Chapter 16
Chapter
Sixteen
Chester Longchamps lived on the posh side of Coldstream, and I doubted he ever frequented Danksville, but despite his address the exterior of his house was surprisingly shabby.
The front door was beneath street level with a flight of precarious steps leading down to it.
Several of the steps were dotted with the remnants of magicked blood that was designed to appear fresh as if a hapless victim had bled out only moments ago.
It was a deliberate ploy used by a number of Coldstream residents to discourage visitors.
I couldn’t imagine that a vampire had to worry about many people turning up unannounced, but a lot of my preconceptions had been shattered since I’d entered the Understream so I decided to take the splatters at face value.
Obviously Longchamps didn’t like strangers and I understood that.
I didn’t linger at the entrance. Thane and I strolled slowly past hand in hand and I took the opportunity to scope out the place. Much as I was itching to find out what – or more importantly who – was inside, I wasn’t foolish enough to announce my presence until I was sure of the lay of the land.
A sweeping glance at the property told me a great deal.
As with all vamp houses, the windows were boarded up so there was nothing to be gained from peeking through them.
There were four storeys above ground but there was no way of knowing how deep the property extended underneath.
Doubtless the place had a secret door to the Understream so there would be at least one basement level, if not more.
The front door was firmly closed but the viewing grate in its centre was slightly ajar.
It was only an inch or so, but any gap was sloppy.
Although it wasn’t a technique I’d employed in the past, I knew of assassins who had used projectiles to kill targets through slender margins such as that one.
Chester Longchamps – or whoever inhabited the building now – was only pretending to take security seriously.
‘There are no bins outside,’ Thane mused.
He was right: almost every other property on the street had placed metal bins outside ready for the wirry cows’ weekly collection but there were none outside Longchamps’ house. There was also the corner of a white envelope protruding from the letterbox.
I was all but certain nobody was home and, given what I’d heard from Penelope, the place could have been vacant for some time. Weeks, I decided, rather than many months; it didn’t look desolate enough to have been empty for a long stretch.
We circled around the block to double-check that there was no rear entrance. Then, because my wariness hadn’t yet subsided, we took up position on the street corner far enough away so as to not draw suspicion but with a clear view of the front door.
Thane shielded his eyes and gazed up at the sky. ‘It’s still mid-afternoon so it will be hours before any vamps venture out. I’m happy to find a lookout point and keep an eye on that door to see if anyone uses it.’
An odd spot between my shoulder blades itched.
That was by far the most sensible approach, but only a true fool would enter an inhabited vamp lair uninvited – especially a property where callers were visibly discouraged.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to wait until dark, and I didn’t believe anyone was living there now, but I couldn’t be certain.
‘The problem is that anyone in the house will have a route into the Understream from inside so they don’t need to use the front door.
We could wait here for weeks and not see anyone.
If Chester Longchamps is dead, which is possible given the look of things and what I overheard, there’ll be no-one to see. ’
‘If Longchamps is dead, then who bought the conjuration spell?’
Good question. My mouth flattened. ‘We can’t know for sure. Another vampire might have stolen his identity, but we need to rule him out first to be certain.’ I eyed the door again before turning away. ‘I’m in the mood for some action.’
Thane’s emerald-green eyes gleamed. ‘You want to make an incursion?’ He cracked his knuckles. ‘I’m ready to back you up if that’s what you decide.’
‘I don’t have the right tools,’ I admitted. I had my trusty magical skeleton key but I doubted it would be any match for that front door. It wasn’t impregnable – no door was – but it would take more equipment than I was carrying.
‘There’s a decent witchery store a couple of streets away,’ Thane suggested.
I grinned. ‘I like your thinking.’
‘We could pick up some…’ He stopped mid-sentence, his arms snapped out and he drew me into a tight embrace before his head dipped for a kiss. Despite my surprise, I didn’t resist; it didn’t take a genius to understand what he was doing.
‘Someone is there?’ I whispered, when his lips pulled away from mine.
Thane’s voice was low and urgent. ‘The door opened and a man has come out. Obviously not a vamp.’ He manoeuvred me to the side and gazed over my shoulder. ‘A thrall, by the looks of things.’
Interesting. ‘Describe him.’
‘Greyish skin, mid-thirties. Likely human. Brown hair – and a droopy moustache.’
My spine stiffened. Bingo: he had to be same thrall I’d seen sneaking around in the Understream via the echo spell. ‘Forget the house,’ I said immediately. ‘We have to follow that thrall.’
Thane nodded. ‘As my lady commands. He’s heading away from us but he keeps looking over his shoulder as if he’s expecting to be followed. We’ll have to be careful.’
There was an easy solution to that problem that wouldn’t involve a side trip to the witchery store for a tracking spell; sometimes non-magical methods could be more successful than enchantments.
A frisson of delighted nostalgia rippled through me. ‘In that case,’ I said, with a satisfied smack of my lips, ‘we’ll have to tag team.’
EEL wasn’t the first organisation to promote multi-surveillance techniques but it quickly became the master of them. In order to assassinate someone you needed to know a target, and there were few simpler ways to do that than by tailing them.
Of course, potential targets might be trained in counter-surveillance techniques, and sometimes they employ bodyguards.
Sometimes they were paranoid enough to notice a tail.
The best way to avoid alerting them was to use several people.
It was far harder to spot your pursuer when more than one person was following you.
I outlined my proposal to Thane. He was an intelligent guy and, although he didn’t have my training, he grasped the concept quickly. Within less than a minute he was off, striding in the wake of the thrall. I followed at a distance, watching him rather than our hapless victim.
