Witchblood (10 page)

         ‘I'll show you to your room. Follow me.’

         Daniel led the way up the soft carpeted stairs towards the front of the house, and into a perfect Victorian bedroom. The walls were painted duck egg blue and there was a cream painted fireplace with ornate carvings, and an antique French dresser. After a very long day, I let out a long sigh and smiled a genuinely happy smile.

         ‘This is to your liking, I hope?’ Daniel asked quietly.

         ‘Are you kidding? This is heaven. You couldn’t have picked a more perfect room if you’d hired all the country’s best designers. I love it. Thank you so much!’

         ‘Good, I'm glad. I’ll leave you to settle in and bring your things up shortly,’ he said smiling back at me, seeming pleased to have made me happy at last.

         He closed the door quietly behind him and I heard his soft footfalls retreating down the stairs. I walked straight over to the huge black wrought iron bed, took in the beautiful patchwork quilt and cream crocheted cushions before turning my back on it, and with arms flung wide, let myself fall into its soft embrace. The mattress was soft but the springs proved the bed to be an authentic Victorian piece as they squeaked in protest. I quickly stilled my bounces and hoped Daniel hadn’t heard my childish behaviour as I stared up at the rather fabulous gothic chandelier.

         Lying on my back, I looked past the heavy silk curtains, framing the large leaded windows, and out at the moonlit night. All at once I felt the impact of the last twenty-four hours. It was probably nothing to your average vampire, but I felt a tiredness wash over me and my eyes became heavy. I gave in and let myself drift into a sweet oblivion.

Chapter Five

The night turned into day and I slept on, restless while Luke haunted my slumber, his luminous features framed as he stood staring in at me through the window. I saw those impossible wings spreading from his back and glowing in the moonlight, but it must have been a dream, as Daniel had visited me before I awoke, and closed my heavy curtains to block out the sun’s glare, placing my new suitcase near the wardrobe. It was all dreams.

I awoke as the sun was dipping behind the rows of suburban town houses on what was a lovely crisp winter’s day. As the sun was still reasonably high in the sky, I reckoned it was between one and two pm, which meant I must have slept almost twelve hours – what on earth was the matter with me? I’d never slept that long prior to being made a vampire, and now I supposedly only needed a couple of hours a night.

         I opened my suitcase and decided to put off the inevitable meeting with Daniel and instead, I wasted time hanging up clothes in the beautiful old wardrobe. These new clothes were the only possessions I had. I wondered if I could get a message to Sebastian, to ask him to retrieve a couple of sorely missed items from my dad’s house, like my obscenely expensive face cream which Luke had bought me for Christmas, all because I said my favourite film star used it. However, as I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I realised I’d never need it again. It seemed that two weeks as a member of the undead had fixed any complexion worries I may have had, as my skin was now blemish free. There was absolutely no sign of the scar that should have marked my cheek. I glowed with health, although a spot of fake tan or bronzer wouldn’t go amiss.

         So if I didn’t need my skin care and cosmetics, I mused as to what I missed the most. I looked around my beautiful room. It was perfect, but somehow barren. As my eyes wandered the length of the room, I knew what I needed most - my bookshelves, stocked with all my favourite novels; everything from Jane Austen to Marian Keyes. I loved getting lost in a book and would regularly get a new one, disappear up to bed with it and lounge around all weekend until I’d devoured it. I needed books, and fast, if I was going to be kept prisoner here.

         My other prize possessions included my DVD collection and iPod. I loved watching all kinds of films, huddled into the squashy sofa with my best friend Alex and a tub of our favourite ice cream, watching mindlessly fun, romantic comedies. Equally I loved snuggling up against Luke to watch the latest thriller.

         However, I hadn’t been completely straight with Eva when she’d quizzed me on my interest in witchcraft. I wondered what she’d say if she scanned my DVD shelf, housing my secret guilty pleasures for which I couldn’t explain my attraction, ‘Practical Magic’, ‘The Craft’, all the ‘Harry Potter’ films, ‘X-men’ and ‘Merlin’. Alex had often ribbed me for my continued fascination with all things supernatural, and I couldn’t explain it. Well maybe now I could? It was somewhat ironic, and I couldn’t decide whether to smile or frown.

         I mulled over the events of the past week and still found it too surreal; something I decided was best left alone. So snapping out of my daydreams I hurriedly finished the task of putting my clothes away. It didn’t take long as I hadn’t many, another reason to find a way to get out of the house.  Once finished I opened my door, half expecting it to creak, but it didn’t and I padded barefoot down the soft carpeted hallway to the stairs.

         It was a vast house and I passed another two closed doors on my way to the stairwell, and an open door housing a bathroom. It looked spotless and untouched, but of course it was virtually unused, apart from the odd shower. It had taken me several days after my ‘death’ to realise that I no longer needed to use the bathroom. I never needed the loo as I had no waste products in my body, I didn’t sweat, and for some reason still unknown to me, my hair, skin and teeth always gleamed. The only need for a shower was if you actually got dirty, and this is surprisingly difficult to do once you have passed puberty, especially when you are under house arrest.

         The stairs went both upwards to a second floor and down to the ground floor. I decided it might be a little rude to take myself on a tour, so going downstairs I sought out Daniel. I found him in the first room I looked in, a large, airy front reception room decked out with leather sofas and a huge wide-screen television – some things never change with men, supernatural or not.

         ‘Umm Hi! Sorry I’ve been ages. I was unpacking my stuff. I love the room by the way,’ I said, eager to avoid any confrontation due to the fact that I’d slept through the best part of the day.

