Chapter 5 #2
I was a terrible liar so I did my best to fudge my answer. ‘Hired killers,’ I said. ‘Right?’
Lady Penelope’s red eyes fixed on me and I tried not to squirm beneath her gaze. For goodness’ sake, I was a woman in her forties; I couldn’t allow a vampire to see into my soul. I told myself sternly to get a grip. ‘I imagine that they are friends of yours,’ I added lightly.
Lady Penelope snorted. ‘I am a vampire and my only friends are other vampires.
Besides, Eagle Enforcers and Liquidators would never permit a vampire to join them.
Like the rest of the world, EEL seems to think we are already too attracted to death.
But that doesn't mean they cannot be persuaded to sell us vials of assassin blood when it behoves them to do so. Everyone wants to turn a profit.’
Whose blood, though? Which EEL assassins had agreed to this? A more chilling thought ran through my mind. Had they agreed to it? Had my blood once been on sale down here?
I realised that I needed to turn the conversation away from my old employers. ‘I thought that vampires preferred fresh blood from the vein. Your friend Alan regularly drank from a bag during the MET course but I assumed that was an exception. I’d expect fresher blood to be on offer.’
Lady Penelope smirked and pointed at the next stall where several people who were definitely not vampires were seated. ‘What do you think they are here for?’
I stared. Oh. ‘They’re allowed to be here?’
‘I told you some non-vampires are allowed into the Understream. Those people are not thralls but they have signed blood contracts and they are marked for approval. They are also heavily compensated for their time.’
As we watched, a vampire loped up and handed over a wad of cash. A young woman with neat dark hair cut in a slashed bob, whose blue tattoos indicated druidic origins, picked up a small knife and cut carefully into her flesh. She let her blood drip into a goblet.
Lady Penelope licked her lips. ‘And their blood,’ she added.
I looked away. ‘But to answer your original question, our methods for storing blood have come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. Some of the more exotic types can be hard to come by, so we try to keep them for as long as possible. All blood is different and each has its own taste profile. Would you like to try some?’
I had done many terrible things in my life but drinking the blood of my victims was not one of them and I certainly wasn’t about to start now. ‘I’ll pass.’
Lady Penelope laughed. ‘As you wish, but do let me know if you change your mind.’
There was not a cat in hell’s chance of that. I straightened my shoulders and we moved on.
The next stalls were selling magical items and I was surprised at how much was on offer.
There again, I rarely saw vampires shopping above ground even though many stores remained open through the night.
It wasn’t something I’d thought about before, but now the existence of this market was starting to make a lot of sense.
Beyond the magic stalls were some selling clothing and art.
Most of the clothes were dyed in black or muted colours, although a blood-red silk scarf caught my attention.
I reminded myself that I was there on business, not to shop, and was about to suggest that we move on to the Bureaucratic Suite when I looked at one of the last stalls.
My steps faltered and my heart missed a beat.
You have to be fucking kidding me, I thought. What are they doing here?
I might have been shocked to see Trilby but they merely smiled, waved and tipped their hat in my direction. I forgot Lady Penelope and stormed forward. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘It’s good to see you too, Kit.’
I put my hands on my hips. ‘Seriously, Trilby. Since when have you been working in the Understream? How long have you known about the Understream? And what … what … what…?’
‘What am I doing? I’m selling, Kit. It’s what I do.’ They grinned widely. ‘But you know that already. I come here occasionally. I have a special pass and the vampires are good customers.’
‘Who’s looking after your stall?’
‘The Danksville market only runs during the day,’ they said. ‘You’re acting very stupid, Kit.’
‘Did you come here via the clock-tower entrance?’ I asked suspiciously. Had they followed me here?
Trilby shuddered faintly. ‘No, the Glebe gives me the heebie-jeebies.’ They gave an enigmatic smile. ‘I entered the Understream via another route.’
Lady Penelope was suddenly at my side. ‘You should not run away from me like that, Ms McCafferty. You know that you need my presence to avoid anything untoward occurring until you are marked. If someone attacks you because they believe you are an intruder then I will not be held responsible!’ She halted her tirade and stared at Trilby. ‘Who are you?’
‘My name is Trilby.’ They bowed. ‘At your service.’
Wariness flooded my veins. ‘You don’t know them?’
‘I would not have asked otherwise, would I?’ she snapped. She glared at Trilby. ‘Show me your mark!’
They smiled genially. ‘Of course.’ They lifted their cuff and revealed a small red circle.
Lady Penelope stared at it. I hadn’t thought it was possible for the vampire to get any paler but she did, and for a moment I wondered if she were about to pass out.
Then Trilby took off their eponymous hat and something akin to recognition flared in her eyes.
She took a step back while I squinted in confusion.
‘Fine,’ she said to Trilby and grabbed my arm.
‘Come on, Ms McCafferty. We need to get to the Bureaucratic Suite now or we will be late.’
‘Wait a minute,’ I protested.
‘Now!’
I resisted her pulling. Trilby did everything for a reason and that meant there was a reason they were here.
Something silver flashed out of the corner of my eye and I half-turned. ‘What the hell is going on here?’ I hissed.
‘What is wrong with you?’ Lady Penelope demanded, finally succeeding in dragging me away. ‘Stop acting like a drooling imbecile!’
‘Did you see that cat?’
‘What cat?’
‘A silver Maine Coon. It was right over there.’
‘We do not have time for this,’ she said. ‘We have to go now.’
I gritted my teeth. ‘But…’
‘Bye, Kit!’ Trilby called. ‘See you later! Give my best to Thane when you see him.’
Goddamnit. I turned my head to see them wave me away and then they were swallowed up by a group of vampires perusing their stall while Lady Penelope continued to propel me in the opposite direction.