Taunt (21 page)

I wasn’t sure why
I felt so sad. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Surprised, I choked
back a sob and brushed the tears from my face with my
hands.

Carl rushed over
and put his arm around me. “What’s wrong?”

“
I
have no idea,” I said, looking at my wet fingers as though they
were stained with blood instead of tears.

“
She’s
not feeling her own emotions,” Eddie said, turning away from
us.

“
What
does that mean?” I asked, looking up at Carl, who looked as
confused as I was.

“
I’ve
long suspected you could absorb emotion,” Eddie said after a
pause.

“
Excuse me?”

“
Similar to an empath, you feel what others feel. You say you
smell emotions, and I believe you, but I think it stems from you
actually feeling what is in the air around you,” he
elaborated.

“
I
don’t get it. How is that possible?” I asked. Carl edged away from
me noticeably. I frowned, seeing Eddie’s words as just another way
for me to be alone.

“
Anything’s possible,” Eddie said with a calm smile. “I now
believe the thirst was hard for you to control because you were
also struggling to control emotions that weren’t yours. Today, for
example, you were in a small room during an emotionally charged
situation. There were all sorts of feelings flying around. They
overwhelmed you, and the thirst took over.”

“
I’m
not sure—”

“
It’s
true,” he interrupted. “I’m not sure if that should be known at the
trial, at least not publicly. Maybe we’ll be forced to relate it if
your lack of control comes up. It would be a simple task to
introduce you to an experienced empath who could help you find the
control you need to get by in life.”

He was beginning
to sound like a motivational speaker, and I felt a spark of hope.
“Okay, say it’s true. How on earth would anyone else’s emotions get
in the way and have an impact on my thirst?”

“
You
maintain control over your thirst constantly. Once Carl was thrown
in your path, you were fighting to control both aspects, anger,
fear, any number of emotions, plus the desire to drink blood. It
was too much because you weren’t prepared for it.” Eddie sounded
matter-of-fact, but my thoughts raced.

I thought about
incidents that might back up his theory. I glanced at Carl, whose
neck and ears had turned bright red, and wondered what emotions I’d
absorbed from him.

Then Arthur,
maybe that would explain the kindred feeling I felt around him; he
had felt it first, and I absorbed it. It would explain the incident
in Gabe’s bar, barely. And Peter… well, I’d think about Peter
another time.

I felt my whole
body go loose as the tension drifted from me. Maybe Eddie was
right, and I wasn’t in control of myself; it wasn’t the thirst, it
was everyone else around me. That didn’t sound right
either.

I shook my head.
“No, can’t be. I don’t feel everyone’s emotions. I thought maybe
Arthur, yeah, but none of the other vampires.”

“
Arthur was a young vampire, maybe a hundred-years-old. I
believe he was one of the last to be turned. Perhaps he still
retained enough of his humanity to affect you. The others have been
dead a long time; their systems would work differently.”

I shrugged,
thinking it still wasn’t likely.

“
If it
was true, would it be considered a good or bad thing?” Carl
asked.

Eddie smiled
wryly. “Depends on who you asked,” he said, enigmatic as
usual.

He hung around
for a while and insisted on teaching me how to use the till. I got
the feeling he didn’t want me to have time to think too much.
Still, everything he had said about emotions rumbled around in my
head for a while. It made me look at everything differently. How
could I ever trust my emotions if I was feeling everyone
else’s?

The biggest
question was
why
I could sense other people’s
emotions.

***

The next few days
passed slowly. Sometimes Peter or Esther dropped in, but never with
an offer to take me anywhere. I felt like I was going stir crazy.
Carl tried his best to cheer me up, but being around Eddie drained
me emotionally. I constantly wondered if I could trust him, and
where his power really stemmed from. It was wearisome.

Esther brought
little news. She was doing her best to keep an eye on Gideon’s
coven and Becca. She was still trying to persuade her fellow
Guardian, Illeana the siren, to find out about Gideon’s bank
dealings. Carl and Becca had both made her determined to put an end
to Gideon’s plans.

Being stuck
inside while everyone else worked on my behalf depressed me; I
began moping around Eddie’s premises like a gloomy ghoul. My time
was running out, and I was the only one sitting around waiting for
things to happen.

The cold presence
kept trying to make itself known. At first, its cooling breezes
were soothing, soft touches on my skin that could only be called
pleasant. But as the days went on, it became apparent that the
presence, whatever it was, was becoming annoyed by my moping.
Eventually, I received one final icy blast in the face that woke me
up big time.

“
Alright, already,” I muttered, rubbing warmth back into my
cheeks. “I’ll cop on, jeez.”

“
Who
are you talking to?”

I whirled and
frowned when I saw Gabe. Alone in the shop during Carl’s lunch
break, I hadn’t even heard the door open.

My mouth gaped
open in shock. Anger was the only thing to cover my nervousness.
“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that,” I snapped.

“
Still
a virtue of kindness, I see,” he said.

“
Don’t
even speak to me,” I responded haughtily.

“
I
need Eddie anyway, not you.” He stepped away, and I watched his
form with interest, remembering he was supposed to be an angel. He
glanced behind him and caught me staring. A smile curved his lips.
Quick as a flash, he was before me, leaning over the counter. I
stared up into his eyes, seductive and yet calculating.

“
Eddie’s upstairs,” I said, hoping he would either go up there
or go away.

“
And
you’re all alone then,” he said in a smarmy sort of way, his
fingers dancing across the counter to mine. I pulled my hand away
and hid it behind my back.

“
Not
for long,” I hissed. “Why don’t you go away?”

“
I’m
happy here. I find you extremely entertaining.”

“
Well,
I find you extremely annoying, so back off. What kind of angel are
you, anyway?”

