Always Hate Me

36. Nobody Here

Velkan kept his chin tucked in and his head low, a hard hat rammed on his head to make him blend in with the workers on site. The sun was blazing down, melting the frost that had settled overnight and causing beads of sweat to roll down Velkan's smooth face. He pulled at the neck of his t-shirt, prizing the material away from his damp skin. 

The thud of a football being repeatedly kicked against one of the building site walls was stealing the new foreman's attention and Velkan stole the opportunity.  He ducked beneath the caution tape, escaping the sun's glare, and slipped gratefully into the Pantheon's cool interior.

Crevan's plan to turn this self-aggrandising temple into the vampires' final resting place was a stroke of cruel genius. Velkan prowled the sloping corridors, his steps light and silent. Crevan was proving to be a remarkable ally but – Velkan took a sharp turn, heading for the hall of statues. He pursed his lips thoughtfully. Just how far could he trust the warlock? Crevan was fuelled by a need for revenge. Velkan had a cooler temperate – and a harsher outlook.

He entered the gloomy chamber and approached the cage of weakened gorgon-beasts. The snake eyes of one narrowed shrewdly on him. Velkan's footfalls echoed in the eerie hush.

"Shh, shh," he soothed the inmates, his voice gentle - as if he were speaking to a child. "Your time in the sun will come." Velkan flexed his fingers, summoning his magic. "We've more in common then you know," he murmured softly - his lips curling into a feral grin. "I'm no looker either."

The creature in the cage hissed, smacking its hands against the bars. Velkan summoned a tiny blade – small but razor sharp – that appeared inside the prisoner's mouth. The sharp edge pressed against the monster's wet cheek. "Speak," Velkan commanded. "You're no use to me if you're brainless." 

The gorgon stared at Velkan, it's expression venomous and Velkan sighed in frustration. He made a slight motion and the creature cried out, clutching at it's scaly cheek. Velkan clicked his tongue, his sharp gaze roving over the rest of the cages' occupants - searching for any sign of awareness.   

As the morning ticked by, Velkan began to wonder where Crevan was. He frowned thoughtfully.  "What's keeping him so busy I wonder..."  

**

              Ryder stood in the small courtyard. He looked up at the tarpaulin that was slung from the balconies, creating shade below. He circled slowly - his cool grey gaze marking the lines in the walls, the change in the brickwork – the fluttering posters secured around a drain pipe. The cobbles dipped down, creating a drain that ran down the playground's centre – clogged by wrappers and bottle gaps that clung to the sludge. This was the place Lauren had told him to find. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

He wanted to see her.

His need to see her face, to hear her voice, to once again hold Lauren in his arms – was so strong that it felt like it was crippling him. Why had the dreams stopped? Why had his nights been left bleak and empty?

He opened his eyes.

"I'm here!" He barked. "I'm where you wanted me to be!" He scanned the area. "Why aren't you here?!" He flung his arms out wide – his gaze turning wild as he scanned the boarded windows. "Who did you want me to find!?" He yelled. "THERE'S NOBODY HERE!"

He let his arms fall limply to his sides. "There's nobody here..." His shoulders sagged. Had it all been in his mind? Tears slid down his face. Would he never see her again?