Chapter 9

            Luca shook his head then bobbed it for me to join them. ‘Sorry about that,’ he apologised both to me and Brock.

            ‘I’ve dealt with worse,’ I told him.

            Brock just laughed. ‘There aren’t many left that are like Tina.’

            I turned to him again. ‘Let me guess, she’s a hunter?’ I asked.

            Both of them looked rather shocked that I’d know the name of a vampire-killer. ‘How do you know that?’ Luca asked.

            ‘My dad was a seeker. I have told you this.’

            ‘You forgot to mention that part, Luca,’ Brock said, sounding curious.

            Luca almost gave away my mother’s job but I stepped on his foot before he could finish his sentence. ‘Owww! Get off,’ he said through clenched jaws.

            ‘That’s my business.’ I took my foot off his and took some steps away. ‘And you haven’t really told me why we’ve come here.’

            Brock looked completely baffled at what just happened. ‘Right. So what’s this issue you’re here to deal with, my young friend?’ he asked Luca.

            ‘Slayers,’ we both answered in unison.

            ‘Hmm. We have had a small group of them that we killed the other month. There’s no bodies to sift through, we burnt them and then buried them up in the woods.’ Hearing that wasn’t much of an encouraging sign.

            I left them talking, feeling I had better get a grip on the layout of the nearby vicinity. Wandering off towards the building, I tried to pick out some way to get to the top (it was a little tall for just jumping). Luckily, there was an old fire escape staircase down one side so I used that; only I didn’t use the actual stairs. Leaping from one level to the next, I was soon up on the roof which looked very rickety. Careful of my step, I tiptoed along one of the revealed timbers that ran the whole length. From up here, I could see pretty far where there weren’t blocks of flats blocking the view.

            ‘What are you doing?!’ came Luca’s voice from below.

            I leaned over a bit to shout down to him. ‘Getting some bearings,’ I explained. He looked confused but ignored my strange behaviour and went back round to the front. Having finished up here, my descent was an easier route to plan; all I had to do (as with any building) was to step over the edge and wait for the ground to get nearer. It never hurt, doing this, vampires and wolves alike were made of much tougher stuff than human bones.

            ‘Are you quite done playing on our stuff?’ It was Tina; as soon as I spotted her I prepared myself for her to pounce but she didn’t. ‘Pfft. I’ve wasted most of my life chasing your kind. I was hoping for a good long break before I had to do it all over again.’

            ‘Well you don’t need to cancel it just yet, Tina.’

            She did not like me calling her by her name. ‘I must say though, you’re the first seeker I’ve met for a good number of years.’

            ‘You’re not the first hunter I’ve come across however.’

            Her features became blank. ‘How do you know what I am? Or rather, was,’ she added, more to herself than me.

            ‘Because I hadn’t noticed you until you slammed into my car and that is no ordinary scar.’ It was hard to be civil with a wolf who would just as easy rip your head off as they would converse with you.

            Touching her fingertips to the disfigurement on her skin, she looked at the floor. ‘It’s a reminder to me of something worse than almost losing my own life.’

            ‘I didn’t mean…’

            ‘It’s ok. You wouldn’t have known.’ Maybe she wasn’t all that bad after all. ‘Why is Luca here with you?’ She seemed worried more about that than just me.

            I giggled to myself. ‘Oh, I owe him something and now I’m stuck with him. It’s nothing big,’ I added as she looked at me bewildered.

            ‘I suppose I should take you inside. Come on.’ And I followed her off away from the abandoned factory. She led me off down a few more gravelled paths to a lonely block of flats that stood at least twenty storeys high above the rest of the buildings around it. ‘There’s more to it than just the flats,’ she explained as I stopped to look up the side. ‘The main part is underground and  few of the nearby buildings.’

            ‘It’s very different to where I live,’ I told her.

            ‘Hey, erm, Bee sort of explained something to me so I sort of owe you an apology about before.’

            I was surprised she’d even offered one. ‘That’s ok. Luca stopped me getting into a fight back home with a werewolf. I hadn’t even started it although you’ll probably not believe that.’

            ‘Not really. This is our sort of chill zone, most of us stick around here unless we’re running around the city.‘ She went on to explain a few more things. ‘I’m not sure about where you’re from but we have a big community and spots all around the place.’

