The Hunted (30 page)

‘But how can that be possible?’ Lucas interrupted. ‘Elena said she only met them at the rave on Saturday night.’ He turned to look at me. ‘Did you mention The Protectors at all?’

I shook my head. ‘Why would I do that with a complete stranger? I know not to.’

‘See, that’s a no,’ Lucas continued. ‘So they wouldn’t have known to find her here. So they obviously didn’t come here specifically for Elena.’ He looked at me and held up his hands. ‘No offence.’

I shrugged. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.

‘So if they didn’t come for her, then why else would they have come to Cairns, if not to follow a trail that the Vânâtors have left?’

‘We don’t doubt that they were following a trail Lucas,’ Susan replied. ‘We were just concerned that, because we had not detected any vânâtor presence in Cairns ourselves, that the Vampires might have lingered in the area for another reason. It would not be difficult for William to have followed us home the other night or keep an eye on her movements if Elena had piqued his curiosity.’

I thought back to last night when I had woken up with a strange sense of unease. Was it possible that he had been watching me since the rave? Wouldn’t I have detected his scent if he got close to me?

‘Can a vampire come into someone’s house uninvited? Or is it like the movies where they must be invited past the threshold before they are permitted entry?’ I asked.

Susan blinked. ‘No, they can come and go as they please.’ Her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed deeply. ‘Why do you ask?’

Shit.

I shrugged. ‘Just curious, I suppose.’

She seemed unconvinced by my answer, but let the matter drop. That was probably a good thing. I was far too busy trying to hide my sudden discomfort—I always kept my window open. If it was true that he followed us home the other night, then I had basically just laid out the welcome mat for him. However interested in William Granville and his companions I may be, I wasn’t into having my neck chewed out for a night time snack.

George cleared his throat, dragging my attention back his way. He seemed uncomfortable, his eyes still pinned to the floor and his hands writhing around in his lap. ‘When you first met William,’ he said, raking a nervous hand through his hair, ‘did you touch or get close to one another in any way?’

I frowned, not entirely sure why he was asking. ‘Not on purpose.’

‘So, you did have contact?’

‘Well, he touched me here and here,’ I said, pointing to my cheek and wrist, remembering him brushing the lock of hair away from my face and capturing my wrist. ‘And I also remember touching him here with my knife.’ I pointed to my crotch. ‘Does that count?’

Lucas choked out a laugh beside me.

‘You didn’t let him kiss you?’ George slowly continued.

I blinked. ‘I’m sorry. Do I have “Try me, I’m delicious” stamped on my forehead or something?’ Susan went red. George looked away. Lucas, ever tactful, let rip with the full extent of his laughter.

‘Look, the guy was watching me for a while, nothing I couldn’t handle. Then we ran into each other a little later on. He brushed a lock of hair out of my eyes, stepped a little too close to me and I threatened the fate of his manhood with my knife. After that we kind of parted ways, if you know what I mean.’

‘So he didn’t do anything to you at all?’

Lucas gave me a sideways look, which I ignored.

‘No,’ I hesitated. ‘Well, not exactly.’

‘Explain.’ George urged, his face grim.

‘It was nothing really. At the time I was confused, but now that I know for certain he is a vampire, it all makes a bit more sense.’

‘What makes sense?’ Susan asked.

‘Well, why he looks like he stepped off the pages of a Menswear catalogue, why his skin is as hard as rock and feels like he’d just ran naked through a snow storm. Not to mention the fact that I could smell his scent all around me.’

Susan and George exchanged another look. ‘You could smell him?’

I nodded. ‘His scent was everywhere. Sandalwood and spices. Very nice actually.’

‘And how did that make you feel?’

I looked over to Lucas again who was grinning at me like an idiot, wiggling his eyebrows up and down suggestively. I shrugged and looked away. ‘I don’t know. Good, I guess.’

George looked at Susan. ‘He was using his innate ability of compulsion to entice her,’ he muttered.

‘Sounds like it,’ she breathed.

‘You know what that means, don’t you?’ he said to Susan, ignoring us for the moment. Susan nodded.

George glanced back at me, all seriousness. ‘There are only two reasons that we know of why a vampire would use their scent to entice someone. The first reason is because they desire to feed, or make a kill. The second is to lure them close enough to force them to submit, to be completely vulnerable to whatever physical encounter they wish to pursue. I hate to say it, Elena, but I do not trust William Granville. If he used his compulsion on you then I feel certain it was because he wanted to have more than a little chat with you.’

I frowned. ‘William was strange, I’ll admit that, but I never felt like I was in any danger. If anything he just seemed curious about me. When I asked him to stop the compulsion thing, he did. He was more interested in knowing how I’d realised he was doing something to me in the first place.’

‘So maybe he doesn’t know yet,’ Susan murmured.

George patted her shoulder gently. ‘Then we were right to keep them apart.’

