Darkness Falls

by Mia James

  ‘I’m okay,’ said April, refusing the tissue Jessica offered her. ‘Honestly. It’s just I’ve got a lot on my mind at the moment. Yes, I’m worried about Gabe, but it’s not just that.’

  ‘You’re trying to find the Regent,’ said Jessica matter-of-factly.

  ‘Yes! How did you …? Oh.’ But of course Jessica would know about the Regent. She knew everything about Gabriel. And if she was honest, that was what was upsetting April more than the memory of Gabe kissing Jessica. She believed – she had to believe – they were telling her the truth when they both denied they had any interest in each other, but she still hated hearing someone talk about her boyfriend with such familiarity, such intimacy. Jessica had known Gabriel for a hundred years, how could April ever compete with that?

  ‘Oh, I knew about the Vampire Regent before I even met Gabriel,’ said Jessica, perching on the edge of her desk. ‘He was spoken of in whispers in the taverns and the rookeries. He was evil, but he was elusive – and that was his power. A real person, a real figurehead can be killed or overthrown, but an unseen presence like the Regent becomes more of an idea, a symbol of whatever people want him to be.’

  April frowned.

  ‘What, are you saying the Regent doesn’t exist?’

  ‘He’s real, all right. I’ve got his infection in my blood, remember? He turned Gabriel, Gabriel turned me. And that means he can be found.’

  ‘But where do we look?’

  ‘Ravenwood, of course,’ said Jessica.

  ‘You make it sound so obvious.’

  ‘It is. Being obvious is the point. The Regent – all the vampires, in fact – have always stayed hidden, creeping about in the night, taking feeders, killing those foxes, but never leaving any bodies to alert anyone that they’re there. But Ravenwood is different, it’s obvious, visible to anyone who wants to see. And pretty soon I think a lot more people are going to see.’

  ‘Are they planning on taking over the world?’ said April.

  Jessica smiled. ‘I don’t know, April, maybe. But for now you’d probably better concentrate on Highgate.’

  ‘So how do I find the Regent? Is he the one behind Ravenwood?’

  Jessica looked at April with her big green eyes.

  ‘Maybe you should ask your grandfather.’

  April had never liked Stanton. Grandpa Thomas’s butler had always looked ancient to April – ancient and a little bit creepy, like a servant in a gothic novel. More than that, the old man seemed to look down his nose at her whenever he answered the door at her grandpa’s Covent Garden house, like she was bringing in the plague or something.

  ‘Your grandfather is in his study,’ intoned Stanton. ‘If you would just follow me …’

  I know the way to the study, thought April, following him through the grand pillared entrance hall, walking at the speed of a sleepy tortoise. Still, it gave April time to rehearse what she was going to say. She couldn’t very well come out and say ‘So what do you know about Ravenwood, Gramps?’ could she? – he’d get suspicious and defensive. She’d seen enough cop shows to know that much. I wish this was a cop show, she thought. Then at least you’d have a fair idea that the good guys were going to win. April looked up at the dark portraits of her ancestors hanging in the hall. They didn’t seem to approve of her any more than Stanton. Maybe that would be a good place to start – to ask about her mum’s side of the family and about that birth certificate she had found in the cellar. Not that Gramps had ever been particularly keen to talk about the past. He was a typical immigrant: he’d get all misty-eyed about the ‘old country’ with its half-remembered forests and mountains, but suggest he go back and he’d start talking about blood feuds and typhoid and how they only have electricity on Sundays.

  As she walked down the corridor towards her grandpa’s study, she could hear voices. It sounded like her grandfather was talking to another man. Suddenly April wished she had phoned first. She couldn’t really grill her granddad about family matters with some stranger there. But it wasn’t a stranger.

  ‘Uncle Luke!’ said April with surprise as she walked through the door.

  ‘Hey there, niece,’ said Luke, embracing her. ‘Great to see you safe and well,’ he added meaningfully, looking over at Thomas.

  ‘And just where the hell have you been, April?’ boomed her grandfather, a scowl on his face. ‘Your mother has been on the phone all afternoon. She thinks you have been attacked or abducted or something worse. I shouldn’t be surprised if she’s called the police by now.’

