah,’ he said, ‘while I feed please can you keep an eye out for any animals that might be watching us – not only that crow.’

Sarah nodded her acquiescence, but Daniel noticed vulnerability in her soft eyes.

‘I will keep an eye out while you feed too,’ he said.

He shot her the most stunning smile he could manage, trying to lighten the situation, and was pleased to see her blush.

‘
Come on then,’ he said, and led her into the woods.

It was still dark under the cover of the tree tops.  Daniel immediately switched to hunting mode.  He breathed in deeply as he tried to smell out nearby prey, and listening acutely for a lively pumping heart.
  He heard small heart beats in the trees; they belonged to the birds that were starting their dawn chorus.  He ignored these and listened harder, his hearing penetrating beyond the immediate sounds of the birds.  He could not hear any really tempting large pumping hearts.  There were a few that were smaller, but one in particular had a deep rhythm that drew him in, stimulating his teeth to extend.  He focused on that one and started to skulk deeper into the woods towards it, loosing Sarah’s hand as he went, and leaving her to follow silently behind, trusting her to stay close and keep watch.

A deep part of his mind admired her control.  She was definitely doing better
than before, as it was some time since she had lost herself to her lust for blood.  Well, maybe it was only twelve hours ago she had fed?  It seemed much longer.

The forefront of his mind was too preoccupied with thirst to think clearly.  He was getting closer to the tempting pulse of the animal ahead.  It was moving between the trees and bushes itself, possibly also hunting as its heart rate was speeding up – or had it sensed his approach? 

Daniel’s eyes searched ahead.  He spotted it.  Two eyes glinted as they peered at him from behind a tree trunk.  It was a fox, its red fur sleek and rich in color.

Daniel stayed still, averting his eyes so as not to frighten the animal.  The fox contin
ued to stare for one minute, then it lost interest and turned to walk away.  At that instant Daniel pounced.  He leapt high into the air at lightning speed and landed on top of the fox – grabbing its middle with his hands and leaning over towards the muscular neck.  Daniel sank his fangs through fur and skin and drank.  The warm blood flowed down his throat.  It soothed his pain, his need, but it was not enough. 

He needed more. 

The heart of the fox started to slow and Daniel forced himself to withdraw his teeth and let the animal go.  It ran off and took cover.  Daniel raised his eyes and saw another animal watching him.  Another fox.  He sprang in one swift motion and rejoiced as he sank in his teeth again, the second animal nourishing him, finally strengthening him, removing the intense craving to drink from human veins. 

He let the animal go, before it would be hurt beyond repair, and stood tall, feeling the blood enter his veins and his power increase.  It made him feel warm and satisfied. 

He wiped his mouth and straightened his shirt, before turning around and facing Sarah.

She was leaning aga
inst a tree, an amused expression playing on her face.

‘It’s your turn,’ he said.

Instead of switching instantly to hunting mode, she approached him, her eyes glinting.  Her long blond hair shone ever so slightly in the darkness, giving her an ethereal beauty.  She moved in closer and pressed her body against his, stretching up she licked his lips.

‘Ummm,’ she murmured.

Then she gave him a wicked smile.

‘I’ll be with you soon,’ she whispered.

He watched her, amazed, as she moved back from him and shot away – deeper into the woods.  Daniel quickly followed, not wanting to lose sight of her; they might still be in danger, and she had not yet mastered control.  If she came across a human she would kill it; she would not be able to stop herself without his help, not while her senses were focused on the feed.

He followed her a little further then stopped by a tree as she pounced on a badger as it left its set.  He listened as she drank deeply, the animals pulse slowed and it stopped its frantic beat.
 

Sarah
stood and wiped her own mouth, as he had done, and returned to his side. 

Her previous playfulness had left her.

‘Let’s go home,’ she said.

‘OK,’ Daniel returned.

He was not sure what had triggered this sudden melancholy.  Sarah was usually jubilant after feeding.  Maybe it was yet more death, or the fact she was still out of control.  Maybe it had all just become too much.

Daniel took her hand and squeezed it, trying to emit a reassuring presence.

‘Do you want to race?’ he asked her, uncertain.

‘Yes.  No.  Sorry,’ she said, and raised her eyebrows with a hint of amusement.  ‘I don’t want to.  I want to walk slowly while taking in all the amazing sounds of the night – it would be romantic.  We shouldn’t
do that though, let’s just get home as quickly as we can.’ 

S
he switched to communicating through the bridge that was formed by their connecting fingers.  ‘Do you think you could manage to put up some kind of magical ward around the house - something that might alert us to approaching danger?’ she asked him.

Daniel thought about this for a moment. 
The witch who had taught him magic had mentioned something about a spell of protection, but she had not shown him how to do it.  He had put that binding spell on Sebastian, and binding trapped someone within a space.  What if he adapted that spell, kind of reversed it and sent out a boundary around their house?  He still wasn’t very strong, but if he constructed just enough of a boundary to warn them of approaching danger it would give them some time to run, then they could strengthen themselves more before fighting again.

He snapped out of his thoughts and saw Sarah regarding
him sagely.  He wondered if she had picked up on any of his thought tendrils, and gave her a searching look, but she was not saying anything.

‘I will try,’ he said.

Sarah merely nodded, but she looked pleased.

She turned in the direction of their cottage, ‘Ready?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ Daniel said.

He squeezed her hand one more time and maintained the pressure, holding on to her tightly.  The
y ran.  The wind whipped his hair away from his eyes, and he took the odd glance at Sarah as the sky lightened.  She looked beautiful and sad.  Her hair, which was so long, was flowing out behind her in a wild trail through the night, and her soft skin looked pale except for a flush of color in her cheeks.  They were reddened by the wind and the fresh blood.

He leapt over some stones blocking his way, S
arah flying through the night by his side.  They were racing up a hill and were approaching the large granite stone that marked its peak.  Daniel glanced back and to the sides, checking for danger before they entered the next valley.  He did not see anything suspicious. 

He was relieved.  He did no
t want to fight more now.  He was not strong enough, and really, he was not in the mood.  What he wanted was to spend some time with Sarah.  Romantic time. 

He also wanted to help her, to teach her control, transformations, magic…  There was so much she still had to learn, so much that would h
elp their survival, yet he had not had a chance to work on any of it yet.

He also really wanted to find out what was going on around here. 
It was very peculiar.  It even made
his
spine tingle with foreboding, and he was used to danger… and evil.  What was with the blood that had been at the stone circle, and the bodies they had found near there?  The people had obviously been killed at the stone circle, for he had followed the trail of blood.  But had they been sacrificed there?  And who had done it?  Was it whoever was masquerading as that crow?  And why had he detected a trace of magic?  Was the crow a witch, or a vampire that could use magic like him?