the sweet scent of blood by suzanne mcleod extract

8/11/2019 The Sweet Scent Of Blood by Suzanne McLeod Extract

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THE SWEET SCENT

OF BLOODSpellcrackers.com

SUZANNE MCLEOD

GOLLANCZ


3/16

Copyright Suzanne Gillespie

All rights reserved

Te right of Suzanne Gillespie to be identified as the author

of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act .

First published in Great Britain in by

Gollancz

An imprint of the Orion Publishing Group

Orion House, Upper St Martins LaneLondon

An Hachette Livre UK Company

A CIP catalogue record for this book

is available from the British Library

(Cased) (rade Paperback)

ypeset by Deltatype Ltd, Birkenhead, Merseyside

Printed and bound in the UK by

CPI Mackays, Chatham, Kent

Te Orion Publishing Groups policy is to use papers that

are natural, renewable and recyclable products and made

from wood grown in sustainable forests. Te logging and

manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the

environmental regulations of the country of origin.

ww.orionbooks.co.uk


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Chapter One

The vampire looked a beautiul, dangerous clich. Jet-blackhair tied back in a French plait emphasised the pale angleso his ace. Shadowed grey eyes stared out with moody promise.Black silk clung to hard abdominals while sof leather stretched

down long, lean legs. An ankle-length coat pooled across the

stone steps on which he sat so it seemed he existed in his

own well o seductive darkness. Behind him, the erris-wheel

silhouette o the London Eye, backlit by exploding fireworks,

added a less than subtle suggestion to the scene.

Te picture was splashed across the ront page o every

national newspaper: a celebrity story made more sensational

than the norm thanks to the mix o murder and vampires.

Other than providing a ew moments o idle interest, the news

had nothing to do with me.

Or so I thought.

London was in the middle o a late September heat-waveand the bright sunshine blistered hot into the city as I sat at my

usual corner table in the Rosy Lea ca, staring at the vampires

picture. Outside the tourists that normally thronged Covent

Garden huddled in the shade under the stone canopy o St

Pauls Church. Even the street entertainers had succumbed to

the heat, leaving the expanse o cobbled paving deserted. Inside

the empty ca was no better. Tere was no air-conditioningand even with the doors wide open, the hot, heavy air pressed

against me as i it were something solid. I nothing else it was

peaceul.

I work or Spellcrackers.com Making magic sae! and


5/16

Id spent a long, rustrating morning chasing pixies through a

crowded raalgar Square. A pack o them had been attempt-

ing to animate the huge bronze lions. Te magic was way out

o their league o course, but this was their fifh attempt in amonth and I had to give them points or persistence i nothing

else. Tanks to the pixies, Id missed lunch, and Id been hop-

ing or a quick bite beore my next job. But Katie, the waitress,

had other ideas.

She pulled more papers in ront o me. Check these out,

Genny!

I cast a long-suffering look over the headlines.CELEBRITY VAMPIRE ARRESTED IN GIRLFRIENDS MURDER

screamed one.TIME RUNS OUT FOR MR OCTOBERS DATE was

another. And the very snappy, ONE BITE WAS ENOUGH! None o

them likely to win any prizes or headline o the year, but they

were definitely eye-catching, i only or the ont size.

Katie pointed to the picture o the vampire and sighed. Its

so tragic. Her fingers stroked her blue heart pendant, the one

she always wore. Mr October . . . isnt he gorgeous? Tats the

pic they used in the calendar, yknow.

Uh-huh, I muttered. Katies teenage obsession with vamps

was one I didnt participate in.

Te calendar showing all the touristy places? She nudged

me or emphasis. Yknow, the vamps dressed up all historical?Tere was this ab shot o this handsome Cavalier standing

in ront o Buck House ooh, and Mr April, the Roman cen-

turion, now hes hot, but not as hot as

alking o hot, I interrupted, you couldnt get me my

orange juice, could you, Katie? Im dying o thirst here.

