by K. E. Mills
“Thought what would take longer?”
“For Sir Alec to mess with your head. Seven months? That must be some kind of record. From what I hear, most agents are good for a couple of years at least.” He sat down again and plonked the bottle of brandy by his feet. “So. What happened?”
Gerald put down his drink. “In a minute. First tell me why you tried to warn me off.”
“Why d’you think?” Monk muttered, brooding into his glass. “Because I’m your friend.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Monk took a much bigger mouthful of brandy, swallowed, spluttered and made a big production out of coughing and wheezing and banging his chest. Playing for time. Trying to avoid the truth.
“ Monk…”
Monk sighed and gave up. “I had a cousin. On my mum’s side of the family. Mordecai Thackeray. He was a fair bit older than me, and he was an agent too. Not for your lot. He worked for a different Department. Same business, though. Dirty tricks. Investigations. Swimming in the political sewers. Domestic, not international. Though sometimes the two spheres… well, they crossed paths. They still do from time to time.”
Gerald nodded. He’d been fully briefed on the government’s other thaumaturgical investigative branch. Been made blisteringly aware of their not-always-cordial relationship and warned he was never to tread on their toes. Not unless it couldn’t be helped. The last thing Sir Alec wanted was junior janitors muddying already murky waters.
“And this Mordecai,” he said. “What happened to him?”
Shifting in his armchair, Monk glowered at the fire’s leaping flames. “Short answer? He died.”
Oh. “And the long answer?” Not that he was sure he wanted to hear it. Not with a look like that on Monk’s face. Monk was the most resilient, the most stubbornly uncrushable man he knew. For him to look stricken…
But if I’m going to be this-this person, this agent, then I have to know. I never want to be taken unawares again.
“ I don’t have a long answer,” said Monk eventually. “At least, not one I can swear to. I was only a nipper when we lost Mordy. Bibbie was still in nap-pies. And the folks never talk about it.” He brooded into his glass of brandy. “I think Aylesbury knows something. I think he overheard something he wasn’t meant to hear-but you know Aylesbury. If I asked he’d know it mattered, so he’d let himself be torn apart by wild dogs before telling.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Tell me again how sad it is I’m an only child.”
Monk smiled, but his amusement was brief. “The official story,” he continued, looking up after another long pause, “is that Mordy contracted Assowary Fever and didn’t run to the nearest hospital because he thought it was only a bad cold. By the time he realised he was wrong it was too late.”
“And un officially?”
“Unofficially-from what I’ve been able to glean and ferret and snoop and fossick-he was involved in a case that went spectacularly wrong. Good people died, another agent included. He blamed himself. And… he didn’t want to live any more.” Monk shrugged. “But none of that’s official. It’s just me leaping to conclusions.”
Gerald rubbed a finger over the shiny spot on the knee of his trousers. “Yeah. But you’re good at that. So, what? You think that could be me one day?” A charming thought. But Monk was wrong. He’d never do it. Not to his parents. Not to Reg.
Monk swallowed more brandy, avoiding his gaze. “Didn’t say that.”
“ Monk.”
“It’s just, you remind me of him a bit, right?” said Monk, goaded. “Like I said, I was only a nipper but I never forgot him. Mordy was a good man. He cared about things. About right and wrong and helping people who needed to be helped, no matter what it cost him. Looking back, I can see there was something sad about him. Something driven.”
Gerald felt his jaw drop. “And you think that’s me? You think I’m sad and driven? Bloody hell, Monk. Don’t beat around the bush-you think I’m pathetic!”
“Not pathetic,” Monk protested. “You just… take things to heart. Like Mordy did.” He got up again and crossed to the fire. Stared down into the mesmerising flames. “And if you are feeling a bit… down… no-one could blame you. Not after what you’ve been through.”
Gerald reached for his glass and knocked back the remains of his brandy in one swallow. “Well, I’m not down. Right? I’m fine. I mean, I’m sorry about your uncle, but I’m not him.”
