“Tegan! Oh, thank God.”
“Amanda, where are you?”
“I’m still in my basement. There’s no food here and I’m starving but I can’t leave. It’s too crazy outside.”
“You can leave now. Things have settled down. Listen, I need you to come to this address.” I rattle off Ethan’s house number and street name before reassuring her again that she’ll be okay, then I hang up. I seem to be gathering strays at record breaking speed today.
I allow my body to sink into the bubbles and close my eyes. I get at least twenty minutes uninterrupted relaxation in before the door opens and I can sense Ethan’s just stepped inside. Even with my eyes closed I can feel his nearness. He kneels by the large tub and dips his hand into the foamy water.
“That’s a good look for you,” he murmurs.
“Why thanks,” I say smiling, but not opening my eyes yet.
I reach up with my foot and turn the nob to let more hot water in. When I finally look at Ethan his fangs are fully extended and his eyes have grown dark.
“I told Amanda to come here. She’s frightened at what’s been happening and needs somewhere she’ll be safe.”
Ethan frowns. “I’m not sure how safe she’ll be here since Lucas is staying in one of the guest rooms.”
“Great. Will he keep away from her?”
“He will if I tell him to.”
I sigh, relieved. “Good.”
Ethan’s fingertips graze my nipple and I suck in a harsh breath. His dark answering grin is wicked. A moment later he’s standing to undress. My muscles clench with anticipation as I wait for him to join me. His top falls to the floor, followed shortly by his trousers and boxers and before I know it he’s climbing into the tub.
His knee slides between my legs, nudging at my sex and I moan. Then he bends his head and takes my breast into his mouth, his fangs grazing my skin with just the right amount of pressure in order to tantalize instead of cut.
“Jesus,” I rasp just as his thick length slides smoothly into me and fills me up.
He lifts his head from my breast and stares intensely into my eyes. His expression is serious, his mouth hanging half open as he thrusts deliciously slow in and out. Then, by contrast, he smiles.
“I hope you don’t have any plans for tonight.”
“Oh yeah, why’s that?”
“Because tonight, beautiful, you’re mine.”
For a moment my chest seizes with a pang of anxiety, my body’s instinctual response to possessive declarations from a dangerous creature. But a moment later Ethan speeds up the pace of his thrusts, hammering into me with phenomenal speed, and I forget all about my anxiety.
Chapter Five
Cuddling My Semi-Automatic, What a Very Fuzzy Feeling
Finn
It takes a half an hour for Allora to regain consciousness. When she does she sits up and fixes her top back into place like nothing even happened. She runs her hands through her hair and asks very politely if she can have a glass of water.
I brought the others into the house after she’d started having her vision, so Alvie runs to get the water from the kitchen. I stare at her until he gets back, trying to decide whether or not to ask her what she saw. She didn’t seem too keen on telling me this morning, so I don’t think that’s going to change any time soon.
Alvie returns and hands her the glass of water. She downs the whole thing in only a couple of swallows and then sets the glass on the floor by her feet. Alvie sits beside her and pats her on the back.
“That looked painful, hon. You okay?” he says.
Allora clears her throat. “I’ll be fine. I just have this God-awful headache and the past few times I’ve had an episode I keep seeing the same thing.”
“You don’t normally see the same thing?” I question.
She shakes her head. “My visions are usually unique. No repetitions.”
“What did you see?” asks Delilah from where she’s standing by the door.
“I see a little girl with blonde hair,” Allora answers unexpectedly. “I see her being important in bringing the first ever peace between supernaturals to the city. I see her ruling. I guess that since it’s all I’ve been seeing these days that it’s pretty important.”
A little blonde girl? The person who most fits that description is Pamphrock’s kid, Rebecca. I suddenly remember that she’s still being held captive by Emilia Petrovsky and remind myself to do something to rectify that situation as soon as possible.
“Do you feel up to leaving with us?” I say. “Your parents aren’t here and it doesn’t look like they’re coming back any time soon. Wherever they are.”
Her eyes gets shiny with moisture and her throat moves as she swallows hard. Seeing this makes me feel kind of shitty for being so tactless.
“Yeah,” she finally whispers and gets up from the couch. Alvie helps her but she seems to be steady enough on her feet.
“Who do you think the girl in her vision is?” Gabriel asks quietly by my side as we return to the van.
“Sounds a lot like Rebecca.”
He nods in agreement. “That’s what I was thinking.”
“There’s no way to tell how far into the future Allora’s prediction is. Rebecca’s still too young to rule. It could be twenty years from now before there’s peace.”
Gabriel grimaces. “Let’s hope that’s not true.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Let’s hope.”
A couple of minutes later we pull up outside of my house and the street seems quiet. Dead almost. A couple of houses have their windows smashed in but thankfully none of mine have been. Alvie and Gabriel go to check out the RV Rita had been staying in and I lead the others into my place.
I feel a soft hand grip my arm before I hear Allora apologise. “Sorry, you don’t mind, do you?”
“No, of course not,” I answer, my voice coming out unexpectedly tender. It surprises me so I immediately give her a cocky, “You can hold onto me any time you want, darlin’.”
