Just as they were about to turn onto the first landing, there was a loud crash from the front of the house. April watched in amazement as the front door burst open, slamming back against the inside wall.
‘Sheldon!’ came the shout as Detective Inspector Reece charged into the hallway, then immediately fell back, throwing his arm up to shield his face from the flames.
‘Let her go, Sheldon,’ he shouted up at them. ‘We’ve got you surrounded.’
Sheldon laughed.
‘You want her?’ he called. ‘Come up and get her.’
The policeman started along the corridor, but the heat from the front room was already too fierce and he was forced back.
‘I’m coming, April!’ he shouted, his voice cracking as the swirling black smoke reached his lungs. ‘We’ll get you out.’
‘Don’t count on it,’ said Sheldon, increasing his grip on April’s throat and dragging her along a corridor, throwing her down on the cold tile floor of a bathroom. Finally released from her stranglehold, April tried to suck in air, but already the room was thick with smoke and she began to cough.
‘Come up here,’ said Sheldon, yanking her up and pushing her against a sink. He lowered his mouth to her ear.
‘Don’t worry, April,’ he whispered. ‘This won’t take long and you won’t feel a thing – well, not much, anyway.’
‘What … what are you doing?’ she said, terror rising in her throat.
‘Oh, I need a sample of your blood,’ he said. ‘If our scientists can grow your virus in the labs I’m sure they’ll be able to create an anti-venom. Then you and your kind will no longer pose a threat to the true elite and I will be the most powerful king in the history of our people. But you don’t need to worry about that, April …’ he pulled an old-fashioned cut-throat razor from the cabinet above the sink. ‘… when this sink is full, I doubt you’ll care one way or the other.’
But April did care, she cared very much. Not about herself, but about the boy who had risked everything for her, the boy who had wanted to be with her so much, he had embraced death. She cared about the boy lying in the front room surrounded by smoke and flame more than anything in the world. And all the pain, all the anger, all of the hurt, all of the rage she had felt since she had come to this Godforsaken corner of the world, it all rose up in her chest like a ball of fire.
‘Get off me!’ she screamed, pushing herself up off the sink and throwing Sheldon back against the wall. She turned, punching and kicking at him, her teeth bared, pushing him further backwards until he was in a corner.
‘Stupid little girl,’ said Sheldon, back-handing her across the face, sending her sprawling against the bath, stars popping in front on her eyes. ‘You think you can take on a true-born vampire – a king?’
‘You’re not a king!’ screamed April. ‘You’re just an errand boy!’
Lying on the floor, her fingers had found a glass knocked from the sink and she threw it at Sheldon with all her might, hoping it would smash into his head, but instead it shattered uselessly against the mirror behind him.
‘Now we’re going to have some fun,’ said Sheldon, his voice low. As April looked up she could see his face had twisted into the vampire mask: the burning eyes, the upturned nose, the dragon smile. But April didn’t scream as she was supposed to.
Instead she began to laugh. A hiccuping giggle that grew in her throat until her shoulders were shaking. Sheldon stopped in his tracks.
‘What’s so funny?’ he said.
‘You should see your face,’ laughed April. Frowning, the Regent turned to the cracked mirror, his eyes widening as he saw his reflection. Some shards of the broken glass had cut his cheek, leaving two bloody fingers trailing down to his neck.
Immediately, Sheldon took a step backwards and April could see the uncertainty, the fear in his eyes.
‘Where are you going, sir?’ said April. ‘I thought you wanted some of my blood?’ She put her hand up to the wound on her forehead, her fingertips coming back red. She held them out to him.
‘Here it is, don’t you want it?’
Sheldon was stumbling back now, his back against the door, fumbling with the lock. The vamp-mask had gone now, replaced by the face of a frightened man. Finally April understood the power of the Fury. When Miss Holden had talked about her ‘abilities’, she had imagined high-kicking kung fu moves or some sort of magical wizardry. But the true power of a Fury was in the fear it could instil in the vampires. That was what Sheldon had meant: it went deeper than her blood. She was a symbol, a rallying point, a blazing light in the darkness they wanted to bring to the world, and that was a far more potent weapon than the virus she carried inside her.
