Tegan's Return (The Ultimate Power Series #2) (7 page)

 He nods silently. He only looks about eighteen or nineteen years old. I wonder what could have encouraged him to want to join the DOH. Either a vampire did something to him or his family, or else he's just young and foolish, thinking he can save the world and kill monsters in the process. Looking at him now, I have a feeling he's regretting having ever gotten involved with the DOH. He's definitely one of the new recruits Finn had spoken of. He looks like he's in shock, like he wishes he were anywhere but here right now.

 He rubs a hand over his jaw, then he turns to me. “It puts it all into perspective really,” he says, his voice shallow. “Seeing people die. One minute you're laughing and joking and the next you're being attacked and killed by men far stronger than you will ever be. Watching your friends die, seeing the life leave their faces.”

 He reminds me of how I'd been after I'd first seen Ethan kill all those slayers in that empty industrial estate. Then again, that hadn't been the first time I'd seen a dead body. When I found Matthew still and lifeless in my old apartment, I hadn't spoken for days afterwards. Compared to that, this slayer whose name I don't even know is holding up pretty well.

 A half an hour later the doctor comes into the room and tells us that Finn's all bandaged up, then he leaves, perhaps off to take care of some other gruesome DOH tragedy. Why can't Pamphrock see how pointless this fight against the vampires is? The young slayer goes in to speak with Finn, and I allow them some privacy, remaining in the living room. Wolf is sitting up beside me again; the couch almost groans under his heavy weight and it makes me smile for a minute. I pet his head and he rests it on my lap. Ten minutes later the slayer leaves, so it's only myself and Finn left in the house.

 When I go into the kitchen he's sitting at the table knocking back a handful of pills.

 “Antibiotics,” Finn explains.

 “Right. So do you want to tell me what exactly went down tonight?”

 “It won't be happening again,” Finn answers. “The vamps had been lying in wait for us when we were bringing the recruits to their new sleeping quarters. There were fifteen of us in that van Tegan, only young Danny and myself came out alive.”

 He grabs the open bottle of whiskey from the table top and knocks back a long gulp. I pull it out of his hands. “You can't drink that when you're on antibiotics, Finn,” I tell him, and he quirks an eyebrow.

 “What, you want to play the role of nurse do you? Because I think I'm in the mood for a sponge bath.”

 “You should have become a comedian instead of a vampire slayer,” I say, rolling my eyes. “That way there'd be less of a chance of you getting shot. Unless of course you happened to offend the wrong person, knowing you that's probably what
would
happen.”

 Finn doesn't seem to be listening to me. His eyes are somewhere else, replaying the blood and violence and death he's witnessed tonight.

 “How many vampires were there?” I ask softly.

 “Five. We got two of them though, the other three scampered once they'd had their fill of blood.”

 “I'm really sorry Finn,” I tell him, though I doubt my sympathy is going to make him feel any better about losing all those young slayers.

 “Sure you are, it still won't make you think twice the next time Cristescu tries it on with you.”

 I remember Ethan touching me earlier tonight and feel a terrible sense of shame. Finn's right. Nonetheless I reply, “That's different. I need to keep him sweet to save Rebecca, you know that.”

 “Yeah maybe,” Finn replies. “Did you get any more info on your dad?”

 This time it's my turn to take a swig from the whiskey bottle. “Sort of. Ethan says it wasn't a vampire who took him. Or made him leave town. Or whatever it was that happened.”

 “And you believe him?” asks Finn incredulously.

 “He wouldn't lie to me.” Or is that just what I
want
to think?

 Finn laughs at me, like I'm some sort of naïve child. “If it wasn't vampires, then who was it Tegan?”

 “I don't know. It could have been a witch or a warlock. Theodore told me that my blood is a powerful magical ingredient; that's why he took me to his mansion in the first place. Perhaps someone wanted my blood for their spells and thought that intimidating my dad would get him to reveal where I'd gone.”

 “It makes sense I suppose,” says Finn, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and making a move to stand up. He hisses in pain and sits back down.

 “Jesus, didn't that doctor give you any painkillers?”

 “They haven't kicked in yet,” he says, before making a second attempt at getting up from his seat. I rush to his side, putting his arm over my shoulder for support.

 “Come on, I'll help you upstairs to your room.”

 “Now
that
I like the sound of,” Finn adds suggestively.

 “Can't you abstain from being an endless flirt for at least one night? You're lucky I feel sorry for you getting shot, otherwise you'd be on your own.”

 “Sympathy for a slayer from the vampire sympathiser,” says Finn in amusement. “Now how's that for irony.”

