Deception (26 page)

Dorian stood up. “It might be wise to call upon Mrs. Higginbotham. We will need her advice if we are to turn around what his lordship knows.”

“Who is Mrs. Higginbotham?”

“A practitioner of witchcraft. She is in the employ of The Company, and Lillian and I have found her quite helpful.”

“A witch? By all that is holy, you cannot bring a witch into our midst.” Shafton stood and raised his hands before bringing them down on the table hard enough to spill his coffee.

Dorian’s voice remained even and calm. “What is your objection?”

“Witchcraft is the devil’s work.”

He cocked his head to one side. “Says the man who hoped to lead an army of demons against the enemies of England.”

“And you see how that turned out. At least I have learned from my mistakes.”

Lillian stood up. “Enough. Abigail Higginbotham has shown herself trustworthy. It may be true that some practitioners of magic are evil, but she is not among them. She can help us, and she is willing to do so. The subject is not open for debate and you, my lord, will behave as a gentleman to a lady when she arrives.”

Her speech knocked the wind out of the earl, and he returned to his seat with a short nod, though his scowl did not lighten.

She turned to the other two men in the room, expecting some kind of reproof.

Brice’s grin spread from ear to ear. He stood and walked to the door. “I will ask Drake to summon the lady.”

Dorian stood as well, but only because she had, and he was, as always, a gentleman.

The earl remained in his chair, deflated.

Lillian needed a few minutes, and she wanted to know if they had learned anything from the hostage. She walked to the door.

Dorian stepped beside her.

Turning back toward Shafton, her conscience nagged. “My lord, there is something you should know.”

He looked up, pale faced and contrite. “What is that?”

“When I set out from Brendaligh, I expected to find something terrible in your past. I was determined to bring you low because I was angry.”

He stared at the floor. “Congratulations.”

She continued. “What I found was a man who made a mistake, a very human mistake, and rather than run from it, he faced it head on and has devoted his life to correcting it.”

The earl’s gaze returned to her. “That is very kind of you to say.”

She turned toward Dorian. “A moment, if you would?”

He nodded and stepped out of the room.

She returned to sit in the chair adjacent to Shafton. “It is no secret that you and I have never seen eye to eye.”

“No. That is true. Though, I have always thought you a more than competent hunter.”

It was amusing to hear him say anything complimentary. “Thank you. You believe you are the reason this has happened.”

“It is obvious.”

“No. You are just too arrogant to see anything else.”

“You—”

She held up her hand. “Perhaps your life might have been different, better, more normal had you never noticed those three demons. You could have done the sensible thing and run far and fast from the beasts. You might have been able to go on with your life as before and enjoyed your young family. In time, you might have forgotten what you saw. The demons would have come anyway. Perhaps it would have taken them more time, but they would have come. You were not to blame for the master finding our world.”

His eyes, so like his daughter’s, stared back at her wide and surprised.

“If another had found the cave, and I’m sure there would have been another, he might not have done the good you have done over the years. He might have run away and never said another word about it, leaving the world’s throat exposed with no Company to protect it.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“I do. And I will tell you something else. You are the father of the bravest and best person I know. Belinda is remarkable in every way.”

“That is due to her mother. I had very little influence.”

Lillian laughed. “You forget I have met your wife, my lord. While her ladyship is lovely and kind, I cannot imagine her wielding a sword or donning trousers in the defense of England. I’m quite certain the ferocity and determination that makes Belinda a great hunter has been passed down from her father.”

His eyes shone with unshed tears. “Why are you telling me this? You have no love for me.”

“True. I suppose because I admire what you did with your life in the face of utter failure. We need you now, David. All of Scotland, England, and perhaps the world needs for you to be strong. You have to remember every moment of the worst day of your life, and the pain of it is not lost on me.”

He blinked away his emotion and sat up straight. “I see now why my daughter and her husband are so fond of you, Miss Dellacourt. I always thought it was because you are a great warrior and people bond when they fight together.”

