The Violet Line (14 page)

“
I just don’t know,” I answered. “I didn’t hang around; the whole situation just sort of freaked me out. I should have asked him, but I just wasn’t thinking. Damn it, I might have missed one of my only chances for finding Sam. Why didn’t I think of it instead of being so wrapped up in my own head?”

Annie wrapped her arms around me. “Look, it’s ok; we’ll find him. You can’t think of everything and I’m sure this Lorcan guy will turn up again; he’s bound to. I mean, if he knows your name and he did save you from taking an early morning dip, surely we’ll cross paths with him again. Right now though, we need to concentrate on getting Sam back. Maybe we should ask Aidan about this Graham guy. What do you think? I mean, he is a vampire and he might be able to find something out for us.” She said this while taking her phone from her pocket and tapping on the small keypad. “There; it’s sent.”

We sat in silence. I was trying to blot out all types of thought and jumped as her phone emitted a high pitched beeping announcing a new text. I watched anxiously as she scanned the message.

“
Well, what did he say?” My impatience won out and the words fell from my mouth before I had even realised it.

“
He says if we head on down to their club ‘The Wreak-Room’ later on tonight, he might be able to introduce us to some vampires from the city who might know who Graham is.” Her words brought me some hope but the fact that I had to wait even longer nearly caused my eyes to fill with tears once more.

“
We have to wait? But what if he’s hurt or dying and I could help him now? I don’t think I can wait, Annie; I need to find him now.” I held my face in my hands as a shudder raked my body.

“
Even if it’s just to find his body, I need to know.” I let my words hang there between us. Her silence caused me to look up and still she could say nothing. I knew it wasn’t her fault; what could she say?

“
I don’t know what I’m going to do… without him. I just need to be doing something to find him, you know?”

“
I know and we will. Come on, we should go out and get something proper to eat and then I’ll take you shopping.”

I stared at her, my face a picture of shock. “I’ve just told you my boyfriend, my soul mate, might be dead and you expect me to be able to go shopping?” My voice shook with anger. I couldn’t help it; I needed someone to be angry at.

“
No I don’t mean like that, Jade. It’s just that Aidan said in the text that we should come dressed for that scene; you know, the vampire scene.” Her voice had taken on a placating tone, the sort of tone one might use with a small spoilt child who didn’t want to do as they were told.

“
Oh.” It was all I could muster. I felt kind of stupid for getting angry at her; I should have known it wouldn’t have been that simple. She jumped up and grabbed my hand.

“
My car or yours?” she asked me.

“
Umm.” I couldn’t think properly.

“
Ok, mine it is. You’re in no fit state to drive anywhere.” She towed me towards the front door. “Come on, first food and then shopping. It’ll help take your mind off some things, if even for a few seconds, and it is doing something constructive towards finding him.” She wrapped her arms around me tightly, giving me a comforting hug.

“
We’ll fix this I promise,” she reassured me. Even though I wasn’t sure if it would all work out in the end or even how I could go about fixing this, I wanted so very badly to believe every reassuring word she gave me. She pulled away from me and I gave her my very best attempt at a watery smile. It was the best I could do for her but if I ever got Sam back, I would have to find some way of making it up to her. Grabbing my coat, I walked out the door ahead of her and she pulled it shut behind us as we headed for town and a new look for the vampire scene.

Chapter Seventeen

Standing in front of the full length mirror in Annie’s bedroom, I stared at my reflection. What gazed back at me didn’t look anything like what I was used to looking at. We had gone shopping and I had spent what amounted to a king’s ransom on the clothes I was now wearing. Personally, they weren’t to my taste; I liked jeans and tops and this outfit was way outside my comfort zone. I turned slightly and the leather on my thigh high boots creaked. Luckily, I was one of the few lucky people who were born to walk in heels, but that didn’t make me feel any more comfortable. Black lace tights covered my legs. The satin red dress I wore had almost caused me to pass out when I saw the price, but Annie had insisted it would be perfect for the effect we were going for. True, neither of us were vampires and we weren’t even trying to pass as vampires, but we needed to look as though we belonged there; vampire groupies in a vampire bar, also known as food. I suppressed a shiver at the thought. Sam had always forbidden me to go to any of these types of bars, and his reply to my probing questions had just simply been that they were too dangerous for the unescorted. And well, he had never offered to escort me there so I had never gone. If it hadn’t been for Annie, I would never have known how to dress for the occasion. Annie walked in to the room behind me and stared at her protégé.

