by L.H. Cosway
The words tumble out of my mouth before I can stop them and her hands freeze on my face. A quick breath gushes from her and her cheeks turn a bright shade of red.
“I’m sorry,” she apologises and moves away from me to sit back down on the sofa.
“Why? Those were the best thirty seconds I’ve had all week.”
A grin curves the ends of her lips as she stares at the floor. “I think you might be a charmer, too, Finn Roe.”
Later that day there’s a knock at the door. I go to answer it, thinking it’ll be Gabriel, but it’s not. I’m greeted by Tegan standing on my doorstep, hand in hand with Cristescu and Rebecca by her side.
“Hey, come on in,” I say gesturing into the house.
Allora’s been resting in her room so I climb the stairs to get her. I know she can’t exactly see Rebecca to confirm whether or not she’s the girl from her vision, but maybe she’ll, I don’t know, sense something. I rap my knuckles on her door.
“Yes?” she calls.
“It’s Finn. Can I come in?”
I hear sheets rustling before she answers, “Sure.”
When I enter I find her sitting up in bed under the covers, her hair sleep mussed and her lips sleep swollen. Damn.
“Remember that little girl I mentioned might be the one in your vision?”
She nods.
“Well, she’s here now. How do you feel about meeting her?”
“I’d love to. Just give me a minute to fix myself.”
“Sure. See you downstairs,” I say and leave her to it.
Then I go to get Gabriel and Alvie from the RV and Delilah and Ira from the house across the street. Ten minutes later we’re all assembled in my small living room. Allora’s the last one to enter, her hair now pulled back into a braid away from her face. I notice Cristescu eyeing her with interest and feel like punching his lights out just for looking at her. Not that I’d be able to punch his lights out or anything. Definitely not now.
Everybody’s watching him warily, studying him as though trying to pinpoint the changes. The fact that he’s sitting here in broad daylight is probably the biggest difference anyone could expect. His eyes are slightly silvery now and his skin has a subtle, barely there glow. Delilah embraces her brother briefly and tells him it’s good to see him. I think that’s about as lovey-dovey as these two get when it comes to family greetings. Vampires can be reserved fuckers at times and since Delilah was raised by them she has that way about her as well.
Tegan proceeds to give everyone a hug, gushing about how relieved she is to see them all in one piece. Then she approaches Allora and for some reason I’m holding my breath.
“Hi, I’m Tegan,” she says. “I’m a friend of Finn’s.”
Allora shakes Tegan’s hand but goes still. “Say something else,” she urges her.
“Huh?” Tegan questions. “What do you want me to say?”
“I’ve heard your voice before. I’ve seen you. I know you.” She pulls Tegan closer and then her hands are on her face, sifting through her short hair and getting a feel for her appearance.
“You’ve seen her in one of your visions?” I ask stepping forward.
“Yes,” says Allora, withdrawing her hands from Tegan’s face.
“What did you see?” Tegan asks, looking a little taken aback at Allora’s sudden inspection of her.
“You were there with the little girl I saw. You were older than you are now, but you didn’t look old. I mean, it felt like you were older than you appeared to be. Like the way vampires are old but they don’t look it.”
“Weird,” says Tegan raising an eyebrow. “How could I be older but not have aged? I’m human.”
“Half-human,” Gabriel corrects her.
“Yeah, but witches don’t stay young like vampires,” she disagrees. “They age the same as the rest of us.”
“Unless they become sorceresses,” Alvie interjects.
Tegan gives him an incredulous look. “Ha! I’m not going to become a sorceress. Screw that.” She folds her arms and walks back over to stand by Cristescu.
“You swore. That’s naughty,” says Rebecca smiling up at her.
Tegan smirks and sticks out her tongue to which Rebecca giggles.
Allora’s head whips in the direction of the girl’s voice and she stills. “She’s not the one I saw,” she states unequivocally.
“Who, Rebecca?”
