The Royal Occult Bureau

by Barbara Russell

  “I’m looking for Mr Tate.”

  “It’s me.” He tapped a pencil on the clipboard he was carrying and regarded me with narrowed eyes.

  “I’m Asia from . . .” I lowered my voice. “De Luna House.”

  Usually, when I mentioned De Luna House, people snorted or scowled, but he beamed, shedding a few years. “How’s lovely Violet?”

  “She’s well, thank you. But I need a small favour. Can we talk in private?”

  “Of course. Follow me.”

  Tate led us through rows of half-finished carriages, stacks of wheels, and cans of paint. The symbol Violet had shown me—the crowned sun—was displayed on the walls. Thick glasses and wooden walls enclosed a space at the end of the hall.

  Tate pushed the door open and let us in. “What can I do for you?”

  The noise of the workshop died when he shut the door behind us.

  “Violet told me you keep very detailed records of your sales. I’m searching for a gentleman who bought a brougham here a few years ago when your symbol was still added to the doors.”

  “Right.” He straightened. His pomaded hair gleamed in the light of the gas lamps. “Do you know the year when the sell was made?”

  “No, but we can provide a description of the man,” Evander said.

  As we told as many details as we could about Bertie and the brougham, Tate took notes on a notepad. When we finished, he reread his notes a few times, moustache twitching.

  “Why are you interested in this man, if I may ask?”

  “We suspect he might be involved in the recent murders of October and November,” Evander replied.

  Tate’s brow shot up. “The maniac who kills prostitutes?”

  I nodded. “The information about his brougham can help us a lot.”

  “Let me see.”

  He opened the drawers of a cabinet and selected folders and documents with the meticulous moves of a surgeon.

  Evander and I loitered next to the desk. Minutes passed, and Tate seemed oblivious of our presence. He kept reading and flipping pages, muttering under his breath.

  I poked Evander in the ribs and arched a brow. “What should we do?” I mouthed.

  He smiled and shrugged.

  “I think I remember that particular gentleman. Odd chap.” Tate’s cheeks paled. “He preferred to come here only after the sunset. He was polite, mind me, and perfectly reasonable about the price, but his presence gave me the chills.”

  It sounded like the incubus.

  “Hard to forget.” Tate flipped through the pages of another logbook. “That’s it.” He tapped a finger on a record. “I remember the sale because the man refused to close the deal during the day and insisted to come after hours. It was my daughter’s birthday, and I was late for the party because I had to wait for him. Also, he came here months ago to have the brougham’s seats repaired.”

  “Can you give us his address?” I asked.

  “I shouldn’t do it to protect the privacy of my clients, but if this man is a murderer, then I feel no guilt whatsoever to give his address to you.” Tate scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to us. “Catch him.”

  Evander took the paper. “We will.”

  Twenty-Four

  BACK TO EVANDER’S HOUSE, we checked the address on a map. As he’d guessed, the incubus’s lair was on the outskirts of London, close to Highbury Fields. Tingles prickled my skin at the thought to finally help Charlotte. A carriage pulled by two horses would take about an hour to travel from London to Highbury Fields. Bertie could easily travel that distance nearly every day.

  Evander frowned while drawing a circle with a red pencil on the spot of the map where the house should be.

  “What is it?”

  “The address sounds familiar, but I guess many aristocratic families have a country house in Highbury Fields.” He folded the map carefully and slid it inside his pocket. “I’ll gather the team and prepare for the trip—if they’ll let me come.”

  “I’m coming too.”

  “Asia,” he warned.

  I balled my fists on my hips. “The idea of checking the symbol on the brougham was mine.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “I thought about showing the darn thing to the girls of De Luna House.”

  “Yes—”

  “This investigation regards me closely, and Charlotte is my friend. In fact, I expect a compensation since I did the job you agents were supposed to do.” What? I was always a whore, and a whore never backed away from the chance to make extra money.

