Thirst (15 page)

“And
then?”

I sighed, more
weary than I ever thought possible. “Then someone has to win. I
can’t hide forever.”

“You can’t let
them take you, Ava. I won’t let you. I’ve waited too long for
this.”

“If you could
take them on, you wouldn’t need me, would you?”

He stared at me.
I felt my head become light as his eyes darkened. It would have
been so easy to fall into the emptiness. I struggled against it,
smiling in triumph as his forehead creased in confusion. I shrugged
off his power with ease in the end.

He moved in
closer. “See what you can do when you let yourself be who you
really are?”

“It’s not who I am,” I said, fierce in my
belief. “I’m Ava,
not
vampire.
Remember that one, Eddie bloody Brogan.”

“You don’t have
to fight everything,” Eddie said.

“Feels like I
can’t stop fighting. It’s okay Carl,” I added hurriedly, seeing
Carl preparing to strike out at Eddie. He knew I was upset, and
that reminded me of something.

“Eddie, Carl
seemed to know I was in trouble earlier.”

“That can happen,
yes.”

“But it wears
off, right? After the whole bond business is done?”

“Probably,” he
raised his hands to quieten me. “That’s not important right now,
Ava. Let’s talk about tonight. I can’t help you much. I can’t
directly harm the vampires, but I can try to keep Carl safe. For a
while at least.”

“A
while?”

“Power isn’t
unlimited; I’ll do what I can for as long as I can.” His expression
darkened and some of the books fell off the shelves.

“Sorry. How can I
hurt Arthur? Without killing him I mean? I need to get him away
from the others so he can help us. I don’t want to go too far by
accident.”

“Silver will
contain him. But if it penetrates his heart, he’ll die almost
instantly. Holy water will hurt but never do enough damage to kill.
Fire is lethal, but you need a lot of it. Breaking bones, even the
neck, will hurt and take a long time to heal but completely
removing the head from the body will kill them,” he told me, no
emotion in his voice.

“Fine. That’s
fine,” I said. “I have what I need. I can do this,
right?”

“Of course you
can. But you might need this.” He rummaged under the counter and
took out a heavy wooden box. It was covered in engravings. He put
on a pair of gloves and opened the box, retrieving a small silver
dagger. He handed it to me gingerly, handle first.

It was heavy in
my hand and felt surprisingly warm. Vibrating with power, it
gleamed sapphire blue when it touched my skin. The very tip of the
blade was curved. I touched it lightly with my finger and jumped
with alarm as even the briefest of touches resulted in a few drops
of blood falling from my finger. What had really startled me was
the heat that came from the blade.

“It’s ancient,”
Eddie said, looking at it longingly. “It’s made of fire and light,
metal and magic. It works perfectly against vampires. It’s
powerful—don’t lose it.”

I put it into my
bag, ignoring Eddie’s exasperated sigh. I sucked on my finger to
stem the flow of blood. As soon as it left my lips, Eddie grabbed
my hand and peered at my fingertip. I pulled my hand away and took
a step backwards. Carl tried to move forward, but I got in his way.
He actually had something to lose.

“It’s true,”
Eddie said, his mouth widening into a rapturous smile. “You healed
yourself, didn’t you?”

“Not really.” The
cold presence was frantically sweeping across the back of my
neck.

He gripped my
shoulders tight. “Ava, don’t let anyone know about it. You don’t
want to make yourself more attractive to Maximus, trust
me.”

I rubbed my face,
suddenly feeling self-conscious. “It’s never happened before today,
why now?”

“Maybe you never
licked an open wound before. Or perhaps you did and didn’t stick
around long enough to see what happened next.” He smiled slyly.
“Perhaps it’s linked to the blood you’ve drank. It’s not really
healing, rather accelerating the normal cell re-growth.”

He moved away,
taking his time and picking up the books that had fallen when he
got angry. “Or perhaps you’re just special.”

I exchanged a
look with Carl. Something about Eddie set him off on alert every
single time. It was like he was hearing something I
didn’t.

