Chapter Ten
I followed Peter's directions and drove us to what turned out to be a tiny pub.
"You can't drive for shit," he mumbled under his breath as we left the car.
"It's been a while, okay?" My ex-boyfriend had taught me, but I hadn't driven since. "Isn't it a bit early for this?" I asked, more to distract myself. Since I tasted Peter, his cinnamon scent had overtaken my nostrils completely.
"Never too early for a shot after being fed on," he replied.
He knocked back four shots then chased them with a beer.
"Feel better yet?" I asked.
He glared at me. "I've been bitten by a human, watched you go into a little vampiric frenzy and almost kill someone, and then you licked me as if you wanted to?" His cheeks flushed red. "And, apparently, there are vampires and humans galore after us. What the fuck are we supposed to do now?"
"Well, we could get shit-faced drunk, or we could man up and deal with it," I snapped back.
"Option A it is," he said and ordered more shots. "Want one, Carl?"
"You can't give him alcohol!"
"Why not? Look at the size of him; he can take it."
"I dunno, it's like giving alcohol to a kid or something. Stop it!"
"You really need to lighten up," he said and downed another drink.
"What do we do now?" I asked him, trying to get him focused on reality.
"We drink. And if we're smart, we forget all about things that go bump in the night. Even if you're one."
"We have to do something, Peter."
"What we have to do is face facts. Life is shit, and then you die. Some of us sooner than others. And if you're really unlucky, some psycho bitch will bite a chunk out of your neck."
I tried to get him to focus-even catching him up on what Becca had said about the experiments in Spain, but he brushed it off. Two hours of constant moaning later, and he could barely stand. "That's it, we're going," I told him when he knocked a glass into my lap.
"Spoilsport," he muttered but followed me anyway. I hoped even he was fed up with his whining. Carl held him up long enough to make it to the car without toppling over.
"I'm driving, you idiot," I said, guiding him away from the driver's seat. "Both of you, in the back, now." I felt like a harassed mother, something I would never be. In the car, I drummed on the steering wheel. Peter had lost it. He was supposed to be this big hunter or something, and he couldn't deal with having his shoulder licked by a girl.
"My house," Peter said, slurring his words. "Safe." He closed his eyes and was soon snoring. It took me a long time to drive there. Not only did I get slightly lost, but I was pretty sure a car was following us. I wanted to get it off our trail, so my driving became even more erratic. Eventually, it disappeared from the rear view mirror. I breathed a sigh of relief and tried to remember where exactly Peter lived. I wanted to be inside before anyone else came looking for me. I also needed to work out how to make sure Carl and Peter stayed safe if anything worse happened.
Both men were asleep when I pulled into Peter's driveway. I decided to work on Peter first seeing as it was his house. I figured one of the keys linked with his car keys would fit his front door. I struggled to help him out of the car, but once he untangled his legs from under the passenger seat, supporting him to his front door was fine. I felt strong, part of the after effects of drinking Becca's blood.
One of the keys fit into the door but no matter what I did, it wouldn't turn.
"Is there some knack to this or what?"
He looked at me blankly for a few seconds before pointing downward. A thin slot was on the bottom of the door. "Card key. Wallet," he mumbled and gestured to the back pocket of his jeans. I tutted and reached into his pocket, avoiding his eyes.
"Seriously paranoid," I muttered as I flipped open the wallet. I instantly paused because the first thing I saw was a photo of a smiling toddler with large hazel eyes, just like Peter's.
Peter snapped the wallet out of my hands and found the card key himself, his fingers shaking. He bent down to feed it into the door but fell over. I tried not to laugh as I helped him back up. He stumbled into me, forcing me back against the door. This time I held his gaze and listened when his heartbeat sped up. He smelled like stress and alcohol. It was hardly romantic, but nobody told the butterflies in my stomach. He brushed my hair from my face with a surprisingly gentle touch.
"I don't get it," he said. I waited for him to elaborate.
"Peter?" said a woman's voice in a quizzical tone.
