Chapter 8 #2
“Well, the undead implications came later. Though the initial article itself, or should I say forum post, was more indicating your immortality. It appears quite some years after you became relatively well known in the public eye, a woman came forward with an article titled ‘It’s HALEing Vampires’.
A nice play on words, claiming you’d not aged a day since she met you in the early nineties.
Harmless really, I’m sure it happens to many celebrities with good skin care routines and surgeons, but the comments underneath were most enlightening. ”
Oh, here we go. Dariel leaned his left arm up onto the edge of the sofa and caught his chin and mouth in his fingers, feeling Athens shift.
“It is apparently common knowledge your birth year has been tracked to 1971, making you thirty-one at the time of the article, and hitting thirty-six currently. Again, not too much of an issue, as I said, many celebrities continue to bask in their youth well into their forties and fifties. But someone grew quite adamant that was not the case.”
“The bar,” Dariel said, sighing.
Godwin turned to fully look at him, the embers continuing to cast a pretty glow over his form. “You know?” His brow raised.
“Unfortunately, I believed I’d gotten away with it.”
Athens pulled at his shoulder. “You got caught?” He looked at Dariel with a firm scowl.
Dariel ground his teeth in guilt, holding his hands up in surrender. “Possibly.”
“How did you manage that?”
“Well I told you Dariel was quite a fan of a single malt, did I not?” Dariel tried to play it off in jest, squinting his eyes and flinching away as Athens playfully swatted him on the back.
“You absolute idiot.” Athens shook his head in disappointment.
“It was a long time ago! I presumed he would have forgotten!”
“Are you aware of what this man claimed, Dariel?” Godwin’s tone remained quite serious. He stayed standing with the poker in hand.
“I can guess,” Dariel said slowly, clenching his teeth again.
“He claims you accosted him in a bar in 1992, then dragged him out into the alleyway and bit him, drawing blood from his neck.”
A snort sounded behind—Athens. “Boy are you lucky he said that last part. Otherwise your career would have gone down the drain there and then.”
“He started it!” Dariel snapped. I think so anyway.
Athens still had a smugness to his face, surrendering to the shout. “Hey, I wasn’t there! Not judging, just saying.”
“Well, yes. Dariel, Athens is quite correct, because the comments below were making fun of this man, seriously not buying his story.” Godwin finally sat back down.
“From what I could find, this man never took his story elsewhere, and thus, the speculation ended with that forum post. No one believed him, I mean, who would? Vampires aren’t real, are they?
Well,” he gestured to himself proudly, “here’s a man who chose to believe. ”
“So you read that and decided I was a suspect?”
Godwin cocked his head and sucked in a breath.
“More or less. It could have been a dead end, but I decided to pursue it. I followed your public career from there on, read every article, watched every recording, and I began putting my theories into play. I noted you were never seen out eating, you were never seen in blazing sunshine—though I will add, I know it does not kill you, so that may have just been a preference thing, but I added it to the list nonetheless. You never wear silver jewellery, and you’ve never publicly had a partner—which again, could all be coincidences, but I gave myself the benefit of the doubt, and they became confirming factors.
It would not be fair on your partner if you lived forever, would it? ”
Dariel gulped, eyes wide. He felt Athens’ arm by his side again, squeezing his bicep in reassurance.
“Impressive how confident you were, Godwin,” Athens said.
“My final test was, of course, this evening. I hadn’t been able to put my remaining notes into play. I held you outside and you waited until I invited you in before you entered. I placed a secret crucifix in each room, gave you holy water to drink, and I laced your food with garlic, and…”
Athens erupted into laughter. Fully leaning forwards and cradling his stomach.
Dariel sucked in his cheeks to hold his own laughter in. Godwin was so serious as he spoke.
“Have you ever seen The Lost Boys? Great movie,” Athens said between giggles. “Completely inaccurate but…”
“Well, I…” Godwin began on the defensive, then even his own face dropped into a smile. “Oh, I’ve been such a buffoon, haven’t I?”
“Honestly, the lengths you went to are admirable!” Athens dabbed his eyes.
“The silver, however…” Dariel spoke up, rubbing his fingertips.
“Ah, my apologies, Mr Hale. I honestly didn’t believe it would be that bad.”
“Doesn’t really affect me,” Athens added, looking at his nails.
“Well good for you.” Dariel wobbled his head sarcastically in Athens’ direction, then he noticed all of his silver necklaces had been removed… How many had he been wearing?
