Chapter 9

I took the shoes from her and sat next to her on the bed. There was a box of wet wipes on the bedside cabinet. I took a few and started cleaning off the gore, taking extra care around the sharp edges and points.

I’d about finished when a quiet but distinct tick sounded against the window. I opened it and reflexively caught the two heel sheaths that came flying through the gap.

“Thanks,” I said quietly. He’d already demonstrated how good his hearing was.

Window closed and sheaths clicked back into place, I settled next to Mum again, accepting the mug of hot chocolate she offered me and taking a sip. It wasn’t so hot anymore.

“I don’t suppose I can convince you not to have seen any of that, can I?” I asked.

She just looked at me.

“I haven’t really given much thought on how to handle a situation like this,” I said. “I suppose I’ve been hoping it wouldn’t happen. Except that’s a bit ridiculous, thinking you’d never find out.”

She kept staring at me. I wasn’t sure if her silence was down to shock or if it was some kind of parental psychology. Either way, I could feel myself twisting and squirming under her gaze and unable to escape.

“The thing is the truth is kind of harder to believe than any piece of fiction I might invent, so I’m tempted just to make something up.”

The stare bored deeper.

“Except what could I make up that would even come close to why my shoes and clothes were covered in blood and why I had a bunch of lethal weapons on me.”

Her gaze shifted to the damp pile of clothes I’d dropped on the desk. I shook it out to reveal the wet tee-shirt and skirt, still stained with blood and the two horn daggers.

“I’m going to show you a video. It’s going to look like something from a horror movie, but it really happened.”

I brought up the video I’d taken of the giant demon head. It didn’t surprise me that none of the demon’s words had made it onto the soundtrack, absence of mouth being a big clue, but the camera shook whenever he’d spoken in my mind – our minds.

The bodies of the manticores appeared in the corner of the frame every now and then. I managed to pause the video at a frozen moment when they were clear enough to see.

“Those are what the blood came from,” I said. “They’re not from our world.” I let the video roll on until it pointed back at the disembodied head. “Neither is that,” I said allowing the video to continue to its violently destructive end.”

“The crater’s real. It’ll be on the news later. It’ll be reported as some freak lightning strike or something. The authorities are pretty good at explaining away anything they think will scare the general public.”

Mum turned her silent gaze back on me.

“Mum, why do you think I turned into a girl?”

Slight creasing around her eyes. She was listening at least.

“I mean, the whole thing about me putting on a dress and dancing my heart out until magic happened has to be the worst attempt at an explanation ever, don’t you think?”

Her eyebrows went up and she tilted her head in agreement.

“There’s something that Mr Giles said to me at the beginning of all this. ‘In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the slayer.’

“Guess what?” I made jazz hands and gave her a really cheesy grin.

The eyebrow twitched again, this time accompanied by her best sceptical face.

“The Irish dance try outs. Why is Irish dancing always done with the arms by the side?”

The tilt of the head invited me to go on.

“Because vampires are swift and strong and could easily tear your arms off, but they’re confused by the rhythms of the dance, and spikes like these,” I picked up a shoe and tapped the toe to reveal the spike heel, “are ideal weapons to use against them.

“Why did I change into a girl? Not entirely clear, except that female physiology seems better adapted to this kind of fighting. Female temperament too. There have been male slayers in the past – despite Mr Giles’s introductory speech – but maybe the magic saw the inner me and figured I’d be better off like this, and I am, Mum.

“Portals are drawn to places where ley lines converge. There was one under Mr Giles’s shop, which is where I fought my first vampires, then you and Dad wouldn’t let me go see him anymore, so he untethered the portal and it’s been jumping to different places since. The school basement, which is why I was down there last week, cemeteries and church grounds, which is why I’ve been going out for walks in the evenings. Most of the monsters I’ve been up against have been vampires or variations of, and they turn to dust when they die. There have been a few things that were a bit gorier, like tonight.

“The thing is, I get to fight them because, like it or not, this is my legacy.”

Disbelieving eyes again.

“Sorry Mum, but some things go beyond the rules and laws of society. If I don’t stand up to them, then there’s no-one else to do so.”

She looked at the sheath in my hand then the window.

“Oh him? Yeah, he’s useful to have around, but he wouldn’t last long on his own, not the way things are escalating. I’m not sure how long I’d last without help, but I’m at the centre of it, Mum.”

“Will you listen to yourself?”

“Yeah, I know it sounds unbelievable, but when you’ve spent a couple of weeks fighting things from mythology and fantasy, you begin to believe in the unbelievable.”

“The way you’re talking, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t take you to see a psychiatrist.”

“You could. I mean, I’m still underage and you could probably have me sectioned and locked away, because I agree, what I’m saying sounds insane.

