Chapter Twelve
"You sure this is going to work?" I whispered to Peter. "I mean we can't even see Carl."
"Yeah, but you can hear his heartbeat and smell his blood. That little nick on his hand is going to be like a radar for you and the other vampires, so we have to be quick."
He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as we watched vampires tear chunks from each other using just their teeth and fingernails.
"We don't stand a chance," I said.
"Want me to do the next bit? You can drive if you like."
"No, I can do it. Keep the car running." Although, deep down I knew I was desperate to go home and forget about the whole thing. I got out of the car, re-pierced the small wound on Carl's hand and led him toward the vampires, trying not to wince at the blood and lumps of flesh flying everywhere.
"There he is," I whispered, finally spotting Arthur.
"Yeah, I got him," Carl replied, sounding a lot more confident than I felt.
Peter had been right. I knew exactly where Carl was. I followed him as close as I dared without being seen by Arthur who was finishing off a small female vampire. As he ripped off the vampire's head with a grunt, Carl began to softly call his name.
Arthur's head jerked around, bloodlust in his eyes. He hopped up and ran toward Carl before I could blink. Just as fast, I sped after him, delighting in the sense of freedom. I was faster than ever, from Becca's blood and possibly Eddie's spell. Arthur ran right into Carl, I hadn't expected him to lock onto Carl without even wondering why he couldn't see him. I sped up, terrified I was going to be too late.
Arthur threw back his head then tried to sink his teeth into what I assumed was an invisible Carl's throat. He flew backwards as if burned. I smiled, remembering how I had wrapped a silver chain around Carl's neck. Arthur's hesitation was perfect. I clamped the silver handcuffs on to his wrist and mine. He whipped his head around in confusion and tried to back away, but I held him still.
Changing his mind, Arthur launched himself at me, his jaws wide. His face contorted in pain and a howl emitted from his throat as Carl wrapped his chain around Arthur's neck, making it easy to lead him to the car. I was beginning to think we might make it when the cold presence I kept feeling blew so hard, my hair fell over my face.
I turned around and realised one vampire had spotted us. He eyed us warily then put his head down and ran. I snapped the handcuff off my wrist, not even pausing to notice how easy it was.
"Run," I whispered. "Don't let them see the chain."
Carl managed to hurry on with Arthur without holding out the chain, making it look like Arthur was running away.
I slipped the silver dagger out of my belt and waited. It didn't matter whose side the vampire was on, I had to stop him. He was on me in seconds, rushing at me so hard, he ran straight into the dagger. I used his strength against him. Too late, he felt the blade sink into his skin. He was in so much pain he didn't even cry out, but the red tint disappeared from his eyes, replaced by fear. The knife seemed to burn him from the inside out. Every vein under his skin glowed before his entire body burst into flames that quickly burned out into dust.
"Holy shit," I muttered, trembling at the intensity of the flame and how quick the whole fight had been. Then pain shot through my arm, and I realised his fingernails had sliced deep into my flesh before he died. I quickly licked the wounds and didn't wait to look at them heal.
Slipping the most awesome dagger in the world back into my belt, I turned to run back to the car. Peter had gotten out and was helping a now visible Carl shove Arthur into the backseat without him biting anyone. They didn't even see the small brunette race toward them. I sprinted after her, my lungs burning with exertion, but she reached Peter before me and hurled him over the car.
She jumped after him, preparing to snap his neck, but I managed to grab her hands first. I pulled her away from Peter, but she shrugged me off and ran after him again. He kicked out, knocking her back into me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her back. He pulled a stake from his sleeve and aimed it directly at her heart. She leaned forward then pushed all of her weight backward, smacking me in the face with the back of her head and knocking us both back down to the ground.
Dizzy, I grabbed her hair and tried to toss her to the side, but she squirmed around and clawed my face. Blood dripped from scratch marks on my cheeks. Peter kicked her in the face, barely missing mine as I pushed her off me and tried to get up. Once again she went for Peter, this time clawing at his leg and pulling him to the ground.
The dagger burned at my side, but in my panic I couldn't get it free.
"Ah, screw it," I said and used my fangs instead. I sank my teeth into her shoulder and tore away a chunk of flesh. I spat it out in disgust, but it was enough to get her away from Peter.