Ha, Ha. Very unny, Genny. She swung away to the coun-

ter, looking cool in her floaty skirt and strappy top.Briefly, I closed my eyes. Ten, concentrating on that part

o me that sees the magic, Iocusedon Katie as she disappeared

into the kitchen. A deep cobalt blue shimmered around her

in the place I imagined her aura would be i I could actually


6/16

see it. Relie settled in me. Te protective warding spell Id

bought and attached to Katies heart pendant was as strong

as ever. Covent Garden Market is Londons Witch Central;

you can buy anything, rom a bad-hair-day remedy to a noisyneighbour muffler to an anti-Congestion Charge charm even

i the last is illegal. And working there has its advantages, but it

still pays to be careul. Upset a witch and they dont just shout

at you . . . angry red boils is never a good look.

Isnt this weather just too much? Katies voice drifed out

into the empty ca as she chatted to Freddie, the cook. Tey

were saying on the telly it hasnt been this hot or at least tenyears, yknow.

I anned mysel with the menu, the slight breeze disturbing

my hair where the short ends stuck to the back o my neck. Te

cream linen waistcoat I wore was cool enough, but the black

trousers had been a mistake. rouble is, Ive never been much

or skirts, and shorts just dont have the right proessional

image. I scanned the ca interior, checking or any other stray

spells that might be lurking. It took a whole chapter o coven

witches all thirteen o them to produce a warding complex

enough or business premises, and that was way too rich or

Freddies pockets, so, in return or the occasional bacon sand-

wich, I tidied up on a regular basis instead.

Te ca was clear o magic, but I glanced down and caughta aint glow coming rom my phone. Crap. I snatched up the

phone and with a sense o resigned inevitability peered at the

thumbnail-sized crystal on the back. A racture like a black

splinter lodged in the crystals centre. Damn pixies. Even

being careul, Id still managed to crackthe phones protection

spell when Id cleared up all their dust. Now Id risk rying

the phone next time I deused a spell i I didnt buy anothercrystal, and they werent cheap.

Could my day get any worse?

I dumped the phone on the table and gave the newspapers

an irritated look. It wasnt the crystal, although that was bad


7/16

enough London is expensive, even with the rent subsidy I

got with my job. And it wasnt the weather, my clothes or even

the pixies that had me on edge. It was the vampires. Teyd

deviated rom their sel-imposed politically correct script.And I hadnt a clue why.

Over the last ew years, the vampires had crawled out o

their coffins (not that Id ever known one to actually sleep in

a coffin) and brushed the dirt rom their public image. Teyd

poured new blood into British ourism and transormed the

more presentable among themselves into A-list celebs.

Its amazing what a collection o glossy pictures and a no-expense-spared marketing campaign can do. With a steady

diet o tourists and inatuated youngsters like Katie satisying

both their physical and financial needs, the vampires pretty

much had it all dished up on a plate. Even the current eeding

renzy about the murder had less to do with the accused being

a vamp and everything to do with him being a hot property

among Londons nightlie. I sighed. At least the newest round

o government legislation meant sixteen-year-old Katie had

another two years beore reality could legally sink its angs into

her media-induced crush.

Id been ourteen when it had happened to me.

I rubbed the phantom throb at the curve o my neck, then

dug my fingers into the smooth skin, trying to ease the annoy-ing sensation that the memory had raised. Fourteen was ten

years and a different lietime ago, and the law and the vamps

had never been overly concerned when it came to the likes o

me.

Here you go, Genny. Katie plonked my juice down and

lifed another paper.

Te juice slipped down my throat and spread a chill throughmy body instead o the warmth I craved. Id have to wait until

later or that. I flicked a finger at the paper Katie was reading.

Dont suppose theres any news o my bacon sandwich, is

there?


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Uh-huh, she muttered, hal ignoring me, in a sec.

Hope youre not expecting a tip, I added.

Freddies doing it. She gave me a superior look rom

around the edge o the paper. And anyway, Freddie says Im amuch better waitress than you ever were, so there.

Means nothing, I grinned. He says that to all the girls.

Katie sniffed and snapped the paper back up between us.

A quiver o awareness crept across my shoulders. A tall

gangly youth not much older than Katie stood in the kitchen

doorway, watching. I stared back. He jerked as i Id burnt him

beore ducking out o sight.I shrugged. Its my eyes that do it: amber-coloured, with oval

pupils, rather like a cats. And my hair doesnt help its the

same odd shade. London has its air share o ae and others

living in the city, but even so, my eyes still reak people out.

Teyre the only part o me that doesnt look human.

Whos the new guy? I asked.

