by TJ Green
Avery sat next to him, squeezing his arm from time to time, and feeling ineffectual. She was horrified by the events of the last few hours, worried about Alex, and very worried about Hunter. She watched Briar’s taut face, and the way she kept looking behind her to the door. El and Reuben sat apart from them, talking quietly, no doubt hatching some plan, but Avery was too tired to think coherently.
Eventually, Newton came in through the rear door, at the same time that Hunter reappeared through the main doors, and their eyes met across the pub, both of them glaring at each other. Newton glanced at Briar and back to Hunter, and his grim expression soured further. Avery noticed that Hunter didn’t push it; he just sat next to Briar quietly.
“Where have you been?” Newton asked Hunter.
“I was out, trying to get his scent.”
“Really? Because the victim’s throat is ripped out, and wolves do that, don’t they?”
A low snarl started in the back of Hunter’s throat as he said, “I was sitting here when it happened. Everyone saw me. I went out afterwards.”
Briar glared at Newton and clenched her fists, and the pot that the indoor plant in the corner was sitting in exploded in a shower of earth and plastic.
Avery spoke quickly before Briar could do anything else. “Newton, Hunter was sitting here with us. All of us were in here for at least 20 minutes, together, when that happened.” She gestured to the window, swallowing hard, and then back to him, imploringly. “You know the vampire did this. She was dropped from a height.”
“And how did she get to the roof?”
Alex looked up at him, finally. “I checked with Simon—he’s the bar manager tonight. She was putting the rubbish out, as I asked her to do, heading out the kitchen door to load the rubbish bags in the main bin. It must have been waiting. It would have lifted her up before she could do anything.” He paused. “This is my fault. If I hadn’t asked her…” He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.
Avery squeezed his hand. “Stop it, Alex. It’s not your fault. It’s Lupescu’s.”
“And who is Lupescu?” Newton asked, seething.
“The vampire we’ve been chasing. The one who has been responsible for the recent deaths—well, some of them,” Avery explained.
“Nice to know you’re keeping me in the loop,” Newton said, glaring at them all as if they’d betrayed him.
Avery could feel her eyes filling with tears. “We only found out today, and it’s been a very long day. Of course we would have told you.”
Reuben butted in. “Newton, calm down. We’ll tell you everything we know. We’re not the enemy here.”
Newton blinked, with what might have been reassurance, but then he turned to Hunter. “And when did you arrive?”
“Last night. Briar asked for my help.” He tapped his nose. “This is good for tracking.”
“And have you tracked it?”
“I found its scent a few roads down. It took me a while. It must have cut across the roofs. I followed him back out of town, and then lost him—he must be up high again.”
Newton stared at him for a moment longer, and then addressed everyone. “I need statements from all of you, and the staff. Moore will take them.”
“That’s fine,” Avery said. “And then is that it for tonight?”
“Yes,” he said abruptly. “Where can I find you later?”
“I’ll be here, with Alex.”
Briar bristled with defiance. “I’ll head home. Hunter is staying with me.”
They were back to this now, were they? Avery thought, looking between them.
Newton could barely look at her. “And you, El?”
“We’ll be at my flat,” she answered.
“Fine. I’ll be in touch.” And then he turned and left, the door slamming behind him.
***
However, they didn’t head home straight away. After they’d been interviewed, and Alex had locked the pub up and ensured the rest of his staff weren’t travelling home alone, they all headed to Alex’s flat to discuss their options.
As soon as they were through the door, Reuben said, “I need whiskey.”
“In the cupboard next to the TV,” Alex instructed him. He slumped in the armchair, immobile. “Make mine a large.”
“Whiskey all around?” Reuben asked, as he reached for the bottle and glasses.
“Yes, please,” Hunter said. He’d never been in Alex’s flat before, and he paced around, curious.
Avery declined. “Not for me, thanks. I’ll have more wine.” She lit the fire and the lamps, and then peeked through the blinds. “It’s still snowing. I haven’t known it to fall this heavily for years. Do you think Lupescu will hunt again tonight?”
