Shimmer (Wicked Woods #2) Read online

  It occurred to Briony that might be almost as long a story. Still, she said, “This is Kevin. I’m staying with him at the moment. He’s Fallon’s brother. Oh, and he’s a werewolf.”

  Maisy gave Kevin a longer look then. “Well, that sounds complicated. Um… should I be reaching for the silver cutlery then?”

  Briony shook her head. “He’s helping me, Maisy.”

  “Fair enough. He is kind of gorgeous.”

  “Hey!”

  That came from one of the rooms of the little hallway they currently stood in, and Briony smiled as she recognized the voice. She raised an eyebrow at Maisy though.

  “So you’re all alone here with your boyfriend while your parents are away? Are we interrupting anything?”

  Maisy shook her head. “Not unless anything means watching the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy back to back.”

  It wasn’t exactly what Briony had been thinking of, no. On the other hand, it was exactly the kind of thing she could see her two friends doing when left alone together. You could lead the geeks to water…

  “Come on through,” Maisy said. “I was just going to make coffee.”

  She led the way through a home that was almost startling in its ordinariness. It was just the kind of place Briony could imagine almost any family living in, and it reminded her more than a little of the place she had lived in with her parents and brother before she had come to live with her great aunt. After a few days of inns and diners, creepy old houses and rustic cabins, it was almost comforting to be back somewhere that was simply… normal.

  The living room was large, and featured a couple of sofas, a big coffee table, and a TV on which some kind of climactic battle was currently frozen in place. Steve was tucked into one corner of one of the sofas, a detritus of popcorn and packets of chips scattered around much of it. He waved as Briony and Kevin came in.

  “Hi, Briony.”

  “So,” Maisy said, “coffee? Or maybe something to eat? There’s plenty of chips, and there’s probably some dip here somewhere, if Steve hasn’t put his foot in it again.”

  “That was once.”

  Briony smiled at that and shook her head. She saw Kevin do the same. “No, thanks. Actually, I need to talk to you. It’s important.”

  “Preservation Society stuff?” Steve asked, and Maisy gave him a sharp look. “What? I heard Briony say he was a werewolf when you were at the door, so it’s not like I’m revealing some big secret.”

  “You might have been.”

  The minor argument ended with Maisy snuggled up on the sofa next to Steve, so maybe the idea of endless hours of fantasy and sci-fi was more romantic than Briony had supposed. She took one half of the other sofa, and Kevin got the other.

  “So what brings you all the way out here to see me?” Maisy asked.

  “I need you to get a message to Aunt Sophie. I can’t phone her, because the phones might be bugged for all I know, and I can’t go myself, because vampires might be watching.”

  “Whoa,” Steve said. “It sounds like you’re in a lot of trouble.”

  “If you call being captured by vampires trouble,” Kevin said. He looked over at the TV screen, where an assortment of warriors were still frozen mid sword swing. “Is that any good?”

  Briony supposed she should have expected what happened next. No breathless cries of “Vampires?” or “Captured?” Just blank looks from Maisy and Steve.

  “Is it any good?” Steve echoed. “Is it any good? It’s a classic!”

  “You mean you haven’t watched it?” Maisy asked. She looked over at Briony. “Are you sure he’s Fallon’s brother? Because he certainly doesn’t sound like it.”

  He did, however, sound like a werewolf. Which was to say that Kevin growled at that, the sound rumbling out through the room. Briony guessed that he didn’t like being compared unfavorably to his vampire brother, even in the realms of sci-fi knowledge.

  Briony reached out to put a hand on his arm. “Relax, Kevin. These are my friends. You two, if you could maybe focus for a minute? I’m fairly sure I said that we were captured by vampires.”

  This time, it got the right response. Steve gave her a worried look, and Maisy half-rose from her seat in shock.

  “Oh, Briony, that’s terrible. What happened? Did they hurt you? How did you escape?”

