by Z. M. Wilmot
Chapter Ten
This time around, the professor did not need to sneak in through the window. The rightful owner of the estate exited through the passenger-side door of the car and unlocked the great front entrance. Reinhouer hurried in after him, noticing that no servants seemed to be about.
The pair walked across the foyer and through the twin doors leading to the archives room, Devalier refraining from commenting on the unlocked door.
Immediately upon entering, Siegfried showed Henry where he had found Charles’ papers, and gave the young man some time to read them, while the professor himself searched for more hidden chambers. He found none before Henry had finished reading, and had come to where the professor was standing, his face now near-white. Reinhouer suggested that the youth search the other rooms for any hidden compartments, and he obeyed without a word.
Several hours passed, neither of them even thinking about resting or of nourishment, until they had both finished, having found nothing. They returned to the central room at about the same time, sadly reporting their failure to find anything. Reinhouer asked then if any of the magical formulae Henry had been studying showed any promise, and the young man shook his head no, confirming the professor’s suspicion that it was all a load of nonsense.
Having failed, the pair prepared to exit when a thought suddenly struck the professor. Without saying anything to his companion, he turned back and rushed back into the second room branching off of the study. Curious and mystified, Henry followed as Reinhouer began rapidly shuffling through the ancient documents. “What are you doing?” Devalier sounded worried.
“The best place to hide anything… is in plain sight, my friend.” The rapid shuffling of centuries-old parchment made it difficult for young Henry to hear the older man. “He hid those documents in a secret compartment, perhaps then hoping that if they were found that no one would search for any more among the ordinary documents. But he still needed to keep them organized so that he himself could find… aha!” A gleam entered Reinhouer’s eye as he pulled forth a sheet of parchment of the same make as the other hidden documents. A rather unnerving smile broke out on his face as he scanned the page, causing Devalier to take a step back. “I’ve found it, Henry – one last entry!” He began to read aloud what was written on the parchment.
I have done the deed. My other logs referring to my unholie deales with ye Daemon of Gorey’s Hollow were safely hidden and remained unfounde, but I fear another purge may come if ye Daemon has many friends, so I dare not hide this entrie with the others. It shall remain here for those whom may come aftere me, so that they may too defeat the Daemon if they should encounter another, though I pray to the Lord whom I have forsaken that they do not. May the Lord in heaven bless those who come after me, and may they not share in my sins and curse, for I have nowe seen the lighte before me, though I know now that for me there is no hope. I pass this secret now unto my ancestors, so that they may holde the key to victorie. The Daemon had become out of controle after the massacre, and the whole towne now lies under its curse – a curse which I have broughte upon them. It doth feed upon the life-force of those humans that it slays, and with each deathe has become more powerful. I feare that perhaps my time doth run loweth. A powder I made, with three-fourthe of the ingredients being a strange mixture of powdered gold and diamond, pure and free of any earthly filthe. The remaining fourthe was equal parts charcoal, black powder, ground wyrdroot, powdered cinnamon, and the ground leaf of the sycamore. Take ye ingredients and mix them precisely so that ye said ingredients are mixed evenly throughout. If this procedure is done properly, it shoulde glow a dark pulsing red, and give off a feele of both hot and chille. Take then ye mixture and pour an equal volume of water mixed with half as much needles of ye evergreene, and take then a cane of sugar and extract all that you may frome it and stir it all in together, making sure not to miss one droppe or graine. Once it has been done, waste ye no time in chanting the words I have scribed below three times over the powder.
Vorkari iette tekkilo iaten potenti affus faliel horvanus est tore mananum.
Once completed, the powder will shine with ye colour indescribable, that which I can put not to words but which thou shalt know when it appears before thee. Take then ye powder and holde it before the lighte of the brilliant moone – the waning crescent is the time that is beste for this, but any time should do as welle. Upon this, then ye powder is done. When thrown upon the Daemon, it shall cause said being to crumble and decay at a rate moste fearful, and it shall then vanish into the depths of eternity, never to return. I have thus banished the Daemon of Gorey’s Hollow, having thrown upon it ye powder that I hath designed, and watching it disintegrate to nothing before mine own visione. The curse shall hopefully now cease to persiste upon this humble village, and all memory of my blackest sin shall be erased from the earthe, so that I may die in a semblance of respect, if not in honor to myself. I am sure that his daemonic companions will come for me shortly. The beste of lucke to those who may follow after me.
Reinhouer raised his head. “When was it that Charles Henry Devalier met his end?” Henry repeated to him the date, and the professor carefully pocketed the paper. “This entry… it is dated the day before. The visit to Gorey's Hollow that your family history told of must have been his last, when he slew the being that dwelt there.
“But the curse didn’t end, and assuming that your ancestor was correct in the idea that he did defeat and slay the being, that means that there is another force at work here – another being from the Parallax, probably seeking revenge upon your great ancestor for slaying its companion. Perhaps it is the thing’s mate that haunts you so.” The professor stroked his beard thoughtfully. “But how does it know who descended from Charles? Perhaps their tools of vision are more sophisticated than ours, and they can see things that we cannot, their vision unbiased by living in our dimension… or…” the older man visibly paled. “Perhaps they can naturally see into our dimension, which is how they are capable of wreaking such havoc, and of knowing so much. Yes… the more I think about, the more likely this seems.”
He turned to face the terrified Henry. “The first thing we must do is prepare as much of this powder as we can – I wish that old Charles had mentioned how much of the powder was needed to dispel one of these beings.” The professor chewed his lip and pulled out the parchment again, noting with alarm its rapid state of decay. “First, I think, we should copy down the recipe – word for word – onto a separate, more durable sheet of paper. Can you acquire some?” Henry nodded and rushed out of the room, returning a minute later. Reinhouer laid down the paper and Henry began to write. “Second, I think we need to purchase a large cauldron – or perhaps several – so that we may mix large quantities of the powder that we need.” He peered over the young man’s shoulder. “ I know most of these ingredients, and can acquire them all… all save wyrdroot. I have never heard of the stuff.”
Henry looked up from his writing. “It’s a drug – common among students at the university.”
The professor looked down at his companion eagerly. “Can you then acquire some? As much as possible?”
Henry nodded. “Not without throwing my reputation all to hell – not to mention my excuse of debilitating illness.” He smiled crookedly, and spoke the words that Reinhouer was thinking before he could speak. “But my reputation doesn’t mean a thing if I’m dead.” The professor nodded approvingly as Devalier finished copying it all down. “I’ll get started right away then.”
Reinhouer thought a moment. “No… first, we return back to my home. You’ll need your car anyway… but before you leave again, let me supply you with a map of the bridges. No sense in losing you before the battle has even begun.” Henry smiled almost warmly at the professor, who smiled back. Without another word, the two of them departed the Devalier estate, the professor pocketing the older copy of the recipe, while Henry carried the newer one in his hands.