“No?” Monk swung round. “Then what’s the problem? And don’t tell me there isn’t one, mate, because I’ve still got two good eyes.”
Brought to it, suddenly he wasn’t sure what to say.
“Hey,” said Monk. “If you’re worried I’m going to let something slip…”
“No. Lord, no.” He shrugged. “It’s just hard to explain.”
“Explain what?”
“The final test.”
“What about it?”
“It was bloody peculiar, that’s what!” he replied, flooded once more with baffled unease. “Even now, Monk, I’m not sure how much of it actually happened. I mean, I know I got on a train in Central Ott. I know I got off the train in Finkley Meadows and a cart took me into the countryside and left me at the front gates of an obscure Department property. And I know I ended up drinking tea with Sir Alec and driving back to Nettleworth with him in a car. But everything that happened in between?” Another shrug. “I can’t explain it. It felt real. Too real. But I don’t think it was real.”
Monk frowned at the hearth. “How do you mean, not real?”
“It felt like a dream,” he said. “Things happening that make sense at the time, even while a part of you knows they’re impossible. You know?”
“Mmm,” said Monk, and gulped some brandy. “Maybe. Did you, ah, ask Sir Alec?”
“Of course I asked Sir Alec! Sir Alec said it wasn’t Department policy to discuss testing with agents.”
“Ah,” said Monk. Suddenly he was looking… uncomfortable. No, more than uncomfortable. He was looking guilty.
Gerald put down his empty glass. “Monk? What’s going on? Do you know something? If you do you’d better tell me.”
“Mmm,” said Monk. “Well. This is bloody awkward.” He stood. “Awkward? What do you mean awkward?” Now Monk’s face was a picture of woe. “I’m sorry, Gerald. I had no idea they’d use it. At least, not on you. They said they were exploring some new ideas. They said they were considering its application, maybe, sometime in the future. Once the kinks were ironed out.”
“ They said?”
Monk winced. “He said. Sir Alec.”
Sir Alec. Again, and at every turn. “And what is it?”
“The delerioso incant,” Monk mumbled.
“Never heard of it.”
“No. Well, you wouldn’t have,” said Monk, still mumbling. “It’s on the proscribed list.”
“The proscribed list?” He stared. “Then how the hell did you-”
Monk rubbed his nose. “I invented it.”
“Of course you did,” he said, dazed, and sat down again. “Enlighten me, Monk, before I punch you. Or worse.”
On a deep sigh Monk dropped cross-legged onto the fireplace’s cindery hearth. “What can I say? It was a stupid university prank. Something I dreamed up in second year. Back when I was smart enough to do that kind of thing but too stupid to realise it might backfire.”
“Oh, well, it’s good to know things have changed,” he said, giving sarcasm full rein.
“Bloody hell, Gerald,” Monk muttered. “I said I was sorry, didn’t I? I’m telling you I didn’t know.”
“Never mind the grovelling,” he retorted. “You can save that for later. What the hell is a delerioso incant?”
“It was meant to be a bit of harmless fun,” said Monk. “Good for a giggle, and embarrassing people you don’t like.” His sharkish grin flashed, irrepressible. “Worked a treat on Errol. He didn’t show his face for a week after, stupid git.”
“ Monk.”
“Like me,” said Gerald, slowly. “How come you never mentioned this before?”
“Water under the bridge, mate,” said Monk simply. “Turns out it was the right choice. I’m happy where I am. I do good work.”
“I don’t know about good,” he said, feeling bitter. “It’s bloody effective, I’ll give you that. Although…” He frowned. “I was doing more than re-living memories. I was experiencing new things as though they were real.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that,” said Monk, wincing. “They-he-Sir Alec-got me to kind of-you know-soup up the original incant. He said they were thinking of using the delerioso as an interrogation tool. A way of tricking villains into giving up vital information without having to-to-”
“Make them uncomfortable?” he suggested, with a savage delicacy.
“Well… yeah,” Monk admitted, thoroughly miserable now. “Something like that. I thought it was a good idea. We find out what we need to know and nobody gets hurt in the process.”
