Vowed (32 page)

‘Crap.’

‘No rain check,’ Lan says from the door behind Kyle. ‘You were away last week and the week before. When do I get to sit and teach you?’

Lan is tiny and fierce. I fear for my life when she kicks off. I eye her warily and wonder how anyone so cute can dress so badly. She’s wearing puce leggings, purple DMs and a denim
pinafore dress over an acid-green top. So many colours it gives me a headache. I’m not a fashion aficionado but even I know that some colours just don’t go.

‘We’re working a case, Lan,’ I tell her, getting up and stretching. ‘We don’t have time for school right now.’

Lan sucks her teeth at me and jerks a thumb over her shoulder. ‘Ten minutes. You have ten minutes to get ready. I’ll see you downstairs.’

Kyle shares my look of woe and slumps his shoulders as he clumps down the stairs behind Lan. I suppress my irritation and have a super-quick shower. Then I dress in the previous day’s
jeans and a stretchy jumper. This one had a hole on the shoulder, marking where Marc’s sword flashed past me when I was too slow to duck his attack. Other people have moths, but my clothes
face combat training with my cousins.

Downstairs Lan’s prepped bowls of cereal for us both and she’s got her notebooks ready.

‘You eat. I start.’ The look she directs us over the frames of her glasses brooks no arguments. ‘It’s exciting to learn. Remember.’

It’s late afternoon when Lan gives up. She was trying to force us to remember the Otherwhere’s involvement in the French Revolution. She grumbles about us being
distracted and scowls unhappily when my mobile keeps buzzing with text messages – from Chem and Diane, confirming Marvin’s okay for us to come by. I hear nothing from Dante all day. I
even ring and leave a voicemail during one of my loo breaks.

Lan is merciless and gives us homework to do about the Fae who sided with the Huguenots during the French rebellion, and the impact that had on the Fae diaspora as they fled France for safer
havens such as England and South Africa.

‘My brain hurts,’ Kyle says, firmly closing the door behind her diminutive form and sinking down onto the couch and collapsing backwards. ‘Why is everything so hard when
you’re beaten up?’

‘Shut up, you big girl’s blouse. Sit up. Do you want to come with me to meet with Marvin? He also has the whole geek chic thing happening. You guys could maybe bond.’

‘No, leave me alone. I want to stay here, cuddle my bruises and order in some Chinese.’

‘Can I have some kung pao chicken?’

‘What time will you be back?’

I pull on another jumper and yank my leather jacket over it. ‘Dunno. Midnight, thereabouts?’

‘You’ve not mentioned Dante the whole day.’

‘He’s still not doing well. I’m swinging past his place on my way to see Marvin, to see how he is.’

Kyle passes me my helmet. ‘Be careful, Kit.’

‘I’m always careful,’ I answer. ‘You get some sleep. Check on Jilly. See how she’s doing.’

He gives me a quick hug before I head out to the bike, my messenger bag swung over my shoulder. The traffic’s not too bad and only one Volvo driver tries to kill me by jumping a red light.
I pull up outside Dante’s place just after six and find the place in darkness.

I ring the bell and wait impatiently for him to come to the door. One of his neighbours, a young woman in a business suit, walks past, talking on her mobile. She’s carrying groceries and
smiles when she sees me.

‘You okay over there?’

‘Visiting my mate, Dante,’ I say. ‘When I left last night he was really sick. Have you seen him?’

She gestures me closer. ‘We woke up to some really weird noises last night. It sounded like he was fighting with someone. We tried ringing him but he didn’t answer and things went
quiet again. He’s given us a key to look after the place when he goes away so I can let you have that, to check on him. I remember seeing you together before.’

Anxiety thrums through me and I nod mutely, wondering what I’m going to find.

I loiter on the doorstep of her small newly renovated house and she comes out with the key on a green frog fob.

‘There you go. Do you want me to come with you?’

It’s tempting but I don’t know what I’ll find so I shake my head.

‘I’ll bring it back as soon as I’ve checked on him. He was running a really high fever last night so I bet he was throwing pots at things that weren’t there.’ I try
and smile at her and she looks a bit worried but nods.

I unlock the door and let myself in.

The place is dark and smells musty. I turn lights on as I go and find myself in the kitchen. The place is a mess. There’s broken glass everywhere and the leftover risotto I left him lies
congealed on the floor.

