Night Feast (16 page)

Amberlee Robinson was blissfully unaware that some lady from Maine was searching for her.  She was enjoying living with her father, and the feeling was mutual.  She loved being the centre of his attention, as she had been before the divorce all those years ago.  Amberlee had been there for just over two weeks now, just hanging around her father’s small house.  He had taken a couple of sick days from work and had redecorated her room, painting it her favourite shade of pink.  Amberlee had not thought about her mother, brother or stepfather.  How they were feeling was no concern of hers.  She had, however been thinking of Jay Patterson.  Every time she remembered what had happened at the college dance she felt her humiliation return, and she would once again be transported back to her fleeing from the sight of his passionate kiss with that girl.  Amberlee knew how it would be for him back in Portland because of her disappearance, but she didn’t care.  She had no intention of going back.  As she lay in her bed at night she gleefully imagined the police charging Jay for her murder.  Then she would think of the girl he had dumped her for, sitting in a Portland courtroom, screaming hysterically as the jury found Jay guilty, and the stern looking judge sentenced him to death by a lethal injection.

And he would feel pain, just like the pain he had caused her.

The fourth courthouse proved to be a bust.  Dalia was feeling somewhat panicky now, and her heart was thudding in her chest as she drove her rented four wheeled drive to the last one on her list.  This one was situated in a place called York in North George street, and Dalia cursed the traffic jams that she was caught up in, before she arrived there.  She crossed her fingers behind her back as she entered the building.  There was a slight tremor in her voice as she told the clerk what she was looking for.  He left his desk and went into another room for about five minutes, leaving her standing there.  Dalia felt that he had been gone for more than five hours, but when he returned he had the much wanted Clayton divorce certificate.  She breathed a huge sigh of relief, and had to stop herself from snatching the piece of paper from him.  She scanned its details taking the date the divorce occurred 2002, and more importantly the permanent address of Alexis Robinson’s ex-husband.  Dalia wrote it down and handed the certificate back to the clerk, thanking him emphatically.  She got back into her car, and keyed in Hebert Clayton’s Horrocks street address in the trusted satellite navigation system.

It took exactly one hour and fifteen minutes for Dalia to drive to the house where Amberlee had taken up residence.  She’d had to get through heavy traffic , but this time she didn’t curse because she had managed to get what she had wanted so badly.  When she arrived there she parked right outside the small house, on the opposite side of the street.  She didn’t want to raise the suspicions of Herb Clayton, or his neighbours.  Dalia picked up her pen and pad of paper and pretended to make notes, while the passersby assumed that she was from social care or something like it.  This was a street that was accustomed to such visits.  Then, from across the street she saw the front door open of the house that she had under surveillance.  A middle-aged man came out, wearing overalls who looked like he was on his way to work.  As he walked down the front path the door opened again,  and a young girl ran out, calling ‘daddy’ and waving a lunch box.  Dalia immediately recognised Amberlee from the ‘missing’ picture she had of her in her purse.  She had found her, the task was complete.

Dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, a white shirt and her dark green coat, Lia goes back through the portal.  She can see her parents house clearly in the dark, and is satisfied to see that nothing has changed since she left, over two weeks ago.  However, she doesn't want to take any chances, so she quickly leaves the magnificent grounds that surround her family home. The vampire then raises herself into the air, and flies in the direction of New Hampshire.  It is near midnight.  Lia was enjoying the icy cold wind on her beautiful face as she flew.  Her supernatural powers enabled her to move through the skies faster than any of the winged creatures, that would make haste to avoid her.  Within minutes she found herself looking down on the state of New Hampshire.  She headed in the direction of the lights, that she saw glowing in the pitch black darkness.  As she came closer she heard some music and laughter, that came from a grand white house that was situated in Pembroke town of  the Merrimack county .  It was very similar to her parents house, with acres of land and clusters of majestic looking trees.  Lia landed in one of the branches of the bigger trees, and kept herself well hidden while she observed the building.  As she looked through the large windows of the house, she saw elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen.  It appeared to be a social gathering, a party or celebration thrown by a family of great wealth.  Lia mouth had started to water as she observed the young ladies, with their neatly dressed hair, and their gowns  made out of velvet and lace, worn off the shoulder,  revealing their long, swan like necks.  She knew that she could not enter the house without being invited, and her style of clothes would have taken some explaining.  But she was not going to leave until she had tasted human blood.  Lia continued to hide in the tree and waited.  She was becoming impatient now, and had started to worry about the time.  It was passing by and she needed to get back through the portal, before her father awoke.  She licked her lips as she watched the young damsels of the gathering, throw back their heads as the young gentlemen whirled them around in a dance.  Then suddenly for Lia the desired opportunity for a feed presented itself.

