Tempt (Ava Delaney #3) (25 page)

I moped
about for a while before the twins joined me, sitting on either
side of me. Being around them was nice, once I got past the creepy
factor. They were calm beings, not full of the rage I was, even
though their lives had been a lot worse. They made me feel
ungrateful, more ready to change myself instead of everyone
else.

“
I need to get home. Tonight has to be the night,” I
said.

“
A lover needs you?” Lorcan asked.

“
More like a brother,” I corrected. Carl was family, and I had
to be there if he died. I had to be there to try and help him carry
on for longer. I
had
to be there, full stop.

“
You know Lucia’s reckonings aren’t always accurate. Things
can easily change.”

“
Then, I’ll have to track her myself. Either way, I’m going
home tonight. I’m going to check out ferries and flights. I need to
prepare myself, and you need to figure out exactly what you’re
going to tell the vampires. You could say she escaped in the docks,
and Lucia had a vision she left the country, so I jumped on a ferry
to track her over the water. If they don’t believe you, act like I
had you under my thrall. They’ll come after me, not you. I still
need some help from home, but no matter what, I’m leaving
tonight.”

I gazed
at the shrouded exit, contemplating everything. “Did you do
that?”

Lorcan
followed my line of sight. “Oh, that. Yes. Sort of. It was already
there, we just boosted it a little. Keeps us out of sight, out of
mind.”

“
Think the vampires watch us when we track Becca?”

“
Yes. I’m sure of it.” He nudged me. “But you’re safe in this
little part of the world.”

I rubbed
my nose, wishing I could hide in that part forever. “Any chance of
you two doing something similar tonight?”

The
twins exchanged looks. “We were counting on it.”

“
You two are pretty special. I’m not surprised the vampires
want you on their side.”

“
We’ve been smart enough not to show anyone exactly what we
can do,” he said, and a shiver of anticipation ran down my spine at
the passion behind his words.

Later, I
made the phone call I had been putting off. Gabe was the only one I
could turn to. I had to take the chance, despite the
risk.

“
You really are crazy,” he said after I told him my plan.
“They could start a war over this.”

“
Not if you back me up. Look, they’re going to start problems
if they have Becca. And that’s another thing. When they realise
they can’t use her, they’re going to turn to the vampires who
started this formula crap in the first place. They want in. That
much is obvious.”

He took
in a breath. “You’re so much more trouble than you’re
worth.”

“
Yeah, well, after this I’m done with you people. No need to
worry about what I’m worth anymore.”

“
Don’t be so melodramatic,” he scoffed.

“
I mean it. I’m going to do the things you lot can’t be arsed
with.”

“
Such as?” he asked coolly.

“
Um, maybe tackle the slave markets, the missing children,
and, oh yeah, the demonic possession that your own Guardians are
probably taking part in.” I couldn’t help getting annoyed. Gabe
never failed to rattle me in some way.

“
The Council deals with a lot of things you will never even
know about,” he said. “When you return, come to the bar. I have
something to discuss with you, and that’s the only place I know
where we won’t be overheard by the wrong ears.”

“
Fine. You gonna back me up or not? There are people here
taking a risk for me. I don’t want them doing that for
nothing.”

He
hesitated then groaned. “Fine. When you return, I’ll orchestrate a
‘killing’ and let the British Committee know we took care of Becca
on our own soil.”

***

“
She wasn’t here tonight.” I sniffed the night air. Nothing.
Becca’s plans had changed since Lucia had seen them. The twins had
insisted on joining me, and I had to let them in case I was seen
alone on the night they were supposed to be my witnesses. We had
gone back to the housing estate from the previous night so I could
track Becca’s old scent, but the trail went dead right outside
it.

I tried
not to think about Carl, but his face kept popping into my mind. I
had taken him on a dangerous path, and it might be too late for him
to find his way back. I had to feel guilt for that. All night, I
had been counting. Heartbeats, footsteps, passing cars. I kept
breaking down numbers until I had primes. A never-ending litany in
my head. I had become certain of one thing. The less I cared, the
less I needed to count. My choices were either to have a heart of
ice or be crippled with a nervous disorder. Fun.

“
When we find her, what do you want us to do?”

“
Hide. Run. Your pick. Just don’t forget to hide us when the
time comes. Hey, Lucia, any thoughts on the outcome
yet?”

She
shook her head, frowning with the concentrated effort she was
putting into listening to whatever sent her the clues.

We
wandered for hours, looking for something, anything. We didn’t even
know if Becca was still in the country. She could have been
anywhere. But she had only fed once the previous night, and that,
coupled with her injury, made me pretty sure she wasn’t strong
enough to go far without a decent feed.

It
wasn’t until a police car sped past, sirens wailing, that Lucia saw
something.

“
She’s been feeding,” Lorcan told me. “It isn’t close, but if
we hurry, we might find a trail you can follow.”

The
twins were as fast, if not faster, than I was. It felt good to push
myself alongside them. They made me feel like less of a freak, and
I had the feeling I would miss them once I went home. I knew I let
myself get attached too easily, but I couldn’t help it.

An hour
later, I finally caught Becca’s scent. Relief flooded through me,
but it wasn’t over yet. I still had to catch up to her. I still had
to finish her. I still had to kill again. And then, I had to make
it home and hope it wasn’t too late for Carl. Our link was
weakening quicker than I expected, and I knew I only had one chance
left.

We
closed in on Becca in a quiet part of the country. Quaint stone
cottages dotted the area, and the place seemed too quiet for a
supernatural battle. I caught sight of her before she noticed me.
She watched a lone man shuffle with his terrier in the distance,
and I could see her sizing him up, perhaps wondering if he were
worth attacking. I voted no on the basis of the ankle-biter
alone.

