Taunt

  I kept watch for Becca, but she didn’t show so I didn’t have anyone to take out my bad mood on. It was partly her fault that I had such a bad night; her words gave my nightmares new details.

  I hadn’t been to Eddie’s place since he locked me out and left Carl and me to fend for ourselves against a bunch of vampires. I dreaded seeing him. I knew he was powerful, but I had no clue what he was capable of, so confronting him was dangerous. Dealing with him was as frustrating and unpredictable as dealing with the vampires.

  I walked fast but constantly felt like there was someone behind me. Becca’s words had worked their way into my brain until they were all I could think about.

  I opened the door to Eddie’s shop and stifled a groan. My day had just taken a turn for the worse. Eddie was there, but so was Peter. I didn’t particularly want to deal with either of them.

  Eddie smiled, but I felt a chill pass over my skin. His shop often made me feel suffocated, and this time was no different. Magic hung in the air, but there was something else too. The longer I spent there, the more accustomed to the differences I became.

  “Was Carl here?” I asked before Eddie could speak.

  “What are you, his mother now?” Peter said. Only Peter could give me attitude when I walked into a room practically snarling.

  I narrowed my eyes, then repeated the question, directing it at Eddie.

  “You just missed him,” Eddie said. “What can I do for you?”

  I sighed with relief; at least Carl was safe. The big oaf.

  “You owe Daimhín. I’m here to… speed up the repayments,” I said, keeping my voice as level as possible. It killed me inside to do her bidding, but I didn’t have much of a choice.

  Eddie scowled, and a few books flew off the shelves which I pretended not to notice. “Of course,” he said through clenched teeth. “Wait here.” He left the shop and went upstairs, leaving me with Peter. The tension between us spiked a couple of notches; I pretended to look at the books to avoid looking at him.

  “So,” he said, after a few minutes of awkward silence. “How do you like working for Daimhín?”

  Enraged, I twirled around to face him. “You better be freaking kidding me, Brannigan. Yeah, I love it, Peter. I love having your idiot girlfriend text me orders, especially when her idiot boyfriend is the one who got me into this mess in the first place and won’t even take a call from me when I need some bloody help.” I stalked toward him. “Oh, and I really enjoy being followed around by vampires and their groupies every night and day. Do you know what’s even better? Do you know what I like the very best? Getting pawned off to creepy bartenders, like I’m for sale.” I gestured wildly, letting all of the junk in my head spew right out of my mouth.

  “Hurry up with the damn money, Eddie!” I hollered before Peter could reply. I wouldn’t have heard him anyway, my head pounded so hard with rage.

  Eddie hurried back, speechless for once, and handed me a thick envelope. I grabbed it and whirled around, ready to leave.

  “Wait,” Peter called after me.

  “I have to go,” I hissed through clenched teeth. I reached for the door, but it slammed shut before I could grip it properly.

  “Open the door, Eddie.” My head felt like it was going to fly into orbit; I barely clung to my sanity. Barely.

  “I’m sorry, Ava,” Eddie said. “I need to speak to you for a moment.”

  I bit my knuckle and took a breath. Turning around, I tried to stay calm. “What do you want?”

  “This is important,” he said. “I heard you shout at Peter. You said vampires are following you. Did you mean Daimhín’s coven?”

  “No, Maximus’s. Well, Gideon’s now. Whoever the hell he is.”

  Eddie frowned. “When you see Daimhín, ask her for protection.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, tried that. Got shut down.”

  He rubbed his chin and thought for a second. “Maybe you worded it badly. Tell her you’re marked, and you need her to go to the Council. Tell her to openly claim you as one of her own. It’s time.”

  “What? Be part of her coven?” Trust Eddie to come up with another way for me to be tied to a monster.

  He shook his head. “No, just under her protection. Say it to her, that’s all you have to do. Trust me, it’s important.”

  “Right, sure,” I said, but the cold presence that followed me around blew gently against my cheek, as if in agreement with Eddie. Could I trust it?

