Taunt (3 page)

His eyes
intensely focused, Jules grabbed my hand tightly and lapped at the
wound even as I punched him in the head. He shifted his body,
seeming to barely notice the blows. He sucked harder, a harsh moan
coming from his throat.

I frantically
tried to worm my hand away from him. Suddenly, two vampires
approached and separated us by kicking Jules in the face until he
let go of my hand.

Even as one
vampire held him steady, Jules looked around for me with a creepy
sort of eagerness. I didn’t think he even noticed the other
vampires, he was so intent on getting back to me. Judging by his
expression, my blood didn’t taste half bad. Great, something new to
worry about.

The two vampires
belonged to Daimhín; I remembered seeing them both at her home. I
wasn’t scared, but I
was
worried. They stared me down,
giving me a few seconds to get off the floor. I couldn’t bring
myself to lick my wound, not in front of them, and especially not
after Jules had slobbered all over it. It stung badly, just like
the bite I’d gotten on my chest. I still had the scar from that
one.

“
You’re to see Daimhín tomorrow evening,” the vampire holding
Jules said, never taking his eyes off my hand. “As soon as the sun
sets. Don’t be late.”

They escorted
Jules outside, leaving me alone with the unconscious woman. I
didn’t wait around for her to wake up but, after listening to her
heartbeat for a minute, I called an ambulance, just in case. Who
knew what her story would be, but people would likely assume she’d
been attacked, robbed, and probably hallucinated the bit about the
fangs.

I hurried home
alone, sick to my stomach at the thought of facing Daimhín again.
Things hadn’t gone according to plan—not at all. First, I had let
Jules run off without me. Then when I saw he was about to feed, I
got in the way. I had a feeling letting him taste me wasn’t the
best plan I’d ever had; it was lucky two of Daimhín’s boys had
turned up in time.

Wait. Why
had
they turned up? I realised with a groan that they must
have been following us the whole time. Not good.

Making it home
unharmed, I ignored the vampires outside and ran into my building
to clean my hand. Fourteen times. Overkill, maybe, but I was under
a lot of stress, and fourteen was a safe number.

My only source of
income was crumbling around me, my grandmother was putting pressure
on me to act like the past never happened, and all of the people I
thought might be my friends had either disappeared or else weren’t
all that trustworthy after all.

Counting, safe
numbers, and my normal routine were the only things keeping me
together. I was a bag of nerves all over again, worse, probably,
now that I knew what was out there in the world.

Convinced it was
finally clean of vampire saliva, I tentatively raised my hand to my
mouth and licked the bite marks. The blood didn’t stop flowing. The
wound didn’t heal.

The cold
presence, or spirit, as I’d taken to calling it, drifted across my
face, either trying to tell me something or to reassure me. I could
never tell for sure.

The wound
bothered me, it should have healed. I’d managed to heal my wounds a
number of times.

“
Maybe
it’s stress,” I said out loud. I couldn’t deal with any more
surprises.

***

The next evening,
after passing by a number of leering vampires outside my home, I
headed for Daimhín’s place again. I was so paranoid about being
jumped on by my stalker vampires that I kept the dagger hidden
under my long sleeves so I could easily grab it. Mostly, I felt
secure if I could touch it. It stayed by my hand in case Daimhín
decided she needed to punish me. If she wanted to end my life, I
could at least take one of her vampires down with me.

Rose let me in
and accompanied me to Daimhín’s living room. I should have worried
about dealing with Daimhín, but I was just thankful my hand had
finally stopped bleeding.

“
Chin
up, love,” Rose said, looking sympathetic. Even Daimhín’s pets knew
I was in for it.

Daimhín didn’t
clear the room this time. Jules sat at her feet and began panting
like a dog when he saw me. His eyes were a scarlet red; he had
obviously drunk his fill, somehow. From Rose perhaps, as her cheeks
lacked the natural flush of the night before.

