Finn, Kevin and Gabriel were huddled in a corner, drinking whisky and drawing up battle plans, and Carmel had finally joined us.
‘There was this man outside my house,’ she said, dumping a bag of her stuff in the corner and sliding down next to me on the couch. ‘And when I say “man”, I mean god. Blond, well fit, like Daniel Craig on steroids. He nodded as I went out, got in his car, and followed me here. Did I just get really lucky, or is it something to do with the World of Warcraft over there?’
‘Probably,’ I said. ‘He’ll be your guard, and he’ll have some stupidly unpronounceable name, and if you ever speak to him, he’ll witter on about duty and laying down his life to protect yours.’
‘Hmm … could be worse, I suppose. So, how are you holding up? And what’s with the semi-naked stud parade? Are they Gabriel’s men?’
‘Oh. No,’ I replied. ‘They’re my new vampire friends. And you see that one over there, with the shiny hair and the eyes? I was in bed with him earlier.’
‘No way!’ she said, voice bubbling with laughter and disbelief. ‘Was there kissing?’
I love Carmel, I realised. Really love her. I’d just broken the news that she was in a room full of the living dead, and the first question out of her mouth was about my sex life. I understood why I could deal with all of this – with my visions, I’ve been on the fringes of the supernatural my whole life – but her easy acceptance of it amazed me. That’s what three years on the night desk will get you, I suppose.
‘No. But quite a lot of bare skin. It was … nice.’
‘I bet it was,’ she said, surveying Luca like he was a box of chocolates. ‘So how did that happen? Why did you drop the whole “no touching, dahling” routine? And while we’re sharing, what’s with that anyway? Why don’t you like to be touched? Is there something … off, from when you were a kid?’
Her tone had lowered, and the sparkle had gone from her eyes. She obviously expected some sordid tale of abuse to be heading her way.
‘Nothing like that,’ I said quickly. ‘It’s complicated …’
‘I think,’ she said, gesturing around the room, ‘that if I can handle this, I can handle anything.’
Fair point.
‘Sometimes, when I touch people – skin on skin – I see things. I see visions … of their future. And a lot of times that’s fine – it’s mundane, it’s normal, or even really happy. But other times, it’s … not so happy. It’s how they die, or how they get ill. Which is—’
‘Bloody depressing!’ she butted in. ‘I can see that. So – if I held your hand now, you could see what my future holds?’
‘Not necessarily,’ I replied, feeling uncomfortable at the thought. I couldn’t bear to see a future that held anything bad for Carmel. ‘It doesn’t seem to happen with the vampires at all. And with humans I don’t have any control over it, or know when it will happen. Which is one of the many things that suck about it. Why? You don’t want me to, do you?’
‘No way!’ she answered solidly. ‘I can’t think of anything worse. The present is plenty interesting enough, thank you. And it does explain a lot – all these years I thought you were just being weird. I didn’t mind, it was all part of the package, but I know you freaked a lot of other people out. Like the canteen staff, when you insisted they put your coffee down on the counter so you didn’t have to touch their hands. They thought you were a real stuck-up cow.’
Good to know. Lily McCain, social pariah.
She paused, cast her eye over Morgan and Marcus, squatting bare-chested on the floor in front of us.
‘So, you can touch vampires … again, could be worse, if this lot is anything to go by. And I noticed that you gave the old High King a bit of the cold shoulder earlier. What’s up? Have you two had a falling out? The path of true mating not running smoothly?’
She’d noticed, of course. Being a girl. She was right – I had been off with him. Following the revelations in the Coconut Shy bathrooms, I was finding it hard to fall back into the routine of banter and sarcasm that Gabriel and I had established. After my encounter with Eithne, he’d been so worried I thought he’d explode, insisting that he stuck by my side the whole night. I guess he thought he’d failed in his protection duty – which he had. They’d all been shocked that she’d come in person – the Fintna Faidh usually stuck to their men-in-black foot soldiers on Earth, apparently – and Finn thought it was to do with something called Samhain.
