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"I didn&039;t sleep very well"

"Hungry?" Dervish asks "Want sos?"

"I&039;ll just do toast for myself" I stick two slices of bread in Pause over the toaster, ht," I say innocently "Couldn&039;t find you Were you out?"

The shortest of pauses Then, "Yeah I went to a pub in the Vale Met Meera there She went on somewhere else afterwards Sorry I didn&039;t tell you"

"That&039;s OK" I reach for the butter "Did you take the bike?" If he says he did, I&039;ll know he&039;s lying - I would have heard it

"No," he says "I walked I don&039;t hold with drinking and driving"

I turn fro on his bacon I can&039;t believe I spent so ht I open my mouth to tell him about yesterday&039;s scene with Bill-E

Then close it

Dervish is reaching for an egg with his right hand My eyes are attracted to his nails Not long - but jagged Dirty Red stains under the tips

It could be paint or rust or soht before

Or it could be blood

Staring Staring Staring

The toaster pops behindmachine If Dervish walks in on me, I&039;ll say I left money in one of my pockets

Underpants Socks Shirts Trousers Finally - a blue deninia on the left breast pocket The shirt Dervish earing last night

I run my nose over it Unpleasant and sweaty, but not smoky Not beery Not like it would s by the phone I want to call Bill-E, tell hi, the blood, the scentless shirt Except -

He ed shirts before he went out, after I last saw hi

If Bill-E hadn&039;t filledof Dervish slipping out without telling ives me plenty of space and freedo suspicious about that

But what does he do when he&039;s out by hio? Did he really meet Meera in the Vale?

If so, why didn&039;t she coed shirts before he went out, why isn&039;t the one he wore to the pub in the machine with the rest of his dirty laundry?

Carcery Vale Outside the Lion & Lao in to theht

My story - Dervish lost his watch, and sent me to ask if it had been found He can&039;t re the rounds of theht mention my queries to Dervish

In the end I turn away from the Lion & Lah to check on Dervish&039;s alibi Not yet

Night Alone in the house Meera called in this afternoon I wanted to ask if she&039;d enjoyed the pub last night, but Dervish was there and I didn&039;t want to be so obvious They left a few hours ago Dervish toldinto the Vale and not to wait up for the I said soht - what if Dervish and Meera are both olves? I cast that frohts even before it&039;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 froood view of the rear yard and sheds I&039;ve left theopen, so if there are any noises, I should hear the to see Dervish and Meera staggering back fro coned to scare me I&039;ll be mad as hell if it is - but relieved at the sa noise out back jolts e up to the openPeer out The clouds aren&039;t as thick as they were earlier An al clouds create random stretched shadows

Dervish and Meera are by the sheet of corrugated iron where the tree stu it over to one side Behind thegles I train hts on it Moht falls directly on the creature

A deer, its four hooves bound together with rope, its snout ated iron I spot two large wooden doors set in concrete in theof 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 round Silent White-faced Petrified

Waiting for Dervish and Meera to co back to ht - what if they&039;re both olves? I try to cheerhis oath when Iif that still holds true

Minutes pass Ten Fifteen Half an hour

Thinking - they didn&039;t look different when they took the deer down No extra hair No sharp canines Wearing their nor at the moon Dervish was able to insert the key into the lock, so his hands couldn&039;t be twisted into animal-like claws Not the appearance or actions of olves

Forty-fiveup 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 theated iron back over the doors, hiding the their feet over thethe 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 theand race for my room - I don&039;t want the

Footsteps on the stairs

I shutDervish 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 bedroo if they discoverat the puzzle Dervish and Meera went down the steps in the rear yard, but cae to so Flash upon the obvious answer - the cellar The wine just a ruse Dervish doesn&039;t want to keep es, but to safeguard whatever lies beneath

Bed I Clutching a silver axe which I took fro I don&039;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 screae is a thin squeak

Meera&039;s holding a bag She jabs a hand into it My ile to bring the axe up but it catches on the sheets Meera pulls a cluster of objects out of the bag and lobs theh the wall behind asp, desperately swat them away, then blink with surprise as I realise what she&039;s throwing -

Crisps!