“Ahh, that.” I explained how the visit to the coffee shop had gone, to Luc’s amused horror. That reminded me to wrestle my soggy T-shirt from my pocket, where I spread it over the air vents in front of me. “What a night,” I finished. “And, what’s worse, I never got to buy anything, so I might be memorable, but nobody’s gonna think of looking for me here without a paper trail. Sorry.”
“We’ll stop somewhere further on, don’t stress. In fact,” Luc glanced at the fuel gauge, “it’s a shame you withdrew so much of your money back with Gethin, or I’d have got you to pay for some petrol.”
“I can do that,” I said quickly, and explained about my wages. “That’ll look more like I bought a car too, won’t it?”
“Yes it will, so it’s turned out okay after all.”
I relaxed, then ran through the snack choices, feeding Luc bites of blueberry muffin as he drove.
The A55, or North Wales Expressway as Google maps also called it, lived up to its name, and before long, we were once again parked up in a supermarket car park. This time I was booking an online ticket for the late ferry.
That done, Luc swung the car around and I hopped out to fill the tank, paying at the pump.Ifmy parents were checking my bank, and the Red Wyverns, or possibly the police, got to them, the combination of the two transactions would hopefully be enough to convince them I’d taken off for a new life in Ireland.
I got back in the car. Luc eyed me. “Anything left in your account?”
“Some. Why?”
“Clean it out, right down to the wire. You can’t chance using your card again now. Not until all this is over, or…” He left the sentence hanging, and I felt a shiver go through me. Ledge was a volatile fucker at the best of times, but when he was riled up, nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of his temper.
Luc drove us back around to the supermarket, and parked in the shadows while I found a cash machine, and withdrew every last pound I could. My pockets bulging, and my heart in my mouth, Luc gunned the engine out of the car park, and we began the annoying but necessary task of retracing our steps as far as Llandudno Junction. From then on we’d be heading north, and onto the next phase of our adventure. I was equal parts excited and terrified about what we might find.
15
LUC
Chester,Warrington, Wigan, Preston. Place names piled up behind us as I kept my foot on the accelerator and we left the south behind. I was tempted to stop in the Lake District; it was beautiful, and had many out of the way places we could rest up for a while. But it didn’t feel far enough, so I kept going. We listened to music, and chatted on and off as I drove. Most of it was inconsequential nonsense, but among the small talk I learned that Charley spoke enough French and Spanish to make himself understood, and, surprisingly, quite good Norwegian. I asked him why.
“Looked like a fun challenge,” he said with a shrug. “And it appealed to me. Norway looks amazing. I figured why not try to learn the language. I’m often awake when it’s quiet, so I figured life couldn’t be all nightclubs and drinking forever. Not that I had the money for that. Besides, one day I’d like to travel. Scandinavia seemed like a smart place to start, seeing as I’m less likely to get sunburned, or fall asleep at midday.”
I made an amused sound of agreement. “Sound reasons.” After a beat, I said, “D’you think you’d have worked out about your vampire half any time soon? If I hadn’t come along, I mean. Seems to me you were practically there.”
“Eh, maybe. It’s not really something you have in the back of your mind as a possibility, or I didn’t. I used to joke about it sometimes. Because when you add up my symptoms, it seems likely. But then we all knew, or thought we knew, vamps are the stuff of legend and there’s no truth in it, so seriously considering it would have made me worried I was losing my shit.” He gave a small, self-conscious laugh. “Guess I should listen to my inner self a bit more, huh?”
“Maybe you should,” I said kindly.
I got Charley to direct us off the motorway just north of Carlisle, where we used yet another supermarket, this time for a comfort break, and where I picked up some drinks and breakfast rolls. Charley might turn up his nose at them, but I could eat at any time of day or night and still be peckish.
We pressed on, but even the caffeine in the energy drink wasn’t enough after a while. I pointed the SUV off the A74 and down a side road, which led to an assortment of rough tracks. After a couple of wrong turns which took us to isolated properties, I found a dirt track which led to a small wooded area of no apparent interest. I cut the engine and groaned as I stretched my limbs.
Charley looked around. “Where are we?”
“Lanarkshire, I think.” I wasn’t overly confident we were, but close enough. I drained the can of sickly-sweet rocket fuel and winced at the aftertaste. “I need to sleep before I crash us into a wall somewhere. Will you be okay for a few hours like this? I’m sorry it’s not more luxurious.”
“Of course. You should’ve said something earlier.” He jumped out and went to rummage around in the boot. When he came back, he looked disappointed. “There’s this little blanket, but it’s not very big, and kind of thin. Are you going to be warm enough?” The night had been cool in Carlisle, but we could see wisps of mist curling around the tree trunks, and sparkles of frost carpeted the mud beneath our tyres, as well as the fence posts either side.
I grinned at him. “You can probably get chilled too, even if you don’t often notice it, but I have an idea.” He quirked a brow. I indicated the back seat. “It’s a bit cramped, but if you don’t mind sharing, I’ll shift. If we curl up together, we’ll both stay cosy. You can tuck the blanket over any bit of you that needs an extra layer.”
Charley eyed me. “How can I possibly complain? You have a fur coat and you’re offering to share it with me. I’m totes down with this. The only down side of this is you’ll be naked, but a wolf.” He grimaced. “I’m open to most stuff, but I ain’t that kinky.”
I snorted. “You really have no filter, do you? The fact you even went there should shock me.”
“But it doesn’t.”
“But it doesn’t,” I agreed, with a shake of my head.
As I began stripping off, Charley removed his boots, and crawled into the back seat. I followed him, and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders while I wondered if I should set an alarm. Be just my luck to have overlooked something in my weary state and to be rudely awoken by an enraged farmer who looked askance at Charley’s enormous ‘pet dog’. I set an alarm. I checked the contents of the cool bag were still cold, because I didn’t want to chance keeping them plugged in while we were stationary. The battery life of the SUV was excellent, but again, I liked to err on the cautious side.
“Goodnight kiss?” I asked hopefully.
