Chapter 14 #2
‘Ten minutes before it hits her bloodstream,’ Penelope explained.
I nodded. My gaze was fixed on the small mark on Anita’s wrist, a tiny red quarter circle.
Penelope’s eyes followed mine. ‘Donors in the market are only permitted to spend one night in the Understream in any given six-week period. Donors in The Den are only allowed one night every twelve weeks. They are carefully vetted and heavily compensated.’
She paused. ‘We understand it is not a perfect system and that it inevitably exploits the poor. No-one from the wealthy middle classes chooses to come here to donate so our recruitment drives focus on impoverished areas because that is where we have the most success. It is not a fair system but it is the best we can make it. I promise you that nobody is forced to come here. Ever.’
Her frankness was unexpected. Her attitude when we’d encountered the marketplace donors had bordered on flippant but I knew that this version of Lady Penelope was the real one. ‘I’ve never heard so much as a whisper about any of this,’ I told her.
Penelope didn’t look surprised. ‘Our blood contracts are very good. And we pay well.’
I didn’t doubt it. I might not have approved but I couldn’t think of a more humane alternative to the system. Like it or not, vampires had to drink fresh blood to survive.
If She Without An Ear was concerned, she wasn’t showing it.
She strolled around the pub as if she owned the place and eventually jumped on one of the tables next to the jukebox.
A vampire reached out to scratch her chin and she hissed at him, but he just laughed.
She settled into a sitting position and turned her green eyes on me.
‘What would you like to drink?’ Penelope asked. ‘I can recommend the ale.’
Much as I would have enjoyed a decent pint, I shook my head. I was working. I had never allowed a drop of alcohol to pass my lips when I was on a job for EEL and I was determined to carry forward the same attitude now. ‘Coke is fine.’
‘The beverage?’ she asked.
I jerked. ‘You mean…?’
Penelope nodded. ‘Drugs are allowed.’ At my expression, she laughed. ‘We live a long time, Kit. It pays to keep the rules to a minimum.’
Uh-huh. I dreaded to think what a vampire on cocaine was like, but then again I’d probably come across such creatures on many occasions.
I thought about the time I’d been contracted to go after a particularly dangerous vampire.
I’d staked him with surprising ease and he’d barely put up any sort of defence; in fact, he’d seemed almost happy when I attacked him.
That encounter was suddenly making a lot more sense.
‘Coke the drink,’ I said firmly. ‘Please.’
Penelope smiled. ‘No problem.’
I wondered whether she would partake of alcohol-laden blood but instead she ordered a martini direct from the bartender. ‘Without the addition of blood, its alcoholic effects are entirely negated,’ she told me. ‘But I enjoy the taste.’
Fair enough.
We took our drinks and settled on chairs at an empty table close to She Without An Ear, who abandoned her perch and joined us. She rubbed her head against my ankles before curling into a ball by my feet. For the first time since we’d entered the Understream, both of us relaxed.
‘Thank you for your candour earlier,’ I said quietly. ‘It means a lot to me.’
‘You are welcome, Kit.’ She hesitated then said, ‘I hope you will also understand why I do not wish to see you again after this week is over. I do not want to be your friend. I do not want to care for you. It is not personal,’ she added faintly.
Vampires were far less resilient than I’d realised. I nodded to show her that I understood and took a sip of my drink. The easiest way to make her feel comfortable was to return to business. ‘Talk to me about thralls,’ I said, in a more impersonal tone.
My request did the exact opposite of what I’d intended because Penelope’s red eyes widened with alarm. ‘You do not wish to become a thrall, do you?’
Jeez. Absolutely not. ‘No.’ Choosing my words carefully, I leaned forward.
‘But I heard you mention to Thomas that thralls are not permitted in the Understream and I’m curious why.
’ Penelope and I had come a long way in two short days but I wasn’t willing to snitch on the shifty thrall whose image had appeared in the echo spell, not until I knew more. A lot more.
Something odd flickered in her face and suddenly she was guarded again. ‘Thralls used to enter and leave the Understream when they wished,’ she said stiffly. ‘In recent months, however, they have been forbidden from entering.’
‘All of them?’
‘Yes.’
I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it but I pushed on regardless. ‘Why?’
Penelope sighed. ‘There have been some safety concerns.’
