**WARNING: Dear readers, please be aware that this chapter contains a scene depicting sexual assault. The scene isn't meant to titillate, but I want you to be warned that it is graphic, and may upset sensitive readers. Proceed with caution.**
Declan – part 2:
The donor room was empty, except for Rowan, Cyrus, and one unconscious human lying across the master’s lap. “Declan,” he said. “It’s about time.”
“I’m sorry. I was waylaid by Matthew.”
As he approached, he recognised the girl. It was Mary. “You like this human, don’t you?”
Declan shrugged. “I barely know her.” It took a real, conscious effort to keep his heartbeat under control.
“All the same, last night you went through the trouble to heal her, but ignored all the other humans.”
“She…yes master. Healing humans is tiring…I couldn’t have done them all.”
Cyrus nodded, a foreboding smile on his face. “Heal her for me, w
Aster: Aster sat between Elizabeth and Ann, Samuel’s two wives. The two chubby women looked so similar with their strawberry blonde hair, grey eyes and relatively plain features, that Aster thought they were related – they quickly informed her that there was a hundred years age difference between them, and until he took Ann, they had never met. “Samuel definitely has a type,” Aster said, and smiled. With nothing else to do, she looked around the room, comparing the vampires’ appearance with each other. It was a shallow way to pass the time, but at least it was entertaining. Across the room, she caught Samuel’s eye – he smiled and raised a glass filled with amber liquid in the air. Like all the other vampires she had met, he was handsome; dusty hair, full lips, straight nose, but unlike Declan and Rowan, he was tall and wiry, rather than muscular. In contrast, Joel with his blue eyes and blonde hair was short and brawny, and had almost babyish feature
Declan: Declan was vaguely aware of Samuel’s presence. “What happened?” his brother asked Rowan. Declan listened, detached, as his father told Samuel what had transpired the last two hours. He didn’t want to move; he wanted to lie on this floor, staring at the ceiling until the end of time came. Samuel knelt next to him, and held the tube of the blood bag to his lips. He kept his mouth closed, and turned his head, staring into Mary’s empty eyes again. His breath hitched, and he turned his head away. “Come on, mate, you have to…do it for Aster.” From behind, Rowan lifted him into a sitting position, letting Declan rest the back of his head against his shoulder. If he wasn’t so far down the pit of despair, he’d have found his father's warmth and kindness surprising, but for now he just let Rowan take care of him like an infant. “Come on, son, please.” He took the blood bag from Samuel and coaxed the tube into his mouth, and as Declan di
Aster: Even though she didn’t have to, Lydia stayed with Aster…even after she stopped feeling Declan, and started to regain her equilibrium a little. “Thank you,” she said after a while. “For your kindness.” “You are family, dear, your blood is my blood.” “Everyone keeps saying that. What does it mean?” “It means we are sisters – there’s no human family that can match the love and loyalty of a vampire family. No bond is stronger.” “I thought I only shared a bond with Declan.” “His would be the strongest, yes, but ours come in at a close second--” Lydia cupped her face “—you are so young and new. I forget what it’s like…and with Declan constantly occupied…you must be so confused.” “A little,” Aster said. Rowan came into the room before Lydia could say anything else. “Good evening my love,” he said. Lydia beamed and got up to accept Rowan’s embrace, then she stepped back and whacked him hard acros
Declan: The brothers touched down in a dark, quiet alley, looking around for any human witnesses before they stepped into the bustling street. It looked like all the villagers were out tonight, trying to enjoy as much of the summer before the winter cold chased them back into their homes. People stopped and looked at them as they passed. Declan was used to it. Humans were naturally attracted to vampires. When he was newly born, he took full advantage of this attraction, but now that he was older, he found it easier to resist the gaggle of humans that always threw themselves at him. “Over there,” Matthew said, pointing to a dingy pub, “a proper hole in the wall.” “Ah yes,” Joel said, “just the place to catch a good dose of hepatitis.” Samuel laughed. “I’m sure you’ll survive it.” The brothers crossed a busy street, all of them seemingly oblivious to the human stares that followed them. They were, in fact, very aware of
Aster: “Give me your hands,” Rowan said. “Why?” Aster asked suspiciously. “Don’t fret. I’m going to use my gift – it’s faster that way.” Aster didn’t move, she still didn’t trust Rowan. “What gift?” “I can show you the past. Come on, I won’t hurt you,” he said and held his hands out towards her. Still hesitant, Aster placed her hands in Rowan’s. She gasped and her back arched so violently her feet lifted into the air. It felt like she was being pulled through a very narrow, dark tube, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. Just when she thought she’d pass out, the tube released her and she landed next to Rowan in a different world. She looked up at the most breath-taking heavenly display she had ever seen. The milky way on show in all its glory. “Wow,” she said, “I’ve never seen so many stars.” Rowan looked up. “Yes. I forgot how beautiful it was before we had so much artificial light. Look,” he said,
Declan:Samuel and Declan sat back, watching Matthew cavort on the dance floor. A number of women and men surrounded him, trying to get his attention, and he was revelling in it. “He is gonna start a riot,” Declan said.Samuel grinned and sipped on his brandy. They were on their third bottle, and Declan was pleasantly buzzed. Joel abandoned the cause half an hour ago in favour of a young man that caught his eye.Out of nowhere, Declan jerked so hard that the brandy slopped out of the glass over his hand and jacket sleeve. “Fuck,” he swore, and put the glass down.“What?”Declan shook his hand, trying to get as much alcohol off it as he could. “Aster.”“You can feel her again?”“Yes. Came out of nowhere too.”“I can see that. Is it bad?”He frowned, honing in on her as much as he could, then shook his head. “No. She&
Aster:“It wasn’t a curse,” Aster said softly, amazed.“No. It was a gift.”“I was right; there is more than one original vampire.”Rowan smiled and nodded. “Matthew told me you figured it out immediately.”“Can…are the bloodlines connected? Does a vampire’s entire bloodline die when he dies?”“No. Over the years the true history was lost, and the first vampires preferred it that way.”“Why?”Rowan shrugged, “I don’t know. Eros never told me. Maybe they think other vampires would start killing the first if they knew the truth.”“But…they’re the first. The strongest. No one can kill them.”“You’re wrong. They can be killed.”“How?”“I’m getting to that, and the reason I ordered Declan to transform yo
Declan: Declan jerked awake. His head pounded, and his throat burned with thirst. Worse was the fact that he had a piss like an ox, and his bladder throbbed painfully. Groaning, he got up and went to the bathroom. He had forgotten how good it felt to pee – vampires only had normal bodily functions when they ingested human food and drink, and last night he ingested a lot of it.He washed his hands and stared at his reflection in the mirror … even though it was night time, he was pale and had deep, dark circles under his eyes. "Ugh--" he belched, tasting nothing but cheap brandy,"--never again."He shuffled back to his bed where Aster still slept. Just like the night before she probably wouldn’t wake for another hour. He leaned over her, inspecting her closely. He waited to feel something, anything, but there was nothing. He was completely numb. Where his heart should have been was nothing but a big, empty void.Frowning