Taunt (12 page)

“
Perhaps it would be wise to play down your injury,” Eddie said
slowly. “If anyone asks, it was a flesh wound. No penetration. The
silver bullets could have been a test, too.”

“
Yeah,
that too. I mean, the vampire kept pulling back at first. I
couldn’t understand why he didn’t just go for it.” I groaned. “I am
so bloody stupid. Daimhín gave me directions straight to Maximus’s
room. It wasn’t locked; there were very few guards or humans
around. It was too damn easy, and I was so grateful, I didn’t even
think twice to consider how suss it looked. I just wanted him dead.
And they banked on that.”

The car swerved a
little. “Sorry,” Peter said. “This is our fault, Eddie. We got her
into this mess, and they just ran with it. We have to fix
this.”

I swore inwardly.
How could I not see everything that was right in front of me? I was
so glad for the chance to get rid of Maximus that I let myself get
tangled further in the schemes of a couple of vampires. I saw
everything through new eyes and wanted to scream at my own
stupidity.

“
Daimhín never wanted to kill me, did she? She just wanted
Maximus to think that, to push him. Gideon was probably whispering
in his ear the whole time. And his vampires, they didn’t do
anything to me for a while, just followed me around, intimidated
me. Becca and Daimhín tried to make me afraid of them so I was on
edge. They provoked me until I reacted, and I fell for it!” It was
all so obvious now that I could see the big picture. Daimhín hadn’t
saved me. She’d used me to get her own way, and now I was going to
die for her.

“
Pretty good plan really,” Peter said. “If Daimhín had killed
Maximus, she would have had to face the Council and explain
herself. That nearly always brings up other deceits. This way, she
has her coven, and her biggest opponent is dead; their coven is
smaller, and her own little bitch is in charge of them.”

“
Except he isn’t really her bitch anymore,” I reminded him. “He
sold her out, too, at the hearing.”

“
Bet
Daimhín didn’t expect that,” Peter said. I gave a little laugh, but
I wasn’t amused. They were all a bunch of devious animals, and I
was stuck in the middle.

“
Investigating Daimhín will also keep the Council busy.” Eddie
sounded thoughtful. “Gideon might be smarter than we
thought.”

“
He
keeps the Council busy for a while. Why? To do what?” I wondered
aloud.

“
Did
you see how pissed he was when I brought up what he’s doing to
humans?” Peter said. “I reckon there’s something happening with
that. Something big. He needs the Council to be distracted. Maybe
they’re already suspicious, and he wants them on a bigger trail. Or
maybe he wants Daimhín caught up in this trial to do something
under her nose. I bet it’s to do with the formula they’re injecting
in humans. If we could get some of it and show the Council, they
would have to investigate him fully.”

“
Keep
out of that, Peter. It’s none of our business.” Eddie’s voice rose
in anger, but I didn’t see understand what Peter had said to
provoke his rage.

“
The
Council should know he can’t be trusted,” Peter argued.

“
There’s nothing we can do about that.” Eddie raised his hands.
“Let’s figure out how to battle the accusations against
Ava.”

“
What’s the point?” I said. “I can’t change how I was
made.”

Eddie looked at
me. “Ava, they’ll ask you about your heritage, your
creation.”

“
I
won’t tell them anything,” I said stubbornly.

“
You
won’t have a choice. The truth may be revealed before you’re ready
for it.” Eddie’s eyes softened. “Prepare yourself for surprises,
Ava. The Council has a way of exposing the truth.”

“
We’ll
see.” I folded my arms, unwilling to discuss it. I’d gotten
tortured to try and make me reveal my heritage; it hadn’t worked. I
hadn’t gone through that only to reveal all to the next group of
supernatural beings who asked.

“
Don’t
worry, Ava. I’ll figure this out for you. I’ll make sure you stay
safe.” Eddie sounded kind, but I knew he wasn’t as unassuming as he
sounded. I wasn’t sure what his idea of safe was, but it definitely
wasn’t parallel to mine.

