Tegan's Return (The Ultimate Power Series #2) (19 page)

 I mean to stay quiet, but the answer comes out anyway. I peer at him and whisper, “You.”

 He smiles with such tenderness and warmth. “Silly girl,” he chides. “You have had me since the moment two years ago when tears fell from your eyes in my office.”

 Now I'm confused. Is he talking about my first night at Crimson, when Lucas had intimidated me and they had stopped me from leaving? Before I can reply, Ethan's phone starts ringing.

 “We're not finished with this,” he breathes and places a kiss on the top of my head. He steps away and answers the call.

 “Cristescu,” he says into the speaker, all business. You'd never guess he'd just been having a heart to heart with a stupid, naive human girl who can't help but to have fanciful notions of happy ever after endings with a predator.

 Ethan leans back against the trunk of a tree on the edge of the footpath. His posture is rigid as he listens to what's being said on the other end of the line. Then he says, “And they have all been apprehended?” There is a beat of quiet. “This is very good news Jeremy. It takes away the requirement for any further action. I understand your anger at the move, but they will receive due punishment.”

 What the hell is going on? He's talking to Whitfield? Who is going to be punished? My temperature runs cold, and the colour drains from my face. A moment later Ethan hangs up and turns to me.

 “There has been a development that requires my attention. I am sorry but we will have to leave your father where he is for now. But don't worry, I intend to find him for you, my love.”

 I swallow and nod. This place is too big, and I have no chance of getting anywhere without Ethan's help. We walk back to his car and get in.

 “I'm truly sorry about this,” says Ethan, his eyes looking from the road to me. “I had hoped to spend the night with you again,” he continues wistfully. “But we always have tomorrow after the celebration.”

 “Sure,” I say, not at all looking forward to a party that will consist mainly of vampires. Especially since Whitfield is going to be the guest of honour.

 “I will drop you off at the club. Will you be okay to get a taxi home from there?” Ethan asks. Again, I nod my assent. I'm too consumed with what I had heard of Ethan's phone conversation, and I want to know if it had anything to do with Pamphrock and the slayers. I need to call Finn the moment I can get away from Ethan.

 Ethan stops his car on the road beside the club. He takes my hand and kisses the inside of my wrist. I feel it all the way down to my toes.

 “Until next time,” he grins, clearly observing the affect his kiss has on me.

 Feeling brave, and perhaps because this could be the very last time I see him if somehow Pamphrock manages to rescue Rebecca before Whitfield's party, I grab hold of Ethan's shirt and pull him into me, before kissing him on the lips. I can feel him smiling against my mouth, and I can't helping smiling too at my boldness.

 When I pull away Ethan still hasn't stopped smiling. “We're going to have a lot of fun together, you and I.”

 My heart pounds as I think that it might never happen. But I steel myself, plaster a fake grin on my face, and reply, “I hope so, Ethan.”

 I slam shut the car door and he pulls away. I glance over my shoulder and watch as he swiftly turns a corner and disappears from sight. A shaky breath leaves me. I walk to the front of the club, where the usual queue of people wait to get in.

 There's some sort of a commotion going on by the door, and when I get closer I see Amanda's recognisable pink hair. Lucas is there, dressed all in black in his work mode garb. Amanda grabs a hold of his upper arm. She seems to be pleading with him about something but he pushes her away. A little too forcefully for my liking.

 Quickly I run toward them. “What's going on?” I ask through a tight jaw, as I glance between Lucas and Amanda.

 “Bring your friend home, Tegan. I have had enough of her for one night.” Lucas replies coldly.

 “Please, Lucas, don't do this,” Amanda slurs. She looks drunk. She wobbles on her feet, but is it from alcohol or blood loss?

 I hold onto Amanda to prevent her from falling onto the ground and hurting herself.

 I glare at Lucas. “What have you done to her?”

 He returns my glare, and makes a show of eyeing the onlookers in the queue who seem all too interested in the drama that's unfolding. “Nothing,” he grits out.

 Amanda tries to pull away from me, but she's so weak that even I'm too strong for her to get away from.
He's completely ruined her
, I think sadly. Is this what would happen to me if I ever allowed Ethan to drink from me? It makes me sick and ever more determined never to let it happen. Amanda continues to struggle, so I let her go.

