Thirst (5 page)

“Can we go today?
I mean now so we can get back before dark?”

“What’s the
rush?”

I cleared my
throat and glanced over at Carl who was on the edge of his seat and
glaring at Peter. “I really need this to be sorted out as soon as
possible. I’m having some... trouble, being around him.”

“You feel like you’re gonna bite
me
?” Peter said,
his eyes too bright as he rubbed his wrists, drawing my attention
to the small crosses tattooed on them. I wondered if it was a form
of protection but pretended not to notice.

I shook my head.
“Nah. Just him. Guess he must taste nicer than you or
something.”

Peter wrinkled
his nose in disdain. I almost felt bad for freaking him
out.

I remembered my
manners and decided I should at least attempt to be hospitable, now
that he was helping us. “Want some food? It’s just
leftovers.”

“No, thanks. I’ll
just sit and wait until you’re both ready.”

He sat on the sofa next to Carl and tried
to make small talk with him. Carl was
not
in a forgiving mood. I couldn’t help smiling to
myself as he rebuked any attempts at conversation. Not that he was
able for a discussion now he was pretty much mind controlled by
me.

I crossed the
room to get some milk out of the fridge and drank until I felt
full. I had always turned to milk as a replacement for blood. Peter
kept watching me until I was so nervous I spilled some. Cleaning
up, I willed my hands to stop shaking. I had to trust Peter, but I
couldn’t help wondering if I was about to run into a trap. I could
only hope for the best. I wiped the counter in fourteen strokes. My
normal routine helped me calm down.

“You two ready to
go?” I asked, as soon as I felt less rattled.

They both stood,
Carl towering above Peter. Even as my thirst-driven instincts
screamed out for Carl, I couldn’t help focusing on Peter instead.
Apart from the punch he had given me, I was pretty sure he was my
type. If I allowed myself to have a type, that is. He had nice lips
too, but little reminders of another man with nice lips stopped me
from staring at Peter too much. The ache in my jaw
helped.

“
Okay, let’s go see the wizard,” I mumbled under my
breath.

On the way to see
Peter’s friend, I tried to trail behind both men—determined not to
get too close. Peter glanced around and slowed his pace, unwilling
to keep his back to me. I couldn’t help sighing as Carl joined him,
both of them surrounding me with the heavy scent of testosterone
that made it hard for me to think straight.

Peter kept
looking at me as if he were waiting for me to burst into flames.
When nothing untoward happened to me in daylight, he moved on to
glaring at complete strangers. Suspicion darkened his
eyes—everything he thought he knew about vampires had been proven
wrong by me, as far as he was concerned.

“I’m the only one
who does this,” I said, trying to reassure him. I got a scowl for
my trouble. Carl bumped against him, getting between us and making
me hide a smile.

“Who is this
contact of yours?” I asked Peter, trying to make
conversation.

“A businessman,”
he said, without looking around. “He knows a lot about...
supernatural things. He’s helped me out a few times.”

The bookshop
wasn’t too far from my house. I realised I had passed it by before.
It was an independent seller with lots of old books, specializing
in the occult. The shop had very few customers, yet it seemed to
thrive. It had been around for as long as I could remember, but I
had never gone inside.

As soon as we
stepped through the doorway, I felt the power in the air. It
emanated from a man standing at the counter and ran right through
me, making me shiver. Peter hadn’t told me the man knew about
supernatural things because he was one himself. It surprised me
that Peter was comfortable with any supernatural element—he was so
intent on hating me.

I didn’t say
anything, but I suspected the man was a big player in the
supernatural world, and that intrigued me. You wouldn’t have known
it looking at him. He was small and wiry, with a crooked nose,
ginger hair and lots of freckles. He had huge blue eyes that seemed
so earnest, I might have felt safe in his shop—except for the
strange cold sensation on my skin.