“Yeah, sure,
special,” I said, forcing a laugh. “Anyway, back to tonight. Should
we find somewhere to hide?”

Eddie faced me,
his eyes stern and cold. “I made a promise, Ava. I’ll be handing
you over tonight.”

“Don’t you
think—”

“No. I don’t. No
discussions. I’ll cloak Carl, but you need to be seen. Prepare
yourself. Perhaps you’d like to have a nibble on Carl while you’re
waiting.”

He left the room
with a smile on his face.

“Don’t even think
about it,” I snapped at Carl.

Rancid fear had
been simmering inside me all day. Now it was boiling over. If we
could surprise Arthur by getting to him from behind then we had a
chance. Being handed to vampires didn’t seem to leave us with any
hope. I wasn’t sure what would happen to Carl if I died, but I
couldn’t trust Eddie to keep him safe. I wanted Peter’s advice, but
it was better for both of us if I kept my distance.

Carl and I sat in
the shop’s back room together, mostly in silence. I had an awful
sensation that I was waiting for my doom.

“Carl, I might
die tonight. If I do, can you do me some favours?” I said, hoping
he could take in what I was saying.

“You won’t die.
I’ll do anything for you,” he replied. I didn’t doubt his belief,
but I knew our chances weren’t great.

“I don’t know if
our bond will break,” I said. “If it doesn’t, and I die, I want you
to run. As fast as you can to someplace safe. Either this place, or
mine. Or even to Peter for the night. Don’t let them catch
you.”

“I won’t,” he
said.

“And. If you
could. Tell my grandmother? About all of this, except maybe leave
out the bit when I drank Becca’s blood.”

Carl smiled and
nodded, but I had no way of knowing if he really understood me.
Just in case, I lowered my voice and leaned closer to him. “If
things go right, and the bond breaks? Get out of there, don’t stick
around. Just leave, and forget me. Never look back at any of this.
And no matter what happens, don’t trust Eddie. Not
ever.”

He shook my hand
solemnly. I hoped he would remember my words when it
mattered.

Night came too
quickly. I could feel the moon crying out to me, the blood in my
veins answering her call. I didn’t know how to prepare for death.
Eddie joined us, kept our silent vigil until it was
time.

“I’d like to say
a prayer,” he told us, a couple of minutes before it was time for
vampires to wake. He lit some candles and placed a cracked black
bowl on the table.

“Blood. Love.
Sacrifice. Accept our offerings, and protect our souls. Connected
and ready to serve. Fill us with power, and watch over us.” He cut
his hand, and let the blood drip into the bowl. I touched the
cross, but it wasn’t necessary. Eddie’s blood was wrong. The
colour, texture and smell repulsed me. Once again, I was filled
with curiosity about who he was—and exactly who, or what, he was
praying to.

“Do you offer?”
he asked Carl who nodded, strangely interested in the proceedings.
Before I could stop him, he sliced Carl’s palm and squeezed his
hand until his blood fell into the bowl. Eddie held his hand out to
me. Hesitant, I placed mine in his cool palm. He swiftly cut me and
drained some of my blood into the bowl.

“Give me the
dagger,” he said. I glanced at him as I handed it over. His jaws
were slack, he reminded me of a puppet on a string as his arms
moved jerkily around. He spoke in a language I wasn’t familiar
with. Guttural sounds that stirred something within me. Fear slowly
dissipated, only to be replaced with something else. Courage,
perhaps? Or merely foolhardiness.

Eddie kissed the
knife, his lips blistering at once. He stirred the blood in the
bowl with the dagger. A blue light flared up from the liquid,
making me jump backwards in fright. Eddie spoke one more word, and
the light vanished. He lifted the knife, shook it once then offered
the bowl to me.

“Drink,” he
urged.

I hesitated.
Freaky hoodoo stuff wasn’t my thing. Neither was drinking my own
blood. Eddie’s hadn’t looked too delicious, and I didn’t need to
know what Carl’s tasted like.

