CHAPTER FIVE
Duke Charming
“I have come seeking wisdom and aid regarding a delicate matter that requires the highest discretion,” said the stranger, holding himself straight and rigid in the doorway.
The pain wafting from the man permeated the room, distracting Lucifer from all else. It was clear to him why the young man had come seeking Baba’s help. Lucifer could barely see, let alone stand, with the throbbing phantom of injury mirrored in his own crotch. He couldn’t imagine how the man tolerated it.
Baba looked the young man up and down. “You bribe us to keep tongues from wagging?”
“Ahem,” the young man said, a smile wavering on his lips. “Indeed.”
Lucifer walked to the pitcher of water under the guise of refilling the cauldron so that he would be farther from the aching discomfort emanating from the young man. Once he was a few steps away, Lucifer was able to catch his breath and put up a mental barrier between him and the pain. Only then could he see the stranger objectively.
The young man wore fine clothes that reminded Lucifer of a noble from a Jane Austen movie that Abigail might have enjoyed when she’d lived in the Morty Realm. The man’s cravat and high collar were that of the Regency era, but the cape, frilly sleeves, and the stockings ending in the curled toes of his slippers were more medieval. Lucifer supposed that was the Faerie Realm, mixing up eras and fashions in peculiar ways. The man was Witchkin, but Lucifer couldn’t discern the kind of affinity that dwelled inside him.
His hair was trimmed and neat, aside from one sandy lock rakishly falling into brown eyes that sparkled in the light of the fire. A hint of glamour sparkled about the tanned skin of his face, and when Lucifer squinted, he could see through the façade. The young man didn’t look that different aside from one side of his face having a slight pink and mottled discoloring. Most wouldn’t have bothered with a glamour for such a slight blemish. Lucifer supposed the rich could afford such novelties.
Baba wrapped her shawl around herself and plopped into her rocking chair. “What court do you hail from?”
The young man paused. Lucifer thought it was because Fae didn’t acknowledge the Witchkin half-breeds they sired with mortals, and therefore the man would not belong to any Fae court.
Baba shrugged. “Do not tell me, then.” She waved a hand, and a signet made of light wavered before the young man. The symbol was green and depicted ivy.
The young man sighed. “My name is Godric. I hail from the territory of the Verde Court—but my family has sovereignty over our own household. We aren’t slaves to the Fae. My father was granted a title and is a duke. Do you know of the Tinaalto family line?”
Lucifer didn’t, but that didn’t mean much. He hadn’t lived in the Unseen Realm or Faerie Realm for years.
Baba squinted at Godric. “Tinaalto family has good doctors of their own. Why do you wake old woman in dead of night?” Baba waved a hand at her nightgown as if this were evidence of her inconvenience.
Lucifer snorted. She had already been awake to catch the child nibbling at the side of the house. The little boy was quiet now, tears streaking through the dirt on his cheeks. He stared at them vacantly. It made Lucifer wonder what Baba had made him paint the wood of the house with the day before. Probably some kind of sedative. Now he wished he’d questioned it.
The man bowed. “I apologize for the ill-timing. As a token of my gratitude, please accept this gift.” He shifted his cape aside, revealing a bag. He withdrew two bottles and held them out. One was wine. The other was unmarked.
Baba uncorked that one, sniffed, and took a sip. She nodded with approval. She motioned for Lucifer to take the bottles from her.
Baba grinned, her lips curling around her gums. “I am not as inconvenienced now. I will listen to problem, but I make no promises to solution.” Baba snapped her fingers at Lucifer. “Dress yourself, then get hot water started, and be ready for brewing tea.” She glanced at the cauldron he’d already filled.
Lucifer waggled his eyebrows. He was a good apprentice, whether she wanted to admit it or not.
Lucifer climbed up to the loft to dress.
“What’s going on down there?” Kelsie whispered from her bed.
Lucifer’s sight was keen enough in the dark that he could see her sit up. He hoped her eyesight wasn’t as good as his or else she’d get an eyeful as he dressed.
