The Book of Life

by Deborah Harkness

  "Stephen." Knox licked his lips. "This is an illusion, too."

  My father ignored him, crossing his arms and looking at me sharply. "You ready to finish this, peanut?"

  "I am, Dad."

  "You don't have the power to finish me," Knox snarled. "Emily discovered that when she tried to keep me from having knowledge of the lost book of spells. I took her thoughts and stopped her heart. Had she only cooperated--"

  "With knot of nine, the spell is mine."

  The keening rose into a shriek as all the chaos contained in the Book of Life and all the creative energy that bound the creatures together in one place burst from the web I'd made and engulfed Peter Knox. My father's hands were among those that reached out of the dark void to grasp him while he struggled, keeping him in a whirling vortex of power that would eat him alive.

  Knox cried out in terror as the spell drained his life away. He unraveled before my eyes as the spirits of all the weavers who had come before me, including my father, deliberately unpicked the threads that made up this damaged creature, reducing Knox to a lifeless shell.

  One day I would pay a price for what I'd done to a fellow witch. But I had avenged Emily, whose life had been taken for no other reason than a dream of power.

  I had avenged my mother and father, who loved their daughter enough to die for her.

  I drew the goddess's arrow from my spine. A bow crafted from rowan and trimmed with silver and gold appeared in my left hand.

  Vengeance had been mine. Now it was time for the goddess's justice.

  I turned to my father, a question in my eyes.

  "He's upstairs. Third floor. Sixth door on the left." My father smiled. "Whatever price the goddess exacted from you, Matthew is worth it. Just as you were."

  "He's worth everything," I said, lowering the magical walls I'd built and leaving the dead behind so I could find the living.

  Magic, like any resource, is not infinite in its supply. The spell I'd used to eliminate Knox had drained me of a significant amount of power. But I'd taken the risk knowing that without Knox, Benjamin had only physical strength and cruelty in his arsenal.

  I had love and nothing more to lose.

  Even without the goddess's arrow, we were evenly matched.

  The house had far fewer rooms in it now that Knox's illusions were gone. Instead of an unending array of identical doors, the house now showed its true character: filthy, rife with the scents of death and fear, a place of horror.

  My feet raced up the stairs. I couldn't spare an ounce of magic now. I had no idea where any of the others were. But I did know where to find Matthew. I pushed open the door.

  "There you are. We've been expecting you." Benjamin was standing behind a chair.

  This time the creature in it was undeniably the man I loved. His eyes were black and filled with blood rage and pain, but they flickered in recognition.

  "Queen's Gambit complete," I told him.

  Relieved, Matthew's eyes drifted closed.

  "I hope you know better than to shoot that arrow," Benjamin said. "In case you're not as well versed in anatomy as you are in chemistry, I've made sure that Matthew will die instantly if my hand isn't here to support this."

  This was a large iron spike Benjamin had driven into Matthew's neck.

  "You remember when Ysabeau poked her finger into me at the Bodleian? It created a seal. That's what I've done here." Benjamin wiggled the spike a bit, and Matthew howled. A few drops of blood appeared. "My father doesn't have much blood left in him. I've fed him nothing but shards of glass for two days and he's been slowly bleeding out internally."

  It was then I noticed the pile of dead children in the corner.

  "Earlier meals," Benjamin said in response to my glance. "It was a challenge to come up with ways to torment Matthew, since I wanted to make sure he still had eyes to see me take you, and ears to hear your screams. But I found a way."

  "You are a monster, Benjamin."

  "Matthew made me one. Now, don't waste any more of your energy. Ysabeau and Baldwin are bound to be here soon. This is the very room where I kept Philippe, and I left a trail of bread crumbs to make sure my grandmother finds it. Baldwin will be so surprised to hear who it was that killed his father, don't you think? I saw it all in Matthew's thoughts. As for you . . . well, you cannot imagine the things Matthew would like to do to you in the privacy of his bed. Some of them made me blush, and I'm not exactly prudish."

  I felt Ysabeau's presence behind me. A rain of photographs fell upon the floor. Pictures of Philippe. Here. In agony. I shot a look of fury at Benjamin.

