“Thanks for keeping us safe,” one of the girls said as the group trotted past, each glancing between the three of us and the vampire, who no doubt would wake up soon.
I stared after them, my mouth hanging open at the gullibility of humans. Fuck. I had been that trusting before I realised that there was a shit ton of crazy out in the world. And now? I still didn’t have a bloody clue.
“That’s how the universe works.” Naz nodded at Zac as he offered his hand to me. “If we knew everything, what would there be left for us to do? We have to find the truth of who we are and why we are here before we can relax and just be ourselves.”
“Thanks for the philosophy lesson, Dr Naz.” Placing my hand in his, I held my stomach as he flashed us back to the surveillance room.
Before either of us had the chance to speak, Tinniel shot forward and grabbed Naz’s arm, squeezing the muscles tight.
“What is it?” I asked, taking hold of Tinniel’s other hand.
He blinked rapidly as his gaze shot to me. “It’s Jimmy. I saw what happened to him.”
Chapter Five
“I had no idea that there were tunnels running underneath the Thames,” I said, still in disbelief.
Holding his finger to his lips to quieten me, Tinniel shook his head and pointed at the door. “Surely, the vampires wouldn’t be able to hear me from here?”
With a roll of the eyes, Tinniel nodded slowly as if he were talking to a child. Ah, okay, apparently vampires could hear from far away. Even though we were currently hidden on a boat docked in front of the banquet hall.
When he had told us that he had seen Jimmy disappear through a dark tunnel when the meeting had finished, Naz had ordered Zac to investigate the building plans of the Docklands. Turns out, there was a whole host of tunnels leading under the Thames and to the other side of London. Who knew?
I certainly didn’t and, to be honest, I wouldn’t have cared before. However, now… It was fascinating.
“Do you think we could take a metal detector down there?” I whispered as I watched two men lock the door of the building we were about to storm.
Growling at me, Tinniel pointed to his eyes before indicating the men who walked away, heading home after a long night of merrymaking.
I’d seen a video of the actors playing out little skits of Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth. If it wasn’t the hub of a paranormal human trafficking ring, I might have even gone to a banquet myself. I’d always fancied dressing up in a breath-reducing corset dress, just to know what it felt like to be ladylike.
Naz, who waited behind a kitchenette cabinet, chuckled gently to himself. Oops. Not only did I have to keep a rein on my tongue when it actually moved, I had to shut the fuck up when I thought. In fact, it was rather frustrating that Naz could read my mind. Surely there was a spell I could cast to stop him from doing that.
“Let’s make our way over.” Tinniel stood from his crouch, offering me a hand and helping me to my feet.
Not that I needed it. However, I wasn’t about to say no to the sexy man beast.
“Can you still feel him?” Naz whispered as we stepped silently off the boat and onto the dockland.
Closing my eyes briefly, I tapped into the energy of Zac’s vampire. He had left a trace of his essence on me when he scratched my knuckles. Something about the link was familiar. It felt like Jimmy’s energy. The only explanation was that Jimmy had changed the man from a human into a vampire. Jimmy’s blood was still in the perpetrator who had been about to kidnap the couple and bring them to him. Which meant I could use my connection to the vampire to trace his sire.
When I had tuned in with the intent of connecting to Jimmy, the darkness lifted, revealing ancient worn bricks and a flickering flame.
Zac and Synthia were back at the club, preparing to question the rogue vampire before handing him over to the law enforcement. The police had agreed to allow us to interrogate any paranormal creature related to our personal bounties. Especially those who could have answers to the whereabouts of my mother.
“I can’t see much,” I told Naz as we edged closer to the door.
He nodded as he pulled out his crossbow and placed an arrow into it, careful not to touch the end, which was covered in a light blue powder that twinkled. Yes, it fucking twinkled.
Tinniel glanced over his shoulder, his brooding expression enough to shut me up. I would try tracking Jimmy when we got into the tunnel. If we were able to get access, of course.