Samhain, it transpires, is an ancient festival when the walls between the Otherworld and ours come down. In the modern era we’ve claimed it as our own with Halloween, taken its mystery and magic and made it safe by dressing it up with Frankenstein masks and candy baskets. And in the approach to Samhain, the walls waver, allowing more contact between the two planes. The fact that Eithne had been able to come and go undetected was plain good luck for me. Hurrah.
Gabriel had explained all this on the way back from the nightclub, in a cool voice that suggested he’d also noticed my stand-offishness. He’d got the message and kept his distance since, which was fine by me. Because the news that Eithne delivered, however hideously, had changed the way I felt about him.
Knowing that he was keeping secrets, that he was the man who had calmly handed me over to Coleen and my miserable fate, had changed everything. It’s not like I was one hundred per cent sold on him before, but I had believed him when he said he was on my side. And I had, truth be told, not been totally repulsed at the thought of being his mate.
But now … now I was even more confused. My life had been plunged into this netherworld of madness without so much as a by-your-leave, and throughout, Gabriel had given me the distinct impression that there was nothing I could do about it, apart from cling to him and hope. That my role had been decided in advance. Then along came Eithne, slinking and stinking her way from the Otherworld, to tell me I had a choice. That I could decide my own destiny. Change my own future.
I can’t say that the thought of allying myself with her appealed in any way – she had almost killed me, after all – but I now felt a deep-rooted dissatisfaction with what was happening around me. I could feel the change inside me, feel the need for control swimming through me, like an infection in my cells. The time for dumbly doing what I was told was coming to an end.
So, it appeared, was the war meeting. Gabriel walked towards us, Finn and Kevin behind him. All three looked worried, serious, but also excited. Like they’d come to a decision.
‘I need to return to the Otherworld,’ said Gabriel. ‘I need to meet with our allies there and find out what is going on.’
‘Fine,’ I replied icily. ‘Off you pop, then.’
‘To do that, I need to go somewhere. And you will come with me. I will not risk leaving you alone with … these,’ he said, looking round at the frolicsome vampires with an air of distaste.
‘So where are we going?’ asked Carmel, who’d obviously decided to throw in her pounds with her pennies.
‘To the nearest sidhe,’ he said, pronouncing it ‘shee’. ‘You know them as fairy mounds. The few obvious ones remaining have become tourist attractions, which has rendered them defunct. But there is an active sidhe nearby – at Bidston Hill.’
‘The Observatory?’ I asked, knowing the place as a local weather station on the Wirral.
‘Yes. We will leave right now,’ he said, dispensing with any of the niceties, such as asking my permission.
The vampires stirred, and I could feel electricity buzzing in the room. Isabella was smiling and unfolding her limbs from the sofa. Luca let out a whoop, and the others dropped their gaming handsets to the polished wooden floors. They were obviously happy to be on the move again, apparently having the attention span of three-year-olds.
‘Lily can come with me,’ said Luca, grinning. ‘I think she’d like that.’
‘Lily will not,’ said Gabriel, glaring at him in a way that suggested his disembowelling plan was coming back to mind. ‘I am her protector, and I will not leave her side
.’
A debate ensued, and Carmel and I followed it as best as we could, our heads turning from side to side like we were at Wimbledon.
‘Enough!’ I shouted, standing up. I was sick of being argued over; of my own will being ignored. Silence fell over the room, and I felt a strange power surge inside me, rising in my veins like a drug.
Goddess-time.
‘Cormac macConaire, I shall not accompany you. I will go with Luca. This is what I wish, and this is what I command.’
Gabriel’s eyes flared, and I saw a slight contraction in the muscles of his T-shirt-clad arms. I held my breath, expecting him to swell and shout and generally act all kingly about it. Instead, he lowered his head slightly, the merest fraction of a bow, and replied: ‘Then it shall be so, My Lady.’
Chapter Ten
Moments later I was starting to regret that decision. Vampires drive like maniacs and shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the wheel of a Mercedes. They certainly shouldn’t be allowed into the Mersey Tunnels, the monumental underground routes that run beneath the river.
