The Dark Proposal (The Claire McCormick Trilogy) by Megan Cashman Page A
Authors: Megan Cashman
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a vampire to haunt a city like New York, and not get caught. How were the killings done? How come no one spoke about them? Plus, how could someone be alive for centuries, yet no one questions their youthful appearances?
She tried to shake off her thoughts as Zachary pulled into the driveway of the colonial house where their parents still lived. She couldn’t be focusing on Daniel or anything vampire related during Thanksgiving dinner, even though she had questions that needed to be answered.
Fortunately, her thinking changed when she stepped into the foyer and saw her sister-in-law Kristina holding baby Ava. Delighted, Claire went up to the two and gave them a big hug. Ava took hold of her hair and began to tug at it. Though the tugging hurt, it made Claire snap out of her dark thoughts and pay attention to her family.
Thanksgiving dinner was served an hour later, and it went well. Claire barely thought about the previous night. If anyone asked about Daniel, she simply said things were fine and moved on to the next subject. She wore a black turtleneck, so no one would see the bruises on her neck.
Later in the evening, when they were all done eating and watching classic holiday movies, Claire excused herself to her old bedroom, which was turned into a guest room. Closing the door, she went through her shoulder bag and pulled out her smart phone. She sat on the bed and turned it on. Because the Thanksgiving feast was over and there was time for relaxation, what Daniel said and done to her came back to her mind. She felt anxious to do a little research.
Once the internet service was loaded, she typed in “New York vampires” into the search engine. It took a few seconds for the list of website links to appear on the screen. The links were mostly for articles on vampire movies and books; very few gave any hints of discussing real vampires or related deaths.
Claire thought for a moment and revised her search, this time using the terms “vampire bite marks on neck”. The results were many conspiracy theory websites, some of them claiming vampires were real, though they had little proof. But exploring those sites led her to research the history of vampires which went back to the advent of human history, and rumors of their existence in each and every culture worldwide. She even came across evidence of vampirism, and what she found made her heart thud rapidly. According to those conspiracy websites, vampires were capable of moving in the sun though depending on their age, they needed permission to enter mortal’s homes, could slide through window and door cracks, read minds and even erase whatever a person was thinking.
Claire felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Permission to enter people’s homes? She remembered back when she first brought Daniel to her apartment, he had weirdly hung around outside the doorway, looking like he was fascinated with the rust marks on the stairs. When Claire asked if was going to come in, he replied, “Is it all right?”
“Yeah,” she said, one eyebrow arched.
That was when Daniel stopped acting weird and stepped through the doorway. Monica and Samantha were not home at the time, so they didn’t see the bizarre scene.
But the part about clearing minds made her breathing more shallow. When they had been at their first meeting at the coffee shop, she had felt as though her mind was erased. It had happened when she was feeling insecure around Daniel, and then that thought escaped her mind like a light had been turned off. How did that happen?
And the same thing had happened the previous night while he was taking the ferry with her. He had been reading her mind and blanking out her thoughts. For all she knew, he could be reading her mind right now.
She glanced down at her phone. Part of her wanted to call him. She wasn’t sure why. He both terrified and infuriated her. And besides, she was with her family for the next few days. She shouldn’t let anything about him
She tried to shake off her thoughts as Zachary pulled into the driveway of the colonial house where their parents still lived. She couldn’t be focusing on Daniel or anything vampire related during Thanksgiving dinner, even though she had questions that needed to be answered.
Fortunately, her thinking changed when she stepped into the foyer and saw her sister-in-law Kristina holding baby Ava. Delighted, Claire went up to the two and gave them a big hug. Ava took hold of her hair and began to tug at it. Though the tugging hurt, it made Claire snap out of her dark thoughts and pay attention to her family.
Thanksgiving dinner was served an hour later, and it went well. Claire barely thought about the previous night. If anyone asked about Daniel, she simply said things were fine and moved on to the next subject. She wore a black turtleneck, so no one would see the bruises on her neck.
Later in the evening, when they were all done eating and watching classic holiday movies, Claire excused herself to her old bedroom, which was turned into a guest room. Closing the door, she went through her shoulder bag and pulled out her smart phone. She sat on the bed and turned it on. Because the Thanksgiving feast was over and there was time for relaxation, what Daniel said and done to her came back to her mind. She felt anxious to do a little research.
Once the internet service was loaded, she typed in “New York vampires” into the search engine. It took a few seconds for the list of website links to appear on the screen. The links were mostly for articles on vampire movies and books; very few gave any hints of discussing real vampires or related deaths.
Claire thought for a moment and revised her search, this time using the terms “vampire bite marks on neck”. The results were many conspiracy theory websites, some of them claiming vampires were real, though they had little proof. But exploring those sites led her to research the history of vampires which went back to the advent of human history, and rumors of their existence in each and every culture worldwide. She even came across evidence of vampirism, and what she found made her heart thud rapidly. According to those conspiracy websites, vampires were capable of moving in the sun though depending on their age, they needed permission to enter mortal’s homes, could slide through window and door cracks, read minds and even erase whatever a person was thinking.
Claire felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Permission to enter people’s homes? She remembered back when she first brought Daniel to her apartment, he had weirdly hung around outside the doorway, looking like he was fascinated with the rust marks on the stairs. When Claire asked if was going to come in, he replied, “Is it all right?”
“Yeah,” she said, one eyebrow arched.
That was when Daniel stopped acting weird and stepped through the doorway. Monica and Samantha were not home at the time, so they didn’t see the bizarre scene.
But the part about clearing minds made her breathing more shallow. When they had been at their first meeting at the coffee shop, she had felt as though her mind was erased. It had happened when she was feeling insecure around Daniel, and then that thought escaped her mind like a light had been turned off. How did that happen?
And the same thing had happened the previous night while he was taking the ferry with her. He had been reading her mind and blanking out her thoughts. For all she knew, he could be reading her mind right now.
She glanced down at her phone. Part of her wanted to call him. She wasn’t sure why. He both terrified and infuriated her. And besides, she was with her family for the next few days. She shouldn’t let anything about him
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