Chapter Seven
Once we were safely outside, I took a deep breath. "That was a waste of time."
"Don't worry, we'll come back," Peter said and led the way again.
"Hey, how come those vampires left us alone back there?" I asked him as I beckoned Carl to follow.
Peter shushed me and darted his head around. I was about to ask him what was wrong but suddenly realised how quiet it was. No heartbeats. No couples. Just the three of us and a feeling that someone else was there. Someone with no heartbeat.
A figure in black jumped noiselessly from somewhere above down to the alleyway a few metres ahead of us. I screamed and grabbed Peter's hand. His palm was large and warm; I expected him to shrug me away, but he kept his eyes on the figure before us. After a second, Peter squeezed my hand and slowly let go, taking a half step in front of me and Carl.
"I hear you've been asking about me," said the figure. I squinted until my eyes adjusted to the dark and realised it was the vampire who had originally attacked Carl.
"It's him," I whispered.
"You Arthur?" Peter asked loudly, his voice steady.
The vampire nodded, his lank hair falling over his eyes. "I remember you," he said to me.
"Yeah, um, hi," I said, unable to think of anything less lame.
"You're an interesting one," he said. His voice was dry and raspy, even though I smelled blood and could tell he had just drank from someone. He took a step toward me.
"Stay back," Peter ordered. Arthur looked surprised but obeyed.
"As honoured as I am you've bestowed a visit on little old me, I've things to do. Get on with it. What do you want?"
"You witnessed something between these two," Peter said. "She claimed him and now wants to undo it. She needs you to reject the claim."
"Really," said Arthur, the corners of his mouth curving into a mocking smile. "And I benefit how?"
Peter hesitated. "I don't know; if you're lucky maybe I won't end you."
I gasped, but Arthur threw back his head and laughed. "It's true what they say about you," he said. "All brawn and no brain. But forget you. It's her I'm interested in."
I put my hand on Peter's arm to silence him. His face was red with rage, but I could sense his fear.
"Can you help me?" I said, taking a cautious step forward. Arthur flew toward me as fast as lightning, gripping me and pulling me away from Peter before I could make a sound. My feet never touched the ground. Arthur held my gaze as he swept me further into darkness. Peter swore as he and Carl ran after us, but I shouted at them to stop. They both skidded to a halt as I carefully took Arthur's hands from me. The faint odour of decay and the thundering of Peter's heartbeat made me skittish, but something about Arthur felt kindred.
He gazed at me in wonder for a moment, then bent his head and pressed his ear to my chest. I looked helplessly at Peter who seemed as stunned as I was. Carl relaxed; even he could tell Arthur meant me no harm.
Arthur stepped away from me at last, his eyes watering with bloody tears. "It's true," he whispered. "You're alive. But how?" He gripped my shoulders tightly. "Tell me," he urged. "How did he do it? Are there more?"
I shook my head, wondering who he was talking about. "Just me. And I need help first."
Arthur frowned. "If I help you, will you come with me? To see the head of my coven? He's interested in you. I didn't understand when I first saw you, but now I get it. This changes everything."
"You'll help me?" I asked, hope surging through me.
"Only if you help me. I need more blood. He'll let me have a bigger share of the quota if I'm the one who takes you to him. Come with me. Without those two," he said, gesturing to Peter and Carl who were slowly approaching us.
"Ava," called Peter, his voice a low warning.
"It's okay," I called back. I didn't want to go with Arthur, but he seemed to know what I was. I was desperate to know more about myself and just as desperate to help Carl so it didn't seem like a bad deal. "What am I?"
"You have many names," he whispered. "Let me take you home."
"If you help me get rid of Carl, I'll go willingly." I ignored Peter's frustrated grumbles and shook Arthur's hand. He looked into my eyes and nodded his agreement.
"This is ridiculous, Ava, you can't go with him!" Peter shouted.
"It's fine," I said. "He's my own kind, right?"
