by L.H. Cosway
He gazed down at me, a hint of disapproval in his eyes. “You should always remember to eat.”
“Well, I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
I tried to move away but Ethan pulled me closer. “I only scold because I care about you. You mean a very great deal to me, Tegan.”
The tenderness in his words caused me to glance away. I couldn’t handle the intensity, because the truth was, despite everything, I cared a great deal for him, too. Ethan lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Don’t hide your eyes from me,” he whispered huskily. “They are the most beautiful thing about you and that’s saying something because there is nothing about you that isn’t simply exquisite.”
You only think that because of my blood, my subconscious piped in, but I didn’t voice the sentiment. It was an insecurity that nagged at me though. Maybe I was being foolish, but I wanted to pretend, if only for a short while before I had to leave again, I wanted to pretend that this beautiful vampire genuinely thought that I was beautiful, too.
“You shouldn’t say things like that to me,” I blurted quietly.
“Why not?”
“Because it makes me want something I can never have.”
“And what might that be?” he asked.
Suddenly, I felt like I might cry. My need for Ethan was something I’d been suppressing for months, and now those feelings were flooding to the surface at the most inconvenient moment.
I didn’t intend on answering him, but I blurted it out anyway. “You.”
A soft, tender smile touched his lips. “Silly woman,” he chided. “You have had me since the moment I watched you spout sarcasm to a man who was trying to rob you at knifepoint.”
He was talking about the night we first met when he’d come into Hagen’s and some scumbag tried robbing the place. It felt like a lifetime ago. Had I made an impression on him that early? The thought gave me butterflies.
Before I could reply, Ethan’s phone started ringing in his pocket.
“We’re not finished with this conversation,” he said, pressing a delicate kiss to my mouth before pulling out his phone to answer the call.
“Cristescu,” he said, all business. You’d never guess he’d just been having a heart to heart with a stupid, naive human who couldn’t help but have fanciful notions of happy ever afters with a man who wasn’t even the same species as her.
Ethan’s demeanour turned rigid as he listened to what was being said on the other end of the line. “And they have all been apprehended?” he asked. There was a beat of quiet. “This is very good news, Jeremy. It takes away the requirement for any further action. I understand your anger at the move, but they will receive due punishment.”
What the hell was going on? A moment later Ethan hung up and turned to me. “There has been a development that requires my attention. I apologise, but we will have to leave your father where he is for now. Don’t worry, though. I intend to find him for you. I will stop at nothing until he is recovered and those who took him punished for what they did.”
I swallowed and nodded, feeling relief that he was so determined to help me find Dad, but I also wondered what had happened to make him cut our time short.
“I’ll drop you off at the club. Will you be okay to take a taxi home from there?” Ethan asked. I nodded, too consumed with what I heard of his conversation. A sick feeling took up residence in my stomach. I needed to call Finn the moment I got a chance.
Ethan parked outside the club. He took my hand and kissed the inside of my wrist, a move that momentarily distracted me from my worries.
“Until next time,” he said, his voice pure gravel.
My heart pounded as I stood on the street, watching him speed away. Whatever was going on, it clearly required his immediate attention. I was about to hail a taxi when I noticed some sort of a commotion going on by the entrance to Crimson. When I got closer, I spotted Amanda and Lucas arguing. She grabbed hold of his upper arm and seemed to be pleading with him about something.
Quickly, I ran toward them. “What’s going on?”
“Bring your friend home, Tegan. I’ve had enough of her for one night,” Lucas replied coldly.
“Please, Lucas, don’t do this,” Amanda slurred. She looked drunk as she wobbled on her feet. Something told me it wasn’t from alcohol, but instead from blood loss. Lucas had mentioned her addiction to vampire bites. Had she fallen off the wagon? He said he’d compelled her to forget that vampires even existed, but perhaps the addiction was too strong. Some subconscious part of her must’ve remembered. The idea of her coming to the club and letting vampires drink from her made my gut sink. Poor Amanda.