"Keep out of the way Peter!" I shouted at him, fearing I would bite him by mistake. Time slowed down, and I planned every move ahead of time. The vampire freaked out at my speed as she struggled to land a hit. Finally, she managed to elbow me, the force of it knocking me a few steps backward.
The vampire faced me, her mouth a snarling mess of fangs. She ran for me, swiping with her nails, but I took my time, ducked at the last second then threw myself upward with a punch driven by all of my strength. She fell against the car. I didn't wait. I drove my fist against her face one more time, hearing her nose break in a satisfyingly bloody crunch.
She howled with fury. "Bitch!" she screamed as one of her fangs fell away. My face stung, but hers was completely swollen. Rage gave her the strength of an army. She swung her fist at me twice. This time I wasn't quick enough and ended up on my back, dazed. The dagger clattered to the ground. I managed to grab it as she jumped on me and sank her teeth into my chest.
Peter ran to my aid, but I was already driving the dagger into her skull as hard as I could. She spluttered then collapsed on me. Peter hauled her off and dug his stake through her heart, but she was already burning. The dagger shone in my hands, the blade going from bright red to a cool blue. I gripped it tighter, feeling its power shooting through me. I felt as though it belonged to me.
"Where the hell did you get that thing?" Peter asked.
"Later." I jumped up. "Come on, let's get out of here." We both jumped into the car where Carl was struggling with Arthur. If I hadn't ordered him to do it, he wouldn't have had the strength.
I took over, trying not to pass out from the pain in my chest. Peter forced his foot down on the accelerator and sped off, the wheels squealing in protest. We had gotten away, but I couldn't relax yet. I still had to deal with Arthur. He seethed with anger but kept his distance, and I knew he had seen what my dagger could do.
"Sorry about this, Arthur," I said out of politeness. "But we had to do something to get you alone with us."
"Let go of me," said Arthur, trembling with rage.
"We will, but we need your help first. Remember?"
"You promised. You made a deal."
"I know. And I'm sorry about that, but things have gotten way too complicated." I winced with pain and shifted in my seat. Vampire bites hurt.
"He'll destroy me for this."
"Who?" Carl asked.
"Maximus, you idiot. I left the battlefield. In his eyes, I'm a deserter. All because of your petty problem." He tried to sound angry but came across more vulnerable than anything. I felt sorry for him.
"We'll take you back. As soon as you help us. Nobody will even notice you left."
I ignored Peter's irritated sigh up front. "Please, Arthur. I don't want this. Help me."
He stared at me for a long moment. "Fine. Then you let me go."
"Of course." I nodded with enthusiasm.
"Is he yours?" Arthur stared hard at me.
"No!"
"I agree. There. Let me go."
"What? That can't be it," I said in surprise.
"It is. Let me go, please.
"
"But that's just lame." But then I felt a jerking pain in my stomach and a sense of loss so deep, I wanted to cry.
"What did you expect, fireworks? Let me out of the damned car, half-breed!"
I looked at Carl. His head was bowed, and his body shook violently.
"Carl? You okay?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, he's right. It's done." Carl looked at me, eyes full of pain. I couldn't bear it. His pain or mine.
"All right, you can go," I said, opening the car door and pulling Arthur out after me. I carefully took the silver chain off his skin, wincing as it sizzled. I unlocked the handcuffs and was immediately thrown against the car. Arthur's fangs shone in the moonlight. He snapped his head toward me, his hand on my throat. I was in too much pain to struggle. I expected more and took one last glance at the world-but nothing painful happened.
Instead, Arthur whispered to me. "Trust none. They watch you now."
He sped away, leaving me gasping for air. Peter was still getting out of the car.
"I'm sorry, he was too fast."
"It's okay," I said. "He didn't hurt me." I licked my fingers and rubbed the wounds on my chest and face. My nose was still bleeding, but the scratches healed quickly. The wound on my chest stung like crazy, but it too healed, albeit more slowly. It left a noticeable scar behind.
In the car, Carl's head was on the dashboard, sweat rolling down his face.
"Carl, are you okay?" I said, feeling frantic. "Could he die?"
Peter shook his head, but his face was pale; he wasn't sure.
"I'm okay," said Carl. "It hurts is all. I need to lie down."
"We could go back to Eddie," Peter said.
"He sold us out!" I snapped.
"We've no choice; he might know what to do."
