29. Bloody Curse
BLOODY CURSE
Alex
When I’d interrogated Graves, getting coherent information out of him had been as easy as conversing with a drunk foreigner who didn’t speak English. He’d stuttered, contradicted himself, and repeated the same things a few times while shaking.
I didn’t blame him. He’d been tortured by Rothbart, and his sister was potentially dead, but when I’d finished talking to him, a splitting headache had hammered my skull so fiercely I’d believed Rothbart had let us find Graves on purpose to use him as a weapon.
Then we had to transport Lucy’s body to the mansion and prepare a plan to attack Rothbart while trying to find Bethlen. Easy.
A surprise attack was our best option. And if what Graves had revealed was true, Rothbart could be hiding in different safe houses scattered around London.
They were an old inn, an abandoned hotel, a hospital in disrepair, and the natural history museum of all places.
We had to attack all the safe houses at the same time to catch him off guard. The moment we entered one of his nests, he would realise we were chasing him and flee.
We had split into groups. My group would search the museum, or rather, what lay underneath it.
A system of tunnels stretched underneath the Waterhouse Building, and only Rothbart and his minions knew all the secrets of the hidden passageways. The maze had two openings to opposing streets around the museum, which he could use to escape in a moment.
Knight and his werewolves would attack one of the safe houses, and they’d eagerly agreed to help me after what had happened to Lucy. Or rather, Knight had been eager and his werewolves had followed suit.
Myrtha and Darius were with Irene and me, and of course a golden fairy in his silk suit and perfect hair—an earl of the Fairy Court called Lord Ebeneezer Morquen.
We’d split up further so that each entrance was going to be covered and controlled.
The location of the attack was a source of worry—two different exits, distant from each other, the museum was too close to the city and too big—but Irene’s presence was my main concern.
She was going to face the man who had destroyed her family, which would be devastating for her. On top of that, I didn’t want her to get hurt.
One thing was certain, tonight Rothbart was going to die.
I tugged at my buckskin gloves, hiding in a dark corner of Cromwell Road from where I kept an eye on the exit assigned to me. “Are you sure you want to stay? I understand if you want to leave.”
Irene’s face was half hidden by her scarf. “I am sure. I want to be with you when you find him. I want to stare at him without fear. I want to be with you when we stab him together.”
“And we will.”
Morquen cleared his throat. “That doesn’t sound particularly romantic.”
I shot him a glare. “Thank you for sharing your opinion. I hope you’ll refrain from doing so in the future.”
He pressed his lips hard.
I was worried. So worried that I was almost tempted to order her to leave. But she would hate me afterwards.
She narrowed her gaze. “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t you dare.”
I was surprised. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You thought about using your master power on me to order me what? To leave?”
“I won’t ever do that to you. I learnt my lesson. But yes, I’m so worried that something may happen to you that the thought has fleetingly crossed my mind.”
“Alex…”
“Fleetingly.” I checked my pocket watch. Ten o’clock. “We have to go.”
I’d forgotten the fairy was there, so quiet he was. Morquen didn’t make a sound. Tall and slender, he moved as if he were dancing. But he might be an excellent fighter.
I couldn’t see the others from my corner, but Darius and Myrtha should enter at the same time from the opposing opening.
A light fog lingered, forming halos around the streetlamps that looked like the breath of a beast.
I waited a few moments for a couple of police constables to pass. The hidden entrance on Cromwell Road was concealed as a brick wall, according to what Graves had told me.
I searched for the brick with a chipped corner that should mark the door. “Now we’ll understand if Graves told us the truth.”
I planted my hands on the brick and pushed. My muscles spasmed, and I gnashed my teeth.
The sound of bricks grinding against bricks rose, but it lasted a moment. The brick door swung inwards, rolling on the hinges.
“Good gracious.” Irene gazed at the thick door.
“Dust everywhere.” Morquen brushed invisible specks from his jacket.
It was a good thing that Rothbart was a sorcerer and not a wizard. He mastered only a couple of spells. He couldn’t conjure a protective shield over the door.
A dark tunnel stretched in front of me, and damp, stuffy air reached my nose.
“Who would have imagined?” Morquen scrunched up his face. “Who would live in such a damp dark place?”
As I released my power, my eyesight sharpened, allowing me to see in the dark. Not that there was much to see. Dark floor, dark walls, a dark vaulted ceiling.
“I can’t believe it.” Irene peeked inside. “I’ve visited the museum countless times, and I’ve never suspected there were tunnels underneath it.”
“Neither have I.” Morquen straightened his fine tailored jacket. A top hat covered the pointed tips of his ears.
I tried to step inside and couldn’t, no matter how hard I pushed. Rothbart might not be able to cast a protective spell, but my curse forbade me from stepping into his home.
“Damn.” I slammed a hand on the brick wall. “I can’t enter.”
“This isn’t a home,” Irene said.
“Apparently, it is for Rothbart.” I leant against the wall, frustration pressing against my chest. “The only thing we can do is stay here and make sure Rothbart doesn’t come out of this door.”
She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth as a tremor went through the bond.
“What?” It came out like a ragged breath.
She hesitated before answering. “I could go inside while you stay here.”
“No.” My voice cracked with fear. No, with panic.
She tilted her chin up. “No? I’m a wili. I’m not mortal anymore, and Rothbart isn’t an undead. He’s just a sorcerer.”
“But going alone isn’t a good idea.”
She pointed at the fairy earl. “And Lord Morquen will come with me.”
“Excuse me?” Morquen stopped cleaning himself. He sounded outraged.
“You’re a wizard,” Irene said. “You’ll be helpful.”
“I can’t use magic to attack. It’s against my values.” He flushed, and the scent of his blood was quite enticing, even though I was annoyed. “I can only defend myself and others.”
“Excellent.” Irene’s smile was forced. “You’ll defend me.”
The thought of watching her disappear into the dark tunnel with a fairy as her bodyguard made me sick to my stomach.
“I won’t confront him until I find Darius.” Irene peeked inside the tunnel. “But he might want to know that you’re stuck here.”
Cold sweat dampened the back of my neck. For one reason or another, I was useless. First, my fear of touching had almost ruined everything. Now my bloody curse prevented me from following her.
“Please don’t go.” I squeezed her hand.
But I knew that determined expression.
“I won’t put myself in danger or do anything stupid. I promise.” She kissed my cheek and entered the tunnel with the useless wizard.