 She stumbles toward Lucas, falling into him and placing both hands against his hard chest. “I need you,” she whispers. Oh God. My heart is breaking for her right now, and I hate myself for ever having brought her into this world with me. Lucas may be the one who turned her into the weak, grovelling addict she is right now, but
I
was the one who introduced her to him in the first place. I need to undo this somehow, make her better. Fix her.

 I take a hold of her arm and gently tug her toward me. “Come on Mandy, you look tired. Let's get you home to bed.”

 Lucas seems grateful that I'm taking responsibility for her. The fucking coward. I pull Amanda to the side of the road and wave my hand for the taxi driving by to stop for us. I turn back to Lucas after I've helped her into the car.

 “Don't you ever go near her again, do you hear me?” I spit.

 “It's not me you need to worry about. I've tried to get her to leave, but she just keeps coming back.” His voice seems sad, and it makes me angry. He has no right to be sad. This is his fault for being a careless bastard in the first place.

 “Oh poor you,” I reply, heavy on the sarcasm, my words laced with hate. Then I turn away from him and get into the back of the taxi with Amanda.

 “Where to?” the driver asks, eyeing Amanda, who's slumped in the seat beside me. I turn to look at her and notice that she's now unconscious, her chest rising and falling slowly. I'm about to tell him her address before I realise that she might not still be living in the same place after all this time. She doesn't even have a handbag on her, so I can't search it for any clues as to where she's staying. There are grey bags under her eyes. She looks terrible. Just like the heroin junkies you see wandering the city streets looking for their next fix. I'm going to have to take her with me back to Finn's house. I tell the driver his address and he pulls away from the club.

 When we get to Finn's I pay the driver and put Amanda's arm over my shoulder to help her out of the car. She moans, only half conscious of what's going on, and it takes a great effort just to get her to the front door. Inside, I find the house oddly quiet and empty. I wonder where everybody is. I'm still helping Amanda along, and she smells awful, like she hasn't showered in a week. So I bring her upstairs, which takes forever in the semi-lucid state she's currently in.

 I push open the door to the bathroom and sit her down on the closed toilet seat before going to run the bath for her. She's in desperate need of a wash. Suddenly, she reminds me of how I'd been after Matthew died. I'd been too consumed with grief to care for my own personal hygiene. Nicky had helped me so much back then. Perhaps helping Amanda now is penance for that in some way.

 I pour lots of bubbles into the bath and make sure that the water isn't too hot. I grab some clean towels from the airing cupboard and hurry back in to help Amanda out of her dirty clothes. She's fully awake now, but she's not saying anything, just mindlessly allowing me to manoeuvre her into the bath. Her brown eyes take me in, and they seem so wide and innocent in this moment. I feel like I'm taking care of a child.

 Once I have her situated in the water, I make sure that she's holding onto the grips on either side of the tub so that she doesn't slip under and drown, because she seems to be struggling to stay awake. As quick as I can, I go to find some clean clothes of mine for her to change into. I grab a t-shirt and sweatpants, before going back in to her. She hasn't drowned, thank God. But when I look at her, I see that tears are streaming down her face.

 “I don't understand why I'm acting like this Tegan,” she whispers, her eyes staring at the bubbles that are concealing her nudity.

 “It's okay, I'm going to help you get better,” I tell her, as though I'm making a vow. I'm determined to fix her, no matter what it takes.

 She opens her mouth to speak again, and her voice is so small and weak. “Sometimes I think I'm living in a nightmare, and the only person who can take away the horror is Lucas. I
need
him. It feels like I'm drowning and can never get enough air to breathe.”

 “You don't need him.” I'm sitting on the edge of the bath tub. I rinse a hand towel, pour some shower gel onto it and then hand it to her so that she can wash herself. She takes it from me and absently runs it over her arms and legs. “You're just not seeing things clearly right now.”

 All of a sudden, her eyes cut to me. “I
do
need him! He's the only one who can take away the pain.” Her hand instinctively travels to her neck, and she presses her fingers harshly into the skin there, where there's an old bite mark from Lucas.

 I pull her hand away, because it looks like she's hurting herself. “Stop that,” I whisper.

 She looks up into my eyes. It seems that her moment of lucidity is gone, and she drifts off into a comatose state yet again.

 Is this what happens to all of the vampires' blood donors? Or is Lucas just particularly careless with the humans he feeds from? Perhaps if he alternated between a few different donors then they wouldn't become addicted the way Amanda is addicted. I imagine that's what Ethan does. At least I hope it is. I can't bear the thought of him doing this to the humans he feeds from.

