FAUSTINE (Bonfire Chronicles Book One)

by Rose, Imogen

  I shrugged. “Dorian thinks there is a lot more to her scheme.”

  “Well, that seems pretty obvious at this point.”

  “I have our task force arriving tomorrow morning to update me. Sit in on that meeting. We’ll take it from there.”

  My head was buzzing as I returned to my suite. Everyone–Mom, Dorian and Fitch–were still there, waiting for me. I was exhausted. “I need to sleep,” I yawned. “I know I have a lot to think about, but I’m fried. Any more updates?” I asked Dorian, before I fell into bed.

  “No. Sleep. I’ll wake you if I hear anything else.”

  I awoke at dawn, with Mom sleeping soundly next to me, and Fitch snoring deeply on the sofa. Dorian lay on the other couch staring at the ceiling.

  “Dorian,” I whispered. “Any news?”

  “No. We should know more soon.”

  I looked over at Fitch. What was his story? It was really nice of him to come all the way over here to pass on Kismet’s message. But, why? Did he always do what his sister asked? Taylor seemed fairly strong-willed, so that wouldn’t be surprising. Even she, however, had been brought under the Kismet spell, if it was some sort of spell.

  “Dorian, would it be all right if I checked out my dad’s digs? I’ll take Fitch with me.” It would give me an opportunity to get to know him better.

  “Yes, of course. I’ll have a car brought around for you. We have a few hours before the task force arrives, so you have plenty of time. Just be back before ten. Shall I come with you, to show you around? The house is fairly large, and it’s empty apart from day staff, who won’t arrive until later. Perhaps Lady Annabel would like a visit as well?”

  Why not? I would probably still be able to talk to Fitch. Mom and Fitch were already stirring, disturbed by our chatter.

  Dad’s mansion was just ten minutes away from Alfred’s. It was surrounded by a white-washed, stone wall and a large iron gate guarded by a sour looking elderly man, who immediately perked up when he spotted Dorian. I had already asked Mom to keep Dorian busy with chatter while I found out more about Fitch. The two of us followed behind them while we were taken on the grand tour of the house.

  The mansion bought into every cliché imaginable regarding a demon king’s home. Think lots of gilded everything and heavy dark velvet. This was not an IKEA show house, that’s for sure. A double spiral staircase illuminated by a heavy, gothic-style chandelier dominated the entrance hall. The walls were covered in canvas oils of a bunch of people I didn’t recognize. Fitch seemed to be eagerly listening to all the historical facts that Dorian was happily rambling on about. I had stopped listening, though I couldn’t help but admire the sheer opulence of the room.

  “Fitch,” I whispered as we made our way up the stairs to the residential quarters.

  No reply. He was totally preoccupied with admiring a painting of my dad, apparently painted by a famous old master, Van something. I hadn’t really been paying attention. Looking up at my father’s painting I was overcome with sadness as the haunting revelation of what happened between Suman and Dad came flooding back to me. I shook myself. I couldn’t allow myself to think about that now.

  “Fitch!” I repeated, more loudly, nudging his elbow.

  “Faustine?” he said looking down at me.

  “How long are you staying?”

  “Oh, I should have gone back yesterday after I gave you the message. I guess I should go home as soon as possible. Perhaps you could drop me off at the airport before you drive back to Alfred’s?”

  “Did you really come all this way just to give me Taylor’s message?”

  “She was adamant that I made sure that you didn’t bail. I’m relieved that you decided to stay.”

  “Fitch, who are you? Alexandra is not your mom, so who is?”

  “She was–she died a few years ago...” Fitch whispered.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” I said, taking his hand. “I didn’t mean to pry. I was just wondering.”

  “That’s okay. She was a witch.”

  “So, you’re a witch, I guess?”

  “A wizard.”

  “Right. What about Taylor?”

  “The jury is still out on that. She wants to be a witch, but her demon part fights against it. That’s why she wants to spend some time learning from Edith.”

  “Why doesn’t she want to be both? I can carry both my halves off perfectly now that I have learned to control my demon impulses,” I said proudly.

  “You only have one paranormal force to contend with. It’s different when you have two paranormal forces within you fighting for supremacy,” he sighed. “She’s really struggling with it.”

  “So, you guys live with your dad?” I pried.

  “Sort of. We don’t see much of him. He pops into the apartment once in a while, but for all intents and purposes it’s just Taylor and me. We look after each other.”

  I nodded. “I guess that’s why you’re so close. What about Alexandra? Do you have any contact with her?”

  “Taylor and I have dinner with her when we can, which isn’t often. I mean, she just moved here last week from Long Island. We used to head over to L.I. every other weekend so Taylor could see her. Now, Taylor seems to be visiting her more frequently, which is good, I guess.”

  “You guess? Don’t you like Alexandra?”

