Taunt

  Feeling a little queasy as I wondered what she had in store, I fidgeted under her stare. I crossed my fingers and hoped it wouldn’t require a murder. She wasn’t likely to be pleased when I refused.

  “I have work for you,” she said at last, each measured word a perfect enunciation. “Nothing problematic. I’d like you to accompany one of my children. He’s been undergoing a punishment set by the Council for some time now. Tonight will be his first feed. You are to accompany him. Ensure he doesn’t lose control.”

  I stared, my mind blank. “What?”

  “Is this a problem?” Her pleased expression sent my whole body on alert. I sensed her testing my limits, first with Maximus’s death and now with a potential vampire feeding frenzy.

  “No problem,” I said, surprising her.

  “Good.” She glanced at the door and raised her voice. “Rose, come back in here.” Rose turned out to be a short, chubby human in her late thirties. She greeted me with a pleasant smile; I wondered why someone better suited to a school run was hanging around with a vampire coven.

  “Rose.” The sudden sweetness in Daimhín’s tone was a dramatic change from the norm. “Tell Zion to release Jules from the cage and bring him here.”

  Cage?

  Rose beamed back at Daimhín then obediently trotted away. I couldn’t think of anything to say to Daimhín, who proceeded to stare at me expressionlessly. The more time I spent with the vampire, the more freaked out I became—it was impossible to read her intentions. I could have thanked Rose when she returned, followed by two vampires.

  A vampire with the largest afro I had ever seen led the smaller one into the room by the hair and shoved him toward. He landed in a ball at her feet.

  “Good evening, Jules.” Daimhín’s lips twitched as though she were covering amusement.

  Jules looked up at her; his long, blond hair covered his eyes, so I couldn’t see his expression. I stared at his hollow cheeks—so like Arthur’s. Although I had said yes to accompanying this vampire to his first meal in who knows how long, I had really intended to do him harm. Now he reminded me of Arthur, the vampire I had taken Carl from, and a little of the kindred feeling I had experienced with that vampire reappeared.

  Crap.

  “This . . . lady will be joining you for dinner tonight. See that you mind your manners.”

  Jules turned toward me and flicked his hair from his eyes with a jerk of his head. His eyes were free from the scarlet tinge that signalled a vampire. My own eyes had gained a tint of red once or twice after ingesting blood. I wondered how long he had gone hungry to have such pure green eyes.

  “Of course, you may join his meal, Ms. Delaney. The Council hasn’t set a quota on you,” Daimhín continued. I’d heard a few things about the Council, and I fully intended to steer clear of them. The less they knew about my existence, the better.

  “Um, yeah, that won’t be necessary,” I said, unable to tear my eyes from Jules. Curiosity spread across his face as he sniffed the air.

  “Do what you like,” Daimhín said. “Jules… Jules! Look at me. Go upstairs, and get cleaned up. We don’t need you running the streets looking like a castaway. Hurry up. Ms. Delaney, you may wait outside until he’s ready.”

  Dismissed, I wandered outside the gates. I was unimpressed with my latest assignment. I couldn’t watch a vampire harm a human and not step in. On the other hand, a major part of my core didn’t want to see a vampire go hungry either. It didn’t feel fair, but I knew how seriously screwed up of me it was to think like that.

  I needed to stay on Daimhín’s good side, particularly when things were on such an uneven kilter. I didn’t know what to do and, this time, I had no one to ask.

  Jules leapt in front of me, surprising me. He smelled slightly less repulsive, and his eyes sparkled with excited energy as he bounced on the balls of his feet. I felt jittery just looking at him. If his skin hadn’t been so grey and dried up looking, I might have seen a teenager standing there.

  “Let’s go,” he said, and moved on without looking back. I wandered after him but soon found I had to run to keep up. He jogged for at least twenty minutes in what seemed like a totally random direction. My dread built with every step; I didn’t have a clue what to do next. Jules came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the street and looked all around, reminding me of a dog following a scent.

  This was it—decision time.

  Jules rotated, one slow step at a time, his fangs already showing. He tensed, then raced past, knocking me to the ground in his urgency.

