I nodded.
“Good. Meet me at the entrance behind the guild hall at first light. I’ll tell you everything, but for now, I must not be found missing.”
“We will see you at dawn,” I said, gesturing for him to retreat.
Sparing a final glance for us all, he hurried back toward the estate.
Steifan moved to my side as we watched him go. “Do you think we can trust him?”
I sucked my teeth. Bastien was missing, and the duke knew about it. “We’re going to have to. Now let’s get out of here.”
We retreated back through the canals the way we’d come. We would seek out a place to rest, perhaps back near the old keep, then we would meet Vannier at first light. I didn’t ask Asher where he was staying, or if we would see him tomorrow night. Despite how much he had helped us, I really didn’t want to know.
Chapter Eleven
Vannier awaited us behind the guild hall at first light as promised. Even hidden near the cellar doors, he stuck out like a red flycatcher standing stiff-backed in his showy livery.
His shoulders relaxed as he spotted us coming toward him. “It’s about time. I must get back before I’m missed.”
I glanced up at the first hint of sunlight just now showing over the rooftops. We were precisely on time, but I didn’t bother pointing that out. He didn’t have to meet us. I could be patient with a bit of bluster . . . but only a bit.
“Stand guard,” I said to Steifan. “I don’t want anyone sneaking up on us.”
I tugged the hood of my brown traveling cloak forward a little further, making sure it covered all of my hair. Steifan wore a similar cloak. After one attempt on our lives, we couldn’t be too careful. I had belted my sword around my waist instead of across my shoulders to make it less conspicuous. The blade was a bit too long for comfort, and it might take me a few moments longer to draw it, but a woman with a greatsword would stand out. At least around my waist, someone searching for me wouldn’t spot it from a distance.
Steifan walked out to the narrow intersection and disappeared around the corner. We both had Ryllae’s ointment smeared across our eyelids and over our ears, so hopefully even if someone with glamour came, Steifan would be all right.
I turned my attention to Vannier. “Tell me everything you know.”
His eyes couldn’t seem to settle on a particular part of my face. He wrung his hands, finally meeting my gaze. “You swear to me you will find the boy?”
“I will not give up until he has been found one way or another.”
Vannier rubbed his tired eyes. It looked like he hadn’t gone back to sleep after we left him. “Lady Charlotte had many secrets, and I was sworn to keep them, but if telling you will help solve her murder and bring back the boy, I will break my oath.”
I anxiously waited for him to continue.
He let out a long breath. “Lady Charlotte had a . . . business. She had suitors other than her husband.” His lined face grew redder as he spoke.
“If you are trying to tell me she was selling her womanly charms for coin, you can save your breath. Lady Montrant already hinted at as much.”
His eyes flew wide for a moment, then he seemed to settle himself. “I suppose that makes this explanation a little easier. Lady Charlotte kept to a regular schedule, and while her business was less than proper, it seemed she was staying safe. Then I noticed the first vampire bite. I caught just a glimpse of it when her sleeve pulled up too far, revealing her wrist.”
I lifted my brows. “So the bite on her neck wasn’t the first one. How long was this going on?”
“It started a few weeks before she went missing,” he explained. “At least that is when I first noticed it happening. It was confusing, to say the least. I had believed that vampires could not feed without killing their victims.”
It was a common misconception. “The old ones have more control,” I explained. “An older vampire could feed from her roughly once a week without weakening her . . . ” I trailed off at a sudden thought, realizing this was the first time anyone actually admitted she had gone missing before she was killed. “Vannier, how long was she actually missing before her body was found, and why did no one report it?”
He’d nodded along to my explanation, though I didn’t think he was really listening until I asked the question. His eyes searched my face before he answered, “She was missing for eight or nine days before her body suddenly just showed up in her bed.”
“Why didn’t the duke tell us she had been missing? Why wouldn’t he report it the first night she didn’t come home?”
Vannier shook his head. “I don’t know, and he made me swear up-and-down that I would not tell you about her business.”
If I hadn’t suspected the duke before, I most certainly did now. “So he knew about her business? What about the bites?”
He glanced around warily, though there was no one near us. “I cannot say for sure, but he had to know. I wasn’t the only one who noticed them. When Lady Montrant noticed, she stopped speaking with Charlotte entirely.”
So Lady Montrant knew. She had mentioned the business, and the lack of coin, so why not the bites? “What can you tell me about the Montrants?”
His eyes narrowed and went distant as he seemed to really consider his answer. “They came into a lot of coin this year, but I know little of the circumstances. They are well respected. Lady Montrant was previously one of Charlotte’s best friends.” He hung his head for a moment. “I fear that is all I can think to tell you. I hope it will be useful.”
“You gave us a place to start, at least. We will not leave this city until we figure out what’s going on.”
He nodded, but I had the feeling once again he wasn’t listening to me. If I had to guess, I would say he was genuinely distraught over Charlotte’s murder and Bastien’s disappearance. He met my gaze, giving me the full force of his gaunt face and the purple marks beneath his eyes. “I would appreciate it if I could leave first. I’d rather avoid being seen with you.”
