Taunt (13 page)

“
Next
is Koda, the eldest member of the Council. He is an ancient Dryad,
the last of his kind in this country, although he represents a vast
range of species. His time on this earth is coming to a close, that
much is clear. He’s more sympathetic than the others, although Gabe
is particularly vested in the outcome.” He hurried on, possibly
seeing me want to question him further. “That leaves Fionnuala, an
old fae. She’s the head of the Council and likes the sound of her
own voice, but she’s very powerful, as are most of the fae. She’s
one of the few fae controlled enough to be on the
Council.”

“
You
need to win her over,” Peter warned me.

“
I
don’t know how easy that will be,” I said, doubtful.

“
Twist
the rules enough to make her get on your side,” Eddie advised. “She
would respect that.”

“
I
shouldn’t have to twist the rules. The rules should be protecting
us, not vampires.”

They all stared
at me. “What?” I said. “I’m not a vampire, so don’t go looking at
me like that, okay?”

“
We
know you’re not like them, Ava,” Carl said. “But maybe if you were
more like them, then their rules would protect you too.”

“
I
don’t know,” I said, feeling more frustrated than ever. “What did I
even do wrong?”

“
Okay,” Eddie said. “They’re saying you tried to start a war
and that because you’re a different… species, you’re a danger to
the balance. One species openly attacking another is not
acceptable.”

“
But
I’ve avoided all of them my whole life. Why would I want to
instigate any problems?”

“
Exactly,” Eddie said. “They won’t have proof to back up the
claim.”

“
Maybe
Nancy could give evidence, too,” Carl suggested.

“
We
could ask,” Eddie said, concentrating with his eyes closed for a
few minutes.

“
So,
wait,” I interrupted. “Let’s skip ahead a bit for a minute. What
exactly happens at the end of the trial? Who decides what happens
to me?”

“
The
Council hear from the consultants. They each give an opinion, and
then the Council takes some time alone together to discuss their
final decisions. They take into account what would be best for the
greater good. Therefore, even if they found you innocent of
Gideon’s accusations, they could potentially find you to be a
threat. I am almost certain this is what Gideon is really going for
here,” Eddie said, shaking his head.

“
And
if Daimhín gets some of the blame attached to her along the way,
all the better,” Carl added, anger flaring in his eyes.

It was a lot to
take in. I didn’t have many options. Yet again, I was between a
rock and a hard place, but this time I had no way of sliding away
unscathed while the others knocked themselves out.

“
I’m
screwed, right?” I looked at all three men and knew they thought
the same.

“
No,”
Peter insisted. “We’ll figure something out. They can’t get away
with the things they did. You only killed Maximus on Daimhín’s
orders, and you were pretty much provoked into fighting this time
around. The maddening thing is why the Council is willing to take
this seriously.”

“
Doesn’t really matter. Besides, I’ll always be something
different, no matter how well we prettify things,” I reminded.
“Someone was bound to get snippy about me eventually,
right?”

I tried to smile,
but the atmosphere in the room kept me mired in disillusion. I knew
they had to be thinking the same things I was. I was doomed, no
matter what we did. The cold presence made itself known, as if it
knew I needed comfort. Even though the sensation was cool against
my skin, I felt warmth drift through my body. My optimism grew, and
I decided I wasn’t going down without a fight. It wasn’t over
yet.

“
Look,” I said. “I know this is a tight spot, but I’m not
giving up. Not after everything. There has to be a way to fix
this.”

Peter suddenly
grinned, looking years younger. “Of course there is. Koda gave me
that look, like he’s very interested in what Gideon’s getting up
to. If we can do anything to implicate Gideon further, then he’s
going to be on your side, maybe even persuade the others to throw
out the charges.”

Eddie shook his
head. I shivered, unsure why. “That’s not a good idea,” he
said.

“
What’s not a good idea?” Peter asked, baffled.

“
Going
after Gideon. There’s no point. They were prepared to skip the
trial for this. The real problem here is Ava’s heritage. The other
stuff doesn’t matter, not in the long run.”

“
You
give up then,” I snapped. “Not like it’s your life we’re talking
about, is it?”

Needing air,
space, something, I stormed out of the bookshop. Mostly, I wanted
to forget about everything. I stood outside leaning against a wall
and watching my breath frost the air.

Peter followed me
out. “It’ll be okay.”

“
Nah,
it won’t. Not really. Like Eddie said, I can’t change who I am.” I
shook my head, trying to shake the melancholy that kept trying to
swallow me. “I need time to think.”

“
Know
what I need?” he said.

“
What?”

“
A
drink. Want one?”

I grinned.
“Aren’t I under house arrest or something? Besides, alcohol doesn’t
affect me so much.”

He pushed against
my shoulder. “Well, if you’re under the eye of one of the Council,
then you can’t get into too much trouble. And maybe he can come up
with a drink that has an effect on you.”

“
Eye
of the Council? You mean Gabe? Are you mad?”

“
Why
not?”

I was already in
trouble, and maybe I would figure out some semblance of a plan if I
had some time away from the intensity of Eddie’s place.

“
What
about Eddie?” I asked.

“
I’ll
text Carl, get him to follow us over without letting Eddie know
where we are. It’ll be fine.”

I giggled, the
tension making me giddy. “I feel like a teenager sneaking out of
the window or something.”

“
Did
you ever do that?” he asked as we headed for Gabe’s bar. I knew he
was trying his best to cheer me up, and I appreciated
it.

“
Me?
Nah, I was too much of a wimp. Don’t tell me, you did it all the
time.”

He gave me a
cheeky wink. “I never hid it, just walked out the door. My dad was
pretty laidback about that sort of stuff.”

“
What
about your mother?” I couldn’t help being curious about his
past.

