Tainted

by Claire Farrell

  Jessica shrugged. “I met some people along the way who made the detour worth it.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” I said. “When Leah starts at the school, Jess could maybe tag along and see how she feels about the place.”

  “After some testing,” Phoenix said.

  That chilled my blood. A number of things hadn’t been adding up lately. Shay had been noticeably stressed out and irritable when in Phoenix’s presence, and I was pretty sure the new Senate wasn’t working as well as they had hoped it would. Then there had been mentions of a register—and now testing. It didn’t sound like Phoenix, but it had come out of his mouth.

  “Phoenix,” I said warningly.

  He held my gaze. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”

  “Maybe I need to check up on the home.”

  “I’ve been asking you to do that for weeks.”

  I avoided his eyes.

  “You could help me,” he said. “We have the same vision, but I can’t do it all alone.”

  “Here’s Shay,” I murmured, hearing the car turn into the cul-de-sac.

  Phoenix strode toward Shay’s car to greet him.

  “Is he your boyfriend?” Jessica asked.

  “What? No! What’s with the boyfriend obsession?”

  She shrugged and scowled down at her feet.

  “I was kidding,” I said hurriedly.

  When she looked up again, her face held a pile of vulnerability she obviously didn’t want. “The first person I ever kissed sold me to the vampires. I thought he liked me, but it was all a trick. And then my friend gave himself up to get me away from that witch, and I realised how much I cared about him once he was gone. I can’t really talk to Dad about that stuff, so I was hoping…”

  “I’m not exactly queen of the healthy relationships,” I said. “I bit my first boyfriend and recently persuaded Phoenix to take the guy’s memories of me away. You have plenty of time to learn more than I do about relationships, and trust me, it’s not a lot.”

  “What age were you when you first killed someone?” she asked.

  For the briefest instant, I saw the dying vampire Maximus rise up before my eyes. “Twenty-five.”

  She bit her lip. “I don’t really know what normal and healthy is, Ava.”

  I draped my arm around her shoulder. “Then you’ll learn.”

  Shay and Phoenix approached us, chatting to each other politely. Few would notice the hint of tension in their body language. Shay was a pro at appearing relaxed, and Phoenix was adept at seeming emotionless. Despite the tension, they still worked well together. I was surprised at how easily Shay had fit in. He and Phoenix, amongst others, had done a lot to change people’s perceptions of the old governments, even while creating a new ruling body. We were still in the infant stages of that idea, and change had made stability impossible, but I had hope for the future.

  “It’ll be dark soon,” I said, watching the sky to avoid looking at either of them. I was keeping a secret from those I trusted most, and sometimes, I was almost certain they could see it in my eyes.

  “She’ll be late,” Shay said wryly. “The vampire is always late.”

  “Did she freak at the idea of coming here?” I asked.

  “No,” Phoenix said. “In fact, she seemed eager. Be careful.”

  “I’m always careful.”

  He gave me a look that said I wasn’t, but I ignored it.

  “Just remember,” I said. “Jess is under my protection. Daimhín cannot have her for any reason.”

  “Why would she want me?” Jess asked. “To feed from me?”

  “That would probably make her day.” I made a face. “But her biggest reason would be so that nobody else can have you. She might offer you a job. Say no. I’ve been there. It’s not fun.”

  She recoiled. “You worked for the vampire queen?”

  “It was either that or be tortured to death,” I said. “Give me a break, Jess.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just… my dad won’t like this at all.”

  Darkness fell, and I shivered. “She should be on her way soon. And I’m glad the four of us are here because I’ve been thinking. Shay, you got caught up one night because of a massive fire in the city centre. Jess tells me she was trapped in a hostel that was set on fire. Connected?”

  Phoenix’s fingers twitched. I was definitely asking the right questions.

  “Was it a supernatural fire?” Shay asked. “Because nobody could put that fire out. The building burned down completely. Nobody came forward to claim ownership, so I assumed it was a supernatural building. We didn’t look into it as much as we could have. Not with… everything else.”

