Taunt

by Claire Farrell

  “Okay…”

  “So Peter and I get to her place, and she attacks him, bites his shoulder. I fought her, but she was scary strong, so I bit her and drank her blood.” I bowed my head in shame at the revelation and hurried on with the story. “Her fridge was full of bagged blood, and Peter left because he was freaked out. I asked Becca about the blood, and she told me there are vampires in Spain who had perfected a formula. They had tested it on humans until it worked, and a human was turned.”

  “Spain?” gasped Esther, horrified. “It actually worked?”

  I nodded. “Apparently so. Anyway, there were vampires outside my home every night after Maximus died. Then once, during the day, I saw Becca again. She told me the vampires were sent by Gideon, and he was after me. I asked her why she looked like shit, and she said Gideon had taken over Maximus’s job and was experimenting on her, just like Maximus had. She pretty much told me he’s getting the formula from Spain.”

  Esther whistled. “That’s screwed up stuff. If that’s true, there will be war. Literally. Not many species would be happy with the vampires increasing in numbers. It took long enough to squash them in the first place.” She shook her head in disbelief.

  “Yeah, well, I reckon that Gideon’s on the exact same path as Maximus. I think he wants more numbers so he can defeat Daimhín and earn himself the largest blood quota. Or get rid of the quota altogether. Except he’s planning on changing humans using that expensive formula rather than waiting for me to dish the dirt on how I was made.”

  She shook her head slowly. “That kind of makes sense, Ava. Pity you’ve no proof. That blood quota is a huge bone of contention for the vamps over here. What about you? You’re not part of the quota yet. How come?”

  I frowned at her. “I don’t drink blood. At least not if I can help it. I don’t bite people.”

  “You bit Becca.”

  I glared, trying to contain my anger. “That was different; I had no choice. She was about to kill me.”

  She held her hands up. “Hey, I’m not judging. The rules are different around here, you know. If you have a problem with biting, maybe you could ask the Council about the bagged blood. If you work for Daimhín, they may end up associating you with her coven and giving you a quota, too. She would just acquire the blood from the vampire’s blood bank, so it’s no big deal, not really.”

  “Vampire’s blood bank?” Okay, now I had heard everything.

  “Yes,” she said, smiling brightly. “Daimhín makes sure her coven supplements their diet with non-fresh blood. They don’t like it, but it keeps them going when they run out of their share of the fresh stuff.”

  “Then why are some vampires starving while the coven leaders grow fat?”

  She looked taken aback. “Ava, we can’t control the ins and outs of each coven. They keep to themselves, particularly when it comes to dividing up the blood quota. There’s nothing we can do.”

  I remembered Arthur and became annoyed. “If you can arrest me for defending myself, then you can ensure vampires don’t get so crazy with hunger that they’ll attack anything and not be able to stop. I had to do a job for Daimhín, escort some vampire who had been starved for months along to his first meal. He was shit-faced crazy, Esther, he couldn’t control himself at all. Tell me how that’s okay. Something has to be done about this stuff,” I persisted.

  “Wow, and that’s all it took for you to start campaigning for vampire rights,” Esther said, covering her giggles with one hand to her mouth.

  I paused, open-mouthed with shock, as her words sank in. Why was I so hard-headed about vampires like Arthur?

  “I’m not… I mean, I’m not going to be a vampire cheerleader or anything, but some of this stuff doesn’t seem fair. Then there’s that kid vamp, the young girl with Daimhín, she doesn’t seem like a vampire at all.”

  “Daimhín’s kid is different,” Esther said.

  “How so?” I asked, instantly curious.

  “As far as I know, she’s their seer. They turned her because she was psychic. There are some supernaturals who hunt down special children specifically to turn them or use them.” She didn’t sound sad about it. Was that why Gabe wanted Eloise, to hear the future?

  “Wait, Daimhín hunted down a psychic kid specifically?” I couldn’t stop my body from tensing.

