"Mr. Hathoway, a pleasure to see you," I greeted the next morning as I resisted the urge to snap his neck. In reality I loathed the very sight of him. If he wasn't doing business with me I would have more than likely killed him ages ago. I held out my hand and held back a shudder as he took it. "Where is your wife and daughter?" I inquired with mild curiosity.
"They are touring the business," he replied in a voice that made me want to tear his throat out. I resisted that urge.
"I hope business is well," I said truthfully. He nodded as a response. I studied him, something nagging at me that I shouldn't trust that reply. "How are the workers?" I pressed, compelling him to give me an honest answer.
"In horrible conditions. They seem to be going on strike and I can't seem to make them want to work anymore," he answered and then blinked with confusion. My eyes flashed a bright blue as I searched his mind. The conditions were worse than I had imagined.
I needed a new business partner. One that would treat my human workers with respect. Being a woman though finding a new business partner would be close to impossible. So I would have to deal with him.
"Mr. Hathoway, you and I both know that this business is as successful as it is because of me. If you don't make the conditions workable I will terminate your partnership without a second thought," I told him with a smile. "Are we clear on that?" I asked as I somehow managed to keep my fangs hidden. Though at this particular point in time I wanted to more than just end the business partnership; I wanted to terminate him.
"Yes, we're perfectly clear about that," he replied with a nervous smile in return
"Wonderful," I said. "Now shall we talk figures?" I inquired as I tilted my head to one side.
"Of course," he agreed, still smiling nervously. I rang the small bell on the table and Andrew almost instantly entered the room.
"Some tea for our guest Andrew and perhaps we will need lunch prepared as well for four," I told Andrew.
"Yes my lady," he said and bowed before he left, closing the door behind him.
"Your butler is rather efficient," Mr. Hathoway commented as he sat down across from me. I smiled with agreement.
The remainder of the morning we spoke of business. Which was still doing well. Mr. Hathoway was more than happy to have Ceylon tea from Royal Doulton. Apparently he had been in the mood for this tea for a few days. I could care less. I had no interest in tea unless there was a rather healthy amount of blood in it.
Andrew entered the room again when I rang the bell. It was nearing time for lunch and Jonathan's wife and daughter had yet to arrive.
"Andrew where is the rest of our company? It is nearing lunch and they have yet to arrive," I stated with mild concern.
"They have just arrived my lady," Andrew told me as Mr. Hathoway's wife and daughter appeared behind him.
"You have a lovely home Miss Delauny," Mrs. Hathoway told me with a polite smile.
"Why thank you," I said as I returned the smile. "I look forward to seeing your home. I will be there tomorrow for your daughter's party," I informed her.
"Oh wonderful," she said, practically beaming. At that moment I was quite glad that I couldn't see energy. I was positive that I would be blinded if I could. Instead of wondering whether or not Mrs. Hathoway's energy would blind me I studied her daughter; Ariel.
Ariel would be turning thirteen tomorrow. She had wavy fiery red hair, green eyes and pale skin. She was staring at me with an unreadable expression and I realized that she had caught my interest.
It was odd for me to become interested in humans. Especially two humans in less than one month. They took seats next to Mr. Hathoway just as Andrew came in with more tea. Mrs. Hathoway was more than pleased when she learned what kind of tea it was. Ariel raised an eyebrow as she calmly took a sip of her tea.
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. Mr. Hathoway, Mrs. Hathoway and Ariel left shortly after they had finished their lunch. They had a busy day ahead of them and I needed to rest before heading to an evening event hosted by the Farrell family.
I went to my room, covered and yawn and then changed into my nightgown. I then got into my bed, pulled the covers over my head and fell asleep.
"My lady," Andrew's voice gently called. I opened my eyes as he opened the curtains. "It is time for you to rise. Your event with the Farrell family is to happen soon. Will you need to feed before you arrive at their household?" Andrew stated, somehow making it seem like a question instead of an observation. I sat up and nodded as I yawned. The Thirst was strong tonight. If I went to the Farrell manor without feeding first, an attack would be inevitable.
I felt the left side of the bed sink slightly as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I stretched and saw Andrew patiently waiting. Andrew was a wonderful butler. Not only was he extremely efficient, he saw to my personal need for blood.
I smiled, my fangs protruding passed my bottom lip as I made my way towards him. His mismatched brown and blue eye watched me. I reached him, grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him close. He tilted his head back, exposing the column of his throat.
I sank my fangs near the pulsing blue vein in his neck. He whimpered slightly with pain and then pulled my head closer as sweet pleasure surged through his body.
