A World of New (A Shade of Vampire, #26)

Josh and I agreed. After bundling Josh with some more layers—including a hat and scarf, as well as pulling on a thick coat myself—we grabbed three umbrellas courtesy of the hotel and headed downstairs to get directions to the nearest tour bus stop. The rain was still beating down when the open-topped double-decker pulled up. It was a shame that we couldn’t sit at the top because of Josh’s chair. Instead we ended up taking a seat toward the back, away from as many people as possible. Which wasn’t difficult. The bus was practically empty.

We made sure that Josh had a window seat, of course, and Shayla instructed him to keep his eyes out the window at all times to take in as many details as possible. As the vehicle moved forward, it truly was a strange sight to see a place outside The Shade that remained so… unaffected. I wasn’t sure what the suburbs of London were like—but in central London, I didn’t get the impression that much had changed since the supernatural invasion.

That said, one thing that struck me as weird was the lack of people around. For that matter, the hotel itself had seemed quite empty. We hadn’t noticed any other guests on the way down or up the elevators.

Now, outside it was raining, which would explain a certain amount of emptiness on the streets, but the cafés and shops that we passed by also appeared to be three-quarters empty.

“Why do you think that is?” I asked Shayla, breaking out of my own thoughts.

“What?” she asked, keeping her eyes fixed out of the window.

“There are so few people around.”

Shayla frowned. “Well, it’s expensive. You heard how much those rooms cost us—even for a luxury hotel, it’s extortionate. Even the cost of these bus passes was ridiculous. I’ve a feeling that only the very wealthiest people can afford to live in Central London these days. Perhaps the rest just got thrust out to the less secure suburbs. Though they’d be more secure than US suburbs, for example. Europe and the UK haven’t been hit as hard by Bloodless as our part of the world, though of course, there are gates for other supernaturals to pass through worldwide.”

“I wonder how many other cities in the world also operate like this,” I said.

Shayla shrugged. “Probably quite a few of the major ones.”

I turned my focus on Josh. His brown eyes were wide and shining as he gazed out of the window. We had been traveling for about ten minutes now, and hadn’t hit even a single patch of traffic.

Over the next few hours, we passed all the sites that London was famous for—landmarks that even I’d heard about or seen pictures of. The Tower of London. The Houses of Parliament. The London Eye. Frankly, I wasn’t that interested in any of it. I kept looking back at Josh, hoping that at any moment, he might have a reaction. That something might spark in his eyes and he would suddenly proclaim he remembered something. Anything. But he remained quiet, simply observing our surroundings, without any sign of recognition whatsoever.

When the tour ended, we piled off the bus, back onto the sidewalk. Shayla and I both stared down at him. “Well?” Shayla asked. “Anything at all?”

“Not really,” he muttered. “I mean, most of the sites were vaguely familiar—I’m sure I’ve seen them before, but that’s not saying much, is it, for a major city? I remembered nothing in relation to me or my past.”

Great.

I felt as glum as the weather as we returned to the hotel. I’d really been hoping to avoid going near IBSI’s headquarters. Even with Shayla here, it felt like tempting fate. Still, it looked like we might have no choice now.

As we neared the elevators, Shayla said, “I’m starving. Let’s go get dinner. Josh can try to eat something again, too.”

“How are you feeling, by the way?” I asked Josh, as we made our way toward the restaurant at the back of the hotel.

“Still have stomach twinges,” he mumbled.

As we took a seat and ordered, I didn’t have much of an appetite. I just picked at some pasta and salad. Josh was able to down half a small bowl of asparagus soup without retching, which was at least some comfort. But it still worried me he’d lost his appetite compared to just a day ago.

Shayla tucked into a full-blown meal. “I hate this cold,” she grumbled after she’d finished, pushing away her plate. “Makes me put on weight.”

Returning to the elevators and making our way back upstairs, I asked the witch the inevitable question. “So now what? Tomorrow we need to approach the IBSI to see if that area could be more stimulating to Josh?”

“Yeah,” she replied grimly. “I suggest we leave around 8 AM. I’ll magic us to the outskirts.”

I glanced at Josh, who looked just as unenthusiastic about the idea.

“I’m going to do some reading now,” Shayla said, opening the door to her room. “As for you two… it’s better if you stay in your room but, since it’s still early, if you want to wander around the hotel a bit, I guess that’s okay. Just don’t leave it, obviously, and try not to bump into anyone.”

With that, she entered her room and shut the door.

I walked around Josh’s chair to face him. “Well? What do you want to do? We could go exploring a bit, or I guess return to the room and watch TV or something…”

He still looked weighed down with the disappointment of the day, the same disappointment that I felt. He shrugged. “Don’t mind.”