As if anyone would, I thought.
The wards seemed to grow stronger again, then faded into the background as the door started to rise. I tensed, readying a spell. If there was someone waiting for us ... there was no one. The door opened into a large chamber, the chamber I’d seen the first time he’d brought me to his house. I cast a spell to let me see in the dark, then inched forward. No powerful wards blocked my way. I breathed a sigh of relief as we moved into the darkness. The door at the far end of the chamber was shut and locked.
“Don’t touch anything,” Gary said. “And stay close to me.”
I nodded, feeling my skin prickle as the wards drifted over us. They felt like cobwebs, cobwebs that could turn nasty in the blink of an eye. I sensed powerful and deadly spells hanging in the air like spiders in the web, just waiting for a chance to snap at us. Malachi clearly wasn’t interested in taking prisoners. I supposed it made sense. The people who were most likely to burgle a house in Water Shallot had nothing worth the effort of ransoming or blackmailing them. My lips curved into a grim smile as we reached the far door. We were going to break Malachi, once and for all.
“There’s a second set of spells here,” Gary said. “Give me a moment.”
“Hurry,” Marlene advised. “I feel naked.”
Gary shot her a sharp look, then turned his attention to the door. I understood. We were deep in enemy territory, too committed to back off and pretend we’d never been near the house. It wouldn’t take a skilled wardsmith or charmsmith to realise what we’d done. Malachi might not know who’d kidnapped Penny, but he’d know someone had. He might even alert his former family, pushing them to search for her. The ironhold was designed to be impossible to locate, but ... I shook my head. There was no point in wasting time worrying about it. We had to focus on what we were doing.
The door clicked open. I stepped into a dimly lit corridor. The wards seemed to draw back until they hung at the corner of my mind, a constant reminder that no one could see or hear anything within the house. I felt sick as I studied the spellforms, realising that Malachi could spy on anything in his domain. He could listen in to conversations, he could watch the maids as they undressed ... I shuddered. It was a severe breach of etiquette to spy on one’s guests, even one’s servants ... I wondered, sourly, why I was surprised. Malachi had shown no qualms about stripping memories and using them for blackmail. Why would he not spy on his guests?
My legs felt weak as I led the way up the stairs. It was no different - I told myself - than sneaking around school, but my thoughts kept reminding me the consequences would be worse. My heart pounded loudly as I reached the top, nearly stumbling over a poorly designed step. Penny’s portrait hung in front of me. I wondered, as I eyed it, just how much the artist had been paid. She didn’t look much younger - I guessed it had been painted towards the end of the previous summer, in line with tradition - but her face had been smoothed out until she looked pleasant. I was used to paintings being carefully drawn to remove imperfections - there were portraits of young boys that made them look like teenagers - but the painting in front of me was an extreme case. I really hoped the artist had been well paid.
“Come on,” Marlene whispered. “Where now?”
“This way.” I flushed as we headed down the corridor. “I think ...”
A door opened. A young woman stepped out. Her eyes went wide as she saw us. I froze her at once, watching numbly as she fell over backwards and hit the ground with a thud. I stepped over her body and peered into the room. It was a large bedchamber, dominated by the biggest bed I’d ever seen. Another young woman, her face marred with an ugly bruise, clutched the blanket to her chest as she stared at us. I froze her too, feeling a twinge of sympathy. The bruise looked nasty.
Malachi probably forced them into his bed, I thought. I checked the rest of the room, then hurried back to the office. Poor girls.
Gary stopped in front of the office door and started to work. “He wasn’t taking anything for granted,” he said, as he fiddled with the charms. “There’s enough spells here to stop an army.”
I stared at his back. “Can you break them?”
“Trick them, yes.” Gary’s spellcaster twisted in his hand as he moved it up and down the wooden door. “Lucky we have the blood, or it would have been impossible without an Object of Power.”
Perhaps we should have asked Caitlyn for one, I thought, sourly. Akin might have spoken to her for us.
I shook my head. Too many people already knew what had happened. And there’d be no guarantee Caitlyn would cooperate. Akin certainly wouldn’t want to tell her what Ayesha had done to him. He’d be ashamed, even if she agreed it wasn’t actually his fault. I knew how he’d felt. I’d dragged Gary into a nightmare ...
The door creaked. “Hah,” Gary said, using the spellcaster to push it open. “Let me go in first.”
“You two check the rest of the house,” I ordered the girls. I wasn’t sure what we’d do with his servants. Take them home and ... and what? “Then get back here.”
I frowned as Gary stepped into the office, then motioned for me to follow. The air was heavy with spells. It felt like a gathering thunderstorm of magic, even though the charms seemed to slip over us as though we weren’t there. A shiver ran down my spine as I looked at his desk, then at the bookshelves behind the chair. There had to be a secret compartment, probably behind the shelves. Gary walked around the room, waving his spellcaster in the air as he cast a string of detection spells. I sensed magic sparking around him, each charm deflected by the blood. My forehead itched, but I dared not wipe away the marks. They were all that stood between me and a very painful death.