  He flashed his crooked smile that caused the bond to hum with pleasure. “Fair enough. You’ll be fully compensated for the trouble you’ve been put through.” His voice lowered to a husky purr, and I wasn’t sure he was talking about money.

  “Good. Because I expect a great compensation, a stunning one.”

  That sinful smile played again on his lips. “As you wish.”

  I took my coat and donned it or tried to. I slid my arm in the wrong sleeve and had to start again. Curse the man for being so damn distracting. “Let’s go then.”

  ~ * * ~

  MAYHAP MY ENTHUSIASM for the action had been quite premature. Even if the sun shone brightly, chills of anxiety caused me to shiver as we travelled in a carriage towards Highbury Fields. Evander and Jasper were fully armed with guns and daggers strapped on their belts and legs. The heavy silence added a layer of tension to the already charged atmosphere. I wiped my clammy hands on the pair of buckskin trousers Dr Black lent me. They were comfortable. No cold draughts under the petticoats. From now on, I’d have at least one pair of trousers in my wardrobe—and not to play a man’s role in one of my clients’ wicked sexual games.

  Only the thought of Charlotte alone and in need of help kept me in the carriage.

  Evander watched me, his head tilted to the side as he rasped a grey stone over the blade of his knife. “Having second thoughts? I’ll be happy to give you a ticket for the first train to London.”

  “I won’t interfere with the operation, and I won’t put myself in danger. I just want to help Charlotte if she’s there. She’ll need me once we find her.”

  Jasper shook his head. He was intent on cleaning his Enfield gun. “I’m sorry, Asia, but Charlotte won’t want to leave the incubus. By now, she must be addicted to him. She’ll fight tooth and nail to stay at his side.”

  My stomach churned, and I put a hand on my belly. The haunted light in Charlotte’s gaze flashed in my mind and sent a cold shudder through me. “Can she become normal again?”

  Jasper shrugged. “It’ll take weeks, months even, but yes, eventually, she can free herself from the addiction, granted that she survives the separation from the incubus.”

  I gasped, and a sob threatened to escape me. “Can she die?”

  “Yes.” Jasper paused cleaning the gun. “The shock of the separation added to the desperate need to be with the incubus can be too much for a victim.”

  “Jasper!” Evander stopped sharpening his blade.

  Jasper scowled. “I don’t mean to be cruel, but Asia must know what to expect. If Charlotte is in the incubus’s house and fights against her, Asia needs to be prepared, and false hopes don’t help anyone.”

  I couldn’t blame him. I’d rather know the truth than be lied to.

  Silence dropped again. I stared out of the window. The barren trees seemed gnarled fingers trying to reach out for me. Fields stretched for miles, covered with the last remnant of snow. I huddled my jacket closer and shuffled my feet.

  “Can I have a weapon too?” Just in case.

  “Here.” Evander offered me the knife he was sharpening, hilt first. “And the gun.” He handed me the Enfield Special I’d trained with.

  “Were you sharpening the blade for me?” I would’ve never thought I’d find sweet that a man sharpened a blade for me. I closed my fingers on the wrought hilt. It had seemed smaller in his hands.

&
nbsp; He nodded. “You told me you know how to wield a knife.”

  “I have a bit of practise.” Back in the days when I lived in the streets, either I learned to defend myself or I died. Survival skills were a must in an area like Whitechapel. I tested the weight of the knife. It was perfectly balanced, and the hilt had an easy grip.

  “Aim for the heart,” Evander said. “It’s the incubus’s weakest point. Worst case scenario, he won’t die, but he’ll slow down enough to let you escape.”

  “I thought a stab in the heart was enough, like with the cryptid.”

  Jasper made the motion of cutting his head off. “With an incubus, you behead him and stab his heart, in whichever order it’s easier. His body chars, and only black goo is left behind.”

  I’d like to see that.

  The carriage came to a jerking stop at the side of the road.

  I gazed around. “Are we there finally?”

