by K. A. Last
Lilith licked her lips and went to speak, trying several times before she did. When she finally made a sound her voice was shaky. “You think I’m jealous of that girl, but that is so much the opposite of the truth it makes me feel sick. I don’t want you to be involved with her because she … she’s the one who will change everything about our existence. And I hate myself every day, because I had a part in it.”
“I don’t understand. You’re not making any sense.”
“Of all the people in the entire world, why do you have to be involved with her?” Lilith laughed, but it sounded hollow. “You’re not the only one who wants to find her. That girl is the most wanted vampire in this entire city.”
“She’s not a vampire.” I frowned. “I saw her walking in the sun.”
“Like I said. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.” Lilith turned away and headed deeper into the park.
“You can’t stop me from trying to find her. She’s the only link I have to my past.”
“There’s something you need to see first,” she called over her shoulder.
I shoved my hands into my jeans pockets and followed. I wanted to find the blonde girl, but without Lilith I’d probably end up walking in circles. She’d better not be leading me on a wild goose chase. Lilith was an expert at the art of distraction, and deception.
“Where are we going?” I asked when I’d caught up to her.
“The war memorial.”
“Why, what’s in it?”
“Not in it.” Lilith turned her head and her steel gaze bore into me. “Under it. You think there are a lot of vamps in this city? You have no idea.”
EIGHT
Grace
Late Friday night
The last thing I expected was to have the police knocking on the shed door. In all my mixed-up thoughts and emotions, the possibility hadn’t even entered my mind.
It took a while to get rid of them. I couldn’t blame them for doing their job, but I wanted to get packed and on the road. After several questions, lots of note-taking, and two hours, they were finally out of the way.
The three of us pleaded ignorance, claiming we hadn’t seen or spoken to Josh in months. I didn’t need the police poking around in our lives. It had been bad enough when we’d had a social worker, even if she’d turned out to be an angel.
We stuffed a couple of backpacks with some clothes, and gave the shed a quick tidy up. Most of what we needed was already in the car, so we headed out the door. With my hand on the doorknob, I paused, scanning the ground floor of the shed. It looked as it always had, with its old mismatched furniture and makeshift kitchen. My heart ached as I looked at the threadbare rug and remembered the way Seth had kissed me on the morning of my eighteenth birthday. I didn’t want to leave, not even for a few days.
“Come on, Grace.” Archer gently put his hand on my shoulder.
I pulled the door closed and the click of the lock echoed into the night. My feet felt heavy as we walked to our Defender, which was parked under the carport at the far end of the clearing. Archer opened the back door and threw our backpacks in on top of a big gym bag and a suitcase. The bag held a few stakes, daggers and other odds and ends, while the suitcase hid two crossbows and the larger knives.
“Do we really need all this?” Archer asked.
“Yes, we do,” I said. “The necessities: clothes, weapons, and more weapons. We have to be prepared.”
“Why we can’t mist to the city is beyond me,” Archer said. “And I’m sure we don’t need all of it, Gracie. You can mist back if we’ve forgotten something.”
“Ryan hates misting; it turns his stomach. We’re driving, Arch, end of story.”
“Oh great, five hours in a car with you. I can’t wait. Ouch!” Archer cried when I punched him on the arm. Laughing, I shook my head. He could be so annoying, but I loved him.
Archer was about to close the back of the car when headlights lit up the clearing. A blue Ute ambled across the grass and stopped alongside the shed.
“This can’t be good,” Archer said. “That’s Jesse’s car. Why are they out so late?”
“Jesse was taking Abby out for drinks, I think,” I said.
Abby stumbled out of the car, her hands stuffed in her jacket pockets, and her shoulders hunched against the chill of the night air.
“What are you doing here, Abby?” I asked.
Jesse joined us and offered me an apologetic smile. “Sorry guys. She made me drive her here. She’s had a bit to drink, and she insisted we stop on the way home.”