Over his shoulder, I saw a woman approach us. She was around thirty and beautiful, with very defined features and short, glossy, chocolate brown hair. Becca had been a fake, overly flirty piece of trash, but this one was three steps above me on the ladder and provoked an unfamiliar twitch of jealousy. Then I remembered the photo of the cute kid in Peter's wallet and put two and two together.
I side-stepped and distanced myself from Peter automatically. The woman glanced at me then back to Peter with the most disappointed look on her face. She called his name again, but he blatantly ignored her. Mortified, I figured my best bet was to move on quietly and leave them alone, so I tried to slip away.
"Where are you going?" Peter's voice was cold and brash. I shuddered at the unpleasantness of his tone.
"I'm going to get Carl. Make our way home."
"No, you're not. Go get him and come in."
His abruptness put my back up, but I knew he was right. We had to make some sort of a plan before the vampires woke for the night. I always knew when; that one point in time when they all collectively opened their eyes. It was the moment I became more alive too.
The woman raised an eyebrow. I glared at Peter before storming off.
"Wake up, Carl," I hissed, taking my frustration out on him. He took it mildly which infuriated me even more. I twisted the cross in my fingers as we hurried to the house. Night was going to come quicker than usual, I could tell.
The alarm went off as soon as I stepped past the hall door. I tensed, remembering the last time, but Peter was busy muttering in the corner. The sound stopped, and the crazy look on Peter's face disappeared. I shut the door behind me, wondering how long I was going to last with his mood swings.
He led us into the living room. The woman wasn't there.
"Where's your girlfriend gone?" I asked.
"Who? Oh, her. Home."
He turned his back on me and left the room, mumbling something about making a phone call. When he returned, he vibrated with anger, but at least he wasn't as hopelessly drunk.
"Maybe you should have a rest," I suggested.
"Can't. I spoke to Eddie. He contacted Daimh?n's day assistant and told her he could hand you over to her."
"Day assistant?" I asked.
"Yeah, someone who does whatever needs to be done when she can't," Peter said.
"Why would someone want to work for a vampire?"
"Maybe she pays well. Hey, Carl, why don't you go fix yourself something to eat in the kitchen."
Carl pottered off. "Thanks," I said. "He needs to eat a lot, for a human."
"Whatever." Peter's dismissive tone forced me to realise we were back to square one. "Maximus is bound to turn up at Eddie's place again, so let's hope Daimh?n's there when he does."
"They should just attack each other, right? Nobody else needs to get hurt?" I didn't want to risk a human life just to pit one set of vampires against the other.
"Maybe, if we're lucky. Next problem is Arthur. You sure you want his help? Not getting attached to old Carl there?"
"I want him to go home," I said, surprised Peter had to ask. "He won't even tell me where he lives, so I can let his family know he's okay."
"Aren't you sweet?"
"Get over yourself, Peter Brannigan." I had about enough of his sarcasm for one day.
He held up his hands and exhaled loudly. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just piss
ed off at... everything. Let's forget it for now and concentrate on staying alive, okay?"
I shrugged, upset by his attitude, and worrying he wasn't really contrite but was merely saving his angst for later. He pulled out a drawer in his desk and beckoned me over.
"You and Carl are going to take some of these, just in case. We may need to use them to take on Arthur. He's kind of fascinated by you; I don't think we'll need to threaten him. But just in case."
"Who are you, Buffy the Second Coming?" I said, running my hands over finely sharpened stakes, silver handcuffs and what looked like bottles of holy water.
"Hilarious. If we work together, we should be able to take Arthur without anyone getting hurt. Theoretically."
He took out two stakes, a couple of bottles of holy water, a pair of handcuffs and a long, thick silver chain. "Keep these in your bag, and give Carl some holy water. It's the only thing he can't do something stupid with."
I stuffed the lot into my bag. "Thanks."
"I need some sleep. Do what you want until I wake up. Then we're off." He turned abruptly and headed up the stairs, leaving me feeling cold. He had sobered up once his girlfriend had shown up, but then his mood had turned even sourer. I was sure he was in trouble because of my problems, and he didn't need any more.