Lucifer whispered, “Baba woke up early because she caught a child nibbling at her house. Then some coxcomb came seeking help. She’s probably going to chop off the child’s fingers. I don’t suppose you’re willing to lose a finger or toe to cure a man so that he doesn’t lose his favorite limb.” Lucifer laughed at his own joke, though he suspected Kelsie wouldn’t get the reference.
Kelsie flopped back. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Lucifer shushed her so he could hear Baba. The old woman’s voice rose in vexation.
“You seek my wisdom, but you will not tell me why?” She muttered something in Russian, either a spell or swearing.
The young man cleared his throat. “I have a wound someplace . . . I’d rather not mention.”
Baba raised an eyebrow. “You expect me to treat injury and not examine?”
“Well, yes. That would be my preference. I thought I could simply describe it.” He offered a hopeful smile. “You are the all-knowing Baba Nata, are you not?”
“Ah.” Baba crossed her arms. “You have venereal disease.”
Is that what the problem was? Lucifer had thought the man must have suffered from an accident from the amount of pain he’d sensed.
Once dressed, Lucifer climbed back downstairs. He noticed Kelsie watching in the shadows, but she made no move to get out of bed. He didn’t blame her. It was still dark outside, too early to get up.
“You cannot expect me to diagnose your illness and give you proper medicine without seeing symptoms,” Baba said sternly. “Get undressed.”
The young man sighed despondently and undressed down to his undergarments. Lucifer was glad Kelsie held her tongue for once and didn’t make her presence known. This had to be hard enough for the young man.
“Remove it all. And the glamour,” Baba said.
“I can’t,” the man said. “My father’s wizard erected the wards. I’m unable to do magic on my own anymore. It’s due to the accident.”
Baba gestured to Lucifer. “My apprentice needs the practice. Lucy.”
“Lucy?” The man looked Lucifer up and down and snorted with disdain. “You don’t look quite feminine enough to be a Lucy.”
“It’s short for Lucifer.” His eyes narrowed. “Not that you look like you’re in the position to crack jokes about someone else’s masculinity when you’re bell end is about to fall off due to your worldly indiscretions.”
A giggle came from the loft, but Kelsie quieted when Lucifer cast a dirty look in her direction.
Godric’s face flushed. “I deserve that, I suppose.”
The young man finished undressing. Lucifer removed the wards. It was difficult to use magic on someone this close and keep from feeling the zing of pain in his own loins—which was probably why Baba made Lucifer do so. He needed the practice. His eyes were accustomed to seeing through Baba’s glamours as well as others. The first layer he removed easily enough, unraveling the strings of magic to reveal the scars he had glimpsed before. It was the second and third layer that were problematic to cast aside.
Baba watched him struggle for a moment, ignoring Godric’s discomfort standing nude before them. “Use earth affinity and then starlight to draw power.”
Lucifer couldn’t absorb starlight through the thatching of the roof, but he was able to reach beyond the cottage ceiling and used his own affinity to snatch up starlight and draw it back down. When he used celestial magics to power his sight, he was more easily able to see through the glamour and untie the strings that held it in place. The young man’s façade of beauty fell away. What Lucif
er hadn’t been able to see earlier was the extent of scarring on the young man’s face. It was worse than he’d realized, and he could see why one might have worked to hide it.
A gasp came from the loft.
The terrain of Godric’s flesh was a battleground of pits and scars. The young man held himself rigid, eyes on the cobwebs stretched across the ceiling. Kelsie’s face emerged from the shadows of the loft as she leaned over the edge to have a better look. Her eyes were wide with horror.
“Is this part of your venereal disease?” Lucifer asked.
“Nyet. These are old scars, da?” Baba asked.
Godric nodded. “When I was a child, I pulled my baby sister out of a Fae trap. The womb of the flower that had caught her was full of caustic acids. Had I known to wash them off sooner, I might not have the scars I do now. Neither of us would.”
