I lean in closer to her and whisper, “Did you see him?”
Noreen is clearly shaken; her entire face is pale as a ghost.
Rita nods and taps a finger to her forehead. “In here,” she answers in a low voice. “He was…trying to persuade me to go to him. It took all of my will power not to succumb. He knows what I am to him.”
“Where did he want you to go?” The vampires are on the edge of their seats, intently watching and listening to our cryptic conversation.
Rita’s dark brown eyes go wide, but then she lets her gaze drop. “I don’t know. I could just feel him pulling on me, like there was a thread around my wrist.” I can tell from the look on her face that she’s holding something back, but I don’t try to push her.
Ethan stands and approaches us. “What is all this, and who are you both whispering about?”
I glare at him. “None of your business.”
Ethan ignores my cutting stare and focuses on Rita. “Little witch, are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” she answers, plastering a breezy grin on her face. “Nothing to worry about.”
“You’re hiding something,” says Ethan. “Don’t do that. It will not end well.”
“Are you threatening her?” Gabriel asks, rushing to Rita’s defence.
Ethan smiles at him falsely. “Of course not, Gabriel. No need to get your panties all twisted up.”
“Don’t talk to him like that,” Alvie interjects suddenly, angered by Ethan’s mocking tone towards Gabriel.
Ethan’s eyes drift slowly – condescendingly – over Alvie, a satisfied smirk on his face. “I’m sorry, did I offend your boyfriend?”
“You’re a real piece of work, you are,” says Alvie. “Would it kill you to be pleasant to him? He is your half brother, you know.”
Ethan laughs and looks back at Gabriel. “Isn’t that sweet? Your little boy toy is sticking up for you.”
Gabriel’s green eyes are like slits. He stands up to face Ethan head on. “If you so much as look at him that way again I’ll end you.”
“End me? Don’t flatter yourself, brother, you would only hurt yourself trying.”
Finn, who’s sitting casually on the other side of the room, interjects with smooth confidence, “Oh, he’ll have help.”
Ethan is just about ready to make some other smart comment to Finn when I jump up and put my hand over his mouth. “Enough. That’s enough sniping from all of you. We’re supposed to be allies, not enemies. I know it’s going to take some getting used to, but everybody is going to have to put their prejudices aside and make a concerted effort to get along.”
“Here, here,” Lucas puts in mockingly. I silence him with a sharp look.
Ethan’s eyes are levelled on mine. He grabs a hold of my wrist and swiftly removes my hand from his mouth. “Very well then,” he says. He holds onto me hard for a moment longer than necessary, still staring at me. When he lets go of my hand it falls limply to my side.
Unexpectedly, the vampire barman named Will speaks up, his gaze trained on me. “Who do you think you are to tell everyone how they should behave? You are nothing but a traitorous, lying little bitch.”
His venomous words hit me like a sledgehammer. From what I have experienced of him, Will seems to be the brooding, silent type. He doesn’t often say much, but I never would have guessed his opinion of me was so hateful.
“Will,” says Ethan, a quiet reprimand.
Will stares at his superior in frustration, but doesn’t utter another word.
Dru shakes her head, “Oh come on, she played you for a fool and now we’re all paying the price. We should be allowed to express our opinions.”
Oh great, so Dru hates me too. I’d thought she was just going along with the whole thing because she’d pledged her loyalty to Ethan and wanted to keep him happy. I guess not.
“Um, can I remind you all that I was saving a little girl’s life? I hardly did it for selfish reasons.”
I try to ignore the voice in my head that says, well Tegan, you did get paid for your efforts now didn’t you. I need to stand up for myself with these vamps, otherwise they’ll trample all over me.
“Yeah, you’re a modern day Mother Theresa,” says Lucas. He pauses to glance about at the gathering of humans, dhamphirs and vampires with a grin. “Can someone remind me who thought it would be a good idea for everyone to be in one room together?”
I let out a long sigh.
