Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
When Dariel celebrated what would have been his body’s fiftieth birthday, he got drunk alone.
He went out onto the midnight streets of London and ended up in a bar where he quickly realised, with the last remaining sobriety he had, he was very much not welcome there.
He was used to people staring at him, and would often use his ability of manipulation to soften the blow of the stares—making people turn away.
On this particular occasion, however, he was too drunk to remember he could even do that.
So instead, he stared back. The next thing he remembered, he was in a gutter with a broken nose, an aching jaw, and a bloodied shirt.
Human blood.
That was the last time he let himself out in public that drunk. It was too much of a risk. Especially since not long after this event, he signed with his first agent. He was always extremely careful, always cleaned up after himself, both physically and mentally. How could he have been so careless?
Dariel could only think the worst—he’d revealed himself to this person and scared them off, meaning somewhere out there, there was a man who would have woken up and believed he’d seen a monster. Dariel could only pray his assailant was also too drunk to believe his eyes. And pray he did.
Godwin’s face dropped, though he was still shaking and gripping on tight to the open bottle.
Dariel clenched his fists and his gums ached, teeth threatening to lengthen; hyperaware Athens was in the same boat.
‘We should make him forget.’
‘I want to hear him out.’
‘This is dangerous. Vampires don’t get caught.’
‘Is that what we are?’
‘You don’t think so?’
‘I’ve never said it out loud.’
‘Well, we’re vampires, and he’s not, and he’s trying to feed us human blood.’
‘It’s two against one.’
‘We can’t be known.’
‘We already are.’
Godwin looked mortified, as though he had been able to hear what the pair were saying to each other, despite not a single word being muttered. “Oh, gents. I’m sorry. Did I pick the wrong blood type?” He sounded genuinely sincere.
‘I don’t think he’s going to harm us. We should see what he has to say.’
‘Famous last words.’
Neither of them moved as Godwin dropped his shoulders and stepped over to place the bottle on the candle-lit table. He closed his eyes and sighed. “I apologise. I didn’t know how best to go about this.”
‘I think we need to talk to him.’
Athens paced towards Godwin, arms reaching out. “Godwin, dear, perhaps we should all sit back down now.”
Their host lowered his head to his chest then reached forward to support himself on the table, stretching out his back. “I don’t know what to do,” he muttered, almost silently.
The two vampires looked at each other, lost for words. Dariel watched Athens’ eyes glisten in the ambient light.
‘He’s terrified.’
‘He invited us!’
‘I think he’s…’
Godwin shot up. “I can’t do this,” he announced, tears choking his throat as he made a b-line for the door.
‘Stop him.’
Dariel darted over to catch Godwin before he made it to the door, grabbing the larger man by the biceps and pushing him back so he couldn’t get any further forward.
Godwin did not protest, heart racing as he panted out the adrenaline in front of Dariel.
Dariel caught their host’s eyes and searched for something, anything, to try and read him. All he found was sorrow.
“Godwin,” he said softly as his host’s arms weakened and he relaxed, dropping most of his weight into the push.
“I thought I’d be strong enough,” Godwin whispered as a tear dropped to his moustache, and Athens quietly appeared behind him, reaching out to place a hand on Godwin’s shoulder.
Dariel’s dead heart ached as Godwin finally pulled back and his breathing returned to normal.
“We’re not going to hurt you, but we can’t let you leave this house,” Athens stated calmly.
Godwin nodded slowly. “I understand.”
“Shall we sit down, yeah?” Athens gestured back over to the table, trying to calm the situation.
“I…” Godwin wheezed a cough. “I’d prefer to sit in the library, actually. If that’s okay.” He looked up through his thick brows at the pair.
Dariel took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“We’ll have to escort you. We cannot let you leave,” Athens asserted again.
Godwin sucked in his lower lip. “Lead the way then, gents.”
Athens shut the door tight as Dariel and Godwin made themselves comfortable on the sofas opposite each other, the fire still breathing; giving the room a deeper, redder hue than before.
Dariel sat with his back to the door this time, eyes fixed on Godwin as Athens came up beside him and sat down. Close. Their thighs almost touched, sending a buzz of electricity to Dariel’s groin. He attempted to ignore it. Not now.