Briar stood next to her, watching the swirling snow. “I hope not, but I doubt snow will stop it.”
El was curled in her favourite place on the sofa, her long legs tucked beneath her, and she stared into the fire, swirling the whiskey around the glass. “I feel guilty sitting here when it could be out there now, attacking others.”
“Me too,” Alex said, as he took his glass from Reuben. “Grace is dead, and more could be tonight, and what am I doing? Sitting here by a warm fire, drinking sodding whiskey.” He downed it in one go and held it out again. “Another, please.”
“Yes sir.” Reuben topped him up, and then stood with his back to the fire, looking at them all. “Let’s do something about it!”
El’s head shot up. “Now?”
“Yes, why not?”
“Because there’s a bloody great blizzard out there, and we can’t see Lupescu. The night is a vampire’s friend, not ours.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure, El?” he challenged.
“Buried beneath my sense of self-preservation!” She looked at him as if he’d gone mad.
“Just hear me out,” he said, appealing to everyone. “I don’t mean we run around like loonies chasing him in the snow. That would be suicide. And pointless. No, I suggest that we find Lupescu’s lair and wait for it, and then when it comes back—boom! It will not be expecting that! It will think we’re lying in terror in our beds.”
Hunter had stopped pacing, and he leaned against the wall, sipping his drink. “I could smell Lupescu’s scent particularly strongly in one of the tunnels leading away from the main cave, and there were very few other scents with it. I think that particular tunnel led to its very own den of horrors. Lupescu is the head vamp. The king doesn’t slum it with the rest of them.” His eyes developed a molten glow again. “And we smelt the sea, remember? I bet that his lair is close to the beach for easy access. I’ve got a very good sense of direction—it’s a wolf thing. If you pull a map out, I can tell you which way we were moving underground, and I can narrow down where the cave will exit.”
Reuben frowned. “You’re saying that we don’t have to use the hatch in the wood?”
Hunter shook his head. “No—I don’t think so, anyway. Show me a map, I’ll show you where we should exit, and you tell me what’s there. We’ll see if it’s possible.”
“Hold on,” Avery said, confused. “It’s probably not in its cave. It’s out here, hunting innocent people. And, sorry to keep reminding you of this—it’s awake! That means it’s dangerous! What happened to the plan to stake it when it’s asleep? And—” she added, “it could well move to another sleeping area. Our scent will be all over that main cave. It knows we’ve been there. That’s why Grace is dead—for revenge!”
“Which is why we should act tonight,” Reuben argued. “It could be heading back to grab its vampire backpack of death and escape right now!”
El rolled her eyes. “Now I know you’ve gone mad. Vampire backpack of death?” She looked at Briar and Avery. “When I said earlier that he keeps me sane, I was clearly delusional. Remind me of this in the future.”
Reuben batted his eyelashes at her. “I keep you sane? That’s so sweet.”
“And wrong!” she retorted.
“Actually,” Hunter s
aid confidently, “I think Lupescu has no idea that we know where to find it. I sniffed out every single exit in that place, making sure to smear my wolfy scent everywhere. I even started down the wrong passage. I made it seem I was going the wrong way.” He grinned, smugly. “And besides, it’s arrogant. It underestimates us.”
Talk about arrogant. If only Newton could see him, it would be all out war.
Alex was suddenly alert. “I like this idea. I like it a lot. I’ve got a big map here, somewhere. I know I have. It’ll be better than using a phone.” He jumped up and ran to the bookcase, shuffling through books and throwing a few on the floor. “Here!” He triumphantly pulled an A4, dog-eared folder out, filled with folded maps, and rustling through them produced one of the Cornish coast. “These belonged to my uncle.” He headed to the table and spread it out, turning the overhead light on at the same time, and the others crowded around. He pointed to a spot on the map. “Madame Charron’s, and there’s the woodland where the hatch is.”