My interest grew
when I saw a familiar vampire sitting next to Daimhín. Petite and
pale, the intriguing child vampire’s eyes bore light traces of
pink. She stared right at me, but I couldn’t find a child-sized
vampire intimidating, even if I probably should.

“
Last
night didn’t go very well.” The look on Daimhín’s face told me she
had gotten what she wished.

“
Really? I thought it went great.” I scowled at Jules and hid
my bitten hand in my pocket.

Daimhín leaned
back in her seat and glanced at the child vampire. “Yes, well, at
least we know for certain what you are
not
capable of. I’ve
been thinking of another use for you. Courier work, the occasional
debt collection. Can you oblige?”

“
Uh,
sure. Where and when?” Finally, something that wouldn’t test my
morals.

“
Now.”
Daimhín moved to the mantelpiece; it appeared as if her feet only
skimmed the surface of the carpet. She opened a large jewellery box
and took out a square brown package. The child vampire’s eyes
widened slightly. I took a step forward, then thought better of it;
Jules’s fangs were out again. He licked his lips, still staring
intently at me. I held his gaze and experienced an odd sensation,
like cold raindrops on my skin. I shivered a little, and he looked
puzzled.

“
That’s enough, Jules,” Daimhín said. Jules didn’t respond, and
Daimhín turned her attention to me.

“
I
need you to deliver this tonight. Wait for his instructions. Send
them to my phone by text, do
not
return here. The person
you’re looking for is known as Gabe. Don’t worry, he isn’t a
vampire.”

I shrugged,
hoping she wouldn’t see how relieved I felt. Delivering a package
was fine with me, especially if the recipient wasn’t a vampire. I
took the package, listened to her directions, and headed for the
door.

“
Try
to get this job done,” Daimhín said. “Don’t get yourself bitten on
the way.” Jules let out a hyena laugh. I glared at them all, not
feeling like backing down, especially because my hand still stung,
and I hadn’t been able to heal the wound yet.

“
Oh,
by the way,” I said, ready to run with my fingers gripping the
handle of the door. “My place is being staked out by vampires.
Yours?”

Daimhín smirked
as if mildly amused. “Not mine. But I’d drink some blood if I were
you. Just in case.”

“
No,
thanks.” I opened the door too roughly and semi-slammed it behind
me, feeling better for the petulance of the act.

I considered
running to the delivery point but, without human blood, I wasn’t
half as fast. I walked, the whole time feeling an imaginary pair of
eyes on my back.

I rang Peter,
even though I was still mad at him. He hadn’t contacted me at all,
and it bugged me more than I wanted to admit. After the way we had
left things, we were overdue an important conversation. I needn’t
have bothered trying; he didn’t answer. I put my mobile back in my
pocket, shifted the dagger so I could keep a tight hold, and
counted how many steps it took me to get to my
destination.

The drop-off
point turned out to be a small, cosy nightclub. It was slowly
dawning on me that otherworldly beings ran most of the businesses
in town. I supposed it made sense; creatures like vampires couldn’t
exactly work ordinary day jobs.

The club itself
was modern and clean; a live band played unobtrusively in the
background. Huge comparison to the dank vampire bar I’d visited
before. There were lots of free tables and only one person working
behind the bar.

The aroma in the
air was strange and lovely. Something attracted me, but it was too
mingled with scents of magic and other things to figure out exactly
what it was. I sat at the bar and waited for the bartender to
notice me until a new, familiar smell distracted me.

Glancing around,
I saw Peter Brannigan sitting next to a man who had short horns on
his forehead at a table in the corner. Peter looked as serious as
always, focused on his companion. Not the least bit pretty, his
gruff appearance still managed to stir something in the pit of my
stomach.

Peter met my eyes
and shook his head as if to say, “Leave it.” I shrugged and turned
away. I wasn’t going to force him to talk to me, but I couldn’t
deny the little twinge I felt at seeing him.

