Building From Ashes (3 page)

“Well, she certainly doesn’t seem to be the timid type.”

“Quite the vicious little thing, to be honest,” Ioan muttered. “She can be rather cruel when she wants to wound.”

The two vampires paused to listen to the women shouting, and Ioan couldn’t contain the smirk at the girl’s sharp retort to his wife and his housekeeper. Carwyn reluctantly admired the imaginative nature of the curses. She’d go to confession for them, he’d bet, but she wouldn’t really repent.

Ioan said, “She’s very intelligent. Frighteningly so at times. She’s stifled here, but I can’t persuade Sinead to let her go to school. And, to be honest, I understand her reluctance. Without our guidance, I have a feeling the girl would go quite wild.”

“You can’t keep her here forever. Well, some of our kind might, but not our family.”

“She’s only fourteen. We have time.”

“Not much.”

“I know.”

“Have you tried to use amnis? To take the edge off the worst of the memories?”

“She’s… resistant to any mental manipulation. Our best guess is from about age eight or so. So two years of abuse at the hands of her stepfather? I doubt amnis would be able to touch anything but the surface. I’ve been able to relieve the worst of her anxiety so she can function, but it’s not enough.”

Carwyn straightened in his chair and reached over to pat his son’s shoulder. “Get the girl the help she needs. Call Anne if you need to; she’ll be discreet. I know you don’t want to appear weak with a human under your aegis, but there’s no shame in seeking help when you don’t have the answers.”

“I know.” Ioan nodded. “I will. I promise.”

“Good.” Carwyn smiled as he looked at his softhearted child. As long as Ioan had existed, there was still not a human he encountered he didn’t want to help in some way. It was his gift and his burden. “Brigid may not be a child of your blood, but she is the child of your heart. You’ll find a way to help her; I know it.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,
Tad
.”

Carwyn chuckled to hear the childish endearment. “Oh, it’s always easier to put confidence in others instead of yourself.”

“True. When are you off to America?”

Carwyn grinned. The vampire was still a priest for his small village in Wales, along with being the head of one of the largest clans of earth vampires on the globe. Though most of his children remained in Britain, his influence and counsel was sought through much of Europe and the Americas on a regular basis. A true vacation for the busy vampire was long overdue.

“I’ll leave in November and stay for a few months. I haven’t had a proper visit with Giovanni in years.”

“Where is he now?”

“Atlanta, Georgia.” He imitated a drawl so bad that Ioan turned red in the face from laughter. “But he’s talking about moving to Texas.”

“Texas?” Ioan said. “I’m having a hard time picturing the Italian in a cowboy hat.”

“I’m not. It’s been good for a laugh more than once.”

“You’ll enjoy the warm weather. Take things a bit easier. You’ve too many responsibilities here.”

Carwyn stood. “The joy and headache of children, my son. But I’m definitely looking forward to a bit of a break.”

“You’re packing all your hideous Hawaiian shirts, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely. I’ve even bought some new ones especially for the visit.”

Ioan winced. “Try not to get into too much trouble.”

“Who, me? Never.”

“That’s what you always say.”

“And I’m right… fifty percent of the time.”

Ioan squinted. “Closer to twenty-five.”

“Pessimist.”

“Realist.”

They turned to leave the library, only to be almost bowled over by the indignant form of Brigid Connor as she rushed in. She glanced at both of them with a curled lip before she rushed over to the bookcase, grabbed a volume, then quickly exited the room, barely sparing them a glance.

Ioan sighed. “Radcliffe. Lovely, she’s feeling gothic. Should make for lively dinner conversation.”

Carwyn slapped Ioan on the shoulder. “Feel the love, son.”

Chapter Two

Dublin, Ireland

September 2004

“Hello?”

Brigid started when she heard the knock on the door of her rooms. Though the bustle of Parliament Street seeped in through the windows, it was the first interruption she’d faced since her Aunt Sinead and Ioan had dropped her off at the secured building in Dublin city center the night before.

“Hello?” The friendly female voice came again, along with another polite knock.

She looked around at the jumble of boxes and hangers that lay around the room before she walked to the door and cracked it open.

“Can I help you?”