Abby swayed on her feet, and eyed the bags in the back of the car. Archer slammed the door shut.
“You’re going to find him, aren’t you?” Abby asked, slurring her words.
“We thought we’d take a drive.” Archer folded his arms and leant against the back of the car.
“I want to come.”
“Abby, I promised Mum we’d be home,” Jesse said, scratching his head.
“Josh is missing.” Abby turned to her brother. “If Grace is going, I want to go.” She sounded like a spoiled brat.
“Well, you’re not going to the city without me. I won’t let you.”
“Believe me, you do not want to come with us,” I said.
I peeked into Jesse’s mind to see what the hell was going on with these two, and I was surprised at what I found. He was as worried as Abby. They’d grown up with Josh, and I was grateful he had so many people who cared about him. But he wasn’t the same person now, and it wasn’t a good idea if they found out how much he’d changed.
“Josh isn’t who he used to be,” I said. “He’s … different.”
“He may have chosen you …” Abby lifted her chin, and took a wobbly step towards me. “… but he was with me for three years. You don’t forget about everything you shared with someone for that long.”
“You’ll be in the way,” I said. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Why would we get hurt?” Abby giggled. “It’s Josh. He wouldn’t hurt us.”
“You obviously didn’t hear Grace the first time,” Archer said. “Josh has changed.”
Jesse laughed. “Are you kidding? We’ve known him all our lives. He’s a good guy. And if anyone’s in danger of getting hurt in the city it’s you, Grace. You’re tiny.”
I didn’t know Jesse very well. He was older so wasn’t in school anymore. I took a few steps closer to him. There was no way he was going to get away with trying to intimidate me.
“Easy, Grace.” Archer laid his hand on my arm. “Dude, don’t tempt her. She’ll knock you on your ass before you can blink.”
“Grace is our little pocket rocket,” Ryan said.
“You don’t believe them? Try me.” I stared at Jesse, willing him to react. For some reason, I wanted to prove a point. I didn’t want them coming with us, or getting hurt. If I had to wound Jesse’s pride to convince him to stay, then I would.
“I don’t hit girls,” Jesse said.
“You don’t have to hit me, just try and grab my arm or something.”
“Jesse did karate when he was a kid,” Abby said.
“I doubt that will help.” Archer smirked. He seemed to be enjoying the show.
“This is going to end badly,” Ryan said.
Jesse hesitated, and before he could act on the plan he’d been running through in his head—kudos to him for not wanting to hurt me—something stirred in the forest.
“Hold that thought.” I jogged to the mouth of the path that led into the trees and listened for the sound of vampire footsteps. The faint rustle of leaves faded after a minute or so, but I didn’t believe for one second they’d gone. And there I was, hoping for a night off hunting.
Gracie, please tell me it’s not what I think it is, Archer thought, coming to my side.
The trees above my head stirred. “Get the others to the shed. It’s exactly what you think it is.”
Three vampires jumped at me and I landed heavily on my back. I co
uldn’t tell if there were any more of them because I was covered in vamp.
Abby’s scream filled the night.
There were arms and legs everywhere. Teeth snapped at my neck. I flicked the switch on my wrist stake and it shot out from under my sleeve, into the heart of the vamp on top of me. I spat dust from my mouth. Another vamp disintegrated beside me, but there was still one more trying to bite my neck. I jammed my thumb into its eye and it howled before exploding and covering me in more dust. Archer stood over me with a stake in his hand.
Abby was still screaming.
I sat up and brushed the ash from my clothes and hair. “Ugh. I hate dead vamp.”
“A dead vamp is the best kind.” Archer offered me his hand and pulled me to my feet.
I looked at Abby. “Would you stop doing that, please?”
She clamped her mouth shut and whimpered, wrapping her arms around herself. Jesse stared at me wide-eyed.
I scanned the clearing and the edge of the forest, on guard for another attack.
“I think there were only three,” Archer said.