The concepts of ‘Do Not Change Lanes’ and ‘40 mph Speed Limit’ were clearly lost on Luca as he propelled us forward, bathed in harsh fluorescent lighting. The concrete of the walls whirred past, and I could hear Carmel cursing as she was thrown around in the back seat.
‘Slow down!’ I said, gripping the dashboard. ‘You might already be dead, but we’re not!’
‘My apologies,’ he replied, easing off the gas until we reached a leisurely fifty. ‘We’re just in a hurry. To get to the Otherworld, and see our lord.’
‘And who might that be?’ I asked, as my heartbeat settled back into a regular pace. ‘And why are you all involved in this anyway? You’re not mortal.’
‘We all were once, Lily,’ he said. ‘I was a musician. I lived in Siena. I had a wife, children, work I loved.’
He looked sad beneath his Mediterranean tan, and I had a million questions to ask.
‘I’ll tell you all about it when we have more time,’ he said, cutting me off before I had the chance. ‘But for now, know this – we are allied with Cormac Mor because Donn, the Lord of the Dead, commands it. He has no desire to see the end of the mortal realm.’
‘Bad for business?’ I asked.
‘Yes, and because he has an … affection for mortals. For their failures and triumphs. Their spirit. The way they battle on through their lives, completely devoid of meaning. It gives him pleasure, watching their trials and tribulations, knowing all the time that whatever they do, they will end up with him.’
‘Sounds like a lovely bloke,’ piped up Carmel, obviously earwigging in the back.
‘Not really,’ said Luca. ‘But he is our lord. And we ourselves have our own reason for wanting to keep mortals around.’
‘What’s that?’ she asked.
‘Food,’ he said, flashing a wicked grin full of white teeth. ‘You would be especially tasty, Lily.’
Nice. At least if I didn’t cut it as the Goddess, I had a bright future ahead of me as a vampire buffet.
After throwing a handful of coins into the toll basket, we followed the convoy of cars to the hill. As soon as we’d parked and got out, Gabriel descended, huge and scary, his white skin shining in the darkness, the violet of his eyes luminous.
He moved to touch me, retreated at the last minute and settled instead for giving me an eyeball inspection for damage.
‘I’m fine,’ I said, twisting my neck round to show him. ‘Look, Dad, no teeth marks. Almost had a heart attack with his driving, though. Now what?’
‘Now we climb the hill. Or I can carry you?’ he suggested, with a hint of a dare in his voice.
I ignored him, not ready to resume business as usual just yet, and started up the pathway, Carmel at my side. It was pitch black, as was to be expected at 4 a.m. The distant lights from the motorway below rose in a faint orange glow, blurred with the occasional passing car headlights. Normal people, going about their normal lives. I bit down a twinge of bitterness. That was never going to be my life again.
Carmel stumbled as we climbed, and a dark figure rushed up to her side. Tall, blond and ‘well fit’, as she had described him. He had a torch in one hand and offered the other to her. She took it after approximately a nanosecond of deliberation.
‘Connor macEoghan,’ he said, the Irish name lilting lyrically from his lips. ‘At your service.’
‘Lovely to meet you,’ she replied in a tone that suggested some kind of internal combustion was occurring. I smiled to myself and ploughed onwards. Carmel has always had an eye for the boys, and it was good to see that some things at least hadn’t changed.
I could feel Gabriel hovering nearby, presumably ready in case I stubbed a toe or got attacked by a passing owl, but I blanked him out. I was, I was starting to learn, pretty good at sulking. Must be a goddess thing.
We reached the top of the hill, and Finn led us round to the back of the Observatory complex, through a clump of shadowed bushes, and into a small clearing. The space was lit only by our torches and the moon, which drenched Gabriel’s face in silver, making him look even more magical than usual.
He walked towards me, placed a hand on the back of my hair, pulled me so close our hips were touching. His expression was so solemn that I let him. I felt a sizzle of his power run through my body, so strong I was glad I was wearing Docs. Those rubber soles were the only things keeping me earthed as I sank into the violet of his eyes. For a second I felt we were alone, in the wild wind on top of the hill. Alone in the whole world.
