Tainted

  “Are you police?” she murmured.

  “We work with them.” It wasn’t fully a lie. I did stuff with Shay all of the time.

  She was surprisingly obedient. Then again, she frequently obeyed the whims of vampires, judging by the marks on her neck. She led the way downstairs, where we met Val coming out of the room she had searched.

  I stopped in front of the last closed door. “You first,” I told the girl. She was younger than I had first thought. Not Crystal, though.

  She smiled at Val—maybe the vampires were overdoing the obedience training—opened the door, and stepped into the room. Six people were sprawled on chairs, eating snacks. They did double takes when they saw us. Two men leaped to their feet.

  I held up my hands. “Nobody freak out. We’re just here to ask some questions.”

  “About what?” one of the men asked.

  From the expressions on some of their faces, they all recognised me, maybe Val, too. Only some of them had visible bite marks. Yuck.

  I glanced around at each of them, trying to figure out who was most likely to do something stupid. “There’s a teenage girl who went missing a little over a month ago.”

  They all relaxed. That obviously hadn’t been the kind of question they were expecting. So what else were they hiding? Seth? Something just as bad?

  “Have any of you seen her?” Val asked.

  They all shook their heads dumbly.

  “That’s funny,” I said, “because we hear you frequent the same pub as she did and that the last time anyone saw her was right outside this house. In fact, it wasn’t the only time she was seen near this place.”

  The youngest male was good looking in a scruffy, brooding sort of way. He was avoiding my gaze, so I homed in on him.

  “That she was seen with you, actually,” I bluffed.

  His face flushed. “I didn’t…” He shook his head. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Alex.”

  “Alex, do you know Crystal? Have you ever spoken to her?”

  He looked around then whispered, “No.”

  “You were seen with her,” Val said.

  “Yeah, okay, I talked to her. She liked me. That’s all. She was just a kid. I told her to—” His eyes grew wide. “I haven’t done anything.”

  I glanced at Val. She gave me the tiniest nod. We needed to separate Alex from the pack.

  “You won’t mind if I take a look around then, will you?” I smiled brightly at the group. “We need to tick a few places off our list, make sure her mother knows she’s getting her money’s worth. You know how it is.”

  There were a couple of mutters but no big protest.

  I nodded at the young man. “Alex, why don’t you show me around then? Val, you ask the rest of our questions. This won’t take long.”

  Alex shoved his hands in his pockets, mumbled something, then staggered out of the room as if something weighed heavily on his shoulders. I followed, still smiling, as he led me upstairs.

  He walked through an open door and kicked a jacket lying on the floor. “Bedrooms.”

  “Do you live here?”

  “I suppose.”

  “Been here long?”

  He shrugged. “For a while.”

  “Crystal was pretty.”

  He looked panicked. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “But someone did. What did she want from you, Alex?”

  “She just wanted a friend. Protection. People were giving her a hard time, and she was scared. She thought she could find help here. I warned her not to come. I told her it wasn’t what she thought, but she never listens, you know?”

  “I know,” I said. “She came anyway, didn’t she?”

  “She was so stupid! I told her I didn’t want to see her again, and she still came. They told me she did. And then—”

  “And then what?”

  He clamped his mouth shut and stared at me.

  I tried a different tactic. “Where are your bite marks?”

  He flinched.

  “Somewhere I can’t see? That sucks. Vampire bites hurt.”

  He shrugged, barely able to look at me.

  “You don’t have to let them bite you. There are other places to stay.”

  To my surprise, his eyes filled with tears. “I have to stay now. She ruined everything. I was going to leave, but—” Fear spread across his face. “Please stop asking me questions.”

  I nodded and did a quick search of the rooms. There were no girls hidden in the wardrobes, no vampires asleep under the beds.

  “One more question, and then we’ll join the others,” I said. “Is there a basement?”

  He flinched. “We don’t have a basement.” But by the nervous twitching of his eye, there was something.