“So,” Athens began. “I want you to tell us everything, from the beginning. You think you know what we are, I want to know how, then you need to explain in great detail why you invited the two of us here tonight.”
Godwin opened his mouth, but Athens raised a finger. “Ah ah, there is no use in lying, so don’t.” It was the harshest Dariel had heard Athens be, but it was necessary. He’d already planned his move if Godwin attempted to run.
Godwin pressed his hands between his thighs, rubbing them together with nerves. He looked younger in that moment, Dariel thought. The way the fire embers cast shadows onto every carved detail of his face graced him with innocence.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” Dariel added as an important reminder.
“I believe that,” Godwin began, tone serious, but face remaining that of a mourning angel atop a gravestone. He did not meet their eyes.
“We’re all ears then.” Athens stretched an arm back along the head of the Chesterfield so his fingertips brushed the shirt on Dariel’s left arm. Not now, please. Dariel adjusted himself, placing both hands casually in his lap.
“I went about this all wrong, please forgive me. I should have been up front and honest from the start. But then you would not have come, would you? Or you would have perhaps had to kill me for good measure? A swift extraction. I am not daft, I understand I’ve put myself in danger regardless.
” Godwin’s voice both deepened and wobbled slightly.
He looked up at last. “Now I know you both, or at least have begun to scratch the surface of your lives, I do not feel fear. At least not from yourselves.”
“Continue,” Athens remained blunt, but his arm behind Dariel only gave off comfort. Protection. Athens’ fingers wandered up and over his left shoulder.
“I was only ever ninety percent sure. I’ve had a lot of free time, you’re aware of that, and I spent a large proportion of that researching.
Random things at first, but for whatever reason, I grew attached to the concept of ‘The Vampire’.
I did enjoy horror as a youth,” he looked up to Athens and grinned, no longer affected by his tone, “and I always believed out of all the fantastical supernatural creatures that keep us up at night, the concept of a vampire existing in the real world made the most sense to me. So I searched to find answers.”
Dariel sat motionless, trying to collect his thoughts as the other man spoke. Athens only seemed to be getting closer and closer, despite having not moved another inch.
“It took me years. For years this idea occupied my mind as I read through account after account and stories and documentaries, and I made a list of every trait that could scientifically be explained. Drinking blood was a must, and sunlight made sense, but only to an extent. You cannot simply flake into a million ashes at the slightest touch of sun, so I had to have my wits about me as I searched. Taking all these accounts with a pinch of salt. Most other things I couldn’t quite explain—manipulation?
Mind control? Possibly, it made sense to cover your tracks, but I couldn’t back it up by science.
Reaction to silver? Again, it could work, but why?
What made you resistant? Then there are matters of the heart.
You are undead, are you not? What keeps you breathing?
I was truly fascinated by these baffling concepts, and they plagued my mind.
I was adamant by this point I would have to prove to myself that vampires existed one way or another, so I never stopped theorising and scouring the internet for every little drop and sprinkle of an answer and I—”
“Okay, you’ve clearly done your research. I’m impressed with the dedication,” Athens cut him off, “but how did you find us? What made you conclude Dariel and I were who you were looking for? How did you manage to narrow your search?”
Godwin raised his hands and laughed once. “Well, actually, it was you, Mr Hale.” He narrowed his eyes towards Dariel, who thrust himself back into the chair in shock, hand pressed to his chest.
“What did I do?” Dariel asked with a panic. Athens’ arm tensed behind him.
Godwin stood and walked over to the fire, prodding it with a poker and laying another log on before he spoke again.
Dariel let his eyes wander over the other man’s body as the tendons in his forearms flexed, his sleeves having been freshly rolled to the elbows.
He didn’t have to turn to know Athens was staring too.
“Did you know there is a story out there claiming you’re undead?” Godwin said into the flames.
Oh, shit.
How had he gone this long without hearing about this? It was inevitable his slip up would have come back to bite him, this just wasn’t quite what Dariel had predicted.
“Go on…” Dariel said, closing his eyes.