“But assume for one highly unlikely moment that I’m right. You arrange to have me locked up for my own good, and in a day or two, the portal opens again and I’m not around to stop them. When they kill a bunch of people, that’ll be on you, because I would have stopped them.”

It was unkind, I knew. I could see in the way Mum winced. I wasn’t done yet though.

“Then when the people they kill come back to life as vampires and there are four times as many of them, and they all go out killing, then that’ll be on you too. Eventually you won’t care though, because sooner or later they’ll come for you and Dad before they head out into the rest of the country, then the rest of the world.”

“Stop it! Stop it, please.”

“I’m sorry Mum, but I have to show you how important this is. At least enough to convince you not to dismiss it out of hand.”

“Your father won’t like this.”

“I know. I’d rather keep him out of it if I can. I mean I’d have preferred to do the same with you, but that ship’s sailed, hasn’t it?”

“What are you asking of me?”

“Come and talk to Mr Giles, or Miss Ephemeris. She’s a dance teacher at the school, but she’s also involved in this sort of thing.”

“Perhaps I might have a word with her then.”

“Woman to woman, so to speak?”

“You don’t need to make fun of me, darling.”

“I’m not Mum. I kind of get it. Whatever I used to be, I do feel that men are kind of on a different wavelength and I can make more sense of things by talking with women.”

“You really never were my son, were you?”

“I don’t know what I was, Mum. Maybe I was a bit. Maybe there was enough influence from the male hormones and stuff, but it just messed me up. Who I am now feels right all the way through.”

“Alright, we’ll put this on hold for now.” She collected the mugs and my blood-stained clothes. “I’m not sure what I’ll be able to do with these, but I’ll try.

“Could you arrange for me to speak with this, what did you say her name was?”

“Miss Ephemeris. She’s usually in the library first thing. I’ll see if I can arrange for her to see you at lunchtime or, failing that, at the end of the day.”

“Fine. Then we’ll see after that.”

“Alright, thanks Mum.”

“Teeth and bed,” she said.

“Okay.”

Teeth, call Stuart then bed. I’d promised him I’d call him back, then I’d had to rush home, get cleaned up and deal with the maternal inquisition (nobody survives the maternal inquisition, said with a slightly silly voice. Our chief weapon is silence… silence and quirky eyebrows… quirky eyebrows and silence… Our two weapons are quirky eyebrows and silence… and… I think you get the picture).

I told him in more detail about the krrst and the manticores, then about the demon head and what words it had put in my head. Then I had to admit to Mum finding out and what I’d told her.

“I’ll have a word with Jen this evening,” he said. “She won’t be present first thing, so we’ll have to see when she is available.”

“Well, as long as we can make it tomorrow. I don’t think Mum’ll be put off any longer.”

“Oh, we’ll arrange something tomorrow, don’t worry. In fact, it may be quite serendipitous this occurring at this precise moment in time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise, but Miss Ephemeris may have a fairly convincing demonstration for your mother.

“Anyway, astonishing job as ever. I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but you have handled everything that’s come your way with remarkable aplomb.”

“Thanks Stuart. I know you don’t trust him still, but I probably wouldn’t have without David’s help.”

“And you would probably have surprised yourself with what you could have achieved on your own had he not been present. I’ll tell you what though: I’ll promise to keep open minded about him as long as you promise to remain cautious in your dealings with him.”

“Deal.”

A loud rap on the door made me jump.

“Teeth and bed!” Mum said sternly emphasising the last word.

“Sorry Mum.”

“Don’t make me take that thing away from you!”

“Gotta go,” I said into the phone. “Talk tomorrow.”

I hung up and plugged the phone in. Light out and snuggle down. Apparently, they were the right noises because Mum moved on without putting her head round my door.

#

I wore something quite conservative the following day as a sign of good faith to Mum. That included flats which felt odd after so many days on stilts. I put one of my Irish dance uniforms in my bag along with a pair of battle shoes and the horn daggers David had given me. Most of my books were in my locker at college, but my notebook just about squeezed into the remaining space.

Boring breakfast, trouble free walk onto college, early morning meeting with Stuart, Laurel and Nick. Nothing much to talk about, other than a general sense of concern over last night’s talking head encounter – well not so much talking, but head at least – and a confirmation that Miss E would be back in time to meet Mum at one o’clock. I texted her to let her know before lessons began.

Morning double we had a substitute teacher for media studies which meant read the chapter answer the questions. Kind of dull but better than having your head bitten off I reminded Nick at break.

After break I had history, then after lunch I had a free double, which I planned to spend in the library. Maybe with Mum and Stuart for some of it.

The surprise was turning up at the library at lunch time to find Mum and the whole Scooby Gang waiting.

“Er, hi?” I ventured. Mum didn’t look all that convinced either.

“Good,” Miss E said, “we’re all here. I’m sorry Mrs Geller. Stuart – Mr Giles – spoke to me last night, and it seemed the best thing I could do to convince you was to give you a demonstration. This is something new which I believe will provide us all with some valuable insights as well as answer your concerns.

