Sitting by the phone. I want to call Bill-E, tell him about Dervish disappearing, the blood, the scentless shirt. Except—

He might have gone to the pub like he said.

Maybe he changed shirts before he went out, after I last saw him.

The stains under his nails could have been anything.

If Bill-E hadn’t filled my head with rubbish, I’d have thought nothing of Dervish slipping out without telling me. It’s not the first time he’s done it. He gives me plenty of space and freedom, and expects the same in return. Nothing suspicious about that.

But what does he do when he’s out by himself? Where does he go? Did he really meet Meera in the Vale?

If so, why didn’t she come back here with him? And if he changed shirts before he went out, why isn’t the one he wore to the pub in the machine with the rest of his dirty laundry?

Carcery Vale. Outside the Lion & Lamb. There are several pubs in the Vale. I want to go in to them all to check if Dervish was in town last night.

My story—Dervish lost his watch, and sent me to ask if it had been found. He can’t remember which pub he’d been in, so I’m doing the rounds of them all.

Holding me back—somebody might mention my queries to Dervish.

In the end I turn away from the Lion & Lamb and make for home. Not reckless or scared enough to check on Dervish’s alibi. Not yet.

Night. Alone in the house. Meera called in this afternoon. I wanted to ask if she’d enjoyed the pub last night, but Dervish was there and I didn’t want to be so obvious. They left a few hours ago. Dervish told me they were going into the Vale and not to wait up for them. Asked if I’d like them to bring back anything. I said some crisps would be nice.

A truly crazy thought—what if Dervish and Meera are both werewolves? I cast that from my thoughts even before it’s fully formed.

In one of the spare bedrooms, close to the lower end of the house, where the brick extension is. A clear view of the road from here. The room across the hall has an equally good view of the rear yard and sheds. I’ve left the window open, so if there are any noises, I should hear them.

Glued to the front window. Hoping to see Dervish and Meera staggering back from the village, singing drunkenly. Planning cutting comments for Bill-E. Wondering if this is all a big gag designed to scare me. I’ll be mad as hell if it is—but relieved at the same time.

After midnight. Eyelids drooping. A clanging noise out back jolts me out of my half-daze.

I bolt through to the back room. Edge up to the open window. Peer out. The clouds aren’t as thick as they were earlier. An almost full moon lights most of the yard, though drifting clouds create random stretched shadows.

Dervish and Meera are by the sheet of corrugated iron where the tree stumps are. They’re sliding it over to one side. Behind them, on the ground, half-hidden by shadows, something large wriggles. I train my sights on it. Moments later, the clouds drift on and moonlight falls directly on the creature.

A deer, its four hooves bound together with rope, its snout muzzled.

Dervish and Meera finish with the sheet of corrugated iron. I spot two large wooden doors set in concrete in the middle of the ring of tree stumps. A thick chain and lock. Dervish bends to it, takes a key from his pocket, fiddles with the lock, throws the chain to one side and hauls the doors open.

Steps leading down beneath the ground. Dervish picks up the deer and drapes it over his shoulders. It struggles. He ignores it and starts down the steps. Meera follows, pausing to swing the doors shut behind her.

Clouds scud across the face of the moon. I stare at the doors in the ground. Silent. White-faced. Petrified.

Waiting for Dervish and Meera to come out. Chewing my fingernails. Going back to my earlier crazy thought—what if they’re both werewolves? I try to cheer myself up by remembering his oath when I moved in—“You’ll be safe here.” Wondering if that still holds true.

Minutes pass. Ten. Fifteen. Half an hour.

Thinking—they didn’t look different when they took the deer down. No extra hair. No sharp canines. Wearing their normal clothes. They weren’t howling at the moon. Dervish was able to insert the key into the lock, so his hands couldn’t be twisted into animal-like claws. Not the appearance or actions of werewolves.

Forty-five minutes. Fifty. Coming up to an hour when… they reappear.

But not through the doors in the ground—instead, from the kitchen!

They walk out of the house, over to the wooden doors. Dervish takes the length of chain, runs it through the two large handles, then locks it. Both of them carefully slide the sheet of corrugated iron back over the doors, hiding them. They drag their feet over the marks in the dirt left by the corrugated iron, masking the tracks. Wipe their hands clean. Dervish spares the surrounding area one final glance, then they return to the house.

As soon as they enter, I close the window and race for my room—I don’t want them to find me here.

Under the covers, fully dressed, shaking.

Footsteps on the stairs.

I shut my eyes and feign sleep, expecting Dervish to look in on me. But the footsteps continue up to the top floor—his study.

I wait several minutes. When there are no further sounds, I slip out of bed, undress and put on my pyjamas, then sneak back to the rear bedroom. (I can pretend I’m sleep-walking if they discover me now.)

Studying the sheet of corrugated iron. Picking at the puzzle. Dervish and Meera went down the steps in the rear yard, but came up through the house. There must be a secret passage to somewhere inside the mansion.

Quick calculating. Flash upon the obvious answer—the cellar. The wine just a ruse. Dervish doesn’t want to keep me away from the cellar to protect his prize vintages, but to safeguard whatever lies beneath.

Bed. Impossible to sleep. Knees drawn up to my chest. Trembling. Clutching a silver axe which I took from one of the walls. Praying I don’t have to use it.

Shortly after dawn. Eyes drooping. Fingers loose on the axe handle.

The door bursts open. Meera barges in. I try to scream but my throat constricts and all I manage is a thin squeak.

Meera’s holding a bag. She jabs a hand into it. My imagination fills the bag with all sorts of horrors. I struggle to bring the axe up but it catches on the sheets. Meera pulls a cluster of objects out of the bag and lobs them at me. I cringe away from her, wishing I could sink through the wall behind me.

Some of the objects strike me dead in the face. I gasp, desperately swat them away, then blink with surprise as I realise what she’s throwing—

Crisps!

THE CELLAR

Dervish and Meera are still laughing in the morning. “Your face!” Dervish chortles at breakfast. “Like every demon in hell was coming for you!”

As I’ve noted before, my uncle has a twisted sense of humour.

I say nothing while Dervish and Meera enjoy their little joke, only keep my head down and focus on my food. Dervish doesn’t understand why I was so scared. He doesn’t know that I saw him with the deer, that I suspect he’s a werewolf, that I’m wondering if I can buy silver bullets on eBay. I doubt he’d be laughing if he did.

The house to myself. Dervish’s early morning runs usually last forty-five minutes to an hour. Enough time for a quick scouting mission.

I hurry down the stairs to the wine cellar. Pause with my hand on the door. In horror movies, monsters always lurk in the basement. But this isn’t a movie. I mustn’t succumb to fictional fears— not when I have very real fears to contend with.

Creeping down the steps. Leave the door open. Checking my watch—seven minutes since Dervish left. I’ll allow myself half an hour, not a second more.