Sorley glanced at his watch again. “Do I need to know now?”
“Yes, you do. I’m aware of the time dawn will break. And yes, we’re cutting it fine, but if we don’t find Alexander before sunrise, this is my commitment to keeping you safe. If we don’t need it for you and we’ve already found this guy, we’ll use it on him once he’s restrained.”
Okay, now he was interested. “That cannot be what you’re inferring. How the hell do you have one of those?” He’d tried, God knows he’d tried, to get his hands on one, but to no avail.
Gethin placed everything in the backpack again and carefully rearranged the unopened bag on top, before getting to his feet. “Yes, it’s an Obscura Sack. I’ll take the backpack now, because I’m taller and I suspect we’re about to get wet. Water won’t affect the workings of anything in the bag, but a wet Obscura won’t be particularly pleasant if you’re conscious.”
12
GETHIN
He’d finally managedto shock Sorley into silence, but he could feel the vamp’s gaze on him now, puzzled but eager. He blocked it out, as right now all that mattered was trying to find the missing vampire. They jumped from the wall into a tangle of trees, and from there climbed to the ground. Everything here was boggy, and the bank was steeper, making it impossible to stay out of the water. The pair slithered in and out of the river, progress slower now, but still taking care to check every potential hiding place. Gethin didn’t want to dismiss Sorley’s gut instinct as baseless hope, but his own optimism was low.
The going was slower here, probably due to whatever was beyond the wall keeping passers-by from enjoying this section of the riverbank and trampling the plant life. They crossed and re-crossed the water so many times, he lost count. The trees were many and clustered tightly together, but they checked every single one.
They finally reached the end of the wall. The river curved away from the adjoining wall, forming a right angle to the one they’d been following. Sorley sighed.
“My shoes are ruined.”
“It could be worse. We could be human and freezing our tits off.” Gethin elbowed him, and Sorley gave him a weak grin.
“I’m worried I can’t get a fix on Alec at all. It’s as if he’s literally disappeared.” He groaned softly. “Which is, of course, entirely possible. He could be anywhere.”
Gethin agreed, but they still had some time before daybreak. “Over the river once more and double back into that copse ahead,” he said determinedly. “Perhaps your assessment was correct and he’s making a mud pie shelter.”
They waded back into the river. Gethin could almost taste the mug of tea his imagination conjured up. A cheese toastie would slide down nicely, come to think of it. Maybe a doughnut too. He barely held back a groan. He’d give his left nut for a bacon sarnie right now.
He had to stop thinking about food. Or sleep. Especially as Sorley was suddenly giving out vibes of thirst. Panicked, desperate vibes.
Oh.He glanced at the vamp. “It’s not you, is it?”
“What’s not me? The fuck have I done now?” The vampire bristled, a blast of annoyance loud and clear.
“Calm down. I can sense something. Bloody hell, can I ever!” It didn’t smell like a vampire though. It didn’t smell like anything much, but there was an unmistakable mist of misery drifting their way. “C’mon, I think it’s him.”
Before he could stop him, Sorley was calling out softly. “Alec? Alec, it’s Sorley. I’m here, friend. Where have you hidden yourself?”
An almost imperceptible moan wafted through the darkness. They continued on, tree roots, fallen branches and mud no obstacle in their haste. Gethin mentally consigned his new trainers to the bin; there was no way they’d ever be usable after tonight.
He swung out an arm to stop Sorley. “Where the hell is this guy? And why can’t I sense him properly? I can usually smell a vampire a mile off.”
“Slight exaggeration methinks.” Sorley’s rejoinder was tinged with snark, but worry poured off him in waves.
“You really like this guy, huh?”
“He’s a good friend. I don’t see enough of him. You’ll love him, Hughes, everyone does.” He raised his voice and called out again. “C’mon, Alec, it’s me. Where are you, man?”
Gethin doubted he’d love any vamp, but it didn’t matter. Finding and saving the guy did. He grimaced as he realised he could see easier than a few minutes before. “Dammit, dawn’s approaching.” He shook his legs to remove some of the water from his jeans and almost instantly plunged forwards once more. “Oh for God’s sake. This fucking river is endless.”
They half fell down the bank this time, across the freezing, slimy expanse of water, before scrambling up the bank on the far side. Sorley’s head twisted this way and that before he said,
“This is an island. Oh, Alec, you clever bastard. Gethin, he’s on here. In here, whatever. I know it. I can feel him.” He didn’t look behind him or even glance at Gethin, tearing off down a path ahead of them, darting between the tree trunks at a dizzying pace.
Gethin went in the opposite direction, the pull of whoever was sending out a literal distress signal stronger now. It was darker again under the canopy here, but his eyes honed in on every tiny detail as if magnified by the angst he could feel. He stared up into the branches, down into the tangled undergrowth, half an ear on Sorley’s progress.
He stopped dead in front of a boulder. That was weird; the earth around it looked unnatural, as if it had been disturbed…
He crouched down carefully and tugged at the edge of the rock where the lichen had been rubbed away. The terrified breathless squeak of someone who’d been hiding and had just been discovered rose to meet him: Alexander. The vampire, so well disguised under a thick layer of moss, leaves and mud, was unrecognisable as a person unless you were looking for one. Crouched into a divot at the base of a tree where the rock had been, evidence of broken branches acting as a roof, Gethin could barely make out one tawny iris as it blinked up at him from a filthy brown face.
