Darlings of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology Part 170

"You could fight," Eddie said. Although his voice was sad, his eyes were happy. I didn't have time to figure it all out.

"So I'll fight," I said.

Peter snorted. "You squeal like a schoolgirl anytime you're attacked. Come on! You're helpless!"

I glared at him before turning to Eddie. "Can you help me?"

"There's a lot you need to know. Holy water and a silver crucifix might do nothing to you, but a stake in the heart will kill you all the same. A vampire can drain your blood or snap your neck like a human's, while a human can set you on fire and send you to h.e.l.l just like a normal vampire. You have to be extra careful, but then again, you might have some abilities they don't have."

"Like what? Catholic guilt?"

Eddie smiled. "This is one of those rare occasions when I don't know the answer to everything."

"How do I find Arthur and avoid that a.s.sa.s.sin? a.s.suming they're both still alive."

"You're not seriously considering making contact with that greasy vamp again, are you?" Peter said, barely containing his disgust.

"I don't have a choice. Look at Carl!"

Carl had fallen asleep again, and a large gob of saliva was dripping down his chin.

"I need him gone. For his own good. You saw what happened earlier." I held his gaze until he looked away.

"Arthur is your only option, it's true. But the a.s.sa.s.sins will keep on coming. Daimhin needs to ensure the secret isn't revealed, or she'll lose her advantage," Eddie said.

"Arthur said he'd find her," Peter said, his eyes narrowing.

Eddie nodded. "Be that as it may, Maximus won't let her go easily. It'll be hard to get her back if he takes her."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here." I wasn't about to let them decide anything for me. "I need to sort things out with Arthur. There's nothing I can do about that. I'll deal with the other stuff later."

Peter threw his hands up in the air and walked out of the room.

"Spoiled git," I muttered.

"He'll get over it," Eddie said. "I don't think you realise how risky this is, Ava."

"I have to get Carl back to normal. He cut his neck today and tried to force his blood on me. It's only a matter of time before I give in."

"Maybe drinking blood wouldn't be the worst idea."

"Are you kidding me?"

He shook his head with a small smile. "It's natural for you. Maybe it would help you fulfil your potential."

The greedy look in his eye made me s.h.i.+ver. I could have sworn I felt a hand ruffle my hair. Peter came back into the room before I could think of anything else to say. I gripped my cross tightly; it had helped save my life and Carl's, maybe it would help me against Eddie too if I needed it.

"Okay," Peter said, his face grim and determined. "We can do this. But we need a plan. Weapons. Protection. We have to go in prepared this time."

He looked set to carry on making his speech, but Eddie held up his hand for silence. He retreated into his own little world again, looking but not seeing. He blinked then gasped. Right before someone banged on the shop door.

"n.o.body move," he whispered.

Somebody knocked sharply on the door while all of the front windows were pounded on. I sat still, frozen in fear until the sound of smas.h.i.+ng gla.s.s made me jump to my feet.

"Ah, it's Maximus," Eddie said, nodding. "Daimhin is much more discreet."

I must have looked as petrified as I felt because Eddie gave me a rea.s.suring smile. "Don't worry, Ava. They can't come in."

"Do they need to be invited?" I asked.

He laughed humourlessly. "Not at all. But this building is very well protected. You can't leave tonight. None of you. Wait until daylight. Until then we can decide what to do next and get some sleep."

"So, what? They're all going to come after me now?"

"Pretty much," Eddie said.

"But there's two sides. Like, they're enemies?" I asked.

Eddie nodded.

"I'm in the middle then. I think I'll get out of the way and let them stomp on each other."

Peter stopped pacing long enough to think about it. "Sounds like the makings of a plan. Maybe you aren't as clueless as you look after all."

"Nice to see you two agreeing on something," Eddie said. "Maybe you can come up with something a little more concrete while I go clean up the mess out there and sort out where you're all sleeping for the night."

Peter and I sat together in silence for a few minutes, trying in vain to ignore the jeering that rose up when Eddie entered the shop. Purely to give myself something to do, I woke Carl up.

"We're going to sort everything out, Carl. You'll be back home soon."

He shook his head and jutted his chin like a defiant five year old. I couldn't help sighing and wis.h.i.+ng I was free of him.

"I wonder if he has any family," Peter said.

I shrugged. "I've tried talking to him about them, but he won't say much. He thinks he doesn't want to go back, but he's supposed to be getting married. We have to get him home before his fiancee gives up on him."

"Not going," Carl said, so loud that Peter and I jumped.

"See what I mean?" I said, wondering what was going through Carl's head when he sat there staring at nothing. "What about you? Do you have any family?"

Peter grew cold again and refused to answer. The silence unnerved me. I pretended to type my name on my legs. Then I switched the letters for numbers and counted out my name in the order it appeared in the alphabet. Added the numbers swiftly, my breathing growing steadier each time.