The shop itself
was small; most of the books were old, and the most interesting
thing in the place was the owner. To my surprise, Carl took a step
behind me and gripped my arm. I wondered if he felt something in
the air too, but Peter moved toward his contact with a friendly
smile on his face and distracted me from Carl’s
reaction.

The man smelled
like magic and strength to me, similar to the smoky smell when a
lit match is blown out mingled with the sharp, salty tang of the
sea. Goose bumps appeared on my arms as the man looked me over.
Something seemed to push against my skin, an invisible hand
searching for something.

He greeted Peter
like an old friend and then looked at me again, this time with a
huge grin. My skin warmed up as whatever it was backed away. I
smiled back at the man, determined to show I hadn’t noticed a
thing. Playing dumb was just about the only card I had.

“This is Eddie
Brogan. He might be able to help you,” Peter said, but his voice
sounded almost forced.

“Oh, with what?”
Eddie asked, his voice lilting pleasantly.

“Eddie, this is
Ava. She’s a vampire. She’s here to ask you for help.” Peter really
enjoyed delivering that line, and I fidgeted nervously in the
silence that followed.

Eddie’s eyes
snapped back to me, narrowing as he looked me over once
again.

“A vampire in
daylight, Peter?”

“I know. She
isn’t talking.” Peter scowled in my direction, but Eddie stepped
closer to me, his eyes full of curiosity.

“You look too
young to have been dead for at least a century,” he
remarked.

“I haven’t been,”
I blurted out, confused.

“Isn’t that
funny? Considering humans haven’t turned into vampires in at least
that long.” His voice was soft, but I felt like I had been tricked
into revealing something I shouldn’t. “Your name’s Ava, is it?”
Eddie asked me, not unkindly.

I nodded, feeling
like a shy schoolgirl all of a sudden. “This is Carl,” I said,
gesturing toward the tall man who hadn’t moved an inch from my side
since we entered the shop. “I, uh, I seem to have accidentally made
him my... minion. Somehow.” I honestly couldn’t think of a better
word.

Peter snorted
derisively. I ignored him.

Eddie nodded with
understanding. “That you have. He’s threaded very tightly to you.
So you want to cut the threads, is that it?”

“Yeah, or
whatever. I just want him gone, before... I want him to leave me
alone, okay?”

Eddie stared at
me, and I felt another odd sensation roll over me. I tried not to
react, but it was so invasive I couldn’t stop myself from taking a
step back to try and shrug it off. As soon as it stopped, I felt
something cold brush against my hands, like something else was
there with us. Eddie nodded finally, as if deciding
something.

“I’m going to
take a break now. Would you three care to join me for some
coffee?”

He put a sign up
on the door but didn’t bother locking it. Eddie escorted us into a
small backroom with a makeshift kitchen then brewed some coffee. I
couldn’t help glancing at Peter with concern. Eddie wasn’t at all
what I had expected. Peter shook his head slightly, so I looked
away. I knew I disgusted him, but a little camaraderie would have
been nice.

Nerves got the
better of me. Back in the shop, I had been able to count books if I
got jumpy. The backroom was so sparse that I needed to count
heartbeats again. It was that sort of thing which got me into
trouble in the first place.

Eddie sat down at
last, having placed cups in front of us all. Both Peter and Eddie
stared at me like I was supposed to do something. I glanced at
Carl, but his eyes were closing, apparently taking my instructions
to take care of his needs literally. I sipped the coffee to give
myself something to do as an uncomfortable silence draped over us.
The coffee was surprisingly good. Eddie noted my appreciation with
some satisfaction.

“Enjoying
it?”

“Yes, it’s
delicious. I thought it was instant.” I realised Peter’s mouth had
dropped open, and I frowned at him in confusion.

“What?”

He shook his
head. “You really like it?”

“Uh, yeah. Don’t
you?”

He frowned at
Eddie. “What the hell is she?”

Eddie gave a low
chuckle. Fury burned up inside me, drowning out the
panic.