         ‘Oh, so you’ve surfaced have you? I was beginning to wonder if Sebastian had in fact changed his mind regarding your usefulness and unbeknown to me sent his cronies over to dispose of you in the middle of the night,’ Daniel said, as he half-turned towards me and looked up smiling.

         I said nothing, but poked out the tip of my tongue in response.

         ‘I expect you'll need some refreshment pretty urgently,’ he said, and I got the impression he was gently reminding me how I should be behaving. In fact, until he’d mentioned my empty stomach, I’d felt no hunger at allbut I didn’t think this was the best time to mention it, so I went for the easier option, lying.

         ‘Yep, you have it in one. I’m starving! I’ve never felt so hungry!’ OK, so I may have overdone it slightly, and I’d forgotten that he could read my
real
feelings from the direct source.

         ‘Of course you are Jessica, although you may want to work on sounding a bit more convincing next time,’ Daniel said, grinning at my discomfort.

         ‘Help yourself. We’ve a stockpile especially for you in the fridge,’ he added before turning back to the sports channel.

         I couldn’t believe it. I thought I’d done really well having Luke as my boyfriend, because even though he liked football and cricket, he wasn’t obsessed like loads of blokes Yet here I was hooked up with a seemingly sport-loving vampire. I could only hope there were more televisions and a DVD player. Or maybe I could go and live with Eva, although after my recent exploits had effectively destroyed her room, maybe not.

         I decided the fridge invitation was a good excuse to explore a bit further, and also realised that there was in fact a dull, nagging sensation in the pit of my stomach. However, on opening the fridge, I stared in bemusement. Instead of the neat rows of blood bags I’d gotten used to in Cumbria, I was faced with a regular human fridge – milk, cheese and veggies. I heard a low grumbling chuckle and turned around to face Daniel, framed in the doorway smirking at me. I let my eyes check out the rest of the kitchen and found a bread bin, kettle, tea and coffee pots.

         ‘So Jessica, do you fancy trying out that tea and toast craving of yours?’ he said, smiling.

         ‘Ehm maybe,’ I faltered, ‘but where is..?’ Suddenly, since I assumed there was no blood available, a craving so strong reared up and hit me in the solar plexus. I felt a red hot anger once again growing inside me. They were playing with me; they were going to try and make me cave in and feed from some poor human. My face and body language must have changed swiftly, because Daniel took a step back, the smile gone. The fridge door swung from my hand and slammed back in place, the contents rattling, as shock registered on both our faces.

         ‘Jessica, it’s OK, there’s a fridge full of the red stuff in the utility room. This is just for show, in case I bring a human girl home from the club, or we get an unexpected visit. It wouldn’t do for someone to open the fridge looking for milk and find row after row of blood, would it?’ He smiled again and I softened my glare.

         ‘The utility room is through that door to your left. Help yourself.’ He nodded in the direction of the door and headed back to his television. I opened the door to the utility and switched on the light. Opposite the door was a sleek silver fridge, and on opening it I was greeted with the uniformly neat rows I was suddenly hankering after. I removed two and stepped back into the kitchen with them to find the microwave.

         After warming it through and getting over my initial revulsion at the knowledge of what it was, I sighed and gave in to my craving. After finishing the first, I refilled my mug with the second bag and after warming it up a little, walked back through to sit with Daniel.

         ‘I’m sorry, did you want one?’ I said, suddenly feeling rather selfish and embarrassed after my hissy fit in the kitchen.

         ‘No it’s fine. I am going out later to the club. Eva will come and stay with you tonight,’ he replied.

         ‘Oh right, OK,’ I said, not wanting to think through what that meant regarding his dinner, or worry too much about the inevitable meet-up with Eva. Instead I asked a question which had been nagging me since awakening in Cumbria.

         ‘Daniel, where does all this blood come from? I mean you seem to have no problems with supply, and yet hospital blood banks are always saying they don’t have enough. Is this because of us? Do you steal it?’

         ‘No we do not steal it, Jessica. It is actually not a commodity that we tend to use a lot of because we tend to prefer drinking live blood, from a willing donor. We just have a few bags in for emergency use, and as in your case, newborns drink the majority of our supply. That is why we stocked up - for you,’ he replied.

         ‘So what happens when this runs out? Will I be expected to use live donors?’ I said, blanching at the idea.

         ‘Obviously we would prefer that you came round to our way of thinking, and I’m sure that once you get over your initial concerns, you will prefer it, as we do; however I will not force you and we can replenish your supply when we need to.’

         ‘How? I mean I don’t want to be taking it from the hospitals that need it.’

         ‘You won’t, my little vampire with a conscience. We have contacts in the health industry that have the credentials to buy blood legitimately, and we pay them. You don’t need to concern yourself with it,’ he answered, turning back to the football game once more.

         After a very long fifteen minutes of watching him watching the football, I grew bored and decided that seeing as I was going to live in the house, I may as well get to know it.

         ‘Daniel, I’m just going to give myself a tour of the house. Is that OK?’ I decided to be polite and catch him off guard, but all the thanks I got was a grunt and a vague nod, his eyes staying glued to the players on the screen.

         Half an hour later and I’d been down to the cellars, which I remembered had been converted into a very cool underground garage, and also nosed my way around the ground floor. Apart from the kitchen I’d already seen, and the boy’s room at the front of the house, there was a much more relaxing lounge at the back of the house, adjacent to the kitchen.