“Yes. The voice I heard just now is not the one I heard in my head. She’s not the one.”
Something in Tegan’s demeanour relaxes, as though she had been hoping Rebecca wasn’t the girl Allora saw. I kind of get it, too. I wouldn’t condemn a little girl to the task of restoring peace to this fucked up city either.
“More unsolved mysteries,” says Alvie shaking his head and folding his arms. “Do they ever end?”
“Nope,” I tell him deadpan.
My attention is drawn to Cristescu as I wonder if he still plans on setting Rebecca up to be cared for somewhere away from vampires. It’s too chancey to just keep her in the city and I’m sure he knows it. I’m also sure he doesn’t want any other vamps becoming like him, because that would mean his current position as top dog would be threatened.
All of a sudden he grins at me and I go tense. He looks like he can hear every thought that’s going through my head and I don’t like it one bit.
“What are you grinning about?” I ask with narrowed eyes.
“Of course I still plan on finding a safe place for the girl,” he answers and it takes me only a fraction of a second to realise he’s answering my unspoken question.
“What. The. Fuck?”
“That’s what you were wondering, correct?”
“Uh, yeah. And I repeat, what the fuck? You can read minds now, too?”
“The answer to that is no. I can read your thoughts from your breathing and the way your facial muscles move.”
“Piss off,” Alvie exclaims but he says it more like a question.
“So, drinking Tegan’s blood turned you into a mentalist. Wonderful,” I say testily and run a hand through my hair. I’m incredibly ticked off that he knew what I was thinking. There’s just way too many thoughts inside my head that he has no right to know.
“I have to be consciously doing it. And I have far too many more pressing things to focus my attention on than to be continuously reading people,” he says.
“Well, focus on them then, because we both know that you were reading me just there. Again.”
Cristescu smiles widely now. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”
“Ethan, stop it,” Tegan says giving him a stern look.
Before I get the chance to tell him where he can stick his mentalist bullshit, the television begins to crackle with static and the screen goes fuzzy. I walk over and bang my hand down onto it but it doesn’t help. The crackling continues and black and grey squiggly lines fizzle on the screen. I’m about to go and plug the thing out, thinking I’ll try fixing the signal later, when Ira reaches over and puts a hand on my arm to stop me.
He gestures back to the screen where the static is clearing up and a picture is forming.
“Oh my God,” Alvie squeals clasping his hands over his mouth in surprise.
The television shows a studio room somewhere that’s been decked out to look like a quaint, homely type of living room. I pick up the remote and try changing the station but every single channel shows the same picture.
On an armchair sits Theodore, wearing a plain brown suit and smart dress shoes. His hair has been combed into a neat style. He looks completely average and it’s completely bizarre in contrast to his usual wacky appearance.
On the armchair opposite him is Rita, who just like Theodore appears bizarre in the sense that she looks nothing like her usual self. She isn’t wearing a single scrap of make-up. Gone is the heavy black eyes and the ghostly pale foundation. Her hair is pulled back from her face by a clip and she’s wearing a white dress with a flowery design.
The camera focuses in on Theodore as he smiles at his audience and begins to speak.
“Good people of Tribane,” he starts. “I’m airing this emergency broadcast as there are dark forces at work in our city. Dark forces that need to be expelled. I’m sure you have all been affected by the attacks from those Satanic fanged creatures that can only be described as…vampires. I’m here to help you. My name is Theodore Girard and with me today is my daughter, Rita Girard.”
The camera pans to Rita as she smiles benignly and nods hello.
“Together we have decided to call on the people of the city to set up a force against the vampires. They are an infestation that needs to be wiped out. We were here first and we will be here when they have been exterminated. A lot of you will be aware that they have used their ungodly powers to trap us all inside the city so that they can kill us without interference from the outside world. I need each and every one of you to join me if we are going to succeed in defeating them. Together we can thwart their dark plans to murder us all.
