Vampire Wake (Page 16)

My heart was racing and the smell of smoke was suffocating. Everywhere I looked there was chaos. People ran screaming in fear, but I didn't know from what. My heart raced inside me and every one of my senses was telling me that I should run - but run where and why?

The smoke cleared and I could see that I was standing in a deserted street. Where had everyone else gone? It was dusk, and for as far as I could see, the streets were lined with burning buildings and cars. Had there been some kind of riot while I'd been sleeping? What had happened to the world?

There was a noise above me, a high-pitched squawking. Looking up I could see great black shadows soaring across the sky. There were hundreds of them - no thousands. There were so many that they almost turned the sky black, blocking out the last rays of a dying sun. Shielding my eyes with my hands, I tried to make out what they were; in my heart, I already knew, but my head was telling me that it couldn't be possible. Their black wings rumbled like thunder as the thousands of Vampyrus swooped above me. From street level, it looked as if I'd woken back in time and the world had been overrun with pterodactyl dinosaurs.

Although they looked terrifying as they raced above me, the sound of their screaming and squawking hurting my ears, I couldn't help but also notice their beauty. Beneath each set of prehistoric-looking wings, was the body of a god. Their bodies, male and female, toned, muscled, and as white as alabaster. They looked like perfect sculptures. Their eyes burned like stars and their sharpened teeth gleamed. Some looked old, others young and some were children, but all of them were stunning.

Humans could only dream of such perfection, I thought to myself, as I stared up at them.

They almost seemed to flock together, banking right, swooping up, down, and then banking again.

Then there was a sound behind me, like a drum beating. Spinning round, I saw two of the Vampyrus land, their wings rustling in the wind like sails. They came towards me, and as they approached through the burning smoke and flames, I could just make out that it was Taylor and Phillips. Even though their faces were a blur, distorted by the ripples of heat that wafted up from the burning tarmac, I knew it was them.

They came towards me, their strides purposeful and quick. I knew that I was in danger. So turning, I ran between the burnt-out cars and busses that littered the street. My boots crunched over broken glass and my eyes stung from the smoke that billowed all around me like fog. Finding an open doorway, I ran inside. The windows of the building were frosted with cracks and splinters. I pulled at the door but it was stuck fast.

"Please!" I groaned as I banged against it with my fists.

Glancing back over my shoulder, I could see Taylor and Phillips coming closer. Running out from the doorway, I headed down an alley. Bins had been overturned, their contents rotting in the gutter, maggot-infested and being gnawed at by rats.

Water ran down the walls of the buildings that loomed above me on either side and they felt as if they were closing in on me. The other end of the alley seemed as if it was miles away, just a pinprick of grey light in the distance. And however hard and fast I ran towards it, the light never got any closer.

Peering back over my shoulder, I could see that Taylor and Phillips were gaining on me. Desperate, I spun around and around looking for any place to hide. Then I saw a rusty-looking fire escape zigzagging up the side of the building. Kicking out at some scrawny looking rats that had their heads buried in a nearby bin, they scurried away. Turning the bin over, I climbed on top, reached out for the bottom of the fire escape and hoisted myself up.

Placing one hand over the other, I climbed up. I swung my legs out so they came to rest on the first step of the ladder. Then with the little energy that I had left, I raced up the fire escape to the roof of the building. Halfway up, I realised what a stupid thing I'd done. Why was I climbing up, when the sky was fall of the very creatures that I was trying to run from? But I had committed myself and had nowhere else to go. Reaching the roof of the building, I looked out across the horizon and screamed.

I was in London. In the distance I could see Big Ben; its four clock faces were broken and leaking red flames into the fast-approaching night. It looked like a giant candle lighting up the horizon. Around it swooped the black-winged Vampyrus. Looking to my right, I could see the giant dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, which looked as if half of it had crumbled away onto the streets below. Clouds of black smoke pumped from the huge hole. To my left, on the opposite side of the Thames, the London Eye looked broken and bent out of shape, like a bicycle wheel that had been run over by a truck.