  “Is that it?” I asked, this time angry because taking Eddie’s advice always linked me tighter to the vampires. Plus, he had a habit of knowing exactly what was going to happen, but he didn’t like to warn a person first.

  Eddie hesitated, then nodded and let me go.

  I fumed all the way to Daimhín’s place. Sneaky and sly, Eddie never did anything for me that didn’t end up helping him more. Peter bothered me more than Eddie. He made it sound as if I chose to work for Daimhín, like I could actually be happy about it.

  The sky darkened before I arrived at Daimhín’s home. Rose showed me into the empty living room; the dark circles under her eyes made me worry for her health. She told me to sit and wait for Daimhín.

  I fidgeted, nervous, and my fears only increased when Jules entered the room. He flitted about, as edgy as before, and my senses made me hyper aware of his movements. He sat across from me and stared with a creepy grin on his face. Once again, I felt like something cold had dripped on my skin. Jules leaned forward, his face a mask of concentration. I automatically leaned backward.

  “He’s just a child.” I started and looked over at the child vampire, who had spoken from where she stood by the door. Jules remained focused on me.

  “What do you mean?” I asked her, unafraid. She moved closer.

  “He’s one of the youngest vampires here; he isn’t… right.”

  “You look pretty young yourself,” I said, unsure of her meaning.

  She laughed, a pretty little laugh, and might have passed for human were it not for her arid skin and pink-tinged eyes. “In vampire terms, I’m old enough.”

  “But he isn’t?” I ventured, keeping my eyes on Jules.

  “Maybe a century old. One of the last. The final few decades of breeding produced a poorer quality of vampire. Like Jules. So unpredictable that the Council can’t possibly blame their coven leaders for their actions.” She danced around the room as she talked, her voice so soft I barely heard her. “Genetics changed; they’re still changing. Perhaps a new breed will turn up, a worse one.”

  Becca’s story about some kind of formula that could turn humans into vampires came to mind. “Is that possible? A new breed?”

  She stopped moving and stared at me. “Very.” She smiled at Jules like a doting parent. “He’s trying to control you, you know.”

  “What?” I glared at Jules, but he was still concentrating.

  Her voice went softer. “He bit you, didn’t he? Tasted your blood. I wonder what that was like.” She licked her lips. “Now he tries to use his power over you. She believes he isn’t powerful enough, but I know that’s not it.”

  “Then what is it?” I asked, holding my breath.

  “Something else,” she said with a brief smile. “He’s just a weakling. Daimhín has no use for him. Not like Gideon. I dislike him; he was always cruel when he lived here.”

  I froze but, before I could respond, Rose returned, a fresh wound glistening on her neck. She wobbled a little at the door, and Jules was finally distracted from me.

  “Eloise, you’re not supposed to be here,” Rose said, but she avoided the girl’s eyes. The child vampire slipped out behind Rose, leaving me with a head full of questions. Gabe had mentioned Eloise. Why would he want a vampire? And Gideon. He’d been a part of Daimhín’s coven?

  “I’m supposed to take the money from you,” Rose said. “She’s still having breakfast.”

  I made a face and handed the money to Rose while making sure I kept my eyes on Jules, although he was now more interested
in Rose. I grabbed her arm before I left.

  “What are you doing here? Why don’t you leave? I can help you,” I said, unable to stop myself.

  She frowned. “I want to be here. There’s nothing else out there for me. I’m taken care of, all in exchange for something my body can make at any time. I’m something special here. Who the hell are you?”

  I flinched at the harshness of her tone. “Kill yourself then,” I muttered and left.

  I couldn’t get Rose or the child vampire out of my head. Rose had been so adamant that her life was better than mine. Was my existence that sad? And Eloise… so unique, so strange, but more importantly, she hinted at some interesting things. What had Gideon to do with Daimhín? And was she the one encouraging Jules to try his charms on me? I went over the conversation in my mind, trying to grip onto something definite, something that made sense.

  Outside my home stood a pair of vampires I had seen a number of times. I slowed down because they both turned to face me. On alert, I inched toward the threshold, the line where the magic guarding my building began.

