‘Do you suspect something sinister? Do you think someone might be killing these creatures and disposing of their bodies?’
Alan sighed heavily. ‘Every possible theory has been mooted but as yet we have no evidence.’
As yet. I appreciated his optimism. ‘So it’s been approved?’ I asked. ‘I have permission to enter the Understream and investigate?’
He nodded. ‘Yes.’ He reached into his rucksack again and pulled out a slim envelope. ‘You will find directions inside. I’ve taken the liberty of arranging for you to meet one of our representatives before you first go in. She will ensure you have everything you need, including a visitor’s pass.’
Good. I looked up and my eyes met Captain Montgomery’s on the other side of the room. I offered him an approving bob of my head; he’d done well to give Alan advanced warning of the swap because that meant that I wouldn’t have to delay my investigation while I waited for the appropriate permissions.
‘Seven days isn’t long,’ Alan said. ‘You might not have enough time to find out what has happened to the worms. Don’t feel bad if you don’t get results.’
I suppressed a snort. I had confidence in my abilities and I’d do whatever I could to get to the bottom of this matter. It would be incredibly satisfying to achieve what the vampires hadn’t accomplished on their own. ‘I’ll do whatever I can to find out what’s happened,’ I told him.
Something odd flashed across his red eyes. ‘I am glad to hear it,’ he murmured.
Chapter
Three
When I woke up alone the following morning, a shaft of summer sunlight had landed on my face and was tickling my eyelids. I’d known that Thane was spending the night at his current flat and that She Who Commands Werewolves would be with him. He had his own work to do and I liked my personal space.
What I hadn’t expected was the absence of my own furry crew.
I rolled over and checked the time on my small wind-up alarm clock. As soon as I registered that it was almost nine, I sat bolt upright. I never usually slept this late – the cats nevereverallowed me to sleep this late. Something had to be desperately wrong for them to abandon their snuggly positions around me and their daily desperation for breakfast.
I was out of bed in a heartbeat, pulling on an old-T-shirt and some loose jogging bottoms. I flipped open the chest in the corner and grabbed my favourite curved dagger. I hesitated over a gun and a few spell pouches but decided I couldn’t dally any longer. Gripping the dagger tightly in my right hand, I edged to the bedroom door and peered out.
There was no sign of the cats; there was no sign of anything. The narrow hallway looked exactly as I’d left it. I slowed my breathing and listened. There were no untoward creaks, no sounds at all.
I licked my lips then carefully sniffed the air to scent anything new or out of place. Your average Joe would be shocked at how their own natural body odour could give them away – that was something Montgomery hadn’t covered in his surveillance lessons. Then again, he’d also repeated several times that it was against the law to enter a property uninvited and we were never to do so. Unfortunately, it was hard to kill someone in their bed if you didn’t go into their house first, so it was one of many illegal activities of which I had intimate knowledge.
There were no strange smells in my house.
I adjusted my grip on the dagger and tiptoed out of the bedroom. My house was unwarded; I saw no reason to go to the expense of putting magical barriers in place when I was more than capable of mounting my own defences against home intrusions. With five cats, I certainly hadn’t installed booby traps in the way that Thane had often done.
What happened now was down to me and me alone.
I checked the kitchen: all clear. I slid into the living room. The window was open to allow the cats to come and go as they wished, but it wasn’t wide enough to allow a human-sized creature to enter. Nothing was off kilter so I nipped into the bathroom, the messy back room that held all my gear, and the hallway cupboard. Nothing, nothing, nothing. But neither were there any cats. Not a whisker.
I padded towards the front door. I wasn’t afraid, not yet, but I was aware that adrenaline was pulsing through my system and making me tense. If I didn’t find my damned cats soon, all hell would break loose. If somebody had dared to harm them, Iwould hunt them to the ends of the earth; if somebody had tried to catnap them, I would kidnap them in turn. And worse.
I drew myself up, aware of every gram of my cat-lady rage, then reached for the door handle, pushed it down and flung open the door.
My body sagged as six pairs of feline eyes swivelled in my direction then flicked away again. Every single one of my furry little bastards was in the garden – and they weren’t alone. The handsome silver Maine Coon from yesterday had returned and he appeared to be holding court.
‘For fuck’s sake!’ I hissed. ‘I thought something terrible had happened!’
She Who Loves Sunbeams blinked and pulled herself away from the group to pad towards me. She wound around my ankles and glanced up, apology vibrating in her anxious purr. She was joined a moment later by three of the others; only She Without An Ear and the Maine Coon stayed where they were.
Feeling like a nagging, over-protective mother, I glared at them. ‘Breakfast time!’ I said loudly.
She Without An Ear flicked me a look of contemptuous pity that I probably deserved then she rose, gave the Maine Coon a delicate lick and slowly returned to the house. I waited until she was inside before I fixed the silver cat with a stern look. Maybe he wasn’t fully feral after all. ‘If you want breakfast too, you can come in.’
He didn’t move a muscle. Although he didn’t look directly at me, I knew he was very aware of my presence but he wasn’t giving me anything. There wasn’t even an indication of his name, which was usually the easiest thing to glean from any cat, feral or otherwise.
I took a step towards him and he growled once before vanishing into the supposed safety of the rose bush. Hmm. I waited another moment or two but he remained hidden.
I loosened my hold on my dagger and went back inside. The cats sat in the hallway and watched me. ‘Alright.’ I folded my arms. ‘What can you tell me about him?’
