Double Alchemy: Climax Page 10

  “And that’s not all they found.” Percy continued his tale with a distinct air of satisfaction. “There’s a text in the Reponosium archives affiliated to the Witchfinder General that actually gives a way to destroy him. It’s not gospel, it was thought of more as urban legend, but given what we know now, I think it’s right.”

  Quinn leaned forward, his nostrils flaring and his eyes narrowing, like a fox in a hen house surveying his dinner. “How do we do that?”

  “It’s a little complicated so bear with me.” Percy swallowed a gulp of beer as the others watched him intently. Cade shifted in his chair and Daniel grinned at him.

  “Are you all right with all this? We’re not boring you?”

  Cade waved his beer bottle. “No, I think it’s fascinating watching you guys piece all these obscure bits together to make sense of it. It’s what I do as an anthropologist, just in a different way.”

  Quinn leaned forward, eager to hear the rest of Percy’s story. “Go on, tell us the rest.”

  Cade rolled his eyes at Quinn’s impatience as Percy continued his story.

  “The documents we found relating to Montague Druitt—you remember he was the man who was thought to have had Matthew Hopkins channelled into him in the nineteenth century? Again, this was said to have happened as a result of a Book of Shadows being found and the spells being performed. For all we know it could be the same book that Quinn now has back in his collection. The chances are very good that this was indeed the case. Well, at the time there was this banishing spell in circulation, to send Hopkins back to his everlasting hell, wherever that was.”

  Percy rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “Apparently there’s also a way that Hopkins, once he was in this world, could find himself a more suitable human vessel and actually reincarnate himself physically.”

  Quinn gave a hiss of displeasure at these words. “You mean he actually could do that?”

  Percy nodded. “If he prepared the ‘human vessel,’ as it was called, using certain herbs and rituals, he could pass into that body. The purification ceremony had to happen on the twentieth of March and exactly forty-nine days later, seven by seven because of the auspiciousness of the number, he could perform the ritual that lets him be reincarnated permanently in a human body. In case you’re all frantically working the math, that’s on May seven.” He looked at the group of people hanging onto his every word. “That’s in just over two weeks’ time,” he said grimly.

  Taliesin spoke sharply.

  Hellfire, Quinn that leaves us very little time to plan anything. We will have to make haste if we want to defeat this Witchfinder from completing his plan. But I think Percy is right in his findings.

  Quinn jumped up and paced around the living room, running his hands through his hair in agitation. “As Taliesin says, that doesn’t leave us much time to stop the bastard! You said we could stop him. How?”

  Percy shifted uncomfortably. “This is the part that’s a little unknown, as we can’t find any record of it ever being done. It was all conjecture. Perhaps it happened but it wasn’t documented. But the texts say it is feasible. On the seventh of May, there’s a solar eclipse. We won’t see it here in the Northern Hemisphere, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. There’s a ritual chant that needs to be performed at the time the eclipse is at its maximum which is one twenty-three in the morning. Ideally, for maximum effect, it should be performed in close proximity to all three of them, which could be an additional problem for us. According to the texts, this was done in the nineteenth century to banish Hopkins back to where he came from and is the reason Montague Druitt was found floating in the river. The Consortium at the time then tidied up any loose ends and made it look like a random witch killing. If it was done, it had to have worked, because he wasn’t around any longer until that coven in Suffolk messed with what we think is the same book and opened the door again for him.” He stopped to take a breath and take another drink of his now lukewarm beer. He gulped it down and carried on.

  “The only problem is we need something from the prepared human vessel to work with the chant. That, together with the destruction of whatever we get, basically makes the host untenable for Hopkins, forcing him back to where he came from.”

  The small party regarded him gloomily.

  That is not an insurmountable problem. Taliesin sounded excited. We could convene a Withinner’s Circle perhaps?

