Old Habits Die Hard.

Chapter Twelve.

'Matthew...'
Fireworks lit the world; swirling in the air as if an artists brush had swiped the glitter of coloured flames in the night sky. The air was warm against his skin, but he did not know if that was mostly caused by anxious fear.
His breathing was shallow; to be submerged in the night, the darkness in which The Vampire lurked.

The fear was clouding his chest like inhaled smoke, and it snapped inside him when the sparks had burst through the air in celebration: the British Empire had recently taken over the powers and properties of the British East India Company. He wanted to see Matthews face.  He didn't know if it was the fear that brought the sudden yearning, or if it was the fireworks.

Either way, he turned on his heels, and pushed through the men and women in their suits looking more to Gabriel like packs of penguins and swans, and he rushed down the steps and was encased in hotter temperatures when he slipped back inside. He did not dare wait for Kathryn Sinclair who could not spurn the advances of a dance from a duke. She wanted to know more about him because his sister had once called her a 'trollop'.

Gabriel rushed down the grand golden steps and he found himself grinning madly in his hopes for a whole different kind of warmth. He brushed past the ballroom floor and had just found the exit when he had heard the pounding of heels behind him.
'Gabriel!'

He turned to catch sight of Kathryn marching towards him looking dishevelled and haughtily.
'Where in the Devil's name are you going?' She looked past him anxiously to the dark night behind him; knowing just as well as he did, what it held.
'Somewhere I ought to be, at this precise moment, at this precise event, in this precise state.' And with that; before he could let our words easily compel him and change his mind, he turned and ran for it.

His feet pounded along the cobbled street in his giddy excitement and he did not dare think of the dark. He caught sight of a carriage parked absentmindedly on the side of the road and jogged over to the driver.

'Good evening, fellow' Gabriel called up to the man in the top hat, he had to control himself very carefully as not to spook the man with the bizarre smile he could feel moulding his face. He glanced over his shoulder, and caught sight of Kathryn standing at the doorway outside and to his avail she did not leave her post. 'I was wondering if by any chance I could pay for your service to escort me to the outskirts of London.'

The man glanced down at Gabriel, ruddy cheeks and pearl white hair. 'Oh I’m sorry, young Master. But I cannot permit any of my services to the outskirts of London. These are very dark times...very dark.'

Gabriel had thought as much, that the town would be feared by superstitions and folklore. Rightfully so too, he agreed. And so he fished into his pocket and took out a handful of coins.
'Nineteen Guineas. For the horse. That's more than enough for a much worthier horse and comfort payment for yourself.'

The ruddy man seemed to think about it; growing against Gabriel's impatience as he was jumping from foot to foot, slipping his top hat off and finally agreed and dismounted the carriage to help him unhook the horse from it's structure.

Kathryn had called to him rather than moved towards him. 'This isn't wise, Gabriel.' Her voice rang in his ears as he rode through the town and past Londoners. He didn't need to be told. He was quite fearful to ride through the dark; some of that fear based on his lack of skills in horse-riding, and into the rural country parts where no light would reach and no one would hear him scream. But a larger part of him did not care.

As the horse thundered beneath him as if aware of what he desired, he was sure it was his persistence and ignorance which made him a much better rider than he was capable of.
He took a breath as if he was about to submerge under water as he slipped from the safety of the barely lit town and he rid out into the rural area. He thundered down the lane he knew by heart, and kept his eyes ahead of him as the moon found him in the dark; acting as his own guiding light, he continued to ride out and refusing to look to the sides of him and into the forest of fear of seeing shadows. The forest held a wolf tonight, he knew it.