  "I would like nothing more than to shred you to pieces with my bare hands, but I would not deprive Philippe's daughter of the pleasure." Ysabeau's voice was cold and serrated. It rasped against my ears almost painfully.

  "Oh, she'll have pleasure with me, Ysabeau. I assure you of that." Benjamin whispered something in Matthew's ear, and I saw Matthew's hand twitch as if he wanted to strike his son but his broken bones and shredded muscles made that impossible. "Here's Baldwin. It's been a long time, Uncle. I have something to tell you--a secret Matthew has been keeping. He keeps so many, I know, but this is a juicy one, I promise." Benjamin paused for effect. "Philippe did not die because of me. It was Matthew who killed him."

  Baldwin stared at him impassively.

  "Do you want to take a shot at him before my children send you to hell to see your father?" Benjamin asked.

  "Your children won't be sending me anywhere. And if you think I am surprised by this supposed secret, you are even more delusional than I feared," Baldwin said. "I know Matthew's work when I see it. He's almost too good at what he does."

  "Drop that." Benjamin's voice cracked like a whip as his cold, unfathomable eyes settled on my left hand.

  While the two of them were having their discussion, I'd taken the opportunity to lift the bow.

  "Drop it now or he dies." Benjamin withdrew the spike slightly, and the blood flowed.

  I dropped the bow with a clatter.

  "Smart girl," he said, thrusting the spike home again. Matthew moaned. "I liked you even before I learned you were a weaver. So that's what makes you special? Matthew has been shamefully reluctant to determine the limits of your power, but never fear. I'll make sure we know exactly how far your abilities extend."

  Yes, I was a smart girl. Smarter than Benjamin knew. And I understood the limits of my power better than anyone else ever would. As for the goddess's bow, I didn't need it. What I needed in order to destroy Benjamin was still in my other hand.

  I lifted my pinkie slightly so that it brushed Ysabeau's thigh in warning.

  "With knot of ten, it begins again."

  My words came out like a breath, insubstantial and easy to ignore, just as the tenth knot was seemingly a simple loop. As they traveled into the room, my spell took on the weight and power of a living thing. I extended my left arm straight as though it still held the goddess's bow. My left index finger burned a bright purple.

  My right hand drew back in a lightning-quick move, fingers curled loosely around the white fletchings on the golden arrow's shaft. I stood squarely at the crossroads between life and death.

  And I did not hesitate.

  "Justice," I said, and unfurled my fingers.

  Benjamin's eyes widened.

  The arrow sprang from my hand through the center of the spell, picking up momentum as it flew. It hit Benjamin's chest with audible force, cleaving him wide open and bursting his heart. A blinding wave of power engulfed the room. Silver and gold threads shot everywhere, accompanied by strands of purple and green. The sun king. The moon queen. Justice. The goddess.

  With an otherworldly cry of frustrated anguish, Benjamin loosened his fingers, and the blood-covered spike began to slip.

  Working quickly, I twisted the threads surrounding Matthew into a single rope that caught the end of the spike. I pulled it taut, keeping it in place as Benjamin's blood poured forth and he dropped heavily to the floor.
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  The few bare lightbulbs in the room flickered, then went out. I'd had to draw on every bit of energy in the place to kill Knox and then Benjamin. All that was left now was the power of the goddess: the shimmering rope hanging in the middle of the room, the words moving underneath my skin, the power snapping at the ends of my fingers.

  It was over.

  Benjamin was dead and could no longer torment anyone.

  And Matthew, though broken, was alive.

  *

  After Benjamin fell, everything seemed to happen at once. Ysabeau pulled the vampire's dead body away. Baldwin was at Matthew's side, calling for Marcus and checking on his injuries. Verin and Gallowglass and Hamish burst into the room. Fernando followed soon thereafter.

  I stood in front of Matthew and cradled his head against my heart, sheltering him from further harm. With one hand I held up the iron implement that was keeping him alive. Matthew let out an exhausted sigh and shifted slightly against me.

  "It's all right now. I'm here. You're safe," I murmured, trying to bring him what little comfort I could. "You're alive."

  "Couldn't die." Matthew's voice was so faint it didn't even qualify as a whisper. "Not without saying goodbye."

