The Secrets of Life and Death

by Rebecca Alexander

  ‘Sadie. Sadie, wake up.’ The girl was crouched in the centre of the circles, saliva threading down her front, half conscious. ‘Sadie, I’m sorry, but I need to put you in the car.’

  ‘No.’ The girl’s teeth clicked together as she shuddered.

  ‘I’ve drawn the sigils in the car. I’m sorry, but I have to carry you across that little bit of yard.’

  Sadie mumbled something in protest.

  ‘I need you to try and help me, so we can be as quick as possible. OK? Before they come back.’ Jack boosted the dog up and turned to find Sadie wavering to her feet, face tight with the effort. She looked awful, her face going blue as she approached the edge of the circle. Jack started up the ramp, then reached her hands down for Sadie. ‘Come on. You can do it.’

  Sadie hesitated, as she looked at the gap to the car, and reached trembling arms up for Jack to grab her. She faded with the first step up the ramp. By the time they reached the car, Sadie was a deadweight, and Jack pulled her in one back door and slid out the other side, and fumbled for Sadie’s pulse. Nothing.

  Oh shit, oh shit. Jack leaned in awkwardly, holding Sadie’s face and head, and squeezed in alongside to give her a hasty, panicked breath, then another. She shook the girl, screaming at her to wake up. Another breath, this one inflating her chest, then another. This time, Sadie moved a little, and Jack’s shaky fingers felt the weak, irregular pulse. Jack curled her into the recovery position and tucked her legs in, covering her with the dog blanket. She dragged Ches into the boot of the hatchback, too small for comfort but functional, and turned the car around in the yard. Driving towards town, away from whatever was going on in the village, Jack headed towards Ches’s favourite woodland. It was away from the house and she knew it would have a signal for her mobile phone.

  When she parked, she let the dog out and tried Maggie. No answer. But Felix answered on the third ring.

  ‘Felix. Thank God.’

  ‘Jack? You sound terrible, what’s wrong?’

  ‘We’re in trouble. We’ve had some people at the house, trying to take Sadie. I’ve got her in the car, but she’s bad, really bad. It’s too soon for her to leave the house.’

  ‘How can I help?’ He sounded so sympathetic, she had to brush tears off her face with an impatient hand.

  ‘Do you think you could draw those sigils in a circle in a room in your house? On the floor, and on the ceiling?’

  ‘Of course. Do the sigils have to match up?’

  ‘The one like the omega sign goes at the northernmost point, the rest go around. In as big a circle as you can do.’

  She squeezed Sadie’s hands. She looked less grey, and was at least a bit warmer, but she barely responded. Jack rummaged in the glove compartment for a pen that worked, and came up with a blue ballpoint. She got out of the car, catching Ches as he launched himself at her. ‘Not now, silly beast.’ She threw a stick for him, and opened the back door of the car. A quick look around revealed just two empty vehicles some way away, their owners presumably off in the woods. Lifting Sadie’s T-shirt, she started redrawing the sigils. She managed to go over most of them before Sadie started to come round.

  ‘What … ?’ The teenager was groggy, batting Jack’s hands away.

  ‘I need to draw the sigils again. Just let me.’ She looked around, but Ches wasn’t interested in the forest, just looking down one of the paths.

  ‘We’re outside. I remember.’ Sadie still acted dazed, and let Jack trace the circle in the middle of her chest.

  ‘You remember what happened? We have to get to Felix’s house. This will help you get between the car and the door.’ The dog launched himself away from the car, growling. ‘Oh, shit. Stay down. Your picture’s on the front page of every newspaper in the county.’

  She watched Sadie slump back, and wrap herself in the dog blanket Jack had draped over her. The girl’s eyelids were already sagging.

  Jack called Ches to heel as a fat Labrador stormed up to him, tail high. His owner, a plump middle-aged woman, was puffing along behind him.

  ‘Sorry, sorry. He’s very friendly.’

  ‘No problem. We’re just going.’ Jack opened the front passenger door and watched Ches hesitate before jumping in, confused by the change of seat. Maybe he would block the view of the girl. Jack tucked his tail in and shut the door.

  ‘Lovely dog. Is he a husky?’ The woman’s eyes were focused on the back seat of the car.

