Serafina and the Silent Vampire (25 page)

“Bring any in with you?” Jilly asked.

Sera sighed. “Didn’t think of it till right now.”

Elspeth, coming in from the kitchen, said, “There’s a bottle of vodka downstairs.”

Jilly made a noise like a squeaky door, which meant she was trying not to laugh. But Sera decided one honest admission deserved another.

“I know,” she said.

“Shall I bring it up?”

“Elspeth, I already owe you three bottles.”

Elspeth smiled faintly. “I know.”

She turned and went out. Listening to the measured thud of her feet on the stairs, Sera exchanged glances with the other two. “Guess I’m not as smart as I thought I was.”

“Maybe,” Jack said. “Or maybe she’s just smarter than we ever gave her credit for.”

“Sera gave her credit,” Jilly said. “Everyone gets credit off Sera till they blow it.”

Sera frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“How’s Blair’s credit?”

“He’s still prepared to help us, so I suppose it’s high enough.” Sera shifted uncomfortably in her chair, listening to the sounds of Elspeth’s return. “Where’s Melanie? Still asleep?”

“Yep. Whatever she’s doing—or failing to do—it takes it out of her.”

Sera took the proffered bottle from Elspeth, and slowly raised her eyes to the older woman’s face. The bottle was unopened.

Elspeth said, “You don’t owe anyone, Sera.”

Sera smiled. “Neither do you.”

Jilly followed Sera to the kitchen to get glasses and mixers. “She knows, doesn’t she?” Jilly said, rummaging in the fridge.

“That I was the kid she stuck up for? I think maybe she always knew after all.”

“You know, I think I like Elspeth.”

“Easy, Jilly. You might find yourself liking Jack soon.”

“Nah,” said Jilly, emerging with a bottle of tonic and a carton of orange juice.

“Small ones only,” Sera said as they set everything down on the table. “And then an early night.”

“Yes, boss,” Jack said, reaching for the vodka bottle. Elspeth stuck with orange juice, which no one saw fit to comment on.

Abruptly, Sera said, “Blair thinks Mel needs to be closer to the vampires for the spell to work.”

“Can we trust Blair, though?” Jack asked.

I don’t know. I don’t know who or what he is.
Aloud, she said steadily, “In this, I think so. He wants the same thing as us. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t want revenge for the fire.”

“The fire could have convinced him he needs to play ball with Smith,” Jilly pointed out. “You always said he wanted a peaceful life.” She waved one expressive hand. “Existence. Whatever.”

Sera chose to ignore that. It had already crossed her mind. But she couldn’t bear the being who had kissed her
like that
to be betraying her at the same time. It was her weakness, and she needed to allow for it.

“He also said I could channel energy to Mel to make her stronger.”

“You can.” Mel’s voice spoke from the bedroom doorway, and when Sera turned, she was already walking toward them. She looked wide awake and businesslike, despite her sleep-crumpled clothes and tousled hair, and her eyes gleamed with new excitement. She sat down beside Sera and carefully poured herself a small vodka, which she drank neat, before she turned to face Sera. “That is, you
probably
can. I should have thought of this before.”

“Thought of what before?” Sera asked, bewildered.

“What Blair said.” Mel drew a deep breath. “I keep waiting for you to ask about your mother, but you never do. I can understand that. Reality so often pollutes a pleasant dream. But I’m going to tell you now anyhow, because you need to know. Did you guess that she was a witch? That I knew her because she was teaching me?”

Somewhere, it had entered Sera’s head, although she hadn’t wanted it to be true—for the same trivial reasons she hated Nicholas Smith being psychic. Now, staring at Mel, she merely nodded curtly. There was more than her ego involved here,

Mel said, “I was her—apprentice, if you like. She was a strong witch, with many gifts, which formed, I think, part of her attraction to your father. Whatever, she stayed grounded. She was a good person and strong. Strong enough to see Nick eventually for what he was and to move on without him. But I digress. One of her gifts was gathering other people’s energy for her own purposes.”

“What kind of energy?” Jilly asked uneasily.

