She walked slowly along the back of the house, peering in through the glass doors, winding in and out between its white marble columns. She almost had it to herself; Kenwood was a summer place, picnics on the lawns by the lake and all that. It meant that she could take her time. Apart from a few cuts and grazes, she had escaped injury – ‘this time’, as Silvia had reminded the police commissioner down the phone at high volume, but the main damage was to her feeling of well-being. April was scared and she didn’t mind admitting it – and her fear had nothing to do with having been a hair’s breadth from getting her throat torn out. The thing which still frightened her was the fact that Marcus had known she was a Fury. Obviously it hadn’t taken much for him to work it out, considering that her blood was slowly killing him. But who else knew? Had he told anyone else? Had other vampires seen him in his grey-faced, hollow-eyed state and made the connection? Marcus had never been close to Layla and they all knew he’d drunk April’s blood in the cemetery at Christmas. But then, if any of the Suckers had seen Marcus, they would never have let him live. He had committed the cardinal sin: he had risked uncovering them all. April shivered again, tugging at the scarf. The funny thing was, she was far more scared of being hunted than she was of being killed. Facing Marcus last night she had been frightened – terrified, in fact – but it hadn’t been anything like as bad as the graveyard chase and fight during the Winter Ball. Maybe she was becoming a super-powered arse-kicking vampire killer after all. Or maybe you just got used to being beaten up after a while. But she couldn’t get used to the suspense, the not knowing, the sense that she was being watched and hunted, killers waiting for her around every corner. Certainly Marcus had tracked her like an animal and if it hadn’t been for Gabriel’s timely arrival, she could well have been torn apart on that lonely pathway. Gabriel! Bloody Gabriel!
‘And bloody men!’ she whispered to herself. How dare he come steaming in on his white charger to rescue her? It was so typical. She could just imagine him sitting there in his cell feeling smug and thinking he was the big hero, when she wouldn’t have been walking home alone in the dark if it hadn’t been for him and his bloody secrets.
She headed down the sloping pathway towards the lake, wondering if it would be frozen solid. There had been a pond near the house where April had grown up, out in the countryside – she wasn’t sure where exactly – they had collected frogspawn there and sailed little boats in the summer. In winter it had frozen so hard that April could walk out on it and see the fish swimming under her feet.
DI Reece had explained that her scream had alerted the police waiting by the lower gate. When they had arrived, they had found Gabriel standing over the body, his hands covered in Marcus’s blood. He was being charged with Marcus’s murder and they were once again looking into his connection with both Isabelle and Alix Graves’s murders, maybe even Layla’s death. April knew in her heart that it was rubbish, but she was so angry with him, she didn’t care. He could rot in prison for ever for all she cared.
Her heart gave a leap as she remembered his betrayal. How could he? She had given him everything, saved his life, and he had repaid her by grabbing the first girl who came along.
She cursed out loud, then felt bad about it. God, why can’t I just find a nice, simple, straightforward boy who just wants to love me instead of all this destiny, vampires, good versus evil crap? she thought.
The truth was, however angry she was with Gabriel, she still felt a bit guilty. Gabriel had been trying to save her. Or perhaps he was just angry after the argument and found Marcus in his way. Had she brought about Marcus’s death? Obviously, Marcus had been planning to kill her: he wouldn’t have felt bad afterwards, but that didn’t stop April from feeling that perhaps she could have done something to prevent it. She obviously wasn’t cut out for this Fury business.
April was disappointed to find that the ice on the Kenwood lake was thin and had already been broken. Kids had thrown rocks and sticks at it, turning it into a patchwork of giant ice cubes. Shame. She checked her watch: five to two. She turned and walked briskly back towards the house, where she was pleased to see Miss Holden was early.
‘What’s all this about, April?’ asked the teacher as she walked up. She was wrapped in a long coat and a woolly hat and her cheeks were bright pink from more than just the cold. ‘You can’t just call me up for a meeting without giving me more of an explanation.’
