Page 40 of The Vampire and the Case of the Perilous Poltergeist

‘You should feel a power inside of you like a cold ball of ice.’

I had only ever felt heat within me but, sure enough, when I looked inside more carefully I felt an area of dense cold.

‘You need to reach out to it and pull the power out from it,’ Connor went on. ‘Look into the recipient's eyes and release the magic, then tell them what you want them to do or remember.’

‘Okay. Thanks.’

‘If that doesn’t work,’ Connor said, ‘you can try hitting them repeatedly on the head. A concussion will do the same thing in a pinch, at least until I can get to you.’

I found myself grinning. ‘Aw, thank you.’

‘And Bunny?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You’re going to feel drained afterwards. Have you got someone there to help you get to bed?’

‘Sidnee and Danny are with me.’

‘Danny?’ he asked lightly.

‘He works for the Nomo in Ugiuvak. He’s undercover, investigating Smith’s disappearance. The problem is that the MIB are undercover too – but they’re here to expedite disappearances.’

‘Fuck,’ Connor said. ‘That’s not good. Find out if the MIB prick has sent a report with your name on it. We need to know if you’re a target.’

I swallowed. ‘He’s already said he was targeting me.’

Connor swore colourfully and extensively. ‘All right. We need to do some damage control. Gunnar has a guy in the MIB. Leave it with me. Let me know if you can’t mesmerise the MIB guy and I’ll sneak in to join you.’

‘Security is too high,’ I warned. ‘It’s impossible.’

He snorted. ‘I’m a vampire, Bunny. No security is good enough to stop me if I’m determined – and I’mverydetermined. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you.’ With that modest comment, he hung up.

I pocketed the phone, closed my eyes and reached inwards for the cold ball of ice inside my brain. I pulled it upwards andout, then opened my eyes and met Thorsen’s panicked ones. He didn’t know enough to look away; thank goodness for small favours.

I stared into his eyes. If he hadn’t been such a bastard, I’d have thought they were nice eyes. They were blue, not Connor’s ice blue but a faded blue grey. They complemented Thorsen’s whole ‘master race’ look – the pale skin and blond hair.

I held his eyes with mine and I somehowfeltthat he couldn’t look away. Once I was sure of the connection, I spoke. ‘You did not see the three of us tonight. You will not remember anything from after dinner until you wake in the morning. You will go to your bed and go to sleep. When you wake, you will be sympathetic to supernats. Now leave.’

Danny cut through the ties and heaved Thorsen to his feet. He swayed but then, without further ado, he turned and headed to the stairs. ‘Wow,’ Sidnee said, impressed. ‘It actually worked!’

‘Beginner’s luck,’ I noted drily. I didn’t point out that her surprised tone revealed that she’d had precisely zero confidence in my abilities. Frankly, that was fair.

She stared down at the still-unconscious Miller then shoved him with her foot. ‘Let’s see if Thorsen was a fluke.’ He groaned and she gave him another gentle kick. ‘Get up, you ass.’

He rolled over. This time, the kick was a little more serious. ‘Ow!’ He came to, sat up and looked around wildly. ‘What did you do to Theodore?’

‘Absolutely nothing. He went to bed. As will you.’ I met Miller’s eyes and searched again for the cold spark of power. ‘You will go to bed and you will forget everything from dinnertime until you wake up in the morning. You will be sympathetic to supernats from this moment on. Now go.’

Danny cut through Miller’s ties and pulled him up. Freddie turned and headed for the stairs. ‘I guess I won’t make you mad anytime soon,’ Danny told me with a grin.

Suddenly I felt drained – it was like being hit by the daylight exhaustion but times a million. Even breathing felt like hard work. ‘I don’t want to do it again right now,’ I said drily. ‘So you’re safe.’

Aoife was still floating a foot off the ground where she’d been speaking to Petty. She was watching us. I turned to her. ‘Thank you, both of you.’

Danny nodded. ‘Petrovich Peril, you have done a service to all the supernats that will pass through this academy and probably to all those who live in the great state of Alaska. Thank you.’ He gave a sharp salute. I needed to learn how to do that.

The air around us warmed and for a second a young man appeared in the corner dressed in his state-trooper uniform. He smiled and snapped back a salute, then his image blinked and a brown bear appeared in his place before fading from view.

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