He caught himself reaching to touch the old bite. It had indeed been paining him in the last day, throbbing with a constant dull tic. "I felt no need to mention it has been hurting; it would be no surprise to you, considering the events of the last few days. "
"No, but I could give you more salve," Eustacia replied gently, as though speaking to a young child. "There is no need for you to endure the pain. "
"It is nothing. " Perhaps he would have said more, but at that moment Kritanu opened the door from the hall and Wayren glided in.
"Felicitations, Eustacia and Maximilian," the blond librarian beamed. Her long medieval sleeves would drag the floor when her arms hung at her sides; but now, as she had them raised in delight, the flowing cuffs served only to wrap themselves around Eustacia and then Max, in turn, as Wayren embraced each of them. "You have succeeded in retrieving the book! And so quickly!"
"Yes, it was quite fortuitous," replied Max as she stepped back.
"And your bite?" asked Wayren, giving him the same assessing look Eustacia had.
"It is tender," he admitted.
The door opened again, and Kritanu ushered in the second guest—Victoria, of course. Max looked over and said, "Ah, there she is. And… alone? You did not bring your better half, Victoria?"
"Oh, no, Phillip sends his regrets. He is much too busy trying to decide which way to tie his neckcloth for the wedding," she replied sweetly.
Max had to bite his lip to keep back his surprise
d delight at her smart rejoinder. She was quick. He couldn't fault her there.
As he sat down in his favorite chair next to the highboy where Kritanu kept the brandy, he looked blandly at Eustacia, who had given him a less than pleased look at his sarcastic comment.
"Your better half?" asked Wayren, settling next to Max but speaking to Victoria.
"Max is speaking of my betrothed husband, the Marquess of Rockley. He—Max—appears to be under the impression that when I take my vows I will forget those I have already made to the Gardella Legacy. "
Victoria, whose hair was dressed in a way that Max had never seen, pressed a kiss to her aunt's cheek, and then one to Kritanu's, before selecting a chair directly opposite Max. Instead of being piled high on her head, with every black curl stuck in place and intertwined with gems and ribbons, her hair fell in a simple, long plait down the back of her dress. She had to move the braid out of the way or she would have sat on it.
Max noticed that she was carrying a leather bag, and as she settled in her chair, she drew it onto her lap.
"That is the book?" he asked, desirous of getting their discussion onto more important things than the impending wedding.
"It is. " Victoria drew it out and held it for a moment before offering it to Eustacia. "What shall we do with it now that we have it? Is there anything in it that could help us?"
Wayren watched the battered leather tome with the same avidity Max's old dog watched the table for a bone or other scrap to fall—or be pushed—to the floor. She sounded almost breathless when she spoke. "I will have to study it to know for certain… but I would venture to say that there is little in there that would promote living in the light. It is the book of Kali's evil child, and as such has only recipes for promoting evil. Still, knowing what value it has for Lilith may help us to understand her next move. "
"Indeed," Eustacia agreed. "Merely having it in our possession is the greatest of advantages. And in fact, I have been thinking long and hard about where we should hide the book until we have decided what to do with it. "
"Won't you keep it here, Aunt Eustacia?" asked Victoria, surprise lighting her face.
Max did little to disguise his snort of disgust. "Eustacia's home, or mine, would be the first place Lilith would look for it. Or yours. " He was not disappointed; a jolt of enlightenment changed her face. Ah, perhaps she did understand the severity of the situation. That the game was not quite over yet… and, in fact, would not be over until Lilith was annihilated. "She knows who foiled her plan, and I can only imagine her fury with us. " Actually, he could imagine it quite well. Better, in fact, than he wished.
"Wherever it is kept, you must place it out of direct sunlight, especially while transporting it," Wayren said, "or it will crumble into dust. It is an evil book, and therefore it thrives in the dark… and disintegrates in the light. And before you take it, I would like to reverse the protection on it as well, in order to give us additional security. "
"Reverse the protection?" asked Victoria. "You can do that?"
"That is part of Wayren's charm," Max interjected. "No pun intended. "
Wayren tinkled a laugh at his jest, and he was partially mollified when Victoria narrowed her eyes as if not sure what to believe. He felt a perverse pleasure in keeping himself one step ahead of her.
"I would like to destroy the book," Wayren added, "and then we need not fear Lilith finding it and retrieving it, but before we do that I want to do a bit more investigation in order to make sure there will be no adverse effects if we do. Or whether there is anything in the book that we might find advantageous. So if there is a place that it can be kept safely for a bit longer…"
"I have come to the conclusion," Eustacia interrupted pointedly, "that the best place is to hide it away in a church or holy place of some sort. She can't go there if it is protected enough, and she cannot send her minions. "
"If you do not have a place in mind, I have a suggestion," Victoria spoke. "There is a small chapel on the grounds at St. Heath's Row—Rockley's estate," she added, looking pointedly at Max. "I could hide the book there, and make certain that there are enough holy relics and images to keep them away, even if they were to determine it was there. I will be becoming quite familiar with the entire chapel, including its decor, as that is where we are to be married. "
The way her lips curved in a mocking smile made Max's blood pressure rise. He gave no indication, however; just picked up his black stake and slapped it against his palm. It was time to leave.