Taunt (6 page)

“
I’m
supposed to take the money from you,” Rose said. “She’s still
having breakfast.”

I made a face and
handed the money to Rose while making sure I kept my eyes on Jules,
although he was now more interested in Rose. I grabbed her arm
before I left.

“
What
are you doing here? Why don’t you leave? I can help you,” I said,
unable to stop myself.

She frowned. “I
want to be here. There’s nothing else out there for me. I’m taken
care of, all in exchange for something my body can make at any
time. I’m something special here. Who the hell are you?”

I flinched at the
harshness of her tone. “Kill yourself then,” I muttered and
left.

I couldn’t get
Rose or the child vampire out of my head. Rose had been so adamant
that her life was better than mine. Was my existence that sad? And
Eloise… so unique, so strange, but more importantly, she hinted at
some interesting things. What had Gideon to do with Daimhín? And
was she the one encouraging Jules to try his charms on me? I went
over the conversation in my mind, trying to grip onto something
definite, something that made sense.

Outside my home
stood a pair of vampires I had seen a number of times. I slowed
down because they both turned to face me. On alert, I inched toward
the threshold, the line where the magic guarding my building
began.

One took a step
toward me. I sped up. They both moved toward me; we all knew they
could catch me, but they let me get past the line anyway. I slammed
the front door behind me and took some deep breaths, but it wasn’t
enough. My head was a mess, and the ground kept shifting beneath my
feet.

Still unsettled,
I headed upstairs, but stopped short. Carl stood in my slutty
next-door neighbour’s doorway; he leaned over her with a familiar
look on his face. Her hand was on his chest, and he trailed his
thumb along her throat. For a second, I just stood there,
open-mouthed. He was supposed to fix things with his fiancée, not
hook up with randomers on my doorstep.

My neighbour
turned her head slowly, a seductive smile on her lips. “Evening,”
she drawled, and I wrinkled my nose at the overpowering scent of
her perfume. His neck and ears burning red, Carl abruptly stepped
away from her.

“
Can I
speak to you for a minute, please?” I asked Carl, barely containing
the growl in my throat. He followed me into the flat; I slammed the
door behind him and took a deep breath.

“
What
are you playing at?” I hissed.

He flinched. “I
didn’t do anything wrong, Ava. Am I supposed to ask your permission
before I speak to people now?”

“
Oh,
come on! Really? That’s the best you can do?”

He relaxed on the
sofa with a smug look on his face. “I don’t know what you’re so
uptight about.”

I clenched my
fists. “You’re supposed to be sorting your life out, Carl. Not
complicating it. I didn’t let you stay here so you could have an
early mid-life crisis. Go and fix things with your family, you
idiot!”

“
You’re not my freaking mother. I don’t need you to tell me
what to do. The whole point in me leaving was to make my own
decisions, and I’m sorry, but you do
not
get to tell me who
I can talk to.”

“
She's
a skank!” My voice went shrill.

“
Why
do you care? I don’t want to fight with you. I’m going to go find
somewhere else to stay because this is just a ridiculous
conversation. If I wanted a row, I’d have stayed at
home.”

“
Go
on! If I had known what a screw-up you were, I’d never have tried
so hard to keep you safe!” I pushed past him and locked myself in
my room, pacing as I listened to him gather his things. He
hesitated outside my room, then obviously thought better of it
because the front door slammed soon after.

I knew he thought
I was acting like a crazy person, but I had reached my limits. I
should never have let humans into my life; it caused one problem
after another, and it all began with Carl. I desperately wanted to
go back to how things were before I’d met Carl, before I’d let him
and Peter and Eddie ruin my life even more than I had. I stayed
awake all night, still thinking bitter thoughts as the first rays
of the sun pierced the sky.

