Angel Falls (Cassandra Bick Chronicles Book 3)

by Sinclair, Tracey

  It couldn’t have been a more dramatic move if we’d choreographed it. The venue had been one of the oldest musical halls in the world, and had kept much of its historic charm: velvet upholstered stalls led to a raised stage, framed by the semi-circle of the balcony above us, where I could Sense vampires positioned. But our enemies were not hiding. The stage was illuminated, though not so brightly it would dazzle those who stood upon it, and there, posed like the most incongruous band I’d ever seen, were Alastair and Josephine, Amalthea a way behind them, almost in the wings, where I could see several other vampires waiting, tense and on guard. Again I got the pulse of power from Amalthea, and wondered about the others – everyone seemed to think Josephine would never be a mouthpiece, but she was also a survivor. Had she weighed up Amalthea against Laclos, and picked what she thought was the winning side?

  Laclos led our little parade up through the central aisle, as if we were theatregoers looking for our seats, albeit theatregoers who were so heavily armed that there would be serious trouble if we didn’t like the show. I hoped Laclos’ vampires had been successful in their attempts to, if not secure the upper levels, then at least get eyes on the other vampires. We weren’t here to fight, but we didn’t want to be slaughtered, either. As it was, I felt completely exposed: I could almost feel crosshairs on the back of my skull.

  ***

  ‘Spotlight suits you, my dear,’ Laclos said coolly, his words aimed at Josephine, as he came to a halt a few feet away, enough of a distance so he wasn’t peering inelegantly up at them. Then it didn’t matter, as he put a hand on the scruff of Mika’s neck, vaulted from a standing start, and was on the stage beside them, Mika dropped in a sprawl at his feet as he landed. Laclos nudged him ungently with his boot. ‘I believe you left something of yours in my lair.’

  Josephine didn’t even bother to look at the fallen human – he was no threat – and Mika, his compulsion fading, let out a whimper. Laclos cast him a dismissive glance.

  ‘He was promised a reward for delivering me. I do hope you keep your end of the bargain, as he has paid so highly for it.’

  Josephine twitched an eyebrow in contempt, though I couldn’t tell if that was for Mika, or us, or the whole situation. Alastair stepped forward and hauled Mika to his feet, then, without a flicker of warning or the least change in his expression, he put one hand on the top of Mika’s head and twisted it round like a screw cap on a bottle, and Mika died without making a sound.

  Beside me, Medea gasped and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly in her shock as Alastair let the body crumple to the floor. He didn’t even bother to bend down to the corpse, just put one booted foot to Mika’s hip and rolled him off the stage and out of the way. Laclos was trying to hide his astonishment – and, more, I think, his dismay: he’d been ready to kill Mika in anger, but this casual disposal was truly shocking, and something in the tightening of Josephine’s jaw told me she hadn’t been consulted on this development. She turned back to Laclos, and both of them tried to look unaffected.

  ‘I just came to talk,’ Laclos said, eventually, trying to pull his eyes back from the edge of the stage, where his lover’s body had lain.

  ‘Yet you brought an army to do so.’

  ‘I believe in speaking softly and carrying a big stick.’

  Josephine smiled, and for a moment I thought it was the fact that she was amused at the amount of innuendo Laclos had managed to pack into that sentence without even trying. Her gaze went to the balcony – I could vaguely Sense Leon and Mariko there, so hoped our plan had worked.

  ‘Ah, men. Always overestimating size,’ she murmured, raising her arms for the assistance we knew wasn’t going to come. Then the air was full of falling vampires, and we realised how wrong we had been.

  ***

  If I hadn’t been so scared, I would have admired the beauty of the move. With one smooth leap from their hiding place in the balcony above our heads, over a dozen vampires surrounded us, several of them armed. They landed without a sound, and two of them held the unconscious forms – please, let them just be unconscious – of Leon and Mariko. But the fact that we were outnumbered and outgunned wasn’t the worst thing. I recognised some of these vampires – they were Laclos’. It seemed like Mika hadn’t been the only one lured with the promise of being on the victorious side.

