to be disposed of properly, and that takes some doing."
As if she had called to him, the Master Vampire appeared out of a burst of shadow. She and Margaret stopped, and the women joined them to hear the report as well. "Luck is indeed on our side, My Master. This horde consists of only twenty-five individuals, give or take; a mix of farmers, hikers, and campers, all adults."
She blinked in surprise. "No children?"
"None that I could see. They appear recently turned; perhaps no more than a month."
"Hmph. One or more hikers must have been infected first by some source we'll probably never find. They then infected some campers, and subsequently overran some isolated farms, creating the current horde. If there were any children, they must have either run off or were devoured before they turned."
She waved that thought away. "But that's not important. Are there any others scattered around?"
"No, Director, this pack contains all that exist. I can detect no others in a twenty mile radius."
She nodded. "Excellent. Then we have a good chance to eradicate this threat before it spreads."
"As I said," Vlad replied, grinning in a malicious manner.
"But we don't have a map," Brunt said, "and I don't know where Foulmire is. How do we find it?"
"That's the easy part. Thrall, I want you to locate Foulmire, then return and guide us there."
"Yes, My Master." He morphed into a huge black hound and ran off across the moor.
"Sounds like the siege plan is on," Margaret said.
"Yes, assuming the longhouse is in good shape."
Brunt looked behind them. The walkers came steadily closer. "We should get going."
From "Dribble & Maggot and the Bloodsucking Whores"
Sir Differel Van Helsing sat at her desk filling out a report for her regency committee, when the phone rang. She glanced at it, noted that it was one of the general outside lines, and ignored it. Behind her, Aelfraed rearranged the books in the corner bookcase, and he turned to pick up the handset after the third ring.
"You have reached the Caerleon Order. I am Aelfraed Walters, Chief of Staff. How may I be of assistance?" He listened for a few seconds. "One moment, My Lady."
He put the line on hold and set the handset back in the cradle. "Lady Margaret Chesham, Madam." He then turned his attention back to the books.
She laid down her pen and punched the button for the speaker. "Hello, Maggot, what can I do for you?"
"Hey, Dribble, you doing anything this weekend?"
"Not another sleepover."
"Actually, I have a couple of tickets to Bloodsucking Whores. Interested?"
Aelfraed appeared at her right side again. She glanced up at him and noticed he had a concerned look on his face, subtle though it was.
"And pray tell, who or what are 'bloodsucking whores'?"
Margaret snorted. "It's a post-punk riot grrrl metal rock band; their lead singer is Daeva. You'd know that if you didn't think British music ended with Queen."
"Hmph. This from a girl who never heard of the Beetles until three months ago."
Margaret chuckled. "Touche, Dribble. Anyways, they have a concert in York this weekend. It's been sold out for weeks, but I got tickets."
"Okay, Maggot, out with it: why the invitation?"
Margaret hesitated. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, who stood you up, or dumped you?"
"No, no, nothing like that. All right, I want to get into the mosh pit, and I need someone to back me up."
She sighed in frustration. "Speak plain English, Maggot."
"Jesus, Dribble, no one's that sheltered."
She felt her irritation flair. "You have ten seconds to come clean, or I'm hanging up!"
"Calm down, will you? Moshing is a kind of aggressive dance where people push and slam into each other. The mosh pit is the area in front of the stage where that mostly goes on."
She looked up at Aelfraed; he had raised an eyebrow at the description, which meant he felt really disturbed.
"Bloody hell, why would you want to get involved in something like that?"
"Are you kidding? It's a mark of honour if you can make it right up to the stage and stay there. Surely you of all people can relate to that."
"I can. Now, what's the real reason?"
"Oh, very well. The promoters have a standing offer that any girls who can make it into the pit and hold their own for three sets will be invited backstage after the concert to meet Daeva. No one's been able to do it yet, and I want to be the first."
She smiled. "I never pictured you as a groupie, at least for a woman."
"You know, for someone who pretends to be such a prude, you have a really dirty mind. I'm not trying to get into her pants, I just want bragging rights. Right now, she's the hottest topic of conversation at Gresham's, and I want to cash in on that."
"Now that's the Maggot I know. But why me?"
