Bloodlust (24 page)

“It didn’t work, did it?” I said finally.

He shook his head. It was a tiny movement, barely even perceptible.

I gritted my teeth. All that fucking trouble to get hold of a stupid metal that didn’t even work. What a waste.

“How many?” I asked. “How many people died?”

He took a moment before answering. “Six at least.”

I closed my eyes in pain. Then I opened them again. This was the shit we had to deal with. I wasn’t going to get sucked under into a pit of useless depression again. It was time to re-group and fight back, not be defeated.

“If we weren’t there, more would have died.” It was cold-hearted, but it was also a matter of fact.

A muscle jerked in his cheek. “If you hadn’t had a fucking death wish, then more would have died.”

He turned and looked at me, green eyes blazing. “Do you have a total fucking disregard for your own safety?”

I stared at him. “You just said more would have died if I’d not done what I did. What other choice was there?”

He snarled, patches of black fur momentarily rising up on his skin. “You can’t die.”

“Last time I checked, my Lord, Draco Wyr weren’t cursed with immortality,” I said, trying to keep my tone light.

He brought his face close to mine. “What am I supposed to do if you die? What am I…?” His voice trailed off, and he pulled away.

My mouth was dry, and I felt a traitorous zip of happy bloodfire blossom up through me.

“When Staines died, all I could think was that thank God it wasn’t you. That he’d been there and you hadn’t.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “I’m a fucking idiot.”

He slammed his other hand into the ground with such force I was amazed it didn’t embed itself into the dirt.

“If we’d beaten Endor, then I could have let the council go. I’d be free from,” I licked my lips, “the constraints.”

His face twisted, and he stood up and walked away, turning just once to stare at me, his eyes searing into my soul. Then his clothes ripped off and, in a heartbeat, he shifted into his werepanther form and bound away into the darkness.

I watched the spot where he’d disappeared. Fuck. Could things be any more messed up? I raised my eyes heavenward for just one breath, then stood up myself and limped painfully off.

*

It seemed to take forever to get back to the B&B where Aubrey was staying. By the time I finally reached it, my bare feet were very bruised and very sore. I passed clumps of Otherworlders on my way, but carefully avoided them. The last thing I needed was to speak to any of them right now.

The town was busier now at the dead of night than it had been the last time I was here during the day. Emergency service vehicles stood around, silently attesting to the tragedy that had taken place out on the water. There were also lots of press.

“It’s not known what exactly had made
The Light of the Loch
sink,” a reporter was saying into a camera as I passed, making sure I kept to the shadows to avoid any undue attention considering my practically naked form, “but the reports we are getting from eyewitnesses suggest that perhaps, just perhaps, it was a massive creature that swam up behind it. If those statements turn out to be true, then the Loch Ness Monster is indeed real, and is indeed a monster.”

Jesus.

I picked up my speed and swerved right, then quietly opened the front door to the small guesthouse, and ran up the stairs. Without even bothering to get changed first, I went straight to Aubrey’s room and knocked on the door. He opened it almost immediately, his face white. When he saw it was me, unashamed relief sprang into his face, and he reached over to pull me into a hug. If he thought it was strange that I was only wearing a fluorescent orange life-vest and was patently naked underneath, he didn’t pass comment.

“I thought you were dead,” he said.

I stepped backwards and looked at him. His eyes were glassy with unspent tears. Not the hysterical tears I’d come to expect from him, but a more deep-seated emotion. I was sorry for what I was about to do.

“Aubrey,” I said, “a few days ago one of your friends sought me out.”

He started, and looked even paler than before.

“She said that she could tell me where Endor was. The terms of the potential agreement were unacceptable, however.”

I didn’t spell out what her demands had been. I didn’t think I needed to. The former vamp just stared at me, waiting to hear what else I was going to say.

“How would she have known how to find him? His leak to Tarn notwithstanding, I don’t get the impression that Endor is the sharing caring type, even with the undead, so how would a bloodsucker know where he is?”

Aubrey licked his lips. “Because we’re – they’re - undead,” he said quietly. “Vampires have the ability to walk the line between the living and the dead, just like a necromancer would. They have a foot in both worlds, and can visit both worlds. We know Endor had close ties to the dead. They must know what he’s doing.”

