Heaven & Hell, page 5
part #7 of The Gallows Series Series
She pulled away from him slowly and started tidying the room.
He watched her and he knew what she needed. As distractions went at least the one he had in mind would pull her focus back to him.
“I knew he was a vampire,” he said, wincing when Sarah stopped piling his magazines up on the coffee table to narrow her eyes at him. “I mean, I didn’t know he went off to do that, obviously, but when he came back I just knew.”
“I don’t get what you’re saying,” she said, her gaze blank. Clearly her mind was elsewhere.
He really hoped he wasn’t about to lose her to a vampire. “I’ve had some weird feelings lately. I mean, since I stopped smoking.”
“Weird feelings?” She looked interested now, suddenly completely focused on what he was telling her.
“You know how you said my mum is a sensitive? Well, maybe…” he trailed off to let her connect the dots. It sounded kind of stupid now that he was actually admitting it.
“How could I not notice?” She stared at him in that same way she had right after she’d soul-gazed him. If he had any doubts about her feelings they were erased by that stare. “This is so weird.”
He’d managed to take her mind off Dredd. He smiled. “Aye well, I’m a weirdo so it fits with my personality.”
She snorted. “You’re definitely not normal.”
He shrugged. “I am what I am. Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take it,” she said, with a smile.
***
The phone started to ring just as Sarah was relaxing back into her boyfriend’s arms on the couch. She sighed, knowing there was only one reason the land-line would ever ring. Dev shifted, the clatter making her wince as he managed to free the receiver from its cradle and pass it to her.
“Hello?” She tried to sound perky, but she couldn’t be less enthused.
“Sarah, we have a job for you. You’ll need to come to White Oaks and meet your new partner,” her mother said.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “I thought my new partner was Melissa?”
“The Carling girl’s request for active duty has been cancelled. You’ll be working with a witch.”
“Flicky?”
“Flicky has too much going on. No. You’ll be partnered with Sophie.”
“Sophie?” Sarah tried to think of the witches she’d met, but none of their faces fit the name.
“You worked with her recently,” her mother told her. “Be here in an hour.”
She cut off the call and Sarah sighed. She couldn’t leave Dev home alone right now, but her mother knew nothing about him. He wasn’t cleared to know anything about what they did. She couldn’t bear to see him unhappy either, and she knew he would be if she had to avoid letting him meet her parents again. Getting up, she tried to figure out what to do for the best.
She put the phone down. “I have to go meet my new partner.”
“Thought it sounded like work,” he said, resting his head on the cushion. He looked tired, his bright eyes underscored with dark shadows.
She decided not to drag him along. Worst came to worst she could use a teleport to get back home instantly. “I shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours. Just keep the doors locked. Call me if you need me, I’ll be able to get right home.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said, patting his pocket. “I’ve got that cool razor you gave me.”
She kissed him and tried to smile. “I’ll see you soon.”
It was dark out, but she couldn’t sense Ray nearby. She did a quick sweep of the town and let out a relieved sigh when she realised he was nowhere to be found.
“Hey, Gemma,” she said, waving as she passed the cafe.
The old woman frowned and waved her over. The lines in her face seemed deeper than usual. Sarah rushed over. “Is something…”
“It’s Tammy. She came for a visit and she was leaving but…” She wheezed and shook her head. “Her car isn’t gone, but she’s not around.”
Sarah glanced around. Lost humans were hardly her specialty. She’d miss her train if she didn’t hurry, but she couldn’t leave Gemma looking so distraught. “I have to go right now, but I’ll help look when I come back. Do you have anything of hers?”
Gemma shook her head. Then she nodded and brought a bracelet out of her apron pocket. “She took it off to help with the dishes.”
Sarah took it from the woman and put her hand on her shoulder. “Go back inside and relax. Don’t worry about Tammy. I’m sure she’s fine.” She took the woman’s worry away as she pocketed the bracelet. She wondered if Sophie would do the spell for her. Then again, if it was the quiet girl who’d come with her and Shaun to the brothel she might not be that skilled. Sarah sighed as she rushed off for her train. A missing girl was a minor problem right now, but at least it would be one should could solve.