“You recognise this I think, Sarah?”

I glanced at Mum. I couldn’t see how this was going to convince her.

“It’s the demon horn I tore off the other day.”

“From a Fyarl demon. It contains an immense amount of power. This prism is attuned to the patterns that came from your recent killing of that greshnick. Combined they should open a portal back into the demon realm. Give us a look at what we’re facing.”

She began an incantation. I took hold of Mum’s hand since she was looking a lot less convinced than I’d have liked her to be and I didn’t want her trying to escape before the demo was done.

The space above the table shimmered and settled into an image of a vast, gloomy desert plain. It was covered as far as the eye could see in monsters. Mostly vampires and greshnicks but a mixture of other creatures too. I could see krrst and manticores, Fyarl demons and other unmentionable horrors. I stood and walked around the table. The view changed with each new perspective. I reached a point where a true giant of a creature strode towards the portal we’d created. It stooped as it approached.

“See your doom, insignificant ones? Soon the portal will swing wide and your world will be overrun. All will be mine.”

As before the voice crashed directly into our brains. It was excruciating and not a little terrifying. The others hadn’t experienced it before and were clutching their heads in silent screams. There wasn’t much I could think to do. I grabbed the prism and pulled it free.

“Sorry,” I said to Jen, “I couldn’t think of anything else to do.”

She shook her head. “There wasn’t anything else to do. I hadn’t counted on anything like that.”

“What did I just experience?” Mum asked.

I turned to Jen who was slowly recuperating.

“I believe your daughter mentioned the portal?”

“She did, yes.”

“There’s a strong convergence of ley lines under the school and it’s latched on under here,” she pointed down under the table. “In her recent fights, Sarah provided us with an artefact of significant power,” she pointed at the demon horn which was smoking gently, “and the information we needed to reverse the portal and allow us to see through to the dimension that’s attacking us.

“I’ll admit, I didn’t have much idea what we’d see. An alien landscape, perhaps a few of the monsters we’ve been seeing. I certainly didn’t expect anything like that.

“The large creature is what you encountered last night?” She directed the question to me, so I nodded. “What did it say again?”

“Er.” The single word answers were easy enough to remember, but the other was burned into my memory much as this most recent one. “He said, ‘Soon the portal will be blasted wide and my army will flood into your world, then you and your pathetic friend will be powerless to prevent the enslavement of your kind.’”

“So something of a common theme. Did we catch it on video, Laurel.”

“Er, yes. I’m reviewing it now. I’ll have an estimate in a, er, while but at this stage I’d say several tens of thousands.

“He’s definitely going to have to come up with a way of blasting the portal wide and soon.”

“Erm, why?” Mum asked. I liked not being the one to ask obvious questions.

“What does an army march on, Mum?”

“Erm...”

“And what did you see that might be used to fill it?”

“Oh. Oh, really? That’s horrible!”

“But a-almost certainly true,” Mr Giles said. “When, when a swarm of locusts strips a field bare, they either move on to the next one or they eat each other.”

“So all we need to do to prevent the great invasion is keep the door shut,” I said, glad that I was a student of history and so not doomed to repeat it.

Not that I could think of a time in history when this applied. I mean Hannibal is said to have forced his men to resort to cannibalism, but maybe that wasn’t true. Certainly the concept of scorched earth as a way of stopping another army from using a land’s resources fit here, but... Maybe not so much the same.

“He seems pretty confident about his ability to force it open though,” Laurel said, looking more terrified than the rest of us combined.

“Is this really what you’re involved in, sweetheart?” Mum looked at me deeply worried.

“Well, until today I didn’t have much of an idea on how big a thing it is, but yeah.”

“Maybe this is the point we involve someone else,” Jen suggested.

“It would seem wise,” Stuart said, “given that we’re facing, how many Laurel?”

“The, er, computer model suggests upwards of, what!? Eighty-seven thousand!! And that’s only how many we can make out. There may be more beyond the, er, horizon.”

“That’s larger than the British army,” Stuart continued, “and no guarantees that their weapons would be effective against, er, them. Even if the majority are, are just ordinary vampires.”

“So what are you proposing?” I asked. “Involve the armed forces, show them what we just saw but with a bit more thought given to how we shut down the connection?”

“Something like that, yes,” Jen said.

“And what would they do? Send bombs through? Cruise missiles? Drones?”

“Why not?”

“We don’t know what effect explosives will have on them though. What if all the bits grow back into individual bad guys? What if blowing them up just makes the problem worse?

“I mean, don’t the army have a kind of conventional approach to fighting? What if they decide to chuck an atom bomb through the portal and it turns out the blast of radiation is what tears the portal open?”

They all stared at me.

