By Midnight

by Mia James

  Gabriel shook his head at the memory. ‘I knew Lily would never agree. She was very religious, you see. But that night, it was worse than ever. I sat up mopping the cold sweat from her forehead, each cough and spasm like a knife through my heart. I couldn’t stand it. I was weak.’

  ‘No,’ said April, touching his hand. ‘It was a brave thing to do.’

  ‘Was it? Or was I just scared to go through all that on my own? I don’t know any more. Either way, I went with my friend to see the Regent. He lived in a big house near Bethnal Green. I knew the rumours about vampires were true as soon as I got there. The house was grand and luxurious, but dark and full of so many evil-looking creatures. I never saw the Regent’s face, then or since. He was always in shadow. He asked me what I wanted and when I told him he sounded sympathetic. He bit me and …’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘I died, but I had to will myself to live. It’s like clinging on to a cliff by your fingertips. It was horrible, truly horrible.’ He shuddered.

  ‘But you did it for her, for Lily,’ said April. ‘It was a beautiful thing.’

  Gabriel shook his head. ‘It didn’t turn out that way. I was tricked. When it was over, the Regent laughed in my face. He said if I wanted to save Lily, I would have to turn her myself.’

  ‘But why did he go back on his word?’

  ‘Power. Vampires love power almost as much as the kill. I was a diversion, an amusing pastime. But I was angry, so angry with him.’

  ‘So what did you do?’

  ‘I attacked him. He hadn’t expected it - too arrogant, I suppose. I think I hurt him pretty badly, but I barely got away alive - his guards came after me in force, chasing me across London. It was a stupid thing to do, it meant I had to grab Lily and flee. We didn’t get very far.’

  ‘What happened to Lily?’

  ‘She died in my arms.’

  He turned away from her and April instinctively reached out for him, then stopped herself. He was a vampire. A killer, a supernatural being. He had been born in 1870- She barely knew how to deal with human boys, she really shouldn’t go getting mixed up with him. After a moment, they turned and walked towards Waterloo.

  ‘So what did you do then?’ asked April.

  ‘Nothing. I wanted vengeance, but there was little I could do. They knew who I was, I wouldn’t have got near the Regent. Plus I was weak physically. You need human blood to be a strong vampire and I had sworn to Lily that I would never kill anyone except the Regent. It’s hard, the hardest thing anyone can ever ask of you. All of your instincts as a vampire are those of a hunter, a killer. However much you want to rise above it, the urge is within you. Sometimes it gets too much and vampires go rogue, like a fox in the henhouse.’

  April thought for a moment, trying to visualise Gabriel killing. For some reason, she just couldn’t. After all those doubts, all those suspicions, now she knew he was a vampire, a pure-bred killer, she just couldn’t imagine him taking a life.

  ‘But why did you vow only to kill the Regent? Why just him?’

  ‘If you kill the vampire who turned you, then the virus he infected you with is neutralised. It’s like putting a dock leaf on a nettle rash.’

  April looked at him sharply. ‘So you’d be cured? You could live a normal life?’

  Gabriel smiled. ‘In theory. It’s very rarely happened. I’ve only heard rumours of it, and it’s not an exact science. It could just be another myth.’

  ‘But if the Regent knows you’re hunting him, how can you walk around London? Won’t his guards find you?’

  ‘That’s just it - he doesn’t know. That night, his followers chased me to a church in Spitalfields and I fought them. In the struggle, a lantern was broken and the vestry was set on fire. I escaped through the crypt but they believed I died in the fire.’

  ‘Are you sure? What if they catch you?’

  Gabriel smiled, but he looked troubled. ‘Vampires are arrogant. They assumed I was dealt with, so why concern themselves with some nobody? I certainly gave them no reason to doubt they had killed me. I have stayed hidden ever since, but I have kept watch, biding my time, tracking them, making sure they still believe I’m dead. But recently …’

  ‘What?’

  Gabriel shook his head. ‘I can’t put my finger on it, but I have this sense that I’m being watched.’

  April felt herself go cold. It was hard enough to grasp all this craziness, but the thought that someone - some killer - might be watching them, following them was too much for her. ‘Do you think it’s the Regent?’ she asked urgently. ‘Do you know who he is?’

  ‘No, I’ve never got that close,’ said Gabriel. ‘He’s clever, he never stays in the same place for long and always travels under guard. He’s deeply paranoid, always covers his tracks, and he’s very, very good at it. So good, in fact, that I lost track of him about a year ago, but I can feel his presence - he’s definitely on the move again.’

  ‘If he’s so good at hiding, how do you find him?’

  ‘He loves power more than he loves anonymity, so he won’t be able to stay hidden for long. Even now, he will be the head of a big international company or in some influential government think tank. He will start meddling in things, manipulating people and events - he won’t be able to stay quiet for ever. And I think these killings are just the start of it.’

  Gabriel looked into April’s eyes and saw her fear. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t mean to frighten you, but I’m sure the Highgate murders are linked to him. Even if it isn’t the Regent, there’s definitely something going wrong - the balance has been upset.’