            ‘So you say about werewolves. What about the vampires here?’ I asked, knowing she probably wouldn’t mention them otherwise.

            She pulled her hair to one side as we stepped over a few slumbering wolves. ‘As you can see, they’re used to vampires wandering through here. There’s not that many that call this particular place home. I just don’t associate with any of them. Maybe I’ll change after what happened with you. Uh, listen to me, one fight with Luca and I’ve lost all my senses.’

            There seemed to be something underlying among her meanings but I didn’t press for more. ‘Where is Luca anyway?’ I asked whilst we were on the subject of him.

            She grabbed a few chips from someone‘s plate. ‘Talking with Brock no doubt. They go way back.’

            ‘You sound like you know him quite well.’

            ‘Who? Luca? Haha, I’ll say. I’ve known him all my life. He’s my baby brother.’

            I stumbled hearing her say that. I was not expecting her to say that but rather the opposite, sort of. ‘Oh, well I suppose a family row makes more sense.’

            ‘Compared to what?’ she asked, putting the last chip in her mouth. Being a female, she could read the look in my eyes with ease. ‘Ohhh. Hahaha. Eww, now that would be creepy. You have to deal with him, not me.’

            ‘I don’t understand.’

            She took me off up to the third floor, which turned out to be a massive kitchen. ‘He doesn’t stay round here that often. Last time he spent even a week here was about five years ago. That’s Luca though, hardly stays in one place for too long.’

            I leant against a worktop as she made herself a sandwich. ‘Why is it that werewolves always seem to be eating?’ I asked casually.

            She shrugged her shoulders and popped the mayonnaise jar back in the fridge, shutting it with her hips. ‘To be honest, we don’t really notice. I think that might be why. You might be better asking Bee if you want to know more but who really cares.’

            ‘Nah, I’ll just take your word for it.’ We stood there in the kitchen, talking away about nothing in particular. I had been wrong to pre-judge Tina and she had sort of said the same in her half-handed apology. We were soon joined by another two wolves; I didn’t pay attention to their names, I wasn’t really here to socialise with wolves.

            They weren’t that much older than myself. ‘I hope you aren’t here to cause too much trouble for us.’

            ‘I won’t but that’s not a promise.’

            Tina grabbed my arm and pulled me away. ‘Leave her alone, boys. We were having fun before you two came along.’

            They did complain but we were out of the door before I could make out exactly what either of them said. ‘I can easily handle those two,’ I told her.

            ‘I’m sure you could, if they had their hands strapped behind their backs. Anyway, let’s go and find Bee.’ And we went back outside and headed over to what she called “the offices”. What she really meant was studies, sort of like Carrie’s and Kieran’s only a bit more up-spec. About halfway down the hallway, she rapped on a door and waited there munching on her packet of crisps.

            When Luca opened it, he looked a little perplexed. ‘I see you two haven’t killed each other yet.’

            ‘I apologised,’ Tina said.

            I smiled. ‘Tina’s been nice, if not, civil. And she’s shown me around a little.

            ‘That’s because I asked her too,’ he confessed.

            Tina pushed him out of the doorway. ‘Yeh but turns out we’re similar in a few ways so I made a bigger effort than other circumstances.’ She lounged herself comfortably in a small armchair.

            ‘Baby brother, huh?’ I said, smirking as I stepped past him.

            It was just then that I noticed Brock curled up in a back corner. ‘I was just about to leave,’ Luca said, still stood by the door. He left and I decided to follow after saying bye to Tina. ‘So, she told you I’m her brother. Not much of a surprise.’

            ‘A bit more than that to be honest,’ I added but said no more. ‘How is she so much older than you then?’

            ‘Only by about sixty years, and she’s more of a half-sister but we’re very close. As you probably guessed by our row earlier.’ He gave a sigh and dropped his head so his chin touched his chest. ‘I need some sleep. Do you mind?’

            ‘Mind what?’ I had lost track for a moment.

            He looked at me as though I’d missed something important. ‘If I take a nap?’

            ‘Oh, no,’ I answered, rubbing the back of my neck. ‘Go ahead. I’ll go for a walk or something.’

*****

Luca’s PoV

            That wasn’t exactly what I wanted her to say but still she hadn’t got it in her head that I liked her. I’d just have to go another day with her not caring about me. ‘Unless you want to rest. I don’t mind if you want to share my room.’ It wasn’t that big of a hint so I knew she wouldn’t get it.

