The Sénat had wasted no time and I’d been issued with a schedule within twenty-four hours. Saturday was the day when they tested my senses; I was given various sight, hearing and smelling tests. Sunday was strength, stamina and speed testing which was basically a day-long gym session. Mondays were my medical tests; I spent the day being prodded, poked and having just about every bodily fluid extracted from me. Tuesdays were counselling sessions, which I’d foolishly thought would be simple, but after having to retell what felt like every moment of my life, I soon changed my mind. Wednesdays were combat training which had sounded like fun but had left me covered in bruises. Luckily, though, The Sénat had allowed me to have two days a week off and so, now, my weekends were Thursday and Friday.
On Sunday evening Holt had been called out to work and I’d been slightly relieved because he always seemed to get worked up by the tests I was being put through. Henry kept popping up regularly and I had a sneaking suspicion that Holt had asked Henry to keep an eye on me while he was away. I didn’t mind at all as, apart from Holt, Henry was the only friend I had and spending time with him was always fun.
Feeling bad for being sprawled on such an expensive sofa, while I was so sticky and covered in dry sweat from my combat training, I heaved myself up and dragged myself to the bathroom. It was so luxurious I always felt guilty for not spending more time in there. It followed the blue and white theme and had a claw-foot bath, gigantic walk-in shower and double basins set into a white marble unit with a huge mirror that almost filled one wall.
I turned the shower on and went back out to my bedroom, plugged my iPod into the speakers and turned it up. Loud. Holt had told me that my rooms were soundproofed, as were everyone else’s, so, from out in the hall, nothing could be heard. The door from the living area to my bedroom and the bathroom door were not soundproofed as it would stop me from hearing if someone had come into my rooms.
The shower worked miracles on my aching muscles and, when I finally dragged myself out, I felt a million times better. I padded out to the bedroom and changed into a pair of shorts and the oversized T-shirt I slept in. As I sat at the dressing table I took the time to trace the delicate carvings around the mirror.
I’d first noticed the carvings all over the wooden back-board and frame of my four poster bed and had spent hours looking at them. At first glimpse, the designs looked like waves but on closer inspection I’d found dolphins, mermaids, fish, whales, ships and seahorses. As soon as I’d noticed them on the bed posts they seemed to pop up everywhere in my rooms. The pattern around the mirror had seahorses hidden in it and, as I ran my fingers over them, I smiled. I had no idea who this room had originally been designed for but the attention to detail was incredible.
As I brushed my hair, I heard the door to my living room open, so I turned off the music.
“Knock, knock!” Henry called. He appeared in my bedroom doorway and grinned at me.
I marvelled once more at how handsome he was. I had seen loads of vampires now and, while they all had an eerie beauty about them, I had to admit that Henry stood out among the crowd. When he grinned, his entire face transformed with schoolboy charm and it never failed to make me grin back. I thanked my lucky stars that there hadn’t been a boy like him at my school because I was sure I’d have followed him into all sorts of trouble.
“So I figured, as it’s the beginning of your two days off, we should have a little celebration.” He waggled his eyebrows and then disappeared back out into the living room. I followed and found him standing behind a now fully-stocked bar. “So, what do you fancy?”
“Bacardi,” I said and folded myself onto an armchair that matched the sofa. Henry picked up the Bacardi and a bottle of whisky and dumped them on the coffee table in front of me along with two shot glasses. Then he sat on the floor and started pouring.
“But, in all seriousness, this is actually very important for two reasons,” he said.
“Okay, and those reasons are?”
“The first is that, as a vampire, it takes a hell of a lot of alcohol to get us drunk, so I think it’s important that we discover where you measure up on that scale. The second is that I have a feeling you and I will be spending a lot of time together in the future and so I think we should get to know each other, and there’s no better way to get to know somebody than by hearing the stories they tell while under the influence.”
I pursed my lips and pretended to consider the proposal for a while. I didn’t point out that I’d drunk myself into oblivion many times before while trying to forget my past. “Well, when you put it like that, I don’t think it would be sensible of me to refuse such an important experiment.”
Henry grinned and handed me a shot of Bacardi. As a rule, I preferred it with lemonade and a dash of lime but I wasn’t going to complain. Henry held up his own glass. “Here’s to you and me.”
I clinked his glass with mine and we both downed our shots. We did five in a row and then Henry lay back on the floor, resting on his elbows. “So how’s your training going?”
I scrunched my nose at him. “Let’s not talk about all that. Tell me something about you.”
“Okay, then.” He got to his feet in one fluid motion. “My name is Henry Dalton.” He did a little bow. “I am 678 years old; my special ability is being able to sense people’s emotions. My loves are women, fast cars and breaking rules. I can’t abide people who are lazy or lie. I always like to put my trousers on before my top. My worst habit is my ability to put my foot in it, which I do regularly.” He gave another flourishing bow and then got back into his previous position. “Your turn.”
I groaned. “My name is...”
“Uh-uh, standing up please,” Henry interrupted.
