Read Online Destiny (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 1) by S.M. Spencer - Free Book Online
Authors: S.M. Spencer
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be hard for you to believe, but I am telling you the truth.’
His eyes were just so beautiful that I struggled to concentrate on what he was saying.
‘I don’t understand,’ I said, shaking my head.
‘Look, if I explain … will you listen, and try to believe what I tell you?’
I took a deep breath, but I couldn’t seem to force my mind to think clearly. This was too much. Maybe if he kept talking, it would eventually make sense. ‘Okay,’ I replied, but without conviction.
His voice softened, reminding me of my mother’s storytelling voice.
‘Tom and I were best friends growing up. We lived in a small village in Cornwall, at the southern tip of England. When Tom’s parents died, he came to live with us. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters at that stage—not until a couple of years later when my sister, Elizabeth, was born.’
He paused, and I noticed he had that pained look on his face again—the one I’d first seen at the market. But I felt amazingly calm now, listening to his soft voice.
‘We were poor, so my parents decided to try to make a new start in Australia. Together with Elizabeth, they boarded a ship headed to Melbourne. Elizabeth was ten at the time. I was twenty-three.’
His voice was so mesmerising I nearly forgot about Claire in the other room.
‘Tom and I stayed behind to sell what we could from the farm. We were to use the money to follow them as soon as we could. But months went by, and I never heard from my parents. They were meant to write as soon as they arrived, but a letter never came. When I finally contacted the shipping master’s office, they said the ship had been wrecked in Port Phillip Bay. For some reason, my family wasn’t listed among the passengers, so I’d never been notified. I knew they must have died because they would have contacted me otherwise. So Tom and I scraped together what money we could, and took the next ship.’
I shook my head, as if doing so might help clear the fog that was slowing me down. ‘Ship? You keep saying ship, but you mean plane, right?’
‘No, it was a ship.’
He squeezed my hands between his, and brought them to his lips—gently kissing each one in turn. Even in my confused state, it sent a rush of electric shock through my body.
‘When Tom and I arrived in Melbourne we went to the place they called Burial Hill. I thought my family might have been buried there, and I wanted to be close to them. Tom and I had very little money left, so we camped right there.’
He was quiet for a moment, continuing to stare deeply into my eyes. I was completely mesmerised. When he spoke again, it was so soft I could barely hear.
‘That was the night we both became vampires.’
I was certain I hadn’t heard right. ‘Both?’ I whispered, leaning back and pulling my hands away from him. The logical side of my brain was telling me that this was just some elaborate hoax, yet I was suddenly uncomfortably aware of the hairs on the back of my neck. Was I afraid of Sam?
‘Yes … both of us,’ he said, reaching out and gently taking my hands in his again. I didn’t pull away, although something told me I should.
‘The vampire that found us that night was called Erranase. He approached, and asked if he could share our campfire to warm his tired bones. He seemed like a kind sort of man, so we allowed him to sit with us. As we talked, both Tom and I fell into some sort of trance. That’s when he bit us, and drank our blood. Then he made us drink his. It just seemed so normal that we didn’t resist.’
‘You drank his blood? Do you mean to tell me … I mean … I saw blood on Tom’s face … he was trying to drink Claire’s blood, wasn’t he?’ The words seemed to be coming from someone else, as the voice that spoke surely couldn’t have been my own.
‘Claire’s fine, really, don’t worry about her. Please … let me continue,’ he said as he stroked my hands and gazed more deeply into my eyes. I could feel my resistance
His eyes were just so beautiful that I struggled to concentrate on what he was saying.
‘I don’t understand,’ I said, shaking my head.
‘Look, if I explain … will you listen, and try to believe what I tell you?’
I took a deep breath, but I couldn’t seem to force my mind to think clearly. This was too much. Maybe if he kept talking, it would eventually make sense. ‘Okay,’ I replied, but without conviction.
His voice softened, reminding me of my mother’s storytelling voice.
‘Tom and I were best friends growing up. We lived in a small village in Cornwall, at the southern tip of England. When Tom’s parents died, he came to live with us. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters at that stage—not until a couple of years later when my sister, Elizabeth, was born.’
He paused, and I noticed he had that pained look on his face again—the one I’d first seen at the market. But I felt amazingly calm now, listening to his soft voice.
‘We were poor, so my parents decided to try to make a new start in Australia. Together with Elizabeth, they boarded a ship headed to Melbourne. Elizabeth was ten at the time. I was twenty-three.’
His voice was so mesmerising I nearly forgot about Claire in the other room.
‘Tom and I stayed behind to sell what we could from the farm. We were to use the money to follow them as soon as we could. But months went by, and I never heard from my parents. They were meant to write as soon as they arrived, but a letter never came. When I finally contacted the shipping master’s office, they said the ship had been wrecked in Port Phillip Bay. For some reason, my family wasn’t listed among the passengers, so I’d never been notified. I knew they must have died because they would have contacted me otherwise. So Tom and I scraped together what money we could, and took the next ship.’
I shook my head, as if doing so might help clear the fog that was slowing me down. ‘Ship? You keep saying ship, but you mean plane, right?’
‘No, it was a ship.’
He squeezed my hands between his, and brought them to his lips—gently kissing each one in turn. Even in my confused state, it sent a rush of electric shock through my body.
‘When Tom and I arrived in Melbourne we went to the place they called Burial Hill. I thought my family might have been buried there, and I wanted to be close to them. Tom and I had very little money left, so we camped right there.’
He was quiet for a moment, continuing to stare deeply into my eyes. I was completely mesmerised. When he spoke again, it was so soft I could barely hear.
‘That was the night we both became vampires.’
I was certain I hadn’t heard right. ‘Both?’ I whispered, leaning back and pulling my hands away from him. The logical side of my brain was telling me that this was just some elaborate hoax, yet I was suddenly uncomfortably aware of the hairs on the back of my neck. Was I afraid of Sam?
‘Yes … both of us,’ he said, reaching out and gently taking my hands in his again. I didn’t pull away, although something told me I should.
‘The vampire that found us that night was called Erranase. He approached, and asked if he could share our campfire to warm his tired bones. He seemed like a kind sort of man, so we allowed him to sit with us. As we talked, both Tom and I fell into some sort of trance. That’s when he bit us, and drank our blood. Then he made us drink his. It just seemed so normal that we didn’t resist.’
‘You drank his blood? Do you mean to tell me … I mean … I saw blood on Tom’s face … he was trying to drink Claire’s blood, wasn’t he?’ The words seemed to be coming from someone else, as the voice that spoke surely couldn’t have been my own.
‘Claire’s fine, really, don’t worry about her. Please … let me continue,’ he said as he stroked my hands and gazed more deeply into my eyes. I could feel my resistance
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