The Embrace (11 page)

Gabriel had promised me a new life and this was one promise I knew he would keep. My sanity, and our relationship, depended on a clean slate for the two of us and the first step was to leave town.

I pressed Gabriel to find us a new home, gently at first of course, but my questioning became more urgent. I needed to leave town and I needed to leave quickly, if only to protect my nerves.

Eventually, 5 months after my initial transition in to a vampire, Gabriel decided the time was right for us to leave.

Although I was utterly relieved to be leaving town, I felt a slight sadness about leaving my home. I had lived in the house since I was a little girl, and it had often been a comfort for me. I had grown and developed over my time here. My family had made the home their own, until that night when they had been torn away from me.

I had stayed in this town through thick and thin: the garden had been the place where I had first encountered Gabriel, the one man who managed to change my life; in the bedrooms I had smelt the dried blood as my family lay brutally slain around me; in the living room I had collected my mother’s whiskey bottles to stop any visitors seeing the extent of her alcoholism; the village green had been the place of my first kill, my initiation as a true creature of darkness.

I longed to leave, and yet I also feared a new start. I knew escaping the town was the only way forward, but I resented the fact that my home had been taken away from me by the fear of an unknown creature.

I kept telling myself that this was what Gabriel and I needed. I was becoming increasingly cautious while out hunting, constantly on the lookout for the new vampire in town, rather than focusing on our relationship. I needed to get out to ease my guilt and shame.

Gabriel didn’t seem to notice my change in attitude. I still felt some unease around him now that I knew about the power we could display. Every night I tried to find the old Gabriel in him, but I always failed.

I pushed my unhappy feelings deep down inside and tried to resurrect the simpler days we had shared. Those three months of pleasure Gabriel and I had experienced seemed to take up years at the time, yet looking back the moments of ecstasy had been reduced to second. These precious moments were being washed away as my worry grew and my memory became clouded by my increasing doubts.

I saw something in Gabriel’s expression that worried me. Even his smile lost some of its warmth and began to strain-was it less certain? Were his eyes masking a deeper dissatisfaction? Hundreds of questions appeared in my mind every time he looked at me, and it took all my energy to bury them deep within and put on a happy facade.

It took us a long time to decide on where we would live. Gabriel was a cultured man of the world. He told me once, in a rare example of him sharing his past, that he had travelled all over South America in his early vampire years. I knew almost nothing about this time in his life except from the fact that he’d picked up Spanish while he was over there.

My small English town must have been a departure for him considering his previous life of adventure, and I made a mental note to ask him how he ended up in my back garden that fateful night. He knew my past and it was time for me to know his.

In a way I longed to experience life somewhere completely different: I could see the museums of Paris or the waters of Venice, I could visit the glittering lights of New York and the wild outback of Australia. The truth was that I was a homebody. I had the rest of eternity to travel and make my mark on the world. For the time being I needed to stay at home to ease the transition.

Gabriel didn’t understand. I told him I wanted to stay in England for a few more years and he wrinkled up his brow in a rare moment of surprise.

“I promised to take care of you and so I’ll go wherever you want, you know that, but I had hoped you would want to leave this place. I think I still have property in Germany, and there’s a beautiful village in Luxembourg that’s perfect for...” Gabriel trailed off when he saw my face. I had made my decision and he knew that he couldn’t change my mind.

I know I should have been more sensible. When I really thought about it I should have been eager to leave the country. I could have started from scratch, and hopefully I would have lost the tail of my vampire stalker on my journey to mainland Europe.

I was just too stubborn. I adored Britain and I had hardly experienced any of it with my new vampire senses. I wanted to explore my own country before leaving it for the rest of my life. I didn’t know if we would ever return to the country I had grown up in, and I wanted to make the most of it while I still could. 

I touched Gabriel’s face with my hands, letting my fingertips journey over the soft skin of his cheeks.

“Gabe, I don’t want to leave yet. Give me a few years. Please.” I begged him.

Gabriel could see my expression and he knew I was fixed in my desire to stay. He sighed and I saw his beautiful face cloud with frustration.

“Fine” he said in a disturbingly calm manner. “I’ll stay here, but only because I love you.”

He kissed me and for a short time it seemed like we were a happy, well adjusted couple again. It seemed like everything was back to normal. If only it was that easy.

I didn’t really know how to handle the practical side to moving home. I was aware that vampires didn’t pay much attention to the laws of humans but I knew that the house had moved in to my name after my mother’s death. Luckily Gabriel seemed to be an expert on the proceedings.

He told me how easy it used to be back when he first became a vampire. You would find a nest, live in it and then abandon it. There was no complex legal procedure. I could sense how much the modern age annoyed him. For once he seemed to be letting humans get to him.

He told me I should give the house to someone. If I just up and left then people would ask questions about my whereabouts, but a sale process would be too lengthy and complex. Gabriel found a human lawyer for me, a young woman named Dahlia Elton. She helped us to transfer the deeds into my aunt Penny’s name without much trouble. Gabriel had plenty of money to spare and so he easily persuaded Dahlia to make my home the first priority on her list.

Gabriel visited her office several times over the 2 weeks it took for the deeds to transfer. As the house transferred into Penny’s name I was called into her office too. I was reluctant, fearing that I wouldn’t be able to keep up the pretence of a concerned human when Penny was mentioned. Gabriel insisted and I knew I had to go if I wanted to keep the peace between us.