"Well, first of all, I don't want to have to share the limelight with anyone else, which I would if I asked anyone at school."
"Hmph. And since you got me excluded four years ago, I'm safe."
"Exactly."
"That's not much of an argument."
"I'm not finished. Second, I need someone who knows how to take care of herself. You taught me quite a lot, but you're still better than I am, and it would help if I had someone to watch my back. And if she also happens to have a Vampire for a bodyguard..."
Aelfraed raised both eyebrows at that.
"Wouldn't that be cheating?"
"Since when have I ever played fair?"
"Touche. But he's not a girl."
"True, but he can turn invisible."
"Sorry, but I would never use him for crowd control. For one thing, it would be irresponsible; that's not really his job, and I gave Her Majesty my word I'd never use him for personal gain. For another, he'd be overkill, like using an elephant gun on a mouse. Besides, if I didn't think I could handle myself in a given situation, I wouldn't get into it."
"I thought you enjoyed a challenge."
"Oh, bugger that. I won't take risks just to satisfy your vanity."
"Then how's this: Daeva's onstage persona is that of a punk Vampire."
"So?"
"So, what if she really is one? Shouldn't you know it?"
Startled, she hesitated. She's right, she thought, I should. "What makes you think she is?"
"Nothing, I just offer the possibility."
What a cockup. "Margaret, if you're right, this offer could be a way to supply her with victims, possibly even converts."
"All the more reason to find out."
"I meant you shouldn't get involved. Give me the tickets; I'll take one of the female guards and check it out."
"No thank you. Do you know how much they cost me?"
"I'll see you're amply recompensed."
She laughed. "Nuh-uh, Dribble, nothing doing. First of all, if she isn't Undead I'll miss out on my chance to be big-girl on campus."
"That's not worth your life."
"Says you! And I'm certainly not going to let you upstage me! Secondly, I doubt you have any guards who could pull off passing for an adolescent."
That's probably true.
"Thirdly, what harm can come to me in the company of Britain's premier monster hunter?"
She felt her temper flare. "Damn it, Maggot, I'm not your bloody bodyguard!"
"Yes, you are, along with every other person in the Commonwealth. Look, I won't argue this. I'm going to the concert, and you can come if you want. Yes, or no?"
"Oh, bother. I have to think about it. What if I call you back this evening, after tea?"
"I thought you didn't need to get permission from those fossilized guardians of yours anymore."
"Careful, Maggot, I have you on speaker."
"Oh. Sorry, Aelfraed, or whoever, no offense." She genuinely sounded contrite.
"None taken, My Lady, and I can assure you, none of us petrified relics would try to stop Sir Differel if she
insisted on escorting you."
"Besides, I won't jump into this without consulting with my people first."
"All right, you win. I'll await your call then." And she hung up.
Differel turned off the speaker and clasped her hands. She leaned her face against the fingers, propped up on her elbows. Aelfraed watched her, and patiently waited her out.
After a few minutes she said, "She's right, we need to find out."
"Certainly, Madam, but not like this."
"Unfortunately we may not have a choice. Anyone who isn't a teenager or connected with the band or concert venue is bound to be noticed, and if she goes to ground we may never find her. We can't take that risk."
"What about Vlad?"
"If she is a Vampire, she'll recognize him immediately and run for it. This way, Margaret and I shouldn't raise any suspicions, and we might have an edge."
"How so?"
She looked up and flashed a smirking leer. "What Vampire could resist getting her hands on the Director of the Caerleon Order, or the daughter of the premier peer and the third most powerful man in the government? Besides, as 'open' as she is, she probably counts on us believing she can't be a true Undead. That could work to our advantage."
She straightened up. "Still, I won't do this unprepared. Call a lunch meeting of the staff. If I'm going to take a stroll into the lion's den, I'll need a plan for walking out again."
"Yes, Madam." He bowed and headed out of the room.
She waited until he closed the door, then she picked up the phone and hit the redial.
"Hello?"
"Maggot? It's Dribble. Very well, you're on."
"That was fast."
"But I'll need you to do some things for me."
"Sure; name them."
"First, call back this evening after supper and tell me everything you know about this Daeva and her band. Use this private line." And she gave her a secure telephone number.
"Got it; what else?"
"Come the day before, arrive