‘Uh, sorry. I mistook you for someone else.’ I was useless at time-travelling.
‘My name is actually Nigel, although I can’t remember ever being called sir.’ He smiled with the genuine warmth and ease that I knew from his older self. ‘Apart from when my mother decides I’m being too uppity and calls me out for it.’
Flustered, I tried to explain myself. I hadn’t ever questioned when Sir Nigel had been knighted; clearly it wasn’t a hereditary title. ‘That’s an incredible coincidence. I should have realised. The Nigel I know is much older than you.’ I forced a smile. ‘Have a good day.’
‘You, too.’
I turned and headed for the door but I’d barely touched the handle when Sir Nigel – or Nigel as he was at that moment – called out again. ‘You should take care out there,’ he said. ‘The sun is going down and there are a couple of vampires hanging about in the shadows over the road. They ignored me, so they’re probably not hungry.’ He grimaced. ‘But you can’t be too careful when bloodsuckers are around.’
I turned around slowly. ‘Vampires?’ I asked, trying to sound casual.
He was still smiling but his eyes were serious. ‘Yes. I spotted them on my way home. I’ll call it into the police and hopefully they’ll send a team out to take care of them.’ He sounded doubtful;he was obviously as aware as I now was of how the police dealt with the hordes of Edinburgh-based bloodsuckers.
I kept my voice even. ‘Do you often get vampires in this part of town?’
‘Very rarely,’ he admitted. ‘If ever. They tend to lurk in the less salubrious parts of the city where they’re more likely to come across hapless victims who can’t defend themselves.’
That figured; it was a sad fact of life that in both prosaic and supernatural matters, affluent neighbourhoods were safer. I rubbed the back of my neck, aware of the chill descending through my bones, then I thanked Nigel and returned at high speed to the flat. There would be no casual shopping now.
I burst through the door and it thudded loudly against the wall. Before I could say anything, Hugo marched out of the dining room and glared at me. ‘You left without me.’ He folded his arms.
‘I was gone for less than a minute. And it’s just as well that I was.’ He caught something in my voice and frowned. I raised my head and met his eyes. ‘We have to get out of here, Hugo. Athair is on his way.’
He didn’t ask if I was sure, demand an explanation or request more details; he believed me instantly. ‘Okay.’ His voice was low. ‘Let’s go.’
Chapter
Twenty-Six
It took far longer than I liked to gather everyone up and leave because apparently babies came with a great deal of paraphernalia. I still wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about hanging around with this tiny version of myself, but at least Baby Daisy’s age meant I didn’t have to hold a conversation with myself. That would have been far too strange, even for me.
Although Rose was moving fast and collecting everything Baby Daisy needed, I was aware that the news about Athair had unsettled her deeply. I recognised the way she masked the tremors in her hands because I often tried to do the same. I understood why her face was so pale, but it was the occasional flashes of writhing red marks appearing and disappearing across her skin that caused me the most concern. She was trying to keep her blood magic at bay but her anxiety was making it difficult to force down. For the first time in a very long time, I wasn’t the person whose unruly powers were problematic, and it was unsettling to be on the other side for a change.
Several minutes after I’d burst back into the flat, we were on our way out. Thankfully, the stairwell was empty and silent. Hugo went ahead to check that nobody was lurking around anycorners. Sir Nigel had vanished, no doubt into his own home. I silently – and fervently – urged both him and all the other residents nearby to stay inside. We had enough problems as it was.
We re-grouped at the main entrance. There were only a few pale glimmers of light left in the sky, which didn’t bode well. Hugo was peering out of the door, frowning at the gloomy side streets. ‘There’s no sign of activity out there,’ he said. ‘But that’s not necessarily good news.’
I nodded grimly. I’d have felt considerably less worried if it had just been him and me; the presence of his parents, Rose and Baby Daisy meant that our group was much more vulnerable. ‘Where’s the car parked?’ I asked.
Charles answered. ‘To the right, about twenty metres away.’ His voice was low and firm, and for the first time I spotted similarities with Hugo that went beyond the physical resemblance.
‘Okay. That’s not far. That’s good.’ I met Hugo’s eyes. ‘You should bring it here to the door.’
He was already ahead of me and taking the keys from his father. ‘Athair has met everyone else, but he’s only seen me from a distance so he might not recognise me. If he’s out there watching this building, there’s a good chance that me on my own won’t raise his suspicions.’
I crossed my fingers tightly. ‘If you do see him, don’t do anything stupid.’
‘Please.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘This is me we’re talking about. I never do anything stupid.’ He paused and something deeper flared in his blue eyes. ‘Apart from falling for you.’
Tash gasped, and my mouth dropped at his sudden open display of emotion. There was no time to say anything, however; he was already out of the door, his hands in his pockets as he turned right to retrieve the vehicle and tried to look casual.
I checked on Rose; there were beads of sweat on herforehead, but the signs of impending blood magic across her skin had gone. She was concentrating hard, as if it were taking all her energy not to give in to her darker impulses. ‘Have you got this?’ I asked quietly. ‘Are you alright?’
‘Yes,’ she whispered.
I tried to smile at her. ‘There won’t be time to clip Daisy into a car seat. We’ll have to jump in as soon as Hugo brings the car and get her sorted out once we’re on the move.’
Rose looked at Charles and Tash, then all three of them blinked at me. ‘We don’t have a baby seat in the car.’
