Thicker Than Blood (Marchwood Vampire Series #2) (25 page)

Peach juice dripped down Aelia’s chin and
she wiped at it with her sleeve. As she did so, she felt a sharp
pain in her wrist. Putting her fingers to it, she realised the skin
was broken. The demons must have punctured her wrist as well as her
neck. Aelia suddenly felt nauseous and had to fight hard to keep
the contents of her stomach down. She shouldn’t have eaten so
quickly.

Her skin felt sticky and filthy
with blood and dirt. What she wouldn’t give to wash in a nice cool
river, to float there and let the current bob her along, rinsing
her body clean. But she couldn’t afford to think like that. She
wasn’t going to swim in a river, she wasn’t going to get clean, not
ever again. What she
was
going to do, was infect these blood-sucking
monsters, save her family, and then she was going to
die.

Chapter Thirty

Present Day

*

As darkness fell, spinning flakes of snow
flew into Maddy’s face, melting on her skin and sticking to her
eyelashes. The lights from the motorcycles shone directly into her
eyes as the man with the gun prodded her towards one of them. He
made her climb on and sit in front of him, his unwelcome arms
around her as he reached for the handlebars. She cast a quick
glance at the others, recognising the giant who she’d outwitted
earlier on the cliff face. He scowled and she gave him the
filthiest look she could manage.

The engines growled into life and they began
to move back the way she had trekked. She still couldn’t believe it
had taken a day to reach the cliffs. What a pointless waste of
time. But there was nothing she could do. No way of escape. Anyway,
she was exhausted. The snow fell thicker and heavier, the
headlights shining into whirling whiteness. Maddy had to duck her
head to stop the wind and snow stinging her eyes.

Suddenly, she felt the motorcycle slow and
swerve. She was nearly thrown off and she gripped the seat tighter.
A dark shape flew low to the ground, hurtling towards them. A
vampire. Coming to claim her back and congratulate the bikers on
capturing the runaway, no doubt. The riders stopped, their engines
still purring. Maddy saw the snow already lay thick on the ground,
the motorbike tyres almost buried.

‘
Another has escaped,’ the
vampire shouted over the loud engine noise.

Maddy looked up to see a female vampire, her
face almost covered by a thick black scarf.

‘
I’ll take this one back,’
the vampire said. ‘You need to pursue the runaway. It’s another
girl. She’s headed north, stupid creature. There’s nothing for
miles in that direction, you’ll catch her easily.’

‘
But the snow …’ one of
the bikers began to protest.

‘
Stop whingeing. Your
bikes can handle it. We don’t pay you to complain. Give this one to
me. I’ll take her back.’

Maddy couldn’t believe it. She could barely
stop herself from laughing out loud. She knew that voice. It was
Zoe.

‘
Get off your bike,’ Zoe
ordered the man who still had his arms around Madison.

‘
Off my bike?’

‘
Yes. I’m not carrying her
all the way back. You can ride shotgun with one of the
others.’

‘
But it is …’

‘
You want to argue about
it? Meanwhile your girl’s out there waiting to be
caught.’

The man turned off the engine and
dismounted, leaving Maddy still sitting there. He climbed onto the
back of another bike.

‘
Get going. And don’t come
back without her,’ Zoe said.

They left. As soon as they were swallowed up
by the snowy night, Maddy slid off the bike and ran to hug Zoe.

‘
I can’t believe it,’
Maddy said.

Zoe pulled the scarf away from her face.
‘What were you doing getting caught?’ she said. ‘Didn’t you find
the knife?’

‘
Yes I found the knife,
but I couldn’t use it against four huge biker guys. They would’ve
killed me.’

‘
I suppose so.’

‘
I can’t believe you saved
me again. Does Sergell know you’re out here?’

‘
Yeah. I told him I’d
bring you back. I said I felt terrible that you’d escaped under my
care and that he had to let me make it right.’

‘
What are you going to do?
You can’t go back to that place without me. They’ll know. Those
bikers will tell them. I take it there is no other runaway
girl?’

