Thirst (6 page)

“And if I tell
you how to free Carl, will you do it?”

“Yes.”

“Even if it
hurts?”

“Yes.” My answers
were whispers, and I sensed Peter leaning in closer to hear
me.

“Do you want to
harm Carl?”

“No. But I might
not be able to stop myself.”

I still couldn’t
look away from his eyes; they were big black pits of nothingness,
and I was sinking into them, almost freefalling. A cold hand on my
shoulder brought me back to the room. Shuddering violently, I
gasped, not quite sure what had happened. Glancing around, it was
clear nobody else was there, but I knew I felt a hand touch
me.

“Is she okay?”
Peter asked, more concerned than I would have expected. Eddie
ignored him.

“Ava. You have
bound Carl to you. The only way to revoke it is to persuade the
witness to reject your claim.”

“The witness? You
mean the vampire who attacked Carl in the first place? But how? How
will I find him?” I asked, already worrying.

Peter snorted.
“Surely a vamp knows where vamps hang out.”

I refused to look
at him. “Yes, of course,” I said, unwilling to share how little I
knew about vampires.

Eddie smiled, but
his eyes were full of pity. “I’ll give you directions to a bar.
Vampires visit regularly as do their followers. You may find
information there.”

“Thank
you.”

“So is that it?
Can I go now?” Peter said, his voice sarcastic. His eagerness to
leave left me cold.

“You sit down,”
Eddie said. Although his tone was as low and calm as before, I
shivered as though he shouted. His presence was almost
overpowering.

“Perfect, just
perfect,” Peter muttered, but he sat down right away.

Eddie ignored
Peter and returned his gaze to me. The blackness was gone, but I
was afraid to look too deeply in his eyes. He scared me. I had to
be on my guard around him.

Peter was looking
at me warily, but I had no time for his problems. Night was coming.
We had to leave quickly. I shook myself, aware that heavy magic had
finally lifted.

“We have to get
going. Is there anything else I need to know?”

“Possibly. Peter,
wake Carl up, and take him outside for a few minutes. Ava and I
need to chat about something a bit more personal.”

Peter reluctantly
dragged Carl up out of his seat.

“No, I’m staying
with Ava,” Carl said. His hesitation made me even more suspicious
of Eddie.

“It’s okay. I’ll
be out in a minute.” I watched him follow Peter outside, my heart
sinking at the emptiness in Carl’s eyes.

Afraid of being
alone with Eddie, I acted snappy.

“Can we hurry
this up? I want to get all of this over and done with as quickly as
I can.”

Eddie smirked at
me. “I know you don’t like to be around people, but if you were
used to it then Carl wouldn’t bother you so much.”

“I was used to it
before. Didn’t help my ex much.”

“A mistake. We
all make them.” He confirmed my suspicions. He knew more about me
than he should.

“Some mistake. I
bit him and drank his blood, Eddie. I could have killed
him.”

“But you didn’t.
Stop thinking about what you might have done, and concentrate on
what you have done. You’ve helped out a few humans, right? Carl
can’t be the first. I’d say that balances out an indiscretion or
two.”

I shook my head
in disgust. “That isn’t how it works.”

“Isn’t it? We’ll
see. Hold on for a second. I want to show you
something.”

He left me alone
and was gone long enough for me to get scared. The persistent cold
gasp of air on the back of my neck kept me on edge. I couldn’t see
anything, so I searched with my other sense and noticed a faint
wisp of pale white energy right next to me. There was definitely
something with me, but I had no idea what it could be.

Eddie returned
with a small velvet box in his hand. “This is for you,” he said,
handing it to me. “It might help.”

I opened the box,
revealing a silver filigree cross. I touched it hesitantly,
half-expecting it to burn me after the things I had been thinking
about recently concerning Carl. But it felt cool against my
fingers. I started, almost certain I saw a flush of crimson cross
the surface for an instant. I glanced at Eddie
quizzically.

“It’s okay,”
Eddie said. “It won’t hurt you, although it might hurt a real
vampire. Poor little mix that you are. You have it bad, don’t you?
The thirst?”

I nodded, my eyes
welling up with tears. He patted my shoulder
sympathetically.

“You know what I
am?” I asked, almost hesitant to hear his answer.

“I know more than
that, petal.”

“So what am
I?”

“You’re neither
vampire nor human, that’s for sure,” Eddie said.

I bit my lip. “Do
you know my grandmother? Is that how you know about me?”

“Nancy? I know
her well. She came to me some years back and told me all about her
little Ava. She’s not the woman you once knew. May I?” he asked,
unclasping the necklace.

I let him drape
the chain around my neck. It was long enough to be covered by my
clothes if I tucked it in. Its touch was surprisingly cool.
Refreshing. I felt it lean against my skin as if it were sinking
in. Calm drifted over me almost immediately. The dry ache in my
throat subsided. Relief.

“Oh, wow,” I
murmured, stretching lazily.

“Feeling
better?”

“Are you doing
that?” I asked.

“No, it’s the
cross. It’s a talisman of sorts. It’ll help you with the thirst.
Keep your mind focused long enough to get Carl out of your
way.”

“And you just
happened to have this lying around?”

His smile was
sudden but genuine. “Something like that.”

I was
overwhelmingly grateful, but even as the cross dispelled my thirst,
I realised I hadn’t craved Eddie’s blood for a second.
Curious.

Aside from that,
the cross worked. I could already tell it was exactly what I
needed. I could feel it: the magic working its way into my veins,
quenching the thirst, and soothing that raw hunger in my gut. For
the first time in years, I relaxed and knew what it meant to feel
human. Maybe Carl could survive his visit with me after all. That
thought alone brought a lump to my throat, and I realised just how
tense my adult life had been.

