Sleeping Angel (Ravenwood Series) Page 4

  Silvia looked at her. ‘All men are after something, and I should know.’

  ‘Maybe the men you chase after aren’t the same as Gabriel.’

  Just as April had been softening, thinking that she might actually move back into the house, Silvia went and showed her true colours again.

  April realised as she snatched up her coat that perhaps she was getting this the wrong way around. If the Suckers were searching for the Fury – and much as she hated to admit it, if Benjamin and Marcus had worked out her identity, it was only a matter of time before someone else joined the dots – her presence in Highgate was only putting Silvia in more danger. Her mother could be ferocious when roused, but – seriously – what could a sharp-tongued widow do against the army of darkness gathering outside her door? However fearsome Silvia Dunne could be, however strong her instinct to protect her only child, the vampires would squash her like a fly.

  ‘Look mum, I’ve got to get back.’

  ‘You go then,’ said Silvia, waving her hand dramatically. ‘I’ll be fine.’

  ‘You know what? I think you will.’

  Chapter Four

  April went out through the front door, slamming it behind her. That’s getting to be a habit too, she thought as she pushed past the creaky gate and across the square.

  April was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the slight figure sitting on a bench facing away from the road.

  ‘Hello,’ she said, stopping April in her tracks. Davina Osbourne. Queen of the Ravenwood mean girls, top dog in the school Suckers and head of the vampire recruitment team. What was she doing sitting outside her house?

  ‘Davina, you frightened the life out of me.’

  ‘Sorry,’ the girl said, but there was something odd about the way she said it. April looked at her more closely and was shocked by what she saw: Davina’s usual super-groomed poise was gone. She looked crumpled, exhausted, her normally blemish-free skin looked mottled and there were frown-lines on her forehead. If she hadn’t felt it was impossible, she would have said Davina had forgotten to wash her hair.

  ‘I heard about your dad,’ said Davina, wiping her nose with a rag of tissue. ‘Must be pretty freaky.’

  April just nodded. She had no idea how to react. Davina looked up and April could see her eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed. ‘Want to go for a coffee?’

  Davina smiled. ‘Thanks, that’d be nice.’

  Sitting across from April at a table in the Americano coffee bar, trapped under the unforgiving fluorescent lighting, Davina looked even worse. She looked as you’d expect someone to whose close relative had recently died: washed out, raw and broken. Somehow you didn’t expect vampires to react in the same way as “real” people.

  ‘So ... how was the funeral?’ asked Davina, running a nail around the rim of her mocha.

  ‘You knew about it?’

  Davina nodded and looked up at April. ‘I wanted to go, you know.’

  ‘Really?’ said April, taken aback. ‘I thought you hated Miss Holden.’

  Davina gave a ghost of a smile. ‘Hate is a strong word. She did annoy me, that’s true, but I ... well, I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. Not the way it did, anyway,’ she finished lamely.

  Was that true? Did vampires like Davina Osbourne actually regret things? Did Davina really care that her little brother had tortured and killed their teacher? Then again, Davina was not naturally the caring sharing type – her idea of intimacy was air-kissing – so perhaps her crying meant she was genuinely in pain. Yes, Davina was a Sucker, and yes, her brother had been a psychotic killer – but he had still been her brother. She had to be hurting right now.

  ‘Listen, Davina, no one blames you for what happened,’ said April.

  ‘It’s kind of you to say so, but that’s not true. Everyone blames me. I can see it on their faces. Our family has some faults, God knows and I know the things people say about us, but we’re not all ... killers.’ She began to sob.

  ‘Come on,’ said April, glancing around the café. ‘Let’s get away from here.’

  Davina wasn’t herself at all. The girl April had known up till now, and was surely only lurking a few millimetres under the surface, would rather die than be spotted weeping in a coffee shop. They walked out of Americano and crossed the road into Waterlow Park.

  ‘How’s your mum doing?’ asked April.

  ‘It’s hit mummy and daddy pretty hard. This sort of thing just doesn’t happen to us.’

  Did she mean vampires weren’t supposed to die and therefore it was more of a shock when they did? Davina saw April’s confused expression.