  Jonesy, Cain and Val all had their weapons raised – as did Medea and I, but as we were huddling behind our better trained friends, that was probably to less effect. I’d seen shock flicker across Laclos’ face for a moment, but he hid it quickly, and turned to Josephine, studiously unruffled.

  ‘My, that is impressive. Congratulations, you have secured the services of a bunch of young and easily swayed vampires. But,’ he gestured to us. ‘I am not entirely without friends.’

  ‘Like we’re scared of a bunch of humans!’ Alastair snarled, and Laclos’ face twisted into a derisive sneer.

  ‘Are you so old, Scotsman, that you have ceased to pay attention?’

  Alastair snorted at that, but his eyes narrowed. He must have picked up something from Cain in my office, but now he concentrated, and though his gaze sailed unconcerned over Medea, me and Jonesy, it halted at Cain and Val with something very like alarm. Laclos smiled, as smug as a Tory.

  ‘I didn’t bring a knife to a gunfight, Alastair. I brought a nuclear bomb.’

  ***

  There was a weighted pause, then a slight cough, and I was astonished to see Cain lowering his gun.

  ‘Yeah, about that…’

  He looked from Jonesy to Val, who both slowly lowered their weapons and took a step backwards. Medea and I could only stare, our shock echoed on Laclos’ face. Whatever vestige of confidence or illusion of control he had had disappeared, and he looked suddenly, utterly bereft.

  ‘I’m sorry, man,’ Cain said, looking more uncomfortable than I had ever seen him. ‘I owe you, and all, but… this isn’t our fight.’ He gestured to Val and Jonesy, who nodded in stony faced agreement. ‘There are bigger concerns at play here. I can’t let you tear this city apart, and I’m on a clock.’

  ‘Cain…’ I whispered, but he was looking at the stage, not able to meet my eyes. He raised his voice, addressing Josephine. ‘You let us take Mariko and Leon. They’re no threat to you. They had nothing to do with this.’

  A small nod of agreement.

  ‘Then you take him, and you end this. No more killing, no more turning kids or using day-olds as cannon fodder. You need to know the only – the only – reason you’re not fang deep in rubble right now is I’ve got places to be and I don’t want this hanging over me. But trust me, he wasn’t joking, and you don’t want to find out what the nuclear option is.’

  Josephine looked at me, deciding whether I would be any trouble and decided, humiliatingly, that I would not. She nodded again and Alastair stepped forward, grabbing Laclos’ arm with a gleeful roughness that Laclos seemed too broken to resist. Then the three of them stepped off the stage into mid-air as if onto invisible steps, and landed smoothly only a few feet in front of us, a handful of vampires moving into position to flank them even as Cain, Jonesy and Val stepped aside to move out of their way. I met Laclos’ eyes, not knowing what to say – his own were red with tears, and I saw my own confusion mirrored there, but Jonesy closed his hand tight on my arm and Val did the same with Medea, and they pulled us back, allowing this little parade of humiliation to pass.

  ‘Wait a sec…’ Cain held out a hand, and for a moment my hopes surged, and the vampires looked nervous as he stepped out in front of Laclos, but he gave a tiny shake of his head – he wasn’t going to be any trouble. He looked at Laclos, his expression one of genuine sorrow, and when he spoke, his voice was cracked with emotion.

  ‘I do owe you. And I’m sorry,’ he said, softly. Then he reached out and took Laclos’ face gently in his hands, and pulled him into a kiss.

  ***

  For a moment, the room froze in shock. Laclos’ eyes widened in amazement, his hands fluttering useless
ly at his sides, then he closed his eyes and gave into the kiss, surrendering to the last touch of tenderness he would receive.

  But something was wrong. His body started to jerk, violently; his eyes flared open and I realised, horrified, that he was desperately trying to pull away, but Cain was too strong for him. And then the blood came. Cain wasn’t kissing him anymore: he had his jaw clamped tightly on Laclos – blood was streaming out of their mouths, down both their chins, and Laclos was whimpering like a wounded animal, pushing at the immovable object that was Cain, the other vampires clearly enjoying the show too much to help.

