I sighed and met his eyes. ‘You know you lot really have fucked this all up?’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I know.’
I thought about all he’d said then I changed the subject. ‘So what happens now? To me? I killed one of your own. I can’t pretend I didn’t because there were at least a hundred witnesses. Will you throw me in your cells and charge me, or will you pass me to the MET to deal with?’
‘Neither,’ William replied. ‘Here in the Understream, we…’ He didn’t finish his sentence because there was some sort of commotion from the other side of the door. Raised voices. My ears pricked up when I realised I recognised one of them.
The door burst open and Penelope rushed in, closelyfollowed by Thomas. She was dressed to the nines in a billowing dress with her trademark corset on top, but her hair was askew and her expression was harried.
‘What are you doing? Release Ms McCafferty this instant! This is ridiculous!’ Penelope’s gaze swept from William to me. ‘And what the fuck is all this? A rope and chains and a ward? Is that not overkill?’
‘That’s exactly what I said,’ I told her.
If she heard me, she didn’t react. Instead she whirled to face William. ‘She has done nothing wrong here and you know it. Alan Vennington brought it on his own head. Sacrifices? Seriously? He was lucky he got off as lightly as he did.’
William opened his mouth to answer and so did I, but neither of us got the chance to say anything. ‘And don’t think that I don’t have words for you, Kit!’ Penelope snapped. ‘I went looking for you! When you disappeared off the map and William came to tell me, I went in search of you.’
‘You shouldn’t have done that,’ Thomas said.
‘She is my friend! Of course I should!’ She looked at me. ‘I did not mean that. We are not friends.’
‘Definitely not,’ I murmured. ‘Never.’
Penelope harrumphed.
‘You shouldn’t have gone to the maze, Pen,’ Thomas reiterated.
She deflated in the face of his concern. ‘If there had been a choice, I would not have – and it did not do me any good. All I found was a jittery ex-thrall.’
I startled. ‘Eric?’ That idiot. He must have escaped from Alan and returned to the maze on his own - or Alan had persuaded him to return. ‘Where is he now? Is he safe?’
She sniffed. ‘He’s right outside. I could not leave him at the maze, could I? It is too dangerous.’
I looked at her and she looked at me; the same guilt inWilliam’s eyes was reflected in hers. She had known about the sacrifices, or at least she’d suspected.
‘That is good,’ William said, oblivious to the silent exchange between Penelope and me. ‘I assume he can confirm your story?’
I continued to watch Penelope. She should have told me about the monster and she should have done more about the sacrifices.
‘There was no proof,’ Thomas said, reading my expression. ‘And we didn’t know what to do.’
‘You did know,’ William said quietly. ‘You both petitioned me to close the Understream.’
Well, that was news. I stared at him. ‘Why didn’t you?’
He tugged at his collar. ‘Plans are underway,’ he admitted slowly. ‘If nothing changes between now and the end of the month there will be no choice, but some vampires will refuse to leave. We will have to abandon the worms. It will change everything.’
His body drooped and I caught a glimpse of a vampire with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
What. A. Fucking. Mess. If I hadn’t been tied up, I’d have been tempted to give the three of them a hug. And then I’d slap them. Several times.
William straightened up. When he spoke again, his voice was more officious as he put on his bureaucratic mask. Sometimes it helps to have a façade to hide behind.
‘The maze and its inhabitant are our problem and we will deal with it in due course. It is not your concern, Ms McCafferty. We thank you for your attempts to investigate the worms’ disappearances and we apologise for the trauma you experienced. As I was about to explain before we were interrupted, in the Understream our rules are very simple. If you are personally wronged, you may seek redress. We will not lock you up and wewill not charge you with any crime. The murder of Alan Vennington was justified under the circumstances and acceptable under vampiric law.’
I was already sensing a ‘but’.
‘But…’ he began. Here we go. ‘You are also an above grounder who has killed a vampire and there will be plenty who will demand punishment. I am revoking your pass to remain here with immediate effect. You will be escorted from the Understream and you will not be allowed to return. Ever.’