“Yes, it’s all very noble, really. So… what? I was your guinea pig?”
Monk rubbed his nose again. “I suppose. Sir Alec’s guinea pig, anyway.”
Bloody Sir Alec. Gerald reached for the brandy bottle beside Monk’s chair. Someone remind me to have words with him the next time we meet. Not bothering with his glass, he swallowed deeply.
“I really am sorry, Gerald,” Monk said quietly. “You know that, right?”
He shook his head. “It’s funny. I should’ve twigged you had something to do with it. There was this hex I had to break. Your fingerprints were all over it. Yours, and a bunch of other wizards.”
“They put that in?” said Monk, surprised. “Huh.”
“Something else you were playing at?”
“Ah…” Monk’s face coloured. “Yeah. The hex Lional used to lock Mel in her palace apartments. Remember? I kind of… borrowed it, and gave it the old Markham touch.”
He swallowed from the bottle a second time then wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Speaking of Lional, he and I had an interesting conversation-courtesy of your delerioso incant. Congratulations. Your souping up efforts are a spectacular success.”
“Hell’s bells,” said Monk, and dropped his head into his hands. “Gerald, I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t know what Sir Alec had planned.”
With exacting precision Gerald put down the brandy bottle, temper bubbling beneath the warm apple glow. “And when I finished chatting with Lional I tortured someone to make them talk,” he added, feeling ruthless. The horror of those moments still hadn’t receded. “At least I thought I did.”
“ What?” said Monk, his head snapping up. “Gerald, I never — ”
“His name was William. Sir Alec told me people were going to die if he didn’t tell us what we needed to know. And because I thought it was real, I started to dismantle the shadbolt that was keeping him quiet. But he screamed and I couldn’t finish. I walked out. And instead of failing me, Sir Alec offered me tea and sent me to Wycliffe’s.”
The fire crackled merrily into the silence.
“It must’ve been the only test they could think of,” Monk murmured. “Using your own strength, your own memories, against you. I mean, if you could break those gate-hexes… you did break them, didn’t you?”
Gerald nodded, remembering the delight he’d felt at outwitting the great Monk Markham. “Oh, yes. I broke them.”
“No-one at the Department could crack them, you know. The best First Graders in the country couldn’t make a dent. Bloody hell, Gerald. You’re good.” And then Monk shook his head. “I can’t believe they used my delerioso against you. That’s-that’s bloody wrong, that is. They know we’re friends. We’re on the same side. You don’t use team mates against each other.”
He felt his lips tug in a small, sardonic smile. “Don’t look now but the game’s changed, Monk-and we’d better keep up. And don’t forget… it’s all for the greater good.”
“Yeah, well, to hell with the greater good!” said Monk, bouncing to his feet. “First thing in the morning, first bloody thing, I’m going to-”
“No, you’re not,” he said tiredly, his bubble of temper abruptly burst by Monk’s genuine distress. “You’re not saying a word about this to anyone. I’m not even supposed to be here. I wasn’t supposed to breathe a syllable of what happened in Finkley Meadows. It’s janitor business.” Picking up the brandy bottle again, this time he splashed a little into his glass. “I just… I didn’t know… I wasn’t sure…” He sighed. “Well. At least I know it wasn’t real. I didn’t actually — ”
“Gerald, you’re not the villain here,” Monk insisted. “Like you said, that wasn’t real. It was a hypothetical situation. And nobody got hurt.”
“This time,” he whispered, and drained his glass. “But what about next time, Monk? What happens when there really is a William, and a shadbolt, and innocent lives on the line? What do I do then?”
Before Monk could answer they heard a loud banging on the front door-just as the clock on the mantel struck nine.
Gerald pulled a face. “That’ll be the girls. We’d better let them in before they kick down the door.”
Monk, his expression still deeply troubled, didn’t move. “Hey, Gerald. You believe me, don’t you? That I didn’t know what Sir Alec wanted that incant for? That I had no idea he was going to-”
“Don’t be stupid, Monk,” he said, and put aside his empty glass. “Come on. They really are going to kick their way in.”
