Fancy A Quickie?

The Dark Side

HE is tall and broad, enough to block the remaining shafts of light trying in vain to fill the room. We're in the attic of an abandoned house which I naively thought was a safe place to hide.

"Is there a reason you're in here?" Tom asked in a somewhat bored voice. His sharp jawline and high cheekbones were dramatic in the shadows. He approaches me and I'm not terrified, nor indeed am I without my wits. He isn't an irrational man and I know he won't just launch across the dusty eves at my throat, not until the very last moment anyway.

"I like the view," I sighed, stepping out from my weak hiding place. He smiles widely as I face him for the final time.

"I do, too, from where I'm standing."

"Droll," I mutter.

He gestures to the forgotten chair next to him and I obligingly join. He is still irritatingly handsome and effortlessly charming and I'm not sure if this is why it's so easy to face my pending doom: death with a handsome face is so much more acceptable.

"What happens now, Tom? I die up here and become an empty, leathery sac?"

He laughs deeply and the sound reverberates around the attic.

"I don't want to drain you dry, Ivy," Tom says simply. He looks me up and down with those golden eyes, a gleam of wickedness flashing across them.

"Oh, sorry, my mistake," I say with heavy sarcasm, "maybe you just like to have a snack around? Or someone who knows what you are and hasn't died five seconds later?"

I cock my eyebrow and stare at him defiantly only to see him smiling again but it's... fondness I see across his attractive face.

"I'll admit that when you've been alive for two centuries it does get a little tedious having to start all over again," comes the surprisingly soft response. "It's... it's nice to not have to hide with you."

I'm genuinely taken aback.

"But you've hunted me down all day and I can only surmise that when a vampire hunts a human it means just one thing," I recover.

"Yes," he answers slowly, with a smirk, "I see why that would be threatening. But I haven't come here to kill you. I've come to proposition you."

If I was surprised before I'm gobsmacked now. I try to keep it cool and not show too much emotion.

"Your family isn't around," he continues, "you've lost your job and let's be honest, I'm the one person you've spent all your time with for weeks."

"Is this going somewhere, Tom? Because I'd rather you saved me the speech. Being bled dry seems appealing compared to this," I snap. I don't know why he's toying with me but I want whatever this situation is to be over.

He looks at his feet.

"I want you to join me."

There's a pause and I realise what he's saying.

"You want to turn me into a vampire?" I ask incredulously because yes, it seems like a ridiculous thing to hear. Why would he want me to be with him forever?

"I do," he admits, palms spread. "I want you to let me turn you and you get to have a life you can fill with whatever. You have eternity to accomplish every desire you have and unlike me you get someone to help you through."

His face has no trace of humour, now. He is almost beseeching and I won't lie, I am tempted.

My life is a mess right now and it's true that I've spent almost all of my free time with him. We've been together every day for weeks and I am attracted to him, I don't see how I could resist.

"But you-"

"-Drink blood to live?" he interjects. I nod. "There are ways to feed without hurting anyone. Is this your only objection?"

He looks at me with an excited interest as he leans forward on his seat.

I avoid his gaze. What kind of person just gives themselves up to be a vampire? My life is a mess but don't I want the choice of putting it right? Then again I want so much more out of life than I can ever access as I am.

"...are certain rules, certain ways to survive," comes his voice from a far away place, "but really you can make eternity your bitch."

He reaches over and carefully takes my hand and I'm surprised at how warm they are, and also that every nerve ending is pricking with anticipation at the tiniest movement. His thumbs circle the back of my hand and honestly I think my whole body is going to set alight. I never considered this before but now he's here- offering, enticing- I feel a pull that's irresistible.

"What happens when you're bored and find another human to train up?" I ask quietly as I feel that all-too-familiar defence wall spring up unbidden.

His golden eyes burn into mine fiercely.

"You're the first person in two hundred years I've wanted to turn. The last year we've known each other has been the most fulfilling and I- I-" His words seemed to stick heavily in his throat as if his body was fighting to hold it back.

Tom let go of my hands and moved over to the window in a flash, running a hand through his dark hair. He was silent for a minute.

"You don't have to answer me tonight. You can take as long as you need. But when you decide be absolutely sure because there's no going back."

He turns his head to look at me.

"I want you with me. We'd be powerful. We'd have forever to do what we wanted and we can do it all together. If you get fed up you don't have to stay with me but I think immortality would suit you regardless."

I stare at his silhouette by the attic window, his broad shoulders a strong shape against the wan light. I feel that tug inside me; it was my gut telling me what to do and I've discovered over the years that my gut is usually right. There's always going to be a part of my brain arguing the other side but I can only go with how I feel about it.

I rise to my feet and take a deep breath. Whatever the consequences I need to trust my instinct on this one but I know it's always been something I've secretly wanted; I've always desired the hidden road and that sensation of power. It draws me and I ignored it but now it's a reality and I want to taste it.

"Tom, I want it."

He turns fully to look at me in as much shock as I showed when he first asked me.

"What... what is it that you want? Just so I'm clear,' he affirms slowly.

"I want you to turn me," I answer, feeling stronger than I anticipated. His mouth splits into a relieved smile and in a split second he's in front of me.

His hands cup my face and gently brushes my lips with his own. I feel a sense of completion rush through me as I am empowered by my choice, not to mention the excitement of Tom holding me impossibly close.

"I can't explain how happy I am," he whispers huskily into my ear, and the sensation of his lips against my ear sends darts of excitement through my body. "I've been in love with you for months, now," he admits.

I pause slightly. Do I love him? Maybe. Am I insanely attracted to him now I know I can have everything? Absolutely.

"Those months are going to feel like a few seconds in our life," I whisper.

I feel him smile against my neck and a moment later I feel his teeth pierce my skin. The white hot pain is searing, all-consuming, but it's the last sensation I ever will feel as a mortal.

Once the transformation has finished I will be the person I've always wanted to be.