A Shining in the Shadows (Gabriel Davenport Series Book 2), page 2
He spat out the toothpaste and rinsed his mouth, putting his brush back into the glass where it rested against the other one.
It was late, well past midnight, but in the next wing a light shone from the window of the research room, as it probably would all night. He sighed. It didn’t matter how much he tried, Edward Carver was intent on working himself to the bone in his efforts to try and find a way to beat the demon they all knew would return.
Noah had looked for Gabe’s body—half hoping to find him, and half torn apart with fear at what he would do if he did. But there was only a thin trail of blood along the meadow, which ended suddenly in a darker pool. After that, all traces had vanished. Noah couldn’t decide if Clove had taken Gabe to soften their loss or just because he could. Some nights, he would walk the boundaries of the house, his senses trained on any dark corner, hoping for the vampire to reappear. Here he was, a man who had been in the service of the Lord, wanting nothing more than to see something undead.
He sighed again and pulled back the crisp white sheet on the bed. Should he pray? It was a hard habit to break, but why pray when nothing was listening?
The house was so quiet. No new students had passed through the doors. Carver hadn’t the heart to invite any. Noah suspected he was afraid to put anyone else in danger. The curator blamed himself, as they all did. He had been in charge, he had raged, it had been his responsibility to keep them all safe. Noah had countered that it was as much his fault as Carver’s, but it fell on deaf ears. Carver was determined to flay himself with it daily.
Noah climbed into bed, picking up his book, finding the place where his bookmark rested. He read the same lines over and over, but they refused to sink in and interrupt the churning of the darkness in his mind, ebbing and flowing like a sea on the dark side of the moon.
The door swung open, then clicked shut. He looked up and smiled.
‘We have to do something, Noah. Ella says he hasn’t eaten since breakfast and he missed his appointment with the doctor again.’ She tossed her bag onto a chair.
‘Did you eat?’
‘I grabbed something on the way back from the university. They asked if Carver would be able to present the award this year. I said I would ask.’ Her face fell as she spoke, knowing the answer already.
‘We’ll try and talk some sense into him tomorrow.’ He put his book on the night stand and propped himself up on the pillow with one elbow. She was perched on the edge of the bed, scrolling through her phone deftly, the light from the screen bathing her face in a white glow.
Noah pulled back the other side of the sheet, the cotton cool against his fingertips. ‘It’s late. Come to bed, Olivia.’
‡
Olivia Taverner stared into the darkness, listening to the gentle snores coming from Noah. His hand rested heavily on her hip but she didn’t move away. She liked the solid feel of it. It anchored her to the here and now. Anything that did that, she grasped with both hands.
She tried to remember the first time she had pulled him into her bed and couldn’t. It had been an organic thing, not planned or dreamt of. The simple pull of two people who were clinging to their sanity by the barest of threads. It wasn’t love, or at least not for her, it was comfort. How could anyone who hadn’t gone through what they had ever understand? Noah had made her face up to the fact that Ollie was gone. For weeks she had trawled the house and the cellar, sometimes in the dead of night, calling his name, talking to him, begging him to come back one last time. She wasn’t ready for never seeing him again. Noah had convinced her, in the gentlest way possible, that she had to let Ollie go.
Noah murmured in his sleep and pulled her closer, his warm body spooning hers. She remembered laughing the first morning after they had fucked, teasing him without really thinking of herself, of the fact that she had probably bought a ticket to hell by sleeping with a man of the cloth. His face had paled, the scar from the crucifix still angry on his brow. She’d stopped mid laugh, her shoulders falling like the sound. That was the first time she’d let him hold her as she sobbed her heart out. They weren’t all going to hell. They were already living it.
She missed Gabe too. She saw his face in her nightmares—and Clove, holding Gabe’s crumpled, blood-soaked body. The house was so quiet without his footsteps thundering down the stairs or his presence at dinner. Not that they ate together much anymore. Carver frequently missed Ella’s call, saying he wasn’t hungry, and many nights Olivia ate with Noah in the kitchen. The housekeeper had returned to her duties a little bit after Christmas, much to her sister’s dismay. Carver’s explanation about the whereabouts of Gabe, Beth and Ollie had been, quite frankly, pathetic. But Ella was loyal. She didn’t ask any questions, even if they lingered in her eyes.
Tom had taken to popping in unannounced and persuading Ella to sit down, after accepting the obligatory cup of tea. How much he had told her Olivia didn’t know, but whatever it was, she was grateful for Tom in so many ways. They made an unlikely alliance, the old, gruff farmer and the girl who didn’t take any crap.
Olivia’s mind swung back to Gabe. He had done nothing to deserve a death like that. A tear rolled down her cheek and soaked into the pillow.
Maybe if she had been quicker getting back to The Manor, it might have made a difference? She screwed her eyes up tightly, her fists mirroring the gesture. If the palm crosses had hit the box sooner, would the demon’s power have been weakened enough to give Gabe and Beth a fighting chance? She shivered at the thought of Beth, who hadn’t been human when she burst through the glass of the French doors. It was one of those unanswerable questions that refused to lie down, with no logical conclusion.
