The Parliament of Blood (43 page)

Sir William looked round the House of Lords. The breeze was gone as quickly and inexplicably as it had arrived. Its last gasps rippled the empty clothes.

Gladstone was sitting ashen-faced on one of the cross-benches, his ministers silent and confused close by.

‘You had a lucky escape,' Sir William told the Prime Minister. ‘We all did. The wolf bats drew out the infected blood. You still had enough of your own to survive. You'll probably feel a little weak for a while. Shocked too.'

‘I shall remain shocked, sir, for the rest of my life.' Gladstone looked round warily. ‘And the bats? What happened to them?'

‘Flew up into the rafters. They'll sleep now until they scent more food.' He smiled sadly. ‘I would suggest you leave them there. Don't disturb their sleep.'

He peered up at the high, vaulted roof of the chamber, trying to make out the dark shapes of the bats. But the sound of a voice drew his attention.

‘I say!' George called down from where he and Liz were suspended high above the chamber. ‘The other end must still be attached to something heavy. Can you possibly give us a hand to get down from here?'

Eddie and the workhouse children lined up with Liz, George and Sir William. The Prime Minister had despatched his key ministers to get the police and assess the damage done by the events of the night. Then he insisted on hearing the whole story.

‘We must keep these events to ourselves,' the Prime Minister said. ‘I'm sure there will be some form of recognition, although I must thank the Good Lord that Her Majesty was not here tonight. And I do mean the
Good
Lord.'

‘I'm sure she would have been a figure of calm and fortitude in our time of need,' Sir William said.

Liz laughed. ‘Though I doubt she would have taken too kindly to hanging off a rope above the House of Lords.'

‘Or being half drowned in a tunnel full of vampires,' George said. His arm was tight round Liz's shoulder, as if he was still afraid to let go. ‘Though I suppose that was my own fault.'

‘Gawd help us,' Eddie said, grinning at his friends. ‘I'd fancy a medal if there's one going, but you'd better not tell Queen Vic what really happened here.'

‘You think not, young man?' the Prime Minister said. ‘Why is that?'

Eddie looked him square in the eye. ‘Cos she'll think we're all bats, that's why.'

A pale gas lamp glowed through the foggy night on the other side of the Thames. Beneath it, a figure stood looking out across the river, watching the dark shapes of the last few bats circling over the Palace of Westminster.

She still stood there, unmoving, as the first streaks of sunlight painted the sky. Then at last she turned, her long black hair spilling over the scarlet cloak she was wearing, and walked away. Until she was swallowed up by the morning fog.

Also by Justin Richards

The Death Collector
The Chaos Code

Copyright © 2008 by Justin Richards

All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages

First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Faber & Faber Ltd Published in the United States by Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010

Electronic edition published in October 2011

www.bloomsburykids.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Richards, Justin.

The parliament of blood / by Justin Richards. — 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.

“First published in Great Britain by Faber & Faber.”

Summary: In Victorian London, after discovering that vampires really do exist and plot to end the human race, friends George, Liz, and Eddie join Sir William Protheroe in an increasingly desperate effort to find ways to stop them from overthrowing Parliament and, eventually, taking over the world.

ISBN: 978-1-59990-883-0 (ebook)

[1. Vampires—Fiction. 2. Horror stories.

3. London—History—19th century—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.R386Par 2008        [Fic]—dc22        2008012245