Revenge is Sweet Read online

  ‘Ellie?’ Will’s voice was soft, and I turned to look at him. He rarely called me Ellie, so I knew he must be worried. He leaned in closer. ‘It is a very hard world in which we have to exist,’ he said. ‘I have explained before, that discovery of our community would ultimately mean our destruction. A nine-year-old fledgling would be insane from the beginning and so very dangerous … a human shell filled with nothing but evil urges … we would have no hope of ever taming it. With Daniel we at least have a chance, his brain appears to be unscathed.’ He smiled at his poor attempt at humour.

  ‘But a child …’ I said, and Will put his arms around me.

  ‘Had I known this was Luke’s news, I would have left you at the house,’ he murmured against my hair. ‘I would never have wanted you to hear that.’

  ‘Good evening Elder,’ said a male voice I didn’t recognise.

  Will drew back from our embrace, keeping one arm around me, and looked up to greet the newcomer. He was of average height, which seemed unusual for a start, because most of the male vampires I’d met so far, were all over six-feet tall. He appeared to be about forty years old, with dull brown hair, which had been cut ferociously short without any attempt at style. He was dressed conservatively, in shapeless beige trousers, a pale blue shirt and dark blue tie. He looked like an ageing accountant. I wondered who had sired him, and decided it couldn’t have been a woman. Will turned to flash a smile at me, he’d clearly caught my thoughts.

  ‘Have a seat George,’ said Will. ‘How are you this night?’

  ‘I’m very well thank you Elder,’ said George, sitting down in the chair opposite.

  ‘What can I do for you?’

  George fiddled nervously with his tie. ‘I do have some concerns and I think I should inform you about them.’

  ‘Fire away,’ said Will, waving a hand in invitation, and leaning back on the sofa.

  I could see Luke coming back towards us with a dark-haired man in tow who had to be Jez.

  ‘There have been a spate of cashpoint burglaries in the Tufnell Park and Archway areas,’ said George.

  ‘Is that particularly unusual?’

  ‘Not in itself, no,’ said George. ‘But it is unusual when the whole cashpoint has been pulled completely out of the wall. There were no signs of explosives having been used, suggesting someone with more than human strength.’

  So I’d guessed right, he was an accountant. Will looked interested.

  ‘When was this exactly?’

  ‘Two last night, and one the previous night,’ replied George. ‘I thought you should know, Elder, as it is obviously a supernatural being at work.’

  ‘It most certainly is. You did well to tell me.’ Will held his hand out for George to shake. ‘I thank you for your efficiency, as always, George.’

  George smiled with relief, and shook his hand, before standing up up to leave. ‘Thank you Elder,’ he said, and with a slight bow to Will, and another to me, he turned and hurried away.

  I felt as though I’d been dropped into a different century, and looked at Will in bemusement. He seemed not to notice, his attention now captured by the young dark- haired man with Luke. He glanced from me to Will with nervous brown eyes.

  ‘Good evening Jeremy.’ Will waved him to a seat.

  ‘Er … good evening Will,’ said Jez, sitting in the seat recently vacated by George.

  I felt relieved to see this man at least appeared a bit more normal than the last one. But I did now feel like we were in a scene from The Godfather – especially when Luke remained standing just behind Jez’s chair, his hands clasped in front of him, like some kind of sentry or bodyguard. I was surprised no-one else in the club seemed to be taking any notice of the little drama being played out in our corner. Very strange.

  ‘Talk to me,’ said Will.

  Jez fiddled with a cigarette lighter as he began to speak. Another one clearly missing his nicotine fix. ‘I was walking on the Heath,’ he began, ‘there weren’t many people around, and I heard screams.’

  ‘Fairly normal for Hampstead Heath,’ quipped Will.

  ‘I followed the sound, and found a child fledgling about to tear the throat out of a young woman,’ continued Jez. ‘I pulled it off the human, and carried the creature from the scene as fast as possible.’

  ‘What of the woman?’

  ‘She was unconscious, but didn’t appear too badly hurt.’

  ‘And then?’ Will’s voice was solemn now.

  ‘I knew you would want it staked, so I destroyed it in a quiet place where nobody would see.’

