Page 10

Solace’s place was on the other side of the city, in a mostly disused industrial neighbourhood riddled with condemned buildings and overgrown, empty lots. Some of the better-kept warehouses at one end had been converted into offices and storage facilities, but the far end of the district was almost abandoned.

It was so cold out, and I was still so soaked, that I sat idling in the car for a long minute, warming my hands against the tiny car heater. Seven – Warehouse Seven – was about as unobtrusive as it got. Bordered on either side by other, larger warehouses, the only thing that marked it as unusual was the lack of windows. To the casual observer, it was just another neglected oblong of brick and the heavy, corrugated steel that Sheffield was known for. In reality, it was the ideal den: one roll-down security shutter that never opened, bricked-up windows and a single, small, heavily reinforced side door. Luckily, I wasn’t trying to break in.

I parked my car some distance away and stood for a moment, watching my breath cloud up in front of me. Seven had a strict no-weapons policy that I wasn’t a fan of, but I’d long since accepted. Still, it made me uneasy as I made my way across the lot.

At the door, I knocked three times and waited unsheltered as heavy drops of rain fell from the overhanging roof above, narrowly missing rolling right down the inside of Cole’s jacket. A male voice answered almost immediately.

“Yes?”

“I come seeking Solace,” I replied. The call and response was an unspoken declaration that I didn’t mean any harm. I hated it.

“And Solace you shall find.”

I cringed at the screeching sound of several bolts being drawn back, and the door opened inward. Stepping into the warehouse, I scanned the room as the male locked the door behind me – one more reason I could never relax in here, no matter how often I was driven to visit. Our truce was an uneasy one, and my mouth filled with the taste of copper.

Inside, the once-white brickwork was now peeling and flaking off through neglect, but large floodlights stood in each corner, bringing some semblance of life to the open space and ensuring the central area was brightly lit.

At the far end of the room was a raised platform built from old wooden pallets, criss-crossed by shadows from the truss system high above.

A collection of mismatched chairs stood around it in a mockery of a royal court, and I clocked that several of the seats were already occupied.

I counted the vamp who’d answered the door, six sitting in two groups and talking amongst themselves, and an eighth.

She was lying on the floor to one side of the platform, unmoving, her mousy hair splayed across the pale concrete.

On the dais was a moth-eaten, wing-backed velvet armchair, the once red fabric almost entirely faded to brown – guess she’d been redecorating.

The vampire seated there was lounging with one foot resting on her knee, the mobile phone in her hand and the smell of dampness in the air somewhat tempering her attempt at grandeur.

“Solace,” I called across the length of the room. Her eyes glistened darkly as she shot me a cool smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Erin Alexandra Elizabeth Conrad. To what do I owe the pleasure?” She put down her phone and leaned back into the depths of her seat, as obnoxious as ever. “Did we get caught in the rain?”

I made my way down the makeshift aisle created by the chairs and raised my eyes to her – the arrangement of the room was no accident, and she smirked a little at my obvious irritation .

Solace could have been no more than sixteen when she’d been sired, but she was at least four times that by now. Her glossy black hair hung loose down to the middle of her back, swinging as she stood at my approach. She wore close-fitting jeans and a sheer black shirt that accentuated every feminine curve of her body, as striking as the many other vampires I’d met – yet Solace had a little more edge than most. As always, her dark eyes were unreadable through their heavy ringing of kohl.

“I need information,” I kept my tone flat and ignored her comment. Her setup was designed to humiliate me and anyone else who needed her help, and I refused to give her any more satisfaction than I already had.

“If it were anyone other than you, I’d expect better manners, Erin.” She tilted her head, examining me. “What information could I have for you that you couldn’t get for yourself, hmm? I thought you were the local power?” Her innocent tone infuriated me, as I’m sure she knew it would.

“Well, since you seem to have acquired a frickin’ throne since I last saw you, seems like you might be the one with delusions of grandeur…” I shrugged. “But I’ll get to the point. Isabel Wyatt, Nicholas Murray and Adam Locke. What do you know?”

She stared long and hard at me before finally speaking. “The last one, I’ve got no clue,” she waved a hand dismissively in a gesture reminiscent of Adam’s that same morning. “I might have something on the others.”

“So they’re in the city?” I didn’t need her confirmation on Wyatt, but I wanted what she knew about Murray .

