Oxford Blood (13 page)

“You’re not that desperate for my blood. You could have
brought any girl and drank as much as you wanted whilst she was neatly
hypnotised.” Harriet spoke quietly so as not to draw any further attention to
them, but her voice was full of anger. “You just want to impress him, don’t
you? Show him how his step-daughter has fallen for your charms. Well I’m not
playing your stupid games.”

“Please Harriet. You know it’s not like that. I’d be lying
if I said that sort of thing wasn’t spurring me on a little. But I was
attracted to you that night at the club when I didn’t know who you were.”

Harriet glared at him. “Yes, to the extent of wanting to use
me as a snack and one night stand.”

“That’s unfair. You’ve been letting Tom give this awful
impression of me. Besides, I’ve loved tonight. Since that night on the Steele
Walk, I’ve thought endlessly about the taste of your blood and the feel of you.
You’re great to talk to, you stand up to me and you seem more real than most of
these pampered princesses.

“I’m standing here now and I can smell you and feel your
pulse and the softness of your neck. Believe me, the last thing I’m thinking
about is politics.”

Harriet was trying to ignore his words, but they were having
a huge effect on her.
He must be able to tell how fast my heart is beating. Can
he tell how attracted to him I’m feeling right now? I desperately need to calm
down and think rationally.

“Put the necklace back on whilst you decide,” George said
firmly. “If we’re doing this I want you, me and everyone else to be absolutely
clear that you’re offering yourself to me freely.”

Harriet was shaking so much she could hardly fasten the
clasp. George took over and put it smoothly around her neck.

“Well?” he asked once it was back in place. “What’s it going
to be?”

At that moment, she spotted Tom, seated on a lower tables,
drinking from Katie. Thank God, he was one of the gentle ones, but that almost
made it harder to watch. A mixture of jealousy and revulsion shot through her,
and she turned her head to George.

“Okay then,” she said, looking him straight in the eye.

George didn’t wait another second. She’d expected him to go
slowly, but with the last few moments clearly having stretched his self-control
to the limit, he bit straight into the vein. For a split-second, there was a
sharp pain. Harriet gasped but managed not to scream. She closed her eyes and
the room slipped away.

She was dimly aware of George holding her by the waist and
the pressure of his mouth on her neck, but her overwhelming sensation was of
closeness to him. She felt as if she were floating and alternated between being
acutely aware of every muscle and nerve in her body and being unaware of having
a body at all. It was difficult to think clearly, but she wished hazily that
they were alone somewhere romantic, rather than in a room full of terrifying
people. She wanted to turn and hold him back and then do all sorts of other
things.

Harriet had lost all track of time but suddenly, George
lifted his head and the real world rudely interrupted.

“See,” he said, “I told you it’d be good and that I’d stop
before it went too far.” His face was flushed from the blood, and his
expression suggested he’d had a similar experience to her.

Harriet began to feel slightly awkward that she’d let him do
that and that she’d responded to it in such a way. Looking around the room
however, all of the girls looked as though they’d been almost as enraptured.

As she took deep breaths, trying to regain her composure,
something strange happened. The vampires on the furthest table, including the
two she’d spoken to on the way into the party, helped their partners to their
feet and led them to the dais. One by one, they approached Gus, bowed and then
presented their partner. He would nod his head and then bite each girl in turn.
He only took a few sips from each before the couples returned to their table.

“What the fuck?” Harriet hissed to George, who had sat back
down beside her. This was too much.

“They’re making an offering as a sign of respect and
obedience. Not that some of those new recruits have the first idea of what
respect means.”

“Wake them up,” she pleaded.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I couldn’t defy Augustine even if I
wanted to. Besides, one vampire can’t break another’s mind control. It’s a
fundamental rule, up there with not going out in sunlight.”

“In that case, I want to go. I can’t watch my stepfather
drink the blood of fifty or so girls. Get me out of here.”

The slightly senior vampires from the next table, including
Tom with Katie, were approaching. George leaned across to Augustine, bowing his
head.