Gazza, hes the pot-washer the agency sent. He started

yesterday. She lowered the paper. Hes a bit o a drip, really.

Keeps asking me what sort o stuff I like, yknow, movies,

tunes . . .

I wonder why? I opened my eyes wide in mock surprise.

Ha. Ha. Anyway, like Id sogo out with him. She wrinkled

her nose.Course you wouldnt, I agreed, matter o act. Hes not

old, hasnt got pointy teeth, and isnt interested in your blood.

Hes . . . nice.

Well, I dont think hes nice. She bent closer. He said hes

never seen a aerie beore. Course, I told him you were sidhe

ae, not a aerie. She threw a baleul look behind her, then

carried on, And Freddie doesnt think hes nice either, I heardhim telling Gazza hed wash his mouth out with soap, it was so

dirty. So hes not gonna be here long, anyway.

I didnt need to ask what else Gazza had been saying.

Witches are human, vampires had been human once. But the


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ae are a different species, like the trolls and the goblins. Te

humans just lump us together as Other. Te less polite call

us Freaks or Subs, a nice little abbreviation or sub-human.

And we ae are a minority, were not always pretty, and wereofen dangerous. I say we, but even amongst the citys ae com-

munity, Im in a minority o one: the only sidhe living in the

whole o London.

And i Gazzas mouth wasnt polluted with prejudice, there

was always the other option. Te ae are rumoured or their

Glamour or in more prurient terms, aerie sex.

Either way, Gazza wasnt worth the energy it took to noticehim. Freddie would sort him out soon enough and Katie

wasnt a pushover; Id seen her dump hot coffee in more than

one idiots lap when he didnt take the hint.

Katie pointed at the newspaper on the top o the pile. A pic-

ture o a pretty, smiling brunette covered hal the ront page.

Te headline read VAMPIRE ROBERTO KILLS HIS J ULIET.

What does that one say about him?

I unolded the broadsheet and read snippets rom the text.

Its got some quotes rom the undead Lord, the Earl: crime

o passion, regrets the dreadul waste o two such young and

promising lives . . . wants to reassure the public that becom-

ing a vampire is sae . . . condolences to both their amilies . . .

ull support or the police I looked up at her. Tat sort othing. Same as all the rest.

Its so romantic, isnt it? she sighed. Tey loved each other

so much, yknow, they wanted to be together orever. Only the

Gif didnt work and now hes probably gonna die too.

I snorted. Dont be daf, Katie. She probably wasnt his girl-

riend at all. He just lost control and then tried to give her the

Gif as a cover-up. Its just a PR pitch to make sure the othervamps dont catch any grie over it. I tapped my finger on the

paper. Look, she only died yesterday. Last night is too quick

or the police to have caught him. I expect the other vamps had

him all trussed up ready to go.


10/16

He didnt try to run. Roberto didnt even know she was

dead, Ms aylor.

Katie and I both looked up in surprise. A man was standing

between us and the entrance. Te afernoon sunshine slantingbehind him threw him into shadow and or a moment his ace

appeared a twin or the vampire staring out o the newspaper.

My heart skipped a beat and ear prickled down my spine.

Katie gasped, her hand fluttering to my shoulder. Ten sense

kicked in. No vamps until afer sunset.

I relaxed slightly as the man stepped orward, his hands

clenched at his sides. Te navy suit he wore was rumpled, hisshirt collar undone and his tie loosened. Grey salted his short

dark hair and the lines anning rom his eyes and mouth etched

deep into his skin, making him look older than the orty-eight

years the papers claimed. Even so, it was obvious where Mr

October had inherited his good looks rom.

Katie let out a sof breath next to my ear and straightened

up.

I looked up at the man, considering he might be a human

but his son was a vampire it made me want to tell him to go

away, to leave me alone, but my ather taught me that threats

are better dealt with in more practical ways. So instead I asked,

What do you want, Mr Hinkley?

His lips thinned briefly, then he took a deep breath. I wantto hire you, Ms aylor.

Because o this? I laid my palm on the pile o newspapers.

He nodded.

Youre wasting your time. I work or Spellcrackers.com.

Its a witch company. Witch Council rules are clear about jobs

involving vampires. We dont accept them.

I know, he said, voice quiet and controlled. Ive alreadyspoken with Stella Raynham. Your boss told me you would

be here.

