Teresa
I stared at the screen. Liv had given her own interview, reiterating what we’d all been saying, and I couldn’t quite believe she’d done it. At the same time I was so glad she had, because it was Olivia Mead. Everyone knew who she was, so, maybe, if we were lucky, people would start to accept that we were telling the truth when we told them. Of course it helped that Liv had added some personal touches. It was those I believed would truly begin to change things. With every one of those personal touches, from everyone who’d got involved, we should be getting through to someone. We had to be.
“What are you watching?”
“Liv.” I looked over my shoulder at Lise. “Our very own Olivia Mead has recorded a video in what looks to be number 10 and put it up online.”
Jess, who must have walked in behind Lise, laughed. “Thank you, Livy. We all said it wasn’t going to be long before she lost all patience with the government and this… I can’t believe she did it.”
“That recording has been done by someone else.” Nay was suddenly next to me, which reminded me why I didn’t like living with three vampires - one person who could do that was difficult enough to deal with. “The government has obviously lost all patience with itself, because there is no other way she could have been recorded like that.”
Grinning, I played the video once more, so everyone could watch it, telling myself I wasn’t going to scroll down to the comments. The last thing I needed to do was get involved in an argument online about vampires, because it was going to take up my life. “So, what do we all think?”
“She’s going to be in danger.” Lise sighed. “Not just from the hunters, because they were always watching her, but the Prime Minister isn’t going to be happy with this either. I’ve heard rumours, although I’m not certain how true they are, that both his parents were hunters, so I can’t imagine he likes vampires very much.”
I looked at Lise. “Where did you hear that?”
Lise bit her lip. “I might have been trawling forums, trying to learn more about the people we’re up against, and Freud looks like he was taught how to hate vampires by two hunters who, according to everything I read, are still alive. They’re probably pushing him not to help us.”
“Even if Liv had known that is advance she would have still created the video. That’s something I’m certain of. She isn’t the sort of person to let someone like Freud stop her from doing what’s right.” Jess sighed. “Maybe she has put herself in more danger, but I think she would have done that even if Freud didn’t have hunter connections. From the way she hasn’t been getting anywhere at all recently it’s been obvious that the PM hates vampires and she must have known that.”
Nodding, I brushed a hand through my hair. “I’m glad she did it. I truly think it was the right step to take. At the same time… no, I’m not going to worry. Liv can look after herself. If she does get attacked she’ll be able to fight the bastards off and I truly believe that.”
“So do I.” Nay reached out and took hold of my hand. “Olivia would have known about the dangers from the beginning. She isn’t stupid. She would have thought about how this was going to affect the rest of her life and she’s going to be ready.”
“You’re right.” Lise sounded relieved. I knew it was because we all believed in Liv’s ability to look after herself. That belief was enough to make Lise believe in the same thing. “I still want to be there for her if something does happen, so I think it might be time for us to contact Ben.”
“Does Ben know about this?” Liv wasn’t going to have told him and I didn’t know what he was up to. “Is he busy tonight?”
“Possibly not.” Lise shook her head. “I think, although I’m not certain, he was out working with one of the vampire crews.”
“Then I think I should be the one to tell him.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right about that, Tree.”
I took my phone out of my pocket, hoping I had the right number for Ben, because he changed it more often than I changed socks, and pressed the button. After a couple of rings he answered. “What’s up, Treetop?”
Shaking my head I did my best to ignore the nickname I hated, otherwise I might have been tempted to say something rude, I focused on what he needed to know. “Are you somewhere I can talk to you about something you’re probably going to get rather irate about?”
“No, but I can be.” I waited for a couple of minutes. “What’s Liv done?”
“Who’s to say this has anything to do with Liv?”
“You’re hardly going to ring me for any other reason.” He sighed. “What’s she done, Tree?”
“There’s a video of her online. It looks like it was done in number 10, probably by a couple of the government ministers she’s working with, so I think it might be a good idea if you kept an eye on her, just in case.”
“I knew she was going to run out of patience eventually, but I can’t believe she would have willingly done something that stupid.”
“Ben, it’s a good video. I think it’s going to help. At the same time… she’d made herself more of a target than she was before, so I’d just warn her to be a little more aware of her surroundings than she might be normally.”
“Talking about that, are you okay? I saw Paul and he said you were attacked.”
“It was nothing and I’m fine.” My muscles had ached from being jumped, but it hadn’t really hurt. “I had Paul there to rescue me.”
Paul
Susie stared at the computer screen. “Paul, have you seen this?”
“Have I seen what?”
“Olivia Mead has made a video.”
“Made a video?” I couldn’t be hearing that right. Liv wouldn’t have gone that far, would she? We all said she was going to run out of patience soon enough, but I didn’t think it would be to that extent, especially as it was going to put her in danger. “What do you mean she’s made a video?”
