Thirst (16 page)

“I claim her.
Leave. You have no business here tonight.”

“Oh, but I do,”
he said, sneering as he sauntered closer to her. I could almost see
her hackles rise.

“I won’t repeat
myself again, Maximus. Go.”

His eyes glinted
as he entered the light of the street lamp. He licked his
protruding fangs as he looked me over.

“Don’t even think
about it,” said Daimhín, sounding like a mother talking to a bold
toddler. I gripped Carl’s hand behind my back, unsure of what to do
next. Arthur approached but was still some distance behind
Maximus.

Maximus ignored
Daimhín and headed straight for me. Closer now, I could tell he had
once been handsome. A strong jaw line was now covered in mottled
skin, and the long hair was a distraction from the many blemishes
on his face and neck. Yet he moved as though he was God’s gift to
women.

Quick as a flash,
Daimhín was in front of him, blocking him. Carl pushed me slightly,
getting me out of the way. Both vampires squared up to each other.
It was almost comical—one very tall, flamboyant old man against a
tiny, shrivelled looking old woman. But then she sliced him across
the face with her fingernails, and it wasn’t close to funny
anymore. He howled with pain as she tore strips of skin away then
responded by punching her so hard, she flew backwards straight
through where I had been standing. Eddie managed to dodge out of
the way in time. He ran inside and locked the door, abandoning Carl
and I to our fate.

Daimhín was flung
against the wall, her head cracking against the brickwork. It
didn’t slow her down. She made a furious noise of rage and ran
straight at Maximus, knocking him to the ground. I watched his
coven, expecting them to help him, but they all seemed to hesitate.
Daimhín’s vampires took the choice away by following her lead and
hurling themselves at the enemy. I couldn’t even pick Arthur out
from the brawling crowd.

“Crap, what now?”
I muttered.

A hand clamping
around my mouth stifled a scream that would have surely been
shrill.

“Hush,” whispered
Peter. “Follow me.”

I grabbed his
sleeve and followed him willingly, relieved beyond measure. Carl
and I scurried after him as he led us down a laneway. He made sure
no one was following us then launched straight into a
lecture.

“What the hell
did you think you were doing? Why did you and Carl run off? This
isn’t the plan! Handing yourself straight over like that, you could
have been killed!”

“It was Eddie’s
idea,” said Carl. Peter jumped and looked all around.

“Oh, right, Eddie
shielded Carl so he can’t be seen,” I explained.

“Wait,” Peter
said. “Eddie decided you should leave me behind and walk straight
into the path of ancients?”

“Not exactly,” I
admitted. “Just the bit about the ancients.”

Peter ran his
hands through his hair in exasperation. “I can’t believe you
brought Carl into this alone.”

“I know, it
sounds stupid, but he has to be involved, so I thought the fewer
people getting caught up in this, the better.”

“You’re an
idiot,” he said. “So, what was the next part? How were you planning
on getting Arthur away from the others?”

I shrugged.
“Distract him somehow....”

“You two
seriously need me around. Luckily, I have my car and a brain in my
head. Let’s go nab us a vampire.”

“You sure this is
going to work?” I whispered to Peter. “I mean we can’t even see
Carl.”

“Yeah, but you can hear his heartbeat and
smell his blood. That little nick on his hand is going to be like a
radar for you
and
the other
vampires, so we have to be quick.”

He drummed his
fingers on the steering wheel as we watched vampires tear chunks
from each other using just their teeth and fingernails.

“We don’t stand a
chance,” I said.

“Want me to do
the next bit? You can drive if you like.”

“No, I can do it.
Keep the car running.” Although deep down I knew I was desperate to
go home and forget about the whole thing. I got out of the car,
re-pierced the small wound on Carl’s hand and led him toward the
vampires, trying not to wince at the blood and lumps of flesh
flying everywhere.

“There he is,” I
whispered, finally spotting Arthur.

“Yeah, I got
him,” Carl replied, sounding a lot more confident than I
felt.

Peter had been
right. I knew exactly where Carl was. I followed him as close as I
dared without being seen by Arthur who was finishing off a small
female vampire. As he ripped off the vampire’s head with a grunt,
Carl began to softly call his name.

Arthur’s head
jerked around, bloodlust in his eyes. He hopped up and ran toward
Carl before I could blink. Just as fast, I sped after him,
delighting in the sense of freedom. I was faster than ever, from
Becca’s blood and possibly Eddie’s spell. Arthur ran right into
Carl, I hadn’t expected him to lock onto Carl without even
wondering why he couldn’t see him. I sped up, terrified I was going
to be too late.

Arthur threw back
his head then tried to sink his teeth into what I assumed was an
invisible Carl’s throat. He flew backwards as if burned. I smiled,
remembering how I had wrapped a silver chain around Carl’s neck.
Arthur’s hesitation was perfect. I clamped the silver handcuffs on
to his wrist and mine. He whipped his head around in confusion and
tried to back away, but I held him still.

Changing his
mind, Arthur launched himself at me, his jaws wide. His face
contorted in pain and a howl emitted from his throat as Carl
wrapped his chain around Arthur’s neck, making it easy to lead him
to the car. I was beginning to think we might make it when the cold
presence I kept feeling blew so hard, my hair fell over my
face.

I turned around
and realised one vampire had spotted us. He eyed us warily then put
his head down and ran. I snapped the handcuff off my wrist, not
even pausing to notice how easy it was.

“Run,” I
whispered. “Don’t let them see the chain.”

Carl managed to
hurry on with Arthur without holding out the chain, making it look
like Arthur was running away.