Im surprised she told you where I was? I made it a ques-

tion.


11/16

Stella and I know each other, he said, then paused, letting

that statement hang in the air. Can I talk to you? Please?

I shrugged and pushed the newspapers to one side. ake a

seat. Stellas name means Ill listen, nothing else.Katie hovered behind me. ea or coffee?

He sat down. Coffee. Black. Please, he added belatedly.

She bustled away but not beore widening her eyes and

silently mouthing an excited ooh!behind the mans back.

Youre not a witch, Ms aylor.

Tats obvious. No. Im not.

I know youve worked or Spellcrackers or just over a year,

Stella employed you, even though youve never had any known

affiliation with the Covens. He reached out and pushed the

salt cellar neatly in line with the pepper pot. Youre not bound

by Witch Council rules.

Did Stella tell you that?

Not in so many words.Why dont you tell me exactly what Stella did say to you,

Mr Hinkley?

Alan. Please. He fished in his jacket pocket as he spoke.

Im a financial journalist. I did an article on Spellcrackers a

couple o months ago, about the proposal to ranchise the

business. He laid a newspaper cutting on the table with his

by-line under the headline SPELLCRACKERS.COM CRACK THE

MAGIC MARKET.

Te penny dropped, plugging a large deficit in Stellas

publicity budget.

Okay, I begin to see the picture now. Im amazed Stella

didnt come with you.

I asked her not to. I didnt want to put any pressure onyou.

Yeah, right. So, Alan, what is it you want me to do?

He indicated the newspaper picture o the smiling victim. I

want you to come and see Melissa.


12/16

I rowned, surprised. Im not clear how thats going to

help. Not when Melissa was already dead.

Roberto and Melissa . . . He shook his head and spoke

quietly, almost to himsel. No, I wont call him that. My sonsname is Bobby. Roberto isnt even his given name, its just the

one he took with theGif. Moisture glistened in his bloodshot

eyes and he blinked it away. Bobby and Melissa were going to

be married.

So maybe Katies romantic notions werent so ar off the

mark.

Tats one o the reasons why we want to hire you, herushed on. Bobby didnt kill Melissa, he couldnt, he loved

her, she . . . She was a great girl. He tapped the pepper pot.

Someone else killed her. We think its another vampire, but

we cant prove it.

Who is we?

Bobby and me. He grimaced. Everyone else is sticking to

this ridiculous doomed lovers story.

What about Bobbys blood amily? What do they think?

Te vinegar sloshed as he almost knocked it over. Te acrid

smell rose between us. Youre right about that, Ms aylor. Te

only aspect o Bobbys current predicament that concerns the

vampires is the PR angle.

I narrowed my eyes. Doesnt Bobby have a solicitor lookingout or him?

Alans lips thinned again. I didnt eel confident in the first

solicitor. Hes a vampire, and Im not sure he has Bobbys best

interests at heart. Te one Ive hired hasnt dealt with vamps

beore. Ms aylor, we need as much help as we can get.

I didnt disagree, but I didnt want to get involved and so ar

Id heard nothing that would make me. Tat still doesnt tellme why you think I can help you?

Alan dropped his gaze to the table. My wie died six years

ago o a rare blood disease.

Im sorry. I offered inadequate sympathy.


13/16

Bobby was a teenager when she died, and he went through

a rough patch aferwards. He looked up. Now, Bobby is was

training to be a doctor. He thought i he had enough time he

could help find a cure, so he accepted the Gif three years ago.His fingers clamped around the pepper pot. I might not agree

with his liestyle choice, Ms aylor, but he is still my son. Hes

the only amily I have lef.

I looked at him or a moment, then said sofly, Mr Hinkley

Alan Im sorry, but I really cant help you. Even i another

vamp did kill Melissa . . . I find spells, then break or neutralise

them. Tats all I do. I didnt like to say but there is nothingmagical about a vampire sucking you to death.

He rolled the pepper pot on its edge. Tats it, though: we

want you to look at Melissa and check or magic. Te coroner

says that the evidence points to just one vampire partner,

Bobby, but we think that the other vamp has covered up his

bites with a spell.

Straws and grasping came to mind.

He placed the pepper pot back next to the salt. Not only

that, you work or the Human, Other and Preternatural Ethics

Society at their vampire clinic

I interrupted him. Te clinics not just or vampire victims.