Noah had his own questions. But he found his solace in the bottom of a glass. She wished she could too, but alcohol depressed her and she couldn’t risk going down that road. She had to keep going, for the memory of everyone they had lost. And besides, blotting out the past didn’t make it any less painful when it came rushing back to greet you.
She turned over, finding a cool place on the pillow for her face, studying Noah’s profile in the close dark. He was a sweet man but he had demons of his own. Maybe she was one of them? She eased forward and kissed his neck behind his ear, trailing more along his jawline. He smelled of sleep but she liked it. He groaned and opened one eye.
‘Ssh.’ She held one finger in front of her lips, then touched his.
He took the hint.
Chapter Four
Clove always woke long before Teal and Moth opened their eyes, shortly followed by Gabriel. He was surprised the boy came out of his death sleep so quickly. Most fledglings woke hours after their maker. It had been no whim of fancy that had led him to turn Gabriel. Not in the end. The decision had been made long before then.
He narrowed his eyes, delving back into his memories. If he chose, he could replay them all. Every single minute of every single night for as long as his dark existence. He plucked the moment, experiencing it again in the forefront of his mind. The second Gabriel came to him in his bedroom, the second Clove had touched the mark on his face and felt the warm, racing breath against his wrist. Clove’s lips twisted into a grimace. He had been lying to himself then when he’d insisted all humans could be sacrificed. It’s why he’d kept Gabriel close through that long night, why he’d refused to let the demon claim him, and why he had taken the limp and bloodied body away from the eyes of the others.
But his decision had not come without peril. He already had two other fledglings, adding one more to the mix only increased the possibility they would be discovered by the ones who hunted newly made vampires. The ones who believed the species should be ruled by those who carried the wisdom of time, or were threatened by the vigour of youth. He was himself pure bred, made by a descendant of a bloodline that went back centuries. There were not many of his kind left, unless they were all in hiding or too bored with any kind of interaction to ever put themselves on the radar. Gabriel now carried his blood, but that wouldn’t be enough to save him if their whereabouts were discovered. The boy had not yet learnt the rudiments of his new life, and his lack of control on hunger concerned Clove. But it should have come as no surprise. Pure bred brought with it its own hardships. He would conquer it and be stronger because of his struggle.
Neither Moth nor Teal knew the real reason he had killed Sasha, the young vampire who had been part of his collective fold before Gabriel. Sasha had a rebellious streak a mile wide. Unlike Moth, who had rebelled in a way Clove could control, Sasha had been reckless, often persuading his brothers to venture out when Clove went hunting. It would have been only a matter of time before they would have got themselves noticed. Clove had taken no pleasure in killing Sasha. It was a waste of young blood, but it had been a hard lesson for Moth and Teal. They had looked at him with fear in their eyes for weeks afterwards.
He sighed and gazed out onto the sweeping moorland below. It was a clear night with a thousand stars, away from the smog of manmade light. But they would have to leave. Their kill might be discovered and they had been in this place too long.
Aka Maga’s silence disturbed him on another level. He had fully expected the demon to search for them after it had grown accustomed to its new skin. It was waiting. But for what? For him to become complacent? That would not happen. He had learnt his lesson well enough the last time.
But none of them knew why he had devoted his life to keeping them safe, when it would have been so much easier to melt into the night and let them fend for themselves. Moth raged against Gabriel, the two of them butting heads as they vied for their place in this coven of sorts. Both headstrong and proud but limited by true knowledge.
The night would come when he would have to tell them that the one who was truly special was Teal.
‡
The three freshly killed rabbits dropped at their feet told Moth this was yet another moving night.
Teal scooped one from the floor and handed it to him. It was still warm, its neck broken by a flick of Clove’s wrist. But after last night and the feast of human blood, it didn’t look appetising. And he wasn’t really all that hungry. Then he remembered human blood filled the void inside so much better. He let the rabbit dangle from one hand, aware Gabriel was stirring behind him. Moth liked the fact that he and Teal woke up first. It wasn’t much, but it was a reminder to their latest brother that he still was pretty much wet behind the ears.
The sting of last night and Gabriel getting the first kill bite irritated him more than it should. But he couldn’t deny that seeing him lapping away at what they had left, had been incredibly satisfying.
Clove waited for Gabriel to join them. Moth made sure he didn’t even glance in Gabriel’s direction. They were stuck with each other, but that didn’t mean he had to like him. And he was no Sasha. He tried to put the image to rest of Sasha’s scream as Clove grabbed him by the throat. Moth remembered as if it was yesterday how hard the young vampire had tried to fight, and how many nights it had taken for both he and Teal to understand that they weren’t next.
‘It is time to leave.’ Clove interrupted his thoughts.
Moth tensed as Gabriel’s shoulder brushed his.
‘We’re breaking our isolation. There is an acquaintance I need to speak with. We’ve been solitary for a long time and things have changed.’
No one ever asked why and Clove never offered a reason. Until now.
‘What kind of things?’ Gabriel blurted out. Moth bristled. Always fucking questions.
Clove held up his hand for silence. ‘I’m not going to sugar coat anything. There is discord in our species. I can feel it on the air most nights. I have to find out why, even though it will be challenging for you. We will be visiting a town.’