His warm, delicious blood filled my mouth and throat. I moaned with pleasure and pulled him tighter to me. Eventually I felt his grip loosen as he slumped slightly in my embrace. He then gave a small cry of pain, no longer willing to let me feed on him. I released him, withdrawing my fangs from his throat. He covered the injured side of his neck, blinking back a mixture of pain and pleasure. I began to clean his blood off of my teeth and lips.
He stood up slowly and left the room so I could change. I called in Alyssa, my maid to assist me with the corset. She was a chatterbox as always and oblivious to the fact that I wasn't really listening. My thirst had been satisfied and now I wanted something more. I wanted to experience the pleasures of the flesh while feeding. The only way to satisfy those urges and burning needs was to go hunting. The Hunt would unfortunately have to wait.
"There you are miss, all done," Alyssa informed me. I smiled at her to show my gratitude. She returned the smile and then left. I changed into a lovely sapphire gown and did my raven black hair in a bun, decorating it with sapphires. I then put on my sapphire necklace, my gloves and a pair of shoes that went well with the ensemble and then left the room.
I went downstairs and saw Burton, my footman waiting for me by the door. He opened the door when I reached him and closed it behind him when we left the house.
A fine carriage was waiting for me. Burton went ahead of me and opened the carriage door. I stepped inside and sat down on the red velvet seat. Burton closed the door and I heard him step away from the carriage. The driver made a sound and the horses started to head to the Farrell manor. I sat in silence.
Eventually the Farrell manor came into view and I felt a surge of relief when I saw that I had arrived on time. My carriage was on the first ones there.
Albert, the Farrell family's footman opened the door when my carriage came to a stop. I stepped out and gave him a polite smile as I headed to the open door.
I saw that the Hathoway family was there as well. Ariel was there with her betrothed, Jeremy Dickens. The rest of the Dickens were there and Charles Druitt, Elizabeth Farrell's betrothed was obviously charming her. I could tell by the way she was waving her fan. The Grey family and the Fitzgerald family were there as well. John Grey looked somewhat nervous in the presence of his betrothed, Angelina Farrell. And Roy Fitzgerald was doing his best to start a conversation with Mary Farrell, his betrothed.
Gabriel Farrell, Alice's and Oliver's firstborn made his way over to me. I always had the distinct feeling that he was trying to woe me. I had no interest in being wooed, nor was I in the mood to listen to petty gossip. Right now, I was in the mood to feed, among other things.
"Sapphira, a pleasure you could make it," Gabriel said with a genuine smile. I returned the smile, keeping my fangs hidden.
A server came up to us and I took a glass of wine. Gabriel waved the server away.
"It has been a while since we've seen each other. You haven't aged any. The ladies are dying to know your secret," Gabriel told me.
"A woman never tells her secrets," I said with a mysterious smile. I wasn't about to tell him that I had stopped physically aging at the age of twenty-six years old in the year 1401 A.D. I had been in Italy during that time and I had rather enjoyed the Renaissance before coming to England. I had to admit, there was still a certain amount of appeal to Italy. Perhaps I would travel there again when my lack of aging became too suspicious.
"All the same, they do wish to know your secret," Gabriel said, realizing that the conversation was over. He seemed crestfallen by that fact. I politely excused myself and headed over to the seven year old boy staying close to Alice.
He was watching me with green eyes that were flecked with gold. He had messy looking raven black hair that framed his pale oval face. There was a fire that smoldered in those green gold eyes. Not of anger, but of fierce determination that gave me slight pause.
I mentally scolded myself and reached the child just as the presence of another Vampire caught my attention. I looked upstairs as I quickly hid my presence from this Vampire and resisted the urge to flee. The child noticed my change and studied me, unafraid.
I turned my attention from the stairs to the child, realizing that this Vampire wanted me to know they were here and even though I had shielded my presence this Vampire knew that I was here.
The child could wait. This Vampire had picked a bad spot to Hunt. I smiled a greeting at the child, who returned it and then I slipped upstairs, seen by only the child. I followed my gut and found myself in the dark study.
Two gleaming eyes were watching me and I realized that I had nothing to fear. He was New. His presence had only alarmed me because I hadn't been expecting it. I closed the door silently behind me. He was watching me with a blank expression but I saw the Thirst gleaming in his eyes. I smiled a greeting as I studied him.
