Chapter 07
The car sped up and as Tina looked out the tinted window at the twilight, she noticed with surprise that somewhere along the way the forests and fields had been replaced with a more urban setting and that the country road had widened into a highway.
But she became even more surprised when the speed forced her against the back of the seat and the panorama became a blur. Even Muriel, who had spent the whole time twisted back from the passenger seat to give her silent encouragement, turned forward. How fast where they even going? 300 miles per hour? Maybe even faster.
“Do we really need to rush like this?” Uriel crossed his arms.
“No, but Anael likes the speed and I like to indulge here and there.” Prva leaned forward, immune to the g-force, and patted the shoulder of the white-haired girl who drove the car.
“Where are we? I mean where are we going?” Tina whispered to Uriel, and though she would have preferred Muriel’s or Haniel’s warm reassurance, her hand found Uriel’s and she wrapped her fingers around it.
“In London.” Uriel gave her fingers a comforting squeeze.
“That’s right. Damon wants to meet up at some neutral location.” Prva leaned back. “And then we are staying in my London house for a few days.” She looked past Tina at Uriel. “And since we are already in London, there’s a nuisance that needs to be taken care of.”
“Akilueteers?”
Prva nodded.
“Again,” Uriel said. “Why don’t you use Numuns for that?”
“Because they are too busy keeping me company. And why should they? Petsha’s mess is Angelica’s responsibility and that means you are the one who needs to clean it up.”
“Who’s Petsha?” Tina asked. And what were Akilueteers? Didn’t Tina call them Deadeaters?
Uriel leaned back in his seat, his brows low over his eyes.
“I want to go, too, ma’am.” Anael announced. “You know how I like to play and hunting Akilueteers is always such fun.”
“Sure, sure.” Prva waved. “Have your fun with those... insects.” She shook her head, grimacing. “They are getting cocky lately, and they are demanding their rights. How dare they! They are nothing but a side product of Abbas’s feeding.” Her upper lips curled showing her pointy teeth. “I heard Petsha even complained about the name Akilueteers, saying that it's degrading to them and that they go now by the Mamael’s name: vampires. Damn vermin. They are all common animals that can’t control their impulses and their thirst. It makes me sick that they can so easily multiply, while the number of my clan decreases with every decade. There’s less than two thousand of us.”
“But ma’am. You have us now.”
“Yes; I have you now.” Prva leaned forward again; her hand caressed the long white hair. “My lovely children. If only Angelica would give me more of you.”
“Who’s Petsha?” Tina repeated in a low voice. Was he a vampire? No, it seemed that all Akilueteers, the Deadeaters, whatever that meant, were vampires. She frowned. So what does that make Prva, Damon and the rest of the erm... not-humans? Lords of the vampires? She puffed her cheeks, then released all the air in a long breath. Their name: Galbeliya meant Lords, but ‘Lords’ would imply that they could control Deadeaters, which didn't seem to be the case here.
“A Deadeater, the only one who can control his thirst for blood like we can,” Uriel whispered to her. “Angelica likes him. She finds him interesting since he and most of his turned are not attacking people like hungry animals as other Akilueteers do. And as long as he lets her experiment on him, he’s untouchable.” He glanced at Prva. “No matter how much that annoys Prva.”
The car slowed down, and Tina could see a lighted wide, tall building with towers rising over its walls in the distance. “It’s nice.”
“The Tower of London.” Uriel released her hand.
The car stopped before a glass building trapped between two old houses. The doorman rushed down the stairs, but a woman appeared at the entrance door, her fair hair sleeked into a bun, and dismissed him.
Irene. Tina bit her lip.
Irene descended the stairs, crossed the two steps that separated her from the car and opened the car door.
Uriel climbed out of the car, pulling Tina with him. He smirked at Irene as he pushed Tina behind his back.
One of the motorcyclists that were parking their bikes behind the car stepped down from the motorcycle and removed his helmet. Long white hair framed the square, strong-featured face and fell down his back. He set the helmet on the handlebars and went to the car. He bypassed Tina, Uriel and Irene, leaned toward the back seats and offered his hand to Prva.
Prva pulled a hood over her head and accepted the hand to graciously exit the car. “Thank you, Nathanael.” She released Nathanael's hand and focused her attention on Irene. “Irene Payens, how lovely to see you.”
What was going on? Tina peeked over Uriel’s shoulder at Irene and Prva.
