ISBN 9789899734890-21
2004 Words
But Grycan wasn't to be stopped. His snarls got louder and he threw himself back at the girls, his claws ripping Daisy's skin as he landed on top of her.
She winced as Lana punched him hard on the back of his neck. The impact stopped him and he yelped, moving away as Emma produced more heat, throwing a ball of fire right into his face. Yelping for a second time, it became clear that Grycan was slowly weakening.
While she had the chance, Daisy made her move, grabbing his tail and dragging him out of the warehouse and into the sunlight. She lifted him and swung him once around her head and then tossed him with all her might until he splashed into the Thames.
'Let's get out of here now!' yelled Lana as they re-grouped and made their final escape, running as far from the building as possible.
After running for several miles, Emma turned to make sure the girls were okay.
'Wait, let's slow down,' Emma yelled. 'Daisy, are you okay? You don't look so good.'
'I... I think so,' she said, panting. 'Actually... no... no... I don't feel quite right.'
Without saying another word, Daisy collapsed into Emma's arms.
'Oh no,' she whispered as the sisters bent over to inspect her injury.
'This is so not good,' said Lana. 'We need to get her back to HQ, like now.'
oOo
'What on earth were you thinking? You could have been killed. I'm so very disappointed with you both. I thought I knew you better than this. You know the danger that lurks out there at the moment and to skip class, just to go willy nilly walking around the city? Honestly Lana, Emma. What on Earth has gotten into you? And poor Daisy. She's younger than you. And now she's injured. Quite seriously, I might add,' Eleanor said, pacing up and down her office.
The sisters stood with their heads hanging in shame. Both were trying so hard not to cry.
'We're sorry... really, really sorry,' Lana said.
'We weren't thinking,' added Emma.
'Well, I know that much. This is so unlike you, especially you, Emma,' Eleanor sighed as she sat down behind her desk. Leaning back, she looked from one sister to the other and shook her head.
'I can see how upset you are and the guilt is just oozing from you both at the moment, therefore I see no reason to punish you further. You will, however, not leave this building or the academy alone, without prior consent from me or the other Mentors, at least until we've solved this problem with the Temporal Stone. Do you understand?'
Lana and Emma both nodded. 'Yes, Eleanor.'
'Good. Right, fortunately your foolish behaviour has at least given us one location used by the Skulls. We can now put the warehouse under surveillance. We don't, however, know the identity of the woman who kidnapped you, but I think she must have been a witch. Perhaps with your descriptions, we will be able to find her and put her behind bars. We don't have the resources to deal with her at the moment though, because Declan and Diarmuid have managed to find out where this Barber character frequents while you were out gallivanting.'
Emma glanced across at Lana.
'We have groups tracking him down as we speak. You two, however, are coming with me and Sammy to search the Camden area. Daisy was supposed to be joining us but that is clearly not going to happen. Being scratched by a werewolf is serious business. Let's just hope she makes a speedy recovery.'
'Do you think she'll be alright, Eleanor?' whispered Emma.
Eleanor turned to look at her. 'I can only hope so,' she sighed before standing up again. 'I'm sure she'll be fine. Don't worry, she's in good care. She'll remain here until we return and then, if her condition has worsened, she'll be taken to Arundel hospital where she will receive the very best of care. Let's hope it doesn't have to come to that.'
Eleanor walked around her desk slowly before taking them both in her arms and hugging them tight.
'I'm just glad you're both unharmed.'
oOo
Using stopwatches (the only timekeeping devices they could find that actually worked), each group had been given 120 minutes to search their dedicated areas for Barber. They'd each been given a description of the vampire who had been allegedly roaming the streets of London, and its surroundings, for over three centuries.
Lana held the piece of paper in front of her as they stopped for a breather.
'Apparently he's about 6ft 3in, built like a rugby player and has thick long black hair and intense black eyes. According to the notes, he favours 1970s style clothes. Well, that's just weird,' Lana said as the others looked over her shoulder and read the notes themselves.
'So basically, we're looking for a long haired rugby playing vampire in a lairy big-collared shirt, flares and platforms?' Sammy chuckled.
'Possibly,' Eleanor smiled, clearly having forgiven the girls' earlier moment of madness.
'Come on, apparently a popular haunt with the vampires is just around the corner. Do be careful though, girls. We don't want to become these people's lunch.'
'Great,' Lana muttered under her breath as she folded the piece of paper and slipped it into the pocket of her skinny jeans.
Walking around the corner and down a couple more streets, Eleanor found the building she was looking for. It was a club of some kind, with a really old decrepit sign hanging loosely above the door. Sepultus.
'Nice,' said Lana.
The dull lifeless music that could be heard coming from within seemed to match its creepy name.
'Have we got to go in there?' Emma asked.
'Afraid so, but don't worry, we're all wearing our repellent chains. We should be safe enough.'
Walking down the steep steps, they stopped briefly before pushing open the large metal door. Eleanor held her head high and walked in, as the three girls tiptoed behind her.
'You know, we're actually under age for this kind of club,' Sammy said.
Eleanor turned to look at her with one eyebrow raised and a smile on her face before turning her attention back to the bar where several people sat, drinking red stuff. None of them even looked up as they entered. It was like they were in some kind of trance as the lights flashed in time to the super weird music.
