I grin at them from across the room and waggle my eyebrows. It’s too dangerous to talk to them mentally. I’ll mime that I’m going upstairs to find a bathroom window and let Hester in.
Chapter 28
Hester | London, present day
Tentatively, I raise my head and peer through the window at the party, which is quickly descending into debauchery.
‘I never knew there were so many horny vampires in London,’ I whisper to Sadie on my right.
‘Yeah,’ she whispers back. ‘And not fashion-forward ones either. Look at those two dudes by the bar.’
She’s not wrong. From their ancient moth-eaten velvet suits, they look like they’ve crawled out of a Victorian crypt.
On my left, Floss nudges my shoulder. ‘Look, there’s Will. On the far side. He’s talking to a thrall.’
‘Wow, she’s got massive tits,’ remarks Elliott.
Sadie stomps on his foot with her stiletto. ‘Ow! I’m just stating a fact,’ he mutters.
But the damage is done. I can’t help bristling as I watch Will with the thrall, who’s wearing nothing but a purple lace bra and G-string. She thrusts out her chestprovocatively and says something. Will leans in closer. I can’t hear their conversation because it’s double glazing, and he has his shield in place.
‘Don’t worry,’ whispers Floss, sensing that I’m getting testy. ‘We’ve all seen the way Will looks at you. He’s just getting the lay of the land—’
Suddenly, the thrall drops to her knees in front of him. Damian snickers. ‘Lay of the land, for sure. Lucky Will.’
Floss elbows him sharply, and I close my eyes. Jesus! Surely he’s not going to let her give him a blow job!
Then Alexander materialises, and we all duck hastily.
Slowly, we rise up again. The thrall has gone, but Will and Alexander are talking.
Alexander leaves; and Will spots us, grins, and waggles his eyebrows.
‘See?’ whispers Floss. ‘It was all an act.’
I relax. Of course he has to pretend to be a horny vampire. ‘Willisa really good actor,’ I say dreamily, and Floss and Sadie giggle.
Will does a few incomprehensible motions with his hands.
‘What does that mean?’ asks Damian.
‘Uh, your guess is as good as mine,’ says Elliott.
‘He may be a good actor,’ quips Sadie. ‘But he’s a shit mime.’
He leaves the room, and five minutes later, there’s a low whistle from above.
We crawl around some bushes to see Will’s head poking out of a small window farther along to the right.
‘Duh, he was miming opening an upstairs window,’ I whisper, happy that he hasn’t forgotten me. ‘You guys are just shit at charades.’
Will beckons for me to come up.
But I soon discover climbing a drainpipe in leather pants isn’t the easiest of tasks. After sliding down for the third time, Floss gets impatient. She tucks her hands under my armpits and flies me up to the first-floor window. I clamber through the window with Will’s help.
‘Nice work,’ he says to Floss, who’s levitating outside.
‘Thanks. By the way, I’m coming too. If you stake Alexander, I want to make sure he’s really ended. I’ll go and tell Damian,’ she says and lowers to the ground before we can stop her.
