Chapter One
Alex looked at his watch. They were late. He could not sense them anywhere near. Instead he caught the scent of humans. Two human girls walking along the next street, giggling secretly. He forgot about them soon. He looked around to see the forms of two huge men, though they only too that form, all dressed in black leather. He raised an eyebrow as they approached.
�We were supposed to not be noticed,� he said, running his fingers through his long blonde hair.�
�And we won�t be,� the first one said. �these clothes will totally fit in with these people. It�s you I�m worried about.� Alex looked down at his jeans and T-shirt.
�It�s a rock concert, Martin, not a gay bikers club.� It took Martin a few seconds to understand what Alex had just said, but he was already walking away. Martin looked at his partner. Ben was also wearing leather, but it was not as tight and gay-looking as Martin�s. Ben twitched a smile, but swallowed it when Martin glared at him. �Come on, you two. You don�t want Ruth�s crowd to get there first do you?� Martin and Ben jogged a little to catch up.
If anyone was looking out of their windows that late at night, which they were not, they probably would have commented on how strange that scene was. There was Alex, tall, blonde, looking every so slightly scruffy, striding in between two rather large men in leather, who could not walk properly because of it. Alex thought it was probably quite funny himself. The corners of his mouth were turned up in a grin as they turned the corner towards the club.
Bethany looked at the clock.
�Hurry up, Kaz! We�re gonna be late!� Karina came running down the stairs. Her long dark hair swung around her shoulders. Once again Jo was in total admiration of her friends beauty. They went out the door. Bethany called to her mother, informing her that they going, before slamming it in her excitement. She then had to run back in to grab her money. On the table she saw a note. It had her name on the front, but it was written in handwriting that she did not recognise. She shoved it in her bag so she would not forget it.
The lights in the street had actually made the road seem more creepy than if it had been totally dark, but the girls were too hyper to notice the shadows. They went down the road, laughing and jumping. It was cold, a small breeze made Jessie shiver in her top. Karina clicked along in her high heels boots, concentrating more on walking than the cold.
�I�ve heard that this band are so good, I can�t wait to hear them.� Karina laughed.
�I can�t wait to see if they�re cute or not,� she said. �Like you remember the last one? Umm, Lateral Thinking?� Bethany nodded. �Their drummer, ooh, it sent shivers up my spine to look at him.� She smiled. �You really should get into guys, Jessie, they are a lot of fun.� She flashed her ticket to the doorman and went through the door. There was an instant wave of heat from all the bodies inside.
�I�m fine as I am.� Karina gave her best friend a little shove.
�Fine as you are my ass!� The shove sent Bethany flying into someone who was standing behind them.
�Oh my god!! I�m so sorry!� Karina laughed as the guy picked Bethany up off the floor. She apologised herself and then ran away with an embarrassed look on her face. �Did you see his eyes?� Karina whispered in her ear. Bethany shook her head, she had been to busy stopping herself falling over again to look at the guy. �They were like, well, they seemed to be glowing.�
Bethany looked at Karina. All the hyperness had left her features and she was being deadly serious. Bethany examined her features for any signs that it was a joke. Karina was a very good liar. They entered the crowd then. The support band were just finishing and Taking Liberties were just coming on stage. Karina stopped talking to examine each member.
�Urgh!� She eventually said. �Not a looker among them. Ooh! Look, it�s that guy!� She pointed to the front of the crowd. Standing there was the tall, blonde guy Bethany had fallen into. But just then when she was looking at him, he turned around. Quickly she moved her eyes, but she knew he had seen her. Suddenly there were two men next to him. Both wearing leather and looking rather out-of-place. She watched them for a moment before Karina dragged her further into the crowd. �Just enjoy yourself!!� Karina shouted over the band. Taking Liberties were good and soon Bethany found herself getting into the swing of it. Her feet left the floor and she put her arm around Karina. They jumped, one arm in the air, screaming.
