“Leave it open. I will not remain long,” Nicholas said to someone inside. The door was left open, and we listened as Nicholas told someone he had come for the dolk af hemmeligheder. Nicholas knew Danish? Dolk af hemmeligheder meant dagger of secrets. An artifact, surely.
“What,” Nicholas shouted, and I jumped a little. I glanced at my brother, but he had sucked in his bottom lip as he always did when he was trying to keep from laughing out loud.
“Give me that!” A moment passed then Nicholas ground out, “You fool! That is the sign of the Phantoms. When last did you see the dagger?”
For a moment, I was sure that they were mistaken, for I had not been to this house before. It dawned on me like rays of sunlight breaking through the clouds. Jack.
A deep voice rumbled, but I could not tell what he said.
“It is a good thing then that I have the box, lest you allow them to steal that as well.” Another rumbling sounded, but Nicholas cut him off. “I do not care what you have to say. Be prepared to meet me on the morrow at Stark Manor for the meeting. As the new lord of Levitas, your negligence shall be dealt with accordingly.”
We moved away from the house in a low, swift run. Nicholas was the new lord of Levitas was he? Well, we would have to see what we could do to disrupt his plans, and we now knew who held the black box.
“Jack, how did the mark of the Phantoms come to be in that house?”
“Not here,” he whispered, so I remained silent for the walk home.
Once we were in his library, and the door was closed, he unlocked a drawer in his desk. My father had built both Jack’s desk and mine in my bedchamber. They were each filled with secret compartments, but Jack’s desk was larger. He pulled a dagger from one of the drawers. It was the same dagger that had been in the Levitas book. Dolk af hemmeligheder was what Nicholas had called it.
“Levi came to tell me that he had found the giant. He, Leo and I paid a call and found this lovely piece of craftsmanship,” Jack explained as he admired the dagger.
The hilt was, upon close inspection, pure gold, and the thick blade was engraved in the center with an eagle perched on the top of a throne. Above it were the words Min Herre, min Konge.
“My Lord, my King,” Jack whispered almost reverently. We did not know what the significance of the dagger was but holding it I had the feeling I was staring at something important.
“That was the giant’s house? He works for Levitas?”
“So it appears. His name is Dimitri, and I am told that he frightens children,” Jack said.
I shuddered, touching my neck where the marks from his large hand had faded. “Not only children. He frightens me.”
Jack was too absorbed in thought to pay heed to my words. “What did the letter from Hannah say?”
“It was an invitation to a party at her house. One of those sordid affairs,” I said pointedly for I knew Jack had attended a few of those parties.
Jack locked the dagger back in his desk. “According to the Levitas book, all meetings begin at nine. I saw Nicholas giving the coded handshake to several of the men, Mr. Knowlton included.”
“Ephraim’s father? Well, Mrs. Knowlton has complained about her husband a number of times to our mother.”
“Now we know the date and location, though I have never heard of Stark Manor,” Jack said, moving to his wall of bookshelves to retrieve a book.
Nor had I, but I knew that Leo would know. Leo was not only a member of our team but was Jack’s valet and spent his free days exploring the countryside.
“Should we assemble our team?” Jack asked over his shoulder.
The giant, the black carriage, Pierre’s capture, the men who had murdered Ben, and now the artifacts; they were all tied to Levitas. Freddy had described the black carriage as being the one to capture George, but thus far, the only information that we had learned was that his servants thought he was on a trip to visit his nephew in Charleston. If Levitas had snatched him, then his servants would surely have known. His servants were as close as our own. We had to find George, but if he were with us, he would tell us that Levitas was most important. I had a strange feeling though that if we took Levitas, we would find George.
“No. I believe that you and I should see what this is all about first.” Then could we move in with the aid of our friends who were constables and watchmen and destroy their traitorous society as my father had wanted. “But, Jack,” he looked over his shoulder again, “this time we go together.”
Chapter 9
Bess
Leo had come through for us with the location of Stark Manor. It was a house outside the city and one of the country houses that the more affluent citizens flocked to during the summer months. After there had been a citywide epidemic of yellow fever in 1793 that took the lives of nearly five thousand people, those who could afford to do so quit the city for the fresh aired country.
When we reached Stark Manor, it was hidden from the road by a long lane in the middle of a large wood. We rode past the lane, circling the house through the trees, and stopping where the woods dipped down a hill then opened into a meadow that had a small pond. We tied our horses there, making sure to secure them where they could graze.
As we came upon the back of Stark Manor, we halted, my breath stalling for a moment.
The back of a three story gray stone country house was before us and built onto the back of the house was a two story round structure that had a colorful glass dome rising as high as the roof. Jack and I exchanged a look of wonder before scouting the area. There was a stone courtyard and drive that came down the side of the house directly to a large stable building. The courtyard was clear of people, so we sprinted across the green lawn and on around the left side of the house. At the front, the first windows looked into an empty dining parlor, and the door that led from the room was closed.
