‘An ancient beast, borne of shadows and darkness and malice and vengeance.’
Okaaaay, then.
‘We think it was in hibernation for many years but recentlyit has woken. And,’ Alan’s shoulders slumped, ‘like all beasts coming out of a long slumber, it is hungry.’
My gaze drifted involuntarily to Eric.
Alan nodded. ‘Yes. If we offer the maze monster food, it leaves us alone. If we do not feed it regularly, it comes after us to sate its appetite. Every month or so, it returns to hunt us unless we feed it first.’ He bowed his head. ‘Let me be clear, Kit. This monster does not feed on salad, stew and burgers. Its appetites are … very specific.’
Slowly but surely I was starting to understand. ‘Vampires have died recently.’
‘Yes.’
‘And thralls, too.’
‘Yes.’
‘The missing worms?’ I asked.
‘On that count we are not convinced,’ he admitted. ‘There has been no evidence that the maze monster has taken worms and the timings don’t match.’
‘For fuck’s sake,’ I muttered under my breath. ‘Why don’t you do something? Go in there and sort the damned creature out?’
Fury flashed across Alan’s face. ‘I told you! Almost nobody who goes into the maze comes out again! My friend, my colleague and a better vampire than I could ever be thought he’d found a solution.’
Ah. ‘You mean Chester Longchamps.’
‘LordChester Longchamps!’ Alan thundered. ‘He was a hero! He deserves his full title!’
‘You used his name to buy a conjuration spell recently, didn’t you? Then you used that spell to conjure up a monster to attack me.’
‘I had to know what you were capable of, Kit. The monster didn’t seriously hurt you. I made sure of that. Besides,LordChester would have been proud of my actions. He understood what it takes to be a hero. He knew that the Understream has to be saved regardless of the costs!’
He shook his head violently from side to side, then his anger lessened under the weight of my gaze. ‘Lord Chester willingly put his own life on the line for us. He went into the maze. He had a plan – he thought he could find the monster and beat it. He acquired a magical map that was supposed to guide him, and he had all the magic, weapons and skills that a warrior would need. But he didn’t come back and the maze monster lives on.’
Jeez. I’d expected many things but not this. Nobody above ground had a clue. ‘You leave sacrifices to appease the monster?’
Alan nodded, apparently relieved that I understood. ‘Yes. You see? It makes perfect sense.’
I clenched my fists with frustration. ‘You clumping idiots! If you can’t defeat the monster, why don’t you leave? You have houses above ground. Seal off the Understream’s entrances and you’ll be safe.’
‘What kind of life would that be?’ he scoffed. ‘Our society is built around these tunnels. Our freedom is etched into these walls.’
For fuck’s sake. ‘And what kind of a life is this? What kind of freedom isthis?’
‘The only one that we have,’ he answered simply. ‘Why do people continue to live on earthquake fault lines or in the shadow of volcanoes? Why do so many millions spend their lives on flood plains or in storm paths where hurricanes are the norm?’
His argument was inane. ‘Eric is not food,’ I bit out. I glanced at the empty wooden pole and the spare set of chains. No prizes for guessing who was supposed to be tied up there. ‘Neither am I.’
Alan’s head drooped. ‘Somebody has to be.’
‘And better us than you?’ I growled.
‘You’re a cat lady. You don’t have a family. There are no children who will be left bereft. You won’t be missed.’
Oh. My. God.
‘And Eric wants to be here,’ Alan continued. ‘He keeps sneaking into the Understream. He’ll be glad to give his life for us.’