“Why didn’t you run?” I turned to Ryan.
“I was ready to help if you needed me.” He twirled a stake between his fingers.
Jesse stared at Ryan’s hand, his mouth open. Great, now I had more explaining to do. I remembered when I went through the whole explanation thing with Josh, and then later with Ryan. Something told me Abby wouldn’t take it so well. Jesse, I wasn’t sure about.
Abby wrung her hands together and took a step back when I moved towards her.
“I always knew there was something weird about you,” she said. “What … were they? And what’s that thing in Ryan’s hand?”
“It’s a stake, Abby. You drive the pointy end through the heart. Usually it’s the most effective way to kill them,” Archer said.
“Kill … those people?” Abby looked at the dust that littered the mouth of the forest path.
You know, if Angelica hadn’t erased their memories the night of our birthday party, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Archer clapped me on the shoulder as he walked towards the car. He opened the driver’s side door and slipped the key into the ignition.
Yes, but they would also be dead, I thought.
“Look, guys.” I stared at Abby and Jesse. Abby stumbled closer to her brother, who seemed to be frozen in shock. “I don’t have time to explain all this to you. All I can say is if you come with us, it’s not going to be all that great.”
“You’re seriously considering letting them come?” Archer said, tucking his stake into the belt under his T-shirt.
“No. I’m advising them not to come. But if anyone deserves to know the truth about Josh, it’s Abby.”
Archer narrowed his eyes. “Why? Because they used to shag?”
“Hey!” Abby said. “I want to come because I care about him? I mean, who knows how long he has, right? Maybe he’s stopped calling Mr Chase because he doesn’t want anyone to know how sick he is.”
“Abby, Josh doesn’t have cancer,” I said.
“But … the last time I saw him he was so pale.”
Archer ran a hand down his face and hid a smirk. “Oh, this is priceless.”
“What does that mean?” Abby put her hands on her hips, and swayed a little.
“Archer, don’t be a dick,” Ryan said.
“What?” He raised his hands in mock defence.
“She’s drunk. And you can’t expect her to join the dots after a two-minute dusting battle,” I said.
“During which you got your ass kicked, I might add.”
“We’re not going with them, Abs,” Jesse said. It was almost quiet enough for no one to hear, but I did. “Abigail West.” Jesse grabbed her hand. “Let’s go. It’s late and I’m taking you home.”
“Jesse, I want to go.” Abby’s voice was like a whiny five-year-old’s.
“Get in the truck.” He pushed her gently towards his Ute. “We can visit Josh another time.”
Jesse was scared after what he’d witnessed, and he wanted to get away from us as quickly as possible. I couldn’t blame him. There had been many times I’d wanted to get away from my life. Jesse also wanted to know what had happened to his childhood friend, and I listened to him weigh up the options in his head, convincing himself he’d take Abby to see Josh at some point. I only hoped it would be after I’d sorted everything out.
Abby finally relented and got into the passenger seat in a huff. She crossed her arms and pouted.
I grabbed Ryan’s hand and pulled him to the Defender.
“You know they’ll probably follow us,” Archer said. “If Abby gets her way, she’ll have Jesse driving her to the city first thing in the morning.”
“Or she’ll drive herself,” Ryan said.
“She doesn’t have a car.” I shrugged.
“That wouldn’t stop me.” Archer turned the key and the car roared to life.
I sighed and settled into the seat, ready for the long trip ahead, but we didn’t even get out of the carport.
A figure stood in the darkness at the mouth of the path that led into the forest. Shadows obscured his face, but I didn’t need to see it to know who it was. His posture told me everything I wanted to know.
“Is that who I think it is?” Archer asked.
“Oh boy, here we go,” Ryan said.
I didn’t answer because I was already out of the car, but by the time I got to the edge of the clearing, he was gone.
