Blood & Curses: Dark Sanctuary Book One

Chapter 17: The Promise

'Ah, cherie, I think perhaps are you more direct than Michael. Be careful, I am not sure I care for it. But you are correct. I am afraid Monsieur Kerr will refuse to meet with you if I am there. An old disagreement, shall we say? In fact, if he knows that I have asked you to inform me of the details of your discussion, he will refuse to meet you at all.'

Michael hissed a curse. 'Great. That's just great.'

'So you can see, mes amies, I expect nothing less than your discretion. Let us look upon this as a business transaction, no? You will give me what I want...' He paused again, but this time I felt no hesitation on his part, just the sense of a man revelling in the anticipation of what was to come. '...And I will give you back what you want.'

Michael stiffened. 'Give us back what exactly?'

'Why, your friends, of course.'

It was as if the world imploded. The impact of Michael's rage surged out of him in waves that almost rocked him back on his heels. He gripped the phone tighter.

'What have you done, Dufort?' he said.

Sébastien's tone changed completely. Gone was the charm. Gone was the facade of warmth and friendship. 'Call it an insurance policy, my friend,' he said, coldly. 'You will do what I say. And when I have your full and uncensored account of your meeting with the Elder, I will give you back your friends, unharmed. Aurevoir, mes amies.'

The phone went dead.

I looked at Michael, who was staring at the phone as if he wished he could crawl down the line and rip Sébastien's head clean from his shoulders.

'He wouldn't have. Would he?' I said.

'We need to get to the safehouse. Now.'

Within a couple of minutes, we were back in the car again, riding the fast lane at such speed that I couldn't help but grip the edge of the seat, like we were on a Formula One racetrack and not the M2 motorway to Kent.

It wasn't much longer before we hit the coastal road to Seasalter, and Michael was soon pulling sharply into a driveway of a cosy-looking beach cottage that couldn't have looked any less like a place that would house a family of vampires. Palm trees line the gravel path and terracotta pots clustered in the arched porch. In the distance, moonlight danced off the surface of the bay.

Heading towards a space at the side of the cottage, Michael braked hard.

Directly in front of us was the Discovery.

Jumping out of the car, he ran to the back of the house, wrenching open the sliding glass door that stood ajar, and desperately called out their names as he rushed from room to room. The house remained silent and still. Switching on all the overhead lights only served to highlight its emptiness.

Eventually, Michael returned to the room, where I waited, lingering by the open door, my stomach churning with panic and guilt. This was my fault. I'd roused Sébastien's anger. I'd lit the touchpaper and now the Parisian vampire was determined to burn down Michael's whole world just to get what he wanted.

'We'll find them, Michael,' I said, my tentative step forward weakening when he looked up at me, his eyes blazing and face full of shadow. I swallowed and took a shaky breath. 'We'll find out where he's taken them, and we'll bring them back. No matter what it takes.'

Michael's jaw clenched, his lips parting to reveal his deadly incisors.

'Yeah, we will and then I'm going to do what I should have done a very long time ago.'

He stepped closer and this time, when the anger surged from his body, I let my curse envelop me, feeling the rush of it as it coursed over my skin and send fire into my bones.

'I'm going to tear Sébastien Dufort apart and raze his whole fucking kingdom to the ground.'