Taunt

  “You are too paranoid, Fionnuala,” Eddie said, but the way his heart raced gave me pause. “She fights for no rebel cause; remember, she was raised by a human.”

  “Then why does she fight at all?” Gideon sounded like he was enjoying himself.

  “Hold on a second,” I protested, almost forgetting about the flames and running straight through them. “You all attacked me first. Maximus kidnapped my grandmother and tortured me to find out how to make an army of people like me. You tortured me too, you dick!” The lack of sleep didn’t do me any favours. Eddie gestured wildly, urging me to sit down.

  Fionnuala’s frown deepened, and I felt something malevolent in the air. Thunder rolled in the sky until Koda touched her shoulder gently.

  “I’m sorry. She means no disrespect. She’s recovering from a recent… injury and is still on painkillers. What she means to say is she was justified in defending herself. Gideon’s coven did kidnap her grandmother,” Eddie covered. “They tortured Ava to force her to reveal how she was created and only let her go when Daimhín interfered and took Ava into her employment.”

  “Hold on, she’s Daimhín’s employee?” Koda asked, leaning forward with interest.

  “Yes,” Gideon butted in. “They both should be punished. They have upset the balance. Daimhín probably created her. The mongrel changes everything just by existing. We can’t let her go around destroying our kind. It’s not like we can create any more of us.” Wow, Gideon totally sold Daimhín out.

  “Wait a minute!” I jumped when I heard Peter’s voice from the other end of the marquis, I didn’t realise he had attended, or even that he would have been allowed. “Gideon’s been injecting humans with a formula meant to trigger the change, just like Maximus before him. That’s against the law. That’s what’s upsetting the balance. Ask him about that!”

  The Council collectively appeared interested, but Koda was the one who spoke. “Bring me proof, Brannigan. Then I can do something about it.” He stared meaningfully at Peter, whose face grew determined.

  “Why did you kill Max? In daylight, without a fair fight?” Erossi asked.

  I shrugged. “Daimhín told me to do it that way. He deserved it anyway.”

  “For kidnapping your grandmother or torturing you?” Gabe looked at the other Council members. “We should speak on this.”

  After a long whispered discussion, Koda spoke for the other Council members.

  “This case is more complicated than we first anticipated. Therefore, we are allowing one full week for both sides to bring forth a full and detailed account of each incident.”

  Gideon leapt to his feet. “We don’t need a week, Koda!” For the first time, he lost the cocky look on his face.

  “I don’t care what you need. This is what you’re getting. Both of you,” he added sternly, looking from me to Gideon.

  “But she’ll remain in custody?” Gideon asked, almost pleadingly.

  “No, there’s no reason for that. She will remain under the custody of one of our consultants; therefore, we know she will be back for the trial.”

  Eddie got to his feet. “Of course, Koda. She can stay with me, and I’ll keep my eye on her and make sure she arrives on time.”

  Unsure if that was a better solution than being imprisoned, I glanced up at Eddie. He had lost the stress line on his forehead so I figured the hearing had gone better than he expected. Or at least, no worse.

  The Council all stood, Fionnuala declaring the proceedings over. Most of the observers left, each of them making sure to get a good look at me. The circle of fire died away, setting me free, and the remaining Guardians dragged me back to the building. They were rough about it, even though I was allowed leave.

  One of them, a broad-shouldered man with glassy black eyes, pushed me into a room and followed me in. He stood by the door and waited.

  “This is the bit where you let me go,” I said, more than ready to leave.

  He kept his focus on me, and I could have sworn I felt insects crawling all over me. A wave of nausea hit me when I tried to look into his eyes again. Wrapping my arms around myself, I kept as far away from him as possible and waited for Eddie.

  The door opened after a couple of minutes, but only so someone could hand in my clothes. The Guardian threw them at me. “Change,” he said, and I dropped my things to the floor in fright. His voice did something to me, something bad, and he knew it.

  With trembling fingers, I picked up the clothes, realising too late that he planned on watching me dress. Humiliated, I avoided his eyes and threw my clothes on as quickly as possible. I felt myself withdraw, felt numbers come to the tip of my tongue. I shook myself mentally. No more scared little girl.

