The Key to Erebus (The French Vampire Legend. Book 1)

by Emma V. Leech

Chapter 24

  I heard via Rodney that Corvus and the family were kept busy in Paris. Getting hold of the forensic evidence and modifying the memories of witnesses and police all took time. They also had to adjust the bodies to look like more unremarkable kinds of murder, as well as making sure the new evidence was accepted by the media, who had been having a field day. I didn’t want to think too much about how the bodies had been dealt with and hoped Corvus hadn’t done it himself. Although I understood why it had to be done, the whole thing gave me a bad feeling. Ordinary people’s minds being messed with and the police being deceived, it was such a mess.

  He didn’t get in touch with me though, and gave me my space as I had requested. I couldn’t decide if I was pleased about that or not. I hadn’t seen him for almost a fortnight and couldn’t deny how badly I missed him, but I couldn’t pretend Jéhnina wasn’t a problem. Sometimes it seemed so ridiculous that I was jealous of woman who had died hundreds and hundreds of years ago but there was no denying the truth of it.

  He did give Rodney his mobile phone number to give to me, in case I needed him. Rodney told me confidentially that Corvus had never had a phone before. He could of course communicate with the other vampires anyway and apparently wasn’t keen on modern technology. Rodney said he’d had to teach him how to use it, a fact that seemed to amuse him no end.

  Rodney had left a note saying he’d be out for the day and now I was alone, I had no excuse not to concentrate on my biggest concern, finding the key for Tacitus. I’d been racking my brains about what to do, but how the hell was I supposed to find something when I didn’t have a clue what it was, or even where to begin? I wasn't about to ask Gran to help me but I hoped Remé would instead. First though I needed to find out whether I could trust him to help me without telling Corvus. If he knew about Tacitus, well heaven only knows what he’d do.

  I kept thinking about what Tacitus had said, you must pray. If he had meant it literally, who would he have prayed to? He was a Roman after all and I knew Corvus still prayed to the old gods. I dug out my laptop and turned it on. It started with a dusty whine before the fan went into overdrive. It was already about thirty-five degrees outside even though it wasn’t ten in the morning yet. I opened the kitchen door and let the warm breeze blow in. I could hear a cockerel crowing somewhere in the distance and the steady chirruping of the cicadas. Corin had already been to tell me he couldn’t train today as he had something to attend to, so I had a whole morning to myself, with no aching limbs and bruises.

  While I was waiting for the laptop to get going, I chucked some cereal in a bowl and poured a glass of juice. I sat munching and typed Roman gods into Google. I got a huge list of results and started ploughing my way through, making notes on the ones that seemed appropriate. After about an hour, I had a short-list of seven names and then proceeded to search each one individually to find out more.

  The one which seemed to jump out at me was Hekatê; for some reason the name seemed familiar. More importantly however, she was the goddess of doorways, gates and crossroads. I figured a key would be needed to open a door or gateway and that she’d be the most likely person to ask for its whereabouts. Also she was the goddess of witches, so I hoped she would look favourably on me. I rummaged about in the kitchen and found three little dishes which I filled with olive oil, wine, and as I couldn’t find any grain of any sort, coco pops - I hoped Hekatê didn’t mind.

  Rodney had a small office tucked under the stairs, with a PC and a printer so, as I didn’t have a statue, I printed a picture of Hekatê. She was shown with three faces, holding a flaming torch and a sword, with an owl on her shoulder and dogs at her feet. When I had everything ready, I went out in the garden to find a suitable place to set up an altar. It didn’t take long as I immediately saw a large cypress tree with a stone bench underneath that was perfect. During my trawl through Google I’d read that cypress trees were not only associated with sacrifice and the immortal soul, but they were also symbolic of Hades or Dis Pater, god of the Underworld. I thought it should be a suitable spot for an altar.

  I brought out the dishes and propped up the picture between two big stones so it wouldn’t blow away. Then I went back and found some matches and candles and stuffed them into two empty wine bottles. Once my rough altar was prepared, I lit the candles. Thankfully it was very sheltered behind the big tree, so they flickered a bit but stayed alight. I put a cushion on the floor and knelt on it and sat looking at the altar. Now it was all done, I had to admit to feeling a bit ridiculous. I mean, what did I expect to happen? Even if she was real, the chances that she’d answer, or even show herself to me, seemed remote at the very least - especially when I didn’t even know she existed an hour or so ago. I sighed and decided if I was going to try this I might as well get on with it. So I began …

  I cast a circle, invoking the five elements of air, water, earth, fire and spirit, in the same way as Gran had taught me and then invited Hekatê herself.

