‘What about the cat? Any sign of that Maine Coon again?’
‘No – and I don’t think he’s been back here either, although I can’t be certain.’
‘Turn around,’ Thane said.
I did as he requested. As the water rinsed away the shampoo, he ran his fingers through my wet hair then dropped his hands to my shoulders to massage away the last of the tension in my muscles.
‘What about you?’ I asked. ‘Any luck locating a monster conjuration spell?’
‘I tried every witchery store I could think of, but most of them were affronted that I’d dared to ask. Those spells are illegal and even the ingredients are difficult to get hold of. One of the stores tried to sprinkle a salt ward around me to hold me in place while they called the MET.’
Oh dear. ‘What happened?’
‘I skedaddled before the circle could be completed. Now I can’t show my face in that shop ever again.’
I snickered. ‘Thanks for trying.’
Thane turned off the water and we jenga-ed out of the narrow cubicle and reached for towels. ‘I’ve not finished,’ he said. ‘I figured that if those spells are illegal then somebody somewhere in Coldstream must sell them.’
I froze momentarily. Trilby was a black-market seller. Did Thane mean…?
‘No,’ he said quickly, reading my expression. ‘Not them. I found a dodgy witch in Migden who said he could get me a conjuration spell.’
I wrapped the towel around my body and reached for another one to rub my hair. ‘That must have taken a while.’
‘I was very determined. I have to please my lady love – she’s very demanding.’
‘You bet your sweet arse I am.’ We grinned at each other. ‘So did you buy a spell?’
Thane shook his head. ‘I didn’t need to. The seller told me that he was the only person in Coldstream with a decent enough supply of fangwort, which is necessary for those spells. I checked he was telling the truth, and I think he was. He said that he didn’t make many of them because they’re expensive and he rarely sells any. They’re difficult to hide and almost always traceable.’
‘Hmm.’ Traceable unless you chose to release them in the Understream. I pursed my lips and abandoned my attempts to dry my hair in favour of pulling a brush through it.
‘But five days ago he sold one to a vampire,’ Thane added.
I dropped the brush to the floor. ‘Thane, you should have led with that,’ I said faintly. ‘Does he have a name for this vampire?’
Thane grinned. ‘I crossed his palm with enough silver to persuade him to tell me. In his words, the customer was an unfriendly vamp who said he was called Chester Longchamps.’
I stiffened. I’d heard that name: Thomas had mentioned him to Penelope when I was eavesdropping on them, but Penelope had seemed to suggest he was dead. Properly dead.
It was rare for a vampire to actually die and I couldn’t recall hearing about any recent deaths, apart from Brassick whom I had killed. I tried to remember Penelope’s words –something about Longchamps getting his comeuppance? Maybe another vampire had used his name to get what they needed and remain anonymous in the process. Or maybe he hadn’t died at all. Maybe something else had happened to him. Either way, it hadn’t sounded as if this mysterious vampire had been in any position to conjure up a monster.
Thane arched an eyebrow. ‘I have an address for Chester Longchamps.’
I yanked off my towel. ‘Then what the hell are we doing here? Let’s go! Now!’
He called after me. ‘Can I suggest clothes first?’
Good idea, but I wouldn’t put on my usual cat-lady outfit. I was in assassin mode. One hundred percent.
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.