“How long has there been a slayer? How long has there been this thing where one person like myself stands against the creatures that make it through the portals?”

“Nearly two thousand years I should think,” Stuart said.

“And in all that time, has there ever been a major incursion like this?”

“Well, there were those incidents I mentioned, but they were single immense creatures coming through. “I don’t recall an invasion like ever… but...”

“So either the big guy without the mouth is a new kid on the block with an idea on how to tear the portal open, in which case we need help, but not on their terms, because they don’t know what we’re up against, or he’s trying to convince us to do all the hard work for him, in which case we definitely don’t want the armed forces involved on their own terms.

“I mean we talk about maybe an army that big turning on itself, but what happens to one of those vampires if it doesn’t have access to fresh blood? I mean, if it’s already dead, can it get any deader? What if they just hang about growing hungrier and hungrier?”

“So, what do you suggest we do?” Jen asked.

“Find a military mind that’s open to what we’re dealing with. Maybe put together a squad that’s up for trying new things. Conventional weapons first so we can all find out how effective they are against mystical creatures, then adapting what we know works well to their methods. Frag grenades with hardwood shrapnel, holy water dispersal systems, blades designed to slice through creature’s necks. They listen to us to learn the monster weaknesses; we listen to them to come up with new ideas. If we ever face a major invasion, there’s a specialist military unit able to spread the word about what works.”

“I like it,” Jen said. “I can sell that to one or two of my military contacts, and you’re right, we don’t want anyone trying random weapons just to see what happens.”

“In the meantime, if there’s a way of observing the other side without being spotted...”

“We can work on that,” Laurel said. “We could do with a power source a little less potent than this though.”

I took out my horn daggers and put them on the table.

“Those would work,” Jen said picking one up. “We could probably turn the big one into a lance or spear if you like.”

“Or maybe a nice shiny axe with a sharp pointy end on the handle?”

“Haft.”

“No, a whole one.”

Mum gave me a despairing look.

“Among my many talents is the ability to provide necessary light relief,” I said in my chipperest voice.

“Maybe not, love. Stick to your strengths, eh? I mean, everything you said just now, that all made a lot of sense, but leave the comic relief to Nicholas, he was always better at it than you.”

“Hey!” Nick snapped. “Hey, I’ve found my niche.”

I looked at Stuart. “Nobody likes my jokes?”

He shrugged and wouldn’t meet my eyes. “That, er, that one wasn’t your best. A-and you are so much better at being, er, being the slayer.”

“You know you stutter more when you’re nervous.”

“A, er, a keen observation, worthy of, er, the, er, slayer.”

“Fair enough. Slayer it is. Stuart, if at all possible, I need to know more about Mr Tall, Pointy and Mouthless. If he appears in any of your books, I want to know what they say about him. Nick, you can help him look, and with any spare time you have, do what you can to make us feel better about our situation. Jen, talk to your military contacts and see if you can set us up a specialist force who’ll listen to us and learn how to stand up to this threat. Also work with Laurel who will be making us a sneaky spy portal and me a super cool weapon.”

“And what about you?” Jen asked.

“Kind of depends on my mum. Either she’s going to talk to my dad, who’ll have me locked up as insane, or I’ll be patrolling wherever the portal happens to be tonight.”

“While I run interference with your father and try to get blood and gore out of your clothes,” Mum said. “Mum’s decided. I don’t particularly like all this, but I can’t deny it’s happening, or that you’re needed.”

“Okay!” I gave Mum a grateful look. “We all know what we’re doing. You’re going to go home and cook something with all the calories I’m going to need for later. The rest of us have to pretend that school work is the most important thing in our lives. I’ll see you later Mum.”

#

“Something smells good,” Dad said as he stepped through the door.

It was one of Dad’s rare office days so Mum had come home to an empty house, and Dad still hadn’t been home when I joined her. She’d suggested linguine bolognaise which, Mum’s version consisted of bolognaise sauce topped up with shredded carrot and sliced mushrooms to balance out the amount of mince, and linguine as a slightly more substantial alternative to spaghetti. It was quick and easy to make and a favourite of Dad’s so, apart from putting the ingredients together, Mum had waited for me and I was soloing it.

“Nothing to do with me,” Mum said from behind her cup of tea and her magazine.

Dad settled into his seat next to her. “What does she want?”

I’d put the kettle on the moment I’d heard tyres on gravel. He was less discerning when it came to taste and more interested in speed, so I did him a ‘bag in a mug’ tea which I brought through to him even as he was settling into his chair.

“It’s something both of us would rather like, dear.” Mum took another sip of her tea while I put the pasta on to cook, with peas steaming over it all. Two minutes for the water to boil, eleven minutes to do the cooking.

“What’s that dear?” Dad asked. He was shaking his paper out while he did so, so not paying full attention yet.