Approaching the bar, Eleanor and the girls sat down as the bartender nodded his head at them.
'Sure you're in the right place, love?'
'Quite sure,' she answered. 'We're looking for someone.'
'They usually are. What can I get ya?'
'We're not here to drink, I'm afraid.'
'You come to the bar, you buy a drink,' he said, slamming a small shot glass down in front of her.
'Fair enough, but not for the girls. They're under age'
The bartender gave them an eyeful, looking them up and down before he smirked. He then filled the glass with tequila. A slice of lemon and salt were placed by Eleanor's hands.
She smiled, licked the salt from the back of her hand, gulped the shot down and followed it up by sucking the lemon.
'Now,' she said. 'We're looking for Barber.'
He raised his eyebrows at her before turning his attention back to one of his regulars who sat waiting to be served.
Taking a beautiful old bottle from a shelf below the bar, he removed the lid and tilted it into the man's glass. A thick, dark red liquid oozed its way out of the bottle and into the little glass.
The man picked it up and tipped it into his mouth before l*****g it. He then banged the glass back on the bar and turned to look at the girls. His eyes shone for a moment before the trance-like state took over his body again and he continued to rock back and forth to the sound of the music.
'Where were we, love?' said the bartender.
Eleanor smiled, 'Barber. We're looking for Barber.'
'I'm afraid I don't know anyone that goes by that name.'
'He's very tall, thick black hair. Looks like a 1970s rugby player, apparently.'
His eyes flickered in recognition.
'What do you want with him?'
'We just have some questions, that's all.'
The bartender eyed her up and down and nodded.
'He usually comes in around ten, every night.'
'That doesn't really help us at the moment, considering we've no idea when ten o'clock is,' she said, in irritation.
'He's due back any time.'
Eleanor smiled.
'In that case, I'll have another.'
He smiled and nodded in appreciation.
'I don't suppose you have anything suitable for 16 year olds?' asked Lana shyly.
The bartender laughed.
CHAPTER 26
Eleanor kept an eye on the stopwatch that hung around Emma's neck.
'I hope he comes in soon,' said Lana with a sigh. 'We're due back in a bit.'
'Don't worry. He'll be here. He'll be getting thirsty. When it comes to feeding times, vamps are rarely ever late,' Eleanor explained.
They'd been waiting an hour and their Guardian had already had three tequila shots. Each time the bartender filled Eleanor's glass, the girls looked at her in shock as she knocked them back.
'Don't worry,' she whispered. 'I can't get drunk. My body instantly metabolises the alcohol. It has no effect... but yours is a very different story. Stay away from it,' she added just as the door creaked open.
Turning to look, the younger girls all gasped at the same time as a gorgeous young guy stopped and eyed them suspiciously.
Flicking his long thick hair over his shoulder, Barber looked at the bartender who gave him a brief nod before looking towards Eleanor. Barber turned around and immediately made a run for it.
Eleanor sighed and threw a few notes on to the bar.
'Keep the change,' she said as the four of them began their pursuit up the stairs and out into the sunlight.
'Where did he go?' Emma asked as they stood at the top of the steps, looking around.
'Surely he can't have gone far, I thought vamps couldn't go out into sunlight?' Lana asked.
'It's a myth,' Eleanor shouted as she just spotted a purple shirt disappear around a corner. 'There!'
Chasing him through the streets of Camden, the girls dodged the hundreds of people who were stuck to the pavement, weaving in and out of them like a dog's agility course.
'He's gone underground,' Sammy yelled as she glimpsed him escape towards the Tube.
Heading down the steps and hopping over the barriers, all four of them stopped when they reached the tube line. Hundreds of people stood motionless.
'We're going to have to split up, I'm afraid,' said Eleanor.
'Emma, you come with me. Sammy you go with Lana. Be careful. Once he knows we only want to ask him some questions, he might calm down. Remember, we want to avoid violence,' she yelled as the other two ran off and scanned the crowd.
Breathing heavily and trying to catch her breath, Emma leant forward with her hands on her knees as she waited for her breathing to come to a slow. Looking up, she squinted, scanning through the travellers as she searched for the gorgeous vampire.
'Any luck?' asked Eleanor.
'No, I don't see him.'
'Let's try down there.'
Further down the line, Lana and Sammy were busy weaving in and out of people.
'Did you get a good look at him, Sammy?'
She nodded, 'Yeah. You?'
'I certainly did,' Lana replied, 'He was gorgeous. Talk about sexy. Is it weird that I'm strangely attracted to a vampire?'
Sammy chuckled as they continued to move.
'I don't think so. That's kind of the point isn't it? Aren't they supposed to lure you in with their beauty and charm before sucking your blood?'
Lana stopped for a moment, 'I guess you're right. I'm so predictable aren't I?' she asked, with a laugh.
Taken completely off guard, Lana felt arms suddenly wrap tightly around her.
'Who are you?' asked the deepest, sexiest voice she'd ever heard.
Gulping loudly, Lana couldn't say a word. It was like she was frozen to the spot.
'I said, who are you?' he asked again.
Sammy failed to notice Lana was no longer behind her and she continued to run through the crowd.
After a few seconds, her voice returned.
- Writer
