Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Ihad envisaged many things when I’d learned of the vampires’ nemesis but my imagination had not conjured anything remotely close to the truth. This was a creature born of darkness, hatred and bed-wetting nightmares.
It was large, matching the likes of Dusty in terms of size, but this was no benign worm. Its body was vibrating with malevolence. It wasn’t furry like a cat, but neither was it scaly like a reptile; from a distance, it appeared to have a tough hide like that of a bovine animal.
Its skin was a dull-orange colour, as if it had lain beneath a sunbed that had gone wrong.
That didn’t look so bad, I decided; it should be easy to pierce with the right weapon.
Then a vampire rushed towards it with a gleaming blade and threw it forcefully at the beast’s flank. The weapon bounced off uselessly. Ah.
The monster screeched, doubtless from annoyance rather than pain, and its high-pitched scream reverberated around the cavern walls. Although it had bounded out of the tunnel on four legs, it raised itself onto its hind quarters and thundered first one way then another.
I noted the clumps of matted hair on its head, the black-stained teeth that looked sharp enough to gnaw through bone, and the dark flashing eyes that promised blood and violence.
The irises appeared to be ringed with red.
Hmm. I checked the monster’s teeth again; they looked like fangs. Had this thing once been a normal vamp?
There was a rush of air from behind me: William had burst out of the Bureaucratic Suite.
Magic fizzed around him as he cast the same spell he’d used to render me helpless.
I held my breath as I waited to see if it would work – I certainly felt the enchantment as it flew through the air.
But there was no sign it even tickled the monster, and it didn’t bother the damn creature in the slightest.
‘Impervious to magic,’ I muttered under my breath. Extraordinary.
There was a fluttering sound to my right. I looked across and saw six vampires, each holding identical crossbows. The monster saw them too and started to charge. The vamps released the bolts. All six hit their target – and all six bounced off the beast and fell away.
Nothing worked, but everything and everyone had a weak spot and it was simply a matter of locating it. My gaze travelled down the monster’s body…
‘Take these chains off!’ I yelled to Gloria who was literally paralysed by fear. Goddamnit. I turned to Justin and Robert but they were no longer there. The pair of them had fled. ‘William!’ I shouted. ‘Get this crap off me! I’ll take it on. Let me…’
I didn’t get the chance to finish my sentence. The monster huffed dark puffs of smoke from its nostrils, turned and charged. It wasn’t coming for me or the archers, though: it had chosen a different target. My stomach dropped. Oh no. OH NO.
Penelope was in the same place she’d been in when she’d waved at me, and she faced the stampeding monster head on. I knew that she was tough but I doubted any vampire would be tough enough to deal with this.
I screamed again at William to remove my bindings and tried to hop, shuffle and rush towards her. Thomas also reacted by raising his hands and running at the beast. It slammed into him and knocked him aside; much like a cat, it had selected its prey and nothing and no-one would knock it off course.
It all seemed to be happening in slow motion.
From six metres away the monster launched itself at Penelope and clamped its jaws around her neck.
I tried to reach her but the fucking ropes and chains were hampering me.
Long before I could get anywhere near, the beast – and Penelope – had vanished into the same tunnel from whence it had appeared.
Thomas gave a low, keening wail of despair.
The other vampires sagged, some with horror and some with hopelessness.
One or two glanced at me and I felt their burning glares of censure that suggested it should have been me.
If I’d played the role of sacrificial lamb, Penelope would still be here.
Instead, there was nothing left on the spot where she’d been standing a moment earlier.
‘It’s over,’ William said dully. ‘It won’t return for another month at least. We’re safe for now.’
Safe? For fuck’s sake. ‘William,’ I began.
He raised his hands. ‘No. I don’t want to hear it. Nothing has changed. It’s time for you to leave the Understream, Ms McCafferty. Don’t come here again.’ He gazed after the departed monster. ‘Not if you value your life.’
My escorts might have been thirsting for my blood before Penelope was taken but afterwards they didn’t have the energy to care.
Neither did I, for that matter. The four of us plodded silently through the tunnels and onto the first worm we saw.
I paused to scratch the worm’s sweet spot and received a sharp elbow from Gloria for my efforts.
Other than that, our journey was silent, unremarkable and very, very sad.
The vampires unchained me when we reached the foot of the ladder that lay beneath the Glebe clocktower then watched while I ascended. I emerged blinking from the gloom and considerably disoriented.
Although the sky was dimming, it wasn’t yet night. As I stepped into the cool dusk, I tilted my head to gaze at the stars and sucked in the fresh air. My soul felt heavy, as if a terrible weight were pressing down on me from above.
I stayed where I was for several minutes thinking about what had happened, then I rubbed the back of my neck, shook out my limbs and set off for home.
I moved slowly, unable to find the energy to walk quickly.
The relief was overwhelming when I finally turned onto my narrow, cobbled street and I made short work of the last fifty metres.