As soon as I
stepped into Eddie’s shop, I felt trapped. I was under his custody;
I couldn’t leave, couldn’t get away from him. That sucked. Peter
had driven off as soon as we got out of the car but arranged to
meet us the next day. Being alone with Eddie was instantly
uncomfortable. A lot of unresolved tension wedged between
us.

“
I
need to sleep,” I said. “I didn’t get much… back there.”

“
Understandable. Head on up to your room.”

I raised my
eyebrows, disliking the word
your
.

“
Goodnight, Ava. We’ll sort this out tomorrow.” He gestured
toward the stairs.

Once upstairs,
the cool presence returned, and I was surprised by my relief. It
breathed softly on my cheek as I lay in the giant bed, staring at
the ceiling, too stressed to fall asleep.

Everything was
spiralling out of control, and I couldn’t keep a handle on any of
it. Being around people, having to adhere to supernatural rules I
didn’t know existed, and trying to keep up with all of the
underhanded drama and backstabbing overwhelmed me.

My biggest
problem was lack of knowledge. I knew hardly anything about the
supernatural world, and it was about time that changed. Maybe if I
learned a few things, I might figure out just what to do
next.

The next day
dragged until Eddie closed the shop, and Peter and Carl turned up.
All four of us gathered around the shop’s counter and sipped
coffee.

“
You
okay?” Carl asked me. I shrugged. Nothing truly awful had happened
to me, but I couldn’t say I was okay; well, at least I wasn’t
dead.

Carl scratched
the back of his head, and I remembered the last time we spoke had
turned into a big row.

“
Sorry
about before,” I said, knowing he was unsure whether to bring it up
or not.

“
It
was my fault.” He shook his head. “I felt like shit when I heard
what happened to you. Maybe we shouldn’t try living together
again.”

I returned his
grin and felt better. The air between us had been
cleared.

Peter snapped his
fingers. “Okay, Brady Bunch, can we get on with things
now?”

“
Don’t
start. I could be put down like a dog in a week’s time. I think I
have a right to take a minute to—”

“
You’re not going to be put down!” Peter interrupted, but he
didn’t sound so sure.

“
Yeah,
right. Like this Council gives a crap about what’s right and wrong.
There was a girl in the cell next to me. I think she escaped, but
she was just a kid. How can they keep a kid there?” I mumbled, half
to myself.

Peter and Eddie
exchanged glances. I wondered if I was counting aloud. I wasn’t
sure why I had fixated on Leah. Maybe because I felt indignant on
her behalf, and it was better than focusing on my own
stuff.

“
And
that kid vampire who follows Daimhín around. Who turns a kid into a
vampire? What kind of scummy things am I dealing with
here?”

“
It’s
going to be okay,” Eddie said, trying to reassure me.

“
Oh,
yeah, I should listen to you. You sold me out the last time I
listened to you.”

He waved the air
as if to brush over the fact. “That’s not how it happened. We
planned on handing you over, remember? Paying off a debt was just a
handy bonus.”

I looked at him
in disgust. “Is that an apology? Christ.” I leaned my head on my
hands. I had no idea what to do next. If Eddie was my best bet,
then I was screwed.

“
Alright,” I said, swallowing back an insistent wave of panic.
“Tell me.”

Eddie looked
confused. “Tell you what?”

“
Everything. The Council, their rules, how their trials work.
Everything you should have told me before that might have kept me
out of this mess. Right now, I need facts. I need to know what I’m
going to do. I need to know what my chances are.”

“
You’re right,” Eddie said. “I should have told you more. I
honestly didn’t expect them to entertain Gideon.”

Peter slammed his
cup down. “You knew about him?”

“
I
knew he was up to something, but I thought Ava could handle
it.”

“
Are
you kidding me?” Peter’s expression said I couldn’t handle
anything.

Eddie took a step
closer to me. “Maybe you should give her a bit of
credit.”