“My, aren’t you a charmer.”
He didn’t seem to get the joke. With a final nod, he hurried past me, then down the adjoining street.
Steifan peeked around the corner. “Learn anything new?”
“A bit. How would you like to take another trip underground?”
He stepped fully around the corner and walked toward me, flapping the hem of his cloak behind him. “I wouldn’t like that at all, but I imagine I don’t have a choice.”
“Well at least you’re realistic.” I moved toward the cellar doors.
The chain and broken padlock were still on the ground, and one handle barely hung onto the door. If anyone had been here since we had ventured through, they had made no effort to re-seal the entrance.
I hoped it meant no one had been here at all, and we wouldn’t be confronted with a knife in the dark, or something far worse.
“Isn’t this it?” Steifan questioned, extending the lantern we’d left the previous night toward the ladder.
I peered down the corridor going in the other direction. We could go up to the White Quarter the same way we went before, but it would be difficult to spy from the sunny gardens. “Shine the light down this way. I’m wondering if there are other ways up.”
Steifan squeezed past me, heading slowly down the corridor. I could see why someone would need to float Charlotte’s body. It would be difficult to carry with how narrow the walkways were on either side of the water.
I considered the layout of the estates above as we walked, wishing I had spent more time in the area. I could roughly judge where we were, but I wasn’t sure where we would come up, and we would be doing it in broad daylight.
We stopped as the corridor forked off in two directions, with a metal grate leading over the water to our right.
I glanced one way, then the other. “Would you say we are somewhere near the square where I questioned the illustrious Lady Montrant?”
“I believe we are almost directly beneath it,�
� Steifan answered.
I turned to him, surprised at the surety in his tone.
He shrugged, bobbing the lantern in one hand. “I’m good with directions and distances.”
“All right, cartographer, which direction do we go to put us near the Montrant estate?”
He smirked. “While I do not appreciate your sarcasm, I believe we should go left. If there is an exit within the next forty paces, it should lead to the Montrant’s garden.”
“Remind me to bring you if I ever go spelunking.” I gestured for him to walk ahead with the lantern.
We got lucky, finding another ladder up not forty-five paces away.
Steifan held the lantern while I went up first, pausing with my ear near the hatch. I didn’t hear anything above, so I turned the handle and opened the hatch a crack. I had expected daylight, but I couldn’t see a thing.
“Lantern,” I whispered, extending one hand down toward Steifan.
The handle pressed into my palm, and I wrapped my fingers around it, lifting it slowly. When I had enough light to see by, I opened the hatch just a touch more and peered through the crack.
I looked down the length of a wooden floor stretching out into the darkness. The space was still and musty. I was quite sure we’d found our way into someone’s cellar. If we were lucky, it was the Montrant’s.
I listened for any footsteps or voices, but the rooms above were silent. I opened the hatch the rest of the way and climbed into the cellar, shining the lantern around the space. Along one wall were several barrels next to shelves lined with cheeses, ceramic crockeries, and baskets of goods.
I turned a slow circle as Steifan poked his head up into the room. The lantern cast odd shadows across metal grating.
My mouth went dry. “Something tells me those cages aren’t used to hold dogs.”
Steifan climbed into the room, and we both stared at the empty cages lining the far wall. Dirty, tattered rags were scattered within the enclosures, some stained dark reddish brown with dried blood.
“Do you think—” Steifan choked on his own words, lifting a hand to cover his mouth.
I could smell it too. Blood, excrement, and fear. “The missing people. I think they might have been held here, maybe transported through the canals.”
His hand still clasped over his mouth, Steifan shook his head. “But for what purpose?” he muttered against his fingers.
I walked closer to the cages, not sure what I hoped to find. “People are stolen away for all sorts of reasons. Judging by the cages, their captors wanted them kept alive.” I glanced at the low ceiling above us. “We need to find out where we are. If this is the Montrant’s estate, it may help us piece together what happened to Charlotte.”
Footsteps echoed across the floor above us, drawing near.
“Down!” I hissed. “Go back down!”
Steifan hopped back through the hatch, barely managing to catch a ladder rung to slow his fall.
My descent was no more graceful, and I nearly lost the lantern on my way down. I had just eased the hatch shut when footsteps hurried down the cellar stairs. I descended the last few steps of the ladder, then waited shoulder to shoulder with Steifan at the bottom.
“Get her in the cage,” a man’s voice strained.
Muffled cries, then the sound of a cage door slamming shut.
One moment Steifan was standing beside me, and the next he was lunging for the ladder.
I grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back, giving him a demonstration of my unnatural strength. He stumbled, and would have fallen into the water if I hadn’t maintained my grip on his cloak.
I jerked his collar, bringing him to face me, then lifted a finger in front of my lips. While his outrage was admirable, we weren’t going to stupidly rush into things. The girl was in a cage now, she wasn’t going anywhere without us noticing. And if we could follow her, we might find the other missing people, including Bastien.