  “Not Daimhín personally. Trackers, probably demons. People pay good money for that sort of thing. They probably told the vampires about the child, and the vampires obviously waited until the girl turned thirteen before turning her into a vampire,” Esther said.

  “Why thirteen? I mean, not that it’s the most screwed up thing in the whole story or anything.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she said, nodding. “Apparently, thirteen is the year a psychic is at their most powerful. It’s the year a shifter first changes, too. Something about that age draws in otherworldly power, so Daimhín must have wanted to make sure she stayed thirteen forever. I’m not sure how long she’s been with Daimhín, but she’s definitely not like the other vampires. She rarely leaves Daimhín’s side, for one thing.”

  “And her eyes aren’t as red as the others, so she must not drink as much blood, yet she doesn’t look like she’s starving.”

  “Yeah, well, Daimhín would hardly starve her little pet. I can see why you would feel sorry for that vampire,” Esther said.

  “It’s not like any of us have chosen this life.”

  “Well, some vampires did, back when it was possible to choose. At least, that’s what Reuben told Aiden.”

  “Who’s Reuben?” I was beginning to feel confused by all of the information she threw at me. Esther was the chattiest non-human I’d met so far.

  “He’s another consultant to the Council. He’s a vampire, but he’s incredibly old, so needs very little blood. Plus, he’s learned to control the savageness of his nature. It comes with time, or so he says.”

  “If he’s learned it, then surely he can help them control it. If they can come up with a formula to turn humans again, then they can figure out how to ease the thirst.”

  “Are you asking for them or for you?” she asked gently.

  I blushed. I supposed it was a big concern because it affected me, too. “How long do you think we’ll have to stay in here?”

  “Ooh, nice subject change.” She patted my shoulder and opened the door to look outside. “Almost empty. Peter’s chewing the ear off my brother right now. He’s going to spend the night in the cells if he isn’t careful. So, any more questions while we’re hanging around?”

  I thought about it. “Do all countries have their own Council?”

  “Not all. Most of the war-torn countries have no ruling committee, which is why they run rampant.”

  “I thought human politics and wars didn’t have anything to do with the supernatural element,” I said with a frown.

  “They don’t, but some of the human wars have been instigated by supernatural beings. Some demons in particular flock to war and strife; they thrive on it. But many countries have a Council-type leadership, or else share one with a number of countries. Also, there are higher powers, a step above the Councils. They rarely interfere, though. In fact, none have in my lifetime. I’m not even totally sure they still exist, to be honest.”

  “My head really hurts now.” I pressed my palms against my temples.

  We chatted for a few more minutes before Peter and Carl joined us. Esther liked to gossip, so I didn’t have to contribute much.

  “How are you feeling?” Peter asked me, trying to keep a straight face.

  “Great, no thanks to you.”

  “Sorry, but at least it took your mind off things for an hour or two.” He looked pleased with himself.

  I made a face. “Yeah, only because I was unconscious. Is Eddie going mad?”

  “Gabe talked to him. He probably won’t murder you now.”

  I wondered what had Peter in such a good mood, then realised that he enjoyed the drama. I could live without it.

/>   “Maybe you two could persuade Ava to let me do her a favour,” Esther said, but her eyes were fixated on Carl.

  “You could always give her a few hints on dealing with Gideon,” Peter muttered.

  “You have no proof, Peter. I told you already,” Aiden said, surprising all of us except Esther with his presence.

  “I know. But how do we get it? What kind of proof do we need? I mean, Gideon set up a whole trial against Ava without any proof at all,” Peter kept going.

  “But he has witnesses,” Aiden reminded him.

  “So does Ava!” Peter insisted.

  “Actually, I don’t,” I said. “I’m the only one who was there when I killed Maximus, I was the only one when I was attacked by that last vampire, and I’m the only one who heard from Becca’s mouth about the injections coming from Spain and the fact Gideon’s crowd was after me. It’s my word against theirs.”

  Peter rubbed his face, looking tired all of a sudden.

  Esther looked on sympathetically. “We want to know about the formula, too, but you know we can’t help you without any evidence.”