  “Hekatê, goddess of the moon, of doors and gateways and of my sister witches - help me please with my quest to find the key.”

  It seemed a little melodramatic, but she was a goddess. I could hardly say hey Hekatê, where’s the bloody key then? I sat back feeling self-conscious and berated myself for being such an idiot. I mean … fancy trying to summon a goddess in the back garden, how absurd … except, as I looked up, I suddenly noticed that the garden was dark.

  Heavy violet clouds hung over the cypress tree and a grass snake slithered up to the altar and entwined itself around one of the bottles, which was just plain creepy. I could hear dogs howling in the distance and felt my heartbeat pick up with the feeling that I was being watched. I swung around, still on my knees and gasped as I saw a woman standing in front of me. She was tall and slender, her hair dressed in a complicated style made of hundreds of tiny plaits. On her head was a crown of yew branches, the red berries studding the dark green like tiny jewels. She was dressed as you might expect of a goddess, with draped material that hung just below her knees and leather sandals with straps that criss-crossed her ankles and shins. The dress was given shape by what I thought was an iridescent belt that crossed her waist and between her breasts. Except that on closer inspection I noticed with a shudder, that it wasn’t a belt at all but a snake that writhed in constant motion around her.

  I instinctively bowed my head and tried to ignore my heart which felt like it might be about to give me a coronary,

  “Hekatê, thank you for hearing my call.” I figured it always paid to be polite to a goddess.

  “Hello child,” she said, sounding amused. “I am glad to see you again.”

  I looked up at her in surprise and she smiled at me with a remarkably kindly expression.

  “Again?” I queried.

  “Why have you called me here?” she ignored my question and looked around her curiously. I decided it was best to get straight to the point;

  “I … I need to find the key.”

  Her eyes turned back and fixed on me, deep violet and grey, they seemed to reflect the clouds that had begun to swirl around us and she laughed. It was a disturbing sound, like far off thunder.

  “So, Tacitus has found you.” She laughed again at the shock on my face. “That creature has been hunting for the key since before he was vampire.”

  I felt a chill of fear at hearing that. “But why, what is it for?”

  She looked at me thoughtfully, as though she believed I was lying to her. “You really don’t know?” she demanded, clearly sceptical. “Well I’ll admit I’m surprised, I would never have believed he would keep his word.”

  “Who?”

  My confusion was growing by the second, but she returned to the previous question.

  “The key he seeks is the key to the Underworld,” she said with perfect calm while my heart made a bid to escape my ribcage. “Whoever possesses the key controls the demons and spirits within and can bring them into this realm. Tacitus would have a power beyond mortal under
standing … or control.”

  I felt my chest tighten further, my breath catching in my throat.

  “But he … he… wants me to find it for him!” I said, not bothering to hide my fear from her. “What do I do? You must help me.”

  “Must?” Her voice thundered around me and I bent my head back to the floor with a yelp. “Who are you to instruct a goddess?”

  “I… I’m sorry,” I stammered, shocked by her reaction. “But I don’t even know… h--how to find it.”

  She snorted and crossed her arms, looking at me as though I'd lost my mind. “You are a witch,” she said, as if this was an answer in itself. “You will find a way.”

  I stared at her, unable to believe this was the extent of her help. “May the fates be with you child.” She smiled, all trace of her anger gone and with that, so was she.

  I lay curled up on the ground, hugging my knees to my chest, trembling with fear and trying to catch my breath. Had that really just happened? I heard a rustling sound and looked around to see the grass snake uncoiling itself and sliding off the stone bench. I just lay in the sun for a long time, concentrating on breathing in and out and listening to the erratic pop of seed pods exploding on the broom bushes in Rodney’s garden.

  By the time I’d stopped hyperventilating and got myself somewhere near to feeling rational again, I decided I had go and see Remé. I wouldn’t tell him about Hekatê, not just yet anyway, but I’d find out first if he was willing to help me and whether I could trust him. I instinctively felt that I could, but I needed to be certain.

  I grabbed my handbag, slipped on some sandals, now that Rodney had retrieved all my stuff from Gran’s, and left the house.

  My car had been sat in the sun all day so it was like getting into a furnace and with no air con’ by the time I reached the end of the drive I was sweating buckets. I pulled out on to the road, relieved to get some speed up, and headed towards St Jean de Côle, the pretty little village where Remé lived.

  The countryside looked glorious in the sun, big golden bales of straw lay carelessly strewn in the fields and poppies dotted the verges like bright little rubies. I crossed the ancient bridge over the river Côle and drove into the village, where the houses huddled together on the cobbled streets. People were closing the wooden shutters against the heat of the day and peering over wrought iron fences, laden with flower boxes of red geraniums.