  ‘You did well Jez,’ said Will, ‘your actions were swift, and I thank you.’

  Jez looked flustered by the praise. He looked at me again then, as if noticing me for the first time. His dark brown eyes appraised me openly, and made me feel uncomfortable.

  Will’s eyes narrowed. ‘I do not believe you have ever met my lady,’ he said softly.

  Jez looked back at him swiftly. ‘No Elder, although we all saw her when we came here for the Trials.’

  ‘This is Elinor,’ said Will suddenly leaning in towards Jez. ‘I would ask you to not stare at her quite so brazenly.’

  Jez nodded, and looked back at Will without speaking. He looked terrified.

  Well that sounded heavy. I glanced at Will. I had always known he had a possessive streak, and his rage had been terrifying when another vampire tried to force himself on me last year, but I did feel it rather archaic to state the obvious. Unusually for me, I said nothing. Something else I’d learned over the last year – when to keep my thoughts to myself.

  ‘I’m honoured to meet you,’ said Jez to me, averting his eyes respectfully this time.

  Some inner sense of preservation warned me not to offer him my hand. ‘Good to meet you too.’

  Will put a restraining hand on Jez’s arm as he was about to stand. ‘You did well Jeremy. I appreciate your quick thinking.’

  Jez smiled suddenly, the smile transforming his face instantly, making him appear almost boyish. ‘Thank you Sir.’

  ‘Call me or Luke the moment you see anything else,’ continued Will. ‘At once.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Jez. ‘Absolutely.’

  Will removed his hand and Jez stood up.

  ‘Have a good night,’ said Will.

  ‘You too Sir,’ said Jez, and nodding to Luke, he made a hasty retreat to the stairs.

  ‘Why the heavy husband act?’ I asked Will quietly.

  ‘Some of the younger ones need to remember their place.’

  ‘So what exactly are you?’ I asked, and he raised eyebrows questioningly. ‘Some kind of Spooky Godfather?’

  He did laugh then at my use of the nickname I had given him last year. I often referred to him as “Mr Spooky”, which strangely he didn’t seem to mind.

  ‘I am the Elder of London,’ he said. ‘You know that.’

  ‘Yes of course I know that,’ I said. ‘But it’s much more than that tonight – you’re more than that.’

  Luke sat down in the hot seat, and Will looked at him.

  ‘You explain,’ he said. ‘I am tired of teaching tonight.’

  Luke turned to me. ‘The Elder of any vampire community is as Royalty and Government combined,’ he said. ‘They are the ruling body,’ he smiled at the pun, ‘and as such have to be obeyed. Anyone who disobeys or puts our community in danger, is dispatched.’

  ‘Define dispatched,’ I said.

  ‘Sometimes destroyed, and sometimes merely banished from the community,’ said Luke. ‘It depends on the circumstances and the crime.’

  ‘Remind me never to piss you off,’ I said to Will.

  ‘Oh you have already done that more times than I care to count,’ said Will.

  I noticed the glint in his eyes. ‘So what’s with all the bowing and scraping?’

  ‘The less powerful among us, like our friend George, rely on my protection,’ said Will. ‘A strong Elder always protects the weak. Goes with the territory.’

&nb
sp; ‘From what?’

  ‘Other elders trying to take over my people and eventually my territory,’ said Will.

  ‘Does that happen a lot?’ I asked.

  ‘Every decade or so, someone will try,’ said Luke. ‘But we’re more than ready for them.’

  ‘What do you think’s going on with the child vampires? What does it really mean?’

  Luke looked to Will to answer this one.

  ‘There are two possibilities,’ said Will, fiddling with his unlit cigarette. ‘Either the renegade sire is itself insane, or the turnings are specifically to get my attention … in which case …’ He paused.

  ‘In which case…?’

  ‘In which case,’ Will continued slowly, ‘the penalty is absolute death, and he or she will lose their head.’

  ‘That’s it? You’re judge, jury and executioner?’

  ‘I have to be, Elinor, we cannot risk discovery of our community or too many human deaths in the area.’

  ‘How will we find them?’

