Chapter Six #2
Jane, who had been visiting their father upstairs at the time, kneaded the counterpane anxiously. “Mr. Collins told Papa he was determined to choose a wife from among his daughters. Mama must have told him of my attachment to Mr. Bingley. Very likely he believes you are the next logical choice.”
Elizabeth snorted inelegantly. “I am absolutely the last person who should marry that man.”
“You would be good at fixing his mistakes.”
“There is a future I would not wish on anyone.” She sighed. “I suppose my only recourse is to avoid him. If he cannot find me, perhaps he will give up in frustration.”
Jane smiled sympathetically. “One can hope.”
***
Two days later, Elizabeth escaped Longbourn after breakfast for her pre-arranged rendezvous with Mr. Darcy.
As she set off on the walk for Oakham Mount, she eagerly anticipated a few hours free of Mr. Collins’s irritating laugh and inane comments.
As a precaution, to protect her reputation, Elizabeth had told only Jane where she was bound.
But the very idea of impropriety made her laugh.
There was nothing less romantic than arranging a rendezvous to discuss goblin attacks.
Swathed in an elegant greatcoat, Mr. Darcy had arrived at the top of Oakham Mount first. He did not even greet her, instead pointing to a ring of evenly spaced stones partially concealed by shrubs and tall grasses.
The stones were small, and the circle was set back from the path; it was easy to miss if you were not searching for it.
“Did you know of this?” he asked. “I felt it as soon as I arrived.”
“Yes. Papa believes it to be the remnants of a summoning circle,” Elizabeth said. “Upon occasion I have sensed disturbances in the ether near it.”
Summoning circles could be used to summon any number of otherworldly creatures, including goblins and ghosts. Supposedly the veil between the worlds was thinner at a circle, making it easier to open a portal.
“But it is so old,” she added. “I doubt it has been used for a century or more.”
“Unfortunately, I believe that is not the case.” Mr. Darcy pointed to a patch of ground within the circle where the weeds had been hacked away.
Elizabeth’s hand flew to her mouth. “It has been used for summonings recently?”
He nodded grimly. “Can you feel the energy?”
Elizabeth reached out with her magical senses to touch the ether—and recoiled instantly. The ether within the circle was…wrong. Dark and twisted, it made her want to run from the place and never return. “I have never sensed that before— That-that vile feeling! What happened here?”
Mr. Darcy regarded the circle warily. “I do not know, but it was something far beyond an ordinary goblin summoning. That would not produce such cloying…foulness.”
Elizabeth swallowed. Had they solved the mystery? “If we bring Mr. Marsh here, could he trace the tengu, hobgoblin, and trow goblins to the locations of the attacks?”
Mr. Darcy shook his head. “I thought so initially. But I observe no etheric traces leading from this place. If the goblins were summoned here and sent elsewhere, it should leave some kind of trail, no matter how faint.” His gaze roamed the area of the circle, and then he stepped inside it with a visible shudder.
He knelt, scooping up something from the ground. “What is that?” Elizabeth asked.
“Ashes.”
She sucked in a breath. Several small gray mounds were visible throughout the interior of the ring. “If each is a dead goblin…there could easily have been fifteen or more slain here!”
Mr. Darcy nodded solemnly, letting ashes sift through his fingers.
Elizabeth shivered. How had Oakham Mount become a goblin graveyard? It made her skin crawl. Goblins were destructive, but this was simply murder. She voiced what they were both thinking. “Someone summoned multiple goblins solely for the purpose of killing them.”
“It appears so.” Mr. Darcy dusted ashes from his hands and stood.
“Why? Why would someone do so?”
“I do not know. Summoning goblins just to kill them would require expending a great deal of power for no discernable purpose.”
Elizabeth’s stomach gave a queasy lurch. “It cannot have been terribly long ago, or the ashes would have washed away in the rain.”
Mr. Darcy stepped out of the circle. “At least we know why the ether is so foul and wrong. It reverberates with the residue of the killings. I will notify Marsh about this. I do not believe he will discover more than we have, but he may possess investigative techniques I am unaware of.”
He frowned at the summoning circle for a long moment. Finally Elizabeth said, “I would speak further, but I am loath to remain in this place.”
He gave a brisk nod. “Of course. Let us descend.”
