Chapter 14: Enforcement - The Night Market

‘What the fuck do you want?’

The words dropped low and without welcome. Laik didn’t turn. He didn’t have to. He’d felt Horus watching him for the last twenty minutes like a heat rash.

Horus chuckled as he stepped up beside him, the crystal in his glass catching light from the chandelier above. ‘Is that any way to talk to your better?’

‘Not at all,’ Laik replied, eyes still scanning the crowd. ‘You though? Absolutely. Again – what do you want?’

‘I figured we needed to talk.’

‘Talk, is it?’ Laik finally paid him attention. ‘You’ve been eyeballing me all night. Assumed you were working up the nerve to ask me to dance.’

Horus let out a short, dry laugh. ‘You always were a funny son of a bitch.’

‘And you were always a mouth. I’m surprised you’re still standing, free bar and all. Would’ve guessed you’d be flat on your ass by now if last time’s anything to go by.’

The jab made Horus go still. His nostrils flared.

‘Oh wait,’ Laik added, ‘that wasn’t the drink, was it? That was me. If you don’t want a repeat performance, how about I advise you to fuck off? That get through to you?’

‘Careful,’ Horus warned, voice tightening.

‘Why? You gonna glare at me some more?’

But Horus just smiled, slow and cutting, and turned his gaze to the glittering sweep of guests below, paying particular attention to the Cavendishes, who were advancing up the stairs to the upper reaches.

‘Look at ’em all. You know the funniest thing about these affairs? All these so-called killers in pretty, pretty clothes? They wrap themselves up and put themselves on display. Reputations precede them. Get called ruthless . . . but how? How many here tonight actually get their hands dirty? Their mouths wet? We both know they prefer getting their nasty business done by pen or by proxy.’

He leaned in a little closer. Close enough for Laik to smell the booze on his breath.

‘You and me?’ Horus said. ‘We know what it takes out there. Us, the real ones, the ones who aren’t afraid to swallow our sins for a better world, we see these pretenders for what they are. They’ve forgotten what war tastes like. They’re too busy sucking blood through straws . . .’

Laik shifted. ‘Is this going somewhere?’

Horus ignored the barb, a deft hunger in his eyes twinkling as he leaned on the rail. ‘We’re killers, Laik. We scrap in the dirt because that’s where the scrapping is done. Not here, looking down on the world, not among these show-offs. Vamps nowadays are too soft-hearted. Tortured souls and weeping romantics. It’s embarrassing. Our kind has lost the hunger to survive, to go to battle for what we want, like the old times. Us, we spill the blood the rich are so keen to bottle. Without us working, these monuments of sloth the Families have built would come crumbling down.’

Laik’s tone flattened. ‘You’re an Ode. Which makes you a hypocrite, don’t it? Again, you wanna get to the point of all this?’

‘My point, if you’ve forgotten, is the same it’s always been. Same as then. Same as now. I want that thing inside you,’ Horus said simply. ‘You owe me.’

‘I don’t owe you shit.’ Laik drew back, astonished. ‘And I remember it all, thanks. I remember hearing about a fucking screw-loose company of vamps on a murder spree trying to “purify” the race. Some grand cause, wasn’t it? And I distinctly remember you hunting me halfway across the country after you got your little hard-on.’

‘I wanted to stop the massacres you caused.’ Horus sneered. ‘All those poor, poor people dying, Laik. I wanted to stop you from exposing us. Everywhere we went, we heard stories of some Welsh devil ripping apart communities it passed through. And the plan for you, like it was for every other liability we came across, was to rid ourselves of the burden.’ He straightened his back. ‘There were so many before we heard all about you. They were cowards as well. Godless. They’re no more, making you the last putrid remnant.’

And Laik felt it. Manoeuvring through his veins, coiling in his gut. Waiting. And when he spoke, it spoke in tandem.

‘Someone like you calling others godless . . . Fucking look at yourself, man. You’ll put the knife to anyone who looks at you wrong, dead or no. I’ve kept tabs on what you’ve been up to under the Odes. You’re not on any righteous crusade. You’re just deranged. A maniac. A fucking psychopath, and whatever moron turned you undead, should have been strung up long before he burdened us with the world’s biggest, longest-living asshole.’

‘You’re a menace, Laik,’ Horus hissed back. ‘Even by our standards. Sooner or later, you’ll lose control again. Funniest bit is that I don’t even have to do anything to make it happen, do I? You’re just a bomb waiting to go off. A fucking danger to everyone around you. How many innocent people will you take out next time? The ones sheltering you who don’t even know what you are? How many more kids will end up in bin bags by the time you’re through? And all the while, you’ll be protected by a Family who has no option but to keep you at hand . . . because they cannot risk you serving another. That’s all you are to them: a wild dog on a chain.’

A flicker passed through Laik’s eyes, creeping at the edges of his vision. The thing in his belly stirred in annoyance. The laughter, the clinking of glasses, the silk-and-smoke glamour of the Cavendish party all seemed to melt away. Horus stood just a few feet away, the slick bastard reeking of cologne, confidence and condescension. And he smiled like a jackal, knowing full well he was about to get his meal.

‘There he is.’ Horus leaned in, whispering now. ‘I see you in there. What’s the matter, demon? Am I not young enough for you to rip apart?’

Laik’s fists curled at his sides. Heat was clawing its way through his muscles, readying them for action. The presence within shifted once more, hungry, alert.