  Quinn nodded in agreement with the voice in his head as he continued his pacing. “Christ, I thought we might be able to do this with just the chant and have nothing more to do with any of those poxy Witchfinders,” he growled. “But that would just be too fucking easy, wouldn’t it? So now we have to find this human receptacle and get something from him to perform the ritual.” He frowned. “Taliesin has said we could convene a Withinner’s Circle, with four of us, then use the book and the blood traces to try to track down exactly where Jeremy Payton is. If he’s currently storing Hopkins, we should be able to find them both and maybe that will lead us to this human”—he waved his hands in frustration—“container, and then we can take it from there. We can use Taliesin, Nicholas, Attilius and Rupert. They should make a very strong circle.”

  Cade spoke curiously. “I know Nicholas, that’s your Withinner, isn’t it Percy? But who are the other two?”

  “Attilius is Magnus’s Withinner, and Rupert is with a man called Justin Leichner. He’s an old friend of mine whom I can trust.”

  Quinn turned to Percy. “Do you think you can get hold of Magnus and I’ll call Justin? He’ll be glad to help, if I can track him down. The last time I heard of him he was in the Himalayas somewhere. If we can arrange for them to convene as soon as possible, we can perhaps stop this thing before it happens. We have no other choices, it looks like.”

  Percy nodded. “I’ll let Magnus know to be on call and once you’ve found Justin, we can set it up.” He leaned back with a sigh of relief, glad that his tale was over.

  Quinn looked at Percy. “If you have a moment, there’s something in the library I’d like you to see.” He waved a hand at the others and made his way to the basement, turning to see whether Percy was behind him. Quinn heard Cade give a deep sigh of resignation and he smiled at his lover’s reaction before entering his man lair.

  *****

  “Well, that’ll be the last we see of him until midnight.” Cade remarked drily, looking over at Daniel. “It looks like it’s just me and you. Would you like coffee or something?”

  Daniel shook his head. “No thanks, Cade. I’m good.”

  There was a companionable silence and Cade glanced at the older man. He’d met him before at Quinn’s bedside when he was injured but that had been such a whirlwind of activity they’d had little time to get to know each other. Cade guessed Daniel to be in his early fifties, looking younger than his years despite his obvious stress, and he had a calm, thoughtful face.

  “Quinn told me all about his parents’ deaths the other night,” Cade said softly. “It was a terrible thing for a six-year-old to go through. I’m glad you were there for him. I went through something similar with my step-mum, but I was a lot older than he was. I was able to cope better, I expect.”

  Daniel leaned forward. “I heard about your tragedy from Quinn. I’m sorry you had to face that. It must have been a very traumatic time. “

  Cade nodded. “It was. But nothing like what Quinn had to face at such a young age.”

  Daniel nodded. “It was a tough time for him. He was a difficult boy and definitely a bit of a hellion in his younger years. He needed a father figure. He’s not an easy man to control, as I’m sure you’ve found out.”

  Cade chuckled. “No one controls Quinn, least of all me. I’m just lucky he’s finally started sharing his past with me. He has so many secrets, he’s like a maze. You think you get to the end and see the exit and then you face yet another hedge that you can’t get through.”

  “That’s a very apt description of him,” Dani
el said approvingly. “Quinn’s had to grow up terribly fast, and becoming Grand Master at the young age of twenty-one was an incredible achievement. No Grand Master has ever achieved the title that young before.”

  His voice was proud.

  Cade looked at him. “What exactly does one have to do to earn that title? Is it some sort of ritual he goes through? Are there levels you achieve, like in the Masons?”

  Daniel looked at him uncomfortably. “It’s really just a case of making decisions, showing how strong you are and working the inevitable power game. Quinn is a master at it. There were people who thought he’d never get where he was but he proved them wrong. It became a challenge for him, and being Quinn, he had to win.”

  “What kind of decisions?” Cade asked quietly. “Quinn told me that at the age of twelve he had to make a decision to kill a man. I couldn’t believe it. Are those the kind of decisions you’re talking about?”

  Daniel snorted. “You don’t want to know all the gory details, trust me. You know how tormented Quinn is by some of his past? The less you know in this case, the better. I believe that with all my heart. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression of him by telling you the kind of things he’s had to do to get where he is.”