Abigail’s older brother Niall had suffered a similar fate. She had told Lucifer how he had been caught by Fae. Niall had been trapped in a large flower blossom where he’d been marinated in acid that had eaten his flesh and fermented the meat of his body into Fae mead. The loss of her parents and her brothers had broken Abigail’s heart.
Lucifer had understood the sorrow of not having a family anymore. They had shared that common bond of loss and became each other’s family.
“This is work of Venus man trap. Very nasty business,” Baba said. “You are fortunate to have gotten away.”
Kelsie made a little noise that sounded like a muffled cry up in the loft. Godric scanned the shadows of the cottage, but he didn’t even think to look up. From Kelsie’s reaction, Lucifer wondered what she knew about man-eating plants.
Those Fae that had killed Abigail’s brothers had been trapped on the other side of a stream by a witch’s curse. Apparently, some Fae with similar predatory abilities roamed freely, praying on those who fell for the illusions and promises they made. The idea sickened Lucifer.
Godric shifted from foot to foot self-consciously. “I’m not here about the scars. I can live with those. It’s the canker that’s ailing me.”
Baba motioned for him to approach her rocking chair. She squinted at his genitals. Now that Lucifer had gotten past the tremendous number of scars, he noticed the glistening canker the size of his thumbnail. Fluid wept from the raw wound.
It was the most disgusting thing Lucifer had ever seen. “How’d you get that?”
Godric ignored the question. “I thought the first one was from chafing while riding.”
“You had rash also?” Baba asked.
“Indeed. How’d you know?” Godric asked.
She beckoned for him to lean down and bring his face closer to her. She prodded around his throat and nodded. She motioned for Lucifer to do the same. The lymph nodes around Godric’s throat were swollen.
“This is common symptom of syphilis,” Baba said.
“You mean to tell me I’ve acquired the Great Pox?” Godric backed away in horror.
“There is nothing great about it.” Baba sucked on her teeth. “You get dressed again. We talk about cure.”
“There is a cure, then?” Godric asked.
“Of course.” Baba snorted. “Your father’s wizard could cure you too, but you would have to explain why you’ve been acquainting yourself with loose women at brothel.”
“She wasn’t a harlot. She was a maid.” His face turned red as he dressed.
Baba shrugged. She turned to Lucifer. “First we prepare soothing balm. Next we prepare potion.” Her eyes cut over to the child in the cage.
He remained silent, staring into the distance.
“Surely the cure for a venereal disease doesn’t require a child’s fingers or toes,” Lucifer said.
“What?” Godric asked in surprise.
Lucifer tried to remember whether syphilis was bacterial or viral. “I think I read the cure is penicillin. Baba, you have some kind of mold mixture growing in one of those jars. That probably contains penicillin.” Lucifer sorted through the shelves.
“I use that on last patient. Next batch is not ready,” Baba said. “If you are not willing to cut off child’s fingers, I do it myself.”
Lucifer paced the room. “I will not stand for it.” Abigail wouldn’t have allowed it. He didn’t want to blindly follow Baba’s bidding as he had before he’d met Abigail. She had made him into a better person. “We will find another way.”
By now, the gray light of dawn glowed through the lace curtains, illuminating more of the cottage.
Godric blinked upon seeing the cage containing a child. “Has that child been there this entire time?”
Lucifer nodded.
“Did anyone think to cover his eyes?” Godric huffed. “Is there anyone in this house who hasn’t seen my shame and nudity put on public display?”
“No. I got a good look too,” Kelsie shouted from the alcove.
Godric squinted at the shadows. “Please say that isn’t a female present. This is already embarrassing enough.” His face turned crimson, and he shook as he shoved his legs into his trousers.
Kelsie snickered. Baba grinned. As amusing as a noble’s shame might be, Lucifer had more important matters on his mind.
Lucifer crossed his arms. “Apparently you care more about your vanity and pride than you care about a child losing a limb.”
Godric turned away to dress. “That boy doesn’t seem that broken up about the idea of it.”
“That boy is drugged,” Lucifer said.
Baba lifted her knitting from her basket.
