by Amy Cross
She shook her head.
“No?” he asked.
“No,” she whispered, before closing her eyes and trying to concentrate on remembering her old life: her mother, and her father, and the chickens in the yard, as well as the store and the town square on Thaxos, and the nice lady Estella who walked her down from the mansion one night, and -
“Stop,” Constant hissed, grabbing her wrist and causing her to open her eyes again with a start. “Don't get sentimental, kid. You're here now, you're a Raven's Briar girl.” He smiled, exposing a row of stained, brown teeth with several missing pieces of enamel that revealed glistening nerves beneath. “No Raven's Briar girl has ever gone back to her old life. What makes you think you're so special?”
“I -”
“Get back to work,” he snapped, spitting on the floor again and this time using the palm of his hand to rub the saliva and phlegm deep into the cracks. Getting to his feet, he stepped past her and banged his foot against the bucket, knocking it over and sending filthy water spilling down the stairs until it washed across the hallway at the bottom. “Looks like you're all gonna have to start again, doesn't it? I'm off to prepare the meat for tonight's dinner. With any luck, it'll be a real feast.”
***
“Absolutely,” Ms. Eversham replied, as she sat at her writing desk with the telephone receiver held against her ear. “You must rest assured, Quillian, that I have the situation under control.”
“It's been a week now since Kate Langley and the other two left Thaxos,” he replied. “They should have reached you by now.”
“There's no point hurrying them along,” she pointed out. “They'll only get suspicious if I'm not subtle about these things. What do you want me to do, put up a big, brightly-lit sign pointing the way to this place?”
“I can't wait forever!” he hissed.
“You won't have to. Quillian, please, have I ever let you down?”
“There's no movement from the mansion,” he continued. “Neither Edgar Le Compte or his little werewolf friend have been seen in town. I've had Joshua keeping an eye on things, but even his brother hasn't been seen.”
“And the Graves woman?”
“She still hasn't come to her senses either. According to Joshua, she just spends her nights working in the local bar and her days helping her father around the house.”
“Then it seems you must be even more patient,” she told him. “You've waited all this time to gain revenge on Le Compte, and to bring Ashalla to the world. After so many centuries, surely a few more days shouldn't be too much trouble?”
“You must let me know the moment Kate Langley shows up,” he continued. “The Le Compte girl, too. Between the pair of them, they offer an opportunity to dig deep into Edgar's heart and cause the maximum amount of pain.”
“And what exactly do you want me to do with them while they're my house-guests?”
“Anything you like, just so long as you don't kill them.”
“What about the human? Anna's mother is nearby too.”
“Do what you want with her. She's already died once, maybe the second time will be more permanent.”
“Then I think we have a plan,” she told him. “There's no need to keep calling me every day, though. I'll be in touch when there's anything you need to know. Other than that, just focus on recovering from your recent exertions. You're not the strapping young buck you were in the old days, Quillian.”
“I don't need your advice,” he hissed. “Remember your place.”
With that, he cut the call, leaving Ms. Eversham to smile as she set the receiver back down.
“Are they here yet?” Constant asked, having reached the door.
“Almost. Tell the girls it's time for that little treat I promised them.”
“I think some of them are nervous,” he replied. “You know what they're like, they don't like going out alone.”
She turned to him. “Then tell them to go out in groups. Do I really have to explain even the most obvious things to you? How is the Kazakos girl doing?”
“Working hard,” he replied with a grin. “She'd made good progress with the stairs until I set her back by a few hours.”
“Good. I want her to be in just the right frame of mind when her mother arrives. Kate Langley and Madeleine Le Compte are Quillian's, and I have to take care of them on his behalf. Anna's mother, on the other hand, is my little plaything for the night, and you know how I enjoy my playthings.”
Constant laughed. “I'll bring out the extra-big pot from the pantry,” he told her, “and I'll sharpen the knives. It's been a long time since I cooked anything bigger than a wolf.”
V
“It looks more like a fortress,” Jennifer muttered, as she and Madeleine approached the building from the east. “What kind of person would build an orphanage with barbed wire and spikes on top of the walls? It looks more like a prison.”
“Smells like one too,” Madeleine replied, sniffing the air. “I know you might not want to hear this, but I don't think the kids are exactly given a life of luxury. I smell soap and disinfectant, and rotten meat, and raw sewage.” She paused. “And blood. I smell blood. And -”
Jennifer waited for her to finish. “And what?” she asked eventually.
“Someone burned here not long ago,” she continued. “A cold-blood. Trust me, they give off a very distinctive stench when they get exposed to sunlight.”
“So they can't go out in the day at all?”
“Not in direct sunlight. They're okay in shade for a short period.”
“But you guys are okay? You and Edgar, I mean?”
“We're warm-bloods, baby. We live for the sun.” Making her way closer to the wall, Madeleine stopped again, before turning back to look at Jennifer. “Did you hear something just now?”
“Like what?”
She paused. “Nothing. I guess I'm just a little jumpy.”
“How are we going to get inside?” Jennifer asked, keeping her voice low as they reached a patch of moonlight near a large, metal gate that offered a view into a yard area. “I doubt they're going to just open the front door for us.”