She doesn’t say anything and I immediately feel stupid about the comment. Inside we find my place the same as how we left it. It’s lucky for me that nobody decided to break in and steal anything, because I have an extra storage of weapons under the stairs that’s probably going to come in handy.
“You hungry?” I ask Allora as I lead her inside the kitchen. I pull a packet of chocolate chip cookies from the cupboard and hand them to her. She runs her hand over the packet hesitantly.
“Cookies,” I finally explain.
Silently, she opens them and starts to eat one.
“I’ll be back in a minute. I just have a couple of things to take care of.”
Making my way to the stairs, I open the door to the small closet underneath and drag out the heavy duty black trunk I keep locked in there. I open it up and take out my Benelli M4 semi-automatic shotgun. When I have to use firearms, this baby is my favourite. I drag my hand along its length, savouring the safe feeling it gives me. I might be an Irishman, but I’m certain there’s Italian blood in me somewhere.
Armies all across the world use this model in their military campaigns.
Living in Tribane where the supernatural reign, guns aren’t always the weapon of choice. However, they can come in useful when you want to put on a bit of a performance, scare some people into acting right.
Since times are so uncertain at the moment, I’m going to keep this one on me. I can come back for the rest. Upstairs I change into a clean set of clothes. The only stuff that’s been washed are my DOH blacks so I throw those on, a sense of mourning sweeping over me to think of all my dead comrades. Of our dead leader. The organisation I’ve dedicated my life to for years is gone. The only saving grace for me is the knowledge that there are other branches around the world. Perhaps I can rebuild things here in Tribane with the help of those branches.
I tighten my jaw and steel myself for the battle ahead. Theodore isn’t going to get away with what he’s done and the first thing I’m g
oing to do is find Rebecca. If Allora’s vision is to be believed, then that girl is the key to our survival and possibly the key to killing Theodore once and for all.
When I get back downstairs, Allora’s still in the kitchen munching on the cookies I gave her. She hears me come in and straightens up, setting the packet down on the table and wiping crumbs from her lips.
“Where’s Delilah and Ira?” I ask her.
“They went across the street to, uh, Delilah’s house to get some of her clothes,” she answers.
Right. I’d almost forgotten Cristescu had been living over there. Alvie and Gabriel come in from the RV and I tell them about my plan to go to Emilia Petrovsky’s house for Rebecca.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” says Alvie warily. “She’s a powerful witch. She won’t take kindly to us showing up.”
“She’ll take kindly to it whether she likes it or not,” I answer brashly. I’m not normally so flippant, at least I like to think I’m not, but this whole shitty situation is really starting to get to me.
“Who is this girl?” Allora interjects.
I turn to her. “I think she’s the one you saw in your vision.”
“Oh,” she whispers and her brow furrows.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. It’s just I’m not sure if you’re right. I mean, it could be her but I just have this feeling that my vision was far in the future. I feel like the girl I saw hasn’t even been born yet.”
“Well,” I say clasping my hands together. “I could be wrong, but I need to get her anyway. She’s the daughter of my friend and I can’t leave her with an abductor.”
A half an hour later we’re all back in the van again, heading towards the district where most of the magical families have their homes. As we near Emilia’s house, a black town car speeds by us and stops at the entrance gates. A smartly dressed man reaches out the driver’s side window, presses a few buttons on the entry system and then the gates open up. I pull in directly behind him before the gates have the chance to close again.
The town car stops and a man in his fifties emerges with an almighty scowl on his face.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” he yells stomping towards the van.
“I’m looking for Emilia. She around?” I say getting out of the van and stepping up to face him.
He sighs long and hard and swipes his hand over his face, his forehead lined with stress.
“No, she’s not here. She’s been taken.”
I give him a look. “Taken by whom?”
“The sorcerer!” he cries. “What would he want with her? Christ, he’s going to kill her.”
“Hey, hey, calm down. Theodore has a bone to pick with the vamps. Emilia’s one of his own. Did he take the girl, too?”
The man shakes his head. “She was kidnapped by a woman claiming to be Emilia’s granddaughter. She came to the house with a vampire who could walk in the sun!”
He looks like he needs to sit down with a strong glass of brandy as he tells me this. A smile almost touches my lips. Tegan came for her already. The little minx beat me to it. A sense of relief I didn’t know I needed washes over me. She and Cristescu are working together. Does that mean we have nothing to fear from him? Does it mean he’s going to rule his vampires peacefully?
I pat the man on the shoulder. “You should go inside and rest. You look like you need it.”
To be honest, he seems like he’s going to faint any minute. I think he’s about to nod in agreement when suddenly his steely reserve returns.
“I want you people off the property immediately,”
“Right you are, captain,” I say saluting him and hopping back in the van.
The gates open and I pull quickly out of Emilia’s stately residence. What to do. What to do. The sky is darkening and it will be night soon. I’m tempted to go to Cristescu’s place and see Tegan, but then I think better of it. I’ll wait until tomorrow. That way his army of vamps will be tucked safely into their coffins and I’ll be able to talk to him man to man.