A thought tugged at me. “So by going to the, er, dead world, they can talk to the dead?”

“Some of them. It’s a very dark place, Mack. Even most vampires don’t spend much time there.” He smiled humourlessly. “This is one of the many reasons they’re so keen to find me. Nobody is meant to know we have the ability to talk to the dead. They’ll be concerned that I’ll go blabbing all their secrets.”

“They know you’re alive now?”

He snorted. “No. That’s meant to be impossible. But I imagine they think I’m working for you. Although why I’d do that if I was still a vampire would be a complete mystery.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Indeed.”

“You don’t completely get it, Mack,” he said earnestly. “You think you do, but you don’t. When you’re a vampire, nothing else matters beyond power. Power from blood, power from wealth, power from whatever. There aren’t any emotions. To be a vampire is to be the ultimate sociopath. Taking orders from someone else, dragon or otherwise, is not power.” He gazed at me seriously. “Do it.”

I gave him a questioning look.

“Don’t play dumb,” he said softly. “Do it. Hand me over. They’re not going to quit trying to get me back because having me loose in the world diminishes their power.” A faint smile crossed his face. “Maybe you’re right and they’ll just turn me back.”

“Is that what you want?”

He shook his head. “But if that’s what happens, then I fully expect you to come after me and drive a stake through my heart. I’ve wronged you enough to deserve it.”

I frowned. “You’re on my fucking team now, Aubrey. I’ve got my dragon claws into you and I’m not going to let go. I need you to do one thing though.”

“Anything.” His eyes seemed lit up from deep within.

“You need to take me there.”

He looked puzzled.

“To the dead,” I explained.

“I can’t. I’m not a vamp any more, remember? I can’t get there.”

I grinned. “I can. Well,” I amended, “with a little help, I can. I just need you to point the way somewhat.”

“It’s dangerous, Mack.”

“I know.” I held his gaze. “We’re out of choices though.”

Aubrey took a deep breath. “Okay. Now?”

“We’ll leave in fifteen minutes.”

I quickly nipped to my own room, and yanked off the life-belt so I could finally put on some proper clothes. As I was shoving my feet into my trainers, I picked up the phone and dialed Alex.

“Hey. I guess you’ve heard what happened?”

“Yeah.” His voice was was dull. “So much for the palladium.”

I didn’t bother dwelling on our failure. We needed to act now, not prevaricate. “I need you to get to Balud ASAP and find out why it didn’t work. Maybe it was because the weapons were only lined with it and weren’t one hundred percent pure palladium. Maybe it was something to do with the way we extracted it. I don’t know, Alex. But you need to find out. And find out fuckng quickly.”

“Do you think it was my fault? If we’d gone with the pure palladium and just paid for it, then do you think those people would still be alive?”

“Shut the fuck up. It was no-one’s fault. It was shitty and it happened, but we need to stop worrying about what we can’t change and find out how to fix it to make sure we get him next time.”

“Okay, dude.”

“Alex,” I said warningly, “I mean it. If there’s blame to be had, it lies with me. It was my plan. And I’m not sitting around crying about it, not any more. We’re going to beat this bastard one way or another. Maybe not today, but we fucking will get him.”

“Okay.” His voice sounded firmer this time.

“Great.”

I hung up and took a quick look around the room to make sure I’d not left anything behind. It would have been nice to enjoy a hot shower first, but I wanted to get moving straight away. I picked up my bag and jogged downstairs. In the small garden, sat on a picnic table, was a faerie. I didn’t really recognise her, but it didn’t matter. I walked right up to her.

“I need you to find Solus.”

She blinked at me slowly. Our defeat was hitting everyone hard.

“Hey,” I said, “go and get Solus and bring him here right now. And when I say right now, I mean right now.”

She screwed up her face as if annoyed at being told what to do, but clicked her fingers anyway and vanished. I hoped she was actually going to do what I’d told her. Ordering people around was harder than I had ever imagined it to be. I was starting to feel a glimmer of sympathy for other people during all those times when I’d kicked back against authority. I was a fucking pain in the arse sometimes.

