“Aubrey, wait!”

He turned and began to walk away.

“Wait!” I yelled. “Just fucking wait!”

It was too late. He’d already gone.

Chapter Twenty Two

When I finally limped out of the portal, it was still dark. My heart sank slightly. I’d been hoping for a little bit of daylight. Some sun perhaps. The kind that Aubrey detested so very much. My heart sank a little further.

The journey back through the in-between world had been long, and I’d never been entirely sure whether I was heading in the right direction. At least I’d not been plagued with the voices, reminding me of all those who had already died, but it had been arduous and very, very dark. And my mind had been filled with Aubrey. As much as I may once have hated him and everything he stood for, I was going to miss him. More than miss him. I just had to make sure that his sacrifice didn’t end up being in vain.

Solus was in the car, exactly where we’d left it. He appeared to be fast asleep. I rapped sharply on the windows and he started, eyes widening when he caught sight of me. I gave him a tight smile, then got in.

He looked at me without saying anything. The events of the last few hours must have been mirrored in my face because he nodded grimly, then turned on the engine and we drove off. It wasn’t too long, however, before all hell kicked off.

I was flicking through the radio stations when he popped into my head. None of the sounds I was coming across fitted my mood. I didn’t want to listen to fucking pop music. Or the twangs of Scottish country rock. What I needed was some kind funeral dirge. Something to match how I currently felt.

Mack. Are you there?

I sighed inwardly. Hi Corrigan.

You’re there. Where the fuck have you been? I’ve been trying to contact you for days.

He sounded very pissed off. Something gave me pause, however.

“Solus, how long was I gone?” They were the first words I’d spoken to him since I’d gotten into the car.

The Fae flicked me a look with his deep, troubled violet eyes. “About three days.”

Three days? Three fucking days?

Mack!

Uh, sorry. I didn’t realise I’d been away for that long. I thought quickly. I need you to contact the council for me. Arrange a meeting.

I glanced back at Solus. “Are we going to drive back to London?”

He looked at me as if I was crazy. I returned back to Corrigan.

In, say, a couple of hours’ time?

It’s two o’clock in the morning.

So?

Fine. I’ll arrange it. Where are you now?

With Solus. We’re going to drive the car back to Fort Augustus, I think, then use a portal to get to London.

He roared in my head. It bounced around my skull, making me wince. Solus shot me a concerned look, but I dismissed him with a quick wave.

What? You’re going all Lord of the mighty Brethren on me, are you?

Is it his?

I really was not in the mood for this right now. What in the hell was eating him? The portal? It’s certainly not mine, Your Grumpiness.

He didn’t immediately answer. When he did, his Voice sounded strained. We need to talk, kitten.

The diminutive made me swallow. But I still wasn’t in the mood. Which is why I’m asking you to call a council meeting. It’s not hard, Corrigan. Just do it.

I cut him off. Normally I’d be delighted that he was giving me the time of day. Right now I was just too fucking tired.

“Let me guess,” Solus drawled, “Lord Shifty is giving you hassle.”

I threw him a dirty look. At least he actually looked vaguely contrite.

“Sorry. I can’t help myself sometimes. He’s just such an easy target.”

“If it wasn’t for you and your lot,” I started, ire rising inside of me, “then things between me and Lord fucking Shifty would be very different.”

“You know how badly I feel about that, dragonlette.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled, closing my eyes, unwilling to continue this conversation any further.

A moment later, I spoke again. “Solus?”

“Mmm?”

“Thank you for waiting.”

“You’re welcome, dragonlette,” he said quietly.

We arrived back in the small town not very much later. Solus left the car parked outside the B&B where I’d been staying. When we got out, I sent him a suspicious look.

“Who does this actually belong to?”

“I believe the mages hired it. So they didn’t look strange suddenly appearing in bursts of purple light in front of flocks of tourists.”

“There aren’t any mages here now, are there?”

“No.” Solus smirked.

I rolled my eyes. “So you’re just going to leave this here and rack up their rental charges?”

“Is that a problem?”

I didn’t think a large bill would help improve the Ministry’s current state of affairs very much. At my look of disapproval, Solus put up his hands. “Fine. I’ll take it to the rental company’s office.”

