The Guest & The Change - By M. D. Bowden Page 0,32

mummify him, then kill him.

He clicked on the mummification link. It took him to one page, one spell. He read through it closely. At its heart the spell looked simple. He would have to make skin to skin contact with Sebastian, visualize the spell in his head, then pull his energy out of him. Once the flow of energy started Sebastian would be so weakened he wouldn’t be able to fight back. If he drew out all his energy Sebastian would become mummified, but could be brought back to life with fresh blood.

He wasn’t sure whether Sebastian would have heard of this magic, whether he’d be prepared for it. Even if he has, he thought, I’m sure he wouldn’t imagine I would have learnt it. There was one problem; the spell would take the energy of a powerful witch to perform. As he didn’t have natural magical power he would need to increase his power by other means, by consuming more blood.

He sighed, feeling the burden of his predicament. He hated feeding on humans. He loved the taste of blood, the life energy it infused him with. But even if he stopped himself killing he still felt guilty. He hated manipulating people, weakening them, risking killing them. He pushed this thought aside, burying it deep within, and prepared to go back into the night.

CHAPTER 8

Sarah was alone. It was still dark, and right before her eyes Sebastian had sighed, looking at her in frustration. Then transformed into a bat. She was awestruck. It had been such a smooth transition. He’d swooped off into the darkness.

Unfortunately he hadn’t left her free, able to escape. He had bound her to the tree, her arms firmly held by her sides. And the rope was uncomfortable. Sarah wriggled, trying to stretch her fingers. She didn’t stand a hope of moving much though. To top it off Sebastian had influenced her to stay silent, so even if a source of help wandered nearby, they wouldn’t find her. She was still high up in the tree, engulfed in darkness. At least, with Sebastian gone she was free to think as she pleased. No worries about him eves-dropping on her mind.

She longed to see her children, it was only this morning that she’d dropped them at their Grandparents’ - but it felt so long ago. She wanted to give them each big hugs and kiss their soft cheeks.

They would now have a life with no father. She had stayed with Jo, even after he had betrayed her, to stop this from happening. What would happen to them if she died out here? If Sebastian killed her, or turned her. God, what if he turned her, then she hurt her kids. Her heart tore at the thought.

She struggled again, hoping against hopes to find a weakness in the ropes that chaffed at her wrists. She rested her head back, closing her eyes. It had been such a long day. She was tired, so tired.

She listened to the night sounds, hearing a distant owl, then a howl from a wolf. She shivered. It was freezing. She still had her thick coat on, and was very thankful that she’d decided to wear jeans, not a dress. Yet, inside her coat was wet with blood. Even though her neck had healed and the blood flow had stopped, the blood was still there, drying and cracking against her skin.

It would be heaven to have a bath. A gloriously hot bath with bubbles and candle light. Her head lolled to the side as she fell asleep, but she jerked it back up again, heart pounding. It wasn’t that she was worried about falling, she was just so hyped, her mind full of thoughts. Fear. Sleep would be blissful though. She could forget about her situation. Lull herself into relaxation. Make time pass more quickly.

She closed her eyes again, feeling them get heavier, but as she was about to drop off she heard an animal scurrying near the tree. Her eyes snapped open, searching through the night for the source of the sound. Breathe, she thought, try to focus on breathing. She rolled her eyes, she’d been to a few yoga classes but never really got to grips with the breath work. Her mind always got distracted. Like now. Thoughts of Jo swam into her mind, his smile, his scruffy hair, years of love broken with human weakness, infidelity. She thought of their early years together, how much she had loved him, and he