“Well, we're definitely expected.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Someone doesn't get to run a secret orphanage without having a few contacts in the local town,” Madeleine explained. “I know you and Kate thought I was joking when I said we should wait for someone to attack us, but it was a sound plan and it would have worked eventually. Trust me, from the moment we arrived in Parios, there would have been eyes on us. I never quite managed to spot them, but I'm certain someone was watching and reporting back.”
“But what about now? Do you think they know we're close?”
“I assume so. They're not stupid.”
Looking up at the barbed wire, Jennifer paused for a moment. “So what's the plan? Just wait until daylight and then climb over?”
“I'm pretty sure they'll have thought of that already,” Madeleine replied. “If I had to guess, I'd say that the kids sleep in a kind of dormitory. Like I said before, cold-bloods get anxious when they're separated from the rest of their pack.”
“Quill seems okay on Thaxos.”
“Quill's deranged. He had no pack left, so he has to strike out alone. Trust me, though, he's most likely itching every day.”
“Where will they be keeping Anna?” Jennifer asked. “Can you still sense her heartbeat?”
“She's inside,” Madeleine replied, “and she's awake. There are other heartbeats too, but -” Turning, she paused again. “Did you hear that?”
“I didn't hear a thing.”
“Huh. Must be me getting jumpy again.” Making her way to the gate, Madeleine stopped for a moment. “Get over here, human. Tell me what you see.”
Hurrying to join her, Jennifer looked through the gate's metal bars. On the other side, the yard was empty, with just a patch of moonlight running across the far side and up the orphanage's main building.
&n
bsp; “There's no-one there,” she said.
“The kids are probably all inside working,” Madeleine explained. “Most likely, they're just allowed out for an hour or two each day, to stretch their legs. When you said this place was like a prison earlier, you probably weren't far off. I get the feeling Ms. Eversham treats them pretty mean.”
“And do you really think she's trying to turn dead human children into cold-blooded vampires?”
“It's certainly possible. The process takes a while, but I've heard of it being attempted before.”
“And is it reversible?”
Madeleine paused for a moment. “Let's not worry about that too much right now. I think our best bet at the moment would be to turn around and get the hell out of here.”
“What do you mean?” Jennifer turned to her. “What's wrong?”
Turning, Madeleine seemed to be sensing something nearby. She took a step away from the gate, as if she was worried about something near the rocks just a few meters away.
“Madeleine? You're starting to worry me.”
“Good. I don't think we're alone out here.”
***
“Damn it,” Kate muttered as she and Alicia made their way closer to the dark orphanage's western side, “this'd be much easier if we each had a phone.”
“Not really,” Alicia replied. “We'd just keep tripping over the wires.”
“You'd be surprised what phones are like where I come from,” Kate told her, stopping and looking along the top of the wall, which was lined with several thick curls of barbed wire. “Do you think that's supposed to keep the children in, or keep people like us out?”
“Both, I suppose. We're not the first people who've come to Raven's Briar and tried to get their children back.”
“We're not?”
“I told you before. Every so often, someone from Parios heads out here, determined to mount a rescue attempt. They never make it back, of course, but I imagine most of them got this far.”
“And then what happened to them?” Kate asked.
“We probably shouldn't think about that.”
“Well, we have a few advantages over most people. For one thing, there are four of us, and for another, I imagine Madeleine Le Compte can be pretty useful in a crisis, even without the use of her eyes.”
“She seems crazy,” Alicia pointed out.
“That too.”
“How exactly did you get mixed up with the Le Comptes, anyway?”
“It's a long story,” Kate replied, leading her across the dark patch of scrub-land that led to the building's western wall. “One day I turned up for a holiday on Thaxos, and now here I am, the best part of a century back in time, trying to mount some kind of assault on a vampire orphanage.”
“Back in time?” Alicia asked.
“Never mind. That's a really long story.” Spotting a door up ahead, she paused for a moment. “What do you think that is used for? A janitor, maybe?”
“Maybe,” Alicia replied, hanging back for a moment and watching as Kate approached the door.
“There's maybe only an hour or two until sunrise,” Kate continued. “By the time we get back to the others, we need to have a plan worked out, so we know exactly how we're going to get into this place.” Reaching out, she grabbed the handle and gave it a turn, before finding to her surprise that the door began to creak open. She turned to Alicia. “Does this seem almost too easy to you?”
“In what way?”
“Almost like it's a trap.”
Alicia took a step forward. “Not necessarily. Maybe we should just go inside a little and see what we find.”
“I don't know,” Kate replied, pausing for a moment before closing the door again. “It's good that we know this is here, but I'm worried it might be a trap.” She stepped back, looking up at the barbed wire. “There's something about this place that doesn't feel quite right. Madeleine said the children come out at night, but there's no sign of them. Sure, they might be working inside for a while, but you'd think there'd be at least some hint of activity. Instead, the whole building just seems dead.” She paused, before turning to Alicia. “I think we -”
Stopping suddenly, she felt a chill run through her chest as she saw that Ms. Eversham was standing just a few feet away, next to Alicia.
