Chapter 19

MAEVE

I"m alreadysick to the stomach with worry about Tobias and Andrei, so don"t appreciate the welcome inside the London terraced house.

A dead body, artfully positioned in the centre of the white woven rug that"s in the middle of the lounge room floor.

Jamie edges around the thickly upholstered sofa towards the corpse, who"s lying on their back, face a mask of the fear they died with. He"s a young male, nondescript in appearance and clothes—he could be one of many walking the busy streets outside this house. A student. The kids who sit outside the nearby cafes, or walk along the Thames.

"Not a vamp," says Jamie, as he crouches down.

"You sure?" asks Ash.

I hang back, standing in the lounge room doorway, away from the room"s unwanted feature piece.

"He wouldn"t still be dead. I"m not an expert, but a vamp would be "back" after a couple of hours. Shifter?"

"I can"t see his eyes," says Ash flatly.

"Because they"re missing." I retch.

"Burned out somehow," says Jamie.

"A shifter wouldn"t break in. This has to be a witch," says Ash. "Check his pockets."

I hold a hand over my mouth and nose, perspiring in shock as Jamie gingerly roots around in the guy"s pockets. "Nothing. Oh, wait." He pulls out a folded sheet of paper and opens it.

Mouth setting hard, he hands the paper to Ash while I finally enter the room and read over his shoulder.

"You"re welcome. I suggest adding runes to your new home. You wouldn"t want any more surprise guests"

"Who wrote that?" I ask.

Jamie"s jaw remains tight. "The person... thing who told us it"d already visited."

"The First?" asks Ash in surprise.

I edge back into my spot in the doorway. "The creature left us a house-warming gift. How lovely."

Ash holds the paper up. "Someone broke in and the First killed him?"

"Maybe." Jamie stands. "Nice. The First could"ve cleaned up after itself once it finished."

Our attempts at lightening the situation aren"t working, but he has a point. "What are we supposed to do with a dead body? We"re in an inner London suburb—it"s not as if we can carry him out somewhere," says Ash. "No bonfires in the garden here."

"Can you move him?" I ask croakily. "Into a bathroom or something?"

"Where"s that?" asks Jamie.

Since the body greeted us, we haven"t explored the place, a townhouse on three levels with an attic. I immediately think that"s good for Andrei until I remember he doesn"t need to hide somewhere like that.

Andrei.

"Do you think the First will hurt the guys?" I ask.

"No. That"s too easy and we know the thing enjoys games," mutters Jamie.

Ash wanders away as Jamie walks across to hug me and then returns a few minutes later. "There"s a basement."

"How fortunate we have somewhere to hide a dead body," I say.

"I"ll move him," he adds.

"And I"ll look around the house. Jamie, can you come with me in case there"s..." I gesture at the man. "More."

I"m glad the First didn"t kill him violently, because the home is too nice to splatter with blood and death. Every period feature to the house remains, each room bright and welcoming. There"s another sitting area upstairs—thankfully—which looks over the rear of the property to a small square of garden with geraniums in pots dotted around a paved area. Three bedrooms occupy the second and third floors, plus the small attic room, all with silver metal beds and cheerful coloured linen.

Jamie drops my bag onto the brown rug at the end of a double bed. "The room has a bathroom attached." He points. "You should stay in this one."

I sit on the springy mattress and look around. We"ve arrived in the evening as planned, even though the reason for that plan isn"t with us, but I"m not tired, running on adrenaline as always. And I"m not sleeping until Andrei and Tobias return.

"Where"s the kitchen? I need coffee," I say and stand again.

Before I leave, I pull the curtains closed, scalp prickling as I dart a look at the passers-by. Did the dead vamp have accomplices or did the First deal with them as well?

Everything in the kitchen is set up for Airbnb guests, instruction manuals for each household item, phone numbers and recommendations for local eating places, and the closest shops. The sleek modern appliances are one of several twenty-first century touches to the place, including an awesome and welcome expensive coffee machine.