I waited a few minutes, thinking things through, then headed into the kitchen. "You're going to make yourself sick," I told Carl. I sat down next to him. "I'm going to need your help tonight. Bad people are coming for us. Will you help me get one of them alone? He owes me a favour."
"Of course."
I gave him some holy water and wrapped a long silver chain around his neck. "Keep this on," I warned him. "If anything gets a hankering for your throat, this might put them off. And take this stake. I swear, Carl, if you hurt yourself with that thing, I'll kill you. Only use it against a vampire if you really need to, okay? Can I rely on you?"
He nodded, turning the stake over in his hand.
"Hide it in your sleeve or something. Like this." I helped him and carried on, suddenly feeling shy. "Carl, I know the real you is in there somewhere, and I'm guessing you know a little of what's going on. I wanted to say, I'm sorry, okay? All of this mess is my fault, and the only way I can fix it is by putting us in danger again. I don't know what else to do. It'll be over soon. I promise."
He was listening, but I wasn't sure he understood me exactly. I sighed and got to my feet. I figured I had given Peter enough time to fall asleep.
"Come on, we're going."
"Is Peter okay?"
"Yes, but he's staying here this time." Carl nodded although he looked disappointed. We left quietly, making sure the door was closed securely behind us. I sniffed the air, scenting the faintest smell of blood, then moved on quickly with Carl.
"You sure you don't want to tell me where you live, Carl?"
"With you."
"Nah, I meant before that. Where's your family? I could let them know you'll be home soon."
He ignored me. I had a feeling he could resist the thrall in some ways.
The plan in my head was clear. Do it all myself and stop the others from being hurt. I couldn't forget the horror in Peter's eyes when he saw Becca and me drinking blood. He had done enough. Carl didn't even know what he was getting into. It wasn't fair to include him but I had no choice. It was the only way I could break the bond.
I figured it was time to see Eddie. As soon as I walked into his bookshop, he knew. He could tell exactly what I'd done. And it made him very happy. The cold presence blew urgently against the back of my neck, but I already knew I was signing a deal with the devil.
"You're back," he said, not bothering to cover up his smugness. "And feeling better than ever?"
"Not exactly."
"You did feed?"
"I had no choice. I didn't do it because I'm bloodthirsty, okay?"
His eyes softened. "It was the right thing to do. How can you help anyone if you aren't strong? There's no shame in what you are, Ava. You aren't evil. You have gifts, and if you let yourself, you might do some good in the world."
"Good for the world? Or good for you?" I wasn't afraid of him anymore. My time was running out; I hadn't much to lose by pissing him off.
"Maybe they're not mutually exclusive."
"Yeah, right. Look. You pretend you're going to give me to Daimh?n tonight. Becca told us Maximus himself is coming for me too. Let them duke it out while I get Arthur alone, so Carl can go home unharmed."
"And then?"
I sighed, more weary than I ever thought possible. "Then someone has to win. I can't hide forever."
"You can't let them take you, Ava. I won't let you. I've waited too long for this."
"If you could take them on then you wouldn't need me, would you?"
He stared at me. I felt my head become light as his eyes darkened. It would have been so easy to fall into the emptiness. I struggled against it, smiling in triumph as his forehead creased in confusion. I shrugged off his power with ease in the end.
He moved in closer. "See what you can do when you let yourself be who you really are?"
"It's not who I am," I said, fierce in my belief. "I'm Ava, not vampire. Remember that one, Eddie bloody Brogan."
"You don't have to fight everything," Eddie said.
"Feels like I can't stop fighting. It's okay Carl," I added hurriedly, seeing Carl preparing to strike out at Eddie. He knew I was upset, and that reminded me of something.
"Eddie, Carl seemed to know I was in trouble earlier."
"That can happen, yes."
"But it wears off, right? After the whole bond business is done?"
"Probably," he raised his hands to quieten me. "That's not important right now, Ava. Let's talk about tonight. I can't help you much. I can't directly harm the vampires, but I can try to keep Carl safe. For a while at least."
"A while?"
"Power isn't unlimited; I'll do what I can for as long as I can." His expression darkened and some of the books fell off the shelves.
