Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
It was a surprisingly companionable journey, at least to begin with. As we travelled on foot for about twenty minutes, Alan explained more about the history of the Understream.
‘It’s been around for longer than me – longer than most of us, in fact. Very few remember what things were like before these tunnels.’ He pursed his pale, thin lips. ‘They were first used in the mid-fifteenth century, if I’m not mistaken.’
I tried not to shudder at the thought of vampires who were more than six hundred years old. ‘So vampires hollowed out the tunnels originally?’
‘Some of them. These ones certainly, although there have also been plenty of additions to the Understream over the years as our numbers have swelled. The Understream has grown to match Coldstream’s own expansion.
It’s an ongoing process.’ He smiled, displaying a brief but unthreatening flash of his pearly white fangs.
‘But several of the tunnels have been here for thousands of years.’
I made an educated guess. ‘Outside the mapped tunnels?’
He nodded. ‘Mostly. We don’t know who created the original tunnels. Some are natural formations, but some have been formed as a result of the magics bound into the border far above our heads.’ He hesitated. ‘And some tunnels and areas exist via other means.’
‘What do you mean?’
He smiled sadly but didn’t answer. Instead he pointed to our right. ‘We can grab a worm from here. There should be one along any minute now.’
I considered pressing him to explain his previous comment but I sensed that he wouldn’t answer me no matter how I phrased my question. Instead I focused on something more pertinent to my official investigation. ‘When did the worms get here? Originally, I mean?’
‘As far as I know, they’ve always been here.’ His shoulders dropped. ‘It’s one of the many reasons why they deserve our protection.’
He hadn’t intended it as censure at my lack of progress but nevertheless I felt the sting.
I grimaced. Perhaps this detour was a mistake; perhaps I ought to spend more time focusing on the worms’ disappearance and less on side missions such as this.
There was no evidence of any connection between the attack on me, Chester Longchamps’ death and the allusions I was hearing about thralls, vampires and a lack of safety within the Understream. What if I was chasing my tail?
‘This is a mistake,’ I muttered to myself.
Alan glanced at me. ‘What?’
‘I was on my way to the Bureaucratic Suite when I bumped into you. I ought to head there and focus harder on the four missing worms. I can still re-trace their routes and search for more clues.’
He touched my arm lightly. ‘I won’t take up much of your time.
And it’s a good opportunity to update you on my graffiti investigation.
’ A familiar noise rumbled towards us. ‘The worm is almost here so we may as well continue. I’ll get you to the main cavern and the Bureaucratic Suite within an hour. ’
An annoying spot behind my shoulder blades itched. ‘Okay.’ I nodded. ‘Okay.’
The worm that arrived was as large as Dusty. I smiled and reached for the area on its flank that Penelope had shown me on my first day and the worm grunted with satisfaction as I scratched. I was definitely warming to these strange creatures. ‘What’s this fellow’s name?’ I asked.
Alan had already climbed aboard. He looked over his shoulder, his expression blank. ‘Oh,’ he frowned. ‘Uh, Eve. Yes … Eve.’
Eve jerked her head and her lantern jangled. ‘Hi, Eve,’ I said.
She squeaked and I paused before glancing up at Alan once again. I nibbled on the inside of my cheek then patted her a final time before heaving myself up the small rope ladder to join him on top of the worm’s massive body.
‘She’ll take us most of the way,’ Alan said. ‘We’ll only have to walk the last section.’
I gave him a distracted glance, my thoughts temporarily elsewhere.
As soon as the worm moved off, Alan started to talk at length about the graffiti in Danksville. I was only half-listening. ‘You know, some of the artwork is extraordinary.’
I plucked at my sleeve. ‘Mmmm.’
‘I’ve discovered that a troll called Melissa Barnes is responsible for the graffiti closest to the river. She studied at St Martin’s College in London.’
‘Really?’ I widened my eyes to indicate my feigned interest as I sifted and sorted through all my memories of the past week.
‘Yes.’ Alan grinned. ‘And the other two have bound magic into their work. There’s considerable talent on display. I’ve spoken to a gallery owner in Broughton who might be interested in selling some of their work for a decent price.’
I adjusted my bag on my shoulder. ‘I’m not convinced that capitalism and street art are natural bedfellows.’
‘Your innocence is sweet, Kit. Everyone loves money.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘Do you?’
His response was swift. ‘I do. You can’t pretend that you believe anyone enjoys poverty.’
I didn’t miss a beat. ‘How far would you go for money, Alan?’ I kept my tone light but I really wanted to hear his answer.
‘I’m a vampire. I’m already wealthy.’
I pretended I hadn’t heard that. ‘Would you steal?’
‘If I needed to, if I was desperate, then yes, I suppose I would.’
‘Would you hurt someone?’
‘That’s a loaded question, Kit.’
‘Would you kill?’
Alan recoiled. ‘Would you?’ he asked pointedly.
Damn. That was one question I couldn’t answer honestly. I shrugged and half-smiled. Thankfully Alan smiled back.
A few minutes later the worm came to a halt and we disembarked. ‘We’re going this way,’ he said, pointing towards a wide tunnel that stretched away to our left.
‘Lead the way,’ I told him, keeping my tone light.