“Do you have something to bargain with?” She lifted a dark eyebrow.

“You owe me,” I reminded her.

She made a tutting noise behind her teeth. “No, Erin. I don’t think I do. That last little trick of yours cost me two guys. Useless they may have been, but they were mine .”

I tried not to smile at the memory, but I didn’t have time to argue over the details of who was responsible for what.

I glanced to either side of the aisle, mentally scrambling for something to bargain with. The nearness of so many vamps put me on edge, but I did my best to ignore it. Most of them were watching Solace, waiting to see what would happen – which made the conspicuously ducked blonde head by the unconscious girl all that more noticeable. I should have spotted her straight off – it was the one I’d let go in town, after Jonathan’s death. I jerked my head towards her, looking back toward Solace.

“Her,” I said. “She’s here, alive. I let her go.”

Solace laughed coldly. “It doesn’t work like that, Erin,” she paused, watching me. “That was weeks ago. I want future favours, something I can use . If I share what I know, then you, hunter, owe me one. In fact, you’ll owe me two, since I can tell you two things.” She held up two fingers, her nails filed to a point.

“Right. Because one piece of information would be far too straightforward for your little court here.”

“Mm-hmm. And where would be the fun in that?” Her dark eyes glittered.

My fingers twitched, itching for a weapon that wasn’t there. “ Fair enough. I’ll play. Tell me what you know.”

“First, why are you asking?” A look of calculation crept into her face, bizarrely mature on her youthful features.

I rolled my eyes. “None of your business.”

She held up her hands in mock offence. “Alright, if that’s how you want to be.”

“Tell me what you know, and you’ve earned two favours,” I repeated her terms.

Solace stood and assessed the vampires below her, obviously weighing up whether the information was worth keeping from them. Finally, she came forward and crouched in front of me, so she was almost at my eye level, bringing the aroma of sandalwood incense with her.

“Wyatt’s in town, but you already knew that. What I can tell you is, she’s wicked mad and she’s stirring things up.” She gave me a shrewd look. “According to my guys, she’s looking for Murray – she calls him Baird Murray – but I’ve given orders not to comply or approach. I can’t have someone like her drawing too much attention in the city, and she’s not one of mine. I don’t do handouts, no matter who you are.” Her voice was quiet, all humour gone.

“She’s already drawn too much attention. I’m looking for her, aren’t I?” I kept my voice low, too, but I knew the others would hear me.

“Yes, but so far only those in the know have noticed what she’s up to. And the deaths… well, they’re not enough to worry about yet, but there’s more than the usual number of bodies to clean up – vampires and humans. Definitely more than I’d at tribute to you , anyway.” For a moment, she looked worried. “It’s gone beyond the normal territorial stuff at this point, and it has to be her. Since you might be able to put a stop to the entitled old bat, I’ll tell you what I wouldn’t tell her.” She glanced around the room, apparently checking to see who was still listening.

“He’s here. Murray. He’s damn good at hiding, I’ll give him that much, but the cards don’t lie. I can sense more energy than I’d pick up from only one of the Old Ones,” her voice quickened. “The city is crackling with power. I can practically taste him in the air.”

“No one’s seen him, though?” I asked. I needed something more before my favour ran out. Solace’s ability to pick up on vampire energy was unrivalled, and I needed to know everything she did.

“No,” she said. “Like I said, he’s good at hiding. He could be anyone.”

“I’m working on a picture. That’d be a start,” I confided.

Solace shook her head. “It’s a waste of time. I’ve made it my business to know about the Old Ones, you know that – even the eyewitness accounts don’t add up.”

I nodded. I didn’t like it, but she was probably right. Solace straightened, and our bubble of confidence broke, all business again.

It wasn’t much, but it would have to be enough. I knew Solace wouldn’t have mentioned Murray if she wasn’t certain, whether she said so or not. I could never truly trust a vampire, but her reputation relied on her honesty, and I could trust her reputation was everything to her. If she was backing up Wyatt’s story, that was something I could use.

“I’ll let you know when I need to call in those favours, Erin,” Solace called over her shoulder as she returned to her seat, picking up a deck of tarot cards and shuffling them deftly.

