The Ferrari raced down a long winding driveway. The G-force pinned me to the seat. The speedometer slipped past the 100 mark. I squinted my eyes and gripped the sides of the seat as Gabriella jammed her foot to the floor. A looming brick wall appeared, stretching as far as the eye could see in both directions. An iron gate stood in the centre. Four Golems stood guarding it — two on either side. One pressed a button on the wall and the gate swung open just in time for the car to blitz through. On the other side, we roared down a long deserted road. A few expensive looking houses flashed past in between the hedges and trees.
“Who lives here?” I asked over the thundering engine.
“Humans in key positions to aid the Alliance,” Gabriella answered. “Like police chiefs, judges and MP’s. We look after them and their families. In return they help us maintain the cover of normalcy. As far as anyone knows, Faru is Mr Farris, a retired oil billionaire.”
The speedometer now hovered over the 150 mark. The scenery whipped past in a blur of colours. Still, it’s better than being underground in one of those elevators. Wait…
“Why aren’t we using the Nexus?” I asked.
“Hold on a second.”
Gabriella gunned the sports car out of the private road, onto a slip road and then onto a duel carriageway without breaking speed. The screeching of the wheels matched the sound of my fearful yell as we slewed sideways, narrowly missing a ford estate. The driver blasted the horn. Gabriella eased up on the accelerator before stamping her foot down again once we were straight.
“Ella!” I shouted.
“Calm down you big baby! I won’t crash, trust me. And in answer to your question, the Nexus is for travelling around London quickly.” Her lips thinned. “Problem being that the pack is already in Chapter Hill.”
I shuddered when I thought of the danger being so close to my school…to Mikey. All of those people oblivious to the horrific creatures hiding in the shadows. Until it’s too late.
“Faru said something earlier about most Vampires being from Pandemonia. What did he mean by that?” I asked.
Gabriella slipped the car down a gear and overtook a Porsche. The young businessman inside scowled with defeat.
“He’s talking about Bloodlings. Human Vampires.” She tapped a gloved finger against her tooth. “Bloodseeker teeth are coated in a poison which paralyses their victims. But it has a far worse effect on humans. If one gets bitten and doesn’t die from their injuries, they’ll be reborn as a Bloodling.”
In my mind I imagined being the victim of a Vampire attack. The despair of helplessness, mixed with the dawning horror that there were creatures that went bump in the night. The thought made my stomach twist with dread.
“So what happens if a Bloodling bites another human?” I asked.
“Same thing. Only difference is that Bloodlings have a bizarre affection for their maker if they were a Bloodseeker. If they were a Bloodling, well…” she shrugged. “Let’s just say we’ve had to clean up some big messes before.”
I gave a silent nod.
Gabriella gave me a sideways glance. “It’s not all bad. I mean apart from the whole living forever and needing to feed or you decompose aspects.” She gave a rue smile.
“Like?”
“Well, the sun doesn’t affect them for one. Plus they are far stronger than any human. Also most of them tend to join the HASEA, which as mercenary as it sounds, we need.”
Something Gabriella said stuck in my brain. Sun doesn’t affect them.
“Hold on a second, it’s daytime. Faru said that Pandemonian Vampires were allergic to sunlight.”
My companion pointed through the windshield at the thick grey clouds. “Direct sunlight yeah. Unfortunately it’s overcast. They’ll be weaker, but far from a pushover.”
We fell silent. Gabriella wove in and out of the traffic with expert precision. In fairness, there wasn’t a moment where she looked as if she would lose control.
“Open up the glove compartment,” she instructed suddenly.
I did as she asked and saw a silver gun lying in the narrow recess. I curled my hand around the base and slid it out. The metal was cool to the touch.
“This what you wanted?”
She glanced over and nodded. “That’s for you. Just in case. It’s all you need to take out any Vampire. Keep it hidden though; you aren’t supposed to carry weapons yet.”
I smiled. “Most girls keep CD’s and eyeliner in their glove compartments. Trust you to have a gun.”
“I have eyeliner in there too. A real girl’s ready for any situation.” She winked.
Then her expression sobered. She pointed a delicate finger towards a switch on the side of the gun. “To load it, push that all the way down. Then pull the trigger. Simple as that. It only holds six rounds though, so be careful.”
I looked up. “If I’m not allowed to carry a gun, why are you giving me this?”
For a split second, I could have sworn she went red. But on second glance it could have been a trick of the light. “Because I don’t want you to get hurt Alex,” she answered plainly.
We drove on in silence for a while. I rolled the weapon over in my hand, testing the weight. It felt solid and powerful. It was easy to see why people became obsessed with carrying them. The gun itself looked different to those I’d seen in films. The barrel was long and wide. The grip looked as if it was coated in wet black paint, but felt rubberised to touch. I’d never felt anything like it and had a sneaking suspicion that some of the materials weren’t from my side of the Veil. I tucked the gun in the waistband of my jeans and pulled my top over it. I sat back and glanced in the wing mirror to check that the Range Rover was still following. It was right behind us.
“So why only six bullets?” I asked.
“Because it doesn’t fire bullets. It fires compact wooden stakes. If you need to use it — god forbid, aim at the chest or throat.”
I swallowed audibly. “I don’t know if I can. I–I’ve never fired a gun before.”
Gabriella shot me a sarcastic look. “If you’re about to be Vampire food, I’m confident you’ll learn fast.”
Something beeped next to the handbrake. Gabriella picked up a silver device which resembled a curved phone. I strained to see. Above numerous buttons, an LCD screen showed a sweeping radar. A red square flashed in the top left corner. Gabriella veered across the lanes. Cars mashed their horns and skidded out of the way. My stomach knotted as we mounted the verge and ploughed into Susurrate forest. I gasped, grabbing hold of the seat as we were swallowed by the foliage. Trees scraped along the side of the car as it rocketed forward. The Ferrari slipped and slid on the damp grass as if it were ice. Gabriella had to frantically pull the wheel from side to side to keep the vehicle from spinning out. I wished she’d chosen the Range Rover. If we were going to crash, it would be now.
Mercifully, after a few minutes of vehicular slalom, Gabriella slammed her foot on the brakes bringing the Ferrari to a grinding halt. I breathed a sigh of relief.
She checked the device and nodded, apparently satisfied. As we climbed out — me trembling with adrenaline — the Jeep pulled up a few yards away and settled. With a deft movement, Gabriella slipped the car keys into my back pocket. Then she squeezed my side and walked over to the idling off roader.
The rest of the team climbed out and instantly I was wedged between the two Golems. I re-adjusted my jumper over the waist of my jeans and prayed they wouldn’t notice the slight angle of the gun butt.
Gabriella slid a powerful looking gun out of its holster and pushed a lever on the side. The gun clicked, ready for action. She walked a few feet ahead and turned around to face us.
“Listen up. They’re close. I don’t need to tell you how dangerous this could get if it’s Rahuman. However, we have the element of surprise on our side. They’ll be expecting us to hold at the Warren and wait for them to come to us. They won’t be prepared for a small hunter squad. I want eyes sharp and backs covered. We offer HASEA terms as usual. Let’s hope they refuse them. That bastard doesn’t deserve mercy.”
There were murmurs of agreement. Midnight cracked his knuckles in an exaggerated manner.
Gabriella looked over at Sophia. “Honey, you’re up.
“Okay,” grinned pint size and walked to the front of the group. Crouching down, she placed her fingertips to her temples. Her lips barely moved as she breathed out some kind of incantation. After a few seconds a blue haze