"Sorry. How can I hurt Arthur? Without killing him I mean? I need to get him away from the others so he can help us. I don't want to go too far by accident."
"Silver will contain him. But if it penetrates his heart, he'll die almost instantly. Holy water will hurt but never do enough damage to kill. Fire is lethal, but you need a lot of it. Breaking bones, even the neck, will hurt and take a long time to heal but completely removing the head from the body will kill them," he told me, no emotion in his voice.
"Fine. That's fine," I said. "I have what I need. I can do this, right?"
"Of course you can. But you might need this." He rummaged under the counter and took out a heavy wooden box. It was covered in engravings. He put on a pair of gloves and opened the box, retrieving a small silver dagger. He handed it to me gingerly, handle first.
It was heavy in my hand and felt surprisingly warm. Vibrating with power, it gleamed sapphire blue when it touched my skin. The very tip of the blade was curved. I touched it lightly with my finger and jumped with alarm as even the briefest of touches resulted in a few drops of blood falling from my finger. What had really startled me was the heat that came from the blade.
"It's ancient," Eddie said, looking at it longingly. "It's made of fire and light, metal and magic. It works perfectly against vampires. It's powerful-don't lose it."
I put it into my bag, ignoring Eddie's exasperated sigh. I sucked on my finger to stem the flow of blood. As soon as it left my lips, Eddie grabbed my hand and peered at my fingertip. I pulled my hand away and took a step backward. Carl tried to move forward, but I got in his way. He actually had something to lose.
"It's true," Eddie said, his mouth widening into a rapturous smile. "You healed yourself, didn't you?"
"Not really." The cold presence was frantically sweeping across the back of my neck.
He gripped my should
ers tight. "Ava, don't let anyone know about it. You don't want to make yourself more attractive to Maximus, trust me."
I rubbed my face, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "It's never happened before today, why now?"
"Maybe you never licked an open wound before. Or perhaps you did and didn't stick around long enough to see what happened next." He smiled slyly. "Perhaps it's linked to the blood you've drank. It's not really healing, rather accelerating the normal cell re-growth."
He moved away, taking his time and picking up the books that had fallen when he got angry. "Or perhaps you're just special."
I exchanged a look with Carl. Something about Eddie set him off on alert every single time. It was like he was hearing something I didn't.
"Yeah, sure, special," I said, forcing a laugh. "Anyway, back to tonight. Should we find somewhere to hide?"
Eddie faced me, his eyes stern and cold. "I made a promise, Ava. I'll be handing you over tonight."
"Don't you think-"
"No. I don't. No discussions. I'll cloak Carl, but you need to be seen. Prepare yourself. Perhaps you'd like to have a nibble on Carl while you're waiting."
He left the room with a smile on his face.
"Don't even think about it," I snapped at Carl.
Rancid fear had been simmering inside me all day. Now it was boiling over. If we could surprise Arthur by getting to him from behind then we had a chance. Being handed to vampires didn't seem to leave us with any hope. I wasn't sure what would happen to Carl if I died, but I couldn't trust Eddie to keep him safe. I wanted Peter's advice, but it was better for both of us if I kept my distance.
Carl and I sat in the shop's back room together, mostly in silence. I had an awful sensation that I was waiting for my doom.
"Carl, I might die tonight. If I do, can you do me some favours?" I said, hoping he could take in what I was saying.
"You won't die. I'll do anything for you," he replied. I didn't doubt his belief, but I knew our chances weren't great.
"I don't know if our bond will break," I said. "If it doesn't, and I die, I want you to run. As fast as you can to someplace safe. Either this place, or mine. Or even to Peter for the night. Don't let them catch you."
"I won't," he said.
"And. If you could. Tell my grandmother? About all of this, except maybe leave out the bit when I drank Becca's blood."
Carl smiled and nodded, but I had no way of knowing if he really understood me. Just in case, I lowered my voice and leaned closer to him. "If things go right, and the bond breaks? Get out of there. Don't stick around. Just leave, and forget me. Never look back at any of this. And no matter what happens, don't trust Eddie. Not ever."
He shook my hand solemnly. I hoped he would remember my words when it mattered.