  ‘For God’s sake, stop it!’ I screamed, struggling out of Jonesy’s grip, and finally Cain let him go, releasing Laclos with such force that he stumbled backwards into Alastair’s unforgiving hold. Cain grinned a scarlet smile of absolute malice, and stepped closer to Laclos, gratified that doing so made him flinch. Then he spat a mouthful of blood and saliva at his feet, wiping his own bloody mouth on his sleeve.

  ‘Now you know what it feels like, you fucker,’ he snarled.

  Laclos stared at him, aghast, his lip torn and bruised, his eyes wide with hurt and pain, but Alastair let out a snicker of amusement, and put a meaty hand on Laclos’ shoulder, pushing him from the room under Josephine’s cool, wary gaze.

  ***

  I wheeled on Cain, furious. Strategic betrayal was one thing, but I never thought him capable of such spite. But even as I opened my mouth he put a finger to his lips, which seemed such an odd gesture after what he’d just done that it worked, shocking me into silence. He took a bottle of water that Jonesy handed him and swilled out his mouth, spitting out an ugly trail of red onto the stone floor as the others went to help the fallen bodyguards.

  ‘I think they’re OK,’ Medea offered, getting Mariko into a sitting position, as Jonesy did the same for Leon. A groan from the latter at least proved they were alive.

  ‘Think it’s dead man’s blood rather than silver. They wanted them slowed down, not hurt,’ Jonesy concurred. Cain nodded, repeated the swilling out process with a grimace of distaste, then wiped his mouth and chin on his sleeve again, though with a regretful look at the stain it left, not that I was in any mood to be sympathetic. I noticed Val hadn’t rushed to help anyone, and was watching Cain with an expression that made me think she wasn’t thrilled by his behaviour either, and was waiting for him to explain it. He took a mouthful of water and swallowed this time, before turning back to me, his face maddeningly calm.

  ‘OK, I think they’re gone now.’

  It took me a moment to find my voice.

  ‘How could you do that? Why would you do that? Christ, I know you don’t like him, but there was no need to be so… cruel.’

  Cain frowned at me, baffled.

  ‘What are you talking about? I just saved his life.’

  Everyone looked blank at that, then Medea stood up, her anger making her Scottish accent more pronounced.

  ‘Does someone want to explain what the fuck is going on here?’ she demanded.

  Cain let out a weary sigh.

  ‘Does this place have a bar?’

  ***

  Since the answer was yes – actually a very charming little one – that’s where we went. We lowered Mariko and Leon onto a couple of slightly tatty couches, giving them blood bags from Cain’s holdall of infinity. They were both very groggy and sluggish, but I suspected that wasn’t a terrible thing. I was keen to get a valid explanation for the night’s events before they woke up properly, as I was pretty sure they wouldn’t ask as nicely as me.

  Cain leapt over the bar and helped himself to a bottle of whisky and another one of wine, snatching up some tumblers and pouring us all generous measures of our beverage of choice.

  ‘Leave them money,’ I said, and when he glowered at me, I shrugged, irritated. ‘They’re a charity.’

  He made an impatient sound, threw a handful of tenners on the bar and sat down. It was hard not to notice that Medea and I were huddled on one sofa while Cain sat in one of the wingback chairs, Jonesy and Val flanking him, leaning forward on wide, padded stools. I wondered what this new dynamic meant. I was furious and curious in equal measure, but I knew Cain could never be hurried, so I waited, chewing my lip with impatience, as he downed one full glass of whisky and poured himself another. Then he said the one thing I would never in a million years have expected.

  ‘Before you start yelling again, it was Laclos’ idea.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘He suspected some of his people had been turned. That’s what we were talking about on the balcony back at the apartment. He wanted a way of finding out.’ He pulled a face. ‘Don’t think he expected such wholesale desertion, mind.’

  ‘But… once they’d revealed themselves, why not stop them?’ Medea asked, framing her question far more reasonably than I would have managed.

  Cain shrugged.

  ‘He figured if we let those three take him – let them think he was friendless – he’d get a better chance at finding out who is really behind all this, stop it at the source rather than play whack-a-mole with the symptoms. You saw what happened in there with Mika. Josephine isn’t calling the shots.’

  ‘That’s a pretty risky play, though. What if they’d just killed him?’ Would you have fought for him, I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t.