“I went into the college this afternoon to have a word with Miss Ephemeris – Jen she said her name was. You know, the dance teacher.”

“The one who dressed our son up as a girl?”

“That’s the one, shortly before she became our daughter.”

“What about her? Is Sarah in trouble again?”

“No, far from it. Jen mentioned how exceptional a dancer Sarah is...”

“I know that. I saw for myself when we went to see that Stuart Giles chap in his odd little shop, back before our son actually became our daughter.”

And you drank enough whiskey to embarrass yourself in front of the neighbours. Not something to mention at this point though. I lifted a stack of plates out of the oven and checked the timer.

“She wanted to say how much it would benefit Sarah if she were to have additional lessons.”

“And how much are they going to cost us?”

“Not a penny, though perhaps a little pride.”

“What rubbish are you talking, woman?”

“She said she didn’t feel able to provide tuition at an appropriate level, but she did mention to Sarah that this Mr Giles was exactly the sort of mentor Sarah needs at this time.”

“Yes, but he’s a little peculiar. I really don’t think I’d like Sarah to spend any time on her own with him. I mean heaven knows what he’d get up to.”

“Jen says he’s mentored a number of young girls before now and they’ve all had nothing but the highest praise for him. He has been DBS checked as I understand it.”

“Yes, but what exactly does that mean?”

“Enough to satisfy the government that he’s safe to be around children.”

“How often are we talking?”

“Jen suggested every night.”

“You want me to drive our daughter down to the arcade and back every night?”

“No, of course not. I probably forgot to mention, Mr Giles has been employed by the college as their new librarian.”

“Has he really?”

“Yes, so Sarah could stay on after school and train with him there.”

“When would she do her schoolwork?”

“After school and before the training sessions.”

“And the school’s checked him out?”

“He wouldn’t be working there if they hadn’t.”

“Well, alright, but I’ll want her back before nine.”

“I’m serving up,” I said from the kitchen.

“She may have to stay a little later, dear.”

“However long are we talking? She finishes at what...?”

“Four,” I said, putting a plate in front of him. “By the time I’ve settled in the library and done my homework, it’ll be five-year thirty. An hour and a half training will take us to seven. An hour for tea in the canteen – it stays open for the night schoolers – then another hour and a half session will take us to nine-thirty, then home by ten. Ten-thirty at the latest.”

“Unless you have one of those recitals he was talking about,” Mum said.

I wasn’t about to argue with my mother if she was going to start lying for me.

“Ten o’clock’s late enough for a school night. I don’t want your grades slipping young lady.

“They won’t Dad.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that before.”

“She’ll be eighteen in a few weeks darling,” Mum chided gently.

“What does that have to do with the price of fish?” One of Dad’s random statements to show that something wasn’t pertinent to the conversation.

“She’ll legally be an adult and able to do whatever she likes.”

“Not if she wants to continue living under my roof, she won’t.”

“Could we at least try it for a while, Dad? In by ten unless I call ahead to let you know I’ll be later. I’ll try to keep it before ten-thirty on a school night and if my grades start slipping, we’ll do it your way.”

“Sounds like a fair compromise to me, dear,” Mum said. “After all we want her to develop some degree of independence.”

“All right, we’ll try it, but any sign that you’re neglecting your studies…”

“Thanks Daddy.” I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, which he didn’t seem to mind, so it was quite likely he was coming round to the idea of having a daughter instead of a son.

I finished my food and excused myself from the table, dropping my dirties in the sink before fetching my shoes.

“Where are you going, young lady?” Dad asked.

“Out for a walk while the weather holds. It’s too nice an evening to waste inside.”

“Not meeting up with your friend Nick, are you? I swear it was easier when she was a he and wouldn’t get off the computer games.”

“No plans to meet anyone Dad.” I ducked out of the house before he could think of something new to fret over.

#

“So what happened to your daggers?” a familiar voice said from behind me.

I kept my back to him, hiding the dreamy smile that had crept onto my face. “I traded them in for something better,” I said.

“Like what?”

“Kind of a commission. I’ll show you when it’s ready.”

“You should have held on to them in the meantime. What are you going to fight with tonight?”

I kicked off my heel sheaths. “These’ll do me.”

“And if we face more than just vampires?”

“Then I’ll have you to protect me.” I looked over my shoulders at him. “Nice jacket.”

“Thanks, but don’t change the subject.”

It was kind of normal jacket length and made from black leather. Somewhat less retro than the old one, and it looked really good on him.

Sorry, I wasn’t meant to change the subject.

“I thought vampires were supposed to be allergic to sunlight.” The sun was still a fair way above the horizon, but oops again on the subject change.