A pair of bright blue eyes met her amber-brown ones. The girl’s face was open and friendly, a marked contrast to the wary expression Brigid knew she habitually wore. She looked to be the same age as Brigid, but wore bright colors and her light brown hair was pulled into a cheerful ponytail. The girl stuck out her hand.

“I’m Emily. I’m your neighbor next door.”

“Oh.” Brigid looked down at the offered hand for a moment, tucking a chunk of dark purple hair behind her ear, before she quashed the instinctive leap of anxiety and held out her own. “Brigid Connor. I’m—”

“From Wicklow, I heard.” Emily smiled some more and looked at the door that Brigid was guarding. She bit the inside of her lip and forced a smile at the friendly girl. “I have to say, you don’t look like your average country girl. But that’s cool.”

“Right. Um… thanks?”

Natural, safe interactions, Brigid.
The comforting voice of her counselor whispered at the back of her mind.
Safe interactions in a comfortable environment. On your terms. Always your terms. You are in control.

Brigid took a deep breath and opened the door. The human girl was no threat. As she stepped through the door, Brigid noticed her soft appearance and relaxed demeanor. Just a girl. A friendly girl. This was why she had forced herself away from the comfort of the mountains and into the city for school.

“I like your flat! This is one of the biggest in the building, you know?”

She didn’t know, but she wasn’t surprised. Ioan and Deirdre never failed to give her whatever she asked for, and she’d wanted as much privacy as possible in the crowded apartment building. “I didn’t. But, I like my own space, so my—um, family indulges my weirdness.”

Emily cleared a pile of hangars from a chair and sat down. “It’s okay. Everyone here has their own vampires, so you don’t have to hide anything.”

Finally, a small smile lifted the corner of her mouth. “I’d heard.”

“The whole building. That’s why we’re all together. They say it’s for our own security as humans under vampire aegis, blah, blah, blah, but really”—Emily winked—“it’s so they can keep an eye on us. This floor is all students, and the one above us, too. The lower floors are mostly Murphy’s people. Very secure, which thrills Mum and Dad.”

As Emily chattered on, Brigid returned to unpacking. Emily mentioned Murphy again, with the fluttering awe that Brigid had come to expect from any of the girls who knew of him. Patrick Murphy was a water vampire and the unchallenged immortal leader of Dublin. Though he was fairly young, he had an excellent reputation and a healthy respect for Deirdre and Ioan’s power, which was the only reason they’d allowed Brigid to come to Dublin. Brigid had met Murphy on more than one occasion when he came to Wicklow to consult with her family on some matter. When Brigid was ready for school, Dublin was the only place any of them even considered.

Because of the city’s popularity with young people, Murphy had set up a safe house of sorts for humans in the city center. Human members of vampire clans came from all over the world to attend school or live there, safe in the knowledge that they could be among peers they wouldn’t have to hide from. The house on Parliament Street, though it looked like an old hotel from the outside, was centrally located to the city center, within easy walking distance of most public transport, and very, very secure.

Brigid cleared her throat. “So, are you… do you…?” Though all of Ioan and Deirdre’s clan drank animal blood as a habit, Brigid knew how it worked. Murphy would keep healthy, paid blood donors somewhere in the building to feed his staff and others whom he was responsible for. That was how civilized vampires all over the world ran their households. Or so she’d been taught. But how did one go about asking that question politely?

Emily smiled. “My mum and dad both work for Murphy—have my whole life—so this was the only option for me. But I think we’re to share a car for school.”

“Oh?”

“Most of the students here attend Trinity.” She rolled her eyes. “Tradition, tradition. But I’m for UCD like you. I love the campus there. It’s so new.”

University College Dublin had always been Brigid’s goal, but she knew it was more common for humans under aegis to go to Trinity. The handsome buildings and historic traditions of the oldest university in Ireland appealed to the age and character of most vampires, so their humans were encouraged to attend the school. There were even a few vampire professors, she had heard.

“So, how about you?”

“Hmm?” Brigid was standing in the middle of the room, holding a hangar in front of her like a shield. She had been pressing and hanging her wardrobe before she’d heard the knock. She carefully set the hangar down on the coffee table and sat across from Emily.