Arthur jerked his head around, but it wasn't enough of a warning. My body flung backward as a vampire barrelled into my midsection, winding me. On the ground, I barely made a sound as his hands wrapped around my throat. Without thinking, I grabbed my cross and pressed it against his wrist before he could crush the bones in my neck. Surprised, he let go, his skin sizzling. Peter and Carl rushed at him as I lay there struggling to catch my breath, but Arthur got to the vampire first.
He wrestled him to the ground, only lifting his head to shout at Peter.
"Get her out of here! I'll find you, just go!"
Peter and Carl helped me up and made me run to the car, despite my pleas to stay and help Arthur. If he died, I'd have no options left.
"Get in the car Ava," Peter said, pushing me in the back seat.
None of us spoke for a few minutes, but Peter's heartbeat was racing again. I kicked the back of his seat in frustration.
"We should have stayed."
"Are you stupid? That vampire tried to kill you, did you want to die?"
"We outnumbered him," I protested.
Peter muttered to himself and put his foot on the accelerator. He kept glancing in the mirrors, probably looking for a speedy vampire who wanted me dead.
"Where are we going?" I asked, finally realising we weren't heading for my home.
"To see Eddie." Peter shut down after that and didn't speak for the rest of the journey.
The bookshop was closed for the night, but Eddie had the door open before we could knock on it. He ushered us in, highly agitated. We followed him into his tiny back room. Eddie put the kettle on and mumbled to himself. Peter gnawed on his nails and even Carl seemed on edge.
Eddie made coffee and sat down, looking straight at me but seeing right through me. I watched, fascinated, as his lips moved silently. Then he shook himself, and his eyes focused again.
"Nobody is hurt." It was a statement rather than a question.
"What the hell happened?" Peter said. He sounded angry, but I could still sense his fear.
Eddie shook his head. "Things are happening too quickly. I didn't expect it. An assassin was sent after her."
"You could have warned us," Peter said, sounding petulant.
"And you could have warned me when you brought Nancy Delaney's granddaughter to my place for a visit," Eddie shouted. The air crackled around him, and the hair on my arms stood up.
Peter looked me over in horror. "Nancy? Nancy's your grandmother?" he said, appalled. I was sure he thought it was a shame a nice old lady like Nancy had an evil being for a grandchild.
"No matter," Eddie said. "Things just became more complicated. I don't know how they knew so soon."
"Who knew what so soon?" Peter said.
Eddie took a deep breath. "Ava, Arthur's maker is an ancient called Maximus."
"Yeah, Becca told us that," Peter said.
"Becca? Hmm, maybe it was her words... never mind that now. Ava, I'm sorry, but the vampires are on the brink of civil war. Your appearance just changed the game."
"Me? What can I do?"
"Maximus believes you're a daywalker. A living vampire. A daywalker could destroy all of the vampires without a battle. You could tell Maximus how you were made so he could create an army of daywalkers. To protect him, kill his enemies in daylight, and help him overcome Daimh?n."
"Daimh?n?" I asked.
"Another ancient. She's the oldest vampire in the country and the one with the largest coven, so she rules over the other covens. It's by her say so that they don't drink the
ir fill. She assigns quotas for each coven, and it's up to the head of the coven to decide who feeds and who doesn't."
"Why do they have quotas?" I interrupted. "Arthur is starving, why?"
"I told you, a lack of blood hurts them, punishes them. The quotas are set by the Council to protect the human race and to keep the vampires in check," Peter said, his face pale and taut with tension.
"The Council?"
"Focus, Ava," Eddie said. "Maximus wants to change who allocates the blood, possibly even fight the Council on the quota. Not good news for humans. I'm certain that assassin was sent by Daimh?n to kill you before you could tell Maximus how you were created. How were you created, Ava?"
His voice changed, making my senses go on alert. It seemed so simple to me, the way I was made. But if I told people and that caused it to happen to more innocents then I would feel guilt I never had before.
"You can tell me, Ava," he said coaxingly.
I thought about it, I even opened my mouth to speak, but the idea of Maximus's vampires attacking pregnant women and stealing their newborns was incomprehensible. My mother told my grandmother I could be taken, but I was never told how she knew or why Nancy believed her. I only knew it had to be a secret.
"No," I said, gritting my teeth. It physically pained me not to answer him.