  “Shit.” I jumped to my feet and sprinted after him, trying to catch up. He got out of my line of sight within seconds. I had messed up already. Closing my eyes, I concentrated hard, using my other sense to seek out Jules, to find that pocket of emptiness screaming, “Vampire.”

  A scattering of voids dotted the nearby area. I decided to go after the closest one, the one moving away. Fast. If I hurried, I might catch him, but not before he approached a pulsing red source of fresh blood.

  Snapping back to reality, I sped up until I caught a strong whiff of his odour. I couldn’t see him anywhere. Puzzled, I paused, then realised he must be inside a building already.

  I spied the open door just as a woman screamed. I had never heard such terror come from a human’s mouth. I stormed into the building faster than I could have imagined and found myself in an ordinary-looking living room, ordinary apart from the cowering woman in the corner.

  Jules crouched over her, and I could see why she looked so scared. His fangs glinted in the light; his eyes were giddy with need. He grabbed a handful of her hair and smacked her head against the arm of a chair to knock her out.

  Arms outstretched, I jumped toward him without thinking, catching his fangs with my hand before he could bite down on her skin. I could only yelp in pain because he swung his arm around and whacked me hard in the face even as we both tumbled through the air. Rabid with hunger and utilising a scary amount of strength, he rolled me over and dived on top of me. I grabbed his hair to stop him from biting me again, but he pulled himself out of my grasp with ease. The blood from my hand distracted his attention from my arteries, just in time.

  His eyes intensely focused, Jules grabbed my hand tightly and lapped at the wound even as I punched him in the head. He shifted his body, seeming to barely notice the blows. He sucked harder, a harsh moan coming from his throat.

  I frantically tried to worm my hand away from him. Suddenly, two vampires approached and separated us by kicking Jules in the face until he let go of my hand.

  Even as one vampire held him steady, Jules looked around for me with a creepy sort of eagerness. I didn’t think he even noticed the other vampires, he was so intent on getting back to me. Judging by his expression, my blood didn’t taste half bad. Great, something new to worry about.

  The two vampires belonged to Daimhín; I remembered seeing them both at her home. I wasn’t scared, but I was worried. They stared me down, giving me a few seconds to get off the floor. I couldn’t bring myself to lick my wound, not in front of them, and especially not after Jules had slobbered all over it. It stung badly, just like the bite I’d gotten on my chest. I still had the scar from that one.

  “You’re to see Daimhín tomorrow evening,” the vampire holding Jules said, never taking his eyes off my hand. “As soon as the sun sets. Don’t be late.”

  They escorted Jules outside, leaving me alone with the unconscious woman. I didn’t wait around for her to wake up but, after listening to her heartbeat for a minute, I called an ambulance, just in case. Who knew what her story would be, but people would likely assume she’d been attacked, robbed, and probably hallucinated the bit about the fangs.

  I hurried home alone, sick to my stomach at the thought of facing Daimhín again. Things hadn’t gone according to plan—not at all. First, I had let Jules run off without me. Then when I saw he was about to feed, I got in the way. I had a feeling letting him taste me wasn’t the best plan I’d ever had; it was lucky
two of Daimhín’s boys had turned up in time.

  Wait. Why had they turned up? I realised with a groan that they must have been following us the whole time. Not good.

  Making it home unharmed, I ignored the vampires outside and ran into my building to clean my hand. Fourteen times. Overkill, maybe, but I was under a lot of stress, and fourteen was a safe number.

  My only source of income was crumbling around me, my grandmother was putting pressure on me to act like the past never happened, and all of the people I thought might be my friends had either disappeared or else weren’t all that trustworthy after all.

  Counting, safe numbers, and my normal routine were the only things keeping me together. I was a bag of nerves all over again, worse, probably, now that I knew what was out there in the world.

  Convinced it was finally clean of vampire saliva, I tentatively raised my hand to my mouth and licked the bite marks. The blood didn’t stop flowing. The wound didn’t heal.

  The cold presence, or spirit, as I’d taken to calling it, drifted across my face, either trying to tell me something or to reassure me. I could never tell for sure.

