‘It must be Khiara,’ he said to Luke.
‘After all this time?’ asked Luke. ‘Why?’
‘Because she is Khiara,’ said Will. ‘It is what she does best.’
Luke shook his head slowly. ‘Surely we would know if she was in London.’
‘Not if she wished to remain undetected. As long as she kept her distance, I would not detect her presence.’
‘Waterlow Park is hardly a distance.’
‘Khiara would not do any dirty work herself.’
‘Good point.’
I followed their conversation with ever increasing horror. When I couldn’t stand it any longer I stood up in agitation.
‘Hold on just a damn minute,’ I said loudly.
Both men turned to look at me. Luke with the detached interest one would show an irritating child who wanted attention, and Will with his usual amusement. But at least I had their attention.
‘Can someone please explain what the hell is going on here? And who the hell is this Khiara person?’
Will and Luke exchanged glances.
‘You really do have your work cut out,’ said Luke.
‘Oh, you have no idea,’ agreed Will with a resigned shrug.
‘Who’s going to tell me?’ I persisted.
‘Khiara is my maker,’ said Will to me. ‘I have not seen her for nearly two hundred years.’
‘She’s born a grudge for two hundred years?’ I asked. ‘She must be a Scorpio.’
Will’s lips twitched. ‘I could not say,’ he said. ‘All I know is that my life has been uncomplicated in the extreme for very many years, but the moment I bring another woman to my house, someone begins to sully my territory. She is the only creature on this earth who is vindictive enough to instigate revenge two centuries on.’
‘She needs to get a life.’ I muttered. ‘Or another death.’
Luke laughed. ‘I like her.’
‘I knew you would,’ said Will.
‘So what do we do?’ I asked, as I sat back down.
‘You will do nothing,’ he said. ‘I, too, shall do nothing at this stage either.’
‘Oh, good plan,’ I said sarcastically. ‘So when the angry villagers torch your house, will you do something then?’
‘You have seen far too many cheap horror films,’ he replied.
‘Does this woman know where you live?’ I asked. ‘I mean if you can sense her, surely she would be able to sense you too, and find you here eventually?’
Will looked impressed. ‘Beauty and brains,’ he said.
‘Don’t patronise me,’ I said, annoyed.
‘It was a compliment.’
‘Trust me, it wasn’t.’
Will turned to Luke. ‘You are younger than I, do you understand her?’
Luke looked thoughtful. ‘I think she is inferring that you think it unusual for a woman to be beautiful, yet intelligent, and that generally it is not possible to be both.’
Will looked back at me and raised his eyebrows.
‘What he said,’ I agreed.
‘Elinor, I am well aware that you have considerable intelligence; as far as I am concerned that has never been in question. Plus your appearance speaks for itself.’
‘You definitely spent too long with Byron,’ I said.
At that moment the phone rang and Will rose to answer it.
‘Yes?’ Not one for bothering with a good telephone manner obviously. He listened for a while, and nodded his head every now and again. ‘I appreciate that Jake, thank you.’
He came back and sat down. ‘Jake has come across some unknown vampires in the Camden area. One very large male, who could be Grigori, plus a blonde woman who could very well be Josephine. When he challenged them, they got into a car and drove off. He says they went towards Chalk Farm.’
‘So if it is Grigori and Josephine, Khiara is almost certainly in London too,’ said Luke. ‘What would you like me to do?’
‘Contact all of our people and tell them everything, and also tell them about Elinor. You need to assure them the renegade is not ours. Everyone should be very alert and security conscious. Especially when going out to feed, I do not want to lose anyone.’
‘Consider it done.’
Luke stood up and Will stood too. They clasped hands like two ancient warriors, and Will gripped Luke’s shoulder. ‘Take care my friend.’
Luke nodded and turned to me. ‘It was good to meet you Elinor.’
‘You too.’ I said.
The door closed behind him, and after a few seconds I heard the front door close too. I stared into space thinking about this latest development. ‘Will your people think it was me anyway?’
‘Absolutely not,’ Will said firmly. ‘I trust Luke implicitly to say the right things where you are concerned.’
‘What can we do?’ I asked. ‘There must be something.’
‘We keep a very low profile and let Luke handle things for the moment.’
‘If my profile was any lower, I’d be back in the grave.’
‘Feeding could be a potential problem too …’ He was obviously thinking aloud. ‘I cannot risk bringing anyone here for a while.’
Great, just when I was getting accustomed to room service and drinking the revolting stuff from a mug, it all goes to pot again.
Will crossed back to the phone and, picking it up, keyed in a few numbers.
‘I need a favour,’ he said. ‘Yes. That would be plenty, many thanks. If you deliver to the usual place, I shall leave payment for you there.’
He replaced the phone.
I looked questioningly at him.
‘I have made arrangements for some blood to be delivered from the hospital.’
‘Someone could die if we take the hospital’s blood.’
Will shook his head. ‘I very much doubt that,’ he said. ‘We only take the more common blood groups. You would do well to worry more about your own well-being at this moment in time.’
