Chapter Two

I experienced a fit of nerves on the way to Folsom’s place to pick up the money he owed Daimhín. Her day assistant, Yvonne, had sent me a particularly snippy text at the last minute about the pick-up. Though I knew Peter and Yvonne’s story, and even felt sorry for them both, I didn’t think I could ever quite trust the woman. Something about her rang my alarm bells. Lots of things about Peter should have done the same but never seemed to make it.

I hadn’t come face to face with Daimhín since the trial and didn’t know if she still held a grudge. It wasn’t my fault that she was exposed and betrayed in a matter of hours. If anything, I should have held a grudge against her, the way she had connived with her vampire progeny, Gideon, to set me up. The fact that he had betrayed her, too, just seemed like sweet, sweet justice.

I didn’t think Daimhín would hurt me, not while the Council’s light shone on me, but once the Becca situation was sorted, I was pretty sure I became fair game again. I didn’t know why Daimhín didn’t publicly get rid of me. Maybe it was the dodgy Nephilim thing. Maybe she knew all along what I was, and there was some rule about her disposing of me. Maybe she had other plans for me. Whatever it was, she obviously thought it better to have me working for her than against her.

Folsom’s place was shrouded in darkness, except for a tiny flickering light in the cottage next to the garage. Rapping hard on the front door, I waited for some grumpy goblin attitude.

Folsom inched the door open after a few minutes, seemingly surprised to see me.

“You,” he said, his breath coming out in a gasp. “Thought you were dead by now.”

“Still breathing.” I laid my hands on my hips. “Money?”

“Aye, aye, that bitch would send you along again. After last time, I thought for sure I was done with her.” He sighed loudly as he struggled to open a locked desk drawer in the dark hallway. His gnarled fingers shook as he finally managed to turn the key. He pulled out a bag and handed it to me, staring right in my face. “Don’t worry, ‘tis all there.”

His prolonged stare freaked me out. “What?”

“Ah, ‘tis just you’re not what we expected, after all. I take it you’re the one taking care of the new beast then?”

His accent was suddenly stronger, more defined. I wondered at that.

“The new beast?” Was there an old beast? “Suppose I am. Have to find her first, though.” I played dumb, not revealing that I’d missed my chance at taking care of Becca more than once.

“Not ‘round here,” he said, his tone abrupt.

I narrowed my eyes. “What’s that about? What are you hiding?”

“Nowt, don’t start getting on at me now. Go on, I know you’ve to get back to that bitch. Run along before she thinks I didn’t pay up.”

I couldn’t shake the feeling in my gut that I needed to do something, look around or figure out something, but he was right, I had to deliver the payment. I turned around at the gate and looked back at Folsom, who still stood in his doorway, watching me.

“I’ll be back, Folsom. Remember that.”

He nodded and closed the door. Hesitating, I gave a quick glance with my other sense and saw… nothing. Folsom’s place was a big black ball of nothing. No energy, no life, nothing. Very few people knew about my other sense, so someone having a way of hiding themselves from it interested me.

A bit of dread ate at me because the darkness had a familiar feel to it, one I couldn’t place, but I left more intrigued than worried. I was pretty sure Folsom held secrets in his garage—I highly doubted he could actually hold a wrench with those crooked, rheumatoid fingers—but I doubted any of them pertained to Becca. Folsom was probably on edge because he reckoned I worked for the Council.

I hurried to Daimhín’s place, eager to get the job over and done. Rose, the loyal human pet, let me in, but she stared at me with pure hatred in her eyes. I didn’t get why the vampires attracted so many insanely devoted humans. Rose wasn’t enthralled. She served Daimhín by choice. I would never understand it.

She led the way into Daimhín’s living room, and I found myself surrounded by vampires. They stared at me, some in awe, others with more anger than anything else. The hairs on my arms stood at the sensation their emotions invoked. The vampires began whispering, and I whipped my head around to make sure none had slipped up behind me.

To my left, Zion nodded at me, his wild hair drawing my attention. If any of the coven were ever sent to attack me, I guessed he would be Daimhín’s assassin of choice.

Daimhín stood by the mantelpiece, so still she resembled a statue.

“Ms. Delaney.” She cocked her head and gave a little hiss that silenced the entire room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jules creep toward me.

“Jules!” Daimhín’s voice was harsh enough to send the warped vampire hurtling backward, where he hid behind the legs of a little girl. Or what had once been a little girl. Eloise stroked Jules’s hair and eyed me carefully. I wondered what her pink-tinged eyes saw in me.

I’d learned she was the Seer, the one who first saw me coming. I looked back on her words in a different light since then. I would have treasured a long conversation with her, but she was rarely alone. Someone had once paid a lot of money for a child psychic they could turn into a vampire, so letting her tell the future for free probably wasn’t one of Daimhín’s favourite things to do.

“I apologise. The children can never behave,” Daimhín said, referring to the fact that Jules was merely a century old and one of the last vampires to be turned. He wasn’t quite the same quality as the rest of the coven.

I took a deep breath and strode straight over to Daimhín, surprised by the gasps of alarm from some of the vampires I passed. As if I could ever be a match against her. I handed her the bag of money, but she didn’t bother counting it. She, in turn, handed me a crisp white envelope.