I kept watch while Jack tried to open the window. The first one he tried was unlatched, so he pried it open and climbed through. I followed, closing the window behind me. As I placed my ear against the door, all sounded quiet. Jack grabbed a red apple from a compote of fruit, placed it in his pocket, then nodded his readiness. Easing open the door; all was clear in the wide foyer, but voices came from behind a closed door across from the dining parlor.
We ascended the staircase, which had plush, but faded red carpet that muffled our steps. In the dark upstairs hallway, the only light came from the windows in the large bedchambers that we passed. There was one door that beckoned to us. It was black with a golden lion head shaped knob. After listening for sounds on the other side, I slowly turned the knob. It opened into the round room, and I let out a little gasp. We stepped off the carpeted floor of the hallway onto a black iron walkway that followed the walls in one large circle.
In incredulous awe, our eyes took in the ornate surroundings. Carved and painted on the center of the floor below was a large emblem of a golden pyramid with a gold lightning bolt through the center and running along the outside were leaves and vines of ivy.
Gold throne chairs with blue cushions lined the walls angling toward a platform against the far wall that held three larger thrones. The same emblem that was on the floor was also on the wall behind the platform. It was the most ostentatious room that I had ever looked upon. Jack shut the door to the hall as I looked fully around the room. There were three doors that led off the walkway, with matching doors on the first floor. A few alcoves were carved into the walls along the walkway with either half naked statues or groups of palms that covered the alcove. I raised my eyes to the dome, even larger than it had appeared on the outside. The sides were etched glass stained red, blue and gold, but the top was of clear glass, and I could see the darkening sky above. It was nearing nine, and the light was fading. I moved to the right, following along the iron walkway as I counted the throne chairs below.
“There are thirteen in all,” I said to Jack. I started to say something else when Jack held a finger to his lips and pointed to an alcove behind me. I pu
shed through the palms followed immediately by Jack as he leapt through. We resettled the leaves to wait for whatever it was that Jack had heard.
A loud thud echoed through the room, and I tensed.
“Light all the candles. The twelve will arrive soon,” a deep voice said from near the door. We stayed completely still as two men walked their way around, lighting the candles that were set in gold sconces along the walls.
The same gruff voice yelled, “Don’t be lighting those, fool!”
Soft glow from the candles lit the room as the sky above turned black. Boots stomping along the walkway moved closer to our hiding place, then stopped right before us. We did not move, and I did not breathe. I closed my eyes and began to pray.
“What time are they to arrive?” A different man’s voice asked.
“Even now the first carriages arrive. The ceremony will begin at nine rings of the clock. Come, we must get to our places,” the gruff voice replied before moving away.
The door closed with more force than necessary, and I released my breath. Jack was sitting against the wall across from me, and when my stomach growled, loud and surly, he chuckled.
“I have not eaten since breakfast,” I whispered.
Jack pulled the apple from his pocket and tossed it to me. I caught it, twisted the stem out, then placed my thumbs on the top of the apple, applying pressure and pulling out. The apple made a crunching noise as it split in two. My father had taught us how to split apples with our hands when I was nine. He would say that one never knew when they would be without a knife.
We sat eating apple pieces and watching the room below through the small gaps between the leaves. It was almost like a picnic, if you did not count the murdering lunatics, giant, or throne room of iniquity. At our angle, we could see the door below, all the thrones on the far wall, and part of the platform.
Ten minutes passed before the doors below opened, and men started entering the room, each was holding a single lit candle. Every man placed his candle in the sconce beside his chair then stood silently. They wore long, blue capes with hoods pulled up, shading their faces from our view. Their suits under the capes were dark blue with golden scrolls running along the sides of their trousers and up the sleeves of their coats.
A white haired woman entered wearing the same cape but with a dress underneath. A gold chain encrusted with sapphires hung around her thin neck. She moved to the throne directly across the room. A silent moment passed before two men, one of them Nicholas, entered, walking together toward the platform. A silent minute passed, and when the doors opened again, a figure dressed in a long white cloak entered. I leaned forward for a better look at the woman in white. She was not as ethereal as I had first thought her in Washington. I felt Jack tense beside me. His eyes were intent upon the woman in white. There was something between them, something that ran deeper than her grazing his arm with that shot; I would swear to it. I looked back down in time to see her smirk at the men on the platform.
All air left me in a rush as my mind reeled. I knew that smirk. I knew that smirk well. Her hood was covering her hair completely, but both her height and slender frame assured me. The woman in white was Hannah Lamont.
Jack was still watching her, but after a moment, his eyes widened and he leaned forward on his hand, as if trying to get closer to her.
“Yes,” I hissed. He looked at me, and I nodded, watching as his jaw began to work. He was trying to gain control of his emotions.
Hannah stood before the chair next to the white-haired woman as the man who had entered with Nicholas stepped forward and spoke.
“Let the ceremony commence. Brothers and sisters, as you know at our last meeting we swore in our new leader. It is with humble unworthiness that I present to you the new lord of Levitas.”
