Double Alchemy: Climax (9 page)

He just looked at her. Valensia took an instinctive step back as he moved toward her with the speed of a cat, gripping her left wrist so tightly she winced in pain. He concentrated his energy and she grimaced as the heat from his body transmitted itself into her skin. Quinn smelled her skin roasting.

Valensia cried out in pain and disbelief. He stopped his energy flow and released her wrist. She stepped back with a wide-eyed look, holding her singed wrist in her hands. He was surprised when she didn’t respond with any counterattack of her own.

Well done. I have long wanted to do that
. Taliesin’s voice was satisfied.

“You’re a real bitch,” Quinn took a deep, shuddering breath, aware that his headache had suddenly sprung up from nowhere and that meant the nosebleeds weren’t too far off. “You have no fucking heart. You’re a complete narcissist and there’s no bloody room in your life for anyone else. It’s why you don’t have anybody. It’s why they all leave you in the end.”

There was a slow tickle under his nose and he raised his hand to wipe away the blood, eyeing out the streak of crimson on his hand with a detached air.

Valensia watched him, her eyes narrowed.

“In answer to your question—no, I’d never give Cade up. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me and if I have to make a choice it would be him every time. He’s warm, passionate and he makes me laugh. And he really loves me. He doesn’t simply want to mount me like a trophy on his wall—or just mount me, full stop.”

Quinn’s voice was deadly quiet. “So you can keep your fucking book.” He laughed nastily. “I was a fool to think we could have a reasonable conversation with both of our kinds’ best interests at heart. You haven’t changed, Valensia. But I have.”

He turned and strode angrily to the door, opening it and taking the stairs two at a time. The receptionist smiled at him as he left and he ignored her, pulling the wide glass door open with all his strength, feeling very disappointed when it didn’t slam because of the runners on the door that softly closed it.

Well spoken. We will find another way.
His Withinner’s voice was resigned.

Quinn stood outside in the sunlight, wiping away more blood that dribbled into his mouth. He swore loudly and hunted for a handkerchief in his pocket. Someone came up behind him and he turned swiftly, his sudden aggression draining away when he saw who stood behind him. Valensia silently handed him a tissue and he nodded his thanks as he held it to his nose.

“Why are you having those nosebleeds?” she asked quietly, and he swore he saw concern in her eyes.

He shrugged. “It’s a leftover of a Withinner Unity, a witch hex and a Warlock battle. Unfortunately it’s left my brain a little scrambled. What do you want?”

She held out her hand and handed him a book covered in plastic. His eyes narrowed and he regarded her in suspicion but made no move to take the book. “Is that what I think it is? And if it is, why are you giving it to me? What’s the catch?”

“It’s the book you fucking wanted, so take it before I change my mind!” She spat fiercely. “Study it then let me have it back. There’s no catch. Just promise to keep me informed of what you find. That’s all I ask.”

She thrust it into his hand and spun around, marching toward the building.

Quinn called out after her. “Valensia?”

She stopped and hesitated, not wanting to turn around. But finally she did so, slowly.

“I was wrong. You have changed. Thank you.”

She is more now than the woman we knew, Quinn.

Taliesin’s voice sounded regretful, even slightly sad. Quinn wondered what his Withinner had gotten into with this woman. Valensia nodded curtly and disappeared back into the building. Quinn stood there for a moment then went down to the car park for the drive home.

Chapter 8

When he got home, he smiled as he saw the blind at the front window twitch. The front door opened and a lean, tall frame lounged lazily against the door frame watching Quinn walk up the path. Cade laughed as Quinn bowed low.

“Home safe, my Queen. I promised, didn’t I?”

Cade smiled at him, eyes amused, then drew closer, his eyes narrowed in anger. “What did that she-devil do to your face? Did she scratch you?”

Quinn kissed Cade, his lover’s concern and love for him like a welcome-home present sitting on the hearth. “Valensia got a little irate at something I said but she calmed down and I got out in one piece,
virgo intacta
.” He grinned wickedly. “I didn’t have to hump anyone but I got the book!” He pulled it out of his jacket pocket with a triumphant flourish.