They fell silent while Hunter studied the map, running his finger over it while muttering to himself.
Half of Avery wished that he wouldn’t have a clue and they’d give up this ridiculous idea, and the other half wanted him to be absolutely sure so they could go and get this over with.
“Look,” Hunter said, his finger stabbing the map. “There’s the hatch. We continued on for a while, west, then we turned south, then east, then south, and east again. We smelt sewage in a few places here, which would make sense—it’s right under the village. Then east, then south again, and that’s where I think the main cave is.” He jabbed the map emphatically.
Alex frowned. “It’s closer to White Haven than I expected. Are you sure?”
“Yep. I’d bet my life on it.”
“What’s that squiggle under your finger?” Briar asked, as she leaned in closer.
“It’s one of the old Second World War bunkers, called a pillbox, I think,” Alex answered. “I didn’t think those things had tunnels.”
“What were they for?” El asked.
“They were part of the coastal defences that were erected when we thought the Germans were going to invade at the start of the war,” he explained. “Pillboxes are concrete boxes dug into the ground with slits for weapons. Some were linked together by huge trenches for tanks, but they’ve long since been covered in weeds and undergrowth. You can’t even see most of them anymore.”
“Maybe when this one was constructed, it opened up an existing tunnel,” Reuben suggested.
Alex nodded in excitement. “Maybe.” He looked at Hunter. “You’re sure about this?”
The molten glow fired in Hunter’s eyes in anticipation. “Yes.”
“Are you sure it wouldn’t be safer to go through the tunnels?” Avery asked. “We know that way.”
“But it’s long. This will be quicker,” Alex reasoned.
Briar looked worried. “But it will scent us, surely.”
Reuben looked exasperated. “We’re witches! We can disguise our scent, hide ourselves, and set up a trap. We’re allowing ourselves to be frightened by this thing! We are stronger combined than Lupescu is.” He looked around, appealing to them. “We have stakes, swords, fire, holy water, and magic. We have spells that can immobilise it! Come on! Are we witches or wimps?”
They looked at each other, slow smiles spreading.
Avery felt hopeful once more. “You’re right, Reuben. Let’s do this.”
24
Avery’s van crawled along the coastal route towards West Haven, the blizzard ensuring no one else was on the road, and shielding them from prying eyes.
Briar sat up front, next to Avery and Alex, and used magic to clear the snow from their immediate path, creating a pocket of calm in the storm, while Reuben and El erased their path from behind. Alex consulted the map.
“Are we close?” Avery asked, her hands gripping the wheel.
“I think so. GPS says we are, anyway.”
Hunter called from the back of the van. “Let me out and I’ll check.”
Avery eased to the side of the road, and within seconds Hunter had shed his clothes and disappeared, a flurry of snow settling in the van as he left.
Reuben grinned at Briar. “I like your new boyfriend. He’s very useful.”
She glared at him. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
He sniggered. “Yeah, right. He thinks so, and so does Newton. He was not happy tonight.”
“Well, Newton has no say in what I do,” she shot back.
Reuben continued, undaunted. “In my opinion, you made the right choice. Newton will never really get his head around witchcraft, no matter how much he likes you, whereas Hunter doesn’t give a crap.” He smirked as he added, “And clearly can’t keep his eyes off you.”
El prodded him. “Reuben, behave.”
“Just saying! I have a brotherly love for you, Briar. I approve.”
“Thanks so much,” Briar said, a dangerous edge to her voice.
He grinned again. “My pleasure.”
“Could we maybe get back to our plan to kill a vampire?” Alex asked, watching with amusement from the front seat.
Reuben held his hands out, palms up. “We have a plan. Trust me.”
They jumped as Hunter landed on the bonnet with a thump, and then ran around the side. “He’s back,” Avery said.
El opened the door and Hunter bounded in, shaking snow from his fur, and then changed back to human form.