"Good," Eddie said.
Another test, great. I wished there was a way to skip past the bit where I had to keep proving myself.
"What do we do?" Peter asked.
Eddie shrugged. "She's on their radar now. They'll look for her."
A chill ran down my back. Once again I was totally screwed.
"You said I was already on their radar."
He nodded. "True, but they've acted quickly. They've already found you once. I doubt the assassin was mere coincidence. Daimh?n doesn't want someone like you in her domain. She must be worried."
"I agreed to see Maximus," I reminded everyone. "If Arthur helped with Carl. I pretty much promised."
Eddie shook his head. "Either Daimh?n will kill you, or Maximus will use you. You need to keep away from vampires."
"I can't hide forever, and Carl needs Arthur's help too, remember? They'll find me, regardless. What do I do?"
"You could fight," Eddie said. Although his voice was sad, his eyes were happy. I didn't have time to figure it all out.
"So I'll fight," I said.
Peter snorted. "You squeal like a schoolgirl anytime you're attacked. Come on! You're helpless!"
I glared at him before turning to Eddie. "Can you help me?"
"There's a lot you need to know. Holy water and a silver crucifix might do nothing to you, but a stake in the heart will kill you all the same. A vampire can drain your blood or snap your neck like a human's while a human can set you on fire and send you to hell just like a normal vampire. You have to be extra careful, but then again, you might have some abilities they don't have."
"Like what? Catholic guilt?"
Eddie smiled. "This is one of those rare occasions when I don't know the answer to everything."
"How do I find Arthur and avoid that assassin? Assuming they're both still alive."
"You're not seriously considering making contact with that greasy vamp again, are you?" Peter said, barely containing his disgust.
"I don't have a choice. Look at Carl!" Carl had fallen asleep again, and a large gob of saliva was dripping down his chin. "I need him gone. For his own good. You saw what happened earlier." I held his gaze until he looked away.
"Arthur is your only option, it's true. But the assassins will keep on coming. Daimh?n needs to ensure the secret isn't revealed, or she'll lose her advantage," Eddie said.
"Arthur said he'd find her," Peter said, his eyes narrowing.
Eddie nodded. "Be that as it may, Maximus won't let her go easily. It'll be hard to get her back if he takes her."
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here." I wasn't about to let them decide anything for me. "I need to sort things out with Arthur, nothing I can do about that. I'll deal with the other stuff later."
Peter threw his hands up in the air and walked out of the room.
"Spoiled git," I muttered.
"He'll get over it," Eddie said. "I don't think you realise how risky this is, Ava."
"I have to get Carl back to normal. He cut his neck today and tried to force his blood on me. It's only a matter of time before I give in."
"Maybe drinking blood wouldn't be the worst idea."
"Are you kidding me?"
He shook his head with a small smile. "It's natural for you. Maybe it would help you fulfil your potential."
The greedy look in his eye made me shiver. I could have sworn I felt a hand ruffle my hair. Peter came back into the room before I could think of anything else to say. I gripped my cross tightly; it had helped save my life and Carl's, maybe it would help me against Eddie too if I needed it.
"Okay," Peter said, his face grim and determined. "We can do this. But we need a plan. Weapons. Protection. We have to go in prepared this time."
He looked set to carry on making his speech, but Eddie held up his hand for silence. He retreated into his own little world again, looking but not seeing. He blinked then gasped. Right before someone banged on the shop door.
"Nobody move," he whispered.
Somebody knocked sharply on the door while all of the front windows were pounded on. I sat still, frozen in fear until the sound of smashing glass made me jump to my feet.
"Ah, it's Maximus," Eddie said, nodding. "Daimh?n is much more discreet."
I must have looked as petrified as I felt because Eddie gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Ava. They can't come in."
"Do they need to be invited?" I asked.
He laughed humourlessly. "Not at all. But this building is very well protected. You can't leave tonight. None of you. Wait until daylight. Until then we can decide what to do next and get some sleep."
"So, what? They're all going to come after me now?"
"Pretty much," Eddie said.
"But there's two sides. Like, they're enemies?" I asked.
Eddie nodded.