  “Not quite, but the carriages would make too much noise.” Evander opened the door and offered his hand.

  I gripped it, maybe too hard because his eyes widened.

  From another carriage, Damon and Sirius alighted as well. Then we headed towards a path that sneaked its way through the trees. My boots crunched the gravel, while the agents’ footfalls were soundless. I shifted my weight on my toes and walked on, trying to be as light as possible. Focusing on being silent helped keep the fear under control. Almost.

  My legs quivered, and the back of my throat burned with thirst. Evander walked in front of me. His tight black leather attire that hugged his taut body in the right places would’ve distracted me in better circumstances. We trekked long enough to tire me, but I had no idea how far we were from the carriages.

  Sirius, leading the group, stopped and lifted a fist. “The house is over there.” He pointed towards the bushes.

  We gathered around him on a hill from where we could see the flat, low ground stretching below us. A white three-storey mansion towered in the middle of a meadow. Ivy crawled over the walls, so thick that some windows weren’t fully visible. The bushes next to the fence were trimmed into perfect balls, and the hedgerows formed a green wall that hid the entrance. The final effect was elegant but secretive.

  “It’s well cared for,” I said. “Who lives there must employ a small army of gardeners to keep the grounds so well maintained.”

  Sirius turned towards me. “Did you think the incubus would live in a dirty place? Incubi are sophisticated creatures. They like to be surrounded by wealth.”

  Damon searched the ground with a pair of binoculars. He let out a soft whistle. “You have to see this.” He handed the binoculars to Sirius. “On the left, right next to the ground-floor window, there’s a family crest.”

  Moments of silence stretched. Only the leaves rustling could be heard. Evander shifted his weight, moving closer to me.

  Sirius’s fingers worked as he adjusted the binoculars, then he froze. “It can’t be.” He passed the binoculars to the others, and hisses and mutters rose.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Jasper raked a hand through his hair, and Evander mumbled something I didn’t understand.

  “Are you sure this is the right address?” Sirius asked with fire in his eyes and ice in his voice.

  “We saw the record in the coachmaker’s log,” Evander replied. “It’s the right address.”

  “Hellfire.” Sirius threw a hand up and spun. “Captain Jasper?”

  Jasper’s jaw worked. He doubled checked the house with the binoculars. “The mission is cancelled.”

  “What? Why?” I glanced at the mansion. Charlotte could be there.

  “Can’t we go closer, sir?” Damon asked at the same time that Evander said, “We can’t go back now.”

  “We can’t advance,” Jasper said, but his voice lacked the usual commanding tone.

  “The captain is right.” A tendon in Sirius’s neck contracted. “We can’t barge into Chief Van Doren’s house without his permission. This operation ends here.” He strode towards the path, stomping his boots.

  My jaw slackened. That mansion belonged to Van Doren. Odd coincidence, and an interesting one. “You didn’t know?” I asked Evander.

  He gave a shrug. “The Van Dorens have many estates.”

  Mutters and curses spread.

  I exchanged a stare with Evander. “Can’t we simply take a look?” I didn’t care about who the owner of the house was.

  Sirius came to an abrupt halt and spun towards me. “No, we can’t simply take a look, not unless I wish to find myself unemployed and probably charged with treason.”

  Evander put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. “Let’s go.”

  No blazing way. I wasn’t a bureau agent, and I didn’t give a toss about Sirius’s worries, and above all, I didn’t want to return to London now, not when Charlotte could be close. I stuck out my chin and pivoted towards the path that sloped to the mansion.

  Sod them all.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Sirius’s voice roared close to me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.

  I shrugged free. “As you’ve pointed out more than once, I’m not an occult agent, thus I can do as I please, and if I want to knock on the door of that house and see if my friend is there, I’ll bloody do it.”

  He brought up his hand, and I’d seen too many men hitting whores to know he was going to backhand me. I stepped back and lifted an arm to parry the blow, but the stroke never fell. Evander gripped Sirius’s wrist and pushed it back.