  I glanced at Jess. “Your friend started the fire, didn’t he?”

  She nodded, keeping her eyes on the ground. “In England, Dad and I were running from a pack of beasts, and Parker turned up and saved us with fire. We sort of stuck together after that. Sunny—his grandfather—told me that Parker had kirin blood in him. He can control it. Don’t think he can’t. He was just trying to set us all free. Then when the witch came, he did what he had to do.”

  “Marina’s arm was burned before she died,” I said. “I remember that much.”

  “Parker used his fire to separate us. She was holding on to me with magic. He put the fire between us, and we got separated.” She touched her arm self-consciously. “He saved me from her. Later, we heard that Parker left with the witch.”

  “If Marina had him, she either took him to Eddie or the Council,” I said, glancing at Phoenix. “But Eddie’s gone, and so is the Council.”

  “Let’s hope Eddie never got his hands on him,” Shay said.

  I narrowed my eyes at Phoenix. “Is Parker in the children’s home?”

  Phoenix slipped on his snobby fae mask. “I would remember if a kirin had been mentioned. We don’t get many Korean supernaturals here.”

  “Are you saying he definitely isn’t there?” I demanded.

  “I know nothing about a kirin. But it’s possible this friend is one of the silent ones. Not everyone wants to share their identity, even when they’re safe.”

  “That just means they don’t feel safe,” I countered.

  “We’re trying our best,” Phoenix said. “I can only deal with one problem at a time. The children’s home is complicated, and I have more pressing matters to deal with. We’ve hit a wall with the families of most of the children.”

  “I told you already. You need to hire Peter and Val. This business they’ve set up is perfect. How better to track down lost families without using up too many resources than to use a pair of finders?”

  “It’s Peter,” Shay said. “He won’t come to us, won’t make an official application. He wants us to run after him, but there’s red tape.”

  “How the fuck can there be red tape already?” I blurted. “Jesus, why do you men have to make everything so fucking complicated?”

  Jess started at my tone.

  “We’ll deal with everything in due course,” Phoenix said firmly.

  He was the only one I had the heart to let feel as if he were the boss of me. And also, I was still slightly terrified of him. The fact that he saw me as so little a threat that he could occasionally show me a more vulnerable side made me more scared of him, rather than less.

  Daimhín’s limo entered the cul-de-sac. We all shut up. Jessica froze next to me. I tried to hold her hand for reassurance, but she pulled it away. Just when I felt I knew how to comfort people, I went and messed it up.

  We strode over to the car as the usual occupants stepped out: Daimhín; her bodyguard, Zion; her forever-teenage seer, Eloise; and Eloise’s pet baby vampire, Jules.

  Jules’s gaze locked onto Jessica right away. He licked his fangs hungrily, carelessly spilling his own blood as the points pricked his tongue.

  I held up my hand and stepped in front of Jessica. “Jules, no! Daimhín, keep him on his lead around here.”

  “Calm down, Ms. Delaney. He’s under control,” Dai
mhín said in a bored tone. “Let me see the new addition.”

  I stepped aside so she could look at Jessica. The queen’s fangs protruded instantly. Jessica grabbed my hand then dropped it just as hurriedly.

  “It smells unexpectedly delicious.” Daimhín smiled. “And more danger comes your way. You do know how to find it, don’t you?”

  I shrugged. “It sort of finds me.”

  She gave an uncharacteristic roll of her eyes. “Of course it does. Well, let’s get on with this.”

  “Is Seth in Ireland?” I asked.

  The vampire queen looked momentarily afraid. “Let us hope not. What makes you say that?”

  “We think he was tracking down the new addition. That he’s the secret ingredient in the beast formula. That killing him will do us all a favour.”

  Her expression tightened. “How will it do me a favour?”

  “He’s higher in the food chain,” Phoenix said. “If he appears, your standing as queen will be destroyed. You know how it is.”

