Page 73 of Waifs And Strays
Pursing my lips, I stepped across the threshold. A narrow set of stairs loomed above me. I could hear an old clock ticking and several thumping footsteps, followed by a mutter. I tensed. Was somebody else here as well as Brassick?
The footsteps moved closer and I realised that he was pacing the room next to the ground-floor landing while talking to himself. ‘Everything is good, Brassick,’ he said. ‘Fine and dandy. There is nothing to worry about.’
I smiled humourlessly: he had everything to worry about. I glanced over my shoulder at Thane, who dipped his head to indicate that he was ready. Moving as quietly as possible, I climbed the stairs.
Brassick was still talking. ‘There will only be one demon and it can’t possibly eat all that much.’ He paused as I reached the top of the stairs. He was in the kitchen, a large room withhigh ceilings. Although there were windows, they were shuttered against the sunshine.
My gaze hardened. He appeared to be decanting blood from a tin receptacle into empty wine bottles. That had to be Nick’s blood. ‘I wonder what a demon’s favourite food is,’ he mumbled.
‘I expect that they’re rather partial to vampires,’ I said aloud.
Brassick’s back stiffened though he didn’t turn round immediately. ‘You. You followed me through the Understream? Really?’ His astonishment revealed exactly why we’d managed to sneak inside so easily: the vampire was an idiot.
‘You’re braver than I thought you were,’ he went on. ‘If you’d been spotted by one of my kin, you’d already be strung up and suffering from a thousand cuts. Literally.’
I wondered if that was what had happened to Thane when he’d been caught down there. Maybe it was better not to know. ‘That’s what you call those tunnels? The Understream?’ I asked. ‘What are the worm things called?’
‘Worms,’ he said. ‘What else would we call them?’
Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.
‘What about the boy? Is he alive?’ Brassick demanded.
When I didn’t answer, he finally turned and his dark eyes met mine. He glanced over my shoulder and spotted Thane. ‘Number Three,’ he whispered, his face lighting with recognition.
Thane growled. Both of us knew what that number had to refer to: Thane was the third on Umbra’s list of lone werewolves whose blood could be used to bring forth a demon.
‘You killed Paul and Alice,’ he snarled.
Brassick’s brow creased. ‘Paul was the tall wolf with the long hair? Yeah, he was Number One. Alice, I suppose, was Number Two.’ He splayed his hands out in a mock-conciliatorygesture. ‘We didn’t mean to kill them but some of my colleagues were … over-enthusiastic about their work. Sadly, Number One died of blood loss. We tried to take a few pints from him but we misjudged how much he could stand to lose. Accidents happen.’
‘And Alice?’ Thane spat.
‘Number Two put up more of a fight than we expected and she died when we tried to take her off the street.’ The vampire shrugged his bony shoulders. ‘You did well, Number Three. You managed to escape but we got two full pints from you before that happened. Your donation to our cause will make all the difference.’
Then he smiled. ‘Not as much difference as Number Four, of course, but he’s special. Teenage blood is so much more useful.’ He smacked his lips. ‘And tasty.’
That was too much for Thane and he pushed past me, quivering with a bitter lust for vengeance. Brassick’s reaction was swift. He raised his arms and transformed into a cloud of black smoke before Thane reached him. His bat wings flapped rapidly as his tiny body rose out of Thane’s reach.
I was already at the door, closing it so that Brassick couldn’t escape no matter what form he chose to take.
Thane jumped up, sweeping his arm as high as he could in a bid to knock down Brassick’s bat body.
‘You can’t get away,’ I called. ‘You might as well give yourself up and face the consequences of your actions.’
The bat fluttered left and right before descending, then there was another smaller puff of dark smoke and Brassick’s human form reappeared. ‘I can’t do that, dear woman. What would the demon say?’ He bared his teeth and displayed his glistening fangs. ‘But if you won’t let me take flight, let’s fight instead.’ And with that, he sprang at me.
Hand-to-hand combat wasn’t my speciality. Most of mywork had been conducted from the shadows and from a distance, not close up, but there had been the odd occasion when I’d needed to fight with my fists and I knew I could hold my own. I was delighted to show Brassick exactly what I was capable of.
He swung at me with his right fist and I ducked to avoid the blow. I raised my leg to retaliate with a kick but, to my chagrin, Thane beat me to it. He grabbed Brassick by the scruff of his neck and hauled him back before my foot could connect, then slammed his fist into the side of the vampire’s head.
It was going to take more than a single punch to bring Brassick down. He staggered back a few steps and reached for the drawer behind him, pulled out a long-bladed knife with a serrated edge and thrust it forward.
The blade sliced into Thane’s upper chest. Although the wound was only superficial, there was enough blood to soak the front of the werewolf’s shirt and his face tightened with pain.
Thane threw another punch, side-stepped to avoid the blade and blocked me from attacking Brassick. There was a smacking sound as the edge of his fist connected with the vampire’s jaw. It was a powerful blow but Brassick did little more than smirk. He delved into his pocket and withdrew something. I tensed as he opened his fingers to reveal a small pile of herbs that he blew into Thane’s face.
Thane’s howl was like nothing I’d ever heard before.