“
Keep out of the way, and do your thing when you can,” I
whispered to the twins, pushing them into a nearby garden. “I’ll
see you when it’s over.”

I broke
into a run, refusing to take my eyes off Becca again. I couldn’t
let her go. My heart drumming in my chest, I caught her attention
before she made it to her next victim. Recognition flashed across
her face, but she was unrecognisable as the woman who had once
creeped me out. Her hair was falling out in clumps, judging by the
bare patches on her skull, her skin was decaying, actually rotting.
Her lips were split open from her fangs, as though she wasn’t
careful with her bites. No matter how repulsive she looked, I still
felt a slight pang of pity for her. She hadn’t asked to be what she
was. Not that.

“
This is it,” I called out to her. “I’m going to make the
thirst go away, Becca. I’m going to put you out of your
misery.”

She
uttered a harsh cry and fled, but I was ready to chase her. She
sprinted for fifteen minutes, and I thought my heart might burst
out of my chest. Not from the exertion, but the apprehension of
what might go wrong. So many people depended on me, and I had never
pulled through for anyone. I had no Peter, no Carl, no Eddie to
help. Just me and Becca, the way it should always have
been.

Becca
went on all fours again and leapt over a railing into a graveyard.
I couldn’t see her by the time I made it inside, but her scent
pervaded the night air, and I knew she was still around.

I felt
magic in the air. The peculiar sensation sparked some memories,
like the magic at the trial and, curiously, Folsom’s place. When I
looked behind me, the edges of the graveyard were shrouded by mist.
I mentally thanked the twins for their help.

Many of
the tombstones were cracked and discoloured. The cemetery was huge,
and therefore easy to hide in. I reached out and tried to see
Becca’s energy. Spotted her. Running away again. I still didn’t
know why she kept running from me, and I was beginning to regret
not taking the possibly fae sword from Lorcan.

Jumping
over headstones somehow felt wrong—disrespectful of the dead—but it
was easier to catch up to Becca by moving directly over the old
graves.

She
surprised me by attacking me first. She leapt from a huge granite
memorial, knocking me to the ground. We struggled briefly, both
trying to get in a few good digs. I sensed she knew it would be our
final fight, that it would decide everything. She seemed as
determined as I was to end it for good.

She
clawed the back of my neck, slicing my skin easily. It stung, but I
was too wound up to really think about it. She tried to bite me,
but my cross fell along the chain and surprised her. It couldn’t
kill her, but the pain seemed to put her off balance.

I pushed
myself to my feet and kicked her as hard as I could in the face.
She flew backward against a tombstone that broke in two from the
force of her body. Her density seemed to have changed drastically
since she had become… whatever the hell she was.

The
impact didn’t even faze her. She came at me harder than ever, fangs
dripping with blood-tainted saliva, her next strike knocking loose
one of my back teeth. I spat out blood as I backed away in a hurry,
narrowly avoiding her claws. A fierce warrior, she never stopped
moving or swinging. And I had no real idea how to kill
her.

She
jumped like an animal, and I dropped to the ground to avoid her
teeth. If she managed to bite me, I was screwed. Back on my feet, I
grabbed her shirt and whirled her around, flinging her into a huge
headstone. Her back cracked against it, and she crumpled to the
ground. I grabbed her by the hair and whacked her head against the
marble, cracking open her skull.

Despite
her head splitting open, and a spongy substance leaking out, she
kept moving. She grabbed my ankle, pulling me to the ground. I
kicked at her with my other foot, but she was like steel. She bit
hard on my ankle, and immediately, pain scorched my body. The
paralysis happened slowly, from my ankle upward, just like before.
The same mistake twice. I refused to stop struggling, but my legs
grew weaker and weaker by the second.

“
Ava!”

Lorcan
had some kind of pole in his hands. He rolled it over to me.
Silver. At least on the outside. One end was pointed and covered in
dirt. Utilising my last bit of strength, I stabbed Becca through
the top of her head. With a disturbing snap of bone, her body
shuddered and jerked for a few minutes. Then, she stopped moving.
Just like that. Her fangs still penetrated my skin, and her
paralysing poison still flooded my body. I couldn’t move. But she
was dead, really dead.

I lay
flat on the ground, staring at the sky. It was over.

Lorcan
rushed over to me, eyes full of worry. “Are you okay?”

I tried
to point at my leg, but my arm no longer moved. Drowsiness overtook
me, and nothing seemed to matter anymore. My eyes closed, and I
slept.

***

I must have only been unconscious for a couple of minutes
because the twins still stood above me, silently arguing over what
to do next. The feeling came back to my body. I
hurt
. Everywhere.

Becca’s
body lay a few yards away. The twins had moved me. Her head hung at
a funny angle from her body; I had almost decapitated
her.

“
Gross,” I mumbled, startling the twins.

“
You okay?” Lorcan looked embarrassed. “I didn’t realise she
was still hurting you. Lucia took her fangs out of your leg. Some
of them were embedded in your skin.”

“
Ew.” I didn’t have the energy for long sentences. I looked at
the thing I had used to kill Becca, thinking it looked suspiciously
like a giant, skinny candle.

“
It’s part of a massive family memorial at the other end of
the graveyard,” Lorcan said. “I should probably clean it and put it
back. Just in case.”

I flexed
my limbs, feeling a lot better. “I think I can get up now. Should I
bury her here?”

Lorcan
looked around. “Isn’t it a bit too… sacred for her?”

“
She was human once. Maybe this is the perfect place for
her.”

He
shrugged. “I better go find your bag. I dropped it along the
way.”

“
I thought I told you to hide or run away or something,” I
called after him. He grinned back at me.