  A church bell pealed out over the tiled roofs and scattered the pigeons nestled in the rafters. I took the first right and turned into a narrow medieval road with beautiful half-timbered houses. They leaned closely towards each other across the street, as though they were engrossed in conversation. Remé lived just on the outskirts of the village, in a big old Maison de Maître with a garden that backed on to the river. I parked out front and knocked hesitantly on the front door.

  I could hear footsteps, and the door swung open to reveal a short, squat woman with a turned up nose and iron-grey hair pulled back in a severe bun. She narrowed her eyes at me with obvious suspicion.

  I smiled, trying not to be intimidated by her furious glare. “Bonjour, is Remé in?”

  She frowned and rattled off something in such a strong accent that I blinked, and asked the question again. Although clearly put out, she seemed resigned to the fact I wasn’t going to go away, and beckoned for me to come in. I stepped over the threshold and into a cool entrance hall with huge flagstones and a big sweeping staircase. I jumped as the woman stood at the bottom of the stairs and screeched something in what I guessed was Occitan. She stomped off without even glancing at me. There was a clatter, and then Remé appeared, peering down at me from upstairs.

  “Jéhenne!” he said in surprise. “I wasn’t expecting you … was I?” he added anxiously.

  “No, I just decided to pop in. Am I disturbing you?”

  “No!” he said, beaming and looking delighted. “I’ll be right down. Just go to the room on the right there and make yourself at home.”

  I walked obediently into the room he was pointing at and found a musty living room, lined wall to wall with bookshelves and old paintings. It was quite gloomy as the shutters had been half pulled against the sun and dust motes floated gently on the light that spilled through the crack. A violin stood in a case behind the door, and an old-fashioned record player stood on a small rickety table by the sofa. There was a carved wooden desk facing the window, piled high with pieces of paper and books that lay half-open, their pages marked by coffee stains. Remé bustled in just as I was sitting down on one of the squashy sofas.

  “Who was the woman who answered the door?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

  He pulled a face. “Ah. That would be Blanche, she’s my housekeeper, I’m sorry if she was rude to you,” he said with a sigh. “She used to be very quiet, but she’s never quite recovered from a - well, an incident - some years ago. It left her with quite a temper, I’m afraid.” He frowned and looked off into space for a moment, clearly reliving whatever the incident had been.

  I bit my lip but couldn't help myself. “What happened?”

  He looked embarrassed. “Well … I turned her into … something else,”

  “What?”

  “A pig.”

  I giggled. “Why did you do that?”

  “I was practising,” he said crossing his arms.”And she just came out of nowhere.” He sounded more than a little defensive and I smothered my mouth to stifle a laugh. “I was working! She knew she wasn't supposed to come in but she did and ... she startled me - it was an instinctive reaction.”

  “Oh.” I failed not to snigger.

  Remé gave me a rueful smile. “Yes. Well, now she thinks I’m the devil himself which makes her a little … unreasonable sometimes.”

  “Why does she stay then?”

  “I’ve really no idea,” he replied in surprise. I got the impression he’d never even thought about it. “So, Jéhenne, what can I do for you?”

  I hesitated for a moment. “I was wondering if you could teach me some magic.”

  “Bien sûr,” he said, beaming once more, before his face grew concerned. “But wouldn’t your grandmother be more convenient?”

  I shook my head, wondering what to say. “I’m not staying with her at the moment, we’re … well we’re not talking.”

  He sighed and nodded. “Ah, it’s true then, I thought it might be. You know I’m very fond of your Grandmother, Jéhenne, but she’s her own worst enemy - so stubborn.

  He tut tutted to himself and stared out the window, lost in thought. I got the distinct feeling he’d forgotten I was there, so I cleared my throat and he jumped slightly. Well I could see how Blanche had startled him.

  “Very well then, Jéhenne, I am at your service. What would you like to know?”

  “I want to learn how to attack and kill a vampire, and maybe a few more ways to defend myself.”

  His eyebrows rose in alarm. “Any particular vampire?”

  “Well, yes actually, but I’d rather not say at the moment and I don’t want you to tell Corvus either,” I said in a rush, better to get it out and find if he would help me or not.

  “I take it you’ve not decided your Gran was right after all?” he said, and gave me a hard look.

  “No!” I exclaimed, realising he thought I was going to try and finish what Gran had started. “No, never. It’s more… for defence, if … if I was to need it.”

  “Ah, Tacitus then,” he said quietly and nodded to himself, intelligent grey eyes watching me with a shrewd glint.

  “You can’t tell him, Remé,” I said, crossing my arms. “I mean it, I can handle this.”