  ‘He’s a Tamaskan sled dog. Like a husky, yes.’

  ‘Your daughter – is she all right?’

  Jack managed a tight smile. ‘She’s fine. I … she wasn’t feeling well at school. They asked me to take her home.’ She lowered her voice. ‘She’s been sick, she’s a bit embarrassed. I’ll take her back now.’

  The woman smiled but had an odd expression. ‘Well, I hope she gets better soon. Here, Derry. Good boy.’ As the woman fussed over her dog, Jack got in, shut the door and started the engine. The woman didn’t move. Jack realised there was nothing she could do. She was going to have to reverse the car, and Sadie, right by her.

  Chapter 39

  ‘My dreams were haunted by the child’s body in the chapel. As I leaned over the casket, her eyelids opened, their orbs milky with death. I woke, sweating and trembling, and remembered the tales we heard about Venice, of the revenants, the undead, cursed creatures of the canals, created by sorcerers as their servants, even though the hearts beat no longer in their breasts. These fearsome creatures will feed on your children, and haunt you through your dreams.’

  Edward Kelley

  9 December 1585

  Csejte

  The days drew on, and the responsibility sat heavy on Dee’s brow, as we worked ever harder on the books. He was engaged with his own copy of Weger’s De Praestigiis Daemonum when I left him to take one of my walks.

  I went about the castle as I pleased, through the kitchens and into the outer yard. It was kept ready, the stronghold of a military man, the soldiers drilled every day, and the cavalry rode out into the countryside to train most afternoons.

  There were maybe thirty horsemen and as many as sixty infantry in their rough cloaks and blunt practice swords, and their manoeuvres were terrifying to see. I have never seen such horsemanship before, nor since. The cavalry could, at full gallop, swing under their horses’ bellies, even touch the ground and bounce back onto their mounts, with much laughter and mocking from their fellows, who would try more daring trials until I feared one would be killed. But they seemed to be glued to their mounts, and I would watch them canter up to the castle. Often they would tease people walking up to the gatehouse as they passed, either plucking their hats or cloaks from them, or on more than one occasion, taking a child or a young woman from the ground and passing them from horse to horse. None was injured, though much startled, and the japes seemed harmless.

  On the tenth day since our arrival, the mood in the castle changed. The servants bustled everywhere, scrubbing and dusting, and the soldiers polished real weapons. They donned black uniforms and steel helmets, and rode and marched in strict formation. The chapel was filled to capacity by the officers and higher servants, and the priest held prayers in the yard for the poorer people. The church in the village tolled bells five times a day for services, instead of the usual two. It was as if the count’s people wanted to be as spiritually ready as they were physically. Our borrowed clothes were taken away and brought back clean, smelling of rosemary and other herbs. Dee had to chase away women who tried to tidy his notes and charts.

  Late in the afternoon, a fanfare at the gate called us all down to the inner court, where a large travelling carriage rattled over the stones, shedding great arcs of mud. Beside it rode the count, on a bay horse that struck sparks from its shoes upon the cobbles. He dismounted, and strode to us, standing alongside the entire staff and garrison of Csejte Castle.

  ‘I thank you for coming to the castle to help my wife.’

  Ignoring the cruel and ignominious way we had been transp
orted, Dee bowed. ‘We have worked on a number of treatments. I shall be happy to discuss them with your lordship. I hope the countess prospers?’

  ‘She is weak. We will speak of it later.’ The count turned to watch his wife, wrapped in a fur cloak, being lifted from the coach in the arms of an impassive chamberlain. Servants flocked around them, taking up bags and items and following the lady as she was carried into the castle. ‘Do you have everything you need?’

  ‘There is one thing, your lordship.’ Dee’s voice had assumed an authority he used rarely. ‘We would like to know more about the practice of folk medicine in these parts. The gypsy tradition they call “dragon marks”.’

  ‘I shall send Zsófia to you.’ The count watched as the cavalcade passed beyond the great doors. ‘When she can be spared.’ I noticed Lord Miklós, the king’s brother, among the throng of men.

  Dee bowed, and I copied him, and the count marched into the castle keep, his tall boots with cruel spurs clinking on the ground.