Godric glanced over his shoulder at the child. “And for the record, I do care. I don’t want anyone to lose a limb on my account.”
Baba twirled the hair growing from her chin around her finger. “There is always price to pay.”
“I have gold.” Godric looked to Lucifer, as if he thought he might be the more reasonable of them.
Lucifer could already tell he didn’t care for Godric. His concern for the child in the cage was an afterthought, only expressed because Lucifer mentioned it. Now he was trying to bribe his way toward their good favor.
If he’d had two brain cells to rub together, he would have realized that wouldn’t work with the Witch of Nightmares.
“Good,” Baba said. “You pay me in gold. We pay magic with blood.” Her eyes shifted with cunning, falling on Lucifer.
“I get the hint.” Lucifer sighed in exasperation. “You mean I get to pay the price because I didn’t heed your advice when you told me to power my affinity. Very well. I will make this fellow a soothing balm—without anyone’s blood. While he is waiting, I shall take this child home and then go to the Morty Realm and retrieve antibiotics. When I return, I will administer the medicine, and then Godric can be on his merry way.” He gave her a pointed look. “Then I will take care of my affinity.”
Baba frowned. “It is not horrible solution. But you will not perform tasks in this order.”
“You want me to take care of my affinity first?” Lucifer asked. He could barely think of sex magic at the moment. Not after seeing Godric’s canker.
Baba grinned. “First you will make breakfast. I cannot stomach one more morning of Kelsie’s cooking.”
“Hey! I heard that!” Kelsie shouted from the alcove.
Baba winked. “Good. Maybe you try harder to master art of cooking.”
* * *
Lucifer made porridge. He liked to think his porridge was better than Kelsie’s. He added cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, crushed pecans, and chunks of apple, clockwise just as Abigail used to do for good luck.
Baba nodded with approval.
Godric took one bite and set his spoon down. “I think I’ll tend to my steed outside.”
Lucifer wondered what rich people ate. Probably poached eggs seasoned with salt, pepper, and flakes of gold.
Kelsie tasted his porridge and moaned. “Okay. You win,” she said. “You get to make breakfast from now on.”
Lucifer se
rved himself a heaping of his culinary masterpiece. “At least someone recognizes my artistic brilliance.”
After dishes, Baba sent Lucifer out to collect water at the stream. Godric had tied his horse to the fence post. Lucifer could hardly imagine riding all the way to Baba’s cottage with a canker on his genitals.
The horse licked one of the skulls, apparently thinking it was a lollipop. Lucifer was about to shout for Godric to tie the horse around back where Baba might not see the filly eating her property. She might claim the steed as her own, as she had with the child.
Lucifer froze in horror when he saw Godric.
The other man was leaned over Abigail’s magic bed, bent so low he could only be doing one thing. Lucifer dropped the buckets, tore across the garden, and scaled the fence to reach the oak tree.
“Oi! You there,” Lucifer shouted. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Godric straightened. “I was just looking.”
“Like hell you were.” He shoved Godric back. “Get your filthy hands off her.”
Godric stumbled back onto his backside. “There’s no need for violence. I just wanted to see if she was alive.”
“How’d you get through my wards? I thought you didn’t have magic of your own left for glamours and such.” Lucifer placed a hand on Abigail’s shoulder, confirming the absence of the Elementia magic. His ward was indeed gone.
Confusion crinkled Godric’s brow. “I didn’t break through any wards. There weren’t any.”
Lucifer suspected he had to be lying. He examined the strawberry vines woven through the knit blanket Baba had made. It was difficult to tell where the green of the thread ended and the stems began. All appeared undamaged, though that didn’t mean Godric hadn’t groped her through the blanket.
Lucifer’s voice came out in a low growl. “Don’t touch her again.”
Godric dusted himself off. “What’s wrong with her? Is it a curse?”
Lucifer hesitated. It wasn’t any of this man’s business what was ailing Abby.
Godric gazed at her with admiration. “She’s very pretty. Like a princess in a fairy tale.”
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