Page 141 of You’re So Vein

I hate this.

He leads me back to the helicopter. I turn up the radio so he can hear the updates. Power is out in the village. The old Victorian stormwater system collapsed under the strain of the floodwaters, leaving the centre of Argleton under several feet of water. Luckily, people evacuated to Black Crag in time. Vampires and humans sheltering together is an interesting concept. Hopefully, Alaric’s blood stores last.

I turn to Augustin, expecting him to offer an “I told you so” about the stormwater, but his complexion goes even paler as he listens to an update on missing residents. “Komal,” he whispers. “It’s your parents.”

Shit.

I stare down at my terrain map as the announcer describes the ecological disaster. The way the valley is shaped, the floodwaters would go straight through our neighbourhood. And it will be a long time before the fire brigade can get in to check the house.

“Hold on,” I warn, buckling us both in. My heart hammers against my chest as I take off, dipping the controls to send the craft into a sharp turn. The ride back towards the village is tense, silent. Augustin sits beside me, cool fingers gripping my knee as I focus on the controls and the terrain. Panic flickers on the edge of my mind, but it’s driven back by the steadiness of Augustin’s touch and the thought that we need to get to my parents.

I bank hard to come up over the woods. Trees speed below us as I attempt to follow the streets.

As we draw closer, my chest tightens. Our roof is only just visible on top of the swirling, brackish floodwaters. My tiny house is completely underwater.

“Look.” Augustin leans forward, his sharp vampiric vision seeing something I don’t. “There they are.”

A moment later, I see it, too – a string of fairy lights on the roof spells “HELP”.

“I see them.” My parents are huddled in the centre of the roof. Papa looks up and waves as I fly over. We need to get them off that roof.

The problem is, there’s nowhere we can safely land, and with all the trees around, I can’t get close enough without specialised equipment my tourist helicopter doesn’t have. I circle back, hoping to see a solution I’ve missed, but there’s nothing.

“I can’t land here. Aishwarya isn’t an S&R helicopter with a sling, so I have no way of…”

My words trail off as Augustin rolls up his sleeve. Twin vines curl around his forearms, twisting as they bulge from tiny saplings into thick ropes, curling over the seat. “Will these do?”

“I don’t know. Will they be strong enough to hold the weight of a person?”

“They’ll have to be.”

“Okay. Are you ready to do something insanely brave?” I dare a tight-lipped smile.

“No.”

“Good. Hopefully, that means you won’t fuck it up. I need you to wrap one end of the vine around the seats so it’s secure. Maybe you can hold it in place with magic or something.”

Augustin does this while I keep the helicopter hovering. After all the flying I’ve done in the last twenty-four hours, I’m aware that the fuel is getting low. We need to be quick.

I reach for the vine. “Hold the controls steady.”

“Like this?” The helicopter dips ten feet.

“Argh! No.” I toss the vine at him and take the controls again. “Okay, new plan. Listen to my instructions very carefully. You’re going to tie some knots to make a sling, and then I’m going to lower you down so you help Mamma and Papa into it, and I’ll pull them up.”

“You won’t be able to lift all of us.”

“I know, which is why you, the vampire, are going to wait on the roof until I’ve got Papa strapped in, and then Mamma, and then I’ll haul you up, too.” I grin. “Or fly away and leave you stranded on the roof. You’ll have to take your chances.”

I expect him to return my banter, but he’s frowning.

“What’s wrong?”

He looks miserable. “I’ve lost too much blood. Dante gave me some, enough to start the wounds healing. But to make the vines strong enough, I need blood.”

I tug down the collar of my shirt. “Here.”

He recoils. “I cannot.”