  He smiled at me then and nodded again.

  “Yes, Jéhenne, I believe you can.”

  I sighed in relief. Not only could I trust him, finally I'd found someone who thought I was capable of looking after myself.

  “D’accord. Well, we can get started straight away if you want?”

  It was my turn to beam. “
Yes please, if you can spare some time?”

  “Absolutely, come along.”

  I followed him through a dark corridor, out to the back of the house and into another large room. This one was brighter with big patio doors leading onto a paved terrace which overlooked a lovely garden.

  The room reminded me of Gran’s herb room, though it was much bigger. There were massive cabinets, the sort you might have seen in a Victorian chemist shop, and they were stacked high with bottles and jars of all shapes and sizes. There were hundreds of books arranged in precarious piles on benches that were also full of chemistry equipment, confirming in my mind Remé’s status as a mad professor. It had the familiar smell of herbs and the cloying sweetness that I’d come to recognise as magic. As I walked through the door I shivered as a ward passed over my skin making it tingle. Remé noticed and frowned at me.

  “It’s OK,” I said, “It’s just the ward you’ve set, they always make me shiver.”

  He looked at me with interest. “You can feel that?”

  “Well, yes of course, can’t you?”

  “Fascinating.” He looked at me like he’d discovered a two headed newt.

  “Um, why?”

  “There are some wards, such as those that are meant to cause harm, or to block or defend which will obviously be felt, that is their purpose, others though like the one set here should pass undetected. You shouldn’t be able to notice it.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe it wasn’t set right?” And then realised that wasn't the right thing to say.

  Remé looked at me in horror. “I can assure you, young lady that the ward has been in place for decades and works perfectly, I set it myself!”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” I spluttered, but Remé waved away my apology.

  “Let us begin.”

  Remé had chosen a form of attack that he was sure I could learn which was to cause a kind of empty explosion. There wasn’t any fire or smoke involved, but it made the object you were aiming at blow up. The hardest thing was hitting the right target. A few of Remé’s books met an unfortunate end, but once again, he waved away my apologies and seemed cheerful about my progress. We worked on this for about an hour until he was happy I could do it without accidentally endangering anyone.

  Then came the elemental spells. I already knew how to create fire and had got quite proficient at it since the night at the silver mine as I’d been practising by myself. The others however were a lot more complex. The defensive spells were OK. I could already create a powerful shield through the moonstone ring, and the fire was also useful defensively as well as a offensively.

  Most of the spells were about focus and intent. You had to concentrate on exactly what you wanted to do, and exactly where you wanted it to happen … and really mean it. The problem was that there were so many things going on in my head that I had trouble focusing for very long. After a couple of hours of practice I was feeling pretty tired, so Remé asked Blanche to make some coffee and we went and sat outside on the terrace.

  He talked to me for a while about the spell needed to kill a vampire, but said it would be some time before I could practice it as it was incredibly dangerous to cast. Apparently as many witches died casting it as did those they were trying to kill. He talked me through the theory of it though, until I understood the basic principle. After a while we lapsed into silence, just enjoying the shade on the terrace created by a massive overhanging fig tree.

  “How did I do?” I asked, wondering if he'd changed his previous opinion.

  “Very well,” he said with reassuring enthusiasm. “Very well indeed! You show … astonishing progress.”

  “Oh” I gave a sigh of relief. “Well that’s good to hear,”

  I tried to sound chirpy, while at the back of my mind Corin’s words came back to me. Remé leaned back in his chair and peered at me critically from over the top of his coffee cup.

  “Have you ever had any exposure to magic before you came to France, Jéhenne?”

  I turned the pretty coffee cup in my hand and frowned, feeling anxiety began to flutter. “No, why?”

  “No particular reason, only you show an incredible ability to adapt to different kinds of magic. Usually a witch will specialise in one form, such as the ability to control one element. Also, when you were practising, there was a presence in the room, the kind of power that many witches, older and more experienced than yourself, could not hope to possess.”

  I swallowed, finding a knot of anxiety in my throat. “Oh.”

  “It shows that you have great promise,” he said, but there was something in his voice that freaked me out.

  I shrugged. “Well, probably that’s because of the ring, I mean it’s supposed to increase the power of the wearer, right?”

  “Well yes,” he mused, frowning and looking thoughtful. “But in reality I'm not sure to what extent, and the ring would only be drawn to power in the first place. That’s why your Gran was so shocked it went to you. It means the ring believes you are more powerful than her.”

  “But that’s ridiculous, Remé.” I protested. “She’s much older than me and knows far more.”

  He smiled and wagged a finger at me. “I didn’t say the one with the most knowledge, Jéhenne, I said the most power.”