“Just drink it,”
he said, pushing it into my hands. I shook my head, but his eyes
darkened, and the room vibrated. The cold presence brushed against
my hands, so I raised the bowl to my lips and slowly took a sip. I
had to close my eyes to stop my head from spinning. It didn’t taste
like blood. It tasted like... sunlight. Warmth. And power. Most of
all, power. I tipped the bowl to drain the lot. Pure heat rolled
down my throat, completely destroying the panic inside
me.

Eddie placed his
palm against my forehead and pushed until I resisted.

“Flood our sister
with spirit. Let the Keeper of Light stay safe to lead us on
through the storms ahead. Make the Warrior of Flame
return.”

My eyes shot
open. Eddie’s were black, but flickering flames reflected in his
eyes. I glanced at Carl who was staring at me like I had turned
into a shooting star or something. Then it was over. Eddie broke
away, and the tension snapped. The room lit up, and my skin
tingled.

“It’s time,” he
said and gave Carl a small pouch. “Keep that in your pocket. You
won’t be seen until the power runs out.”

“What about
this?” I gestured to the chain around my neck. “When will this run
out?”

Eddie patted my
shoulder and gave me the dagger, still dripping with our blood. “It
already ran out, I can’t sense any of the magic
anymore.”

I hadn’t felt a
real longing from the thirst since Eddie had given me the cross. It
couldn’t have run out already. He smiled reassuringly and gave a
little nod, as if he knew exactly what record my mind was
playing.

“Come.” He bade
us to follow him.

This time I stuck
the dagger in my belt and promised myself I was getting a kick ass
sheath for next time—if there was a next time.

I took a deep
breath as I stood next to Eddie at the front door of his bookshop.
Every cell in my body seemed to hum in anticipation as darkness
fell.

“They’re here,”
Eddie said at last. I already knew. I swallowed my fear and held my
head high as a group approached the bookshop.

“No further,”
Eddie shouted.

The vampire in
the very centre of the group held up her hand. Those around her
halted. One made me catch my breath. No more than thirteen, she was
different to the others. Vampire but not. Her sad eyes penetrated
mine until hers flickered back to the central vampire who stepped
forward into the glow of a streetlight, allowing me to take a good
look at her. She had short grey hair cut tight against her head. A
tiny woman, she looked no more formidable than me. Her wrinkled
skin gave her a harmless look, but her eyes were fierce.

“Is this she?”
Her voice was quiet enough, but it carried over my skin until it
felt like I was shrivelling up.

“Yes,” replied
Eddie. For an instant, I imagined I saw a wisp of something ahead
of me, but it disappeared almost immediately. I felt two forces in
the air, Daimhín’s and Eddie’s. Both having a silent battle
unbeknownst to everyone else. “Is my debt paid in full?”

My head jerked
toward Eddie in surprise. He ignored me. I bit my lip as a lump
formed in my throat. I had been used. I turned back to the vampire,
unable to look at Eddie for a second longer. I desperately tried to
figure out how this affected our plans, but I couldn’t
concentrate—I was too scared.

Daimhín inclined
her head. “As soon as you hand her over for execution.”

Eddie pushed me
forward. I was completely alone until I felt Carl’s presence behind
me along with someone or something who gently left a cool kiss on
my cheek. I found it comforting. Carl squeezed my hand, and my
heart slowed down a little. Daimhín’s face was expressionless. She
stared at me until another voice spoke from a roof behind
her.

“I think an
execution might be a tad over the top.”

Daimhín’s face
creased in disgust as a figure jumped down, followed by a number of
others, one of whom I recognised as Arthur.

“Here
I
am, hunting her down, and this disgraced oddity hands her
over to you. I. Saw. Her. First.”

I guessed he was
Maximus, not that it mattered. His hair was long and his clothes
flamboyant. He obviously wanted to be noticed. He probably knew
Daimhín was there and went out of his way to make a cool entrance.
I wasn’t impressed. Neither was Daimhín, judging by the fire in her
eyes. She kept her voice steady.