I was about to
open my mouth to tell them both to shut up, but Carl beat me to it.
It was amusing to see how startled they were; they had gotten used
to him falling asleep and being incapable of taking part in
conversations.

“
Give
it a rest. This isn’t helping Ava. Let’s figure this out,
okay?”

I rested my hands
on the counter, needing to get the conversation back on track.
“Eddie, what’s going to happen? After the trial, how do they make
their decision?”

“
It
depends on Gideon, and how big a case he makes against you. If you
could discredit him, then the attention would turn from you. The
biggest problem is what you are, but if we can distract them from
that, it could go in your favour.”

“
So,
let’s do it,” Peter said.

“
Do
what?” Carl asked.

“
Discredit Gideon. We know he’s involved in illegal human
testing, so we need to get our hands on some of the formula and
pass it on to the Council. Plus, we can always try and come up with
an actual defence for the other stuff.” Peter’s excitement grew
with every word; it was as though he relished the whole
thing.

“
How
on earth are we going to get our hands on that formula?” I asked,
incredulous that he thought it was a viable idea.

“
Becca.”

I made a face.
Becca was a pain in the arse. “Well,” I said. “You get right on
that, and good luck. But, maybe in the meantime we should figure
out a defence. What rules have I broken?”

Eddie cocked his
head. “Technically, you could have gotten away with it, but Gideon
is claiming you have ulterior motives for all your actions. He’s
saying you didn’t fight in self-defence, but rather to instigate a
civil war amongst vampires.”

I made a
disgusted noise. “They were on the brink of that
already.”

“
Peter
told me you think that maybe this is a distraction,” Carl said.
“Using the trial to get everyone focused on you, so Gideon can get
away with the human testing.”

“
That’s a good possibility,” Eddie agreed. “But we won’t know
what his final move is until the trial. We might be able to use the
rules against him, if we’re imaginative. Besides, the Council has
never been keen on the vampires. That’s why the quota is enforced.
If we can persuade them you’re more human than vampire, they might
feel obliged to protect you. Or at the very least, that it isn’t
their place to judge you.”

“
What
about Carl?” I asked.

“
What
about him?”

“
I was
only trying to help him, and I got both covens on my back, then
they kidnapped my grandmother,” I said. “Surely that has to count
for something.”

“
I
could be a witness,” Carl said.

Eddie seemed to
think about that.

“
Besides,” I continued. “They’ve taunted and provoked me,
practically forced me into a fight this time. Daimhín knew, I know
she did, and she did nothing to help me. They can’t seriously get
away with all of that, can they?”

Nobody seemed to
want to answer that one. Finally, Eddie spoke in a gentle voice.
“We’ll do our best to make sure that won’t happen.”

“
Why
are you helping me?” I asked, more abrupt than I
intended.

“
I’ve
told you before, it’s in my best interests to make sure you’re
relatively safe. I don’t want Gideon to win and, as a consultant to
the Council, I have the authority to help you.”

“
Alright, tell me about the Council members then, and the
others, the consultants. One seemed human,” I said, changing the
subject.

“
Yes,”
he said, nodding. “She’s a witch, but quite human. The other
consultants include a shapeshifter, a vampire, and an outer-level
demon.”

I glanced at
Peter, but he seemed unruffled. I wasn’t. “Wait a second, a
demon?”

“
Working together, at least on a surface level, avoids wars.”
Eddie carried on as if I hadn’t spoken. “The four members of the
Council are Gabe, Erossi, Koda, and Fionnuala. You already know
Gabe,” he said before I could ask a question. “Erossi is an
immortal; he represents many immortal creatures, particularly those
like him and those from the sea.”

“
So,
what, is he a God?” Carl asked.

Eddie snorted.
“He wishes. He merely lives forever. He’s the only immortal who was
interested in taking the job. He isn’t anything special.” I tried
to hide a smile; Eddie sounded pretty jealous.