“All kinds. Spiritual and emotional; from the living and the dead. She could pass it on to people to heal them, but I know it can be channeled to others too, to link power if you like.” She turned back to Sera. “You might have that gift too.”

Sera tried to laugh. It came out brittle and unhappy. “Why would you think that? Because I’m her daughter? Everything isn’t inherited. It’s not all about blood.”

“No. But in this case, it helps. I’ve felt something when you touch me. Everyone sensitive must feel it. Maybe you’re not just reading what’s inside them; maybe you’re giving your own positive energy.”

“Melanie, that’s shite,” Sera said and downed her remaining vodka and orange too fast.

“No, it isn’t,” said quite another voice inside her head, and instantly, she felt the blood rush through her body. “I’m outside your door.”

“Come in,” Sera said, waving her empty glass expansively.

“What?” Jack said, confused.

Sera sighed, although her heart was beating like a drum. It wasn’t all warning. “It’s Blair. He’s coming up.”

Blair entered the room silently and sat down beside Elspeth, who looked at his damaged face without comment. She didn’t move away from him. He wore the leather trousers and biker jacket she’d seen earlier—and Sera finally accepted that the helmeted biker she’d seen outside his house was him. That was how he got around during the day, preserving his eyes and his skin from the damaging sunlight. And on a motorbike, his feet would rarely touch the ground, and so she’d been unable to track him from his house this evening.

His hands were hidden in his lap, but despite the darkness of their previous encounter, Sera was sure the burn on the side of his face was smaller.

“You look better,” she said, pushing the bottle toward him.

He smiled. “Blood cures most things. In a vampire. No thanks, I can’t stay.”

Bugger you, then
, she thought before she could help it. Why should he stay? There’d be no privacy here with her flat full of people. “Then what do you want?” she snapped.

“Some friends of mine will drop in on you tonight—hopefully while I’m here.”

“Will they eat us?” Sera asked flippantly.

Around her, her already bewildered friends looked startled or alarmed, according to their natures.

Blair said, “They might, if you ask them nicely. They’ve agreed to help, and they can protect you from vampires when I’m not around.”

Jack said, “Please tell us the answer to the eating question was no.”

Hastily, Sera repeated what Blair had said, while Blair himself sat unmoving, watching his hands rather than the people around him. It came to her that he was tired, exhausted even. Perhaps his body used up all its energy—and stolen blood—in healing his wounds.

I won’t care,
she thought desperately, and his gaze lifted unexpectedly to hers.

However, he only said, “You want to finish with Smith quickly. I can bring the vampires together for you and your witch tomorrow night. Think of a suitable place, preferably large and open. You’ll have to be able to hide somewhere close by so that you can see what’s going on and cast your spells.”

Sera opened and closed her mouth. She felt like some brainless goldfish, floundering. Worse, some vague sense of alarm had begun to prickle her skin. Shrugging it off, she repeated what Blair had said to the others.

“What will they be doing there?” she asked him.

He stood up. “Talking finance with me.”

Sera sprang to her feet. Her alarm was no longer vague. It surged through her. “Something’s out there!” she exclaimed. “Vampires!”

“Oh shite,” said Jilly as they all stumbled to their feet and reached for the stakes Sera had insisted they carry at all times. Only Blair seemed completely unmoved, blinking almost sleepily as he gazed around the panicked humans. In sudden silence, they looked at each other, waiting.

Something knocked against the living room window. Sera jumped, and Elspeth let out a squeal.

“Shit,” Jack exclaimed. “They’re at the windows! Can they get in?”

Blair sighed in Sera’s head. It felt weird, as close to real breath as she’d ever feel from him. “They’re not bankers,” he said mildly. “They’re my friends. Let them in.”

“You let them in,” Sera retorted, moving forward with her stake as she flung back at her friends, “They’re Blair’s friends.”

“I really don’t see that makes it any better,” Jilly said grimly while Blair strolled forward and pulled back the curtain. A woman with jet-black hair and white skin clung there, pressing herself to the glass and revealing her fangs. She wore a full-skirted, brightly colored dress.

“Lord God Almighty,” Elspeth whispered.