Alex stood in the crowd at the very front. Martin and Ben had managed to get lost and he had a few moments without them. From behind him he felt someone looking at him. He turned round and the girl was there. He recognised her, she had fallen into him in the corridor. She obviously tried to divert her gaze when she noticed him look back at her. Then the familiar scent of old friends returned. Martin and Ben were back.
�Hey! Where did you two go?� Then he saw the beer bottles in their hands. �I might have guessed.�
�Blood fulla� alcohol is the best! Bitter, yet sweet and warm.� Ben said it a bit too loudly. The people around them backed away a little bit. Alex glanced over to where the girl had been standing but she was gone.
�Hey! Alex! What�s up with you?�
�Nothing, I just want to have some fun. Can you go �n� get more beer or summat? Leave me alone.� Ben faked a huff.
�Well, if that�s the way you feel, we will.� The two of them marched off towards the bar. Alex started moving among the crowd. Picking a victim was easy, find someone on their own. Finding one that you liked was difficult though, and Alex only ate the ones he liked. He liked that girl, but he could not eat her, he liked her too much. A blonde girl stopped him in his path.
�You wanna dance?� She was pretty, very pretty, and she would have to do. They danced for a little while, or she danced, he just stood there with his hands on her waist.
�Here, you wanna go somewhere quieter?� The girl smiled. It must have been going faster than she planned. She nodded and they left the crowd, going out the back door.
Bethany was having the time of her life. She was on her own now. Karina had found a guy to seduce, but she was still happy. Someone pushed past behind her and whispered in her ear.
�Hey, hunni, wanna go outside?� She turned round.
�Not really, Stephen. You should stop trying your luck.� Stephen smiled and they both laughed.
�Anyway, how are you enjoying it so far?�
�It�s great. But I�m not sure now you�ve turned up.� Karina came up, dragging a guy by the hand. They both looked very pleased with themselves. They stopped and the guy put his arms around Karina�s waist.
�Beth, Stephen, I�d like you to meet Rory. Isn�t he just gorgeous?� She smiled at everyone, a big, full, happy smile. �He�s my new boyfriend.� Stephen rolled his eyes. �Hey,� she cried, �you can�t talk, you�ve been out with me often enough. Anyway, Beth, hunni, we�re gonna leave. You ok here on your own?� Bethany nodded.
�I�m sure Stephen will look after me.� He put on a mock karate stance, and squinted his eyes at everyone around them. �See?� Everyone laughed. �Goodbye, I�ll see you tomorrow then.� Karina and Bethany kissed each other on the cheek and then Karina and Rory left.
�So�� Stephen put his arm around Bethany�s shoulders. She quickly lifted them off.
�Go find someone who�s interested, Stephen.� She walked off into the crowd, leaving Stephen standing there with his tongue in his cheek. Bethany really did not get why he kept on trying to get her. She had made it clear.
She pushed herself to the front of the crowd, right up in front of the band. Karina was right, they were not very good looking. But the music was so good you could forgive them.
Soon she was lost in the music.
Alex pushed open the door and looked back at the girl. She was sprawled on the alley floor, blonde hair forming a halo round her head. The two holes in her neck were closing up, but not before a little river of blood dribbled out of them. He closed the door and scanned the crowd for any sign of Martin or Ben, or the girl. He saw the girl first. She seemed to be in a trance, but was definitely enjoying herself. He watched her for a while. She was all by herself, hair flying all over the place. He could go and talk to her. He watched as someone came up behind her, putting his arms round her waist. The next moment Alex was being dragged by the arm into a corner.
�What are you doing here?� A voice hissed. Alex recognised it. �I told you to stay away.�
�You thought I�d listen to you? You�ve gotta be kidding me, Ruth?� He turned round to face her. The woman was totally dressed in PVC, from her hat to the toes of her thigh-high boots. She was also unimaginably thin. Her skin was very pale, and she looked like a mixture of all the erotic vampiric pictures ever drawn; in fact, she probably modelled for all of them.