  The wound bothered me, it should have healed. I’d managed to heal my wounds a number of times.

  “Maybe it’s stress,” I said out loud. I couldn’t deal with any more surprises.

  ***

  The next evening, after passing by a number of leering vampires outside my home, I headed for Daimhín’s place again. I was so paranoid about being jumped on by my stalker vampires that I kept the dagger hidden under my long sleeves so I could easily grab it. Mostly, I felt secure if I could touch it. It stayed by my hand in case Daimhín decided she needed to punish me. If she wanted to end my life, I could at least take one of her vampires down with me.

  Rose let me in and accompanied me to Daimhín’s living room. I should have worried about dealing with Daimhín, but I was just thankful my hand had finally stopped bleeding.

  “Chin up, love,” Rose said, looking sympathetic. Even Daimhín’s pets knew I was in for it.

  Daimhín didn’t clear the room this time. Jules sat at her feet and began panting like a dog when he saw me. His eyes were a scarlet red; he had obviously drunk his fill, somehow. From Rose perhaps, as her cheeks lacked the natural flush of the night before.

  My interest grew when I saw a familiar vampire sitting next to Daimhín. Petite and pale, the intriguing child vampire’s eyes bore light traces of pink. She stared right at me, but I couldn’t find a child-sized vampire intimidating, even if I probably should.

  “Last night didn’t go very well.” The look on Daimhín’s face told me she had gotten what she wished.

  “Really? I thought it went great.” I scowled at Jules and hid my bitten hand in my pocket.

  Daimhín leaned back in her seat and glanced at the child vampire. “Yes, well, at least we know for certain what you are not capable of. I’ve been thinking of another use for you. Courier work, the occasional debt collection. Can you oblige?”

  “Uh, sure. Where and when?” Finally, something that wouldn’t test my morals.

  “Now.” Daimhín moved to the mantelpiece; it appeared as if her feet only skimmed the surface of the carpet. She opened a large jewellery box and took out a square brown package. The child vampire’s eyes widened slightly. I took a step forward, then thought better of it; Jules’s fangs were out again. He licked his lips, still staring intently at me. I held his gaze and experienced an odd sensation, like cold raindrops on my skin. I shivered a little, and he looked puzzled.

  “That’s enough, Jules,” Daimhín said. Jules didn’t respond, and Daimhín turned her attention to me.

  “I need you to deliver this tonight. Wait for his instructions. Send them to my phone by text, do not return here. The person you’re looking for is known as Gabe. Don’t worry, he isn’t a vampire.”

  I shrugged, hoping she wouldn’t see how relieved I felt. Delivering a package was fine with me, especially if the recipient wasn’t a vampire. I took the package, listened to her directions, and headed for the door.

  “Try to get this job done,” Daimhín said. “Don’t get yourself bitten on the way.” Jules let out a hyena laugh. I glared at them all, not feeling like backing down, especially because my hand still stung, and I hadn’t been able to heal the wound yet.

  “Oh, by the way,” I said, ready to run with my fingers gripping the handle of the door. “My place is being staked out by vampires. Yours?”

  Daimhín smirked as if mildly amused. “Not mine. But I’d drink some blood if I were you. Just in case.”

  “No, thanks.” I opened the door too roughly and semi-slammed it behind me, feeling better for the petulance of the act.

  I considered running to the delivery point but, without human blood, I wasn’t half as fast. I walked, the whole time feeling an imaginary pair of eyes on my back.

  I rang Peter, even though I was still mad at him. He hadn’t contacted me at all, and it bugged me more than I wanted to admit. After the way we had left things, we were overdue an important conversation. I needn’t have bothered trying; he didn’t answer. I put my mobile back in my pocket, shifted the dagger so I could keep a tight hold, and counted how many steps it took me to get to my destination.

  The drop-off point turned out to be a small, cosy nightclub. It was slowly dawning on me that otherworldly beings ran most of the businesses in town. I supposed it made sense; creatures like vampires couldn’t exactly work ordinary day jobs.

  The club itself was modern and clean; a live band played unobtrusively in the background. Huge comparison to the dank vampire bar I’d visited before. There were lots of free tables and only one person working behind the bar.