That made me feel so much better. Not.
Will sat back down on the sofa and watched me for a while. I knew he was about to ask me something personal, so I mentally braced myself.
‘I would still like to know who destroyed your faith in men.’
I said nothing at first, just looked at him. Eventually I shook my head.
‘Tell me.’
‘Why does it matter to you? It all happened a long time ago, and you don’t have any right to ask me about it.’
‘You are quite correct of course, I do not have the right to ask you such a personal question,’ said Will. ‘But I think your past is still playing a part now. It stands between us like an ugly spectre and I would very much like to exorcise it.’
I thought about whether to trust Will with the information. I didn’t know him well enough to know how he would take the knowledge of my hideous abuse at the hands of the one person I should have been able to trust. Deciding there was nothing to lose, I closed my eyes against the painful memories.
‘Foster father.’ I whispered, reluctantly remembering events I’d buried deep in my memory for years – revolting things I had never wanted to surface again. I watched his face anxiously, expecting to see it show disgust with me, the dirty child, problem child, lying child. But his gaze was sympathetic, almost kind.
‘How old were you?’
‘Twelve,’ I replied. ‘My parents died in a car accident when I was eleven.’
Will stood up, cursing under his breath. He started to pace, and I felt anxious in case his temper erupted again. ‘How does a maggot like that ever become a foster father?’
‘No one believed me. He was plausible and very charming to the people who mattered. His wife didn’t believe me either, and I became branded a problem
child. But he was always seen as the nice guy who had kindly taken in an orphan with problems, and given her a nice home.’
‘No wonder you “don’t do casual sex”, it makes perfect sense.’ He said. ‘How long did it go on?’
‘Until I was fifteen. Then they took in another, younger, girl. He transferred his attentions to her—I tried to help her—’ I broke off as more images flashed before my eyes. Scenes that had long been relegated to the dark recesses of my memory. Strange how they were all still there, and yet I still couldn’t recall the accident.
Will stood still and crouched down in front of me. ‘Once again I find myself wishing I could take the pain away from you,’ he rested his hands either side of me on the arms of the chair. Strangely, I didn’t feel penned in by him for once. The only emotion I could feel from him was concern. ‘I meant what I said before, Ellie, if I ever find him, he is a dead man.’ He stood slowly, and touched my hair briefly, before crossing back to the sofa and sitting down again.
‘You called me Ellie,’ was all I could find to say.
A slight smile touched his lips. ‘I believe I did. The night is yet young, would you care to take a walk?’
‘Is it safe to leave the house?’
‘We shall no doubt find out.’
I felt as though I needed some air after all the events of the night, so I stood up and nodded. ‘Let’s go then.’ I sounded braver than I felt.
Will stood too and, crossing to the door, opened it for me. He strode across the reception hall to a Victorian coat-stand, and took down my coat and his jacket, handing me mine. I slipped it on, hugging it around myself as he pulled on his jacket. His t-shirt strained across his chest as he did so, and I would have had to be made of stone not to enjoy the view. A fact that I am sure Will was well aware of. He opened the front door with a flourish, and I went out in front of him.
So this was the front of the house. The door itself was a typical Georgian door, painted in traditional black, with a glass fanlight at the top. Will flicked the hall light on as we left and locked the door behind us. Stairs led down from the door to the paved parking area in front of the house, which was surrounded by high brick walls in much the same way as the garden at the back of the house. Huge wrought iron double gates stood majestically in the centre of the walls and were firmly closed.
Will went to a key panel in the wall, and when he tapped in some numbers the gates swung quietly open. After we’d gone through, they swung closed again with a clang.
‘Not exactly a caller-friendly house is it?’ I said.
Will pointed to a mailbox set in the wall. ‘Post or deliveries go here. Luke and Stevie both know the combination for the gates at the front and back of the house but anyone else has to ring the entry phone.’
Well, he certainly took no chances with security, and at that moment in time I was pleased he didn’t. If there were unfriendly vampires in London trying to implicate me in murder for whatever reason, all precautions were good.
‘Who’s Stevie?’ I asked, suddenly realising he’d unwittingly given me another name.
‘He is the manager of my club and a good friend, you will meet him soon.’
‘You have a Georgian mansion in Highgate, a plane in Elstree and now I find you own a club.’ I was beginning to wonder how much money this man had.
‘When one has been around as long as I have, one accumulates,’ he said.
We walked to the end of the road where Will turned into Oakeshott Avenue, and from there he headed toward Swains Lane.
We were making for the cemetery.
‘Are you deliberately trying to scare me?’ I asked him.
He turned his head to look down at me. ‘Perhaps. You may need to hang on to me if you become frightened.’
‘So that’s your evil plan,’ I said.
His soft laughter ran through me as though he’d touched me.
Oh, he had plans all right.
16 February
I curse my foul temper and I curse the fact that Elinor had to hear the full story of her tragic accident from my own lips. I wanted her to remember under her own volition. I do not know why I felt it would make a difference, but somehow I believed it would.