“What’s in this?
Poison?” I slammed my hands on the table, livid at the idea and
disgusted with myself for being so naive.

Carl stood up
abruptly, startling everyone. He glared at Eddie who signalled
toward him and made a low noise. Carl fell back down, his anger
forgotten. Still hot with fear and rage, I got to my feet instead.
Ready for a confrontation, ready to fight my way out.

“It’s alright, child. It isn’t poison, but
it
is
magic. It won’t harm you, don’t
worry. I just had to make sure your intentions were purer than
Peter suspected.”

I sat in my
chair, my concern for Carl the only thing stopping me from lashing
out. I was sick of being tested. They couldn’t just help Carl and
let me go on my merry way. Everything had to involve
suspicion.

“I’m sorry,”
Eddie said, his voice soft and velvety. An unexpectedly sudden bout
of drowsiness caused my eyes to flutter and almost stay closed. I
struggled to clear my thoughts through the haze. I sat up straight
and forced myself to be more aware, trusting Eddie less and
less.

“I’ll help you,
Ava. I see exactly who you are now. I see it all. The only problem
is, the vampires see it all, too. Their seer is a pain at the best
of times.” He waved his arm vaguely in the air.

“Seer?” I had no
clue what he was talking about.

“Aye. I’m sorry,
Ava, but your problems just got a lot bigger. They know you’re
coming.”

“How could you
possibly know that?” I asked, mystified.

I took note of
the furtive glances exchanged between Eddie and Peter.

“I have eyes
everywhere, so I know for certain they’ll be waiting. Or worse,
they’ll come looking.”

“Looking for me?
Why? What did I do?”

“Not what you
did. It’s what you are, pet.” His words were kind, but I couldn’t
allow myself to soften for a second. I couldn’t let the vampires
find me, find out how I was made. All I wanted was Carl gone and
life to go back to normal.

“What she is?” Peter asked, staring at me
like I might grow horns. “What
is
she?”

“Later, Peter,”
Eddie said. “So, tell me what happened. With Carl.” Abruptly, he
was steely eyed again. As observant as a bird. It was
unnerving.

“Nothing
happened. Not really. I could smell him. His fear.”

“Wait, you can
smell fear?” Eddie’s mouth curved upward.

I bit my lip,
wondering if I said too much again. “Uh, yeah. I went to see what
was going on. A vampire had him, was toying with him. He asked me
if Carl belonged to me, and I said yes. Told him to come over to
me. Left with him. I didn’t notice until later that he was obeying
everything I told him to do. Everything except leave me alone, that
is.”

“That’s part of
it,” Eddie said. “He can’t until you let him go. He’ll keep trying
to serve you until then.”

“You know how to
fix it?” Peter asked. His expression was grim; I wondered what he
could be thinking.

Eddie rocked in
his chair, his eyes closed. He hummed a tuneless song. I glared at
Peter, blaming him for taking me to see a lunatic. He put his
finger to his lips and nodded toward Eddie. I glanced at Carl who
had fallen asleep in his chair, his coffee untouched.

“It’s as I
thought,” Eddie said after a minute. “You claimed him. He wasn’t
opposed to it. A vampire bore witness. Now he’s yours. Don’t you
want him?” His voice changed again; his tone felt like a cool palm
on my hot forehead.

I shook my head
slowly. “No.” My voice was a cracked whisper.

“Why?”

“I don’t want
anybody. Nobody’s safe around me.” I felt compelled to speak. I
didn’t want to answer him, but I couldn’t help myself. I could
sense Peter staring at me intently, but I could only focus on
Eddie. I was unable to break eye contact with him. My panic was
dulled by whatever he was doing to me. I felt like my body was
spinning around, and I gripped my chair to brace myself.

“Who sent you to
Peter?”

“My grandmother.”
Peter made a noise, but it sounded so very far away. I could have
sworn I was floating around the room, but my eyes were still
latched onto Eddie’s.