“I don’t know. It could have been a witch or a warlock, Theodore told me that my blood is a powerful magical ingredient, that’s why he took me to his mansion in the first place. Perhaps someone wanted my blood for their spells and thought that intimidating my dad would get him to reveal where I’d gone.”
“It makes sense I suppose,” says Finn, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and making a move to stand up, he hisses in pain and sits back down.
“Jesus, didn’t that doctor give you any painkillers?”
“They haven’t kicked in yet,” he says, before making a second attempt at getting up from his seat. I rush to his side, putting his arm over my shoulder for support.
“Come on, I’ll help you upstairs to your room.”
“Now that I like the sound of,” Finn adds suggestively.
“Can’t you abstain from being an endless flirt for at least one night? You’re lucky I feel sorry for you getting shot, otherwise you’d be on your own.”
“Sympathy for a slayer from the vampire sympathiser,” says Finn in amusement. “Now how’s that for irony.”
“You’re about five seconds away from getting kicked in the gunshot wound, Finn,” I warn, and this seems to shut him up. I help him onto his bed. “You’ll have to sleep in your clothes tonight, sorry.” I say, pulling open the blankets for him.
“Your bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired,” he sighs, with a theatrical frown as I slip out the door and go to my own room.
The next day Finn makes me take Wolf with me when I’m going to visit Nicky. He says we can’t risk taking any chances after what happened last night. Seemingly the vampires have upped the ante in a last ditch attempt to subdue the slayers completely. I argue about taking Wolf with me for about ten minutes before I realise that I kind of want to bring the dog along. He’s safely reassuring, in a large, menacing canine sort of way.
Both Nicky and Rita live within relatively easy walking distance of Finn’s house, so I don’t mind going by foot. When I ask Finn where Wolf’s lead is, he simply looks at me as if I’m some sort of supporter of animal cruelty. And it seems that I don’t need one for this dog anyway, he pads alongside me, silent and watchful. When I get to Nicky’s place I tell him to wait outside and in his eyes I can tell that he understands exactly what I’m saying to him. Spooky.
Nicky cries and hugs me for a good fifteen minutes before finally allowing me some breathing space. I feel like a cold bitch for not being more emotional at our reunion, but I was never one to be very open with my feelings. Mostly I keep them locked deep inside, which I can tell you is not a healthy way to deal with things.
She introduces me to her new girlfriend Deena, a tall woman with short, naturally blond hair. We have a long lunch and I tell her all about my new life in Manchester, my apartment in the converted factory, my job at the art gallery. I even make up some friends too, just so that she doesn’t cotton on to the fact that I’ve kept myself very much to myself these past two years. It takes a long time to leave, she keeps pulling me back and hugging me and telling me how glad she is that I’m better now.
I’m surprised to find that Wolf is still sitting by Nicky’s front gate when I finally manage to get away. He looks at me as if to say, what took you so long? And then we start our walk over to Rita’s. As I near her house, I get a distinct feeling in the air, something heavy, like magic.
Wolf stands by my side as I knock on the door, one, twice, three times. He growls at Rita’s cats who are sitting along her garden wall. They hiss at him and slink away. Finally, someone comes to answer the door, but it isn’t Rita. Nor is it Alvie or her mother. It’s Gabriel.
Chapter Seven
Hello Darkness My Old Friend
Gabriel blinks a couple times in surprise and steps out onto the doorstep.
“Tegan, is that you?” he asks, his voice airy and disbelieving.
“The one and only,” I grin. “Is Rita home by any chance?”
“Of course, yes, she’s just out the back with…what are you doing here? I thought you’d left Tribane for good.”
“What, Finn didn’t tell you that I was back? I am staying at his place after all.”
Gabriel shakes his head. “No, somehow he failed to mention it.”
I shrug, not knowing what else to say. I wait for him to invite me in, but he still seems taken aback. He shakes himself. “Where are my manners, please, come in Tegan,” and then he steps aside, gesturing into the house.
“How’s Marcel?” I ask, as he leads me down the narrow hallway.
Gabriel is quiet before answering, “Marcel and I have parted ways I’m afraid. It came down to a difference in opinion.”
“And you’re here in Rita’s,” I say, “does that mean you two are, um…” I trail off to let him answer.
His eyes widen. “Oh no, we’re not together. Not like that anyway.” Then he opens the door to the kitchen and leads me out to the back garden.
I’ve never been in Rita’s garden before, but standing in it now it truly is a sight to behold. Flowers and plants grow wildly all around a large grassy area, creeping vines crawl