"Pilot light," he answered, and without another word, snatched the back of Damian's shirt with one hand and my arm with another, kicking aside the barricade before shoving us both through the doorway. "Run!" he ordered.
I grabbed Damian and ran down the steps to the street below, heartened to see the revenants and Sally spilling out of the house after us. Sebastian brought up the rear.
"Here, what about me?" wailed a voice from within the house.
"Oooh, we've left Will," Jack the revenant said, but the rest of his sentence was drowned out by a loud explosion. Sebastian hurled himself at me, knocking both Damian and me to the ground, covering us when a fireball exploded from the house, consuming everything in its path.
Chapter Six
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"Damn the imps," Tim muttered, as behind us Sebastian's door closed. Ah, sanctuary.
I collapsed into the nearest chair, heedless of the soot that no doubt came off my charred clothing. "Amen to that."
"Mmrfm wbrbl mnplm." Damian, on his way to investigate the video-game equipment in the entertainment center also housing a flat-screen television, paused long enough to pull a faintly smoking object out of a plastic carrier bag. He set the remains of William's remains—now just a blackened head—on the coffee table, propping it up next to a bowl of seashells.
"Ta, lad," William's head said politely. "I'm a bit peckish… anyone not using all their fingers or toes?"
"Did we have to bring that?" Sebastian asked, glaring at William's head. William grinned back and blew a kiss.
"Tim felt it would be wrong to leave a sentient body… er… part of a body behind," I explained wearily. "I suppose I can see his point. Once a revenant, always a revenant, until the entire body is destroyed."
"That's right, and I've still got me old noggin," William said, nodding. Unfortunately, the act sent the head rolling across the table until it was lying upside down.
Damian shoved it aside to perch on the coffee table, a game controller in his hand.
"Ooh, Xbox 360 car racing!" William said. "Give us a turn, will you? I love this one."
Sebastian's look become more pointed as Damian set a controller before William's head and positioned it so it could be manipulated by the revenant's mouth.
"I admit it's stretching the precepts set down by the Society a bit far, but his head is still sentient."
"Vroom!" William said. Sebastian pursed his lips.
"Okay, just barely, but it still seemed wrong to leave him behind just because the imps blew up the rest of his body."
"I'm done. Next!" Jack said as he emerged from the suite's guest bathroom. Although we'd all survived Damian's house exploding, we were all a bit singed about the edges and covered in soot and dirt.
"Ysabelle?" Tim asked.
I waved an exhausted hand. "I'll wait. You all go ahead."
"You may clean up in my bathroom while I have a word with you," Sebastian said, hauling me to my feet again. "The bedroom is through here."
"Dibs on le couch," said Sally as Tim kindly let her out of another carrier bag. "Oooh! Très bon hotel room, Sebastian! Je I'aime. Is there service du food en la room? Je suis starved."
"I have a few things I'd like to say to you, as well, but I'm not going into your bedroom," I told Sebastian, sitting back down.
He stood in front of me, his hands on his hips. Why not?
Because you'll just try to seduce me, and quite frankly, I'm not sure I could resist.
The rotter had the nerve to smile. It lit his eyes, sending little tremors of excitement through me. We are Joined. We will be together until the end of our days. Your body belongs to me, and mine to you. There is nothing wrong with me seducing you now.
"I'm sure that's what you think, but I still have a billion or so issues to work through over this whole Beloved thing," I said blandly, and refused to let him pull me out of the chair again.
" Est ce le bedroom? Oooh! Huge bed!" Sally drifted into the bedroom.
"Anything you have to say you can say to me here," I told Sebastian as he continued to glare and send me thoughts that just about steamed my blood. "There's nothing you can't say in front of my friends."
"That's right," Tim said, emerging from the bathroom with a damp shirt but a clean face. "I feel we owe a lot to Ysabelle. Clearly you two are having some sort of relationship crisis, and we all want you to know that we're here to help you work it out."