“I'm sorry,” Alicia said, with tears in her eyes. “I didn't have a choice.”
“Of course you had a choice,” Ms. Eversham replied, turning to her. “You simply chose correctly, that's all.”
“She told me I could get Emily back,” Alicia continued, “if I came to you and brought you out here. You have to understand, Kate, I'm only doing what's right for my daughter.”
“Madeleine was right,” Kate said, as she tried to work out how to get away. “You were watching us the whole time.”
“I thought about taking a more forceful approach,” Ms. Eversham told her, “but I really didn't want to make too much of a fuss in the middle of town.”
“Can I see her now?” Alicia asked. “Please, where's Emily?”
“She's inside, my dear, waiting for you.”
“And she's... I mean, is she alive again?”
“She is.”
“And is she... Is she human?”
“You must see for yourself,” Ms. Eversham told her. “I think you'll find that a miracle has taken place and -” Watching as Kate backed away, she smiled. “Ms. Langley, what are you doing? Please, don't tell me that you're so foolish, you actually think you can get out of this mess?”
Turning, Kate was about to run, but she stopped as soon as she found that there was a man lurking behind her with a broad, slightly infantile grin on his face.
“Meet Constant,” Ms. Eversham continued. “He's not the brightest fellow in the world, but he's very good at following orders, and that's really all I need him for.”
Before Kate could try to get away, Constant reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
“Please,” Alicia said, following as Ms. Eversham made her way toward Kate, “I just want to see Emily. I don't want to be here when anything else happens, I just -”
“Patience,” Ms. Eversham replied, cutting her off while keeping her eyes fixed on Kate. “Everything must be done in the correct order.”
“This won't work,” Kate said firmly, trying not to let her fear show. “There's no way -”
“No way I'll get away with it?” Ms. Eversham asked with a smile. “Ms. Langley, why not? After all, at every step so far, you've done exactly what I expected. Don't worry, though. I'm not going to kill you. I can't, since it isn't part of the deal I struck with dear Quillian. I can, however, make you very, very uncomfortable for the duration of your stay here.”
“No,” Kate replied, trying to pull free, “I won't -”
Before she could finish, Constant reached around and placed a moist towel over her face, holding it firmly against her mouth as she struggled until, finally, her body fell limp and she slipped into unconsciousness.
“There are two others,” Alicia stammered. “They're on the other side of the building. Now please, let me see Emily!”
“Of course,” Ms. Eversham replied, turning to her. “And as for the others, don't worry about them. The situation is entirely under control.”
***
“I don't see anything!” Jennifer said firmly, as she and Madeleine backed toward the wall. “Are you sure?”
“I can hear them,” Madeleine replied, “and I can feel their heartbeats. They're getting closer.”
“But -”
“Look harder! You're supposed to be my eyes while we're here!”
Looking around at the shadows and patches of moonlight, Jennifer tried to spot anything moving, anything that might indicate some kind of presence, but there was nothing.
“Hell,” Madeleine continued, “at this rate, I'd be better off plucking your eyes out and sticking them in my own sockets. They're close, woman! They can't be more than ten feet away!”
“I don
't see anything!” Jennifer hissed. “What exactly am I looking for?”
“What do you think? Spooky little kids!”
“There's nothing here,” Jennifer replied, “I don't -” Stopping suddenly, she saw a hint of movement in one of the shadows. “Wait,” she added, feeling a shiver pass through her chest as she saw more movement a little further off. Sure enough, she quickly began to spot figures in the darkness, and finally she saw several pairs of eyes watching from the shadows.
“Let me guess,” Madeleine muttered. “Now you see them?”
“There are quite a few,” Jennifer told her. “Ten, no... Fifteen. Maybe more.”
“I can hear twenty-five heartbeats all around us,” Madeleine replied. “That means there are at least twenty-five of the damn things, and probably more.” Reaching up, she began to tear the bandage away from her eyes, finally revealing the empty sockets.
“What are you doing?” Jennifer asked. “Can you see again?”
“No,” Madeleine said, dropping the bloodied bandage to the floor. “I was just hoping to freak the little bastards out.” Turning, she listened to a faint hissing sound that was coming from the mouths of the cold-blooded children as they crawled closer on their hands on knees. With moonlight hitting her face and filling her empty eye-sockets, she turned again, trying to work out which direction would be the source of the first attack.
“They're getting closer,” Jennifer told her, backing all the way to the wall. “How do we stop them?”
“Either we get the sun to start shining,” Madeleine replied, “or we fight. And since you wouldn't stand a hope in hell of fending them off, I guess that means I'm going to have to do it. Just try not to get killed while I'm mopping up, okay?”
***
“Wake up, Kate,” a voice whispered in the darkness. “Come on, you can do it. Open your eyes, lift your head, and look at me.”
Slowly, Kate began to stir, although there was a sharp, pulsing pain in her head. Her eyes flickered open for a moment, and as she looked down at her knees she saw a set of metal straps holding her in place. She tried to move forward, but something was wrapped around her neck, so finally she looked up and realized that although her vision was still a little blurry, she could see a figure standing just a few feet away.