Blair stood aside. There was the click of the window unlocking, and then the sash began to rise. The woman seemed to liquefy, snaking inside and reforming on the floor. In fact, Sera knew she’d never lost her form, merely moved very fast as Blair did, but somehow that didn’t make the sight less ominous, particularly as she was followed at once by a tall, broad-shouldered man in a dinner jacket with black tie.

The woman didn’t so much as glance at them. She floated to Blair and embraced him, pulling down his head to kiss his lips before she scanned his face.

She was beautiful. Probably the most beautiful woman Sera had ever seen. Certainly the most beautiful vampire. And Sera was sure she’d seen her before. She had, in her vision of Blair during one of their early encounters, and in Jamie’s memories from Blair’s sitting room floor. For Blair, she was a mixture of joy and sadness and powerful affection, and for some reason, that hurt. So did the power radiating from her.

So concerned was she with the woman that she didn’t notice the man’s approach until he stood in front of her, searching her face with open appreciation. Sera blinked, hoping she’d suppressed the startled jump of her nerves.

This being gave Blair a run for his money in terms of looks. Jet-black hair and even features, a tall, well-built body, and amused admiration gleaming in his dark, profound eyes.

“So you are Serafina,” he said softly in her mind, almost like a caress. At the same time, he took her hand and raised it to his lips.

She snatched it back. “Yes, I’m Serafina. And you’re out of order. Next time, ring the sodding bell.”

The vampire blinked, then began to laugh. His lips smiled, revealing his fangs. “Why, you are enchanting.”

Blair said, “Sera, Sebastian.” Even telepathically, his voice sounded resigned. “And this is Ailis.”

Sera turned with strange reluctance to meet the female vampire. Ailis, the oldest vampire Blair knew, the one who had turned him in the eighteenth century. She’d been made by the legendary Founder, and yet she didn’t look a day over twenty-five, if you ignored her eyes, which were as ancient and as incomprehensible as a Pictish standing stone.

And Ailis didn’t like her. “Sweet,” the vampiress pronounced, in the same tone of voice she might have said,
Yuck
. She strolled past to get a better view of the others and waved one languid arm. “These are the humans you want us to protect?”

“Sebastian will do for tonight,” Blair said. “Phil needs you.”

“Then I’ll meet you outside,” said Ailis. She cast a last glance around the humans, including Sera in her sweep, and then she shimmied under the window again and disappeared. Sera followed her and shut the window with a snap. It rattled.

Blair stood by Sebastian, glaring into his eyes, but whatever communication passed between them was out of her “hearing.” At last, while the humans exchanged uneasy glances around them, Sebastian shrugged and folded himself into the sofa.

“I’m on watch,” he said blandly to Sera. “What are you going to show me?”

“Does he have to stay here?” Sera demanded. “I’ve told you, Nicholas Smith won’t hurt me.”

“His vampires might, outside of his presence. And I wouldn’t trust Arthur not to branch out on his own.”

“No? Well, I’m not sure
he
won’t branch out on his own either.” She jerked her head at Sebastian.

“He won’t,” Blair said grimly.

Sebastian laughed, but Blair ignored him and walked to the living room door.

“Holyrood Park,” Sera said suddenly, and Jilly’s head jerked round in alarm.

Blair turned back to Sera.

“An open place for the vampires,” Sera said. “And Jilly’s flat overlooks it.”

Blair nodded. “Set up there tomorrow without drawing attention to yourselves. I’ll be in touch.”

Ailis sat on the bed at Phil’s side, her wrist to his mouth. He drank her powerful blood greedily, watching her all the time, like a baby being fed by its mother. She stroked his hair with her free hand. “Poor Phil. You’ll do better now. Especially if you stay away from Blair.”

Gentle but firm, she detached her wrist from his teeth and watched the wound close up almost immediately.

Phil licked his teeth. “Thank you.” The thought was like a sigh as he drifted into a proper rest, free now of all but the dullest pain.

Ailis glanced up at Blair. “You look as if you could use some too. Going after him was foolish. You could both have died.”