“Anything with the parasite tends to have an aversion. I remember, it used to cause searing pain wherever direct sunlight touched my skin, but now I no longer have the parasite in me, it doesn’t affect me the same way. Mind you, I still had about three hundred years of avoiding sunlight, and even a hundred years of not having to hasn’t been enough to break the habit completely. It’s hard to say since no-one’s seen it, but I’ve always suspected the light level on their side of the portal is a lot lower than ours.”

“Yeah, it did look that way. Makes you wonder why they want to come, doesn’t it?”

“Wait, you’ve seen it?”

So I told him about the experiments from the past few days, first the magic that had shown ghosts of my last fight at the school, and the coloured powders that had shown the traces of the greshnick especially returning to the other side, then the thing with the demon horn and the prism that had opened a window so we could see what was on the other side.

“You know that was more than just a window into their world, don’t you?” he asked, excitedly. “You opened a portal, which means we can take the fight to them.”

“Did I tell you how many there were?”

“I still like my odds.”

“How would you deal with the big guy?”

“The thing we saw last time, without the mouth?”

“Yeah. He was there on the other side, bragging about his army and how he’d be bringing it through to our world really soon. That trick of his speaking directly into our minds almost put us all out of action.”

“Yeah, he could be a problem. He didn’t give you any clues how he planned to do all that, did he?”

“No, but I have the Scooby Gang researching it.”

“The what?”

“I know you’re old, but you’ve heard of Scooby Doo haven’t you?”

“The cartoon dog and all the ghosts and stuff?”

“That’s the one. Like them we look into paranormal mysteries, like them we stop bad things from happening in this world. Like them we are often referred to as ‘those meddling kids’…”

“So who’s who? I’m particularly interested to know which one is Scooby Doo”

“Okay, so the analogy isn’t perfect. Anyway, Laurel and Jen – that’s Miss Ephemeris to you – are working with the daggers you gave me. They think, since they have a lot less power in them than my complete demon horn, they should be able to open smaller portals which we’re hoping won’t be noticed by the big guy. Jen is also seeing about having my complete demon horn turned into a bigger, badder weapon. Stuart – Giles that is – and Nick – my friend Nick – are looking through Stuarts big pile of dusty books to see if any of them mention Mr Big Bad, which leaves me out here with you, making sure nothing nasty comes through when this portal opens. Any idea why it only opens after sunset? I mean the ones under Stuart’s shop and the school seem to open during daylight hours.”

“You know there’s only one portal don’t you? And you remember what we just said about light levels? When the portal’s tethered to a convergence that puts it underground, like the Magic Box and the school, it opens up into darkness so there’s nothing to stop stuff coming through any time.”

“Except now there are wards on it. Actually, come to think of it, I’ve seen the wards and it look like they just put up a load of sunbeds around it.”

“Ultraviolet lamps at a guess. Who or whatever controls the portal from the other side can sense where there’s harmful radiation on this side, so they keep it closed. That causes a build-up of power in the portal which distorts the ley lines so it occasionally skips out to lesser convergences like this one. As soon as the sun goes down, they sense it’s safe and open the doorway. After a few things come through, the distortion fades and the gateway switches back to its tether point.”

“You seem to know a lot about this sort of thing?”

“I’ve been studying it for the best part of a century. I mean, a lot of it’s guesswork, but it kind of makes sense if you think about it.”

“It does.”

“I wouldn’t get too complacent about what you’re doing at the school though, if I were you.”

“Why?”

“I assume you know about the Paganologists?”

“Jen is one. It’s how I know about your story. I assume this is relevant?”

“It is. About fifty years ago, when they were beginning to get themselves organised again after what they did to me, and what I did to them, I suppose, I found them playing with a major convergence like the one under your school. They were trying out the idea of UV lights. They were invented shortly after I was, I suppose cured is as good a word as any, and this was the first time they’d been organised enough to try doing something with them.

“After what they’d done to me, I was a long way from trusting them, so I kept back and watched. Probably as well too because it all happened so fast, I’m not sure even I’d have been able to get away.”

“What happened so fast?”

“I called it a hellmaw.”

“What?” I couldn’t help laughing just a little bit.

“Okay, you name it if you can think of anything better. It’s kind of a plant, so it doesn’t move about, which means it can only come through a tethered portal. It’s possible our adversary made it to deal with just this sort of problem.”

“Why hasn’t he use it yet then?”

“I’m guessing it takes a while to grow to maturity in their dim light, but when it’s ready they send it through. It kind of flourishes in our world. Sucks up water and nutrients and grows like crazy in the UV, doubling in size every minute or so. It’s all teeth and tentacles, so many and all acting independently, even you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“What happened?”

“To the one half a century ago? Sunrise.”

“I thought you said it thrived on ultraviolet light.”

“Maybe a little too much. With the UV lamps it spread through the building so fast no-one survived. I only escaped because I was a hundred yards away, and even then it was close. By the time the sun came, the thing had grown out onto the surface and covered maybe half a square mile. Under the sun’s rays, it grew faster than the available water. It kind of shrivelled up as it grew and eventually went the way of most things from their dimension. It fell into dust.”