�Alex, darling, why the tone? We don�t want to get into trouble, do we?�
�Depends on what sorta trouble you mean.� Ruth glared at him. She was too old to understand his reasons, he was too young to understand hers.
�Anyway, I�m glad I found you actually. I wanted to invite you, and your friends, to a little get together I�m having.�
�And why would we want to do that?� Ruth took the cocktail stick out of her glass and put it in her mouth.
�You used to like a good party. And I�m sure your�..� She was cut off as Martin came charging in.
�Did I just hear the word party? Were you turning down a party invitation, Alex?� Alex rolled his eyes. Ben came a bit slower.
�Huh, what? Party? Let�s go to the party! I love parties.� He smiled madly and then his eyes went and he collapsed.
Alex lifted him up.
�Martin. Martin! Go get some water, I�ll take him outside.�
�How�s water gonna help. He�s a�.� Something splashed all over Ben�s face and he spluttered. Everyone looked up. The girl pushed her wavy hair back from her face. It was the one Alex had been watching, and she was even more beautiful close-up.
Bethany turned the cup up and poured it all over the guy�s face. All his friends seemed quite surprised that it had managed to awaken him. She turned her face away and looked at the blonde one.
�My, umm, dad was an alcoholic.�
�Yeah, thanks.� He smiled. He had the most wonderful smile. It made Bethany feel all warm inside. He held out his hand. �I�m Alex.� She took his hand and shook it.
�Bethany.� She smiled back. Everyone else put out their hands and introduced themselves, even Ben who had sobered up dramatically in those few minutes. �Yeah, uh, hey.�
Ruth smiled smugly when she looked at Alex and Bethany.
�Why don�t you bring Bethany to the party, Alex? I�m sure she�ll enjoy it.� Ben looked at Alex, Martin looked at Alex, Alex looked at the floor. The band in the background stopped and everything apart from the movement of people went silent.
�I don�t think so. Not to one of your parties.� He turned round to Bethany, but she had already disappeared. She was standing outside the front door with Karina, who was in tears. Bethany help her shoulders and tried to calm her down. There was a gash on her neck which was bleeding rather a lot.
�Kaz, Kaz, hunni, I think we should get you to a hospital. That cut doesn�t look to good.� Karina nodded, the tears still streaming down her cheeks though she was trying to stop. Bethany took out her mobile and dialled Emergency services. The ambulance arrived five minutes later.
Bethany sat in the waiting room for a long time before she was allowed in to see Karina. Karina�s parents had not arrived yet. Karina looked pale, even against the whiteness of the hospital, and her eyes were red. The doctors said that she had lost a lot of blood, but that she would survive. Of course she would survive, she was a survivor, she was Karina. Bethany sat by the bed. Karina mumbled in her sleep.
When Karina woke up, the first thing she saw was the sun through the huge ward window. The next things she saw were her parents. Bethany had been sent to get food. It was Saturday. When Bethany came back, it was obvious that she had not slept.
�I�m sorry, hunni,� she mumbled. �I spoiled your night.� Bethany smiled.
�No, you didn�t. I think you rescued me.� They laughed.
�Yes, from your phobia of meeting men.�
�No, from my phobia of meeting a guy�s ex.� Karina raised an eyebrow. There was a twitch of pain in her eyes. �Are you ok?�
�Yeah, did they find anything to say what caused it?�
�The doctor said something about teeth marks.� Karina�s mother said. Karina looked out of the window. She did not say anything for a long time, and only then when her parents were not there.
The apartment was dark and the air was very musty. Alex collapsed in the disintegrating couch. Martin and Ben just stood there.
�Why do we still live here? Why can�t we live in a mansion like Lady Ruth?� Alex rolled his eyes, remembering the amount of times he must have explained this to them.
�Because we are not like her. We do not get our kicks out of mortals in pain.� Martin smiled briefly, it was obvious he disagreed.