“We didn’t.” Blair took her outstretched hand but merely kissed it before releasing it. “I’m fine.”

“The psychic girl’s blood is so strong?”

“I haven’t drunk her blood since it happened.”

“Why ever not?”

“I’m saving it for rainy day. What was the monster show at her window all about?”

Ailis laughed. “It was Sebastian’s idea. We thought it would be amusing, which it was, although rather more at Sebastian’s expense than he’d intended. The humans didn’t react as he’d hoped.”

“They’ve got too used to vampires to be more than wary. If you want the screaming ab-dabs, you’ll have to go elsewhere.”

Blair walked out of the bedroom and across the hall to the sitting room, where he poured two glasses of whisky from the bottle Phil hadn’t got around to.

Ailis took the proffered glass from him. “I’m glad to see you keeping your promise to me and looking after things here.”

Blair curled his lip. “What, presiding over an invasion of zombie vampires obedient to a perverse human? Yes, I’ve looked after things extraordinarily well.”

“So, you’re dealing with it before it gets out of hand. My only criticism is that you’re relying too much on humans.”

“They can do it. If we take care of the vampires.”

“I could take care of Smith.”

“I’m sure you could. Physically.”

Ailis smiled. Her eyed flashed green, then black. “I have other weapons in my arsenal.”

Blair, who knew he hadn’t discovered anything like all of them, merely drank his whisky and murmured, “I know you do.”

Ailis sat on the sofa and stroked its velvet arm with one hand. She smiled. “Ingenious and amusing idea, though. Smith’s. And banking. Why didn’t we think of it?”

Her gaze held his, and he let it. He said, “I don’t know.”

****

“Energy,” Sera said, sitting bolt upright on her living room floor. It was still dark. Beside her, Jilly groaned and pulled the sleeping bag over her ears. “There’d be energy from a fight, wouldn’t there? That’s what he’s going to do. That’s why he brought the others, just as he said he would. To fight them long enough to give us energy.”

“Sounds like comic-book nonsense to me,” Jack said, his voice muffled from the other side of the room.

“Makes perfect sense to
me
,” Melanie said sleepily from the sofa.

“And it serves the double purpose of keeping their numbers down,” Sera added.

“Unless he’s joining them,” Jilly said, pushing the sleeping bag down from her face and propping her chin on her hand.

“Then why plant protection on us?” Sera asked, jerking her hand toward the hall, where they could hear the vampire pacing.

“Doesn’t have to be protection. Could be a spy. Or an assassin.”

“Well, he’s clearly a crap assassin,” Sera said wryly. What’s more, he was getting nervous about the approaching dawn. Waves of unease, instinctive and unhidden, rolled into her from him. Since everyone was now awake, she called, “Hey, Sebastian!”

The vampire didn’t appear to her command. But he did speak flippantly inside her head. “You rang?”

“Feel free to leave whenever you want,” she offered.

“I do. This is too good a time to attack, when they assume Blair has stood down. I’ll wait as long as I can. But I apologize in advance for any abrupt exit.”

“You’re very polite,” she observed.

There was a pregnant pause. “Not always.”

When the vampire had finally bolted, they ate breakfast. To Sera, it felt curiously like the last supper. After which, Jilly took Melanie off to her flat, Jack and Elspeth were sent to open Serafina’s as normal. And Sera went to see Ferdinand Bell.

As he opened the front door to her, she tugged down the string of garlic hanging above it. His eyes dilated. “Jason’s dead?”

“No more than he has been since the night of the party.” She stepped past him, reaching up to unhook the nearest cross from the hall wall. “I thought you’d have realized by now that this stuff doesn’t work. Jason’s been here since he was turned, you know.”

“But he didn’t harm us.”

“That’s to do with you and Jason, not this. It’s time it came down.” She walked into the nearest room, unstringing garlic, unhooking crosses and dropping them into the capacious bag she’d brought for the purpose. “It doesn’t work, Mr. Bell. I was winding you up because I didn’t believe in vampires, and I didn’t really think you did either. Turns out life—and death—is rather more complicated than that. But this stuff doesn’t help. I’ll take it all down for you.”