But Monk just stood there, hands shoved in his pockets, his frowning gaze fixed on the past.
“Well, it’s about time, Gerald!” grumbled Melissande, marching into the vestibule with Reg perched piratically on her right shoulder. She’d changed out of the hideous black blouse and skirt into her familiar tweed trousers and a pale yellow blouse with a sensible coat on top. Not hideous, but not terribly flattering either. Just quintessentially Melissande. Her rust-red hair hung down her back in a plait. “Bibbie was about to blast the door into matchsticks.”
Bibbie. Emmerabiblia. Closing her brother’s front door behind her, Gerald felt his heart stutter. Lord, she was so incredibly, blindingly beautiful. Every time he saw her it was like being struck with a hammer.
She gave him a cheeky, dimpled smile. “Hello, Gerald.”
“Yes, hello again,” said Melissande, looking him up and down. “I have to say I’m a bit surprised you came. You didn’t look at all a sure thing when I left you in the employee garden.”
He couldn’t help smiling. She was so tart, like the best lemons. “It’d take a braver man than me to refuse your gracious royal command,” he said, then shifted his gaze. “Hello, Reg.”
Reg looked at the ceiling. “I’m not speaking to you.”
“ Reg…”
Monk stuck his head through the open parlour door. “In here, everyone. If you two are going to fight you might as well do it in comfort.”
They trooped into the parlour, and Monk closed the door to keep the heat in. Melissande twitched her shoulder so Reg could flap to the back of the sofa, then graciously allowed Monk to slip off her coat and hang it on the door hook. Bibbie tossed her own coat on the floor then collapsed in one armchair, swivelling till she could dangle both legs over its arm. Very unladylike, and totally Bibbie. Melissande joined Reg on the sofa a
nd Monk sat beside her, gently taking her hand in his. They hadn’t spoken a word to each other but the look they exchanged was eloquent.
Gerald, hiding a smile, stood with his back to the fire. So. Monk’s really smitten, eh? I think this time he might be in trouble…
“ I hope you appreciate all the effort we’re going to, Gerald,” said Melissande. “Meeting late so no-one will see you. I start at Wycliffe’s at the crack of dawn, practically. I’m giving up precious sleep to be here.”
“You didn’t have to,” he pointed out. “You could’ve told me at lunch what you’re doing at Wycliffe’s.”
“With all those people around?” she retorted. “Nonsense. We have to thrash this out properly, Gerald. For all I know we’re working on the same case and I’m not going to have Witches Inc. shoved aside by the Ottish government.”
“The same case, Mel?” said Bibbie, sounding amused. “Oh, I don’t think-”
Melissande tilted her chin. “It’s possible! Stranger things have happened-and frequently to me.”
“I wouldn’t worry,” he said dryly. “I very much doubt Witches Inc. would be retained to investigate my case.”
“Oy!” said Reg. “That’s enough patriarchal superiority from you, sunshine. Witches are perfectly capable of solving mysteries of international significance, just like any common-or-garden, backstabbing, inconsiderate, selfish wizard you care to think of.”
Ouch. “I thought you weren’t speaking to me?”
“I’m not,” she snapped. “I’m making a general observation to the room at large.”
Oh, Reg. “You knew I’d be gone for a while,” he said quietly. “You knew I wouldn’t be able to contact you.”
“While you were off training, yes,” she retorted. “But you’re not training now, are you? You’re janitoring. You’re back in town and you never told us.”
“Because I wasn’t allowed to, Reg.” He looked at all of them, his three dearest friends and Bibbie. Whom he knew a bit, through Monk… and would very much like to know better. “Strict instructions from Sir Alec. If he finds out I’ve spoken to you he won’t be happy.” Which is putting it mildly. “ And he really won’t be happy when he finds out you three are investigating at Wycliffe’s. What in the name of Saint Snodgrass are you doing there?”