I stood. “Fine. My name’s Faine. Faine Hawkes. I’m twenty-one years old, my special ability is...” I paused trying to think of what I could do that nobody else could. “My special ability is not being able to fit in anywhere properly. My main love is stories, whether in the form of books, films or straight from the horse’s mouth; I love them all. I can’t stand people who are two-faced or deceitful. I always click my fingers three times when I turn the lights out. My worst habit is that I’m stubborn as hell.” I gave my own little curtsey and sank back into the chair as Henry gave me an enthusiastic applause.
“Bravo, and to reward our moments of brutal honesty I think we deserve some more shots.”
I did another five shots and Henry did seven.
“So why do you click your fingers three times when you turn the lights out?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea; it’s something I started as a child and, even though I know it’s ridiculous, I still have to do it now. Maybe it’s like OCD or something.” I shrugged again; I could feel the warm tingling in my fingers that told me I was on the way to tipsy.
Chapter 16
“Now, seeing as you’re so fond of stories and I love to tell them, I’ll tell you one of mine.” Henry paused pretending he was getting comfortable but I was sure he was building suspense. “Now this particular event happened in 1371 in France. Me and my brother Saul were...”
“Your brother?” I cut him off. “You have a brother?”
“Yes, Saul. He’s a good guy, he’s away in Italy at the moment but should be back in about a week. You’ll meet him then.”
“But how can you have a brother? How is it that you both became vampires?” I noticed the bluntness of my question as I said it but, by then, it was too late to take it back.
“Oh.” Understanding lit Henry’s eyes. “We were both fighting in a battle; fought damn well and by the end of it we were both too damaged to see another day, but luck was on our side because a vampire came across the bloody battlefield and saw something in us that he liked because he turned us both right then and there. Of course that was back before the rule was brought in that said you had to have permission from The Sénat before you could turn a human into a vampire.”
I nodded my understanding. “And his name is Soul?�
� I asked.
“Yes, spelt S-A-U-L, but pronounced Soul.”
I nodded again.
“Now back to my story. We were in France in 1371 and we’d been stuck in the most boring town I’ve ever had the misfortune to stay in. Our intention had been to stop there overnight but, as we spent the evening in the bar that was adjoined to our inn, Saul noticed one of the women who worked there. I knew it was bad news right from the start but he wouldn’t listen to me. He spent the whole evening making a complete prat of himself trying to impress her, but she was having none of it. Don’t get me wrong, she led him on in that way you women do and the Attraction made her like him but, every time he thought he was in with a chance, she’d give him the cold shoulder. I told the stupid bugger that he should just leave it, but he’s always been the type who has to get what he wants. Any lesser vampire would have resorted to using their Influence to convince her, because this was back before that law came in as well...”
“What law?” I interrupted.
“The law that says vampires can’t use their Influence to get humans into bed.”
I arched my eyebrows. “Sounds like a damn good law to me.”
“Yes it is, but people like Saul and I have morals and so we would never have done that anyway, law or no law. Anyway, Saul spent the best part of two months chasing this damn woman and then finally one night she relented. She whisked him off upstairs and I bought the whole damn place a round of drinks to celebrate the fact that I’d finally be able to move on. Not fifteen minutes after they’d gone upstairs, the door bursts open and a beast of a man storms in and starts heading up the stairs. Now this was back before I had my ability to sense emotions but even I could see that this was trouble. I tried my best to slow the beast down without making a scene but he wasn’t having any of it, so the best I could do was raise my voice and hope that Saul would hear and get the hell out of there.” Henry stopped and resumed his fidgeting. I threw a cushion at him.
“Stop milking it and get on with the story.”
Henry grinned and propped himself up on the cushion. “Well, despite my best efforts, it was too late. The beast barged into the room and caught Saul and the woman half-dressed and desperately trying to pull their clothes back on. Turned out the woman was the beast’s virgin daughter. Needless to say, all hell broke loose. The beast’s friends turned up and, even though we were well out-numbered, it was still pretty much a fair fight. At some point we realised that a candle had been knocked over and we had to abandon the fight to get outside before the flames got us. We were about to get out of town when someone told us there was a family stuck in one of the rooms. Of course we went back in and got them out; it was only right seeing as we’d started the damn fire in the first place. But as soon as all the people saw us appearing unscathed from the flames, with the missing family in our arms, we were considered heroes. Then Saul gave the innkeeper enough money to rebuild the place and to cover all the losses. It took five more long hours before they calmed down enough to let us leave and the beast, who’d tried to beat the living daylights out of us, actually offered Saul his daughter as a wife.”
I squinted my eyes at Henry as he finished his story. “That’s really true?”
“Every word of it and, in case you ever decide to stop in France, just let me know and I’ll give you directions to a delightful old pub called ‘The Two Brothers’.”
“You’re lying. That can’t be true.”
“I assure you that every word of it is true and there’s even an inscription on a stone in the wall that tells the story of the two heroic brothers who saved a family from certain death.”
I laughed. It was an outrageous story but I could tell it was true.
“Right, now it’s your turn.” Henry gave me an expectant look.
“No way, I don’t have any stories even as remotely interesting as that. I’ve never burnt a place down, saved a life or had somewhere built in my name.”
“Oh, come on, there must be something.”