‘
Don’t worry about the
bikers.’ Zoe gave a grim smile.

Maddy didn’t like to think
what
that
meant.

‘
Take the bike and make
sure you escape properly this time.’

Maddy looked back at the dirt bike.

‘
Well?’ Zoe said. ‘Do you
know how to ride it?’

‘
Yeah. We’ve got bikes at
home.’

‘
Thank God for that. We
haven’t got time for motorbike training. You need to go
now.’

‘
Thanks, Zoe. I mean
it.’

‘
I know you do. Now go.
You’re not safe yet. Others will come.’

Maddy hopped onto the bike. She didn’t think
she was scared but her hands were shaking.

‘
Take my scarf.’ Zoe
unwound it and put it over Maddy’s head, draping it over her mouth
and nose. ‘Head back towards the cliffs and try to find a way
around. There are villages that way.’

‘
Okay.’ Maddy put her hood
up over the scarf and started up the engine. ‘Bye Zoe. Be
careful.’

‘
You too.’

Maddy pointed the bike back towards the
mountains and took off through the blizzard.

*

Where was he? Was he dreaming?

‘
Papa? … Isobel?’ Were
they here in the dark with him? ‘Maman? Are you there? Are you
alright?’ He’d had a strange dream about demons and … But no. It
was not a dream. Alexandre’s mind began to clear. He must have
passed out. He was here, back under the ground in Cappadocia. He
was a prisoner. Sergell. They had beaten him. Madison was out there
being hunted. He had to get out.

He shook the remnants of sleep and dreams
from his brain and stood. His body had healed from the battering
and he felt strong again. Alexandre patted his jacket pocket – his
phone was gone but hadn’t really expected it to still be there.
This room, it was one of the underground caverns. A mill stone
blocked the entrance on the other side. He could shift it easily.
Surely there would be guards behind it, but he couldn’t sense
anyone. Strange. They wouldn’t leave him unguarded. Well, there was
only one way to find out.

He put his weight against the stone and
pushed. As soon as the stone moved a fraction to the side,
Alexandre jumped back in shock. Through the gap in the entrance way
shone a deadly beam of UV light, scorching his face and neck. He
threw himself out of the way, but the light followed him into the
furthest corner of the cavern. He took a breath and flew closer to
slam the stone back into place but as he did so the light seared
into him again, melting his skin and hair.

Bastards.

Fury pulsed through him and his body
screamed in pain. They had well and truly imprisoned him. There was
no way past that light. He was trapped.

*

Maddy glanced over her shoulder as she rode
away from Zoe. The snow was easing, but she had to keep a tight
grip on the machine to stop it skidding out. It was hard going and
took a lot of concentration and energy – energy she didn’t have.
The cliffs were up ahead, getting blessedly closer again, looming
white this time. As the blizzard eased, the moon made sporadic
appearances, throwing the winter landscape into focus.

The bike sounded too loud. Surely every
vampire within a fifty mile radius would hear her escape. Hopefully
they would think it was the other bikers. The wind made her eyes
water and her hood had blown down, but she couldn’t afford to stop
just because her ears were cold. She pressed on through the night,
skirting the edge of the cliffs and at last coming around the other
side where the land dropped sharply away to a steep incline.

It was nerve-wracking, riding at such speed
through the snow. Potholes nearly jolted her from her seat and the
bike got air more than a few times as she hit bumps along the way.
She clung on though and kept going. How much fuel did these things
have? What happened if it ran out? Her rucksack was still strapped
to her back, so she had cash if she needed it. A petrol station
would be good about now.

She wondered what the time was
and if morning was far away. Where was Alexandre? Surely he
would’ve found her by now if he was in the area. Come on, Alex.
Come and find me. She willed him to appear in front of her, but the
land remained empty and white and cold. Just the roar of the bike
and the wind in her ears. A creature darted out in front of her,
its eyes luminous in the headlights. Maddy swerved sharply, almost
coming off the bike, but she pulled it together and righted
herself. What
was
that? A fox or a big cat or something. She kept
going.