Chapter Seven
Ray walked through the woods at a pace no human could match. He knew he could win Sarah back if he could just be patient. He hadn’t given up on her before and he wasn’t about to start now. He just needed a change of tactic. He had to back off. Give her space. She’d miss him when she came to her senses. He stopped walking, knowing where he was. Her parent’s house wasn’t far from this spot. The demon whispered nasty things inside his head. It wasn’t in charge and it knew that, but he’d allow it to speak. So far it hadn’t had anything productive to say. Its graphically detailed suggestions of slaughtering Sarah’s parents were mildly amusing, but they weren’t helpful unless he wanted the woman he loved to come after him with a fistful of stakes.
He knew they would know he was a vampire so he couldn’t even go there under pretence. It would be good to get her parents on side but that wasn’t likely, not now. He doubted they would allow their daughter to date one of the creatures she hunted. Most likely they would protest harshly, with deadly force. Striking out that avenue, he stepped out of the woods.
He moved quickly towards town, at a pace that was fast but not inhuman. It wouldn’t do to scare the locals. The demon protested. He wanted Ray to taste more blood. His desires were dark and unending. He whispered evil, violent suggestions that made Ray’s lips twitch. The smile grew as he entered Flicky’s shop. The witch looked up from a spell-book she was hunched over. Surprise made her eyes widen and her mouth drop open.
“Oh,” she said, straightening. “Hey, Muscles. Uh… so…what’s up?”
“Sarah…” He didn’t bother to finish when he saw the sympathetic smile she offered instantly on hearing the tracker’s name.
“I had no idea,” she said. “I mean about Dev. I found out today and… Sorry.”
“I’m hoping it’s a temporary thing,” he admitted, wondering just how useful Flicky would be. He wagered that her guilt over messing up his plan might go pretty far. “Right now though, she’s seriously pissed at me.”
“Well…it’s a crazy situation,” she said, twirling a strand of her long, dark hair.
He glanced at the page she’d been pouring over so intently when he’d arrived. “You’re bonded to a demon?”
“Uh, no,” she said, wincing. “I’m looking into it for Sarah.”
“Right,” he said. “You think you could maybe talk to her for me?”
“I don’t know,” Flicky said, glancing away. “What do you need me to talk to her about?”
“I just,” he said, with a sigh. “I don’t understand. I know she still loves me. She’s mad at me. I get it. I just don’t think she’s willing to really hear me out. She can’t listen to anything I’m saying without shouting at me.” He wondered if he was laying it on too thick, but one look at Flicky’s sympathetic smile and he knew she was on his side.
“It’ll probably take time, that’s all. You two are just… so right together.”
“Thanks,” he said. His demon told him to save this girl for later; betraying her after she’d served her use titillated him. Ray wasn’t sure if he was tempted by the idea or not, the line between what the demon wanted and what he did was beginning to blur. He still cared for the witch who’d become a close friend to him, but he had lingering anger over what Flicky had done; she was the reason he was stuck with the thirst and the demon. He wasn’t sure he could ever truly forget that.
“It hurts to see Dev using her like this. I don’t blame her for getting lonely. I just wish she hadn’t…” He shook his head. “Nothing I can do about it now.”
“I’ll try to talk to her,” Flicky said.
He smiled. “That would be great.”
Chapter Eight
Dev awoke with a serious case of the jitters. He’d had a full-blown nightmare; one that he couldn’t convince himself was just a dream. Picking up the phone, he called his mum and blew out a massive sigh of relief when she answered the phone.
“Devon?”
“Hi, Mum,” he said. “Listen, I’m staying at Sarah’s tonight.”
“Are you okay, Devon?”
“I’m fine. Can you just make sure the doors are locked?”
“Are you sure you’re fine? Nightmares are rarely prophetic,” she told him, in the gentle tone she’d always used when he was younger and upset about something.
He didn’t bother to ask how she knew. “I’d just feel better if you made sure. Don’t let Ray in if he comes over. Call me if he does.”
