Saul snatched the cards from my hands and dropped them face up on the table.
“Hey!” I shouted. “That was a good hand, I could have won that.”
“Not a chance,” Henry chuckled. “I could feel the glee pouring off you from the second you picked them up.”
I scowled at him. “Fine, let’s deal again and this time...”
“What exactly has been going on in your tests?” Saul interrupted.
Oh crap. This sounded like a conversation I really wanted to avoid. Judging by how wound up Saul was, I was betting he’d got wind of something he didn’t like.
“Oh, you know,” I shrugged, trying desperately to look casual but sensing that both Henry and Holt were now waiting for my answer. “Just testing my sight, hearing, strength and speed. That sort of stuff.”
“Really?” Saul asked, his tone sarcastic. “And how exactly does cutting you with knives fit in with that?”
As he spoke, he lifted his hand and I noticed he was holding a folder.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing at it.
Saul followed my pointing finger and only then seemed to realise that he was holding the folder up in the air. He hastily lowered it to his side but it was too late, I’d seen my name written on it.
“Oh my God, are those my test results?” I wasn’t quite shouting but it was close.
Saul frowned. “I just happened to overhear something about what exactly’s been going on in these tests of yours and I thought I’d go and see for myself if it was true.”
I jumped out of my chair, glad the table was still between us. “So, what? You just went and helped yourself to my private information? Have you looked through it all?”
Saul’s silence told me all I needed to know.
“You’re unbelievable. Did it occur to you at any point that what you were doing was a massive invasion of my privacy?”
“If you’d told me what was going on, I wouldn’t have needed to go behind your back,” Saul retorted.
“Why would I tell you? It has nothing to do with you,” I glared at him.
“Well, if you didn’t want to tell me, you should at least have told Holt. Or even Henry.”
“Hey,” Henry complained at the slight Saul had given him.
“What’s this about knives?” Holt asked.
I swallowed, suddenly very aware of what might be in that folder. I leant across the table and snatched it from Saul, then plonked back into my chair. Angling the folder carefully so that nobody but me could see the contents, I opened it and flicked through the pages. Most of it was sheets of writing by each of my examiners but, towards the back, there was a series of photos blown up to A4 size that showed that horrible day in my medical exam. I could see why Saul was upset. In the photos I looked crazed, like a rabid dog, my mouth twisted open and screaming and my white knuckles gripping the chair. I hurriedly flicked through them, finding it hard to keep my face neutral, especially on the final shot of me lying exhausted and limp with blood running down my arms. Thankfully, though, the video tape of the awful day wasn’t there. I looked at Saul.
“You’ve looked through this whole thing?” I asked him. His gaze softened and I knew his answer before he spoke.
“Yes I have.” He sat on the chair opposite me. “For Christ’s sake, Faine, why didn’t you tell anyone?”
I shut the folder and put it on my lap, holding my arms possessively over it so that nobody could snatch it from me. I knew I couldn’t say that I’d supposed they might think I was making a fuss. Holt would be horrified if he knew that I deliberately hadn’t told him just in case he thought I was making a big deal over nothing.
“Because I knew you’d act like this,” I said. “I knew you’d overreact and make a big scene for no reason.” It was strange that I was sitting here defending the actions of Phillip and Robert when I knew that what they’d done to me was outrageous.
“For no reason?” Saul said. “Faine, they cut you with silver.”
“They what?” Holt snapped. “Is that true?”
“Yes.” I wanted to add something but I wasn’t quite sure what.
“That’s why you’ve been flinching whenever someone touched your arms?” Henry said. “I knew even you couldn’t hurt both arms that much from falling over in the shower.”
“Let me see the marks,” Holt said.
“No.” I shook my head. It had been almost three weeks since that day. The cut from the steel blade had gone but the silver cut was still angry and red. Phillip had told me that they had deliberately made sure the blade was sharp so that the cut was thin.
“They really did that to you?” Holt asked.
I nodded and shot a pissed off look at Saul. Trust him to ruin a perfectly good day. Henry swore at my admittance, but it was Holt who got angry. He stood up and crossed to the bar where he poured whisky into a glass and downed it before pouring three more and handing one to Henry, one to Saul and then taking another swig himself.
“Why did you let them do it?” Holt asked me.
“Why wouldn’t I?” I said.
“Because it’s completely out of line and they had no right to do that to you,” Holt answered. “Half the vampires here have never been marked with silver and the ones that have… they only have it happen because they’re enforcers.”
“They needed to see how I reacted and to see if I had increased healing,” I said, feeling like I was fighting a losing battle and sticking up for the wrong side. But I had to calm everyone down before they got too worked up and did something that would get them into trouble. Sitting here complaining about how awful it had been and how much it had hurt would only wind them up further. “Look. I’m not saying it wasn’t a bitch to go through, but they had a good reason for doing it.”
“No they didn’t!” Holt shouted.
I flinched. It was the first time I’d ever heard Holt raise his voice in anger. “They had no right whatsoever to treat you like that and they damn well knew it.” Holt’s gaze landed on the folder on my lap. “What else have they done?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Nothing else like that at all.”