Approaching the door, Tinniel reached out and grasped the handle, whispering a spell under his breath. The sound of the lock clicking reached my ears as it echoed down the corridor inside. Wasting no time, Tinniel pushed the door and entered, checking to see if anyone was there. His gun was by his side, ready and waiting to fire, should it be needed.
Beauty was currently tucked into my side, invisible to those who were not magically inclined. Even though she was a beast – ha, ironic – she was so light, she didn’t hinder me as I walked behind my future husband. Maybe.
There was no beating base or thumping music as we crept down the corridor and into the huge hall. The entertainment had finished, everyone gone home for the night. We still had to be careful, just in case Frankenstein was hanging out.
A snort from Naz made me jump so hard, I tripped over the step that led into the main area. It was almost pitch black, the only light shining from a flame that flickered, forgotten in one of the sconces.
“There’s no one here,” Naz said quietly.
“How do you know?” I hissed, gripping hold of Tinniel’s arm as an ice chill made me shudder.
If anyone had heard us, they would kill us straight away. Surely, he remembered how crazy Frankenstein had looked. We hadn’t even known what creature he was. If Jimmy was afraid of him, I was shitting my pants.
Placing a hand over mine, Tinniel soothed me with a shush.
Naz came closer, whispering still. “I cast a spell as we were coming in, amplifying any thoughts in the vicinity. There’s none.”
Heaving out a sigh, I smiled, grateful for Naz’s extremely irritating gift for once. I had to hand it to the sorcerers, they were crazy incredible.
“That’s a bit of luck,” I muttered, “I was about to have a heart attack.”
The familiar fuzzy feeling of adrenaline tickled me, even as my shoulders relaxed. Hopefully, Naz had covered all bases and done his research.
Tinniel pointed in the direction of a hidden exit. The shadows engulfed the open archway that led out of the room. Following him, we tiptoed across the stone floor, wary regardless of Naz’s assurances.
We had no idea who we were playing with. The twins had even run a trace on the database to try and see who Frankenstein was. Unfortunately, nothing had come up.
Pausing by the arch, Tinniel held out his hand to stop us from going any further. I clenched my palm around Beauty’s handle, ready to wield the sword if needed. Not that I wanted to fight with a man who had hands the size of King Kong.
A small light exploded from Tinniel’s hand as he clicked on a flashlight, illuminating the darkness ahead. My heart leapt into my throat, a gasp escaping me as a full body armour came into view. Holding my chest, I giggled to myself as the others shook their heads, clearly amused by my jumpy behaviour.
Of course there would be a metal armour suit in a mediaeval banquet hall. It made complete sense. Not that my brain had grasped the logic when it had suddenly been revealed.
“There,” Tinniel whispered, barely breaking the silence around us. “That door.”
When he had returned from the memory, he had told us that he’d followed Jimmy into the tunnels but hadn’t been able to keep up with him. The vampire had shot through them so fast, Tinniel struggled to stay with him. He didn’t want to mess with the past too much, especially after his previous experience. Instead, he had decided to come back and persuade us to travel with him in order to see what was down there.
As Tinniel stepped forward, his flashlight started to fl
icker. Swearing under his breath, he tapped it against his palm, huffing when it finally went out.
“Told you to change them,” Naz said, smiling to himself when Tinniel glared at him.
Clearly, Tinniel had said something in his mind that Naz found amusing. No doubt, my hunky twin was cursing his brother and the less than helpful advice.
“Let me.” Waving his hand, Naz winked when his crossbow disappeared and a ball of white light appeared in front of us, the glow emanating out from it and lighting up the area around us.
Yeah, I was bloody impressed. As much as I didn’t want to give Naz a big head, I had to raise my eyebrows in appreciation. It was rare to see them perform physical magic. I had wondered what the coloured powder had been when the warlocks had attacked us previously. Although I had been told that each colour meant different things, namely poisons that incapacitated the enemy, I had never seen any in action. Knowing that Naz was able to create balls of light gave me a whole new respect for him.
Smirking, Naz wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“Don’t even…” I shook my head and waved my hand in dismissal as the brother held up his hands in surrender, failing to stop the smile that spread on his face.
