Hey Mr Bloodsucker, Sucks To Be You

Chapter 11

Hale ~#~

 My inner circle had dispersed on my orders. The only one who I had allowed to stay back at home was Dimitri, the toughest of our circle who I knew who do what he had to do to keep the Others in check. He was there when I got back from the lake, sunk into the shredded sofa. The sound of hisses and scrapes and yells were in the air, rising over the sound of the cracked television, and I caught sight of the flickering light of a UV lamp facing a door across the hallway.

"Dimitri."

He turned round to greet me. "So you're back? Where's Dante?"

Dante, Tristan, Penny and Dimitri. The only ones that I could properly trust to stand by my side. "Rounding up the Escaped."

"Huh." He jerked his chin towards the door. "They're in there."

I let him follow me when I walked out of the room, positioning myself firmly in front of the door where they were all trapped. I caught my foot in the glare of the UV lamp by mistake, and withdrew it sharply when a plume of ashy smoke rose up from my boots. Dimitri raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything, reaching down and tugging the plug out of its socket. The harsh light spattered and went out, rising the volume of the protests behind the door.

"Listen up!" I roared, banging on the wood with my fist. "I know you're hungry. I know you need to Hunt. But before I let you, you're going to need to do something for me first."

There were growls and scratching sounds for a reply. I spat in disgust at the foot of the door and motioned to Dimitri.

"Open it." I hissed. "But have the lamp ready."

 They came out cautiously, eyeing Dimitri who was ready at the plug socket. Slowly they crowded out until they were facing me, pale-faced and thirsty.

"You've got a nerve." Bianca hissed, staying well back away from me. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Keeping an eye on Mai and Cappa."

"Oh really?" She snorted. "And why are they so special?"

Her tone annoyed me. I drew myself up to my full height and looked them all in the eye, willing them to believe every word I said. "Because," I announced dramatically, "she is going to kill the Halves. And when she has, we'll be free to feast as we please."

"Uh huh. And just how will she do that?"

"She'll know when the time comes." I said craftily. "But for her to fulfill what we need her to do we will have to keep her alive long enough to perform it. Once she has destroyed them, we can feed off as many people as we like."

"What will she do?" Persisted a voice from the back.

"I am not about to discuss our plans with you useless excuses for vampires." I snarled. "Does anyone else have anything they want to demmand? No? Then perhaps we can get to work."

I turned on my heels, nodding to Dimitri. He relenquished his hold on the plug socket and followed me, herding the clan outside. It was dark. We should have plenty of time to train.

Mai ~#~

When we woke up, it was still dark outside. And in the two beds that were Kye's and Sav's, were two dark empty spaces. I shook Cappa awake and opened a window, peering out into the twilight. There was no sign of them. My heart leapt in my throat as all the ideas of where they could have gone sprung into my head. Had they been killed? Staked? Gone out and captured?

"Where are they?" Cappie joined me at the window.

"I can't see them." I said desperatley. "What if Hale's caught them?"

"I doubt it." He slipped a reassuring arm round my shoulder. "They're probably just Hunting."

"We don't need to Hunt." I tip-toed over to the rucksack that was slung over the end of Kye's bed.

About half of the blood-filled bottles that had been mounted inside were missing, and Kye's big rugby bag was gone too. The only evidence that suggested it had ever been there was a packet of spare toothbrushes that had been tossed onto the table in the middle of the room.

My phone buzzed and I grabbed it out of my jeans pockets, bringing up the little message icon.

'Have gone with bruv. Srry cant stay, too dangrous. Have left u blood, shud b enough. B carful. Sav.'

"He's gone." I mumbled numbly, letting my arms drop to my sides.

Cappie turned away from the window and took my phone, reading the message across. "It's probably for the best." He said eventually. "Having them with us would only endanger us all. They'll be ok."

"Yeah." I slid the window shut and crossed the room, gathering up my clothes. Up until then I'd only been wearing Cappa's shirt and a pair of shorts. "We should be moving while it's still dark."

"If they haven't taken the car."

"Where're your keys?"

He reached into the drawer by his bed and withdrew them, jangling them on his finger. "Ever heard of hot-wiring?"

"I doubt Sav or Kye would know anything about cars." I pulled on my jacket over the top of his shirt. "Let's go."

Dante ~#~

Matt was in the back of the jeep. Prince was busy wrestling Fred in front of the car, pushing his face firmly into the bonnet while trying to get him to move towards the back door.

"Get a move on!" I yelled, glancing to look at Matt in the mirror.

There was blood on his shirt and a hefty bruise under his right eye. I didn't know whether it was from Prince or one of his victims, but I didn't really care. Fred had been hard enough to track down, and we had finally caught him about to tackle his next victim near a secluded spot next to a river. We'd parked the Jeep and slipped down the grassy verge to stop him, almost sending him flying into the icy water in our haste.

Strings of curses were being shouted at Prince as he finally managed to open the Jeep's back door and shove Fred inside, and I noticed with interest that Matt flinched away to avoid him. Was Fred just violent or actually powerful? It was scary to think that someone like that might actually be able to think.

Finally, Prince tumbled back into the driver's seat. "Thanks for the help." He growled testily, turning the key in the ignition. "Buckle up." He shouted to the two in the back.

"You're welcome." My foot knocked the bottle of blood in the footwell, and Fred was immediatley leaning forwards. I pushed his face back, avoiding the fangs he tried to bite me with. "Sit." I commanded, and slowly he sank back into his chair, held fast by the leathery seatbelt.

"I would appreciate it if next time we have to re-capture someone, you would actually prove yourself useful." Prince spat, pushing down on the accelerator as we rolled away.

"Mmm." I said vaguely. "We won't have to re-capture anyone anytime soon. It's almost time."

"I should hope so." Prince growled. "I don't think Hale can take the strain much longer."