“I’m afraid that I can’t say the same.” Irene gave Prva a tilt of head, her hands laced behind her back.
“I brought something extra with me.” Prva sidestepped Irene.
“I noticed.” Irene looked in Tina’s direction.
“Oh, you sound so disinterested. Don’t you know her?”
Tina’s fingers dug into Uriel’s coat.
“She looks familiar. Now, if you want to see Abbas...” Irene turned toward the entrance of the hotel. “Abbas is in the truck in the garage; I’ll lead you there.” She looked over her shoulder at Uriel. “While Damon is expecting you in room 311.”
“What a shame. I was hoping that the girl would be of some trading value.” Prva sighed as she followed Irene, with Nathanael and the man who looked like Nathanael’s slimmer copy close behind.
“Haniel.” With his hand on Tina’s back, Uriel led her toward Haniel, who with his helmet in his hand, sat on his bike. “Take her to Prva’s house.” He took the helmet from Haniel and thrust it into Tina’s hands. “You get some sleep and...” He ran his hand through his black bangs. “Maybe practice your stances.” He furrowed his brows. “Since I don't dare to leave you alone in Prva's house it seems that you will have to go with us tomorrow. And you are not ready yet.”
“She’ll do fine.” Muriel joined them.
Tina nodded. Yes, she’d do just fine -- well, she hoped. Her strength and skill couldn’t compare with theirs, but she'd try not be a burden. She put on the helmet and climbed on the bike behind Haniel. “Hey, what does hunting really mean?” she asked Haniel in a whisper.
“No, she won’t. And those things can sense the power of the blood and will target her.“ Uriel sighed. “We will have just have to be extra careful.”
“You'll see,” Haniel whispered back.
“And don’t forget. We will also have Anael with us.” Muriel put his hands into the pockets of his skinny jeans.
“That’s all I need. A bloodthirsty psycho. Did you have to remind me?” Uriel rubbed his temple before he shook his head “I better go. It would be bad to leave Daddy waiting.”
#
“Are you okay?” Muriel’s warm hand caressed Tina’s back.
“No.” Tina burped out. Even though she already emptied the contents of her stomach, she still lingered over the toilet bowl. “Why did he have to drive like that?”
“I’m sorry. But... I drove like I normally do.” Haniel stood by the door of the large sage-green bathroom, which had two sinks on the stone pedestal, with a cabinet below, a built-in shower with a frosted glass door and a toilet hidden behind the shower wall.
“Yeah, like you normally drive. That’s the problem when you drive like a man possessed: jumping over cars, using buildings as roads and never driving under Mach two. She’s not used to it, and her body might tolerate speed and its force, but her mind still can’t.”
“She was all right the other time.” With his head repentantly hung down Haniel fidgeted with his fingers.
“It was Trinity, not me.” Tina wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She really needed to brush her teeth.
“I’m sorry. It didn’t occur to me.”
“It’s okay.” Tina stood up. “Just drive more slowly next time, please.”
“Yeah, I will. I promise.” Haniel scratched the back of his neck. “I really will. Umm. Can I bring you anything?”
“A toothbrush and some toothpaste would be good.”
“Everything is already here.” Muriel opened the narrow mirrored cabinet above the sink. He pulled out an unused toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, giving both to Tina.
Tina took them, thanked him and after she reassured them that she was fine, she asked them to leave. They did.
They were nice, showering her with attention all the time, just waiting for when they could do something for her. It made her feel wanted, cherished.
Tina brushed her teeth and then rinsed her mouth; her eyes stopped on the mirror just as she wanted to spit the water out. But they were only being nice and wanted her by their side because of Trinity, their mom. She spit out the water, then leaned closer to the silver surface, and there was her face staring back at her. Blue eyes -- her eyes, not Trinity’s. Her brown shoulder-length hair -- not Trinity’s. Her nose, her chin -- her face -- not Trinity's.
But it would be good to be Trinity, to be that loved: by Damon, by Uriel, Muriel and Haniel. To be wanted like they wanted her.
Tina grimaced her face. She was jealous, wasn't she?
Maybe she should call her dad. Just to get that fake sense of belonging.
She pushed herself away from the mirror, put away the toothbrush and toothpaste and went out into the living room of the guest apartment they were using.
