Eddie Lancaster Box Set 2, page 18
part #4 of Eddie Lancaster Series
‘Right. We know the cure now,’ I said. ‘We just need to get the big guy’s heart and then we can go back to our normal lives.’
‘I can never go back to a normal life,’ Emma said quietly. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring at the carpet vacantly.
‘What?’ I said looking down at her. Matt who was sitting next to her seemed to realise what she meant before the rest of us.
‘Oh, shit,’ he said in open mouthed despair.
‘Matt turned me. So, the only way to reverse it is to…’ Emma didn’t finish the sentence.
‘Eat my heart,’ he finished. Neither of them looked at each other. I looked around at the other awkwardly stunned faces around the room. Even Margie, who was once again conjured up, looked shocked and she never got surprised by anything.
‘I’m going to pop out and get us some dinner,’ Aldric said and headed for the door. ‘Don’t worry. Nothing alive,’ he added when he saw the look on my face. I would not let him bring living humans to be eaten.
‘Emma,’ Matt said. He took her hands in his. ‘You mean the world to me. You’re the reason I live. Seeing you smile literally brings joy to my heart. Since I turned you I haven’t seen that smile. Not once and I understand why. If you remain a vampire forever then I know you won’t ever be happy again and I can’t live like that.’ I tried to resist cringing. These sorts of speeches should be reserved for private moments.
‘What are you saying?’ she asked. Her eyes were getting teary. I looked at Ashley and she looked like she might cry too. Women.
‘I’m saying, you can have my heart. I’ll happily die so you can live the life you deserve.’
‘Oh!’ gasped Emma. Her hand went to her chest and she started crying openly. ‘No… No… I could never… Don’t be so stupid!’ she shouted and slapped him on the arm. ‘I’m not going to let you die just so I can be a bit happier. I’m still alive aren’t I? I can learn to live like this you idiot. What a bloody stupid thing to say.’
‘I was trying to be nice and all that,’ he said sheepishly. He looked at me for support but I just shrugged.
‘Well, you were being a moron,’ she said. I had to agree with her on that. ‘Jesus, neither of us has to die. I can’t be cured but you can, so let’s concentrate on getting that bastard’s heart and getting his vampires out of this town.’
‘Good idea,’ I said, hiding a smirk at Emma’s reaction to Matt’s gesture.
Before we could start talking, Aldric retuned with a cooler box full of blood bags. I didn’t ask where he’d gotten them from. I didn’t want to know. Those of us that now drank blood did so, whilst the humans ate whatever they could find in the kitchen, which wasn’t much because Pete had cleared it out. Aldric had to stop Matt, Emma, and I from drinking too much blood. It was just so good, I could happily drink it for an eternity. Yes, I was aware that I was developing an addiction, but that’s normal in new vampires. Once we were all done we returned to the living room to discuss our next steps.
‘The problem remains. We can’t hurt Sebastian. None of us are strong enough and magic can’t touch him. We can’t even get the sodding ring off his finger,’ I said after an hour of coming up with shit ideas.
Ashley let out a loud exclamation and sat up straighter in her chair. ‘We’ve been trying to find a way to weaken Sebastian but what if we just got a vampire who’s stronger than him?’ she asked.
‘It would take too long to find one and convince them it was in their best interests to help us. I, for one, do not know of any,’ said Aldric.
‘Then we make our own,’ she said and folded her arms smugly.
‘I don’t follow,’ said Aldric. Neither did I, or anyone else it seemed.
‘Eddie, do you remember the ritual you wrote for Killian Myers? You made him invincible and super-strong. If we did that ritual again and this time gave the potion to a vampire it could make them stronger than Sebastian. You’ve got the power this time to make the effects permanent and not drain someone’s life.’
It was genius. Pure genius. But it wouldn’t work. ‘I used vampire blood in that ritual. It would only work if I used the blood of a vampire a lot stronger than Sebastian,’ I said.