“I did,” says Finn. “Now, I’m probably the last person to be happy about this reluctant alliance we’ve built, but there’s no use sitting in here fighting like cats and dogs. This is my house, so I’m going to call the shots for now. If the riots in the city today were Theodore’s doing then we need to find out where he is and put a stop to it. The vampires can search at night and the humans and dhamphirs during the day.”
Ethan is focused on Finn as he speaks. It unnerves me, because I don’t know whether he’s going to accept the slayer giving orders or if he will fight it.
Thankfully, he finally admits, “It might surprise you, slayer, but I agree. We vampires will begin our searches tonight.” He steps forward then and shakes Finn’s hand, both men still staring each other down.
“Good stuff,” says Finn nodding, while Ethan gestures for Lucas, Dru, Will and Delilah to follow him out of the house.
Delilah hovers by the door and shoots Gabriel an apologetic look, perhaps for the way in which Ethan had spoken to him. Those two have grown substantially closer this past week or so. I wonder what Ethan thinks of that. Gabriel silently nods to her and she leaves the room.
Once all of the vampires are gone I sit myself down beside Rita, taking a moment to study her. She seems jittery, but like she’s trying to disguise it. She glances at me and tenses up.
“What?” she asks, somewhat indignantly.
“What aren’t you telling us Rita?”
“Nothing,” she replies, rubbing her hands up and down her arms as though to rid herself of a chill.
“Tegan’s right, you’re hiding something. Out with it,” says Alvie encouragingly.
Rita remains silent, but looks to each person in the room in turn. First me, then Finn, Gabriel, Alvie, and finally her mother.
After a moment she begins to speak. “I don’t mind working with the vampires, but you all have to promise to keep your mouths shut about who my dad is. If it got out they’d probably end up trying to use me to blackmail Theodore in some way.”
A short silence ensues. “To be honest,” says Gabriel, “I don’t think Theodore cares about anyone other than himself, so using you as currency wouldn’t exactly work even if the vampires did try it.”
“That’s not true,” Rita whispers, her eyes drifting off for a minute before she focuses again. “Theodore just went out of his way to visit my mind. His message was clear; he wants me to join him. He might not think much of me in terms of paternal love, but he certainly knows I inherited some of his power and he wants me close by. So, as you might guess, if the vamps did try to use me as leverage to get to him, it could very well work. Only I’m not sure they’d ever let him have me in the long run. They’d probably just trick him in some way and then do away with me. Nobody wants a sorcerer’s daughter running free to cause mayhem in the future. So, as far as the vamps are concerned I’m just an average, everyday witch, do you all hear me? Nothing to write home about.”
“I certainly have no intention of telling anyone who your dad is, Rita,” I tell her. “But the vampires aren’t going to think you’re an average witch after seeing you work powerful magic twice now. Plus, if you hadn’t noticed, Ethan has set his sights on you. He’s not being extra nice to you because he’s a friendly sort of guy.”
Rita snorts. “Of course I know that. I’m well aware that the blond Adonis wants to use me. The thing is, sometimes when it seems like one person is being used by another, it’s in fact the opposite way around. I’ll let him think he’s winning me over, because it could be useful to have an o
ld vamp like him on my side.”
“Good strategy,” says Finn with praise.
I hold my tongue in frustration. When we decided to “make friends” with the vampires I never would have guessed so many subtle mind games would be played. I get up and go into the kitchen to make myself some tea. Once I’ve poured a cup I go and sit down at the table, where Ira is still seated and staring out the window into the dark garden. He definitely has the right idea; the solitary life has its advantages. Getting involved with people just leaves you broken and bruised. At least in my experience it does.
Ira glances at me serenely and then turns his attention back to Finn’s overgrown garden. A moment later Rita comes into the room and stands by the door.
“What’s your problem, Tegan? I can tell you’re annoyed about something,” she says, her arms crossed over her chest.
“I’m just tired,” I reply, “and I’m also sick of Ethan’s games and how all of the vampires hate me now. It’s not like I did something intentionally evil.”