  ‘What balance?’

  ‘The balance between humans and vampires. Despite what you see in the movies, vampires are quiet, unassuming creatures. We don’t wear red capes and live in big castles; we stay as hidden as possible because it’s easier to hunt that way. You don’t want your prey to see you coming.’

  April shivered. ‘And by prey, you mean us?’

  Gabriel nodded. ‘But recently, it’s almost as if some of us have been stepping out from behind the curtain, as if they don’t care that people will guess their secret. And now these three deaths—’

  ‘You’re frightening me, Gabriel.’

  He looked at her. ‘I think you should be frightened.’

  They had reached Waterloo Road now; it was still busy, but the shoppers had gone home and the commuter crush had eased. A bus was just whooshing to a stop as they got to the stop and they jumped aboard, pushing their way to the top deck and finding a seat out of earshot of the other passengers.

  ‘So where is Lily? I mean, where is she buried?’ asked April as the bus set off, enjoying how the movement of the bus made her sway against him.

  ‘Highgate. In the cemetery.’ He paused, watching the lights of the city flash past. ‘That’s why I was in Swain’s Lane that night. It was her birthday, and I always go to talk to her on the day. But there was someone - something - else there, another vampire. I could smell him, feel the danger. He’d killed foxes and birds, a cat, he was in a feeding frenzy.’

  ‘God. So what did you do?’

  Gabriel shrugged. ‘We fought. He was strong, although I think Isabelle must have put up a fight because he was injured. But he would certainly have killed you if I hadn’t been there.’

  April had a sudden horrible thought. ‘But did he see you? Does the killer know who you are?’

  Gabriel nodded. ‘That’s my worry. It was very dark, but there’s a good chance he saw my face when I pulled you into Swain’s Lane. And then there’s the other things.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘This sense of being watched, for one. That’s the real reason I haven’t been around much over the last few weeks, this feeling that someone is leading me into a trap. And then there was the business with the police. When I went in to talk to your friend DI Reece, I got the distinct feeling they were already aware of my involvement, as if someone had tipped them off.’

  April felt a sinking fee
ling. ‘The Regent?’

  ‘I don’t know, but it would be very convenient if I became the prime suspect in a murder inquiry and was therefore out of the way. But by the same token, if the Regent knows who I am, why hasn’t he had me killed?’

  ‘But do you know who the killer is?’

  Gabriel looked out of the window. ‘I told you: no. But the point is, if the Regent is behind the murders, then the killer’s identity is almost irrelevant. If the Regent ordered Isabelle’s death, it doesn’t really matter who killed her. It’s why he killed her that’s important.’

  April nodded and glanced around at the other passengers on the bus. A big black woman in a green raincoat carrying worn shopping bags; a young man in what looked like his first suit; two girls reading a magazine. They all seemed so far away, as if they were on the other side of a double-glazed window. They were in the real world, while April had slipped into this parallel universe where nothing made sense like it used to.

  ‘So why don’t all vampires kill the one who turned them?’ she asked.

  Gabriel gave an ironic laugh. ‘Because you have to choose to be a vampire. If a vampire bites an innocent and infects them with the virus, the disease will kill them. Only if you choose to be a vampire, if you actively embrace the curse, will you survive, but you have to really want it. So those who make it through aren’t about to murder their maker. They’ve embraced being a vampire. It’s like the police or teaching, it attracts a certain type of personality.’

  ‘Now you’re teasing me,’ said April, searching his face.

  ‘A little bit.’ He smiled.

  ‘But vampires are killers, right? Don’t they kill each other?’

  ‘No. We’re hunters, we choose weaker prey. Lions don’t attack leopards because they’re both predators. Not only would it attract attention, there’s little in it for either party: we can’t feed off each other. And that’s why I’m worried about what’s been happening in Highgate. It’s against all the rules. Alix Graves, that could have been an accident, something gone wrong, but to follow that with Isabelle and your dad? Three high-profile murders in three weeks, it’s against every vampire instinct. It makes me think there’s got to be some purpose behind it.’

  ‘Or someone, maybe?’

  ‘Yes. I can’t believe this could happen without the Regent’s involvement.’

  April caught sight of her reflection in the dark window. Serious and intense - desperately trying to absorb all this information and ask the right questions. It’s as if I’ve got a test on it tomorrow. The thought made her laugh.

  ‘What’s up?’ said Gabriel, frowning.

  There was an edge of hysteria to April’s giggles. Deep down, she was worried she was starting to lose it.

  ‘What, April?’ said Gabriel with annoyance.

  ‘I’ve just been struck by how absurd this is,’ said April, shaking her head. ‘I’ve just buried my father and now I’m discussing the ins and outs of vampire lore, like it’s all real.’

  ‘It is real, April.’

  April thumped her fist against the seat in frustration. ‘But how can it be? Do you know how insane this sounds?’