�Are we going to her party?� Alex did not reply. He switched on the television and slumped further into his chair. Martin and Ben looked at each other as if to say: �What�s up with him?� and then they left. He sighed as he heard the door closing. He knew that they would never understand what he was, what he wanted all of their kind to be. The lights outside went off one by one.
Yes, they were going to the party. He did not want to, but he had to. Lady Ruth would not be pleased. She usually killed the people who tried to stop her sacrifices, ripped their heads off with her bare hands. Martin would not be happy either. He liked Ruth�s way of life, the pain and the suffering she caused. Ben, well, Ben did not really care as long as he could get drunk. They had been together, the three of them, for only ten years, a moment in his life. They had only been sired ten years before that, which kind of explained their fashion sense. Alex was three hundred years old. He had seen so much and yet still he could not make much sense of anything. The apartment was dark and the air was very musty. Alex collapsed in the disintegrating couch. Martin and Ben just stood there.
�Why do we still live here? Why can�t we live in a mansion like Lady Ruth?� Alex rolled his eyes, remembering the amount of times he must have explained this to them.
�Because we are not like her. We do not get our kicks out of mortals in pain.� Martin smiled briefly, it was obvious he disagreed.
�Are we going to her party?� Alex did not reply. He switched on the television and slumped further into his chair. Martin and Ben looked at each other as if to say: �What�s up with him?� and then they left. He sighed as he heard the door closing. He knew that they would never understand what he was, what he wanted all of their kind to be. The lights outside went off one by one.
Yes, they were going to the party. He did not want to, but he had to. Lady Ruth would not be pleased. She usually killed the people who tried to stop her sacrifices, ripped their heads off with her bare hands. Martin would not be happy either. He liked Ruth�s way of life, the pain and the suffering she caused. Ben, well, Ben did not really care as long as he could get drunk. They had been together, the three of them, for only ten years, a moment in his life. They had only been sired ten years before that, which kind of explained their fashion sense. Alex was three hundred years old. He had seen so much and yet still he could not make much sense of anything.
The curtains in his room were always closed. He liked being human, so he tried to act like one the best he could. He did not sneak off to the basements like most other vampires. A few minutes and he was asleep.
He dreamt of when he was human. The Victorian empire was flourishing, he was the son of a rich London family. Then he met the girl. The girl�s name was Elizabeth. She was beautiful, thin and blonde. But she was trouble. Oh god, if he had not met her he would be sleeping peacefully in his grave just now. She was also the daughter of a rich family, but her family had been around for generations, she had been around for generations. Over generations you can learn a lot about charm, and charm was what Elizabeth had. No eighteen year old could possibly have resisted her. A charmer himself, Alex (then Master Alexander) had charmed her into wanting to charm him. And his nineteenth birthday present, two teeth in his main neck artery, and eternity. She had handed on to him his worst nightmare, to see his friends grow old, whither and die before his eyes while he stayed the same. AS the decades passed and the world changed, he changed with them. Now preferring the grunge-rock look of the twenty-first century. He fitted in, looked the part, acted the part, but he did not feel a part of it all. He had even learned how to play a bass guitar to make his guise more convincing. He needed someone, he hated being alone. Even Martin and Ben did not make things any better. Ruth called him a vampire in denial, of course he was in denial, he did not want to be there. But he knew what the world was like now, he knew about all the darkness that had not existed to his human self, and he knew he had to help. He could help so many, and that was why he had to keep on going, trying to fit in. Unfortunately, to stay in the world he had to eat. Unlike most myths, he could not survive on animal blood, so he had to kill. It ripped him up inside everytime he watched a victim fall to the floor with his teeth marks in their neck. God, he felt pathetic.
Bethany put her hand over her mouth to cover the gasp. Karina lay in the hospital bed bedside her, crying. Tears began to dribble down Bethany�s cheeks too.
�He was�he was a�� She could not say it. It was too unbelievable. But if it was true, if Ruary really was a creature of the night, then anyone could be, it would change her perception of everyone around her, everyone she either knew or did not know. �Karina, we have to find him. We have to.�
�No, Beth, we can�t. It�ll be impossible.�
Bethany knew it would be difficult, but perhaps not impossible. Karina looked at her desperately.