“So it depends on the vampire, then?” Godwin asked inquisitively.
“I suppose so, haven’t really known enough to properly put it to the test,” Athens said.
I haven’t known any. Dariel thought, but he kept that to himself this time.
“So, gents, please enlighten me where I went wrong. How did you come into being? Were you turned, born this way, what? I wish to know everything.” Godwin leaned his elbows onto his knees, ready for answers.
Athens sat up straight. “Hold on, I want to know how I got dragged into this first. I know for definite I’ve covered my back my entire life.”
Dariel admired Athens’ confidence in that moment. The other vampire was so sure of himself.
“Ahh, well, Athens dear, you I was always less sure of.”
Athens’ lip quirked in pride.
‘Good.’
‘Hey. I said it was an accident. I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you. It’s inevitable.’
‘Trust me, darling, I will never slip up.’
‘Oh, piss off.’
‘No can do. We’ll be stuck here for a while now.’
“So what did Athens do to raise your suspicion? He surely made some error somewhere for him to fall onto your radar.” Dariel inquired with forced seriousness, leaning forward intently.
‘You’re a menace.’
‘Oh, I’m well aware of that.’
Godwin’s face dropped, and Dariel no longer felt like winding anyone up.
“Well, actually, erm. It was a similar thing really. I searched for people who were also in the public eye who seemed to maintain a youthful appearance over a good few years. It was a solid starting point. You’re not as publicly known as Dariel, at least your face isn’t.
Your craft is… well it’s magnificent. But after a few false starts with the other people on my radar, I narrowed down to you because well…
you did an interview in 2002 that stood out to me. ”
Athens made no reaction, urging Godwin to continue.
“It was in a small magazine. I don’t really think many people would have made connections the way I did, but you mentioned something along the lines of being ‘reborn’ once you started this career five years prior, and I suppose I was just so unhealthily obsessed with finding my answers that the words ‘being reborn’ as opposed to merely feeling it, was enough for me to speculate.
It was simply luck or fate… Something gave me the sense I was on the right lines.
” Godwin looked ashamed, but he didn’t stop.
“I ended up down a rabbit hole of more personal connections. You mentioned losing a friend in 1997 in an article. I narrowed down locations and ended up coming across a police report for an accident in a block of flats in early that same year. The flat’s owner was pronounced deceased at the scene, and her roommate was missing, presumed dead, but…
” Godwin’s eyes shot wide as he choked off his words and his hands grabbed for his own neck.
Dariel turned to Athens, the other man sat with a clenched jaw and a face of steel. He could sense the controlling strength leaking from his pores.
Dariel shot out an arm to grip onto Athens’ clammy hand, which was glued tightly to his knee.
‘Athens, please. Let him go. He means no harm.’
‘Does he? Really?’
‘You asked him the question!’
Athens began to shake, his breathing rapid. Godwin was still clawing at his neck, trying to find his words.
A tear fell from Athens’ face as he let go of Godwin’s mind and the other man started panting out breaths, still clutching to his throat.
“I was so careful,” Athens muttered, exhausted.
The fire crackled and a roar of hale erupted from the sky outside. The grandfather clock ticked in the distance.
“I was so careful not to…” Athens melted into the sofa, still breathing hard and barely blinking.
“I’m sorry.” Godwin finally found his voice again.
Athens wouldn’t stop burning his gaze into the human in front of them. As if Godwin, in that moment, held every secret Athens had ever kept in his life.
‘Breathe.’
‘I...’
‘Please. It’s okay.’ Dariel let his hand wander to Athens’ thigh, where he rubbed it gently, warm palms sticking to the vinyl.
“You didn’t say anything wrong, Athens. Forgive me. It was all my doing. I was the one who went digging. I couldn’t prove it fully… no one else would have gone that far… I…” Godwin sounded panicked.
Athens still didn’t speak, though he seemed to have relaxed a little under Dariel’s touch.
“I didn’t think about what it would be like to—” Godwin was cut off.
“She saved my life… and I… I couldn’t save her.” Athens finally sat back up straight.
Oh, Athens.
“I’m sorry… I…”
Athens raised a finger to hush their host. “You don’t need to apologise… I would have compelled you to tell me anyway. It’s my own fault.” He sounded like himself again, almost.
They all fell silent once more.
“You don’t have to…” Dariel started, not really sure where he wanted the sentence to go, but it was directed at Athens.