Good. The sooner she wakes up, the sooner she can get the hell out.
‘Hi,’ I mutter, for want of anything better to say. I decide I’ll give her a hard time for turning up outside my bathroom door when she’s come round a bit.
Only, this is the point at whichshestarts to scream. And I’m not proud of it, but the sound of a woman’s scream takes me right back to those disastrous early attempts at feeding. I’ve only fed from humans a few times, but every one of them was an unmitigated disaster. So when I hear the shrill sound start in her throat, a more primitive part of me takes over.
What can I say? I panic.
I try to extricate myself from underneath her, but it’s no good. I doubt I can move at all without unbalancing her.
‘Stop screaming,’ I snap, as if I didn’t also scream the house down not two minutes ago, and, to my surprise, she does. Then all I can see is the blue of her eyes blinking up at me, terror replaced by something quieter. It’s something like shock, which is rich, considering that she’s the one breaking and entering.
‘I’m wet,’ she manages eventually, feeling at the fabric of her top. Her voice sounds small, like a wounded bird, and I’m a bit annoyed at how quickly it rouses something protective in me. I need to remember that she’s the one in the wrong here.
‘I caught you,’ I say, making a special effort to sound gruff and suitably annoyed by the situation. ‘You were about to fall down the stairs.’
Those blue eyes blink a few more times. ‘You’re wet?’
‘Yeah. Showers do that to a person.’
‘Ok.’ There’s a strange quality to her voice, like she’s not fully awake, and I see her nod slowly, looking away for a moment before she trains her eyes on me again, brows pulling together in confusion. ‘Who are you?’
Christ, she must have hit her head as she went down. Or else she’s trying to pull one over on me. The idea annoys me a little.
‘Who amI?’ I grumble, a little more bite to my words this time. ‘Who areyou?’ I take advantage of the slight shift in her weight and manage to shuffle out from under her, though I end up flashing her more than an eyeful before I snatch the towel back and wrap it firmly around my waist. ‘And what the hell are you doing in my family’s cottage in the middle of the night?’
At that, she jumps away from me, too, backing herself into the corner of the landing. I could swear that I hear my name as she moves, but I don’t think it comes from her. It sounds further away. Perhaps I imagined it. Maybe the shock of a randomwoman appearing in front of me when I’m half-naked is starting to play tricks on my mind.
But there it is again, my name, clear as day. And then a strange sound. It’s familiar, but it isn’t, all at the same time. Is it laughter maybe? But pained laughter, like there’s something a bit wrong with whoever it’s coming from. This night is getting weirder by the second.
But something about the sound seems to shock my little trespasser into action, and she starts looking around wildly.
‘Mina?’ Her voice is more panicked now, and her movements are so erratic they’re making my anxiety spike even more. Until I register what she just said.
Mina?
‘I’m still here, Lou,’ the faraway voice says, and as the stranger makes a grab for her phone, a few steps down the staircase, the voice gets even louder, and even more familiar. ‘And it sounds like you’ve met Bram?’
The stranger eyes me curiously, then taps the speakerphone button. I can’t tell whether it’s for my benefit or hers. Either way, I can’t help but grunt a laugh. This is too ridiculous.
‘Mina?’ I ask, as if there was any doubt.
My favourite cousin, Mina. Ofcourseit is. I’d know that voice anywhere. But she isn’t supposed to be here. Not anymore. Her unexpected illness was the only reason that Wladek let me have this place.
‘I thought you weren’t coming? Wladek said you had to call it off.’
‘Yeah, I’m not,’ she counters. They might have taken out her appendix, but they sure as hell didn’t remove any of her snark. ‘I’m in my bed, at home. Do I need to talk you through how phones work?’
I roll my eyes, even though I know she can’t see me. She always has an answer for everything. Hopefully she’ll have one for this.
‘No, but you can tell me who the strange woman that just scared the life out of me is.’
There’s not a whole lot of life left in me, but that’s beside the point.
Mina chuckles again, and I hear her tut quietly. ‘Don’t be rude, Bram. She’s not strange in the slightest. This is my best friend and colleague, Lucy. She’s taking my place on the job and my bed at the cottage.’
I rear back in shock. ‘Since when?’
‘Since about thirty-six hours ago when we confirmed it with Peggy. I thought you were staying with Quinn like always.’