by L.H. Cosway
“Hello?” I answered, glancing over to where he stood. He was staring directly at me, his expression sharp, and chills once more skittered down my spine.
“What on earth are you doing over there?” he growled. I didn’t like his accusatory tone.
“I’m here with my friends,” I answered, gesturing to Rita and Alvie.
“I can see the slayer with Gabriel and Marcel. Have you been in league with him all this time?”
“What? No, of course not. He’s been helping me.”
“Helping you how?”
“Well, I heard about what happened to Herrington. Then I arrived home to find his guards lurking around outside my apartment. It was daylight, so I had no other choice but to ask Finn for help.”
“Finn,” he seethed. “You’re on first name terms with him?”
“Does Antonia think I had something to do with her husband’s death?” I shot back, not bothering to answer his question.
Ethan went silent then, but I noticed his attention go to the governess for a moment.
“They probably just wanted to question everyone Herrington was in contact with last night,” Ethan explained, but there was no mistaking the worry in his voice. Crap, if Ethan Cristescu was worried, then I should definitely be worried.
“Anyway, is this really the time to be calling me? I think there are more pertinent issues at hand,” I said, gesturing to the mansion that had miraculously risen from the ground.
“That’s why you need to come to me now. I can’t protect you if you’re over there.”
I scoffed loudly. “I’m not going anywhere near Antonia Herrington.”
“Antonia is not going to—"
My focus was pulled from Ethan when all around me people began making noises of shock and astonishment. Even a little bit of awe. I looked back to the island and saw that more objects had now risen to the surface. Carnival rides. Dirt spilled off them as they spun around, lit up with colourful lights. There was the chair-o-planes, a large merry-go-round with horses, and a giant big wheel.
“Tegan, come to me now,” Ethan ordered.
I was about to respond when the music suddenly stopped, and everybody fell silent. The only sound was the click and whirr of the motors working the fair rides across the water. The cold strengthened, and I pulled my coat tighter around me. The distinct tap of footsteps echoed as someone walked down the empty aisle dividing the vampires from the witches, warlocks, and dhampirs. All heads turned in the direction of the lone individual. It was a man with chalky white skin and jet-black hair that was slicked back to highlight a severe widow’s peak. He was dressed all in black, his patent leather shoes shining under the light of the moon. He reminded me of Mr Mistoffelees from Cats, which somehow rendered him even more terrifying.
“Is that Theodore?” I whispered to Rita.
“I’ve never seen him in the flesh before, but from my mother’s description, I’d say that’s him. He has a bit of a unique appearance.”
“You can say that again.”
Theodore turned to face his audience, and he seemed to relish the attention, not to mention the shock and fear on the faces of those gathered.
“Vampires, dhampirs, warlocks, and witches of Tribane,” he announced in an eery voice. “I thank you for your attendance at my homecoming this night. I see some new faces and some old ones, and some very, very interesting ones.” I could swear his dark eyes fell on me for the briefest second and my skin crawled.
“I have been gone for quite some time, yet it feels as though I have never left. I’m very pleased to be home, and I’m ready to take back the territory I left behind.” He eyed Antonia now, and she looked like she was seconds away from violently attacking him.
“What makes you think you can do anything of the sort?” she hissed.
“Would you like a demonstration?” Theodore responded blandly, the threat clear in his eyes. “Although I do believe you’ve already witnessed exactly what I’m capable of. My condolences on the loss of your husband.”
“It was you!” Antonia roared. “You murdered him! We vampires will not submit to you, Theodore. There will be war before you ever control us again.”
“Let there be war then, and once you have perished, I will take my territory. I’ve already made a deal with Siegfried Pamphrock. I will stay away from North Tribane, but the south, well, I believe there is a vacancy there for the position of governor, is there not?”
“Over my dead body,” Antonia seethed.