NINE
Josh
Early Saturday morning
The nightlife was pumping, and it took us longer than it should have to get across the city. Lilith was easily distracted by fresh blood, especially young blood. She also enjoyed the high that came with drinking from someone who was intoxicated.
I couldn’t think of anything worse, and I wanted to have my wits about me. If I were smashed off tainted blood, who knew what trouble I’d get into?
We circled the outskirts of Dhye Park, the biggest in the city, making sure no one was on our tail. Lilith assured me the underground vamps wouldn’t be too pleased if we led the angels or hunters straight to their lair.
The park was quiet, which was no surprise. All the action usually happened on the streets and, if you were a vamp, in the alleyways.
We dropped below ground into the service tunnels and joined up with the rail network. The train station below the war memorial was pretty much deserted, apart from a drunken guy asleep against the wall. I followed Lilith into the subway tunnel and through a door, which brought us into the tunnel wall cavity. We followed that, making a few turns and descending a couple of flights of metal stairs, before it opened into a small stone room lit with a naked bulb hanging from the ceiling. I’d lost all concept of direction. It was disorienting, but the air was damp and heavy which meant we were a fair way underground.
“Where’s the power coming from?” I asked. “Aren’t we too far down?”
Lilith chuckled. “We can tap into anything in this city. Power is never a problem.”
The only door in the room was the one we’d come through. Before I could point out that we were at a dead end, Lilith went to the far wall and pressed her foot to a protruding piece of stone the same colour as the floor. The wall opened with a grating sound to reveal another tunnel on the other side.
Lilith glanced at me over her shoulder. “Let me do the talking.”
“Sure,” I said, following her into the tunnel. There was no way I wanted to get myself into trouble down there, especially since I had no idea how to get out.
We turned a corner and emerged onto a metal platform. It towered over a huge underground cavity. Several wide pillars rose up to meet the ceiling, providing small walls for the hundreds of vampires to lounge against. To our right was a metal staircase leading to the cavern floor. Oil lamps burned in alcoves in the stone walls, cordoned off by metal grates, and casting shadowy light across the open expanse. Entrances to passageways dotted the walls at
irregular intervals. The ceiling towered over our heads. Pieces of jagged stone stuck out all over the place, and the room looked as if it had been carved from the rock centuries ago.
Several vamps studied us as we descended the steps into the cavern. I understood what Lilith meant when she’d said I had no idea. I’d never seen so many vampires in one place before. The sea of dark eyes and menacing stares unnerved me.
At the far end of the large room was a raised area. Some parts of the rock had been carved away to make the platform, and in other sections flat rocks were piled on top of each other. In the centre of the makeshift stage was a throne. The back was shaped like a gothic arch, and the cross at the top made it look like a tombstone. Lounging on the throne, with one leg hanging over the arm, was a dark-haired, cocky-looking vamp. He had the kind of looks girls turned into puddles over. In comparison to the rest of the vamps in the room, he was a piece of quartz in a sea of stone.
I’d only met him once before, but I recognised him. Lucas.
“He better not try to kill me again,” I said.
Lilith shushed me. “He can hear you, you know.”
The vamp sat up straight and smiled. “Lilith, so nice to see you. And you’ve brought your friend.” He stood and descended the three rough steps to the main floor.
“Lucas, you remember Josh,” Lilith said.
Lucas sauntered towards us. I didn’t like the guy. He held himself like everyone was beneath him.
“Ah, yes. The vamp you found in a ditch and decided to take under your wing,” Lucas said. “Why was that?”
Lilith scowled. “Do I have to have a reason? We need to look after our own, don’t we?”
“Of course. Very nice to see you again, Josh.” He looked me over carefully.
Other vampires around the room stopped what they were doing to watch. All eyes were on me, waiting for my next move. I clenched my fists and stood with my feet slightly apart, at the ready.
Lucas grinned. “To what do I owe this pleasure, Lilith? You don’t come down here much anymore.”
“I thought Josh should meet the leader of our city … properly,” Lilith said.