  ‘I had something important to do,’ said April defensively. She had expected her usual warm welcome, but she should have known Silvia would ring Gramps the moment she failed to come home from school.

  ‘Something so important you couldn’t send her a message?’

  ‘No, I suppose not, but—’

  ‘No “buts”, April,’ interrupted Thomas. ‘Your mother said she told you to come straight home after school. No wonder she is frantic. It’s irresponsible, April. Damned irresponsible.’

  April was shocked by Thomas’s outburst. She had often heard her grandfather shouting of course; he and Silvia spent most of their time barking at each other like a couple of dogs trapped in a cave. But she couldn’t remember her Grandpa ever shouting at her. It was always ‘Princess’ or ‘my beautiful Prilly’ as he squidged her in a huge bear hug and showered her with compliments. He had never so much as raised his voice to her before.

  April glanced at Luke, who just shrugged. ‘He’s got a point, cuz,’ he said. ‘We’ve all been worried. Why didn’t you tell someone where you were going?’

  ‘I didn’t think—’

  ‘Think? You think of no one but yourself,’ snapped Thomas. ‘Your mother is suffering enough as it is.’

  ‘Suffering?’ laughed April. ‘She’s having the time of her life.’

  ‘How dare you!’ shouted Thomas. ‘She is in mourning – her husband was murdered on her doorstep and you’re all she has left.’

  ‘I know he was murdered, Gramps,’ shot back April. ‘I was there, remember? I couldn’t get the blood off my hands …’ she said, her voice beginning to shake. ‘He was my dad too, you know.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Prilly,’ said Thomas, softening his tone, ‘I didn’t mean to upset you, but you have to understand we’ve been thinking the worst.’

  ‘Yeah? Well that’s all you adults ever think, isn’t it?’ cried April angrily. ‘I know it’s dangerous. I know. I’ve been attacked and chased and terrified – no one knows more than me how horrible it is out there. But what am I supposed to do? Lock myself in a tower?’

  ‘Your Grandpa’s not saying that, April,’ said Luke. ‘He’s just saying that you could have let us know you were okay.’

  ‘Well I’m not bloody okay!’ she shouted. ‘I’m sick of being frightened all the time. I just want all this to stop – and having you lot shouting at me isn’t helping.’

  ‘April, we just want you to be safe,’ said Thomas, coming over to hug her, but April pushed him away.

  ‘And where am I safe, exactly? At home? The place my dad had his throat torn out? Fine, I’ll go straight back there if that’s what you want.’

  She turned and ran down the corridor, through the hall past a startled Stanton and out into the street. She plunged into the tangle of alleyways and back streets, not bothering to look where she was going, just taking turns at random. Finally she stopped and leant against a wall, her chest heaving. Why did they all have to make her feel like it was her fault? She hadn’t asked for any of this – she’d have gladly gone back to her boring old life in Edinburgh, no question. April knew Gramps and Silvia were terrified that something else might happen to her, but they really seemed to think that staying in her bedroom would keep her ‘safe’. Staying at home hadn’t kept her dad safe, had it?

  She looked up to see that she was on a narrow street of tall grey stone buildings, possibly Victorian, like something you might see on a Christmas card. But it didn’t feel jol
ly and cosy, it felt abandoned and impersonal. Even the street lights looked old-fashioned. She heard voices and turned to see two men behind her, laughing loudly. She moved off, increasing her pace. Turning left again, she came out into a wide street with shops and restaurants and she felt a little safer. To her right, she could see a large church with a tall spire, and in front of that, there was a bus stop. She had no particular desire to go home and face the wrath of her mother, but where else was she going to go? Sighing, she crossed the road, and as she approached the church, April was struck by the unusual architecture.

  At the top of the steeple, there was a strange pyramid surrounded by pillars. How odd, she thought, doesn’t look very Christian.

  ‘Egyptians!’ shouted a voice. April turned to see an old man on the church steps. He had a tatty beard and a dirty coat and he was gesturing towards the spire with a bottle.