“That might very well be the case,” Theodore replied. I didn’t fail to notice the flicker of fear in Antonia’s eyes, but it was gone in an instant. “Although I do hope we can come to a more amicable arrangement. I don’t want to turn my happy homecoming into a blood bath. Now, be a good little vampire and submit. No number of guards can protect you if I decide to take your life.”
Ethan surprised me when he spoke up on Antonia’s behalf. “Are you so confident, Sorcerer, that you believe you can take on the entire vampire population of this city?”
Theodore chuckled. “I’m sure my warlock friends will be more than happy to assist me if push comes to shove.”
“Is that true?” Ethan shouted. “Will you let this tyrant speak for you all? Declare war against your enemies on your behalf?”
“We will follow the orders of our governor. If he has made a deal with Theodore, then we accept that decision,” a warlock with long grey hair responded.
“Spineless bastards,” Rita muttered under her breath.
“Blind obedience as usual,” Ethan said dismissively, shaking his head.
“I thought everyone hated Theodore. Why would Pamphrock make a deal with him?” I whispered to Rita.
“Pamphrock would do anything to get one over on the vampires, even if it meant allying himself with an old adversary.”
That didn’t sound good. Not good at all. I was starting to regret not taking the opportunity to flee to my dad’s house when I had the chance. But no, I couldn’t bring danger to his door. Not before I figured out exactly what was going to happen now that Theodore was in the mix.
The tension heightened, and I didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of things if a fight broke out. We needed to get out of there soon.
“Let’s make some tracks,” Alvie suggested quietly, echoing my own thoughts. Rita nodded in agreement, and the three of us huddled together, slowly making our way through the crowd.
“Do you actually think we’d ever join forces with you parasites?” One warlock shouted. “We’d rather have Theodore on our side than fight alongside vermin.”
At this, Rita, Alvie, and I quickened our pace, though it didn’t do much good. We hardly made it a few feet through the crowd before someone among the vampires launched a flaming petrol bomb in our direction. There were several screams when it landed, and all hell broke loose. People began to scatter in every direction, and moments later it was full-on mayhem. I’d been holding onto Rita’s hand, but we got separated in the chaos.
“Rita! Alvie!” I called before I was shoved to the ground. I landed on my side and pain shot up my hip. I quickly ran my hands down my body to make sure I wasn’t bleeding. Losing blood during a melee like this would be unfortunate.
Next to me, a dhampir and a vampire fell to the ground in a struggle. I was getting good at differentiating one from the other. The dhampirs were less statuesque and had more of a human aspect to them. Most of the vampires looked like they were built from solid marble, and they seemed almost too beautiful to be real.
The dhampir had his hands around the vampire’s throat, but the vampire was able to rip out of his hold and scamper away. I’d thought a vampire would be stronger than a dhampir, and yet this one fled for his life? Perhaps it was all down to age, with the oldest being the strongest. The dhampir rose to his feet and chased after his opponent, disappearing out of sight.
I struggled to stand and tried to get as far away as I could from the fighting. Rita and Alvie appeared to be long gone. So
mething danced in my vision, twisting and twirling in a swirl of black and purple. The next thing I knew, Theodore was there, his face directly in front of mine. I almost fainted from the shock of it. In front of the crowd earlier, he’d just about passed for human, but up this close, he seemed absolutely alien. His face was bizarre, like it’d been painted with white clown make-up.
He tilted his head as he studied me, his lips curving in a chilling grin. Something about it reminded me of the child-catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a character who’d terrified me as a kid. I was just as frightened now.
“I haven’t found one of your kind in a very long time. Lucky, lucky me.”
“My k-kind?” I asked, pulse racing.
“You have True Power blood, my child. Quite the find, I must say.” He gave a cruel laugh.
“How do you know that?”
“I always know,” he replied, reaching out to take my hand. His skin was cold as ice. “You’re coming with me.”
I tried to jerk away, but his eyes found mine. I saw madness in their deep brown depths and inwardly shivered.
“Let go of me!” I protested, yanking my arm, but his grip was like steel. Theodore raised his other hand and made a small pushing motion. Suddenly, it felt like somebody had stuffed a sock in my mouth. I heaved and choked on it, unable to make a sound.
