He really wants you togo back to sleep. Why?
“I can’t sleep until Ihave a starting point.” I wandered over to the desk and collectedthe broken mug.
“If I knew what we arelooking for—?”
“I don’t even know,Than.” I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders. “I will bedown shortly.”
“No problem. I willjust be here, learning.”
I wandered to thedoor, pausing at the threshold. My previous thoughts about hisdoings during my naps resurfacing. “Have you had enough t’drinktoday? Is there still plenty of mixture available for you?”
“Yes, to both.” Heangled a look at me. “And there’s still a few slices of pizza leftfrom earlier, if you’re hungry.”
Strangest Vampire Ihad ever met. He really wasn’t grabbing the concept of what a Leechwas, but then again, he was the strangest boy that I had everknown.
“Great.” I made my wayup the stepladders. “I won’t be long.”
“I’m not goinganywhere.”
Making my way throughthe pantry, I stopped in the kitchen, looking for the bin. “Therehas to be one somewhere.”
“In the cupboard nearthe backdoor,” Than called up.
I flicked the kitchenlight on and made my way over to the backdoor. “I’m not sure if Ishould be freaked out at how well y’know your way around thishouse?”
“I’m nosey, remember,”came the reply.
Opening the cupboard,I saw a bin attached to the inside of the door. I dropped theshards inside, the heavy ceramic knocking the uneaten scrambled eggdown the side of the black bag, revealing a crumbled envelope withthe letters ‘er’ visible.
I reached inside,pulling the small manilla envelope, and straightened it out on thecounter. Heather’s name rested in dark pen on the front, written inmy aunt’s handwriting.
Reaching back into thebin, I batted away the odd bits of garbage until my fingers skimmedpaper. I pulled the scrunched ball in the same shade andstraightened it. Relief and fear collided in my stomach as I readthe short note.
Heather. TheSphinx. Right, back corner. Small group. Luca Mancinelli. September25th, 2015. 11.30p.m. It’s your onlychance.
“Well, shite.”
My mother hadmentioned that Heather had stated Sofia had seen Luca in London,but well, my aunt hadn’t simply mentioned it. She had told Heatherexactly where he was going to be, and knowing my cousin, she wouldhave gone for him, guardian Werewolf in tow.
I closed the cupboarddoor, my hip hitting the side as I stared at the note in myhand.
Luca was a SecondGeneration who would have had an entourage with him. I could onlypresume The Sphinx was a bar or nightclub of some sort, which meantmy cousin would have held the advantage of them not wanting tocause a scene, but if she had gone … if they had fought … had shesurvived? If so, surely, she would have checked in with mymother?
Did that mean shehadn’t made it?
Yet again, my mindstarted to spin with all the possibilities. Throwing in the mysteryof Nathan being able to cross the threshold and enter this house …I suddenly felt dizzy at the thought that my cousin could bedead.
Despite being slightlystronger than a human and with the ability to heal a littlequicker, being an Infected didn’t mean that she would necessarilysurvive. But then again, if Luca had killed Heather Ryan, the onlyborn Infected, we would have heard, wouldn’t we? The Vampires wouldbe gloating. They would be laughing at us. They wouldn’t simplykeep it to themselves.
I hated the idea, butit gave me hope that my cousin was still alive.
I took a few deepbreaths, calming myself, focusing on the sick knowledge that theLeeches would have made sure we knew if they had succeeded inkilling Heather.
If she was indeedalive, I then had to presume she was unable to check in with us. Iknew she didn’t own a mobile, which I had always found strange, butthere was still the odd phone box scattered around the place. AndI’m sure the Werewolf would have had a phone?
Whatever the reason, Icould only presume that neither of them was able to check in. So,the big question was, what would stop Heather from calling mymother?
“You look deep inthought?” Nathan stood by the fridge. “You okay?”
“I think I found alead.”
“That’s great. Isn’tit?”
“Yeah, we’re justthree weeks too late t’follow it.”
“I don’tunderstand.”
I walked over andhanded him the note. “Instructions from Sofia.”
He accepted the paper,his brow furrowing as he read. “So, Heather would have definitelygone after this guy?”
“For sure.” I took aseat at the breakfast bar. “If she had died—”
“I’m sure she’sfine.”
“Well, we would knowif she had.”
“How?”
“Heather is special,remember. I’m sure the Vampires would be screaming about killingthe born Infected. They’ve been after her for years, so I can onlypresume they’d want us t’know.”
“So, she’s alive?” Hisexpression lightened. “That’s good.”
“Of course it is.”
“You might want t’tellyour face.”
“Why hasn’t shechecked in? Why hasn’t she told us what happened with Luca, whatshe found out?”
“Maybe she hasn’t hadthe chance to?”
That would be an easysolution, but considering it had been three weeks since the date onthe note … how can someone go three weeks without getting to aphone?
“Or she can’t.”
“Okay.” He placed thenote on the end of the breakfast bar. “So, she’s alive and unableto tell her loved ones she’s okay because she can’t get to aphone.”
My temples began tothrob. I pressed my fingertips against the pulsing points andrubbed. “Who can’t get to a phone nowadays?”
He was silent for along moment. “People who are lost in remote areas with noconnections. Jungles, mountains … forests.”
“I hardly think theywill be up a mountain or in a jungle, Than.”
“A forest, then? I hadto run through one.” He moved back to the fridge, opening the door.“Prisoners!”
I dropped my hands tomy lap. “What?”
“Prisoners can’t usephones. Well, normal prisoners get at least one phone call, butVampire prisoners don’t. I would have loved t’have called t’checkin with my mum, tell her I’m fine, knowing it would be the lasttime I ever spoke to her, but it would have been easier than whatshe must be going through now.”
Time stopped, Nathan’svoice fading into the background as my tired brain fought toprocess everything he had just said.
Nathan had beenkidnapped in London and taken to a facility where he was turned andexperimented on. That facility was hidden in a forest which waslocated somewhere in Scotland which he’d discovered after escapingand making it
