Michael exhaled and then snapped, "Julia isn’t like the others, Shaun."
"I gathered that," Shaun replied and ran his tongue over his fangs, staring straight at me. In any other circumstance I would say that Shaun was good looking, but then I had to think twice about what he was going to propose. He leaned towards Michael. "We both already know what I want. Money isn’t very important to me."
"Shaun, Julia is with—"
"What, Michael? What’s he asking you?" I cut Michael off, knowing we weren’t getting anything out of this guy until he got what he wanted.
"You, Julia,” Shaun said. “I want to taste your pure, uninfected blood. Most of the fairies and elves here have been bitten before, but you. I sense that there has been one—"
"Julia, this has gone too far. We’re leaving," Michael said, slamming his fists on the table and pulling me away from that dark place where I was stuck for a second.
Shaun laughed, and the female elf looked at us, probably curious to see what was going on. Shaun was right to some extent. Nathaniel was the only vampire that ever drank from me, excluding the one who tried to kill me while I was trying to save Claudia. He did that twice and both times it was during sex. If this was what it was going to take to make him talk, then I was willing to sacrifice a few drops of my precious blood. Shaun was scary and there was a possibility that he would go too far, but the information that he held was worth the risk.
"No, Michael," I said. "He wants my blood and I’ll give it to him. I have conditions, too. This won't be sexual; you can’t touch me sexually; you can only drink from me."
Shaun moved on the chair, getting excited.
"Drinking from an elf is always sexual, darling."
"Julia, you’re insane. I’ll get this information out of him either way," Michael said with anger.
"Yeah, Julia, don’t be stupid. He—"
"Shut up, both of you," I said to Michael and Kelsie. "This is my decision and we need this information, so, yes, you got a deal, Shaun, but I want information first."
Shaun was a clever vampire. He smiled as the possibility of drinking from me settled in his eyes.
"All right. From what I heard, the witches always use two people for the ritual. A virgin human and a paranormal. The human is for sacrifice, but the paranormal is to capture another soul."
I swallowed hard trying to analyse what Shaun said, remembering the bones and flesh. The memories from the park revolted in my stomach. We needed to know more.
"You said that a few rituals went wrong?" I continued asking, clenching my fists so hard under the table as if I were ready to break my bones.
"The witches are summoning the dead, souls of paranormals who’ve changed history. During the rituals, the witches steal the power of the paranormal and also the power of the dead. It’s a struggle to take away the spirit of the dead paranormal, especially the ones who were unbeatable during their mortal lives."
"What are you saying then, Shaun?" Michael interrupted. "That those witches are dealing with sources of energy much more powerful than them?"
"The souls don’t obey them, so they rebel. By the time the witch captures the soul, the virgin is already dead, stripped of their skin. Their body is consumed by unimaginable sources of evil power that rip them apart," Shaun said, not looking disturbed at all.
I felt like I was going to be sick, remembering everything from that night, the revolting smell, bits of bones, skin and human meat. The image was going to stay in my head forever, haunting me in my dreams.
Shaun continued. "The witch then panics, not able to deal with such a strong source of power. She tries to cut the connection. Sometimes losing not only some of her own power but also leaving the paranormal in the ritual without a soul."
"Who are these witches? How do we find them?" Michael barked a little too loud, bringing the attention of other vampires in the room. I couldn't speak, now knowing exactly what happened to Dad.
Shaun didn’t look too happy with the attention. "I only know the name of one of the witches who joined the coven recently. The group moves around the city day by day, not staying in the same place more than two days. They’re trying to establish followers, offering to teach others black magic."
Shaun already gave us enough information to get the hell out of here, but it was the name that we needed. There was also something else in the back of my mind. If the witches knew how to summon the dead in the ritual, they must also know how to remove the curse from Dad and Kate.
"Okay, so the name. Who is she?" I asked.
"Not so fast, let’s get on with your end of the bargain. I’ll give you the name after my feast."
Michael moved on the chair and I tried to think about something positive. I just had to get on with this. When Nathaniel bit me, I didn't feel any pain, so maybe this was going to feel the same. Kelsie looked pale, not coming back with any witty comments. My own body was pumping with unexpected fear.
"Fine, let’s get on with it then, but remember, Michael will rip your fangs out if you cross the line and take too much," I said, narrowing my blue eyes at him. There was nothing sexual about this at all, but I was bloody scared. "Right, Michael?"
"I might cut off your balls as well," Michael said with a smile, but his voice was perfectly serious.
Shaun laughed, but his eyes burned with hunger. He got up, smoothed his shaggy hair and sat on the sofa in the back of the room. He tapped the seat next to him inviting me over. All of a sudden, I had a problem breathing steadily. Drinking blood was like having sex to him; either way he was going to get turned on.
"Julia, hon, maybe we should just bail and forget about the name. This prick is making me nervous," Kelsie said, taking my wrist. Tingling in my stomach told me I should listen to her, but I thought about my dad and knew I just couldn’t back out.
“It's all right; it’s just a bite. He won't kill me."