Rita comes to sit by me, but as she does Ira suddenly turns around and begins growling low in his throat. “Calm down doggie. I’m not going to put any spells on you,” she says.
I glance at her questioningly.
She sighs. “He seems to have a problem with witches, probably because of the witch who put the curse on him. He’s not so bad with Alvie or Gabriel because they’re men, but with me and Mum he just growls and won’t let us get too close.”
“That’s odd. He doesn’t get defensive with me at all,” I tell her.
“Well, you aren’t exactly a traditional kind of witch, at least not yet. Plus, I think he’s used to you since you’ve been living here for a while.”
I take a sip of warm tea. “Yeah probably.” Then I do something unexpected. I reach across the table and place my hand on Ira’s bare arm. “Rita’s not going to harm you. She’s a good witch.”
Rita laughs. “Well, that’s debatable.”
Ira stares directly into my eyes, grunts, and then pulls his arm away. Rita, being the provocative mare that she is, drags her chair along the floor and pushes it right up next to Ira. His growling starts again, even louder this time. She puts her arm around his very broad shoulders and places a smacking kiss on his cheek. “Get used to me pooch, because I’m not going anywhere,” she tells him in a vaguely seductive voice. She squeezes his shoulders and then swiftly leaves the room to return to her trailer for the night.
“Goodnight, Tegan,” she calls, just before slamming shut the front door.
“‘Night, Rita,” I reply, picking up my tea and making my way to my room, leaving Ira to resume his solitary contemplations.
I wake up early the next morning. Not because I had planned on it, but because Finn begins pounding on the door at seven-thirty telling me to get up because we’re going sorcerer hunting today. In the bathroom I finger my short messy hair, noticing that it’s grown out a little bit. I haven’t been keeping up with my haircuts since coming back to Tribane. All the drama tends to take precedence. I clip it up haphazardly before brushing my teeth and washing my face.
I haven’t done my laundry yet this week and all of my comfy jeans are dirty, so I have to resort to wearing a knee length blue dress under my coat, with thick black tights underneath for warmth.
The seven of us stand out in Finn’s front garden in the cold, dull light of the morning. Finn has divided us up into three teams. Rita and Delilah are going to take a boat out to Ridley Island to have a look around and see if they can find any clues as to Theodore’s whereabouts, since it’s the location he once called home and he seems to be kind of attached to it. Gabriel and Alvie will suss out the estate that belongs to Michael Ridley, a warlock who is currently in league with Theodore. And that leaves me, Finn and Ira to pay a visit to my old place of work, Indigo, the shop that belongs to Marcel (also in league with Theodore and in fact his great, great, great etc grandson).
I get into the passenger seat of Finn’s car. He’s not using the DOH van today, since there’s only the three of us. Ira sits quietly in the back seat.
“I thought I’d bring him along to give us a bit more of a menacing air,” says Finn as he starts up the engine. “Marcel’s not exactly the bravest sort, so he shouldn’t try anything too threatening with Ira standing beside us.”
I glance at Ira in the overhead mirror. Finn must have taken him shopping for some clothes recently, because he’s now wearing garments that actually fit. Ira’s frame is larger than any man’s I’ve ever met before, even Ethan’s. I momentarily wonder why Finn is going out of his way to take care of the shapeshifter. Perhaps it’s out of respect for his old DOH superior, Noel, as Ira had been his friend back in the day. Or maybe it’s simply because of the advantage of having such a big, burly man at his beck and call.
Suddenly, Ira meets my eyes through the mirror, and there is so much wisdom in his gaze that I have to wonder if he really can’t talk or if he’s simply pretending to be mute so that people will underestimate him. It’s a good strategy, I suppose, having people think you’re not a threat when really you’re expertly planning their demise in your head. I quickly look away and focus my attention back on Finn.
“So what do you think our visit to Indigo is actually going to achieve? Marcel’s a stubborn old git, if I remember correctly. He’s hardly going to spit out Theodore’s location and master plan just because we come marching into his shop with a six foot-something shapeshifter at our side.”
