by C. J. Archer
"Damnation," Jacob muttered quietly. It would seem he had also conceded so that neither man had won the argument. "Dawson," he said as Tommy came down the stairs carrying luggage in both hands. "Be sure that Quin continues to behave as a gentleman ought."
Emily rolled her eyes. Like me, she was probably wondering how Tommy could stop Quin if he decided to behave any differently.
Tommy, however, nodded in earnest. "I will, sir." Behind him, other servants filed down the stairs. They headed out the front door and went about tying the cases to the roof of the coach.
We exchanged quick but heartfelt goodbyes in the entrance hall. The children had come to see us off and I enveloped each of them in big, but brief, hugs. Quin, however, took his time. He squatted in front of Gabe.
"Continue to practice your swordplay," he said to the boy. "One day, you will be a great warrior like your father."
The admiration in his voice took all of us by surprise. Jacob's brows almost shot off his forehead, but Emily only smiled. Perhaps it shouldn't have surprised me. Quin knew about my past, so it stood to reason that he knew Jacob and Emily's too.
"And you, little princess," Quin said to Lizzy. "If you try very hard, and ask clever questions, you'll continue to grow into a rare diamond like your mother and Aunt Cara."
"How do you know?" she asked, blinking those huge brown eyes back at him.
He kissed the top of her head. "I just do."
They waved us off from the top step as our coach rolled away. "We'll see them again soon, at the ball," Sylvia assured me, patting my hand.
"I might return here before then. Once all this is over." I lifted my gaze to Quin sitting opposite, only to see him staring back at me.
"I do hope we get to the book before Faraday and Myer," Sylvia said with a grim sigh.
My concern wasn't in beating them, it was more in convincing Quin not to take the book at all.
***
We didn't see Nathaniel or Myer in first class. That didn't mean they weren't on board elsewhere, although I admit to being surprised. A man as wealthy as Myer wouldn't travel any other way on the train.
Unless they hadn't gone by train but by coach instead. It seemed like a foolish plan, however. Horses couldn't go as fast as a steam engine.
"Perhaps they simply missed the train altogether," Sylvia said, as the four of us settled into a private berth. "I must say, I'm glad. I do not like Mr. Myer, and I'm wary of anyone who works for him. I am sorry, Cara. I know you like Nathaniel."
"I don't."
Quin's lips flattened as he turned to look out the window. He was, however, still watching me in the reflection.
"I mean, I do like him," I clarified, "but not in the way you think, Syl. I believe he's an honest man but Myer employing him to find the book has clouded his judgment somewhat. I'm sure he'll do the right thing in the end."
"Perhaps he already has," Tommy said. At our questioning looks, he added, "That could be why they're not on board. Faraday may have delayed telling Myer on purpose to cause him to miss this train."
It was a possibility. "He left Hatchard's very quickly." I shot Quin a pointed look in the window's reflection. He seemed surprised that I'd caught him watching me. He blushed. "Although that might not have been because he was in a hurry to tell Myer about the book."
Sylvia and Tommy seemed unaware of our silent exchange or my double meaning. I hadn't told them that Quin was from Purgatory and it would seem that Emily and Jacob hadn't either. It was probably just as well. It would only add extra pressure to Tommy's already considerable burden of protecting us from a man stronger than himself.
Sylvia sighed. "I'm glad to be returning home."
"I thought you enjoyed London," I said.
"Not as much this time."
"Oh? Why?"
She sighed again. "When I told people where I was from, most of them gave me a sour look. One or two turned their noses up or made cruel comments to their friends."
I smiled sympathetically. "The reputation of Freak House is far-reaching, I take it."
"I do hope it won't stop anyone from coming to the ball."
"I'm sure Emily's influence will ensure a good turnout."
We talked some more until she yawned and announced she wanted to sleep for a while. I closed my eyes too, but although I was tired I couldn't sleep. I was all too aware of Quin's knees, only inches from mine, and his warm gaze watching me from beneath lowered lids. I was grateful, however, that I was prevented from talking to him. I no longer knew what to say.
