by Mia James
‘Okay,’ said April, mulling it over. ‘So if the kids are being recruited, who’s doing the recruiting?’
Gabriel looked at her, a genuine confusion on his face. ‘You haven’t worked that out yet?’
Her eyes were wide. ‘You?’
‘And my friends, yes.’
April looked at him, aghast. ‘But if you hate the Regent, how could you become part of this?’
‘For one thing, I’m still not sure the Regent is behind it. But that’s why I’m there - getting close to them is the only way I’ll find out what they’re doing and who’s calling the shots.’
‘But you’re recruiting? You’re seducing a load of innocent science geeks, persuading them to become vampires?’
It was all too much. The man she was falling for was not only a vampire, he was part of the conspiracy. She had allowed herself to believe that he was one of the good guys, a lone wolf walking apart from the rest of the pack, but he was one of them. Then suddenly in a flurry, she thought of poor Ling crying in the toilets after Davina and her friends had left, her arm bleeding, and another piece of the jigsaw clicked into place. ‘You’re drinking their blood?’
Gabriel’s eyes were blazing now. ‘Oh, grow up, April!’ he snapped. ‘How else am I going to get their confidence? Besides, what would you prefer I do? Drink a little blood from some silly little schoolgirl or murder someone in their own home?’
‘Silly little schoolgirl?’ she said, barely keeping her voice level. ‘Do you think they’re your playthings? They’re human beings! Are you saying that if you didn’t bite Sara in the bathroom at Milo’s party you’d have had to go and tear someone’s throat out?’
‘No, of course not,’ he said. ‘But I have to feed. We all do.’
April felt another piece of the puzzle drop in. ‘Hang on, this “we”? Do you mean Davina? Benjamin? The Faces? They’re all vampires?’
Gabriel nodded.
‘Jesus,’ she muttered, her head swimming.
‘Oh God,’ said April, reaching up and pressing the bell. ‘Why didn’t you tell me all this before?’ She was already up and moving painfully down the stairs.
The bus doors swished open and she ran as fast as she could with her injured knee, pulling out her phone as she hobbled forwards.
‘April!’ called Gabriel, catching up with her. ‘Where are we going?’
April looked at him and held the phone to her ear. ‘To save my friends.’
Chapter Thirty
Fiona wasn’t at the house. In fact, no one was. It was deserted, save for the mass of half-empty glasses littering the tables and kitchen worktops and the piles of uneaten food next to the bin. Someone had made a bit of an effort to tidy up after the guests had left, at any rate. Not her mother, that was fairly certain. Where was she anyway? April tried her phone again, but it went straight to voicemail.
‘Hi, Mum, where are you? I’m home, but no one’s here, I’m getting worried. Call me as soon as you get this, okay?’
‘Have you tried your friend Fiona?’ asked Gabriel.
April pulled a face at him. Of course she had tried Fee, but she called her again anyway. No, still voicemail: ‘Hi, this is Fee, you know what to do ...’
She looked at Gabriel. ‘Where would they have taken them?’
Gabriel shrugged. ‘They could have gone anywhere. But I doubt they’ve been kidnapped.’
‘How do you know?’ snapped April. ‘They could have ripped their throats out by now!’
Gabriel stepped over to her, but she pushed him away.
‘April, think! They want to convert them, not kill them - what would be in it for them?’
‘How should I know?’ she yelled. ‘You’re the bloody vampire - you tell me! Isn’t it fun killing people?’ she asked sarcastically.
‘I wouldn’t know,’ he said, glaring at her as he stepped over to the mantelpiece. ‘Look,’ he said, handing April a hastily scrawled note that had been propped up against a clock.
April, darling, gone to Euphoria, York Road. Your name’s on the list, Davina. xx
April didn’t say a word in the taxi, she was too angry: angry with Davina and Benjamin for trying to recruit/murder her friends; angry with Fiona and Caro for going with them and wanting to be friends with such airheads - such vampire airheads; angry with Gabriel for being a - goddammit - vampire; and angry with her mother for disappearing to God knows where in her time of need. Finally, she couldn’t keep it in any longer.
