Night Lords

Part II Chapter 12

Part II Chapter 12

When we finally arrived at the house, I smiled. All the candles had been lit. All the curtains were thrown back showing off some of Tasha's tapestries and Greatorex's paintings in the hallway and upper floors. Even the large chandelier in the hallway, which we have never lit, was on full display. They really had outdone themselves.

Brett dashed to the front of my car and moved as though he had just got out with myself and Greatorex. As soon as the Pendletons arrived and opened their doors, their eyes bulged in awe. 'Such a beautiful home!' Mrs Pendleton gasped then smiled as she walked up to Greatorex holding her hand out. 'Forgive me, I haven't fully introduced myself, my name is Moira Pendleton.' Greatorex took her hand and kissed the back of it. 'It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr Greatorex.'

'Welcome to our home,' he said and gestured for William and Moira to go into the mansion. 'This is Max and Tasha.'

'Lovely to meet you,' Max smiled.

'Good evening,' Tasha replied a little stiffly.

Sally and Steve traipsed in behind and I stayed outside for a few extra seconds to see if any Deemons may have followed the humans up here. When I felt and heard nothing, I went in and closed the door behind me.

Greatorex had led them into the great hall. We never really used it, apart from storing books, paintings and pictures and the very large twenty-eight-seater long oak table. 'Just beautiful,' Moira laughed. 'Such exquisite taste.' She went to one of Greatorex's paintings he did as soon as the house was built a couple of centuries ago. He signed it with a single 'G' at the bottom. It depicted a crossing of a large canoe that was going to be capsized by a large wave barrelling towards them under a full moonlit sky. When Greatorex painted this, we got the impression this is how he tried to cross the sea when he was a much younger Night Lord. We have asked him, but he never gave his past away.

'I take it the children can be taught their lessons in this room?' William asked as he inspected several books littering a bookcase Max erected several decades ago. 'The literature in here is quite vast.'

'Yes,' I replied, 'the children will have their studies here. There is a drawing room just to the right. Tasha and I can help Sally with her needlework.'

Moira turned to Tasha. 'You know needlework?'

Tasha looked very uncomfortable having the humans in the house. Every moment or so she glanced at Greatorex waiting for him to say, "This is all a horrible joke," but when he didn't even deign to look at her from shame, she finally joined in the conversation. 'Yes, I sew my own clothes.'

Moira smiled smugly at her husband, but he didn't seem convinced. 'I take it that they have their own rooms?' He glanced through the ceiling. It was Tasha that came to everyone's aide and offered to show him the rooms. Of course, he did mention not sleeping and Greatorex went up with the family and explained that we could sleep, but it's not the same as normal sleeping.

I sat in a chair by the long oak table in the middle of the hall and groaning, placed my head on the polished wood. 'This is a disaster. We can't keep this pretence up like this for long. They aren't going to age until they are over a hundred! And...' I stopped talking as Max and Brett stared at me in horror. We were in a difficult situation and there was no backing out of it. 'Did you tell Max what happened with Doctor Steel?' he nodded. I glanced at my mate. 'What do you think?'

He shrugged. 'The man clearly backed you all into a corner. Manipulative bastard,' he growled. 'But don't you have to meet up with him?'

I sighed. 'I will be the first to say this but I think we are moving into an era where we will need humans to help to exist and survive. For a long time, we've struggled by, living on the periphery of human towns and villages and the like and we've been known to them as either survivors or Deemons ourselves. Regardless, back then, humans knew who we were. In this day and age, we are known as vampires. We have been damaged by this fictitious nonsense. We are now a secret. Hiding from humans in a way that we fear them. I mean, we were blackmailed! Blackmailed by a human, who threatened our way of life. We are meant to save and help these people and that's what we get after hiding away for so long.'