What did that mean? ‘I’m not sure I understand. Do you mean…’
She interrupted me before I could finish my question. ‘I do not wish to discuss it further.’ Her tone brooked no argument.
I was confused. Only moments earlier she had opened up to me about what it meant to be a vampire and the corrosive effects of a potential immortality, so why wouldn’t she talk to me about this? I put down my drink. She Without An Ear sensed my tension and flicked her tail against my feet.
Before I could say anything, a loud voice called from the doorway, ‘What the fuck is that woman doing here?’
I blinked when I realised that the voice was directed at me – and that I recognised its owner. ‘Tobias Hollow,’ I muttered under my breath. Of all the gin joints in all the world…
‘You know that man?’ Penelope enquired.
‘Our paths have crossed.’
She raised an elegant eyebrow and waited for an explanation. What the hell. ‘He’s the landlord for Green Humbleton.’
‘I am aware of that,’ she said.
‘He wanted to sell the land to the highest bidder and was raising rents on the trows who lived there. He planned to kick them out of the homes they’ve been living for generations so he could jack up the sales price. I persuaded him to rethink his plans.’
‘I demand that she leaves!’ Tobias Hollow said loudly, still furious at my presence. ‘She is a vile creature who should never have been permitted within the Understream, let alone this establishment!’
‘He is scared of you,’ Penelope murmured.
Shit. She was right about that – the last time I’d met Tobias Hollow, I’d held a dagger to his throat – but I didn’t want Penelope or any other vampires to know that I could provoke fear.
That wouldn’t help my investigation in the slightest. ‘I can’t imagine why,’ I said. ‘Perhaps he doesn’t like cats.’
She Without An Ear growled helpfully beneath the table.
‘Hmm.’ Penelope rose to her feet and glided over to him. I couldn’t hear what she said but it was clear he didn’t like it.
‘I have as much right to be here as she does! I’m here on official business!’ He yanked up his shirt sleeve and revealed the same half-circle red mark I was sporting on my arm. ‘I have been marked and I am allowed to be here!’
Penelope held up an elegant finger to indicate that he should wait, then returned to me and lowered her head. ‘I apologise but I shall take my leave now. I will escort that … gentleman to the Bureaucratic Suite and have his mark removed. He will no longer be admitted to the Understream.’
My mouth dropped open. ‘Pardon?’
‘This is a refined establishment. The last thing we need is someone of his ilk disturbing the peace, and if he is not allowed in here he should not be allowed anywhere.’
‘I’m not sure that’s necessary,’ I said. ‘He’s not bothering me.’ Much.
‘You are my guest in The Den and you are here in the Understream to help our friends. He is only here to make money. He is unimportant.’ She curtsied and moved away before I could reply.
With her wide skirts and corseted waist Lady Penelope looked more like a joke than someone to be feared, but she was a centuries-old vampire – and vampires were at the top of the food chain.
Her hand snapped around Tobias Hollow’s wrist and this time she didn’t lower her voice. ‘You will come with me now.’
‘What?’ Hollow snapped. ‘I will do no such thing.’ He tried to resist.
The other vampires in the room watched the action carefully but nobody moved. I suspected that was not because they disapproved of Penelope’s actions but because they knew she had matters under control.
‘You most certainly will. Either I drag you, or you can move of your own accord. It is up to you.’
‘I’m here on business! I own several properties that I am prepared to lease to vampires and…’
‘We do not want them. Your business here is concluded.’
‘But … but…’
Penelope huffed impatiently and tightened her grip around Tobias Hollow’s wrist. My eyes widened when I heard the familiar sound of bones snapping.
He screamed and fell to his knees. He was a big man but Penelope had brought him down with nothing more than a little pressure. Impressed by her technique, I gave a low whistle. I would never possess that sort of strength.
The bartender ambled out from behind the bar, walked to the door and held it open.
Penelope inclined her head and then, without glancing in my direction, pulled the hapless Tobias Hollow out of the room.
Within seconds of her departure, everyone in the pub had returned to their conversations as if nothing had happened.
I picked up my drink and drained its contents.
Penelope certainly wasn’t someone I wanted to make an enemy of, and I was glad she was finally on my side, but Tobias Hollow’s presence hadn’t bothered me.
I wondered if she’d taken advantage of the situation to avoid answering more of my questions about the safety issues relating to the thralls. Hmmm.