Hellfire

Chapter Twenty-Six

The Belly was in Newport, a sea city over the Welsh border. The fancier places of the Upper Echelon, like the Velvet Room and the Murian Street, were in the historical rich side of the river Avon, while the beasts and the wilderness infested Newport. Not necessarily all of it was bad. I went there regularly as a teenager whenever Oliver and Alistair wanted to roam the freer bars and clubs. I was always jealous that I was banned from really getting involved in the fights and the drinking, both for being too young and the fact no one was meant to know I was a witch, but I loved it regardless. That air of cold civility I'd grown up with just wasn't present at all. It was where beasts and immortals could unsheathe their claws and rip each other apart without judgement, a different world to the one Lucius roamed and one I preferred. No masks, cloaks and daggers and no veiled threats - just the honest, raw side of our kind.

The journey was unpleasant for me though. A hot sticky car full of hyperactive teenagers just made me breathe out flickers of flame, but I gritted my teeth and put up with it, taking comfort from Lucius' bat nestled between my breasts where it listened to my heart. I wasn't sure Theresa's idea would work, the Belly was a very intense place to be, the roar of violence and stink of beast sweat heavy in the air, but she was right. If Ella was going to be cowed by our family problems, she stood no chance against the wild side of the Old World. She needed to see more and, just maybe, that stubbornness in her might break and she'll talk, or it might not and she'll just continued to be closed off. I glanced at Alistair as the streetlights swept over his soft features. I couldn't help but want to meddle on his behalf either. She had ignored him long enough.

The moment we swept into the city, Alistair became alert and I began to touch the bat's head, seeking its cold to stop me from spiralling into flames. The twins remained boisterous in the back, singing horribly to Take That while Henry seethed quietly, which oddly I found soothing now I was in Whelan territory. It meant they were safe and close to me - safe from those monstrous wolves.

The Whelan Pack wasn't a pleasant one. I had no idea what the history was exactly, but Murray Whelan was an old wulver, hated Vortigerns with a passion and fucking dangerous. He was the neighbour Lucius was the wariest of, always quick to diffuse and avoid bloodshed, as if we were constantly teetering on the edge of a full-blown war. But Whelan was losing his sanity over the last few years. He kept making more and more werewolves, fodder to protect his pups. With every one made, his mind split, dwindling his patience and lucidity until nothing but paranoia and rage was left. The werewolves he made carried as much sanity as he did. They were meant to only remain within their own section of Newport, but it didn't stop them from slipping to Bristol or Bath to murder or rape just to irritate Lucius. And when one group was found by the youngsters or Oliver, it always resulted in a nasty fight, one Whelan would test to see if he could tumble it into an outright war. At least his wife, Nora, had some semblance of control over him still...

I breathed out my tension. 'Sure this is a good idea?'

'You're the one who went along with it.' Alistair pointed out as his attention flicked sharply about the quiet roads of Newport. 'Bristows and Henry - you stay close when we leave. I want you within the Belly before any Whelans register we're here.'

Annabella and Miriam sang in agreement, before continuing to serenade one another out of key. Henry just said nothing and looked sulkily out of the rain-stained window, pretending to not be excited at all at going to the Belly when I knew for a fact he loved the place.

We eventually pulled into the town centre; busy and alive with clubbers and bar-hoppers. Alistair went straight past the nightlife, ignoring the youths stumbling around and screaming with laughter in the rain, and beelined for the Alexandria Docks. His bats whisked by, close and low to our car, whispering of any immortals they could see. Only a couple of Lucius' bats were amongst them - too many would draw the wrong attention.