�Beth. I want you to forget about this. I don�t want you to do anything.� Beth looked at Karina.
�Ok.� She hung her head and clasped her hands.
�Promise?�
�Of course I promise.� She took Karina�s hand in her own and smiled. �I�d do anything for you, Karina.� The lights of the hospital flickered and went out in the entire place. �Oh, god, I know that shouldn�t be happening.� She heard the patient next to Karina splutter for air as their ventilator went off, all the power had gone. The was the sound of people running. Bethany held onto Karina�s hand and prayed, something she had never done before. She was frightened more than she would have been if Karina had not just told her what she had. She was frightened more than when she walked in on her sister trying to kill herself. She closed her eyes. God help us. The lights flickered back on and a voice came over the loudspeaker:
�Sorry, folks, power-cut.� Beth breathed a sigh of relief. Just then she noticed that there was someone standing over them. His face was holding a knife in one hand.
�We have to go,� he said. �Get her up.� He rushed them along the hospital corridors. Bethany half-carried Karina. She did not argue with the man, it was a large knife. He bundled them into a car. Bethany and Karina huddled in the back seats while he drove off. He drove fast, as if he was trying to get away from something. Eventually they reached an old warehouse. There they were ordered to get out and walk into the building. Bethany could hear the sound of the sea coming from behind it. Karina was shaking with cold and fear. Inside the warehouse had been made into what looked remotely like a home.
When they got inside, the man light a cigarette and motioned for them to sit down. There was a blanket on the couch that Bethany wrapped around Karina. It was as cold, or maybe colder, in here as it had been outside, and the hospital night-dress would do nothing to keep her warm. The man came and crouched in front of them. He seemed to have been making sure no one could see inside.
�I�m sorry if I scared you.� He said. �But you couldn�t stay there. I didn�t cause that power cut. But you know about them, and do you really think they want to be put in the spotlight by the human world.�
�The�the vampires?�
�The vampires, all other creatures that you were told about in horror stories. They all exist, and your friend here surviving an attack, well, that�s not exactly made them happy. The one who attacked you, Ruary, they killed him. He was new and an amateur.� Bethany looked at the man. She was beginning to feel more comfortable, more trusting of him, but she still was not sure.
�Who�what�are you?�
�Oh, I�m human, my name�s Allan. My brother was killed by these monsters and I�ve spent all my time since finding out about the real vampire underworld. I have contacts inside most of their organisations. Vampires who don�t want to be a part of that sort of life anymore.� The two girls stared at him. Karina had not said anything since they had arrived.
�You wouldn�t happen�to have any clothes that I could wear?� She said. Her voice was small and her teeth chattered as she spoke. Allan wandered around the warehouse, returning with a pair of women�s jeans, a T-shirt and a shirt to go over the top. He disappeared for a while as she changed, coming back this time with food, two bowls of hot soup and some rolls. Karina gulped it all down really quickly. Then she looked up embarrassed.
�Umm, hospital food sucks?� From then on the mood was a little lighter than before.
�Where are we?� Bethany asked, eating her own food a little slower and much less messier than her friend.
�The outskirts, by the port. It was an old squatting place for teenagers with no place to go, but the council cleared it out ages ago. They haven�t come back.�
�What are we supposed to do? Just stay here?� Karina looked at him. Her outgoing personality, even in this situation, made the possibility of having to stay inside for ages rather difficult for her to grasp.
�For now. I have to find out how badly the Lady wants you dead.�
�The Lady? Who�s she?�
�Lady Ruth Ackley. She is the leader of the vampire underground here. They all follow her, and all those that don�t, die.�
�I�ve not heard of her.� Allan shook his head.
�I didn�t think you would have. But you�ve seen her. At that concert. You remember the woman in black, incredibly tight clothing?� Bethany nodded.
�The one with Alex?� Allan looked confused.