  I wasn’t looking at the door when it opened, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. That nauseous feeling swept over me again, and I turned around slowly, half expecting to see the dead shifter returned to life.

  Instead, I saw a Guardian, the one with black eyes, the one who filled me with an abnormal amount of horror when I looked at him. As sure as I was that the spectres surrounding Eddie were souls, I knew that this Guardian had evil in his heart. The darkness seeped from him and made me want to vomit. I couldn’t fathom how the others were so unaffected by his presence.

  “Need me for anything else?” he asked Aidan, but he looked in my direction. I glared back at him, unwilling to let him see how much he intimidated me. I had gotten the same feeling from the dead shifter. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

  “No, that’s fine. Head home, Coyle. Get some rest.” Aidan grinned at the Guardian like he was his greatest friend. I winced when he put his hand on the man’s shoulder. If they were friends, then I couldn’t exactly tell Aidan about the way Coyle made me feel. I had no proof or theories, I just knew there was something about Coyle that reminded me of the shifter right before he attacked Esther.

  I felt better as soon as Coyle left, but shaking that unexplainable fear was harder than it should have been.

  The shifters chatted with us for a while, but all I wanted to do was go home. They hadn’t figured out why one of their own attacked Esther, and Aiden periodically asked me questions about the incident. It was like he kept expecting my story to change. It had, but not in a way I could put into words that he would understand. I wanted to go back to my own home, but it was Eddie’s place I had to return to that night.

  Chapter Ten

  Aiden drove me back, then distracted Eddie long enough for me to go to bed without having to deal with him. I spent most of Saturday morning avoiding Eddie, but the growling of my stomach soon sent me skulking downstairs and into the shop.

  “What on earth are you doing behind the counter?” I asked, astonished to see Carl instead of Eddie behind the till. Eddie smirked at me from the bookracks.

  “I told you I left my job. I needed work, so Eddie offered me some work. Cool, eh?”

  “Cool?” I leaned with my palms on the counter. “Are you completely mad? You cannot trust Eddie! You have a life. A safe life, Carl. Go back to it, and stop all this nonsense. I don’t have the energy to worry about you right now.”

  “That’s rather judgemental of you, Ava,” Eddie said, but he didn’t sound upset or angry. Not that I cared.

  “Give me a break for a change,” Carl shouted, his nostrils flaring with anger. “I’m not a child. We’ve already had this conversation. I know you had to look after me for a while, but you don’t anymore. In fact, by the looks of things, you need more looking after than me.”

  “You arsehole!” I called over my shoulder as I stormed off, my hands itching to slap him. Eddie followed me into the back room and calmly made some coffee.

  “Why don’t you take it easy, Ava? This isn’t your biggest problem. In fact, this isn’t your problem at all.”

  “Why on earth did you give him a job?”

  “Would you rather he asked Daimhín for one? Because that was his plan. He’s trying to help you. Can’t you see that? He doesn’t know what else to do. He isn’t Peter; he doesn’t know his way around. He’s trying his best. Maybe you should take help where you can get it.”

  I made a disgusted noise. “He isn’t trying to help me. He’s acting like a child pretending to be a superhero or something. That isn’t what this life is. There are no heroes, and he’ll end up just like the rest of us.”

  Shaking with anger, I sank into a chair and folded my arms. I wasn’t even sure if I was angry because I was scared for me or Carl. Maybe it was guilt. After all, he had only been dragged into this world because of me. Who said Arthur would have killed him? For all I knew, he would have taken a quick drink then altered Carl’s memory of the incident. Not for the first time, a little twinge of guilt said I had done the wrong thing by Carl after all.

  I let out a whoosh of air and tried to calm down. “Look,” I said. “Just tell him you made a mistake, that you don’t need any help here.”

  “But I do need help,” Eddie said, keeping his back to me. The cold presence blew over me in continuous ripples. I ignored it. It was time for me and Eddie to talk.