 “You're about five seconds away from getting kicked in the gunshot wound, Finn,” I warn, and this seems to shut him up. I help him onto his bed. “You'll have to sleep in your clothes tonight, sorry.” I say, pulling open the blankets for him.

 “Your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired,” he sighs, with a theatrical frown as I slip out the door and go to my own room.

 The next day Finn makes me take Wolf with me when I'm going to visit Nicky. He says we can't risk taking any chances after what happened last night. Seemingly the vampires have upped the ante in a last ditch attempt to subdue the slayers completely. I argue about taking Wolf with me for about ten minutes before I realise that I kind of want to bring the dog along. He's safely reassuring, in a large, menacing canine sort of way.

 Both Nicky and Rita live within relatively easy walking distance of Finn's house, so I don't mind going by foot. When I ask Finn where Wolf's lead is, he simply looks at me as if I'm some sort of supporter of animal cruelty. But it seems that I don't need one for this dog anyway. He pads alongside me, silent and watchful. When I get to Nicky's place I tell him to wait outside and in his eyes I can tell that he understands exactly what I'm saying to him. Spooky.

 Nicky cries and hugs me for a good fifteen minutes before finally allowing me some breathing space. I feel like a cold bitch for not being more emotional at our reunion, but I was never one to be very open with my feelings. Mostly I keep them locked deep inside, which I can tell you is not a healthy way to deal with things.

 She introduces me to her new girlfriend Deena, a tall woman with short, naturally blond hair. We have a long lunch and I tell her all about my new life in Manchester, my apartment in the converted factory, my job at the art gallery. I even make up some friends too, just so that she doesn't cotton on to the fact that I've kept myself very much to myself these past two years. It takes a long time to leave. She keeps pulling me back and hugging me, telling me how glad she is that I'm better now.

 I'm surprised to find that Wolf is still sitting by Nicky's front gate when I finally manage to get away. He looks at me as if to say,
what took you so long?
And then we start our walk over to Rita's. As I near her house, I get a distinct feeling in the air, something heavy, like magic.

 Wolf stands by my side as I knock on the door, one, twice, three times. He growls at Rita's cats who are sitting along her garden wall. They hiss at him and slink away. Finally, someone comes to answer the door, but it isn't Rita. Nor is it Alvie or her mother. It's Gabriel.

Hello Darkness My Old Friend

Gabriel blinks a couple times in surprise and steps out onto the doorstep.

 “Tegan, is that you?” he asks, his voice airy and disbelieving.

 “The one and only,” I grin. “Is Rita home by any chance?”

 “Of course, yes, she's just out the back with…what are you doing here? I thought you'd left Tribane for good.”

 “What, Finn didn't tell you that I was back? I
am
staying at his place after all.”

 Gabriel shakes his head. “No, somehow he failed to mention it.”

 I shrug, not knowing what else to say. I wait for him to invite me in, but he still seems taken aback. He shakes himself. “Where are my manners? Please, come in Tegan.” He steps aside, gesturing into the house.

 “How's Marcel?” I ask, as he leads me down the narrow hallway.

 Gabriel is quiet before answering, “Marcel and I have parted ways I'm afraid. It came down to a difference in opinion.”

 “And you're here in Rita's,” I say. “Does that mean you two are, um…?” I trail off to let him answer.

 His eyes widen. “Oh no, we're not together. Not like that anyway.” Then he opens the door to the kitchen and leads me out to the back garden.

 I've never been in Rita's garden before, but standing in it now it truly is a sight to behold. Flowers and plants grow wildly all around a large grassy area, creeping vines crawl up faded wooden trellises. A pond lies at the very end of the garden, over grown with bright green moss and dark leaves. There's noise, like the light tinkling of glass, coming from the multi-coloured stones that hang from strings intertwined through the branches of a tall oak tree.

 In the centre of the garden is Rita. She looks exactly the same as the last time I saw her. Short, choppy black hair, too much eye-liner crowding her deep brown eyes. Behind her are four individuals lined up in a row. I recognise Alvie as one of them, but the other three are strangers.

 All of them are holding the exact same posture, their arms stretched out in front of them with the palms of their hands facing upward. Above each pair of hands a small grey pebble floats in the air. It's so similar to how the fork had hovered in the air above my hand yesterday that I have to cough to disguise my surprise.

 Surely this accounts for the magic I'd felt in the air just as I'd gotten near to the house. All of them have their eyes firmly closed, so they don't notice myself and Gabriel standing watching them just yet. And Wolf, I've only just realised that he's followed us inside. Perhaps he's not content to wait outside this time, since I took so long at Nicky's.

 Gabriel glances at Wolf and whispers, “Is that Finn's dog?”