For as far as the eye could see, tendrils of smoke poured up into the night from the buildings which had been reduced to mountains of rubble. Vampyrus swooped and soared over the devastation, their squawks drowning out the sounds of collapsing buildings and raging fires.

"Kiera," a voice said from behind me. Whirling around, I gasped at the sight of my mother. She stood by the fire escape that I had climbed only moments before. "Kiera," my mother said again, and this time she held out her hands towards me.

"Mum," I stammered. "What are you doing here?"

I looked at her and she smiled. Her black hair curled around her neck and shoulders like velvet, and her blue eyes shone.

"Kiera, I'll explain later," she said, her voice soft and soothing, just as I remembered it to be.

"We don't have time. You have to come with me now," and I noticed that her hands were smeared with blood.

"Mum - your hands," I breathed. But when I looked again, I could see that she was clutching a length of blonde hair between her fingers, just like Henry Blake had been clutching a length of hers under that tree in The Ragged Cove.

"She's one of us," somebody answered for her.

Turning, I saw Taylor and Phillips standing behind me. I looked at them and covered my mouth with my hands to stifle the scream that was racing up my throat. I couldn't bear the sight of Phillips' mutilated face. It looked raw and infected. Why didn't he cover it with bandages or something?

"Mum," I whispered, moving towards her.

Taylor came towards me, his limp worse than I had previously remembered. He was having difficulty walking. "Don't trust her Kiera. Don't listen to what she says."

"But she's my mother," I said, feeling confused.

"Don't listen to him," my mother cried from over my shoulder.

Then, before I'd the chance to tell my mother how much I loved and missed her, the building began to shake like it was made out of children's building blocks. It tilted left, then right and I swayed towards the edge. I heard a tearing noise as the fire escape came away from the side of the building.

Dust and brick flew into the air and the world seemed to spin all around me.

"Help me!" I cried, clutching at the air as I teetered backwards.

My mother reached for me, panic in her eyes, but then I was falling backwards, cartwheeling through the air until I....

...sat up in bed. Shards of grey daylight cut through the gaps in the curtain, dust moats caught within them. My face felt wet and warm. Touching my cheek with the tips of my fingers, I puled them away to see the now familiar sight of blood. I felt woozy and sick as if I'd spent the night partying and now I was paying for it with a thumping hangover.

Climbing from my bed and heading to the bathroom, I couldn't help but notice the sense of urgency and panic my nightmare had left me feeling.

Was the dream another premonition of what was going on in the world on the far side of the wals that surround the manor and its moat? Without a phone and no access to newspapers or television, I had no way of knowing. I thought of how similar a situation I'd found myself in while working in The Ragged Cove.

How does the same shit happen to the same girl twice? I wondered to myself.

Flushing the toilet, I took a flannel and washed away the blood that had leaked from my eye. But things didn't have to be like they had been for me in The Ragged Cove. The manor must have a T.V. and I wondered if Kayla had a mobile phone that I could borrow. I was no longer going to be a passive observer. The words of the man that had met up with Kayla kept going around and around in my mind and I wanted to know what it was that Kayla had to prepare herself for. But more than that, before the day was over, I was going to investigate the 'forbidden' wing.

So after a quick shower, I changed into some fresh clothes and I made my way from my room. And that was another thing - I am going to find out what that awful smell is! I thought to myself as I passed down the stinky passageway.

In the great hal, I looked at the door which led to the kitchen, but where did the other doors lead to?

What lay behind them? There must be a T.V. set or telephone in one of them. Heading in the opposite direction to the kitchen, I came to a double set of doors. Heaving them open, I went inside. Like most of the other rooms at the manor, it was huge, with a high ceiling that towered above me in a series of criss- crossing wooden beams. The floor was tiled, but huge rugs covered much of it. Along one of the wals was the centrepiece of the room. I'd never seen such a big fireplace - it looked as if you could've almost walked into it. Thick stone pilars stood on either side of it and along the top ran a marble shelf. I weaved my way between the luxurious-looking sofas and armchairs that were scattered about the room and headed towards the fireplace. Al along the marble shelf were pictures and photographs, ornaments and candlesticks. I looked at the photographs in their silver frames and picked up one of the Hunt family. It couldn't have been taken that long ago because Kayla sat in the foreground in front of her parents and she looked pretty much identical to the way she looked now. Behind her and to her right was Lady Hunt and even in the picture, her beauty was startling.

