Tegan's Power (The Ultimate Power Series #4) (14 page)

“I have to be
consciously doing it. And I have far too many more pressing things to focus my
attention on than to be continuously reading people,” he says.

“Well, focus on them
then, because we both know that you were reading me just there. Again.”

Cristescu smiles widely
now. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”

“Ethan, stop it,” Tegan
says giving him a stern look.

Before I get the chance
to tell him where he can stick his mentalist bullshit, the television begins to
crackle with static and the screen goes fuzzy. I walk over and bang my hand down
onto it but it doesn’t help. The crackling continues and black and grey
squiggly lines fizzle on the screen. I’m about to go and plug the thing out,
thinking I’ll try fixing the signal later, when Ira reaches over and puts a
hand on my arm to stop me.

He gestures back to the
screen where the static is clearing up and a picture is forming.

“Oh my God,” Alvie
squeals clasping his hands over his mouth in surprise.

The television shows a
studio room somewhere that’s been decked out to look like a quaint, homely type
of living room. I pick up the remote and try changing the station but every
single channel shows the same picture.

On an armchair sits
Theodore, wearing a plain brown suit and smart dress shoes. His hair has been
combed into a neat style. He looks completely average and it’s completely
bizarre in contrast to his usual wacky appearance.

On the armchair
opposite him is Rita, who just like Theodore appears bizarre in the sense that
she looks nothing like her usual self. She isn’t wearing a single scrap of
make-up. Gone is the heavy black eyes and the ghostly pale foundation. Her hair
is pulled back from her face by a clip and she’s wearing a white dress with a
flowery design.

The camera focuses in
on Theodore as he smiles at his audience and begins to speak.

“Good people of
Tribane,” he starts. “I’m airing this emergency broadcast as there are dark
forces at work in our city. Dark forces that need to be expelled. I’m sure you
have all been affected by the attacks from those Satanic fanged creatures that
can only be described as…vampires. I’m here to help you. My name is Theodore
Girard and with me today is my daughter, Rita Girard.”

The camera pans to Rita
as she smiles benignly and nods hello.

“Together we have
decided to call on the people of the city to set up a force against the
vampires. They are an infestation that needs to be wiped out. We were here
first and we will be here when they have been exterminated. A lot of you will
be aware that they have used their ungodly powers to trap us all inside the
city so that they can kill us without interference from the outside world. I
need each and every one of you to join me if we are going to succeed in
defeating them. Together we can thwart their dark plans to murder us all.

“I make no claims to
greatness. Like you, I am just an average man, but I refuse to allow the devil
to win. I refuse to allow him to take away my right as a human being to a life
free of constant threat. So, what I ask of you is this. If you are with me,
take a piece of white chalk and draw a circle on your front door. The houses
with circles will show where there are humans living. If there is no circle we
will know there are vampires within. I have it on good authority that they all
sleep during the day, so they will be unaware of this broadcast currently being
aired. They will not know why there are circles on your doors.

“At first light
tomorrow morning when the vampires are asleep, I ask that you all gather on
Campion Row with whatever incendiary devices you can find. Together we will set
the vampires alight and they will burn in their dark slumbers. Please, do not
be afraid to leave your homes. In just one day’s time we will all be able to
live safely again. Stand with me. Believe in this, my people, believe.”

Just as soon as the
last word leaves his mouth the broadcast cuts off and the channel goes fuzzy
again.

“Well, shit,” says
Alvie folding his arms.

I stare at Cristescu
when I reply, “My sentiments exactly.”

The Madness of Crowds

Tegan

Once Theodore’s broadcast shuts off, it
feels like everyone begins talking at once and I can’t take it. I put my hands
over my ears to try and block them out so that I can think.

Theodore wants the
humans to set fire to the homes of vampires, but surely he must know that
burning can’t kill a vampire. They either need to be staked or decapitated. So,
if he knows this, then why on earth has he set this mad plan into action? The
words he used and the tone of voice he employed were so very cleverly thought
out. He wanted to incite a mob while at the same time coming across as a
humble, concerned citizen.

He even referred to
himself as an average man. What a joke.

“Vampires can’t be
killed by burning,” I say out loud but I’m too quiet to be heard over the din
of voices.

“I said,” I repeat,
shouting now. “Vampires can’t be killed by burning, so why is he getting the
humans to burn them?”

Everybody’s attention
lands on me and Delilah volunteers, “Perhaps he doesn’t mean to kill the vampires.
Perhaps he simply means to frighten them enough so that they’ll leave. They’re
all vulnerable during the day and Theodore wants to play on that vulnerability.
Show them that even though they might be stronger than humans at night, they
are far weaker when the sun is up.”

Now Ethan begins to
speak. “No, I don’t think that’s it. We might not die from the fire but it will
certainly cause us severe pain. I think that’s what Theodore wants. He wants to
make us angry so that we will attack the humans once night falls. He wants
chaos again, only a different kind this time.”

“You’re going to have
to get the word out to your people about the chalk circles,” says Gabriel. “Get
them to put them on their doors, too. If there are no doors without circles it’ll
cause confusion and the humans won’t know which houses to burn.”

“I have every intention
of informing them,” says Ethan firmly. “But what then? If the humans cannot
find anything to burn then they will know we’re onto them. They’ll have a lot
of pent up energy with nowhere to focus it.”

“That’s Theodore’s
problem,” Delilah puts in. “Let him deal with them. All we need to do is ensure
that the vampires know what’s happening and that they don’t under any
circumstances try to lash out against the humans.”

