Hidden (Marchwood Vampire Series #1) (19 page)

Now, late in
the afternoon, they had travelled far beyond the area where the
cave was supposedly sited.

‘
Very well,’ Alexandre said. ‘We tried, but I finally agree
with you, Isik, my friend. There is nothing here. Let us retrace
out steps and head home.’

They reined in
their horses and turned around, heading back along the river in
silence. Alexandre sat low in his saddle. He suddenly felt very
tired and thought he would suggest stopping to make camp. They
could return to the site tomorrow when they awoke.

‘
Alexandre.’

Dispirited,
Alexandre was slow to respond.

‘
Alexandre, could that be something?’ The Turk pointed to a
spot near the middle of the river where two stones protruded from
the water. Alexandre jumped off his horse and peered across. He
threw his hat onto the river bank, stripped off his jacket and
shirt and undid his boots.

‘
I must protest,’ Isik said. ‘If you are going to do what I
think you are. It is far too dangerous. Your parents would cut my
throat from ear to ear if anything happened to you and I would not
blame them.’

Alexandre
grinned at the worried-looking Turk. ‘I do not think you could have
picked two people less likely to do what you have just described.’
He clapped him on the back and started walking upstream. Then, he
dived into the icy cold water.

‘
Mind the rocks!’ Isik shouted.

The water
flowed steadily and it would take a strong swimmer to navigate the
current. Alexandre let it take him downstream whilst he tried to
make his way to the centre of the river.

Very quickly, Alexandre reached one of the protruding stones
and clung to it, trying to get his breath back. The freezing water
and the strength of the current had shocked him, but he also felt
exhilarated and refreshed, excited that this might actually
be
it
- the
discovery they all hoped for. He waited until he had his breath
again and then he plunged beneath the surface.

Chapter
Eleven

*

At ten on the
dot, Travis’ rusty yellow van roared up the driveway and came to a
gravelly halt outside the house. The horn finally brought Maddy and
Ben out of the house. Ben got in first and Maddy squeezed in beside
him, so all three sat up front.

‘
Wish you’d tell me where we’re going, Mads,’ Ben
said.

‘
Yeah. Where to, Maddy?’ Travis asked.

‘
Any 4x4 dealerships around here?’

‘
Serious? You wanna test drive one for a laugh? I don’t
somehow think they’re gonna let us do that.’

‘
Yeah they will.’

‘
If you say so. I don’t think we’ll have much luck, but it’s
worth a go.’ Travis nodded his head.

‘
Are we getting a jeep, Maddy?’ Ben asked.

‘
Might be.’ Maddy nudged him playfully.

‘
How old are you then?’ Travis asked Maddy. ‘If you don’t mind
me asking.

‘
Sixteen.’

‘
Then how are you going to …? I mean, you’ve got to be
seventeen to drive and if you haven’t got a licence, then
...’

‘
That’s where you come in. You’ve got a licence so you can
test drive it and tell me what you think. Then, when I find one I
like, I’ll be able to drive it around at home.’

‘
You’re going to buy one?’

‘
Pretty much.’

‘
Do you know how much a brand new 4x4 costs?’

‘
Not really. But I don’t really care about the money side of
it.’

‘
Wow.’ Travis breathed out. ‘I didn’t realise you were loaded.
I mean, I know you’ve got a big house and everything, but mummy and
daddy must give you a lot of pocket money for you to be able to buy
a car just for riding around the garden.’

‘
It’s not like that,’ Maddy said, her mouth hardening into a
thin line.

‘
We haven’t got any parents,’ Ben said.

‘
Oh no! I’m really sorry. I’m such a big mouth,’ Travis said,
pulling over near the end of the long drive and glancing across at
them. ‘Sorry. That must be rough. Do you live with your
grandparents or something?’

‘
We live on our own,’ Ben said.

‘
Ben! He doesn’t need to know our life history.’

‘
No, I’m just the chauffeur.’

‘
Okay, I’m sorry. This was a mistake. I think we should go
back home.’ Maddy opened the van door. She and Ben could walk
back.