Finn shakes his head. “That’s not exactly the goal. We’re not going to let on that we’re after Theodore. Jesus Christ, who is actually idiotic enough to let their enemies know they’re gunning for them in advance? You, little Miss, are going to demand that Marcel tells you a way of getting your dad back from the hell dimension. All the while I’ll scope the place out for clues as to what might be going on with the big bad sorcerer.”
“Oh, right.” I blush slightly, feeling stupid.
Finn laughs gently and smiles his charming smile. He reaches out and allows his fingers to glide across my cheek. “I like it when you blush. It makes you seem all innocent.”
I go even more red in the face when he moves his hand and trails a finger down the outside of my thigh, before giving my knee a squeeze. Even through the thick tights his touch sets off my nerve endings. He doesn’t move his hand from my knee as he continues driving. The strange thing is, neither do I.
I’m stuck in a moment of wondering what it would be like to be with Finn. He’s so warm and friendly, so teasing. So human. I shake myself out of these thoughts and look back at him, to find he’s now glancing at me with one eyebrow cocked.
“I thought you’d have clapped me upside the head by now for putting my hand on you,” he says, bemused.
I smirk and laugh. “I think you’d enjoy that far too much. Besides, letting you feel me up is worth seeing the look of confusion on your face.”
Finn fake scowls at me. “Two can play at that game,” he replies and then moves his hand from my knee to my inner thigh and works his way up under my dress. It takes all of my will power not to stop him. I feel like a teenager playing some dumb flirtatious game with the boy I fancy. The hard pressure of his hand sends tingles shooting through me. When he gets dangerously close to the top I breathe out shakily and grab his hand, effectively shoving it away from me.
“Aw, too much for you, was it Petal?” he asks happily.
“Yeah,” I reply deadpan, “you’re so completely irresistible, Finn.”
Even though my words are sarcastic, I can’t help admitting to myself that he kind of is irresistible in a way, with his roguish charm and sharp tongue.
“And don’t you forget it,” he says with a wink and a grin, just as we pull the car to a stop around the corner from Steward’s Street where Indigo is located.
When we near the entrance to the shop, I immediately notice the steady flow of customers going in and out. I know I didn’t work in the place for very long, but not i
n all the time I’d been there had I experienced such a large number of patrons. Finn places his hand on my lower back, ushering me inside. I’d have spent more time wondering about the affectionate gesture if I wasn’t so stunned to see how much Indigo has changed since I’d last been here.
The interior has undergone a major renovation. There are now three state of the art cash register stations instead of the old rickety one from before. It also seems like they’ve knocked down one of the back walls in order to make the space larger. The shelves are new shiny plastic ones, displaying a whole range of stock the shop never used to carry, such as herbal cosmetics and hair dyes.
The cash registers are being manned by two guys and one girl, none of whom I have ever seen before. Something hums inside of me. My magic informing me that these are members of the magical families, Girards and Ridleys most likely.
“Is your boss around?” Finn asks one of the guy workers.
He gives Finn a shrug and turns to serve his next customer. A second later a recognisable voice greets us.
“Well, well, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
Marcel steps out of a doorway at the back of the shop. There’s a smile on his face and a calculating gleam in his eye. I can feel Finn’s body stiffen beside me at the warlock’s approach.
“I think you’re finding this about as pleasurable as an injection up the posterior,” says Finn, casually crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh and by the way, I love what you’ve done with the place. It’s like McDonalds for hippies.”
Marcel gives him a broad smile. “I’ll take that as a compliment. And on the contrary, finding old friends such as yourselves grace my door is quite the gift.” His eyes slowly drift to me, and in their seemingly harmless depths I see my dad falling into a black, unfathomable hole.
“Hello Tegan,” Marcel greets me, with something of a cruel sparkle on his happy face. I enjoy watching that happiness swiftly dissolve when those sparkling eyes land on Ira, who’s standing just behind me.
“Ah,” Marcel goes on. “I see you’ve brought another – friend.”