Dark Tomorrow (Bo Blackman Book 6) (17 page)

‘Bo,’ Maria exclaims. ‘You no look good.’

I glance down at myself. She has a point: I’m covered in oil, dirt and a fair amount of blood, a lot of which is mine. ‘Hale made his move,’ I say.

Both of them stiffen. Alarmingly, Michael leaps out of bed towards me. ‘Are you alright?’ he demands. ‘Did he hurt you?’

‘Lie down! What are you doing? You’re ill!’

‘I’m fine. I think the strawberry-flavoured Pop Tarts did the trick.’

Maria shakes her head. ‘No. It definitely curry Pot Noodle.’

I can’t prevent the grin spreading across my face. ‘You do look better,’ I admit. Relief threatens to overwhelm me; not only does he look like he’s going to be alright, Maria is looking more relaxed.

Michael cups my face and stares into my eyes. My knees weaken. ‘What did that wanker do to you, Bo? I’ll rip his head off if he did anything.’

‘You kill him, yes?’ Maria says. ‘Drink his blood until nothing left.’ She nods in satisfaction.

‘No,’ I demur. ‘He’s still out there. I’m going to have to do something to sort him for good, though. I don’t think he’ll stop trying to get rid of all of us.’

Michael’s thumb brushes a streak of dirt away from my cheek. ‘You’re afraid that if you kill him, you’ll let the darkness back in.’

‘The darkness is still there. It’s … locked away for now.’

Maria stills. ‘It never go away. You just manage.’

I give her a shaky smile. For a teenager, she’s pretty bloody canny.

There’s a loud cheer from the other room. Michael raises his eyebrows. ‘Are we having a party?’

‘Not exactly.’ I point at the bed. He looks irritated but does as he’s told. Maria turns as if to go and leave us in peace but I gently touch her arm. ‘Stay. You need to hear this too.’

I outline everything that’s happened, from what I’ve learnt about Alice to Vince Hale. When I’m done, Maria bites her lip and frowns. ‘I never see these green men.’

‘You wouldn’t have. My theory is that they dress as aliens to hide who they really are and what they’re really doing. With you, there was no need to do that.’

‘Because my mother sell me. She no hide.’

I close my eyes, wishing I could make that better for her. It’s the ultimate betrayal and there’s nothing any of us can do about it. ‘Yes,’ I say quietly.

‘I still don’t understand,’ Michael says. ‘Why aliens?’

‘We live in a world with vampires and witches and daemons and ghosts,’ I say. ‘People will believe almost anything but cast around a rumour that you’ve seen an alien and you’ll be locked away. Everyone will think you’re crazy.’ I’m convinced that’s what happened to Alice’s neighbour. The poor guy probably had his house stripped from him by the state to pay for his ‘retirement’ in an asylum. It won’t be difficult to confirm; I’ll ask Rogu3 to look him up. ‘They dress as aliens so if anyone sees them when they’re snatching a kid, the witnesses are automatically disbelieved.’

Michael absorbs this theory, eventually nodding that it makes a warped kind of sense. ‘It still doesn’t explain why they’re taking children in the first place.’ He glances at Maria. ‘Is it, um…’ He can’t even say it but I know what he’s getting at. I guess his humanity really is coming back in force; he would never have deliberately hurt her before, but there’s a different, more considerate, level to him now. And he’s worried.

‘Sexual abuse,’ I say it for him. ‘And no, it can’t be. Maria’s Romany blood wouldn’t have stopped them if that were the case.’ Plus, she ended up in a damn brothel anyway. My skin twitches in barely concealed rage. Maria pulls her shoulders back as if she’s not going to be cowed. Good girl. ‘If these children’s minds are really being wiped then it’s something else.’

Maria mutters something and stands up again. ‘I go for walk,’ she declares.

I watch her leave. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked her to stay but she deserves to be in the loop. After all, we got this far because of her.

Michael’s hand covers mine. ‘You’re doing the right thing,’ he tells me, his voice low.

‘Are you also reading my mind now?’

‘I know you,’ he says. His jaw tightens. ‘I wish I could do something to help.’

‘You can help by getting better.’ I brush his hair away from his forehead. ‘That’s what I need from you. Okay,’ I amend, ‘that and some advice.’

