The Cathedral of Cliffdale by Melissa Delport Read Free Book Online Page B

of the Quest from his mind. They had fallen in love in that very moment, and, in the weeks that followed, their love blossomed. Charlotte had given herself completely to Drake. He discovered her blood tasted just as sweet as he had suspected, but she offered it to him willingly during their love-making and it was all the more alluring for this. He stopped feeding off other humans, their blood losing all appeal in comparison to hers.
    Drake had never been more content, more alive, than the few months after their meeting, and then tragedy had struck. Charlotte’s father had promised her hand in marriage to another. Drake had steeled all of his resolve not to hunt her betrothed down and rip his heart out, but Charlotte had quieted his fury, insisting that this was the way of the world. She would not allow him to give in to his demons and fall back into his old ways because of her.
    The night before the wedding, Drake drank himself into an alcohol-induced stupor at the local tavern, so profound was his heartbreak. And then she had come, roused him from his sleep and declared that she would run away with him, leaving her old life behind. The fact that she loved him so, despite his curse, made him feel more human than he had believed possible.
    They should never have been in that village. The vampires gathered there had been celebrating when he and Charlotte had arrived, seeking a place to rest for the night. She had fled her parents' home in order to be with him, vowing she would follow him to the ends of the Earth and they had been travelling for days. Charlotte had never complained – she had borne each new challenge with a strength that belied her petite, fragile frame.
    Finding the small village teeming with vampires, Drake had been all for spiriting Charlotte away – as far from the creatures who would prey on her sweet innocent blood as possible – but Charlotte had wilted at the thought of going any further, desperate for rest, and so he had consented to staying for just one night. He had tried to shake off the ominous feeling that had settled over him, for Charlotte’s sake.
    It was only after they had settled into their room that Drake discovered the cause for the vampires’ celebration - they had murdered a Guardian, and, even more exciting, they had secured her crystal. The revelation sent a thrill of exhilaration through him – he had long supported the Quest and this was a great victory. Never before had a vampire possessed one of the twelve stones, and the prized possession had been displayed by a particularly striking, raven-haired vampire, worn proudly around her neck before she placed it in an ornate iron box. The fallen Guardian would be replaced, but the stone was irreplaceable, and, without it, the Guardians were one step closer to their demise. Drake had itched to join in the celebration and drink to the fall of one of the twelve, but he could not bring himself to leave Charlotte and he dared not tell her about the Quest, knowing she would never approve. He had left that life behind when he met her, and he would not go back to it.
    He had been watching from the small porch of their sleeping quarters, determined not to sleep and leave Charlotte vulnerable while there were so many frenzied vampires about, when the Slayer had come.
    Drake had never known fear in all his years until that night. The Slayer tore through the small village like a God, killing more vampires than Drake could count. He wielded a sword as opposed to stakes, but somehow the weapon was all the more frightening for the havoc it wreaked. The few who tried to sink their fangs into the Slayer dropped dead at his feet. Drake had grabbed Charlotte and tried to flee, but more Guardians blocked his path and carrying his precious Charlotte did not allow him to fight back.
    One Guardian in particular caught Drake’s eye. A broad–shouldered, bare-chested warrior with battle lust in his eyes and a palpable thirst for vengeance. His arms were