***
There had been no time to telegram ahead and warn Mr. Langley of our return, which meant there was no coach waiting for us at the station. The inn was only a short distance away, however, so we left our luggage in the stationmaster's office and walked to The Red Lion. Located on a busy corner in Harborough, the imposing building with its spacious taproom was filled with patrons of mostly humble background. It seemed half of the male population of the village had stopped by to enjoy a drink or two. Conversation dried up like a blocked stream as we entered. All heads turned toward us, but it was difficult to tell who was more of a curiosity—Quin, the large stranger, me with my exotic looks, or Sylvia, who had probably never before stepped foot inside such a common place.
It was she who picked her way carefully across the ale-slicked floor to the innkeeper, however. With her handkerchief pressed to her nose, and in her snootiest voice, she demanded to know who was staying in room number three. I groaned inwardly. It wasn't the best way to get served in a place like The Red Lion.
To my surprise, the innkeeper smiled. He told her to wait a moment then left through the door behind him. He returned with a ledger that he showed to her. "Mr. John Smith," he announced. "See for yourself." His smile turned smug. He knew it was a false name as much as we did.
I peered over Sylvia's shoulder at the book. Sure enough, Mr. John Smith had signed in the day before.
"Did he receive a package earlier today?" Quin asked.
The innkeeper shrugged. "Not sure it's my business to say, sir."
Quin's eyes darkened and his jaw hardened. Oh no. Starting a fight in The Red Lion would not serve our purpose of finding Mr. Smith before he used the book.
"Sylvia, give the innkeeper some money," I whispered.
"No!" She looked horrified. "We shouldn't encourage him."
Tommy, however, was holding most of her money in his inside jacket pocket. He smacked a bank note down on the polished surface of the bar. Sylvia stamped her hands on her hips and glared at him.
The innkeeper slid the money into his pocket and smiled. "A parcel from a bookshop in London arrived for him early this afternoon."
"Thank you," I said, as Quin took off for the stairs.
"You won't find him up there," the innkeeper called out. "He left a short time ago."
"Where to?"
The innkeeper shrugged.
I looked to Quin, my heart in my throat. Mr. Smith must have already gone to the abbey ruins at Frakingham—and the portal located there.
"We need a ride to Freak House," I announced to the drinkers who had all been openly following our conversation.
"Don't call it that," Sylvia said with a pout.
"I'll take you," said a man getting to his feet. He nodded at Tommy. "For a price." Tommy gave him some coins. "Come wiv me."
The cart was large enough to take all of us and our luggage as well, but the problem with large carts is that they are slow. It seemed to take forever to reach the stately iron gates of Frakingham. I craned my neck to catch a glimpse of the abbey beyond the oaks lining the drive. From a distance, the broken walls looked like a folly, perched as they were in prime position by the lake. But the ruin was as real as the house itself, an oppressive and bleak structure looming at the end of the drive.
"Can you see anyone?" Sylvia asked, also trying to peer down to the ruins.
"There's no coach," I noticed.
"There!" Tommy pointed to a figure wanderi
ng around the stones. "Stop, driver."
Quin leaped down before the horse pulled up. He took off at a run, leaving us following in his wake. The stocky figure had his back to us and hadn't seen our arrival. His hat sat on a large stone and his head was bent over something in his hands, but the sound of pounding footsteps must have caught his attention. He turned, gasped, then he looked down at the book in his hands and his lips moved in quiet speech.
"Lord Malborough!" I instinctively slowed at the sight of the gentleman who'd almost ruined Sylvia's reputation, killed Samuel, and harmed Charity only two weeks prior. I'd hoped never to see him again but it would seem his father, Lord Frakingham, couldn't keep him in check like he'd promised.
Sylvia stumbled and stopped. "Tommy! Go no farther!" Her piercing cry startled a bird in the treetops. They would have heard her from the house. "Please! You know how dangerous he is."
But Tommy didn't listen. He streaked after Quin. Between the two of them, they could easily tackle Malborough.
Unless Malborough finished the curse first. He was chanting something from the book of spells. I didn't need to inspect it to know that he held the most dangerous text in the world.