‘What the hell are they doing going clubbing on the day of my dad’s funeral?’ she snapped. ‘What were they thinking?’
‘I’m sure your dad wouldn’t have wanted his wake to be all doom and gloom.’
‘There’s a big difference between “no doom and gloom” and “clubbing”,’ April said acidly. ‘And what about me? Why didn’t they wait?’
‘Well, they didn’t know where you were or if you were coming back,’ said Gabriel.
‘What’s that got to do with it? They should have been out searching for me!’
Gabriel looked as if he was going to point out how unreasonable April was being, then clearly thought better of it.
‘Listen, don’t be too hard on them,’ he said gently. ‘This is what the recruiters do. They’re brilliant at getting people to do what they want them to, they dangle temptation in front of their victims and before they know it, they’re starting to believe all the “chosen people” crap.’
‘“Chosen people”?’
‘It’s like the recruitment slogan,’ said Gabriel. ‘We tell potential recruits about all the benefits of “The Life”: vampires are beautiful, powerful and rich. But for most people, that transition’s far too big a step - it’s terrifying, in fact. So, instead, we offer them the opportunity to hang out with us; not just at school, but beyond it. It’s incredibly tempting, especially for kids who are naturally outsiders because of their intellect. They think they will be part of this elite, working with a super-race of divine beings. I mean, who doesn’t want to be gorgeous and popular, part of the cool gang? That’s the tastiest carrot for the kind of kids they target - the idea they will belong. The geeks and the misfits lap that stuff up.’
‘Excuse me,’ said April, ‘but my friends are not geeks or misfits. Caro doesn’t even like Davina.’
‘If you say so,’ said Gabriel, sitting forward in his seat to pay the driver. ‘We’re here.’
‘Here’ was a huge hangar-like building set back from the road in the middle of what looked like an industrial estate. There was a huge vertical neon sign fixed to the side wall, the letters running down it spelling out the name of the club, and there was a queue from the front entrance snaking around the building.
‘God, we’ll never get in,’ said April as the taxi disappeared, leaving them on the road.
‘That’s exactly the point,’ said Gabriel. ‘That’s the lure for the recruits. Stick with us and we will always get you in.’ He turned to her, touching her arm, his face serious. ‘Okay, April, this is important. You need to forget everything I’ve told you today about vampires, Ravenwood and conspiracies, okay? You don’t know anything about it. You don’t know what Davina and Ben really are either. And - and this is crucial - I’m just another of their snooty friends, okay?’
‘But how can I—?’
‘Are we clear on that?’
‘Yes,’ she said, fleetingly thinking that maybe all this was part of Gabriel’s seduction technique and - even more quickly - deciding that she wouldn’t mind that at all.
Gabriel saw her wavering and took her hands. ‘This isn’t a game, April,’ he said fiercely. ‘They might look like airhead bimbos, but these people are monsters. If you become a threat to them, they will kill you and your mother without a thought. If you give them the slightest clue that you know who they are and what they are doing, they will bathe in your blood.’
April stared at him, surprised by the sudden seriousness of his tone.
‘Do you understand me?’
> April nodded and Gabriel turned towards the club, but she caught his arm.
‘Are you like them?’ she asked urgently. ‘Could you do that too?’
He looked at her for a moment but didn’t answer her question.
‘Come on,’ he said, ‘let’s go in.’
She stepped in front of him, searching his face. ‘Just answer me one question, Gabriel, then I’ll do whatever you want, okay?’
He nodded.
‘You promised Lily you would never kill a human, right? Have you kept that promise?’
Gabriel’s intense gaze never left hers as he nodded. ‘Yes, I have,’ he said, turning back towards the club. ‘So far, anyway.’