‘Come on now, April,’ said Sheldon. ‘Why don’t we think about this?’
‘Think about it?’ said April, taking another step forwards. ‘Like you thought about killing Alix Graves and Isabelle and Layla? Like you thought about killing my father?’
She jabbed her fingers towards his head and Sheldon jerked backwards, falling through the doorway and scrabbling across the corridor until his back was hard against the wall. The smoke was getting so thick, she could only see him as a grey outline.
‘Please, April,’ he said, holding up his hands in surrender. ‘What do you want? What can I do?’
‘You can tell me who killed my father!’ she shouted.
Sheldon gave a low chuckle.
‘I don’t think you want to know that,’ he said.
‘Yes I do!’ yelled April, jumping forward and grabbing Sheldon’s shirt in one hand, holding her blood-smeared fingers in front of his face.
‘Tell me,’ she hissed. ‘Tell me who killed my father or I will send you to hell.’
‘Oh, I’m not going anywhere, April,’ said Sheldon, bringing the cut-throat razor up in a slashing arc towards her neck, everything moving in perfect slow-motion.
‘REGENT!’
To April, it seemed as if the smoke had solidified and rushed towards them like the down-swing of a wrecking ball. Sheldon was torn from her grip, his blade missing her by inches while April was sent sideways, spinning back into the bathroom. She looked up and Sheldon had gone, swallowed by the fog. She heard a terrible cracking sound, like a ship’s mask breaking in a storm, followed by a scream that suddenly cut off.
‘Gabriel?’ she whispered. It had to be, it had to be.
And then he was there, beautiful and terrible, his face covered in soot and blood, his arms around April, lifting her from the floor.
‘Come on,’ he said, ‘if we don’t get out of here we’re going to roast.’
‘But what about Sheldon?’ she said, looking up into his dark eyes.
‘He’s dead,’ said Gabriel. ‘For ever this time.’
April stopped, her hand on his arm.
‘Did you …’ she hesitated. ‘Did you drink his blood ?’
Gabriel nodded, his face grave.
‘So what’s happening?’ said April, ‘Have you gone through some change like with the Dragon’s Breath?’
Gabriel shook his head, then doubled over, coughing. ‘No.’
‘What do you mean, no?’
‘I mean, no!’ shouted Gabriel, anger flaring in his eyes. ‘I mean nothing’s happening! I can’t feel anything!’
April felt panic fluttering in her chest.
‘But aren’t you supposed to be cured?’
‘It’s only a legend, remember? No one said drinking blood is an exact science.’
They were both coughing now and black smoke was rolling up the walls.
‘Come on, we’ve got to get out of here,’ said Gabriel, pulling her towards the stairs. At the landing, there were flames licking up through the banisters and the air was full of burning cinders.
‘We have to go up,’ shouted April, pointing to the narrow staircase that could only lead to the attic. Gabriel was moving slower now, his footsteps on the stairs heavy and ponderous.
April reached out to support him and her fingers t
ouched scorched leather; his jacket had been completely burnt away on one shoulder. And there was a wound to his neck.
‘Jesus, Gabriel, you’re hurt.’
‘I’ll be okay,’ he coughed.
He tried to stand but stumbled, going down on one knee, his chest heaving.
‘Leave me,’ he said. ‘I’m dead anyway.’
‘Not if I have anything to do with it,’ said April. She grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm around her neck, yanking him to his feet. ‘Come on! We’re going up.’
She staggered sideways, but the stairway was so narrow, they didn’t fall. At the top, April kicked the door open and they fell to their knees. The smoke was thinner up here and she gulped for air.
‘Honestly, April, leave me here,’ said Gabriel.
‘Oh shut up,’ she said, ‘this isn’t a war movie.’
She stood up and felt along the wall until she found an opening – a small door that gave into the eaves, but flames were already shooting up between the beams.
