moment we stared into each others eyes. His eyes seemed to look into my soul, and a shudder went down my back. A wild thought entered my head. What if he kisses me? My body tensed in anticipation at the idea. I wanted it, I realised then. I wanted it badly. But then he smiled and dropped his hand. “Just try harder next time, Zoey,” he said.
He turned and walked back to the deer, and knelt down and started to harvest it. The blood was nearly impossible to resist, but I didn’t want to embarrass myself again by giving in to my urges. A long silence hung in the air, broken only by the tweeting of a bird or a gust of wind in the trees. “You can all me Zoey,” I said, just to break the silence.
“No, it’s okay,” he said, tearing the deer apart with deadly efficiency. Once again I marvelled at his muscles, shifting powerfully with each deft movement. “Zoey is the name my master, your father gave you, and so that’s what I’ll call you. Plus, it is a lovely name.”
“You were close with my father?”
For a second his body froze and he stopped dismembering the deer, and then he resumed. “Yes,” he said after several seconds, his voice distant. “He was a great man, one of the most honourable vampires I’ve ever met and will ever meet. He fought for what was right and he did everything in his power to make sure that the Council of the Undead ruled well. Even when Mordrain started to gain support and it looked like he was going to take over, your father never gave in.”
A question came to me, one I’d asked my mother countless times. She’d never given me an answer, but maybe Galahad would, I thought. “What was his name?”
“He had two names,” Galahad said. “His human name and his vampire name. Some vampires keep their human name, like me, but your father changed his. His human name was Varo.”
“Varo,” I said, almost tasting it. It was amazing to learn it after so long. Varo. It sounded strong and just, I thought. “What was his vampire name?”
“Benjamin.”
I almost collapsed as he said it. Ben. My father’s name was Ben. It was a complete coincidence, I knew. Benjamin was a very common name, but the mention of it flooded my head with thoughts.
I remembered Ben’s face when he’d tried to kiss me, how sad he’d looked when I’d rejected him. I remembered how pitifully happy he’d been when he’d given me the chocolate bar, and his eagerness to carry my bag. I remembered how brave he’d been, standing up to Jessica’s friends for me. Not for the first time in the past few weeks, I felt a stab of guilt in my chest.
Galahad must’ve notice my silence. He turned around and looked at me. “What’s wrong?” he said.
“It’s just . . .” What was it? I was a killer. I’d abandoned my only friend. I’d never known my father. My mother hated me. It was hard to get all of that into one sentence, so I just stayed quiet.
He stood up and walked over. “Zoey, what is it?”
I realised how self-pitying I’d sound if I suddenly blurted out all my problems, so I just said the first thing that came into my head. “It’s just I’m really happy that you were the vampire who my father trusted to guard me. You’re doing a really good job.”
He smiled then, and I realised that it was the first time I’d ever seen him properly smile. I’d seen him smile before, but that had been a controlled curling of the lip. This looked like an involuntary grin. His whole face lit up. “Thank you,” he said, moving closer to me. “That is a wonderful thing to say.”
His body was pressed against mine now. Sweat trickled between my breasts and down my back, and my heart was beating faster that it ever had before. Suddenly all thoughts of my mother, my father, Ben and my own imperfections disappeared from my mind. It was just me and Galahad.
I could feel his chest rise and fall against mine, his breath on my forehead.
He turned and walked back to the deer, and knelt down and started to harvest it. The blood was nearly impossible to resist, but I didn’t want to embarrass myself again by giving in to my urges. A long silence hung in the air, broken only by the tweeting of a bird or a gust of wind in the trees. “You can all me Zoey,” I said, just to break the silence.
“No, it’s okay,” he said, tearing the deer apart with deadly efficiency. Once again I marvelled at his muscles, shifting powerfully with each deft movement. “Zoey is the name my master, your father gave you, and so that’s what I’ll call you. Plus, it is a lovely name.”
“You were close with my father?”
For a second his body froze and he stopped dismembering the deer, and then he resumed. “Yes,” he said after several seconds, his voice distant. “He was a great man, one of the most honourable vampires I’ve ever met and will ever meet. He fought for what was right and he did everything in his power to make sure that the Council of the Undead ruled well. Even when Mordrain started to gain support and it looked like he was going to take over, your father never gave in.”
A question came to me, one I’d asked my mother countless times. She’d never given me an answer, but maybe Galahad would, I thought. “What was his name?”
“He had two names,” Galahad said. “His human name and his vampire name. Some vampires keep their human name, like me, but your father changed his. His human name was Varo.”
“Varo,” I said, almost tasting it. It was amazing to learn it after so long. Varo. It sounded strong and just, I thought. “What was his vampire name?”
“Benjamin.”
I almost collapsed as he said it. Ben. My father’s name was Ben. It was a complete coincidence, I knew. Benjamin was a very common name, but the mention of it flooded my head with thoughts.
I remembered Ben’s face when he’d tried to kiss me, how sad he’d looked when I’d rejected him. I remembered how pitifully happy he’d been when he’d given me the chocolate bar, and his eagerness to carry my bag. I remembered how brave he’d been, standing up to Jessica’s friends for me. Not for the first time in the past few weeks, I felt a stab of guilt in my chest.
Galahad must’ve notice my silence. He turned around and looked at me. “What’s wrong?” he said.
“It’s just . . .” What was it? I was a killer. I’d abandoned my only friend. I’d never known my father. My mother hated me. It was hard to get all of that into one sentence, so I just stayed quiet.
He stood up and walked over. “Zoey, what is it?”
I realised how self-pitying I’d sound if I suddenly blurted out all my problems, so I just said the first thing that came into my head. “It’s just I’m really happy that you were the vampire who my father trusted to guard me. You’re doing a really good job.”
He smiled then, and I realised that it was the first time I’d ever seen him properly smile. I’d seen him smile before, but that had been a controlled curling of the lip. This looked like an involuntary grin. His whole face lit up. “Thank you,” he said, moving closer to me. “That is a wonderful thing to say.”
His body was pressed against mine now. Sweat trickled between my breasts and down my back, and my heart was beating faster that it ever had before. Suddenly all thoughts of my mother, my father, Ben and my own imperfections disappeared from my mind. It was just me and Galahad.
I could feel his chest rise and fall against mine, his breath on my forehead.
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