I grabbed hold of her to keep her upright, looking to Lucas. “What happened to her?”
“Just bring her home, will you?” he pleaded. It clearly hurt him to see her like this. He’d tried to get her clean, but if the bite mark on her neck was anything to go by, she’d wasn’t clean any longer.
“Who bit her?”
Lucas’s jaw firmed. “Don’t worry about him. He’s already been taken care of. Just … please make sure she gets home safe.”
At this, Amanda tried to pull away from me, but she was too weak. She continued to struggle, hard enough that I thought she would hurt herself, so I let her go. She stumbled toward Lucas, falling into him and placing both her hands on his chest. “I need you,” she said desperately, and my heart broke for her. I could see that Lucas was having a hard time seeing her like this, too. A part of me blamed him, though, because if he’d never bitten her in the first place, then she never would’ve become addicted. But the sadness in his eyes showed that he clearly cared for her a great deal.
I pulled her away from him and firmly led her from the club. I thought I heard Lucas whisper, Thank you, as I threw out my hand for an approaching taxi.
“Where to?” the driver asked, eyeing Amanda, who was slumped in the seat beside me. There were grey bags under her eyes. She looked like the heroin junkies you saw wandering the city streets looking for their next fix. I couldn’t take her back to her place, especially since I was pretty sure she still lived with her parents. I was going to have to take her with me to Finn’s house. I told the driver the address, and he pulled away from the club.
When we got to Finn’s, I paid the driver and put Amanda’s arm over my shoulder to help her out of the car. She moaned, and it took a great deal of effort just to get her to the front door. Inside, I found the house oddly quiet and empty. I wondered where everybody was.
It was a struggle, but I managed to get Amanda upstairs. I sat her down on the toilet seat while I ran a bath because she smelled like she hadn’t washed in a week. I grabbed some clean towels from the airing cupboard and hurried back in to help her out of her dirty clothes. She was awake now, but she still seemed out of it as she allowed me to assist her in the bath. I spotted a tear streaming down her face, and my heart clenched.
She surprised me when she spoke. “I don’t understand why I’m acting like this.”
“It’s okay, I’m going to help you get better,” I promised. Her circumstance wasn’t my fault, but I felt a weird responsibility. Maybe she always would’ve garnered Lucas’s attention, or maybe my association with Ethan made him begin to look at my friends. Either way, I needed to help her get better.
“Sometimes I think I’m living in a nightmare and the only person who can take away the horror is Lucas. I need him. It feels like I’m drowning and can never get enough air to breathe.”
“You don’t need him,” I said, handing her a soapy washcloth so she could clean herself. She took it from me and absently ran it over her arms and legs. “You’re just not seeing things clearly right now.”
Her eyes cut to me, a flicker of the addict shining through. “I do need him! He’s the only one who can take the pain away.” Her hand instinctively travelled to her neck, and she pressed her fingers harshly into the fresh bite mark.
“Stop that,” I pleaded, pulling her hand away.
She looked up into my eyes, and it seemed that her moment of lucidity was gone. She fell back, drifting off into a comatose state again.
Was this what eventually happened to all the humans who gave blood to vampires? My stomach twisted at the idea. I poured some fresh water over Amanda to wash away the suds, then I helped her from the bath and wrapped her in a clean, dry towel before dressing her in a T-shirt and some sweatpants. I put her in the spare bedroom, and she fell asleep almost immediately, looking strangely peaceful as her head sagged against the pillow.
Downstairs, I grabbed a bite to eat before remembering I’d intended to call Finn. I grabbed my phone and hit his number. It rang, but nobody answered. I tried another two times, but still nothing. On the fourth call, I finally got an answer.
“What is it, Tegan?!” Finn’s voice was loud and stressed. It took me slightly by surprise. He never answered the phone this way, and I knew instinctively something very bad must have happened.