  Briony decided that the simplest way was to tell them everything that had happened, from their capture by the woods, to waking in the old house as prisoners, to Kevin being bitten by Pietre, Briony letting herself be bitten by Fallon, and the three of them escaping.

  “So what are you doing now?” Maisy said, with a glance over at Kevin. “You can’t just hide out at Kevin’s cabin forever, can you?”

  “No. That is why I need you to get a message to Aunt Sophie. Nobody watching will suspect you, and maybe she will be able to come up with some ideas that will help.”

  Maisy nodded. “Sure, I can do that. I can probably pick you up some clothes, too. I mean, you’ll need more than just those.”

  Briony hadn’t thought of that. “That would be good, thanks.”

  “Until then, come with me, and maybe I’ll have something that will fit you.”

  Briony looked from Kevin to Steve.

  “We’ll be fine,” Kevin assured her. “Go on.”

  “Yeah,” Steve agreed, “and while you’re gone, I can educate wolf-man here about great films that any normal person would have watched by his age.”

  That was more or less what Briony was afraid of, but she let Maisy lead her upstairs anyway, to a room where the walls were plastered almost evenly with posters of good-looking guys from bands and pictures of strange creatures that Briony didn’t want to look at too closely.

  It turned out that Maisy didn’t have much that would fit Briony, given that the other girl was several inches shorter. Still, Briony came away with a loose fitting skirt and a baggy t-shirt that would at least do until Maisy could get something better from Aunt Sophie.

  “So,” Maisy said as Briony got changed, “what is it that you aren’t telling me?”

  “What?”

  “Briony, I know you. There is obviously something bothering you, and it isn’t just that vampires might want you dead. It isn’t even that you like the hunk down there as well as his brother.”

  Briony blushed. “Maisy…”

  “So what is it?” Maisy demanded. “Am I, or am I not, your closest friend in Wicked? In the whole world, even?”

  Briony nodded. She was kind enough to point out that there weren’t that many alternatives.

  “Well then, you have to tell me. It’s practically a rule.”

  “You made that up,” Briony said, but then paused. She wasn’t in the mood for joking. “Pietre, the master vampire, said something about my family. Something I didn’t want to hear.”

  Maisy shrugged. “Who cares what some vampire says? Unless it’s Fallon, and even then… you really let him bite you?”

  “He needed the blood.” Briony tried to say it as flatly as she could. Like it hadn’t felt like so much more than that. She actually believed that Maisy might be fooled for an instant. Could she not have had slightly less perceptive friends? “Besides, that’s not really the point.”

  Maisy gave her a look that made it clear Briony wouldn’t be getting away with it that easily, but she gave in for now. “All right then, what did the evil vampire master say?”

  “He said that he had turned my family into vampires just like him.”

  That got silence as a response. Maisy sat down on the edge of the bed, and patted the spot beside her. When Briony eventually sat there, Maisy took her hand.

  “And you think that he was telling you the truth?”

  Briony nodded. Then shook her head. “I don’t know, Maisy. But what if he is?”

  “Then you deal with it. You’re strong, Briony. You won’t let this stop you. Besides, you said that he turned them into vampires like him, as though that’s the only option. What about vampires like
Fallon?”

  “I’d rather they weren’t vampires at all,” Briony pointed out, and Maisy squeezed her hand.

  “I know, but sometimes we don’t get what we want. Come on. We’d better get downstairs before this werewolf of yours eats Steve.”

  “He’s not my werewolf,” Briony said, but Maisy was already giving her another of those looks.

  “Of course he isn’t. I’ve seen how he looks at you.”

  When they arrived downstairs, Kevin and Steve actually seemed to be getting along well. Or at least, Steve was still in one piece. When he saw Briony, Kevin paused to give her an appreciative smile that made Briony’s heart lurch.

  “We should get going,” she said, but to her surprise, Kevin shook his head.

  “No, we are all right here for a while. It has to be better than spending time stuck in that cabin of mine.”