It was ridiculously loud inside the club. So loud, in fact, that when April looked down at her dress, she could see it moving in and out in time with the bass. She was glad she had taken time to change while they waited for the taxi. She had bandaged her knee and disguised it as best she could under a new pair of tights, but it was still throbbing and her feet were killing her after all that running. It didn’t help that it was so amazingly hot and packed with writhing bodies damp with sweat and wet from the condensation dripping from the ceiling. Or at least, April hoped it was condensation. It was too dark to know for sure. Standing on tiptoes to peer over the crowd, April could see a raised dance floor surrounded by revolving lights and strobes, but the rest of the club was bathed in a dark red glow, like ultraviolet only more menacing. Gabriel took her hand and led her through the crowd, setting a cruel pace, barging people out of the way.
‘Hey! Slow down, you’re hurting me!’ called April, hobbling as fast as she could, but he couldn’t hear her - or wasn’t listening. They passed an enormous bar and went through an archway into a smaller room. Here, at least, it was slightly quieter and cooler. And then, across the room, April saw a horrible sight: Benjamin’s mouth coming down towards Fiona’s exposed throat.
‘Fee!’ she shouted and Benjamin stopped, looked up and waved, then went back to shouting in Fiona’s ear. He wasn’t biting her at all, just bending down to make himself heard.
‘They’re only talking,’ she breathed to herself. ‘Only talking.’ Play it cool, idiot.
‘April!’ Davina waved a manicured hand from inside a raised seating area. ‘Come on in,’ she shouted, motioning them over and tapping one of the enormous security guards on the shoulder to lift the velvet rope.
‘Isn’t it fabulous?’ she gushed. ‘It’s the hottest place outside Soho right now.’
‘Hot is right,’ said April.
‘Absolutely.’ Davina giggled, signalling to a waiter who brought over a cocktail in a champagne glass. It looked blood-red in the dim light, but then so did most things in the room. April knocked it back in one go.
‘I like your style, darling,’ said a voice to her left. April turned to see a gorgeous girl in skin-tight leather. April did a double take: it was Ling Po. Her long hair was shiny, her skin was luminous and her eyes glittered. Has she been converted to the cause of day spas and three-hundred-pound blow-dries or has she been more permanently converted? wondered April with alarm. Either way, there wasn’t a trace of the shy, nervous mouse April had met only weeks before. Ling saw her reaction and beamed.
‘You like?’ she asked, striking a pose.
‘Yes, well, I’m amazed ...’
‘Oh, I know, I can’t believe I spent so long as a sad-sack geek!’ She laughed. ‘Davina has brought out the woman in me,’ she said, slipping her hand around Davina’s waist and looking up at her with an expression bordering on adoration.
‘It was always there, Bling-girl.’ Davina smiled, then whispered something in Ling’s ear that made her giggle as she walked away, hips swinging.
‘Now tell me,’ said Davina to April, ‘did you make up with Gabe? Is it all back on? It’s so romantic that he went to find you, isn’t it?’
Remembering Gabriel’s warning, April smiled. ‘Not sure about the romance,’ she said, ‘but it was sweet he came. It was the least he could do, considering.’
‘I know,’ said Davina, pouting. ‘Caro told me what a shit he’s been, and it must have been so hard for you today, darling. Still, we’re all here now and cocktails will cure anything, won’t they?’ She reached behind her and took a glass from a waiter, handing it to April.
‘I’ll drink to that cure,’ said April, hoping this was what Gabriel wanted her to do; she wasn’t entirely sure how a recruit was supposed to behave. Davina clinked her glass against April’s and smiled wickedly.
‘To the eternal cure!’ she said and, with a wave, moved off to talk to a gorgeous boy in a leather jacket.
April looked around the VIP area. Over on the other side, Caro was talking to a handsome boy with black floppy hair. He seemed to be finding whatever she was saying hilarious. April walked over, all of her earlier worries that her friends had been hijacked spilling over into anger. For some reason, she was more upset with Caro than Fee; at least Caro had her suspicions about the vampires; how could she have been so stupid as to be sucked into their scheme?