“I assume you don’t wish me to...”

“What kind of monster do you think I am? My own
stepdaughter? Take her for some air before my wife accuses me of traumatising
her.”

George nodded respectfully and helped Harriet to her feet.
She stumbled, light headed from the blood loss, alcohol and horror. She noticed
Tom glance at her from his place in the queue, but couldn’t bear to look at
anyone. She made it outside on autopilot.

The cool air in the college garden roused her, but thinking
clearly was the last thing she needed. Disgusted by the whole evening, she
knelt behind a bush and was immediately sick. Forcing herself to stand up again
she returned to George and tried not to cry.

George looked more serious than Harriet had ever seen him
look before. “I had no idea that you didn’t know about Augustine,” he said.
“I’d have given you some prior warning otherwise.”

Harriet doubted it would have done much good. She’d refused
to believe Tom’s claims about vampires. Any attempt to tell her that her
stepfather was their leader would surely have fallen on deaf ears.

“Does my mother know?” she asked. George gave her an odd
look, and before he could reply, she realised how stupid she’d been. Her beauty
and ability to wrap everyone around her little finger. Her unexplained
absences. The way, now she thought about it, that she’d never seen her mother
during the daytime. Harriet felt dizzy and close to passing out. She leaned
against the high stone wall and tried to focus on the beauty of the college
garden.

George put his hand on her shoulder. “Come on, calm down.”

Harriet realised that he was defaulting to his hypnotic
voice even though he knew full well it wouldn’t work on her. She was almost
tempted to take off the necklace again and let him work his magic on her, drag
her down into some artificial calmness and probably into his bed. Instead, she
stepped closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulders. He put his slim but
muscular arms around her and began to stroke her hair. It was odd to be held by
someone in this way and to feel neither body warmth nor heartbeat but the fact
didn’t bother her. Having just learnt that her own mother was a vampire and her
stepfather their leader, it seemed pointless to worry about niceties.

“Thank you, for agreeing to do that,” George said after a
moment. “Let me return the favour. You’ll spend all tomorrow feeling faint if I
leave you like this, but have some of my blood and you’ll feel even better than
before. It’s considered a sign of respect and real feelings for a vampire to
let someone drink from him.”

Harriet was dubious, but reasoned that things were already
sufficiently far out of control that she might as well just go with the flow.
She nodded lightly and George immediately raised his wrist to his mouth, bit
down and offered the open vein to her.

Fascination fought with revulsion. Tentatively, she began to
lick at his blood, trying to focus on the ‘honour’ and not the horror. To her
surprise, it tasted marvellous, with almost no resemblance to the taste of her
own blood on the occasions when she’d bit her lip. There was a faint hint of
iron but it was combined with a malty, honeyed taste. Overcoming her initial
reluctance, she began to suck at the wound as George had. She could feel it
warming and soothing her body and quickly the odd feeling of connection she’d
felt when he drank from her returned.

Long before she was ready to stop, George gently lifted her
head up and pulled his wrist away.  “That’s enough for your first time,” he
said. “It can be overwhelming and I’m not going to risk getting you into
difficulties. There’s a lot more of the party to go, and really, I should just
make my presence felt. But would you prefer it if I just took you home?”

“I really should have learnt my lesson about being alone
with you,” Harriet said with a slightly bitter laugh. “But I certainly can’t go
back in there, and I’m not sure I’m up to walking back alone. “

Suddenly, Tom appeared in front of them. “I’ll take her,” he
said, looking with distaste at their embraced position.

“If you put as much effort into developing the rest of your
powers as you did into your sneaking up on people you’d be a Senior Officer by
now,” replied George, glaring at Tom.

“You’ll be much more missed than I will,” said Tom.

“I’m sure everyone will understand. Especially Augustine
when I explain I’m taking his stepdaughter home to recuperate.”

Tom actually laughed at this. “If you’d been in there five
minutes ago you’d see that he’s fuming that you didn’t give Harriet fair
warning about him. He’s worried that Adelaide is going to hit the roof.”

