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The thing about Lord Akelda--that where he himself was not a fixture, his drones were Despite supernatural speed and flawless taste in neckwear, Lord Akeldama could not, in fact, attend every social event of note every single evening But he did seem to have a col ection of drones and associates of drones who could and did The thing that was bothering Lyal at the moment was that they weren’t Not only was the va, but so were al of his drones, assorted sycophants, and poodle-fakers Usual y, any major social event in London could be relied upon to te dandy whose col ar points were too high, ant, and interest too keen to adequately complement his otherwise frivolous appearance These ubiquitous youngthey ht swil , reported back to their master with such an immense ae operations to shame

And they had al vanished

Professor Lyal couldn’t identify most of them by face or name, but as he entle, he became painful y aware of their col ective absence He himself elcome at ht to be rather shy Yet he was fah society to ht His careful y polite inquiries yielded up neither destination nor explanation

So it was that, in the end, he left the drawing rooms of the wealthy and headed doard dockside and the blood brothels

"You new, gov’na? Like a li’le sip, would ya? Only cost ya a penny" The youngup the shadows of a scummy brick as pale and drawn The dirty scarf wrapped around his neck no doubt already covered a goodly nuh already"

"Not a chance of it" The blood-whore’s dirty face split with a sudden s teeth He was of the type vampires rather crudely referred to as snacky-bites

Professor Lyal bared his own teeth at the youngster, showing the boy that he did not, in fact, have the requisite fangs for the job

"Ah, right you are, gov No offense meant"

"None taken There is a penny for you, however, if you provideov"

"I do not require the na for a htened away froh of ’is own ta slurp fro if you ht know his current whereabouts"

The man bit his lip

Professor Lyal handed him a penny There weren’t a lot of vampires in London, and blood-whores, who ood deal about the local hives and loners as a htly more

Professor Lyal handed him another penny

"Word on the street is ’e’s left town"

"Go on"

"An’ how Didn’t suss a master could be mobile like that"

Professor Lyal frowned "Any idea as to where?"

A shake of the head was al Lyal got in answer

"Or why?"

Another shake

"One more penny if you can direct ov"

Professor Lyal handed hied "You’d be wantin’ the other queen, then"

Professor Lyal groaned inwardly Of course it would turn out to be a matter of internal va man nodded

Professor Lyal thanked the blood-whore for his help and flagged down a seedy-looking hanso the driver toward Wested his mind It wouldn’t do for the vampires to know so soon that Lord Akeldama’s absence was of interest to either BUR or the Woolsey Pack Banging on the box with his fist, he redirected the driver toward Soho, intending to cal upon a certain redhead

Professor Lyal alighted from the hansom at Piccadil y Circus, paid the driver, and walked a block north Even at ht, it was a pleasant little corner of the city, swi people of artistic propensities, if perhaps a bit dingy and lo

Professor Lyal had a good memory, and he recal ed the cholera outbreak of twenty years earlier as though it had happened only yesterday Soht he could stil smel the sickness in the air As a result, Soho always caused him to sneeze

The apart leeful y decorated Ivy Tunstel bustled forward to greet hie lace cap The cap had blue silk roses clustered above her left ear, which gave her an oddly rakish appearance She earing a pink walking dress, and Lyal was pleased to see he had not disturbed her at rest

"Mrs Tunstel , how do you do? I do apologize for cal ing at such a late hour"

"Professor Lyal , welcohted to see you Not at alWe keep to a sunset schedule After he left your service, e to break the habit, and it does suit his chosen profession"

"Ah, yes How is Tunstel ?"

"Auditioning as we speak" Ivy led her guest into an absolutely tiny receiving rooh space to house a settee, two chairs, and a tea table The decor seemed to have been chosen with only one theme in mind--pastel It was a resplendent col ection of pink, pale yel ow, sky blue, and lilac