  ‘I mean, a death in the family is something that happens on TV shows or to other people, isn’t it? My mum barely managed when Milo died. God knows how she’s going to cope with this.’

  They stopped at the edge of the lake. They were alone apart from a pair of ducks which began to paddle over, presumably hoping for some bread from the nice humans.

  ‘And how are you doing?’

  ‘Oh, I’m okay,’ said Davina waving a hand airily. ‘People keep asking me that and the thing is ... they just have no idea what it’s like.’

  ‘I do.’

  She stopped and grabbed April’s hand. ‘Oh God, I’m so sorry. That police inspector, what’s his name? Reece? He told us what Ben tried to do to you. You probably don’t want to hear this, do you?’

  ‘It’s okay. Honestly.’

  Davina pulled some berries off a bush and began to throw them to the uninterested mallards. ‘It’s funny,’ she said quietly. ‘You take your family for granted, don’t you? Most of the time you’re living under the same roof, and they’re just so annoying. “Do this”; “do that”; “clear up your bedroom” – it’s a nightmare.’

  April smiled inwardly. She had seen Davina’s bedroom – it wouldn’t have looked out of place in the interiors section of Vogue, all spotless white carpets and beautiful furniture – and she couldn’t imagine anyone complaining about Davina leaving wet towels on the bathroom floor.

  ‘But even so, you just assume they’re always going to be there, don’t you? Ben was always teasing me, calling me an airhead or a diva, all those things little brothers say to you – and the amount of times I told him that I wished he’d just drop dead ...’ She gulped back a sob, pulling out another tissue. ‘And then he did.’ She turned to April, tears in her eyes. ‘And then he did drop dead.’

  April could only nod and embrace her awkwardly. Davina had no idea that it had been April’s blood which had killed her brother. She hoped to God Davina would never know.

  Davina took a long deep breath and they began to walk again. ‘I hear you’re not living with your mum.’

  ‘No, I’ve moved in with my grandad.’

  ‘Well, that big house in Covent Garden’s far more glamorous than that poky place in Pond Square.’

  It was exactly the sort of thing Davina always said: thoughtless, shallow, judgemental. But the way she said it, April could tell her heart wasn’t in it any more. She looked bleak, sagging, no trace of vampire arrogance left. If she was putting it on to get April’s sympathy, Davina was a damn good actor.

  ‘Don’t be too hard on her though,’ said Davina. ‘Your mum, I mean. It can’t be easy being one thing and then having to pretend you’re ...’ She trailed off.

  April frowned. ‘“Being one thing?” What do you mean?’

  Davina shook her head quickly. ‘Oh, I just mean you should hold onto what you’ve got, I suppose. She might drive you mental, but at least she’s still there, you know? And it can’t have been easy losing her husband.’

  ‘Twice,’ said April without thinking.

  ‘God, yes. I hadn’t thought of that.’

  April had to admit she hadn’t either. She had been so wrapped up with her own problems, she hadn’t really considered how her mother would feel about her husband’s remains being snatched away in the night. God, I’m such a spoilt brat, she thought. Presumably Silvia was s
truggling with her own guilt – the fact the recycling bin was always overflowing with wine bottles was a strong clue she was finding it hard to cope – maybe she deserved that guilt, but didn’t need her nose rubbing in it again and again. April resolved to be a little more charitable towards her mother. As Davina said, at least she was still there.

  ‘You’re back in school tomorrow?’ asked Davina.

  April nodded. She didn’t want to go, of course, but she didn’t really have an excuse. The hospital had discharged her and she couldn’t imagine her grandfather, protective though he was, letting her stay off any longer on the grounds of just being “stressed out”.

  ‘It’s going to be weird,’ said April.

  ‘Honey, it already is weird.’

  ‘No, but without Miss Holden and Ben and everything.’

  ‘And the new headmaster.’

  April turned to look at her. ‘What? We’re getting a new headmaster already?’

  ‘Didn’t you know? Daddy’s pleased about that at least. He didn’t get on with Mr Sheldon, God rest his soul. This new guy’s more in tune with the governors, apparently.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘I think it means they’ll be recruiting more.’

  April looked at her intently. ‘Recruiting?’