I heard a gentle
thud, thud, thud, and felt my mouth water. Rubbing my eyes with the
palms of my hands, I rocked to and fro as the thirst came back in
full swing. First the pulsing in my apartment building. Then the
heartbeats of strangers outside. My stomach growled; my throat
ached. I clung to the cross around my neck and counted heartbeats,
but nothing calmed me.

I gave in to my
other senses and explored the world in that extra place, the one
humans can’t see. I didn’t even know if vampires could see it. I
lost myself in a wonderland of pulsing and throbbing—of walking
meals. Any one of them could satisfy me. I stayed like that for
hours, in another world, a darker one.

I knew I had
stayed for too long when a shudder ran over me, and my senses found
empty pockets amongst the living energies. Vampires, risen from the
sleep of the dead. The lack of life chilled me, so I stopped
looking and realised how dark it was outside. I couldn’t remember
my last meal, but I hadn’t the stomach for solid food.

I stared out my
window and watched the pair of vampires who would be staking out my
home for the next few hours. I was on my own, I realised, and I
always would be. My grandmother wanted to avoid her guilt, Carl
wanted to avoid his ordinary life, and everyone else either used me
or wanted me dead. The vampires would never stop coming after me, I
thought with a shiver as I gazed at the pair outside. I had no
hope, no friend, no protection, and no options. I didn’t know what
to do, so I went to bed and ignored the ringing of my mobile
phone.

I stared at the
spreadsheet on my computer screen and wondered how the hell I could
ever manoeuvre myself out of the red. Money had become one of my
biggest problems, and the fact that Daimhín had yet another job for
me to do that evening meant I couldn’t get much work
done.

She had been
strangely specific with her instructions: Be there at such a time,
walk down a certain route. It made me suspicious, but I didn’t
exactly have choices anymore. The only reason Daimhín let me live
was so I could work for her.

All day I’d had a
bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. It felt like my enemies were
closing in, and I was holding a flashing sign over my head that
read, “Get me now.”

I followed the
directions exactly and found Folsom, the goblin who owed Daimhín
money, after retracing my steps at least five times. I finally
realised he was the owner of a small garage half-hidden behind
large iron gates. Yet another businessman.

I knocked at the
cottage next to the garage, but there was no answer. With a twinge
of apprehension, I realised I would have to go into the garage
itself. As I approached, I heard lots of banging and swore when I
thought of the amount of tools and weapons that could be housed in
a garage.

If Daimhín wanted
to get rid of me, this isolated place would be perfect. Nobody knew
where I was; nobody would notice if I didn’t make it home. I knew
she wanted me out of the way, but she had been biding her time for
some reason. Between waiting for her and Gideon, I couldn’t stand
the anticipation anymore. I wanted to get it over and done with,
whatever was coming.

I banged on the
shutters and waited until they opened. Folsom took his time. I
couldn’t help staring at him. He looked like a short, old man but,
every now and then, when I blinked, I saw an ugly little creature
who was very obviously not human.

“
What
do you want?” he asked, suspicion colouring his tone.

“
I’m
here on Daimhín’s behalf. I’ve to pick up something for
her.”

“
Get
out of here, half-breed, you’re not on that bitch’s
business.”

I sighed, already
tired of him. “Look, I’m in a hurry. We both know you owe Daimhín
money. I’m her… debt collector. So, divvy up because I don’t have
all day.” My skin prickled; I didn’t know what goblins could do, if
anything.

“
Don’t
make me get my axe out to you!” he shouted.

“
Jesus, do you have to be such a cliché? Give me the damn
money, already!”

He looked like he
was preparing to jump me, so I crouched on the balls of my feet and
showed my fangs. Total bluff, but he bought my fake
bad-ass-ness.

“
Thank
you,” I said when he finally handed me a bag. I practically had to
pry it out of his hands to check the money. “Is this all of
it?”

He nodded, but he
refused to meet my eye.

“
If it
isn’t, I’ll just be back tomorrow. Maybe Daimhín will show up
instead.”