“There’s a video online of Olivia Mead talking about what it’s like to be a vampire. If people are going to listen to anyone they’re going to listen to her, so this could do you some real good.”
“Yes, it could, but at the same time it’s going to put Liv in an amazing amount of danger.” I brushed a hand through my hair before getting my phone out of my pocket. “I’m going to have to talk to Ben.”
Waiting for him to answer the phone was torture. “Tree already rang to tell me.”
“At least you know.”
“Do me a favour?”
“Of course.”
“Come and take over here for me. I want to be home when Liv gets back, just in case, because I’m worried. I can’t believe she would have done something like that, even though I should have known something like this was coming. I’m afraid something’s going to happen to her. At least if I’m there I can help her.”
***
When I stepped into the shop Ben was already gone, which was probably a good thing. I found myself standing next to Jake. “Ben was furious.”
“He would be.” I shrugged. “Liv putting herself in more danger than she already is was never going to make him happy.”
“No, that’s true. Tree rang him first and they talked for a little while. He was certain you’d be the next person, so he was waiting to hear from you, knowing you’d take over from him.”
“And he left me to tell you what we’re meant to be doing.”
Jake nodded. “Which isn’t a lot, because we’re pretty much done here. That’s a good thing, I think, as it means we can move on to the next shop, and the owners here can begin hiring for their new night shift.”
“Liv always thinks things through. Liv wouldn’t have done that video if she didn’t think it was a good thing to do, so all we can do is wait to see what happens next, because I’m hoping it does some good as well as the bad that will inevitably come with her doing something like that.”
“Do you think there’s anything I can do to help?”
“Right now you’re already doi
ng what you can.” I smiled at him. “I know it’s hard, Jake, but we’re the support staff. Without us they wouldn’t get anywhere, so I’ve never complained about the position I’m in.”
“You’ve always been support staff?”
“Always, and I always will be.”
“I saw you in the midst of the riot.”
“I was in the middle of it, because I wasn’t the one who created it. That was entirely down to Jess.”
“Jess? Lise’s Jess?”
“Even though the two of them are close they’re very different people and Jess is not the sort of person to let this keep happening. She started getting in contact with people, building up little groups of people, knowing that was the best way to do things. I only know it was her because she trusted me enough to be honest and I hope you don’t pass on what I’ve told you. She’s a good person and she did all of this for the right reasons.”
“I’m not going to say a word.”
“You’re going to be a good ally in the future.” I smiled. “Ben knows as well, but he isn’t going to tell Liv. Ben, actually, was a major part in getting this all set up, and he’s never going to tell Liv that. Even though he believed in her from the very beginning he could see how tired she was getting.”
“He wasn’t in London.”
“We always video the meetings for people who wanted to know what happened, but couldn’t be there. Ben and Jess talked for a long time about this, before setting it all up, and it helped that he was in… I think it was Wales. Wherever he was he managed to gather people who normally wouldn’t come to the solstice celebration by telling them about the riot.”
“You’re the only people I know of who’d plan a riot.” Jake shook his head. “I can’t quite believe it.”
“Vampires are strange beings.” I reached out and grasped his shoulder. “You do still have a chance to walk away, Jake, of that’s what you believe you should do.”
“I’m not going to walk away.”
“Good man.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Something Tree said made me think I could trust you and, to be totally honest, I’ve had enough of carrying this weight alone. Keeping secrets from the people I care about isn’t much fun and being able to share it makes it easier for me to bear.” I probably shouldn’t have been telling him, not when I didn’t have permission, but I did think I could trust him. “You’re lucky to be at the beginning of building up your relationships with people.” I smiled. “I remember what that was like and I wish I could be there again, but I’m not. I know some of these people better than I know myself and that’s… I don’t even know how I got to that point, but that is why they talk to me. They do the same thing with Tree, although Jess wouldn’t have done this to her, as it would mean picking between her two favourite vampires.”
“As Lisa would never have gone along with this.”
“She was actively trying to stop it and Jess thought that was the most amusing part of it all.”
Olivia
“So far we’ve had 18,000 views of that video we made.” Gregory was bouncing in his seat. “People have been commenting on it, and arguing over what the government should do…”
“And the Prime Minister is really annoyed with us.” Gordon grinned. “We told him it had everything to do with us, because we were fed up with them not doing anything to fix the issues, and he should be visiting this meeting at some point.” He sobered. “That, of course, means we must appear solemn and normal, no matter how we actually feel.”
I shook my head. “At least it did some good.” Ben wasn’t too pleased with me, because he thought it put me in more danger than I already was, which was something he was probably right about. Of course there was nothing I could do to change the choice I made and I wouldn’t have done even if he wanted me to. I thought I did something good for the vampires and that was the only thing that mattered. “Do we know when he’ll be making an appearance?”
“Unfortunately, no, but hopefully he won’t leave it until right at the end.”
“Does he know that the end is usually 3am?”
“Probably not. I’m guessing it will be before he goes to bed.”
