I avoid rolling my eyes. They really should know better. What if there was some kind of emergency? Like, say, a crazed girl on her way to subjugate them to her every whim? ‘Then you need to call all the other Families. Every female vampire within a fifty-mile radius needs to get to where they are. We have to stop her.’
‘Lady Bancroft is there. She won’t be affected by it. Does that mean that she…?’
‘I’m pretty sure she’s not involved.’ I have no idea how Nicky is planning to bring her down though. ‘Where are they, Ursus?’
‘Big Ben.’
I blink, not quite sure I heard him properly. ‘Uh?’
‘It’s a large tower with a clock at the top,’ Beth says, regaining some of her composure. Her sarcasm alleviates the tension a little.
‘Funny.’ I take a moment to look round. ‘We need to prevent Nicky from getting anywhere near them.’
‘You can’t just send girls.’
I understand Ursus’s annoyance at being sidelined but it doesn’t mean I have to agree with him. ‘It’s too dangerous otherwise. If she gets to you, she can turn you against us.’ I give him a brief flicker of my death stare, just enough to prove that I’m serious. ‘Irreversible,’ I remind him.
A muscle throbs in his cheek and his big shoulders bunch in anger but I know he’ll stay away.
‘You need to remain here and hold the fort. If things don’t work out, then batten down the hatches and don’t let anyone in. No matter who they are.’
He nods. ‘Can you drive a motorbike?’
I’m reminded briefly of Zupper and I smile. It’s enough for Ursus because he throws me a set of keys. ‘It’s parked out front.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Look after my pride and joy,’ he growls. I know he doesn’t just mean his bike.
Thirty seconds later, the room is empty.
As soon as I step back into the cool night air, I spot Ursus’s bike. I whistle in admiration. It’s a lean, gleaming beast and obviously his prized possession. There’s no sign of a helmet and I don’t waste time looking for one. Instead I straddle the seat and turn the key, revving the engine. Behind me, Ria, Beth, Nell and the other female vampires in the Montserrat mansion are running out to a motley selection of other vehicles. I don’t give them a backward glance, I’m already whizzing down the street.
Wind whips past me as I careen round the first corner. The bike builds up speed and the dark buildings and closed shop fronts become a blur. I turn right sharply and into a tight alleyway. I narrowly avoid hitting a fox nosing at a trio of overflowing garbage bins as I skid back out on to the street ahead. Tower Bridge isn’t far away.
I’m tempted to take the most direct route but I know it’s also the one most likely to be monitored by the police. I can’t afford to have them slow me down or turn on their sirens to chase me and alert Nicky – and whoever else is with her. I skid right again to avoid some of the bigger streets but maintain my speed for as long as possible. I ignore the traffic lights blinking red, forcing myself to forget how similar their colour is to arterial blood, then squeeze out just a little more horsepower from the bike. Less than three minutes later, the Houses of Parliament are in view while Big Ben towers ominously above them. I realise I have no freaking idea how to get inside.
I park as close as I dare then clamber off the bike and run towards the building, keeping low. Every so often the shapes in front of me start swimming as I lose my vision then, abruptly, the dizziness clears when I shake my head. I’m so focused on finding a way in that I miss an uneven paving slab. My foot catches the edge of it and I’m sent flying onto the hard cold pavement. It’s just as well, however, because when I look up from my prone position, a broad-shouldered man comes into sight. That’s when I know for sure that this time I’ve not made a mistake. Boris, it appears, is on bodyguard duty. Ten yards behind him, Nicky’s slender shape is also visible.
I close my eyes for a second. As relieved as I am to finally identify the traitor, there’s still part of me that can’t believe it’s innocent little Nicky. I count my blessings that they’ve waited until now; this might have been over and done with already. But when Big Ben chimes to signal two o’clock in the morning, I understand why. Nicky’s not in this for sex or money. It’s not even about power, although that might be a welcome bonus. No, her motives are much more pure. What Nicky is after is revenge. She told me the attack on her parents that also forced her into a wheelchair had started at two in the morning, although she’d never said who the attackers were. She must think that vampires were responsible; it’s the only thing that makes sense.
