Chapter 146

It felt strange to be on the other side of the river again. Having spent my whole human life living and working in north London and then my short vampire life feeling like those streets were engrained upon my very soul, I now felt like the stranger here. It was as if we were trespassing on hallowed ground and that the longer we remained here, the longer we risked that thunderbolt from the heavens, eradicating the demons that had dared to tread over the border. We sat in Garrick's car; Garrick, Harper and myself, with the engine and lights off as we watched the door of La Loup Rouge, Philippe's brasserie. Inside the lights were still on and we could see the maître d' and the waiters bustling around, putting chairs up onto the tables and cleaning the floors. After a while, one by the one, they donned their coats and scarves and any other armour they needed to shield themselves from the harsh winter night, and they left, chattering to each other, their breath sending little clouds of vapo