  ‘Folk medicine? More likely witchcraft, Master Dee.’ I had not dared to mention it to Dee after his own illness.

  ‘There is some great evil here, Edward, I feel it. And I know you do too. I am prepared to listen to healing women and botanical doctors, but something here is darker.’

  Chapter 40

  Jack drove carefully, so she wouldn’t attract attention. When addressed, Sadie would groan from the back of the car, and Ches would whine as if in sympathy, his head resting on the back of the passenger seat. When Jack stopped at traffic lights, he squeezed his body through to the girl, and settled down with Sadie’s arms around him.

  After half an hour, she drew into the tree-lined street of Victorian three-storey semis. She read the numbers as she crawled along until she recognised Felix’s. She saw his car parked in the street, leaving the drive free for her to manoeuvre right up to the porch. He met the car. Jack opened the back door, grabbed the dog by his collar and led him out first.

  Felix bent to speak to her. ‘I drew the sigils in my study – it’s closest to the front of the house.’

  ‘Otherwise I’ll just have to stay in the car.’ Sadie’s sleepy voice was at odds with the fear tightening her face, her eyes wide. ‘Will I faint again, when I get out?’

  ‘I hope not.’ Jack exchanged concerned glances with Felix. ‘She … how’s your first aid?’ She dropped her voice. ‘She needed CPR, before.’

  ‘Oh.’ Felix looked startled. ‘Well, let’s make this really quick, then.’ He reached his arms for Sadie, and Jack stood back with the dog. He swept the girl, still in the blanket, into his arms and loped up the drive and through the open door. Jack shut the car doors and followed, as fast as she could, shaky with adrenaline. She felt like she was wading in treacle, until she reached the study, when the feeling eased.

  She found Sadie sitting up, weakly, on the middle of a wooden floor, inscribed with the sigils.

  Jack was so grateful, she dropped to her knee and hugged the girl, who hugged back. She looked up at Felix, who was pulling his shirt away from his body, soaked in vomit.

  ‘Well, that could have been worse, I suppose.’ He wrinkled his nose up at the stink. ‘Will you be all right there, Sadie? Jack and I need to talk. And I need to change my shirt.’

  Sadie was preoccupied with the dog, who was reduced to a wagging puppy by the scratching of his spine, which got his hind leg pedalling in the air. ‘Just don’t talk about me behind my back.’

  ‘Of course not.’ Jack followed Felix into the rear of the house, away from the healing warmth of the sigils in the study. He opened the door to a cloakroom, undid his shirt and stripped it off, filling Jack with confusion. Living in seclusion meant a limited exposure to men. Felix’s skin was smooth, a sprinkling of hair on his lanky chest, hardly a figure of beauty, but she was strangely affected by the sight of him as he washed in the sink and dried himself on a towel. He reached inside a dryer tucked under the stairs, and pulled out a worn T-shirt.

  ‘Do you know what happened at the house?’

  Jack was startled out of her thoughts and looked away. ‘No. I went to get my car from the cathedral car park. Maggie phoned. She said two men had driven into the yard, she thought they might be the police. I got there as fast as I could, and found Sadie. She managed to hide with Ches. The back door had been kicked in, the place stank of petrol, and someone had crashed through the fence into the field – I think that might have been Maggie, her car is missing.’

  ‘Damn it, Jack, you have to tell me the truth. All of it.’ He rested his big hands on her shoulders.

  Close to him, the scent of fresh laundry was intoxicating. Warmth seemed to spread from his fingers. ‘I don’t know all of it, I don’t know any more than you do.’ She breathed out, releasing tension in her neck. ‘We should ask Sadie.’

  He was quiet for moment and rested his hands a moment longer.

  ‘These were men, not this Bachmeier woman.’ He looked into her eyes. ‘Any idea who? Maybe this Pierce, he sounds as if he’s serious about getting Sadie.’

  ‘Ask her.’

  He frowned. ‘She is a sick child. I don’t want to frighten her.’

  Jack shrugged his hands off and stepped back. ‘Sadie’s got this far. I didn’t save her, she made it through the tunnel all by herself, and she rescued my dog as well. Again.’

  ‘OK. We’ll ask Sadie.’ He followed her back into the study, and Jack stood, with relief, in the comfort of the circle, feeling energy creep back into her.