  “I’ve heard that those assassins and rogue vampires were working under a new leader, but I never suspected…” She paced on the footpath in front of us. Jules, in turn, grew edgier by the moment. “This is inconvenient.”

  “So you haven’t heard that he’s here?” Shay asked.

  “No, no. I would have brought it to the Council—I mean, the Senate. This can’t happen. You must get close enough to kill him, Ms. Delaney. Even if you let yourself die, it may not be enough to destroy him. You must tear him apart.”

  I held back a sigh. “We have no idea what will happen when I die, but I’d like it not to happen anytime soon.”

  “If he comes here, he’ll take her,” Daimhín said, pointing at Jessica. “You, too, perhaps. More likely, he’ll kill you for standing in his way. He rarely lifts a hand to act himself. Others willingly do his work, but you have more chance of fighting back against his… minions, as you would call them. You have no idea what he’s capable of.”

  “He destroyed my family to create me,” I said wryly. “I have a pretty good idea of how much of a villain he is.”

  “That’s the problem with you,” she said. “You always think in terms of heroes and villains. I had half-forgotten he created you. Perhaps he simply wants to take his daughters home.” She gestured at Phoenix. “If that’s the case, we would be better off killing these two ourselves.”

  Phoenix stiffened. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  She looked disappointed. “Oh, not you as well.”

  Eloise’s eyes had brightened. They weren’t tinged with red, and she seemed calm.

  “What do you think, Eloise?” I asked. “Know something you’d like to share?”

  She cocked her head. “When I know something I’d like to share, I will do it.”

  “If I give you permission,” Daimhín said hurriedly. She had been a little bit frazzled since Eloise began being rebellious.

  “Is Seth a definite threat?” Shay asked Daimhín. His tone was strained, and I wondered if he took her advice about killing Jess and me first seriously.

  “Only to these two. And the angels. Gabe is lucky he died foolishly.”

  Phoenix put his hand behind his back and took my clenched fist. He squeezed so tight it hurt, and I surreptitiously kicked his ankle, but he didn’t let go. It wasn’t as if I had been planning on attacking the vampire queen. I had seen her fight on occasion. I wasn’t that stupid.

  “I will make enquiries,” Daimhín said. “If Seth is gathering, we’ll hear about it. And I’ll look into the information on the formula. I wish not for that plague to visit my island again.”

  “So it’s likely?” Shay asked. “Is he responsible for the formula?”

  “It’s possible,” Daimhín said. “And it makes more sense than anything else. If this is true, we won’t be the only ones to wish him dead.” She glanced at Phoenix. “You could perhaps use this as leverage.”

  Leverage against what?

  “And if Seth offered you more power?” Phoenix asked. “What would you do then?”

  Daimhín gave us a toothy smile. “I would consider my options very carefully, as I always do. We must leave. I haven’t had a chance to eat yet.”

  The four of them got back into the car. Zion had to shove Jules into the backseat because he was staring at Jessica so hard.

  The car pulled away, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But then it slowed, and the window was wound down.

  “I’d like to see the girl again,” Daimhín called out. “Bring her to me sometime. I have an offer for her, should she survive Seth.”

  I swore under my breath as the car disappeared around the turn. Taking Jessica to the vampire queen was the last thing I planned on doing.

  Chapter Six

  Early the next morning, I tried to sneak out of the house, but Jessica was up first and caught me before I could make it outside. She was in the centre of the living room, doing some kind of stretching exercise. The furniture had been moved to make room, and her cheeks were flushed with exertion.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “Um.” I fidgeted. “Just out. Somewhere boring.”

  She straightened. “Can I come?”

  “Wouldn’t you rather stay here and keep an eye on your dad?”

  “I’m bored.” She kicked the air with perfect form. “I need some fresh air.”

  “I have a garden.”

  She pouted and folded her arms across her chest.