"Stop!" I shouted. "Lord Malborough, you don't know what you're unleashing!"
But Malborough's lips kept moving. Quin seemed to fly across the grass toward him, but I knew in my heart that he wouldn't be fast enough. Sylvia and I both screamed at Malborough, begging him to cease chanting.
But it was too late. The air around him grew murky, thick, as if a cloud had descended on that small area. Lightning ripped through it, renting a hole like shears through fabric. Malborough swiveled and fell back in shock, losing his balance. The black hole yawned above him, sending him scurrying away to a safer distance. When he realized he was in no immediate danger from the hole, he turned to us and laughed. "I told you this was my house. I told you I would get it back somehow."
"This is madness." Tommy slowed and raised his hands to calm Malborough. The air continued to crackle and a strong breeze swirled. "Do you know what will come through that portal?"
Quin strode toward Malborough. Where Tommy took a diplomatic approach, Quin took a soldier's and charged forward. "Give me the book," he demanded.
Malborough made to fling it through the dark, fathomless hole. Quin stopped. "Come any closer and I'll throw it!"
"Don't be a fool!"
"Me a fool? You are all the stupid ones. You don't deserve this book," Malborough spat. "Even Myer couldn't find it. I did, and it was so simple. A child could have succeeded where you failed."
"Tell us how," I said. Perhaps if we distracted him, Quin could tackle him.
"Myer told me that the dead man, Garrett, probably knew about the book of spells, but he'd not confided its location to anyone before his death. So I simply sought out his widow when I returned to London. She was still alive and happy to speak about her husband's movements all those years ago. Most of what she said was simply the ramblings of an old woman but there was one thing that had stayed in her mind. He'd gone to visit Lord Alwyn’s library. She remembered because her husband had been so excited and Lord Alwyn is a memorable fellow." Malborough shrugged. "I decided to commission Ludlow to sift through the library and find the book I needed. His presence in a library wouldn't raise any suspicions whereas mine would. He told me it should be easy to find such an old and rare text among the more modern books." He laughed. "Look at your dull faces. Do you see how easy it was?"
Quin edged forward, but Malborough lifted the book, preparing to fling it through the hole. When Quin stopped, Malborough chuckled. "Big, strong fellow like you is afraid of losing this little book, eh? Interesting. What do you want it for?"
Quin didn't rise to the bait. His eyes were hard diamonds as he pinned Malborough with his glare. Every muscle in his face set firm, his body went taut, as if he would spring at any moment. But he was too far away to reach Malborough, even if he leapt.
"For God's sake," Sylvia cried. She clung to my arm with trembling hands. "Close the portal, Douglas. Please, close it before something comes through."
Malborough's wild eyes became black, swirling pools. "Why would I want to do that?" He grinned. "This is my house, you silly twit. It's Frakingham House and belongs to a Frakingham. The creatures that come through there will do my bidding and destroy you and your pathetic uncle. You're insignificant nobodies. Upstarts like you need to be taught a lesson. You should not try to take what isn't rightfully yours."
The entrance to the portal crackled again and flames licked at the edges. The wind grew stronger, whipping up leaves and dirt and sweeping them into its whirlpool.
"Whatever comes out of there will kill you too," I told Malborough. "The last time it opened, Garret and another man who summoned it died here. Demons killed them."
"I can control them. I've memorized the chants."
"The chant will help you control one or two, perhaps, not many. An abbot died here too, because he thought the same as you." The abbot and many of the abbey's brothers, and the king's soldiers too. It had been a chaotic, frightening hell, as scores of demons had been unleashed into the human world.
Oh God.
Malborough seemed to register my warning just as the wind grew stronger. It battered against him, blowing his hat off the stone and sending it tumbling end over end toward the lake's edge. My hair was pulled from its pins and whipped about my face. Sylvia put her hands up, as if that would shelter her. Tommy moved back, protecting us with his body.
"Say the damned spell to close the portal!" Sylvia shouted at Malborough.
Quin spun round to us, registering the same thing that I had.
"He can't," I said. "It's not in the book. We have it."