  Briony was about to protest that it wasn’t so bad, and that alone in a cabin definitely had possibilities, but by that point the film was running again. She spent the next few hours curled up on the sofa with Kevin and the others, and there was something immensely comfortable about it. So they weren’t pressed quite as close as Maisy and Steve were, but Briony could still feel his presence beside her, and she was grateful for it.

  Eventually though, it was time for the pair of them to head back. Kevin paused at the door, whispering something to the others. Briony, not liking the sudden secretiveness, asked him about it almost as soon as they were out of the door.

  “What was that you said?”

  “It’s not important.”

  “Let me be the judge of that,” Briony said.

  “I just told them to be careful. The vampires… you know where their home is now, Briony. They will want to kill you now more than anything. I wouldn’t want your friends getting hurt. I wouldn’t want you getting hurt.”

  Briony took hold of his arm. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

  Of course, it might have convinced him more if Briony believed it herself.

  Chapter 6

  The night was not a comfortable one for Briony. She would much rather have been back at the Edge Inn, in her own bed, but that did not look like it was going to happen any time soon. It was the weekend, so at least she did not have to worry about going into school for a couple of days.

  The more Briony thought about that, however, the more it felt like she was letting fear take control of her. Yes, she would be safe in Kevin’s cabin, for the time being at least, but what good was that if it meant that she could not live her life? What good was it if Briony never got out beyond the cabin’s four walls for fear of being grabbed by vampires?

  Briony was grateful about staying in Kevin’s cabin, but she had to let Kevin know how she felt. It was time she went back to school, back to work, and back to her old life again.

  Kevin gave her a soft kiss when she walked into the kitchen the next morning. The delicious smell of eggs, sausages, and pancakes had drifted into the guest room, waking her up. Kevin looked at Briony’s soft still-sleepy eyes and silky honey blonde hair and kissed her again. “I’m used to being alone, but I can get used to this…” he pulled her closer and kissed her again. Briony smiled. Kevin had prepared breakfast while Briony was still asleep. Briony could definitely get used to that. She sighed. Kevin’s body so close to hers, his warmth and strong arms made her feel so safe. She wanted to stay in Kevin’s arms forever, but she noticed a familiar duffle bag on one of the kitchen chairs. Hers.

  Kevin noticed her glance. “I just went to pick up some of your clothes,” Kevin said. “I managed to have a chat with George too. He’s renovating the diner today. After hearing about what happened to you, he’s adding some security measures. Because the diner’s closed, he is inviting all the staff down to the lake, and holding a party on his boat. I thought you might like to go.”

  Briony jumped at the chance. In next to no time, she had changed into a pale sundress and sandals, and they set off towards the lake. The moorings for it were close to the edge of town, and Kevin parked his truck by them, leaving the two of them with only a short walk to the spot where George had docked his boat.

  It was an impressive boat. If it wasn’t quite on the scale of a full-blown yacht, it was still more than large enough to hold George at the wheel, Percy and Phil up on the deck, and Jill, carrying her little girl Sarah, down by one of the rails. Not to mention Aunt Sophie, who hugged Briony tightly as she came aboard.

  “I hear that you’ve had an eventful night, darling.”

  “Very.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re safe.” She glanced at Kevin as though she might say something more, but she left it at that. “Come and have some lemonade. I made it myself.”

  The boat pulled away from the dock, riding out towards the center of the lake. As it did so, a couple of extra faces appeared from below deck.

  “Maisy? Steve?”

  “It seemed like a good idea to have the two of them along,” Aunt Sophie said. “Especially after they went to such trouble to tell me what had happened to you. Come along, you two, there are sandwiches here somewhere, assuming George hasn’t dropped the hamper over the side.”

  “Drop it over the side?” George called from back by the wheel. “What do you take me for?”

  “George, I’ve been asking myself that question almost from the moment I first met you.”