“And look Ava.
See the cross? Four tips plus the body make five. Safe. Touch it
when you need strength.”

His smile was
kind, but I blushed anyway at the thought of him knowing about my
little quirk. I could only figure my grandmother had told him. My
number obsession had bothered her almost as much as my vampire-like
tendencies.

“Don’t forget,
you’re heading to vampire territory now. It won’t be safe for you.
You have to be on your guard. Aware. There isn’t much time; they
know you’re around, and the cross won’t work for long. So be
careful. And trust Peter. He’s a bit gruff, but that’s to be
expected after what happened to his family. He can be narrow-minded
sometimes, but he’s a solid one.”

I touched my
bruised face self-consciously. Eddie tutted.

“That was
unfortunate alright. I have just the thing.” He took a tub out of a
cupboard and wiped some of the contents on my face. It felt slick
and oily, but my face tingled nicely, the freshness of the pain
dissipating.

“Didn’t Carl help
you?”

I nodded. “He
offers himself to me too. How do I make him stop?”

“It can’t be
helped, I’m afraid. Part of the thrall is to give you what you
need, whatever that might be. Go on now, little one. It’ll be dark
soon. Visit the bar tomorrow in daylight. Get information before
you go again at night. Be wise.”

He pressed a
piece of paper into my hands, directions to the bar. I glanced at
the name but had never heard of it before. I thanked him again,
less in fear of him but still wary. He didn’t accompany me to the
door, but the strange presence did. I pushed the door open and
stepped outside, my stomach turning a little at the drastic change
in atmosphere once I was away from Eddie’s magic.

Outside, Peter
and Carl stood together. They stopped talking as soon as I
approached. I fidgeted awkwardly, knowing Peter wanted to leave.
For the first time I was able to stand next to Carl without wanting
to feed on him, but all I could think about was making Peter
stay.

“Uh, thanks for
bringing me here,” I said to Peter, fidgeting under his
gaze.

“Did he give you
the address?”

“Yeah, it’s some
place called the Black Rose. I don’t know it, but his directions
are pretty clear.”

“I know it,”
Peter said. “I’ll pick you two up tomorrow, okay?”

“Oh,” I said,
surprised. “You’re going?”

“I said I’d help.
I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

“Early,” I called
after him, hoping he’d hear me. He raised an arm in answer and kept
on walking away. I admired his behind for a few seconds before I
remembered Carl, who was still standing there aimlessly.

Carl and I walked
back to my place. For once, I was thankful for his silence because
I had so much to think about. At least now I had a purpose and a
chance to help him.

That evening, the
cross worked its magic. Somehow, it seemed to mask Carl’s scent or
at least dampened my reaction to it, even when he offered his wrist
to me. I was able to shrug off my instincts with little effort. I
couldn’t believe how relaxing it was. It made me feel almost
human.

An undercurrent
of need remained, but, for the most part, the temptation was easy
to control. I was still bothered by Carl’s behaviour, though. He
was compelled to do it, but it irritated me that he wasn’t even
trying to survive. As soon as he dozed off that night, I rang my
grandmother.

“What’s the deal
with Eddie Brogan?” I barely let her say hello.

“What? Ava? You
know Eddie?” Her voice was thick with sleep.

“The man you sent
me to, Peter, he took me to Eddie. After he’d attacked me, that
is.”

“Oh, Ava, didn’t
you tell him I sent you?”

“No. Look, that
doesn’t matter; tell me about Eddie. Can I trust him? He gave me
something; it’s helping me. I’m not so thirsty now.”

She caught her
breath. “The cross? It works?”

“How’d you know
about the cross?” I seemed to be out of the loop on every single
thing. My self-imposed exile meant I had to ask questions at every
turn. I was eager to catch up.

“When you left, I
bought books at his shop. I suppose I ... well, I sort of hoped
you’d be there. You used to sneak those books all the
time.”

“Go on,” I said
when she hesitated.

“Well, he spoke
to me one day, and I found myself telling him all about you. He
said he could help you with the thirst. He showed me the cross,
said it was for you. But—”

“But I never came
back.” I chewed it over in my mind, wondering if he had forced her
to talk the way he had with me. “Did you tell him everything? About
my mother or anything?”

“I’m not sure...
I just don’t remember so well.”

“It’s okay.
You’ve told me all I need to know. I’ll ring you next
week.”

I hung up before
she could invite me over. I wasn’t nearly ready for that. I mulled
over the day’s events. Eddie opened up more questions than he
answered. Even though his talisman had worked, and Peter seemed to
trust him, I still felt like I shouldn’t. That led me onto thoughts
of Peter and how nice it would be if he didn’t completely hate
me.

I couldn’t sleep
that night because I kept thinking about Peter, not
Carl.

The first thing I
did when I woke the next morning was touch the chain around my neck
to make sure the cross was still there. As soon as my fingers
touched it, a sense of security eased the tension in my muscles.
For the first time since Carl showed up, I felt really relaxed in
bed and ended up dozing off again. A loud knock on my bedroom door
a while later woke me properly.

Bleary eyed, I
practically fell out of bed trying to see what was going on. Peter
stood outside my bedroom door, eyeing me with a smug
grin.

“Thought you
wanted to be early?” he said, clearly delighted he caught me
unawares.

“Shut up,” I
croaked as I shoved past him. “Lemme shower. Put on the
kettle.”

“Face is better I
see,” he called after me.

I checked in the
bathroom mirror and sure enough my face was almost totally healed.
A shadow of a bruise remained, but it was so light that a touch of
concealer would cover it.

“Who is that
guy?” I muttered, wondering what else Eddie could come up
with.