“There were no survivors?”

“Apart from me? A Jack Russel Terrier I believe. No people.”

“So, Jen won’t know what danger she’s putting everyone in? I mean you escaped. You could have told them.”

“We weren’t on speaking terms back then. We barely are now. No, I haven’t told them, but I’m telling you now.”

“How long did it take between when they set up the lights and that thing broke through?”

“Two, three weeks maybe”

“Two or three? It’s kind of important.”

“Yeah, it was a long time ago too. Let’s see, it was the twenty-first of March when they turned the lights on. Spring solstice you understand. They thought it mattered. Then the whole thing went to shit on… the thirteenth. It was a Friday. I remember thinking it was ironic.”

“So ten days between the solstice and the end of March then another thirteen days. Twenty-three days in total. We’ve had the wards up eighteen or nineteen days.”

“So, you have a few days in hand.”

“Assuming those things grow at the same rate each time. We have to warn them.”

“Mybe, but later. Looks like we’re up.” The sun chose that moment to disappear behind the horizon, and a twinkling sparkle had started over a mausoleum in the centre of the graveyard. “Anyway, as long as the portal has skipped out to here, it won’t be at the college, will it?”

Couldn’t fault his logic. Besides, life was about to get busy. What was coming though looked like ordinary vampires, but there were a lot of them.

This was a new tactic. I mean I’d beaten large numbers of vampires in one session before, and with David this shouldn’t be a challenge, unless…

“They’re going to try and get away,” I said.

“What?”

What was it with guys and that word?

“They’re originals. No challenge to either of us, but if they can escape, there’s ordinary people out there who don’t have a chance. We have to contain them.”

“They’re not that bright. They’re driven by hunger.”

“What if they’re driven by him? You felt what it was like when he talked into your skull. What if he’s instructed them to get away from us and look for prey elsewhere.”

The conversation was pointless. The first of the vampires were advancing on us, but the second wave behind them were scattering.

“Go for the ones that are running,” I shouted and did just that. “They’re not just here to feed. They’re here to breed.”

“Vampires don’t…”

“They do make more of themselves. Okay, breed sounded better because it rhymed, but if we don’t stop them there’ll be innocent lives lost and bunch of newly made human vamps to deal with. Plus we’ll be distracted from anything else, which means wouldn’t this be a great time to tackle the college, once the portal snaps back?”

“Shit.” He was a bit behind me, but he was on board now.

This would have been easier if I’d kept the daggers, but spilt milk and crying, no use. I took out the ones closest to the exit and rounded on the rest. They split into two groups, which left me little choice.

I paused to dig for my phone, which meant both lots were going to escape. No real helping it though. I hit Stuart’s speed dial.

“Sarah? Is everything…”

“No time. Vampires everywhere. Need the portal shut down, or a containment field or something. Also evacuate the college. Fire alarm or something, just get the night schoolers out of there.”

“What? Why?”

Ooh, a new w word. “No time,” I shouted, “just do it!”

I dagger flew past me, turning the last creature to pass me into dust. I dropped my phone back in my bag and scooped up the dagger, chasing after the rest.

I caught three, but two got away. Prioritise. I turned around to see vampires running in all directions. Three more reached the edge of the cemetery before an invisible barrier went up stopping the rest. I threw the dagger, dusting one of the three and leaving the dagger inside the barrier where David was fighting for his life. He was alive, wasn’t he?”

“Go,” he shouted. “I got this.”

I wasn’t sure he did, but four very real threats were out roaming the streets with a lot of vulnerable potential victims out there. I had to trust that he knew better.

I turned from the cemetery and ran.

I caught up with the first two quickly enough. They’d found a couple of joggers, one of whom was now lying on the floor with a vampire crouching over him. The other, a young woman, had been backed into a corner with the second vampire advancing on her.

“Hey!” I shouted running at the one approaching the woman, since I doubted there was much I could do for the one on the ground. The vamp paused and glanced my way, giving me just enough time to close the distance.

A quick tapped out rhythm furthered its confusion leaving me open to high kick into its chest. As usual, it burst into a cloud of dust, the shadow of its skeleton lasting fractionally longer than the rest of it.

“What! What!!” the woman screamed.

I didn’t have time for her yet. The other vampire was looking up from its meal, but that meant its attention was divided, meaning I could somersault onto its back and stick both my heels into or near its heart. It too disappeared in a cloud of filth.

“What were those things?” The woman screamed, even shriller than before.

“I don’t have time to explain,” I said. I had my fingers on the downed man’s throat and I could just feel a pulse. “Come here.”

Shocked people sometimes respond to commands. Fortunately for me she was one of them.