He waits. I take a deep breath and look up at the ceiling. ‘We have these other vampires now. It feels like,’ I pause, struggling to find the words, ‘like they want me to tell them what to do. Hale was waiting for me before he did anything to the vampires. Hope, the black witch out there, wanted to talk to me.’ I ball up my fists. ‘I’m no one. In bloodguzzler terms, I’m a baby. I don’t need this kind of responsibility and I don’t deserve it.’ I take a breath. ‘I’m not good enough for it. The world is falling apart and everyone seems to think that I have the answers. I don’t have anything.’

Michael laughs softly. ‘Think about what you’ve done, Bo. You discovered that Nicky was trying to bring us all down with her crazy plots. You walked away from the Families and helped set up a company where different vampires could work together. You stopped a serial killer. You found a missing billionaire. You beat up a Kakos daemon live on television. You almost stopped Tov V’ra.’

I meet his eyes. ‘But the Families were brought down regardless of what I did to stop Nicky. New Order is in ruins. The serial killer captured and almost killed me. Everyone thinks the billionaire is still missing. The Kakos daemon thing on TV was a stunt. They manipulated everything I did. And,’ I say sadly, ‘Tov V’ra still won.’

‘We’re not dead yet.’

I point wildly at the door. ‘There are twenty vampires out there waiting for me to tell them what to do! I don’t have a sodding clue! I’m making all this shit up as I go along, Michael. I’ve got missing kids to find and a politician to destroy and a host of invincible Kakos daemons to beat and I can’t do any of it. Tell me what to do. Tell me how to sort all this out and I’ll do whatever you say,’ I plead. ‘This isn’t me. I don’t want this.’

He grabs hold of my flailing hands. ‘You’ve got this, Bo Blackman. I know it’s scary but I believe in you. You can do it.’

‘Michael, I need you to…’

He shakes his head. ‘No. You’re the vampire. I’m just a lowly human.’

My eyes widen in alarm. ‘Don’t say that!’

‘It’s okay. I’m not exactly at peace with that fact but I’m getting there.’ He lifts a trembling hand. ‘And, as helpful as all that food was, I’m still not strong enough to leave this place. You have to do this, Bo. I have faith in you and so does everyone out there.’

‘But…’

‘Get a grip,’ he says sternly. ‘Go be a hero.’

My mouth is dry. I want to argue further but I can see exhaustion creeping back into his face. His expectations of me are too high but he’s the love of my life. I have to do what I can.

Rather than confront the waiting vampires immediately, I go into the nearest unoccupied room and take out my phone. I need to give them something and D’Argneau has had more than enough time. He should have been in touch by now.

He answers on the second ring. ‘Thought you’d have called before now,’ he says.

‘Ditto,’ I snap.

He doesn’t appear to notice my tone. ‘I don’t have everything you’re looking for. Not yet.’

‘But you have some information.’

‘Yeah. You’re not going to like it.’

Big surprise there. I sigh. ‘Hit me.’

‘Well, I looked into the legal status of the vampires. It took a long time and I didn’t trust anyone else, so I had to do it all myself. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to decipher legal documents that are centuries old?’

‘My heart bleeds. What did you discover, D’Argneau?’

‘It’s not vampires that are above the law, it’s the Families. Everything I’ve found states that categorically. The Families were trusted to keep their bloodguzzlers in line and, without the Families…’

‘We revert back to the same rules as the rest of the country.’

‘Got it in one. Frankly, I’m surprised no one else has twigged this yet. After all, you left the Families so you should have been subject to those laws too. It’s probably because no other lawyers are as good as I am.’ He says this without a hint of his typical D’Argneau smugness. ‘I traced everything back to a single piece of legislation from 1623. Do you want to hear it?’

‘That’s alright. I trust you.’

‘Really?’ He sounds surprised.

‘Mm,’ I murmur. ‘So let me make sure I understand what you’re saying. Now that the Families don’t exist, vampires are exactly the same as every human, daemon or witch citizen.’

‘Yeah. I’m sorry, I know it’s not what you wanted to hear.’

‘And,’ I say, ignoring his pointless apology, ‘if a British citizen was rounded up and incarcerated by its own government without trial, under the pretence that it was for their own safety, that would be illegal?’

‘Yes,’ he says slowly, finally beginning to understand. ‘If they didn’t agree to the incarceration, then it’s an abuse of both human and triber rights.’ He pauses. ‘I suppose you’d like me to petition the courts to revoke the government’s recent ruling about that?’

‘I would indeed.’ I doubt that the law will stop Hale in his tracks – after all, it hasn’t so far – but it’s a step in the right direction. ‘I need you to make as loud a noise as possible. Hopefully the media will pick it up and run with it. If everyone realises that vampires are subject to the same laws as everyone else, it might make them less antagonistic.’

