Sleeping Angel (Ravenwood Series) (32 page)

‘A party in the cemetery? How the hell did they get permission for this?’ said April.

‘The cemetery is owned by a trust, presumably they wants to make a few quid,’ said Caro.

Davina shook her head. ‘More likely the trust has been infiltrated by vampire-sympathisers and they voted “Yes” for a party.’ She gave April a sarcastic smile. ‘We do love a good party.’

April tried to imagine Miss Leicester’s face when she was told there was going to be a load of teenagers dancing to loud music in the cemetery, but she  couldn’t. For all her possessiveness towards Highgate’s graveyard, Miss Leicester was just an employee who would have to do what she was told.

‘There’s no way they’re going to let us in there,’ whispered April.

‘You forget who you’re with,’ said Davina, ‘I’ve never been turned away from a party in my life.’

April and Caro hung back as Davina walked confidently up to the doorman with the clipboard. She leant in and whispered something in his ear, simultaneously touching his arm with one finger. The bouncer’s stony face broke into a grudging smile, then a wolfish grin. While they were alone, Caro turned to April, ‘Listen, what’s going on? How come we’re talking to a vampire all of a sudden – and this one in particular?’

‘I don’t like it either, Caro, but we’ve gone past the point of picking and choosing our allies. If Davina’s angry enough to help us get in the door, we have to take advantage of this opportunity. We’re running out of options. And if Gabriel’s really found the King, we’re out of time too.’

Caro paused for a moment, then nodded. ‘Fair enough. But what was all that stuff about Isabelle and her “disease”? Do you think she knows you’re a Fury?’

‘Who knows, but if she wanted to kill me, she could have come into my room and done it while I was asleep.’

‘Nice thought. Okay, we’ll play along, but remember whose side she’s on.’

‘And you remember that I’m only here to find Gabriel, okay?’

Across the road, Davina and the security guards were laughing and chatting like old friends. The first man nodded and beckoned to April and Caro.

‘In you go, girls,’ he said. ‘Behave yourselves, yeah?’

‘Until later, anyway,’ said Davina as the guard unhooked the velvet rope and allowed them all inside.

‘What did you say to him?’ whispered April as they crossed the courtyard and up the stone steps.

‘Oh, just a little bit of harmless flirtation. Muscles and his friend think they’re going to cop a feel in the bushes later.’

She glanced at April. ‘Oh, don’t look so shocked, Little Miss Prim. Don’t tell me you and Gabriel haven’t rustled a few leaves in this cemetery. Besides, I did that meathead guard a favour. If they go into the bushes with anyone else here, there’s a good chance they’re not going to come out again.’

They walked up the steep pathway and April couldn’t help casting a glance down towards her father’s tomb.

Watch over me, Daddy,
she thought,
wherever you are
.

The music was getting louder now and, between the trees, they could see flashing lights.

‘Where the hell are we going?’ whispered Caro.

‘Isn’t it obvious?’ said Davina. ‘We’re going right to the heart of the darkness, as William Dunne so eloquently put it.’

April grabbed her arm. ‘What do you know about my father?’

Davina brushed April’s fingers off disdainfully. ‘And they call
us
arrogant,’ she said. ‘Do you really think you’re the only ones who can use a computer? University of Strathclyde, February, two years ago. Your father gave a talk  called “The Devil’s Disease”. There’s a transcription of it on the University’s website.’

She saw April’s blank expression and rolled her eyes. ‘Your father  hypothesised that all large-scale violent crime – riots, serial killers, even wars – could be down to a certain strain of disease. He thought it was all coming from underground. And if he’s right, then ...’ They walked around a corner and Davina gestured dramatically. ‘
This
is where it’s coming from.’

‘Bloody hell!’ gasped Caro. They had come to the gates of the Egyptian Avenue. The carved stone gateway was grand enough during the day, but tonight, next to the pillars either side of the opening, there were flaming torches, the inside of the sloping passageway lit with a glowing red light.

‘It looks like the mouth of hell,’ said Caro.

