Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders) (7 page)

“Can I ask you something, Martin, without making you mad, or having you
avoid
my question?” I asked after a few moments of
silence.

“Yes, this seems like a good time to talk,” he replied, with a small
wink. The expression on his face caused me to stand up and move back over to my
own space. I turned around, and there he lounged, a little half-smile adorning
his face, which told me he knew he had once again made me blush at the mere
implication.

“Okay, don’t think just because we got a little close a minute ago,
that you can make more of it than it really was,” I rambled off, then cleared
my throat. “Or try for more. I happen to have been raised a respectable woman.”

“Is that what you wished to ask me?” he asked. “If I had the intention
of making love to you?”

“NO,” I sputtered. “And don’t say things like that. I, I... just don’t,
that’s all.”

He stood from his bed, laughing a bit, and walked over to me, placing
his hands on my shoulders. “I will never dishonor you, Renee,” he said, all
teasing gone from his voice. “Until you come to me willingly, you have my
word.” He kissed my cheek before returning to his bed. “Now that we have that
out in the open, what is it you wish to know?”

Oh, sure
,
I thought to myself,
now that it’s all down to me being willing,
I’m at a loss for words
. I had to think for several minutes before anything
other than him touching me came to mind.

“Well, what are you?” I began. “I mean, what are we?
I
know that some things are the same, but what about everything else?
Like
blood, for one thing. Why do we have to drink it, and why can’t we eat
anything...” Martin, politely interrupted me, saying, “One thing at a time, or
I will need to write as you speak.” I grinned sheepishly. I was going a bit
fast. I guess that just proves what my Ma was always telling me ‘Slow down,
girl, you’re making me dizzy
.’

“I’m sorry; there are just so many things I need to know.” I stopped
for a moment before asking, “Will I be able to see any of my family again?”

“They would not understand,” he said. “They have given you to their
God, and would think you an angel, or maybe even a devil.”

“But I could explain it to them. They love me, and nothing’s changed, I
am still me.” I argued.

“Yes, a ‘you’ with skin as pale as death and eyes that glow when you
are excited, not to mention the great deal of change in your teeth.” he
replied.

“Then how is it that we weren’t afraid of you?” I asked. “You were just
like any other drifter, just a little whiter than most.”

“Because, Renee, I have been like this for more than two hundred years
now, and I have learned to be careful around those that are normal,” he
answered.

“Oh, please,” I scoffed. “You can’t be more than forty, at the most,
and maybe younger I would say.”

“We
age
very slowly. You will never appear
much older than you are now. You are ten times more in every way, than before
we met.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“You are ten times faster, ten times stronger, you will age ten times
slower...” he trailed off.

I began to pace in what little room I had, and my mind was spinning. “So,
what is it about the light? Why was it so important that we had to stay down
here when the sun started coming up?”

“Not just any light,” he corrected me. “Sunlight, and truthfully, I do
not know the answer to that myself. Plus, it is impossible to fight the pull of
the coming dawn, at least until you become an older creature, such as
I
.”

“Well, what happens when someone, you know, like us goes out when the
sun is up?” I asked.

Martin got up, walked over to the tomb, and leaned against it. “When I
was a new creature, no more than five years turned, I was with a small party in
the catacombs of London. With us was an older man that we all knew was
touched,” he lightly tapped his temple. “We were to search the tunnels for any
slaves that had escaped. You see, those tunnels go on and on for miles, and
there are so many turns that eventually they all begin to look the same. At
times, it seemed we were as lost as the slaves we hunted.” He stopped speaking
to light more candles, and gestured for me to join him in the center of the
room. When I reached him, he lifted me up to sit atop the sarcophagus,
then
ran his hands down my waist and over my hips.

“Aren’t you going to join me up here?” I asked nervously. He flashed
his famous grin, and slowly moved his hand from my hip to my knee, using the
other to clear a spot to sit. He hopped up beside me, and said, “I think it
will be very difficult not to touch you in the way of a lover. I have dreamed
of the day many times.”

“I don’t know how one minute, I can hate you - I mean, nearly hate you
- then the next, I see something, I can’t explain what, but it makes me feel
drawn to you. I am a good woman, Martin, and I don’t mean to sound so
old-fashioned, but I want to marry first,
then
give
myself to my husband, just like my Ma did.”

“Then my lady shall have her wish.” Martin said respectfully. “Just
know that it will be hard to not have some part of you, a kiss,
a
small touch. I would love to see your nude body next to
mine when I wake.” That last statement choked me up, and I was suddenly desperate
to change the subject. Only, I could not for the life of me remember where we
had left off in the conversation.

“O-Oh, yeah, you were saying something about the tunnels of London and
stuff?” I managed to mutter.

“Ah, of course,” he said. “I got off track somewhat.”
Somewhat?
I
thought to myself.
You got about a mile off track. There is no somewhat about
it.
“Where was I?” he asked.

“You were lost like the slaves,” I said, speaking very fast.

