Moonlight Lovers

Fifteen

THE light from the open windows touched Selene’s face and her eyelids slowly fluttered open. She found herself in an unfamiliar room and was about to panic for a second. Then she remembered that she came with Godric Octavius to his house last night. She slowly got up and looked around the room trying to remember which one of the rooms Godric showed her yesterday was this one.

Shades of warm yellow were painted around the walls. The furniture is a little different than the rest of the room and it looks like they are from an entirely different era. A mirror table near the foot of the bed had a couple of bottles of perfume, a silver hairbrush and what she would assume were cosmetic products, all clearly looking like they were manufactured at least a couple of decades ago.

Selene got up and climbed down the bed, hoping Godric would not suddenly burst into the room before she could get out. After what happened last night, they haven’t talked again. And now, she still needs a moment before facing him.

She slipped outside the room and carefully walked downstairs, aware that Godric could hear even her slightest footsteps. When she reached the second floor of the house, she stopped when she saw that Godric’s home office was open. She was about to continue walking when she heard Silas’s voice after what sounded like a couple of books fell to the floor.

Selene poked her head inside the room. She saw Silas arranging books on a shelf. He bent his knee to pick up the books that were on the floor. Selene went inside and helped him.

Silas looked over his shoulders, looking surprised. “Selene?”

They both stood up after getting all of the books.

“Where should I put these?” She asked.

He meekly pointed to the table and Selene smiled and placed the books on the desk.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

She inhaled. “You mean how I’m feeling after you locked me in a room with a vampire last night?”

“I’m sorry.” Silas lowered his head. “I always do as he says. And even if I try to take you away from here, I know that he would—”

“It’s okay. I’m not dead, so it’s fine. I’m not mad at you. Or, at least, I don’t want to be.”

“You might not believe this after seeing what you saw last night, but Godric really didn’t bring you here to harm you, I swear. I know Godric inside out. He actually likes you, Selene. And I know he will make sure that nothing bad happens to you.” He put all the books in his hand on an empty shelf.

“Come on, that’s not true. He probably only took me here to drink my blood.”

“Why? What did he tell you last night?” Silas asked as he turned around to retrieve more books from the desk.

Selene pushed her hair away from her shoulders to show Silas the wound Godric left on her neck.

Silas looked stunned. “Oh, wow,” he said. “That’s why the bastard looked so revived today. Does it hurt?”

Selene tried not to blush as she suddenly remembered the flood of emotions that she felt while Godric was drinking her blood last night. “No,” she simply answered.

Silas nodded, he grabbed some books and returned to face the shelf. “You know, a vampire’s bite doesn’t kill people. They can arbitrarily drain a human of their blood or rip the arteries on the neck when they mean to kill them, but a vampire drinking a human’s blood is not fatal.” He stopped and peered over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, is that too much?”

Selene shook her head. “It’s okay. I figured being here makes me kind of pulled into his world, and I gotta get used to it, I guess.” She fiddled on her fingers. “Have you been bitten by a vampire, too? Do you know how it feels?”

Silas smiled, shaking his head. “Vampires never drink the blood of their human servants.”

“Oh,” Selene gaped. “Right, I remember you saying you knew since you’re young that he’s a vampire. How did it happen? Did he just find you and bring you here and offer you a job when you were older?”

“No,” he said. “My family’s ancestors had been serving the Octavius’s since two hundred years ago. Ever since I was a child, my grandpa, who raised me, had told me stories about vampires. It scared me, but he said I was a special kid and vampires would never harm me. And then I finally met Godric, whom my grandpa was working for, and I realized my grandpa was probably lying because Godric doesn’t look like a vampire at all. Even when he himself had told me that he was, and that when I’m older I’ll be taking over the job my grandpa was doing for him, I just threw tantrums at him, like a kid.

“I finally realized Godric really was a vampire, when at fifteen, after grandpa died, I immediately started working for him, and on my first day at work he asked me to come with him out of town so he could feed himself. We came back to the house with a woman, and that night I saw that the door to Godric’s room was open and I found him drinking blood from the woman’s neck.”

“That must be traumatizing,” Selene almost whispered.