  I looked the Guardian in the eyes, ignoring the shuddering awfulness in the blackness, and made a scornful noise. The smirk dancing on the corners of his lips vanished.

  “I hope that was more thrilling for you than me,” I said. “I’m sure the next time we’re alone will be far more exciting.”

  He gripped my shoulder and pushed me outside the room. I expected to come up out of the ground, but the headquarters of the Council seemed to be a warren of entrances and hidden rooms. Finally, we made it to a set of double doors that led outside. Glancing around, I saw we were surrounded by unfamiliar countryside. Without a word, the Guardian released the tag from my wrist and waited in front of the doors. I stood a few paces away from him, shivering with cold, until Eddie and Peter pulled up. I got into the car without a word.

  My favourite coat lay on the seat, and I gathered it in my arms, smiling when I felt the comforting shape of the dagger. I looked back at the building, seeing it now looked like a disused barn. The black-eyed Guardian still stood in front of it, staring at the car.

  “Exactly how much trouble would I be in if I went back to murder him?” I was only half-joking.

  “Guardians giving you a hard time, huh?” Peter asked.

  “Something like that.” I wasn’t about to tell him I had to undress in front of one of them.

  “Ava, don’t even joke about something like that. It’s big trouble you’re in. Don’t you get it?” As usual, Eddie had to put a damper on the one thing keeping me going. Revenge.

  “I know I’m in trouble. They’re all freaked out about the daywalker thing. How come?”

  “They don’t know what to do with you.” Eddie’s words sparked a memory. Leah had pretty much said the same thing about herself. “It isn’t often they’re faced with the likes of you,” he continued in his pleasant lilt. I almost liked him when he spoke that way; it made me forget what he was capable of.

  “The likes of me? What is the likes of me?”

  Eddie sighed. “That’s what they’re trying to find out. You have to understand, the Council is ancient, made out of necessity. The rules are archaic, mostly. You have to fit in, or know how to play the rules. Lucky for you, I consult, so I know the rules.”

  “I shouldn’t have to play by the rules. I’m not in the wrong!” The whole thing frustrated me.

  “But you see, that’s the thing. By the rules, you are in the wrong. Lack of knowledge is not an excuse. They have to make their point with you. I think I’ll be able to talk them around; they won’t put up much of a fight.” I sensed his tension. There had to be a but coming.

  “But…” I tried to help.

  “But, I can’t do much about your genetics, and that is your biggest problem. That is the one thing that could kill you.” The strain in Eddie’s voice was obvious. “I’ll play it down, but I’ll be the only one.”

  We all fell silent. I gazed out of the window, seeing plenty of nondescript fields. I had no idea where we were, or even what time it was. Being in a windowless room had screwed up my system. I thought over the hearing. It had been a mess of confusing phrases and opinions.

  “Féinics,” I said, remembering. “Fionnuala called me a phoenix? What was that all about?”

  “Fionnuala’s paranoid about rebel sects. That’s not your concern
; you have plenty of other things to worry about.”

  “The other stuff is bullshit, if you ask me,” Peter said.

  “What do you mean?” I had done the things they accused me of. Well, mostly, but in context, I had had no choice.

  “None of it fits. Anyone else apart from you, and the charges would have been laughed at. Vampires sort this stuff out amongst themselves. Fionnuala should have locked Gideon up for wasting their time. So why did he even take up the charges against Ava?”

  “To bring up the daywalker issue,” Eddie responded.

  “Exactly. He wants her out of the way, or maybe as a distraction. It’ll take any steam off his arse about the human testing he’s been involved in.” Peter sounded confident. I didn’t doubt his theory too much. Gideon had looked altogether too smug at the hearing.

  “You know, Eloise kept dropping hints that make me think I’d been set up somehow,” I said, drumming my fingers on the dagger. It sparked blue at my touch.

  “Who’s Eloise?” Peter asked.