He stayed on the line until she checked the doors and windows. She made idle chit-chat in between and he tried to listen. When he was sure the house was secured he let her go, but the bad feeling lingered.
Sarah’s house seemed empty without her in it. He wandered around checking her doors and windows. It was paranoid and he knew it.
Still, something just didn’t feel right. He stood in Sarah’s bedroom and tried to figure out what was wrong. He was drawn to the window by the light shining under the closed curtain. It sent shivers down his spine. He walked over and threw back the curtain.
The heat of the summer sun burned through the glass. The woods were green and vibrant. The garden was overgrown and full of daisies. He stared out there, wondering what it meant. He reached out to touch the glass and the warmth in the air was whisked away on a cool breeze. In that same second the garden returned to how he knew it actually looked. The snow-caked ground and trees were pretty in a winter-wonderland kind of way. He let the curtain fall as he stepped back from the window. Something seriously weird was going on. He chewed at his nails as he thought about what he’d just seen. There hadn’t been anything ominous about it, at least. He just didn’t understand what it had meant or why he had seen it. Sighing, he headed back down the stairs to wait for Sarah. She had said she would only be a couple of hours and it was coming up on that now.
Chapter Nine
The witch was as quiet as she’d been the first time Sarah had met her. They set out to track down a vampire who’d been turning teenagers in the rough part of town. Sophie’s eyes had widened when they were given their assignment details, which made Sarah groan inwardly.
“So,” Sarah tried, “have you ever killed a vampire before?”
Sophie cleared her throat. “Uh, not really.”
“Not really?” She glanced at the girl as she shrugged her shoulders.
“I’ve seen one before. He attacked me. I pushed him through a window. The sunlight got him,” she said, laughing quietly.
It was at least good to know the girl had potential. Sarah tried not to think about how weird it was being out on an assignment without her sourpuss brother in tow. She traced the scent of vampires while her new witch partner scuttled along slightly behind her. Sarah’s tracker speed was slowed by the girl’s human physicality. Every so often she breathed in slowly and forced herself to keep her pace down to let Sophie catch up.
“They’re getting closer,” Sarah said, once the site of the nest became obvious. “We should talk tactics before we dive in.”
The girl watched her, eyes wide as she stopped walking and stood completely still. Sarah checked behind her, paranoia rearing its spine-tingling head as she locked eyes with Sophie.
“Thought there was something behind me for a second there,” she murmured, seeing the witch’s skin flush.
“Sorry I’m just… This is my first real job. Out in the field, I mean. Research is nothing like this.” She laughed quietly again, and Sarah realised it was a nervous habit.
“Well you can relax,” Sarah said, with a smile. “There are four vampires in there and I’m going in first. This is going to be a breeze.” She stalked towards the block of flats. As hideouts went, this was a fairly common one. The vampires had easy access to humans, and the chance of trackers being called out to the area was low. Most of the residents wouldn’t call the cops even if they saw their neighbour being eaten alive by zombies. They had too much to lose if the police came sniffing around.
“A breeze,” Sophie was muttering, slightly breathless as she rushed to keep up with Sarah. “It’s a breeze.”
Sarah got to the entrance and paused. She glanced back at Sophie.
“Give me five minutes before you follow me in.”
The witch nodded and Sarah pulled open the door. The sharp smell of urine was strong, but it was soon over-powered by the rotting stench of vampire. She detected the metallic hint of spilled blood under the sickly-sweet smell of death. Covering her hand with her sleeve, she pushed the door inwards and moved into the darkened entrance hall.
The fluorescents above had been smashed, but Sarah didn’t need any artificial illumination to track vampires in the dark; her enhanced sight kicked in as she walked towards their hiding place. She moved quickly, no longer concerned with allowing for Sophie’s slower pace. She launched herself at the door and it shattered, sending her flying into the blood-stained hallway of the vampire nest.
The sounds of awakening were followed by four pale figures swooping into the hallway from all directions. Sarah drew her sword and cursed as she realised the narrow space wasn’t going to let her wield her favoured weapon quite so easily as usual. The hissing from the vampires snapped her attention back to the reason she’d come into the darkened flat. She grinned, throwing and catching her sword before she levelled it at her enemies.