‘Oh crap,’ she said, running back to Gabriel. ‘All right, soldier, on your feet. You still reek of petrol and I don’t want to be standing next to you when you turn into a Roman candle.’
Gabriel just shook his head.
‘I can’t stand. You go.’
April rolled her eyes.
‘God, why are men such girls all the time? Get up or I’ll carry you.’
She grabbed a handful of his blackened jacket and pulled him to the end of the room, then taking a few steps back, kicked out at the roof. With a splintering sound, the tiles gave way and a rush of cold air pushed the smoke aside. The relief was only temporary as the flames shot up higher.
‘The oxygen is feeding the fire,’ she panted. ‘Come on, big guy, you’re going to have to help me.’
Together, they threw their weight against the hole. Once … twice … then mercifully the tiles gave way, making a big enough hole to clamber through. The night sky was magical and wonderful to April as she lay back on the rough tiles, drinking in the cold air.
She crawled to the edge and almost wept with relief as she saw Caro down in the street. April could see she was with Reece, but above the roaring flames, she couldn’t hear anything they were shouting to her. She could see where they were pointing though. April shuffled back to Gabriel.
‘Uh-oh,’ he managed between coughs. ‘What now?’
She pulled him up one last time. ‘Trust me, okay?’ she said, looking into his eyes, tears streaming down her blackened face. ‘Just hold my hand.’
‘What? Why?’ he coughed.
‘Because you love me.’
He gave a laugh which turned into a coughing fit, but even so, he held out his hand, black with blood and soot. April leant over, kissed his cheek and then with a yank, pulled him off the roof.
Chapter Thirty-Six
‘I wasn’t sure you’d seen the firemen’s blanket,’ said Caro. They were sitting in a private room at the hospital, waiting for April to be seen by a doctor. April only really had a few cuts and bruises and a hacking cough from smoke inhalation, but the doctors had decided to keep her in overnight.
‘You really think I’d just jump off a burning roof? I’m not an idiot,’ said April, her voice gravelly. She had pulled Gabriel onto the firefighters’ escape pad just in time. The roof had collapsed in a shower of flame and sparks moments after their leap.
‘It was quite fun though.’
Caro laughed, then bent over coughing. April reached out and rubbed her back.
‘Ooh, honey, sounds like you got a lungful too.’
‘I tried to get in through one of the windows, but it was just too hot, the flames beat me back.’
April put out her hand and squeezed Caro’s.
‘If you hadn’t called Inspector Reece, I think I’d be dead. So would Gabriel.’
‘More dead than usual, you mean?’
‘Don’t duck the compliment! You saved my life.’
Caro shrugged. ‘S’what friends are for, isn’t it? If you can’t run into a burning building when your best friend has been kidnapped by vampires, what use are you?’
‘Thank you, anyway,’ said April.
‘You’re welcome,’ said Caro bashfully. ‘But what the hell happened with Gabriel? I mean, why isn’t he back to being human? Isn’t that why we tracked down the Regent? Or wasn’t Hawk the Regent after all? I’m confused.’
April shook her head.
‘Oh, he was the Regent all right, he was boasting about it like some crazed Bond villain. But we made a big, big mistake – the Regent isn’t the top man. There is at least one vampire above him.’
‘Oh God. And that’s who turned Gabriel?’
April looked down at her hands.
‘I don’t know. We only know it wasn’t Sheldon.’
Caro’s eyes widened.
‘You mean you know because he drank Hawk’s blood? That’s disgusting!’
‘Not as bad as what Mr Sheldon had in store for us. Or what they did to Miss Holden.’
Caro shook her head.
‘I still can’t believe Benjamin killed her.’
‘Can’t you? I think we managed to forget they’re vampires, full-on killing machines. They hide behind this well-groomed mask of humanity, but underneath they’re terrifying.’
Caro nodded sadly.
‘I liked Miss Holden. I’m not sure it was mutual, but at least we knew which side she was on.’
‘Well, we’re on our own side now. No teachers, no Guardians, just us.’