Without thinking, I flip my wrist and the baton extends into my palm. My knife rests in my other hand and I prowl through the house, moving up towards the empty bedrooms. From a cursory glance
they both seem undisturbed and I ghost along the shadowy hallway towards Dante’s room.

The door stands ajar and I use the knife to push it further open. Dante’s sprawled face down across the bed. His breathing is ragged and the room smells of wild magic and pain.

Before I move towards him, I do a quick check of the room and the adjoining en suite; no one else is there. I push the baton back up my sleeve but I keep my knife handy as I kneel on the bed
next to Dante, getting a grip on his shoulder so I can flip him onto his back.

I manage with some difficulty and when I look at his face I swear softly. Two small horn nubs have formed high on Dante’s forehead, just inside the hairline. I lean over and turn the
bedside light on. When I turn back his eyes are open and I’m startled by how bright they are and how very dark at the same time.

‘Kit?’ His voice is husky. ‘Is it really you? Or am I dreaming you too?’

‘It’s me, Dante.’ I grab hold of his hand. ‘What happened? Were you attacked?’

He looks confused for a moment but then shakes his head. ‘No, I had nightmares during the night. But I fought them. I won.’ The smile he gives me is sickly and weak. ‘I showed
them who’s boss.’

‘I tried to get hold of you during the day. I rang and left voice messages.’

‘You did? I’m sorry, Kit. I didn’t hear.’ He sounds so lost that my heart skips a beat.

‘It’s fine. I’m here now.’

Try as I might I can’t stop staring at the nubs poking from beneath his hair.

‘Can you see them?’ he asks me, his fingers gingerly exploring his hair. ‘I wasn’t sure if they were real or if I was dreaming them.’

‘They’re real.’ I smile at him. ‘They are pretty cool, actually.’

He sits up with a struggle and leans back against the pillows. ‘So, I think I’m not human after all.’ His voice rasps and I pass him the water by the bedside.

I laugh softly and shake my head. ‘I don’t think you’re human either.’

‘Can you see any other changes on me?’ he asks me, spreading his arms. ‘Do I have a tail? Wings? Scales?’

I’m really laughing now. ‘No, you fool. You look fine.’

‘I have horns.’

‘Nubs. You have nubs.’

‘At least it’s two horns and not one.’

‘There is that. I’ve never heard of a Fae unicorn before.’

He laughs and winces. ‘Why do I feel like I’ve been fighting with Mike Tyson?’

‘I’m surprised you can even speak. When this happened to me I was out for a week and don’t remember anything of It.’

He frowns at me. ‘You’re a changeling?’

‘No, but my magic came on me like this, like yours did, unexpectedly. I fell ill for a week.’

‘And how do you know you’re not a changeling?’

‘I can handle iron, I can drink holy water.’ I clear my throat. ‘It’s what I drink when I’m at Milton’s, remember. It helps if the Infernal can’t snack
on me if they feel the need.’

Dante looks at me for a long time, shivers and pulls his blanket up over his shoulders. ‘That is just weird. What’s going on with our lives?’ He draws a deep breath and exhales
slowly. ‘I really am a faerie.’

Marvin is waiting for me in Chem’s flat. He stands up when I come in and holds his hand out for me to shake but I lean forward and give him a hug. He stiffens for a
second, before wrapping his arms round me. His grip is strong and brief and then we’re sitting down, looking at one another.

‘How are you doing?’ I ask him.

‘I’m okay, I think. I mean, I know the guy who took Tia is an actual
person
, you know? I could see him and everything.’

‘What about the other guy, Marv? The one who came into her room through the window?’

Marv blinks at me. ‘What?’ His brow wrinkles. ‘I don’t even . . . oh my God, I forgot about him completely.’

I suppress the urge to mutter under my breath because I am so done with the nasty crap the supernatural creatures pull on humans.

‘We’ll come back to that. What did the police say when you told them you chased the guy?’

‘They told me I was insane because I could have been killed. I told them to fu— . . . piss right off. It’s my baby sister. I had to try and save her.’

I grab hold of Marv’s hand and will him to be calm, letting the ring I’m wearing press lightly against his skin, allowing the magic to do its thing. ‘I need you to tell me
everything you can remember about it. All of it.’