  “The child vampire,” I told him. “Gideon was one of the vampires who helped Maximus, when they… when I was there. Thing is, there was a whole lot of atmosphere between Maximus and his coven. Most of them were barely obeying him; it was a bit unsteady. I don’t get why he would want to avenge Maximus, or whatever; he didn’t exactly seem to like him. Plus, Gideon used to be part of Daimhín’s coven.”

  “This is making more sense,” Peter said. “Maybe Gideon wanted his own coven, maybe he left Daimhín because he knew there was no chance of promotion.”

  “Or she sent him away,” Eddie butted in. “Perhaps he gained too much favour within her coven, or perhaps she sent him out to spy on Maximus.”

  “I’m betting on that one.” Peter’s voice rose in excitement. “Gideon leaves Daimhín to spy on Maximus and stirs up shit in the coven. Maximus is put to sleep, so Gideon takes over and gets a taste of power, maybe thinks Maximus was on to something all along. Maybe he’s using Ava to take down Daimhín in a way that keeps his hands clean.”

  “But remember who ordered Ava to kill Maximus,” Eddie said.

  “The same person who made us leave Ava with Maximus for an entire night. The one who made sure she had reason for revenge. And what came of it? They pushed Ava to her limits and found out blood heals her rapidly.” Peter looked around at me. “Has this whole thing been a set up?”

  I was lost in a swirl of memories and conversations. Some barely remembered recollections were connecting and becoming more concrete.

  “Arthur told me not to trust anyone. I think he was right. All of these bullshit jobs have been like tests, like they’re all seeing what I can do, what I can withstand. They’re looking for my weaknesses, seeing what they can set me up for. And I’ve been the idiot who let them have a front seat.”

  “Perhaps it would be wise to play down your injury,” Eddie said slowly. “If anyone asks, it was a flesh wound. No penetration. The silver bullets could have been a test, too.”

  “Yeah, that too. I mean, the vampire kept pulling back at first. I couldn’t understand why he didn’t just go for it.” I groaned. “I am so bloody stupid. Daimhín gave me directions straight to Maximus’s room. It wasn’t locked; there were very few guards or humans around. It was too damn easy, and I was so grateful, I didn’t even think twice to consider how suss it looked. I just wanted him dead. And they banked on that.”

  The car swerved a little. “Sorry,” Peter said. “This is our fault, Eddie. We got her into this mess, and they just ran with it. We have to fix this.”

  I swore inwardly. How could I not see everything that was right in front of me? I was so glad for the chance to get rid of Maximus that I let myself get tangled further in the schemes of a couple of vampires. I saw everything through new eyes and wanted to scream at my own stupidity.

  “Daimhín never wanted to kill me, did she? She just wanted Maximus to think that, to push him. Gideon was probably whispering in his ear the whole time. And his vampires, they didn’t do anything to me for a while, just followed me around, intimidated me. Becca and Daimhín tried to make me afraid of them so I was on edge. They provoked me until I reacted, and I fell for it!” It was all so obvious now that I could see the big picture. Daimhín hadn’t saved me. She’d used me to get her own way, and now I was going to die for her.

  “Pretty good plan really,” Peter said. “If Daimhín had killed Maximus, she would have had to face the Council and explain herself. That nearly always brings up other deceits. This way, she has her coven, and her biggest opponent is dead; their coven is smaller, and her own little bitch is in charge of them.”

  “Except he isn’t really her bitch anymore,” I reminded him. “He sold her out, too, at the hearing.”

  “Bet Daimhín didn’t expect that,” Peter said. I gave a little laugh, but I wasn’t amused. They were all a bunch of devious animals, and I was stuck in the middle.

  “Investigating Daimhín will also keep the Council busy.” Eddie sounded thoughtful. “Gideon might be smarter than we thought.”

  “He keeps the Council busy for a while. Why? To do what?” I wondered aloud.

  “Did you see how pissed he was when I brought up what he’s doing to humans?” Peter said. “I reckon there’s something happening with that. Something big. He needs the Council to be distracted. Maybe they’re already suspicious, and he wants them on a bigger trail. Or maybe he wants Daimhín caught up in this trial to do something under her nose. I bet it’s to do with the formula they’re injecting in humans. If we could get some of it and show the Council, they would have to investigate him fully.”

