Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Under any other circumstances, I’d have enjoyed the journey.
It was always pleasurable to travel in a feline body and, as a Maine Coon, my limbs were twitching with vim and vigour.
I wanted to test this form out, to jump and run and climb.
I wanted to feel my long fur blowing in a breeze above ground and I wanted to sharpen my fabulous claws on a tree trunk and romp playfully through an open field.
Alas, none of those things were appropriate. This was not the time for delays or diversions; I had a destination in mind and a quarry to hunt for.
The real Maine Coon remained by my side, matching me paw for paw. I appreciated the company. The further I strayed from a donor cat, the more my transformation weakened and it appeared that this strange cat was aware of that.
It was mere minutes before we reached the yellow barrier and returned to the mapped tunnels of the main Understream.
Although the spectrum of colours I could see as a cat was more limited than when I was wholly human, yellow remained clear and on this occasion it was very welcome.
I felt a wash of relief when we crossed over and I released an involuntary purr and a lot of tension.
Even the Maine Coon appeared pleased and twitched his whiskers.
We exchanged glances before the Maine Coon pulled ahead. He knew where I was going and who I wanted, and I strongly suspected his desire matched mine. I let him lead the way.
Soon after we’d turned onto one of the larger tunnels, I heard the distant but familiar trundle of an approaching worm.
With my cat senses, the noise was unbearable and the smell was extraordinary; no wonder She Without An Ear had reacted so strongly when she’d met Dusty.
Not wanting to get squished, I veered towards the side of the tunnel and waited for the worm to pass.
I expected the worm to slide past us without pause. It was one of the larger creatures and might have been one of the worms I’d come across at the stables, but it was difficult to be sure.
Its size was such that I reckoned it would pay us about as much attention as I’d have given a fly, so when it came to a halt, grunting and huffing a wormy greeting, I couldn’t have been more astonished. When the Maine Coon wasted no time in leaping onto the worm’s back, I almost fell over.
The cat turned around three times before settling into a regal position close to the worm’s head.
He looked down at me with a glint of impatience in his bright eyes.
I blinked rapidly, chirruped a reply and hastily jumped up to join him.
So many questions and so few answers – at least where this peculiar cat was concerned.
I fought to maintain my balance when the worm first started moving. Thankfully, after a few moments, I found my centre of gravity. It was certainly more enjoyable to travel this way as a cat than as a human.
We passed a small group of vampires who tried to flag the worm down.
When they spotted us perched on top, their expressions were almost comical enough to make me purr with laughter but I couldn’t enjoy myself until I’d found Alan and dealt with him.
Neither could I allow myself to feel anger or spite because this was all about business now.
My natural emotions had fallen away and what was left was the clinical heart that had been trained into me many years ago.
The worm appeared to know instinctively where to take us. Within twenty minutes it was sliding into the giant cavern that lay beneath Crackendon Square. It was jammed with people – and they were not just stall holders or casual shoppers. The crowd looked anxious.
When I straightened and peered across their clustered heads, I knew why.
Smack bang in the centre was Alan, doubtless spinning a tale of woe about the silly cat lady’s mysterious disappearance.
There was no sign of Eric. I crossed my claws that the thrall was alright and jumped neatly off the worm’s back.
Every head had turned in my direction although it took me a moment to realise that no-one was looking at me. They were all focused on the worm behind me.
A murmur rippled through the crowd. ‘What’s he doing here?’
Other whispers reached my ears.
‘The worms aren’t allowed here.’
‘Something must be wrong.’
Then more chillingly, ‘Is it time already? Is the maze monster approaching?’
My whiskers twitched as I grimaced, but the monster wasn’t my immediate problem. I had other prey and it was time to get on with the showdown. I reached within myself and hawked up the ball of fur that I’d plucked from the Maine Coon.
Now the crowd of vamps were watching me. Good: it was about damned time.
It might have been easy transforming into this feline body but the reverse wasn’t true.
Agonising pain ripped through my bones as if this particular cat didn’t want to let me go, and my body rose upwards as I writhed and spasmed.
I had no control; all I could do was grit my teeth and ride out the pain.
It only took seconds, but each one felt like an eternity.
Eventually the racking spasms subsided and I thudded to the ground.
I tested my limbs: two arms and two legs.
I was all human again. As I staggered upright and the vampires continued to gape at me, I search for the Maine Coon.
He wasn’t there; he’d obviously taken advantage of the situation and vanished.
I sent him a silent thank you, shook myself and pulled back my shoulders.
I felt drained and sluggish, as if I were recovering from a long illness. I was certain that I’d soon be fine but until I felt wholly better I had to be careful not to reveal any signs of weakness.
‘Kit!’ Alan pushed his way through the crowd, his arms wide as if he wanted to envelop me in a hug. My filched backpack was on his shoulder. Bastard. He was smiling broadly but he couldn’t disguise the fear in his bright red eyes. ‘You’re alright! You made it back! I was so worried about you.’
Interesting. I stepped away to indicate that I had no desire to be anywhere near him and folded my arms. Your move, dickhead.
Alan dropped his arms and flashed me a warning look that could have meant anything.