The two of them paused in their argument for a moment to
give each other a wry smile at the thought of the most powerful vampire in the
country being scared to face his angry wife. Furious as she was at her mother,
Harriet felt a tingle of pride at her ability to control everyone around her.

“So, as Adelaide’s chosen guide, Augustine has asked me to
take her home and explain a few things to her. I’d get back inside asap if I
were you.”

For a few moments, the three of them stood there in silence,
no one moving. Harriet didn’t much care who took her back as long as someone
did. She was quickly developing the impression that they were as handsome,
charming and untrustworthy as each other, and she wasn’t going to let her guard
down in a hurry.

George gave a haughty shrug. “I suppose I’d better do as I’m
told. Don’t try anything clever though. Remember, you are just the guide, and
if Augustine is scared of Adelaide then you damn well should be.”

George tilted Harriet’s head back so that she was looking
into his eyes. “I feel that I’m having to endlessly apologise to you, but once
again, I’m sorry. I should have prepared you, but I’d never dreamed that your
family hadn’t already explained. Keep in touch over Christmas. It’s been
amazing to spend the evening with you.”

For a second, Harriet thought he was going to kiss her
properly, and despite the oddness of the situation would have very much
welcomed it. Instead, perhaps mindful of Tom’s presence and the likelihood of
his every move being reported back to Augustine, he kissed her once on each
cheek. Harriet couldn’t help but close her eyes and enjoy the sensation of his
cold lips. She found herself reliving the feelings she’d had during the
bloodletting and wishing for more. Before she could put any of that into words,
George disappeared.

Chapter Eight

“Y
ou
shouldn’t let him charm you,” Tom said as he walked over to join Harriet.
“Surely you should have learnt your lesson last week out on the Steele Walk.”

Well at least he consistently shows me attention
,
Harriet wanted to shout.
At least he’ll hold me when I’ve had a horrific
evening instead of ignoring me all night and then lecturing me.

Instead, she said, “That was a one off mistake. He’s been
really sweet ever since.”

“Well that’s hardly surprising,” said Tom angrily. “He finds
out who your parents are and suddenly he’s perfect boyfriend material.”

Harriet wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing
that she’d worried about that herself.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt. I think you’re safe
physically now, but mentally is a different matter.”

They walked along St Aldate’s in silence for a while,
Harriet trying to compose herself and get her thoughts in order. Tom still
looked furious.

As they turned onto the High Street, Harriet broke the
silence. “I guess I owe you an apology. Crazy as it sounds I suppose you were
telling the truth about vampires. I’m ready to listen now.”

Tom took her arm as they progressed down the street.
“Alright, where do you want me to start?”

There were a hundred things that she wanted to know. “How
old are you?” she managed finally.

“I was turned in 1925, at which time I was twenty. It
happened here in Oxford actually. I was lucky enough to be young and rich
during one of the best periods in history to be either. Then I fell in with the
Cavaliers, and have remained young and rich ever since.”

Tom noticed Harriet’s amazed expression and smiled ruefully.
“Goodness, you look as though you think that’s impressive. I’m definitely
amongst the younger ones.”

Harriet thought about the 1920s, one of her favourite
periods of history. She was struggling to understand that he had lived through
them, had that glorious interwar experience. She was struggling even more with
the idea that he must have been born before her great-grandmother.

“So if that makes you young, how old is old?” she asked, the
awe clear in her voice.

Tom paused. “As far as I’m aware, Augustine is the oldest
vampire left by quite some centuries.”

“The oldest? When was he turned?” asked Harriet.

“It happened in about 150 BC whilst he was away in some
outpost of the Roman Empire. He’s managed to be a powerful figure every century
since, disappearing for a few decades before returning to centre stage with a
new identity - patrician, warlord, bishop - whatever seemed appropriate for the
time and place.  He’s always managed to integrate himself into society, to
obtain blood by a combination of cunning, charm and light mind control.