  ‘You know, getting all the geniuses to do free research for all their chums.’

  April gaped at her. She couldn’t believe Davina was saying it out loud, as if it were common knowledge. Davina laughed – her bleak mood had clearly lifted.

  ‘Come on, sweetie, you didn’t think Ravenwood was gathering all these brain-boxes together for fun, did you?’

  ‘No, I suppose not. In fact I think my dad was investigating Ravenwood before he died.’

  ‘Very possible. That’s the sort of thing he used to do, wasn’t it? And I can see the papers getting all worked up about using kids as slave labour and all that, but it’s not illegal, just a tiny bit immoral. Or at least that’s what daddy says. Ravenwood’s a business, and the geeks are their biggest asset. I think the idea is to make them work for their keep.’

  ‘But don’t we pay Ravenwood to go there?’

  Davina sighed dramatically. ‘So naïve, honey. I really need to work personally on your education, don’t I?’

  That’s not such a bad idea, thought April. Not a bad idea at all.

  Chapter Five

  A school assembly was a big event at Ravenwood. Most schools have regular assemblies, but at Ravenwood you were expected to get straight down to work as soon as possible, so assemblies were only used for major announcements. Consequently, as the students filtered into the hall straight after registration, expectation was high, the room twittering with rumour and counter-rumour. Caro, however, had other things on her mind.

  ‘I can’t believe you’re going to hang out with Davina,’ said Caro. ‘After all that’s happened? Her brother tried to burn you alive, April!’

  April glanced around anxiously, shushing her friend. It wasn’t as if what had happened in the headmaster’s study and at Mr Sheldon’s house was secret; the school had been locked down as a crime scene; students and parents had been questioned; and, if they had somehow managed to miss all that, the “Ravenwood Triple Slaying” had been splashed across the front page of every paper. Even so, April didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself.

  ‘I know her brother tried to kill me,’ whispered April, pulling Caro into a corner out of earshot of any other Ravenwood students. ‘But we still need as much information as we can get on the Suckers, don’t we? We got rid of the Vampire Regent, but Ravenwood hasn’t crumbled, has it?’

  ‘Worst luck,’ said Caro grumpily. April followed her gaze over to the other side of the hall where a group of the Faces were settling into a row of chairs, preening and gossiping with, at their centre, Simon, her old friend and major crush. It couldn’t be easy watching him hanging out with a load of half-dead killers. It couldn’t help either that Caro suspected those girls of having led her childhood friend Layla to a horrible lonely death in the cemetery catacombs. April could certainly understand her hostility.

  ‘Listen, Davina may be evil, but she’s right about one thing,’ said April. ‘It doesn’t matter who’s in charge. As long as Ravenwood’s still going, they’ll be recruiting kids to the Sucker’s cause and if we’re going to help people like Simon, then sticking close to Davina makes sense.’

  ‘But she must know we know,’ said Caro. ‘She must suspect that Ben and Sheldon told you everything, mustn’t she?’

  ‘Maybe. Almost certainly, in fact. But what are we going to do – transfer to some other school?’

  Caro snorted. ‘According to the papers, most schools in inner London are more dangerous than Ravenwood.’

  Mr Anderson, April’s English teacher, walked onto the stage and said that everyone should take their seats. Caro and April moved into an empty row just across from the Faces.

  ‘See that girl next to Ling?’ said Caro, looking over at them. ‘The one wearing the Prada dress, with the big hair? That’s Sunita from my biology class.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘The last time I saw her, she had horn-rimmed glasses, hair all greasy, and was shuffling around in orthopaedic shoes.’

  April looked across. The girl’s hair was now sleek and back-combed, like a cascading chestnut waterfall – she didn’t look comfortable with it though. April could see her hand straying up to touch it every now and then. ‘A new recruit? Well, that’s who we’ve got to do it for. The vulnerable ones, those who can’t resist the pull of the dark side.’

  Caro raised her eyebrows and nodded towards the door. ‘Talking of the dark side.’

  Davina Osbourne was walking in on four-inch heels, dressed top-to-toe in black. Students were openly gaping at her.

  ‘Darling, how are you?’ she said, stopping next to April.