It irritated me when Holt looked to Saul to ask if I was telling the truth, but it wound me up a lot more when Saul shook his head in disagreement.
“What else?” Holt said.
I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or Saul but, as I wasn’t sure exactly what it was Saul was referring to, I stayed quiet.
“They’re setting impossibly high standards,” Saul said. “Instead of testing to see what her limits are, they’re setting the standards expected of a vampire and they’re expecting her to keep up.”
All three looked at me again and I shrugged again. I stood and, clasping the folder tightly to my chest, crossed to the fridge and took out a can of cloudy lemonade. I pulled the ring pull and remained standing while they discussed why my examiners would be setting the targets so high.
I glanced towards my bedroom door wondering if they’d notice if I slipped out. I hadn’t gone two steps before Holt looked up at me.
“Faine,” he said.
I shot him an innocent look and tried to look like I was taking the long way round to the armchair. Holt seemed to realise just how uncomfortable I was and he came to sit on the edge of the coffee table. He leaned over and put his hands on my knees.
“I know you hate this,” he said. “I know it’s a huge invasion of your privacy but I really think it’d help if we could see your results so far.”
I wanted to complain but Holt had done so much for me. I knew he wouldn’t ask for this if he really didn’t think it was necessary. So I pulled the photos out and handed him the folder. He’d already heard the worst, but I sure as hell wasn’t letting anymore people see those photos.
“Thank you,” Holt said. Then he gave my knees a quick squeeze and took my results back to the table for a study session with Saul and Henry.
Henry whistled as he looked over the papers Holt had given him. “Damn, Faine
, you can run,” he said, shooting me one of his easy grins. I grinned back but didn’t say anything. I was saved by the ringtone of my mobile phone, which was charging in the bedroom. I pushed the door closed behind me, knowing it would be Dale calling to arrange our next get-together. It seemed that I owed Dale yet again because his good timing had got me out there.
Chapter 45
My conversation with Dale lasted only five minutes because he was on his way to a shift of gate duty. So I hovered around my bedroom, wondering how much time I could waste before I had to go back out. By the time I’d finished my lemonade, I figured I needed to go out there and face the music.
I sat back in the armchair as Holt explained their theory. Holt had noted that the line of questioning I’d received in my counselling sessions on Tuesdays seemed to back up the idea that I wasn’t deemed a true vampire; they’d emphasised that I had a very human way of thinking. For some reason, it seemed The Sénat had decided they didn’t want me to be classed as a vampire; they thought it would be easier for them to claim that, yes, I undoubtedly had vampire blood in me but I wasn’t sufficiently accomplished to be classed as a vampire.
While the progress I’d made in all my physical tests was, as Henry put it, “bloody incredible”, they were still not on the same level as a vampire. They’d likely never be on the same level as a vampire, even if I carried on doing tests forever.
Holt gathered the papers together, put them back in the folder and handed it to me.
“I think our best course of action is simply to spread the word. Faine is a topic of massive interest at the moment and we should use that to our advantage. Obviously, we can’t let on that we’ve seen this information or that we know what The Sénat are up to, but we need to drop comments into conversations. If we mention how amazing her abilities are, then no doubt the word will spread.” Holt finished his proposal and looked to Saul and Henry to see if they agreed. They both nodded.
“I don’t see how that will change anything,” I said. “I mean, if it’s The Sénat who will decide my fate, what does it matter what everyone else thinks?”
Holt replied, “The Sénat will be the ones to make the decision but, if enough people here know about your abilities, then it will make it harder for The Sénat to decide against you. They keep careful tabs on the feelings of everyone here; if they realise the majority are aware of exactly what you can do, they’ll know that a decision against you will seem strange.”
I nodded but I didn’t think it would work. I was sure The Sénat did what they wanted regardless of what anyone thought. The strange thing was that I wasn’t really bothered. It would be nice to be accepted as a vampire so that I could continue to live here in the luxury I was becoming used to, but, if it was decided that I was human, then I’d most likely be asked to live with the staff and that didn’t seem so bad either. The staff building that Dale lived in always reminded me of a university and, since I’d never been, it would be nice to enjoy an environment like that. Plus I would still be close enough to see Holt, Henry and Saul whenever I wanted.
“Well, the Bonfire Night Ball is coming up soon so that will be the perfect opportunity for a little gossip-spreading,” Henry said.
“Another ball?” I asked. “It seems like not a week goes by when you don’t have a ball or a banquet.”
“When you live as long as we do, life can get a little stale so we find reasons to have regular events to brighten up the months,” Holt explained.
“So you have an Autumn Ball, a Halloween Banquet, a Bonfire Night Ball… What’s next?” I asked.
“That would be the Christmas Eve Ball,” Henry answered. “One of my favourites. You just wait until you see the size of the tree they put up in the ballroom; every year I’m staggered that they get it in there.”
“I can’t go,” I said.
All three heads turned to look at me. Henry looked so shocked I might as well have just said I believed I was a fairy from the land of Narnia.
“Why not?” Saul asked, concern furrowing his brow.