There was a busy crossroads at the end of the street where Lennel Road began.
I knew there were many shops to both the left and the right that catered for a whole host of Preternatural requirements.
Although I was too far back to see which direction the thrall had taken, from behind him Thane gestured to indicate right.
I nodded and sped up. While Thane continued to follow the thrall, I crossed over, continued straight and started to jog.
It was hard to complete an effective multi-surveillance operation with only two people, but it was far from impossible. I picked up speed and circled around the block. By the time I returned to Lennel Road, there was no sign of the thrall but Thane was waiting for me by the corner.
‘He’s gone into the bakery about thirty metres that way.’ He pointed behind.
‘Good.’ I gestured to a café. ‘Nip in there and buy a hot drink to go. Wait until I’m back before you come out.’
He winked then went inside the shop while I ventured down the pavement and entered the bakery. Thankfully it was quiet, with only a troll, the shifty grey thrall and me waiting at the counter.
The thrall glanced over his shoulder and clocked me instantly.
I managed not to react when I saw his face: it was definitely the thrall I’d seen reflected in the echo spell.
I gave him the disinterested smile of a stranger and his eyes glazed over.
I was a middle-aged woman, which meant I was practically invisible.
The troll collected her order and ambled out. ‘A small sourdough loaf, please,’ the thrall said to the apron-wearing man behind the counter. ‘And two pineapple cakes.’
As the baker prepared the order, the thrall looked out of the window. He was certainly twitchy and on the lookout for anyone tailing him. I pretended not to notice and focused on an array of buns in front of me.
The thrall paid for his order and dropped one of the cakes and the bread into a bag. He started munching on the second cake as he stood in the bakery doorway and scanned the street.
‘Four morning rolls, please,’ I said.
The baker obliged. As I took out my purse to pay for my order, the thrall finally left the shop and turned right again.
‘I can do you a few apple turnovers at cost,’ the baker offered. ‘We’re closing soon and I doubt I’ll sell them.’
‘No, thanks.’ I handed him the money and then, as he turned his back to use the cash register, I left them on the counter and walked briskly out of the shop. The rolls had looked tasty but I didn’t need the extra burden; they’d already served their purpose.
I crossed the street so quickly that I overtook the thrall.
As soon as I was level with the café, I waved.
Thankfully, Thane was keeping a close eye and he immediately exited carrying a takeaway cup.
He was smart enough not to look to his left; instead he turned in the opposite direction and paused at the corner.
He sipped his drink, apparently waiting for a break in the stream of bicycles and horses that were passing by.
The thrall drew level with him. As soon as the road was clear, Thane stepped off the pavement and the thrall did the same.
They both crossed, with Thane slightly in front until he stumbled and paused.
Some of his coffee spilled. The thrall passed him and I grinned.
That was smoothly done: now Thane was on his tail again.
I kept abreast of them both on the opposite side of the street, trying to work out where the thrall might be heading. Ideally, I would get in front of him, but there were several shops ahead and he might go into any one of them.
I considered my options then took a gamble.
If I were a thrall illegally sneaking into the Understream, I would want as many magical defences as I could muster.
The witchery shop was a few metres in front of him.
I drew ahead, crossed the street for a second time and ducked inside.
The thrall was about twenty metres behind me.
Unfortunately, my plan didn’t pan out. As I pretended to examine a display of dried herbs, the thrall walked past the witchery store and kept going. A moment later, Thane joined me. ‘I think he’s suspicious,’ he said in a low, urgent voice.
I trusted his instincts. Damn. ‘Okay, keep after him but don’t try to disguise yourself. Make it obvious that you’re tracking him.’
‘Is that a good idea?’
It was all I had. I nodded and touched his hand. ‘I’ve got this,’ I said. ‘I have a plan.’ Hopefully it would work.
We left the witchery store at the same time. Thane turned right after the thrall while I went left and backtracked through the streets at high speed. I passed the bakery, veered around the corner and jogged back to Chester Longchamps’ front door.
In an ideal world, a cat would have passed by right about then because swallowing a clump of fur and effecting a feline transformation would have worked well.
Alas, with no strolling cats in evidence, I had to make do with my human body.
Ignoring the magicked bloodstains, I descended the stone steps to the door and pressed myself into the corner.
If my plan worked, I wouldn’t be seen until the last moment.
I slid out my curved dagger from where it was nestling against my skin and slowed my breathing. It was essential to keep the inevitable rush of adrenaline at bay for as long as possible because cooler heads always prevailed. I needed my palms to stay dry and my nerves to remain solid.
While I prepared myself internally, I counted the minutes. I’d estimated it would take eight minutes for the thrall to appear at the top of the stone steps. I wasn’t far off.
If he’d been on the ball, he would have noticed me straight away because I wasn’t well-hidden; my corner was far from ideal as a hiding place.
But Thane had done well and the thrall was in a state of high anxiety.
I noted his tense shoulders and his set jaw – even his ridiculous moustache appeared to be quivering.
He was clearly aware that he was being followed and he was very concerned as to the reason why.
He fumbled in his pockets and drew out a small set of keys. Stumbling in his rush to get to safety, he darted down the steps. He’d barely made it halfway down when Thane appeared, looming from above.
The thrall squeaked with fear, moved faster and threw himself at the door. He got the key in the lock, but before he could open it he caught sight of me in his peripheral vision. About time.
I grinned coldly and stepped forward. ‘Hello,’ I said. ‘We need to have a little chat.’