Page 59 of His Wicked Charm

“How could I possibly tell them about that?” Vesta shot back bitterly. “I know nothing about it. None of you would let me join you. You wouldn’t tell me anything. I was just a girl after all.”

“You couldn’t be in it. You were a fool to think you could. It was a Brotherhood. Only sons can join it.”

“Why?” Con asked. “What were the rules? What did the Brotherhood do?”

Dearborn started to speak, then stopped and looked from one to the other, his eyes shrewd. “You don’t know anything about it, do you? You haven’t the least idea what you’re dealing with.”

“Why don’t you tell us?”

Dearborn let out a short sharp laugh. “Don’t think you can weasel information out of me so you can use the keys. But I’ll tell you this—I’m the only one here who can handle what’s going to happen in two weeks.”

“And what is that?”

“Oh, no.” Dearborn wagged his finger. “You bring me those keys—all three of them, and I’ll stop it. Otherwise...Midsummer Day, the Sanctuary will unleash holy hell on the world.” With that pronouncement, he turned and walked out of the room.

Con let out a curse and ran after him, reaching out to pull Dearborn to a halt. “Tell us what the devil you’re talking about.”

“Or what?” Dearborn taunted. “You’ll kill me? You’d never get the answer then, would you? Or maybe you’ll turn me over to the constable. I can imagine how well the law would respond to your tale of magical keys and hidden rooms.”

“I don’t need the law to help me.”

“You plan to thrash it out of me? Torture me into telling you? You don’t have the stomach, boy.” His gaze flickered toward Lilah, who had followed them into the hallway. “And how do you think the proper Lilah Holcutt would like that? I’ll tell you this, as a gift—every three years on Midsummer Day, you have to renew the bond or else it will be freed. And it’s been three years now since we did so.” He pulled away. “You give me back the keys, and I’ll stop it.”

“What will be freed?” Con ground out.

“Destruction. More power than you’ve ever dreamed of.” Dearborn grinned and nodded toward Lilah. “Your lot called it the goddess. I’d say it was the devil himself.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

DEARBORN STORMED OUT the door, and Lilah turned to Con, then Vesta. Both wore the same stunned expression that Lilah was sure was on her own face.

“I never liked Niles,” Vesta said prosaically.

The very ordinariness of her words after the scene that had just taken place made Lilah laugh. Hearing the hysterical note in the sound, she reined it in. “What in the world was Mr. Dearborn talking about? Aunt Vesta, do you have any idea? He spoke of a sanctuary—do you know where that was?”

Her aunt shook her head somewhat doubtfully. “I—no, Papa never said anything about a sanctuary. He used to talk about a great force beneath the earth. I remember once he told Virgil to be cautious—or was it wise? Anyway, he saw that I was there and stopped talking.” Her mouth fell into a pout.

“What about this renewal?” Con asked. “Did your father or brother ever mention that? What did they renew? What was this ‘bond’ Dearborn mentioned?”

“I don’t know.” Uneasily she went on, “But clearly we must do something soon. Midsummer is only two weeks away.”

“Ten days, to be exact,” Con said grimly. “That doesn’t leave us much time.”

“What if we can’t find it before then?” Vesta’s unease was turning into panic. “What will we do?”

“Aunt Vesta, stay calm,” Lilah said firmly. “You are assuming that Mr. Dearborn is right. There’s no reason to believe that some magical sanctuary is going to explode—or whatever it was he was predicting. It sounds like superstitious nonsense to me.”

“Oh, Lilah, your stubborn resistance to the Truth will be the ruin of you,” Vesta moaned. “Of all of us.”

Lilah had a strong desire to shake her aunt. Before she could speak, Con said soothingly, “Mrs. LeClaire, Lilah has a good point. We all know Dearborn wouldn’t hesitate to lie to get what he wants. What if he invented this story about the dire consequences that would befall us unless we gave him the key? Don’t you think that the, um, presence you sense beneath the ground is more benign than that?”

Con’s words had the desired effect on Vesta. She looked much struck. “Dear boy, of course. There’s no wickedness there. It’s a force for good.”

“You see? No need to be worried. We must simply continue to work as hard as we can to find the key.” Con took Vesta’s hand and patted it. “This has been a dreadful experience for you. Perhaps you should go upstairs and rest a bit.”

Vesta beamed at him. “Lilah, this boy is a treasure. You must keep him. He’s right. The dark emanations Niles emits have sadly depleted my energy.”

As Aunt Vesta went up the stairs, Con grabbed Lilah’s arm and whisked her into the sitting room. She frowned at him. “Must you encourage her foolish notions?”