Then I studied the picture of her father. He was handsome, with thick jet-black hair swept back off his brow. It was longish and touching the colar of the white shirt he was wearing in the picture. He had the clearest green eyes I'd ever seen, ful lips, and a square jaw line.

But as I stared at the picture, there seemed something vaguely familiar about him. I was sure I'd never met him before but there was something; I just wasn't sure what.

"Can I help you?" Mrs. Payne's voice came from behind me.

Surprised at her sudden appearance, I nearly dropped the picture, sending it crashing to the floor.

Placing it back onto the marble shelf, I turned to face her.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, her beady eyes fixed on mine.

"Why? This isn't another area of the house that is forbidden is it?" I smiled.

"This is the family's private sitting room," she said.

"Now if you would kindly -"

"I was looking for a T.V. set," I told her glancing about the room. Then, spying one of those big flat- screen T.V.'s sitting in the far corner, I crossed the room towards it.

"What do you want the T.V. for?" she asked, and I could hear her coming after me, her plain black shoes clacking against the tiled floor.

"To watch, of course," I said over my shoulder.

"It doesn't work!" she almost shouted at me.

"How come?" I asked, leaning forward and switching it on.

"The builders took the satelite dish down while they were repairing the house," she explained. "You won't be able to get a picture, I've tried."

Ignoring her, I pressed the 'ON' button. The screen flickered momentarily, then hissed with white snow.

"See, I told you so," the housekeeper said, snatching the T.V. controls from my hand and turning it off.

"What about a newspaper?" I snapped, placing my hands on my hips and staring at her. "Surely you must have a newspaper?"

"Never read them," she smiled. "Ful of doom and gloom and a pack of lies, usualy."

"A telephone?" I asked, doing everything in my power to control my ever increasing frustration. "This place must have a telephone?"

"We have several in fact," Mrs. Payne said.

"There's a 'but' coming though, isn't there?" I said.

"It's the builders you see," she started. "They cut through the telephone cables -"

"And the electric cables and removed the satelite dish," I cut over her. "How convenient!" I shouted, storming from the room.

Mrs. Payne folowed me, and quickly closed the living room door behind us.

Kayla appeared at the foot of the stairs and although she was dressed, she stil looked half asleep. I wasn't surprised after her flying practice and secret meetings during the middle of the night. Crossing the hal towards her, I said, "Kayla, you must have a mobile phone that I can borrow?"

"Sure," she blinked at me and rubbed sleep from her eyes. "What's al the shouting about?"

"Ah, it's not important," I said, holding out my hand.

Kayla reached into the back pocket of her jeans and puled out a mobile. "There you go," she smiled.

Snatching hold of the phone, I glanced at the housekeeper who had that knowing smile on her face. I looked at the screen and to my relief there was a ful signal bar across the top of it.

Now that I had the phone in my hands, I couldn't think of one person to cal. I couldn't remember Sparky's number and I didn't know his home number.

He was my only contact with the outside world.

Come on Kiera - think of something! I screamed at myself inside. You have your hands on a telephone now - make good use of it. Then coming to my senses, I telephoned directory enquiries. I gave the operator Sparky's address.

Please don't be ex-directory! I prayed.

To my relief, the operator came back with Sparky's number. With my hands trembling, I entered his number into the phone and pressed the dial button.

Holding it against my ear, I looked at Mrs. Payne as she hadn't been able to take her eyes off me. Kayla was now sitting on the bottom stair, yawning.

"Helo?" Sparky said from the other end of the line.

To hear his voice made me want to jump in the air and start cheering. "Sparky, it's me, Kiera," I said. "Kiera!"

he almost shouted down the phone. "Where in the hel are you?" I've been receiving your texts -" "Sparky, I don't know how long I've got, I'm in a realy remote place here so I don't know how long the signal wil last," I gabbled down the phone at him. "What happened to my flat?"

