by L.H. Cosway
I lick my lips as my eyes zone in on Ethan’s smooth neck. There isn’t a single hint of evidence of the cut he gave himself this morning. Without realising it, I’m sitting up and leaning closer to him, my breathing erratic.
He puts both his hands on my shoulders and pushes me back down onto the couch.
“I figured this might happen,” he says sadly.
“What? What would happen?” I ask but I’m not really listening. I’m only imagining all of the sweet blood rushing through his veins, singing for me to drink it.
“That you would want more. I didn’t think it would happen so quickly though.”
His words break me out of my trance. “Oh.”
A silence elapses.
“Well, we just won’t do it again,” I say, pulling farther back and folding my arms across my chest with great effort.
Ethan winces at how I distance myself from him.
“Fuck. But I really like it when you drink from me, Tegan.”
“I really like it too,” I say meeting his eyes. “But we can’t, it’s too risky. We’ll only do it if it’s like, a life or death situation and I need your blood to heal. Alright?” I thrust my hand out for him to shake it.
He looks at me like I’m being adorable and then finally shakes my hand. “Deal,” he says with a growl, pulling me onto his lap and attacking my mouth with his, plunging his tongue inside. A minute or two later somebody clears their throat and Ethan zips away from me, his posture guarded, ready for an attack.
My heartbeat slows down when I see that it’s only Lucas. He’s standing in the doorway with an amused yet eager look on his face. His eyes trace over Ethan, taking in the changes in his appearance. The power. The power that I gave to him. Then his gaze flicks to me and I can practically see the thoughts churning in his mind. Maybe he’s thinking how he could drink from me and then he’d be like Ethan, too.
“Lucas,” says Ethan. “How did you get in here?”
Lucas jangles a key in his hand. “I have a spare, remember?”
Ethan groans and rubs his jaw. “I hope you made sure nobody saw you coming inside.”
“I might not be a super-vampire, but I’m not stupid,” Lucas replies, walking to the window and glancing out. He whistles. “That’s some queue. When are you actually going to deal with them?”
He must be talking about the vampires waiting for Ethan to see them so that they can pledge their allegiance.
“I don’t have to deal with them. They can go about their lives as they had been before. I have no interest in setting up any kind of new hierarchy.” Ethan goes to stand beside Lucas by the window.
Lucas laughs. “Did your transformation cause you to forget everything you know about our people? We cannot function without hierarchy, and all of those vampires waiting for you to see them want to know where they fall in the new order of things. You might not have asked for the title, fuck, I know for a fact that you don’t want it, but for all intents and purposes you are the new Whitfield and you’re going to have to embrace it. If you hadn’t noticed, there are humans piling up on the outskirts of the city trying to get out but they’re trapped. We’re all trapped. Somebody needs to step up and fix things and that someone is you, Ethan.”
He points a finger at him, strolls from the window and sits down on one of the armchairs by the mantelpiece, crossing his arms over his chest and looking satisfied with his logic.
“Drinking from Tegan didn’t turn me into a warlock, Lucas. I am just as clueless as to how to break the barrier as everyone else.”
Lucas’ eyes flick from Ethan to me. “What about you? Do you know how to break the barrier?”
“I have no idea,” I whisper. “I wish Rita hadn’t gone with Theodore. She’s the only person I know who even has a chance of breaking it.”
Lucas snorts. “She’s probably the one who put it in place. Stupid bloody witch.”
“Uh, the fact she could trap us all like this makes her the opposite of stupid,” I say defending Rita instinctively even though she’s not on our side anymore. The pain of that is still fresh, still hurts.
Lucas brushes me off with a wave of his hand and returns his attention to Ethan who’s still staring out the window.
“So, when are you going to see them?” he asks, referring to the waiting vampires.
With an audible sigh, Ethan turns back to the room. “There’s no time like the present.”
I guess we aren’t going to get a day to ourselves after all.
Finn
After settling Allora in a seat at the back of the van, I return to the front and start up the engine.
“Why are we taking her with us?” Delilah asks, disgruntled. “We’ve got enough to worry about without adopting every waif and stray we come across.”
I glance at Allora in my overhead mirror and see her visibly redden at Delilah’s statement.
“You don’t have to take me,” she volunteers meekly. “I can find my own way…”
“You’re staying with us,” I interrupt firmly before meeting Delilah’s gaze. “She’s some kind of clairvoyant. Ridley kidnapped her two years ago so that he could use her powers. Two fucking years she’s been kept prisoner by that psycho. We’re helping her. It’s not up for discussion.” I tighten my jaw, giving Delilah one final stern look before I start driving.
“You always have to play the hero,” she mutters passive aggressively under her breath but I pretend I can’t hear her.
I think about that as I drive and wonder if it’s true. I signed up with the DOH because I wanted to save people from vampires. I wanted to make up for the fact that I couldn’t save my mum and sister from them. Then there was Tegan. The very first night I saw her with Cristescu after he’d annihilated a whole squadron of my men I knew she was stuck in a bad situation, and I wanted to help free her from it.