He responded by taking my arm and tucking it into his own. As I felt the press of his cold flesh against mine, I reckoned I knew exactly what was happening. What I couldn’t know was how it would unfold.
The tunnel was different to the others I’d wandered down so far: it wasn’t as well ventilated, there was no gentle breeze and there were certainly no pleasant scents of spruce or lavender.
The walls were crumbling and there were fallen rocks and clumps of dirt.
My witchlight illuminated them briefly all as we passed and I was tempted to take a closer look by reaching for a pinch of the Wicker witches’ magicked light powder but I knew it wouldn’t be wise.
I needed to keep some tricks up my sleeve for now – literally up my sleeve.
Although the tunnel was new to me, I was aware of our location. I had studied the map closely enough to know we were coming to the point where we would reach a hump in the ground like a speed bump that you’d encounter in non-magical cities where cars were king. And it was painted sunlight yellow.
‘What’s this?’ I pointed at it casually, although a great deal depended on Alan’s answer.
He spoke easily, suggesting it was no big deal. ‘Danksville isn’t the only place where graffiti is an issue.’ He grinned. ‘At least above ground the artwork is more comprehensible. I have no idea what this is supposed to represent.’
My mental traffic lights screamed bright red. An hour ago I’d had no inkling that Alan was someone to be wary of but the evidence against him was stacking up. And then some.
The gothic Highlander and Jonesy had jumped to obey his orders.
By his own admission, he’d been a friend of Chester Longchamps.
He hadn’t known the name of the worm who’d brought us here and, from her reaction, she certainly wasn’t called Eve.
And yet he purported to care enough about the worms to complete a two-week training course above ground so he could investigate their disappearance.
There was also the echo spell. If Alan had been the one to conjure up that monster to attack me, he’d have known enough to cast a counter spell to avoid being picked up by the MET’s echo spell.
Most importantly, that streak of warning yellow was there for a reason.
I’d learned enough from Anthony, the worms’ caretaker, to know what yellow signified in the Understream.
The tunnel led beyond the marked map and I knew that if I crossed that line, the Bureaucratic Suite could no longer track my position. I’d been told in no uncertain terms not to pass beyond the marked boundaries if I valued my safety.
I glanced at Alan then smiled sunnily and stepped across the line.
Finally I knew the ‘how’: this mild-mannered vampire was quite likely the villain I’d been searching for.
What I didn’t yet know was the ‘why’, but there was a surefire way to get answers and that was to play dumb and step into the danger zone.
‘I like it!’ I declared. ‘The colour is bright and cheerful and I’ve always been a fan of modern art.’
‘Me too,’ Alan said, without a trace of sneakiness on his face. I was presenting myself as an idiot and he was taking me at face value, which was exactly what I’d been guilty of with him.
He crossed the yellow line and joined me. ‘We’ll head this way. It’s only another five minutes or so. It won’t take long.’
Uh-huh. I raised my witchlight glass so I could see what was ahead of me. My hackles were fully raised and all my senses were alert. Something was about to happen here and I needed to be ready for it.
‘So,’ I said as casually as I could, ‘the Bureaucratic Suite can track where I am in the Understream.’
‘Yep. It’s bound into the mark you wear on your wrist. They know where you are at all times.’
That outright lie hardened my suspicions because I’d gone past the point where they could track me – several steps past it by now. ‘Can they also track you? Does the Bureaucratic Suite know where all vampires are at any given time?’
Alan answered without fully thinking it through. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Only non-vampires are marked and tracked in that way.’
So anyone paying attention would know that I’d dropped off the map but they wouldn’t know that Alan was with me. If something happened to me here, he could plead ignorance.
Although my smile was relaxed, my stomach had tightened into a knot. Even so, I couldn’t deny that my tension was edged with delighted anticipation. Suddenly I was itching for the inevitable showdown.
I prepared to memorise every turn and crossroads so that I could return to the main tunnels when I needed to, but there was nothing to memorise.
Although our tunnel narrowed and twisted first to the left and then to the right before straightening out again, there were no branches or tributary tunnels.
This was a one-way street with nothing but darkness ahead and darkness behind; it couldn’t have screamed ‘trap’ more obviously than if there’d been a bright-pink neon sign with the word BEWARE and an air-raid siren screeching in my ears.
I reached beneath my shirt, ostensibly to scratch my back, and loosened my dagger from its sheath, then I paused and rummaged in my bag.
I palmed a pouch of fast-acting poison, which I knew was as effective against vampires as it was against the rest of us.
Then, as Alan jiggled impatiently from side to side, I took out my water bottle and had a long swig, tucking the poison into my sleeve as I did so.
‘We should get moving,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to waste too much of your time.’
He was clearly as keen to do battle as I was. Had he realised I was suspicious? It didn’t really matter because I was confident I could take him in a fight. Bring it on, Alan, I told myself. Bring. It. On.
‘You’re very thoughtful,’ I said. ‘You’re clearly one of the nice guys.’ I was laying it on a bit too thick but he nodded agreement.
‘It’s not easy to make good decisions,’ he said. ‘But I do my best for the greater good.’ He raised his arm and pointed ahead into the darkness. ‘It’s up here, fifty metres or so.’
I started to smile – and that was when Alan swung his raised arm towards me.