HOPE treats all types o magical attacks.

Yes, but youre used to seeing vampire bites, more than thecoroner.

Except the victims I saw were usually still alive.

Alan twirled the vinegar bottle. We thought that once

youve uncovered the bite, you might be able to identiy the

other vampire.

My stomach tightened into a hard knot. Mr Hinkley, even

i there is another bite hidden by magic, and even i I managedto find it, there is no way I could pinpoint the biter. I doubt

even the coroner could do it, not without an actual sample bite

to compare it against. And even then, vamp DNA only points

to the bloodline, not the individual vampire.


14/16

He looked straight at me. But we thought youcould do it

with magic.

My pulse sped up. I didnt like where he was heading:

vampires thinking I could use magic to identiy their bites?Tat along with everything else would not be beneficial or

my health. Ten you thought wrong, Mr Hinkley. I cant use

magic like that, and I doubt that its even possible.

His ace ell. Ten he tapped his thumbnail against the

vinegar bottle, making a tiny tinkling sound, and his mouth

twisted into a hard line. I can pay you whatever you want.

I sighed. Not that I couldnt do with the money, but theanswer was still no, even with his associationto Stella. She might

have pointed him in my direction, but Stella wasnt about to let

one o her employees work or a vampire, even once removed.

Te witches and vamps live-and-let-live thing started in the

fifeenth century it was one o the more gruesome and sen-

sational parts o history lessons, what with the witch hunts, the

inquisition and everything and anyone whod been to school

couldve told Alan Hinkley I wasnt about to say yes to his job.

So why was he being so persistent? And why hadnt Stella come

with him? Something about that didnt add up. Unless she was

leaving it to me to turn him down just so she wasnt made out

to be the wicked witch in this sad little scenario. I that was the

case, Stella was going to find out I didnt appreciate being castas the bad-tempered aerie, and soon.

Its not about money, I said slowly. I dont want any

involvement with the vampires. Its one o the main reasons

I work or Spellcrackers.com, so I dont have to. Vamps dont

give the ae the same respect as they do humans.

Id heard that, but I wanted to talk to you anyway. Im sure

it wouldnt cause you a problem just to look, Ms aylor. Itwouldnt take long.

I kept my eyes on his, a suspicion orming in my mind.

What happens i I say no?

His orehead creased in puzzlement. I dont understand.


15/16

Cmon, Alan: youve waited all day so you can speak to me

away rom the office. You persuade my boss to let you talk to

me, but you dont want to put any pressure on me by having

her here while we chat. Weve been down the sympathy route.I leaned orward, took the vinegar bottle rom his fingers and

lowered my voice. Your only son, a vampire, is accused o

murder. I hes ound guilty, hes not going to sit in jail or the

next twenty-odd years. Teyll send him to the guillotine, burn

his remains and scatter them over running water. I slammed

the vinegar bottle down on the table. Why dont you tell me

the real reason you think Im going to help you?He flinched and sat back, crossing his arms. Im not the

bad guy here, Ms aylor. Im just trying to save my son.

I didnt bother to say anything, just waited or the rest o

it.

Okay, Alans shoulders hunched, Bobby said to give you

a message, but only i you said no. He wouldnt tell me what

it meant. He said it was better i I didnt know. Desperation

filled his eyes as he went through some internal struggle, then

he spoke again, his voice hard and flat. My son wouldnt do

anything wrong.

Ten youd better give me the message, since Im supposed

to be the one that understands it.

He glanced round the ca, but it was still empty. Even Katiehadnt returned with his coffee yet.

Siobhans brother sends his regards, he said quietly.

Adrenalin rushed through me. Te hairs on my arms

lifed.

Siobhans brother.

Fuck, I shouldve known. What was the bastard playing at

this time? Alan was watching me, a horrified expression on hisace. It is blackmail, he murmured, almost to himsel. Bloody

hell, what a mess

I swallowed, trying to ease the tension in my jaw. No, its

not blackmail. Not exactly.


16/16

It might not be blackmail, but I still didnt have a choice.

Id made a bargain, and the ae dont make or break bargains

lightly; the magic demands too great a price. But it had never

entered my mind that this particular debt would be called inora vampire, rather than one o their victims.

the sweet scent of blood by suzanne mcleod extract

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