He followed her from room to room, watching and holding the ladder for her where necessary. Having something to do made it easier to talk. “I’m sorry I didn’t earn the fee I charged you. If it makes you feel better, I believe Jason would have been turned anyway. The events at the party just led me to understand what was going on. It’s a conspiracy, headed by a human but involving the creation of obedient vampires in the financial sector. I think I know how to stop it, and if I’m right, tomorrow things will be back to normal. Jason may be totally dead by then. I’m sorry, and I’ll arrange your refund.”

She dropped another cross into the bag and folded the ladder.

Ferdy took it from her with a sad little smile. “A refund won’t be necessary. You may not have earned your fee that night, but you earned it since. I’m a stupid, gullible old fool, but at least I know you’re looking after us—and Jason—as best you can.”

Sera’s throat closed up. There were other things she wanted to ask him, about his wishes for Jason, but it was the wrong time to ask. She’d no idea if Jason would survive in any form, and if he did, what kind of a vampire he’d make without Smith’s hold.

Ferdy said, “Can I help at all?”

Sera looked at him. “Maybe you can. Pray. After dark, think of me—and of Jason—and pray as hard as you can.”

His smile was lopsided. “Is that to keep me out of the way?”

Sera’s lips quirked unhappily in response. “Yes,” she admitted. “And to give me all the positive energy I can get.”

****

Melanie had set all her stuff up on a table under Jilly’s living room window, which overlooked Holyrood Park. Jilly’s tenement flat was two floors up, and if you looked to the right, you could glimpse Holyrood Palace—scene of gruesome murder in the reign of Mary Queen of Scots and present-day official Edinburgh residence of Queen Elizabeth. Directly in front were some trees and a large expanse of green grass, beyond which was the loch, surrounded by people feeding ducks and swans, and the distinctive hill known as Arthur’s Seat.

Sera, enjoying the brief spell of peace along with the beauty of the view, felt as if she were playing hooky. Melanie had gone shopping, and Jilly’d gone back to Serafina’s, where Sera knew she should also be. Soon.

She tried to imagine what the park would look like tonight, full of battling vampires trying to kill each other while she and Mel tried to spell them into normal disobedience. There would be a huge crowd of banking vampires, many more than they’d seen at Smith’s. And against them would stand Blair, Ailis, Sebastian—and Phil, so badly burned he could barely move. To Sera, it didn’t look like good odds. Even once the obedience spell was broken, there was nothing to stop the banking vampires continuing to fight Blair just for the hell of it.

And what if she couldn’t summon the power Melanie needed? She’d never tried anything like this before. It was unknown and scary territory, and it would be a bloody awful time to fail. Oddly, it was only Blair’s faith in her ability that had made her agree to the attempt.

The door buzzer interrupted her rather bleak thoughts. She walked across the hall to answer, and a familiar voice said, “Hello. It’s Tam. Hello?” he added when surprise kept Sera silent.

“Tam, it’s Sera. Jilly’s at work.”

“I know. She told me I’d find you here.”

Sera pressed the button that released the lock and listened to the sound of Tam’s large feet running up the stairs.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked lightly as his bulk appeared outside the flat door. “Tea?”

“Sure.” The flat seemed to shrink as Tam filled the hall and then lowered himself into one of the kitchen chairs. She’d missed his large, comforting presence, his blunt, almost ugly features, and she felt a rush of affection as he fixed her with his serious gaze. “Jilly’s been telling me all the shite that actually went down at that vampire party. Could’ve knocked me down with a feather.” He leaned forward, offering his head. “You still could.”

“Run out of feathers,” Sera said dryly. “Weird happenings, eh?”

“And that bloke Blair, in the kilt—he really bit me, aye?”

“Aye. Do you still not remember it?”

Tam frowned. “No. It feels a bit hazy, to be honest. Didn’t seem to matter at the time, but looking back, I must have had some kind of dizzy turn. As if I’d drunk too much, you know? Only I didn’t. I don’t remember him speaking to me, yet I knew his name, so he must have. I wasn’t lying to you, Sera. That is, I didn’t mean to.”