“And now?”

“You must be a magnificent friend to have. I now see you are fair to a fault. You never let your hatred for me cloud your judgment.”

She laughed. “I would not say never.”

He chuckled as well. “I will go to Drake’s office and write down everything I can remember in as much detail as possible, and when your witch arrives, we can all go over it together.”

“That is an excellent idea.” Lillian’s head spun. How had she gone from hating Shafton to admiration in such a short time?

Dorian waited outside the castle for Abigail Higginbotham to arrive. They had sent The Company carriage to collect the witch.

Tom had followed him out. He seemed determined to know all that was going on and see everything. It was better not to know some things at his young age.

Tybee shooed Tom back inside the castle and attempted to keep him out of harm’s way.

Dorian lost focus, staring down the empty lane. The hour was still quite early and not many people crowded Edinburgh’s streets. Regret knocked at him from the inside. How could he live with his failure? How would he face his brother? Brice expected him to look after their mother. As the oldest son, his duty was to protect their family. The idea of revenge eased some of his guilt. He would not be satisfied until the master lay dead at his feet.

Lillian stepped out of the side door, slid her arm around his, and threaded their fingers. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.”

“Please do not lie to me, Dorian.”

“I am as good as I can be, Lilly. I need my mother’s death to have some purpose. At the moment, I cannot see any. I am not proud of the actions I am willing to take to find some solace.”

She squeezed his arm. “I am so sorry.”

“I did what had to be done and will do it again if the need arises.”

“It is good for you to recognize that. The demons are the cause of our actions in this war. They have no place in our world.”

“I pray we do not become like them in our efforts to eradicate them.”

She stepped in front of him, facing him with her fists on her hips. “Is that what you think will happen?”

He ran his finger along the soft skin of her jaw. “I hope not, my love.”

“I am ashamed that after all I have done and seen, I still cannot stomach the violence of an interrogation. You are ashamed you can. In my opinion, these feelings are how we retain our humanity. I promise you the demons have no remorse when they torture a human for sport or sacrifice.”

“I’m glad you were not there, but I should be stronger.”

She wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his shoulder. “I forbid you to change a thing about yourself.”

Flowers and Lillian’s feminine scent filled his head, and her words eased his tension. He enfolded her in his arms and kissed her head. “Thank you.”

“I am always on your side.”

“That is remarkably good to know.”

“I did agree to marry you.”

“I may have bullied you into it.”

She laughed. “As if anyone could bully me into doing something I do not want.”

He squeezed her tighter and the breath he’d been holding released. This remarkable woman was his. It was a miracle. “I’m most impressed with how well you handled Shafton.”

She stepped to his side again. With the brightening sky, more people filtered into the streets, and their embrace soon became a spectacle. “I surprise myself sometimes. He is not as arrogant as he pretends.”

“I might not have been as kind as you. You handled him perfectly.”

The Company carriage turned the corner and rolled toward them. The winged lion and sword gleamed gold upon its door in the first rays of morning.

It stopped. Dorian opened the door and handed Abigail down. Sorrow swelled in her eyes. “I am so sorry, my lord. I wish there was something I could have done.”

“It is not your fault. My mother’s death lies on the head of the master. I will have my revenge. I believe my mother already had hers.”

Her eyes widened and her head cocked.

Lillian said, “We have much to tell you, but first I think you must hear from Shafton.”

“What new information does the earl bring?”

“Old information, Mrs. Higginbotham. He brings the past, and we have high hopes you can help us use it to secure our future.”

“I am beyond intrigued.” Abigail took Lillian’s arm.

Dorian opened the side door for them and followed the ladies down the corridor.

They found Shafton in the large salon. He busied himself with spreading torn pieces of foolscap over the top of a low table and sat in front of them. “Come in. I have most of it, maybe all of it. I’m still thinking it through. I am sure these are the symbols they made me paint on the walls.”