The bartender was
short, blond, and looked to be in his mid-thirties. Slim and
covered in tattoos, he wore a short-sleeved shirt that exposed his
inked sleeves. I gawked at a dragon on his forearm that seemed to
move.

“
What
can I get you?” he said, moving his arms behind his
back.

“
Um,
I’ve a package for some guy called Gabe. You him?”

He threw back his
head and guffawed loudly. “Some guy called Gabe,” he muttered,
shaking his head. “Hold on, babe. I’ll see if he’s out
back.”

I glared after
him, wondering what was so damn funny. I couldn’t stop myself from
sneaking one last glance at Peter, but he had already left. Without
speaking to me at all.

I leaned my elbow
on the bar and sunk my chin into my palm with a loud sigh. The
appealing smell became more concentrated, and I sniffed the air
appreciatively, smiling to myself.

“
You
have something for me?”

I jumped,
startled, and gazed up at the single most beautiful creature I had
ever seen in my life. Tall, broad, and muscular, his obvious
strength gave me the urge to expose my belly. Figuratively
speaking. His thick hair was coal black, his eyes a deep, dark,
chocolate brown. He grinned, and I shook my head slightly, trying
to focus.

“
Yeah,
are you Gabe? Daimhín sent me.”

“
I am
Gabe,” he said, like it was his title or something. His voice slid
over me like a silk sheet, and suddenly I was imagining him wrapped
up in one.

My cheeks
flushing pink, I handed over the package. “I’ve to wait for a
reply.”

He opened the
package right there, revealing wads of money. A lot of it. He read
through the accompanying note then glanced up and down my body
appraisingly.

“
You
may tell Daimhín that you will not suffice. Not even as part
payment.”

I stopped ogling
long enough to listen. “Excuse me?”

“
Daimhín wishes to exchange you in order to clear a
long-standing debt. You won’t do.”

“
Are
you for real? Show me that!” I snapped the note out of his hands
before he could stop me. He exchanged a bemused glance with the
bartender who was chortling behind his hand. I ignored them and
read the note.

I couldn’t
believe it. She had actually tried to sell me to some
randomer.

“
Of
all the… I don’t believe this shit.” I was sick to death of
vampires and everything else. “Well, you can’t have me,” I added,
pointing at Gabe.

“
I
don’t want you,” he said, sounding like he was talking about a
drink or a bar of chocolate. “But tell her I’ll consider
Eloise.”

“
Screw
you,” I said, turning to leave, ready to hit something.

“
In
your dreams.” The cockiness of his words turned me cold, no matter
how pretty he was.

“
Stupid supernaturals with no damn morals. I’m not a
thing
! You can’t all keep thinking I’m… ownable.” My fingers
curled into fists as I stormed out, ignoring the laughter that
followed me.

Daimhin was
pushing it. How dare she try and
sell
me? I worked for her,
albeit reluctantly, but she did
not
own me. I stayed furious
most of the way home, too angry to pay attention to anything going
on around me. My fingers trembled as I struggled to text Daimhín’s
phone to let her know what happened at the bar, remembering to
mention Eloise, whoever she was.

The cold presence
returned and blew on the back of my neck. I glanced around but
couldn’t see a thing. On alert, I convinced myself I was being
watched.

I tried to use my
other sense to feel if anyone was around, but I was too agitated.
To err on the side of caution, I assumed a vampire was out there
and sped up, multiplying the numbers of my birth date together in
my head to keep me calm. I tried to use my other sense again,
peering into the night on another level. Instead of the emptiness
I’d been expecting, a bright, white light burned into my brain.
Whatever was out there, it wasn’t a vampire.

My stomach turned
when I came close to home and remembered the vampires who kept a
constant eye on my building. When I turned onto my street, I saw
two of them and stiffened, goose bumps rising on my arms. Neither
of them approached, but I couldn’t relax until I had made it within
the safety line of the magic surrounding my apartment. Relief
flooded through me when each vampire looked a little puzzled as I
disappeared before them.