“Put your hand here,” I put her fingers against the twin holes in her companion’s neck, stemming the flow of blood. “Do you have a phone?” She nodded. “Good. Call for an ambulance. Tell them to look for a parasite. Something new, as small as a virus, but alive. He needs to be restrained and isolated.”

“Who are you?”

“I can’t tell you,” I said. “No time.”

The other two escapees had run off in opposite directions. One was slightly closer. I ran that way, again fishing out my phone and dialling Stuart.

“The barrier’s trapped most of them, along with David,” I said as soon as he answered the phone. “Four got away. I’ve taken care of two, but there was a victim. Breathing but unconscious.”

“Where?”

“Proctor Lane. His friend’s calling for an ambulance.”

“The others?”

“One heading north east, the other south west. I’m going after the north eastern one. The school?”

“Yes, er, erm, exactly why…?”

“No time, Stuart. What’s happening with the vampires is a distraction. As soon as the portal snaps back they’re going to chuck something really nasty through.”

“How do you know?”

“Gut instinct. Call it women’s or slayer’s intuition, I don’t care. I have a really bad feeling about this, Giles.”

“Yes, well, er, yes, alright. I’ve sent Nick to deal with it.”

“You what?”

“He knows. Pull the fire alarm and get out. If he’s caught…”

“Then he gets eaten with the rest of them.”

“Alright, he won’t get caught, but if he’s seen… I’m tracking you and your target. Take the next left and the second right after that.”

I went hands free and ran on, holding the phone in my hand.

The vampire sat straddled on a very fat man. A half dozen more people stood cowering back in the corner of the bus stop. The vamp turned on me as I approached and leapt up into an attacking pose.

“Run, you fuckwits,” I yelled at those I could help. Training took over and I settled into my mesmerising dance. The vampire dodged my first attack and parried my second. My third – a high roundhouse kick – made it through, severing her head from her body. More dust.

Her victim was dead though.

I grabbed my phone. “Newly sired human vampire isn’t going to dust, is it?”

“It takes several weeks before they’re sufficiently altered for that to occur.”

“Fewer words, less time wasted. Victim is dead. I’m assuming I’ll get in trouble if I stake him.”

“Er, yes.”

“Thank you. Victim is at the bus stop on Canon Street.”

“I’ll sort something. Head north on Canon. Your last victim has just about reached the arcade.”

A pizza delivery guy had paused to make a drop off, oblivious to the commotion going on around him. He’d left his scooter running. No helmet unfortunately, but beggars and choosers. I lifted it off its stand and roared away with an indignant cry chasing me down the road.

I’d be in trouble anyway now. Stealing the scooter, riding it without a license, not wearing a helmet, I wasn’t sure which would upset my dad the most, and I’d most likely be grounded till my birthday, and beyond if he could find a way of making it stick. I might as well get my sheep’s worth – you know, rather be hung for a sheep than a lamb sort of thing? I broke a few speed limits and may have gone the wrong way up a one-way street, but I reached the arcade in two minutes.

The vampire was big for his kind and taking some pleasure in approaching a whole group of late-night shoppers. With a silent word of apology to the pizza guy, I jumped the kerb and sent the scooter ploughing into my target. He went down in a mess of arms and legs with me pirouetting gracefully over the top of him to land between him and any potential kills.

He regained his feet, growling menacingly, but swiftly becoming mesmerised by the clattering of my shoes on the pavement. With a hard flat surface, I had an ideal opportunity to use my full set of skills, and I did to the max. He didn’t last long, disappearing into a puff of dust as did all his kind.

“What the hell? Who are you lady?”

I turned to see Big Larry standing slightly apart from the rest of the crowd I’d just rescued.

I curtsied to him. “Why, I’m Daphne,” I said, just about suppressing a hysterical giggle. I didn’t I have time for this. “Daphne the Dancing Demon Dispatcher, and I’m delighted to have been of service tonight.”

I picked up the scooter – a little scratched and bent but otherwise serviceable – and kicked it into life. I was gone before the situation could become more confused.

The pizza guy was pretty much on my way back to the cemetery. I diverted enough to pass him, distracting him from the phone call he was making. “Follow me,” I yelled as I screamed past. It was enough to encourage him to run after me.

Arriving back at the cemetery, it only took me a second to put the scooter on its stand. There were no sounds of fighting from inside the graveyard. I ran in, feeling only the vaguest resistance from the barrier.

David sat on the mausoleum where we’d first seen the portal sparkling. It was gone, as was every vampire that had come through, apart from the evidence of quite a lot more dust than had been there at the beginning of the weekend.

“Could you maybe ask you friend to drop the barrier,” he asked, “It turns out I’m still enough of a vampire that it works on me.”

“You…”

“I told you I could handle them,” he said with a smile.

“The school!” I shouted.

“The barrier?” he reminded me.

“What did you do to my fucking bike,” the delivery guy yelled from the gate.