“What’s going on? I’m at the house, but nobody’s here.”
Finn breathed heavily down the line. “We really fucked up. Pamphrock wanted to go ahead and lead the rescue mission tonight. I told him it was too soon, but he wouldn’t listen. The vamps caught them and completely overwhelmed them, and now Pamphrock, along with thirty of our best men have been captured by Whitfield. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be home in twenty minutes.” With this, he hung up, and I sat there, mind racing.
Now I knew what Ethan’s emergency had been about.
16.
Various panicked thoughts ran through my mind as I waited for Finn to get back. I took a sip of tea and stared vacantly at my cup. I was so consumed with my thoughts that I didn’t immediately notice the dripping noise. It sounded like someone had left the tap running slightly, only that wasn’t the case.
I looked up, and my eyes landed on a pale, incorporeal form standing directly in front of me. I sputtered tea out of my mouth in fright, and it sprayed all over the table.
The figure stared at me impassively. I recognised her instantly. It was the witch Whitfield killed outside the club, the one with the eye patch. The vampire governor had slit her throat, and the evidence was still there. Her blood dripped onto the wooden floor, creating a pool at her ghostly feet.
I’d never particularly believed in ghosts or spirits. Then again, I never believed in a lot of things until Ethan Cristescu walked into my life. I stared at her, mouth agape. She seemed to be trying to say something, but no words came out. Then she placed her hand to the centre of her chest and an odd, disjointed voice said, “Jennifer.”
“Jennifer?” I asked. “Your name’s Jennifer?”
She nodded, and I saw relief in the set of her shoulders that she managed to communicate with me effectively.
“Why are you here, Jennifer?” There was surely some important reason for her to have appeared before me. Or maybe I was hallucinating from all the stress.
“Warning,” her strange, ghostly voice replied. “Need to warn you ...” She trailed off and fell to her knees. Her form flickered in and out of sight, as though she was losing energy. Shit! I stood and went to her, but my hand went right through her. There was no solidity to her form.
“What’s the warning?” I questioned desperately. Whatever her reason for appearing, it was obviously important.
One sad eye met mine. The other was hidden beneath the black patch.
“Find him,” she urged, “before it’s too late.”
And then, just like that, she was gone. No! That wasn’t enough. Find who before it was too late? My dad?
“Jennifer,” I called. “Jennifer, come back, please.” It was useless though. I peered down at the floor to find the puddle of blood had disappeared. I didn’t have too much time to dwell on the fact that not only did I have magic, but I could also see ghosts, because Finn walked into the kitchen with Wolf at his heel. He looked like he’d aged a decade in the space of a few short hours, his face etched with worry.
“Where’s Rita and the rest of them?” I asked as he sat down at the table.
“I sent them to scope out Whitfield’s mansion. I normally wouldn’t bring them into this, but our best slayers are inside with Pamphrock. For all I know the vamps could have slaughtered the lot of them by now.” Finn swore under his breath. “I don’t know how I’m going to get them out of there. There’s only me and a hundred-odd recruits. They haven’t been properly trained yet, so they aren’t going to be much help.”
I reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “Don’t stress. We’ll figure this out. Maybe I could talk to Ethan—”
He glared at me as he pulled his hand away. “He’s one of the people holding them captive, Tegan.”
I wasn’t taken aback by his outburst. It was only to be expected since Ethan was Whitfield’s second in command. He might’ve been fond of me, but he wasn’t going to let Pamphrock and the others go just because I asked him to.
I was saved from Finn’s glare when Rita, Alvie, Gabriel, and Noreen arrived home.
“It looks like they’ve doubled the security at Whitfield’s place,” Gabriel said. “However difficult it might have been for Pamphrock and his men to breach the building tonight, it’s going to be even more difficult for us. There are vampires everywhere.”
“We almost got caught snooping around,” Rita added. “Luckily, we got away before they could catch us.”