He flinched, but
covered it well. “You speak of angels today. So I’m upgraded from
‘some guy’ then? Lucky me.”

He leaned further
over the counter and lifted my chin, too rough, to search my eyes
with his. His scent made my mouth water. Desire stirred in the pit
of my stomach. Such a beautiful creature, but the more I looked,
the less of a human I saw behind his irises. His true form tried to
shine through, and I smiled.

“
What
are you thinking?” he asked.

“
That
your human form is beautiful. Pity it isn’t real.” My smile turned
triumphant as I watched the charm fall from his face. He backed up
and glared at me.

“
Maybe
I will go find Eddie after all,” he said. He walked off, leaving me
feeling chilled. I wrapped my arms around myself, completely thrown
by the encounter.

“
That
was stupid, Ava,” Peter said. I jumped about a foot in the
air.

“
Christ, will everyone stop sneaking up on me?”

“
Sorry, where’s Carl?”

“
Gone
to lunch. Wait, what was stupid?” I asked, frowning.

“
Antagonising someone on the Council. Don’t forget he’s going
to be voting on whether you live or die. Charm him; don’t piss him
off.”

I made a scornful
sound. “Charm him? You sound like Eddie. I can’t fool people into
liking me, Peter. I wouldn’t know where to start. This is me, like
it or not.”

He shook his head
in apparent disappointment. “Sometimes you have to play the game,
Ava.”

“
Oh,
well, now we have that out of the way, I might as well go to bed.
Day is done.”

“
No
need to be snarky. I came over to tell you that Esther managed to
get the siren to help her out. She found out there are huge, and I
mean huge, like millions, in transactions being sent to Spain by
Gideon.”

“
Millions? Where the hell did he get millions of euro?” I
couldn’t understand it.

“
Their
businesses are fluid; they learned to keep it that way so a
recession or market crash wouldn’t screw them right over. Plus,
they’re all connected to vampires in other countries. Money has a
way of making money, you know?”

I wished it was
that easy. Even having my laptop at Eddie’s place wasn’t saving my
business. I had no idea how I was going to pay my rent. Not that it
would matter if the trial didn’t go my way. Biting down on the
panic, I tried to concentrate on the business at hand.

“
How
do you know so much about these things?” I was frustrated at my own
lack of knowledge.

“
I’ve
been at this a while. Besides, people talk to me.” I realised he
was really enjoying himself and wondered if that’s why he helped
me, because it was his idea of fun.

“
What
next?” I asked, ignoring how disappointed that thought made me
feel.

“
We
have proof he’s paying them, but we haven’t proved what he’s
receiving in return. The Council already watches any official
shipments from other countries, so they have to be getting the
formula another way. Constant deliveries would be suspicious, and
vampires don’t risk regular travel, so it has to be something
unorthodox. Also, frequent vampire travel is something that catches
the Council’s eye. I think we need to watch Becca very carefully.
We can’t afford to miss out on the next shipment,” he said, his
eyebrows creasing into a deep frown. “It’s going to be tiring, I
know, but the trial is tomorrow night. Can you stay awake until
then? To help follow Becca?”

“
Me?”
My face brightened.

“
Of
course
you
, who else? Esther is following her now, but I’m
going to take over soon. I really think this is our last chance.
I’ve been asking around everywhere, and nobody knows a thing. That
kind of hush-hush is near impossible, and we already know Becca’s
deeply involved, so I’m banking on her coming through for us. You
up for a stakeout?”

“
Hell
to the yeah,” I said, getting my coat on. We left before Gabe
finished with Eddie. It seemed like the best time to
escape.

A thrill of
excitement ran through me as we walked to the car. I glanced at
Peter and saw he was the same, hyped up by something actually
happening. We drove to Becca’s place, nodded to Esther as she drove
away, and settled down for a long wait.

“
There
are some drinks and snacks in the back and an all-night cafe down
the street for coffee or the bathroom. If you need to sleep, let me
know.”

I raised my
eyebrows. As if I could sleep. “Yeah, you too.”

“
I’m
just saying, Ava. Esther told me earlier that Becca hasn’t been
leaving the house in daylight.”

“
That
makes it easier. Think the sun is affecting her?”

“
Maybe, makes sense, right? She might go off for a ramble in
the middle of the night, so we have to make sure we pay
attention.”

“
No
worries.” I relaxed in my seat, keeping my eyes on Becca’s building
up the road. “Hope she doesn’t recognise your car.”

“
Even
if she does, she badly wants that formula. I don’t think anyone
would stop her.” He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel with
the rhythm of the song playing on the radio.

I tried to stay
calm, but millions of random thoughts whirled around in my brain. I
was losing control of my life, felt everything I knew slipping out
of my fingers. I was floating in the ether and depending on Becca
to pull me back in. Depending on other people never worked out in
my experience.

“
What
if nothing happens tonight?” I bit my lip to stop it from
trembling.

“
It
has to.” Peter’s voice stayed strong. Good thing, too; any hint he
didn’t believe it, and I would have lost the weak hold I had on my
panic. “She needs that injection. Soon. I reckon Gideon’s been
holding out until the last minute, just in case. He probably thinks
Eddie wouldn’t let you out of his sight the night before the
trial.”

I tried not to,
but I found myself thinking about the trial. I couldn’t see a
resolution. We all knew we were grasping at possibilities. Even if
the Council went after Gideon, they still had to pass judgement on
me. At least one member hated me; at least one hated the man who
spoke for me.

I remembered the
man in the cells, the one who had taken his own life rather than
face the Council. Out of everything, that image was stamped on my
mind. An unpleasant death by his own hand had been preferable to
the Council’s judgement. Fear slithered around my heart, leaving me
hiccupping with cold dread.