  One took a step toward me. I sped up. They both moved toward me; we all knew they could catch me, but they let me get past the line anyway. I slammed the front door behind me and took some deep breaths, but it wasn’t enough. My head was a mess, and the ground kept shifting beneath my feet.

  Still unsettled, I headed upstairs, but stopped short. Carl stood in my slutty next-door neighbour’s doorway; he leaned over her with a familiar look on his face. Her hand was on his chest, and he trailed his thumb along her throat. For a second, I just stood there, open-mouthed. He was supposed to fix things with his fiancée, not hook up with randomers on my doorstep.

  My neighbour turned her head slowly, a seductive smile on her lips. “Evening,” she drawled, and I wrinkled my nose at the overpowering scent of her perfume. His neck and ears burning red, Carl abruptly stepped away from her.

  “Can I speak to you for a minute, please?” I asked Carl, barely containing the growl in my throat. He followed me into the flat; I slammed the door behind him and took a deep breath.

  “What are you playing at?” I hissed.

  He flinched. “I didn’t do anything wrong, Ava. Am I supposed to ask your permission before I speak to people now?”

  “Oh, come on! Really? That’s the best you can do?”

  He relaxed on the sofa with a smug look on his face. “I don’t know what you’re so uptight about.”

  I clenched my fists. “You’re supposed to be sorting your life out, Carl. Not complicating it. I didn’t let you stay here so you could have an early mid-life crisis. Go and fix things with your family, you idiot!”

  “You’re not my freaking mother. I don’t need you to tell me what to do. The whole point in me leaving was to make my own decisions, and I’m sorry, but you do not get to tell me who I can talk to.”

  “She's a skank!” My voice went shrill.

  “Why do you care? I don’t want to fight with you. I’m going to go find somewhere else to stay because this is just a ridiculous conversation. If I wanted a row, I’d have stayed at home.”

  “Go on! If I had known what a screw-up you were, I’d never have tried so hard to keep you safe!” I pushed past him and locked myself in my room, pacing as I listened to him gather his things. He hesitated outside my room, then obviously thought better of it because the front door slammed soon after.

  I knew he thought I was acting like a crazy person, but I had reached my limits. I should never have let humans into my life; it caused one problem after another, and it all began with Carl. I desperately wanted to go back to how things were before I’d met Carl, before I’d let him and Peter and Eddie ruin my life even more than I had. I stayed awake all night, still thinking bitter thoughts as the first rays of the sun pierced the sky.

  I heard a gentle thud, thud, thud, and felt my mouth water. Rubbing my eyes with the palms of my hands, I rocked to and fro as the thirst came back in full swing. First the pulsing in my apartment building. Then the heartbeats of strangers outside. My stomach growled; my throat ached. I clung to the cross around my neck and counted heartbeats, but nothing calmed me.

  I gave in to my other senses and explored the world in that extra place, the one humans can’t see. I didn’t even know if vampires could see it. I lost myself in a wonderland of pulsing and throbbing—of walking meals. Any one of them could satisfy me. I stayed like that for hours, in another world, a darker one.

  I knew I had stayed for too long when a shudder ran over me, and my senses found empty pockets amongst the living energies. Vampires, risen from the sleep of the dead. The lack of life chilled me, so I stopped looking and realised how dark it was outside. I couldn’t remember my last meal, but I hadn’t the stomach for solid food.

  I stared out my window and watched the pair of vampires who would be staking out my home for the next few hours. I was on my own, I realised, and I always would be. My grandmother wanted to avoid her guilt, Carl wanted to avoid his ordinary life, and everyone else either used me or wanted me dead. The vampires would never stop coming after me, I thought with a shiver as I gazed at the pair outside. I had no hope, no friend, no protection, and no options. I didn’t know what to do, so I went to bed and ignored the ringing of my mobile phone.