Elizabeth led the way down the hill. It was not steep, but she was not equal to striking up a conversation.
At the foot of the hill, she turned them to the right where they came upon a small pond that was mostly hidden by a copse of trees.
Drawing her cloak tightly about herself, Elizabeth sat on a fallen log.
Mr. Darcy picked up a handful of pebbles and threw them rather forcefully one-by-one into the water.
It must be difficult for a paladin to witness unnecessary death—even if it was just goblins.
Elizabeth shared what she had learned during her research over the past few days, and Mr. Darcy listened.
Then he related a few things he had found in the course of his reading.
After he finished his recitation, they were silent for a minute.
“I do not feel we are any closer to an answer,” he said finally.
“No. Oakham Mount only presented us with more questions,” Elizabeth said glumly.
Mr. Darcy sank beside her on the log, looking as defeated as she felt.
After a moment, Elizabeth spoke. “I did have one thought. If you recall, Mr. Wyndham taught a goblin named Yucanthas, to speak English after a fashion. Mr. Wyndham died only 23 years ago. It is possible the goblin is still alive.”
It took him a moment to understand what she was implying, and then he turned his head slowly to face her. “Are you suggesting that you want to summon a goblin?”
Words tumbled from Elizabeth. “Yucanthas might explain why the goblins have been attacking. Perhaps it would know who killed the ones at Oakham Mount.” Then she hastily added, “Yucanthas is a kobold.” Of the known types of goblins, kobolds were the least destructive and friendliest to humans.
Of course, “friendly” was a relative term.
It merely meant that kobolds did not always attack humans on sight.
“No goblin is safe to summon,” Mr. Darcy warned.
“Mr. Wyndham kept the portal open so he could return the goblin. And he always established a containment spell to prevent it from escaping or attacking.”
“Have you ever cast a containment spell?”
Elizabeth lifted her chin. “I have never had the need. But I am sure I could do it; I have devised such a spell.”
Mr. Darcy rubbed his face with both hands. “Summoning is illegal! Against the Convocation Code.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “How many mages have broken that particular rule? You said yourself that they summon goblins at the Academy.”
“For research purposes! Under controlled circumstances.”
She shrugged. “We would be conducting research, and we can control the circumstances.”
Mr. Darcy stood and commenced pacing along the narrow strip of land beside the pond.
“Many early mages conducted goblin summonings before it was illegal,” Elizabeth pointed out. “We would not know nearly so much about goblins without their work.”
Mr. Darcy glowered at her. “And many of them died.”
“I believe we are running out of other options,” Elizabeth insisted.
“It is too dangerous!” he growled. Elizabeth flinched. He was usually so contained and reserved. Even when fighting goblins, he demonstrated little emotion.
Mr. Darcy took a deep breath to calm himself and directed his gaze to the pond.
“Doing nothing is dangerous as well,” Elizabeth argued. “Which member of my family might be injured by a goblin next?” She hated the way her voice wobbled.
He turned to stare at her intently. She refused to avert her gaze. “You will do this summoning with me or without me. Will you not?”
“Yes.”
He looked like he wanted to throw something. “We need more time,” he said finally.
“Time for what?”
“I hoped the investigator would find something or at least devise a theory. But….in all honesty, Mr. Marsh is not the best investigator the Convocation could offer. Apparently a troll incursion in Wales called away the most experienced investigators. He holds the position because he is the second son of the Viscount Granby. I hoped he might…stumble upon something of use, but that does not appear likely now.”
“I appreciate your candor,” she said. “But surely this is yet another reason to attempt a summoning.”
Mr. Darcy stared into the distance, apparently torn by an internal debate. Finally, his shoulders slumped. “It would be safer if I attempted the summoning. It is not my area of expertise, but at least I witnessed the procedure as a student.”
A surge of excitement filled Elizabeth. She had wanted to witness a goblin summoning. “I will happily yield to your superior experience. Perhaps I might establish the containment spell while you perform the summoning?”
“I do not like the idea, but you are correct about our lack of other options.” His mouth was set in a grim line. “However, I will consider it only as a last resort—if we have made no additional progress in a week’s time.”
A week? Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest and closed it again. He had agreed to assist her against his better judgment; she should be grateful.