  ‘Laclos is a thousand years old,’ Cain said. ‘Kill him and he crumbles, and whose word do you have that you’ve ended the threat? He figured they would want whatever punishment they dole out to be in front of witnesses.’ He ran a hand across his skull, tiredness blooming on his face. ‘Do you have any idea how many people think Mallen and the Counsel are still alive? That they are off somewhere, biding their time? Josephine and the others won’t want that kind of gossip. So, yeah, it wasn’t a play without risk, but look at this place, Cass.’ He waved a hand at our surroundings. ‘Any real fight would have brought the building down around us.’

  As if to prove his point, a chunk of ceiling fell even as he gestured to it. I pulled a face, annoyed at his tricks.

  ‘That wasn’t me,’ he said, hastily, reading my thoughts. ‘But it’s proof we already caused some damage. I thought you were done demolishing buildings.’ He aimed for playfulness, but I was in no mood to be charmed. And on top of everything else our raiding party had damaged a London landmark. This evening was just getting better.

  ‘And the rest of you just agreed this in the car?’

  Cain nodded, looking uncomfortable.

  ‘Laclos and I have been talking contingency plans since this kicked off. This seemed the best way to minimise casualties. I thought you’d be pleased.’

  ‘So why not tell us?’ I demanded, including Medea in this so I didn’t sound as whiny as I felt.

  ‘Because Jonesy and my wife don’t care,’ he said, and both of them looked up in placid agreement. ‘They won’t argue and they’re happy to lie.’

  ‘Frankly my only problem with this is that we didn’t turn the vampire over for real,’ Jonesy said, equably. Leon and Mariko stirred at that, eyes narrowed in anger, but in his own way, Jonesy was as fearless as Cain, so looked unbothered. ‘Hey. It’s not like he didn’t start it.’

  ‘I thought we should slay them all,’ Val added, cheerfully, and Mariko looked about ready to impale her. Trying to avoid a confrontation with my usual well-applied levity, I forced a smile at Cain.

  ‘You sure this wasn’t just an elaborate plan by Laclos to get you to kiss him?’

  ‘Oh, he didn’t know about that. I just thought of it as he was leaving – figured he could do with a boost, and it wouldn’t be enough to unbalance him.’ He ran a finger along the inside of his mouth, frowning, either at where he’d bitten through his own skin or where the fangs had cut him. ‘That actually hurt.’

  ‘Good,’ I said, unsympathetically. ‘Did Laclos know what you were doing?’

  Was he that good an actor? Could both of these men I was so close to lie so convincingly to my face?


  Cain pulled a face.

  ‘I’m guessing he figured it out when the blood started flowing. He can see into my soul, after all.’

  I didn’t rise to that, but I didn’t have to, because Medea was angry enough for both of us.

  ‘OK, I’m about as thrilled as Cassandra that you dragged us here under false pretences – a lot less so, actually, since I’m significantly less swayed by your charms than she is. But even if we agree what you did was necessary – and I think the jury is still out on that…’ she made a gesture that included the vampires, who looked like they agreed. ‘But how has this helped? Haven’t we just delayed the inevitable confrontation? And, if anything, we’ve weakened our hand and strengthened theirs?’ Cain looked like he was going to answer but she was nowhere near done, and even an angel was no match for Medea in full flight. I was tempted to cheer. ‘And if Laclos’ punishment has to be done publicly, haven’t we now opened ourselves to the possibility that we have to save him from an even stronger force, potentially in front of a whole load of witnesses? With minimum casualties, attracting minimum attention and with even less time to spare before your… family come calling and expecting you home for your tea? Did your super-Secret-Squirrel plan take any of that into account?’ she demanded, and Cain actually looked sheepish.

  ‘… In fairness, there are a few bugs to work out.’

  She turned to me, in exasperated disbelief.

  ‘Wonderful. Just wonderful.’

  ***

  ‘So, a rational starting place would be figuring out where they took him, right?’ I suggested. ‘Did you make any plans for that?’

  Cain looked slightly more confident at this, and dug his phone out of his pocket.

  ‘We put a tracker on him…’ he looked at the screen, and his face fell. ‘Which they seem to have found and disabled. This is why I hate technology.’