As I drink from a white mug, I splutter a laugh as the bizarreness of the situation drops onto me. "I can"t believe I"m sitting in a posh house in London while waiting to take down the leader of a supernatural terrorist group."

Jamie smiles wryly. "If only it were that simple."

"Would you ever want to live somewhere like this?" I ask him, as Ash wanders into the room.

"No. I want peace once this is done with," he says.

Ash nods in agreement and opens the fridge. "Sweet!" he exclaims. "Someone left beers."

We make our way to the middle floor into our oasis of ordinariness, where the sitting room doesn"t contain any dead bodies. We only found one, although I don"t imagine most Airbnbs come with any.

I sit on the plush yellow cushioned sofa, snuggled between Ash and Jamie, their solid warmth soothing me slightly, but I"m on alert for Tobias and Andrei returning the whole time. I can"t stop the acid in my mouth and stomach building beach time I consider the First might never return them.

Jamie suggests watching a show, and I smile and agree, although nothing could take my mind off losing them again. He manages to focus on the comedy; I"m not in a laughing mood.

I"m dozing against Ash"s hard shoulder when he suddenly jumps to his feet. I fall sideways onto the chair arm, looking in alarm as he stands at full-height, eyes dark, tuned into his surroundings.

"I warded every entrance and window with runes while Jamie made coffee earlier," I say. "Winterfall. Nobody could get past them."

He slants his head. "Basement."

My stomach flips. "You think the vamp is... back?"

Jamie stands too. "I"m sure he wasn"t a vamp."

"Nor a shifter," adds Ash.

"Wonderful. Now we have zombies to contend with," I say.

They both look at me, but only Ash cracks a smile.

Then I hear the familiar heartbeat, a connection that grew stronger the last few days, and my own heart speeds with relief. "They"re back. Andrei and Tobias."

"How do you know?" asks Jamie. "And why the basement?"

I hop down the carpeted stairs two at a time with Ash and Jamie in pursuit. "I hope it isn"t with them."

The basement door"s already open, and a bewildered Andrei stands at the top of the steps. He points into the dim behind him. "What the fuck? You"ve killed someone already?"

I look over his shoulder at where a second figure climbs the stairs. "Tobias? How did you both get here?"

"The First"s blood magic."

"Is it here?" I ask sharply, and he shakes his head.

"Didn"t come with us." Tobias joins Andrei and we crowd in the basement doorway. "Who was the dead witch?" he asks.

Jamie takes the folded paper from his jeans and hands it over.

Tobias reads, expressionlessly. "The First should"ve interrogated the victim. It likes games."

He thrusts the paper back at Jamie and I reach out to him. "What happened?" I ask.

The pair don"t look much different physically, no visible injuries, and the jeans and jackets they wore in preparation for leaving the Winterfall House aren"t torn or dirty.

But something isn"t right—Andrei"s eyes changed a few days ago, but I can still read the confused and lost look; one that Tobias also holds in his. "Are you both safe?" I ask.

"Yeah." Andrei shoves his fringe from his face. "Dorian has a broken nose though." I"d expect a smug smile, but everything about him stays flat.

"Dorian was with you?" asks Jamie in surprise. "Why?"

"The First wanted to talk to all of us," says Tobias.

"But Dorian isn"t with you now?" I ask, looking back to the cellar.

"No, and Dorian claims we won"t see him again," Andrei continues.

"Some things are too good to be true," I say, and Jamie nudges me. "Okay. Why won"t we see Dorian again?"

"He"ll be back," says Tobias wearily.

"You think?" asks Andrei. "The First threatened his family."

"Who did the thing threaten?" I ask.

"Did he threaten any of us too?" asks Jamie.

Tobias edges by and takes in his surroundings. "Nice place," he says before wandering away to explore, dodging the question.

"Andrei?" I"m now certain there"s something very wrong, even if they"re visibly intact. "Did the First do anything to you? Any of you?"

The buoyant Andrei from the last few days sinks. "No, but we have a few things to tell you."

"Bad?" I ask cautiously.

"We were with the First. When is it ever good, Maeve?" he replies.