  Back in Madison, I'd made Matthew promise not to leave me without a proper farewell. My eyes filled as I thought of all he'd been through to honor his word.

  "You kept your promise," I said. "Rest now."

  "We need to move him, Diana." Marcus's calm voice couldn't disguise his urgency. He put his hand around the spike, ready to take my place.

  "Don't let Diana watch." Matthew's voice was raw and guttural. His skeletal hand twitched on the arm of the chair in protest, but it was not able to do more. "I beg you."

  With nearly every inch of Matthew's body injured, there were precious few places I could touch him that wouldn't compound his pain. I located a few centimeters of undamaged flesh gleaming in the glow cast by the Book of Life and dropped a kiss as soft as down on the tip of his nose.

  Unsure if he could hear me, and knowing that his eyes were swollen shut, I let my breath wash over him, bathing him in my scent. Matthew's nostrils flared a fraction, signaling that he had registered my proximity. Even that little movement made him wince, and I had to steel myself not to cry out at what Benjamin had done to him.

  "You can't hide from me, my love," I said instead. "I see you, Matthew. And you will always be perfect in my eyes."

  His breath came out in a ragged gasp, his lungs unable to expand fully because of the pressure from broken ribs. With a herculean effort, Matthew cracked one eye open. It was filmed over with blood, the pupil shot wide and enormous from blood rage and trauma.

  "It's dark." Matthew's voice took on a frantic edge, as though he feared that the darkness signaled his death. "Why is it so dark?"

  "It's all right. Look." I blew on my fingertip, and a blue-gold star appeared on the tip of my finger. "See. This will light our way."

  It was a risk, and I knew it. He might not be able to see the small ball of fire, and then his panic would only increase. Matthew peered at my finger and flinched slightly as the light came into focus. His pupil tightened a tiny amount in response, which I took as a good sign.

  His next breath was less ragged as his anxiety subsided.

  "He needs blood," Baldwin said, keeping his voice level and low.

  I tried to push my sleeve up without lowering my gleaming finger, which Matthew was staring at fixedly.

  "Not yours," Ysabeau said, stilling my efforts. "Mine."

  Matthew's agitation rose again. It was like watching Jack struggle to rein in his emotions.

  "Not here," he said. "Not with Diana watching."

  "Not here," Gallowglass agreed, giving my husband back some small measure of control.

  "Let his brothers and his son take care of him, Diana." Baldwin lowered my hand.

  And so I let Gallowglass, Fernando, Baldwin, and Hamish lace their arms together into a sling while Marcus held the iron spike in place.

  "My blood is strong, Diana," Ysabeau promised, gripping my hand tightly. "It will heal him."

  I nodded. But I had told Matthew the truth earlier: In my eyes he would always be perfect. His outward wounds didn't matter to me. It was the wounds to his heart, mind, and soul that had me worried, for no amount of vampire blood could heal those.

  "Love and time," I murmured, as though trying to figure out the components of a spell, watching from a distance as the men settled an unconscious Matthew into the cargo hold of one of the cars that were waiting for us. "That's what he needs."

  Janet came up and put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

  "Matthew Clairmont is an ancient vampire," she observed, "and he has you. So I'm thinking love and time will do the trick."

  Sol in Aquarius

  When the sun passeth through the water-bearer's sign, it betokens great fortune, faithful friends, and the aide of princes. Therefore, do not feare changes that take place when Aquarius ruleth the earth.

  --Anonymous English Commonplace Book, c. 1590,

  Goncalves MS 4890, f. 10r

  Matthew said only one word on the flight: "Home."

  We arrived in France six days after the events in Chelm. Matthew still couldn't walk. He wasn't able to use his hands. Nothing remained in his stomach for more than thirty minutes. Ysabeau's blood, as promised, was slowly mending the crushed bones, damaged tissues, and injuries to Matthew's internal organs. After first falling unconscious due to a combination of drugs, pain, and exhaustion, he now refused to close his eyes to rest.

  And he hardly ever spoke. When he did, it was usually to refuse something.

  "No," he said when we turned toward Sept-Tours. "Our home."

  Faced with a range of options, I told Marcus to take us to Les Revenants. It was a strangely fitting name given its present owner, for Matthew had returned home more ghost than man after what Benjamin had done to him.