After another half hour
of discussing things back and forth, we finally decide that inaction is the
best action to take. Theodore is looking to stir up trouble, because a city in
turmoil is easier to take over than a city under control. Ethan is going to
spread the word among the vampires about what’s happening and Finn is going to
go along to Campion Row tomorrow morning to suss out what exactly Theodore is
up to.

I don’t say it to
Ethan, but I plan on going, too. If Theodore is going to be there, then it’s
likely that Rita will be as well. I have no idea what I’ll do once I see her.
All I know is that I have to try something. The longer she stays with her
madman of a father, the more lost she is to us.

I say my goodbyes to my
friends and then Ethan drives Rebecca and me back to his place. After the crash
Emilia caused, Ethan replaced his car with a vehicle almost identical to the
previous one. As he drives he’s also typing out messages on his phone and it
astounds me how he can focus perfectly on both activities.

“What are you doing?” I
ask eyeing his phone. He types so rapidly that I can’t make out the words,
which is annoying. His thumb makes speedy, barely perceptible movements over
the touch screen.

“I’m organising a
little gathering of my own,” he replies slipping the phone into his pocket and
putting his hand on my thigh. His fingers brush back and forth, causing tingles
to shoot right up between my legs. Yeah, I’m not letting him distract me.

I give him a steely
look. “Elaborate.”

“I have to ensure that
they all know about Theodore’s plan. The only way to do that is to gather them
in one place and make an announcement.”

“And what place would
that be?”

“They call it the
Market Below. It’s an underground trading area for vampires and one of the few
places I know Theodore will never step foot. Magical folk dislike the
underground. I think it plays havoc with their powers somehow.”

Hmm, that’s food for
thought. “There’s an underground vampire market in Tribane?”

“There is. Would you
like to see it?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Can I come too?”
Rebecca asks from the back seat.

Ethan turns his head to
look at her briefly and reaches out to ruffle her hair in an affectionate
manner. “I’m afraid not, my sweet. It’s not a place for little girls.”

“You can stay with my
friend Amanda while we’re gone. You’ll like her. She’s got pink hair.”

Rebecca’s eyes
immediately light up at the mention of pink hair and all thoughts of coming to
the vampire market are instantly forgotten.

It’s not long before
night falls and I leave Rebecca in Amanda’s care for the evening. Ethan and
Lucas wait for me by the door. I take Ethan’s hand into mine and in a bold move
I wrap my other arm around his neck and pull him down to me for a kiss. What I
had initially meant to be a quick peck turns into a full blown snog as he slips
his tongue into my mouth, caressing my tongue.

“Hey beautiful,” I
finally manage to say as I come up for air.

He grins at my words
and slides his arm around my waist, pulling me snug against his side. Lucas
watches all of this without saying a word and when we finally leave the house
I’m surprised that we don’t get into the new car Ethan got since Emilia
destroyed his old one. Instead I walk with the two vampires as they lead me to
the end of the street. Ethan lets go of me to pull open the large round manhole
cover leading down into the city’s sewage tunnels.

“Eh, no way am I going
down there,” I say emphatically as Lucas’ eyes gleam with restrained laughter.
I bet he knew all along I wasn’t going to be up for this.

Somehow, I’d failed to
make the connection that since the market is underground it would be among the
sewage system. In my head I’d imagined something a little more mystical and a
little less rat-infested.

“I can return you to
the house, if you like,” Ethan offers, his dark silvery eyes looking back and
forth between mine.

I glance at Lucas for a
moment, and the fact that I know he’s waiting for me to turn back makes me even
more the determined to venture forward.

Taking a deep breath, I
reply, “No, that’s alright. I still want to come. I just needed a minute to get
used to the idea.”

“Once you get through
the tunnels it’s not so bad. You can climb on my back and I’ll get us to the
market in a matter of seconds. You won’t have to endure the stench for too
long.”

I eye him warily.
“Okay, then.”

He walks to me and goes
down on one knee so that I can get onto his back. When I’m securely situated he
moves towards the opening and climbs down. Lucas follows suit. The minute we
hit the tunnel Ethan begins moving at vampire speed and everything becomes a
blur of motion. It’s just my luck that I can still smell the excrement at the
rate we’re going.

Moments later he’s
slowing down and I realise I’d been squeezing my eyes shut to keep from getting
dizzy. I open them and look around to see a mass of vampires gathered in a
large open space. The place is massive, about the size of a football field.
Basically, it looks like a huge windowless room with metal walls and there are
market stalls set up in orderly rows.

I watch in fascination,
still holding firmly onto Ethan’s back as I take in the scene. Vampires stand
and chat amiably, others hover by stalls bartering and haggling for goods. It’s
like I’ve been transported back in time to some underground gypsy black market,
only the clothes are all modern.

When Ethan enters, the
conversation hushes and they all turn to look at him with what I imagine to be
reverence in their otherworldly eyes. He pats me on the thigh as a sign for me
to climb down. I let go of his neck and hop to the ground.

Some of the vampires
watch me instead of Ethan, and I know that they’re aware of what I am – of what
I could give them. It’s funny that I don’t feel at all threatened. I have this
odd sense of safety that I get from being by Ethan’s side. I know that none of
the vampires here will be able to get to me because of him.

Ethan slips his hand
into mine and leads me on a walk around the market. The vampires continue with
their previous conversations, but without the same vigour as before. They’re
all far too curious, anticipating Ethan’s announcement, wondering why he hasn’t
decided to give it immediately.

A mezzanine floor runs
around the edge of the upper wall of the large room. Tugging me to him, Ethan
pulls me up onto his back again before he climbs a ladder to the mezzanine.
Once he’s reached the top he lets me off him and walks to the safety bars.
Placing his hands firmly down on said bars, he clears his throat and every
vampire falls silent a second time.