“
She
died when I was a kid. I can barely remember her. Probably best she
didn’t see what I grew up to become.” The smile dropped from his
face.

“
Where’s your dad now?”

“
He
moved to Spain with his girlfriend when I became a father myself.
Said I didn’t need looking after, and he deserved a bit of sun. We
talk sometimes, but we were never close. My girlfriend’s parents
were more like parents to me than my own.”

“
That’s so sad,” I blurted. “Sorry,” I added, seeing Peter’s
expression.

“
It’s
alright. I’m just surprised you can call anyone else’s life sad; I
mean, you didn’t have it easy, right?”

“
Let’s
not go there. Although I seem to have a knack of attracting
particularly messed up crap.”

He smiled again.
“That you do. I was thinking, maybe Gabe might give us a hint at
how things will go during the trial.”

“
Maybe. What
is
Gabe, anyway?”

“
Angel,” Peter muttered under his breath.

“
Excuse me?” No freaking way.

“
Yeah,
I know,” Peter said, but he didn’t look happy.

“
Hold
on. Angels are real?”

“
Why
is that harder to believe than vampires?” he asked.

I was still in a
little bewildered world of my own. “And
Gabe
is
one?”

“
Yes,
Ava.” He walked faster.

“
But…
but, he’s an arsehole!”

Peter laughed,
his sudden sombre mood forgotten. “Yeah, well, like anything, the
myths get things a little wrong sometimes.”

“
Wow,”
I said, still shaking my head in disbelief. “That’s screwed
up.”

“
You’re part vampire. I thought you would have taken this
better.”

“
I
never really considered good things being real.”

“
Who
says they’re good?” was Peter’s glib reply. “Come on, it’s cold;
hurry up.”

“
Don’t
forget to text Carl,” I reminded, speeding up. But all I could
think about were angels and my own wonder.

We walked mostly
in silence after that, Peter giving me time to let things sink in.
I vowed to learn more about the world I’d spent my life avoiding—if
I managed to survive the Council’s judgement.

Still early,
Gabe’s bar was full. We had to queue up, and I suddenly felt
self-conscious. Usually it was because I wasn’t human enough, but
this time it was because I wasn’t supernatural enough. I could
smell the difference in the air; it made a burst of adrenalin ride
through my body, keeping me on edge. We weren’t in danger; my
senses just seemed to be excited by the thrill of otherness in the
air. I didn’t know what anyone was or what they could do, if
anything, but Peter’s humanity stood out like a sore
thumb.

The bouncers at
the door regarded me for a couple of seconds before letting us in.
One seemed about to protest, but the other held up a hand and then
waved us through. The bar was different than before with an
electric atmosphere.

“
It’s
kind of cool here,” I said.

“
Yeah,
the angel’s hideout is always the coolest place in
town.”

“
What’s your deal?” I asked, as quite a few customers sent wary
glances Peter’s way. Even more gave him a wide berth.

“
I get
away with more than I should.” He grinned. “I’ll tell you about it
sometime. Now, let’s get a drink down us and think of how we’re
going to work Becca.”

He sounded
light-hearted enough, but he had to be thinking about the last time
we had paid Becca a visit. I wanted to talk about it, but he was
already calling over the bartender, the one with the moving
tattoo.

“
What
is he?” I whispered.

“
Fae,”
he replied. “He’s okay, for a faery.”

“
Hey,”
the bartender said, noticing me. “What’s up, Red? Nobody trading
you today? Aren’t you supposed to be in jail or
something?”

“
Leave
it, Finn,” Peter said, but his tone was friendly.

“
What
can I get you?” Finn asked.

“
Usual
for me,” Peter said. “But how about something a little… special for
Ava here?”

Finn smiled
knowingly. “Wonder if I have anything special enough. Let me guess,
can drink all night without slurring her words?”

I tapped my
fingernails on the bar in agitation. I hated when people talked
over me like I wasn’t there. “I really doubt you have anything
special enough.”

Finn laughed and
walked away, calling over his shoulder, “We’ll see, little lady,
we’ll see.”

Peter looked
around. “You see Gabe anywhere?”

“
Nah,
I think I’d smell him. I’ll let you know if that
happens.”

“
That’s sick.”

“
Whatever, it comes in handy when—” I doubled over and
dry-retched

“
Jesus, Ava. You haven’t even had a drink yet.”

Bile burned my
throat. There was something in the air, something dark and
malicious, something that made me want to run. Something
familiar.

I quickly scanned
the room, looking for the malevolence I could almost taste on my
tongue. The air was clammy, as if something hovered over us in a
sticky mist.

“
What’s wrong?” Peter touched my arm, but then I saw what I had
sensed.

A pretty woman
stood across the bar talking to the object of my attention.
Chocolate-skinned and black-haired, she laughed merrily at
something he said, but an object gleamed in her companion’s hand.
Anger, confusion, and fear, his emotions were so strong, they sent
a rush of adrenalin shuddering through my body.

He moved his hand
backward, gaining traction even as I leapt to my feet and ran over
to them. He swung his hand toward her. The whole bar went silent as
if time stood still, but they all watched me run. Before I had
taken a second to think, I jerked his arm backward. Too late, he’d
already grazed her, but I couldn’t stop to ponder the implications
of that. I struggled to get him to the ground; he was strong and
enraged. The scent of blood filling the air was distracting, almost
human, but not quite. I did my best to ignore it, determined to
stop the man from doing any real damage.

He fought,
struggling to throw me off, but he was weak enough that I was able
to wrestle him to the ground. His long brown hair stuck to his face
with sweat. I could hear screams and shouting in the background,
but nothing prepared me for the bright light that suddenly filled
the room. Wincing, I rolled away from the man and covered my eyes.
After a second, I tried opening them. Gabe stood over us with
streams of white light surging from his body.