I’ve been trying to help her ever since that night to no avail. She stayed with a monster willingly. Maybe she never needed saving to begin with. Or maybe she’s just a lost cause, too in love with a blood sucker to see how she’s falling down a hole. Eventually there’ll come a day when she’s in too deep to climb out of it.
Up ahead I see a shitload of traffic piling up on the road. I roll down my window and stick my head out, only to be greeted by the sounds of horns blaring and people shouting in desperation.
“What the heck?” I say pulling the van to a stop on the motorway.
All three lanes on the side of the road leading out of the city are crammed with vehicles, while the lanes on the side going towards the city are empty. I guess it makes sense. After all the madness and carnage that’s gone down, it seems only logical that people would want to flee.
Telling the others to stay where they are, me and Gabriel get out and go to investigate the hold up. Even if everyone’s trying to get away from Tribane, the traffic shouldn’t have come to such a dead halt unless there’s been an accident.
We weave through the stationary vehicles and people standing around kicking up a fuss about the delay. When we get about a half a mile up the motorway we see that there has been an accident, only not the kind I expected. Several cars look like they’ve been pulverised to pieces, and stretching from the ground far up into the sky is a glittering purple shield, a barrier to the outside world.
Gabriel lets out several low expletives as we continue closer to the shield. It vibrates with power – magical power. The sound of women and children crying fill the night and among the shattered vehicles is a mess of blood and limbs. Most of the people, though, are staring up at the barrier in fear and fascination.
“This is Theodore’s doing,” says Gabriel quietly. “He’s trapped us all in.” He pauses and points to the carnage. “Those people tried to drive through it and look what happened.”
“Shit,” I whisper, not knowing what else to say.
I’d thought Theodore fled in terror when he saw Cristescu transform. Clearly he wasn’t too terrified if he could manage to construct something like
this.
“Well,” I say, kicking a stone aside with the toe of my boot. “It looks like nobody’s going anywhere right now. We’d better get back to the van and find somewhere for all of us to sleep tonight.”
Gabriel nods and we begin walking back. Once we reach the others I quickly fill them in on what’s happened. Alvie trembles when he hears and Delilah looks out the window with a resigned expression while Ira rests his furry head on her lap. Allora moves warily to the front of the van.
“Can I sit up here with you?” she asks hesitantly.
My eyes roam her pretty face, her unseeing, unfocused eyes before I respond, “Sure you can.”
She exhales with something like relief and climbs between the seats. Maybe she thought I was going to deny her. Once she settles in beside me her hands fumble at her sides trying to find the straps for her seatbelt. My eyes soften.
“Hey,” I murmur. “Let me help you.”
Her hands still and she nods once. I take the seatbelt and secure it over her chest and around her waist, my hands brushing off the smooth material of her dress as I do so. Her gaze is on me even though she can’t see me.
I turn the van around and begin driving away, back in the direction of the city. I think about bringing everyone to my place but then reconsider. Perhaps it would be a good idea to stay under the radar for a while until we can get the lay of the land. I turn off the motorway and down a side road. Up ahead I notice a sign with the universal symbols for food and accommodation two miles farther. A couple of minutes later I turn into the parking lot of a large chain hotel, with a red brick, one storey diner beside it.
“Anyone hungry?” I ask as I park in one of many free spots. In fact, the entire place is almost empty. The lights are on in the diner and I can see that there are a few people inside, so I presume it’s open.
“I’m starving,” Alvie exclaims fervently and Gabriel smiles at him affectionately.
“Right, you all go and get some food while I book us into the hotel,” I say sliding out of the van.
Everybody begins walking towards the diner but I notice that Allora’s still by my side. She blushes when she asks, “I’ll stay with you, if that’s alright.”
She bites on her lip and I have a hard time looking away. A real hard time, if you get my meaning. Without saying a word, I slip my hand into hers and guide her towards the hotel entrance. A receptionist in her sixties with a purple rinse hairdo sits at the reception desk thumbing through a gossip magazine. She looks up when we enter and raises an eyebrow at Allora’s long silk dress and bare feet.
I give the woman my best charming grin as I step up and lean one arm on the counter. “How are ya doing, Miss?” I ask.
She puts her magazine aside and gives me the once over, her tongue wetting her lips as her eyes move along my body. “Not too bad. It’s quiet,” she answers.
“I need rooms for six people,” I tell her.
She taps on her computer screen. “I can give you three twin rooms, or one family room. If you go for the family room, two of you will have to sleep on the sofa bed.”
Real classy joint, this place.
I’m tempted to go for the family room since it’s better if we all stick together, but then I think how crowded that will be and I go for the three twin rooms options instead. The two girls can stay together and I’ll room with Ira so that Gabriel and Alvie can have some privacy.
I hand over my credit card and Purple Rinse slides it through the scanner before giving it back to me.
“Sorry, but my friend here lost her shoes. We had a bit of a wild night,” I smirk. “You wouldn’t know where I could buy her a pair of slippers, would you?”
“I can get her a pair of the hotel flip flops we sell for the swimming pool,” Purple Rinse suggests.
“Thanks, that’d be great.”
She leaves her desk to go and get them and I slump back against the counter. I haven’t slept properly in about a week and exhaustion is beginning to catch up on me.