‘This is the time to do it,’ D’Argneau agrees. ‘A lot of the population is sympathetic towards you but that won’t last for long. And it’s not going to stop people being scared of what you’re capable of.’

‘Just go ahead and do it. I’ll worry about the rest.’ I lick my lips. ‘What about Kakos daemons? What legal proceedings have you unearthed in relation to them?’

‘The last case was about fifteen years ago. A London-based man sued them for killing his wife.’

I feel a rush of optimism. ‘Really? I don’t remember hearing anything about that.’

‘Three days after the first papers were filed, he withdrew the complaint. I thought there must have been some out-of-court settlement because he had a good case. All the evidence was stacked in his favour. I called up his barrister, however, and he told me that there was nothing. Not a penny. The barrister is still disgruntled about it. No win, no fee, you understand. He thought the case was going to make him ‒ it seemed like a slam dunk ‒ but no matter what he did, he couldn’t persuade his client to go through with it. All the barrister gets to deal with now are petty speeding fines, that kind of thing.’ D’Argneau’s voice turns mournful. ‘He could have had a glittering career and it was all lost. I’m going to end up like that.’

‘They got to him,’ I say, thinking aloud. ‘The damn Kakos daemons got to the client.’

‘Eh? You mean they threatened him?’

I laugh harshly. ‘No. They’re much smarter than that.’ I twirl a curl round my finger so tightly that I cut off the circulation to my fingertip. Bastard freaks. The Kakos daemons have been getting everything they wanted for generations and no one ever realised. That’s the cruel beauty of mind control. I shake my head in disgust. ‘Tell me about Streets of Fire,’ I say through gritted teeth. ‘What have you found out about them?’

D’Argneau sounds regretful. ‘Nothing. All I know is what is publicly available. The CEO is a human called Gregory Smith. Everything seems kosher.’

‘It’s not.’

‘There’s nothing to find, Bo.’

‘Look harder. That sodding company is run by the Kakos daemons.’ In fact, with Streets of Fire they don’t even need telepathic control. They can control the internet and make people believe what they damn well choose by controlling what information they broadcast. It beggars belief that no one has noticed how powerful they are until now. It’s terrifying.

‘I’ve done what I can, Bo. There’s nothing else there.’

‘Please, Harry.’

He sighs. ‘Fine but…’

I hang up. It’s not polite and my grandfather would slap me down for doing such a thing but my whole body is shaking. Everyone knows that Kakos daemons are to be feared but they’re seen so rarely that they’ve taken on the guise of the boogeyman. The trouble is that the boogeyman is alive and much, much more powerful than anyone gives him credit for.

***

‘This is the deal,’ I say to the small assembly of pale-faced vampires. ‘The Families are no more. Stuart, Bancroft, Montserrat, Medici and Gully are dead and buried. Forget which allegiance you used to cling to. It no longer exists.’

You could hear a pin drop in the room. A few of them swallow nervously. My grandfather leans against the wall with his arms folded and an inscrutable expression on his face.

‘Our legal status has also been revoked. No one is above the law, not any more. Kill someone, drink from them against their will, steal a damned Mars bar, and expect to end up in prison. The world has turned upside down and we need to adapt or leave.’

A tentative hand is raised. ‘Excuse me?’

I glance over, unsurprised to see that my first dissenter is the Medici guzzler. At least his previous aggressive bluster is muted. ‘Yes?’

‘We have representatives here from every Family. We can start afresh. There can be a new Lord or Lady for each Family. We can rise up more powerfully than before. We can crush anyone who gets in our way. We can do this.’

There are a few nods at his words. I shrug. I’d been expecting this so it’s probably as well to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. ‘What’s the definition of insanity?’ I ask softly.

A half smile curls round Beth’s mouth. ‘Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.’

We share a look of agreement. ‘Exactly. Sure we could bring the Families back to life and we might even be successful. The people who did this to us, the Kakos daemons, might leave us in peace.’ I wrinkle my nose. ‘Somehow I doubt it but it’s possible. We could regain our former glory. But then what? Sooner or later the same thing will happen again. The Families failed because they held themselves apart from society. They let tradition dictate how they acted. We need to do things differently if we want to survive. Assimilate into society, be part of this country rather than above it.’

‘That’s ridiculous!’ a Gully woman bursts out. ‘The Families gave us security. They gave us a way of life. We can’t just throw it all away!’