Prva’s London home seemed quite normal. It was hidden behind the façade of three narrow houses joined together in one space, in a residential part of the city. It looked average on the outside, just another commoner’s house with enough space for a four-member family, with a small garden so that the children could play on warm afternoons. But inside thick blinds covered tinted windows, glass and steel, black and white dominated the space, and on the black walls of the hallways hung weapons: swords, bows, shields, axes, flintlock pistols, and things Tina couldn't even identify, some of them sending shivers up her spine.
Haniel sprawled on the L-shaped couch before the big screen TV he was watching, but he straightened as she stepped closer. “Uriel will be soon here.”
Tina wanted to ask how he knew that, but then she remembered: They used to be one before Angelica had experimented on them, dividing them into three entities, or at least that's what they said, not really explaining the whole thing in detail. And she refused to ask more or to pry into what seemed to be a touchy subject, but she knew that they were linked together and Muriel’s telepathic power strengthened that link. “How did it go?”
“Not well.” Muriel put the book he was reading face-down on the glass coffee table in front of the couch.
“You eavesdropped, didn’t you?” Haniel turned sideways to Muriel who sat cross-legged in the corner of the couch.
“You can't eavesdrop when at least one participant in the conversation is aware of your presence.”
“So what did Damon say? Why did he want to see Uriel?” Haniel moved closer to Muriel.
“He wants Tina back.”
“Or else?” Haniel leaned toward Muriel and rested his arm on the back of the white couch.
“Nothing. He didn’t utter a single threat.”
“But?”
“I don't know.” Muriel hugged himself, his brows furrowing together. “He did sound like he had a backup plan if Uriel refuses and Uriel got the feeling it's something that we really wouldn't like.”
“Why did Irene pretend like she didn’t know me or say anything to Prva? Prva sounded like she would hand me over to Damon with pleasure.” Tina walked to the back of the couch and looked down at the boys.
“Because that would give Prva leverage,” Muriel explained.
“I think,” Haniel said, “that since there was no demand for Abbas in exchange for you, Damon probably assumed that Prva and Angelica are not aware who you are, and that we have our own agenda. And since he didn't know what, he wanted to talk with Uriel.”
“Yes,” Muriel nodded. “Since Damon seems to be a tactician like Uriel, I think that, too.”
“Like father, like son.” Haniel smirked.
“So, am I returning to Damon?” Tina leaned her elbows on the back of the couch. She should be afraid of that possibility, shouldn't she? But... as afraid as she was of what Damon would do when he got his hands on her, she... she actually slightly missed the jerk. How could that have happened? She nibbled on her fingers. And she missed Trinity, too. The times that she surfaced were too few and with the Dumes crowding inside her head as soon Muriel could feel her, she hadn't had any time to talk things through with Trinity. Yeah, if she could just talk with Trinity...
“Of course not.” Haniel grabbed her hand. “Just because of some... I mean, you are with us now, we will protect you, won’t we, Muriel?”
Muriel nodded.
“You are so sweet.” Tina patted Haniel's hand before her gaze fell on Muriel. “Muriel, do you think you could you awake Trinity later? I would like to talk to her.”
“I can try.”
“That's all I ask.” Tina straightened and touched Haniel's shoulder. “And can I borrow your phone?”
“Why?” Haniel asked, even though he had already grabbed his black jacket. From its inner pocket he pulled out a slim gadget.
“I would like to call home,” Tina reached for the phone. “It's okay, right? Uriel said that I can as long as I don't say unnecessary things.”
Haniel handed her the phone. “Yes, it's okay.”
Tina took the phone, thanked Haniel and crossed the living room. She went toward the door of the room Haniel had pointed out as hers.
She opened the door and froze, not able to tear her gaze from the heavy case, the size of a single bed, that dominated the small room. The small wall lamp above it that lighted as soon as she opened the door made the steel glitter in the artificial light.
She had seen those before. Three of them. But those had been in the eerily clean basement of the Dumes' house, arranged in a neat rows among the smaller wooden boxes like they belonged there, as if they were nothing more than storage units. No wonder the Dumes' bedrooms hadn't had beds in them, only couches or sofas.
“What's wrong?” Haniel's voice woke her up.
“Nothing.” She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, then she inched toward the wide box. Her hand slid over the smooth surface before she grabbed the handle at the side of the lid with both hands and opened it. She expected it to be heavier, but it opened as easily as the boot of a car, revealing a white padded exterior, two pillows and a folded cashmere blanket.