  ‘You will not be finding anyone,’ said Will, holding his hand up as I started to protest. ‘Do not even think about it Elinor.’

  I glared at him, and caught Luke hiding a smile out of the corner of my eye.

  ‘Don’t you dare to say something like, “it’s men’s work”,’ I began, and both men laughed.

  ‘I would never be so trite, my love,’ said Will, ‘but you are neither experienced enough, nor strong enough yet, to go hunting other vampires. I simply will not put you at risk, and that is an end to the discussion.’

  I frowned. ‘Supposing he – they – are stronger than you?’

  To my embarrassment, both men laughed again. Good to know I was so amusing.

  ‘Well I’m glad you’re taking it all so seriously.’

  Will picked up my hand and pressed his soft lips against the back of it. ‘Believe me, I am taking it all very seriously. I have scouts out as we speak, it is only a matter of time before the renegade is found.’

  ‘You should get a mobile phone,’ I said.

  ‘What the hell for?’ He looked genuinely surprised.

  ‘So your scouts can contact you immediately wherever you are,’ I said, and he frowned.

  To my surprise, Luke nodded in agreement. ‘That’s a good idea,’ he said.

  ‘It is only a good idea if everyone else has one,’ Will pointed out.

  In answer, Luke reached into his pocket and held up an iPhone.

  ‘Infernal things,’ said Will. ‘I hate them.’

  ‘You’ve got a landline at home,’ I said.

  ‘True,’ he said. ‘But I really do not want to be contactable each and every night at all times.’

  ‘Then I’ll carry the mobile,’ I said. ‘People can contact me if anything urgent comes up, and I’ll tell you.’

  Will looked back at Luke. He nodded, ‘I’ll sort it out.’

  ‘We’ll get you into the twenty-first century yet,’ I said.

  ‘Kicking and screaming,’ agreed Luke.

  Will held his hands up in surrender. ‘Enough, children. I have a surrogate fledgling at home wanting something called an Xbox and Elinor wants a computer and WiFi, and now you both want me to carry a mobile phone around everywhere. But I warn you, if it rings incessantly, I shall throw it in Regent’s Canal – and –,’ he gave me a dangerous look ‘– if you are holding it, you will go in the Canal with it.’

  Laughing, I put a reassuring hand on his arm. ‘It’s just until this crisis is over, and then we’ll give it to Daniel to play with.’

  ‘He does not have anyone to phone.’

  ‘He can text Jake.’

  Will rolled his eyes, knowing he’d lost.

  Luke smiled at me. ‘I’ll bring a phone round tomorrow night.’

  ‘Cool,’ I said with a grin.

  Will sighed. ‘I feel I am being railroaded.’

  ‘You’re enjoying every second,’ said Luke.

  ‘Perhaps.’ Will’s arm was back around my shoulders.

  ‘My cue to go, I believe,’ said Luke standing up, ‘I’ll see you both tomorrow.’

  ‘Goodnight Luke,’ said Will, ‘and many thanks.’

  ‘Any time,’ he replied. ‘Goodnight.’

  He walked away, and we watched him go for a moment. Will turned me to face him, the green of his eyes glowing in the subdued club lighting. He traced a finger down my cheek and smiled his slow, sexy smile. ‘People are leaving. It is almost closing time.’

  ‘Pervert.’

  Chapter Five

  Will was true to his word about my lack of involvement in the hunt for the renegades. Each night, after supervising Daniel’s feeding, we would go out for a couple of hours. Then he’d escort me back to the house, only to leave a few minutes later, and not return much before dawn.

  I hated it. I hated being without him for hours on end, night after night. I knew it was a necessary evil but still I hated it.

  The newly acquired mobile phone, whilst not exactly ringing incessantly, did ring a lot, and always for Will. He adamantly refused to take it out with him, so I was reduced to being a kind of undead P.A. and I didn’t like that much either.

  The only redeeming factor, at the moment, was the new Xbox Will had bought for Daniel. Luke had set it up, together with a large flat screen television, in the cellar where Daniel slept. Daniel and I often played games on it together, and our vampire speed certainly helped make the games more fun.

  One such night, Daniel and I were playing a complicated fighting game and shrieking with laughter, when I sensed Will, and turned around almost guiltily.