“Interesting,” Gary said, stopping in front of the bookcase. “There’s something here, but I can’t see any charms to unlock it.”
I stared at the shelves. “He must have done something,” I said. “How ...?”
“Think about it,” Gary said. “What happened? What did you hear?”
“I was blind,” I protested. I forced myself to recall. I’d heard ... something. And I hadn’t sensed magic. I wasn’t sure I would have sensed anything in such an environment. But … I leaned forward, studying the bookcase. If it wasn’t held shut with magic. “Ah ...”
I tugged on the shelf. There was a feeling of resistance, then the entire bookshelf came free, revealing a hidden chamber beyond. My eyes widened as I saw a strange device sitting on a trolley, a combination of metallic strands and gemstones and a weird metal helmet ... it had to be the memory reader. Gary advanced forward, studying the device with fascination. My eyes trailed over it, ruefully acknowledging I didn’t have the slightest idea where to begin. Gary might be able to understand what I was seeing. I could not.
“Interesting,” Gary mused. “The charms are so delicate that the slightest mishap could destroy them.”
“Interesting,” I echoed. I saw a row of memory orbs and scowled. They looked just like the others, but they felt empty. “Can you see how it works?”
“Yeah.” Gary frowned as he poked at the device. “The charms are really quite fascinating.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” I said. Up close, the device was very clearly a Device. Someone had forged it. Someone had designed it and forged it and given it to a blackmailer. I stared at the hodgepodge, wondering why the designer hadn’t given it to someone legit. It wouldn’t have been hard. There were a dozen Great Houses that would have paid through the nose for the design. “Make a note of it.”
I stepped past him and peered into the chamber. The walls were lined with files and boxes, each marked with a name. I shivered as I spotted a handful of names I recognised, from Grande Dames to ... to my father. I hesitated, unsure I wanted to know. My father had been a good man ... hadn’t he? And yet, look what I’d done to restore the family fortune. My hand shook as I reached for the file, opening it up to see a list of financial reports. They were hard to follow, and I thought there were chunks missing, but it looked as though my father had or
chestrated a pyramid scheme. Hundreds of investors had trusted the nameless person behind the scheme with their money, unaware that my father ...
My heart clenched. My father had defrauded them. Intentionally or not, my father had taken their money and lost it. My fingers swept through the papers, my mind pleading with the uncaring ancestors that it wasn’t so. But it was ... my father had taken their money and lost it and ... and what? How had he escaped detection? I went through the papers, heedless of the growing danger. He’d placed the blame on someone who’d skipped town ... as far as anyone knew, I reasoned, he’d looked like just another victim. I almost dropped the papers as I caught sight of another box, one marked with another familiar name. Auntie Dorcas.
I don’t want to know, I thought. I’d always liked secrets, but there were limits. I really don’t want to know.
“You can destroy the orbs with a spell,” Gary said. He waved a hand at the device. “I think I’d like to take this thing with us.”
“If you want.” I was too stunned to argue. What had Auntie Dorcas done? And why hadn’t Malachi ever contacted her? How ... how did I know he hadn’t? It wasn’t as if she’d tell me, even if I pressed. “I think ...”
I stared at the boxes. People I’d met, people I knew by reputation, people I’d never known ... my throat was dry. They represented a huge temptation. I could take them, I could use them to rebuild the family, ... no. I wasn’t going to even try. I’d wind up just like him. And I’d learnt that lesson too late.
“Hurry,” Gary said. He started to push the trolley out of the chamber. “I don’t know ..”
A surge of magic flashed into the chamber, brushing our defences aside with casual ease. I wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. There was only one way in or out of the office and Malachi stood there, wearing a long dark coat. His face was lit with unholy glee.
“Well,” he said. His eyes trailed over me, then Gary. “Come out where I can see you. Come into the light.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“My, oh my,” Malachi said. The naked anticipation in his voice made my stomach turn in disgust. “Who do we have here?”
My legs quivered, then moved of their own accord as the wards pushed me out of the chamber. Gary followed, stumbling along like a puppet hanging from tangled strings. I gritted my teeth, trying not to retch at the sensation of being controlled. Malachi’s smile grew wider as we stumbled into the office, his eyes trailing over us with naked anticipation. I cursed myself savagely for not setting fire to the building and running, well before Malachi had realised he’d been duped and turned back. He was back early ...
“Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” Malachi said. He stepped up to me, invading my personal space. “I knew you had a habit of sneaking around.”
He looked at Gary. “And who might you be?”
Gary glared. I could tell he was trying to cast a spell, to escape the wards. I doubted he could. Malachi had them under firm control, using them to control us. My magic was useless. I thought as fast as I could, considering my options. There were no spells I could cast that would reach him, even if they didn’t backfire on me. The wards were just too strong. And yet ... where were Marlene and Ayesha? Had they been trapped too? Or had they had the wit to escape? Or ...
“Go fuck yourself,” Gary managed. Sweat beaded on his face. “You’re a monster.”