  I squeezed his arm. “I can help, Alex. I promise.”

  We went down the stairs and back into the living room. Without actually telling me anything, he had told me enough to get him into trouble.

  Val looked at me. “Anything?”

  I shook my head. “We should go to the next place on the list.” I waved at the group. “Thanks for your time.”

  As we headed to the door, someone called out, “I bet that freaky old man in the park killed her.”

  The others burst into laughter.

  I turned back. “What, really?”

  “Yeah,” the oldest said. “He’s a creep, always looking, always following people around. He’s crazy, making up stories the whole time. He probably killed her and threw her body in the canal.”

  “Thanks for the tip!”

  I was pretty sure they would watch us from the windows. We crossed the road to the park.

  “I’m pretty sure she’s there,” I told Val. “I reckon she’s still alive, but they’re hiding her with the vampires.”

  “Why?”

  “Food source? Some kid who doesn’t want to volunteer, so they use her because they can. I’ve no idea. That kid, Alex, he was full of guilt. He was going to leave then suddenly couldn’t. He said Crystal ruined everything. I think he’s staying to make sure they don’t kill her.”

  “How noble,” Val said dryly.

  “He’s scared. People do what they can when they’re scared. It isn’t always enough, but at least it’s something.”

  Val shrugged. “Peter’s going to kill you if that man takes a piss in his car.”

  I laughed. “He’ll have to catch me first.”

  ~ * ~

  After dropping off Lar at a homeless shelter, we returned to the cul-de-sac and updated everyone. I left a message on Shay’s voicemail about Crystal. Distraction always worked to yank me out of a bout of depression.

  But I brooded about Crystal for a long time. The police hadn’t done their job, the community hadn’t done their job, and a teenage girl was likely suffering for it. Nobody had noticed that most of the prank emergency calls had come from the same place. I wondered how many things were going to get brushed under the carpet because people assumed there was a supernatural explanation for everything.

  That evening, Daimhín stopped by. Val and I met her outside.

  “I want you to come with me,” she announced. “To question those idiots.”

  “I was there today. Their volunteers weren’t the most helpful in the world, but they’re definitely hiding something. A teenage girl, for one.”

  Daimhín looked confused. “Seth is more important than a teenage girl.”

  “Everyone is important,” Shay said, walking over to us. He looked exhausted, but I was relieved to see him.

  “Hey,” I said. “You got my message.”

  “Yeah. I just had to stop in to see Peter first. You were talking about the volunteers. Is that where you’re going tonight?”

  I nodded. “While Daimhín is questioning the vampires, you and I could look for the girl.”

  “No,” Daimhín said. “He can do as he likes, but I want you with me while I question them. I want th
em to see what I have.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “It’s our best chance to get the girl out of there.”

  “Peter and I will go,” Val said. “I identified myself to the mother as a private investigator. Now it’s time for Peter and me to finish the job.”

  Daimhín rolled her shoulders. “Fine. As long as Ava stands by my side, I don’t care.”

  “The police force can deal with the search,” Shay said.

  “Shay,” I said gently, “it’s pretty obvious that you just don’t have the numbers yet. Peter has a lot of experience. And Val’s more than capable. Trust me. Use them. Use whatever resources you have until everything else gets back on its feet.”

  He ran his hands through his hair. “All right. But we have to stay involved.”

  “I don’t think Seth is staying in the house with the volunteers,” I said. “The place is a shithole. Finn told me the coven is insignificant, and the number of volunteers validates that. So where would the vampires sleep?”

  “Underground, most likely,” Daimhín said. “There has to be a basement of some kind.”

  “That’s what we thought,” I said. “But there’s no visible entrance.”

  Daimhín frowned. She was wealthy and the leader of a strong coven. She had no real clue what it was like for the smaller covens struggling to get by. “An underground bunker nearby then. The entrance may not be on the property.”

