Darien

Chapter 3

Darien had to leave in a hurry before his impulses overtook him completely. He had taken the opportunity to disappear when she closed her eyes, but he was sure he was now being burned at the stake in her mind. She must be thinking he had used her and abandoned her, and she had all right to think like that. That is what it had appeared to be. But that was the furthest thing from his thoughts.  She had taken control of his mind in ways that he could not explain and if he hadn’t left in a hurry, he might have turned her even before she knew what he is. He would visit her tomorrow to reassure her and hope she didn’t turn him away.

The nights are longer for a vampire because they do not sleep, and this gives him more opportunities to sneak peeks at Rose even while she sleeps. At the moment he remained next to his gargoyle and observed the other sights and sounds of the city. There wasn’t much activity tonight, so he returned to his apartment and sat down to work. He was incapable of working in the daytime, but his partners had and he now opened some emails that they had sent; they needed approval for some transactions as well as a sit in. He would have to arrange an internet generated meeting one day.

There wasn’t much for him to do tonight, so he ventured to his collection of wines and poured himself a glass. He loved red wine and for some unknown reason it tempered him. Speaking of which, he has not gone for his regular supplies as yet. The place was open at all hours, especially for their benefit so he took his coat up and jumped off the building. He would take his car sometimes, perhaps more when he had company and flying and leaping weren’t options. Whenever he traveled solo, he reverted to what was most comfortable.

He came within view of the building in five minutes, though it wasn’t that close to his home; he may have gone three miles to get to it, but one of his talents that he had acquired in this new life was speed and agility. He could fight like any other man, but his speed always offered him an advantage and made him seem superior in most instances when he did get into a fight. He had not in recent times. He had chosen to lay low and live among the humans in a peaceful manner. His behaviors may seem odd to them at times, such as why he was never at work in the day time, but his excuse was always that he was more of a nocturnal person and worked better at nights. This in itself was the truth wrapped in a bow, but a truth none had read into.

The security guard admitted him without a fuss and he tipped his imaginary hat as he passed him.  He had just entered the lobby when he ran into David. David was an old friend of his coming back centuries and the two embraced each other like old friends would. David had chosen to become registered but he didn’t care for blending into society as Darien had. He chose to live on the outskirts of town in the wooded area, sharing a cabin with two other vampires known only as Ian and Oliver. Vampires rarely walked alone, unless of course they were like Darien who had grown tired of the covens and constant roaming.

“Coming in for your meal I see,” said David.

“Likewise,” responded Darien. “How is it going in your neck of the woods?”

“Things are a bit quiet like we are accustomed to, but lately we have caught scent of new arrivals.  They don’t seem friendly or cooperative so we have been trying to keep an eye on them. They haven’t gotten registered as we have, nor do they feed like the nomads who brush off wild animals. They could be dangerous for us so I have been trying to track one of them to give them the low down of how things work around here. So far I haven’t seen any of them, and that isn’t good.”

“That is troubling,” observed Darien. “Well, let me know if you see any of them or get to talk with them. This can prove unsettling for all of us if they decide to feed on humans. The government will not tolerate that,” he said, concluding in a whisper.

David patted him on the back. “Will do. Good to see you again,” he said as he walked off.

Darien stood there for a while longer contemplating what David had said. No wonder he had felt the need to keep watch lately, but he had not picked up on anything unusual. Maybe he needed to take his scouting further away from the city. The only reason his kind was tolerated by this underground facility was because they had proven to be cooperative and peaceful. Should anything surface that could implicate them, then they would be forced to relocate, and that was not an option for Darien. The idea of leaving Rose behind was unbearable and he now hastened to collect his supplies without further delay.

Tonight moved more swiftly than all the other nights combined. He wondered if she would go jogging in the morning, but not knowing whether she would or not, he simply positioned himself there to catch a glimpse of her if she did. He was growing restless when he saw her round the corner and come to a screeching halt when she saw him. She turned on her heels and headed in the opposite direction. He was thus forced to chase her and when he caught up with her, he held her by the elbow forcing her to stop.

“What do you want?” she asked him furiously. “You know, I was stupid enough to think that you would want…what is your name by the way? That escaped me.”

“Darien Rochester, and I didn’t abandon you. I just had to leave in a hurry. I did leave you a rose as a promise of my return. Please do not think that I simply wanted to have my way with you. I want more from you than a single roll in the hay.”

Once again Rose got tongue tied. She had her defense mounted for when she should see him again, but now that he had explained somewhat, she felt defenseless. She didn’t know what to say, other than, “Nice to meet you Darien.”