Peter drove back toward the bookshop, but the fight wasn't over. The street looked as if it were drowning in blood.
"Keep driving," I urged, afraid we wouldn't get away after everything.
As we drove by, I saw Maximus turn on Arthur. Arthur backed away, holding his hands up. I half expected him to roll on to his belly. Maximus flew at Arthur, and they both smashed through a window. A half second later, Maximus rushed back outside with Arthur's head in his hands. I looked away, guilt pouring over me. We caused it. Even though he was a vampire, I had felt a sort of kinship toward Arthur. And I wanted to know what his last words to me meant.
"I'm taking us to Nancy's house," Peter said, interrupting my thoughts.
"What? No way."
"There's nowhere closer, and I can't drive around all night."
"Fine." I felt too miserable to argue. I curled up in a ball, feeling a persistent ache in my stomach.
"Sorry, Carl. Can't get you home until morning. Just in case." Peter's voice was gentle and that worried me more than anything.
"'S'okay," mumbled Carl. I was almost afraid to look at him. I didn't know if he was scared or hated me, but I knew he was in pain because of me.
The reality of the last few days exhausted me, and I dozed off in the car. I was in the middle of a dark dream when Peter shook my shoulders to wake me up. "Ava, quick. Get up," he whispered urgently.
My eyes flickered open to see Peter looking distraught.
"I'm sorry, Ava, something's happened here."
"What? What's wrong?"
"We're outside Nancy's house, but her front door is torn down, her windows are smashed... I don't think she's here."
I jumped up, pushed him aside, and ran into my grandmother's house for the first time in years. I sucked in a breath. Everything looked the same except the furniture had been tossed around.
Peter came up behind me. "Is she here?"
I shook my head. "No, I can't smell her. There's blood. Not much, but it's there. They took her earlier, maybe yesterday. Oh, God, what have I done?" I sank to my knees.
"Who took her?"
"I don't know! Does it matter? It's all my fault no matter who did it. I'm systematically screwing up the lives of everyone around me without even trying!"
"Come on, get up," Peter said. "Freaking out isn't going to help Nancy."
I took a deep breath, wiped a few tears from my eyes, and got to my feet. "Yeah, you're right. I've stuff to do. Look, thanks for everything. You didn't have to help, but you did. I owe you. I have to go now, and figure this out. Could you make sure Carl gets home safe?"
"Yeah, sure, but I'm not going to... I mean, I know Nancy. I have to help, too," Peter said, his forehead creasing with stress.
"I'm going to help you, too." Carl limped into the room.
"Are you two stupid? You could die! You're both human, and you've nothing to do with this crap. I've gotten you both into enough trouble as it is!"
Carl crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'm not going while you need help. What happened with me was an accident, and you did everything to fix it. I'm not going to walk away until it's over."
"Carl, you don't know what you're talking about. It's the bond, you're still feeling it."
"I'm not, Ava," he said, his voice firm and steady. "I'm sticking around because I want to."
"Same here," Peter said.
I glared at them both, but they were unfazed. "You can help me figure out what happened, but that's it."
"Whatever," Peter said. "Let's go."
"Where?" said Carl.
"My place. We'll figure out things from there."
As soon as we got to Peter's house, he made some phone calls-leaving Carl and me alone in the kitchen. We made sandwiches and coffee and faced each other warily for a while.
"You feeling okay now?" I asked.
He nodded. "A little shaky. It felt like something was ripped out of me back there."
"I'm sorry."
He shrugged. "It's okay. Thanks for looking after me when I was all... brainless."
"Do you remember everything?"
"Not everything, more like flashes. I remember the other vampire. I was looking for a taxi home after a night out. This guy asks me for the time, and next thing I know, I'm up against a wall being nibbled on. Then you walked up, and all of a sudden, I had to follow you. All I wanted was to do what you said. And, you know, other stuff."
His ears and neck flushed scarlet. "It's okay," I said. "You had no choice."
"But I wanted it. Even when I tried to be me, I still wanted it. I keep thinking about when I tried to-"
"Don't worry about it," I said firmly, not wanting to acknowledge it happened.
He scratched the back of his neck. "But you really fought it. You could have just killed me and gotten rid of me that way. I don't know what to make of the whole vampire thing, but you're not bad."
It was my turn to blush. "I had a little help. Eddie gave me this," I showed him the cross. "And it made it easier for me to stay normal."