"It's been badly trashed," he said. "Whoever did it has made a right mess, Kiera. I got scenes of crime to come round and -"

"Don't worry about that," I cut over him. "What I want to know is, have there been any problems on the London Underground?"

"What, with delays you mean?" he said, sounding confused. "I don't know, I mean London is like six hundred miles from Havensfield. Why would I know if there has been any disruption to the service -"

"I'm not talking about the bloody timetable!" I snapped, remembering why he was caled Sparky.

"Has there been, like, any major incidents? You know, like loads of unexplained deaths, rioting..."

"No, nothing like that," he said and his voice began to crackle on the other end of the line.

What I realy wanted to ask him was had there been any sightings of vampires, but I didn't want to ask such a thing in front of Kayla and Mrs. Payne. So instead I said, "So there hasn't been anything out of the ordinary happening? You know, anything weird that can't be explained?"

"Wel, there has been something," he said, his voice fading in and out. With my heart starting to race, I said, "What is it, Sparky? What's happened?" "Wel, apart from the burglary at your flat - which realy wasn't a burglary because I don't think anything was -"

"Just tel me, Sparky!" I shouted at him. "Wel, remember that old lady you helped?" he asked. "You know, the one who had her ring stolen?" "Mrs.

Lovelace?" I said, my heart getting quicker. "What about her?" "Wel her house got ransacked, too," he told me. "But worse than that, she's gone missing - like just disappeared off the face of the earth."

"But how...?" I mumbled, my confused mind trying to conjure up the right words. "But it gets weirder, Kiera," Sparky continued. "Remember the guy who stole her ring - Evans?" "Yes," I whispered. "Wel, he's gone missing too," he explained. "Not only that, remember the guy who owned the pawnbrokers? Wel, he's gone missing and that doctor you used to see..."

"Keats," I said, filing in the blanks for him.

"Yeah, wel she's gone - just vanished," he said, sounding bemused. "It's like anyone that you've come into contact with since returning from that creepy place you told me about has disappeared. Now you've gone missing and the police are wondering if you're not in some way involved. Kiera, they're looking for you - they've seen your flat and al the cuttings and newspapers. They found traces of blood in your bathroom and they think you've gone mad - they think you've...I don't know how to tel you this...but they think you've murdered them al. CID is even re-opening your mother's case, because she went missing too, didn't she?"

My brain felt as if it had been scrambled and I couldn't make sense of what he had told me. Then as if I'd been struck, I shouted down the phone at him, "Sparky, you're not safe - you've got to -"

"What do you mean I'm not safe?" he half-laughed down the phone at me.

"Don't you see, Sparky?" I said, my voice brimming with fear for him. "They're taking everyone that I've been in contact with since coming back from the Ragged -"

"Hang on a moment," he said, sounding far away.

"There's someone at my door."

"No Sparky!" I screamed so loud down the phone that Kayla jumped up off the bottom stair and Mrs.

Payne flinched. "Don't open the door!"

But the sound of the receiver clunking down onto the table in his halway back in Havensfield told me that I was too late. Pressing the phone to the side of my head, I listened, but the line was so fussy and broken I couldn't hear what was happening. Then I had an idea.

Turning on the speakerphone function, I held the phone towards Kayla.

"What can you hear?" I asked her, my voice and hand trembling. "What?" she asked looking startled.

"Just Listen!" I hissed at her. "Tel me what you can hear!" Kayla came towards me and lent her head towards the phone. She closed her eyes, and her face seemed to take on a calm and tranquil expression.

"Your friend is opening the door," she said. "There is a bolt and a lock with a key. He is turning it. His breathing is calm, but there are another two on the other side of the door. They are excited. I can hear their hearts - they're racing."

"Kayla, stop this at once!" Mrs. Payne shouted coming towards us. Looking at her, I whispered, "Don't even think about it, lady!" Seeing the grim expression on my face, the housekeeper skulked away. "Your friend is opening the door, and he's saying 'Helo'," Kayla continued. " 'Are you John Miles?' one of them is asking. 'Yes' he says." Then Kayla stopped. Her eyes flickered open and she stared at me. I didn't need her to tel me that Sparky was screaming - I could hear it for myself. Then the phone line went dead.