  Gabriel turned on her, irritation sharpening his tone. ‘Insane or not, it’s happening. Your father was killed because of it.’

  April was angry now, edgy. She could feel a pressure building inside her, all the frustration, grief and anger in a growing knot at the back of her skull and tingling down her spine. The thought crossed her mind that this whole thing, the knife, the wound, was just some sick joke, that it was all a conjuring trick. Suddenly, she grabbed Gabriel’s top and pulled it up.

  ‘What the hell?’ he said.

  ‘Show me! Show me the wound!’ she snapped. ‘I want to make sure it’s real.’

  Gabriel grabbed her hand and pushed it against the red welt. It was raised and hot; it certainly felt real.

  ‘Do you want to stick your fingers in it?’ he said angrily. ‘Will that satisfy you?’

  She pulled her hands away quickly.

  ‘And why should I believe you?’ she demanded. ‘Because you told me a sweet tale of undying love? You could have got all that from a Mills and Boon novel.’

  ‘Don’t insult me, April,’ growled Gabriel, pulling his top down. ‘I’ve told you the truth, something I’ve never done with anyone else, so don’t throw it back in my face.’

  ‘All I know for sure is that my father has been murdered because he was investigating something. Maybe he had discovered there were vampires in Highgate. Maybe he was after you.’

  Gabriel shook his head. ‘He wasn’t.’

  ‘Yeah? And how would you know?’

  ‘Because he was investigating the school.’

  April stopped and stared at him.

  ‘How do you know that? Do you know who killed him?’

  ‘No, I told you the truth about that. I really don’t know.’

  ‘But you suspect someone, don’t you? Tell me! I have a right to know!’

  Gabriel looked away and she grabbed his coat, pulling him around to face her.

  ‘Gabriel, tell me! Who killed my father?’

  Gabriel looked into her eyes, his gaze strong and unwavering. ‘You have to believe me, April, I don’t know. But I’ll repeat what I said about Isabelle - if the Regent ordered his death, it doesn’t matter who carried it out.’

  ‘It may not matter to you,’ she hissed, ‘but I want to do to them what they did to my father.’ She began to get up, reaching for the button to stop the bus.

  ‘Don’t, April,’ said Gabriel, pulling her back down. ‘You’ve come too far to walk away from this now.’

  ‘I’m not walking away,’ she snapped. ‘I’m going to find my father’s killer, with or without you!’

  Gabriel nodded slowly. ‘All right. I’ll tell you what I know, but you won’t like it.’

  She crossed her arms. ‘Try me.’

  ‘Okay. First, Ravenwood is a vampire school.’

  ‘What?’ April laughed mirthlessly. ‘Now you really are joking, right?’

  ‘Do you want to hear this or not?’

  She nodded. She wasn’t sure if she really did, but Gabriel was right: once you’d fallen down the rabbit hole and discovered Wonderland, you couldn’t very well go back to normal life.

  ‘Ravenwood is a recruiting tool,’ said Gabriel.‘The vampires have formed a sort of shaky alliance between the clans.’

  ‘The nests, you mean?’ asked April.

  Gabriel looked at her curiously. ‘How do you know that term?’ he said. ‘I haven’t heard it in a long time.’

  ‘Something I heard from my dad,’ said April lamely. She didn’t want to tell him everything she knew - about the notebook and Mr Gill or even DI Reece’s theories. She still didn’t know if she could trust him, however much she might want to.

  ‘Anyway, I don’t know who’s in charge at the school- they’re way up in the food chain, well protected - but their plan is clearly very ambitious. They’re gathering the cleverest, most influential and most able children in the country under one roof, then converting them to the cause.’

  April couldn’t believe it. Caro had been right all along.

  ‘They’re turning kids into vampires?’

  ‘Some, not many. But they’re all in danger. That was why I whispered “Get out” to you that first day at school. It was stupid I know, but I was angry. I couldn’t stand to see someone else sucked into their scheme.’

  He sighed. ‘It was futile gesture. Vampires are hugely manipulative, they can control people in other ways than by conversion to vampirism.’

  ‘How? Hypnotism?’

  Gabriel laughed. ‘No, simpler things than that - sex, drugs, blackmail, love, to name a few.’

  ‘Love?’

  ‘It’s easy to love a vampire.’

  Tell me about it, thought April, then shook her head to dismiss the thought. She couldn’t get sucked in, not right now.

  ‘But what are they going to d
o? What’s the big plan?’

  He shrugged. ‘To take over, of course. They want their people at the top of every important part of society - doctors, barristers, politicians, soldiers, bankers, in all senior, influential positions.’

  ‘But you can’t have a vampire prime minister - he wouldn’t show up on TV.’

  ‘Which is exactly why they concentrate on seducing and manipulating people instead of turning them. You just have to persuade them that your way is the right way, whether it’s communism, Christianity or vampirism. Make them believe in the cause. And those are the people they put in front of the cameras: the prime minister, the president. But the people pulling the strings stay in the shadows, out of sight.’