Tainted

“She mocks me.” He clutched his shirt. “She always mocks me.”

  Esther winced as she sat down. “Leave her alone. The more you tease, the less she gossips.”

  “Wait,” Carl said, standing. “We need more snacks.”

  “I have like two sentences to say,” I said with a laugh.

  “I’m still hungry!” Carl trotted to the kitchen.

  “You feeling okay?” I asked Esther.

  “Sure am.” Her smile never reached her eyes, though.

  I decided to wait for some privacy before broaching the subject again. Carl returned with every remaining item from my fridge and cabinets that contained sugar.

  “Wow,” I said. “What’s that about?”

  “We don’t keep junk in my house.”

  “You live alone, Carl!”

  He grinned and grabbed a biscuit.

  “Can we get on with this?” Peter asked. “Leah and Lucia will kill me if I leave Emmett there for too long. He and Dita get up to way too much mischief together.”

  “My daughter does no such thing,” Anka said indignantly. “The boy is the one who—”

  “Okay!” I held up my hands. “The girl is waiting upstairs, so let’s get this done.”

  “Shouldn’t she be here for this?” Esther asked.

  I shook my head. “I want to get some stuff out of the way first. Most importantly, we’re safe here. This place is protected, and whoever chased that girl and her father here didn’t make it inside. There’s no need for any of you to worry.”

  “So there’s definitely someone chasing them?” Lorcan asked.

  I nodded. “Looks like it. They were stuck in the UK during the BVA invasion. The vampires caught up to them, and Jessica was trapped in the games. The rumours were true; the vampires actually organised fights for their own entertainment. Jess reckons Phoenix and his werewolves saved her.” I shook my head. “The poor kid’s been running from Seth her entire life. I can’t get much out of her father, though. I don’t know if Seth’s following them, or if they’re only running in case he is. I don’t know a whole lot about Seth.”

  And the people I might have asked were all dead—Gabe, Eddie, even Mrs. Yaga. I had nobody to turn to anymore.

  “Is Seth in Ireland?” Esther asked.

  “I don’t know. It’s obvious that he could have been drawn by the vampire wars, and Jess reckons my face on telly made me a sitting duck, but that was ages ago. Surely he would have turned up by now if he was bothered.”

  “But what does he want?” Anka asked.

  “I have no idea. From what I know, he infects the nephilim in the womb, making them tainted. Like me, like Jess.”

  “Except you both got away,” Peter said.

  Carl leaned against my leg. “With a little interference, right?”

  I gave them a grim smile. “There was a reason both of us were spared. I was hidden, but she had to run. I don’t know why, but they seem to believe that she’s the chosen one, the one who is supposed to beat Seth. I’m getting the impression her father made a deal: their safety in exchange for his promise that his daughter defeats Seth.”

  “So you’re to help her do that?” Peter asked. “That’s why she ended up here?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, does he want to kill us or keep us? Is he even around? This could be a big pile of nothing. Or it could be serious. I have no way of knowing.”

  “But she’s like you,” Esther said. “I mean, is she exactly like you?”

  “There are… differences,” I said.

  “I’m not exactly like her.”

  I looked around. Jessica was standing in the doorway, her face pale. She looked overwhelmed yet defiant. I decided that was a plus.

  “Everyone, this is Jessica,” I said. “Jess, take a seat… anywhere. This is Lorcan. He’s Phoenix’s son. Remember I told you about him?”

  She nodded and smiled shyly.

  “And this is my friend Esther. She’s a shifter and used to be a Guardian like her—”

  Jessica recoiled. “A… Guardian?”

  Esther leaned forward. “Have you met a Guardian before?”

  Jessica looked at me, her eyes distraught. “Guardians kept us in that hostel. Guardians fought alongside the witch who tried to take me.”

  “Marina,” I clarified for the others. “Apparently, Eddie had his eye on Jess.” I turned back to Jess. “You don’t have to worry about Esther. The thing is… she’s been in hiding from the other Guardians, too. Most of the people you’ll see over the next few days have been in hiding, as well. We get it, Jess. We understand what you’re going through. But you’re going to have to trust me. If somebody’s in my house, that means I trust them, and they aren’t a threat to you. We’re family.”