I racked my brains to try to think of something.
“That!” Henry said. “Whatever you’re remembering right now, that’s giving you that sense of total embarrassment; I want to hear about that.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not telling you that, it’s the worst thing I’ve ever done.”
Henry grinned. “Now I’m going to insist on hearing it. Here, have another couple of shots to ease the pain.”
I knocked back three and then cleared my throat in preparation. “Okay, here goes and I’ve never told this to anyone so you should consider yourself privileged. It was about five years ago and I was on the bus on the way home from school. When I got off at my stop, a man got off as well. I didn’t think anything of it at first but, the closer I got to my house, the more noticeable it became that he was following me. I don’t know how much Holt has told you but the Attraction vampires have, well it hit me in my teens and it was really strong. But I’d never been followed before and I began to panic. I lived up one of those twisty country roads that only have a couple of houses on it and so, when I turned the corner, I hid in a bush. I told myself that, if he came up here, it was because he was following me. After a moment he showed up. I saw him turn the corner, look around for me and then start heading up the path towards where he thought I must have gone.” I stopped, but unlike Henry, I wasn’t doing it for suspense, I was cringing. “By this point, I’d convinced myself that he was stalking me and that he wanted to attack me, so I picked up a branch and, when he got level with me, I ran out at him, screaming, and smacked him so hard in the ribs that he fell down. When he tried to get back up, I smacked him again in the face and, this time, he crawled away before getting up and running full pelt back down the road.”
“Okay,” Henry said. “Interesting story but I’m not sure why you feel so guilty about it.”
“Well the guilt came four days later when I went to church on Sunday morning. I was sitting there in my usual seat and the vicar told us he wanted to introduce us to our new vicar who’d be replacing him.” I stopped, not wanting to finish the story, but one look at Henry’s shocked face told me that I didn’t need to. I felt my cheeks heat as he stared at me in shock. Then he erupted with a howl of laughter.
“Oh my God, you attacked a vicar; abused a man of the church.”
“Stop it!” I shrieked. “It’s not funny, it was terrible. He had a huge black eye and every time he moved, he winced and grasped at his ribs.” This only seemed to amuse Henry further. “You should have seen his face when he saw me sitting there, three rows away from him. I thought he was going to scream.”
“Did he ever explain why he was following you?” Henry asked.
“No, he never spoke to me. But, on the way home, Mary was frantic because the new vicar had personally been round to the homes of all the long-time church goers, so he could introduce himself; she thought we’d been deliberately snubbed because he’d never showed up at our door. He was a good man, though, to my knowledge he never told anybody about what I’d done. I think he must have already been told about the slightly odd girl that Mary looked after and he just assumed it was normal behaviour for me to leap out of bushes and attack people.”
By the time I was finishing off my second bottle, and Henry was halfway through his third, I was well and truly sozzled. Henry had told me numerous stories of the trouble he and his brother had caused and I was beginning to wonder if there was any country they hadn’t visited to wreak their havoc.
“Come on, I want to know what you think of all this.” Henry held up his hands and motioned around the room.
“Well, it’s beautiful. Blue just happens to be my favourite colour and I’ve never lived anywhere that’s so...”
“No, no, no,” Henry interrupted. “Not this.” He made the same sweeping motion as before. “I mean this.” He made the gesture again, only faster and more frenzied. I laughed as I understood.
“Well, if I’m honest, I’m not too sure what to think yet. I mean
the place is just incredible but I haven’t really had a chance to look round it. As for people, you and Holt are the only guys I really know, except for my examiners, who I really don’t like. All the other people I see just assume I’m staff and they completely ignore me.”
“Well, make the most of being invisible because after the Autumn Ball when everyone sees you, you’ll be the centre of a whole lot of attention. The supposed half-vampire girl who’s living here is all anyone can talk about.”
“What’s the Autumn Ball?” I asked, feeling like it was probably quite self-explanatory.
“It’s the event we have at the beginning of October. You know dancing, drinking, all round fun.”
Worry sobered me up a little. “But I can’t dance.”
Henry got up and heaved me to my feet. “Well, it’s easy, I can teach you. Here, you stand like this.” He pulled me into position. “And then you go, right foot back, step to the left, then together. Left foot back, step to the right, then together.”
Ten minutes later he stopped. “Well, I guess it’s good we have time to practise.”
I shot him a look of mock scorn but knew that his assessment of my dancing was spot on. I was crap. Hopefully, if I attempted it when I was sober, I wouldn’t look so much like Bambi on roller-skates.
Chapter 17
When I woke the next morning, the only evidence that I’d been drinking the night before was the fact that I was fully dressed. I climbed out of bed, grateful that the vampire part of me meant I didn’t suffer from hangovers.
I showered, dressed and brushed my teeth but then wasn’t sure what to do with myself. Holt was due back today but not until later. I decided to start with breakfast and ordered scrambled eggs and bacon. When I went to sit in the living room to wait for it to arrive, I found Henry sitting on the sofa, looking as immaculate as ever.
“Well, finally,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for ages. Always forget just how much sleep humans need.”
Where Loyalty Lies Page 11