It was clear she was dismissing me, but I didn’t move. As we’d talked, I’d tried to ignore the vamps in my peripheral vision. Now that we were done, I couldn’t help but notice that the blonde and the unconscious girl had vanished. I weighed it up. One exit, not much of a lead: I figured they couldn’t have gone far. And the neutrality agreement of Solace’s place only extended as far as the exit. After that, it was happy hunting. I’d worry about what favours I might owe later.

I thanked Solace without looking at her, and left in a hurry, not waiting for her lackeys to open the door.

Outside the storm had well and truly set in. I dashed toward my car, but Cole’s ancient leather jacket didn’t come with the convenience of a hood, and my hair plastered darkly to my face. I sighed. At least my feet were dry.

Pulling open the boot of my car offered a temporary reprieve, but I didn’t have time to linger if I wanted to catch up. I unzipped the black duffel bag tucked into the far corner and pulled out my favourite weapon: a neat, narrow sword. Old-fashioned? Maybe. Conspicuous? Definitely. But oh, so very pretty.

The shining blade had a gorgeous, distinctive wavy pattern to the steel that almost glowed in the stormy grey night, with thin lines of gold tracing down its length. I’d had it made at the same local workshop as my dagger, but in this larger form, the metal seemed to hold more magic, somehow. It wasn’t ideal for everyday use, but I had a certain fondness for its sturdy practicality. Beyond the chunk of raw citrine in the hilt and the gold inlays, there wasn’t much to it, but the thin blade was so highly polished I could see my face in it – and I kept my sword sharp .

Grasping the leather-wrapped handle and sheathing it, I strapped the scabbard over my jacket. Tom had tried to talk me into wearing it on my hip at first, but have you ever tried running with a blade banging against your leg? No thanks. On my back was safer – even if it had taken me weeks to figure out how to draw it without losing an ear. And who doesn’t look cool pulling a sword from their back?

Turning back to the rain, I closed my eyes against the downpour for a moment and attempted to centre myself. Rain hammered against the steel buildings around me, almost drowning out the noise from the busy dual carriageway beyond my sightline. I breathed deeply and let myself open up, tuning out every distraction. Intuition or instinct, it was hard to say how I could possibly know where the blonde had gone – but when I opened my eyes seconds later, I knew. Her presence pulsed in my mind like an icy blot, and I turned toward the feeling.

Across the lot, several smaller buildings were clumped together untidily in what I assumed was once some sort of admin area. I guessed the pissing-it-down rain had discouraged her from going too far, and I made my way over, keeping low out of habit. The first three buildings were empty and dark through the cracked and broken windows, but the fourth may as well have had a flashing neon sign above the door. Swathes of heavy, dark fabric had been hung haphazardly against the remaining glass, keeping the light in and the sun out.

Vampires. Masters of subtlety since… well, never.

I allowed myself a moment when I reached the door, and leaned back against the cold, wet metal of the wall. All the time I’d been speaking to Solace I’d worked hard to suppress the familiar goosebumps that announced the presence of nearby vampires. Now, I let the sensation flood through me – I could sense at least two of them – and I wasn’t willing to let anyone go this time. The sour tang of metal flooded my mouth, and I swallowed, turning to slide open the door.

It was much darker inside, and I blinked to let my eyes adjust. The sole source of light in the warehouse was a small fire in the far-right corner that filled the air with smoke – almost but not quite hiding the smell of damp and mildew in the air. The blonde was slouched on a decrepit old sofa that hid most of the fire from view, but its light cast shadows across the corrugated walls, and I could make out enough to form a vague plan.

The young girl I’d seen before was slumped unconscious in a broken deckchair by the sofa, her chin on her chest and her breathing shallow. Her arm was outstretched, and her hand rested palm up on the arm of the sofa beside her, where the blonde’s long fingernails stroked it, almost caressing. Bite marks and long shallow cuts marred the girl’s arm, and I wondered how long the blonde had been keeping her around .

I drew my sword, and the sound of the metal on leather finally got the blonde’s attention. She dropped the girl’s hand, jumped up and spun to face me.

“You!” she spat. “You can’t be here, not with that,” she nodded toward the blade, but her gaze darted to the door. “Solace’s place is a sanctuary.”