  Jessica stayed by the doorway, her hands pressed against the frame as if for support.

  I got up and moved to stand next to her. “Val’s a friend who—”

  “I saw her,” she whispered. “On the news reports.”

  “Oh, well… cool. You met Peter already, and Anka. Well, that’s everyone important.”

  “Ava!”

  I grinned at Carl’s expression. “Oh, right. This is my minion, Carl.”

  She stared at me as everyone else laughed. “Minion?”

  “Yeah, I accidentally mind-controlled him one time, and he’s been hanging around ever since. Can’t get rid of the chap.”

  “She loves me really,” Carl said. “Can’t live without me.”

  “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” I clapped my hands. “Right! Everyone’s up to date. And now we’ve run out of info, so it’s hard to say where we go from here.”

  “What are you talking about?” Jess said. “We know everything.”

  “We don’t know where Seth is or what he wants, or even who he’s working with.”

  “He’s working with other vampires,” she said. “It’s his blood that made those monsters.”

  “You mean the beasts?” Esther asked. “You think he’s the cause of those things?”

  “The way they feed is like him,” she said. “Dad said my mother looked… looked like…”

  “Okay,” I said. “That’s useful.” And it meant that Seth had been nearby for a long time.

  “If Seth’s blood is being used in the formula, then he needs to die,” Esther said firmly.

  She was right. Vampires had lost the ability to turn humans about a century ago, but recently, a new, unpredictable method had appeared. Nobody had discovered where the formula that turned humans into warped, mindless beasts had originated, despite it being the main strategy taken by the vampires during their ill-conceived attempt at war. If it weren’t for the Irish fae sneakily keeping a werewolf pack alive after their worldwide culling long before I was born, we would all be dead or enslaved by vampires.

  “This is good news,” Peter said. “There’s been so much backlash about the beasts. Now there’s someone left alive to point a finger at.”

  “You need to talk to Daimhín,” Carl said. “She’s the only one who’ll have half an idea. And if Eloise sees something and decides to translate…”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said. “I kinda hoped that would be a last resort.”

  “Take Phoenix and Shay,” Carl suggested. “Have an official meeting about it.”

  “I’m not part of the new government,” I reminded him. “It won’t be official if I’m there.”

  He gave me a knowing look. “Maybe you should be.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Jessica asked softly.

  “Daimhín is the vampire queen in Ireland, and Eloise is her seer.” When she bristled, I hurriedly added, “It’s okay. Daimhín sticks to the rules. Mostly. And she’s kind of on our side as long as she has some power. She’s been in a good mood since everything changed.”

  Jessica looked horrified. “But she’s a vampire. Vampires tried to take over.”

  “She didn’t,” I said. “And she killed the vampire who was leading the BVA’s cause over h
ere. She didn’t fight against us, so for now, she’s not our enemy. Fighting her now would just send her straight to Seth. If he’s around.”

  “He’s around,” she said. “Who else would be following me?”

  “I have no idea,” I said. “I suppose I’ll have to see her about this.”

  “I want to come, too,” Jessica said. “It involves me. I want to be there.”

  “What about your dad?”

  “He’ll say no. Don’t tell him. Please. He’s too ill right now to deal with the stress.”

  I glanced at the others, but I wasn’t getting any help from that fence-sitting lot. “Okay,” I said at last. “But if you leave the cul-de-sac, especially at night, I can’t guarantee your safety. So I’ll have her come here. We can talk on the street. She’s used to that.” I smiled, but it was weak. Daimhín might refuse if she was in a mood.

  “Okay,” Jessica said, sounding relieved. “I’d like that.”

  Carl moved over a little and patted the patch of carpet next to him. “Jess, sit here and eat some sugar. It’ll make you feel better.”

  She blushed, but when I gave her an encouraging nod, she ventured over to sit next to Carl, who was probably the least intimidating person in the room, despite his height.

