A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(11)

He went back to the kitchen and retrieved his hat, finding it dry. He tested the rim before putting it on his head. He’d been embarrassed that it hadn’t been dry when he’d put it on in front of Nergal, and didn’t want to make such a rookie mistake again.

Once he was sure he’d cleaned up, he made his way back upstairs and looked around the bedroom. Apart from the king-size bed with the naked man tied to it, there were two chests of drawers, both in a wood so dark it almost looked black, a large TV, and a small table and chairs. Elias found himself wondering where they got the chests of drawers from as he rather liked them. He considered taking them, but he wasn’t there for thievery. The dark blue curtains had been pulled shut. Elias moved them aside slightly and checked that the windows were all closed. When he was satisfied, he closed the bedroom door, took a chair, and placed it next to the bed beside the man’s feet.

“Here’s how this works. I’m going to remove the gag and you’re going to answer my questions. If you don’t, I’m going to hurt you. Badly. I don’t want to do that. Mostly because I don’t like doing it. But not liking doing something doesn’t mean you’re not really good at it. Do you understand me?”

The man nodded.

Elias removed the gag and returned to his seat. He felt the dead woman’s memories fluttering into his mind. “Your girlfriend Bianca is dead. Your name is Blake, yes?”

Tears fell down Blake’s cheeks. Elias couldn’t decide if they were tears for Blake’s current predicament or the loss of Bianca.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

“My name is Elias, and I’m a redcap.”

“A what?”

“A monster, or mythological creature, or whatever tag you wish to put on it.” Elias tapped the rim on his fedora. “You see, I use my knife to kill people, and the blood spilled is collected in this hat. It’s a little more complicated than that, as clearly this hat can’t hold several pints of blood, but those are the basics. The important bit that you need to know is that once I’ve absorbed someone’s blood into my hat and put it back on, I know their memories. Only the last week or so, but it’s quite handy. Unfortunately, your deceased loved one didn’t know anything useful about my need to be here, and I can’t take two people’s blood in a twenty-four-hour period, so we’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way. Me ask. You answer.”

“You murdered her,” Blake snapped. “You bastard. You didn’t need to do that.”

“Oh dear, it seems you’re upset. Well, yes, I did kill her, and no, I didn’t have a choice. Would it make you feel better if I searched her memories for something about you?” Elias was silent for a few seconds, his eyes fixed on the floor. “She liked you. Never more than that. Who is Rob?”

“My best friend.”

“You sure? Because he’s been riding your girlfriend like a pony. She really enjoyed it too. I don’t think she was all that nice. But then you don’t come off too well in her memories either. You’re hung up on . . .” He paused. “Layla Starsmore. That’s really the surname she chose?” Elias chuckled to himself.

Blake’s eyes opened in shock.

In an instant the humor was gone from Elias’s face, his expression replaced with one of cold determination. “Tell me about Layla. Where is she?”

“I don’t know,” Blake said.

Elias removed a second blade from its sheath, this one only a few inches long, but with a serrated edge. “I’ve used this blade to skin animals. Would you like to see what it does to you?”

Blake shook his head. “I don’t know where she is, we’re not together anymore.”

“Where does she live?”

“I don’t know. She never lived with me here. She moved out of her old place about six months ago. But she moved again a few weeks ago. No one she knows will tell me where she is.”

“I get the feeling that the problem in these relationships isn’t the woman. Bianca thought you a controlling bully. You said some awful things to her, and you hit her once too. Although it’s weird that you like to be so controlling in every part of your companion’s life, but you also like to lose that control when having sex. You like to be tied up, hurt. She found it weird, uncomfortable . . . unpleasant. It’s no wonder she wanted something extra from someone else, although Rob comes across as a total asshole too. Maybe that was her type.” He placed the edge of the blade on Blake’s shin. “Where does Layla live?”

“If I knew, I’d tell you. I’d tell you everything.”

“I know.” Elias counted to three in his head and then cut through Blake’s leg in one motion. The wound was deep and bled severely. Elias waited for Blake to stop crying and begging before speaking again. “You done?” He understood that people didn’t deal with physical pain exceptionally well, but that was no reason to beg. Crying he could understand, he had no problem with that, but begging was something he couldn’t stand in a person. It was just so unnecessary.

“I know where Layla works,” Blake almost shouted.

“Excellent. And where would that be?”

“Train depot. She has some evening job there three nights a week. Wednesday to Friday. It’s the only depot in the city, near the football stadium.”