“Wakey, wakey,” she sang, poking the vampire in front of her as his friends hand’s tore at her jacket.
He snarled and grabbed the blade as she drew blood from his neck. The others hands quickly followed suit. Sarah sighed, letting go and jumping back. Her sword couldn’t be used against her. Not by someone who didn’t know what they were doing, and not in such a restrictive space. She snatched up a sliver of wood from the busted door.
The clang of metal hitting the ground didn’t distract her. They moved quickly, but she was faster. The slam of her stake into her first target made her shiver. His cold skin against her hand gave her the creeps. She jerked her hand back in time to avoid the shower of remains as his body disintegrated into thick, black gunk. Moving back, she picked out her next target and slammed the stake into another cold, hard chest. It crumbled into three pieces as she withdrew.
“They just don’t make them like they used to.” She dropped it and grabbed another. Splinters bit into her skin. She smiled wryly. Just another perk of the job.
“It’s her,” one of the vampires whispered, backing away. “The Gallows girl.”
The other was grinning. “I always wanted to drain a tracker.”
Sarah snorted. “Dream on, dead-boy.”
She threw the stake and he took it in the chest, slightly lower than she’d aimed. “Damn. Oh well, you know what they say; if at first you don’t stake the vampire…”
The burst of light made her blink as she reached for another stake-sized piece of wood. The double gunk shower was entirely unexpected and left her looking like she’d just taken on a horde of the damned things. She wiped at her face as the bright light faded. Squinting, she looked to the source and found Sophie smiling sheepishly at her with a small ball of light hovering over her hand.
“Uh, I thought a daylight spell might work, and… it looks like it kind of did.”
Sarah couldn’t help but smile. “You mind letting me in on your plan next time?”
Sophie raised an eyebrow.
“Um, well…you could have let me know if you didn’t need any help.” She shrugged.
Sarah nodded, wiping at her face and dumping the black sludge to the ground. “Fair enough. I’m just not used to working with a partner who actually wants to, you know, work.”
“It must be weird without your brother,” Sophie said, frowning at her with her head tilted to the side. “I can fix that.” She whispered something Sarah didn’t hear and a gust of air blasted her.
“What the…” Sarah looked down at herself. The gunk was gone. She touched her face, her hair, and then smiled. “Oh, Shaun would have loved you.”
“It was nothing,” Sophie said, with a shrug, killing the ball of light in her hand. “Are we done?”
Sarah nodded. “Looks like it. I just need to…” She wandered over to her sword and dug it out of the vampire mess it had fallen into.
“So what’s next?”
“We have a report to write and… that’s about it,” Sarah said, kind of disappointed that her work was over and done with so quickly.
“Can I write the report?” Sophie sounded keen.
Sarah smiled. “Oh, Shaun would have really loved you.”
***
Sophie had offered to teleport her home, another apparent perk of working with a witch as a partner. Sarah had refused, but only because she’d picked up the scent of a particular vampire in town. Her heart twisted in her chest. She’d never been able to track Ray when he was human. That never should have changed. Whatever happened between them, he never should have…
She sighed as she walked. There was nothing she could do to change what he’d done. He’d made his choice and he’d have to live with it. She couldn’t understand what he was doing in White Oaks, anymore than she could understand his decision to become a vampire. As much as she wanted to walk away and leave him to whatever he had to do, he was a vampire now; a danger to humans. She had to know what he was doing. She tracked him down to Flicky’s shop. Guilt filled her. He wasn’t up to anything; he was just visiting a friend. She watched through the window as they talked, moving on quickly when he turned his head towards the window. She didn’t want Ray catching her there, watching him. It might give him ideas. She walked around town, trying to decide what to do. In the end she circled back around to Flicky’s shop. She knew Ray was gone before she walked down the street. His trail was fresh but he had moved on. She was torn between following him again and shaking down her witch friend. In the end she figured talking to Flicky was less creepy than stalking her ex-boyfriend.