  “For the love of… fine! But if I take you, you can’t ask questions. You can’t tell anyone anything. You have to keep your mouth shut. Do you understand?”

  She stared at me in astonishment. “Who would I tell?”

  “Any one of the people you’ve met. I’d like to keep some things private, and they don’t need to know everything about me. I need to find out if I can help you.”

  “If?”

  “You don’t understand, and I can’t explain. I’m confined by rules, and you can’t spill any of this.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Good! Keep it that way.”

  She shook her head, still looking confused.

  “Oh, come on then. We have to get out of here before anyone notices. And let’s pray your dad doesn’t wake up and find you gone.”

  She quickly changed clothes, and we left the cul-de-sac as the sun was rising in the pink sky. I had missed sunrises. Even the persistent rainclouds couldn’t spoil the return of sunlight.

  “Why did the darkness go away?” Jess asked. “The sun was hidden for so long, then suddenly, everything was back to normal again.”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Nobody does. Were you scared when it happened?”

  “The darkness?” She shivered. “The sky went dark, and it seemed like everything out there came after us. Everyone at the safe house fought back. It was kind of cool, actually. But then…” She shook her head. “It got worse out there, and the sun never came back.”

  I shivered at the memory of that night. “I was in the middle of dying when it happened. A very powerful man was doing his best to bring his dead wife back to life, but it took all kinds of blood magic, sacrifice, and releasing demons into the world.”

  “There are demons here?” She looked so panicked that I laughed.

  “Maybe a few. The important ones didn’t get a chance to pass through. Carl helped contain it, and then a friend… well, it all ended in time. The circumstances that made the spell possible have been fixed, so there’s a good chance that won’t happen again.”

  “Just a good chance?”

  I shrugged. “Anything’s possible.”

  “So where are we going?” she asked.

  I hailed a taxi. “To see my solicitor.”

  “That’s the big secret?” she asked.

  “I told you it was boring.”

  We climbed into the taxi, and I gave the driver the address. I hoped Mr. Breslin would be ready for me. I really needed
to talk to the Eleven. I was one of them, but as the newbie, I was an outsider. They had specifically told me that I couldn’t let my personal feelings affect my actions, that I could help souls but not influence their actions to benefit myself. But I wanted Seth dead, and I wanted Jessica alive. So if helping her would give me exactly what I wanted, how could I remain unbiased? I needed to talk to the Eleven before I did something that would negate the protection over my houses and tenants. I wasn’t ready to die quite yet.

  Martin Breslin answered the door himself. He hesitated when he saw Jessica but invited us inside.

  “Sorry this had to be so early,” I told him. “I was trying to avoid questions, but obviously…” I gestured toward Jessica.

  “Of course,” he said softly. “How can I help you today?”

  “I have a request. A question really. For… them.”

  He nodded. “I’ll keep an eye on the girl while you… get reacquainted, shall I?”

  “So I just go in and touch the thing?”

  “Yes. They won’t be aware until then. If it all goes well, it shouldn’t affect any of their schedules negatively.”

  “I’m not going to lose a couple of days this time, am I? Because if I do, you need to get Jessica back before her father flips out.”

  He shook his head. “That was different. You weren’t one of them last time. It was preliminary. This is the real thing. You do realise this is the first time you’ll enter officially as part of… the team?”

  I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Yup. Not sure how I feel about that, but whatever.”

  He patted my shoulder. “You’ll wait here with me, miss,” he told Jessica. “Ava, you know where to go.”

  Surprised and relieved that she didn’t argue, I took a deep breath and headed for the vault. Each step down was another stone around my neck. I wasn’t quite sure what I would do if the other members said no. I pushed open the very ordinary-looking door and stepped into an impossibly dark room.

  In the centre stood a small table. The crystal ball sat on top. Milky clouds stormed inside the glass, making the orb appear almost alive. I rubbed my hands together as I approached then held my fingers above the crystal. This is it. Make or break time. Christ.