            ‘Is there somewhere I can park my car that’s safer than by the factory?’ she asked, still stepping along by my side.

            ‘It will be safe where it is. They have little need for cars here.’

            Her lips were pushed to the side and her eyes shifted. ‘I need my bag. Just wait here,’ she requested as we reached the outside of the flats.

            I did so and hoped my room had been left alone; I hadn’t been here in so long and I wasn’t looking forward to it this time either. I knew vampires were fast when they really ran so I wasn’t waiting for too long. ‘What is in that bag of yours anyway?’ I asked, curious as to why she clung on to it so tight.

            ‘Don’t go snooping and I might just tell you but not now.’ She stepped right past me and up the stairwell. I followed her up although she had no idea where she was going. ‘I guess you don’t feel ready to go hunting slayers again,’ she commented from the next level of stairs.

            ‘Not right now. Besides, if we let things appear to have settled down for the time being, they’ll go into total panic when we hit them next. Sound like a good plan?’ I asked as she smirked, acknowledging my brilliance.

            ‘Good idea. Now which room’s yours?’

            I sprinted ahead of her and up a further five storeys. ‘Right here,’ I said, unlocking the door. ‘Make yourself at home, as I don’t… much.’ These had been built for the purpose of really being flats; most of the layout had remained the same except the lowest few floors. I led her into my small sitting room and left her to do as she pleased. In my room, I hopped onto the bed and laid down on my front to fall asleep.

            ‘Luca?’ came her voice from near the door.

            I lifted my head so I could speak. ‘Yes?’

            ‘Do you mind if I use your bathroom?’

            That was a dumb question for her to ask. ‘Go ahead. Just let me sleep.’ And I dropped my head heavily back onto my pillow. Even though I was sleeping, my ears never gave up listening to anything going on around me. I was part way through a good dream when my hearing shot my eyes open. Remaining completely still, I tried to figure out what it was they had picked out. There was Faye’s footsteps walking around my lounge but nothing else; my instincts were such a nuisance sometimes.

            Now I was awake however, I got up and changed into some clothes I kept here (it’s surprising how much you stock up on over eight centuries). In the lounge, she was perched on the back of an old, fabric sofa and looking out of the window. She had changed out of her seeker outfit and was now attired in a green, collared tee and a pair of dark denim jeans. Her hair was now out of its ponytail and draped down her back between her shoulder blades. ‘I don’t like this place,’ she said. At first I thought she was talking to herself but then she looked over her shoulder at me.

            ‘Why is that?’ I asked, being polite as well as wanting to know what she was thinking about.

            ‘There’s hardly any green here.’

            I softly smiled and knelt on the sofa cushions next to her. ‘That’s why I left. Wolves aren’t bred to be in cities or towns, hence why I move all over the place. There are few places where I spend most of my time rather than just a couple of months.’ I felt strange telling her all this but it felt right and there was no harm she could muster out of this random information. ‘I’m ready to do some hunting. If you are, I mean.’

            ‘Good. The sooner this is over, the sooner we can go home.’ Her words stopped suddenly. ‘For you I mean wherever you’re heading to next.’

            I was sure I heard some caring textures in that sentence. ‘Hmm, I might stay put for a good few years before I move on,’ I stated. Thinking of when she had stepped on my paw, I started chuckling and got up off the sofa. ‘I had just arrived at that door when you stepped on my foot. That was my first day back at that mansion and I end up bumping into you. Coincidence, eh?’

            Her eyes narrowed menacingly and her nails dug into the fabric underneath her. ‘Maybe but I was annoyed it was you who foolishly helped in the alley.’

            I refused to respond to that. ‘There is more that has happened between us than just that.’ It was a difficult thing, trying to change the subject with Faye. ‘Can we not argue today? It’s becoming a daily thing,’ I complained.

            ‘As you wish. And since you know this place far better than I do, you can find this street.’ She placed a piece of paper in my hand.

            Unfolding it, I scanned the address that had been messily scrawled onto it. ‘This happens to only be about ten minutes walk away,’ I informed her. ‘This time, though, can we not run along the rooftops? There is not much need for it.’

            Folding her arms, she put her weight onto her left leg. ‘It is in a small town. But, yes, we can stay on the ground. There’s more people here to seem more inconspicuous among and blend in with.’

*****