My eyes bugged as I saw a metal chain sail through the air towards Theodore, the kind used to dock ships. The chain wrapped around Theodore’s neck, and his grip fell away. I stumbled backwards, spotting Ethan pulling the chain tighter around him.
“Run now!” he roared.
Theodore grabbed hold of the chain. His lips moved as he muttered a spell, and the metal melted to liquid. Ethan swore, his hand burning as he let go of the melting chain. I didn’t stick around to see what happened next. I ran like the wind, my stomach a storm of anxiety. I’d thought Theodore had the upper hand, but then I heard him wail in agony. I turned to look back and saw Ethan had somehow managed to break the sorcerer’s hand. The same hand he used to cast spells. That would keep him out of action long enough for us to get away at least.
Ethan’s eyes met mine, and I gestured wildly. “Leave him. Let’s go!”
He seemed to come to his senses because he dropped a weakened Theodore to the ground and ran towards me. Without a word, he picked me up, threw me over his shoulder, and the world became a blur.
19.
I was dizzy when Ethan finally lowered me to the ground. He used his vampire speed to get us away from the fighting, and we stopped just down the street from Crimson. As soon as my feet hit the pavement, I winced in pain. It must’ve been the adrenaline, but I didn’t feel how badly I had injured my hip until now. I gritted my teeth as I tried to walk, but my limp was evident.
“Are you hurt?” Ethan asked, eyeing me in concern.
“I fell when the fighting broke out. I’m a little sore, but I’ll survive,” I lied.
He moved fast, appearing in front of me as his eyes surveyed my body. “You’re in pain,” he stated plainly.
I waved him away. “I’ll be fine.”
“I can give you some blood to heal it.”
I blinked at him, stunned by the suggestion. “Your blood heals?”
Ethan nodded. “It’s really quite useful.”
I hesitated. There had to be a catch. “I remember you saying it was addictive.”
“Not if it’s only once.”
“Oh,” I breathed. “Well, um, thanks, but no. It’s not that bad.” I tried to take a step away, but pain shot through me.
“Let me see,” Ethan said, his voice gentle as he placed his palm on the small of my back and guided me down a deserted side alley. His hand slid along my hip, and I hissed in pain. His brow furrowed. “I think you might’ve fractured a bone. You really should take some of my blood, Tegan. Don’t suffer unnecessarily.”
I glanced up at him, falling into his golden eyes. Under normal circumstances, I’d never even consider taking him up on his offer, but what if he was right about my bone being fractured? I could hardly afford a hospital bill now that I was unemployed.
I glanced at him, worrying my lip. “How much would I need to take?”
“Not a lot.” There was a flash of heat in his eyes like he was excited by the prospect of me drinking from him.
My stomach heaved in protest. I remembered having nosebleeds as a kid, and the taste of blood in my mouth wasn’t pleasant. “Does your blood taste the same as human blood?”
“Don’t worry about the taste. I assure you, you’ll like it.”
I stared at his neck for a second, swallowing nervously. “Would I have to … bite you?”
He chuckled low and deep, the sound vibrating through me. “Would you like to bite me?”
“What? No, of course not. I was just—"
He reached out, his hand clasping my shoulder. “Relax, Tegan. I’ll do the biting. You just need to drink.”
There was something in his eyes that seemed a little calculating, but maybe the pain was messing with my perception. In the distance, I could still hear the fighting. I hoped Rita and Alvie got away safely. And okay, I also hoped Finn, Gabriel, and Marcel were safe, too. I might not have been Marcel’s biggest fan, but that didn’t mean I wanted him hurt.
I brought my attention back to Ethan. “Right, let’s get this over with.”
He raised an eyebrow in amusement. “I’ll try not to be offended.”
“You know what I mean. We don’t have much time,” I said, worried the fighting would spread this direction.