“
Ooh, I told you it would work,” she cooed.

“
Umm, I’m not sure about this. I don’t feel comfortable in it and I’m pretty sure they’re going to know straight away that I don’t often dress like this. I mean, come on; I exude awkwardness. That’s not sexy.” My voice held all the doubts swirling around in my head. Annie stepped up beside me in the mirror. The floor length leather skirt she had on with the slit up the side perfectly complemented the blood red corset she had on, cinching in her already tiny waist. For some irrational reason, I could feel my jealousy pique. You could dress her in a bin bag and she’d make it look like Haute Couture. Me on the other hand, whenever I dressed up, I always felt awkward; I preferred to stay casual.

“
Look,” she said, addressing my doubtful reflection. “It’s perfect on you; you will be the belle of the ball. As a matter of fact, Aidan is probably going to have problems trying to keep you under wraps in that outfit. But then that’s what we are after; we need people to see you so we can maybe find out some information. Remember, this is ultimately for Sam. And I’m sorry, but if Sam gets to see you dressed like that he’s never going to let you wear trainers and jeans again.” She said the last comment with a smile on her painted lips and followed it with a joking wink.

“
So you ready?” she asked me. Her voice brooked no argument and I nodded.

“
Sure, I’m as ready as I’m going to be; let’s go.” Turning away from my reflection, I picked up the new floor length velvet duster coat Annie had persuaded me to buy for the occasion. As we headed for the door, I tried to ignore the cold that whispered across my bare back where the dress fell low. Stepping out the door, I pulled the coat on over my goose pimpled arms and we went in search of a taxi that would take us to the bar and perhaps to some information on the one I wished was here most of all.

* * *

Pulling up outside in the taxi, I glanced around. It was run-down and dingy, not exactly the picture I had imagined for a vampire club. Boards covered most of the windows and they were completely blacked out. The door stood open; it reminded me of a gaping mouth leading straight to the pit of some hideous creature’s stomach.

Annie nudged me. “Are you getting out or are you going to sit and stare at it?”

“
Umm, are you sure we’re in the right place?” I questioned her, glancing back at the darkened building. “It doesn’t seem very lively.”

“
Hah, funny,” she said.

“
What?”

“
Lively,… vampires, you know them being dead and all; just seems a little ironic is all.” She slipped out her side of the car. I followed, not answering her statement, simply watching for any signs of movement. I didn’t feel comfortable being here. There was no sign of Aidan and that worried me; without our escort, we were simply food for the vamps. I caught a flash out of the corner of my eye and spun around, peering at the darkened street. I couldn’t see anything but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. I watched as the taillights of the taxi disappeared around the corner before turning back to Annie.

“
So, where’s Aidan anyway? I thought he was meeting us here,” I asked, looking at her vaguely worried face.

“
He said he was; he said he’d be here and to wait for him outside and under no circumstances were we to go inside without him.”

“
And I’m glad you listened to me,” he said slipping out from the shadows. He stood a few feet away, a look of uncertainty on his face. He noticed me watching him.

“
I don’t want to get too close to you and Annie; I don’t want to lose control.” His voice was filled with sadness as he watched her. “I couldn’t bear it.”

Annie didn’t answer him, just continued to stare at him. I watched as she took a step towards him only to have him take two steps away.