‘I didn’t think I needed to give an explanation, Miss Holden. I was almost killed the other night, and I supposed you’d heard.’
‘I did, April, of course I did.’
‘Well Marcus seemed to know I was a Fury.’
‘That makes sense. I imagine he was in a pretty bad way.’
‘You knew?’
‘It’s logical, April. He was covered in your blood at the Winter Ball; I’d have been surprised if he hadn’t been infected.’
‘But if he knows, other people probably know I’m a Fury too.’
‘It’s possible,’ said Miss Holden.
‘“It’s possible”? What about some reassuring speech about how we’re going to handle this?’
Miss Holden didn’t answer, just crossed her hands over her stomach, rubbing her wrists. Now April could see that there were red rings under her eyes, like she had been crying.
‘Miss? What’s the matter?’
She looked at April with a mixture of anger and pity.
‘The Guardians visited me last night. They took a dim view of my helping you make the Dragon’s Breath.’
‘They … visited you?’
‘A “hearing” they call it. Like getting called to the headmaster’s study, I suppose, only slightly more serious. I have been expelled from the order.’
She held out her wrists and April gasped. The skin was bright red, rubbed and torn.
‘God, what happened?’
‘They tied me down and “put me to the question”. They suspected I’d gone over to the other side.’
April felt sick. Her teacher had been tortured and all because of her.
‘But that’s just crazy!’ she said.
‘Is it?’ snapped Miss Holden. ‘Guardians are sworn to fight the vampires, to wipe them from the earth. I not only saved Gabriel’s life, I actively – knowingly – turned him from human to vampire. Whatever the reasons, it goes against everything we stand for. I was lucky they didn’t kill me!’
‘Didn’t you tell them why you did it? That you decided it was the right thing to do? What about all that stuff you said to me about Gabriel being different from the other vampires?’
‘They don’t care about any of that, April!’ said Miss Holden. ‘They’re fighting a war! In war you can’t stop to think if a particular enemy is good or bad, you just keep killing them until they’re all gone.’
‘That’s horrible! That doesn’t make them any better than the Suckers!’
Miss Holden didn’t reply. She just turned to stare out at the lake.
‘But you can still help me, right?’
‘No, April, I can’t. I have been told to stay away from you.’
‘What? You’re kidding me! What am I supposed to do?’
‘I don’t know, April,’ she said, her voice weary. ‘Carry on with what you have been doing, I suppose. Nothing has changed, has it? Ravenwood is still recruiting your friends, you still want to find out who killed your father, don’t you?’
April couldn’t believe her ears. She had come here for some reassurance and advice and instead she was being abandoned.
‘But I can’t do it on my own, Miss!’ she said desperately. ‘Why can’t you just help me on your own?’
‘Why? Because I’m sick of it, April!’ shouted Miss Holden. ‘I’m sick of the whole bloody thing. Don’t you understand? I devoted myself to the cause completely – no friends, no relationships, they weren’t allowed – I’ve spent my entire life fighting this war. And now, because I helped you, the Guardians have cast me aside. I have nothing left!’
‘You have nothing left?’ spat April, suddenly furious with her teacher. ‘What about me? The vampires came into my house and tore my father’s throat out – or don’t you remember that? This is your bloody war, Miss. I don’t want to be involved, but it seems I don’t have any choice. You’ve spent the last few months telling me how special I am and how important it is to get involved with your crusade against the vampires. But now all of a suddenly you’re “sick of it”, so I’m all on my own against a tidal wave of undead serial killers. Well, cheers for that.’
‘I’m sure they’ll replace me, April,’ said Miss Holden bitterly. ‘I’m sure another Guardian will be in touch.’
‘Screw the bloody Guardians!’ shouted April. ‘There’s no way I’m helping them any more. I thought you were going to teach me how to use this so-called “gift”, I thought you were going to help me. What do I do now?’
‘You are a strong girl, April. Stronger than you know. You will find your own path.’