A version of a bed. It looked comfortable and wide enough for two people, and it even had a lock inside, but... She pushed the lid down. They didn’t expect her to sleep in this, did they? She'd talk with Haniel about that, but now... She sat on the case and in the weak light called a familiar number.
It rang seven times; she had already given up on anyone picking up the phone, when a raspy voice answered.
“Dad?”
“Tina. Nice to hear you. How are you?”
“Fine.” She pressed the phone tighter to her ear.
“And the new job?”
“It’s... It’s interesting. There’s a lot of travelling. I’m in London right now.” Her fingers scratched against the polished surface of the steel.
“That’s good. That’s good.”
“Yeah.”
A soft hum echoed her ‘yeah’ then a silence stretched over the line. Tina frowned, the phone still tightly against her ear. What should she say? “How...?”
“What...?”
“You go first,” her dad said.
“How is everybody?”
“Okay. Simone said to say 'hi' to you,” her dad said before he mentioned Tina's two half-siblings. He told her how he went to her stepbrother’s basketball game, and how he was proud of his son even when his team lost. Then he rambled about her little stepsister's first recital, how cute she was and that he had taped it all.
Tina tensed her jaw. He had never attended her school activities. She forced herself to unlock her jaw and rubbed her forehead. Oh, yeah, he’d tried to be there when she needed him, but he had missed all the important events in her life, offering her nothing but empty excuses. He probably loved her -- no, not probably, she knew that he loved her, but... he didn’t love her like he loved them. Because they were special: they were wanted, while she was just the result of recklessness from his student years.
It had been a mistake to call him.
She should have known better.
She subtly ended the conversation then pulled her legs against her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
She really should have known better.
Well, that didn’t go too well!
“Trinity?”
Yeah. Miss me?
Tina snorted. “You really know when to pop up.”
Yeah, well, I lurk here and there, just to see what you are all doing and if you might need me.
“You mean, you are spying on us.”
I wouldn’t say it like that.
Tina tapped the phone against her chin. She wanted to talk to Trinity and now that she could, she didn’t know where to start.
Are you okay?
“Yes.”
You feel a little down.
She had forgotten. Trinity could feel whatever she felt. “Well, sort of. Will you give me a pat on my head?” Tina’s lips curved into a ghost of a smile.
I’m not good with the consolation stuff, I never was. I more used to the kick-in-the-ass approach, Trinity said. Damon is better at this, he always knows just what to say to make people feel better... or worse.
“He’s planning something.”
Yeah, I heard. It would actually be weird if he weren’t. You are not afraid, are you? I can’t sense that you are.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I haven’t been really afraid since Abbas bit me. The most that I can feel now is unpleasant.”
It’s probably Damon’s blood. Gelbeliya’s blood is very powerful and it gives strength those that drink it -- that’s probably what suppressed down your feelings of fear.
“It still doesn’t make sense.” Tina stretched her legs, her gaze sliding over the beige patterned wallpaper, where she could despite the semi-darkness distinguish the petals that wove just under the ceiling.
I’m not good at explaining things. Ask Uriel about that, he has some knowledge of science. If you remember I come from a time when only men of nobility knew how to read, Trinity said. Even though...
“What?”
When I became Damon’s Beloved, he tried to teach me, but... but I didn't want to, I was more interested in learning how to fight and in my revenge...
“Revenge?”
Yeah.
Tina could hear the slight tremor in Trinity’s voice. They never talked about Trinity’s past -- it was somehow a taboo theme -- and it seemed that it still had an influence on Trinity.
I really don't know what he saw in me.
“Why?”
Because I was a low peasant, and he was Damon, Lord of the Lost. When I first saw him he seemed so sparkling. So larger than life. And he is. Larger than life.
Tina could feel a smile in Trinity's voice.
He can't do anything half-heartedly, and he can be quite scary sometimes, especially when he calls your bluff and shows you the things you don't want to see. Damn, he could be really irritating sometimes, but... he's special and he made me feel special, too.
Tina leaned her elbow on her knees and put her chin on her hand, basking in the warmth coming from Trinity's soul. So that’s what love felt like.
I must sound like a love-sick fool.
“No.”
So, what did you want to talk with me about?
“How much strength do you have?”
So-so. Why?
“Uriel talked about taking me hunting tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but... I don't think that I will be able to pull it off on my own. So... do you think you are strong enough to keep me company?”