“
Please, Annie; don’t make it harder for me,” he pleaded with her. I touched her arm and she jumped as if I had startled her from a trance. She turned towards me, her eyes slightly glazed.

“
You have to be careful, Aidan, because she loves you. She’s more susceptible to falling under your gaze and I don’t think you have full control on that yet. But you will; I know it. You two belong together and you’ll find a way; there’s always a way.” I watched him carefully as my words sunk in. He looked panicked at the thought of the power of his gaze.

“
Will she be alright? I didn’t mean it. I shouldn’t have agreed to this. I was selfish; I just wanted to see her so badly.” He voice shook as he spoke and he kicked the dirt along the ground, no longer daring to meet either of our eyes.

“
I should go,” he said at last, shame colouring his voice.

“
Aidan, no wait; you can’t. How can I go in there without an escort? Please, you have to help me find Sam. They won’t talk to me; they’ll probably try to kill me. Please, Aidan, I can understand but I need your help.” I hated the pleading tone in my voice, but I couldn’t help it; it was true. I did need help and they would kill me if I went in there alone.

“
Jade, you’ll be fine. I felt what you did to me the other day; just do that to them if they come too close.” He turned away and started to walk back into the shadows,

“
Fine then, I’ll just take Annie in with me. Or maybe because she’s still a little dazed from your gaze, I should leave her out here. What do you think? Which is less likely to be dangerous, Aidan?” It was a desperate attempt to stop him, but I had to do something; without him, all my plans and hopes were sunk. He turned back to me, his face contorted with rage. I took a step back without even realising I had.

“
Don’t you dare take her in there,” he roared at me. “You will be fine, you don’t seem to be bothered by the gaze, but her; she’ll be picked up straight away! How could you even think about it, Jade; are you that selfish that you’d risk her? I won’t let you.” He walked towards us as he spoke. I didn’t trust the look in his eyes but I had to keep going with it. Of course I’d never endanger her; I had every intention of sending her home in a taxi, but he didn’t seem to realize that and I really needed his help.

“
Fine then, Aidan, if you help me I’ll send her back to her house in a taxi. How’s that? I think it’s pretty fair.” He stopped walking and stared hard at me, assessing whether I was telling the truth or not.

“
But if you back out, Aidan, and don’t help me, then I’ll be back here tomorrow night with her and we’ll both go in. You know she’ll come with me.” I kept my voice flat. I didn’t want him to see that I was lying through my teeth; he had to believe me.

“
Fine,” he gritted out through his teeth. “But she gets a taxi now.”

He ushered the two of us towards the top of the road where I could see the traffic passing. The street we were on seemed completely dead in comparison; even the lights seemed dimmer somehow. Stepping out ahead of us, Aidan stepped out in front of the first taxi he saw, causing the driver to come to swerving stop just inches from where he stood.

“
We could have just flagged it, you know; you didn’t need to frighten him.”

He looked at me blankly before saying, “It was more fun this way.”

I shuffled Annie towards the back door. Opening it, I could hear the taxi driver swearing at Aidan. “I’m sorry about my friend there he’s a...” I said the first thing that came to mind, “he’s a bit drunk. Umm, can you take her to North Mall; she’ll show you which one is hers.”

He grunted at me as I pushed Annie inside.

“
I’ll speak to you later, ok?”

She looked up at me as though waking up from a dream. “Jade, what? Why? Where are you going? I’m coming with you.” She made to get back out but I pushed her back inside.

“
No, it’s too dangerous; they pulled you under with their gaze so I’m sending you home. Aidan is going to help me and I’ll tell you what happened later. Ok?”

She looked as though she might argue and then changed her mind. She looked tired; the gaze did that to people especially when they weren’t used to it. “Fine, but come over to mine when you’re finished.”

I began to shut the door but her hand stopped me. “Jade, will you do me a favour?”

“
Sure,” I answered.

“
Will you tell Aidan I love him? I tried earlier but when I looked at him, I couldn’t think of anything and I don’t really remember anything either.”