The other revenants nodded. Sebastian said rude things in French under his breath.
"That's very sweet of you. I greatly appreciate the support, although I'm a bit concerned about your safety." I glanced at Sebastian. "How long do you think we have before the demon tracks me down again?"
Before I could brace myself, he grabbed my wrists and pulled me into his arms. You are the single most irritatingly stubborn woman I have ever met.
I kissed the tip of his nose. "Oddly enough, I was just about to say the same about you. How long do we have, do you think?"
He sighed, his hands stroking gently down my back. My body—against my better intentions—melted against him. "I would say an hour or less, depending on the resources the demon is able to utilize. If it searches for you on its own, longer. If it rallies an army, perhaps twenty minutes at best. I must find it before it does either."
"Find it? Why find it? It's going to be here soon enough," I pointed out.
"I must destroy it before it can find you again," he answered, striding to a desk upon which sat a black attaché case. He rifled through it and extracted a small burgundy notebook. I couldn't help watching him move, admiring the lines of his impressive body, the strength and controlled power that he seemed to bear so easily. His every movement was filled with an almost feline grace that warned of a ruthless, potent being behind the sophisticated exterior.
"How do you destroy a demon?" Tim asked, holding out a chair for Sally. She beamed at him.
I raised an eyebrow at Sebastian, waiting for his answer. He didn't look at me. "A Guardian can destroy demons."
Tim glanced at me. "That's the only way?"
"Not the only way, no. Talismans created for that purpose can also be used, but unfortunately, the one I was trying to locate has no doubt been destroyed in the fire that claimed the Betrayer's house."
"A talisman?"
The color in Sebastian's eyes faded. "Yes. A ring of power, actually. It was thin, rimmed with gold, made of horn."
"Oh, you're talking about that ring you mentioned when you staggered into the house. I don't know where it is."
"It was in the possession of the Betrayer. In the right hands, it was capable of the destruction of the demon lord and his minions."
His hands tightened on the notebook. "But now it is destroyed."
"It's broken, but not destroyed," a voice piped up over the muted sound of electronic cars racing down virtual country roads.
We all turned to look at Damian.
"You've seen the ring?" I asked him.
He shrugged, his eyes still on the TV. Beside him, William's head grunted as it manipulated the controller with his mouth. "Yes. It broke when Nell saved Papa. He gave me the pieces, saying it was a souvenir."
The last hour and a half spent talking to fire officials made it clear that there was not going to be anything salvageable from the house. "Damian, I'm sorry—I thought you heard when the fire captain said that the fire destroyed everything in the house. Not even a magical ring could survive it."
"The ring isn't in the house," he said, his shoulders twitching as he manipulated his virtual car through a hairpin turn.
Sebastian all but pounced on the boy, grabbing him by both arms. "Where is the ring now, boy?"
"You're hurting me," Damian said, frowning.
Sebastian loosened his grip. We all watched breathlessly as Damian reached into his pocket and pulled out an assortment of grubby items. He picked carefully through bits of string, a couple of shiny rocks, a key, hard
sweets, and assorted fluff to pluck out three items. He handed them to me. Everyone but Damian and William's head crowded around me to see the three thin bits of curved metal that lay across my palm. They looked more like a broken hoop earring than a ring. I touched one of the pieces.
"This is a ring of power?"
Sebastian slumped down onto the love seat, his eyes closed for a moment. "It was."
"Hmm." The pieces of the ring lay cool on my hand. I touched them, pushing them into a rough circle, looking closely at the edges of the breaks. "This isn't gold. It's carmot."
"Carmot? What's that?" Jack the revenant asked, peering at the ring so closely his nose almost touched my hand.
"Have you ever heard of a man named Edward Kelley?" I asked Sebastian.
He frowned for a moment. "No."
"Really? Erm… how old are you?"
"Two hundred and seventeen," he said, looking nonplussed for a moment.