"I'm in the middle then. I think I'll get out of the way and let them stomp on each other."
Peter stopped pacing long enough to think about it. "Sounds like the makings of a plan. Maybe you aren't as clueless as you look after all."
"Nice to see you two agreeing on something," Eddie said. "Maybe you can come up with something a little more concrete while I go clean up the mess out there and sort out where you're all sleeping for the night."
Peter and I sat together in silence for a few minutes, trying in vain to ignore the jeering that rose up when Eddie entered the shop. Purely to give myself something to do, I woke Carl up.
"We're going to sort everything out, Carl. You'll be back home soon."
He shook his head and jutted his chin like a defiant five year old. I couldn't help sighing and wishing I was free of him.
"I wonder if he has any family," Peter said.
I shrugged. "I've tried talking to him about them, but he won't say much. He thinks he doesn't want to go back, but he's supposed to be getting married. We have to get him home before his fianc?e gives up on him."
"Not going," Carl said, so loud that Peter and I jumped.
"See what I mean?" I said, wondering what was going through Carl's head when he sat there staring at nothing. "What about you? Do you have any family?"
Peter grew cold again and refused to answer. The silence unnerved me. I pretended to type my name on my legs. Then I switched the letters for numbers and counted out my name in the order it appeared in the alphabet. Added the numbers swiftly, my breathing growing steadier each time.
"What is that?"
"What?" I had almost forgotten I wasn't alone.
"That... thing you do, what is it?"
"I'm just messing about with num
bers in my head."
"You mouth them, sometimes whisper them. What are you, some kind of math freak?"
My face grew hot. "No, it relaxes me is all."
"Oh."
I wished I could hide my face. My habit had always been embarrassing but in front of Peter, it made me feel almost exposed. My grandmother had often acted like I was doing it purposely, just to annoy her, but I couldn't help it. It had eased off around my ex-boyfriend, but once I left, my nervous habits had only increased.
"Peter, what's the Council?" I asked, desperate to change the subject.
"It's a group of beings who... oversee things, pretty much," he told me. "They make sure no single species has a major advantage and step in to prevent wars. They enforce a quota on the vampires so they never become strong enough to go on any major rampages. It works-since they took charge, humans have stopped believing in things like vampires."
"What about humans? They don't prevent those wars."
"Human wars rarely have any real impact on the supernatural world, but a supernatural war could destroy mankind. The Council protect humans as much as they can; I honestly don't know why."
"They protect humans, but they allow vampires to feed on them?" That made little sense to me.
"They enforced a quota," he reminded me, shrugging. "They're supposed to keep a balance, not mollycoddle one species alone."
I let the information soak into my brain. Maybe I could find a way to make use of this Council.
"I'm sorry about hitting you that time," Peter said, interrupting my thoughts.
"That's okay."
He hesitated before speaking. "Everyone I've ever loved has been murdered by something-not human. The alarm went off. I had to attack."
"It's fine. I'm not exactly innocent, right?"
He gazed at me. "You're not what I expected."
"What's the plan then," I said, changing the subject in the hope the atmosphere would lighten up.
"It's your idea. What were you going for?"
"I don't know. Maybe arrange to meet up with both sides at once, then, when they're busy battling it out, we kidnap Arthur and make him sort out the Carl situation."
He burst into infectious laughter. "Ava, that's the worst plan ever."
I frowned. "I've never had to come up with a plan before, okay?"
"It just might work," Eddie said, sneaking into the room and making us both jump.
"Are you serious?" Peter said, disbelief etched on his face.
"Always. Poke holes in it."
Peter relaxed. "How about it's so obvious a child could see through it?"
"Therein lies the beauty."
"Maximus might show, but how do we get Daimh?n there? If she knows where Ava is, she'll go after her. She isn't about to meet up somewhere all civilised. Actually scratch what I said before, Maximus won't either."
"Then we plant a seed," Eddie said with his eyes closed.
I felt that strange presence in the room again. Ignoring it, I piped up. "We could let it be known that I'll be at a certain place and see if they'll race to get me first."