  “Don’t you dare,” he hissed.

  Sirius yanked his arm free from Evander’s grip. “I’m not going to risk my career for a whore.”

  “The incubus might be there,” Jasper said. “As Asia said, we can knock on the front door and ask to be admitted inside. There’s nothing illegal about that.”

  “Are you all barking mad?” Sirius’s face reddened. He gestured towards the house wildly. “That’s our chief’s house. If he knows we suspect an incubus is in his house, he’ll throw us in prison and ask questions later.”

  “We took an oath.” Damon adjusted the straps of his guns. “To always put the safety of the British people before anything else.”

  “But the girl held there, if she is there indeed, is a whore.” Sirius sounded tired to repeat it. “She’s not our concern.”

  “I beg to differ.” Damon stepped closer to me. “Besides, the incubus can kill anyone. He’s a threat to society. It’s our duty to exterminate him.”

  The three agents formed a circle around me. I wanted to sneer at Sirius, but the dread coiling around me stole my cheekiness. These men were risking their careers and lives for Charlotte and me.

  Sirius groaned. “This is treason.”

  No one said a word.

  “Jasper?” Sirius turned to the captain.

  “I want to go,” Jasper replied. “But I won’t order you to come with us.”

  “I wouldn’t obey. You know the consequences of your actions.” Sirius took a step backward. “This is your last chance. If you follow me, I’ll forget everything that happened here. If you insist on searching the chief’s house, I’ll report you. It’s illegal to investigate the chief without a formal notice from the bureau.”

  No one moved. Sweat trickled down my neck. I licked my parched lips.

  “Very well.” Sirius sped up along the path towards the carriages.

  “Boys,” I said, wiping my forehead. “Maybe you should reconsider this.” I had nothing to lose, but they had everything to lose.

  Jasper nodded. “Yes, we should.”

  Despite my previous words, a tiny pang of disappointment stung my heart. But the agents had to save their necks. I understood that.

  “We aren’t going to knock on the front door, but sneak from the rear,” Jasper added. He flicked his dagger, let it twirl in the air, and caught it from the hilt. “Gentlemen, you know what to do.”

&nbs
p; Laughs exploded, and just like that, the tension was gone. They clapped each other’s shoulder and smashed their fists against each other in an outburst of enthusiasm that was at odd with the tension of a moment before. As if they were bloody rugby players who had won the national championship. My mouth hung open. Men. One could spend a lifetime studying them and never understand them.

  Evander started down the path. “We don’t have much time. Sirius is going to stop at the first wireless station available and warn the headquarters. This forest will be crawling with agents in less than an hour. Let’s go.”

  The tremor in my legs was still in full swing, but at least I wasn’t alone. And I was going to rescue Charlotte, whether she liked it or not.

  Twenty-Five

  BY THE TIME WE ARRIVED at the bottom of the slope, I was panting, and my knees quivered. My stubbornness to come here could’ve been the most brilliant idea I’d ever had, or the most stupid. I guessed I would find out soon.

  Evander stopped behind the trees next to the ten-foot-tall brick wall surrounding the house. “We’ll walk around the wall until we arrive at the rear,” he said.

  I tipped my head up, wondering how we were going to climb the wall without being seen. Even occult agents couldn’t be invisible, or could they?

  We skulked forward around the house. The cold and the snow had cleared the path from stinging nettles and brambles, but dry branches of something spiky tugged at my clothes. We stopped again at the back of the mansion.

  “I’ll go first.” Damon put his hands on the wall and, finding somehow spots to grip, pulled himself up.

  Once on the top of the wall, he peeked over it. “No one is around. Come.”

  Jasper crawled up the wall like a spider, silent and efficient.

  “Hey, what about me?” I half-whispered, half-shrieked.

  Gripping the top of the wall with one hand, Evander coiled an arm around my waist and dragged me up. I suppressed a whoop as my feet left the ground, and I was propelled up.