‘You mean we go on?’
‘Of course we go on, Caro. We have to – there’s about a million things we still don’t know: who’s behind Ravenwood, what their big plan is – we don’t even know for sure who killed my dad. The Regent might be dead, but there’s someone much worse out there. Someone far more powerful. And for them, a few bodies is just a minor irritation.’
‘But you almost got yourself killed. Again!’
April laughed.
‘Well that’s exactly why we need to press on. I didn’t put myself and everyone I care about on the line for nothing. Seriously, Caro. I saw them torturing her. It was … horrible. They’re not human and we have to stop them.’
‘But when you say “stop them”, you really mean “kill them”, don’t you?’
April nodded. ‘I know. But it’s time to grow up and face up to what we’re doing here. It’s them or us. They killed my dad, they killed your friend – who else has to die before we decide enough is enough?’ April picked at the edge of her hospital dressing gown. ‘And there’s another reason we need to press on too. Ben knew I was a Fury.’
‘What? No! How?’
‘The “how” was he saw that Marcus was dying of the virus and put two and two together.’
‘So why was he all over you after that? He must have known you were a Fury when he almost kissed you.’
‘I think he was trying to recruit me,’ said April. ‘Imagine how powerful a vampire would be if he had control of a Fury. It’d be like having nuclear weapons when everyone else has spears. But that didn’t work out because Gabriel came back into the picture, so he decided getting his hands on the Dragon’s Breath would be the next best thing: it’d make him immune.’
‘But who told him about the potion?’
April pulled a face.
‘That I don’t know. It seems there’s a leak somewhere.’
Caro shivered. ‘God, we can’t trust anyone, can we? I wish I could stay here inside the hospital where it’s safe,’ she said. Police guards had been posted in the corridor, although April suspected that was less about security, more about keeping her where they could see her.
‘I’m not sure you’re safe with the police either. Isn’t the whole point that the vamps are infiltrating every level of society?’
‘Oh, thanks for making me feel better.’
‘Talking of which …’
Detective Inspector Reece peered in through the door and April
waved him in.
‘Where’s Gabriel, Inspector Reece?’ she said urgently. ‘Have you seen him?’
Reece shook his head. ‘Shouldn’t you be worrying about yourself? You have just fallen off a burning building.’
‘She jumped,’ said Caro helpfully.
‘Well, Gabriel’s been taken to a secure hospital unit attached to the prison to be treated for his burns and wounds. But he didn’t look too bad, considering.’
April didn’t say it, but she was fairly sure Gabriel’s wounds would be completely healed by the morning and that he would have disappeared from the prison hospital before they had time to ask him any questions.
As if reading her thoughts, Reece’s face turned serious.
‘Now to less pleasant business. I’m afraid you’re going to have to talk to DCI Johnston. He’s on his way up.’
April’s heart sank.
‘Just stick to the story you gave me and you’ll be fine,’ said Reece. ‘That is what happened, right?’
April and Caro had decided on the ‘cover story’ in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. It was an edited version of events which created a reasonably plausible explanation for the strange goings on. It stretched the bounds of credibility, but then the real story was even more fantastic. They had stuck to the facts where they could, beginning with Caro’s phone call to April as she was entering Ravenwood for her bogus meeting in Mr Sheldon’s office. Suspicious and worried, Caro had called Inspector Reece, who had rushed to the school and found Miss Holden’s body. Together Reece and Caro had driven – at high speed, Caro was keen to point out, ‘sirens and everything’ – to Sheldon’s home and, even from the street, they could smell the reek of petrol. Reece broke into the house just in time to see it go up in flames and Mr Sheldon dragging April up the stairs, giving credibility to her story. The fire fighters had found three bodies in the wreckage, all of them burnt beyond recognition, so with Gabriel on oxygen in the prison hospital, April was the only witness to the rest: that Ben had confessed to Marcus Brent’s murder, Sheldon had quarrelled with him about killing Miss Holden and knocked him unconscious, then set fire to the house to destroy the evidence.