  “There are some other things I’ve been worried about, things we might need to keep a handle on.” I rubbed the back of my neck and refused to meet anyone’s eyes. “Um, Jess, when I was a little bit older than you, I lost control and bit someone. Is that something we need to… talk about?”

  She gaped at me. “Bit someone? Like, drank their blood? Gross!”

  Some of my friends chuckled as my cheeks warmed.

  “So that’s not… your thing?” I asked.

  “Ew, no,” she said. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean… I just meant… I’m not as tainted as you.”

  “Oh, right. Thanks for that.” My tone was a little harsher than I intended.

  She flinched. “It’s just what Dad told me. I mean, I… I get angry sometimes. I see red, and Dad says if I don’t stop, if I don’t pull back, that I’ll lose it and kill everyone. So that’s why he taught me to kill in cold blood.”

  I blinked a couple of times. “Excuse me?”

  “He thinks if I can kill in cold blood, then I’ll never have to lose my temper to win. That’s what we’ve been training for. That’s the end game: killing Seth without needing to kill anyone else.”

  I stared at her for a few moments, my heart thudding fast. “Your father makes you kill?”

  She fidgeted. “It’s not like… it’s only if we have to. Only if… I know,” she said miserably. “It never feels right, but I don’t want to lose control completely. If that happens, he’ll have to kill me, and then he’ll be alone, and—”

  “Oh,” Esther said. “This is not okay.”

  “How many kids have this life?” Anka asked with a note of disgust in her voice.

  “It’s not her fault,” Carl said.

  “We know that,” I said. “But Anka’s right. How many kids need rescuing still?”

  “I don’t need rescuing, and I’m not a kid,” Jess said, her nostrils flaring. “I chose to go back to my dad when I escaped from the vampires. He knows what he’s doing, and he’s all the family I have. Stop talking about him like he’s a monster. He didn’t…” She shook her head. “I’m going back upstairs. I don’t want him to wake up and wonder about me.”

  We all listened to her footsteps sounding on the stairs.

  “That was intense,” Esther said.

  “The poor child,” Anka said. “It obviously doesn’t sit well with her.”

  “She’s been through a lot,” Peter said. “Just like Emmett and so many others. We could help her.”

  “With Seth,” I added.

  A shadow fell over the room as my friends exchanged worried looks. The first problem in my life was back to haunt me again.

  Chapter Five

  After getting ready for the upcoming meeting, I went back downstairs and caught Jessica staring out my living room window.

  “Doing okay there?” I asked, slipping on my jacket.

  “There’s a ghost in front of your house.”

  “You can see ghosts? Let me see.”

  I bumped her out of the way and looked out the window. Lucia was sitting cross-legged on my front garden wall, staring at my house. “Ah. She isn’t a ghost. That’s Lucia.”

  “She looks like a ghost.”

  “She does not!” I studied Lucia, trying to see her as the teen might.

  Lucia’s pale skin appeared to gleam in the dying sunlight, and her long platinum hair fell over half her face as she leaned forward, her expression a mask of concentration. Her thin fingers were splayed across her knees, and her balance remained perfect.

  “Okay, maybe a little,” I admitted.

  “She’s the creepiest person I’ve ever seen.”

  I pushed Jess away from the window altogether. “And she can probably read lips, you big eejit.”

  “I bet she’s a witch.”

  “More like fae.” I pulled the curtains and found an old jacket of Esther’s for Jessica. “Her mother was a witch, though. Lucia is Lorcan’s twin sister.”

  “Lorcan’s not creepy.”

  “Neither is Lucia.” I cocked my head. “Well, once you get used to her. She’s a good person. She doesn’t speak, she gets visions, and you must never say a bad word against her in front of Val.”

  “You have a lot of rules.”

  “You have no idea. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”

  “I’m not going out there with the creepy ghost-witch.”

  I glared at her. “Stay in here and act like a brat alone then.” I strode outside and got in Lucia’s way. She hunched to the left to keep her eyes on the house. “You can’t force it, Lu. Stop trying to bring on a vision.”