Fortunately, the Fae had been paying attention because just as Aubrey emerged from the front door, Solus appeared.

He bowed dramatically. “My lady. Are you all right? I tried to find you, but Lord Furry seemed to have things covered.” He patted me on the shoulder. “We’ll get him next time, dragonlette.”

“I know,” I replied grimly, then moved onto more pressing matters. “Do you realise where we are?”

“I believe we’re in the poorly tended garden of a ridiculously small and quaint bed and breakfast.” He wrinkled his nose. “It’s not exactly the Ritz.”

I gave him an exasperated look. “We’re only about fifty kilometres away from Inverness.”

“Where we first met. Happy times, dragonlette, happy times.”

I kicked him. “Focus, please, Solus. What I mean is we are only fifty kilometres away from the Clava Cairns. The gateway to the in-between place.”

It may have been over half a year, but I had very distinct memories of what it had been like in there – and how thankful I was that the Fae had come to find me and help me get out. I’d not had much choice at the time; I’d needed to get away from the mages and the police, and the portal at the Cairns had been about my only option. I’d been able to open it myself thanks to the fact it had been the Winter Solstice. This time I’d need more help.

He looked troubled. “Yes, it’s not far away. Why?”

“Because Aubrey and I are going to go in. Further in. I just need you to open it up for me.”

“Dragonlette…”

I gave him my ‘don’t fuck with me’ look. He sighed.

“Okay, then. I’m guessing by its proximity, you don’t want to use a portal.”

My stomach heaved at the mere thought. “There are enough shifter and mage cars around. We’ll be there within the hour if we drive.”

Solus gave me a half smile. “Then let’s do this.”

Chapter Twenty One

The Clava Cairns looked much as I remembered. Of course the smatterings of long-haired hippy types were absent, given that it wasn’t the Solstice, so the entire area was as silent as the grave. Which in effect it actually was anyway. I took a moment to pause and drink in the night air. The darkness was comforting, rather than frightening, and the sky was perfectly clear. I traced the shape of the Milky Way out with my index finger. Those stars would be shining long after any of us were still around, even Solus. Even Endor. It was a nice thought that sooner or later the natural world would assert its authority regardless of my own actions. It somehow made the cloud of death that was following me around feel less intimidating and more just the way things should be.

“Dragonlette, what are you doing?”

I smiled at Solus. “Nothing. Just pondering the meaning of life.”

He gave me a look. “Is something going on that I should know about?”

“No.” My cheeks reddened involuntarily. Damn it.

“Dragonlette…” He switched tactics. “Mack, what is it?”

I felt a rush of warmth towards the Fae and leaned over and hugged him. “Thanks,” I whispered in his ear. “For being such a great friend.”

“Why does this sound a lot like goodbye?”

I shrugged and decided the best form of defense was most definitely attack.

“I’m about to walk into the freaking Underworld! Is it too much to ask for a cheesy moment beforehand?” I gave him a glare. “It is kind of scary, you know.”

“Sure.” He didn’t seem convinced. “And you’re so often quaking in your knee high boots at any sign of trouble.”

“Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.” Which was probably why I used it so often myself. “Now, please, can you open up the portal?”

He didn’t look happy, but he jerked his head in agreement and walked past me, and through the narrow corridor of stones, stopping at the end. Aubrey and I were close behind him. The ex-vamp was, for once, staying remarkably quiet.

Solus placed his hands out in front of him, lightly touching the stones. He closed his eyes for a moment and muttered something. Nothing happened. Aubrey coughed. I gave him a quick look and realised amusement was brimming in his eyes. He saw me watching him, and a stifled giggle escaped his mouth. I gestured at him to stop. What the hell was so funny?

His shoulders began to shake. He clamped both hands around his mouth, but it didn’t do any good. More snorts of laughter leaked out. Solus opened his eyes and turned around.

“Are you making fun of me?” He demanded.

Aubrey shook his head as he continued to giggle. Tears began to run down his face, and he eventually gave in, taking his hands away and collapsing in a fit of almost girlish titters.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped. “I don’t know why I’m laughing. It’s not funny. I just…” he snorted again, chest heaving.