‘Which leads us back to the problem of needing to find such a vampire,’ said Aldric lazily. He was slouching in his chair, one hand propping up his head.
‘Like an Aramaya vampire?’ Ashley said. Aldric sat up straight, as did I. Aramaya vampires were possibly the most powerful in the world. We went through this earlier but I’ll give you a quick recap. Aramaya vampires were the first ever Osirian vampires. They’re much stronger than regular vampires.
‘Ashley, that’s dangerous,’ I said apprehensively.
‘Incredibly dangerous. But it’s also brilliant,’ said Aldric. ‘You have got a very clever lady here, Eddie. Never let her go.’ She smiled broadly at his compliment, clearly pleased with herself.
‘Ashley, you know my history with that family,’ I said.
‘Not the family. Just Ramsay. We only need to find one of the others. Unless you have a better idea.’
‘I don’t,’ I confessed. Her plan was the only one we had and it was the best plan we were likely to come up with.
‘We’d be creating a super vampire. Impervious to pain. Unable to die. Stronger than any other vampire. And there’s only one of us who could take the potion.’ My gaze fell on Aldric.
‘I would do so happily,’ he said and smiled like the Cheshire cat, his dark eyes sparkling.
‘Why can’t one of us do it?’ Matt asked.
‘Because, once we drink the potion there would be no way to reverse the vampirism. It would be permanent.’
‘There’s no way for me to reverse it anyway,’ Emma told me.
‘Are you volunteering?’ I asked. ‘It isn’t just about having all that power. You’d need skill to beat Sebastian. Plus, you’d be unkillable. What if in a hundred years you decide you’ve lived for long enough? What if Matt died and you wanted to join him in the afterlife. There’s no way out. You are stuck that way forever.’
Her eyes shifted as she pondered my words. ‘Alright, he can have it.’ She nodded at Aldric.
I took in a deep breath and let it out. ‘You’d best stick to your word,’ I warned him.
‘I always do.’
‘Really? Because you told that girl in Muggs you’d let her go and then you killed her,’ I reminded him.
‘I never said I wouldn’t kill her. She wasn’t fast enough to leave before I removed her head,’ he said casually.
‘Once this is all done with, you leave Maidstone and you never return.’
‘Absolutely. I will never be a problem for you and neither will the Syndicate.’
‘And you won’t cause any exposures?’
‘I will not. My values are very different from Sebastian’s. I prefer to live in secret.’
I still didn’t feel particularly trusting but I didn’t have any other options. ‘Alright. Then let’s get to work.’
Chapter Twenty-Eight
‘Dean, I need to know where I can get some Aramaya blood?’ I said down the phone. I was hoping that Clara might have some stashed away somewhere in case she ever had a use for it. Vampire blood is valuable if the vampire is powerful enough.
‘You’re kidding, right?’ he said flatly.
‘Not at all,’ I replied.
‘Why do you need it?’
‘It’s the only way to take down Sebastian. Where can I find it?’
‘The only place you’re going to get that is from the source,’ he said disappointingly.
‘Great,’ I muttered. ‘Tell me where to find one and not Ramsay.’
‘You’ve got some history with Ramsay, I take it?’ I could hear that he was somewhat amused.
‘You could say that. He told me if I ever returned to Cedarstone he’d kill me.’
‘Well, you just make friends everywhere you go, don't you?’
‘I was trying to help someone actually. Can you help me or not?’ I snapped.
‘Alright no need to get shirty. You don't need to worry about Ramsey, he hasn't been seen around Cedarstone for a couple of years. His brother Michael, on the other hand, is quite well known. I'll text you his address. But I’ve got to warn you, Eddie, going after any Aramaya’s blood, Ramsay or otherwise, is not going to end well for you.’
‘I can handle myself. Text me the address,’ I said and hung up.
As soon as I had the address we got going. There was still five hours of darkness left and if we moved fast we could get everything we needed before sun rise. The way things were going I wasn’t sure we’d be able to survive Sebastian for much longer. I got the impression that when he found us, he wouldn’t try to make any deals. This time we were all going to die, whether he could get in the house or not.