***
It was late when the Prime Minister walked into our meeting. When our eyes met I could tell exactly what he thought of me and for some reason that made me smile. Knowing that he hated me - that he probably hated all vampires - just made the whole mess a little more interesting. All I wanted to do was bring the riots to an end. He was someone who wanted to exterminate all vampires. Everyone else in the room looked between the two of us and I was certain they were waiting to see who made the first move. One thing I was certain of was that it wouldn’t be me. This was his problem, not mine. I was simply the person the vampires turned to for help dealing with the humans.
“Ms. Mead, I hear your video has been well received.”
“Apparently so.” I shrugged. “I only did it because I thought it would help people to understand what I am.”
“What exactly is that?”
“An individual.”
“My government also told me that you stepped in with the London shop owners, offering them money and help in exchange for them keeping their shops open at night.”
“Yes, I did. Fortunately I know a couple of vampires with deep pockets who were willing to put the funds in I needed, otherwise it would never have happened, and it was something I believed would work well for all of us. I’m certain you’ve already seen the difference it’s made.” So had a couple of the owners, who come to talk to me about helping others with the money for the license they needed, as the income from the vampires was something they desperately needed to keep their shop open. “I will do everything I can to help those people who need it, whether they are human or vampire, and I think it’s time you started doing the same, no matter how you personally feel.”
He nodded. “I agree. However it’s not that simple. As much as I would like to push aside my hatred of vampires I’m sure you can understand that a lot of us have very personal reasons for the way we feel.”
“Of course. Gregory was the same, until I gave him a chance to say goodbye to his sisters - which turned into a relationship he never thought he’d have with them.”
The Prime Minister looked at Gregory. “You never mentioned that.”
“I thought that was the safest plan.”
“Mr. Freud, if you were to tell me who it was you lost I might be able to help reunite you with them, even if it’s only to say goodbye. Not all humans want to have a relationship with vampires who were once family.”
Freud stared at me. I stared back. He seemed surprised that I’d made the offer. “No, thank you, Ms. Mead. I don’t need to be reunited with my sister. I mourned her a long time ago and now… well, it’s for the best that I don’t know where she is. If I did I might send a hunter after her to put her out of her misery.”
Knowing that made everything harder. “Would you do the same to me?”
“If I thought I could get away with it. However you are now an Internet celebrity and that means I have to be a little more careful.”
Doing my best not to shudder, although Anna didn’t do anywhere near as well, I tried to find words, because speaking had suddenly become very difficult. All I really wanted to do was snarl at him. I knew that would be a mistake. I hoped if I kept telling myself that I wouldn’t do anything silly. Unfortunately it was nowhere near as easy as I needed it to be. There was a much longer silence than I expected as the two of us stared at each other, vampire and human, vampire and man who’d have been a hunter if he hadn’t become the Prime Minister. “At least I know I’m safe until I stop being a celebrity.” I brushed a hand through my hair. “I don’t think it will be any time soon, however, considering how little your government has done to stop the riots and help the vampires with their aims.”
“Why should I? If they’d come to me…”
“No, we’re not having this co
nversation. I have been visiting this building every month for the last ten years in an attempt to make things work for both the vampires and the humans. You have done nothing in the four years you’ve been in government to help us get to where we need to be and I can understand why the vampires have decided the only possible way for them to get what they need is to riot.”
“I suppose we have records of those visits.” Freud sounded disappointed. “In that case I think we need to come up with some sort of solution very quickly - one that gets the rioters off the streets as soon as possible.”
“Yes, we should. However you will have the same problem in two, three, four years’ time if whatever solution we come up with doesn’t last.”
“Then it will be someone else’s problem.” He smiled. “A quick fix is really all we need in this situation.”
“No, it’s not. We need a fix that will last. Vampires have very long memories, Mr. Freud, and they will remember who it was involved in this mess.” I found myself smiling. “I want this to be fixed permanently and if you aren’t willing to do that I might just as well leave now. I’ve realised that I don’t need your government to be able to do what needs to be done.”
Freud didn’t look happy. “You are asking for too much, Ms. Mead.”
“I’m not asking for enough. This is something your government should have done a long time ago and I’m not pleased you haven’t.”
***
I was walking home, the way I always did, knowing that something was going to happen. How I knew I will never be certain of, but I did. Maybe it was simply the way Freud had acted when I left Number 10. Maybe it was the way he’d looked at me when I first met him. Maybe it was even his admission that he would have set a hunter on me if I wasn’t an ‘Internet celebrity’. I didn’t trust him, especially not when I’d forced him into a corner he knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of. Holding my knife wasn’t something I’d normally do. Normally I wouldn’t even have been carrying it. If it wasn’t for the riots I wouldn’t have it and if it wasn’t for the riots I wouldn’t have met Freud.
A Bloody London Tale (Book 1): Unrest Rising Page 9
