Dark Love by M. D. Bowden

been staying at as well as he, so he let her lead the way,
only occasionally overtaking to liven up the chase.
    The sky was
getting brighter, and the sun glinted through the trees behind
them. It was amazing being out in the woods this early, the morning
smells of pine, moss and dew made him feel alive. He saw Sarah
ahead and his heart ached for her. He sped up and grabbed her –
pinning her to the ground, and she laughed beneath him. He jumped
up again, taking her hand as he did, and sped on holding it
tight.
    He slowed as
they got closer to the hotel, hearing voices outside. He shared a
glance with Sarah; she had heard too. She knew as well as he what a
mess they looked, and that they could not be seen.
    Daniel looked
around the side of a tree and saw it was a couple of women dressed
in hiking gear. They were on their way around the back of the
hotel, going to their car.
    He did not see
people at the hotel often. In fact it was so rarely occupied he was
surprised it was still open at all.
    He and Sarah
waited until the people were out of sight and quickly went in
themselves, going to Daniel’s room before anyone else came out.
    They passed the
room where Sebastian had killed someone making Daniel think
bitterly of the blood and the wasted life. It was taped off from
view, and Daniel wondered what the police thought about what had
happened. It obviously wasn’t public knowledge or no-one would be
staying here, maybe they were covering it up, not sure what to
do.
    Sarah raced
straight into the bathroom and Daniel closed the room door behind
him. He heard the shower go on and set himself to work packing up
his belongings. This would be his final time here, so he would need
to take everything with him and then checkout.
    He looked out
of the window at the horizon and thought about his time here.
Really it had not been long, but so much had happened. He had met
Sarah and successfully fought Sebastian. Now it was time to move
on.
    He wondered
again if they should try and help more people, go somewhere where
there was a danger to fight, make good use of their enhanced
strength and his magical abilities. He decided he would broach the
subject with Sarah before they left, but thought she may not be
ready for more fighting and challenges; she might want to lie low,
fight her own battle of bloodlust and adjust to being a vampire in
her own time.
     
     

CHAPTER 8
     
    Sarah was
in the shower, scrubbing at her body with a flannel she had
lathered with soap. She had been mortified when she had looked in
the mirror. Her hair was beyond a mess. It was tangled and dirty
and she even had debris in it. Small twigs were coming out in the
shower and falling to her feet. She had blood on her face and on
her clothes, and everything was smeared with dirt and mud. She
looked like a beast and tears stung her eyes with this realization,
for that was what she was now, she was not human.
    She discarded
the flannel and poured copious amounts of shampoo into her palm,
before lathering it up on her head, and washing away all the dirt.
She reached for the conditioner, thankfully provided by the hotel
and literally filled her palm. She used a third of the bottle.
There was no-way she was going to untangle it without that. She
smoothed the conditioner through her hair, trying to work out the
tangles with her fingers. Tears fell down her face and she washed
them away too, letting the water flow over her face and letting her
troubles flow down the drain.
    She thought
again of her children, and realized Daniel’s previous influence
must be wearing off as she immediately thought of blood pumping in
their veins. She pushed the thought away, as she had often pushed
away thoughts that troubled her when she had been human. She would
need Daniel’s influence again so she could see them, but now she
would not think on it.
    What could she
think about instead? Where were they going to go?
    England.
    She would love
to go there, she had always wanted to. What would