‘
Chill, Maddy,’ Travis said. ‘You don’t need to tell me
anything if you don’t want to. I’m happy to help out.’ He paused.
‘Sorry about the chauffeur comment, I was just being a twat. And
I’m really sorry about your parents, I’m a nosy sod. Just tell me
to shut up, okay?’

Maddy calmed down a bit. ‘It’s alright. It’s fair enough you
want to know what I’m doing. You
are
the one helping me. But, Trav,
can we just have fun today, with no questions? Please?’ She looked
across Ben at Travis and put on her cutest smile.

He smiled
back. ‘I can’t say no to you, can I.’

As expected,
they were met in the showrooms with either suspicion or dismissive
glances. Three young kids in band t-shirts, rocking up in a
battered transit van, didn’t look likely to get the sales staff any
commission. But Madison had brought a bank statement with her to
prove her loadedness, should she need to.

They went to
three different dealerships that morning but none of the vehicles
were quite right.

‘
They’re all a bit poncy,’ Maddy said, disappointed. ‘I want
something that’ll go through streams and forests and up and down
the valley, you know. Not a show-off car to pick the kids up from
school in.’

‘
Okay, Mads, I think know what you’re after,’ Travis said.
‘You should’ve told me earlier. Here I am, thinking you want a
girly jeep that looks pretty.’

‘
No, I want something tough.’

Travis drove
straight to a huge out-of-town dealership, where Madison instantly
fell in love with huge, square Land Rover Defender on the
forecourt.

‘
Yes!’ Ben said, bouncing up and down on the seat. ‘That’s the
one from Tomb Raider. Cool.’

She chose an
enormous green station wagon and, at only five foot two inches
tall, she almost needed a ladder to climb up into it.

Travis
laughed. ‘I think it might be a bit small for you, Maddy. Maybe a
Sherman tank would be a better size.’

‘
Ha, ha.’

‘
What do you think?’ the salesman asked. ‘It’s really built
for off road, so if you want to book an appointment you could test
drive it the way it’s meant to be driven.’

‘
No need. I love it. Does it go up steep hills and through
water and stuff?’

The salesman
started talking to Madison about forty five degree angles, torque
and throttle control.

‘
So that’s a yes then?’

‘
Yes,’ he agreed.

‘
It’s perfect. Can I have this one?’

‘
Yes, we can have it built for you in this colour.’

‘
Built? How long will that take?’

Travis
interrupted. ‘You should have it in blue to match your eyes.’ He
blushed the instant he’d spoken.

‘
You big softy,’ she teased. ‘Well, seeing as you’ve been such
a star, I’ll take your advice and have a blue one.’

‘
Izmir Blue?’ The salesman said, pointing to a Land Rover of
such pale blue it was almost silver. ‘That colour is available to
drive away today.’

‘
That is the
exact
same colour as your eyes, Maddy,’ Ben
said.

‘
That’s the one then. Can you deliver it?’

‘
Certainly.’ The salesman cracked his first smile.

Madison left
the sales office having spent just under thirty grand. She couldn’t
believe her extravagance but she felt fantastic.

It was now two
o’clock.

‘
Lunch! Please, Maddy. Me and Ben need food don’t we,
mate?’

‘
Couple of lightweights. Come on then. How about I buy you
lunch in return for some driving lessons?’

‘
Deal,’ said Travis. ‘But I’m warning you, I’m
starving.’

*

Wednesday was
the beginning of term at King George Comprehensive. Ben was about
to start Year Eight and was pretty laid back about it, but Madison
couldn’t help stressing.

She woke up at
six, an hour before the alarm was due to go off, and jumped out of
bed. She dug out the most conservative clothes she owned – a pair
of skinny black jeans and a red and black top, which she belted on
the hip.

That week
she’d bought Ben a new rucksack, pencil case and pens and had even
taken him to have his hair cut in town. He liked his dark locks
fairly longish, but she’d thought they could do with a bit of a
trim. She’d laid out his uniform the night before and now she paced
around the kitchen, too nervous to sit.  

