Testimony of Children (Alice Gray Book 2)

17

We spent the rest of the day in the library. Stephen and Emily barely spoke, but I got the message loud and clear. I'd been relegated to their 'assignment' again, and it hurt. Despite our past, I'd come to rely on these guys. They were my friends.

By mid-afternoon, Emily shifted in her seat like she might explode if she remained inactive for much longer. Stephen just looked weary. All those books and nothing to help any of us. If research wasn't going to cut it, action was all we had, and James's note was burning a hole in my pocket.

When we returned to Granville Square, I went to my room like a naughty child. The first thing I did when I got there was to smooth out the crumpled note.

Spaniards Inn

I knew the place. It was a nice pub in Hampstead. Not really what I was expecting, but why wouldn't a powerful vampire like to drink in pleasant surroundings. It was also one of the oldest pubs in London.

Perhaps that had more to do with it.

Just after ten I heard the shower turn off in the bathroom. My nerves were worn to shreds from waiting for them to go to bed, terrified that the Spaniards Inn would be closed before the coast was clear. Finally it was time for action.

I didn't want to see James dressed as I had been when I met him today. After his show of strength at the library, I felt the irrational need to impress him, and somehow I didn't think that leggings and a t-shirt conveyed the image of a powerful and capable witch.

It was an unfamiliar impulse for me: wanting to be seen, to impress with my appearance. I was usually a jeans and hoodie kind of girl, happy to fade into the crowd and watch from the side lines.

Not anymore.

However much I wanted to, I couldn't hold myself separate from that shocking figure with bright silver eyes. Each time I felt the energy buzz and strain inside me, it became more a part of me. Every time it found an outlet in my temper, it receded just a fraction less.

At these times my humanity dwindled, and with it my self-doubt. It was both terrifying and liberating in equal measure. But I knew now without a shadow of a doubt, it was me, and it was time to embrace my heritage and take my place in this new world of mystical creatures and magical powers.

And I wasn't going to do that dressed as a mature student on a research trip.

Rummaging through the drawers, I searched Stephen's mother's belongings. I knew how disrespectful it was, how I would feel if these were my mother's things and someone else was manhandling them, but I pushed all that aside. I'd just have to return the clothes before Stephen found out.

Yep, that was my approach now. Lies and theft. The new Alice was a real class act.

The black velvet dress I squeezed myself into was obviously designer, its fitted high-necked bodice and flared skirt made me look elegant but demure. I pulled a pair of black leather dress boots with a low heel over the top of my leggings. Even the new Alice balked at the idea of ransacking somebody else's underwear drawers.

Studying myself in the full-length mirror as I wound my hair into a low roll, I tried to make sense of the pale and serious looking woman who stared back. Tall and thinner than usual, my formerly round face was starting to look severe. Sharp cheekbones gave me a definition that had never been there before. I never thought I'd say this, but I needed to eat more.

Lamenting the loss of my innocence, or youth, or whatever the hell it was that had fled leaving me sallow and serious looking, I almost laughed out loud when a few curly wisps escaped from my hair-pins. It was still me, after all.

Alice Gray, the girl with hair that can be tamed by no man.

Bracing myself against the wall, I took a few deep breaths to steady my nerves. Unruly magic, or not. I was in charge here. Not Stephen and Emily. Not James, the most powerful vampire in London.

Me. Alice Gray. The girl with unruly hair and silver power.

Pausing for a few seconds I let the silence of the house settle around me. It was time to go.

Here we go! But is Alice really ready to face London's vampires?