“I’m going to bed,” Noreen said, looking exhausted. “I’m very tired.”
“Mum’s been out of sorts since the house burned down,” Rita explained after she left. “I don’t think she’s cut out for all this drama.”
“That’s understandable,” Finn said, before looking around the room. “I’m sorry to have to do this, but I have no other choice right now. I need all of your help to get Pamphrock and the rest of them out of there before the vamps kill them.”
“You don’t have to apologise,” Rita said. “You took us in when we had nowhere to go. We’ll do whatever it takes to help.”
“Whitfield’s having his party tomorrow night,” I put in. “As far as I know, it’s still going ahead, and I’m supposed to be accompanying Ethan. Perhaps that would be a good time to make your move. Once the party is in full swing, you’ll be able to catch them unawares.”
Everyone in the room regarded me then, and I started to feel self-conscious. “What? Why are you all staring at me?”
“We can use you entering the mansion as an invited guest to our advantage,” Finn said. “That is, if you’re willing to put yourself at risk.”
“Well, sure, within reason—"
“Tegan can use the dowsing rods to find out where in the building Pamphrock and the slayers are being held,” Rita exclaimed. “That will save us the wild goose chase of going searching for them because that house is humungous.”
“Um, the last time I used those things I nearly went off the edge of a building,” I said. “I’m not touching them again. They’re lethal.”
“But you’ll be indoors this time, so there won’t be as much danger. Besides, they really responded to your magic. It will be simple for them to lead you through the mansion to Pamphrock.”
“And what if one of the vampires catches me using magic in their governor’s house?”
“That would be a good time for you to use some of those sparks you threw at Michael Ridley the other night,” Gabriel replied.
I worried my lip, still unsure.
“How about a willow branch?” Alvie suggested. “It’ll still lead you to what you’re looking for, but the magic will be less potent. I think it might have been your magic reacting to the harshness of the metal that caused such a violent pull earlier tonight. With wood, the magic won’t flare up quite so dramatically.”
“That sounds a little better,” I agreed.
“So, Tegan goes in as the vampire’s date, locates Governor Pamphrock, Rebecca, and the slayers, then calls Finn to come and rescue them with the newbie slayers?” Rita said. “Is that the plan
?”
“Yes,” Finn agreed tiredly. “But for now, we should all get some rest. We have a big night ahead of us tomorrow.”
Everyone went their separate ways. I stayed seated at the table, lost in thought. I’d completely forgotten about Amanda until Finn reappeared in front of me.
“Care to explain why there’s a strange woman asleep in the guest room?”
I bit my lip. “Um, she’s my friend. She’s sort of in a bad way at the moment. I was wondering if it would be okay for her to stay here for the night.”
“No, it’s not okay,” Finn complained. “If you hadn’t noticed, we have barely enough room for everyone as it is; not to mention there’s a bit of a crisis going on at the moment.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “Look, the woman upstairs, her name’s Amanda. She got involved with a vampire and became addicted to being bitten. It’s sort of my fault that she came into contact with this vamp in the first place, so I need to help her. Please, Finn. Just let her sleep. She’ll be gone in the morning, I promise.”
At my explanation, he lost some of his steam. Rubbing at his stubble, he replied, “Fine, she can stay. I’ll sleep on a futon in the living room for the time being.”
I gave him the biggest smile ever and threw myself at him, hugging him tightly. “Thank you so much. This means a lot, Finn. I won’t forget it.”
When I pulled back, he was staring at me strangely. Too intense. His eyes were hooded, and I suddenly lost the ability to speak. Most of the time, Finn treated me like everyone else. But there were moments like this when I saw flashes of need in him, and they confused me greatly.
Finally, Finn cleared his throat and pulled away. I went upstairs and climbed into bed next to Amanda, who was thankfully still fast asleep. Personally, with everything that was going on, I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep, but it turned out my exhaustion was more powerful than my anxiety, and I conked out as soon as my head hit the pillow.