Shadow's Light (34 page)

“Are you sure, Mistress? This one is strong, for a newly risen vampire.” Gigi squeaked at the word vampire and tried to shuffle further under the bed.

“Yes, I'm sure. Samson and I will handle this.”

Reluctantly, I could tell, Sergei stood and left the room without replying. His lack of words said more than he could ever have spoken aloud.

I concentrated on breathing for a while and when I was sure the room wouldn't tip dared a glance at the young woman now wrapped up in a duvet from the bed. Her vampire signature was Dark, but she was definitely a Nosferatin. As such she should have been full of Light. I tried to find it, I
sought
, I attempted to read her aura. But, still there was more Dark than Light. Damn.

“Gigi, my name is Lucinda Monk. This is my house. You know Samson.” I indicated Samson and her eyes flicked to him, widened slightly with recognition and then darted away back to me. Jeez this was not easy. “OK, you probably want answers. So, here's how it is,” I took a breath in and forged ahead. “Vampires exist.” I waited for a cry of alarm, but when I got nothing, went on. “You have been turned by a vampire who we do not know. Samson and I found you and tried to keep you alive. In doing so, you are not only a vampire, called a Nosferatu, but also a vampire hunter, or Nosferatin. You're kind of both.”

I stopped then, because really, how much could the poor girl take in one hit?

She on the other hand sat very still. Vampire still. She wasn't breathing or blinking. And her pulse was motionless at her neck. I waited for something, some form of acknowledgement of what I had said, but nothing came. Samson shifted uneasily at my side.

“I am a Nosferatin, a born vampire hunter," I went on. "Samson is a Nosferatu, a vampire. You're a bit like him and a bit like me, but here's where I don't know what to tell you, Gigi, because this has never happened before. I don't know what it will mean for you. I have no idea how this will work. You obviously crave blood like a vampire...” I reached up automatically to touch where she had fed from my neck. “But, how much of the Nosferatin you have in you, I don't know. All I know is I recognise you as my kin.”

“I recognise you too,” she said in a too quiet voice. Then her eyes darted to my neck and the pulse fluttering just beneath the skin, letting us all know she was attracted to the blood as well.

“We're here to help you, Gigi,” I forged on. “We're your friends. We'll do whatever is needed to help you through this, to come to terms with it and move on. Samson will teach you about being a vampire. And I will teach you about being a vampire hunter. It will all be OK.”

I had no idea if it was going to be, but I was damned sure I wasn't going to let her see my doubt or confusion right now. She needed unconditional support. She needed to know she had friends to count on. I was only hoping her friendship with Samson would stretch to include me.

Gigi licked her lips and then turned her head unnaturally slowly towards Samson. “I knew you were different,” she whispered.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “I wanted to tell you everything. I was going to, but then Luce returned from South America and well, it was kind of a family crisis, that's why I made you leave.”

Oh, now I kinda felt like a third wheel. This seemed too personal, too private for my ears. I wished I could just get up and leave them to it, but I had to make sure Gigi was all right.

Her gaze returned to me with an eerie amount of knowledge. More than she should possibly have.

“Why are you helping me? You hunt vampires, right? Shouldn't you be hunting me?”

“Not all vampires are evil,” I told her. “Samson's not.” I didn't say, that at the moment her Dark made her seem so very evil, though. “Besides, you're part Nosferatin too. Part of what makes me, who I am.”

She stared for a few more minutes and I don't know what it was that I saw, but I knew she didn't trust me. That she doubted my reasons for being here at all. I was betting she was doubting Samson's as well. I couldn't blame her. And part of me was glad she had a natural protection such as that. If she didn't trust those around her at first glance, she might just be able to keep herself safe. For a while anyway.

“We believe that most vampires won't be able to tell you are a Nothus, that you're a mix of Nosferatin and Nosferatu," I said. "I think it would be best to keep it that way. You appear like a vampire and they must believe that you are only that. For your own safety.”

She frowned slightly, creating delicate lines across her pale skin. It was actually a relief when she spoke again and asked, in her whisper, quiet voice, “Can I please talk to Samson alone.”