When they could see that no one was paying any attention to them, a young man and a young woman crept out of the house and into the gardens.  They ran away quickly, holding hands and making sure that they could not be viewed from the windows.  The girl was pretty, with sparkling blue eyes and her hair had been dressed in ringlets, the style of the day.  The young man was tall and lean, he seemed very eager to spend this time with the young lady, who looked flirtatiously into his eyes.

"Lydia you are so beautiful, I cannot help myself, I want to be near you"  he said rather dramatically.

Lydia laughed, it sounded like a small, chiming bell in the darkness.  She pulled away, playfully from his outstretched arms and ran a little into the distance.  The man chased after her and caught her in an embrace.

"But you sir, are to marry my dreary older sister" Lydia teased,  looking up at him with a mischievous look on her lovely face.  "You have made your choice and now you must live with it."   She was clearly enjoying herself.

"Do not speak of Mary my sweet love, not now, not while we have these brief moments together"  this was his imploring reply.  "Come, let me kiss you, we must be quick before anyone notices our absence."

Lydia laughed again.  It greatly amused her that her sister's future husband was pursuing her with such urgency.  It had been so easy to steal Nathaniel's heart away from her older sibling. She slipped out of his arms, and ran away again after calling out  "You will have to find me first!"

She disappeared into the darkness, out of his sight.  Lydia loved to play these games with the young gentlemen of these parts.  It made her little dalliances more exciting, especially when her lover belonged to another.  She smiled to herself as she anticipated his passionate kiss, and the heat of his desire to be with her.  The tree that she came to was perfect.  It was far away from the house, and big enough for her to conceal her small frame from her love struck pursuer.

When Lydia felt herself being lifted from behind from her crouched position, she marvelled at how strong Nathaniel was.  She turned her face towards who she thought was him.  Her lips were slightly parted, ready to accept the kiss that he had asked for.  Lydia thought that he deserved this reward, as he had found her so quickly.  However, the face that she was confronted with did not belong to Nathaniel at all.  It was a combination of the most beautiful, and the most horrifying face that she had ever seen.  Lia's dark green eyes were blazing with wanton desire to drink the blood of her easily caught prey.  Her lips were open wide and revealed the sharp white fangs, that could only be described as monstrous.  Lydia tried to scream for help, but no sound came out of her mouth because for the first time in her short life, she was paralysed with an indescribable fear.  She felt the hands of the vampire holding her around the waist tightly, as they flew in to the air.  Lydia was gone forever.

Nathaniel searched the gardens the gardens high and low.  He was still wondering around aimlessly, when the party had long ended and all the guests had gone home.  When he failed to find Lydia, he raised the alarm and the whole household got out of their beds to find the missing young mistress.  However, the body of the vampire's  latest victim was never found.

Dalia Jackson caught the first plane back to Portland, after discovering the whereabouts of  Miss Amberlee Robinson.  When she arrived home she rushed into the bedroom that she shared with her husband, and shook him awake to tell him the good news.  Abe was delighted and although he was very tired after a night of working in the shop by himself, he willingly listened to his wife as she related her adventures in Philadelphia.  Abe was, metaphorically rubbing his hands with glee, as he thought about the extra twenty five thousand dollars that the vampire had promised to pay, when they gave her the information  she required.  It was the easiest fifty grand that had ever come his way, and he had done nothing to earn it.  It was all down to his very clever and very resourceful wife.  Abe was well aware that his business ran smoothly because of Dalia's input.  He often recalled her reluctance and how frightened she had been, at the prospect of providing a service to creatures that most people don't believe exist.  It was obvious to him that she had more of an affinity with the supernatural, than any of the Jackson family before them had ever had.  Abe suddenly remembered that he too had some good news.  So when Dalia had finished talking he told her about the sale of the painting, that they had recently received from Lia.