  He stood silently, silhouetted in the doorway, but when I looked at him, my greeting froze unspoken on my lips. I had no idea how long he’d been watching us, but I knew he wasn’t happy. Without a word, he turned on his heel and left. Daniel and I exchanged glances. Now what? I stood up.

  ‘I’ll see you later,’ I said to Daniel.

  ‘Sure,’ he agreed, turning back to his game.

  I started up the stairs, with a feeling of foreboding and went into the drawing room. Will was standing facing the fireplace, smoking the inevitable cigarette. He didn’t turn around when I walked in, but I knew he was perfectly aware I’d arrived.

  ‘Will?’ For some reason I felt anxious and had no idea why.

  He still didn’t turn around, just threw the cigarette into the fireplace. I walked to his side and put a tentative hand on his arm. ‘What is it?’

  He did turn to look at me then, his expression unsmiling, his eyes unfathomable.

  ‘You are spending too much time alone with the boy,’ he said at last.

  ‘What?’ I stared at him in utter disbelief.

  ‘I believe you heard.’

  Anger flooded me then. ‘Oh please don’t tell me you’re still jealous of a fifteen-year- old boy,’ I said. ‘I find it hard to believe that you – you – of all people – are that insecure.’

  Will had the grace to look uncomfortable then, and pulling a cigarette pack from his pocket, he lit another without replying.

  ‘Will, for heaven’s sake, talk to me. This is ridiculous.’

  He looked down at me, but his eyes were wary. I’d never seen him like this, he was always so confident, almost to the point of arrogance. He sighed, and threw the second cigarette into the fireplace in frustration. He suddenly reached for me, and pulled me into a ferocious hug.

  ‘Elinor, I am sorry,’ he said. ‘Forgive me. Everything seems to be getting to me at the moment.’

  ‘Then talk to me,’ I said. ‘Just talk to me. Don’t shut me out Will, I can’t bear it.’

  He was quiet for a while and I let the silence hang between us this time.

  When he did speak, he sounded lost and my heart went out to him. ‘I may be several centuries old, but even I can feel insecure.’

  I reached up to brush the heavy silky hair out of his eyes, ‘You once told me love should make you feel more secure.’

  ‘Shows how much I k
now then,’ he said with a wry smile.

  I stood on tiptoes and brushed his lips with mine, ‘We haven’t seen as much of each other lately, and I hate it, really hate it.’

  ‘As do I.’ He ran a hand through my hair, twisting a length of it around his strong fingers. His eyes met mine. ‘But when I come back, and you are playing games with the boy, I feel as though you do not miss me in the same way.’

  ‘There’s no comparison,’ I said softly, ‘he’s like a son or – or a younger brother … but you … you surely know how I feel about you by now.’

  ‘Of course I do,’ he said, ‘but unfortunately, jealousy still rears its ugly head and I am truly sorry for that. It is ridiculous and childish.’ He smiled. ‘I am a man in love with a much younger woman, and it was never going to be easy.’

  ‘Well the younger woman is besotted with you, so get over yourself.’

  I went to punch him in the chest but his hands caught mine before they hit their target.

  ‘Good advice,’ he said. ‘If a trifle flippant.’

  ‘How’s the search going?’ I thought a change of subject would be favourable.

  Will took hold of my arm and led me back to the sofa. Sitting down, he held my left hand in both of his, frowning as he ran his fingers over the beautiful emerald ring he’d given me last year.

  ‘We found two more child fledglings.’ He sounded tired, and I moved closer to him. ‘One was barely seven years old. It was deranged, completely insane. Spitting blood and screaming obscenities. I am so very thankful you did not see it. Luke destroyed it. The other was older, and had just killed a man on the Heath. I tried to question it, but its brain was too damaged, and we had to destroy that one too.’

  I looked at him in horror, ‘How many more will there be? Will the man be reborn?’

  ‘No, we took care of that.’ Will put his head in his hands and I put my arms around his broad shoulders. I’d never seen him look so broken. Usually nothing seemed to worry him. Even the arrival of the Italian vampires last year hadn’t affected him like this.