Nicholas took a step forward, stood next to the other man on the platform, and returned Hannah’s smirk, but she was not paying him any heed. Her attention was focused on the crest on the floor. I wanted to shoot them both. Not to kill, but to repay them for all the trouble, the disappearances, the giant, the pain they caused Jack. It would be so simple; there were two of them, and I happened to have two pistols. All it would require would be aiming my pistols...
The doors creaked open, and I glanced at them, and at that moment everything within me lurched.
My emotions were in a spiral. Disbelief had my mind shouting doubts, then alarm had me clenching my fists. Another bout of disbelief had me telling myself it was not so, a surge of fear caused a shiver to race up my spine. Rage coated the fear, and then I was back to disbelief.
This cannot be. This cannot be.
Richard.
Richard’s black cape made his look like a bat as he walked toward the platform. A gold ring with a ruby stone glittered on his finger.
Rage pumped my blood, and I could hear it swishing in my ears. I felt Jack shift beside me. Jack was reaching for his pistol. I grabbed his wrist, and his eyes shot to mine. I was momentarily taken aback. I had never seen such fury in his eyes, and I had seen Jack angry many, many times. As I shook my head, his face became a sneer as he pulled his arm from my grasp, but released the handle of his pistol.
Richard stepped on the platform then spun with his cape twirling behind him. “Be seated.”
Everyone but Richard sat. “Brothers and Sisters, let us welcome the gods of thunder and lightning.” Richard raised his head and looked toward the dome, and his eyes rolled back as he spouted off a Greek incantation. Lightning flashed across the sky above the glass dome, and I jerked, bumping my arm against the wall. I had not known it was storming until that moment.
Richard smiled and lowered his head. “I have given my oath to serve you, and my first order as your new lord is to unmask a traitor within our midst.”
I could not help but look at Hannah. She was, after all, the only one wearing a mask.
“Bring forth the traitor,” Richard’s voice boomed.
Dimitri ducked to get through the door pulling with him a bound man with a black cloth, like a sack, covering the man’s head. Richard sat upon his center throne and flicked his finger upward, gesturing for Dimitri to remove the bag. My insides had recoiled before I was reaching for my own pistol.
Pierre.
If hearts could stop, even for a moment, then mine surely did. I had my suspicions that Pierre was taken by Levitas but not this. Never this.
Jack grabbed my wrist, and when I met his gaze he shook his head, but I could tell that it was with reluctance.
Pierre rose to the middle of Dimitri’s large chest, showing no fear as he stared at Richard.
“Pierre Travoy, you are charged with selling secrets to the enemy, betraying our trust, and associating with Phantoms.” At the sound of our name, I tensed as my heartbeat skittered, and my palms began to sweat. “Kneel,” Richard said to Pierre, but he did not comply, so Richard snapped his fingers, and Dimitri shoved Pierre to his knees.
Richard moved to stand before Pierre. “Let it be known that all traitors of the order will be dealt with the same way. As the leader of Levitas, I will not allow any to come against us, and with the power that has been given me through the gods of thunder and lightning I shall strike.” Richard’s hands came down hard on Pierre’s shoulders. There was a look of something inhuman on Richard’s face, like it was someone else there, someone bloodthirsty, instead of the kind man that I had met in my brother’s library.
Pierre screamed a sound that caused icy shards to freeze my blood, and a flash of lightning illuminated the dome overhead. Pierre’s body started convulsing, and Richard released his shoulders but kept his hand extended above Pierre as Pierre dropped on his back, writhing in certain pain. I could not move, could not take my eyes away from Pierre and the terrible thing happening to him. I felt Jack take my hand, realizing how badly it was shaking. We could not do anything to help him. I did not even know what was wrong with him. I watched and listened in horrified silence to the muffled shrieks that came from Pierre. Then it was
all over. Pierre’s eyes stared up, but there was no life there, no movement, nothing but terror and death. My shaking hand covered my mouth, but I did not fully understand what had happened. Movement all around the room made my gaze snap to each member that I could see. Every one of them was squirming in their seats, fear on all of their faces, save one.
Hannah was not looking at Pierre’s dead body but at Richard, with a look of complete unconcern on the part of her face that I could see. I knew she was a cold-hearted wretch, but I never knew how heartless she was until that moment.
Richard snapped his fingers again, and Dimitri dragged Pierre’s lifeless body from the room. Richard was speaking to the members, but I could not hear it.
“How many guns have you?” Jack asked against my ear, and I held up two fingers. He cursed softly.
Why did I not bring the others? There were only four pistols between us and no way to charge out to capture Richard, not without one of us being harmed—or worse. Who knew what Richard would have done to us if he caught us watching his ceremony. We would not escape; I knew that much.
When the ceremony ended and all the members were gone from the throne room, Jack and I climbed from the alcove. The hallway outside the throne room was completely dark as we made our way toward the stairs in silence. I was about to go down, when Jack caught my arm and pulled me back. The white-haired woman stepped into the house through the open front door as the rain poured outside the house.
Phantoms In Philadelphia Page 9