�Alex was there? Were you talking to him?�
�Not really, I revived his friend who had collapsed, then Karina came running to get me. You know him?� Allan looked both surprised and as though he had just realised another part of an large puzzle.
�I know of him. Victorian nobility, sired in the very first years of the nineteen hundreds when he was eighteen. He�s a legend.�
�He�s a vampire?!�
�Yes, but the strangest one ever to be created. He hates what he is and spends a lot of his time trying to save mortals from other vampires. Killed over at least a thousand vampires in his time. My god, he�s here?!� Allan looked as though he had just heard that his idol had requested personally to met him. �What was he doing when you saw him?�
�I think the Lady was trying to invite him to a party of some sort, he wasn�t very happy about it.� Allan bit his lip. He stood up.
�I�m sure he wasn�t. Lady Ruth�s parties usually consist of some sort of sacrifice and her bathing in the victims blood. Usually that of a virgin female. The Lady likes her traditions.� Karina looked as though she was going to puke up all the soup she had just eaten.
�Do you have a bathroom in this place?� She asked. �I think I need to be sick.� Allan gestured towards a door at the back of the warehouse. Karina ran for it.
Alex was woken by the sound of knocking at his door. He grunted and Ben came in. He poked his head out from under his blanket and muttered something about not being woken up.
�I need to talk to you.� Ben looked surprisingly serious. �Martin is asleep.� Alex sat up, brushing his hair out of his eyes with his fingers, it still looked like a bird�s nest, but what was new.
�What is it?�
�Are you going to do what you�ve done everytime we find one of these places? Slaughter the lot of them and save all the humans?� Alex looked at the floor. �You are, aren�t you? Martin isn�t going to stand for it, you know? I�m on your side, I�m not really interested in all that pain stuff, but I know if Martin was given the choice, he�d side with Ruth.� Alex nodded.
�I know. That�s why I wasn�t gonna tell him. You mustn�t either.� He was whispering. Martin might be sleeping, but he did not want to take any chances.
�Oh, and another thing. You remember that girl, umm, Bethany?� Alex looked up and raised an eyebrow. �Well, she�s gone missing. Ruth wants her dead apparently. Her friend escaped an attack and she doesn�t want the possibility of news of us leaking into the outside world.�
�She�s dead?�
�No! No, as I said she went missing. No one knows where she or her friend are. Ruth got someone to go to the hospital last night, but they somehow managed to get away.�
�At least they must be safe.� He jumped off the bed and pulled on his T-shirt. �Is there anything else?�
�No. The mud rat I got all that off kinda died in my arms.� They laughed and went downstairs.
Martin was actually awake downstairs, reading that days newspaper. Alex went to the fridge and took out some milk, the cereal was already on the table. He did not need it, but it tasted so good. The quality of food had risen so much since he was human. Everyone sat in silence for the next half hour.
Alex was troubled by Bethany�s disappearance. Was she safe? The next thought after that was: why do I care so much? He swirled the Coco Pops in his bowl. The phone rang on the table. Martin and Ben just looked at Alex, leaving him to pick it up.
�Hello?�
�Hello, Alex, darling.�
�Ruth. What do you want?�
� Just to say, that if you changed your mind about that party of mine, it�s this Wednesday, midnight, my place. Don�t be late. You�ll miss all the fun.� She put the phone down.
�Are we going then?� Alex smiled.
�Yeah, why not?� Martin�s face brightened up. �You have two days to find something decent to wear.�
�Ha ha ha, your such a comedian. I�ll look good in anything I choose to wear.� He paused. �Were you having bad dreams last night, Alex? You were tossing and turning all night.�
�It�s nothing.� Ben looked at him sceptically, he really was being to serious today. �Nothing to worry your little brain about.�
�It�s just come to me. I�ve never seen your feeding face, not in these ten years. You always disappear before you eat. Show us.�
�I don�t have a �face�. See.� He opened his mouth, his canines began to lengthen, but nothing h
