I stood up and eyed Alan. ‘Thanks,’ I said.
He inclined his head. ‘You’re welcome, Kit.’
‘They were afraid of you.’
Alan laughed mildly. ‘Yeah, bizarre, isn’t it? I ought to enjoy that while it lasts.’
At my confused expression, he explained, ‘A friend of mine died recently. He was responsible for a lot of the security around here and I’ve stepped into his shoes until someone permanent can be found for the position. People tend to see the job, rather than the person.’ He gazed into the darkness after the vanished vamps. ‘Even idiot bullies like those two.’
I watched him carefully. ‘Was that friend Chester Longchamps, by any chance?’
Alan immediately stilled. ‘Yes. You’ve heard of him?’
Naturally, I didn’t give him any details. ‘His name has come up a few times during the course of my investigation.’
Alan ran a tired hand through his hair. ‘I should have expected as much. Lord Chester was a brilliant man and a good friend, but he wasn’t someone to cross. He was known for hisbad temper. By default, some of his reputation has passed to me together with his title.’
Hence the way the vamps had called himLordAlan. ‘What happened to him?’
His red eyes took on a glazed sheen. ‘A terrible accident. He ventured away from the mapped areas of the Understream and he’s not been seen since.’
‘You mean he vanished? Like the worms?’
‘The worms?’ Alan shook his head in surprise. ‘Oh no, nothing like that. Lord Chester knew what he was doing. We know where he went and we have a good idea what happened to him.’
‘What?’ I pressed.
He took a long moment before answering. ‘It would be easier to show you than to tell you.’
I shrugged. ‘Alright,’ I said. ‘Lead the way.’
Chapter
Nineteen
It was a surprisingly companionable journey, at least to begin with. As we travelled on foot for about twenty minutes, Alan explained more about the history of the Understream.
‘It’s been around for longer than me – longer than most of us, in fact. Very few remember what things were like before these tunnels.’ He pursed his pale, thin lips. ‘They were first used in the mid-fifteenth century, if I’m not mistaken.’
I tried not to shudder at the thought of vampires who were more than six hundred years old. ‘So vampires hollowed out the tunnels originally?’
‘Some of them. These ones certainly, although there have also been plenty of additions to the Understream over the years as our numbers have swelled. The Understream has grown to match Coldstream’s own expansion. It’s an ongoing process.’ He smiled, displaying a brief but unthreatening flash of his pearly white fangs. ‘But several of the tunnels have been here for thousands of years.’
I made an educated guess. ‘Outside the mapped tunnels?’
He nodded. ‘Mostly. We don’t know who created the original tunnels. Some are natural formations, but some have been formed as a result of the magics bound into the border far above our heads.’ He hesitated. ‘And some tunnels and areas exist via other means.’
‘What do you mean?’
He smiled sadly but didn’t answer. Instead he pointed to our right. ‘We can grab a worm from here. There should be one along any minute now.’
I considered pressing him to explain his previous comment but I sensed that he wouldn’t answer me no matter how I phrased my question. Instead I focused on something more pertinent to my official investigation. ‘When did the worms get here? Originally, I mean?’
‘As far as I know, they’ve always been here.’ His shoulders dropped. ‘It’s one of the many reasons why they deserve our protection.’
He hadn’t intended it as censure at my lack of progress but nevertheless I felt the sting. I grimaced. Perhaps this detour was a mistake; perhaps I ought to spend more time focusing on the worms’ disappearance and less on side missions such as this. There was no evidence of any connection between the attack on me, Chester Longchamps’ death and the allusions I was hearing about thralls, vampires and a lack of safety within the Understream. What if I was chasing my tail?
‘This is a mistake,’ I muttered to myself.
