Realm of the Rogues

Chapter LIX

The mood in the room is a bit awkward for a time, and I can see, that Dom doesn't really know what to do. He didn't seem as tempted by the girls, which could have been, because he had just fed on me - I doubt it's because he has stronger morals than Alasdair, at least. 

"Where is Harris and Farlan?" Dom then asks, which seems to bring Alasdair back to the moment. He clears his throat and a pensive smile falls over him.

"Ah, yes. It's been a fair bit of years since I last saw Harris. He wished to go his own way - much like you - and I think he joined another group of vampires here in Scotland, after some travels of his own," Alasdair starts, sounding not all too happy about it.

"Farlan met a young lass a couple of years after that. They fell in love, he changed her, and they decided that they wanted to live for themselves. That's when I left that note in the shop, hoping that any one of ye might want to meet up again someday." Alasdair finishes and gives a small smile. Then he walks over to Dom and hugs him.

"Oh, I'm so happy ye called. I've been rather lonesome of late," he then says, and Dom doesn't seem entirely sure what to do, so he just pats him a couple of times on the back, until he lets go.

"Well we need to find them then, and get them to join up with us again," Dom then says, and Alasdair smiles genuinely and nods at that.

"That's a mighty fine idea, lad," Alasdair says and gives him a pat on the shoulder like a loving father.

The three of us then leave the house, after Alasdair gives a hug and a kiss on the cheek to Lily, who waves us off with tears in her eyes. All of us get in the car - Dom in the driver seat, me in the passenger side, and Alasdair in the back. He seems not entirely comfortable as he has to duck his head slightly to fit under the roof.

"We need to get another car," I look over at Dom and remark. He glances at Alasdair through the rear-view mirror and chuckles, which makes Alasdair look a bit more disgruntled. Dom then nods, agreeing with my statement.

"So where to first, big man?" Dom asks, and Alasdair clears his throat, trying to ignore the discomfort.

"Last I heard, they had settled somewhere near Braemar in Cairngorms National Park, so let's go there and look for them," Alasdair says, to which Dom answers with a mock salute, before starting to drive that way.

I start to regret not having had a chance to eat anything yet, as we reach the one-hour mark of our journey to Braemar. My stomach rumbles and I rub one of my hands over it, trying to settle it. I hear Alasdair chuckle from the backseat.

"Hungry?" he asks me, and I nod, starting to feel a bit grumpy from the lack of food in my system.

"Ah, I can barely remember how that feels - now I can only feel thirst," he answers, obviously just trying to keep a conversation going. I decide to indulge him.

"Well, it doesn't feel nice, so you aren't really missing out on anything," I answer while throwing my head back and to the side, to speak more directly to him.

"Heh, you're probably right," he says a bit to himself. I look back out on the road, believing the conversation to be over.

"Did Dom ever tell you how we met?" Alasdair then asks. I sigh slightly on the inside, not because I'm not interested, I'm just too hungry to want to hear the story right now. I don't want to be rude, however.

"No, just the general outline," I then answer and lean my head on the headrest to close my eyes, not caring much to hear his tale.

"Please. Not now," Dom then intercepts, looking stiffly out of the windshield with a tense grip on the steering wheel, before Alasdair can begin. This somehow piques my interest. I wonder if he might not have told me the whole story - well I know he hasn't, but this makes me more interested to hear what it might entail.

"Another time lass," Alasdair says after a pause, in an excusing tone as he lays one hand on my shoulder for a short time. I look back over at him and give him a quick smile and nod.

I decided after a while, that I might as well try and get some sleep in, especially since it might make me forget my hunger for some time. I lean up against the window, putting one hand under my head and closing my eyes.

When I open them again, it's because Dom squeezes my thigh.

"We're here," he says as I look over at him. Then I stretch my arms up over my head and let out a big yawn. We pull into a parking lot and Dom turns off the car. I go to unbuckle my seat, and then Dom is already standing at my door, holding it open for me with an outstretched hand. I smile at him and take it, getting out as well. 

The air is brisk and it seems like it might start to rain soon. I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly feeling a bit cold without a jacket and only a sweater. Dom notices and rubs my arms with his hands.

"Don't worry, we'll find some new clothes soon," he says, and I just nod at him, eager to get moving. Alasdair is standing a bit farther away, looking around at the buildings. Then he seems to spot something, as he gestures us over with a hand.

We walk up to him, and then he wraps one arm around my shoulder and pulls me in close to him. I'm a bit confused at that, but then he just points with his other hand down towards the street.

"See that?" he asks, leaning his head down to where mine is while adjusting exactly where he is pointing. All I notice are rows of houses, with the one he's pointing at, not standing out to me in any way. He looks down at me with an expectant look, but since I just look at him confused and shake my head, he shrugs and smiles.

"Well that's the whole point, I suppose." At this, I become even more confused and look over at Dom for some help. He's just standing with his arms crossed over his chest as well and smiling knowingly.

"He is trying to show you, that that house down there has the mark of a blood-giver," he says with amusement in his voice. I still don't understand anything, which must be apparent on my face.

"Come on, I'll show you," he says, as we start to walk closer to the house.

As we stand a bit nearer, he starts to point out things about the house, that I wouldn't normally have thought twice about, while explaining.

"So blood-givers - people who willingly give blood - are expected to mark their houses so that all vampires know that they are allowed there," he starts, and I follow him with interest.

"All houses will be made of red bricks, have black painted around their windows and doors and along the foundations, have a chair outside the front door, and most importantly, a welcome mat with the words "Come in" on it." 

I begin to nod slowly in fascination that they have such intricate rules in the vampire world. Well, from what I have seen so far of their leaders, they do seem to be very rigid and orderly, so I shouldn't be too surprised.

"Let's go in. They might know something about Farlan and Isobel," Alasdair says, as he approaches the house.