He appeared to be eighteen years old with dark, midnight black hair that framed his oval face. He was watching me with midnight black eyes that gleamed as they reflected what little light was in the dark study. He didn't seem reassured by my smile of greeting. In fact it only seemed to make him more suspicious of me. He hissed at me, revealing his fangs.
"I'm not going to hurt you," I told him as I stepped closer to him. His hiss turned into a low growl. I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile as I stepped closer to him. His growl grew louder.
"You must be thirsty," I commented. His growl stopped and the Thirst grew in his eyes. I walked over to him and pulled him close when I reached him, feeling strangely protective over this New Vampire. He tensed as I pulled him close, but relaxed slightly when he realized that I wasn't going to rip his head off of his shoulders.
"Let me show you to the shared Hunting Ground. We can both feed there," I said as I stroked his shoulder length silken black hair.
"Blood?" He asked as he looked at me. His voice would have had a musical quality to it, if it weren't for the deadness to it.
Something about the dead ring in his voice raised red flags in my stomach. Father's and Mother's voices had a slight dead ring to it. My voice was beginning to gain the same dead not. But his voice sounded almost hollow with the dead quality.
But we were Old Vampires. No New Vampire had the dead sound to their voice.
I released him and took a step back. He only watched me with a blank expression.
"You're not a New Vampire," I stated in an emotionless voice. He smirked slightly and I revealed the full extent of my presence. It rolled through the study like a thick fog, darkening the shadows and thickening the air. He seemed unfazed.
"Normally I can get a taste of blood before they find out," he mused, completely unfazed by my presence. His comment sank in and I felt fear squeeze my heart.
"You feed on Vampires?" I asked, knowing that my presence had absolutely no affect on him.
"Vampire blood satisfies my cravings better than human blood. However, human blood has the advantage of being warmer so I prefer the blood of a Vampire who has fed recently. The mixture is intoxicating," he told me with a sadistic smirk as he revealed the full extent of his presence.
The already thick air became drenched, almost tangible and weighted down as his presence rolled off of him in waves. The already darkened shadows became the color of his hair and eyes. He practically vanished in the shadows as I could barely see.
I realized that I was rooted to the spot with terror. He certainly wasn't New, but he wasn't Old either. He was Ancient and if he wanted to, he could tear me apart and drain me dry and I wouldn't stand a chance.
"I can tell you where the shared Hunting Ground is. There will be Vampires there that have just fed," I told him as I drew my presence back, doing my best to hide from him.
"Oh?" I heard his dead sounding voice say with what might have been mild interest. His voice was in my ear.
"The harbors," I said, my voice trembling slightly when I realized just how close he had come to ripping my throat out. There was silence and the room became normal again. I could flee now if I wanted. Fleeing would probably make him want to drink my blood even more. So I remained where I was; staring at the curve of his neck and feeling his cold breath on my throat. I blinked and noticed the slight quiver of the vein in his neck.
He was starved. Which meant he was weakened.
He was still stronger and faster than I am, but if I can somehow immobilize him maybe I'll be able to weaken him more, I thought with a smile. I would have to act fast. Surprise him somehow. There was no other way. I swiftly wrapped my arms around his shoulders, grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head, exposing his throat as I sank my fangs into his pulsing vein. I pressed him against the wall as he gave a startled cry mixed with pain.
His blood gushed into my mouth. There was a hint of warmth to it, but it was much colder than human blood. It went down my throat the same as human blood though.
He struggled against my grip and I felt relief that I had made him immobile. At least for now.
I eventually felt him slump in my grip. I didn't dare release him though. He could be faking this weakness after all and I most certainly didn't feel like taking chances. Not when it came to him.
But the power that was now surging through my veins made me feel invincible. I released him and swallowed the blood that was in my mouth, feeling the Thirst leave for the time being. The Ancient Vampire slumped to the floor.
I studied him as I cleaned his blood off of my mouth. He was glaring at me with pure resentment.
"You underestimated me," I pointed out as I knelt down in front of him. He was silent as he continued to stare at me with hate filled eyes.
"A mistake I won't make again," he hissed as I got up. I studied him and then left the study when my mouth and teeth were clean, ignoring his whimpers as the effects of him being a Vampire as well as being fed on unwillingly began to surge through him.
Perhaps I had made a mistake in drinking his blood. Maybe it had been the wrong thing to do. More than likely I had made an enemy out of him. I seriously doubted that I wanted him as an enemy.
I have to be careful now I thought as I belatedly realized my mistake. I would most definitely have to be careful. I would have to warn my human servants as well as Priest about the enemy I had just made.