  “The end justifies the means. Quinn’s mantra,” Cade murmured.

  Daniel nodded. “He has the weight of the Warlock race on his shoulders and he’ll do anything to protect them. It’s what he’s sworn to do and he does it very well. There has been less trouble in Quinn’s tenure than with any other Grand Master before him, including his father, who was one of the best. Christopher hated the fact that Quinn had to become it. He wanted Quinn not to have that responsibility because it’s a burden, but he knew he couldn’t stop it. And he knew Quinn would want it. It’s who he is, who he was born to be.”

  Daniel fell silent, watching Cade’s face.

  Cade smiled at him. “He’s very complicated, isn’t he?” He heard the wistfulness in his voice. “Sometimes I have no idea who he is.” He lowered his eyes to his hands. “Sometimes he scares me. He can be so damned implacable.”

  Daniel shook his head fiercely. “That man worships you. You’re his world; never forget that. You’re the only thing he’d put above the Consortium and his mantra and that knowledge scares him. He’s never had that happen to him before. He thinks it makes him weak. You and I know it just makes him human. You need to bear with him. If he’s opening up to you now, that’s a good sign. You just keep chipping away at my boy. And never fear him. He’d never do anything to hurt you.” He grinned. “Not intentionally anyway. He can be a bit of an arrogant, bad-tempered bastard, I know. “

  The two men sat in silence and Cade was truly surprised when Quinn and Percy came back into the room. He’d expected Quinn to be longer, as was his way when he went into his study. Quinn looked at Daniel, then at Cade. He frowned.

  Cade knew that look. Quinn was wondering if they’d been talking about him.

  “I managed to track down Justin,” Quinn said quietly. “He’s somewhere in Tibet at the moment with his oil company but he’ll join us for the circle at ten tomorrow morning and so will Magnus. Then perhaps we can find Hopkins. We don’t have a lot of time so I hope this bloody works.”

  He scowled fiercely and looked at Daniel with a raised eyebrow. To Cade’s amusement, Daniel ignored Quinn’s apparent curiosity at what he and Cade had been discussing and stood up.

  “Well, if that’s it, I’m getting off. I have a dinner date with a very willing lady and as it’s been a while since I saw any action, I’m raring to go.”

  Quinn shook his head in amusement. “You’re assuming she’s willing. I hope she likes short, skinny blokes with attitude. Then you should be all right.”

  Daniel laughed and came over to hug Quinn. Cade watched as Quinn hugged him back, marvelling at his easy acceptance of this man’s affection. He’d never seen him do that with anyone else before, not even Percy.

  “I’m going to get off too,” Percy announced. “I might be able to salvage that late afternoon game of golf after all.”

  The two men departed, leaving Cade and Quinn standing by the front door as they waved goodbye. Quinn shut the door with a thankful sigh.

  “It’s been quite an eventful afternoon,” he mused, looking at Cade. “Have you anything planned now that you want to do?”

  “Nothing in particular. I do have some notes for a dissertation to finish for Ambrose so I suppose I’d better do that.” Cade wrinkled his nose in distaste.

  “I have a better idea,” murmured Quinn as his mouth swooped down, parting Cade’s lips and kissing him greedily. Cade surrendered to his embrace and decided it was definitely a better plan.

  Chapter 13

  Four men stood in a circle in Quinn’s library basement the following morning, their faces expectant yet composed. It was a rare sight to see so many influential and powerful Warlocks in one place at the same time. Quinn looked around at the gathering of his close friends and confidantes and regarded each one of them in turn. Magnus, Percy and Justin gazed back with the same scrutiny. Justin’s face, tanned from the Tibetan sun, seemed at odds with the paler faces of everyone else. He was a tall man, about Quinn’s age and height, with a stocky frame and chiselled face.

  Quinn smiled slightly. “Look at us. A meaner bunch of reprobates I’ve yet to see.” The others grinned back. “Are we ready for this? Everyone knows what we need to do?”

  They all nodded and Quinn nodded too in satisfaction. “Right, let’s invoke those Withinners and get this party started.”