  Sadie was sitting against the desk, the dog slumped over her legs. ‘There were these men. Maggie said they were inquirers, no, inquisitors or something.’

  ‘Inquisitors?’ Jack slid down to the centre of the circle, leaning against a worn old armchair. There was ragged carpet around the edges of the room, where Felix must have cut it away before drawing the sigils. Jack touched one of the shapes, infusing it with a little energy, although she could feel she had little to spare. ‘You mean, like the Spanish Inquisition? From history?’

  The chair she was resting against sagged, as Felix squeezed into it beside her, and she leaned against his warm leg.

  ‘Actually,’ he said, ‘the Inquisition is alive and well. They investigate heresies and magical phenomena.’

  Sadie nudged Jack’s ankle with her foot. ‘He said I’d been denied everlasting life.’

  ‘He didn’t say he was with the police, though?’ Felix said.

  ‘No. He said he was going to take me to some hospital.’ Sadie’s forehead was wrinkled as she spoke. ‘He did say he wouldn’t hurt me, he was there to rescue me.’

  Felix stood up, taking down a briefcase. ‘Look, Sadie, how about you do an Internet search for Bachmeier and Holtz? That might be a place to start; these men might have been working for them. I’ll make a few calls, see what I can find out about the modern Inquisition.’ Felix handed the laptop down to Sadie. ‘You know you can’t check emails, or go on networking sites. They may be monitored.’

  Sadie scowled at him. ‘I know!’ She started tapping on the keys as Jack watched. ‘Elizabeth … Bachmeyer …’ She snorted. ‘Only about one million hits.’

  ‘Try Bach-M-E-I-E-R,’ Felix suggested, and sat back down.

  A lightning sequence of taps later, Sadie searched the screen again. ‘OK … a pharmaceutical company … is that how you say it? Bachmeier and Holtz.’

  Felix leaned forward. ‘Maybe the research Bachmeier and Holtz does is into this “borrowed time” phenomenon.’

  Jack thought about it. ‘Well, our blood is used for healing spells. I mean, I’m not sure how it works – or even if it does – but I know my blood has been used to help people.’

  Felix rested his fingers on Jack’s shoulder. ‘Let’s make the leap, and assume that some people believe it can save seriously ill people. Rich people get cancer, you know. They would pay a lot for a magical cure. What was the name of that actor last year, the one they said was going home to die, the one that ended up in a miraculous re
mission?’

  He stood up, leaving Jack aware of the drift of cold air down her side.

  ‘Felix … could you put your heating on?’

  ‘It’s on full already.’ His eyes met hers. ‘You feel frozen to me.’

  ‘I am.’ She smiled up at him, hugging her knees. ‘Can I borrow a sweater, then? Maybe one for Sadie, too? We weren’t expecting to go out of the house.’

  ‘Sadie can research this woman, and you can come and choose from my extensive range of knitwear.’ He managed a lopsided smile. The dog walked over to him, and sniffed his hand. ‘At least he’s not growling at me any more.’

  ‘He’d like you more if you fed him.’ Jack hesitated, seeing Sadie’s enthusiasm for the computer. ‘Sadie – you have to be careful. You can’t contact your family.’

  Sadie tossed her hair back, and scowled. ‘I’m not stupid. They would want to take me outside and I’d last – what – three seconds?’ She tapped more keys on the laptop.

  Jack followed Felix down a dark hall, the dog’s claws clicking on old tiles, and into a large, modern kitchen at the back.

  ‘Wow. Glass doors. You must be able to open them right out onto the garden.’ But not very secure, she thought. There were no blinds or curtains, and windows from other houses looked down into the kitchen, as the lights flickered on.

  ‘It was Marianne’s idea. My wife … well, ex-wife.’ He turned at the sound of a click from what Jack could now see was a cat flap through the wall. ‘Oh, shit. Tycho.’

  A second click was followed by the head of a large tabby cat, which slid into the kitchen and froze for a second when it saw the dog. In what felt like slow motion, Jack reached out her hand to connect with Ches’s collar and the cat inflated into a spitting missile, which launched itself at the middle of the kitchen, just stopping short of Ches. Its arched body was side-on to them, to make itself look even bigger.