  “Oh.” Corin’s words circled back again and I felt my chest begin to tighten but I pasted a smile on my face and decided it was time to go. “Great. Well … I should get going. But thank you for the lesson. Do you think I could drop by for another one soon?”

  “Any time, just let me know and I’ll tell Blanche to be more hospitable.”

  I couldn’t imagine the scary housekeeper being told off by mild mannered Remé, but I held my tongue and he walked me to the front door.

  “Thanks.” I hesitated for a moment before asking, “What is the best method to find something that’s been lost?’

  Remé considered for a moment before replying, “Well, I imagine the first step would be to dowse for it.” He said thoughtfully. “There are other methods of course but that’s where I’d start.”

  I nodded and thanked him. That was pretty much what I’d been thinking too.

  He smiled and waved goodbye as I got back in the car and drove back to Rodney’s house. I was surprised to see that it was almost dinner time when I pulled away from Remé’s, though it was still scorching hot. I made myself something to eat and then wandered outside into the garden. Flopping down on the grass I stared up at the pale blue sky.

  I closed my eyes and breathed out, trying to relax. I tried, once again to go over what Hekatê had said to me, but came up with no more answers than I had before. I wondered who she was talking about, who had kept their promise? It didn’t make sense. I decided I was going to have to trust Remé to help me, I couldn’t do it alone. I heard footsteps approaching and looked up with a smile expecting to see Rodney, but instead Felix was walking up the pathway towards me. I sighed. I wasn't really in the mood to deal with Felix and his flirtation. It also irked me that he had come around the back like he owned the place.

  “Hi Felix, what are you doing here?” It sounded a little more annoyed than I'd intended and he stopped, looking at me with a frown.

  “Are you OK, querida?”

  “Not really to be honest. It's been a long day and I'm tired.” I figured most people would get the hint at this point and make their apologies. Not Felix.

  “Oh, well I just wanted to talk to you. Why don't we go for a ride in my car, blow away the cobwebs?” he said with a grin.

  “I don’t really feel …”

  “Please, Jéhenne,” he interrupted, “I need to talk to you. I'm kind of in trouble and I need your help.”

  He turned big puppy dog eyes on me and he did seem very tense, not his usual confident self. I knew he wouldn’t let me be until I went with him in any case, so I sighed ungraciously and sat up. He smiled a little as I stood and then walked with me to the Ferrari parked by the road. The door was held open for me
and I got in with a anxious feeling clawing over my skin as he closed the door.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, rather belatedly feeling on my guard. I shifted carefully to check I had my phone in my pocket.

  “Just for a drive,” he answered with a casual shrug.

  We carried on in silence with my stress levels climbing with each mile. When we passed the turn that led towards the Château I felt a tug on my heart as we flashed past. I wanted more than anything to demand he take me there now. We took another turn and carried on driving for twenty minutes or so. I tried to make conversation, to try and figure out what was going on with Felix but he didn't seem to want to talk despite what he'd said. I didn’t recognise the surrounding area. It was heavily wooded with trees hanging low over the road; they cast dark shadows as we passed underneath in the fading twilight. My anxiety kicked up a notch.

  “Felix, where are we going?” I demanded, deciding enough was enough.

  He didn’t answer, just stared straight ahead.

  “Felix? What the fuck is going on?” I yelled as real fear began to prickle down my back. “Take me home. Now!”

  “I’m sorry, Jéhenne, I can't.” He turned and gave me a rueful grin. “I wasn't joking about being in trouble you see. I was supposed to do something but ... well, I couldn't go through with it so now ... there’s someone you need to meet.”

  “What are you talking about?” I demanded, not wanting to know what it was he couldn't go through with. “I said take me home!”

  He ignored me again, and the fear turned to real panic. I tugged on his arm and car veered across the road but he shook me off.

  “Felix!”

  “I’ve already said, Jéhenne, there’s someone you need to meet. That’s all there is to it.”

  I stopped talking. I wasn’t going to get anywhere by yelling at him, and he obviously wasn’t planning on stopping the car, so all I could do was wait. I reminded myself that I wasn't defenceless by any means and gave myself a stern talking to. I might be scared out of my head but I wasn't planning on making it easy for whoever was planning something I felt certain was going to be bad for my health.

  He finally pulled the car up beside a small footpath leading deeper into the forest and got out. I followed suite, as I had little option. Felix gestured for me to walk down the path and I peered into the gloom with my senses leaping at shadows. We’d been going for about five minutes when we reached a small clearing. I shivered. I had the distinct feeling like I wasn’t supposed to be here, but by then it was far too late.