“Thank you, Renee,” he said, unable to hide his smile. “Our time went
on like that, night after night. It was our last in the Hell Tunnels, as we
learned to call them - I had that job for four years, and I was always told ‘to
go up, you have to start down’. Anyway, as I was saying, it was our last night
in the tunnels, and dawn was at hand. As we were nearing the end of the last
tunnel, the one we would leave to report our findings after nightfall, the old
man approached our exit. ‘Do you hear them?’ he would ask. ‘It’s my mum and my
wife, Amanda. Can’t you hear them?’ We all looked at one another, and we knew
his mind was as weak as his old body. ‘I will, I will come to you, my darling,’
he yelled. ‘Where are you? Mum, can you hear me?’ We heard nothing but him, yet
he continued. ‘I can! It’s there, under the door. Yes, it is dawn. No, I am not
afraid,’ One of the other workers pulled me around a bend in the tunnel and
said, ‘Close your eyes, son.’ But it was too late. I had to see. I watched as
the old man walked out into the sunlight. His hair caught fire first,
then
his clothes burst into flames.
I will
never forget his screams
,
they were unbearable
.
And the smell was overwhelming. The old man was no longer recognizable, his
garment gone, his body bubbled with blisters. He dropped to his knees, still
screaming. I clamped my hands over my ears, because I couldn’t stand to hear it
anymore. When I looked back, all that was left was black ash. It was the wind
that took care of discarding the remains.” He paused momentarily, as if to
return to reality. “It was that dawn that I learned why we must not go out in
the sunlight, and it was the next night when I woke that I found out how close
I had come to my own demise.”

I was shocked by the story I had just heard. How could it be true? I had
never heard of such a thing. Then again, if someone had told me about our kind
before now, I wouldn’t have believed that either.

“It must have been horrible for you, Martin,” I said. “May I ask you
something else?”

“Of course,” he said,
unwrapping
his bandaged
wrist as we spoke. “I think I will have much to answer before our journey
ends.” He examined his wound,
then
looked at me. “The
bleeding has almost stopped, but I may need one more piece of your gown to
re-wrap it.”

“Oh, sure,” I said, jumping down from my perch. I reached down, and
tore another strip from the hem of my dress. I walked over to him, and he
smiled, raising his arm for me to see. I was in disbelief of what I saw. What
should have still been bleeding badly had slowed to a seep. “I don’t
understand,” I said. “No wound like that would be getting better in an hours’
time.”

“That is one of the things I tried to tell you,” he replied. “We heal
much faster than normal.”

“I see it, but my mind just doesn’t believe it.” Seeing the healing
wound made me completely forget about the question I was going to ask, and all
of a sudden, I felt very drowsy. “I am starting to feel very tired. I think I
best lay down.”

“Yes, Renee,” Martin said, as if he knew what I was feeling. “Like I
have said, you feel the pull of the coming dawn. It takes us without our
choice. When you become stronger, you too will be able to stay up longer,
providing you have shelter, and you will also be able to rise earlier.”

I finished wrapping his wound, and he spoke to me, “If dawn was not
imminent, we could learn to enjoy our time together.” Then he gave me a wink.

“You don’t think I know what that little wink means, do you?” I said,
already walking toward my side of the room. “Like I said, I am old-fashioned,
and I will be married before I
learn
that much about any man. So,
goodnight... err, good day.
Oh, whatever.
I’m going to
bed.” As I was lying down, I noticed the little gold box was missing from my
table. I looked around to see if it had fallen, and noticed Martin holding it
up.

“Is this what you are searching for?” he asked.

“NO,” I said childishly. “Well, okay, maybe. Why did you take it?”

“Because it is something I wanted you to have, but I will keep it until
things can be done in the fashion you are accustomed to. Then, I shall return
it the way it should be done.” he said, placing the box in the pocket of his
jacket, which now lay next to his bed on the floor. I was pretty sure at that
point what the box held, but I guess I would have to wait to see if I was
right. “Sleep well, my lady, for tomorrow night, we hunt.”

What does one say to that? Did he really think I could do that to
someone else? Drinking from him was the worst thing I had ever done in my life.
It was wrong to do, and no matter what the consequence, I would not let him
make me hurt another. Unable to think of a response, I merely said, “Sleep
well, and thank you for being so open with me about your past.”

“You are most welcome,” he said, trying to make himself comfortable on
the straw-covered cement. “Now rest.”

As I closed my eyes, my family flashed through my mind.
I have to get back home to see them, just
once
,
I thought to myself. First,
I needed to come up with a plan to keep Martin from making me harm someone. But
that too, would have to wait. The sun had risen, and I was quickly falling into
a place with no thought.

Chapter 6

The next night when I awoke, Martin was gone once again, and I knew
that if I was ever going to go back to the farm, now was my chance. Even if
just to a look from afar, I had to know my family was okay. I sat up, and the
familiar pain in my stomach hit me again, only this time it was far worse than
before. My body convulsed, as if trying to vomit, but nothing came up. My
stomach was on fire. I took a few deep breaths, and got to my feet.

“I can do this,” I told myself aloud. “I have to.” The pain seemed to
ease a little when I stood, and so I continued walking out of the crypt, my
home of sorts. The night air felt good on my face. The night was so clear, and
high in the sky was the most beautiful moon I had ever seen, or at least one
that I had just truly taken notice of. I remembered Martin telling me, on the
night I became this creature, that all of my senses had been heightened, and I
now knew what he meant.

After a few minutes, I began to make my way towards the farm. I knew
that if I cut across the country, and didn’t take the roads, I could be home
twice as fast. When I reached the edge of the graveyard, I looked back, but saw
nothing. I didn’t know where Martin was, and I didn’t really care. I had only
one thing on my mind, and he would only stop me.

I had gotten about halfway to the farm, when it felt like someone had
poured acid down my throat, and into my stomach. The pain was so excruciating,
I bent over and held myself, wishing the torment would end. The only thing that
kept me going was the thought that I was almost home. I leaned against the
large oak tree beside me, and told myself that I could make it. I just needed
to stand here for a few seconds, and get my second wind. I stood there for a
minute or two longer, then pushed off the tree, and started walking in the
direction of the farm. I was determined to get there, but the farther I walked,
the worse I felt. I knew what could take the pain away, but I would never let
Martin force me to do that again. It just wasn’t right.