Then off I went to Shaun, feeling like my knees were going to give out at any second. The sofa was slutty red, and it screamed of sex. My palms were damp when I sat next to him. He smelled of cheap perfume from the pond shop and even though he wasn't bad looking I felt like one of the elves on the dance floor. Maybe all the fairies and elves were selling their bodies because they didn’t have any other choice. Well, I had no idea, but I was just about to find out how it felt to be one of them.
“Let's just get on with this, all right,” I said with a breaking voice.
He smiled and moved my hair to the side, exposing my neck. His fingers were cold. Michael and Kelsie were watching me from the other side of the room with tense faces.
"You smell divine, darling. Has anyone ever told you this?" he asked, moving his fangs dangerously close to my neck.
I was waiting for the bite, expecting pain. In a few seconds this whole thing was going to be over and I would be at home again.
"Yeah, I’ve heard it before," I choked out.
Shaun smiled. He was just about to sink his fangs into my neck, when we all heard shouting from the other side of the room. Then someone barged in through the door.
"Fucking cops are on us!"
Shaun was back on his feet before I knew what was happening. If there was any possibility that a vampire’s face could change colour, then I’d just experienced it. Shaun went pale, more like ‘he was just about to die’, pale. Others in the room started rushing out, leaving barely alive fairies and elves on the sofas.
Michael and Kelsie were beside me before I had a chance to get up and scrape my jaw off the floor.
"We have to get out of here before the police catch up with us," Michael said.
Kelsie grabbed my hand and we began running. In the main room, the music was still going and the crowd of paranormals were trying to get out. In the back entrance I spotted a few officers from my dad’s unit. I didn't understand why we were running. It was just a club. It wasn't illegal to be here.
Too many people were trying to squash through a small entrance and there was no way we were going
to get out. The three of us stood in the middle of the dance floor looking around hopelessly.
"I don’t get it. Why don’t we just stay? We haven't broken the law, so why are we running?"
"We don’t have time to explain. Let’s move," Michael shouted and jumped over the bar. Kelsie shifted into a wolf and followed him. I struggled, but Michael helped me as we moved behind it through a small door that said, “staff only.” We found ourselves in a really narrow, wet corridor behind the bar entrance. There was only one way out. At the end of it I saw a small sign.
If it weren’t for me Michael would have shifted too, but he probably didn’t want to leave me. We started running after Kelsie, who was sniffing the way out of this crummy space. The corridor went for at least a few hundred meters before we hit a dead end. The smell was turning my guts.
"What now?" I asked.
Kelsie, in her wolf form, howled and Michael looked up. I saw a round hole with steps, that looked more like an entrance to another corridor or canal. It didn’t take me long to realise that this bar was built around sewage tunnels. The smell was dreadful, but this was our only way out.
Kelsie shifted back into her human form, standing naked in front of me. I didn’t mind, but she looked a bit stressed, glancing behind her.
"We can’t go back, and it won't be long before they discover the entrance," she said.
Michael took off his shirt and passed it to her without saying anything.
"Julia, you’re going first. Come on, there isn’t any other way out," he said, and before I could protest, he lifted me up, so I could take hold of the metal bars. A human could barely fit in there, but I had no choice, and started to climb up. In the background I heard voices in the tunnel. The police or maybe other vampires were on us.
Below me I glanced back and saw that Michael and Kelsie had shifted into birds. They flew past me, leaving me alone and totally unprepared for this.
I carried on climbing, breathing through my mouth, squeezing through this small claustrophobic space. I kept thinking about the witches and my father, knowing that at least we put some important facts together. Slowly and steadily I was moving up, my hands were becoming numb, and the damp, cold air stuck in my lungs. For about fifteen more minutes I continued climbing, wondering if I would ever get to the top. My breath was rasping and laboured. I had to stop for a moment, feeling dizzy and numb from the cold. I tightened my grip on the barriers, feeling lightheaded.
"Julia, you’re almost there; keep going, hon."
Kelsie’s voice startled me, and I started moving again. I hadn’t even realised that the way out was so close. I clenched my teeth and continued to climb. Soon two pairs of hands pulled me out of the tight man hole. The metal top was lying on the pavement. I took deep breaths and rubbed my eyes a few times. A few meters away from us there was a body. It was the vampire, Shaun, and it looked like he was dead, like really dead this time.
CHAPTER 11
SHIFTERS.
I looked back at Michael and Kelsie: they were both standing naked in front of me. My heart hammered in my chest and I glanced around expecting to see someone else, but we were alone with the body, in an empty alley between semidetached houses.
The vampire was spread out on the pavement. He had been beheaded and someone, whoever the joker was, placed his head between his legs, so it faced his crotch. The smell of fresh blood was strong, and I was ready to throw up. Then Shaun’s body went rigid and it slowly began shifting into dust. A few seconds later he was gone, and we all stared at the bulk of grey ash on the pavement soaking in a pool of fresh blood.
"What the hell happened to him?" I asked, walking away, taking long pulls of air. It took me a moment to realise that we were still in Hackney, probably a few streets away from the club. I heard police sirens somewhere in the area.
"No idea. We found him as soon as we got out," Kelsie said, pacing around, probably trying to get warm. I lost my coat and I was freezing, but my two friends were completely naked. I had a throw over my arms, so I took it off and passed it to Kelsie.