Moth didn’t like to be under scrutiny, but the thought of mingling with so many humans in one place was a definite one up on this hole in the rock in the middle of nowhere. His mouth watered.
Gabriel frowned, a line creasing his brow. Moth wondered how he would cope with so much temptation surrounding him. Clove wouldn’t take them into a dangerous situation, but surely his newest fledgling was a ticking time bomb.
Teal had the rabbit up to his mouth, sucking the blood from a small wound in its throat. It was a meagre meal.
‘Eat. We leave in minutes.’ Clove stood at the mouth of the cave, his profile unmoving in the moonlight.
With a sigh, Moth ripped the belly of his rabbit open, lapping the thick blood from around the organs. Gabriel bent down to pick up the remaining rabbit. Moth spat out a chunk of wet pink tissue. It landed at the side of Gabriel’s hand.
Gabriel raised his head and glared, his lips twitching, exposing a slice of white fang.
‘You’re going to have to control yourself once we’re out in the open.’ Moth couldn’t help a smirk. The rabbit had suddenly developed more taste.
Chapter Five
The closeness of the small town embraced us, another world of concrete and traffic and chaos.
It had been so long since I had been anywhere with this number of people. Carver didn’t like the noise and had only taken me when he had to. I thought back to the last time, a piano board certification in one of the grand old Georgian houses facing the square. But this was a different town.
A fine, warm drizzle whispered into the early evening. Clove fell into step beside me, with Moth and Teal slightly in front. I didn’t miss the way Teal’s gaze fell longingly on the bookstore windows. He was wearing dark sunglasses, a precaution by Clove. He didn’t want any attention coming our way.
A thousand heartbeats sounded in my head and I had to grit my teeth as people swarmed past. A girl about my age, with her head bent towards her phone screen, walked into me. Her eyes darted to mine and she smiled, uttering a ‘sorry’ as the phone rang. I looked away quickly. Moth turned around and grinned, but it was feral.
Hunting had been meagre as we travelled, but last night we had brought down a young guy on the outskirts of the nearby city where the university stood. He had been drunk. Too drunk even to scream. I had let Moth deliver the kill bite to try and prove to Clove that I could wait. I don’t think he knew that I had driven a fang through my tongue in my struggle.
Now we were a few miles west, in the old town that nestled under the shadow of the city. This was Westport Quay, carved out of the cliff sides and out of a rich smuggling history. A quaint little slice of old England, with a seedier past she kept under wraps.
No one paid us any attention, but Clove kept us off the main streets, negotiating alleyways and cut-throughs with razor-sharp precision. He knew this place well. We all followed with blind trust. He paused as we neared the central part of the old town. The tall, Gothic spires of the cathedral punched into the night above us.
‘Keep close and don’t acknowledge them.’
Teal’s mouth opened in surprise, but Clove had already forged on ahead. I found myself walking by Moth as the path narrowed.
‘What did he mean by them?’ My heart fluttered in my chest.
‘I don’t know,’ Moth answered, for once not goading me.
I trained my senses all around, tuning out the background noise of traffic and people, honing my sight and hearing and smell. Right away, the heady scent of lilies drifted from over the red brick wall that surrounded the cathedral. And then I saw them, rising into the air as they too sensed us, dozens of frail wisps coming together, unmistakably people. Men, women, children. Maybe a hundred translucent forms, their arms outstretched towards us.
Moth’s gasp of surprise mirrored mine and, for an instant, I halted in my tracks, unable to stop myself from looking at them. Looking through them.
‘Gabriel.’ Clove’s sharp retort brought me back, and I ran, falling in line with Moth and Teal. I was almost glad they looked as freaked out as I felt.
Clove turned into an alleyway. ‘Remember, ignore them.’ He paused and added, ‘hold hands.’
Teal didn’t need to be told again. He was between us and slipped his hands first into Moth’s and then mine. I was glad Moth hadn’t been in the middle.
The ghosts or spirits or whatever else they were, hovered above us now. I could feel the weight of them even though they looked like they weighed nothing at all. And that smell. I shuddered. Funeral flowers.
Keeping Clove only a few steps in front, we walked together with hands clasped. This was the first time I’d had any real contact with another person since the night Clove made me. There were the people we killed and fed upon, but I barely felt them. This, this was different. Teal glanced towards me and smiled. Even behind his sunglasses, I swore I could almost see those beautiful eyes glinting. He might not be a very good example of a vampire in cunning, but he had won the lottery in a physical sense.
Without warning, a form dropped onto the path right in front of us, its mouth open in a silent wail. Despair flowed from it in waves. Teal hesitated and I squeezed his hand, gritting my teeth and forcing my feet forward. We walked right through it and a chill ran along my bones. I glanced over my shoulder. It had disappeared, the others with it, leaving only the cloying smell.
Clove waited under the shadow of an old gas lamp, its bright flame dancing behind the dirty glass.
‘Spirits of the dead always congregate in places such as this.’ Clove gestured to the brooding mass of the cathedral. ‘They sense us as we sense them. But never try to engage one. They will steal your sanity.’