Abigail stepped forward and examined the papers. She walked around the table. “You say you painted these on the cave walls.”

The earl stood.

Dorian stepped forward. “Mrs. Abigail Higginbotham, may I introduce the Earl of Shafton. My lord, Mrs. Abigail Higginbotham.”

Shafton bowed. “Though it has been many years, I am sure these were the symbols.”

“The symbols are still there, though they now appear to have been burned into the stone,” Dorian said.

Abigail closed her eyes. “Each symbol will need a counter. For every evil there must be good. The demon thrives on chaos. We must create balance.”

Shafton picked up another piece of Foolscap and handed it to Abigail. “I wrote down everything I can remember. Speaking these words aloud turned my stomach, and I do not think I could do it again.”

She took the page from his shaking hand and made a short incantation in Latin. Dorian understood the words, but the meaning was a mystery to him.

“There are phrases that should never be spoken, and even in thinking them we take a risk. You did the right thing.”

Lillian sat while Abigail read the page.

The witch paced, read it again, and paced some more before sitting on a small wooden chair and placing the paper on the table. “It will take me some time to devise a spell to counteract something of this sort.”

Dorian’s gut tightened. “How long?”

“A day or two at least. I also need to decipher the symbols and find their opposite.”

“Are there opposites for these?” Lillian asked.

“The symbols have meanings. This one denotes anarchy.” She picked one up. On the page was a circle with three lines forming an “A,” though the crossing line went beyond the other two.

“How do you counter anarchy?” Lillian asked.

Abigail turned the paper over and took up the quill in the middle of the table. She dipped it in ink and drew a strange knot of three petals and a loop. “This is the Triquetra of Harmony. It is a powerful force against mayhem. You will need to paint this symbol over the anarchy symbol in the cave. It will take me some time to decipher and counter the rest.

Standing near the table, Dorian examined the strange symbols. “Where is the symbol of the master?”

“I did not paint one?” the earl said.

“The serpent around a distorted fleur-de-lis is definitely scorched into the wall. When we entered, a durgot stood before the symbol with a sword.”

Abigail took a quill and a piece of scrap from the table and sketched the symbol. She added it to the pile. “I will give it some thought.”

Dorian sat. His mouth went dry. “I managed to get some information from a demon this morning. The master is too weak to travel in our world. He survives in what the demons call the space between worlds.”

“Purgatory.” Abigail’s whisper filled the room with dread.

Lillian said, “I assume from your tone, Miss Higginbotham, this is not a good thing.”

“He can gather strength in a place filled with so much torment. It will be enough to sustain him until he finds a way to heal himself.”

A shiver ran up Dorian’s spine. All the lost souls waiting in purgatory must be the perfect fuel for the master. “He still needs noble blood. He said as much. My mother was not from a noble family. It was a miscalculation on the master’s part. He looked worse when he returned to the vortex.”

Abigail said, “He expends energy to become corporeal and take in the blood of kings. When he didn’t receive the infusion, it makes sense he would wither.”

“I stabbed him and he bled.”

“A setback for the master, but it will take more than one knife wound from an ordinary blade to kill him.”

“He can be killed though?” Dorian asked.

“I believe so. Though, we dare not attempt that until the gates are all closed. With the gates open, he will escape and return in time.”

“How much time?” Hope sparked in the earl’s voice.

Abigail shrugged. “A year, a hundred years, I don’t know.”

“I could live with a hundred years.”

“But your great grandchildren might not be able to.” Dorian shook his head.

Understanding spread across Shafton’s face. “I suppose that is true.”

“The goal will be to keep demons from invading our world in the long term.” Dorian looked each of them in the eye, looking for any sign of disagreement.

Lillian took hold of the paper with the master’s symbol. “What does it mean, Abigail?”

“A fleur-de-lis or lily is the symbol of purity.”

“And the snake?” she asked.