The Temporal Stone (The Morgan Sisters) (20 page)

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.

'If you release me, I'll tell you. We're not here to harm you, we just want to talk,' she whispered as his hold loosened slightly and he turned her to face him.

Her body became like a rag doll the instant she took in his stunning face. The description she held in her back pocket didn't do him justice at all. His eyes weren't black, for a start. They were blue, but such a dark shade of blue that they could easily be mistaken for black, she supposed. His hair was thick, shiny and wavy and it seemed to ripple, even though there was no wind.

Her eyes travelled down his face and she couldn't help but lick her lips as his own full soft pink lips cried out to be kissed. Her knees buckled so that he was no longer gripping her, but holding her up.

She sighed with a smile.

'Lana!' screeched Sammy as she ran back towards them.

Barber tore his eyes away from Lana and looked up.

'Don't even try it,' Sammy shouted.

'I...I...I...' muttered Barber as he let go of her and turned to run.

But Sammy was too quick, throwing herself on him. He tripped, falling to the ground.

Before he had the chance to react, Eleanor and Emma were standing beside him.

'Good work, girls,' Eleanor smiled.

'Are you Barber?' she asked.

The vampire slowly stood up, dusting his clothes off.

'Why do you want to know?' he asked.

Lana melted again at the sound of his sweet voice.

'I apologise for chasing you down, but we are Watchers and...'

'I know who you are. I just don't know what you want with me,' he asked, pushing his long hair behind his ear.

'Yes well, we merely want to ask you some questions...'

'Then ask them.'

'Actually, would you mind if we went somewhere a little more comfortable? You see, our friends are waiting for our return. If you know who we are, then you'll know that we try to avoid violence when possible. We really are just trying to solve this problem,' she said as she pointed to the people frozen in time. 'If you don't mind?'

Barber looked at the other girls, his eyes finally resting on Lana. She twirled her curls in her fingers and blushed. He nodded.

'Thank you.'

Walking silently back through the crowded tube station, Lana pulled Emma to one side and whispered, 'Isn't he just the most gorgeous guy you've ever seen, I mean, like... ever seen?' she swooned.

'Lana, he's a vampire for goodness’ sake,' she tutted.

'I know,' Lana breathed. 'I think I'm in love.'

Emma shook her head and grabbed her, pulling her along so that they could keep up with Sammy.

'Lana's under his spell,' Emma said, rolling her eyes.

Sammy tried not to laugh as she watched Lana ogle him ahead of her.

'Why did you run, Barber?' Eleanor asked, finally breaking their silence as they walked back through Camden towards Praxos.

'I'm a vampire. You're the Guardian of the Watchers. I presumed you wanted me dead.'

'You can't really have thought that, considering you didn't make that much of an effort to escape,' she said, smiling as he shrugged his shoulders. 'You presumed wrong. Why would you think that anyway?' she added.

He walked in silence before answering, 'Some of my peers would have me believe you hunt us down.'

Eleanor stopped. When he realised she was no longer by his side, he turned to look at her.

'We aren't a violent group, Barber. Sometimes we have to fight back, which has, in the past, led to loss of life. But we are certainly not hunters. Not the kind you think we are, anyway. Yes, we do search for evil and deal with it but we also help our supernatural society.'

Barber nodded as they continued to walk.

'Our research... about you,' she blushed slightly, 'led me to believe you aren't one of the evil ones. I got the impression you've been up to no good in the past but I don't think you've ever killed anybody who was innocent?' she half asked.

'What do you really know of me, Eleanor Hayden-Jones?'

She gasped.

'Yes, I know exactly who you are.'

'Then we are on an even keel. You know who I am. I know who you are.'

Barber sniggered. 'You do not know me.'

'I know good when I see it.'

Barber slowed down and turned to face her. 'How can you possibly know that? The life I have led could not possibly be a good one. I am a vampire, Eleanor. I feed from human blood.'

Eleanor smiled, 'There's no point in trying to scare me, Barber. I know the blood you feast on is from a blood bank. The last time you drank from a warm body was many years ago.'

His brows beaded together and he shook his head. 'How do you know that?' he whispered.

'I am the Guardian of the Watchers, I know a lot of things. Now, here we are. Would you please come on?' she invited him.

Barber smiled warmly for the first time and followed them up the steps to the main entrance of the Praxos house.

'Girls, please would you head to the Academy and tell the others that our guest has arrived. Perhaps you would be kind enough to ask Wilbur to make some tea, and a special drink for Barber.'

Sammy and Emma nodded and turned to run back down the road towards Gower Street.

'Erm, Lana. You too please,' Eleanor added.

Lana swooned before reluctantly turning and joining Sammy and her sister.

Barber watched her walk away.

CHAPTER 27

'I'm in love,' Lana whispered quietly, over and over again as she remembered the chiselled cheekbones, the long masculine nose and those soft kissable lips.

She sighed as she curled up on the sofa, twirling her hair around her fingers.

'What's going on with your sister?' Diarmuid asked as they walked past the living room and he spotted her all alone, smiling to herself in a day dream.

'She met a guy today.'

'Oh cool,' he said with a grin as he draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her towards him.

'No, not cool, Diarmuid. He's a vampire. That vampire we were sent out to track down.'

Diarmuid stifled a laugh.

'She's fallen for Barber?'

Emma nodded, 'It's not funny. He's dangerous.'

'Possibly. Possibly not. Some people would consider us to be dangerous,' he replied.

Emma pushed him away.

'Aw, c'mon, you can't compare us to him.'

'Well, he did come back willingly. Did he try to hurt you?'

Emma shook her head.

'Well then, maybe you should give the guy the benefit of the doubt.'

'But he's like... hundreds of years old.' she gasped.

'He's 18.'

Emma crossed her arms.

'Okay so he's 321.'

'How do you know that?'

I did the research on him, remember?'

'Oh yeah. So what else can you tell me about him, then?'

'Does it matter? He's here now and he seems to be helping us. Surely that's what really matters?'

'Not when it comes to my sister.'

Diarmuid pulled her arms down and looked right at her.

'Emma, he's here for a brief conversation with Eleanor and then he's going to go back to wherever it was he came from. I'm sure Lana's feelings will wear off soon enough and she'll be back to her usual flirty self with every other male student at the Academy. Seriously, babe, you've got nothing to worry about.'

oOo

Barber took the goblet from the tray in Wilbur's hands and took a long sip of its contents before glancing across at Eleanor as she sipped her cup of tea.

'Thank you,' he said, lifting the glass in appreciation.

'Our pleasure.'

'Do you always have O Negative on your premises?'

Eleanor laughed. 'We always try to accommodate our guests.'

He finished drinking the dark liquid and then placed the goblet on the small table beside him.

'You were saying about this strange artefact?'

'Yes,' she said, as she put her cup back on the saucer and relaxed back in the chair. 'We understand that it was in your possession a while back.'

Barber frowned. 'I don't recall...'

'It was when you spent some time with Phillip James Bottomley and Rogue,' she interrupted.

He closed his eyes and nodded. 'Not a time of my life I'm proud of, but please go on.'