The intense concentration had made her eyes
sore and heavy. She really was exhausted, but there was no way she
could stop now. Please let there be … Wait … Were those? Yes! Yes!
Lights! She could see lights ahead. Orange and yellow orbs, winking
in the darkness. Adrenalin shot through her body, her eyes feeling
bright and clear again. She angled the bike slightly to her right
and headed directly towards the town or village or whatever it was.
She needed a phone and she needed fuel for the bike and food for
her, although she’d gone past the point of hunger. All she felt now
was a nagging light-headed nausea.

The lights grew brighter and she could see
they lay beyond a narrow valley. She could either head down into it
– there did appear to be a track – or she could go around. The
track looked too treacherous in the snow, so she opted to ride
around the top.

Soon Maddy reached a signpost with a foreign
name that pointed down into the village. She didn’t stop, but
joined the road which led down a slight incline. It felt good to be
on a smooth surface, after jolting along through that frozen desert
out there, even if the road was still thick with snow. A house
clung to the side of the hill, its wooden door an invitation. Maddy
stopped outside it. No lights were on. She turned off the engine.
Silence. It was unnerving. She got off the bike, her boots
squeaking and crunching on the snow. Maddy found herself swaying a
little and she tried to get her balance. Either the residual motion
of the bike or the lack of food was making her unsteady on her
feet.

She rapped on the door, a dull muffled
sound. She banged harder and called out.

‘
Hello!’

Nothing.

She banged again. ‘Please! Can someone help
me?’

‘
Hello.’

Maddy swung around. A man stood in the
road.

‘
What?’ She took a step
back. He didn’t look like a vampire. He looked … harmless. Just a
middle aged man bundled up in a thick waterproof coat, scarf, hat
and boots.

He began to speak. Turkish she presumed.

‘
I don’t know what you’re
saying. I don’t understand.’

‘
Ahh, American?’ the man
asked.

‘
English,’ she replied. ‘I
need help. Have you got a phone I could use?’

‘
Yes. Yes, you come this
way. I have phone.’

‘
Have you got a mobile?
Can I use it now? It’s an emergency. I’ll pay you.’

‘
No, no. Not pay. You use
phone. This way.’ He began to walk down the track and motioned to
her to follow. ‘It’s cold, yes?’

‘
Yeah, just a bit.’ Maddy
took hold of the bike and wheeled it along the road next to the
man.

‘
Good bike,’ the man
said.

Maddy had a fleeting moment of doubt about
following this man into his house or wherever he was leading her,
but she banished it quickly. She reckoned she had enough energy to
kick him in the nuts if he tried anything funny, but he looked
harmless enough and she reasoned he couldn’t be any worse than
mercenary bikers or angry vampires.

They walked quietly along the road, just the
squeak of their footsteps and the soft whirr of the bike’s
wheels.

‘
Is it far?’ she
asked.

He turned to her and nodded and smiled. She
didn’t bother to ask again. They reached a narrow turning to their
left and the man took it. Here, the road was bordered by a wall on
one side and a steep drop on the other. Maddy stayed close to the
wall. A cluster of small houses crouched at the bottom of the
track. Smoke streamed from their squat little chimneys and warm
lights glowed in the windows.

‘
You come, you come.’ The
man smiled and pointed to the house on the far left. ‘My house. You
welcome. Leave bike.’

Maddy propped up the bike and followed the
man into his house. He took his shoes off at the door and she
hesitated, pointing to her boots.

‘
Yes. You take off. You
come in.’

She removed her boots and touched the ice
blocks that used to be her feet. The room was warm, cheerful and
cosy. The walls were bare stone but they were hung with wall
hangings, curtains and paintings. The stone floor was similarly
covered with woven rugs. There was a wooden bench, two armchairs
and a couple of low stools. A wood burning stove threw out a ton of
heat and Maddy almost collapsed onto the floor with gratitude at
being out of the bitter cold at last.