"Doesn't matter. You still tried not to hurt me."
"I promise we'll talk about this, just not now, okay? Want to call your family or something?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I probably should."
"What are you going to tell them?" I asked as I handed him my mobile phone.
"As little as possible."
"I'll give you some space," I said and headed into the other room.
"Where's Carl?" Peter asked as he flipped through a book.
"I gave him my mobile to call his family."
"If you avoid the world, what do you need a mobile for?"
"My business. Sometimes people want to make phone contact. No big deal."
"Hmm. Okay, look at this map," he said, marking it with a pen. "My best guess is this is where Nancy is."
I looked askance at him and waited for an explanation.
"Fine. I rang someone who works for Daimh?n. She said no way did they take Nancy. Rang around a couple more sets of eyes. One said there's an old lady amongst the volunteers who aren't really volunteers at Maximus's place. This is where I've
heard it is."
"You know someone who works for Daimh?n? How do you know they can be trusted?"
"I just do. Besides, it makes sense for Maximus to take her. He wants you, probably reckons you're human enough to be persuaded if they take someone you love."
I bit my lip. Maximus was pissed. He had killed Arthur who was completely loyal to him. What would he do to a little old lady? After everything she'd put me through, she was still my grandmother, and according to Peter and Eddie, she had changed.
"Don't worry," Peter said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "We'll get her out of there."
"I can't say I ever really loved her, Peter," I said, reluctant to speak the truth but needing to get it off my chest. I sat down and avoided his eyes. "But I don't want to see her hurt. If I'm honest, I barely know her. She wasn't exactly a cuddly, loving woman, you know?"
He sat next to me and squeezed my hand briefly. "I get it. But she isn't like that anymore."
"You don't know," I said, shaking my head. "She had all these rules and secrets but no explanations for most of it. She wouldn't even tell me about my parents, or what really happened when I was born. And the things she did to me, Peter, how she made me feel. I've hated myself because of her, and she couldn't just accept me. She couldn't just love me. I was just a kid-I was born this way. I didn't choose it."
His eyes widened, and I wondered if I'd said too much, but for once, I didn't care. I needed to talk to someone. "Part of me thinks she deserves to be punished... but not this way, not like this. This isn't right. If anything happens to her, it'll be my fault. I don't want that."
"It's okay to feel all those things, Ava," he said. "When I first met Nancy, she was in a bad way. She blamed herself for everything. She regretted a lot of things. I know she made mistakes with you, but almost everyone who's introduced to this other world loses the plot in some way. Except maybe Carl."
I laughed, relieved he was taking the conversation in a lighter direction. "Yeah, he seems at ease with everything, doesn't he? I can't believe he's volunteering to stick around. I was him? I'd be running away, screaming like a little girl."
"And you do it so well."
I punched his shoulder lightly. He clasped my fist and held my stare a little too long. I mentally counted rapidly, anything to calm down my racing heart. Carl interrupted us before things could get any more awkward.
He burst into the room in a temper and threw my mobile on the sofa.
"Everything okay?" Peter said, inching away from me.
"Yeah, it's cool. So when are we going to get Ava's grandmother back?"
Carl's fists clenched tight; I wondered what his family were like.
"Peter thinks Maximus has her. He reckons he knows where."
"I'm pretty sure, actually."
"We going now?" Carl asked.
Peter shook his head. "We should get some sleep first; let you heal up a little. You still don't look the best. Then maybe head over during the day. There'll only be humans there."
"Humans?" I said, surprised.
"Yeah, they tend to use bodyguards during the day. No problem to us."
I squirmed. "I don't like the idea of humans getting hurt."
Peter's face darkened into something I didn't like. "They deserve it if they work for evil. I'm wrecked. I'm heading to bed. We'll talk more in the morning. There are spare rooms upstairs, so take your pick."
He left, followed by a yawning Carl.
"I'm going to sit up for a bit," I told them.
I tried to relax, but all I could think of was my grandmother. Maximus could spend the entire night torturing her while I had a good night's sleep in Peter's house. If I waited, she would probably suffer and judging by Peter's black/white morality issues, the bodyguards would almost certainly get hurt too. I had enough on my conscience. The more I sat there thinking, the more certain I became. I was going alone. To offer myself in exchange for my grandmother.
Thirst (Ava Delaney #1) Page 12