“Payment… for your services.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Her change of heart surprised me. I hadn’t thought that even the Council’s warning would force her to pay me. I turned to leave, but Daimhín stopped me.

“I would like to reassure you, Ms. Delaney. You are not in danger from any of my coven. We respect your attempts at capturing the… creature my child created. I’m only thankful that Eloise persuaded me you were meant to survive. If I had known…” She shook her head. “If you need any assistance, it’s here for you. I’m sure my coven will be a better match than that human.” She spat out the last word as if it tasted bad in her mouth.

“Well, your coven hasn’t managed to catch her yet, so I think that human will do fine.”

If Daimhín had been human, her face would probably have turned purple with rage. As it was, her eyes narrowed, and her glare sent shivers running up my spine. Her burgundy eyes were filmy, I realised, probably due to her age. Streaks of blue tried to shine through the murky red, something I had noticed with very few vampires. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Daimhín's, then surprisingly, she pulled back, inclining her head in agreement.

“Vampires created this problem, yet we’re unable to solve it. The creature is loyal to no one and pauses for nothing. It’s strong, fast, and wild with thirst. The only positive note is that this creature is alone, a solitary accident.”

“The only one so far,” I reminded her. In Ireland, there had been two other candidates. One had been captured on the very same night Becca had mutated. The other hadn’t been seen since. Besides that, batches of formula had probably been sent to other covens around the world. They still hadn’t been accounted for, and I dreaded the possible consequences. Becca was enough monster for me.

“We haven’t come across any others, and Europe is on watch. It will be near impossible for that formula to change hands. I’ve been in touch with other elder vampires around the world. We’re all of the opinion that this was a foolish mistake by an over-eager power hunter. Nothing more. The situation’s contained.”

I didn’t respond, but as I left the coven’s home, I couldn’t help thinking that her words meant she wasn’t taking the possible threat seriously. There could be an army of creatures—beasts—just like Becca. If the vampires themselves didn’t investigate the effects of the formula, then we had no chance of preparing ourselves for the repercussions. The vampires were too busy trying to exchange blame and wash their hands of Becca. The elder vampires were simply too arrogant to believe that other vampires might be willing to use creatures like Becca in an effort to usurp the controlling covens. Elder vampires like Daimhín dictated how much blood each coven was allocated; rogue vampires wanting that control back didn’t surprise me.

The only reason Gideon hadn’t been imprisoned or staked was because the Council needed his help with capturing Becca and providing information on the formula. The Council members weren’t exactly forthcoming with new information, and that bothered me a great deal. I didn’t even know if the captured candidate was dead or alive. Or the subject of experiments.

Flashes of memories came to mind—a supernatural being in the Council’s underground cells, willing to die a horrible death rather than face the Council. My instincts hummed, and I felt a spark of life I hadn’t in a while, not since I’d found out my true heritage. Impure nephal. Tainted offspring of an angelic being. The rare earthbound seraphim like my mother could bear warriors whom angels would command on Earth. The tainted could be used as a weapon by light or dark, which was exactly what the ancient vampires didn’t want. And exactly what others wanted desperately.

Like others, my mother had been targeted and bitten during her pregnancy. After her death, my grandmother had somehow managed to raise me without drawing attention from the vampires who would have killed or kidnapped me. I had become an unpredictable being universally perceived to be a threat because I hadn’t yet matured, therefore, I could still pick a side. Whatever that really meant.

All I had focused on were the lies I’d been told and the mistakes I’d unwittingly made. The task of hunting down Becca had been pushed on me before I could deal with the consequences of my trial. I still hadn’t sorted through my feelings.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I almost missed Carl leaving my building. I was still at the other end of the street and assumed he’d come to visit me, so I rang his mobile and watched as he took it out of his pocket then ignored the call.

“What the hell?” I had no idea what that was about. It was definitely Carl. He had been my minion for a time, had healed me with his blood, and even tried to help during my trial. I knew the man by heart.

He had been inside my building. Of that, I was certain. As I let myself into my flat, I inhaled deeply and was sure his scent lingered in the air. If he had come to see me, why wouldn’t he answer the phone?

I rang Peter. I wasn’t sure why. Something bugged me. Then again, a lot of things were unsettling me of late, and I hadn’t been giving anything my full attention. I had a sick feeling that life had been passing me by while I was busy feeling sorry for myself. That had to change.

“Is Carl with you?” I asked when he answered, just to see what he would say.

“No, I think he said he was going to see his parents tonight. Why?”

I hesitated and decided not to make anything of it. Peter seemed to think I had serious ownership issues with Carl, but my overblown concern was part of the remnants of our previous bond. Still, I didn’t want another lecture about boundaries. “Nothing, doesn’t matter. Do you know a goblin called Folsom? Owns a garage.”

“I’m not sure. All of those goblins look the same to me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nice, Peter. I better go.”

“Wait! Do you want a training session tomorrow?”

I thought about it. Maybe I could scare him off. “Okay, fine. Where?”

He laughed. “My place, of course. Come over whenever you’re ready. Daytime because we’re back out after Becca tomorrow night. It’s our turn again, now they’re short on Guardian Circles.”

“Whatever,” I said, trying not to yawn. “See you then. Oh, by the way. Daimhín paid me tonight.” I laughed at his stutters and ended the call, feeling more alive than I had in a while.