‘
I’ll come with you this morning. Make sure you’re okay,’ she
said when he wandered, bleary eyed, into the kitchen an hour
later.

‘
You can come if you like, Mads, but it’s not a problem if you
don’t.’ He yawned and tried to smooth down his hair, which stuck up
at odd angles. ‘This is the fourth - or is fifth? - new school, so
I’ve had enough practice of first days.’

‘
I know, Ben. Hopefully this will be the
last
first day if you know what I
mean.’

‘
Yeah, that’d be cool.’ He sat down and poured out a massive
bowl of Shreddies and milk, shovelling it into his mouth like he
hadn’t eaten for weeks. Maddy took a small bite of toast and
watched him. She would have the place to herself today (apart from
Esther, of course, but their paths rarely crossed). It would be
weird without Ben. Would she be lonely? She didn’t know.

The school run
went smoothly. Morris drove and Maddy sat in the back with Ben.
They dropped him near the entrance and he walked into the large
modern edifice without a backward glance. Maddy was surprised at
how contemporary the building was. She had expected a traditional
country school, but apparently King George (or KG as the locals
called it) had won some multi-million-pound lottery funding a few
years ago and was now a ‘state-of-the-art academy for the new
millennium’ or something like that. It was all glass, steel and
primary colours with light wood cladding, quads and atriums. Much
more inviting than the mouldering red brick they’d gone to in
London.

Maddy couldn’t
settle when she got back to the house, so she decided to go for a
walk down to the river near the edge of the property. But before
she was even halfway there, a cool wind started up and a hefty
black rain cloud moved in. Maddy shivered and reluctantly headed
back towards the house. As soon as she got through the door, she
ran upstairs to get a jumper. She was freezing and she was bored.
What could she do?

Wandering into
the kitchen, she broke off a few grapes and shoved them into her
mouth a couple at a time. They were sweet and delicious and so she
broke off a few more. She hummed a few bars of a TV theme tune and
opened the fridge, had a quick scan and closed it again. Maddy knew
she wasn’t really hungry and she wasn’t in the mood to read or
watch television. Out of the window, the first few splats of rain
landed on the glass.

She wondered
how Ben was getting on at school. For a moment, Maddy almost felt
jealous of him and then she shook her head. No, she definitely did
not want to go back to school, no matter how bored she might
get.

Her eyes
rested on the little door at the back of the utility room that led
down to the cellar. Maybe a little exploration would be
interesting. She turned the iron key and pushed open the wooden
door. It threatened to slam shut behind her, so she went back into
the utility room, picked up a heavy box of washing powder and put
it on the top step to wedge the door open.

She’d already
had a quick peek down here the first week they arrived, but hadn’t
looked around properly. She pressed the light switch. Nothing
happened. She turned it off and on again a couple of times …
nothing. The bulb must have gone.

As she looked
upstairs in the cupboards for a replacement, she came across a
large black and red torch instead. And so, holding the powerful
torch out in front of her, she slowly descended the curved stone
steps.

The darkness
made her blink and stare. She could hardly see her fingers in front
of her face. The torch didn’t have a wide enough beam to give an
accurate impression of how big the space was. It smelt musty and
reeked of stale alcohol. Her foot crunched over something and she
shone the torch down onto the stone floor. She saw glass - a
smashed glass bottle.

There were
bottle fragments all over the floor, with puddles of sticky liquid
- alcohol. The smell was pungent. The bottles must have smashed
recently - the party! She realised someone, or a few someones, must
have come down here and had a laugh smashing up bottles. Great. Now
she’d have to clear up more mess.

She’d get another light bulb so she could see properly. Maddy
shone her torch up at the ceiling and saw the remains of a strip
light. It was smashed to pieces, with bits of broken bottle
sticking out of it.
God, what a bunch of
idiots!
It would take more than a new
light bulb to get that working again. She noticed a couple of long
shallow windows at the top of the far wall, which, from the
outside, would be at ground level. They were so filthy they might
as well not have been there for all the light they let
in.