  She shook her head, looking disgusted. Usually, Lucia was a mask of calm, but sometimes, frustration at her lack of control over her visions pushed through.

  Apparently, Jessica’s curiosity got the better of her. She sidled up next to me.

  “This is Jessica,” I said. “Jess, this is Lucia, Phoenix’s daughter.”

  Lucia widened her eyes and held out her hand to Jess.

  “Don’t!” I cried.

  Too late. Jessica gripped Lucia’s hand.

  But no crazy vision sharing occurred. However, Lucia’s cheeks twitched as though something was happening.

  “What?” Jess asked, dropping Lucia’s hand. “What did I do now?”

  “You didn’t do anything,” I said. “Lucia, that was mean.”

  Lucia’s eyes twinkled with amusement. She had totally been lip-reading when Jess called her a creepy ghost. And she had seen something when she touched Jessica’s hand.

  “Let me know later,” I said. “Now get inside before Daimhín gets here.”

  Lucia shrugged and slipped off my wall. She headed to Anka’s house. As she opened the door, Emmett burst through, giggling hysterically and carrying a headless doll. Dita raced out after him, shouting incomprehensible words in a shrill voice.

  “Stop!” I called out in my non-aunt Ava voice.

  Both kids skidded to a stop and gave me a shame-faced look.

  I frowned at them. “Vampire queen means hide.”

  Emmett shrugged and headed for his house.

  “Emmett…”

  He sighed and threw the doll at Dita. She caught it with ease, stuck out her tongue, and stormed back into her own house. Emmett reached his front door then turned to give me a cheeky grin. I tried to hide my smile, but he totally had me.

  “What was all that about?” Jessica asked.

  “A never-ending struggle for power.” I shook my head. “Never mind. We’ll wait here. It’ll be dark soon.”

  “I know.”

  “So we have at least one thing in common.”

  She smiled. I fidgeted as I swung on my gate. Neutral ground, I reminded myself. Nobody could
harm me on my own territory. Probably couldn’t.

  Jessica was looking at me curiously. “Nervous?”

  “What part of the words ‘vampire queen’ would make me nervous?” I had been feeling sick ever since Phoenix and Shay had agreed to meet Daimhín with me. I figured the queen would be on her best behaviour around Phoenix, but that was assuming she hadn’t already bowed down to Seth. I realised Jess was still staring and shrugged. “I just don’t like these meetings. Makes me feel like I’m involved in things I shouldn’t be.”

  “You don’t have to—”

  “Yeah, I do. This is about me, too, and I’ve never met anyone like us before. This is huge, and it gives us something even bigger in common. Seth killed our mothers. He killed my father, too. He ruined our lives. I didn’t have a nice little life growing up, and neither did you. I had to make what I have now. I had to fight for it. I even had to fight myself to actually believe I deserved it. And that could happen for you, too. This doesn’t have to be your life.” I focused on the mouth of the cul-de-sac. “No matter what your dad says.”

  After a moment of uneasy silence, she said, “So… Carl seems nice.”

  “That’s ’cause he is.”

  “And you’re together?”

  “No. Nooooo. He’s like my brother. My lanky, annoying brother whose full-time mission is to bug me. Unless I’m in trouble. Then he’s first in line to help.”

  A car rolled into the cul-de-sac. My heart sped up.

  “Seriously, are you okay?” Jess asked. “You feel… kind of wired.”

  “You can feel that?” I grinned. “Not so different after all, mini tainted one.”

  Phoenix parked and stepped out of the car. He walked toward us with a laidback stride while I struggled to hide my grin. His hair was plaited, and he looked more like his son than ever. That was really going to piss off Lorcan.

  “How come he looks the same age as Lorcan?” Jess whispered.

  “Long, long story. Lorcan’s way older than me. I have serious doubts that Phoenix even knows his own age.”

  “Really?”

  Phoenix stepped up to us and cut the conversation short. “I’m early.”

  I smiled. “You’re pretty unreliable that way.”

  He nodded at Jessica. “I’ve been mulling it over, and I believe I remember you now. It’s a pity we didn’t speak in England. I could have taken you straight to Ava.”