  “How could they afford to build something like that?”

  Daimhín smiled. “They couldn’t, but there are already many secrets hidden beneath our feet in this country. There are long-forgotten tunnels, for example. This coven could be using a space that nobody else remembers, something that’s been built over, perhaps.”

  Frowning, I tried to come up with a likely possibility.

  “What if it’s in the park?” Val asked. “That might be why that poor old man was being bitten all the time. He’s in the way.”

  “We’ll find out,” Daimhín said sharply. “And pass on the message. We must go. I’m hungry. I haven’t stopped for breakfast yet.”

  We all took a step away from her.

  She growled. “Let’s go, Ms. Delaney. They can follow in their own car.”

  I got into Daimhín’s limo and nodded at Eloise. I ignored Jules, who was panting again. Zion was driving, and I wondered why the vampire queen wasn’t making more of a show of force.

  Daimhín was silent at first. I wondered if she was scared that Seth would show up.

  “I doubt he’s there,” I said.

  “Of course not,” she snapped. “Living with squatters. How can they shame themselves so?”

  “Maybe they haven’t had enough of a quota to be strong,” I said.

  “Since when is that an excuse for anything? They could easily have found rich volunteers, working volunteers. It’s despicable when vampires allow themselves to sink so low.”

  Wary and uncomfortable under Jules’s staring eyes, I listened with half an ear to her ranting. I still had a scar on the palm of my hand from when he had been half-starved and I had gotten between him and a feed.

  When we arrived at the abandoned house, I let us in with the key I had stolen. In the living room, the vampires were feeding on the volunteers. Most of the volunteers looked moderately relaxed, but Alex was squirming under a vampire’s grip.

  “That’s enough,” I snapped.

  For the first time, the vampires became aware they had company. For an instant, they looked terrified of Daimhín, but then some realisation must have hit them because, one by one, smirks replaced the fear.

  “Lucky us,” a female vampire said. “The queen deigning to pay us a visit.”

  “You know why I’m here,” Daimhín said in the coolest tone imaginable. Even I shivered, and it wasn’t directed at me. “Explain your treasonous actions to me.”

  “Treasonous?” a man said and laughed. “Obeying our maker is the opposite of treason, is it not?”

  “I am your queen. Vampires are already on thin ice in this side of the world. We’re lucky to have a say in the new government. I will not allow you to threaten everything I—”

  “And that’s the problem,” the woman said. “You think we’re lucky to bow down to humans and the like. Seth thinks we should be bowed down to.”

  Daimhín looked upon them scornfully. “Who would bow down to the likes of you? Dirty, filthy animals. Barely a coven. Barely vampires. You bring shame to our species, and I will drive you from this country with my bare hands.”

  The anger in her eyes made me nervous. Eloise watched with interest, and Zion stood by the door, ready to destroy at his mistress’s command. Jules was overly interested in the volunteers.

  Daimhín’s mouth curled into a sudden, disturbing smile. “I haven’t tortured anyone in a while. And Ms. Delaney over here owes our kind a favour. Who would like to talk, and who would like to have the words cut from their veins?”

  “You’re a bit outnumbered,” the man said, but his voice was shaky.

  “You think this is all I brought?” Daimhín cocked her head. “This is all I need, but it isn’t all that’s with me.” She glanced around. “Seven of you. Two may live. Decide amongst yourselves who will die first. I have a lot of time on my hands tonight.”

  “No,” the woman said. “Seth will—”

  “Seth?” Daimhín took a seat on a grubby chair. “And he is where, exactly? I don’t see him rushing in to defend his loyal… subjects.”

  The woman sneered. “He’ll pay you back.”

  “We shall see how much you’re worth to Seth. Not very much, I’ll wager. Just good enough to provide volunteers willing to make prank phone calls. Although, not good enough to send those volunteers out of this location to avoid detection.”