 I smile. “He's my new bodyguard.”

 Gabriel raises his eyebrows and nods, as if in agreement that Wolf definitely suffices as a form of protection.

 My eyes wander to Rita again when she says, “And slowly release.” All of those standing behind her mimic her movements, as they gradually let their hands fall to their sides and the pebbles in front of them float calmly to the ground.

 Rita opens her eyes, and they immediately widen before she exclaims, “Oh shit!” Then she gallops forward, throws her arms around me and grips me in a hug so tight it almost suffocates me. Finally she lets go and pulls back to look at me. “I knew you'd be back,” she says, with a cheeky grin.

 “I couldn't stay away,” I answer, and then Rita begins introducing me to the people standing behind her.

 I already know Alvie, the other three are Melissa, Caitlin and Marcus. They're all students of Rita's. She and Gabriel have started a small secret magic school for disenfranchised members of the magical families. Melissa and Caitlin belong to the Ridleys, a family of witches and warlocks after whom Ridley Island was apparently named. Seemingly the human population is unaware of this connection. Marcus is a Girard, which means he's related to Marcel in some way, but I don't venture to ask exactly
how
closely related he is to my old employer.

 Once Rita's students have left, it's just me, her, Alvie and Gabriel standing in her kitchen. She makes a pot of tea and we sit down at the table to drink it.

 “So,” Rita begins, “do you want to fill us in on why you're here Tegan? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see you and all, but I'm still a little unclear as to why you've come back to a place that's so dangerous for someone like you.”

 I sip on the tea, pleasantly surprised by the explosion of fresh peppermint as I swallow it down my throat. “I came back because Finn asked a favour. He needed some help with a certain DOH mission.”

 “Oooh, juicy gossip,” says Rita, both of her thin hands clasped around the sides of her mug. “Come on, spill the beans.”

 “I'm not sure if I can. I think it might be confidential.”

 Rita tuts and throws her eyes to the heavens. “Oh for Goddess' sake, well I hope that you're at least getting paid for whatever it is you're helping him with.”

 I smirk. “Of course I'm getting paid. What do you take me for?”

 Rita grins in return. “That's my girl.”

 “Um, there was actually a purpose for my visit,” I say tentatively. Wolf is sitting by my feet, and I think I see his ears perk up at this, like he wants to hear if Rita has an explanation for what happened to me at lunch the other day just as much as I do.

 Rita's dark eyes slowly flick to mine. “Well I wouldn't expect anything less. I don't think you've ever come to me without having some kind of problem to be solved.”

 “Don't be mean to the girl, Reet,” says Alvie, Rita glares at him but doesn't respond.

 “Why
are
you here Tegan?” Gabriel asks quietly, speaking up for the first time.

 I glance between Gabriel and Alvie. “Would you two mind if I spoke to Rita alone for a minute?”

 Gabriel looks like he's about to say something when Rita interrupts him. “Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of these two.” Her arms are folded now, and I wonder why she's suddenly annoyed with me. Perhaps she'd thought I'd come to see her just for the pleasure of her company for once. Now I feel bad.

 “Fine,” I reply tightly. “The other day I caused a fork to vibrate and levitate just by lifting up my hand. I thought you might be able to explain why that happened.”

 For a split second Rita's mouth gapes open, but she quickly shuts it and replies, “Are you certain you didn't imagine it?”

 “Yes I'm sure. Wolf was with me when it happened.” I pat the big dog on the head, and he whines in response, perhaps to inform Rita that I'm telling the truth. I really am getting fond of Finn's pet.

 Rita eyes me curiously, then she stands up and walks over to me, pulling me up by the elbow. “Hey, go easy,” I say, as she yanks the living day lights out of my arm.

 She positions me directly in front of her. “Oh quit whining and stay still,” she says, placing a hand on either side of my head. She stares deeply into my eyes before closing hers. Nothing happens for a minute, but then an odd sensation comes over me. A fizzing in my brain. It's almost like the time when Ethan had invaded my mind and planted an erotic image of the two of us there, but not quite. This feels less invasive, but an invasion of sorts all the same. I'm just about to pull away when Rita's grip suddenly loosens and her hands slip away from me. Her eyes are wide and interested.

 “You've got something in you, something magical,” she breathes.

 “Yeah, that's just my mother's concealment spell Rita,” I reply in annoyance.

 “No it's not that. I located your mother's spell, but there's something else there, something weird.”

 “Weird like what?” Alvie asks, his teacup held up to his mouth.

 “I'm not sure. It feels like inherited magic, but it can't be. You're not related to the magical families.”