I stood and smiled as kindly as I could down at her and then walked from the room. The door shut softly behind me and I took a deep breath in to help stave off the swirl of the world that had threatened to topple me as soon as I had got up off the floor. Bracing myself with an arm against the wall several feet down the cluttered and nearly destroyed hallway, I didn't feel him arrive.

Amusing really, considering I had just left that room last night and was practically standing in exactly the same spot where he had tried to catch me before. A warm hand covering my mouth and a firm arm around my stomach was the first indication I was in trouble.

I initially sought out Sergei, but he was too far away to help, down in the cellar. And Aliath was nowhere to be seen. Panic set in, then the world was tilting, then swirling and then shifting as I flowed through space.

And now I was nowhere near my house in St. Helier's Bay, but instead on black sand watching moonlit waves crash violently against the shore.

“Piha Beach?” I asked in a surprisingly even voice.

“For some reason I cannot manage further,
elska
. But here is far enough away.”

Lutin stood several feet in front of me, hands in pockets of tan coloured trousers, his white T-shirt catching the light of the moon. His short, spiky blonde hair topping his head and the vivid green of his eyes capturing my gaze. I forcefully pulled mine away and wrapped my Light around me in a shield. What I wouldn't give for Sergei or Nataliya to be here.

“What now?” I asked, loud enough to be heard above the West Coast crash of waves.

“Now, we stay one step ahead of your
Dökkálfa
Grey Lord captor, until I am strong enough to return us to the
Ljósálfar
Court.”

I let a breath of air out at the realisation he wasn't joking. That he honestly believed I had been held against my will by Aliath and would return willingly with him, Lutin, to
Álfheimr
. It was preposterous. Ludicrous. But I didn't dare correct him, for fear of angering him.

He cocked his head as he watched me. “You look tired,
elska
.” Then after a moment's thought a smile curved the edges of his lips. “Are you with child?”

I felt the bottom of my stomach fall out from beneath me and instinctively placed a hand on my belly to stop the roll of nausea inside. Lutin mistook my movement for one of confirmation. My hand not soothing my upset stomach, but cradling the babe within. His face beamed as he took the steps necessary to close the distance between us.

“I will take good care of you and our child,
elska
. You shall want for nothing on our return to
Álfheimr
.” I was too in shock to stop him, as his arms wrapped around my body and held me dear.

All I managed was a murmured, "Pregnant?" My words spoken aloud, but meant only for me, and filled with incredulity. I couldn't be pregnant, we hadn't had sex. Although Lutin thought we had, it had been a charade created by Michel's
Sanguis Vitam
. Nothing more. But still, something left me feeling nauseous. I couldn't put my finger on it, but part of me was actually scared Lutin was correct.

And if he was... My mind frantically tried to count back days, but time spent in
Álfheimr
had passed differently here on Earth. And the toing and froing made it impossible for me to tell if I couldn't in fact be pregnant or not.

And then I mentally snorted at how ridiculous that idea was for more than just one reason. I was a Nosferatin, the first born in my family. I didn't
carry
the gene, I was it. And because of that I could not have children of my own. My role in life was not to parent, but to protect. To fight the Dark and keep the innocents safe. Had I have had a younger sister or brother, they would have carried on the Nosferatin line, not me.

But, despite that knowledge, I still felt ill. Despite all of the myriad reasons that made it  illogical to think I was pregnant. What if somehow Lutin was right.

"The
kvángask
," he whispered against my neck in answer to my question. "
His Light to her Light, mixed together through scared rite, will create longed-for life
. I knew you were different,
elska
. I just knew it. And now you have fulfilled the prophesy as I had only dreamed to hope."

Lutin's lips began moving over the skin on my neck. Delicate kisses pressed gently up the side of my cheek. His hot breath in contrast to the cooler air on the beach. I was numb with shock. Memories of reading that fey prophesy in an old leather bound tome in Citysider's safe house months ago came crashing back in. Overlaid with the memory of the kvángask and Lutin's mother saying those exact words before it all began. Even Lutin had voiced them after we had shared Light. Dear Goddess, could this be true? 