"Ah. That would explain it. Edward Kelley was a bit before your time—he was an alchemist during the reign of Elizabeth the First."
Sebastian's eyes narrowed on my hand. "That ring was reputed to have been created in the mid-sixteenth century."
I nodded. "Edward Kelley claimed to have found the tomb of a bishop in Wales that contained not only the basis for his tinctures, which would transmute base metals into gold, but also of a manuscript that explained the secrets of the manufacture of the tinctures. He was a fraud, of course, since the tinctures were not as he claimed, but he did contribute one true finding to science—carmot, the basis for which philosophers' stones were made, and, when treated properly, a yellow metal a thousand times more rare than mere gold. This ring was made of horn and carmot, not gold."
"Why do I suspect there is more to this than a rare substance?" Sebastian asked, his gaze steady on me.
I smiled, my fingers closing over the broken bits of ring. "Because you're a smart man. One of the reasons carmot was used for items of great importance like this ring is because of its restorative property."
"Restorative in what manner?"
My smile deepened as I whispered three words: magis plana conligatio.
Before I could open my hand, Sebastian was on his feet, his expression startled. I stood as well, turning over my hand as I opened my fingers. The pieces burned a bright reddish gold for a moment before subsiding into a more mundane horn ring edged in a gold-colored metal.
"You remade it," Sebastian said, touching the ring with the tip of his finger, as if he were worried it would break again. "But…
how?"
"Anyone who knows about carmot knows how to restore it to its manufactured form," I said, and pressed the ring into his hand.
My fingers touched the pulse of his wrist. "I am giving this to you now because I know you will not use it unwisely."
His gaze flickered to Damian, now thoroughly engrossed in the video game. "I made a vow to you, Beloved. I am a man of my word."
I touched his cheek, the anguish inside him so great it leeched into me. I know you are. I could not have bound myself to you if you were anything but an honorable man. I'm just sorry that I couldn't give you back your soul.
Do not worry, Beloved. I can exist without a soul— so long as I have you.
I didn't know what to say to that. Sebastian seemed to have no difficulty sharing his thoughts and feelings with me, blithely accepting his emotions rather than questioning how such a strong relationship could develop almost instantly. I couldn't deny that some pretty strong emotions were building within me on what seemed to be a minute-by-minute basis, but I was not yet ready to either confront or accept them. There were other issues to deal with first.
"That's amazing," Tim said, peeking over Sebastian's shoulder to see the ring. "You just pressed it together?"
" Elle est la fille de alchemist," Sally said, sashaying forward to look at the ring.
I frowned at her.
"You are? I didn't know they still had such things," Tim said.
"They don't. If the loo is free, I'll go clean up."
"Who exactly was Edward Kelley?" Sebastian asked, following me into the bathroom.
The revenants had left me a clean towel. I scrubbed my face and neck, wishing I had a change of clothes. "He was a liar and a thief, a man whose ears were cut off early in his career as a lawyer because of fraud. He later turned his talent for prevarication to alchemy."
"But it wasn't all false, was it?" Sebastian fingered the ring. "This carmot seems legitimate enough."
"It is. Carmot is the one thing in Kelley's life that was real, only he didn't understand that until the end of his life."
"What happened to him?"
I rinsed out the now-soiled towel. "The common belief is that he died during an attempt to break out of a Bohemian prison."
"The common belief? What's the truth?"
"Mind if I use your brush? Thanks." I toweled my hair quickly to get any soot out of it, then applied Sebastian's brush to the unruly mess, studying myself in the mirror. What could Sebastian see in my face? My eyes? Did he see the truth, or had some inner sense prompted him to press the subject? "He lost a leg during the prison break attempt, but he survived. He lived in seclusion for several years more, a broken man who could never recapture the fleeting fame he acquired in his earlier years."
"I assume he had a family?" Sebastian's eyes were watchful. Damn him, he knew.
