Chapter 16

Chapter

Sixteen

I snatched a few hours uncomfortable sleep in a cold doorway while Hester and Otis kept an eye out for any other vampires that might wander by. It wasn’t enough to fully refresh me but it was better than nothing.

The adrenaline rush from my night’s activities meant that I was grinning like a maniac despite my grubby appearance when I presented myself at the police station the following morning. The spider’s silk I’d swallowed had helped, and I pretended not to feel the ensuing palpitations and ignored the tremble in my hands. I was under a lot of stress so naturally I would experience side effects. That’s what I tried to tell myself anyway.

WPC Hurst was on duty at the front desk again. When she saw me, her eyes widened with delight. It gave me a warm, zippy feeling to know that the country’s police officers were glad I wasn’t dead – or at least one of them was.

‘You made it! When I heard the reports this morning about a huge fight close to Cowgate, I wasn’t sure that you were okay. It’s great to see you.’ She emerged from behind the desk and strode towards me to pump my hand .

‘It’s good to see you, too,’ I said.

Hester, who was perched on my shoulder, nodded. ‘Daisy wouldn’t let a few vampires, a nasty ogre or a silly fiend hurt her.’

WPC Hurst blinked. ‘Fiend? What’s a fiend?’

I wondered if I ought to tell her. Most of the general public – and a good number of people in authority, too – didn’t know that either blood magic or fiends existed. Before I could make my mind up, however, the grizzled policeman from the day before appeared through the doorway behind her. ‘So,’ he growled, ‘you’ve decided to show up.’

My smile didn’t falter. ‘Naturally.’ I splayed out my arms in a gesture of triumph. ‘I assume you’ve got my reward money ready.’

A spark of amusement lit his eyes – and gave me pause. ‘Oh, we’re ready,’ he said, sounding surprisingly pleased.

Hester and Otis sprang into action, each extracting a series of objects in a coordinated dance that they’d choreographed for maximum drama. It involved a considerable amount of flitting between my pockets and the desk in front of us, but it made them happy so I let them continue until all fourteen vampiric fangs were laid out.

‘Not just one dead vampire,’ I said with a flourish that almost matched the brownies’ antics, ‘but seven. I even wiped away the blood.’ I grinned. ‘You’re welcome.’

‘Uh-huh.’ The policeman barely glanced at the gleaming fangs, but at least WPC Hurst leaned over them with a fascinated expression on her face.

‘I’ll take my money now,’ I said. ‘You promised cash. Seven dead vampires equal three-and-a-half grand.’ That would be more than enough to serve my needs.

‘Uh-huh,’ he said again .

I was starting to get a sinking feeling. ‘Is there a problem?’ I asked.

‘Well,’ he drawled, in a tone that suggested he was enjoying himself immensely, ‘your arithmetic is accurate. Seven dead vampires do indeed equate to ￡3,500.’ He sucked air in through his teeth. ‘However, you’ve left out a few sums.’

Cumbubbling bollocks: here we go. I should have known it wouldn’t be that simple. While both Hester and Otis bristled by my side, I folded my arms and waited.

‘Several officers have attended the scene where you dispatched the vampires. We know it’s the right place because numerous calls were made to the emergency services at around two in the morning, and there were descriptions of a woman who looks just like you.’ He raised a questioning eyebrow. ‘Brighton Street, to be specific.’

I tapped my foot. ‘Yes, that’s where I killed the vampires. But I might add that I saw no sign of any police. It must have taken your lot a long time to show up.’

WPC Hurst flinched but the older policeman only shrugged. ‘When vampires are involved, only specialist officers and equipment can attend the scene. That takes time to organise.’

I regarded him flatly.

‘You are to be congratulated on your ability not only to kill so many bloodsuckers in one night, but also to appear relatively unscathed.’ He paused. ‘Alas, Brighton Street is somewhat less unscathed.’

He held up a sheet of paper. ‘Obviously at the moment this is only an estimate. There was considerable damage to the road and pavement. A large area of cobblestones will have to repaired, and the gas and electric lines nearby will need to be checked for safety. The repair costs will total around ￡20,000.’

I gaped at him .

‘At least one vehicle which was parked nearby will have to be written off, and several others will need extensive repairs before they are deemed to be roadworthy. It is possible that the insurance companies will come to you to recoup their losses. I don’t know how much that will be but it will be … a lot.’

WPC Hurst looked very pale; I probably did, too.

‘There is fire damage to some of the historic buildings nearby. Initial estimates suggest costs of around ￡5,000 for those repairs. General clean-up costs, including removing the charred bone fragments and ash from the scene, will add another few thousand pounds.’

I’d thought I was being a good citizen by setting each body – Chuchi and Vargas included – on fire. I wondered what the clean-up costs would have been if I hadn’t bothered.

‘So,’ he finished, ‘we owe you ￡3,500. Unfortunately, you now owe the city of Edinburgh an estimated ￡29,000.’ He waved the piece of paper. ‘Once that amount is settled, I will release your reward.’ He smirked. ‘In cash, as you prefer.’

Hester was furious and even Otis vented his frustration aloud. ‘You … you … you … you can’t do that!’

‘Oh, but I can. It’s the law.’

‘Daisy killed seven vampires! She made your streets safer! She deserves a medal, not a bill!’ Otis squeaked.