“It’s bloody cold out there, even with my wolf fur to keep me warm. But I found it. Another couple of hundred metres up the road.”
“I don’t know how you can find anything in this,” Briar said, and even in the tension of the moment, Avery noticed how her eyes travelled across him almost hungrily.
“We have a lot of snow in Cumbria,” he answered. “I’m used to it. But someone will have to wipe my prints…I went a few different places before I found it.”
Reuben grabbed his backpack. “That will be me. Let’s erase those first, and then we’ll go.”
They both disappeared for another few minutes, and the others waited in anxious silence. Then Reuben stuck his head in the back door. “Ready everyone?”
They nodded, and slipped out of the van and into the night, Avery casting a spell to hide the van, before following Hunter.
Avery’s jacket was zipped up tight, and she wore a scarf and a hat, but even so it was bitterly cold. Hunter led them away from the road, a bubble of stillness around them as Briar kept the snow away, and Reuben erased their tracks from behind.
It was hard going despite their magic, and they slipped and stumbled through the deep snow. Avery could hear the sea, the waves crashing onto the beach and the cliffs somewhere beyond them, but she couldn’t smell it. The snow blanketed everything. After a few minutes they passed through some scrubby bushes, bent over by years of wind, and stumbled into a ditch. A low, concrete wall appeared in front of them, cracked and pock-marked.
Hunter led them around the small building. The walls were only a few feet high, and at intervals Avery could see long, dark slits in the concrete. They must have been for the lookouts and their guns. The ground dropped as they reached the other side, and a rotten wooden door appeared, partially open. Inside it was pitch black, and a musty, sour smell escaped from it.
Hunter slipped inside and they followed him. Avery hesitated a moment, watching Reuben as he wiped their prints, the snow smoothing under his magic, and then she slipped inside, too, Reuben behind her.
A witch light hung in the air, revealing cracked walls and chunks of concrete on the broken floor beneath them where weeds were pushing through. At the rear of the small room, a black hole yawned in the ground, and Hunter sniffed at its edges, Alex next to him.
Hunter changed back to human form as he crouched next to the opening, shivering in the cold, and once again Avery tried to ignore the fact that he was completely naked. “This is it. The scent is really strong here, only hours old. But I’m
pretty sure Lupescu’s not here.”
Alex nodded. “Good. Are we covered outside?”
Reuben nodded. “All trace has gone, including our scent. Briar will take over in here—she’s better with Earth spells.”
Briar was already taking her shoes off and putting them in her backpack. “I’m ready.”
“Won’t your feet freeze?” Avery asked, worried.
“The Earth generates her warmth for me,” Briar reassured her. “Go on. I’ll be right behind you.”
Alex threw another witch light into the hole, revealing a metal ladder set into the wall. It led to a brick-walled room beneath the bunker, but a passageway went out of it on their right and left, running parallel with the coast.
“Was this part of the defences?” El asked.
“Must have been,” Alex said. “Storage for weapons, I guess. They must have dug into the tunnel that was already here. Smugglers’ tunnels, I bet. They probably link caves to cellars. Like at your place, Reuben.”
Reuben nodded in agreement. “This place never ceases to surprise me.”
Hunter, already a wolf again, was sniffing around the passage entrances, and led them down the passage heading west. It sloped downwards, and the lower they went, the louder the sound of the sea became, until suddenly the tunnel ended in a small cave.
The ground was a mix of sand, earth and rock, but the roof was high, disappearing into utter blackness. The walls were made of rock, except for the side closest to the sea, which was a jumbled mass of earth and huge boulders of rock with the occasional tree roots thrusting their way through. Another tunnel headed north, away from the coast. But most importantly, the cave had bones in it, blankets on the floor, the remnants of a fire, candles, and the limp but unmistakable form of a teenage girl against the far wall.
Hunter was already sniffing her gently, and Avery ran over and felt her pulse. “She’s alive, but only just.” Puncture marks scarred her neck, and she was thin and pale. “We need to get her out of here.”