  ‘The Egyptians knew the power of the pyramid!’ he cried. ‘They knew it’s the only thing that will keep the darkness out!’

  April quickly walked away, worried that the old man might follow her. She glanced around, but he had gone. No, there was someone, but it wasn’t the tramp. This man was tall and dark and walking quickly, like he wanted to catch up with her. Unnerved, April turned a corner into a narrow street of terraced houses, hoping to lose him, but the tall man followed.

  Who the hell is that? she thought with alarm. Is he really following me?

  She quickly walked to the next corner before she looked back again. To her horror, the man was just standing there watching her, a horrible smile on his face. April didn’t need to see any more: she turned the corner and ran, twisting left then right, trying to lose the man and double back towards the main road, but she quickly became disoriented. She spotted a gate in a high wall and ducked inside, closing it behind her. She flattened herself against the wall and waited, holding her breath, straining her ears for the sound of following footsteps, but all she could hear was the whoosh of cars on the main road.

  Maybe it was just someone walking home, she thought to herself. Maybe.

  It was only then that April looked around and saw the arched stones silhouetted against the night sky. She was inside the grounds of the church.

  Great, trapped in another graveyard, she thought, sliding down behind a headstone and pulling her phone out. She stared at the screen, wondering who to call. Gabriel was off the grid, she had been abandoned by her supposed protector, Miss Holden, and she couldn’t call her mother: she would just yell at her. She scrolled down to the mobile number DI Reece had given her for emergencies. Does this count as an emergency? She shrugged and pressed ‘call’.

  ‘Inspector Reece, it’s April Dunne,’ she said to the answer-phone. ‘I … well, I think I’m being followed. I know I sound paranoid, but can you call me back?’

  Why was there never anyone there when you needed them? Where were her friends? Her best friend was in Scotland and, at the moment, her closest friends in London were vampires. She almost laughed out loud.

  ‘Screw this,’ she whispered, calling Caro’s number. She wouldn’t blame her friend if she didn’t ever want to talk to her again, but April really needed to speak to her. She was the only one who really knew what she was going through, the only one who could understand why she was squatting in a cemetery when most normal people would be safely at home watching the soaps.

  ‘Please pick up,’ she whispered, ‘Please …’

  ‘April?’ said Caro guardedly. ‘I thought we weren’t talking.’

  ‘We weren’t. Listen, I know you’re angry with me because … well, because I’ve been an idiot, but I need your help. Again. Like I always do.’

  There was a frosty silence down the line.

  ‘What about your new friends?’ said Caro finally. ‘I thought they were more important to you now.’

  ‘Please, Caro, I’m sorry I’ve been a daft cow, but I really, really need your help.’

  Caro heard the desperation in April’s voice.

  ‘What’s going on? Where are you? And why are you whispering?’

  ‘I’m stuck in a graveyard and I think someone’s following me.’

  ‘Bugger. Is it a vamp?’

  April glanced around.

  ‘Probably.’

  ‘Well then you need to get among real people, they’re not going to attack you in public, are they?’

  ‘Let’s hope not. What do I do?’

  ‘Well you must be near a main road, can’t you flag a taxi or jump on a bus?’

  April felt a chink of hope: she could head for the bus stop she’d seen in front of the church. If she skirted around the building, it should bring her out on the steps where she had seen the crazy old tramp. Not ideal, but better than being cornered by some semi-mortal.

  ‘Okay, thanks, Caro. I’ll try that,’ whispered April. ‘Can you meet me at Americano in half an hour? Assuming I get out of this alive.’

  ‘Sure. But keep your phone on, okay?’

  ‘It’s never off,’ said April. ‘And Caro? Thanks.’

  ‘Thank me with a hot chocolate. And some cake. Just get yourself over here safely, okay?’

  ‘Okay.’

  As quietly as she could, April got to her feet and began walking along a path curving around between the headstones.

  ‘You’re beautiful in the moonlight, you know.’

  Jesus!

  Her heart leaping into her mouth, April whirled towards the voice, every muscle in her body tense.

  ‘Who said that?’ she said, trying to sound brave.