Aldric went to fetch the diamond. He took Matt and Emma, to give them some vampire training and all that, since Emma was going to be a vampire forever. We left Margie guarding the house with the siblings in it. She refused to actually speak to them, which was understandable but she agreed not to let them come to any harm. Ashley and I headed to Cedarstone.
The house Michael Aramaya lived in was humungous. There were no other houses in sight. There was also no way of sneaking in. The grounds were hidden by tall conifer trees but beyond them was nothing but open space. A stone path cut through acres of bare grass, right up to the house. There were two cars outside the house which could provide cover, but getting to them would be difficult.
‘How can you get inside?’ Ashley asked. We were sitting in our car on the street looking up at the house. Staying in the car conferred no benefit because ours was the only car there. The house was seriously secluded.
‘The house is owned by a vampire so I can enter uninvited,’ I explained. ‘The problem is getting to the door without being seen.’
‘That shouldn’t matter too much. You can move at super speed. Just pick me up and whoosh us over there,’ she said as if it were that easy.
‘Whoosh us?’ I said grinning.
‘That’s the noise that happens when vampires move fast,’ she said.
I let out a small laugh. ‘Well a vampire can see slower vampires moving fast so it wouldn’t help us.’ I had no doubt that I was slower than Michael Aramaya.
‘Maybe we’re overthinking this. I mean, Michael isn’t at war is he? So, he has no reason to be watching his driveway. He’s not expecting an attack.’
‘That is a good point.’
‘Let’s just walk up there, find a way in, do a bit of magic to knock him down, steal the blood and run.’
‘Easy as pie,’ I said. ‘Alright, I haven’t got a better plan.’
We got out of the car and I whooshed us up to the house just like she said. We found a door at the back of the house and I threw some magic at the lock but it didn’t work. The door stayed resolutely locked.
‘Let me try,’ Ashley said sympathetically.
‘My magic still works,’ I said in outrage.
‘Sure, you’re just stressed or something,’ she said and gave me a wink. Cheeky bitch. She threw a spell at the door and got the same reaction.
‘Ha!’ I said a little too loudly. We both froze but after a minute or so nobody came to investigate so we assumed we hadn’t been heard. ‘There’s only one way in then,’ I said. I grabbed hold of the door handle and pulled as hard as I could. The entire door came away from the frame in my hand and I just managed to stop myself from falling underneath it.
‘Eddie!’
‘I don’t know my own strength,’ I said foolishly and placed the door up against the wall. ‘After you, madam.’ I gestured. ‘Actually, after me, in case there’s trouble,’ I added and jumped in front of her.
The house was thankfully deserted. After wandering the lavish halls and entering empty but well-furnished rooms for several minutes we finally found a man sitting in a room full of posh arm chairs. You know the rooms you see in palaces. Just big spaces full of uncomfortable looking chairs and sofas with nothing else to do. I couldn’t imagine having that many people round to sit in all the chairs. This particular room had at least thirty chairs in it.
The man in the room was staring at the lit fire whilst drinking a large wine glass full of blood. Yeah, he really was. The man looked tall, it was hard to tell because he was sitting. He had short dark hair, pale greyish skin, a long nose with snakelike nostrils and dark red eyes. I had heard that Aramaya vampires’ eyes remained red all the time. I gave Ashley a look that said, ‘this is him’ and she nodded.
‘It’s quite rude to break into a person’s house,’ he said in a very antiquated voice. We both stayed perfectly still, not saying anything. ‘Well, come in and introduce yourselves.’
I came to my senses first. I threw a spell at him, or rather I tried to, but nothing happened.
‘Sorcerers?’ he said in mild surprise and turned from the fire to look at us. ‘Not from around here. If you were, you’d know the history of the town. Vampires and sorcerers have been at war so many times it would have been foolish of me not to line my house with iron.’
‘So that’s why we couldn’t open the door,’ I said. I do like it when a mystery is solved.