Cade gawped at him. “She just gave it to you? What did you have to promise her to get it?” He frowned. “No, don’t tell me. I’ll probably get all upset and then we’ll argue and everything will just go to pot.”

Quinn shrugged, knowing his silence would drive Cade crazy, and went into the house with his boyfriend hot on his heels. He took off his jacket, and as much as he wanted to go upstairs and study the book, he knew he still had a little bit of conversation with Cade to complete. Best get it over with.

“I didn’t have to promise anything. It appears Valensia has mellowed somewhat with me since our last encounter. Prickly on the outside but surprisingly a little more relaxed beneath. So apart from a scratched face, now I have the book and I’m praying all the hopes we’re pinning on it to find the man we’re looking for won’t let us down.” He looked longingly across at the stairs down to the basement. “So I thought I’d go to the library and see what I can find out.”

Cade shook his head in resignation. “You’ll be impossible to talk to until you get this out of your system. Fine, off you go. Dinner will be a while.” He glanced at him slyly. “I have a few things of my own I need to sort out anyway. I had another text from Cooper. That man is becoming quite a stalker.”

Quinn frowned. “Cooper? Who’s Cooper?”

Cade sighed. “I’ve told you about him. He’s this rather forward young man at work who keeps me asking me out. Unfortunately he has my mobile number and insists on texting me rather sweet anecdotes now and then.”

Quinn shook his head darkly. “Does he know you have me at home? Is he becoming a bit too much?”

Cade laughed. “Yes, he’s well aware of you. And I can manage Cooper, I promise. It’s rather flattering having a young man pursuing me so ardently.”

Quinn was a little put out at Cade’s obvious enjoyment of having another suitor. “Exactly how old are we talking about? And I can’t have Valensia, but you can have Cooper?”

Cade scowled at his laconic retort and Quinn smiled at him.

“Cooper didn’t have me imprisoned in a bedroom so he could screw me every time he felt like it. You know it’s not the same. And Cooper is twenty-eight.” Cade smirked.

“Wow, a whole seven years younger than you. He sees you as his sugar daddy then?”

Cade stared at him in exasperation. “I doubt that. He’s just one helluva flirt.” Quinn gazed at Cade innocently, and Cade heaved an exasperated sigh. “This is going nowhere, is it? Off you go then, down to your poxy basement. I suppose I’ll see you at midnight.”

Quinn grinned, needing no second urging. He was soon seated at his desk in the basement, the book in front of him, staring at it with a mixture of apprehension and expectation. “Right, let’s see what we have here.”

He reached out and gently took a sharp, thin knife from his custom-made toolkit, very slowly slitting open the plastic sheath. “I can’t believe they’ve just wrapped it in bloody plastic!” he exclaimed to himself angrily. “A rare seventeenth-century book treated as if it’s the latest paperback off the shelf. It’s just as well I’ve got it now. It’ll be taken care of properly.”

Quinn had no intention of ever giving the book back. It was part of his collection now and he’d fight to the death to keep it that way. He slid the plastic carefully off the book and as it came free from its wrapping, his nostrils flared and he felt his Withinner’s unease as well. The book reeked of death. It smelt of mildew, sweat, fear and blood and was overwhelming to one such as Quinn, whose senses were more refined than anyone else’s. He took a deep breath, trying to rid himself of the feeling of abject horror that had claimed his mind and his heart.

I do not like this book
. Taliesin sounded very uneasy.
It has a stench like an old abattoir, desperate and with a sense of total futility. Whoever’s book this was, they suffered greatly and they knew they would never survive whatever it was they were facing. Their fear is the blackness that killed that poor young witch.

“I agree, old friend.” Quinn said thoughtfully as he looked at the book, not really wanting to touch it but knowing he had to. He could wear gloves to protect himself but that would defeat the object. Most of the book’s secrets resided in its owner’s thoughts and emotions and he had to get past those first before he could properly research what was in the book. He took a deep breath and laid his hand on the cover. Taliesin’s disgust manifested at the same time as his own, a pervading feeling of sickness that invaded his body like icy fog. It got into each pore, worming its way into his muscles, his bloodstream, his bones. Overwhelmed, Quinn retched, acid bile rising in his throat. He turned and was sick in the wastepaper basket at the side of his desk. He waited for the nausea to subside before he touched the book again, getting the same sensation but less than before. He gritted his teeth and continued his exploration.