“Are you okay?” Allora asks shyly and I open my eyes, suddenly realising I had closed them for a moment. “You seem tense.”
I tilt my head questioningly. “What makes you say that?”
“Your breathing is all…harsh,” she answers.
With her lack of sight, I wonder what other things she notices about people.
“It’s been a rough week.”
She turns her head away and crosses her arms over her chest. “I can understand that.”
“Are you cold?” I ask her, eyeing her thin flimsy dress.
“A little,” she replies. “I’ll be okay.”
I slip out of my leather jacket and pull off the work shirt I’m wearing over my long-sleeved T-shirt. Handing it to her, I say, “Put this on.”
She takes the shirt wordlessly and slides her arms into it just as Purple Rinse returns with the flip flops. I pay her and help Allora put them on. She gives me a small grateful smile and I shove the key cards for our rooms into my pocket before guiding her over to the diner.
When we get there we join the others at a large table and I order myself a steak while Allora asks for a glass of water.
She’s sitting beside me and I lean into her. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“I don’t have any money,” she replies, her voice tight as though trying to keep tears at bay.
“I’m paying. Order whatever you want.”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
“You’re not. I won’t let you go hungry, Goldy,” I say. “Now, what tickles your fancy?”
She gives me a small smile and says she wouldn’t mind a tuna melt and I call the waitress back to put in her order. The others eat and chat over us, speculating over how Theodore managed to construct a barrier around the city.
“It’s been a really long time since I’ve eaten in a place like this,” says Allora looking about with her poorly seeing eyes. “It feels strange.”
I raise my eyebrows angrily. “Ridley fed you, didn’t he?”
“Oh, yes. He kept me very well fed. In the beginning I refused to eat, but eventually I saw that wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I knew I needed to keep up my strength if I was ever going to escape.”
“Did he mistreat you?” I question her further.
She shakes her head. “Aside from inadvertently blinding me when his spell went wrong, no. He treated me like I was precious. It was creepy. But then whenever he tried to cast more spells to take my powers it would hurt.”
Frowning at her answer, I turn back in my seat as the waitress returns with our drinks and I take a long swig out of my coke. “So, he kept you locked away and you predicted things for him. How does it work? Can you see what you choose to see, or does it just come to you?”
Allora stiffens. “I can’t choose. The visions come to me when they need to.”
“I’m don’t mean to pry,” I say, deciding that her sudden change of posture is down to suspicion that I want to use her just like Ridley did, and I don’t.
“It’s okay. I just don’t really like to talk about it. Seeing the future isn’t a cool trick like most people think. The visions are painful. Think of it as akin to having an epileptic fit.”
“Shit, that doesn’t sound so great,” I suck air in through my teeth.
“It really isn’t,” she sighs with dejection.
I want to ask her more questions but I keep schtum, knowing it’s a touchy subject. When the waitress delivers our food, I dig in ravenously. Allora seems to eat eagerly, too. It must be a while since her last meal. When we’re done I pass out the room keys, delegating one room for Delilah and Allora, one for Gabriel and Alvie, and one for me and Ira.
I notice he’s changed back into human form and has salvaged some clothes from the back of the minivan – clothes that are way too small for a man his size. It’s a good thing though, because I don’t think Purple Rinse would be too happy about me trying to smuggle a dangerously large dog into the hotel.
“I want t
o stay with Ira,” says Delilah firmly, giving Allora an annoyed look.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’m about to argue with her but I really don’t have the energy after the day and night I’ve had.
“Fine. Allora can stay with me then,” I grumble, handing Delilah a key card. The little blonde squirms uncomfortably at my side but she doesn’t say anything. Is she uneasy at the thought of sharing a room with me? It doesn’t make sense since she’s been adamantly staying by my side since I found her.
“Is that alright with you?” I ask her in a low voice.
“Yes, it’s just that I sometimes have visions in my sleep, so I could start convulsing like a lunatic. But you don’t need to worry. It passes after a while.”
I look between her golden eyes, suddenly wishing she could see me properly for some reason. “Okay, anything else I need to know?” I say mustering a grin. “You don’t snore too, do you?”
She giggles and the sweet sound of it does something weird to my chest. “No. I don’t snore, Finn.”
I like the sound of my name on her tongue.
“Good, now that that’s settled, let’s go get some shut-eye. I’m wrecked.”
When we reach the room I strip off my jacket and T-shirt and throw them on the double bed. It’s big enough that it shouldn’t make Allora too uncomfortable sleeping with me. She puts her hand on the wall, feeling her way into the room. I walk to her and take her hand in mine, leading her to the bed and settling her down on it.
“Do you want to shower first?” I ask her, straightening up.
“Yes,” she whispers.
“I’ll go set everything up for you.”
Just as I’m about to disappear into the bathroom, she speaks. “Is there a bath?”
I nod and then remind myself that she’s blind. “Yeah. You want a bath instead?”
“Please. I haven’t had one since I was taken. I was always showered by Ridley’s maids.”
The idea of some paid help actually assisting in keeping a girl captive makes me clench my fists in anger. I take a deep breath and relax. “A bath it is then.”