  Maisy and Steve were both looking a little tired. Obviously the Lord of the Rings marathon had taken its toll. They chatted about nothing very much as the boat pulled out further, well away from land. It seemed peaceful, there on the water, with the swans around them and little Sarah giggling at something her mother had said to her. By the time George dropped anchor at the center of the lake, Briony was feeling more relaxed than she had for at least the last couple of days. Probably longer. Particularly since Kevin had an arm around her. Briony didn’t even look at her great aunt’s expression

  “Don’t relax too much,” Kevin whispered. “This is business as well as pleasure.”

  Briony was about to ask what he meant when George came up onto the deck, passing around sandwiches from a hamper. Briony bit into hers gratefully, though what George had to say next almost made her choke on it.

  “We’re here,” George said, “because this is the only place I could think of where we can be sure no one will observe us.”

  Aunt Sophie took over. “These are dangerous times. Until recently, the vampires around Wicked were content to stay reasonably quiet. Now, however, they have become much more active. Just the other night, my great-niece barely survived an attack.”

  “It wasn’t that bad,” Briony started to say, but Kevin squeezed her hand. “Okay, maybe it was.”

  “The vampires are getting clever,” George said. “I’ve got a team in the diner now to sweep it for bugs and other surveillance devices, after we found one there the other day. Frankly, we wouldn’t have found that if Percy hadn’t spilled fat from the fryer on it by accident.”

  The kitchen hand contrived to look both proud and slightly embarrassed at the same time.

  “They’re also reinforcing my office, so we can be sure of at least one safe place should the creatures attack,” George finished.

  Aunt Sophie took over again. “Even so, we can’t afford to be stuck on the defensive against these creatures. It is clear that, if we wait too long, they will pick us off one by one. Not to mention the damage that they could do in the town.”

  Briony decided to ask the obvious question. “Is there any chance that we will get any help against them if they start doing that?”

  George snorted. “Hardly. I made another attempt at trying to convince the town council just this morning. The moment I mentioned vampires they laughed me out of the room. They think I’m just some crazy old man.”

  “Don’t we all?” Aunt Sophie said with a smile.

  “The point is that we won’t be getting any help there. Not now.”

  “Worse than that,” Aunt Sophie
added, “my comment wasn’t entirely in jest. The council now seem to think that the Preservation Society is full of dangerous eccentrics who want to stir up a panic about imaginary creatures. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t cause nearly as much trouble for us as the vampires.”

  All of which sounded very bleak to Briony’s ears. It certainly explained the sudden need for secrecy. The trouble was, despite everything now ranged against them, it wasn’t like they could simply give up. This was where they lived.

  “So what do we do?” Briony asked. “What did you mean when you said that we need to go on the offensive?”

  “Oh, that’s obvious,” Steve said. “It’s just like episode twenty of…”

  He stopped. Mostly because Maisy had chosen that moment to step on his foot. Aunt Sophie smiled in a way that seemed remarkably wistful to Briony, and Briony found herself wondering if it reminded Aunt Sophie of how things had been with Uncle Pete.

  “I should think that it is obvious what we need to do,” Aunt Sophie said. “We now know where the vampires have decided to lurk, so we go there, and we kill every last one of them.”

  “That might be easier said than done,” Jill observed, shifting Sarah to her shoulder. The little girl looked sleepy. Briony was a little surprised that Jill let her hear things like this. Then again, it was probably better than growing up believing the lies about vampires and werewolves not existing.

  “George has made much the same point,” Aunt Sophie said. “Though in rather stronger language. Which is why I felt we should all meet and discuss options.”

  A thought struck Briony. Or a memory, at any rate; of Kevin and Fallon fighting furiously. Maybe it was having Kevin so close to her that did it.

  “There might be another way,” she heard herself say. The others looked at her expectantly. “Well, vampires and werewolves hate each other, don’t they? So why not let the werewolves know where the vampires are, then step back to let them fight each other?”

  Aunt Sophie considered it for a second. “It might work, certainly. And it exposes us to less danger. Of course, there is the question of how we get a message to the wolves.”