“Why are you going to UCD?” Emily asked. “Sports fan?”

“No, no. I… uh.” She smiled stiffly. “I want to study criminal justice and forensic science. I like the program there. That’s why I chose it. I’m not really one for much sport.”

Emily grinned and her eyes swept over the room. “Now, why don’t I find that a surprise?”

Brigid’s dark wardrobe and prized collection of vintage concert shirts was piled in one corner. The walls, per her demand, had been painted a comforting dark grey, and Deirdre and Sinead had helped her pick out a black chair and a grey sofa to go in the small sitting area.

Brigid couldn’t help but compare her cave with Emily’s bright summer clothes and pink-painted fingernails. Her room was probably baby blue or summer yellow.

“So…” Brigid wiped her hands on her knees. She was doing well, she thought. She had a complete stranger—a safe-looking one—in her room, and she was fine. “Do you want some tea? I was just about to grab some.”

“Sure! That’d be great.”

“Okay.” Brigid rose and walked to the small corner opposite where the bedroom door was. A small kitchen was open to the sitting room, and she plugged in the electric kettle she’d been about to start when she decided her shirts just had to be pressed. “So, are you from Dublin, then?”

“Born and raised. You?”

Brigid had been born and raised for the first ten years in Dublin, but she didn’t count that part. “Wicklow. My whole life.”

“Ah. Earth vampires?”

“Yes.” She focused on preparing two cups of tea. Two mugs. Two teabags from the box.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

Brigid was tempted to burst into laughter, but she didn’t. “Um… no. Definitely not.”

“Oh, do you have a girlfriend, then?” Emily gave her a mischievous wink, and Brigid blushed.

“Uh, no. I like… boys.”
In theory.

“Oh, do you like…” She trailed off, and Brigid looked up to see Emily digging two fingers into her neck like fangs. “I mean, I never have, but I’ve always wondered. It’s supposed to be ama—”

“No!” Brigid could feel her face heat and her temper begin to rise. She looked back at the tea and carefully calmed herself. “I’m not into that, either. I may wear a lot of black, but that doesn’t mean I like to… you know.”

“Okay.” Emily leaned back against the couch and looked around again. “So, Brigid Connor, are you always like this?”

Brigid blinked and looked up. “Like what?”

Emily looked like she was about to laugh, but it didn’t seem mocking. “Prickly?”

Brigid let out a breath and set down the mug she was crushing in her hand. “Honestly? Yes.”

“Ah.”

“But I’m trying very hard not to be.”

“If you don’t want company—”

“No!” She squeezed her eyes closed and concentrated on breathing for a moment to cool her temper. “No, that’s part of why I came here, you know?”

“To school?”

“And to the city. To… meet new people. Get out of my comfort zone a bit. Try new things.”

A cautious look of understanding crossed Emily’s face, and Brigid relaxed. “Well, that’s good. I’d like for us to be friends.”

Brigid bit the inside of her lip again and nodded as the kettle started to whistle. She quickly poured the water and looked back up to Emily with a smile. “I’d like that, too.”

January 2005

“Come on, Brig! End of first week. We need to go out.”

“No, you go ahead. I’m just going to…”

“What?” Emily lounged on her sofa as Brigid grabbed two drinks from the fridge. An ale for her and a cider for Emily. “What are you going to do, Brigid Connor? I’ll tell you what you’re going to do. Nothing. It’s Friday night, you’re a gorgeous twenty-year-old girl who’s just celebrated her birthday, and you’re going to hide in your cave, listen to depressing music, and read a book. Maybe write some bad poetry.”

Brigid rolled her eyes. “Why do I like you?”

“Because I make you go out for fun.”

“I just don’t feel like being around people right now.”

“You never feel like being around people. That’s the point of all this, right? Have a drink. Loosen up a bit, then we’ll go out to this new club I keep hearing about. It’ll be good
craic
and we need some fun. You’ll love it.”

Brigid sneered. “No I won’t.”

Emily paused. “Okay, you won’t. But it’ll be good for you. It’s a nice place. Not too crowded. Maybe we can dance a little. Meet some guys.”