“I make no claims to greatness. Like you, I am just an average man, but I refuse to allow the devil to win. I refuse to allow him to take away my right as a human being to a life free of constant threat. So, what I ask of you is this. If you are with me, take a piece of white chalk and draw a circle on your front door. The houses with circles will show where there are humans living. If there is no circle we will know there are vampires within. I have it on good authority that they all sleep during the day, so they will be unaware of this broadcast currently being aired. They will not know why there are circles on your doors.
“At first light tomorrow morning when the vampires are asleep, I ask that you all gather on Campion Row with whatever incendiary devices you can find. Together we will set the vampires alight and they will burn in their dark slumbers. Please, do not be afraid to leave your homes. In just one day’s time we will all be able to live safely again. Stand with me. Believe in this, my people, believe.”
Just as soon as the last word leaves his mouth the broadcast cuts off and the channel goes fuzzy again.
“Well, shit,” says Alvie folding his arms.
I stare at Cristescu when I reply, “My sentiments exactly.”
Chapter Eight
The Madness of Crowds
Tegan
Once Theodore’s broadcast shuts off, it feels like everyone begins talking at once and I can’t take it. I put my hands over my ears to try and block them out so that I can think.
Theodore wants the humans to set fire to the homes of vampires, but surely he must know that burning can’t kill a vampire. They either need to be staked or decapitated. So, if he knows this, then why on earth has he set this mad plan into action? The words he used and the tone of voice he employed were so very cleverly thought out. He wanted to incite a mob while at the same time coming across as a humble, concerned citizen.
He even referred to himself as an average man. What a joke.
“Vampires can’t be killed by burning,” I say out loud but I’m too quiet to be heard over the din of voices.
“I said,” I repeat, shouting now. “Vampires can’t be killed by burning, so why is he getting the humans to burn them?”
Everybody’s attention lands on me and Delilah volunteers, “Perhaps he doesn’t mean to kill the vampires. Perhaps he simply means to frighten them enough so that they’ll leave. They’re all vulnerable during the day and Theodore wants to play on that vulnerability. Show them that even though they might be stronger than humans at night, they are far weaker when the sun is up.”
Now Ethan begins to speak. “No, I don’t think that’s it. We might not die from the fire but it will certainly cause us severe pain. I think that’s what Theodore wants. He wants to make us angry so that we will attack the humans once night falls. He wants chaos again, only a different kind this time.”
“You’re going to have to get the word out to your people about the chalk circles,” says Gabriel. “Get them to put them on their doors, too. If there are no doors without circles it’ll cause confusion and the humans won’t know which houses to burn.”
“I have every intention of informing them,” says Ethan firmly. “But what then? If the humans cannot find anything to burn then they will know we’re onto them. They’ll have a lot of pent up energy with nowhere to focus it.”
“That’s Theodore’s problem,” Delilah puts in. “Let him deal with them. All we need to do is ensure that the vampires know what’s happening and that they don’t under any circumstances try to lash out against the humans.”
After another half hour of discussing things back and forth, we finally decide that inaction is the best action to take. Theodore is looking to stir up trouble, because a city in turmoil is easier to take over than a city under control. Ethan is going to spread the word among the vampires about what’s happening and Finn is going to go along to Campion Row tomorrow morning to suss out what exactly Theodore is up to.
I don’t say it to Ethan, but I plan on going, too. If Theodore is going to be there, then it’s likely that Rita will be as well. I have no idea what I’ll do once I see her. All I know is that I have to try something. The longer she stays with her madman of a father, the more lost she is to us.
I say my goodbyes to my friends and then Ethan drives Rebecca and me back to his place. After the crash Emilia caused, Ethan replaced his car with a vehicle almost identical to the previous one. As he drives he’s also typing out messages on his phone and it astounds me how he can focus perfectly on both activities.
“What are you doing?” I ask eyeing his phone. He types so rapidly that I can’t make out the words, which is annoying. His thumb makes speedy, barely perceptible movements over the touch screen.