 I pour some fresh water over Amanda to wash away the suds from the shower gel. Then I help her out before wrapping her in a clean, dry towel. Once I have her dry, I dress her in the t-shirt and sweat pants and put her into the bed in the guest room that I've been sleeping in. She falls asleep almost immediately, looking strangely peaceful as her head sags against the soft pillow.

 I close the door gently so as not to wake her up, and go to take a shower. Once I'm out I get into some bed clothes and go downstairs to find something to eat. Nobody's come home yet, and it's making me strangely suspicious. Even Noreen isn't around. I grab my phone and hit Finn's number. It rings out but nobody answers. I try another two times, but still nothing. On the third call I finally get an answer.

 “What is it Tegan?!” Finn's voice is loud and stressed. It takes me slightly by surprise. He's never answered the phone to me in this way before; something very bad must have happened.

 “What's going on? Where is everyone?” I ask in a quiet whisper.

  Finn breathes heavily down the line. “I'll be home in twenty minutes. We really fucked up Tegan. Pamphrock wanted to go ahead and lead the rescue mission tonight. I told him it was too soon, but he wouldn't listen. The vamps caught them and completely overwhelmed them, and now Pamphrock, alongside thirty of our best men have been captured by Whitfield. So, excuse me if I'm rude as fuck right now.” With this he hangs up, and my mouth gapes open in horror. That's what Ethan's phone call had been about. My head rings with the words
due punishment
. This is ten times worse than anything I could have imagined.

Pirate Jenny

I'm still in shock as I go about making myself some tea and toast and then I sit in the kitchen to eat it and wait for Finn to get back. Various panicked thoughts run through my mind. If Whitfield's captured Pamphrock, then he truly has succeeded in his takeover. What will he do to him now? What will he do to Rebecca?

 I have never even met the girl, but all of this work I have been doing to rescue her has sort of made me feel oddly attached to her. It's like my conscience has taken on the responsibility of worrying about her, without me even realising it.

 I take a sip of my warm, sugary tea, and it slides comfortingly down my throat. I stare vacantly into my cup, looking for answers. I'm so consumed with my own thoughts that I don't immediately notice the dripping noise. It sounds like someone's left the tap running slightly. Water goes drip, drip, drip, slapping onto the bottom of the sink.

 But it's too close to be the sink. It sounds like it's dripping onto the floor a few feet away from me. Just as my eyes begin their journey about the room to determine where the dripping is coming from, they land on a pale, incorporeal form standing directly in front of me. I sputter tea out of my mouth in fright, and it sprays all over the table.

 The figure stares at me impassively. It's the witch Whitfield killed outside the club. Zara's sister, the one with the eye patch that makes her look like a pirate. The one whose throat got slit. The evidence is still there. That's what's making the dripping noise. The blood is dripping onto the wooden floor of Finn's kitchen, creating a pool at her almost invisible feet.

 I have never believed in ghosts. I never believed in a lot of things until Ethan and the vampires came into my sad little life. But there is a ghost before me now, and even though she is bleeding horrifically, I'm not scared. Somehow, I know she can't harm me. The blood is the only part of her that seems real. But it can't be. Ghosts aren't flesh and bone, and therefore there's no blood in them. This must be some kind of an illusion.

 I bite on my lip, and her mouth opens. She seems to be trying to say something, but she's having difficulty getting the words out.

 She places her hand to the centre of her chest, and an odd, disjointed voice says, “Jennifer,” as though she's trying to tell me her name.

 “Jennifer?” I ask. “Your name's Jennifer?”

 She nods. There is still no expression on her face, but I can see the relief in the set of her shoulders that she managed to communicate with me effectively.

 “Why are you here Jennifer?” I continue carefully. There is surely some important reason for her to have appeared before me. Or am I just hallucinating from all the stress?

 “Warning,” her strange, ghostly voice replies. “Need to warn you...” She trails off and tumbles to her knees. Her form quivers in and out of sight, like she's losing energy. Shit! I stand up from the table instinctively and go to her. But my hand just goes right through her. She's not solid. Not a person, but a ghost. I have to remind myself.

 “What's the warning?” I ask her shakily, my stomach turning at the sight of her slit throat up this close. Now I'm kneeling before her so that I can meet her gaze. My trousers sink into her ghostly blood, but I don't care about that right now.

 One sad eye meets mine, the other is hidden beneath the black patch. This girl must have suffered so much in her life, only to be killed carelessly by a vampire who I have no doubt doesn't possess a good bone in his ancient body.