“I know that, Tam. And I’m sorry I checked up on you. It was just such a bloody weird night, and in spite of everything I know about you, it still seemed more likely that you were in league with another scammer than that there really were vampires running around posh parties biting large men the size of houses.”

Tam nodded sagely. “I see what you mean.”

“And I think he told you his name telepathically. You must be slightly psychic.”

He looked stunned by that but accepted his mug of tea from her and drank thoughtfully before setting it down on the kitchen table. “Jilly says he’s actually the good guy.”

Sera dropped into the chair opposite him. “Blair?” she said in disbelief. “Jilly said that?”

“Well, better than the other bad guys.”

“He’s our ally. We think.”

“I’ll come over this evening,” Tam said casually, “and watch your back.”

Touched, Sera said, “You don’t need to do that.”

“Might as well. Not working until pantomime season.”

Sera smiled. “Thanks, Tam.”

“No bother.” He drained his mug and stood up. “Right, got a couple of things to do. I’ll bring some food in with me this evening.”

For some reason, Sera felt uplifted by Tam’s visit. Perhaps it was his calm acceptance of events or his forgiveness or just his stoic loyalty, but it all added up to a lot.

Why could I not love Tam?
The wayward thought gate-crashed. She needed to avoid the L-word at all costs. But even burying herself in Melanie’s books and concentrating hard on what had been written about summoning and channeling energy couldn’t distract her from the knowledge that no one in her adult life had moved her as Blair did.

****

Alex McGowan’s patrol car was on its way back to the police station, driving past Serafina’s, when he spotted a well-known villain leaving her premises.

“Stop here a minute,” he said on impulse, and his partner obligingly pulled up at the curb. McGowan got out and walked across the street to the shop front. He’d wrestled a lot with himself over Serafina MacBride. From believing her to be the same scum of the earth who’d abused his mother’s grief to steal her entire life savings, he’d
almost
got to the stage of believing she could contact his dead sister if he could only make himself ask her.

And now lowlife Andy Kerr was visiting her.

Of course, Andy could have a spiritual side. Or Sera McBride could be involved in more serious crimes, like the Fountainbridge arson. Although he couldn’t quite imagine Sera’s reasons, Andy Kerr had been done for arson before.

McGowan opened the door and went in. The middle-aged receptionist was on the phone. The glamorous assistant—Jilly?—was at the desk behind her, staring intently at a computer screen. When McGowan coughed, she glanced up impatiently, then, presumably recognizing him, got to her feet and came toward him.

“Miss MacBride in?” Alex asked.

“No, sorry, she’s out right now. Can I take a message for her?”

“No thanks, Miss…?”

“Kerr. Jilly Kerr. We met the other night.”

Kerr?
Sera MacBride worked with a Kerr? Alex held Jilly’s gaze. “Are you related to the gentleman who just left here?”

Her eyes changed, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on how. “That’s no gentleman, Constable. That’s my brother.”

“Does he work here too?”

“Andy? Work? Of course, he doesn’t.”

“Then can I ask what his business was here?”

Her eyes flashed. She really was extraordinarily pretty. “Not without a bloody good reason.”

“Arson investigation’s a bloody good reason.”

Her lips parted. Her gaze dropped, then returned to his. “For what it’s worth, I’m sure Andy had nothing to do with Fountainbridge, if that’s what you’re talking about. He came to borrow money off me, if you must know.”

“D’you give him any?”

“Do I look stupid?” she countered. In fact, some people might make that mistake. On one level, she possessed a sort of doll-like beauty which, combined with blonde hair and glamorous clothes certainly not chosen from the top-of-the-range shops, gave her something the look of a bimbette. But sharp intelligence positively gleamed in those china-blue eyes, and her mouth was far too quick.

“Actually, no,” he replied. “Seen anything of the elusive Mr. Blair?”

“Nah,” she said at once. She looked him in the eye, but for the first time, Alex was sure she was lying.

Behind him, he heard movement from the inner office. He hoped it was Sera, but he said nothing. Then, just as the silence was stretching too long, another voice called from the office.