“What can I say? I told you sorcerers were the best.”
Gesturing for his brother to go first, Tinniel glanced at me, his eyes narrowing when I shrugged. I didn’t know whether it was a good thing that we couldn’t hear each other’s thoughts, even though Naz could have a whole conversation without us knowing what the other was technically saying.
“You guys are…” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
Even as I thought about how far I had come in such a short amount of time, I couldn’t help but admire the strengths of the two men who had sworn to protect me.
“Let’s go.” The corners of Tinniel’s lips lifted, belaying the harsh bite of his words.
Okay, I knew better than to try and complement my grumpy grumps. He wasn’t one to bask in his own glory, unlike his brother.
Naz didn’t even look over his shoulder as he waved a hand over the numbered keypad, giving us a thumbs up when the door clicked open.
Sweat broke out on my forehead as we ducked into a cold stone tunnel. There was nothing special about the escape route from the banquet hall. It was probably a smugglers’ pathway out of the docks. They would have brought their bounty down into the cellar before moving it across London under the pitch black safety of the tunnels. How exciting to think that ancient spirits lurked deep down under the water.
“Stop thinking like that,” Naz hissed into my ear as I drew level with him. “It’s freaking me out.”
Oh really? Big bad-ass Nazeriah, sorcerer and bounty hunter, scared of a few ghosts?
“What are you whispering about?” Tinniel asked, his deep voice low as he glanced over his shoulder at us.
The light from Naz’s magic ball stretched only a few feet in front and behind. If there was anyone waiting in the shadows, they’d see us before we’d see them.
Clearing his throat, Naz frowned at Tinniel. “Tell your girlfriend to stop creeping me out. She’s thinking about ghosts and shit.”
Tinniel smiled as he shook his head. “Naz is a wimp. If there are any spirits down here, he’ll hear their voices in his mind first. Then he can warn us.”
“Shut the fuck up or I’m going back!” Naz glanced forward and then behind as we walked, failing to be quiet.
A hiss echoed ahead, causing us to pause. Naz gripped my arm, almost breaking it. Tinniel took my other hand and moved to stand in front of me.
Holding up a finger, Naz blew towards the ball of light that hovered in front of Tinniel. A flash flew from it, lighting up the tunnel as far as we could see.
“Shit!” Jumping back, I almost tripped over Naz’s leg as he pushed against his brother.
A fluffy grey wolf stood before us, its lips snarling as it bared its teeth. Blinking rapidly, it squinted its yellow eyes in the sudden onslaught of light, momentarily stunned.
Shoving away from the brothers, I slipped around Tinniel, brought Beauty out from where she was resting in the belt on my side, and kicked off the ground. The wolf barely had time to register my approach before my boots landed on its shoulders and my arms plunged my sword down, embedding straight into its neck. Groaning, the wolf gurgled as blood filled its throat.
My heart beat loudly in my ears, the adrenaline expanding my veins and giving me the strength to tug my blade out of the thick hide as the creature collapsed to the dusty ground.
Leaning down, I stroked his soft grey fur and took a deep breath as my chest squeezed. It was frightening how easy it had been for me to slay the beast. My stomach churned as the tears that popped into my eyes shocked me into backing away.
“A compassionate killer,” Tinniel whispered, catching me around the waist when my knees buckled. “A rare thing in our world.”
“I like dogs.” My words were loud in the empty tunnel.
Sniffing, Naz stifled a giggle. What was so funny? I had just killed a– oh, it wasn’t a real wolf.
“You did your job,” Naz said, stepping over the werewolf and pushing forward, not even giving the dead being a second more of his attention.
Shaking myself, I stopped staring at the wolf and glanced at Tinniel. He had been studying me, his gaze soft and his mouth slightly parted. A spark of desire shot through me, forcing me to bite my lip and step out of his embrace. And I wasn’t even going to think about why I had to move away.
“Thank you,” Naz said, gesturing for us to continue.
Flicking him my middle finger, I moved around the wolf and followed the telepath. He stalked ahead, clearly no longer afraid of the ghosts.