But we also had the spell to open it, so how had Malborough known the words to chant? Had the book contained more than one?
There was no time to ask him. A creature shot out of the black hole. It landed on its huge, hairy feet near Malborough. It was hideous. Its teeth and claws were jagged blades, its body covered in patches of coarse brown hair. It had no nose, and saliva dripped in slimy globs from the slit of a mouth. The small, yellow eyes focused on Malborough and it growled.
Malborough stumbled back. "Jesus Christ!" But he quickly recovered himself and began to read from the book in a high-pitched voice. Through his words, he directed the demon to switch its beady glare onto us.
"Get back to the house!" Quin ordered. "All of you! Lock the doors and windows."
"I'm not leaving you!" I shouted at him.
"GO! This is what I do, Cara. I'm the warrior, forever and always." He was no longer shouting and his voice was tinged with a hint of sorrow. His gaze did not flinch from the beast. The creature blinked slowly, as if waking from slumber, and lowered itself into a crouching position.
Quin matched the stance. The demon charged.
CHAPTER 14
The demon tried to use its claws, but Quin dodged its wild strikes and captured its wrists. The demon retaliated with a growl that bared both rows of vicious teeth. It attempted to bite Quin, but he slammed his forehead against the creature's and shoved it away. Malborough swore loudly and continued his chant.
"My God," Tommy muttered in admiration. "Those creatures are bloody strong and he batted it away as if it were a teddy bear."
The demon picked itself up and lowered its stance to attack again. Just then, another creature emerged from the portal.
Sylvia screamed, drawing its attention. Tommy put up his fists. This one wasn't under Malborough's control. He could only manage one at a time with his chants. The second demon was free to kill as it pleased.
"Dawson!" Quin shouted, kicking the second demon in the jaw before it could leap. "My sword!"
"Come, ladies!" Tommy grabbed both our hands and dragged us along behind him at a run, back across the grass to the drive. But we were slow in our heels, petticoats and skirts, not to mention the tight corsets that made deep breathing nearly impossible.
&n
bsp; No, not the corset, the illness. I glanced back at Quin, some twenty feet away. Too far. The effects of the curse took hold, weakening me. Tommy and Sylvia seemed to have forgotten in their fear and haste.
"We'll follow," I told Tommy. "You must go."
He cast a worried glance at Sylvia, then another back at the ruins, and sprinted ahead.
"Sylvia," I gasped, taking her hand. My head felt dizzy and gaining a full breath was so hard, but I mustn't let her know. "Where is the piece of parchment from the book?"
"In my things."
She ran after Tommy and I followed her, stumbling and falling to my knees. She helped me up and together we joined Tommy. Our luggage lay at the side of the drive where the cart driver had left it before leaving.
Tommy ripped open Quin's case and hefted the sword out, then ran back past us toward the ruins. I dared glance at the scene and was sickened by what I saw. There were four demons now, surrounding Quin. Malborough crouched behind a wall, unnoticed. Only his pale face was visible. He'd stopped chanting, perhaps because the creatures seemed to be following one another and focusing only on Quin. They no longer needed direction; instead they were learning from one another and growing stronger with every passing moment in this realm. Another demon emerged from the portal as I watched, joining its companions as two of them flung themselves at Quin.
He thumped them both away with his fists, but not before the claw of one scratched him across the chest.
Sylvia rifled through her valise, sobbing as she flung her belongings, including unmentionables, onto the ground. "I can't find it!"
I fell to my knees beside her and pushed through the pain in my head and chest. I performed a more methodical search until my shaking fingers closed around the rough wooden tube. "Got it!"
"Thank God," she sobbed.
I pulled the scroll out of the tube then felt for the small knife I'd tucked into my skirt pocket. Ever since the fight at The Brickmaker's Arms, I'd decided to carry one.
I stumbled back to the ruins until I was close enough to Quin. My fever instantly subsided and my breathing returned to normal. I wiped sweat from forehead with the back of my trembling hand. "Go to the house," I told Sylvia. "Tell your uncle and Bollard what's happening and lock all the doors."