“It was. But like you said, you got to get used to it.” Silas picked up more books and finished arranging the rest on the shelf. “I somehow began learning to embrace the peculiarity of the situation I was born into and instead of feeling scared of Godric because of who he is, I started looking after him and became his most trusted confidante.” He paused. “Or maybe just a babysitter, I suppose.”

Selene exhaled. “Hah, I wish I could just humor my way out of this crazy turn of events like you did, Silas.”

“Believe me it wasn’t easy at first. But you’ll learn how to accept the fact of the matter. And if it makes you feel more comfortable, Godric really found something in you that he’s willing to protect no matter what, so he would never let anything harm you.”

A wrinkle formed in her forehead. “What do you mean?”

Silas nodded towards the door of the room. “Why don’t you ask him?”

Selene turned around to look where Silas gestured and found Godric leaning against the open doorway, arms folded across his chest.

“Good morning, Selene.”

Selene timidly smiled. I guess I cannot avoid him all day.

LAKE Ynez was one of the popular places in Clairhill. Today, hundreds of people flocked to the tourist destination, having a picnic by the lake, taking family photographs, enjoying leisurely walks, and riding bicycles that are offered for rent by the lake’s management.

Selene looked worriedly at Godric when she saw where he took her after they stepped out of the car. “Why did we go here? There are so many people.”

Godric chuckled amusedly. “You’re looking at me the same way Silas probably would if he knew where I’m at right now. I’m starting to feel hurt by how little you trust me, Selene.”

“Can you blame me? Just last night I found out that you’re—” She hesitated and looked around as if anyone could hear the word she was about to say next.

Godric grabbed her hand and pulled her, leading her into the crowded area. “That’s why we should get properly acquainted. Right here, right now. Ask me anything you want to know. I’m sure you have a lot of questions on your mind since last night.”

“We might not go back today at all if you must answer all the questions I have,” she told him.

Godric leaned in her ears. “Then, we’ll stay here for as long as we need to.”

Selene felt her ears turn red. She tried to push the unwanted wave of emotions that were starting to form in her chest as she looked at Godric’s eyes. Every time she does so, she always feels magnetized by those pairs. She could easily dismiss it at first, but it was starting to get more and more difficult as the days went by. Is this a normal effect of any vampire on a human?

They walked to the part of the lake where public benches are lined up around a tall tree. Godric stopped and looked up at its sturdy branches. “This tree grew well. I was here when this was planted.”

“So, is this your favorite place? Is that why you took me here?” Selene asked, curiously.

They sat side by side on the bench.

“Not really.”

“What do you mean? Don’t you always come here?”

“No, I think this is actually the first time I returned here after this tree was planted.”

Selene pursed her lips. “You’ve stayed that long here in Clairhill?”

Godric nodded and glanced sideways at her. “I’ve lived here all my life. I didn’t want to leave even after my Change.”

She tilted her head a little. “Change?”

“When someone turns into a vampire.” He shrugged. “That’s what they call it.”

“There are others like you?”

Godric sensed fear in her voice. He covered her hands that were resting on her lap with his hands and gently squeezed. “Didn’t Silas tell you earlier that there’s something in you that I’m willing to protect? He’s saying the truth, Selene. I’m not going to let anyone harm you.”

“Something in me,” she repeated almost silently. She looked up at him. “What is it exactly?”

“To put it simply, you have what we call a spellblood. It’s a rare human blood that causes different emotions in us, vampires.”

“Is that why I didn’t die when you drank my blood?”

“No. Vampire bites don’t kill any humans at all. I don’t know how it became a common connotation among humans that a vampire’s bite is fatal, or that it can turn you into another vampire. But the truth is it’s a lot more complicated than that.”

Selene felt relieved, at least she didn’t have to worry about being the one hunting for victims soon. She’s too scared of blood to even imagine feeding on it to stay alive.

She suddenly imagined what it was like for Godric. He said he Changed. This means at one point he was a human, too. She wondered how much of his life had changed since turning into a blood-drinking being. “So someone turned you into a vampire, then? Was it your choice?”

Godric’s handsome jaw tightened. He lowered his head before looking back at her again. “I don’t think I had one at the time, really.”

Selene’s forehead creased, looking sorry for him. “What does that mean?”

There was a long pause before Godric spoke. “I’m afraid it’s quite a long story, Selene.”