‘If you don’t like it, feel free to leave. There are plenty of European Families who will take you in. The Americans are looking to boost their numbers.’ I lean forward. ‘You don’t need to live with a Lord or Lady dictating your every move. You can live by your own standards. Adhere to the law but be an individual.’ I meet my grandfather’s eyes. ‘Live by your own morality.’

‘No.’ The Medici vampire shakes his head. ‘We can keep Britain great. The Families keep us great.’

‘Bullshit.’ The voice behind me is quiet but unmistakable. Even if I hadn’t known it was Michael, I could have guessed from the look of shock on everyone’s face. ‘Bo is right. The tradition and rules imposed by the Families were holding the vampires back. Now you’re all free. Look to tomorrow, not yesterday.’

Everyone still just gapes.

‘Lord Montserrat! You’re alive. You’re …’ There’s a long pause.

‘Human,’ he says drily. Maria is helping him stay upright but he looks stronger than before. ‘Why yes, I am.’

The vampires exchange frightened, confused looks. ‘I don’t understand,’ one says. ‘How could this happen?’

‘The Kakos daemons,’ I say softly. ‘They’re responsible for all of this.’

‘We need to destroy them! We’ll kill them! How dare they do this?’

‘We’ll drain them of every drop of blood they have,’ another promises.

I lift up my chin. ‘We can’t. Even if we knew where they all were, they’re more powerful than we are.’ I press my lips together. ‘For now, anyway.’ I’m still going to blow X apart the second I get the chance. ‘Look, choose to stay or choose to go. It’s up to you. But things will not be the same as they were before. They can’t be. We’re still vulnerable, we can still be killed. But I’m working on that. I think there’s a way out that will make others accept us. It’s not going to be easy but I think it’s viable.’

‘And what about me?’ Hope asks, her clear voice ringing over us. ‘What about the witches?’

I meet her eyes. I still don’t have the foggiest idea what to do with her olive branch. On the one hand, we could really do with their support because right now, the witches are far stronger and more capable than we are. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not waiting for the chance to take us all out for good. They might have rescued us from Hale but I still can’t fathom out their real motives. I search my heart for the right answer.

‘What do you really want?’ I ask. ‘You’re not doing all this just because you need a buffer between yourselves and the Kakos daemons.’

Hope exhales in exasperation. ‘We’re not evil, Bo. Not any more than you are. There are bad apples, sure, but you’ve experienced that on your own hearth. We’re doing this because it’s the right thing to do, not because we have an ulterior motive.’ She purses her lips. ‘Not that an alliance won’t help us in the future. Say the word and the black witches will come out in favour of the vampires. It will help your cause. You know it will.’

I look at Michael. He cocks his head slightly. What would you do, I ask him silently. He smiles in response, letting me know that he’s keeping out of it. Judging by the way everyone is looking at me, they’re going to let him; now that he’s no longer a vampire, they’ve already dismissed him. My heart aches. We have to stop thinking of ourselves as separate from the rest of the world. It’s already almost been our undoing.

I stride forward to Hope and hold out my hand. She takes it and shakes. A frisson of electricity travels up my arm and I just manage to avoid wincing. ‘It’s either face the wolves or jump off the cliff,’ I say.

‘Which have you chosen?’

I pull back my shoulders and take a deep breath. ‘Both.’

Beth steps forward. ‘I’ve never been that bothered by the witches,’ she says. ‘But I know the Blackmans have had issues with them.’

My grandfather raises an eyebrow. ‘Elizabeth,’ he chides, ‘it is the witches who have had issues with us.’ He moves over to Hope. ‘I am glad we can finally bury the hatchet.’

Beth clears her throat as the two shake hands. ‘
As
I was saying, if they can work together then I can work with them too. I’m staying. London is my home.’

The ex-Medici vampire moves up beside her. ‘What the hell. I’m not running away with my tail between my legs. I’m not afraid of any Kakos daemon.’

He should be. Regardless, I smile at him. One by one, the others step closer. ‘We’re with you, Bo. However this goes down, we’re with you.’

‘I’m not your leader,’ I tell them all. ‘You need to be masters of your own fate.’

Chester smiles. ‘I like the sound of that. I’m still with you, though.’

I tug at my hair. ‘Pretty speeches and hand shaking are all well and good but they don’t change the fact that we’re still in danger.’ I take a deep breath. ‘If you’re up to it, I’d like us to go to Westminster.’

Beth pumps the air. ‘Let’s confront Hale and sort him out once and for all.’

‘No,’ I say, ‘not yet. First we need to find a girl.’