 “Find him,” she says, “before it's too late.”

 And then she's gone. No! That's not enough. Find who before it's too late? My dad?

 “Jennifer,” I call. “Jennifer, come back please,” I whisper then, knowing it's useless. I peer down at the floor to find that the puddle of blood has disappeared. The surface is completely clean. What the hell? Maybe this was just a hallucination. Then again, with the way things have been going for me recently, seeing a ghost is the cherry on the cake so to speak.

 My thoughts are cut short, because Finn walks in the door with Wolf at his heels and he looks like he's aged a decade. His hair is all rumpled and his face is etched with worry.

 “Where's Rita and the rest of them?” I ask him, as he sits down across from me at the table.

 “I sent them to try and scope out Whitfield's mansion. I normally wouldn't bring them into this but our best slayers are inside with Pamphrock. For all I know the vamps could have slaughtered the lot of them by now.” Finn sighs and curses under his breath. “I don't know how I'm going to get them out of there. There's only me and a hundred odd new recruits, but they haven't been properly trained yet so they aren't going to be much help.”

 “This isn't your fault Finn, so stop blaming yourself.” I tell him.

 He's nervously running his hands through his brown hair, messing it up even more. His eyes meet mine. “I'm not blaming myself. I just don't know what to do right now.”

 At this moment, Rita, Alvie, Gabriel and Noreen arrive home. They enter the kitchen and silently join us at the table.

 Gabriel is the first to speak. “It looks like they've just about doubled the security at Whitfield's place,” he says. “However difficult it might have been for Pamphrock and his men to breach the building tonight, it's going to be even more difficult now. There are vampires everywhere.”

 “We almost got caught snooping around,” Rita adds. “Luckily we got away before they could catch us.”

 The squeak of Noreen's chair sounds as she rises from the table. We all look to her. “I'm going to bed, I'm very tired,” she whispers, and then she quietly leaves the room.

 “Mum's been out of sorts since the house got burned down. I don't think she's able for all of this excitement,” Rita explains. Her eyes are lit up, showing that unlike her mother, Rita thrives on the kind of excitement that is currently afoot.

 “That's understandable,” says Finn. “Look, I'm sorry to have to do this, but I have no other choice right now. I need all of your help to get Pamphrock and the rest of them out of there before the vamps kill them. I'm not going to force you though, so tell me now, are you lot in or out?”

 “In,” says Rita happily.

 “In,” Alvie adds, earnest but vaguely reluctant.

 “You are one of my closest friends Finn, of course I will help you in any way that I can,” says Gabriel sincerely.

 Then everyone at the table looks to me. My decision is not as clean cut as everyone else's, especially since I am now intimately involved with a vampire who I will be betraying if I decide to help Finn. Then Rebecca's face flashes in my mind, and my heart swells. The reaction is somewhat foreign, as although I would always feel for the child and her situation, the strength of my emotion for her is uncommon. I don't know where it comes from. I feel like she's my own flesh and blood even though we aren't related in the slightest. Odd.

 This is the sole reason why I finally say, “I'm in too.” They all breathe a collective sigh of relief, and then Wolf lets out a loud bark to signal his involvement in the rescue also.

 It makes us all burst out laughing for a moment. But then the mood turns serious again when the laughter quietens down and I look at Finn and say, “Whitfield's having his party tomorrow night, and I'm supposed to be accompanying Ethan. Perhaps that would be a good time to make your move. Once the party is in full swing you'll be able to catch them unawares.”

 Both Finn and Gabriel seem to be regarding me strangely, then the two make eye contact as though conducting a silent conversation.

 Finally, Finn says, “This is ideal Tegan. You will be entering the building as the companion of a powerful vampire without any suspicion whatsoever. We can really work with this. I just need to figure out how we can use your position to our best advantage.”

 “Ah!” Rita exclaims suddenly. “She can use the dowsing rods to find out where in the building Pamphrock and the slayers are being held. That will save us the wild goose chase of going searching for them.”

 “Um, the last time I used those fuckers I nearly went off the edge of a skyscraper Rita. I'm not touching them again, they're lethal.”

 “But you'll be in a house this time, so there won't be that kind of danger Tegan. Besides, they really responded to you. It will be simple for them to lead you through the mansion to Pamphrock.”