  ‘I’m fine,’ said April looking up at her. ‘More to the point, how are you? Must be strange being back.’

  ‘I’ve put it all behind me,’ declared Davina. ‘We have to move forward, don’t we?’

  To April’s amazement, Davina moved into their row and sat down next to them. Caro shot her a startled look. Davina never sat anywhere except with her vamp cronies. To have the head Sucker sit with them was rather like seeing the Prime Minister cross parliament to sit with the Opposition.

  ‘Um, aren’t you sitting with Chessy?’ said Caro, nodding her head over to where Davina’s second-in-command was sitting with Ling and Simon.

  ‘No,’ said Davina simply, but any further discussion was cut short as Mr Andrews clapped his hands, waiting for the chattering to subside.

  ‘Good morning, school,’ he said. ‘As I’m sure most of you are aware, there were some very unsettling events involving Ravenwood staff and pupils last week, hence our impromptu holiday.’

  Many students flicked their eyes towards April – and Davina.

  ‘But, tragic though the events were, Ravenwood pupils are fighters. We won’t let that sort of thing stop us being all we can be, will we?’

  Caro elbowed April and made gagging motions.

  ‘Anyway, the school governors have acted swiftly,’ continued Mr Andrews, ‘and I am delighted to announce that as of today, Ravenwood has a new headmaster.’

  There was a murmur of anticipation, people craning their necks towards the teachers, wondering if they could spot the mystery man.

  ‘I know you’ll give a big Ravenwood welcome to our new headmaster – Dr Charles Tame.’

  April’s mouth dropped open. She looked at Caro and saw an equally stunned expression on her face.

  ‘Christ, no,’ April whispered. ‘Anyone but him.’

  Charles Tame was the controversial academic the increasingly desperate police had drafted in to help them with the Highgate murders, using his questionable interview techniques on witnesses – or suspects – such as April. He was ruthless, ambitious and very creepy. April vaguely remembered Fiona tellin
g her that he’d been a headmaster of some private school before, but he was about the last person she would have expected to take over at Ravenwood. Mr Andrews led the school in a round of applause, as Tame walked slowly out, a half-smile on his face, his strange pale eyes scanning the hall. April could barely believe that Tame had now taken charge of the school. How? She shivered as she remembered him coming to her house under the guise of “asking a few questions”, then forcing her to the floor on the very spot where her father had died. Dr Tame was a man who seemed to have no qualms about pushing the boundaries of professionalism or decency to get what he wanted. Maybe that’s why they had chosen him.

  ‘Good morning, everyone,’ said Tame. ‘I’m very glad and excited to be here, and extremely grateful to the governors for putting their faith in me. I feel sure that, together, we can make Ravenwood an even greater school than it was under my predecessor.’ He paused as the slightly bemused students dutifully clapped again. ‘I knew Mr Sheldon personally and losing him is a genuine tragedy. He was a wise and caring man.’

  Yeah, so caring, he tried to slit my throat, thought April.

  ‘And let’s not forget Miss Holden, a valued and well loved teacher, Another terrible loss. Our thoughts are with her family ... But –’ Tame paused meaningfully. ‘But whatever rumours you have heard, please do not let your imaginations run away with you. I have spoken to the police and the fire chief in charge of the investigation and I can assure you that the regrettable incidents here and at Mr Sheldon’s house were nothing more than a series of tragic accidents. Upsetting though they were, we must all put them behind us and move on.’

  ‘Hear, hear!’ said Mr Andrews and Dr Tame smiled.

  ‘There has been a lot of disruption and uncertainty around the school for the last few months – I know some of you have lost friends. It has been a dark time, but many of you may know that I’ve been working very closely with the police and I can assure you that those dark times are over. Things are different now. Although I still expect you all to get As.’ This was clearly Tame’s idea of a joke and the teachers forced out a few polite chuckles. ‘So, as of today, I intend to introduce a new approach to teaching. The old-fashioned methods we’ve used for so many years just aren’t working. I believe in freeing students from the shackles of conventional schooling. Ravenwood pupils are more intelligent and more mature than your average student and I intend to capitalise on that by giving you the freedom to study what you want, when you want.’