“I want to take you right now. Right here." His voice broke my near paralytic stance. "To celebrate the life we have created together.” His body pressed firmly against mine and there was no denying his intention. I realised I'd started panting, a desperate effort to get air in my lungs and clear my head. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. I could not let this happen again.

I was just about to push back against him, gathering my Light automatically within, when there was a loud crack, a flash of light and Aliath stood beside us on the beach. The split second I took to register this fact was longer than Lutin needed to respond. He simply pushed me back, away from the Grey Lord and through another split in the air.

That unusual wash of lights and sounds and space around us flooded over me and then we came out onto another beach. This one with white sand and gentle waves. A long length of coast disappearing in a slight curve behind Lutin's back. I glanced around for Aliath, recognising the beach we were now on. Lutin was hopping from coast to coast, but not making much distance at all. Piha had been west of Auckland, Orewa was north and east.

I doubled over as a wave of nausea rocked through me. Fairy travel never sat nicely on my stomach, but the sudden shift with loss of blood from Gigi's feed made me weak at the knees and bile rise up my throat.

“Oh,
elska
,” Lutin said as he stroked my back while I tried not vomit at my feet. “Have you been suffering badly with the pregnancy? We have remedies which will ease your time.”

Idiot, was all I could think as I struggled to keep Aliath's earlier sandwiches and biscuits down.

I had just managed to get things back under control when another flash indicated Aliath's arrival. Before the crack of space splitting had finished reverberating in the air around us, Lutin had grabbed me and stepped through another hole.

Another beach, further north of Auckland, grand beach houses dominating the shoreline. But, definitely not Auckland City, more like Snells Beach or Algies Bay. I had a moment to process this before the nausea kicked in and then Aliath appeared at our side. Hand outstretched, determination etched on his face.

Lutin swore and pushed me roughly sideways through another quickly opening, shimmering space, making us land hard on our sides in further sand. This time wet as we were too close to the waves. There were no lights or nearby houses, no way of picking out the name or location of the beach. I felt exhausted, sick to the stomach and now wet through down one entire side. Lutin helped me to my feet and glanced all around, no doubt looking for the chasing Grey Lord. Even
I
hoped he didn't turn up soon as I couldn't manage another walk through space and air.

I moaned as my mouth watered, preparing to expel my stomach contents at any moment.

“Did he give you anything?” Lutin asked, still scanning the beach and sand dunes to our left. “A gem. Trinket. Food. Drink. Anything like that,
elska
?”

“What?” I managed, swallowing repeatedly.

“He is tracking you somehow. Perhaps a charm that reads your thoughts. Maybe something solid he can home in on. A mixture of both.” Lutin sounded breathless and drained. All this space shifting was taking its toll.

And oh, great. If Aliath was waiting for me to identify this beach in my head, he was shit out of luck. All I could tell him was we were on the West Coast. I'd know these waves anywhere. They possessed the courage of the West by far. As to whether we were north or south of Auckland, the only indication was a soft glow further ahead, over Lutin's shoulder, with the waves to my left. So, that would make us south then. I'm no good at identifying my location by stars, so I just looked at the sky, picturing the position of the moon and any constellations I could find and then slowly looked down towards the glow of Auckland City on the horizon. Hopefully Aliath could work it out.

The nausea was retreating so I sat myself down further away from the wet sand and caught my breath. “He gave me food and drink,” I finally answered Lutin's question and received a lot of what I could only assume were swear words in fey.

“I am growing tired,
elska
. I cannot counter the effect of the potion he has given you. I can manage one more shift, but when he appears, you will need to knock him out with your Light. Can you manage that?”

Huh. “Um, yeah.” Not likely. But, if Lutin would hesitate to shift us for a moment, expecting me to blast Aliath with my Light, it might just be enough for the Grey Lord to pounce.
You hear that Aliath. You better time this right!