“I’m a monster?” Malachi sounded shocked. “Do you know what she’s done? Do you know what her father did?”
I gritted my teeth. I had to keep him talking. I had to keep him talking, even though every word grated on my nerves. He knew he had the edge. He knew he had us at his mercy. He knew ... I knew he didn’t have any mercy. I had to keep him talking until we found a way to escape or kill him or ... I wondered, suddenly, what spell Lady Mathews had used to commit suicide. If I could cast it myself ...
“You knew what my father did,” I said. I doubted there was any point in pretending I hadn’t read the files. “Were you blackmailing him too?”
Malachi said nothing, but I knew - from the way his smile widened - that I’d hit the nail on the head. My father had been blackmailed. My thoughts spun in circles as I put the pieces together. No wonder the family finances were in such bad shape. No wonder he’d taken such an outrageous loan from a criminal. My father had been desperately trying to meet Malachi’s demands, all too aware he’d be betrayed when he ran out of money. I wondered, sourly, why he hadn’t bothered to warn me. I ... I swallowed hard as I realised my father might have committed suicide, taking his guilt to his ancestors. My heart twisted. They’d turn their backs on him.
Keep him talking, I thought, desperately. Give Gary time to think.
I forced myself to look at him. “Is that why you knew to keep an eye on me? You knew my father?”
“Not really.” Malachi shrugged, dispassionately. “I never expected you to amount to anything. If you’d been a little more careful, a little more open, a little more honest ... why, there would have been nothing to gain by blackmailing you. You couldn’t be blamed for your father’s sins. And then you went and committed sins of your own.”
He gestured. I felt the wards pushing me to my knees. Beside me, Gary groaned in pain. I winced, cursing myself once again for getting him involved. I should have raided the house myself, using the blood ... I should have simply tried to kill Malachi, the first time he’d entered my hall. Maybe my secrets would have come out, maybe they wouldn’t. It would have saved everyone else from my stupidity. I stared up at him, knowing it was the end. He knew he couldn’t trust me now.
“I did have hopes for you,” Malachi said. He patted my head in mock affection. “I thought you’d make a willing ally. You were tempted, were you not? It’s astonishing what people will do if you offer them wealth and power. They’ll throw away their most cherished principles just for a little more ...”
I forced myself to lift my head, despite the growing pressure. “Is that what you did to Francis?”
Malachi’s face twisted. “The little fool just had to get himself killed!”
“What did you do to him?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, but it would keep him talking long enough for Marlene and Ayesha to get out of the house. “Why did he die?”
“I spent years grooming him to listen to me.” Malachi started to pace the room. “People like that, they resist if you block them. They resist if they think you’re a threat. But if you act like a wise old counsellor, a man who wants only the best for you, they’ll listen. I guided him for years, priming him to take Akin’s place. He would have ruled the family, and I would have ruled through him. But he got himself killed instead.”
I felt sick. I’d thought Malachi couldn’t be any worse. But I was wrong.
“And they kicked you out,” I said. “Right?”
“They’ll pay.” Malachi’s eyes darkened. “They’ll all pay.”
He smiled, suddenly. “And now I have you. And your friend. And your other friends downstairs. I see you brought me some real prizes.”
My heart sank. Ayesha and Marlene were trapped too. Kate and Poppy might get away, if they had the wit to realise something had gone wrong. I tried to think of a plan, of a way to alert them, but came up with nothing. A vapour message wouldn’t get through the wards. I felt a tidal wave of guilt. I’d killed them all. No, I’d done worse. I’d delivered them to Malachi. They might be better off dead.
“Yeah.” I forced myself to look submissive as a thought crossed my mind. “Let’s make a deal.”
Malachi cocked his head. “What makes you think you have anything to bargain with?”
It was a good point, I acknowledged sourly. I had very little. And yet, people would start asking questions if we never returned home. Ayesha’s family would certainly want to know what had happened to her, where she’d gone; Gary and Kate and even Marlene had parents who’d be asking questions too. I wondered, idly, how Malachi intended to deal with it. He could wipe their memories, or force them to d
rink compulsion potions, or ... it didn’t matter. I had a window of opportunity. I needed to use it.
“You need an assistant,” I said. I kept my eyes on the ground. “You need someone who can go places you can’t. That’s what you wanted me for, right? You wanted a servant.”
“A slave.” Malachi’s voice dripped poison. “And your point is ...?”
He knew it. I knew he knew it. But he wanted me to spell it out.
“I’ll serve you,” I said. “I’ll do anything you want. I’ll kiss your boot and your ass and everything else. I’ll take your messages anywhere and everywhere. I will serve you.”
Malachi said nothing for a long moment. “And in return?”
“You let them go,” I said. I nodded towards Gary. “You let them all go. You take their oaths they won’t breathe a word of what happened here, tonight, and let them go. I’ll be your servant, your” - my voice broke - “your slave. And in return, you let them go.”
The Lady Heiress (The Zero Enigma Book 8) Page 36