‘What are you doing?’ she shouted over the noise.
Caro pulled a peevish ‘what’s it look like?’ face.
‘Can I have a word?’ shouted April, tugging at Caro’s arm.
‘What?’ said Caro as she got to her feet, a little unsteadily. ‘I’m in here.’
April led her into a booth where it was a little quieter and they wouldn’t be overlooked or overheard. She was incensed that Caro would agree to come to the club.
‘What are you doing here with Davina?’ she hissed into Caro’s ear. ‘It’s my father’s wake!’
‘Oh, climb down off your high horse,’ snapped Caro. Her eyes were glassy and her face flushed; she had clearly drunk more than a few cocktails. ‘You disappeared without telling anyone where you were going. Were we all supposed to sit around wringing our hands?’
April felt her face flush with anger and hurt. ‘I texted you to say I needed to get away and my phone was on the whole time,’ she snapped. ‘You could have called and asked, couldn’t you?’
‘Oh yeah, and what would Little Miss Sunshine have said?’
‘Oh, sorry for being a killjoy on the day I buried my father!’ shouted April. ‘I just thought that today, of all days, you might be a bit more supportive. This is really, really tough for me.’
‘Oh yes? And have you ever considered what I’ve been going through the last few weeks? No, it’s all been about you, hasn’t it?’
‘What have you been going through?’ she asked incredulously.
‘Oh, forget it,’ said Caro, turning away.
‘No, tell me,’ insisted April, really angry now. ‘What is this terrible thing?’
Caro glared at her. ‘You really don’t know, do you? Jesus ...’
April grabbed her arm and shook her. ‘What? Tell me?’
Caro pushed her away and held up her hands in front of April’s face.
‘Blood!’ she yelled. ‘Blood on my hands, all over me. Yes, he was your dad, and no, I can’t imagine how much that hurts, but I was there too, April. I saw him die too!’
April saw Caro’s hands begin to tremble, then watched fat tears run down her cheeks.
‘I’ve been scrubbing and scrubbing, but I can’t seem to get it off,’ she continued, her voice cracking. ‘And who can I talk to about it? You don’t answer your phone. And everyone else is like: “Oh, how’s April? How’s she coping?” Well, what about me? How am I coping?’
April felt as if someone had slapped her. She had been so wrapped up in her own grief that it hadn’t even crossed her mind. Caro had been there, just behind her, trying to pull her away from her dad. She must have seen everything over her shoulder. She reached out to her friend.
‘I’m sorry—’
Caro shrugged her off. ‘Don’t,’ she said. ‘I know it’s shitty for you right now, I know it’s worse for you, but I reserve the right to get blind drunk and be kissed by some complete stra
nger once in a while, okay?’
April nodded. ‘I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry. Really, I am.’
Caro gave her a twisted smile and wiped her face. ‘Yeah, well, I’m sorry too.’
As she watched Caro go back to her floppy-haired boy, April couldn’t remember a time when she had felt more wretched. Caro was right, of course. Losing her father had been devastating. Her life had changed in the most shattering, absolute and irreversible way, and right now she wasn’t sure if she would ever get over it. But that didn’t mean she should ignore her friends - and they were good friends. She looked around the VIP area. Fiona was sitting next to a guy who could easily have passed for a male model and seemed deep in earnest conversation with him. Gabriel was over on the other side of the room laughing with Benjamin, Marcus and a group of people she recognised vaguely from the Halloween party. Which of these people are vampires? wondered April. And which of them are being recruited? Are my friends under their influence already? To the casual observer, it was just a plush room in a nightclub, filled with pretty young things having the time of their lives, but now she knew better, it all looked seedy and sinister. Maybe if she could sneak her phone out and snap off a few shots, she would have her answer, but she couldn’t forget what Gabriel had said to her: ‘Yyou give them the slightest idea that you know who they are and what they are doing, they will bathe in your blood.’