  “To be honest, she’s extremely self-centered.”

  Fitch stopped talking as Dorian led us through the various bedrooms. They were filled with an eclectic mix of antiques, combined with the latest high-tech gadgets. Back downstairs, we wandered through reception lobbies, offices, conference rooms, a large dining room, two living rooms and mini-ballroom. On our way out of the patio doors, I pointed toward some steps leading down. “ What’s down there?”

  “The basement. It’s restricted. Sebastian calls it his dungeon,” Dorian laughed. “I suspect it’s his hobby room, though.”

  “Hobby room?”

  “Your father builds model airplanes,” he shrugged.

  “Really?” Mom sounded as surprised as me.

  “It helps him relax, apparently. I’m just guessing, though. I have absolutely no idea what’s down there.”

  Perhaps we ought to go down and investigate. On second thought, it was probably filled with all kinds of creepy crawlies. Yikes.

  Instead, we went outdoors to the pool area, which was amazing. A gorgeous, Olympic-sized pool was enclosed in a glass conservatory, so one could enjoy it year-round.

  “And that concludes the tour,” Dorian announced. “The gardens around the mansion are magnificent and deserve a visit, but we need to head back to Alfred’s for out meeting now. Ready?”

  I nodded. I would have loved to have spent more time with Fitch, he was starting to grow on me, but I should make sure he got back home. We sent him on his way once we got back to the house.

  “Ready? They are all here waiting for you, Princess.”

  I nodded.

  The task force consisted of seven demons; I had expected more. I smiled at the seven male demons who looked like they would be more comfortable in math class. Total nerds. I wondered why they had adopted those personas. Alfred was sitting in the corner, studying them carefully. We had decided that he would observe quietly while we conducted our meeting.

  “Princess, this is your father’s most trusted team, which is why I called them in to work on the current issue,” Dorian began. “They have worked together for years and are experts at occupying humans without taking control of them. Their mission is merely to gather information from the humans they inhabit. So, depending on the information needed, they’ve dwelled within top ranking members of Scotland Yard, the police and detectives attached to the various investigations.”

  I nodded, hoping that he wouldn’t rattle off a list of names that I would never be able to remember. They all looked so similar. Thankfully, he didn’t. Instead, he pointed to just one of them–medium build, dark hair, grey pants, white shirt–and nodded.

  “Thank you,
Dorian,” the demon said, and then turned to me. “It’s an honor to meet you, Princess. My name is Tim, and I’m in charge of this project. I wish I had something concrete to report, but I don’t,” he said, staring at his shoes. “Both Scotland Yard and the police are completely stumped. Obviously, they don’t know that the killings are vampire-related and they are stoically ignoring the media circus.”

  “So, you’re a hundred percent sure that the killings are being carried out by a vampire?” I asked.

  “At least one, perhaps more,” he replied.

  “And the only evidence we have that it’s a demon- possessed vampire are the notes?”

  “Yes, Princess.”

  I looked over at Alfred. “Have you considered that it could be a non-London vampire or vampires sent in by one of the other vampire sovereigns interested in your domain?”

  “Yes, of course. The notes, however, seem to indicate that your sister is involved.”

  “Sure. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that the vampires are possessed. She may be collaborating with another vampire sovereign....”

  The fangs came out. Every demon in the room–apart from me–transformed instantly. Not a pretty sight. Gone were the kind, but nerdy looks. Each of the seven beings had turned a deep red with their eyes blazing a bright crimson. Bulbous masses exuded from their skin and ears. Their hair disappeared to reveal irregularly shaped skulls. Alfred was hissing. I held up my hand.

  “Calm down, everyone! There is no need for a show of power. We’re all on the same side, aren’t we, Alfred?”

  “Yes,” he muttered, once his fangs had retracted. The demons stayed in their transformed state. Alfred didn’t seem to mind.

  “Alfred, it seems to me that we need to be working together a lot more than we have been if we’re going to find this vampire. It is a vampire after all, possessed or not. You need to send out a team to hunt him, her or them down. My team will be right there with yours to take down the demon, if there is one involved. It seems to me that the main objective is to get the city back to peace immediately. So, if we have to contain all of our subjects in some way, let’s do that.”

  “Contain them?” he asked.

  “Well, I can round up all of the demons and have Cassandra shield them to secure them until we know what’s going on. At least that way, we’ll have less potential culprits to choose from. Once most are off the streets, it will be relatively easy to track down the rest. Dorian?”

  He quickly reverted back to his human form and looked at me like I was raving mad. “How do you propose, where do you propose, we confine all of London’s demons?”

  “I can’t work everything out! Get the task force to help you sort that out. Just get it done!” I said, frustrated. Seriously? Was I going to have to do everything myself? They could ship them all off to the North Pole for all I cared.