‘Bollocks to your path! I need help! People are being killed. It’s not just me – my dad, Isabelle, even Layla.’
‘Layla? Layla wanted to be a vampire!’
April gaped at her.
‘Listen to yourself! She was seventeen years old and she just wanted to fit in at school. You can’t condemn people for wanting to have friends. Layla was never my favourite person, but she didn’t deserve to die. Especially not like that.’
Miss Holden’s expression said she clearly thought differently.
‘If that’s the way you think, then I’m better off without you.’
‘April, you have to understand my point of view …’
‘I think I do. We’re all just pawns in this eternal war you’re fighting, where anyone is expendable. But when it gets too difficult, you just step away from it. That seems to be the way all adults work. So forget it. I’ll do it on my own.’
April turned on her heel and began walking up the hill. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t bother you again.’
‘April please, listen … Please!’
But April kept walking.
Chapter Twenty-Four
‘I can’t believe you gave it to her with both barrels,’ said Caro, leaning back on the bench in the playground and laughing. ‘God, I’d give anything to have seen her face.’
‘Well, you can see it later in class, we’ve got History this afternoon. I’m not exactly looking forward to it.’
‘Why not? What can she do? She can’t exactly say, “Sorry children, I’m in a bad mood today because I’ve been kicked out of this secret society and then April told me where to get off.”’
‘No, but she can give me a hard time about the work. I’m expecting to suddenly start getting Ds.’
‘It must have been worth it though. God, I wish I’d been in your shoes.’
‘You wouldn’t, Caro, honestly. It was horrible – it is horrible. You should have seen her wrists.’
‘The Guardians sound as bad as the Suckers, if you ask me,’ said Caro, wrinkling her nose.
April nodded.
‘But it leaves us exposed, doesn’t it? What if we need another Dragon’s Breath thing or something?’
‘We’ll be all right, we found the book ourselves, remember?’
‘I know, but it’s one less person we can rely on. It feels like the Suckers’ army is getting bigger and bigger, while ours is shrinking.’
‘Don’t be stupid. You’ve still got me and Fiona and …’
April looked at her, her eyebrows raised. ‘And who, Caro?’
‘Sorry, I didn’t think, I was going to say Gabriel.’
April pulled a face.
‘I can’t believe I was so stupid. I’d convinced myself that he was somehow different, but boys are all the same. Shallow, stupid and unreliable.’
‘Aren’t you worried that he’s in prison, though?’
April picked at the wood of the bench with her nails. The answer was yes, of course. She hated the idea of him being cooped up in a cage, but she couldn’t get past the betrayal. She kept seeing that image of him reaching up to touch Jessica’s face – the way he used to touch her.
‘He’s only getting what he deserves,’ said April, sticking her chin out.
‘Well, don’t beat yourself up about it,’ said Caro soothingly. ‘He had me going too. I thought he was this upstanding, decent type. I couldn’t believe he’d go off with some other woman.’
Some other woman.
Without knowing it, Caro had hit the nail on the head, cut to the heart of April’s anger. The betrayal had been bad enough of course, especially after all the risks she’d taken. But Jessica was a woman and cheating with her played into all of April’s insecurities about Gabriel. He might look like a seventeen-year-old boy, but he was actually much older, much more experienced, and April found that, more than the fact that he was technically undead, disturbing.
‘Do you think it’s because I’m a terrible kisser?’
Caro laughed, then saw that April was being serious. ‘Come on, of course not. You two seemed to be playing tonsil tennis enough before he went back to being a Sucker. I don’t think he would have put up with it if he didn’t like it.’
‘Well what is it, then? I know I’m not as pretty as her and she’s got this amazing body, but …’
‘Hey, hey!’ said Caro, putting her hands up to stop the flow. ‘It’s nothing to do with you, A. Don’t start thinking that way. Men are dogs, end of. They’re all pathetic.’
April raised her eyebrows.
‘So you didn’t have much fun at the party either?’
Caro snorted.
