Betrayal (13 page)

Wrapping her arms around him, she let his warm male scent envelope her. She could love this man, if only in her dreams. Even after all they had seen and his small insight into his past, she wanted more. “Do you think you might tell me about the day you were wounded now?”

Kissing the crown of her head, he sighed. “If you really want to hear about it.”

“If you do not mind telling me.”

“I will tell you anything you want to know. This is a story I have only told once when Drake demanded a report. I was very sick at the time.”

“If this is too painful, I can wait.”

His arms tightened around her. “No. I want to tell you.”

If he wanted to tell her, did it mean he trusted her more than others? She hoped she lent him strength.

“We arrived at Fatum only hours before the moon reached the point when the ritual would likely begin. The plan was for most of the hunters to create distractions and kill the demons in the barricaded yard while Gabriel, Lillian, and I went looking for Belinda. We used black powder to take down parts of the barricade. The scene outside the manor was complete madness. Demons were running in every direction. Hunters stormed through the holes, and we climbed over, descending unnoticed.

“Inside the walls were all scorched black with red symbols painted everywhere. They boarded over all the windows and only torches produced any light. Even the air was bitter inside that evil place. We were attacked in the foyer first by trebox. One stabbed me but not too seriously. Then the pravus attacked. At the time, no one had ever seen that type of demon before. We had no idea their bite would poison the blood.”

“Is that when you were bitten?”

He nodded. “Gabriel tore the beast from my shoulder and Lilly killed it. We moved farther into the house. I kept watch while they went down to a stone cell dug out under the house. The demons kept Belinda there. By the time Gabriel and Lilly came back up the steps, I could already feel the heat from the poison in my blood. My energy drained but we had no time. We found Belinda hanging from her wrists above an enormous swirling hole in the ballroom floor. Four of those bull-faced priests chanted in the corners of the room. I was too weak to be much help in a fight so I waited at the door, ready to pull them out.”

“Did you see the master ascend?”

“I saw Lilly kill two priests and Gabriel risk everything to retrieve his wife. I saw the gateway explode with energy I cannot possibly describe. I felt the heat of his fury when Belinda pulled away. I do not know what I saw, but it was more energy than matter, and it looked as withered as I was when it spewed from the hole.”

“My God.”

“By the time the others were out of the ballroom, Fatum was crumbling around us. Lilly grabbed me and dragged me from the house. Thor had to go in and keep the master from pulling Belinda and Reece back into his clutches. I do not remember much after that. I may have lost consciousness.”

She didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“I made you relive something that must have been horrifying. I should have left it alone.” Tears burned behind her eyes.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. I relive those moments every moment of every day. They are always with me. It is rather a relief to have someone to share it with.” His cheek rested against the top of her head.

“If that’s true, I’m glad.”

“Of course it is true. I suppose I could have talked to Gabriel or Lilly about the day, but I think we all avoid it. None of us want to remind the others in case they had managed to put it all aside. Telling you somehow makes the entire thing seem further away.”

Her heart screamed at her to tell him how she felt, to agree to become his wife. Her head ignored the plea.

Maybe he had lost his mind. Reece Foxjohn fully accepted that all good sense went out the door when he was in Elizabeth Smyth’s presence. She muddled his brain to the point where he would give anything to have her be his wife. He’d never even wanted to marry before meeting her. He’d asked Lilly to marry him only out of a sense of duty and respect. He and Lilly might have managed together nicely. They were friends and that went a long way. If his own father and mother could tolerate the sight of each other, they might not have loathed him so much.

He shook his head, trying to dispel the negative thoughts.

In light of the fact that they had no clue where to start looking for poor Tally, they had opted to spend the day at home. They had gone to the market where she’d picked up two hens before disappearing from sight a block away. Quite a few people saw her that day, but no one could tell them what had happened to her after she left the shop.

Clearly, the state of the investigation upset Elizabeth. Maybe she wanted to relieve some stress. Whatever the reason, she had agreed to a hand-to-hand battle and he would need all his wits to stay on his feet.

He tossed his cane away and bent his legs to find better balance.

“Are you certain you want to do this, Reece?” She circled him.

“Quite sure.”

Twenty minutes later, sweat dripped down his neck and face and she had pinned him twice. Though, even he could see his strength returning. A week earlier, he would not have been able to go a second round. Still slow, he would continue working, and the time had passed to do away with his cane. It slowed him down. Leaving it on the floor, he bowed to his opponent. “Thank you for the match. Very invigorating.”

“You are getting stronger every day.” She thanked the footman for the towel and wiped her face.

“I agree. There is still much work to be done, but I never thought I would come this far in such a short time.”

Garvey stepped inside the remodeled ballroom. “Sir, Lord Shafton is here to see you and Miss Smyth.”

“Oh dear,” she said.

“Please put him in the study. I’ll get cleaned up and meet him in a few minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Lizzy, will you join us when you are ready?”

Her smile reached her eyes, lighting them like fireworks. She nodded and ran up the stairs.

He stared after her with the butler at his side. “Garvey?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Do you understand women?”

“I’m afraid not sir.”

“Pity.”

“Indeed, sir.”

* * * *

Reece found David Clayton, The Earl of Shafton, standing over a map of London in the study. His stomach hung over his trousers and his gray hair thinned. He’d held a book in his hand and fiddled with the binding.

“My lord, had you let me know you were coming, I would have been better prepared to receive you.”

Shafton crossed the room and the two shook hands. “I only heard today about your experience in the park. Sorry for arriving unannounced, but I came directly from the office.”

“In that case, we had better wait for Miss Smyth to join us. It was she who the vortex tried to swallow.” His voice remained calm, but his gut tightened with the idea that some information might be forthcoming.

Shafton looked toward the door and frowned. He gripped the book and paced the room. “Perhaps you already know, I am charged with information gathering here in London.”