"Thanks."
"No one could have known what Shaun was talking to us about," I said, staring at the blood. "Do you’ve any idea who killed him?"
"No, and I don’t think that’s important at the moment. We’ve got to move. Police are in the area and I don’t have any clothes on," Michael said.
"I don’t get it. Why did we run in the first place?"
"Because every single vampire in the club is hunted by the unit and I'm on probation, so this wouldn't end well for either of us. Come on, let’s move. I really don’t want to be caught without any clothes on."
"Right, I get it, but someone must have listened to our conversation. Someone went after him as soon as the police invaded the club," I said.
"Michael, Julia’s right. This is too much of a coincidence," Kelsie said while we were walking, trying to locate the car. "Shaun was certain about the witches. There was no way he was lying to us."
"I agree, but we can talk about this later."
Michael looked anxious and I shouldn't have been surprised. If he was caught, he would have been locked up straight away, and I didn’t want that to happen.
We couldn’t walk too fast or too slow. Luckily for us, the streets were empty and when I checked my watch, it was just after one in the morning. I was pretty sure that any human who looked out the window would report us to the police straight away. After half an hour of intensive searching, we recognised the street where we left the car. I sat in the back and relaxed once Michael started the engine and drove off.
I didn't even remember when I fell asleep or how I got to my own flat that night. The exhaustion hit me pretty hard. I woke up in the early afternoon in my own bed. My entire body ached, my shoulder and neck especially. Memories from the night before were rapidly flashing through my mind.
When I glanced at my phone to check the time, there were no missed calls. Nathaniel didn’t try to get ahold of me. Once Michael got rid of his tail, no one knew where we were going. I had a terrible feeling in my gut that there was someone else who followed us all the way to the club.
In the fancy lounge, there were just vampires and they were too busy sucking the blood of those poor fairies and elves. We weren’t talking loudly, but there was a slim chance that we could have been overhead. Last night we had a plan, but even Michael didn’t expect the police. Shaun’s new theory about the coven made me realise that I was wasting time. Even if I could track down the coven and confront the witches, I wasn't strong enough to make them bring Dad’s and Kate’s souls back. They didn’t hesitate to kill people for the sake of their rituals and black magic.
Someone must have known we were in that club last night asking uncomfortable questions. We had basic facts now, but we still didn’t know the names any of witches. Dad had less and less time to get out of this mess alive.
I felt like a coward. This whole thing was getting out of hand. My friends were important to me; I couldn’t keep getting them involved. Dannika was in charge of the investigation; I was sure that she knew more than I did. Unfortunately, it appeared that Jasper was my one and only option.
I took a shower, working out my aching muscles. Later on, in the afternoon I wanted to have a late lunch. My fridge was completely empty, and I had to buy some groceries. I wasn't convinced anymore that it was Nathaniel’s people who’d followed me. Maybe Dannika had missed something; maybe there was someone out there who wanted me dead.
I was starving, so I went out hoping to do some shopping. I had to get back to work tomorrow and felt like one day off during the week wasn't enough.
My mother turned up on my doorstep when I was locking the door. "Julia, for Christ’s sake, what’s wrong with your phone?" she asked, catching me off guard. I barely recognised her. Her makeup was smudged, her hair looked like it hadn’t been washed for about a week, and she was wearing the same clothes from a week ago. Warm guilt settled in my stomach. I should have been looking after her be
tter. Instead I left her all alone, taking care of Dad.
"Mum, what are you doing here?" I asked, baffled. "When was the last time you had a shower?"
"Shower! I can’t think about washing when your father’s dying in the hospital and you haven't even taken the time to see him!" she shouted, shaking her head nervously. “You're his only daughter and you have this… magic in you, but you haven't done anything to help him. The doctors or… healers aren’t making much sense."
"Mum, please calm down," I said, placing my hands on her shoulders. “I've been trying to find a way to help him and Kate. I can’t believe you’d even think that—"
"Julia, your father hasn’t got much time left, so you should be by his side while you still have the chance. Your grandmother keeps asking about you. Tomorrow the whole family is expecting you."
I began to sink back down, as if the earth had opened up to swallow me whole.
"Mum, listen to me. I don’t think you understand what’s happening. I won't do Dad any good sitting by his bed."
"Then what are you going to do? What if he dies while you’re away?"
"He won't; there’s still time. I'm going to find a white witch to bring him back to us."
"Julia, your grandmother was deeply saddened by your absence. I keep asking her why she isn’t doing something in order to help your father, but she waves her hand, telling me there’s nothing she can do."
This was getting a bit absurd. I was disappointed that no one was doing anything to find the white witch and of all the people in the world my own grandmother should have understood. Mum was in a terrible state and she couldn’t keep on living like that. At the end of the day the entire family only wanted one thing: to get Dad back.
"Magic can’t solve every problem, Mum. It helps paranormals, but it can also do the same amount of harm as good. Tell Grandma that I’ll try to be at the hospital on Sunday, but don’t count on it," I explained, embracing her in a hug. "Please, Mum, let me do this my way."
Witch's Promise : The Witching Hour Series Book 4 Page 8