“I’m organising a little gathering of my own,” he replies slipping the phone into his pocket and putting his hand on my thigh. His fingers brush back and forth, causing tingles to shoot right up between my legs. Yeah, I’m not letting him distract me.
I give him a steely look. “Elaborate.”
“I have to ensure that they all know about Theodore’s plan. The only way to do that is to gather them in one place and make an announcement.”
“And what place would that be?”
“They call it the Market Below. It’s an underground trading area for vampires and one of the few places I know Theodore will never step foot. Magical folk dislike the underground. I think it plays havoc with their powers somehow.”
Hmm, that’s food for thought. “There’s an underground vampire market in Tribane?”
“There is. Would you like to see it?”
“Hell yeah.”
“Can I come too?” Rebecca asks from the back seat.
Ethan turns his head to look at her briefly and reaches out to ruffle her hair in an affectionate manner. “I’m afraid not, my sweet. It’s not a place for little girls.”
“You can stay with my friend Amanda while we’re gone. You’ll like her. She’s got pink hair.”
Rebecca’s eyes immediately light up at the mention of pink hair and all thoughts of coming to the vampire market are instantly forgotten.
It’s not long before night falls and I leave Rebecca in Amanda’s care for the evening. Ethan and Lucas wait for me by the door. I take Ethan’s hand into mine and in a bold move I wrap my other arm around his neck and pull him down to me for a kiss. What I had initially meant to be a quick peck turns into a full blown snog as he slips his tongue into my mouth, caressing my tongue.
“Hey beautiful,” I finally manage to say as I come up for air.
He grins at my words and slides his arm around my waist, pulling me snug against his side. Lucas watches all of this without saying a word and when we finally leave the house I’m surprised that we don’t get into the new car Ethan got since Emilia destroyed his old one. Instead I walk with the two vampires as they lead me to the end of the street. Ethan lets go of me to pull open the large round manhole cover leading down into the city’s se
wage tunnels.
“Eh, no way am I going down there,” I say emphatically as Lucas’ eyes gleam with restrained laughter. I bet he knew all along I wasn’t going to be up for this.
Somehow, I’d failed to make the connection that since the market is underground it would be among the sewage system. In my head I’d imagined something a little more mystical and a little less rat-infested.
“I can return you to the house, if you like,” Ethan offers, his dark silvery eyes looking back and forth between mine.
I glance at Lucas for a moment, and the fact that I know he’s waiting for me to turn back makes me even more the determined to venture forward.
Taking a deep breath, I reply, “No, that’s alright. I still want to come. I just needed a minute to get used to the idea.”
“Once you get through the tunnels it’s not so bad. You can climb on my back and I’ll get us to the market in a matter of seconds. You won’t have to endure the stench for too long.”
I eye him warily. “Okay, then.”
He walks to me and goes down on one knee so that I can get onto his back. When I’m securely situated he moves towards the opening and climbs down. Lucas follows suit. The minute we hit the tunnel Ethan begins moving at vampire speed and everything becomes a blur of motion. It’s just my luck that I can still smell the excrement at the rate we’re going.
Moments later he’s slowing down and I realise I’d been squeezing my eyes shut to keep from getting dizzy. I open them and look around to see a mass of vampires gathered in a large open space. The place is massive, about the size of a football field. Basically, it looks like a huge windowless room with metal walls and there are market stalls set up in orderly rows.
I watch in fascination, still holding firmly onto Ethan’s back as I take in the scene. Vampires stand and chat amiably, others hover by stalls bartering and haggling for goods. It’s like I’ve been transported back in time to some underground gypsy black market, only the clothes are all modern.
When Ethan enters, the conversation hushes and they all turn to look at him with what I imagine to be reverence in their otherworldly eyes. He pats me on the thigh as a sign for me to climb down. I let go of his neck and hop to the ground.