  Chapter Five

  I stared at the spreadsheet on my computer screen and wondered how the hell I could ever manoeuvre myself out of the red. Money had become one of my biggest problems, and the fact that Daimhín had yet another job for me to do that evening meant I couldn’t get much work done.

  She had been strangely specific with her instructions: Be there at such a time, walk down a certain route. It made me suspicious, but I didn’t exactly have choices anymore. The only reason Daimhín let me live was so I could work for her.

  All day I’d had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. It felt like my enemies were closing in, and I was holding a flashing sign over my head that read, “Get me now.”

  I followed the directions exactly and found Folsom, the goblin who owed Daimhín money, after retracing my steps at least five times. I finally realised he was the owner of a small garage half-hidden behind large iron gates. Yet another businessman.

  I knocked at the cottage next to the garage, but there was no answer. With a twinge of apprehension, I realised I would have to go into the garage itself. As I approached, I heard lots of banging and swore when I thought of the amount of tools and weapons that could be housed in a garage.

  If Daimhín wanted to get rid of me, this isolated place would be perfect. Nobody knew where I was; nobody would notice if I didn’t make it home. I knew she wanted me out of the way, but she had been biding her time for some reason. Between waiting for her and Gideon, I couldn’t stand the anticipation anymore. I wanted to get it over and done with, whatever was coming.

  I banged on the shutters and waited until they opened. Folsom took his time. I couldn’t help staring at him. He looked like a short, old man but, every now and then, when I blinked, I saw an ugly little creature who was very obviously not human.

  “What do you want?” he asked, suspicion colouring his tone.

  “I’m here on Daimhín’s behalf. I’ve to pick up something for her.”

  “Get out of here, half-breed, you’re not on that bitch’s business.”

  I sighed, already tired of him. “Look, I’m in a hurry. We both know you owe Daimhín money. I’m her… debt collector. So, divvy up because I don’t have all day.” My skin prickled; I didn’t know what goblins could do, if anything.

  “Don’t make me get my axe out to you!” he shouted.

  “Jesus, do you have to be such a cliché? Give me the damn money, already!”

  He looked like he was preparing to jump me, so I crouched on the balls of my feet and showed my fangs. Total bluff, but he bought my fake bad-ass-ness.

  “Thank you,” I said when he finally handed me a bag. I practically had to pry it out of his hands to check the money. “
Is this all of it?”

  He nodded, but he refused to meet my eye.

  “If it isn’t, I’ll just be back tomorrow. Maybe Daimhín will show up instead.”

  He muttered under his breath, grabbed the bag, and went back inside. I followed him in and watched as he piled more money into the bag. His fingers were gnarled and crooked. I wondered how well he could work in his garage when he clearly struggled to fill a bag with money. Folsom grumbled and threw the now full bag at me.

  “Thanks so much,” I said sweetly.

  “Don’t come back, half-breed!” he shouted after me as I walked away.

  “Oh, shut up, you old windbag,” I called back, annoyed by his rudeness. It was totally because I was a hybrid, the bigot.

  I hurried to Daimhín’s place to drop off the money. Folsom hadn’t been out to get me, but I wasn’t safe yet. On the other hand, maybe I was being paranoid.

  “Bit late tonight, aren’t we?” Daimhín said, as I was about to leave. Something in her cruel smile made me pause. She was a sly one, I could see that, and her actions put me on alert, whether I needed to be or not.

  “Just a tad,” I said. “Oh, by the way, I was told I should ask you for protection again. Officially. Because I’m marked, and I’m working for you. So you need to go to the Council, right?”

  She bared her fangs, but I refused to flinch. After a couple of tense seconds, she nodded. “Of course.” I could see it killed her to say it, and that meant it was significant. I felt a brief flash of gratitude toward Eddie.

  I left Daimhín’s place with the same gut feeling that something was going to go wrong. The sky darkened quickly during the winter, and people didn’t hang about in the cold, which left the streets pretty deserted. There were some stragglers here and there, so I figured I was safe enough. The vampires probably didn’t want their evil deeds publicised, but I kept a close hand on the silver dagger in my pocket.