I slipped the
silver dagger out of my belt and waited. It didn’t matter whose
side the vampire was on, I had to stop him. He was on me in
seconds, rushing at me so hard, he ran straight into the dagger. I
used his strength against him. Too late, he felt the blade sink
into his skin. He was in so much pain he didn’t even cry out, but
the red tint disappeared from his eyes, replaced by fear. The knife
seemed to burn him from the inside out. Every vein under his skin
glowed before his entire body burst into flames that quickly burned
out into dust.

“Holy shit,” I
muttered, trembling at the intensity of the flame and how quick the
whole fight had been. Then pain shot through my arm, and I realised
his fingernails had sliced deep into my flesh before he died. I
quickly licked the wounds and didn’t wait to look at them
heal.

Slipping the most
awesome dagger in the world back into my belt, I turned to run back
to the car. Peter had gotten out and was helping a now visible Carl
shove Arthur into the backseat without him biting anyone. They
didn’t even see the small brunette race toward them. I sprinted
after her, my lungs burning with exertion, but she reached Peter
before me and hurled him over the car.

She jumped after
him, preparing to snap his neck, but I managed to grab her hands
first. I pulled her away from Peter, but she shrugged me off and
ran after him again. He kicked out, knocking her back into me. I
wrapped my arms around her waist and held her back. He pulled a
stake from his sleeve and aimed it directly at her heart. She
leaned forward then pushed all of her weight backwards, smacking me
in the face with the back of her head and knocking us both back
down to the ground.

Dizzy, I grabbed
her hair and tried to toss her to the side, but she squirmed around
and clawed my face. Blood dripped from scratch marks on my cheeks.
Peter kicked her in the face, barely missing mine as I pushed her
off me and tried to get up. Once again she went for Peter, this
time clawing at his leg and pulling him to the ground.

The dagger burned
at my side, but in my panic I couldn’t get it free.

“Ah, screw it,” I
said and used my fangs instead. I sank my teeth into her shoulder
and tore away a chunk of flesh. I spat it out in disgust, but it
was enough to get her away from Peter.

“Keep out of the
way Peter!” I shouted at him, fearing I would bite him by mistake.
Time slowed down, and I planned every move ahead of time. The
vampire freaked out at my speed as she struggled to land a hit.
Finally, she managed to elbow me, the force of it knocking me a few
steps backwards.

The vampire faced
me, her mouth a snarling mess of fangs. She ran for me, swiping
with her nails, but I took my time, ducked at the last second then
threw myself upward with a punch driven by all of my strength. She
fell against the car. I didn’t wait. I drove my fist against her
face one more time, hearing her nose break in a satisfyingly bloody
crunch.

She howled with
rage. “Bitch!” she screamed as one of her fangs fell away. My face
stung, but hers was completely swollen. Rage gave her the strength
of an army. She swung her fist at me twice. This time I wasn’t
quick enough and ended up on my back, dazed. The dagger clattered
to the ground. I managed to grab it as she jumped on me and sank
her teeth into my chest.

Peter ran to my
aid, but I was already driving the dagger into her skull as hard as
I could. She spluttered then collapsed on me. Peter hauled her off
and dug his stake through her heart, but she was already burning.
The dagger shone in my hands, the blade going from bright red to a
cool blue. I gripped it tighter, feeling its power shooting through
me. I felt like it belonged to me.

“Where the hell
did you get that thing?” Peter asked.

“Later.” I jumped
up. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” We both jumped into the car
where Carl was struggling with Arthur. If I hadn’t ordered him to
do it, he wouldn’t have had the strength.

I took over,
trying not to pass out from the pain in my chest. Peter forced his
foot down on the accelerator and sped off, the wheels squealing in
protest. We had gotten away, but I couldn’t relax yet. I still had
to deal with Arthur. He seethed with anger but kept his distance,
and I knew he had seen what my dagger could do.

“Sorry about
this, Arthur,” I said out of politeness. “But we had to do
something to get you alone with us.”

“
Let
go of me,” said Arthur, trembling with rage.

“We will, but we
need your help first. Remember?”

“You promised.
You made a deal.”

“I know. And I’m sorry about that, but
things have gotten way too complicated.” I winced with pain and
shifted in my seat. Vampire bites
hurt
.

“He’ll destroy me
for this.”

“Who?” said
Carl.

“Maximus, you
idiot. I left the battlefield. In his eyes, I’m a deserter. All
because of your petty problem.” He tried to sound angry but came
across more vulnerable than anything. I felt sorry for
him.

“We’ll take you
back. As soon as you help us. Nobody will even notice you
left.”

I ignored Peter’s
irritated sigh up front. “Please, Arthur. I don’t want this. Help
me.”

He stared at me
for a long moment. “Fine. Then you let me go.”

“Of course.” I
nodded with enthusiasm.

“Is he yours?”
Arthur stared hard at me.

“No!”

“I agree. There.
Let me go.”

“What? That can’t
be it,” I said in surprise.

“It is. Let me
go, please.”

“But that’s just
lame.” But then I felt a jerking pain in my stomach and a sense of
loss so deep, I wanted to cry.

“What did you
expect, fireworks? Let me out of the damned car,
half-breed!”

I looked at Carl.
His head was bowed, and his body shook violently.

“Carl? You okay?”
Peter asked.

“Yeah, he’s
right. It’s done.” Carl looked at me, eyes full of pain. I couldn’t
bear it. His pain or mine.

“Alright, you can
go,” I said, opening the car door and pulling Arthur out after me.
I carefully took the silver chain off his skin, wincing as it
sizzled. I unlocked the handcuffs and was immediately thrown
against the car. Arthur’s fangs shone in the moonlight. He snapped
his head toward me, his hand on my throat. I was in too much pain
to struggle. I expected more and took one last glance at the
world—but nothing painful happened.

Instead, Arthur
whispered to me. “Trust none. They watch you now.”

He sped away,
leaving me gasping for air. Peter was still getting out of the
car.