Marvin’s voice gains strength as he talks and he answers my questions patiently. He had been up late studying for a test the next day when he heard Tia talking in her room. Used to her
dreaming vividly in her sleep, he didn’t think anything of it at first, but then she started laughing and giggling so he thought maybe she was awake. As both their parents were asleep, he
thought he’d check on his baby sister.

Her room was in darkness but when he walked in and turned on the light, he was pushed aside by someone carrying Tia. The person was bigger and faster than him. He had the impression of a tall
form wearing black clothes, before his little sister let out a shriek, loud enough to wake everyone in the flat. Marvin ran after the guy and was hot on his heels when the front door burst open and
someone else stood there, waiting to take Tia.

The man in black handed the little girl over to the man outside, before turning around and running for the wall, which he just ran right through, his coat flapping in his wake. Marvin, although
angry and scared, took off after the guy who had taken his sister. The guy, the newcomer, held Tia close to his body, her head tucked into the curve of his neck and shoulder. He held a protective
hand against her head to prevent it from bumping. She had her legs wrapped around his middle and clung to him like a scared monkey. Marvin’s exact words. When the man ran past the lift,
Marvin knew he was heading for the stairs and thought he’d be able to catch up with him. But the man swung the door to the stairs shut in Marvin’s face, and by the time the boy had
wrestled the door to the stairs open, he just saw the guy plunging down the centre of the stairs to the ground floor below, his dark coat flaring out behind him like a cloak. The guy looked up at
Marvin, gave him a nod and then exited the building without anyone else even seeing him.

‘Is there CCTV in your building?’

‘Yes. It showed nothing. Just me, shouting like a crazy person.’

‘Nothing from the passage outside your flat?’

‘Not a thing.’

I take the proffered glass of Diet Coke from Chem and drink deeply.

‘Marvin, do you recall seeing anyone hanging around the flats recently? Anyone new, who doesn’t belong?’

‘No, just you and that other guy, Dante.’

‘No one else weird, or anything?’

He bends forward and rests his head on his forearms. ‘No one. I’ve been talking to the cops about this for hours already. No one at all.’

I catch Chem’s eye and he gives me a quick shake of the head. ‘We’ve been talking to loads of people on the estate and no one has seen anything or anyone.’

I lean back on the couch. ‘I’ve been doing this for a little while now,’ I tell them. ‘And I’ve never been to a place where no one has seen anything at all. Someone
must have seen something.’

Both boys manage to look guilty as I groan in frustration.

‘Marvin, this is going to sound weird but do you know if your mum and dad recently got sent money? Or were given money? Or came by money?’

Marvin frowns at me but shrugs. ‘My dad got a promotion at work. He’s been made a full manager so we’ll be moving away from here soon.’

I blink at him. ‘He got promoted?’

‘Yes. At the stationery supply place he works at. His old manager is retiring and he’s been given the job.’

‘What will happen now?’ Chem asks before I do. ‘I mean, with Tia missing?’

‘I’m not sure. My dad went to work this morning for a while and my mum’s just sitting there, crying. The police are there, they’ve set up equipment to trace any calls, in
case there are ransom demands.’

He looks at me and his eyes are hollow with tiredness and worry.

‘Why my sister?’ he asks me. ‘Why was she taken?’

‘I don’t know, Marv, but I’m working on finding out.’ I take a deep breath. ‘Listen, I need a favour. I would like to talk to your mum, if I could? Do you think
that’s possible?’

‘I don’t know, man. She’s really not doing so good.’

I gently touch his hand. ‘I know, Marvin, but maybe only for five minutes?’

I see the conflict in his gaze but he eventually gives a nod, although it’s reluctant and wary.

‘No longer than five minutes. If you do anything weird, I’m telling the cops.’

I heave a sigh of relief. ‘Of course. I won’t take up a lot of your time. I promise.’

Chem’s frown tells me how unhappy he is but he remains quiet as I follow Marvin out of the door to his flat.

‘I need you to do me a favour,’ I say to Marvin as we near the door.

‘Like what?’

‘I need you to invite me in.’

He shoots me a confused look. ‘Uh, okay.’ He unlocks the door and pushes it open. ‘Mum, I’ve brought a friend of mine from school, is that all right? Kit, don’t
just stand there, it’s okay, come in.’

I take a breath and step up towards the door; as I do, the invisible wall of magic that resisted me the day before gives way. I stumble across the doorstep and have to grab hold of the door to
prevent myself from face-planting in the passageway.