I stood up gingerly, expecting the nausea to return, but the longer it was from the last space shift, the better I was feeling. Still tired and wet, but not so much sick anymore.

“OK,” I said, brushing my hair out of the way as it was blown across my face. “I'm ready.”

“I am so proud of you,
elska
. A true
Ljósálfar
Princess.” I tried to smile at him, but really, what the fuck was he thinking? Was he really that dense?

I didn't have to pretend too much longer, because Aliath arrived with a loud crack and a blast of blinding light. I let my own Light surround me, hoping it was enough for Lutin to think I was about to strike and then watched through a haze as Aliath simply threw out a shimmering, silver, web-like fabric, which wrapped around the
Ljósálfar
Prince like a cloak. Lutin yelped, my Light fluttered and then waned and then suddenly Lutin was no more. And Aliath stood holding a small silver container in his palm, which glinted in the glow of the moon.

“Well done, Lucinda,” he said smiling, a genuine smile that I truly felt right through to my soul. “You have upheld your end of the accord. It would seem your vampire is in a position to uphold his end as well. All in all, I am impressed.”

“It sounds like you're more surprised than impressed, Aliath.”

He laughed, and I noted the musical chimes in amongst that delightful sound. My Light tightened reflexively around me. His smile grew broader.

“I have a gift for you.” He reached his free hand inside his shirt and proceeded to pull out a small, yellow object. It looked like a crystal or unpolished gem. A rough stone that held a depth of colour that could only be found in
Álfheimr
.

I didn't take it immediately, as he held it patiently in his outstretched hand. I just stared at it with a little fear and a whole lot of uncertainty.

“What will it do?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Warm it in your palm and whisper my name above it and I shall come to you.”

“Why would I want that?” I was beyond caring about asking questions, he'd just caught the one tool with which his people wanted most to fight their war against the
Ljósálfar
. He owed me, accord or not.

“Should you require assistance of the Fey variety, I would be happy to offer my own.”

I stared at him, trying to decide just what he was offering. He held my gaze, no longer glamoured, but my Light shield was clearly doing what it needed to keep from falling into those vivid green eyes.

“Why would you offer that?” I asked it softly, no longer fearful as such, but still unsure.

“You intrigue me, Lucinda. Your passion for life. Your depth of caring for your kin. Your abilities with your Light. You are a fascination and I would like the opportunity to remain, if not friends, then allies. The Fey are here to stay, you will cross paths with many. Should you require assistance at all, please ask.”

“And you'll only get to keep an eye on me, catch up on my life from time to time? Are you sure this thing won't hurt me? Call me to
Álfheimr
? Track me like the potion did you placed in my food?”

He did look a little sheepish at that last question, but brushed it aside with a wave of his hand. “I swear it will not harm, nor will it do any of those other things you have just queried. It is a gift. In honour of your assistance this night. And because,” he paused and smiled again, “you intrigue me. Nothing more, I swear.”

Well, being intrigued with me was better than thinking I was the love of your life like Lutin did. And truth be told, a Grey Lord as an informal ally was not something to be sneezed at. I wasn't naïve enough to think I wouldn't stay off the
Ljósálfar's
radar, just because Lutin had disappeared. No, I was quite prepared for a backlash as soon as Queen Isoleth discovered my role in her son's capture. I can defend myself and my own well, but even the Queen of the Light Court of Faerie scared the bejeebers out of me.

I reached out and took the gem, which was surprisingly cool to touch, despite it having rested in Aliath's palm for several minutes.

“I think I could do with a
Dökkálfa
ally,” I said quietly.

“You have chosen your side well.” Not that I'd had much choice, but actually, I think he was right.

There were things about the
Ljósálfar
that left me cold. They were so perfect, so bright and pretentious, but capable of appalling things when it suited. Their deception was the greatest. Their end game all that counted and to hell with any rules. Whereas the
Dökkálfa
, despite being a mix of stereotypical monsters from under the bed, had rules. Honour. Neither was perfect, but then not all humans are too. And vampires. Don't get me started.