I had to laugh. “Is that what you think? A sanctuary?” The stuff vamps convinced themselves of never ceased to amaze me. “It’s a neutral zone for passing information, you idiot. She’d no more hide you in there than she’d hide me – not if it put her neck on the line.” I took a few slow steps toward her, keeping my sword steady. “Besides, this doesn’t look like her place to me.”

Frustration flashed across her face as I closed the space between us, and she snuck a glance at the girl. Apparently, it hadn’t occurred to her that setting up in the far corner meant she had further to go to get to the door.

“Who is she?” I asked.

“She’s here by choice. You can’t kill me for that.” Something like incredulity made its way into her voice.

“Right,” I replied flatly. “Because I need a reason.”

She took a step back, away from both me and the girl. Strange. She seemed more than ready to bolt despite her arrogance the last time we’d met. But on second look, I had to admit – something was off. Her hair was dirty and bedraggled, her previously immaculate manicure now chipped. In stretched-out tracksuit bottoms and a torn baby tee, she was barely recognisable as the polished vamp I’d fought before. Maybe she was just having a crappy day, but my intuition disagreed – bad hair days didn’t normally come with a healthy dose of fear, and I couldn’t help but think there might be something more sinister behind the change in her.

It was a fairly small space, and a few steps toward her closed the gap between us. I raised the point of my sword up and under her chin in a single smooth movement, but she never shifted. The tip rested at her throat. I could kill her in moments – and still, she made no move to escape.

“What happened to you?” I asked, genuinely curious despite myself. “You look like shit.” Her answer wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference to how dead she was going to be – but she hadn’t even attempted to come at me. And by now, my heightened senses were singing. I wanted her to fight. I needed it.

Her eyes flicked to the girl again, returning to stare at something behind me. A peculiar look of glazed contentment came across her face, but I didn’t buy it.

“It’s my night off,” she answered finally. Dreamily. “I’ve still got to eat, you know?”

Urgh. “She’s a kid. Not a bloody Happy Meal.”

A snort of laughter came from the shadows somewhere to my left, a movement where before there had only been darkness. A figure dragged himself upright from the floor, and into the flickering light from the fire. I’d guess he was maybe mid-thirties – or he had been when he was turned – and not exactly in his prime. From the smears of what was probably blood down the front of his faded blue hoodie to the oversized jeans and wallet chain, he was the embodiment of a total waster.

“This Happy Meal was delivered to the door. Can’t go turning these things down.” He smirked, unsteady on his feet. If I didn’t know better I’d say he was stoned out of his nut, but I wasn’t sure vamps could even get high. Tom might know, though.

“This is the hunter girl you were on about?”

“Shut up, Will,” she snapped, apparently feeling a little more herself again.

“Doesn’t look like much,” he shrugged, moving closer and planting his feet. “Not sure how she got the drop on Michelle.” He crossed his arms across his chest, eyelids half lowered.

“I’ve never heard that before.” I rolled my eyes. “Can I kill one of you at a time, please? Is that too much to ask?” I kept talking, but I was annoyed at my stupidity. I should have finished her quickly, but as usual, I was too damn nosy.

“Give it a shot.” He uncrossed his arms and dropped his body slightly, his knees bent in some semblance of a predator. “I mean, you already lost to our April once…”

“I showed mercy,” I flicked my sword downward to hover over the blonde’s heart, the blade poised. “But I was having a pretty shitty day.”

I thrust it forward, and her soft flesh broke all at once. As the tip hit muscle, I paused. It wasn’t enough to kill her yet, but it would seriously hurt. She gasped, choking as blood bubbled up between her lips.

“I’ll be taking the girl,” I nodded towards the deck chair.

“You can’t. We need her—” he started, his eyes on the sword as he backed away a little.

“Funny thing. I don’t really care what you need, Will .” I put as much of my revulsion into his name as I could muster. “Or who told you it was safe . Solace’s so-called protection doesn’t extend to scum like you feeding on children. In fact, there’s no way I’d let you get away with that even in Seven.”

“None of us are safe anyway,” he muttered, looking around again. “Not with what’s out there—” He broke off abruptly, like he’d said too much.

I’d seen some truly disgusting, vile behaviour from vampires over the years – and while Will and April’s type weren’t the worst of it, they were pretty close to the bottom in my opinion. I’d truly never understand how anyone who used to be human could do what they were doing.