The pair of them disappear through the gate. They must have disarmed the security system. Ideally, I’d wait for the others to arrive; I’m on my last legs and I need a bit of vampire girl-power beside me. But I’m too worried that I only have a short time to get inside before the alarms are re-set. The element of surprise is going to be more useful than anything else and, while setting off the security system would alert the Heads, it would also alert Nicky and Boris. They’ve been planning this for a long time and I’m sure they’ll have back-up. Just about the only thing they won’t have factored in is me.
I pick myself up from the ground, run across the street and clamber over the gate after them. My heart is thudding and my lungs feel tight. Tam’s face flashes in front of my eyes and I grit my teeth. I need to keep it together; if nothing else, I owe his memory that.
I jog along a cobbled path, with the high walls of Portcullis House looming over me. This time I take care to watch my step; it’s imperative that I stay quiet and undetected. But I need to be fast and catch Nicky before she gets to the Family Heads. Up ahead I hear a door bang and I realise they have already entered Elizabeth Tower – the real name for Big Ben. With the path ahead clear, I can afford to speed up.
When I reach the door, I freeze and listen. Everything seems still and quiet so, moving carefully, I turn the knob and go in after them. The base of the tower is both smaller and more modern than I expected. The walls are smooth beige and there are a few olde-worlde benches around the edges. I head for the stairs.
I move up one step at a time. Although the situation reminds me hauntingly of attempting to sneak up on O’Shea at Wiltshore Avenue, at least these stairs are made of sterner stuff and won’t creak and give me away. I can move quickly. I have to catch up with Nicky and Boris now; I can’t risk them unleashing O’Shea’s spell.
My increased speed is why I round the next bend without paying enough attention. I barely reach the top step when a fist connects sharply with the side of my head. I go flying, fortunately into the room rather than back down the stairs but, nevertheless, I’m a flailing mass of limbs when the kick comes. I curl into a foetal position to protect myself from the next one. When it doesn’t come and the pain starts to subside, I open my eyes. Boris is standing above me with a twisted smirk on his face. I look for an exit but he’s blocking the staircase. There’s a tiny window behind me but, even if it were big enough to leap through, a heavy rusting metal object sits in front, effectively blocking it.
My stomach sinks. Still, I aim for light-heartedness. ‘Hey, buddy. What gives?’
He laughs sharply. ‘Oh, so now you’re playing nice?’
I clamber to my feet, trying not to hug my aching belly too obviously. I clearly don’t do a very good job, because glee crosses his face.
‘Beautiful, inept Bo,’ he says. ‘Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me?’
‘You mean because I didn’t allow myself to be framed for O’Shea’s murder?’
He licks his lips; it’s not a pleasant sight. ‘Indeed. Things would have gone so much smoother if you’d let yourself be banged up. I was doing you a favour, you know.’
‘Because if I was in prison I’d have avoided the massacre at Dire Straits.’ I say it flatly, but really I want his confirmation that he was responsible. Besides which, I know now that it was sheer luck that I was assigned to O’Shea.
‘We were trying to wipe out any connection to the daemon.’ Boris shrugs. ‘It didn’t work out so well.’
I snarl, ‘It didn’t work out too damn well for Tam and everyone else either.’
‘The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agly.’
‘I never took you for a literary man.’
‘I was forced to do some reading at school.’
‘Imagine that,’ I murmur. I gaze at him speculatively. It takes every ounce of self-control not to spit in his face. ‘Why, Boris? Why have you done all this? Is it the spell? Does Nicky have you under her thumb?’
‘I don’t need a spell to be loyal to someone who’s going to rid the world of vampires.’ He says the last word with such venom, that I start to get an inkling of his real motives.
‘You don’t like them?’
‘Goddamn freaks and criminals. Fucking tribers think they own the place. They’ve got every human kowtowing to them. They don’t belong here.’
‘So why are you trying to create more? Nicky’s becoming a vampire.’
‘
Nicola
is doing what’s necessary to beat them at their own game. Anyway, she’s not going to be a vampire. By the end of tomorrow night, she’ll be Sanguine. Not vampire. Sanguine is when…’
‘I know what it means to be sodding Sanguine. How has she avoided the cravings?’