"We got a call from the auction house, about the signed painting of the woman?"

"Yes I remember it was by that painter who was born in the seventeen hundreds, George something or other."

"Yeah, that's right darlin' well it's good news for that vampire girl.  One of them big fancy art museums in New York have bought the painting."  Abe paused for effect.

"For how much?" asked Dalia a little impatiently.

"Two million dollars!" said Abe triumphantly,  "I knew that painting must be worth something."

"Two million dollars!" echoed Dalia shock registered on her face.  "I can't believe it."

"Well it's true.  The auction house called to find out who we were selling it for."

"And what did you say Abe, you didn't tell them did you?" asked Dalia worriedly.

"Well of course I did honey!" replied Abe in a jovial manner.  "I told them that we were workin' for a young vampire lady time traveller, who wished to remain anonymous!"

Dalia laughed, she felt a little bit foolish for asking the question in the first place.  Lia was going to return to the antique shop in the next couple of days.  The Jacksons were looking forward to seeing her.  They had both known when they first met her that this one was special.  Dalia undressed herself and climbed into bed next to her husband.  They didn't have to collect their son from school until later,  and they would open the shop when he was in bed fast asleep. They had a good few hours to spend a little time together.

Libby and Kevin turned up at Lia's house in Westport, at seven o'clock as arranged.  They were both very impressed with the area of location, especially the nearby river at the back of the house.  Jay had built a roaring wood fire for their visit, so that the living room was a combination of luxury and cosiness all rolled into one.  Kevin and Libby thought that Jay looked very happy.  The last time they had seen him he had become very withdrawn, due to the unfortunate circumstances surrounding him.  They all sat around the fire together, talking and warming their hands, and then both Libby and Kevin saw the reason why their friend was looking so happy.  When Lia entered the room there was a stunned silence.  The vampire looked even more beautiful than when they had first seen her, at the dance.  She had been in her bedroom getting ready for their arrival, and had paid special attention to her appearance.  Lia was not only glowing from the joy of being with Jay, she was also feeling very satisfied after drinking the blood of her most previous catch.  Lydia had been from a very wealthy background, and she would have been considered quite a delicacy for any vampire's meal.  Lia sat down next to Libby on the sofa.  She knew that she could be near them without any discomfort.  There was very little need for her to control her instincts now, and soon they were all chatting like four ordinary teenagers.  Lia forgot about her family, the Jacksons and the portal and she really started to enjoy herself.  She offered them both something to eat but they both refused graciously, because they had already had dinner at home.  Libby talked to her about college, and how art was her favourite subject.  She mentioned that there was some growing excitement in the art world at present, saying that it appeared that a beautiful, artist signed, painting had been presented for sale, at one of the most prestigious auction houses in New York.  It had been sold to a museum for two million dollars, and the reason why there was so much controversy surrounding it was because, the painting had been stolen from a mansion house in the United Kingdom, during the eighteen hundreds.  Lia had smiled and nodded politely at the other girl's chatter.  However she had no idea that she was referring to the painting of her late English grandmother Isobel Beauchamp.  The boys had started talking about sport, and Lia decided to get everyone a drink.  Libby followed her into the kitchen, and complimented her on her beautiful house.  Lia thanked her and explained that it was being paid for by her parents, she could never had afford it herself.  Then  to change the subject Lia asked how things stood for Jay, back in Portland.  Libby flatly tells her that she believes that Amberlee Robinson is alive and well, but keeping out of the way to teach poor Jay a lesson.  She believes that she has been in contact with a friend of theirs called Tori, and told her where she is staying,  but Tori, her loyal follower is denying it.   She also says that Amberlee is renowned for her odd behaviour, especially when she feels that she has been hard done by.  Libby tells Lia about how she used to stalk Tom Harrison, when he was out on dates with his then girlfriend Amy.  She also tells her how she scared up a date with Jay for the dance, by telling him that she wanted to go with Kevin.