 “Well neither are you, apparently,” I say, though I have my suspicions about who Rita's absent father is. She still reminds me of Theodore every time I look into her eyes.

 “Yes but I've spent my life practising, building up my stores of magic. You haven't and yet you feel just like me, like you've been a witch all your life too.”

 “That can't be true. The only time I've been around magic was when I've been with you, or when I was a baby with my mum. These last two years I haven't even so much as meditated.” I laugh, but I'm too nervous and it comes out strange and joyless.

 “Why are you complaining Tegan?” Rita asks. “You've got a big luxurious store of magic inside of you, something any witch would give her back teeth for, and you're standing there with a face like a smacked arse.”

 I scowl at her before shrugging off her comment. “Perhaps it's my blood that you sensed then?”

 Rita rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Nope, you don't understand. When I used my third eye to sense you, which is what I did just now, I felt three things. The first was your mother's spell, the second was a large, all-encompassing field of magic spread throughout your blood, and the third was like,” she pauses a moment to think about it, “it was like a ball of fire in your belly,
magical
fire. And it's becoming too much to be contained. Maybe that's why you caused a fork to levitate; the magic needed to drain out because there wasn't enough room left to contain it.”

 I drop back down into one of the chairs and scrunch up my nose in bewilderment. “You're making me feel like a ticking time bomb here Rita.”

 She sits too, fiddling with the rim of her teacup. She glances at Gabriel. “What do you think, Gabe?”

 Gabriel blows air out of his mouth. “I think Tegan's something of a Rubik's cube. You get all the squares lined up on one side only to find that the other sides are a mess.”

 I smile sourly. “Jesus Gabriel, thanks for the compliment.”

 He looks embarrassed then. “No that's not what I meant. What I meant was that we discover one thing about you but it only leads us to another mystery and then another.”

 Alvie laughs as he looks across the table at Gabriel. “You're a great help. The girl came here for answers, not metaphors.”

 Gabriel's brow furrows ever so slightly. “Sorry, but I can't think of what could account for this,” he stops and makes air quotes with his fingers, “ball of magic that Rita felt in Tegan.” He turns to look at me now. “I suppose there might have been a witch or a warlock in your family tree somewhere along the way. I know that the magical families tend to keep pretty much to themselves, but I'm sure that every once in a while one of them veers off the beaten track in terms of choosing their...bed partners.” This makes me remember Ethan explaining to Eliza why I smell different back in the club. Does Ethan know something about me that I don't?

 A blush rises on Gabriel's cheeks, causing Rita to nudge him in the arm and laugh. “Jesus Gabe, you'd think you were some sort of repressed Catholic. Just say it, sex, sex, sex. Every once in a while a witch or a warlock has
sex
with a normal human, meaning there could be humans out there with magical abilities they are completely unaware of.”

 I grin when I see Gabriel's mortified expression.

 “What about my mum, she was a witch right? Perhaps she belonged to one of the magical families. I never met my maternal grandmother. She died before I was born.”

 A thoughtful expression forms on Rita's face. “There's an idea, what was your mum's maiden name?”

 “Peters,” I answer hopefully, because I really want to figure this out and be done with all of the mystery.

 The interest drops from Rita's face when she replies, “No, that's not a magical name. Shit, I thought you were onto something there.”

 “Me too,” I say with disappointment.

 “Well, let's not get hung up trying to figure out where the magic came from,” says Alvie. “Clearly we need to focus on teaching Tegan how to manage the magic, so that it doesn't spill out of her involuntarily again.”

 “I guess,” Rita responds, but her posture is still hunched over the table top, like she wishes she could give me some real answers.

 “That's an excellent idea Alvie,” says Gabriel enthusiastically, and Alvie seems delighted with the affirmation. He doesn't take his eyes off Gabriel for a minute, and it makes me wonder if he has a little bit of a crush on the dhamphir. I'd always thought Gabriel was straight, but you never know.

 Rita sighs and stands up. “Okay then, let's go into the living room and I'll show Tegan the basics of containing magic.”

 We all get up and follow Rita into the next room. She makes me stand with her by the window and instructs me to look outside and find something small to focus my attention on. I pick a pretty red rose in a thorny bush out by her front gate.

 “Have you found something yet?” she asks.

 “Yup.”

 “Good. Now, I want you to imagine an impenetrable container around the thing you're looking at.”

 I do my best to follow Rita's instructions. In my mind I picture a clear glass bubble surrounding the rose, imagining that it's so strong nothing could ever break past it. A glass that it's impossible to shatter. It's difficult to visualise the bubble with my eyes still open, so I close them, and it really helps. Something inside of me tells me that it was the right thing to do, like the ball of magic in my belly is singing in praise.