‘How have you?’ he retorts.
I stare at him. Eventually he grins. ‘I suppose we all have a few tricks up our sleeves.’
I guess they have some of my grandfather’s magic powder or something like it. If I get out of this I’ll have to tell Montserrat about it. It’s clearly more widely available than I’d assumed. And I don’t share Boris’s confidence that Nicky wants to be Sanguine. I reckon the thought of supplanting the five Families with her own Family is too tempting.
Boris bares his teeth. ‘Well, time is ticking away and I don’t want to miss the fireworks upstairs. I can’t wait to see those jumped-up bloodguzzlers crawling on their hands and knees and doing our bidding.’
‘It won’t be your bidding,’ I point out. ‘It’ll be Nicky’s.’
He opens his mouth to speak but is prevented by the sudden high-pitched peal of an alarm, signalling the others’ arrival. Without missing a beat, I reach behind into the window alcove and grasp the chunk of metal that sits there. It’s heavier than I expected but I manage to lift it and fling it at Boris. I aim for his head but either it’s too heavy or I’m too weak and it ends up landing against his shins. The element of surprise helps me, though, as he screams and falls backwards, hitting his head on the floor. I grab his hair, pulling up his head then slamming it back down. His body jerks and stills: he’s out cold. I scoop up the card which has fallen from the alcove and read: ‘Original Bell Hammer’.
‘Well, I might be weaker than a kitten,’ I tell his inert form, ‘but it looks like I still beat you hammer and tongs.’
I waste no more time. The others will soon be here to take care of Boris. The alarm will no doubt have spurred Nicky into action, however. I need to get to her. I make for the steps. The spurt of adrenaline that allowed me to dispatch Boris is dissipating fast and the pain in my stomach is returning. I have to cling to the banister to heave myself upwards. I’m terrified that my legs will give way at any moment.
On the next level there’s nothing more than the elaborate clock mechanism that keeps Big Ben working. It’s huge and intricate – but it’s not what I’m looking for. I lurch past it and up the next set of stairs. This time I have to keep pausing to catch my breath and stop myself toppling over. The steps seem endless. I have no idea what I’ll see when I finally come across Nicky and the Family Heads. I can only hope she’s not yet had the chance to unleash that fucking spell and turn them into mindless robots. Blood is pounding in my ears and my senses are dimming. That’s why I don’t hear the voices until I’m almost upon them.
‘You know I could have brought a whole host of bloodguzzling followers to help me.’
I close my eyes for half a second as I register Nicky’s familiar voice.
‘So why didn’t you?’ Dulcet tones encase the steel of Lady Bancroft’s response.
‘Because I don’t need them to destroy you.’
‘I’m female. Your mumbo-jumbo won’t work on me any more than it’ll affect you.’
‘Just like your mind mumbo-jumbo won’t work on me,’ Nicky snarls.
I yank out every last molecule of energy I have inside me. Pure rage is driving me now. With one final spurt, I run up the remaining steps and round the corner. Lady Bancroft and Nicky stand in front of the giant illuminated face of Big Ben. I glance around desperately for signs of the other Family Heads but I can’t see them anywhere.
Nicky turns in my direction and Lady Bancroft takes advantage of her distraction to leap forward and grab her. Her face is a vicious frozen mask of anger. I lunge forward to join her.
‘Bo,’ Nicky croaks, from underneath Bancroft’s tightening fingers. Then she smirks with a confidence that freezes my bones. From nowhere she pulls out a sharply honed stake. Before I can react, she twists away from me and slams it into Lady Bancroft’s heart.
The vampire doesn’t have time to make a noise. Her eyes widen for a split second then she crumples to the ground. As I watch, her skin turns grey then black as her body decomposes with sickening speed. Nicky steps away and dusts off her palms.
‘That was even easier than I thought,’ she comments. Without warning, she snaps forward and grabs my throat. Her face swims up against mine and she strokes my cheek with one finger. ‘So gullible, Bo. So keen to believe that a little girl like me wouldn’t be the one you were looking for.’