From my position, in the light of the fire, I could see bruises and bite marks on every exposed inch of the girl’s skin; some half-healed, some still oozing. She was nothing but a living, breathing food source – permanently on the brink between unconsciousness and waking, and too weak to fight or argue.

The blonde made a faint gurgling noise as she tried to speak. “You have to let her—”

My eyes still on the girl, I thrust the sword deeper into her chest, puncturing her heart and twisting the blade as I tugged the weapon back out. She collapsed to the ground, already behind me as I strode towards the teen, who had slid from her chair to the filthy floor, her breathing shallow. I felt the precise moment the blonde’s life flickered out in the back of my mind – a sense of relief; like a weight had been lifted. I shivered, and stood taller.

Will was quicker than I’d anticipated. Already closer to the girl than I was, he had no trouble grabbing her while I was still paces away. He yanked her roughly to her feet, carrying most of her weight with ease, and began to pull her towards the exit.

Before he got far, I seized the girl’s other arm, wrenching the pair of them around to swing my bloodied sword up between his legs. He baulked.

“I don’t care how she got here, but she’s not staying.” I hissed the words through gritted teeth, trying to keep a firm grip on the girl with my left hand. My elbow protested at the strain, still not fully healed.

Will didn’t say a word, so I nudged the blade upward. All at once, he released the girl, who crumpled to the floor with a thud.

He raised his hands in surrender. “I didn’t bring her here – I swear. She was a gift.”

I laughed humourlessly. “Oh, so that makes it okay?” I paused, unable to resist. “A gift from who?”

“I can’t—” He stopped in a panic as I twitched the sword again and glanced around. “I can’t tell you that.”

I glared at him. Less than five minutes ago he’d been another cocky vamp. Now there was genuine fear in his eyes – and I had the uncomfortable feeling it had nothing to do with me. Neither he nor April had tried to defend themselves. It was almost like they thought someone would protect them.

In the seconds it took to come to this conclusion, he seemed unable to stop looking between the weapon in my hand and the rest of the room. I couldn’t sense anyone else with us, but I could have sworn he thought he was being watched – and I was beginning to think he might be right.

“Murray?” I whispered.

His gaze whipped to my face, his eyes widening in a warning. Without thinking, I pulled back the sword and sank it into his chest, deep into his heart and straight through. His face went slack. As I retrieved the blade from his rib cage, he fell to the ground, a puddle of dark blood spreading beneath him. I took a step back to avoid dirtying my boots and caught the girl’s arm to pull her away, too.

Shit. Why the fuck did I do that?

The tingling beneath my skin eased off, but it wasn’t gone. I cast my senses out into the night, throwing them as far as I could – nothing. Yet somehow, I knew there was someone else in the warehouse. There were still eyes on me, but I saw and felt no one. And I’d just – stupidly – killed my best lead. What was wrong with me?

I shivered. If there was something in here protecting vamps, or even just scaring them into obedience, I needed to get out now . The undead I could handle, but something that evaded my senses… Now wasn’t the time to start something I couldn’t win. Trying to appear as though I didn’t suspect anything, I heaved the girl across the room and gently rested her against the wall by the exit while I finished up. She wasn’t conscious enough to see what that entailed, thankfully.

Staring down at the female vampire, I had to remind myself for the thousandth time that despite how she might look now, she wasn’t human. It was much harder to tell when they were dead. And I wanted to be certain she was – which meant her head needed to come off.

I could still feel the goosebumps under my jacket. My heart was pounding, adrenaline pumping through me like icy water. Trying to seem nonchalant, I removed the heads of the two vamps as fast as I could manage, throwing them into the bonfire by their hair and cleaning my sword on Will’s filthy hoodie.

I didn’t stay to watch them burn. Grabbing the girl, I fled.

***

A t the precise moment the fiery-haired girl slammed the door behind her, the vampire straightened and dropped to the ground from the topmost metal strut of the warehouse roof. It had followed the hunter on foot and had no trouble getting into the building unseen.

It moved to stand in the doorway, the building’s steel frame shaking in the storm’s wind. The vampire’s gaze followed the girl closely as she half-carried the younger one to her vehicle, strapped her into the passenger seat and drove away. It breathed deeply of her bouquet, still lingering in the warmed air. It wasn’t time yet to taste her. But soon.