The book was small and leather bound and there were definite stains on the front. Quinn thought they were too dark to be water. He opened the front cover gingerly and saw it was just as Misty had described it. A wheel with eight segments, along with two symbols like an M and a V of slanted lines together. He picked up his mobile and took a shot of the cover and the first page.

He picked up the desk phone and dialled a number, tucking it into the crook of his neck as it rang. He rapidly compiled a message on his mobile to go with the photo then clicked Send.

Quinn spoke as Percy answered. “Quinn here. I got the book.”

“She gave it to you? “ Percy’s voice was disbelieving.

“Yes, it was relatively easy, not as bad as I thought. I’m taking a look at it now and I’ve just sent you some pictures. I want someone in the Reponosium to look through everything we’ve got down there and try and find a connection to the symbols on the first page and anything regarding seventeenth-century witch trials. Specifically tell them to keep an eye out for witches that were tried and killed by the Witchfinder, but let them know any other connection is possible.” He laid his mobile phone down on the table.

“I’ve got it. I’ll put someone on it right away.”

“Thanks. Let me know the minute you find anything.”

Quinn disconnected the call and browsed through the book. He recognised some of the spells and chants. As Valensia had said, they appeared run of the mill, spells for wealth, health and love. But there were a few that were different, added to the very back of the book, ones that were darker and infinitely more dangerous unless you knew what you were doing. The one that Misty had chanted to restore the dead geranium and the one that had killed Melody were at the forefront of this new section. He frowned. To his eyes, it looked like someone had probably put the innocent spells at the front and tried to hide the more intricate ones at the back in the hope that no one would really find them. It wasn’t a particularly clever plan.

Quinn. This book is covered in blood. Real blood. I can smell it.

“You mean the stains on the front?” Quinn stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I tend to agree with you. It has that—metallic—scent to it.” Quinn’s senses were on high alert. “It would be interesting to find out whose blood, though. Perhaps the guys at the Reponosium will find something.”

He spent another hour perusing the book but came up with nothing more. He felt a glut of emotions as he turned the pages—some good, mostly bad. Finally he was exhausted by the mental and emotional drain the book levied on him and he closed it with a sigh. He stored the book safely in his air tight repository, cleaned out his waste bin then went upstairs to find Cade.

He was sitting in the lounge, curled up on the couch reading a book, a glass of wine at his side. The smile he turned in Quinn’s direction as he entered still made Quinn’s heart beat faster and warmth suffuse his body. Cade grinned at him.

“I didn’t expect to see you yet. Dinner’s ready in about half an hour.” He patted the seat beside him. “Come sit down here. You look knackered.”

Quinn sat down with a sigh and Cade leaned over and stroked his forehead as Quinn leaned his head back against the sofa, closing his eyes, relishing Cade’s spicy scent of male and sandalwood aftershave.

“Did you send a text back to your ardent suitor Cooper and tell him how possessive I am and how much bigger I am than him?” Quinn chuckled. “In all the ways that matter?”

Cade laughed softly. “Yes, I told him you were a seven-foot warrior with a really mean streak and he’d better stop pestering me or you’d turn him into a toad.”

Quinn groaned in pleasure as Cade rubbed his shoulders. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Quinn nodded, the tension in his body dissipating at Cade’s soothing massage.

“Some. Percy’s got people working on finding out whose book it might be. The secret is getting that information so we can perhaps use the book to find the Witchfinder. If we can find out how the book worked to do what Percy thinks it did—releasing Matthew Hopkins’s spirit—then using the book might be the only way of reversing the spell.”

Cade leaned forward and kissed his mouth gently, Quinn relishing the taste of his lips with their sweet wine flavour.

“My hero, braving the big, bad witch to save the world.” Cade whispered as he moved half on top of him, running his hands over Quinn’s chest and slipping a warm rough hand into his shirt, through buttons which had suddenly become undone. Quinn’s heart quickened at Cade’s touch, and he marvelled at the fact that even after nearly a year together, the man still made him feel so horny. The aftershave he wore reminded him of their first meeting on Hampstead Heath. Quinn grinned at the memory.