  “Alfred?” I asked, looking to him for some kind of indication that he felt the same.

  “Confining large groups will be very tricky. I’ll need to talk to Cassandra and figure out if it’s even possible. But you’re right; if we can, it’ll be easier to track the offending parties.”

  “Awesome,” I said satisfied. “Let’s get started with that.”

  Dorian coughed.

  “Dorian?”

  “We have another issue, but we can take care of it in private. Tim, will you get started on gathering the demon population?”

  Once Alfred and the seven nerds left us, I raised my eyebrows at Dorian. “Another issue?”

  “Ryker arrived while we were at your dad’s house. He wants to see you.”

  “How is that an issue?” I asked, perplexed.

  “Ryker said that he has an issue he needs to bring to your attention. He wasn’t willing to share the nature of it with me,” Dorian retorted sharply.

  Keep your pants on!

  “I’m going to meet with Cassandra now to find out if there is any way we can contain the vampire and demon–” he grumped.

  “There’s no need to contain the demon population,” I interrupted. “I just said that to even things out with Alfred. It’s a vampire, or vampires, doing the killing. If a demon is involved, we’ll find him or her when we isolate the vampire. We need to get all the vamps off the streets, and then the rest of the paranormals need to sniff out any remaining ones. So, as far as I’m concerned, get the demon population together to do the sniffing.”

  “And then what?” Dorian asked.

  “Once we catch the culprit, we’ll find out for sure if Katerina is behind this, and if she’s working on her own, or if others are involved as well.”

  “Princess, it’s a nice plan, but it may not work out exactly like that, and you should be prepared. May I suggest another option? One we could put in place along with your plan?”

  “Sure.”

  “In my experience, gathering intelligence and becoming better at predicting where the next strike may occur is effective. Perhaps even setting up a decoy.”

  I had seen those kinds of options work well on Law & Order. Why not? We had nothing to lose. “As long as you’re not planning on using me as the decoy, I say run with it!”

  “Hey, Faustine,” Ryker said, appearing beside me, totally freaking me out. My fingers instantly fused. He laughed. “It’s just me, relax.”

  “Hey! Good to see you,” I said, walking into his arms. I needed to relax. “Wassup, Ryk? Dorian said you needed to discuss an issue?”

  “I do,” he said, sounding wistful.

  I buried my face into his chest for a moment’s peace before he hit me with the issue.

  “Neave sent me,” he whispered.

  I was disappointed. I thought he had come on his own accord. I raised my head and looked up at him, feeling–and looking, I hoped–let down.

  “I was going to come, anyway,” he added.

  “Right.” Yeah, right.

  “No, really,” he said, pulling me back in. “Neave called me after school.”

  “Is she feeling any better?”

  “I don’t think she was feeling ill earlier. She was very vague on the phone, but she managed to tell me that her stepfather wouldn’t let her leave the apartment.”

  “I guess he’s afraid for her now that Tessa is missing,” I shrugged.

  “No. I think it’s more like he’s holding her against her will.”

  “What makes you say that?” I asked, surprised.

  “Just something in her tone.”

  “That’s weird.”

  “Do you want me to get her?” Ryker asked.

  “Get her?”

  “You know, break her out? Bring her over here?”

  “Yes! I mean yes to the break her out, but can you take me back to Manhattan first? Then, we could all meet at my home. I need a break from the London madness, some time to think.”

  “Sure.”

  “Dorian, I’ll be back soon,” I promised.

  “But, Princess, we have things to do,” he protested.

  “And you and I will take care of them,” Mom replied from behind the large sofa in the corner. She had been totally hidden from view behind the tall, ornate back of the couch.

  “Mom! Have you been here all this time?”

  She got up and walked over to us. “I had made myself comfortable reading by the fireplace when all of you arrived. I decided to keep reading...” she explained, pointing to her book.

  “So, you heard everything?” Dorian queried.

  “Well, yes. It was hard not to.”

  I chortled.

  “What’s so funny, hon?” Mom asked, smiling at me.

  “Oh, just the thought that we are hoping to sniff out an out-of-control, possibly-possessed vampire, but we can’t even sniff you out, sitting right here in the same room! How ridiculous is that?”

  “It’s not the least bit funny,” Dorian retorted huffily.

  “Actually,” Mom said, her smile disappeared and was replaced by a frown. “What’s not funny is that you have involved my
fifteen-year-old in this! I absolutely forbid her to have anything more to do with this. I am taking over,” she said firmly, shooting Dorian the death glare for good measure.

  “Mom, they–the other London sovereigns–won’t listen to you,” I warned.

  “They will,” she said firmly. “Now, it’s not like you haven’t got your hands full, anyway. You need to find out what’s going on with Neave and Tessa. I’ll talk to the council and get a plan organized to hunt down the killer vampire.”