When Sarah Solomon took refuge in an old cottage in the woods, she knew it would only be a matter of time before the monsters came a' calling.
Cursed with a power she neither wants, nor knows how to harness, Sarah has become a target, but who is he...
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'Are all vampires disgustingly wealthy?' I said, as the chauffeured car pulled up at the private airfield in North London.
I was in the back of a people-carrier, next to Maz and Dame. Michael sat with Vincent in the first row of seats, with Bailey wedged between them, who kept peering through the gap to scowl darkly at me.
The car and the private jet both belonged to the mysterious Parisian vampire, Sebastian Dufort, and both had been ready to whisk us off to the famous city of love, and apparently, vampires.
'I mean, it's like hanging out with the Cullens. Aren't any of you dirt poor?
'I don't know about any Cullens,' Dame said, leaning forward so he could talk to me around Maz who sat in between us, 'but I sure as Hell don't need no sunlight to sparkle.'
'Hmm, we'll that's true,' Maz said, giving him some serious side eye. 'The last time you came to my room, you left a trail of glitter everywhere. Spent bloody ages trying to get it out of the rug. And no, Sarah, we're definitely not all rich. Sébastien Dufort, on the other hand, is rich. Like, super-rich.'
'Hideously rich,' chimed in Dame.
'Right,' I said. 'So how does it benefit him to help us?' I noticed Vincent shoot a glance towards Michael. 'In my experience, you can't bargain with the super-rich like you can with other people. They don't need your money. Whatever you offer them, must benefit them in some way. Remember the old saying, what do you give the man who already has everything?'
The door to the car opened and we all jumped out, but I wasn't to be deterred in my questions.
'So, what was the deal?' I pressed Michael, who looked at me like I was a bug he'd like to swat.
'He owes me.'
'He owes you?' I repeated, following as we were led towards the Airbus Elite Business Jet, waiting on the tarmac, by a human – definitely a human, I could tell – in a sharp black suit and an expression that said he'd kill every one of us given the chance and probably enjoy it too. 'A multi-millionaire owes you? Why?'
'He saved his life,' Vincent said, making me think back to what Maz had said about Michael saving their lives too. What was it about this guy that he went around saving vampires all the time?
I climbed the steps to the plane in silence, taking one last look across the airfield of RAF Northolt, spying the parallel rows of streetlights twinkling on the A40 to central London. After spending six months in relative solitude, being out in the open was one thing, but boarding a plane to Paris felt like I'd been thrown slap-bang into the middle of a hamster wheel and the faster I ran, the harder it was to get off.
Into the rabbit hole, Alice, I heard Gran whisper in my ear.
I sent up a silent apology to her for agreeing on this crazy escapade and then stepped into the cabin, wondering if my jaw had hit the floor as hard as it felt it had.