“I had heard. Have you come to bring us information or gather from our experience, my lord?”

“I want to hear your experience, but I also want to show you something I’ve discovered.” He stopped pacing and again looked at the door.

“Of course, we are happy to help and would welcome your knowledge.”

He stopped at the desk, opened the book, and pointed to a page. “Look here.”

Drawings of lines and charts filled the book, but Reece was at a loss to know what any of it meant. A funnel drawing marked the center of the page. “Is this a depiction of a vortex?”

“Yes, but not the one you saw. This one arrived near the river. Several people saw others sucked in. It was a busy area, but only a handful of people saw the event.”

The door shut and both men turned to find Elizabeth in trousers, a blouse, and a long coat. Her sword strapped tight to her leg, she was prepared for anything. “Good afternoon, my lord.”

“Miss Smyth, I’m so pleased you’re here.” Shafton waved her over.

Her eyebrows rose comically, and she looked to Reece.

He shrugged and imitated Shafton’s excited waving.

“You see here, Miss Smyth. This thing you experienced has happened before. Twice that we know of, here in London in the last few weeks.” The way he said it left the end open.

Reece squinted at the lines and numbers on the page, trying to make sense of it. “And it happened at some earlier date as well?”

“Yes, so you see.” He pointed to a string of numbers.

Elizabeth took the chair behind the desk, turned the book, and studied the page. “What do all of these numbers mean, my lord? Are they dates?”

“Yes. My, you are as clever as I had heard.”

If her eyes got any wider, they would pop from her pretty face. “Um, not so clever that I can decipher the remaining numbers.”

“Of course not. It’s a code of my own.” He rounded the desk. “Here, let me show you.”

Reece stared down at the book over her shoulder. “Lord Shafton, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you quite so enthusiastic.”

“I tell you, Foxjohn, I’m on to something here. With your help, we might find a pattern. We know next to nothing about the enemy other than how to kill his soldiers.”

Many in The Company considered Shafton a villain in the battle against the demons. Lillian and Dorian discovered recently that he was responsible for allowing the demons into the world of men. Yet when he had asked Lillian about the incident, she had laid the blame with the demon master. She said Shafton had been young and arrogant, but the demons would have found a way in regardless of his actions. He had been a pawn in the opening of the initial gate. The fact remained, the demon world withered, and they needed a new realm in which to live. Nothing would have stopped them.

No one hated Shafton more than Lillian did. If she could have blamed him, she would have. According to Lillian, if not for Shafton’s dedication to correcting his error, when the demons found a way into the world, there would have been no Company to hold them off all these years. The possibility of where the demons would be without the opposition of The Company sent a chill up his spine.

If Shafton had clues to the goals of their enemy, they would help them sort it. “Explain all of these numbers and drawings to us, my lord, and we will tell you everything that occurred both in the park and at the school. Perhaps together we can make some strides.”

Shafton flipped pages and showed them page after page of recorded incidents of demons coming into the world and leaving as well. He had notes on the use of gates as opposed to these funnels of swirling air. He also had notations about the occasions when vortexes pulled humans in. He noted the date, weather, moon cycle, and a dozen other astrological variables.

Elizabeth stood up and went to the door. “Garvey?”

The butler stepped through the door an instant later. “Yes, miss.”

“Can you have a couple of footmen bring the blackboard from the training room?”

“You want it brought into the study?”

“If you would, please.”

“As you wish, miss.”

“Since Mr. Foxjohn’s progress has been so swift and I didn’t use it, we shall put it to good use now.”

“What are you doing, Lizzy? Are we going to have a musical lesson?”

Her smile made his heart pound. “I have an idea that may help us put all of his lordship’s fine notations into some perspective.”

Four footmen were needed to move the heavy piece of slate.

Garvey gave direction until the board was in place. He handed Elizabeth a chalk stick and bowed out of the room.

She went to the board and drew a long line from left to right down the middle of the board. At one end, she jotted the opening of the first gate.

“Brilliant.” Shafton rounded the desk with his book in hand and joined her at the board. He read out each incident with the corresponding date.

Elizabeth wrote each one along the line she’d made and drew a line vertically for each event.

When completed, they all stood back and examined the timeline.

Shafton tossed his book on a chair. “It is likely we have missed events from time to time.”

Reece followed the lines as they mounted and grew sporadically through time. Just before, and for a time after the ascension, the events had no space between them. The activity gapped for months before a steady increase. “There is no sense in worrying about that, my lord. You have compiled all we know, and now it is clear the events have had increases and lulls over the years.”

“Something else is clear.” Elizabeth put down the chalk stick. “They are building to a bigger event in spite of the master’s condition or because of it. Shortly after the ascension, there were a few months of quiet, but the incidents have steadily increased since then.”

“My lord, your daughter mentioned you have a theory about the weather. She said you noted a pattern of some kind?” Reece asked.

“Indeed.” He grabbed his book again. “See here. I’ve noted the increase in rain and thunderstorms. I believe it corresponds with the increase in demonic activity.”

“Now we must also fear the weather. Will this never end?” Elizabeth collapsed onto a settee.

Shafton sat beside her. “Do not lose hope, my dear. We are making progress. Besides, without hope, we truly will be lost.”

Reece picked up the book. The weather notes included locations on many pages. “How do you know what the weather is in all these locals, my lord?”

“I receive notification via post from local folk. Usually, the vicar in an area is willing to send me anything of interest.”

“And this note here from three days ago near Richmond?”

“Yes, that notice arrived just this morning. They’ve had terrible thunderstorms for several days without any relief.”

“Strange, we are so close yet the weather has not reached us.”

Elizabeth sat up. “Tally. Do you think they have her there?”

“I think it is worth a look, don’t you?”