  No one had dreamed that Matthew would prefer Les Revenants to Sept-Tours, and the house was cold and lifeless when we arrived. He sat in the foyer with Marcus while his brother and I raced around lighting fires and making up a bed for him. Baldwin and I were discussing which room would be best for Matthew given his present physical limitations when the convoy of cars from Sept-Tours filled the courtyard. Not even the vampires could beat Sarah to the door, she was so eager to see us. My aunt knelt in front of Matthew. Her face was soft with compassion and concern.

  "You look like hell," she said.

  "Feel worse." Matthew's once-beautiful voice was harsh and grating, but I treasured every terse word.

  "When Marcus says it's okay, I'd like to put a salve on your skin that will help you heal," Sarah said, touching the raw skin on his forearm.

  The cry of a furious, hungry baby split the air.

  "Becca." My heart leaped at the prospect of seeing the twins again. But Matthew did not seem to share my happiness.

  "No." Matthew's eyes were wild, and he shook from head to toe. "No. Not now. Not like this."

  Since Benjamin had taken control of Matthew's mind and body, I insisted that now Matthew was free he should be allowed to set the terms of his own daily existence and even his medical treatment. But this I would not allow. I scooped Rebecca out of Ysabeau's arms, kissed her smooth cheek, and dropped the baby into the crook of Matthew's elbow.

  The moment Becca saw Matthew's face, she stopped crying.

  The moment Matthew had his daughter in his arms, he stopped shaking, just as I had the night she was born. My eyes filled at his terrified, awestruck expression.

  "Good thinking," Sarah murmured. She gave me the once-over. "You look like hell, too."

  "Mum," Jack said, kissing me on the cheek. He tried to give me Philip, but the baby squirmed away from me, his face twisting and turning.

  "What is it, little man?" I touched Philip's face with a fingertip. My hands flashed with power, and the letters that now waited under the surface of my skin rose up, arranging them
selves into stories that had yet to be told. I nodded and gave the baby a kiss on the forehead, feeling the tingle on my lips that confirmed what the Book of Life had already revealed to me. My son had power--lots of power. "Take him to Matthew, Jack."

  Jack knew full well the horrors Benjamin was capable of committing. He steeled himself to see evidence of them before he turned. I saw Matthew through Jack's eyes: his hero, home from battle, gaunt and wounded. Jack cleared his throat, and the growling sound had me concerned.

  "Don't leave Philip out of the reunion, Dad." Jack wedged Philip securely into the crook of Matthew's other arm.

  Matthew's eyes flickered with surprise at the greeting. It was such a small word--Dad--but Jack had never called Matthew anything except Master Roydon and Matthew. Though Andrew Hubbard had insisted that Matthew was Jack's true father, and Jack had been quick to call me "Mother," he had been strangely reluctant to bestow a similar honor on the man he worshipped.

  "Philip gets cross when Becca gets all the attention." Jack's voice was roughened with suppressed rage, and he made his next words deliberately playful and light. "Granny Sarah has all kinds of advice on how to treat younger brothers and sisters. Most of it involves ice cream and trips to the zoo." Jack's banter didn't fool Matthew.

  "Look at me." Matthew's voice was weak and raspy, but there was no mistaking that this was an order.

  Jack met his eyes.

  "Benjamin is dead," Matthew said.

  "I know." Jack looked away, shifting restlessly from one foot to the other.

  "Benjamin can't hurt you. Not anymore."

  "He hurt you. And he would have hurt my mother." Jack looked at me, and his eyes filled with darkness.

  Fearing that the blood rage would engulf him, I took a step in Jack's direction. I stopped before taking another, forcing myself to let Matthew handle it.

  "Eyes on me, Jack."

  Matthew's skin was gray with effort. He had uttered more words since Jack's arrival than he had in a full week, and they were sapping his strength. Jack's wandering attention returned to the head of his clan.

  "Take Rebecca. Give her to Diana. Then come back."

  Jack did as asked, while the rest of us watched warily in case either he or Matthew lost control.

  With Becca safely in my arms, I kissed her and told her in a whisper what a good girl she was not to fuss at being taken from her father.