The Guest & The Change - By M. D. Bowden Page 0,31

actually want her to like him.

She grasped at her neck, trying to stop the blood flow, trying not to cry at the pain. Thoughts of Megan and Bea popped into her head, and she pushed them away, not wanting Sebastian to sense them, what if he hurt them to get at her?

***

Sebastian looked at Sarah, frustration burning in his veins. She sat on the branch, thinking about other men, about her children. And how did she feel about him? Revulsion. That much he’d gained from the thought fragments he picked up.

She did look beautiful though, sitting there, tormented, blood flowing down her neck. He reached out and wiped at a trickle before it ran into her top, bringing it up to his mouth with his fingers and sucking at it. She didn’t even look at him. This really wasn’t as much fun as he’d hoped.

Maybe he should just change her. Then at least she’d be wilder, and she’d be sired to him. Maybe he’d stand a chance.

But for now, he couldn’t just let her bleed to death. That would be no fun at all. He let his desire for blood filter in and extended his teeth. Then he bit into his own wrist, feeling a sharp tang, and pushed it against her mouth. She didn’t object to this at least, he thought, as he watched her gulp hungrily, resolutely avoiding looking into his face. Feeding her like this wouldn’t turn her, he needed to kill her for that. But it would heal her, rejuvenating her supply of blood for later.

***

Daniel landed at the foot of a tree near the hotel, first checking there was no-one looking out the window, he transformed back into his human shape. The hotel was a large wooden-fronted building, set back in the woods. He was guessing it had seen better days, but it served his purpose as he wasn’t bothered while staying there. He also had all the resources he needed, including wireless internet.

He opened the door to the hotel with his own key and walked upstairs to his room. It was very tidy - room service had obviously visited in his absence. He pulled out his laptop and hastily turned it on, trying to think where to start.

The witch, Heather, had shown him various web-sites only readable by those with supernatural abilities. You had to have better vision than any human to read them. There were sites with spells, designed for witches to communicate worldwide, allowing new spells to be developed and shared.

He could remember a few sites, but would there be any spells against vampires? It wouldn’t surprise him. Heather had also taught him some simple spells, for example how to light a fire with his mind.

It took a certain focus to learn spells. Heather, a witch by blood, had the ability to communicate by mind. A bit like he’d taught Sarah earlier that evening. Heather had shown him the exact way to focus, making his learning of magic substantially faster. The fire lighting was a good trick and he’d used it a few times, even to kill Sebastian’s vampires. He’d need to use something stronger than that on Sebastian himself though.

He connected to wifi and typed in the first web address he remembered. It took him to a general witch craft site - he just had to find the link to the hidden material. He spotted it in the bottom left hand corner - he clicked - and up popped a box. It contained links to spells - that even he could only just read. There were lots of subheadings, spells for séances, rituals, even housework.

Then he spotted one to try - defense. He clicked on it and it took him to another list. This list had various options too; general, humans, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, amongst others. He clicked on vampires and was presented by a list of spell types, he read down the list carefully, trying to work out which one would be most useful.

There were quite a variety, it looked like he wouldn’t need to bother with the other sites at all. There was the one he knew, fire, along with others like decapitation, forcing a stake in with greater power, a spell to weaken with sunlight. There were also spells for mummification. The one for decapitation could be handy on a lesser vampire, but Sebastian would be too quick - he would dodge the spell, as he would a stake. The idea of mummifying him was interesting. He could