He raised his chin. ‘I was just telling everyone what happened – that you went across the line and off the map in pursuit of a lead. You were so determined to investigate the worms’ disappearance that you didn’t think about the risks.
I’m so relieved that you’re alright! And you can shapeshift into a cat?
’ He clapped his sweaty palms together. ‘Wonderful!’
Apparently desperate times called for desperate measures, but if Alan believed I would give any credence to his ridiculous story he was crazy.
We could all tell that he was horrified to learn that I was a cat sith with skills that he couldn’t fathom.
Idiot. He’d never thought to ask what I was capable of because he’d been too wrapped up in himself.
I swept my gaze across the crowd. Anthony, the worms’ caretaker, was watching me with a dark expression that gave away little.
Standing stiffly next to him was William, the Bureaucratic Suite vampire, and I also spotted Thomas, Penelope’s secret lover.
He was eyeing Alan with suspicious disbelief.
Good: at least somebody else recognised that this story was pure fiction. There was no sign of Penelope.
‘Really?’ I asked coolly. ‘That’s the story you’re going with, Alan? You really think that I—’
I didn’t get the chance to finish my sentence before he lunged at me. My aching body was too slow to respond. Before I could shove him away, he’d wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.
He dipped his head and whispered, ‘If you want to see another dawn, Kit, you’ll confirm what I say.
Otherwise I’ll make sure you end up back at the maze.
You won’t escape the chains a second time, not when I’ve made every vampire in the Understream agree with me that you’d be the perfect sacrifice. ’
I snorted and wrenched myself free, taking the opportunity to yank my backpack from his shoulder at the same time.
Alan stepped to the side and watched me like a predatory hawk, but I was no mouse.
I was a damned demon cat lady who would tell the truth and trust that these vampires would see the light. Metaphorically speaking.
‘He’s lying,’ I said flatly. ‘He lied to lure me to an area outside the mapped tunnels.’ The fact that I’d seen through his lies was moot as far as I was concerned. ‘Then he led me to a cavern next to some sort of large maze.’
There were several gasps, a few knowing nods and one or two shocked gulps. Every vampire here knew about that dratted maze.
‘What?’ Alan flapped his arms. ‘That’s not true! I didn’t do that!’
I remained perfectly calm. ‘He certainly did. And there’s more.’
The crowd leaned in: they wanted to hear from me, not from him. I resisted the urge to give Alan a smug look and cleared my throat to add to the build-up of tension. It was suddenly so quiet in the busy marketplace that you could have heard the swish of a displeased cat’s tail.
‘There was a thrall chained to a pole in front of the maze. Alan had put him there as sacrifice for that fucking monster that you all keep so bloody quiet about. There was a second pole waiting for me. Two warm bodies and hearty meals for the price of none.’ My sarcastic snarl was soft but no less heartfelt. ‘Lucky monster.’
Alan’s rebuttal rang out, and now he sounded panicked and desperate. ‘Who do you believe?’ he yelled. ‘An above-grounder who’s been here all of two minutes or me? I’m one of yours!’
It was Thomas who answered. ‘Her,’ he called out. ‘I believe her.’
At least half the crowd nodded in agreement and I expelled a long breath. I was a stranger down here and I was only beginning to understand vampiric society. The vamps could still turn on me but it was starting to look like most of them were on my side.
I doubled down to press my advantage. ‘You’ve been burying your heads in the sand for too long.
That man right there, not to mention Chester Longchamps and goodness knows how many others, have been sacrificing lives to the monster to allow you lot to continue using these tunnels as you see fit.
“Trust in the fang and the fang alone.” Well, either that motto of yours is misplaced or you are all complicit. I’m going with the latter.’
William’s cultured voice called out, ‘We do not condone sacrifice, Ms McCafferty. This was happening without our knowledge.’
Yeah, yeah. ‘Bullshit.’
William recoiled but I didn’t care. ‘You knew what was happening.’ I swept a hard glare across the assembled vampires. ‘On some level, you all knew and you didn’t stop it.’
‘That’s not true!’ William protested.
‘Why are thralls no longer permitted in the Understream?’
‘To protect them,’ he said, seizing on my own words as proof of his innocence.
‘And why did they need protection?’ I asked softly.
He faltered and his red eyes dropped to the ground. He’d known. Fuck it. They’d all known.
On the periphery of the crowd, Anthony turned on his heel and stalked away. I twisted my head to watch him and as soon as I did, Alan leapt into the fray.
‘Alright!’ he screeched. ‘Alright! I did it! I led her to the maze and I took the thrall there, too. You lot should be thanking me! The monster has to feed. If it’s not her and it’s not a thrall, it will be one of us!
It will be us who suffer! I did it for the greater good.
For our greater good! The more of them who die, the better for vampires.
We deserve this life and you know it! You know I was doing the right thing! ’
Enough of this. It would never end and Alan would never recognise that what he was doing was as monstrous as the actions of the creature in the dark maze. I reached into my backpack, pulled out the stake and took three steps towards him.
Before he could say or do anything, I plunged the wood into his black, selfish heart.