All five of my cats raised their heads and miaowed as I approached. She Who Commands Werewolves jumped off Thane’s lap, darted forward and jumped over the low garden gate. Thane took one look at my face and, without saying a word, strode into the street and gathered me in his arms.
With his body wrapped around me and his familiar scent of vetiver clouding the air, something deep inside me snapped and a tight ball of tension started to unravel. A solitary tear ran down my cheek and soaked into Thane’s shirt. I clung onto him as if he could save me from myself and undo all that had happened during the past five hours. Even though that wasn’t possible, he held onto me asif it were.
We were sittingin my small kitchen. My hands were cupped around a large mug of very strong tea. I’d been tempted to break into something far stronger – there were many bottles of dubious alcohol lingering in my cupboards – but I couldn’t afford to get drunk. For now, tea would have to do.
Thane shook his head. ‘It’s unbelievable that word of this monster hasn’t got out.’
I sighed. ‘The vampires hid its existence even from themselves. They barely acknowledged it, so they wouldn’t allow a whisper of its existence to reach the likes of us.’
His mouth thinned. ‘Idiots.’ On that count, we were in absolute agreement. ‘I know what the map is,’ he went on. ‘The magical map that Longchamps took into the maze with him? I know what it is. My digging this afternoon paid off.’
I straightened up. ‘Go on.’
‘The witches’ council is in a flap. They’ve been auditing their library stock and a precious document taken from the Library of Alexandria is missing. It’s called the Clouded Map and it reveals unknown places. It was useful for global explorers who had a touch of magic back when such exploration was necessary. It’s little more than a curio nowadays, but even so it’s incredibly valuable.’
‘And it would be particularly helpful in a maze,’ I breathed.
Thane nodded. ‘Apparently it’s very fragile.’
‘A bellarmine jug would keep it safe.’ I thought about what William and Eric had told me and twitched with discomfort. ‘Trilby gave me a preservation spell.’
‘So they already knew about this?’
I snorted. ‘On some level Trilby always knows. The jury is very much out on whether they are on the side of the angels or the devils. If they’d acted sooner, they could have helped.’
Thane raised an eyebrow. ‘Perhaps a preservation spellistheir way of helping.’
‘Perhaps.’ But I wouldn’t grace Trilby with too much of my attention. My focus was on more important matters.
He shot me a knowing look. ‘You’ve been banned from the Understream, Kit.’
‘Yep.’
‘If any vampire sees you down there again, it will go badly.’
I nodded. ‘Very, very badly.’
‘You’re lucky to be alive here and not dead there.’
‘Indeed.’
His blue eyes gleamed. ‘So when are we going in?’
I half-smiled. ‘We?’
‘I can’t let you do this alone. An unknown monster who can't be beaten and who hides in a maze that hardly anyone escapes from? That's the sort of fun that money can't buy.’
‘You realise it’ll go badly for you too if you’re seen. And the likelihood is that the monster will kick our arses.’
He shrugged. ‘Needs must.’
We exchanged a glance. Needs must indeed.
She Without An Ear miaowed insistently from the kitchen doorway. As I looked at her, her good ear flicked. I sighed then looked at Thane. ‘We wait until dawn. Once the sun is up, there will be fewer vampires wandering around even in the Understream. It’ll be easier to get to the maze without being noticed.’
‘Even if no vampire sees us, this could still go badly,’ he said.
‘True.’