  The aroma in the air was strange and lovely. Something attracted me, but it was too mingled with scents of magic and other things to figure out exactly what it was. I sat at the bar and waited for the bartender to notice me until a new, familiar smell distracted me.

  Glancing around, I saw Peter Brannigan sitting next to a man who had short horns on his forehead at a table in the corner. Peter looked as serious as always, focused on his companion. Not the least bit pretty, his gruff appearance still managed to stir something in the pit of my stomach.

  Peter met my eyes and shook his head as if to say, “Leave it.” I shrugged and turned away. I wasn’t going to force him to talk to me, but I couldn’t deny the little twinge I felt at seeing him.

  The bartender was short, blond, and looked to be in his mid-thirties. Slim and covered in tattoos, he wore a short-sleeved shirt that exposed his inked sleeves. I gawked at a dragon on his forearm that seemed to move.

  “What can I get you?” he said, moving his arms behind his back.

  “Um, I’ve a package for some guy called Gabe. You him?”

  He threw back his head and guffawed loudly. “Some guy called Gabe,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Hold on, babe. I’ll see if he’s out back.”

  I glared after him, wondering what was so damn funny. I couldn’t stop myself from sneaking one last glance at Peter, but he had already left. Without speaking to me at all.

  I leaned my elbow on the bar and sunk my chin into my palm with a loud sigh. The appealing smell became more concentrated, and I sniffed the air appreciatively, smiling to myself.

  “You have something for me?”

  I jumped, startled, and gazed up at the single most beautiful creature I had ever seen in my life. Tall, broad, and muscular, his obvious strength gave me the urge to expose my belly. Figuratively speaking. His thick hair was coal black, his eyes a deep, dark, chocolate brown. He grinned, and I shook my head slightly, trying to focus.

  “Yeah, are you Gabe? Daimhín sent me.”

  “I am Gabe,” he said, like it was his title or something. His voice slid over me like a silk sheet, and suddenly I was imagining him wrapped up in one.

  My cheeks flushing pink, I handed over the package. “I’ve to wait for a reply.”

  He opened the package rig
ht there, revealing wads of money. A lot of it. He read through the accompanying note then glanced up and down my body appraisingly.

  “You may tell Daimhín that you will not suffice. Not even as part payment.”

  I stopped ogling long enough to listen. “Excuse me?”

  “Daimhín wishes to exchange you in order to clear a long-standing debt. You won’t do.”

  “Are you for real? Show me that!” I snapped the note out of his hands before he could stop me. He exchanged a bemused glance with the bartender who was chortling behind his hand. I ignored them and read the note.

  I couldn’t believe it. She had actually tried to sell me to some randomer.

  “Of all the… I don’t believe this shit.” I was sick to death of vampires and everything else. “Well, you can’t have me,” I added, pointing at Gabe.

  “I don’t want you,” he said, sounding like he was talking about a drink or a bar of chocolate. “But tell her I’ll consider Eloise.”

  “Screw you,” I said, turning to leave, ready to hit something.

  “In your dreams.” The cockiness of his words turned me cold, no matter how pretty he was.

  “Stupid supernaturals with no damn morals. I’m not a thing! You can’t all keep thinking I’m… ownable.” My fingers curled into fists as I stormed out, ignoring the laughter that followed me.

  Daimhin was pushing it. How dare she try and sell me? I worked for her, albeit reluctantly, but she did not own me. I stayed furious most of the way home, too angry to pay attention to anything going on around me. My fingers trembled as I struggled to text Daimhín’s phone to let her know what happened at the bar, remembering to mention Eloise, whoever she was.

  The cold presence returned and blew on the back of my neck. I glanced around but couldn’t see a thing. On alert, I convinced myself I was being watched.

  I tried to use my other sense to feel if anyone was around, but I was too agitated. To err on the side of caution, I assumed a vampire was out there and sped up, multiplying the numbers of my birth date together in my head to keep me calm. I tried to use my other sense again, peering into the night on another level. Instead of the emptiness I’d been expecting, a bright, white light burned into my brain. Whatever was out there, it wasn’t a vampire.