"What is that?"

"What?" I had almost forgotten I wasn't alone.

"That... thing you do, what is it?"

"I'm just messing about with numbers in my head."

"You mouth them, sometimes whisper them. What are you, some kind of math freak?"

My face grew hot. "No, it relaxes me is all."

"Oh."

I wished I could hide my face. My habit had always been embarra.s.sing, but in front of Peter, it made me feel exposed. My grandmother had often acted like I was doing it purposely, just to annoy her, but I couldn't help it. It had eased off around my ex-boyfriend, but once I left, my nervous habits had only increased.

"Peter, what's the Council?" I asked, desperate to change the subject.

"It's a group of beings who... oversee things, pretty much," he told me. "They make sure no single species has a major advantage and step in to prevent wars. They enforce a quota on the vampires so they never become strong enough to go on any major rampages. It works-since they took charge, humans have stopped believing in things like vampires."

"What about humans? They don't prevent those wars."

"Human wars rarely have any real impact on the supernatural world, but a supernatural war could destroy mankind. The Council protect humans as much as they can; I honestly don't know why."

"They protect humans, but they allow vampires to feed on them?" That made little sense to me.

"They enforced a quota," he reminded me, shrugging. "They're supposed to keep a balance, not mollycoddle one species alone."

I let the information soak into my brain. Maybe I could find a way to make use of this Council.

"I'm sorry about hitting you that time," Peter said, interrupting my thoughts.

"That's okay."

He hesitated before speaking. "Everyone I've ever loved has been murdered by something -not human. The alarm went off, and I had to attack."

"It's fine. I'm not exactly innocent, right?"

He gazed at me. "You're not what I expected."

"So what's the plan then," I said, changing the subject in the hope the atmosphere would lighten up.

"It's your idea. What were you going for?"

"I don't know. Maybe arrange to meet up with both sides at once, then, when they're busy battling it out, we kidnap Arthur and make him sort out the Carl situation."

He burst into infectious laughter. "Ava, that's the worst plan ever."

I frowned. "I've never had to come up with a plan before, okay?"

"It just might work," Eddie said, sneaking into the room and making us both jump.

"Are you serious?" Peter said, disbelief etched on his face.

"Always. Poke holes in it."

Peter relaxed. "How about it's so obvious a child could see through it?"

"Therein lies the beauty."

"Maximus might show, but how do we get Daimhin there? If she knows where Ava is, she'll go after her. She isn't about to meet up somewhere all civilised. Actually scratch what I said before, Maximus won't either."

"Then we plant a seed," Eddie said with his eyes closed.

I felt that strange presence in the room again. Ignoring it, I piped up. "We could let it be known that I'll be at a certain place and see if they'll race to get me first."

"I suppose I could let it slip to Becca," Peter said. "Although, if that was Maximus outside tonight, he'll be back no matter what we say or do. And we'll have to talk to someone with Daimhin's ear too."

A look pa.s.sed between the two men, I didn't know why, but it made me uncomfortable.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Eddie said.

"But what's to stop them from tearing Ava apart anyway? She could get hurt by accident."

"Surely you don't care about that," Eddie said with a calculating glint in his eye.

"Of course not." Peter glared at Eddie. "But still, there's no way we can kidnap a vampire. I mean come on, let's be realistic here."

"Why not?" Eddie said. "You've killed worse than a vampire. Ava is part vampire, and the thrall can give Carl above average strength."

"Killing something is a bit different than kidnapping an evil being and making him talk without attracting the attention of warring vampires."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Eddie said.

I yawned loudly, barely able to keep my eyes open.

"You need to sleep," Eddie said.

"Maybe we should go home." I was reluctant to fall asleep at his place.

"They're still outside, waiting. They'll be there until dawn approaches. Best to get some sleep now and figure things out in the morning. Come on, I'll show you to your room."

He stood up. Evidently, the discussion was over.

"Let's go, Carl," I said, nudging him. "Beddy byes."

Carl and I followed Peter out of the room and up a narrow staircase. I was surprised to see upstairs resembled a real home. A nicely furnished one. Thick lush carpets covered the floor, and the walls displayed watercolour paintings. Eddie led us to the very end of the hallway and opened the last door.

"This is where you'll be sleeping for the night. Sorry you have to share. There's a bathroom right next door."

He said goodnight and left us to our own devices. The room itself was moderately large and furnished in gold and plum velvet. A little too heavy for my taste, but I appreciated the effort that had gone into it. A large double bed sat in the centre of the room. A small lounger was in the corner, and the rest of the furniture was dark mahogany.

Peter s.h.i.+fted his feet, obviously ill at ease. I realised there was one bed for the three of us. Hesitating, I looked at the lounger, thinking I might fit on it.

"You can have the bed, Ava."