  There was a chuckle. ‘I don’t know whether to feel insulted or not. No, actually, I do.’

  ‘Gabriel!’ she gasped as he stepped out of the shadows. She jumped up and wrapped herself around him, hugging him tightly.

  ‘Hey, steady on,’ he laughed. ‘I’m an old man, remember?’

  She kissed his neck and his hair. ‘What are you doing here? How did you find me?’ she asked all at once, then stepped back and looked at him.

  ‘Gabe, I think someone was following me.’

  ‘Well we’d better get out of sight, then,’ he said, pulling her into the shadows, wrapping his coat around her.

  ‘I’m serious,’ she said. ‘Do you think it was one of the vampires?’

  ‘Possible, although I doubt you’d have lost them by coming into a graveyard. More likely it was the police hoping you’d lead them to me.’

  April looked up in alarm.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure no one followed me. And anyway, I needed to see you.’ He bent his head to kiss her neck. ‘Mmm … it’s definitely worth the risk.’

  She laughed and squeezed him tight.

  ‘But I’ve been so worried. Where have you been?’

  April couldn’t help the note of accusation in her voice. She hated herself for it, but it had been almost impossible not to wonder where Gabriel had been hiding. With some pretty feeder, some old girlfriend? She had imagined all sorts of scenarios and none of them were good.

  Gabriel smiled. ‘I’ve been laying low thinking about you, worrying that you’d forgotten all about me.’

  ‘Well, it’s hard to forget when your boyfriend is wanted by the police for murder.’

  She was trying to make light of it, but April was genuinely frightened for him, especially after Inspector Reece’s warning that the powers-that-be desperately wanted to close the case – and they needed someone to pin it on.

  ‘You forget that I know I didn’t do it,’ said Gabriel.

  ‘But that doesn’t matter to them, Gabe …’

  He put a finger to his lips.

  ‘Shh,’ he said soothingly, ‘I’ll just prove it to them.’

  ‘But how?’

  ‘By catching whoever did kill Marcus, of course. Trust me, I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground.’

  ‘Have you found out something?’

  He shook his head.

  ‘Not exactly, not yet anyway, but things are gathering speed. There are e
ver more signs that something’s changing, that something new is coming.’

  ‘What do you mean, something new?’

  ‘I’m not sure, but I can feel the shift. The change in the rules, the way the vampires seem to be gathering. There’s almost an excitement in the air, but not in a good way. It’s almost as if some darkness is spreading, infecting them.’

  ‘Do you think it’s to do with the school?’

  ‘I think it’s bigger than that. I think I’m onto something myself – it’s another of the reasons I came to find you. One of my contacts thinks he can put me in touch with the Regent.’

  She opened her eyes wide.

  ‘What? How? Who is this?’

  ‘Just a small-time thug. Teddy the Toad.’

  April wrinkled her nose. ‘Do they really have names like that?’

  ‘I’m afraid so. You get a lot of them hanging around the fringes of The Life. They’re in awe of the money and the violence. The vamps use them as go-betweens and runners.’

  ‘Can you trust him?’

  ‘No. But he would never have dared to mention the Regent’s name unless he could deliver. I think the Regent wants to meet me.’

  April frowned.

  ‘But why now? I mean, you’ve been chasing him for years, how come he’s suddenly interested?’

  Gabriel gave a wry smile.

  ‘Because I’ve never been wanted for murder before. I’m guessing he wants to offer me some sort of deal; maybe he has contacts in the police who can drop the murder charge in return for a favour he needs doing.’

  ‘What sort of favour?’

  Gabriel shrugged.

  ‘He probably wants me to kill someone.’

  ‘What? No! You can’t!’

  He laughed softly.

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ he said, stroking her hair from her face. ‘It’s just a meeting, remember? I’m not going to kill anyone.’

  ‘Except the Regent. You need to kill him to be free …’

  ‘Yes, but that’s not all we need from him. There are bigger questions to answer here – like what’s the big plan for the vampires and why he killed your dad. I’m not going to get any of that if he’s dead, which is why I need this meeting.’