‘Indeed. Now, come in here and tell me who you are.’
Seeing no other choice, we obeyed him. Best not to piss him off further, not that he seemed that pissed off. We walked over to where he sat and we too sat when indicated in the two chairs opposite him.
‘Your names?’ he prompted.
‘I’m Eddie Lancaster and—’
‘Lancaster?’ he repeated, his eyebrows rising. ‘I have heard of you. My brother spoke most unfondly of you. Luckily, I was never too fond of him. And you?’ he turned to Ashley.
‘Ashley Sheridan,’ she replied.
‘I’m afraid your name rings no bells. What brings the two of you to my home? Have I, or one of my followers, slighted you in some way?’
‘No, it’s uhm…’
‘Just tell the truth, Eddie,’ said Ashley resignedly.
‘Yes, I’d advise the same.’
So I did. I told him all about the Syndicate, all about Sebastian and exactly what I needed his blood for. Afterwards he just stared at me with narrowed eyes.
‘You wish to create a third species of vampire?’ he asked.
‘Yes. It would be a combination of the existing two and stronger than both,’ I said.
‘Stronger than me?’ he said with just a little concern in his voice.
‘Well… probably,’ I mumbled.
‘And there would be no way of killing it?’
‘Magic could.’ I didn’t bother telling him it would need to be really strong magic to work.
‘This Syndicate has been causing me concern for some time,’ Michael said. He maintained eye contact constantly and made me feel really awkward. ‘It is only a matter of time before they arrive in Cedarstone. In single combat I am certain I could kill Sebastian, but his army against my followers… That might not go in my favour. He has the numbers.’
‘He will definitely come here eventually,’ I said, hoping to scare him enough to help us.
‘I cannot be manipulated so easily, Eddie,’ he said. His tone told me not to try that again. ‘This person who would succeed him. Alistair Ashman.’
‘Aldric Ashworth.’
‘Yes. You say he would stop the Syndicate from expanding any further?’
‘He won’t expand here. I can get him to agree to that,’ I said. Getting him to agree to never expand anywhere would be unlikely but taking another town off the list should be easy enough.
Michael thought it over for a moment. ‘His word is not enough. I would need you to provide me with a weapon that could kill this new vampire monstrosity you plan to create.’
‘I can do that,’ I said. A stake filled with my magic would be enough to get the job done.
‘Do. Now.’ He left no room for argument. I reached into my inside pocket and extracted the stake I’d brought along. ‘Now, why did you bring that?’
I looked at him sheepishly. ‘Just in case.’
‘In case things went badly and you needed to kill me?’
‘Kind of,’ I said in my quietest voice.
‘You are lucky I am not my brother,’ he said darkly. ‘Make the weapon.’
I held the stake at either end and channelled my magic into it. I poured it in until the wood cracked and through the cracks I could see green light shining. Then I chipped a bit of the wood off and popped it in my pocket. Michael looked at me in puzzlement.
‘What is that bit for?’ asked Michael.
‘He’ll need to add it to the ritual or the weapon won’t work,’ Ashley answered for me. She’d been brushing up on her ritual knowledge.
‘Exactly,’ I said.
Michael held out his hand and I placed the stake carefully in his palm. He lifted it to his eyes and inspected it. ‘Will you be able to make more weapons like this one after you’ve completed the ritual?’
‘I’ll have to use the same wood type,’ I said. ‘But yes.’
He held the stake under his nose and took a big whiff of it. ‘Ash wood?’ he asked.
‘Yeah.’ I said. That was a pretty impressive skill. I leaned forwards and sniffed it too but all I got was a woody smell.
Michael raised an eyebrow at me and then weighed the stake in his hand. Then he whistled loudly. Moments later a small weedy looking man walked into the room. ‘Yes?’ he said in a nasally voice.
‘Charles, take this to my weapons room and lock it away for me,’ he said and without even looking at Charles, handed him the stake. Charles took it grudgingly and exited the room.