‘Not much. At least you loved and lost, April Dunne. I couldn’t get anyone to even look at me.’
‘You seemed to be dancing with Simon for ages,’ smiled April.
‘Ha! Simon? You’re joking. I wouldn’t be interested in him if he were the last man on earth. Anyway, he and Ling are joined at the hip.’
‘I think the lady doth protest too much.’
‘It’s “the lady doth protest too much, methinks,” idiot. This is Ravenwood, you can’t go around misquoting Shakespeare here.’
‘Don’t change the subject. I still think there’s a spark between you.’
‘Well, when it all went mental after you disappeared – cops running in, people screaming – Simon did come straight over to me to check I was all right.’
‘See?’
‘Yeah, but then Ling came and dragged him away.’
‘Oh well, maybe we’re both fated to be alone.’
‘Better than being dead, honey. How are you bearing up?’
April shrugged.
‘Miss Holden’s right about one thing. I’m on my own now, so I’ve got to toughen up. I’ve been thinking about it: if Marcus told anyone else I’m a Fury, then they’re coming for me and there’s nothing I can do about it. I might have this magic virus inside me, but I can’t fight a whole …’ April paused. ‘… what do you call a collection of vampires, anyway?’
Caro pouted. ‘Good question. Umm, a coffin of vampires? A belfry?’
‘Anyway, I got lucky with Marcus, but I can’t fight all of them. All I can do is carry on trying to find out who killed my dad and hope I get to the Regent before he gets to me.’
‘And find out who’s behind Ravenwood.’
‘Oh, don’t go on about that again. I don’t even care about that any more.’
‘Why not? It’s important.’
April shook her head. She was tired of people telling her what was important and what she should do. ‘No it’s not. Not to me, anyway. All I care about is finding the Sucker who hurt my family.’
Caro frowned.
‘But look around you, A. All these kids, half of them geeks who can’t get dressed in the morning, let alone protect themselves. You said the very same thing to me only about a week ago. Unless we find out who’s recruiting them and what for, they’re going to end up dead like your dad. Like Layla.’
‘I know Layla was your friend, but I can’t be responsible for everyone. I’ve got enough on my plate with staying alive.’
‘The only way you’re ever going to be safe is to get to the source of the vampires. As long as there are any here, you’re a target. We need to take them all down.’
‘This isn’t a game, Caro. Your fixation with conspiracy theories is blinding you.’
‘They’re not theories, April! It’s real! You know that better than anyone.’
‘If the Guardians won’t help me, then I won’t be part of their war. I’m looking out for number one.’
‘Then you’re as heartless as they are.’
‘Heartless? Haven’t I suffered enough? I want this over with. Why should I have to look out for all these kids?’
‘Because you’re the only one who knows what’s going on! Don’t take it out on them just because your boyfriend is a dog.’
April suddenly felt defensive.
‘Don’t talk about him like that.’
‘Why not? He is a dog. Everyone else could see it, but you were too busy playing Barbie and Ken to see him for what he was.’
‘Hang on, you knew about this?’
‘I saw him and that Jessica woman the night you were hanging out at Davina’s. They were coming out of Americano together.’
‘You saw them? How could you not tell me?’
‘I tried to, remember? But it was all lovey-dovey for you that night – Prince Charming had brought you flowers, probably out of guilt as it happens – and you seemed so happy, I didn’t want to spoil it for you.’
April put her hand over her mouth. Was that why Gabriel had been short with her on the phone that night? Had he been with Jessica when she phoned? April could feel bile rising in her throat.
‘You should have told me!’ she said, turning all her anger on Caro. ‘I thought you were my friend!’
‘What was I supposed to do? Tell you your boyfriend was disappearing off behind your back? You already knew that. I didn’t want to hurt you.’
‘So instead you let him humiliate me in front of the whole school?’ April said, standing up. ‘You know what, Caro – you look after them. You take down Ravenwood. I’m going to find my dad’s killer – and that’s it.’