I know she believes that I sought out and killed the driver who caused her to almost die, and she is correct in her assumption. She knows me better than I thought she did. But I could not allow that creature to live.
How could anyone drive into another person and then not stop to give assistance? Why do the human courts not have fitting punishment for a crime such as this? I would not think twice about retribution for such an appalling act. In fact, I did not.
I feel our somewhat fragile relationship, if indeed it can be called such, is more fragile than ever at the moment. I have succeeded in scaring her twice in the bathroom, even instilling the belief I would rape her. Then I terrified her further with my revolting show of temper.
In a way I am relieved that Luke came when he did, as I think his presence calmed things down a little. Although his news was nothing I really wanted to hear. I am convinced Khiara is now in London, and it is the very last thing I need to contend with, at the moment. The woman is bad news, and her entourage the main source of intrinsic evil. They will only cause problems within the City.
Protocol among us decrees that a visiting ‘kiss of vampires’ should seek the permission of the city’s Elder before arriving. The fact Khiara did not is an arrogant declaration of animosity, and a direct insult to me. To allow one of her entourage to so blatantly drain a human, and then leave the body for all and sundry to see, is tantamount to throwing down the gauntlet. I am not sure how to play this just yet, but my main objective is to keep Elinor safe, and preferably far away from Khiara.
Chapter Ten
Changes
As we walked along Swain’s Lane towards the cemetery, I began to wonder about getting in.
‘It’ll be locked.’
Will gave me a wicked grin as he dangled a large key in front of my nose. ‘Courtesy of the Friends of Highgate Cemetery.’
‘So you joined a society of ageing middle-class snobs just to get a key?’
‘No, I merely relieved one of them of the key. I felt it was too much responsibility for her.’
Best not to delve any deeper into that little scenario, I decided. He really was a law unto himself.
When we reached the imposing gates, he did indeed unlock them and wave me through. I gave him a long-suffering look as I walked past him.
He locked the gates behind us, pocketing the key, and led the way into the depths of the cemetery. Good that I wasn’t at all scared then. I followed him down narrow, moss-covered paths that twisted and turned like a maze between huge Victorian tombs and their neighbouring ivy-clad gravestones.
We passed the tomb of Queen Victoria’s dog trainer and startled a badger foraging for food. It bared its ferocious yellow teeth at us, and Will bared his own white teeth back. The badger backed off.
I looked around at the tombstones jostling against each other, like so many uneven teeth, all vying for the best position. Masses of dark prolific ivy cloaked neighbouring headstones, shielding them from human eyes.
The atmosphere was brooding and intense, almost as though the cemetery itself was waiting for something – or someone. Somehow, I didn’t feel convinced we were the only supernatural visitors tonight.
Will stopped at a convenient tomb and lowered his lean frame to the ground. He leaned back against the tomb and stretched his long legs out in front of him. As usual, he looked comfortable and completely at ease. ‘Have a seat.’ He patted the grass beside him.
I reluctantly sat down, being careful not to get too close. I didn’t think I could trust him, especially after his earlier display of temper. I doubted whether there would ever come a time when I didn’t
feel a bit afraid of him. He, perversely, still seemed to believe I’d hop into bed with him sometime soon, even after everything that had happened and everything that had been said. Incorrigible. Hundreds of years of never being turned down, I suspected. It would do him good to be rejected for a change.
I leaned back against the tomb, and listened to the mingled sounds of the night, the bark of a fox, the faint squeak of a bat, and the small nocturnal animals that scurried through the undergrowth to hide from the night’s predators. I could even hear the distant sound of traffic. Yet, strangely, I actually felt better than I had for a long time.
It was me who broke the silence. ‘Do you have any Irish blood in you?’
His short bark of laughter was spontaneous and, as usual, at my expense.
‘Well let me see, Irish, Asian, Caucasian, whoever happens to be around really … would you like a list?’ He gave me an amused look.
‘Funny man,’ I said, exasperated, as I realised too late the absurdity of what I’d just said. I took a sneaky peek at his perfect profile, admiring the way the moonlight picked out the lines of his face, and made his amazing eyes into something otherworldly. He twisted around to look at me, as if on cue.
‘We could start our affair here.’ He sounded deceptively innocent. ‘Are you up for that?’
‘No—and you stay exactly where you are,’ I said. ‘Any more pouncing of any kind and you’ll see how good I can be at self-defence.’
He grinned and put his hands up in mock surrender. ‘As you wish. But you look so delectable sitting there, I am finding it extremely difficult to keep my distance.’
‘Try bloody harder.’
‘Surely I can just kiss you?’
He had moved suddenly closer with the graceful quiet stealth of a predator, and my eyes widened in shock.
I moved away at once – I suddenly realised I didn’t exactly trust myself either when he was so near.
‘Where is the harm in one simple kiss?’ His breath whispered a sudden chill across my cheek. He’d moved in close to me again, and I hadn’t even noticed. Could this be the acclaimed ‘vampire magnetism’ I’d seen TV vampires use on humans in True Blood? I really did watch far too many DVDs.
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