‘I don’t know what I have done that has upset you so much, a ghra,’ he said. ‘But I am sorry. I won’t be gone for long. Stay with Finn and Kevin. They will protect you while I am away. Be safe, and know that my heart is with yours.’
It was such a pretty speech, and said with such conviction, that I almost lost myself. Almost gave in to those instincts to lean closer, touch my lips to his, tangle my fingers in the midnight of his hair. Almost, but not quite.
‘Now,’ he commanded, ‘stay where you are and do not – I repeat, do not – wander off on your own. This place is dangerous.’
He turned and walked away, leaving me breathless at how fast he could change from tender suitor to bullying bastard. I knew which one I liked best.
I deliberately turned away, not wanting to see him go up in a puff of smoke or whatever he did to re-enter the Otherworld. I heard footsteps and knew the vampires were following him. Connor remained at Carmel’s side – a man who had his job and was sticking to it – and Finn and Kevin looked towards Gabriel’s retreating back with yearning in their eyes. This Otherworld must be a heck of a place.
Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, I deliberately disobeyed Gabriel and immediately wandered off on my own. Take that, High King, I thought, as I ambled along the path that curved around the hill.
I was angry and hurt and mind-numbingly cold. I was fed up of being surrounded by people, none of whom had any respect for my personal space, and I wished I was alone, in my flat, with a good book and my iPod.
Mainly, though, I was sick of being treated like a child who’d been put in the naughty corner. I was a grown woman – nay, goddess, if he was to be believed – and if I wanted to wander off on my own, I’d damned well do it.
Wrapping my arms around myself against the chill in the air, I stumbled towards a small hollow in the side of the hill. It was tiny, just big enough for little children to play hide-and-seek in, but I quite fancied sitting in it, on my own, away from the drama and the magic and the stupid names.
As I approached, a pinprick of light appeared, followed by several more. The sound of pattering footsteps. A face no bigger than the palm of my hand – a perfect heart-shaped peach of a face. Shimmering blonde hair, a dazzling silver haze hovering around child-sized shoulders. Ah, so pretty.
The creature let out a shrill shriek, and leaped towards me. It wrapped its arms and legs around my torso like a fierce monkey and pull
ed at my hair as I tried to bat it off. We whirled around together – me much bigger; it much stronger and a lot more determined – until I fell, flat on my back in wet grass. It hunkered down on top of me, pointy knees digging into my sides.
‘Drink!’ it screeched, trying to force a goblet to my mouth.
‘No!’ I shouted, trying to wrench unfeasibly strong fingers away from my face.
It grabbed hold of my nose, pinched so hard that I felt tears spring to my eyes. Unable to breathe, I was forced to open my mouth to gasp for air. As my lips parted, it tipped the rim of the goblet up and over, and warm liquid flowed between them.
Chapter Eleven
When I opened my eyes, I was still lying flat on my back. But the grass was dry – warm, even – and the hissing hell-child that had attacked me had disappeared. It was also daylight, and most definitely not the kind you got in Liverpool in October. I felt aglow with it, and all of the cold and tension and tiny aches and pains that racked my mortal body had been washed away.
I sat up and looked around. I was lying in a valley between two gentle hills, a rich emerald green that dazzled my eyes. Around me were technicolour flowers and trees dripping with ripe fruit, humming with honeybees. Horses were grazing, flicking the whites of their manes, and damselflies hovered over a brook that gurgled and bubbled its way over rocks.
I definitely wasn’t in Kansas any more. Or even, I suspected, the world as I knew it.
Two people were making their way down one of the hills towards me. They were dressed in white, and holding hands. I knew this should be my cue to run, but I couldn’t. My body wouldn’t move, and my brain didn’t even want it to. I … knew these people. And they meant me no harm.
The couple approached, and one of them sat beside me on the warm grass. I looked up into a face I recognised, but hadn’t seen for years. A face that had become almost fictional in my mind.
The face of my mother.
She reached out to stroke my cheek, and I knew it would be fine. That her warm touch would not result in visions – not here, in this place. Because this was the Otherworld, and, like Luca, she was … dead.
Dark Vision Page 7