Hehe. Tucked safely into their coffins. That was a good one.
“Where are going?” Gabriel asks.
“Back to the hotel,” I answer. “Tomorrow we’re going to pay Tegan and her boyfriend a little visit.”
We eat in the diner again, and I’m beginning to get used to the greasy spoon vibe of the place. When we all separate to go to our rooms, Allora flops down onto the bed and curls up in a ball. I bend over her, hoping she’s all right.
“Hey,” I murmur putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Please, just leave me alone for a while,” she says quietly and then presses her face into the pillow. I have a feeling she wants to have a good cry about her parents being AWOL, so I leave her to it. Sometimes we all need a good cry.
Yeah, I’m secure enough in my masculinity to admit it.
I turn on the television and go into the bathroom for a shave. I brought some of my toiletries with me from the house. It was necessary. Something seriously needs to be done about the potential Gandalf I’m cultivating.
Once I’m finished shaving I peek my head into the room. Allora’s fast asleep on top of the covers. I go and kneel by the side of the bed, for some reason fascinated by the way her face looks sleeping. I reach out to touch her but stop myself. I don’t want her waking up and getting freaked out by seeing me staring at her up close and personal like a total lech. Okay, so maybe she wouldn’t be able to actually see me, not properly, but she’d definitely sense me, hear me breathing.
I pace the room, trying to think about anything other than the fact that I haven’t been with a woman in a while and Allora looks so fucking irresistible right now. Deciding I need to get out, I throw on my boots and jacket and head for the minivan. The thing sputters a little and the engine won’t start.
“Come on, baby,” I coax it. “Come on.”
Finally it roars to life and I tear out of the hotel parking lot. Through no conscious decision of my own, I find myself driving towards the parameter of the barrier around the city again. People are camped out there now in tents and caravans. Some are simply lying on the ground in sleeping bags. I don’t envy them. It’s as cold as a witch’s tits out here tonight.
I stop the van a good distance away and scan the area, just sitting here for a couple of minutes and trying to think. That’s when I notice something. There are vehicles coming through the barrier from the outside, it’s just that nobody can leave from the inside.
It all suddenly makes sense. If people travelling into Tribane couldn’t get in there would be havoc and the outside world’s attention would be on the city. The fact that people can get in but can’t get out means that there won’t be any suspicions. Well, at least not until someone starts noticing that those who travel to the city never return.
Welcome to the Hotel California.
A chill runs over me. People jump up and down, waving their hands in the air at the vehicles coming inside, urging them to go no further, but the people on the outside can’t see those on the inside. It’s all a part of the magic.
This needs to be stopped. Eventually the city won’t be able to contain all of the people and there will be complete and total chaos. The human kind as opposed to the magical kind this time.
I start up the engine again and drive away back in the direction of the city. This old wagon isn’t going to last much longer and I need a mode of transport that I can rely on. There are dozens of brand new black vans in one of the DOH compounds close to my house, so that’s where I go.
There isn’t a whisper of life when I get there and my gut sinks further. I’ve been internalising my pain, trying not to feel the loss of something that was my entire reason for breathing for so long.
Everything is change. Everything is flux. I can start again.
I have to remind myself of this, hold onto it tight, because otherwise I’m not sure if I can keep on going. Keep on fighting a battle I can’t tell if there’s a point to anymore.
At the back of my subconscious a voice whispers the grain of an idea. A hopeful idea that might very well be impossible. The idea of peace.
Damn Allora for telling us about her vision and giving me futile hope.
I use my key card to get inside the compound. The emptiness of the place echoes around the walls. Unable to stay here for too long, I go to the garages and pick out a van. They’re all the same so either one will do. I load one up with a couple of crates of stakes, a box of handguns, some new arrows for my bow and lots and lots of bullets.
Just before I get into the driver’s seat, I lean my entire body into the side of the van and exhale. I’m torn between the need to kill vampires and a need to live my life. The problem is that I’m not sure I can live a normal life now. I’ve spent so many years on edge, always waiting for the next catastrophe, that I feel like I might simply lay my head down to sleep and never wake up once it’s all over. Kind of like those old men who retire with all these dreams of a life of leisure, but then they can’t function without a purpose so they die.
These are lovely thoughts I’m having, aren’t they?
I don’t want that to happen to me, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my days fighting either. After a couple of centring breaths, I climb in and drive out of the garage. I get back out and go to lock everything up but something prickles at the back of my neck. Some hint of impending danger.
I return quickly to the van, shoving several stakes into my pockets and pulling my shotgun from where I’d left it on the back seat. I crouch low and move down the side of the van just as something so fast it can only be a vampire moves in my peripheral vision. A second later there’s a dark haired vamp in front of me, fangs out and smile on his face like all his Christmases have just come at once.
“Sorry, not tonight, Josephine,” I say cockily. “There’s a park down the street where I hear the rent boys do a booming business. You might want to try your luck there.”
A millisecond after I say it the vamp hisses and lunges for me, but I shoot him in the stomach before he can sink his teeth into my neck. The shot isn’t going to keep him down for long, but I don’t need long. I just need one moment of opportunity.