All it would take was one word. One shove. One bad blink.

And Horus knew it.

Then—

Crackle.

A burst of static whispered through the earpiece tucked behind Laik’s ear.

‘Oh man, that was embarrassing,’ came a voice, low and amused.

Laik blinked, thrown by the sudden shift in tone. His focus split, part of him still clocking Horus’s smirk, the other suddenly tuning in to the open radio channel connecting the Enforcers.

‘Jesus, you actually did it?’ another chimed in. ‘What were you thinking?’

‘Drop it, fellas,’ said Duncan, voice already full of regret.

‘What happened?’ a third Enforcer asked.

‘Duncan happened,’ came the reply, deadpan. ‘Idiot tried to hit on Pepper.’

‘No!’

‘Really?’

There was a pause.

‘Pepper who?’

‘Pepper who? Hell do you mean, Pepper who?’

‘Laik’s sister. He crashed out hard. It was painful to watch.’

‘I didn’t—’ Duncan tried.

‘Laik, man,’ said someone else, ‘you’re gonna be waiting on that wedding invite.’

‘And I thought Laik was the hard-ass,’ another snorted.

Reese cut through the voices. ‘I told you I had a better chance than you, but noooooo . . .’

Laik stared at Horus. The thing inside him . . . paused.

The heat in his chest dropped by degrees. The tension in his jaw slackened. Somehow, of all the things that could’ve cut through his fury – this was what did it. Idiots on the other end of a radio gossiping like teenagers. He smirked at the thought of Reese’s irritation, of Pepper refuting some corny line, Pepper raising a hand to his face in denial.

Of simply just Pepper.

He calmly exhaled through his nose.

Horus was still watching, eyes glinting with anticipation. He could see Laik pulling back from the edge, confusing him.

‘If I were you,’ Laik said, voice quiet as the space between lightning and thunder, ‘I’d hold on to what little dignity you’ve got left and give it a rest.’

He took a measured step closer, eyes never leaving Horus. ‘Let me spell it out to you since you’re having so much difficulty: I’m not interested. I don’t think about you, Horus. You’re not my nemesis or something. Not the monster under my bed. If anything, you’re a dog scratching at the door, whining for someone to let you in. Begging for a scrap of attention. And you need to come to terms with the fact that it’s never. Gonna. Happen.’

The silence between Laik and Horus stretched, neither willing to blink first. But then, as if summoned by the stand-off, a large hand came to rest on Horus’s shoulder.

‘Ah, Laik,’ said Lord Ode smoothly, though his pale eyes were fixed on his subordinate. ‘Horus. I trust you’re not making a nuisance of yourself?’

The question hung over him like a blade. Horus hesitated.

‘Of course not, sir,’ he said, voice chipped.

But this wasn’t believed, not even for a second. Especially when it came from a repeat offender.

Lord Ode leaned in closer, ensuring his manner remained steady, but the weight of the words unmistakable in their meaning. ‘Need I remind you that we are guests tonight? And I will not have you stirring trouble for the sake of your own amusement. In fact, upon reflection, I’d like you to do me a favour.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Go downstairs. Stay with the cars. Keep an eye out for . . . mischief. Something tells me you’ll be more useful there.’

Horus looked momentarily stunned, caught between confusion and humiliation.

‘Sir?’

‘I would hate for anything to happen to them. And I need someone with considerable expertise watching out for troublemakers. That’s you. Go now, please, if you would.’

Laik, as much as he wanted to, didn’t smirk, though a flicker of satisfaction might have briefly crossed his face.

Horus firmly set his glass down on a table. Then, without a word more, he turned and began his retreat, shoulders stiff, pace heavy with frustration.

With his departure, Lord Ode relaxed himself, a tight smile soon appearing, then extended a firm hand. ‘It’s damn good to see you again, boy.’

‘The pleasure’s mine, sir,’ Laik said, taking the hand. ‘Keeping well?’

‘As well as one can in such strange times.’ His grin softened into something a little more personal. ‘And please – Dominic. It’s been long enough. I saw the commotion at the Night Market, figured you were behind it. All for your sister, or something, wasn’t it?’

Now it was Laik’s turn to feel trapped by this unintentional line of questioning.

‘A small number of troublemakers decided they could threaten her. I stepped in. Things got a little rowdy. As you are aware, family always comes first.’

‘Indeed it does, indeed it does . . . Between us, I rather think we need more like you to keep upstarts like Horus from growing too bold. Yes, yes, you have your instances, but you don’t seek out altercations, at least, from what I know. So that cannot be a negative against you. But the new generations . . . this individualism, this thirst for stimuli, for conflict, it does nobody any good. They forget their place. They need to be shown the hand, see? Be educated. You know, I’ve always said you should come work for me. There’s space for you. More than space, in fact: opportunity. You’ll get a taste of real power under us. And real reward.’

Laik’s response was polite, but unyielding. ‘That’s generous of you, sir. But Mortis has been good to me. I couldn’t betray that.’

Dominic’s eyes glittered with something unreadable, but he nodded. ‘Loyalty is a rare virtue these days. Commendable.’

He clapped Laik on the shoulder, like a proud uncle.

‘But should the day come when you feel . . . disillusioned,’ Dominic added, almost jokingly, ‘know that my door is always open. There are many ways to serve. And who knows? In doing so, you may discover something you never knew you needed . . .’