‘Hello, I’m still here! You know, neither of you have explained anything to me yet. Tell me why you needed to keep me away from William Granville?’

‘Because of your blood, Elena,’ George answered.

‘My blood?’

‘Precisely.’

I looked at Lucas, who appeared just as confused as I was. ‘Is it just me, or are we back at square one again? I don’t have any idea whatsoever what you’re talking about.’

George exhaled noisily and then clasped his hands together in front of him again. ‘Your blood is unique, Elena, in more ways than one.’

‘Well I’m so glad we cleared that up,’ I said, frowning again.

‘Can you put a muzzle on your smart mouth for five minutes while I endeavour to explain?’

‘I don’t know, dad,’ Lucas countered, leaning back into the sofa. ‘That’s a pretty big ask. Smart mouth DNA might be part of her unique blood.’

That certainly would explain a few things.

Both George and Susan ignored the jibe and glanced back at me. ‘Before we begin, Elena, we just need you to know that no matter what happens we will stand by you, as long as we have a choice.’

I screwed my face up in confusion. What did he mean?

‘I’m going to start right back at your birth, Elena. Perhaps once you understand who you are, then you will understand why we were trying to protect you not only from William, but any vampire.’

‘Okay,’ I answered reluctantly.

‘What about me?’ Lucas piped in. ‘Can I still talk to vampires?’

Susan and George both looked at Lucas in surprise.

‘What? I find them fascinating—scary as hell, of course, but fascinating nevertheless.’

Susan just kept looking at him blankly, occasionally blinking. George just gave him an odd sort of look that I could only describe as something that resembled disgust or disappointment. He wasn’t impressed by his son’s enthusiasm to understand creatures that had been known enemies of The Protectors for centuries.

Lucas didn’t take their silence well. He unknotted his fingers from behind his head and slumped down further on the sofa, folding his arms across his chest and staring moodily at the coffee table.

Lucas started to open his mouth, but I had a feeling he was about to say something he might regret later so I interrupted him. ‘Please, George, tell me the story.’

‘Okay, but some of this may come as a shock to you, Elena. We always told you that we were unfamiliar with the details of your birth. But here it is.’ He paused, raking his hand through his hair. ‘You were born in Corsica, a small French island located just off the coast of Italy.’

I blinked a couple of times. ‘Corsica? Seriously?’

He nodded.

‘So, given that I’m technically a French citizen, what am I doing halfway across the world?’

‘It’s a little complicated.’

‘Well uncomplicate it. Explain to me how I ended up with you and under the care of the Institute of Magical Intervention.’

‘When you were born,’ he began, ‘various Protectors from the IMI were present at your birth. This isn’t a regular occurrence, us gathering for the birth of a vampire, but you were an extenuating circumstance. There was something very different about you.’

‘And how did you know that?’

‘Because, while an ordinary human child or even a vampiric child would have died from the injuries sustained to your mother, you still lived, despite the fact that it should not have been possible. That is why, at the time, the IMI seriously debated whether to let you live.’

He paused and glanced right at me, his powder blue eyes crinkling in recognition of the memory. ‘As you can imagine, it was a difficult decision given that you would one day grow to be our natural enemy. But, of course, given your current state of well being, I should think it is obvious what our decision was in the end. Truly, though, we had no real choice in the matter.’

‘What do you mean you had no real choice? Did my mother or father stop you? Is that why I was allowed to live?’

He shook his head. ‘No. The IMI couldn’t kill you, because despite what you are, you were the most beautiful, innocent looking child that we had ever laid our eyes upon.’

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. ‘So … if I were an ugly baby I would have been a goner?’

He laughed. ‘It wasn’t like that at all,’ he said, shaking his head with amusement. ‘Yes, your beauty was beyond that of any other child, but there was something in your eyes that spoke to us of innocence and fragility. But that was not the only thing that stopped your execution. Someone or something was watching over you, protecting you from harm.’

‘What like a guardian angel or something?’ I said, barely disguising my scepticism.

What a load of rubbish.

George shrugged. ‘I honestly don’t know. All who were present attested to seeing a white light form around you right after you were born. You remained completely untouchable during incubation and after your birth. It wasn’t until The Protectors present decided, in conjunction with the IMI, not to try and cause you harm that you were released from that protective light.’

I snorted. ‘That sounds crazy. Who or what would be protecting me?’

‘I don’t have an explanation for you, Elena. It could have been a higher being, or it simply could have been some hidden talent of your own.’

‘Were you there when I was born?’

‘No. Your mother and I were contacted by the IMI a few hours after and asked if we would consider taking you into our home. You see, one of the head researchers in Bucharest is a close personal friend of Susan’s, and he insisted that the anonymity and seclusion of our home in Cairns would be better than keeping you at headquarters.’

‘And you agreed?’

He cringed. ‘Honestly, at first we were less than thrilled by the prospect. Lucas was barely a year old and we didn’t feel comfortable allowing a vampiric child into our home.’