Suzanne McLeod - The Sweet Scent of Blood

She grabbed my hand again, patted it. ‘There ye go.’ A sudden warmth cleared my mind. ‘The brownies’ trail is a wee bitty fast for some, mebbe.’

I took a look around. We were in Aggie’s kitchen at the restaurant. ‘Well,’ I gave her an impressed look, ‘that’s certainly one quick way to get across London.’

‘Och, away with ye.’ Her wrinkled face pulled up in a smile. ‘Now go an’ see ma wean and her friend.’ She gave me a shove on the backside with her small hand. ‘They’re in there.’

The interior of the restaurant was dark, the blinds drawn. I stood for a moment letting my eyes get accustomed to the dimness.

Holly waved at me from the darkest corner of the room.

I took half-a-dozen steps, then my feet faltered. Her ‘friend’ was Louis, the French Psycho vamp from the police station.

What was Psycho Louis doing here? More to the point, what was he doing up? The late afternoon sun was still blazing outside; I’d been counting on the vamps not being around until after dark.

‘Genny,’ Holly waved again, ‘it’s great that you could come, isn’t it, Louis?’

As I got to the table, Louis half-stood and bowed his head. ‘Mademoiselle, Enchanté.’ He sank tiredly back. The lace at his throat and wrists was startlingly white against the rich green velvet of his jacket, and a matching velvet ribbon caught his tawny hair loosely at his nape. But the burn mark from the police’s spelled silver circlet was still a livid line across his forehead; maybe healing wasn’t one of his powers.

Holly clutched his arm. She’d threaded her own black waterfall of curls with green satin ribbons, and pulled her peasant blouse down to leave her creamy shoulders bare. She gave me a wide grin, her sharp, triangular teeth gleaming like phosphorescence, and I had a sudden thought that maybe Louis had bitten off more than he could swallow.

‘Louis has to ask you something.’ She turned an excited face to him. ‘Only he doesn’t speak English very well, do you?’

‘Non, mon coeur.’

She giggled. ‘He calls me his heart, isn’t that just so cool? After you were here, me and Aggie had a real bust-up and Dad insisted—’

‘Dad?’ I interrupted.

‘It’s Dad’s restaurant. I’m working fulltime now I’ve finished school. You met him.’

Right: Mr Manager with the shiny shoes.

‘Anyway’—Holly squeezed another nonexistent millimetre closer to Louis—‘Dad insisted we go and see Mother.’

‘The Lady Meriel.’

‘Yeah. Mother said it was okay for me to date Louis as long as he came and talked to her first.’ She tugged on his arm like a child with a new toy. ‘Isn’t that great?’

Louis nodded back. He might not speak the language, but he appeared to have no problem understanding it—or maybe he was just interpreting Holly’s enthusiasm. It wasn’t hard to follow.

He broke in with a voluble torrent of words, then said in a thick accent, ‘You tell pleeeze, mon coeur.’

She nodded. ‘He wants to apologise for the misunderstanding in the police station. He realises now that this country is much nicer than he was told. I think some of the other vamps had a bit of a joke with him, told him that the police were all stake-happy or something.’

I gave Louis a sceptical look.

He flashed me an arrogant smirk, complete with sharp white fangs. Whatever Holly’s mother had got him to promise might make him safe for Holly, but the psycho part was still there, just itching to get out. I hoped Holly’s mother had made the agreement watertight—or rather, bloodtight .

‘Anyway, Louis’s not here for very long. Once he’s finished his job, he’s got to go back to France. Dad and Aggie aren’t too happy about us seeing each other, but Mother says, what better way for me to learn about’—she lowered her voice, a deep blush colouring her cheeks—‘about sex, than with someone that’s got a good three hundred years’ experience?’

Louis gave a self-satisfied lift of his lips.

‘And Mother’s even arranged somewhere with children for Aggie, now that I’m grown up, so she’ll be happy and won’t end up breathing down my neck all the time.’

I thought Aggie was far more likely to breathe down Louis’ neck, or maybe sic him with some of her nasty little brownie magic. But it looked like everyone was getting something they wanted, even the vampire. So what was I doing here, because it sure as hell wasn’t just for Psycho Louis to apologise?

Holly opened her mouth, but Louis interrupted with an elegant lift of one shoulder that reminded me uncomfortably of Malik and said, ‘I wish you to find she-witch.’

‘Yeah, that’s what he wants me to ask you.’ Holly grinned. ‘See there’s this witch that used to work for his boss, only she doesn’t any more, for some reason. But he’s got to find her and talk to her.’

I sighed. ‘Tell him I’m not a detective.’

Holly rattled away to him.

In answer, Louis reached into his jacket and produced a small photo.

‘That’s her,’ exclaimed Holly. ‘That’s who he wants you to find.’

Louis held out the photo to me. ‘Is this what he was asking me at the police station?’

Louis nodded, staring at me, his eyes full of disdain. ‘The Earl, he want finding she-witch himself. For reward.’

So Louis hadn’t developed a sudden desire for Detective Inspector Crane. I ignored his outstretched hand. ‘What reward?’

He slid the photo across the table. Curiosity got the better of me and I gave it a quick glance.

It was a headshot, face on. The witch looked to be somewhere in her twenties or thirties; it was difficult to put an age on her because she was so fat. She’d succumbed to sugar abuse, trying to boost her magic too far past its natural abilities. A mass of brown hair hung either side of her face and her mouth had a pinched look about it. Her bright blue eyes would have been her main feature, but the pads over her cheekbones made them look too small. I’d never seen her, only—

Louis threw another stream of words at me.

Holly gasped and leaned forward, peering at the photo. ‘He says that she is a very powerful, dangerous witch, that she’s killed , using magic . He thinks she might be hiding amongst the other witches, but she’s got 3V, so she might be coming to HOPE. He wants you to see if you can find her before she kills again.’

Louis fished something else from his jacket and placed it next to the photo.

‘He says the witch will not be harmed,’ Holly translated. ‘He just wants to talk to her. There is some information his boss needs.’

Yeah, right. Like I was going to believe that.

I looked at the piece of paper. It was a cheque, payable to me. I swallowed as I read the number of noughts. That would go way past ending my employment worries.

‘He wants to know if this is enough payment. If not,’ Holly squeaked, her eyes rounding like saucers, ‘he says that whatever you desire he will get. More money, gems, stocks and shares, property, whatever.’

My head jerked up in surprise. Shit . He really was bringing out the big incentive guns. ‘What’s so important about this information?’

Holly looked at Louis, then reported, ‘His boss has some sort of sickness and she has made a spell that makes him better.’

Of course he was after the spell, just like all the other vamps. It hadn’t taken much to work that out. And now I’d discharged my debt to Declan, I didn’t need to look for it, but ...

‘Ask him what the spell actually does?’ I told her.

Louis shook his head, lips pressed tight together, as Holly said, ‘He doesn’t know.’