Page 13 of The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag

‘I’ve never met her,’ he admitted. ‘But the dwarves have hinted that she’s spoken to them. We conducted a full risk assessment when we found out she lived there but she refused to meet with us. In the end Liv concluded she wasn’t a threat to us.’

‘What about the other dwarves? Are they as terrified of her as Leif is?’

‘Oh, they are,’ Thomas confirmed. ‘But it hasn’t stopped her from talking to them.’

‘What about?’

He shrugged. ‘They aren’t very forthcoming, but I grasped she was warning them to stay out of certain areas.’

I knew I’d probably regret asking, but I did anyway. ‘She was warning them to keep them safe? Areas of instability, right?’

He chuckled. ‘No, she was warning them to stay away from the parts of the land that she’s claimed.’

Damn it. Why couldn’t she have been a Good Samaritan hag?

As the lift juddered to a stop, the wires screamed in protest. Thomas didn’t bat an eyelid; he merely opened the gate and ushered us out. Like before, the silence and dark were absolute until he switched on the weak lights that were wired permanently into the mine. I shivered, despite their wavering light and reached up to turn off the lamp on my helmet. Better to conserve it for if shit got pear-shaped.

Gunnar noticed me tremble. ‘You cold?’

I shook my head. ‘No, just spooked. Turns out I’m not a huge fan of tunnels.’

He grunted. ‘Me neither.’

Thomas ignored us as he led us to the cave where Helmud had been found; I doubted he was ever afraid. I took a deep breath. ‘I guess this is it. I’ll do the honours. Are you ready?’

Both men indicated they were. I held the doughnuts out in front of me and yelled, as instructed by Leif, ‘Matilda, Matilda, Matilda! We come bearing gifts!’

Chapter 9

We waited a few minutes but no hag appeared. I looked at Thomas. ‘Did I do it wrong?’ I asked dubiously.

‘I’ve never called her, but you did exactly what Leif told you to do,’ he replied. I noticed that his hands were hanging loose at his sides, he was balancing on his toes and his knees were soft. He was tensed for an attack, prepared to act – and act quickly. That didn’t improve my mood.

A soft scratching noise came from the cavern wall nearest to us and we stepped back cautiously. Suddenly there were knives in Thomas’s hands and Gunnar had unsnapped his service weapon holster. I did nothing because I was holding the doughnuts; imagine that on my tombstone.

I was strung tighter than a violin string. I swallowed, my mouth drier than the sands of Liv’s original home.You are a vampire, get it together, I chided myself, then for good measure I added,and a witch.

Feeling inside for the burning ball of heat that lived in my centre, I comforted myself with its roaring presence. If my teeth, speed and strength were nothing against the hag, at least I had flames. I called to the magic, getting it ready for release.

The scratching grew louder.

I shifted on my feet. The cold from the mine seeped through to my bones and I yearned to let my fire out to warm me.

The scratching stopped abruptly. One moment the cavern wall was there, the next it had vanished in a puff of dirt and the strangest creature I’d ever seen was standing before us. I was glad I’d secured that poker face or I’d have been gaping. Even so, I was blinking rapidly, as if the blinks could make the vision in front of me go away.

‘Who calls I?’ The rasping voice sounded as if the hag smoked fifty cigarettes a day. A chill ran down my spine and I wished to hell that I had my weapon in my hand rather than diabetes in a box.

I cleared my throat, trying to keep my nerves from my voice. ‘I do.’ I wiggled the doughnut box in what I hoped was an enticing manner but it may have just looked like I was having a small fit. ‘I’ve brought you some treats and I wish to ask you some questions in exchange.’

Despite her unusual appearance, the hag was no more than five feet tall; that made her seem childlike, though I knew she was far from it because elementals were long-lived. Her hair looked like fine willow sticks and hung below her waist. Her large, pointed ears poked through it and flicked at any sound.

She was wearing animal skins and her feet were bare. Her nails were bright silver and her shiny metallic teeth were all the same length and pointed like a carnivore’s, which made her maw strangely reminiscent of a shark. That wasn’t the best comparison to leap to mind whilst my stomach was still rigid with nerves.

She sniffed like an animal then lunged forward. Thomas leapt in front of me with his knives. This situation was about to go to heck in a hand basket. ‘Stop!’ I ordered them both.

Thomas froze, glanced at me and stepped back obediently but his knives were still out. The hag looked at him warily and bared her terrifying teeth. I felt the tingle that indicated magic was rising and saw that the earth around us was swirling in little dust clouds. I had to do something fast or this encounter wouldn’t end well.

‘These are for you.’ I thrust the box towards her, opened the lid – and the swirling dust around us settled. Matilda sniffed the air again, her mouse-like nose whiffling as shescented the doughnuts. Then, in a lightning-fast move, she snatched the box and dashed back into the hole in the wall. Okay, then.

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