‘You are most definitely an adolescent,’ Lady Penelope hissed in my ear.
I looked at her innocently. ‘I will be talking to lots of people so I need to keep their identities separate and distinct in my mind.’ I tapped my temple. ‘There is method to my madness.’
‘You…’
‘William,’ the man interrupted before our bickering descended into a full argument. ‘You may address me as William.’
Not a self-styled lord, then. Interesting that he’d foregone the usual vampiric convention of giving himself an elevated title: perhaps his role as a pencil pusher precluded fake aristocracy. Either way, I allowed myself to be gracious. It was a minor battle but it was an important one to win. I’d conveyed that I wouldn’t let myself be pushed around and reiterated that I wasthere for a reason, and that was enough for me. Plus, I needed the vampires to cooperate or I’d never get anywhere with the investigation.
‘Thank you, William.’ I smiled at him and this time it was genuine.
He pushed his spectacles up his nose. ‘You are welcome.’
‘Do you wear those glasses because you have poor eyesight?’ I asked curiously. ‘I thought that vampires lost such frailties when they turned.’ I paused. ‘I’m not asking out of nosiness. It’s important I understand as much about your kind as possible.’ That part was certainly true: I wouldn’t achieve anything if I clung to stereotypes.
William ran his tongue over his thin lips. ‘We mostly retain whatever physical state our bodies are in when we ascend to this form.’
That made sense. You didn’t age if you became a vampire, but you didn’t become any younger and you didn’t miraculously become physically perfect – although, as Lady Penelope and many other vampires proved, you could expect to sport a gloriously blemish-free complexion. I thanked him again and he seemed to relax slightly, as if he’d recognised that my question was indeed an honest one.
‘Is there anything else you wish to know about me before we proceed?’ he asked.
There was plenty I wanted to know but none of it was relevant to my role here. I shook my head.
‘Good.’ He directed Lady Penelope to a chair. ‘Wait here,’ he told her. ‘This will not take long.’
I expected her to protest but she did as he said, adjusting the skirt on her dress before sitting down and primly folding her pale hands. William pointed to a second door. ‘My office is this way. There is some paperwork you must fill out.’
I nodded amiably: I’d anticipated that. I followedhim into the room and took a seat in front of a narrow, utilitarian wooden desk. There were no swanky antiques; the Suite for Bureaucratic Affairs took its bureaucracy seriously.
William opened a drawer and took out a folder, opened it and slid a piece of paper towards me. A map. I beamed. Excellent. That would be very helpful.
‘You do not possess any real jurisdiction here,’ he said, telling me nothing I didn’t know. ‘And you certainly do not have carte blanche within the Understream. Certain areas are off limits to you.’ He paused. ‘For good reason.’
He pointed at the map. ‘These sections of the Understream are unmapped, and even the bravest of vampires do not venture beyond the red lines without good reason. There is much to fear down here and there is no reason for you to enter the unknown.’
We were deep underground and it stood to reason that there would be dark dwelling creatures whom I’d best avoid. ‘Okay.’ I hesitated. ‘What if the missing worms have entered those areas?’
‘Then they are already lost. If you find evidence that they have ventured that far, let me know. However, we have already explored that possibility and there is nothing to suggest that the missing worms have gone beyond the usual boundaries.’
There was nothing to suggestwherethey’d gone, but I didn’t argue with him. I didn’t have any desire to wander down ancient, unmapped underground tunnels.
William tapped a spot on the map. ‘Here is the Shadow Temple. You may not sully its steps with your presence.’
I was aware that many vampires worshipped the Shadow – or Sgàthach an EileanSgitheanachto give the supposed deity her Gaelic name – but I wasn’t here to investigate religion. ‘Okay.’
William passed across a small wooden box akin to an oldpill box. ‘The magicked powder inside this will allow you to enter the Understream when you wish. Next time you visit the clocktower, a pinch of it will open the entrance.’
I’d have loved to know what the powder contained but I knew better than to ask. I pocketed the box. ‘Thank you.’
‘You are welcome.’
I waited another beat for him to forbid me from investigating more areas on the map, especially the interesting looking ones. Instead he leaned back in his chair and smiled placidly. ‘That’s it?’ I asked, unable to keep the surprise from my voice.
‘It would be pointless to let you enter our domain then prevent you from going wherever your investigation takes you. We want to find out what has happened to the missing worms.’
He was being remarkably accommodating. I wondered if there was a trap that I wasn’t aware of but nothing sprung to mind. Maybe the vampiresdidwant me to succeed. I would keep an open mind.
‘Alan has spoken warmly of you,’ William continued, reading my mind. ‘You are on a leash but be assured that it is a long one. The worms are part of our community and their wellbeing is important to us.’