He pursed his lips. ‘Them’s the breaks.’

‘But—’

I grabbed hold of Otis and gestured for him to be quiet, then I shook my head at Hester, who had rolled up her sleeves and formed tiny fists with her hands. The last thing we needed was to add assaulting a police officer to our woes. ‘No wonder there’s such a big vampire problem,’ I said icily.

‘Anyone who’s smart knows to stay inside once the sun goes down,’ the policeman replied .

Hurst dropped her head. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered. Her apology was heartfelt but it didn’t do me any good. Sorry wouldn’t buy me food or shelter.

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the little police station with far less of a spring in my step than when I’d entered.

‘I hate 1994!’ Hester moaned as we plodded dejectedly down bustling Princes Street. I wasn’t convinced that matters would be any different thirty years from now, apart from a lack of vampires to kill. There wouldn’t be many of the fanged fuckers around in the future, although it was astonishing how often the remaining ones seemed to find me.

‘Me too, Hes,’ Otis said. ‘Me too.’

I had less than five pounds in my pocket and a fast-dwindling supply of spider’s silk. I shook my head. ‘We’ll have to throw ourselves on the mercy of the Royal Elvish Institute. I don’t know who was in charge in 1994, and it’s doubtful that anyone will believe we’ve time travelled, but we must try to get them to believe us. There has to be a way to convince them of the truth. We’re out of other options.’

I looked at Hester and Otis, hoping they might have some ideas, but neither of them was looking back at me; they were both staring ahead. ‘Isn’t that Tracey?’ Otis asked.

I squinted. There was a large crowd of people around the entrance to Waverley train station and I couldn’t see what – or who – was holding their attention. My stomach tightened. I desperately hoped there wasn’t a problem and that Tracey was alright.

Feeling very tense, I half-marched, half-ran the final twenty metres before pushing my way through the crowd. A sharp pain stabbed at my chest when I saw that Tracey was indeed at its centre – but then I realised that she was fine. More than fine.

She was sitting on the ground surrounded by an array of small spray bottles. The people around her were thrusting money in her direction.

‘I’ll give you ten pounds for one!’ a man shouted.

‘I’ll make it twenty!’ said the woman next to him.

When I tried to get closer, the man next to me jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow. ‘Hey! There’s a queue here. Wait your turn!’

I held up my palms, unwilling to get into a fight. My morning had started out badly and I didn’t need another battle on my hands, so I stepped back and watched the proceedings instead.

There was no doubt that what Tracey was doing was illegal, and if PC Grizzly Plod at the police station found out she was selling bottles of an unknown liquid on the street, she’d end up with a hefty fine. But what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

I rocked back on my heels and, for the first time since I’d walked out of the police station, I smiled.

‘How do I know it’ll work?’ somebody asked.

‘Seven dead vampires on Brighton Street last night says it does,’ came the answer.

A buzz of delight zipped through me. Otis whispered in my ear, ‘Tracey is selling vamp spray.’

‘Yep.’

‘You told her what to put in it.’

‘Yep.’

‘But you only know what’s in vamp spray because it’s popular in the future.’

‘Yep.’

‘So who actually invented vamp spray?’

I shrugged. Hester cackled. ‘Daisy invented it! ’

In a manner of speaking, I guess I did. I giggled. This vamp-killing venture hadn’t been a complete write-off after all.

Within minutes, Tracey had sold all her stock and a lot of people who hadn’t been able to snag any vamp spray were looking very upset. ‘Same time tomorrow folks!’ she trilled. ‘I’ll replenish my supplies overnight.’

The grumbling crowd started to disperse. Tracey glanced up, caught my eye and let out a thrilled squeal before rushing forward to give me a tight hug. ‘You’re fine! I knew all along you would be! I hope you don’t mind but I made up more of that potion.’ She beamed. ‘It’s selling like hotcakes! Everyone wants some.’ She pulled back and thrust a wad of notes into my hand. ‘Here, this is your cut.’

My cheeks flushed and I shoved the notes back at her. ‘I’m the one who owes you money,’ I said with a flash of guilt. ‘The police won’t give me the reward. I’m so sorry, Tracey.’

‘Don’t be sorry! Didn’t you see all those people? I’m onto a winner here! This could be exactly what I need to get myself off the streets.’ She hugged me again. ‘I can’t thank you enough. You have to take your share.’

I opened my mouth to protest further, then caught Otis and Hester glaring at me. I dropped my head, took the money and mumbled, ‘Thanks, Tracey.’

Her eyes were shining. ‘I’m taking off – I need to make another batch. I should come up with a name for this stuff as well.’

‘Vamp Spray,’ Otis and Hester chorused.

Tracey looked at me. ‘Sounds good to me,’ I said. ‘It’s best to stick to an obvious name so people know what it is.’

‘Then Vamp Spray it is. Do you want to help me sell it tomorrow? We can make a killing, especially now that we know it works.’

I looked at the crumpled notes in my hand. I finally had what I needed. I was in a position to do what Gordon had intended all along. ‘That’s a kind offer, but there’s somewhere I need to be. There’s an elven woman who needs my help.’

‘She’ll be lucky to have it. You’re amazing, Daisy.’

I bit my lip. I genuinely doubted I was amazing enough to alter history and save Lady Rose – but I would certainly give it my best shot.