I sat in her office and browsed the legal certificates decorating her wall. She had only graduated a few years before but she was certainly a promising talent. Gabriel had done his research. He sat with me and held my hand, gently stroking my palm with his fingertips. He could sense my unease and knew it would affect my ability to give a convincing performance. I had to be completely comfortable. 

Dahlia Elton strode in not long after we arrived. It was immediately clear that she was a confident woman. Her red hair framed her face like a lion’s mane and she had a strong nose to match her powerful persona. Despite her formidable appearance, she also seemed tall and graceful, quite feminine somehow. I could see why she had won so many legal battles. She had to be infallible if she could deal with the requests of a deadly vampire.

To my surprise, I found that I quite liked her.

She took a seat at the other side of the desk and stared straight at me, her face fairly expressionless. I was impressed that she could look at our extraordinary appearance without displaying the usual human reactions.

She cleared her throat in an imposing manner, obviously a method to draw everyone’s attention towards us.

“Miss Reed, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Dahlia Elton, although I suppose you know that by now. Your partner has hired me to handle the transaction of your home into the name of one Penelope Grove. I have spoken to Mrs. Grove myself and she has signed the papers as of yesterday. The home is now hers.”

I nodded as Dahlia finished her very formal speech. I didn’t understand why I had to come all the way to the office. Gabriel could easily have told me all of this from home.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Elton, that’s wonderful but I don’t understand why this is so urgent.” I said. There was obviously something Gabriel hadn’t told me and I was not impressed.

The young attorney sighed and dropped some of the formality from her voice.

“Mrs. Grove is happy to take on the property but she did ask that I pass on a message to you.”

I perked up. This was not what I had expected.

“Miss Reed, I’m sorry to tell you that Mrs. Grove has decided to write you out of her will. You had previously stood to inherit some personal belongings which were due to go to your parents before their death. Now she has decided that she would like to cut you out of the will.”

Dahlia’s expression was sombre with a hint of sympathy. I didn’t really understand. As a human, the world of law had confused me and even my supernatural nature hadn’t taught me anything about this field.

I got the basic idea behind it: Auntie Penny, the woman who had helped to raise me, no longer wanted anything to do with me. She was just making it official.

Penny had always been a regular fixture around my house, and my cousins Freddy and Archie had grown up beside me. Penny had been there for me when the murders happened and she had checked on me often throughout the years while I tried to control my mother’s alcoholism.

Now she was getting rid of me.

Dahlia handled the rest of the legal details with Gabriel while I sat in stunned silence. I had lost almost all of my humanity when I turned into a vampire but Penny was the last connection I had to that long forgotten time. I had to admit that the betrayal had upset me. I was an immortal creature and I didn’t deserve to be treated like dirt by a human.

We left Dahlia’s office and hunted near the building before heading back to the nest. This was to be our last night in my childhood home. Gabriel and I had already chosen the few possessions we wanted to keep and we decided it was time to leave.  Now that the house belonged to Penny we couldn’t risk her stumbling into our sanctuary.

I lay with Gabriel on my childhood bed for the final time. He brushed the hair out of my eyes in his comforting, familiar way.

“Are you hurt that your aunt decided to leave you out of the will?” He asked me.

“I don’t know if I’m hurt, I just don’t understand it. Penny and I were always close. She practically raised me after the murders. I don’t love her in the same way anymore, obviously. I can’t love anyone anymore, except you, but she shaped the person I am. I can’t forget that so easily.” I was confusing myself even more as thoughts swirled around my head. “I feel as if she’s trying to patronise me or hurt me, and I don’t appreciate that.”

Gabriel wrapped his arms around me and held me until he drifted off to deep vampiric sleep. It took me slightly longer to sleep as I had so many thoughts blocking the path to ny usual deep slumber.

Penny and I hadn’t seen each other since my mother’s funeral and I couldn’t imagine what I’d done to offend her. I spent the rest of the night thinking about it until I finally managed to sleep, just before the sun rose.

I slept in my childhood home for the last time without the happiness and relief I’d expected. Instead I was filled with confusion and, most strongly, betrayal. Fortunately it wasn’t long before other things arrived to keep my mind busy.

Gabriel and I left town for good early the next night. I said a quick goodbye to my home from the pavement outside. I had only a few items of clothing in my bag and Gabriel had taken a few books. Other than that, all memory of my previous life was locked up in this old house. I would probably never see it again.

Gabriel and I had taken a long time to decide where to live. If he had been left to choose we would have ventured as far away as we could from my former home, but I had different ideas.

I wanted to go to London, the bright city which was home to so much life. It was the core of Britain in every aspect, but I had hardly scratched the surface of it in my human life. After much persuasion on my part, we decided that this was our destination.

It was several hours away from my human home but the journey was swift. Gabriel and I managed to get there easily, picking up a few victims along the way to keep our strength up for the road ahead. We reached London long before sunrise, with plenty of blood to sustain us while we found our feet.

As we hit the city I was struck by how busy it was. The neon lights glinted in the darkness and even at this dark hour throngs of people crowded the street. I felt a strange optimism in this unfamiliar place. I hadn’t felt such a buzz since that first night Gabriel and I had spent together after our fight, and I knew I had made the right decision to stay in Britain. No matter what happened this was going to be a new start for us, I could feel it in my bones.

Gabriel and I didn’t stick out as much in such a busy place. In my former town we grabbed attention everywhere we went, with all the local people becoming enamoured with us. In this bustling city we were just one of the many figures who travelled the streets late at night. Whenever someone’s glance drifted towards us they would be hit by sudden longing, but very few people ever stopped.