  “Keep out of that, Peter. It’s none of our business.” Eddie’s voice rose in anger, but I didn’t see understand what Peter had said to provoke his rage.

  “The Council should know he can’t be trusted,” Peter argued.

  “There’s nothing we can do about that.” Eddie raised his hands. “Let’s figure out how to battle the accusations against Ava.”

  “What’s the point?” I said. “I can’t change how I was made.”

  Eddie looked at me. “Ava, they’ll ask you about your heritage, your creation.”

  “I won’t tell them anything,” I said stubbornly.

  “You won’t have a choice. The truth may be revealed before you’re ready for it.” Eddie’s eyes softened. “Prepare yourself for surprises, Ava. The Council has a way of exposing the truth.”

  “We’ll see.” I folded my arms, unwilling to discuss it. I’d gotten tortured to try and make me reveal my heritage; it hadn’t worked. I hadn’t gone through that only to reveal all to the next group of supernatural beings who asked.

  “Don’t worry, Ava. I’ll figure this out for you. I’ll make sure you stay safe.” Eddie sounded kind, but I knew he wasn’t as unassuming as he sounded. I wasn’t sure what his idea of safe was, but it definitely wasn’t parallel to mine.

  Chapter Eight

  As soon as I stepped into Eddie’s shop, I felt trapped. I was under his custody; I couldn’t leave, couldn’t get away from him. That sucked. Peter had driven off as soon as we got out of the car but arranged to meet us the next day. Being alone with Eddie was instantly uncomfortable. A lot of unresolved tension wedged between us.

  “I need to sleep,” I said. “I didn’t get much… back there.”

  “Understandable. Head on up to your room.”

  I raised my eyebrows, disliking the word your.

  “Goodnight, Ava. We’ll sort this out tomorrow.” He gestured toward the stairs.

  Once upstairs, the cool presence returned, and I was surprised by my relief. It breathed softly on my cheek as I lay in the giant bed, staring at the ceiling, too stressed to fall asleep.

  Everything was spiralling out of control, and I couldn’t keep a handle on any of it. Being around people, having to adhere to supernatural rules I didn’t know existed, and trying to keep up with all of the underhanded drama and backstabbing overwhelmed me.

 
My biggest problem was lack of knowledge. I knew hardly anything about the supernatural world, and it was about time that changed. Maybe if I learned a few things, I might figure out just what to do next.

  The next day dragged until Eddie closed the shop, and Peter and Carl turned up. All four of us gathered around the shop’s counter and sipped coffee.

  “You okay?” Carl asked me. I shrugged. Nothing truly awful had happened to me, but I couldn’t say I was okay; well, at least I wasn’t dead.

  Carl scratched the back of his head, and I remembered the last time we spoke had turned into a big row.

  “Sorry about before,” I said, knowing he was unsure whether to bring it up or not.

  “It was my fault.” He shook his head. “I felt like shit when I heard what happened to you. Maybe we shouldn’t try living together again.”

  I returned his grin and felt better. The air between us had been cleared.

  Peter snapped his fingers. “Okay, Brady Bunch, can we get on with things now?”

  “Don’t start. I could be put down like a dog in a week’s time. I think I have a right to take a minute to—”

  “You’re not going to be put down!” Peter interrupted, but he didn’t sound so sure.

  “Yeah, right. Like this Council gives a crap about what’s right and wrong. There was a girl in the cell next to me. I think she escaped, but she was just a kid. How can they keep a kid there?” I mumbled, half to myself.

  Peter and Eddie exchanged glances. I wondered if I was counting aloud. I wasn’t sure why I had fixated on Leah. Maybe because I felt indignant on her behalf, and it was better than focusing on my own stuff.

  “And that kid vampire who follows Daimhín around. Who turns a kid into a vampire? What kind of scummy things am I dealing with here?”

  “It’s going to be okay,” Eddie said, trying to reassure me.

  “Oh, yeah, I should listen to you. You sold me out the last time I listened to you.”

  He waved the air as if to brush over the fact. “That’s not how it happened. We planned on handing you over, remember? Paying off a debt was just a handy bonus.”