Up close he appeared greyer than before, and it didn’t help that his terror intensified when he saw me. Not so invisible now, huh? I flashed my dagger and that did the trick: his body sagged and he stopped trying to get into the house.
‘Who … who … who … are you?’ he stammered, straining to deliver each word as if his throat was closing up. ‘Wh … wh … what do you want?’
I didn’t answer: I was there to ask questions, not respond to them, and after two days of watching my words and my behaviour in the Understream, I was enjoying the chance to display a different version of myself. I didn’t know if the thrall had anything to do with the attack on me or the worms’ disappearance, but until I knew otherwise I classified him as an enemy. He was the best lead I had; hell, he was theonlylead I had.
My silence finally spurred him into action and he turned on his heel, abandoning his attempt to get inside the house in favour of running away – but Thane was blocking his only exit.The thrall looked from Thane to me and appeared to decide that I was the lesser evil.
Wrong decision.
He gave a strangled yell, which I supposed was his version of a war cry, and rushed at me with his fists raised. I ducked and snapped out my hand to punch him in the stomach. He doubled over, even though I’d held back to avoid hurting him too much.
‘Who is in the house?’ I demanded.
Tears leaked from his eyes. ‘Nobody,’ he whispered.
Another person might have hit the thrall again before repeating the question to ensure the veracity of his answer. I didn’t need to do that – and I wasn’t that kind of person. Unnecessary torture wasn’t my gig and I was already certain the thrall was telling the truth.
With one arm I hauled him up and dragged him to the front door. With my free hand, I finished unlocking the door and pushed him inside. Thane followed and closed the door behind us. At least now we could continue our conversation without any unhelpful passersby getting involved.
The interior of the house was much as I’d expected: grand, like that of any vampire who’d lived for far too long. There was a sweeping staircase and a wide hallway lined with flocked red wallpaper and paintings. The air felt still and silent, confirming my suspicion and the thrall’s affirmation that the house was empty.
‘Let’s sit down somewhere,’ I said. ‘I still want that little chat.’
Resignation flickered in his eyes; he had already accepted his fate. ‘Why bother?’ he muttered. ‘Just kill me and be done with it.’
‘Why would I kill you?’ I asked, genuinely curious.
He rolled his eyes and gestured helplessly, indicating that if I’d been prepared to attack him then surely murder was mygoal. I clicked my tongue. If I’d wanted him dead, he’d already be dead. To be honest, assassination was far easier than interrogation.
‘She won’t hurt you,’ Thane said softly. ‘Not unless you give her reason.’ He smiled disarmingly though that didn’t relax the thrall. ‘I won’t hurt you either.’
‘Then what the fuck do you want?’
‘I already told you. We only want a little chat.’ I didn’t smile because I didn’t think it would help, though I patted him awkwardly on the shoulder and released my hold on him. It was a little late to start employing Captain Montgomery’s techniques but I’d give them a try. ‘I apologise for scaring you.’
The thrall rubbed his stomach.
I took the hint. ‘And I apologise for punching you. Let’s sit down. Give me ten minutes of your time and some honest answers and I’ll leave you in peace.’ I paused, because it was important that I was truthful too. ‘Unless recently you magicked up a monster to attack me.’
The thrall’s mouth fell open with astonishment so I guessed that answered that question. My approach had obviously been unnecessarily heavy-handed. I scolded myself and vowed to do better in future.
‘There’s a drawing room over there.’ He pointed to a closed door down the hallway. ‘We can talk in there.’
‘Thank you.’ I motioned ahead. ‘Lead the way.’
He swallowed then nodded reluctantly.
As we moved down the hallway, Thane pointed at a painting. ‘Why is that one covered?’ he asked. One of the frames was completely shrouded by a black cloth.
‘Help! Intruder! Help!’ a muffled voice shouted.
I raised an eyebrow. ‘A Cursed Portrait?’ I asked.
The thrall nodded glumly and I took that as an opportunityto soften him up. ‘I don’t blame you for covering it. Those things can be bastards.’
‘Fuck you!’ the portrait screeched from behind the shroud.
‘I don’t know what to do about him,’ the thrall mumbled. ‘I’m not supposed to be here so I can’t simply pass him on to someone else.’