‘Could be right, darling,’ said Davina, leading the way inside. Exchanging nervous looks, April and Caro followed her. The passage was filled with smoke and there were dark figures hanging about in the swirling red-lit mist, drinking, necking, swaying to the music. April was relieved that they paid no attention to them as they passed.

‘What
is
this place?’ whispered Caro.

‘This corridor is a series of burial vaults,’ said April, nodding towards the iron doors lining the alleyway on either side of them.

‘It’s making me claustrophobic,’ said Caro nervously.

‘Don’t worry, it opens out at the end.’

‘Behold! The Circle of Lebanon,’ said Davina, raising her voice to be heard over the now pounding music.

‘Wow!’ said Caro as they stepped out. The walls curved off on either side, open to the sky, but packed with undulating bodies – they were clearly using the circle as the party’s dance floor. The girls threaded their way through, half-hidden by the billowing dry ice and the flashing lights set over the circle on scaffolding – presumably that was what April had seen being unloaded earlier. Davina led them to a set of stone steps; from the top they could see down into the circle. It really did look like one of those medieval paintings of the underworld – the dancer’s hands reaching up out of the flames and smoke. They walked away from the pit, towards a makeshift bar piled high with bottles and set up close to the cemetery’s catacombs.

April glanced over at Davina. If the girl felt any discomfort being this close to the spot her brother had killed Layla, she didn’t show it. April couldn’t bring herself to turn that way; when she closed her eyes at night, she could still see Layla’s white face, the eyes open, her legs dangling.
Remember it
, she told herself.
Remember what these creatures are capable of.

She turned up the collar of her coat, suddenly feeling cold. Caro, however, seemed as unconcerned as Davina, returning from the bar with beer for them both.

‘This is off the hook,’ said Caro, grinning.

‘You’re not supposed to be enjoying yourself,’ snapped April.

‘Hey, lighten up, sourpuss,’ replied Caro. ‘I know you’re worried about Gabe, but let’s not jump to conclusions until we know exactly what’s going on, okay?’ Her gaze switched to over April’s shoulder. ‘Anyway, it looks like we’ve got problems of our own.’

Chessy. She was striding over, with Ling, Simon and a gang of Suckers trailing behind her like a royal entourage. Chessy was wearing a tiny red dress and Ling, despite the uneven ground, was in sky-high heels. One look at Chessy’s face and April knew she’d made a mistake coming here.

‘What are
you
doing here?’ demanded Chessy, glaring across at Davina. ‘Do I need to teach you another lesson?’

‘You can try,’ said Davina, stepping forward. ‘But I’m not sure it would be such an easy job this time.’

Then she smiled and nodded towards Ling.

‘Or maybe you should ask your new girlfriend to try. I mean, after all, little Ling owes Chessy a favour, doesn’t she?’

‘You shut your mouth!’ hissed Chessy.

Ling looked uncertain, her eyes flicking across to Simon.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I suppose it was rather sweet really,’ said Davina, a smirk on her mouth. ‘I mean, that nasty boy Calvin forced himself onto you, so your bestest friend in all the world got him back for you.’

‘I’m warning you,’ said Chessy in a low voice. April could see that she had curled her hands into claws. What was Davina playing at? She was supposed to be finding out where the King was – where
Gabriel
was – and all she seemed to be doing was settling old scores.

‘Oh, come on, Chess, I thought you’d have wanted the whole world to know that it was you who punished that boy. Though it sounds to me like he deserved it.’

Ling turned to Chessy, her eyes wide.

‘It was
you
? You killed Calvin?’

Chessy took two steps towards Davina, but Davina stood her ground.

‘Hey now, remember the rules,’ she said, ‘although you weren’t exactly following them that night, were you? Dumping the dead boy on April’s doorstep. Tut-tut, Chess. I can’t imagine that pleased the Big Boss.’

‘You shut up!’ said Ling, ‘What do you know? You’re not one of us anymore!’

‘Oh, it’s “us” now is it?’ said Davina. ‘Has Chess promised to initiate you into this glorious life of ours?’

