NIGHT WORLD – Vampire Beginnings
Jane took her teeth away from the man's neck. He looked slightly dazed and walked away, wounds healing as he went. Then she went back to Harry. It was time for his second instalment. As she lowered her fangs to his neck, he looked up at her, knowing the kind of feeling that was coming. Jane felt a rush of power as well as a rush of overwhelming emotion. Boy, did she love him. Thank goodness he was already part witch so she wasn't breaking any rules. As she pulled away, he looked back expectantly at him. She sliced her wrist and held it to his mouth. Jane felt another rush of emotion as she felt Harry turn a little more vampire. Tomorrow, he would get his final instalment and become dead for 2 days. He had no family left, so all his carers knew what was happening and they were part of the Night World as well so he was just going to lie in the back room. Her mother had told her that 2 days was the minimum. Jane pulled away, when her level of strength was the same as it should be. Harry looked up at her with admiration and smiled.
"I love you, Jane. You're amazing. I can't believe you'd do this for me. I could die, and you're giving up everything for me."
"Hey, we're soulmates! You know I'd do anything for you." As Jane's wound healed, she withdrew her fangs and bent down to kiss Harry. As they shared a passionate embrace, Jane knew that everything would be alright. Nothing could harm them now. The next day, they made the next exchange. As Harry slipped into the deepest sleep imaginable, he whispered,
"I love you so much Jane, I just want you to know that. I love you."
Jane wept when he was gone and laid him on the table in the back. She knew, before she woke him up that she had to have a human ready to be fed on here. Her mother had told her to go to the local gambling house and entrance them to think they were her friends and they went outside to where she took a tiny bit of blood to subdue them. 2 days later she went to the gambling house and followed her mother's instructions to the letter. As she brought home a girl who she didn't know the name of, she went to the back room and said softly:
"Harry, it's time to wake up. You've been asleep long enough." He opened his eyes, sat up and said:
"I'm hungry. Does that mean it's worked?"
"Don't worry, there's blood here." She led him to the girl, and suddenly he pounced. As suddenly as he had started, he stopped.
"Oh, that was good!" he moaned, wiping the blood from his mouth. Jane now felt affiliated with him, connected in a way she had never felt before.
"Do we have to leave now?" Harry asked.
"Are you sure you won't pounce on anyone? Have you had enough blood? Cos if you haven't there's a rabbit right here," she said, indicating the unconscious brown rabbit by her side.
"We drink animal's blood?"
"Yes. I alternate between human and animal. They both serve well, but nothing will ever replace the taste of a very healthy human. I got you one today. She hadn't drunk for 5 months. She was doing a sponsored no-alcohol pledge for 6 months. She probably won't feel that way now!"
"Teach me to hunt like you," Harry said admiringly.
"I will, later. Just tell me if you need more blood."
"It would be nice."
"Do what you did to the human to the rabbit." Jane said, watching her soulmate gently puncture the neck of the rabbit and drink some of its blood. Not all, just some. As he lifted his head, he wiped the blood again and laid the rabbit gently back on the table.
"Do we have to go?" Harry asked.
"Yes, but you can pack some stuff and say goodbye to your family first." Jane said, smiling at him.
"Thank you!" He said and ran off, to return in about 15 minutes.
"Right, I'm ready," he said, opening the door to the drive, and the car. As they drove to Jane's apartment, Harry watched the road with a new-found interest. Well, he did have heightened senses. That night, as Jane's new apartment was out of town, Jane taught Harry how to hunt. He picked it up very quickly for a new made vampire, Jane thought. About 2 days after they arrived at the apartment, Jane got a call from her cousin, Blaise. Blaise was notorious at always getting her man. Jane knew she had to head her off. If she didn't, then she would tell the council. Jane knew she hadn't done anything wrong, and so did Blaise, but if Harry didn't play along with her, then she'd get mad, and wouldn't care what happened.
"Look, Harry," Jane said, pulling on her jacket, "I've got to go out of town for a few days. If a girl named Blaise comes here, don't go with her, no matter what she says, or what she does. Understand?"
"Of course," Harry replied, "but what am I going to do for food?"
"Hunt, the way I told you. Remember, it's rabbit tonight, and when you go for human while I'm away, do the gambling house thing. That's the only way you're going to find a human without creating suspicion in a town like this."
"Alright," Harry sighed. He knew as well as Jane did, that you were only going to find a healthy human in a gambling house once in a lifetime. But without 2 of them, it really was the safest way. Harry leaned over suddenly and kissed her goodbye. As she left, she was so happy about the kiss (yes, he is that good a kisser!) that she didn't notice a pair of blue/green eyes staring at her from behind a tree. When Jane had driven off, Blaise sneaked into the apartment and whispered form behind Harry,
"You know, if she knew what was good for you, she wouldn't have left you here by yourself." Harry started and turned round quickly to find himself face to face with an extremely pretty black-haired girl.
"You must be Blaise," he said, taking in the girl's stunning appearance.
"You have that right! I suppose Jane told you all about me," Harry smiled, and went back to making toast.
"Would you like some?" He asked politely.
"No, actually, I'd like to go out to breakfast," Blaise said, turning on the charm.
"Well, you go, I don't trust myself outside yet," Harry said, smiling in Blaise's direction, but still holding his ground. Blaise changed tactic.
"Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Go on then," Harry said, wondering what would come next.
"Are you and Jane soulmates?" Blaise asked innocently. Harry looked at her shocked.
"Well, I, I don't know whether I should tell you. O.K, well, yes, um, I think we are," Harry smiled out of the window and wished that Jane was here right now.
"Alright," Blaise said, hoping that nothing would get in her way now. She thought quickly.
"Oh, yeah, I just remembered. As I came in, Jane told me to tell you that you had to come with me to meet her at the gambling house tomorrow, and you're not to leave the house till then." She smiled innocently.