"I suppose I could let it slip to Becca," Peter said. "Although, if that was Maximus outside tonight, he'll be back no matter what we say or do. And we'll have to talk to someone with Daimh?n's ear too." A look passed between the two men, I didn't know why, but it made me uncomfortable.
"Shouldn't be a problem," Eddie said.
"But what's to stop them from tearing Ava apart anyway? She could get hurt by accident."
"Surely you don't care about that," Eddie said with a calculating glint in his eye.
"Of course not." Peter glared at Eddie. "But still, there's no way we can kidnap a vampire. I mean come on, let's be realistic here."
"Why not?" Eddie said. "You've killed worse than a vampire. Ava is part vampire, and the thrall can give Carl above average strength."
"Killing something is a bit different than kidnapping an evil being and making him talk without attracting the attention of warring vampires."
"I'm sure you'll think of something," Eddie said.
I yawned loudly, barely able to keep my eyes open.
"You need to sleep," Eddie said.
"Maybe we should go home." I was reluctant to fall asleep at his place.
"They're still outside, waiting. They'll be there until dawn approaches. Best to get some sleep now and figure things out in the morning. Come on, I'll show you to your room."
He stood up. Evidently the discussion was over.
"Let's go, Carl," I said, nudging him. "Beddy byes."
Carl and I followed Peter out of the room and up a narrow staircase. I was surprised to see upstairs resembled a real home. A nicely furnished one. Thick lush carpets covered the floor, and the walls displayed watercolour paintings. Eddie led us to the very end of the hallway and opened the last door.
"This is where you'll be sleeping for the night. Sorry you have to share. There's a bathroom right next door."
He said goodnight and left us to our own devices. The room itself was moderately large and furnished in gold and plum velvet. A little too heavy for my taste, but I appreciated the effort that had gone into it. A large double bed sat in the centre of the room. A small lounger was in the corner, and the rest of the furniture was dark mahogany.
Peter shifted his feet, obviously ill at ease. I realised there was one bed for the three of us. Hesitating, I looked at the lounger, thinking I might fit on it.
"You can have the bed, Ava."
"Oh, it's okay. The lounger looks like my size. You two can share the bed, I mean, if you're secure enough in your manhood and all that."
"Funny. Just take the bed. I'll have the lounger, and Carl can sleep on the floor or something."
"Carl, get into bed," I ordered. "But even look at me during the night and you're on the floor. Got it?"
Carl shuffled over to the bed. Peter shook his head and tried to relax on the lounger. I threw a blanket and pillow at him.
I sat on the bed and took off my boots. It had been a long day, and I wasn't sure I was going to make it through many more of them. The sick part was that something inside me wasn't scared; it welcomed the idea of death. I was so tired of merely existing, but I couldn't see a way of truly living. I had a purpose, I reminded myself as I watched Carl get comfortable on the bed. I wasn't going to give up without a fight.
I inched over to the window, half afraid to look outside.
"Shit," I whispered, seeing half a dozen vampires in full view. Who knew how many were hidden.
"Don't worry. They'll be gone in the morning. Worst case scenario is you never leave your home at night," Peter said.
I threw him a scornful look. "Sure, that's the worst case scenario."
He sat up and spoke earnestly. "We'll get this fixed, Ava, don't worry."
"Easy for you to say. I've never been in a fight; I haven't a clue how to defend myself."
"Maybe tomorrow, I'll teach you a few moves," Peter said and yawned.
"Eddie said you've killed worse than a vampire. What's worse than a vampire?" I asked.
"You don't want to know."
"Sure I do."
"Go to sleep, Ava."
I sighed and lay on top of the bed. Carl was already snoring under the blankets. He needed as much sleep as a newborn baby; that couldn't be a good sign. I lay awake for ages, listening to the comforting sound of Peter's steady heartbeat.
I had been about to solve my problem with Carl when an even bigger crisis was thrown at me. Clutching the silver cross, I mentally thanked it for saving me and wondered how Carl had ever seemed like the biggest problem imaginable. One group of vampires wanted to use and enslave me, while the other just wanted me dead. Even with a half-baked plan, I couldn't see any possible way to get out of the mess I was in.