Holding my gaze, Ethan revealed his fangs, and my stomach somersaulted. They looked sharp and were so white that they practically glistened in the dark. He lifted his wrist to his mouth, and without preamble, he sank his fangs in. I gasped. His eyes flashed darkly. I spotted a trickle of blood and became mesmerised. There was a draw to it, a strange allure. I found myself moving unconsciously closer to him, and I suddenly felt ravenous.
Ethan held out his wrist, his words a seductive murmur, “Drink.”
Eagerly, I leaned in and pressed my mouth to his wrist. His skin was like silk against my lips, and when the tang of his blood hit my tongue something came over me. I let out a pleasured moan as I drank it deep. The liquid slid down my throat, tasting like nothing on this earth. It was heaven, the ambrosia of the Gods, and as I drank, I could feel my injury knitting itself back together. My body was healing within seconds, all because of his blood.
Wow.
I felt him pet my hair, his voice a raspy caress. “That’s enough now, Sunshine.”
I didn’t want to stop. I gripped his wrist tight and refused to let go. Ethan emitted a low, guttural sound of pleasure, like he didn’t want me to stop either. Before I could react, he backed me up against the wall, his hard, unyielding body pressed into mine as I continued to drink from him. I welcomed the connection, wanted it with every fibre of my being. Every cell in my body came alive, exhilaration coursing through my veins. I felt like I could conquer the world.
“Easy, easy,” Ethan murmured as his other hand came up to cup my jaw. Very gently, he extricated my mouth from his wrist, and I whimpered unhappily. His lips curved in a smile. “You liked that more than I thought you would.” A pause as his smile turned contemplative, then he spoke in a whisper, almost to himself. “I liked it more than I thought I would.”
“I feel … I feel incredible,” I breathed. If I looked in a mirror, I was certain my pupils would be dilated. I’d experimented with a few recreational drugs in my time, but they had nothing on this.
“It will fade,” Ethan assured me, using his thumb to wipe my lower lip. I stared at the drop that came away with his thumb and without thinking captured his thumb in my mouth. What he said about it not being addictive was obviously horseshit because I was already fiending for more. This wasn’t good. Not good at all.
His eyes glittered in what looked like arousal, and my cheeks flamed bright red as I drew away from him, realising w
hat I’d done. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Don’t worry about it. Do you feel healed?”
“I feel like I’m made of titanium,” I answered honestly, and he chuckled.
“I should’ve given you a little more warning. The first taste of vampire blood can be quite …” He paused as his eyes held mine, a sensual promise in their golden depths, “… intense.”
Feeling overwhelmed by the effect he had on me, I stepped away, turning around and taking a moment to gather myself. I was embarrassed by my behaviour. His blood had momentarily turned me into some sort of crazed addict. I ran my hand over my hip and there was no pain at all. I felt brand new, energised, and alive.
Turning back to Ethan, I sent him a sincere look. “Thank you.”
He smiled dashingly. “Don’t thank me. The pleasure was all mine.”
Seriously? I’d practically molested him right out in the open. Then again, he had seemed to enjoy himself. I cleared my throat. “Right, well, I’d better get going.”
I made a move to leave, but Ethan blocked my way. “You’re not going anywhere. I still want to know what you were doing with that slayer.”
“I already told you. He was protecting me. He doesn’t mean me any harm.”
“You don’t need him to protect you. You have me.”
“Not during daylight hours,” I countered, and his expression grew perturbed.
“Antonia’s guards won’t bother you again. I’ll see to that. Besides, it’s clear now that Theodore was the one who killed the governor.”
I felt cold, thinking of the way Theodore had looked at me, how he knew what I was. I couldn’t tell Ethan, because he still didn’t know the truth about me, and I wasn’t sure yet if it was safe to tell him.
Ethan held his hand out. “Come. We’ll be safe back at the club.”
In the distance, I heard a loud pop and a bang. Things were still crazy and sticking with Ethan seemed like the smartest option. For now, at least. I took his hand, and he led me out of the alley.