He muttered under
his breath, grabbed the bag, and went back inside. I followed him
in and watched as he piled more money into the bag. His fingers
were gnarled and crooked. I wondered how well he could work in his
garage when he clearly struggled to fill a bag with money. Folsom
grumbled and threw the now full bag at me.

“
Thanks so much,” I said sweetly.

“
Don’t
come back, half-breed!” he shouted after me as I walked
away.

“
Oh,
shut up, you old windbag,” I called back, annoyed by his rudeness.
It was totally because I was a hybrid, the bigot.

I hurried to
Daimhín’s place to drop off the money. Folsom hadn’t been out to
get me, but I wasn’t safe yet. On the other hand, maybe I was being
paranoid.

“
Bit
late tonight, aren’t we?” Daimhín said, as I was about to leave.
Something in her cruel smile made me pause. She was a sly one, I
could see that, and her actions put me on alert, whether I needed
to be or not.

“
Just
a tad,” I said. “Oh, by the way, I was told I should ask you for
protection again. Officially. Because I’m marked, and I’m working
for you. So you need to go to the Council, right?”

She bared her
fangs, but I refused to flinch. After a couple of tense seconds,
she nodded. “Of course.” I could see it killed her to say it, and
that meant it was significant. I felt a brief flash of gratitude
toward Eddie.

I left Daimhín’s
place with the same gut feeling that something was going to go
wrong. The sky darkened quickly during the winter, and people
didn’t hang about in the cold, which left the streets pretty
deserted. There were some stragglers here and there, so I figured I
was safe enough. The vampires probably didn’t want their evil deeds
publicised, but I kept a close hand on the silver dagger in my
pocket.

A cool breeze
blew the back of my hair gently, but something in the sensation
told me it was the cold presence rather than the wind. Someday I
would have to find out what exactly it was, but for now, I was
grateful for the company. And the warnings. The presence blew
insistently on my ear a full minute before the vampire ran at
me.

He dashed in my
direction, baring his fangs. I faltered, knowing people were close
by. Right before the vampire reached me, I dodged out of his way,
hoping he would run off and leave me alone. I’ve never been that
lucky.

He turned back,
grabbed my throat, and pushed me against the wall. I kneed him in
the groin. It didn’t hurt him, but he stepped back and seemed to
just… wait. So did I, if only to take his measure.

He lashed out at
me a couple of times, pulling back every time. Was he testing me? I
thought of Daimhín’s expression and wondered if he belonged to her.
We skirted around each other, neither of us committing. I didn’t
want to tire myself out if he was playing with me. I tried to lead
him off the main street, away from humans, before he managed to get
a taste of my blood and turn crazy with lust.

Circling me, the
vampire tore at my arm with his fingernails before I could duck out
of the way. It hurt; I reacted by punching him hard in the face and
then pulled back toward the shadows, suspicious of his intentions.
He wiped blood from his nose and stepped around me, pretending to
attack, then retreating.

My body buzzed
with adrenalin, but I wasn’t scared. I kept a calm head, preparing
myself for the real battle to begin. He rushed me again, and I spun
around, trying to elbow him. He took the blow and grabbed on,
managing to wrap both arms around my neck and pin me to
him.

I struggled
against him before wising up and taking a second to plan ahead. I
pushed backward with all of my weight, veering him off the path. My
weight set him off-kilter, and he let go to balance himself.
Determined to finish the fight, I grabbed him by the hair and
pulled him fully into the shadows.

He called out a
name. I froze, but nothing happened. As if realising he was alone,
the vampire lost the plot and went for me like a rabid dog. This
time he didn’t hold back, and I barely avoided his snapping
fangs.

Already angry
from the altercation with the grumpy goblin, I kicked him hard in
the gut, sending him flying. He jumped up, undeterred, and ran at
me again. I dodged his attack easily. I was quick, smart, and he
became too aggravated to make a good move. He was stronger, but I
managed to use his strength against him to buy time, avoiding most
of his strikes.