  All four men chanted their invoking words quietly and within seconds, the circle of human warlocks had changed to a circle of magyckal beings, all distinctly different. Taliesin was in his usual garb: breeches, jerkin and his long, swirling cloak. Draigh, Taliesin’s familiar, buzzed impatiently around the room.

  Nicholas, Percy’s Withinner, was attired in a long, green robe with black trimming and astronomical symbols across the fabric. Attilius was dressed in a deep red, flowing garment that wrapped around his body, held in a place by a white sash across his waist. He had a long chain of Roman medallions around his neck, reaching down to his breastbone. It was Rupert, being the most modern of the current Withinners in the room that looked most out of place amongst the circle. He was casually clad in a pair of deep blue trousers, brown leather sandals and a white, billowing shirt, fastened at the neck by a small brooch.

  Taliesin, as usual, took charge. “It is good to see you all again,” he murmured. “Rupert, I swear you look more foppish each time we meet. “

  The other Withinners grinned at the banter. It was a standing feud between Taliesin and Rupert to insult each other’s dress sense.

  “And I see you still wear the same clothes you had on when we met last time, Taliesin.” Rupert twitched his nose in distaste. “It certainly smells like it.”

  Attilius chuckled, a deep belly laugh that shook his rotund frame and jiggled the jowls of his fat chins. Nicholas smiled quietly as Taliesin chuckled.

  “Now we have the pleasantries out of the way, shall we begin? Time is short and there is a lot depending on us. Where is the Book of Shadows?”

  Nicholas motioned to Quinn’s desk. “I believe it is that one. It reeks of death even from here.” He frowned. “Whoever owned that book suffered greatly.”

  Taliesin nodded. “If we all place our hands on it, and concentrate our energies, we may be able to get a sense of where this poxy Witchfinder is. Nay, we have to get a sense of where he is. We have only until the solar eclipse to try and destroy him so we must make haste and succeed in our endeavour.”

  The four men moved over to the book, each placing their left hand on a part of it, and grimacing at the feelings the book invoked.

  “The blood trail is faint, but it is there,” Attilius said quietly. “I see some images but it will take all of us to enhance this blood trail. Can I suggest we begin?”

  The Withinners closed their eyes and each c
hanted their own words to amplify the images, sights and sounds they were receiving from Matthew Hopkins’ blood. Their faces underwent transformations of emotions as they tapped into the spiritual essence overlaying the book. The air around them hazed up like heat rising off a scorching pavement. The men remained firm, their stances upright, and their murmuring grew louder. The book shimmered and rose slightly, but still the group kept hold of it. A red mist slowly rose from the front of the book, swirling around like pink fog and covering the Withinner’s hands.

  Nicholas gave a sigh of satisfaction. “I see something,” he said quietly. “I see a church, a grey brick church, in a graveyard. The sign is faint but there are words on the sign outside the entrance.”

  “I see it too,” murmured Taliesin. “It is called the Church of St. Mary and St. Michael. The words on the sign say it is the parish church of a place called Mistley, as expected. Can anyone see the people we are seeking?”

  “I see a stone cottage, out in nowhere, behind trees and set far into the woods.” muttered Rupert. “It is cloaked with magyck but not strong enough to hide from this exalted circle. I feel a bad presence in its midst. Something is rotten inside. Can we concentrate on this place? I feel it in my bones that the people we seek are inside. The stench is odorous.”

  All the Withinners focused on where Rupert had pointed them and finally Taliesin nodded in satisfaction.

  “I see them. The cottage is buried deep in the woods, on a dirt road. I see a broken signpost saying ‘Weathers.’ I’m not sure if that is the name of the place or the area. I also see a copse of seven broad trees—they look like sentries, they stand so firm.” He squinted, his brow furrowing. “There are two people in it,” he frowned, “three of them including Hopkins himself. A boy, a tall, thin man and the Witchfinder essence. They are all together in this house. I think the boy is this Jeremy Payton that Quinn is seeking. The other man, he feels different, but he is not a Fey. He is still human but there is something strange about him.”