And when I saw who was waiting in my little front garden, my heart lightened for the first time since the maze monster had appeared.
All five of my cats raised their heads and miaowed as I approached. She Who Commands Werewolves jumped off Thane’s lap, darted forward and jumped over the low garden gate. Thane took one look at my face and, without saying a word, strode into the street and gathered me in his arms.
With his body wrapped around me and his familiar scent of vetiver clouding the air, something deep inside me snapped and a tight ball of tension started to unravel.
A solitary tear ran down my cheek and soaked into Thane’s shirt.
I clung onto him as if he could save me from myself and undo all that had happened during the past five hours.
Even though that wasn’t possible, he held onto me as if it were.
We were sitting in my small kitchen. My hands were cupped around a large mug of very strong tea. I’d been tempted to break into something far stronger – there were many bottles of dubious alcohol lingering in my cupboards – but I couldn’t afford to get drunk. For now, tea would have to do.
Thane shook his head. ‘It’s unbelievable that word of this monster hasn’t got out.’
I sighed. ‘The vampires hid its existence even from themselves. They barely acknowledged it, so they wouldn’t allow a whisper of its existence to reach the likes of us.’
His mouth thinned. ‘Idiots.’ On that count, we were in absolute agreement. ‘I know what the map is,’ he went on. ‘The magical map that Longchamps took into the maze with him? I know what it is. My digging this afternoon paid off.’
I straightened up. ‘Go on.’
‘The witches’ council is in a flap. They’ve been auditing their library stock and a precious document taken from the Library of Alexandria is missing.
It’s called the Clouded Map and it reveals unknown places.
It was useful for global explorers who had a touch of magic back when such exploration was necessary.
It’s little more than a curio nowadays, but even so it’s incredibly valuable. ’
‘And it would be particularly helpful in a maze,’ I breathed.
Thane nodded. ‘Apparently it’s very fragile.’
‘A bellarmine jug would keep it safe.’ I thought about what William and Eric had told me and twitched with discomfort. ‘Trilby gave me a preservation spell.’
‘So they already knew about this?’
I snorted. ‘On some level Trilby always knows. The jury is very much out on whether they are on the side of the angels or the devils. If they’d acted sooner, they could have helped.’
Thane raised an eyebrow. ‘Perhaps a preservation spell is their way of helping.’
‘Perhaps.’ But I wouldn’t grace Trilby with too much of my attention. My focus was on more important matters.
He shot me a knowing look. ‘You’ve been banned from the Understream, Kit.’
‘Yep.’
‘If any vampire sees you down there again, it will go badly.’
I nodded. ‘Very, very badly.’
‘You’re lucky to be alive here and not dead there.’
‘Indeed.’
His blue eyes gleamed. ‘So when are we going in?’
I half-smiled. ‘We?’
‘I can’t let you do this alone. An unknown monster who can't be beaten and who hides in a maze that hardly anyone escapes from? That's the sort of fun that money can't buy.’
‘You realise it’ll go badly for you too if you’re seen. And the likelihood is that the monster will kick our arses.’
He shrugged. ‘Needs must.’
We exchanged a glance. Needs must indeed.
She Without An Ear miaowed insistently from the kitchen doorway.
As I looked at her, her good ear flicked.
I sighed then looked at Thane. ‘We wait until dawn. Once the sun is up, there will be fewer vampires wandering around even in the Understream. It’ll be easier to get to the maze without being noticed. ’
‘Even if no vampire sees us, this could still go badly,’ he said.
‘True.’
‘You don’t owe the vampires anything.’
‘Also true.’
He grinned. ‘But it’s the right thing to do.’
I nodded. ‘Those fanged idiots need saving from themselves.’ I thought of Penelope and how her limp body had looked when her neck was in the monster’s jaws.
I pushed the image away and addressed She Without An Ear. ‘I know you want to join us but you should stay here.’ Her eyes narrowed and she flicked her tail. ‘We might not get out alive.’
She sniffed derisively and I dipped my head in acknowledgement.
She was an adult; she could make her own choices.
Then She Who Commands Werewolves let out a chirrup.
Thane flinched, but She Without An Ear growled menacingly and the young ginger cat backed off.
Good. That was a smart move – though She Who Commands Werewolves wasn’t finished.
She narrowed her eyes at Thane and miaowed sharply.
‘What?’ Thane asked warily. ‘What does she want?’
I smiled faintly. ‘She’s giving you a command.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Of course she is.’
‘You have to come back unharmed.’
His expression softened and he reached down to stroke her head. ‘You’re the best,’ he whispered.
Flooded with warmth, I watched the pair of them then I checked my watch. ‘Six hours,’ I said. ‘That’s when we go.’
Thane straightened. ‘Via the clocktower?’
I shook my head. ‘They told me they were sealing that door. Even if that entrance is still open it will be watched. I have another way into the Understream. It might be tricky to slip in unseen but it’s definitely doable.’
‘Then let’s start preparing,’ he said.