"That would be a reasonable assumption." I set down the brush and turned to face him. "He had two children by a Gypsy woman: a son and a daughter. One was captured and burned at the stake for his sins. The other escaped and was not heard of or seen again."
"Fascinating," he said, but I could tell what was coming next, and I dreaded it. Offense was my only option.
"If your next question is going to be, 'Was his daughter named Ysabelle?' I will walk out of the room."
Three seconds passed. "Was his daughter named—"
I left the room. "Damian, I'm going to have to go out with Sebastian for a bit. You're perfectly safe here, but Sally will stay with you—"
"Oy!" Sally said at the same time Sebastian, emerging from the bathroom, announced that I would not be accompanying him.
"Why not?"
He slipped on his coat and tucked the ring into the pocket. You do not seriously believe I would allow you to come within range of this demon's powers?
I thought the whole point of us Joining was to keep me safe from the demon.
It was. And you are safer now that your souls are bound to me, but if the demon destroys me, you will be unprotected
again.
I rolled my eyes. "Then you should stay here, and I'll use the ring to destroy it."
"That would be the height of foolishness."
I started to bristle at the implication, but common sense kicked in and reminded me that while I was many things, powerful enough to destroy a demon was not on the list.
"You will stay here with the others where you are safe. I will destroy this demon, and return to you as soon as I am able." He moved to the desk and flipped open an address book. "Then we'll alert the Guardian that Asmodeus will shortly be making an appearance."
"Asmodeus?" I asked, startled. "Isn't that the one who held you prisoner—"
"Yes," Sebastian said with a smile. At the sight of it, a burning memory coursed through me. "The demon belonged to Asmodeus. I have no doubt that by now, the demon has told its master of the existence of a tattu in London. By destroying the demon, I will draw Asmodeus himself out."
I said nothing, rubbing my arms against the sudden chill that gripped me. Sebastian was almost through the door when he paused and looked back at me.
Beloved? You are distressed. You burn with fever.
It's not a fever, and yes, I'm distressed. I understand why you wish to destroy Asmodeus, but I don't like the way thoughts of revenge consume you.
His eyes glittered, pale. I felt his curiousity, but all he asked was, Why?
The air left my
lungs, making it difficult for me to breathe. I rubbed my arms, reminding myself where I was, that there was no threat to me in this hotel room. Despite that, my flesh crawled. Black dots appeared before my eyes. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. I was trapped, immobile, a prisoner of my own mind. Panic mingled with dread, flooding me with its inky, blistering presence, consuming every bit of me until nothing was left but a charred shell.
Chapter Seven
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Sebastian reached me before I hit the floor, shouldering aside the revenants and Sally as they asked questions about what was happening.
"I will see to her," Sebastian said to Sally as she ignored the closed door and followed us into his bedroom.
"She is my charge," Sally started to say, but Sebastian cut her off, waving her out of the room.
"She is mine now. I will let no harm befall her."
To my great surprise, Sally just looked at him for a few seconds, nodded, then left without even glancing toward me. I felt oddly bereft… for the space of time it took for Sebastian to lay me on the bed.
"Why did you not tell me, Beloved?" he asked, his fingers gently brushing a strand of hair back from my cheek.
I turned my face so I wouldn't have to see the pity in his eyes. He didn't like that, gently but irresolutely forcing me to meet his gaze.
"It was not your brother who was burned at the stake for his father's sins, was it?"
"No," I said, choking on the word, desperately pushing back the memories.
Sebastian slid behind me, cradling me against his chest. I fought the temptation for a moment, but he offered too much of a sanctuary to resist.
"I have not asked you how you became a tattu because I felt you would tell me when you trusted me," he said. I turned in his arms, holding him tight as I buried my head in his neck. Tears, hot and thick, squeezed out of my tightly shut eyes. Desperate to escape my own torturous mind, I merged with him, falling into the blackness that filled him. "Do you wish now to tell me how that came about?"