  “I don’t trust you for a second,” I told him. He didn’t respond. “For God’s sake, Eddie. At least try to explain yourself.”

  He whirled around. “Explain what, Ava? The fact that I’ve protected you every step of the way? Put my reputation on the line to help you? When are you going to grow up and stop being so ungrateful?”

  My hair blew all over my face, and everything in the room rattled as his anger grew. I steadied myself, preparing for a bigger backlash of power. Morbid curiosity made me want to see exactly what he could do.

  Eddie lifted his arms, filling the air with a major scent of magic. I stood my ground and pushed out my other senses, feeling his power. I saw it clearly. He was blessed with it, but not born with it. It wasn’t part of him, yet he held it tight. Stolen power.

  I pushed further than ever before, past the walls I’d never dared climb. I moved onto yet another level, and the world gained a new light. I blinked a few times, getting used to the change. Then it all became clear. I saw what could only be described as souls surrounding Eddie. They were stuck to him, clawing at his sleeves with translucent fingers.

  My eyes widened in shock and fear, but I couldn’t move to save myself. They were all over him, open-mouthed with silent cries. Of everything, that was the last thing I expected to see. Of everything, it was the one sight that horrified me most.

  I watched as he gathered up energy that leaked from the souls and forced it against me. It drained from the souls in vivid colour, but flung toward me a murky grey. On this level of being, I managed to use my other senses to put up a barrier against him, sickened by what fuelled his strength. The defence was automatic, instinctive, and useful. This was a new playing field, and I had the best toys.

  The barrier flinched as the force hit. It trembled, but didn’t shatter. Eddie frowned with confusion and gazed at his hands, his disbelief almost comical. I realised I was the only one who could see the barrier. My otherworldly sense could keep me safe; for the first time, I truly explored the potential of my unnatural gifts.

  I felt strangely excited by the idea that I was using a hidden talent, and I was even more thrilled by Eddie’s surprise. A dull shuddery feeling inside echoed around because of Eddie’s power, or at least, the source of it. I held up the barrier, seeing Eddie trying again.

  I actually grinned as I felt my own power surge through me. I never knew I could use it in such a tangible way. I’d never tried to figure it out before, never stretched the limits, never indulged in it for long. I had never seen t
he beauty of it.

  Eddie’s arms moved again; the souls wept silently as he sucked their energy to him. I ached for every one of them, even as their power was flung toward me. The barrier held, but then, I hadn’t expected it to falter; I knew my strength was capable of withholding against whatever Eddie controlled. He and his actions mystified me. He gained some strength from them, but surely he already had some kind of power in order to contain the souls in the first place.

  Sweat rolling down his forehead, Eddie panted and leaned against a counter. The danger gone, I lowered the barrier hesitantly.

  “What the hell was that?” I hissed, for the first time feeling confident that I had the upper hand.

  “I could say the same thing to you.”

  “I will never trust you, Brogan. Not ever.”

  He shrugged. “You will. I know it. You’ll know what you need to know at the right time, and you’ll see where I’m coming from, and why I’ve done everything I’ve done. Stop fighting me, Ava. We’re on the same side, I promise you. If you work with me, I’ll help you with the Council, and I’ll keep an eye on Carl.”

  “What about Peter?” I asked.

  “I would never hurt him. I need him, too.”

  “Conveniently forgetting the time you tried to choke him?”

  He shook his head and spoke earnestly. “I was merely proving a point that time. You don’t know, and you refuse to just take things as fact. I can’t explain every little action to you in incredible detail. This is how it is; that should be good enough for you.”

  “Well, it’s not good enough! Of course it’s not! I have to know why. I have to! Why I’m like this, why these things happen, why all of this is happening!” Everything in my heart was a question and always had been. I had never known enough.

  “If I thought you could handle everything, then you would know everything. Now is the time for you to focus, not worry about a million irrelevant things.” Eddie slumped into a chair. “Trust me for now. I swear to you that I’ll protect Carl. But only if you help me whenever I need you to, no questions asked.”