Steifan’s eyes finally focused on me. His jaw was tight, but he nodded.
We both went still as two sets of footsteps echoed up the stairs, leaving behind only the sound of soft crying.
Steifan met my gaze solidly. “We have to get her out of there,” he hissed.
I gripped his wrist, just in case. “If we leave her long enough to be transported, we may find the other missing people.”
His eyes flew wide. “We can’t leave her in a cage, she must be terrified.”
I kept my voice low. “Think, Steifan. Her being scared now could save many lives. If the missing people are still in the city, we have to find them. We have to find Bastien.”
His expression fell. “We at least have to tell her that we intend to save her.”
This was one of those moments where working with someone so new to hunting was a massive detriment. Being a hunter required practicality above all else. We couldn’t let one girl’s fear risk an unknown number of lives. “If we go up there, she might start screaming, and the missing people could all end up dead. Do you want their blood on your hands?”
It was the first time Steifan had ever looked at me with hatred. My gut clenched, but I knew I was right. He had to see reason, whether he liked that reason or not.
“We will wait right here until she is moved,” he said slowly. “We will ensure she comes to no harm.”
“Agreed.”
He relaxed his stance, probably thinking he had won the battle. In truth, I had planned on waiting here until the girl was moved regardless. I wasn’t about to let her slip through our fingers.
I didn’t know if this was all related to Charlotte’s murder, but it would be a pretty big coincidence if it wasn’t. If Charlotte and the duke knew people were being taken, it could’ve been the reason Charlotte was killed. I needed to figure out who else was involved, and not just to solve a murder. Anyone involved in stealing people away needed to be brought to justice.
My sword felt heavy at my hip, longing to protect the weak from these monsters. For although a sword was perhaps the most brutal form of justice, it was my favorite kind.
Chapter Twelve
I could sense the sky growing dark outside as we waited down in the canal. Eventually the girl above had stopped crying. I genuinely hoped she had fallen asleep to spare herself from waiting in fear.
Steifan sat with his back against the damp stone wall, his shoulders hunched and knees pulled up to his chest. The lantern sat on the ground beside him, the wick pulled low to dampen the flame and preserve oil.
I waited on the other side of the ladder, leaning one shoulder against the stones. I had moved my sword from my hip to my back. If we were to fight, I didn’t want to waste the few extra seconds it would take to draw it from my hip.
Steifan looked up toward the ladder at the sound of footsteps. The girl started crying again, her sobs accompanied by the metal creak of the cage door opening.
Steifan stood, and we both waited, looking up at the ladder. We locked eyes as the footsteps and the sound of crying stopped right above us. Steifan grabbed the lantern, and we both fled around the corner in the direction we’d come.
I peeked around the corner as the hatch door opened, letting a pool of light down into the canal.
“Climb,” a man’s voice ordered, the same one who had ordered the girl put in the cage.
I saw the hem of a dark colored dress billowing around two small feet coming down the ladder. She wasn’t a child, but she most certainly wasn’t an adult either. It was difficult to judge for sure in the low lighting.
I pulled myself back around the corner. If they came this way, we would have to run, but I didn’t think they would. They weren’t bringing this girl to another hatch among the estates, and I doubted they were bringing her to the guild hall, which meant they were going in the other direction we were yet to explore.
By the sounds of it two more people came down behind the girl, but I didn’t dare look in case any of them were peering my way. I held the lantern at my other side, shielding the small ligh
t with my cloak.
My shoulders relaxed as footsteps headed off in the other direction. I held one arm out, preventing Steifan from trying to follow too closely. They weren’t going anywhere in these canals that would prevent us from following at a safe distance.
Once the footsteps had almost faded entirely, I crept forward, peering around the corner before venturing that way. The straightaway ahead was empty, so I held the lantern out in front of us to keep from falling in the water. It would be a shame if one of us splashing around undid all of our patient waiting.
Steifan followed behind me. Though his steps were light for a normal mortal, they seemed deafeningly loud to my ears. I could only hope the girl and her captors would not expect anyone following them, and so would not be listening for sounds of pursuit.
We reached another fork in the canal, and I peeked out, glancing both ways. Both directions were empty, but I had heard footsteps going across the metal grate to our right, so that was the way I chose.
As we reached the end of the next corridor, I noticed the soft glow of firelight. I handed Steifan the lantern, gesturing for him to stay back. A few more steps and I could tell where the light was coming from. There was a small room built off the side of the canal, probably originally for maintenance supplies, but the girl and her captors were in there now, and it didn’t seem they planned on leaving any time soon.
The two men conversed casually, nothing about their current task, while the girl wept.
I crept back to Steifan, debating what to do next. Did we confront the men and hope we could beat enough information out of them to find the other victims? Or did we wait to see who was coming to meet them, because I saw no other reason for them to be dallying.
I quickly decided on the latter and gestured for Steifan to go back around the nearest corner. There, we waited, hoping whoever else was coming would not be venturing from this direction.
Trick of Shadows (The Duskhunter Saga Book 2) Page 8