Page 3

Chapter 3

Even with my lower-than-human body temperature, my breath puffed out in clouds as we approached the level where the inspector had died. Fluffy pranced a bit and I wondered if he was cold or nervous; as he was wearing his vest, I was betting the latter.

He wasn’t the only one: even Gunnar looked a little spooked. Maybe the deep dark wasn’t his favourite place to go. I could tell immediately that it wasn’t mine. Vampires needed the dark but this was too dark: there were no stars, no moon – it was unnaturally dark. I could see well enough thanks to my supernatural vision, but I’d have preferred a little more light. Besides, I was a weird-ass vampire that actually liked the sun, and thanks to my charmed necklace I was able to enjoy it often enough.

The tiny circle of our headlamps and the weak lighting in the shaft felt fragile. Ignoring the rest of us quivering behind him, Leif marched along. Thomas also looked comfortable – but I had yet to see him ever look un comfortable, even when he’d been faced with the beast beyond the barrier. Thomas took ‘cool under pressure’ to a whole new level – and since he part owned the mine, he was probably familiar with its tunnels.

As we walked down a long wide corridor, I realised I hadn’t seen another miner or any other people and I wondered why. It wasn't meal time, although when you worked in the dark I guessed your meal times could be anytime depending on your shift. Had the miners been cleared out because of us? Nosiness demanded that I ask.

‘Thomas, where are the miners?’

Leif answered before Thomas could. ‘Cleared out,’ he grunted. ‘The inspector didn’t finish this section, so we can’t mine here until a new inspector comes and completes it. We’re haemorrhaging money through lost time.’

At first my mind said, That makes sense , then part of my lizard brain woke up with a definite zing of fear. ‘Erm … in that case is it safe for us to be here?’ My voice came out just a shade too high.

Leif shrugged. ‘Wasn’t safe for the inspector.’

What a dick reply. Ice-cold fingers ran down my spine and I looked at every nook and cranny as I waited for the earth to collapse on top of me. Perhaps I did have a touch of claustrophobia after all because all I could think about was the ceiling falling in and covering me in tonnes of earth and rock.

Thomas must have noticed my discomfort because he said, ‘It’s safe to walk through. It’s protocol for mining, that’s all.’ That alleviated a little of my panic – but not all of it.

Leif stopped suddenly and pointed to where the corridor split. ‘This way.’ He took the left passageway. After a few metres we moved into a side corridor; it ended in a large room that looked more like a natural cavern than something man- or dwarf-made.

Leif pointed. ‘This is where the body was found.’ He stepped back and leaned against a rough-hewn wall. Thomas joined him so we could get an unobstructed view.

Time had passed and the ground was hard, so not even an impression of the body remained. There were some scuffs and a partial wheel mark, where presumably the gurney had been used to remove the body, but nothing else. No clues, no blood, and if there was hair I couldn’t find it. I dropped to my hands and knees to examine the dirt more closely.

‘Do you see anything unusual?’ Gunnar asked me quietly.

I sighed and shook my head. ‘No, nothing. Only that one wheel scuff from the gurney.’ I stood up and brushed off my hands. ‘I don’t see anything that would suggest this was murder. Do you?’

‘Unless something unusual comes back after the autopsy, it appears he just collapsed and died.’

‘Fluffy, scent,’ I called and gestured to the area. Obligingly, he sniffed around, his tail held low and showing no signs of excitement. Then, as he came closer to one of the walls, he gave a low whine.

‘Hag,’ Leif said firmly. ‘She travels through the ground. That’s what your dog’s smelling. It’s proof she was here!’

I couldn’t help raising my eyebrows. It was clear that Fluffy had smelled something unusual, but whatever it was it didn’t look like it had come into the cavern. My dog had pointedly sniffed at the walls, not at the ground. Luckily, I could ask him about it later when I persuaded him to have some human time.

Fluffy gave a small yip, returned to my side and pressed into my legs again. I gave him a pat and some praise, then I frowned and turned to our grumpy guide. ‘Leif, why do you think the inspector was murdered?’ As far as I could see, absolutely nothing pointed to foul play.

‘She’s here,’ he insisted. He cupped his hand to his ear and pressed it against the wall he was leaning against and gestured for us to do the same .

I leaned in – and then I heard a slight scratching noise. I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but I asked anyway. ‘What’s the scratching sound?’

Leif looked at me scornfully. ‘You wanted to know where the entrance to the hag’s den is. Well, it’s right here. She did it.’

I searched the wall but there was no sign of a door. Gunnar and I looked at each other before I turned back to Leif. ‘Where’s the entrance?’

‘She can pass through earth without hindrance because it’s her natural element. This is where she enters the mine. She doesn’t need a door, ’ he sneered.

‘How do I knock so I can speak with her?’ I asked stubbornly.

‘Call to her if you dare, but wait until after I leave. I’m not dying for the sake of your curiosity.’

I stared at him for a beat. ‘How do I call her, then?’

Leif grimaced. ‘You’re a fool with a death wish.’

Thomas grunted, ‘She’s a Nomo officer. Show some damned respect.’

‘Sure thing, boss .’ Leif’s tone was faintly sarcastic. ‘Officer Death Wish, you just need to call the hag’s name three times and offer her a gift.’

‘What is her name?’

Leif looked nervously at the wall, then leaned towards me and whispered, ‘Matilda.’

Great. One step forward – but I had nothing with me I could offer as a gift. ‘Gunnar, do you have anything we can give her?’

He shook his head. ‘What kind of a gift do you offer a hag?’ he asked Leif.

‘Don’t know. I don’t go looking for her. The others say she’s fond of sweets – at least, that’s what gets stolen most from the lockers. She’s a menace.’ A menace with a sweet tooth, a girl after my own heart.

I didn’t want to risk her wrath by summoning her when I was empty handed. I turned to Thomas. ‘Would you mind if we came back? We’d really like to talk to her.’

‘Your funeral,’ Leif muttered.

Thomas ignored him. ‘Sure. I’ll come back with you.’

I really hated putting a human in danger but of everyone in this cave – hags excluded –Thomas was the most dangerous person I knew. He’d be fine. ‘Thanks, Thomas. Are there any particular sweets she likes?’ I asked.

‘Doughnuts,’ Leif answered immediately.

Good to know.

The dwarf led us back to the lift and I followed him eagerly; I couldn’t wait to feel the sun on my face.

Hag or no hag, the mine wasn’t my favourite place.