A smile crept onto Ling’s face. ‘Yes,’ she said, looking over at Chessy with something akin to adoration. ‘Tonight.’

‘No!’ shouted Simon, grabbing Ling’s hand and spinning her around. ‘You can’t, Ling!’

‘Why not?’ she replied, yanking herself free. ‘I’m not like you – I don’t need all these weaklings around me.’ She looked over at Caro. ‘Why don’t you just go back to
her
– you know you want to.’

‘Ling, don’t be stupid,’ said Simon uncertainly.

‘I’ve seen the way you look at her. Go on – I don’t need you anymore. I won’t need anyone anymore, not after tonight.’

‘Ling, you can’t,’ said April. ‘Think about what you’re doing.’

‘I know exactly what I’m doing,
Bleeder
,’ said Ling furiously. ‘You think I want to be like you? You think I want to be a goody-goody, a Head Girl? You’re all dead already and you don’t even know it.’

She laughed and stepped towards Davina. ‘Well, if Chessy did kill that bastard, I’m glad. It shows she cares about me.’

‘It’s not you she cares about, Ling,’ said Davina, looking towards Chessy. ‘Is it, sweetie? She didn’t do it for you.’

Chessy stepped forward and backhanded Davina across the face, sending her sprawling.

April moved to help her, but Caro put a hand on her arm, shaking her head slightly. Davina was on her knees, a string of blood running from the corner of her mouth.

‘Now that’s not a good look, is it,
darling
?’ crowed Chessy, and the surrounding crowd of Suckers let out a twitter of nervous laughter.

‘I think it’s about time you stopped talking about these things as if they concerned you,’ continued Chessy. ‘I thought we’d made it clear that you and your little family are no longer a part of the plan. Oh,’ she said, putting a hand to her mouth, ‘I forgot. You don’t
have
a family anymore.’

April watched as Davina slowly swivelled her head to look up at her adversary, her eyes narrowed, her lips drawn back in a snarl. She could only remember seeing such hate once before – on the face of Marcus Brent, shortly before he tried to tear her limb from limb.
This isn’t going to end well,
thought April. She stepped between Davina and Chessy, her hands held up.

‘Okay, that’s enough,’ she said. ‘We were just going, anyway.’

‘Oh no,’ said Chessy, ‘You’re not going anywhere.’

She casually raised a finger and immediately April and Caro were grabbed, their arms twisted up behind them.

‘Him too,’ said Chessy, nodding at Simon.

‘Hey!’ protested Simon as he was seized. ‘I’m on your side.’

‘Yeah, sure,’ said Chessy. ‘Hold him. I think he might wriggle.’

She turned to Ling and extended her hand. ‘Come to me,’ she said, ‘It’s time.’

‘No, Ling!’ cried Simon, ‘You don’t have to do this! Please God, no!’

But Ling looking as if she were in a trance, stared rapturously into Chessy’s eyes. The vampire gently, tenderly, lifted Ling’s thin arm.

‘You have to want this, you know that?’ she whispered.

Ling nodded slowly. ‘I want it, please.’

Without warning, Chessy bit into Ling’s arm, like a snake striking its prey.

‘No!’ yelled April as she watched Ling’s eyes grow huge, her face registering terror and fear. If she had been expecting her turning to be ethereal and beautiful, she was wrong – dead wrong. It was brutal, violent, horrific. Ling’s body bucked, her legs jerking uselessly as Chessy held her in a vice-like grip. April struggled to get to the girl, to help her, but with a vampire on each arm, it was like struggling against quicksand.

Ling’s mouth was open now, as if frozen in a scream, her eyelids fluttering, fingers jerking.

‘Stop,’ said Davina, quietly. ‘You’re killing her.’

Immediately Chessy opened her jaws and dropped Ling. The girl fell to the floor like a bag of sand. Chessy pushed her face inches from Davina’s. ‘I
know
I’m killing her!’ said Chessy, dark blood running from the corners of her mouth. ‘That’s the
idea
. I have no intention of turning that stupid little airhead. We don’t need runts like her any more.’