 “Even so, I'm not comfortable using them,” I reply, crossing my arms over my chest. The fear I'd felt earlier tonight when I'd nearly met my maker is still too strong a deterrent for me to agree to do this.

 “How about a willow branch,” Alvie suggests. “Like the original dowsing rods, it will still lead you to what you're looking for but the reaction will be more natural, more organic. I think it might have been your magic reacting with the harshness of the metal that caused such a violent reaction on the roof of the building earlier tonight. With wood, the magic won't flare up so dramatically. Metal comes from the earth but it's too watered down and manufactured. A branch comes directly from the earth with no human interference. I assure you Tegan, you won't be harmed with one of these.”

 “That sounds a little better,” I agree.

 Rita claps her hands together. “Brilliant, so what next?” She looks to Finn and Gabriel now.

 “We sleep. We need all the rest we can get if we're going to go through with this tomorrow,” Gabriel answers. Finn seems lost in thought, already making plans in his head for this big rescue mission. My hands go clammy with sweat as I think of how I will be playing a fundamental part in it.

 “Yeah, I'm wrecked,” Alvie agrees, rising from his seat. I notice him nod ever so slightly to Gabriel, whose eyes widen a little and then he gets up too. Well, well, I wonder what those two will be up to tonight.

 When they've left Rita begins waving her hands in front of Finn's face. “Hello, earth to Finn,” she calls to summon him back to the present.

 He blinks a few times and then scowls. “I'm trying to think here, Rita.” His voice is low and harsh, marred by stress.

 “Jeez, sorry. I just wanted to tell you that you'll need to get something of Rebecca's and something of Pamphrock's for Tegan to bring with her into the party tomorrow. The dowsing rod won't work otherwise.”

 Finn rubs a hand over his jaw, where two days’ worth of stubble has grown. I try not to think about how good it looks on him. Me and my hormones.

 “Sure, I can do that,” he says, and then he too gets up and leaves the room. A moment later I hear him make his way up the stairs. I grab Wolf and begin giving his fur a ruffle; he loves it when I massage his neck. I wonder if Finn would agree to letting me bring him back to Manchester with me. I've grown so fond of this strangely wise dog. Before I can stop him, he rises up on his hind legs and gives me a big, slobbery lick on the cheek.

 Rita laughs, highly amused. I wipe my cheek dry with the hem of my t-shirt.

 “Do that again and you can sleep outside tonight,” I warn him, but I can't help giggling. Rita's laugh is infectious. Two seconds later, Finn comes elephant footing it down the stairs and storms into the kitchen. His bright blue eyes cut right into me.

 “Tegan! Would you care to explain why there's a strange girl asleep in the guest room?”

 I gulp. Shit, I forgot all about Amanda. “Um, she's my friend. She's sort of in a bad way at the moment. I was wondering if it would be okay for her to stay here for a while.” I nervously run my hand through my hair.

 “No, it's not okay,” Finn grits out. “If you hadn't noticed, we have barely enough room for everyone as it is, not to mention there's a bit of a crisis going on at the moment. You really are a magnet for misfits, Tegan.” Finn's eyes touch momentarily on Rita, who eyes him right back in challenge. I grin when he's the one to look away first.

 “Look, the girl upstairs, her name's Amanda. She was one of my closest friends before I moved away, but while I was gone she got involved with a vampire and became addicted to his bite. It's sort of my fault that she came into contact with this vamp in the first place, so I need to help her.
Please
, Finn.” I walk over to him and put my hand on his bare arm. His eyes soften ever so slightly. Perhaps because of the fact that Amanda is the victim of a vampire.

 Finn lets out a long sigh. “Fine, she can stay. I'll sleep on a futon in the living room for the time being.”

 I give him the biggest smile ever and hug him tightly. “Thank you so much. This means a lot Finn, I won't forget it.”

 When I pull back to look at him he's staring at me strangely. Too intense, and his eyes are hooded. He leans in and whispers, “I know a way for you to thank me.” I bristle all over. In a good way. What is wrong with me? My subconscious is like,
Finn
and
Ethan, get a hold of yourself woman
.

 Rita brushes past us then, her eyebrows raised in sceptical amusement. “You could cut that sexual tension with a knife, my friends,” she calls cheerily as she climbs the stairs.

 Finn has a satisfied smile on his face. I jump away from him, making an incoherent nervous mumble and then dash upstairs to sleep in with Amanda. She's still dead to the world. I duck under the covers, put my arm around her, and drift off almost immediately.