I eat some toast, put on a pair of black jeans and a dark blue blouse, run a brush through my hair, and then go to join Finn out in the back garden where he’s putting some food out for Wolf and chatting with the woman who lives next door. She’s telling Finn how much she enjoyed taking care of Wolf while he was away, that it was an absolute pleasure to mind such a well-mannered dog. Despite this, I’m still wary of the animal. He’s almost the same height as me.
As I’m shrugging into my coat, Finn says, “Tegan, come and meet Maria, she lives next door with her two sons.”
Maria has long dark hair and kind eyes, she looks to be in her late thirties. I say hello and shake her hand, and she eyes me for a minute, probably wondering if I’m Finn’s girlfriend or something.
“Tegan’s an old friend, she’s come to visit for a while.”
“How nice,” says Maria, arms folded, a smile touching her lips.
Then we say our goodbyes and get into Finn’s car to drive to where ever it is we’re supposed to be meeting Pamphrock. As it happens, Finn pulls into the car park of some big warehouse, which is not exactly what I’d been expecting. I thought we’d be meeting him at a nice café for brunch or something like that.
I peer out the window at the massive brick building. “What is this place?”
“One of the new DOH training compounds,” Finn answers. “As you might imagine, there’s been a recent need for new recruits, what with all the casualties we’ve been having.”
I don’t know what to say to that, especially since I played quite a large part in the events leading up to this war that’s been going on. All those young men and women dead. It makes my heart hurt to think about it.
Inside there are lots of people dressed all in black, wandering about the place urgently. There are windows all along one of the back walls, through which you can view a shooting practice range. Other than that, there are various assault courses where budding slayers are undertaking their training. I feel like I’ve just entered some kind of surreal super-secret military layer. Well, I sort of have.
Finn leads me up a set of stairs to the closed door of an office room. He knocks and a middle aged man with a neat haircut wearing a smart navy suit answers.
“Ah,” he says. “I’ve been waiting for you two. It’s good to see you Finn,” he says happily, taking Finn’s hand and giving it a firm shake.
“Governor Pamphrock, this is Tegan Stolle, the girl I told you about.”
“Of course,” says Pamphrock, turning to look at me now. “You’re very welcome Miss Stolle, and I’m grateful for your help.”
Pamphrock’s got that refined beauty I’ve come to associate with the dhamphirs, it reminds of both Delilah and Gabriel. Dhamphirs are attractive in a less shocking way than the vampires. Even though he doesn’t have any stand out features, you can tell that he’s a man of power, that he has authority over a large group of people. Perhaps it’s in the way that he holds himself. I wonder about his age, since dhamphirs can be anywhere up to five hundred years old. Suddenly I feel as though I’m in a room with a person who’s a piece of history, like a sculpture or a piece of rock from an archaeological dig.
Finn and I sit down in front of Pamphrock’s office desk, he comes in and stands by the window, then he eyes me closely.
“Do you mind me asking how exactly it is you know Ethan Cristescu?” he asks.
I’m about to answer when Finn cuts in. “Tegan moved away from Tribane because Cristescu had been pursuing her.”
Pamphrock comes to sit down at his desk now. “Right, so you were frightened of him and you ran away. How are you going to explain your return? Clearly, someone who was so scared of a man is not going to willingly walk straight back into his life.”
I stare directly at Pamphrock now. “We were involved romantically, when I discovered what he was I broke things off. I can pretend that I’ve come to terms with him being a vampire, tell him that I want to give things another shot.” This is a half-lie, but it’s necessary if I want to avoid explaining to him about my blood.
Pamphrock considers it for a moment. “I suppose that might work. But what about you, why are you agreeing to help me find my daughter, Miss Stolle?”
“I need the money,” I answer, my face expressionless.
“Yes, perhaps you do,” says Pamphrock, then he draws closer and takes a deep breath, his brow furrows. “Have we met before?” he asks suddenly. “You seem familiar to me in some way.”
“No we’ve not met before,” I reply, confused.
Pamphrock is quiet for a long minute. “You know, this might sound strange, but in a way you remind me of Rebecca.” He pulls open a drawer and retrieves a photograph. He slides it across the desk to me. I pick it up.
“This is the most recent picture I have of my daughter,” says Pamphrock.
I look down at the photo. She’s a pretty girl, with long blond hair, tanned skin and big brown eyes. She looks absolutely nothing like me, in fact, we’re polar opposites. I don’t know how Pamphrock could think I remind him of his little girl.
“Memorise her face. I’d let you keep the picture with you, but I can’t risk it if Cristescu finds you with it and realises what you’re up to.”
“All right then,” I reply, committing Rebecca’s features to memory. I hand the picture back to Pamphrock, who’s currently staring at Finn.
“I would like to speak with Finn alone now for a moment, if you don’t mind Miss Stolle.”