  The woman screamed and broke the neck of the human at her feet. Alex scrambled away from the group. I grabbed him just before his vampire caught up with him.

  “He’s mine now.” I pushed Alex behind me. “Wanna fight me for him?”

  The vampire glanced at Daimhín then sat back in his seat.

  I gripped Alex by the collar. “If you don’t want to die tonight, you had better do what I say.” I dragged him outside to where Val, Peter, and Shay were waiting.

  “Do you know where Crystal is being kept?” Val asked him.

  He shrugged. “It’s not here. It’s in the park. Some old place underground. It’s creepy. It’s where they sleep.”

  “Can you show us?” Peter asked.

  Alex nodded, albeit reluctantly.

  “Great,” I said. “While this lot are busy, you’re going to help this nice policeman get Crystal back where she belongs.” I tapped him on the back of the head before shoving him toward Shay. “And keep away from vampires in future.”

  When I went back inside, one of the vampires was dead. Daimhín was a quick worker. She didn’t even have a speck of blood on her. Zion nodded at me. He practically trembled with his lust for violence. I scented blood and saw Jules straddling the dead human and feeding with great gusto.

  “Getting anywhere?” I asked, trying to keep my disdain from showing on my face.

  “We haven’t even started yet,” Daimhín said.

  Eloise flitted over and laid her hands on the shoulders of a vampire. “This one knows it all.”

  The female vampire cowered, shaking her head. “No! He’ll rip me apart.”

  “No, no,” Daimhín said. “That’ll be me.”

  “Just tell us where Seth is and what he’s doing,” I barked, more than ready to get out of earshot of Jules’s slurping.

  The female’s eyes widened. “He doesn’t tell us that. We’ve to wait here for him in case he needs us. That’s all I know.”

  “Liar, liar,” Eloise sang.

  “The seer has spoken,” Daimhín said, leaning back in the chair as if completely at ease. “Would you care to elaborate?”

  One of Seth’s vampires leapt at the female, clawing at her face as he struggle
d to bite down on her neck. Zion was there in an instant. I didn’t see the move, but suddenly, the vampire was hanging lifeless in Zion’s hands. Zion dumped the body onto the floor and took a step back. The female vampire shivered in her seat, her skin peeling away from her face where the male had scratched her.

  “Now,” Daimhín said in a warning tone, “tell us everything you know.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Police lights flashed through the windows.

  “This is going to get interesting,” I said, relieved I wasn’t going to be taking part in some kind of weird torture party.

  Daimhín glanced at the window and shrugged. “What do I care?”

  “Humans tend to be against torture, even when it’s happening to vampires,” I told her. “Shay is out there, remember? You need to keep the less violent mask on for the Senate’s sake.”

  “How tedious.” She looked at the remaining vampires. “I suppose they could be kept in the old Council cells.”

  I straightened and stared at her. “That’s still a thing?”

  “We haven’t found a suitable method of detaining the more… colourful species. The crimes will be… let me see.” She held out her hand and counted on her fingers. “Treason. Murder of government officials. Kidnapping.”

  “Kidnapping?” one of the vampires blurted. “What are you talking about?”

  “So you haven’t been keeping unwilling snacks in your sleeping area?” She frowned. “Why do you think you’re hearing sirens right now? They’ve obviously found someone… more than one, isn’t it? Keeping humans trapped against their will is strictly prohibited. Don’t you remember the rules? You’ll have time to consider them. Ms. Delaney, perhaps let them know outside that we’re done here.”

  I left, wondering if she ever planned on torturing them or if she had been using me to save face. The vampire queen was a complicated woman.

  Outside, I spotted a couple of ambulances near the park. Shay was jogging toward me, a delighted smile on his face. He lifted me and swung me around.

  “We found them!” He set me down and cleared his throat. “Sorry. It’s just nice to have a win every now and then. The girls are malnourished and probably seriously low on blood, but they’re alive. They’re going to be okay.”