"No, Jane would never send me a message through someone else. She said not to go with anyone. I have to stay here. Except to get blood, and I use animals for that!" He said, laughing, but eyeing Blaise warily.
"Well, I have to go, but I'll be back tomorrow to pick you up. You have to come. I mean it. It's probably the difference between life and death. Well, bye!" Blaise waved and blew a kiss at Harry, and sauntered out. Harry looked very shocked, shook his head and went back to his toast.
That night, Jane came home.
"Hey Jane! I made pasta! Oh, and by the way, Blaise popped by and tried about 20 different techniques to try and get me to come with her! Of course I didn't go, otherwise I wouldn't be here would I?" Harry said, smiling happily at Jane.
"I haven't been hunting yet, have you?" Jane said, hanging up her jacket and frowning at Harry.
"No, I was gonna wait till night, like you told me. What's the matter, you seem a bit distant," Harry looked at her frown and went over to her.
"I just, I feel a bit guilty that I left you here all alone, and Blaise came. Did she turn on the charm?"
"Yeah, probably, but doesn't true love conquer everything? It happened that way with James and Poppy, and Eric and , didn't it?"
"Yeah I suppose so. Well, the reason I went out was to try and head her off, and then I realised she was here, so I hurried back. And you haven't even fed yet!"
"It's alright!" Harry said, "I don't have bloodlust! I'm fine! Nothing happened!"
"All the same, I'm going to stay here tomorrow, and give Blaise a nasty surprise when she tries to seduce you again!" Jane said.
"Right, you do that! But first, let's eat the pasta, and then let's go hunting!"
After hunting, they got home and went to bed. The next morning, as soon as Jane went out the front door, she snuck round the back and entered the kitchen to hear Blaise and Harry talking.
"Did you feed last night?" Blaise asked.
"No, I considered what you said and I realised it made sense. Jane would trust you. You are her cousin!"
"I knew you would see he light! Well, come on, let's go!"
"Go where?" Jane said, coming in the room.
"Blaise is going to take me to the gambling house and we're supposed to meet you there, but you've come home!"
"Harry didn't feed last night you see, and since you told me to meet you there, I thought he could feed at the same time?"
"Oh, but you see, I haven't seen you in years, and me and Harry fed last night, together, didn't we Harry?"
"Yeah Jane!"
"What, you mean, you lied to me?" Blaise said, looking from the smiling faces of Jane and Harry to the jacket hung up on the door.
"Hey, you didn't go out, did you?" Blaise said, looking at Jane suspiciously.
"Well done, give the girl a medal!" Jane said sarcastically, clapping slowly. "I think you better go," Jane whispered, "before you get out the old charm necklace. It won't work on Harry. You should know that from your little escapade with Eric, shouldn't you?"
Harry looked from Blaise to Jane, frowning in confusion.
"Charm necklace? What charm necklace? And what happened with Eric?" Harry asked, searching for answers. He trusted Jane more, so he was looking at her.
"She makes charm necklaces to make people love her. She tried it on Eric, but because he had already found his soulmate, it didn't affect him."
"Oh. My. Word! I can't believe you told him! Even the Night World isn't supposed to know that!"
"I am part of the Night World. I was already part witch when I got the brain tumour. I was dying, Blaise! That's why Jane saved me! She would have told me telepathically anyway, wouldn't you have Jane?" Harry almost yelled, cross with the way they were talking about him as if he wasn't there or didn't understand.
"Harry, it's O.K. Look, it's just because we've been rivals ever since we were born. We argue about anything and everything. Just wait for us to finish. One of us runs out of steam in the end. O.K?" Jane tried to calm Harry down by walking over, putting her hands on his forearms and looking into his eyes, telling him telepathically, "Just trust me on this one. There's no reason for you to be involved. Just let me handle it. She'll kill you. She will! But she doesn't know your powers yet. She knows mine. She knows I'm faster than her and she can't beat me. Trust me!"
Harry sighed, turned round and walked away. He didn't go far though. He stopped in the hall and started to listen through his heightened senses.
"Look, I've done this now, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"I think not! I could report you to the elders!"
"BUT I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING WRONG! He was part of the Night World already! He knew! I wasn't breaking any laws! Nothing's wrong!"
"Look, I don't care if he's your soulmate, I always get my man. And boy, is he cute. I will have him, or you'll both die," Blaise said, glaring at Jane, before moving to the door.
"Bye bye Harry!" Blaise said in a would-be-cheerful voice, grabbing her coat and gliding gracefully down the hall and out of the front door.
"What was that about?" Harry grinned, walking into the room, and throwing himself down on the sofa.
"Nothing," Jane grinned back, sprawling next to him and feeling a familiar shiver down her spine as he put one arm casually around her.
That night, they went down to the gambling house and four humans were left in a daze. They had been seriously hungry! When they got home, Harry still wasn't used to not having food, so he made himself some bacon, just because he loved the taste when he was just a witch. He couldn't believe that he had witch and vampire powers now!
"Jane, can I still use my witch powers now?" He wondered aloud. He was worried, because he hadn't got any of the ingredients he needed so he hadn't had a chance to work it out.
"I don't know. I think this is a first. I've never heard of a witch being changed into a vampire. It was in your blood, and now your blood is gone, so I honestly don't know. Your DNA is still there, so you might be able to use your powers, but I honestly don't know. You should have asked your mum before you left. You could always ask at the Black Iris club. Do you belong to the Black Iris club?"
"I didn't use to, but I suppose I will now!" Harry said, laughing at the fact that the very club that he had had no intention of joining, he now wanted to join and was going to have to accept him!
"Well," Jane said hesitantly, smiling grimly, "they kind of have a joining ceremony