I nodded. “I’ll just grab my things from my room.” At least I’d had the foresight to book it for a week.

Solus dropped me off, then I padded carefully and quietly upstairs. I paused for a moment outside what had been Aubrey’s door, then forced down the lump in my throat and continued on.

I was just stuffing the last of my clothes into my backpack when a shadow fell across the doorway. I glanced up, then snarled. The fucking bloodsucker again.

“What do you want?”

“You should keep your voice down. You wouldn’t want to risk waking the humans.” She licked her lips, making me think that was exactly what she hoped would happen.

“You should get out of my fucking room before I rip your head off. Don’t think I can’t take you.”

“Now, threats of violence really aren’t going to help your cause, are they?”

“They’re not threats,” I stated flatly.

She stepped inside and sat down delicately on the flowery bedspread, and began examining her blood red fingernails. “So,” she said in bored tone of voice, “where is Aubrey?”

“He’s dead. So you might as well just quit with this whole thing.”

She raised her eyebrows. “If he’s dead, then where is the body?”

“Gone.”

“So there’s no proof whatsoever that you’re telling the truth?”

I wondered how much blood vamps had inside of them and, if I killed her, whether I’d be able to clean it up before leaving. Considering that I’d demanded Corrigan arrange the council meeting for within the next hour or so, then probably not.

“I guess there’s not, no,” I said finally, trying very hard to speak in a low voice and not completely lose my temper.

“Then that’s a problem for you.”

I stared at her. If I ripped out her carotid artery, then shoved her into the bathroom as quickly as I could, maybe there wouldn’t be too much of a bloody mess left behind.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “You are trying to work out how on earth you could possibly kill me right here and right now, without leaving any traces or waking anyone up.”

To be fair, the hate brimmed look I was giving her probably didn’t make that desire so very difficult to work out.

“I think I can probably manage it,” I said calmly, although pistons of hot bloodfire were churning through my stomach.

“You probably could. I’m discovering that you can be a resourceful little girl.”

Maybe if I just hit her on the head and knocked her unconscious, then I could take her body out with me. Then I could deal with her later in my own sweet time.

“The thing is,” she continued, “it may have been me who has met with you, but do not think that I am alone. There are many of us. Kill me and someone else will simply take my place. And they won’t be so friendly. Don’t forget that we have a hotline direct to your old family friends.” She smiled. “Reunions can be such fun. So, find me some proof, or suffer the consequences.”

She stood up gracefully, and walked out.

I sat down on the bed she’d just vacated, seething with anger. I was itching to run after her and tear out her throat. The trouble was I knew she was probably right and there were indeed many replacement vamps waiting in the wings. No doubt they wouldn’t spend so long dragging their feet on getting Bolux’s kids fully involved either. It just wasn’t fair she was still hanging around like the lingering odour of stale cat pee when Aubrey was gone. I scrunched up the bedspread in my hands. It wasn’t even as if I could offer her any proof of his demise. If I told her he was walking along the halls of the dead, she’d work out that he’d died as a human – and I didn’t think she’d take too kindly to the knowledge that my blood could do the same to her and the rest of her undead mates.

I thought about it. Even if the vamps didn’t tell the scary power nullifying warriors where I was, they already knew I existed. They were going to find me sooner or later. And if they were anything like their dead friend then it was going to be adios muchachos before I could even swing a punch. But all I had to do was dispatch Endor first and make sure everyone I loved was safe. After that, what happened didn’t really matter. I’d go to the vamps and tell them to do their worst. My apparently impending doom was starting to seem inevitable. The least I could do was go to meet my Maker with the same grace and dignity that Aubrey had.

With that decided, I nodded to myself and went out to wait for Solus to return.

*

Two hours later, with the great and the good yet again lining the grand table in Alcazon’s private room, I laid out what I – or rather what Aubrey - had found out.

“Dorchadas?”

I looked at the Arch-Mage. “Yep. Do you know it?”

“I know of it.” He looked troubled.

“Darkness,” the Summer Queen said quietly. “It means darkness.”