“Because I have plans,” I said. Then, when they all kept staring at me, I sighed and explained, “On Christmas Eve I’ll be here in my pyjamas, curled up on the sofa with a pile of junk food, a snowball with a cherry in the bottom of the glass, surrounded by every tacky Christmas decoration I can get my hands on.”
Silence. Henry’s face lit up in an odd grin like he wasn’t sure if I was joking or if I’d gone a little crazy.
“Can’t you do that on Christmas Day instead?” Saul asked.
I shook my head. “This is my tradition and I certainly won’t be breaking it to go and spend the evening surrounded by a bunch of snot-nosed vampires who couldn’t give a flying fig about me.” I stopped and then, seeing the surprise on their faces, added, “Present company excluded, obviously.”
“You’re serious,” Henry said.
“Yes, I’m serious. Christmas has never been a big thing for me. Mary always hated the commercialisation and she reminded me constantly that it was Christ’s day, not mine. She bought me one present every year and it was always a Bible, just to drive the message home. But Christmas Eves were different. Every year Mary spent Christmas Eve at church so I had the whole evening to myself. I’d hoard junk food for weeks, then drag it out once she was gone and watch whatever Christmas film was on. Of course it was only when I was living on my own that I was able to add the snowball and the tacky decorations.” I finished my reminiscing and looked around to see that I was now being viewed with pity. I squirmed in my chair, feeling uncomfortable with the attention. Sure my story was a little pathetic, but my tradition made me happy so that was all that mattered.
“Fair enough,” said Henry. “But surely you could at least go for tasteful decorations?”
“No, I did try one year to have everything matching and classy, but I have no eye for that kind of thing and so the whole ordeal just became stressful instead of fun and, when I sat in amongst it all, I felt frustrated that I was so incapable of creating anything at all stylish. So I just buy whatever I like the look of, stick it all around my room and think of it as tacky-chic.”
This confession brought smiles from Holt and Henry, even Saul looked like he was trying hard not to find my incompetence amusing. I changed the subject before Henry could make fun.
“Here.” I put the photos back in the folder and held it out to Saul. “You’d better put this back before someone notices it’s missing.”
He took it from me and a heavy look and a nod told me that I didn’t have to ask him to make sure nobody else saw it.
Holt moved to the door. “Okay, so we’ll start on our side of things, but, Faine, you have to promise you’ll tell us the second anything in your tests is inappropriate. No more knives and don’t let them push you; you just do what you’re comfortable with and if they want to get worked up over the results then leave them to it.” Holt looked at me expectantly.
I smiled. One of the benefits of spending so much time around vampires was that I was learning their ways. In this case, it was how to give Holt an answer that sounded like an agreement but actually gave me a loophole. I knew I’d suffer in silence, never telling Holt, because I knew he’d cause trouble with The Sénat if he found out. I also knew he wouldn’t leave this room until I gave him the promise he was waiting for.
“I promise I’ll tell you straight away if something happens I feel I can’t handle.”
There was my lovely loophole, now I just had to make sure I could handle things myself. Holt gave me a shrewd look and I could tell he was trying to work out if I’d deliberately phrased my answer like that, or if it had been an accident. I gave him my most innocent look and he seemed to decide that it had been an accident.
A glance at Saul told me he didn’t believe it at all. Before he could say anything, I excused myself and slipped into my bedroom, waiting until the door was fully closed before I allowed myself a little victory dance.
Chapter 46
The library
had become one of my favourite places to spend my free time. I’d always loved the escape of a book and, when you paired that with the magnificence of this library, I couldn’t understand why it was never busier. I’d pick out my favourite chair and spend hours at a time snuggled up in its silky soft leather, working my way through all the books I’d always intended to read.
Word seemed to have got around about my habits and, most days now, I was being hit on. It made me laugh how many vamps had asked if I wanted to go somewhere more fun. Had it never occurred to them that I spent so long sitting here because I actually enjoyed it?
It hadn’t taken me long to realise that subtlety didn’t work with most vampires and so I eventually stopped making small talk in order to be polite and just gave them a nod as they entered, then I pretended to be so engrossed in my book that I didn’t notice them hovering around me and clearing their throats louder than a cat hacking up a hair ball. A few had tried the patient approach and taken a seat close to me, hoping to catch me as I left, but none of them had lasted more than two hours. It really was quite comical to witness and it added an extra element of entertainment to my reading time.
I wriggled a little in my chair, it was Thursday morning and I let the satisfying feeling wash over me, knowing that I had two free days stretched out in front of me.
When the door opened again I glanced up. It was Monique. I didn’t bother with the polite nod this time, I just carried on reading. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her move off and disappear behind a row of shelves.
As I neared the end of my chapter she re-emerged and came to stand in front of me, whatever book she’d located in her hand. She didn’t seem bothered by my standoffishness.
“I must say, you seem to be handling all of this very well,” she said, her voice light.
I gave her a winning smile. “Thank you.” Then I flipped the page and returned to my copy of The Lord of The Rings.
Where Loyalty Lies Page 25