My hands shook as I tucked Beauty away and glanced to check if Tinniel followed. He did, his face hidden by the shadows.
“Shake it off.”
I wasn’t sure if Naz was talking about my lingering thoughts of the wolf or whether he was calming his fear of the ghosts.
“Tinniel,” Naz said, with gritted teeth, “if your girlfriend doesn’t stop thinking about ghouls, I’m teleporting out of here. Oh, a door.”
The creak of old metal hinges sent a chill dancing over my body. Had Naz just opened the door without checking that there was no one behind it?
“Shouldn’t he look…?” I asked Tinniel, throwing my hands in the air when both brothers rushed through the door, leaving me behind in the creepy tunnel.
A slight breeze brushed my hair, moving it against my neck. Oh crap, it was probably a ghost, coming to get me now that I was alone.
Following the sorcerers, I stopped dead, grunting when the door bumped my back as it swung closed. Ahead, a bright light illuminated a cave that had been crudely mined, the rocky walls only half smoothed. Old rusty metal train tracks disappeared off into a carved tunnel, clearly never been used. An old train carriage was pushed against a dusty platform, its vintage countenance strangely clean in the abandoned underground cavern.
“Wow,” I breathed as the men stepped towards the train, their weapons raised.
A candle flickered in one of the windows, half hidden by a red curtain. Was this Jimmy’s hideaway?
Had he been living in the carriage? Surely, the vampire would’ve had some sort of security to protect him. Not only that, he was a man of luxury. I had felt that when I’d connected to him. I somehow doubted that he would live in squalor. Or underground, for that matter.
Taking out Beauty, I stepped silently, tiptoeing towards the carriage. My eye caught a short flight of steps on the platform, leading to a padlocked metal door. Why had they abandoned the idea of using the underground station? Or was it one of those top secret government places they’d used during the war?
Naz glanced at me, nodding for me to press on. I went with them, focusing on the door. Its dark red lacquer paint was almost like new, even though the style of the train was ancient.
My heart thumped loudly in my ears as Tinniel reached the door and leant c
lose to it, listening.
Shrugging, he shook his head. It was silent inside.
Reaching out, he slowly gripped the handle and tugged gently, opening it as quietly as he could.
My hands shook as I licked my lips. Whoever lived here believed that there was no need for security. Although, I wasn’t surprised. We were deep under the river Thames. Who would know about the place?
Tinniel stepped into the carriage, checking both ways to make sure there was no one there. He nodded at Naz, who shook his head and followed, his crossbow hanging loosely at his side. They were quick to relax, considering Frankenstein might be hiding in one of the compartments.
Slipping in behind them, I looked left first. The open area must have originally been the dining cart. Now, it was a living area with a couch and television, all snugly fit together to create a cosy atmosphere. Several candles were dotted around, the one in the window flickering wildly now the door was open.
To the right, a corridor led off, hugging the front of the carriage. There were several doors, all shut. It was just like the train in Harry Potter. As much as I knew that there would be paranormal creatures living here, I doubted it was taking wizards and witches to a cool castle school in Scotland.
Pointing towards the rooms, Tinniel moved into the corridor and checked through the window of the first compartment. I stayed frozen, unable to do anything until he had checked them all.
“No one’s here,” he said when he came back. “They’ve knocked the compartments into one big luxury bedroom with an en-suite.”
Releasing my held breath, I snuck into the corridor to have a peek. Tinniel hadn’t been exaggerating, the room was stunning. Decorated in the same dark red with its thick drapes and a carved wooden four-poster bed, the room reminded me of a medieval bedroom found in one of King Henry VIII’s shagging houses.
“Jeez,” I said, returning to the others. “I wouldn’t mind living here.”
They raised their eyebrows at one another, clearly not impressed with how impressed I was. I mean, who wouldn’t want to live in an underground train? If I moved in, no one would bother me. Ever. Except maybe three bounty hunters trying to track a vampire.
The Witch With An Attitude (Federation of Magic Book 2) Page 6
