Born of Deception

by Teri Brown

I snort. “Sensitives desperately need to know how to control their abilities. For you to withhold that information on purpose is no better than performing experiments on them.”

  He shrugs. “Honestly, what makes me so much worse than the Society’s board members or scientists? They don’t want the Sensitives to learn control any more than I do—why do you think they have discouraged interaction among the Sensitives? And they do conduct experiments on people. What makes my methods so different?”

  “They are allowed to leave.”

  “Touché, Anna. The only Sensitive I have ever wanted to have on board without his full cooperation was Cole. You were a by-product of that. But I’m not going to debate my methods. I have places to be. Why are you speaking of self-preservation?”

  I feel his irritation and decide to get to the point. “How would you like to go to prison for murder, Dr. Boyle?”

  He stops in his tracks but I yank him along beside me and keep talking. “Pratik Dahrma was found brutally murdered and I think you know something about it.”

  “You can’t prove anything.” His voice is cold. “Don’t make empty threats”

  “Oh, they are far from empty. I think you forget just how enterprising I can be. Now don’t fret, all I want is information. I know you are putting together a stable of Sensitives. Did you want Pratik for some reason? Did something go wrong?”

  He is silent for so long I think he isn’t going to answer. His indecision is evident in the emotions coming from him.

  Then he tilts his head to one side and considers me for a long moment. Nodding his head as if he just made up his mind about something, he says, “I have a colleague who has proven untrustworthy.”

  I tense. He knows. “Why should I care about your problems with your help?”

  “Because my help is insane and murdered Pratik Dahrma.”

  His blunt response turns my stomach and I stumble. I hate that he got to me and I especially hate that he knows it. Slipping my knife into my pocket, I wipe my hand on my coat. Somehow holding it in my hand doesn’t seem right when thinking about what happened to Pratik.

  “Why haven’t you gone to the authorities?” I ask through clenched teeth. “Only a monster would sit on such knowledge and then pretend to care.”

  His head jerks back as if he’d been hit. “Don’t be ridiculous and don’t insult me. My patience is wearing thin. You say you want information and by giving it to you I am ascertaining that you and your self-righteous young man will take care of a problem for me.”

  “Perhaps. You have yet to tell me anything. It is difficult to know what I can do unless I have more information.”

  “As you wish. My colleague is not only insane, she’s incredibly resourceful. She has certain abilities that make it difficult for me to stop her. She’s a loose cannon and, quite frankly, if you don’t stop her, I’m afraid someone else will get hurt.”

  Her. It’s a woman.

  My mind is spinning and I have a hard time focusing on what he is saying.

  “You must go to her father. Only her father has the power to contain her.”

  “Why? What kind of abilities does she have? Who is it?”

  “Come on, Anna. You’re a smart girl. Haven’t you guessed?”

  I know as surely as if he’d said it. I think perhaps part of me has always known. “Calypso,” I whisper.

  He nods. “I thought her talents would come in handy. After all, her ability to influence people is extremely useful, especially when paired with her obvious charms and her other talents. I knew she was a bit unbalanced, but unfortunately, I underestimated just how demented she actually is.”

  My stomach churns. “What other talents?”

  “Don’t you know? She’s a witch. A black magic practitioner. Likes to dance with the dark side, does our Calypso.”

  Panic blooms in my chest, remembering how Pratik had been murdered. My God. She led me to Pratik’s body. The poppet. The psychic attacks. God only knows what else she had been planning.

  “What do you expect me to do?” I ask, trying hard not to be sick.

  “Stop her, of course. I wash my hands of her. All I wanted was someone on the inside to give me information on what the Society was doing and if there were any new recruits. Contrary to what you might think, I don’t abduct people.”

  “What about Pratik?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “I had nothing to do with Pratik. Not really. She persuaded him to join us.”

  Something isn’t adding up. “But Mr. Gamel’s home had been broken into.”

  He shrugs. “Perhaps she wanted everyone to think it was a crime scene. Perhaps she has interesting ways of persuasion. Who knows? I only know that both he and Jonathon came willingly enough to begin with. Whether that’s still the case with Jonathon or not, I don’t know.”

  “Wait. If he joined you of his own accord, why don’t you know?”

  His mouth tightens. “She disappeared from our little hideaway last week and took several of my Sensitives with her.”

  It dawns on me what he wants in return for his information. “You want me to get them back.”

  He shrugs.

  “You’re just as insane as she is if you think I am going to help you in any way.” I start to turn away and Dr. Boyle grabs my sleeve. Billy hurries toward us.

  “Don’t forget, she’s the one who killed Pratik. She said she needed the blood for a major incantation. Do you really want to take a chance with the lives of four young men, Anna?”

  Billy comes up next to me. “Everything all right here?”

  I don’t answer. Dr. Boyle is still holding my arm and our eyes lock as if we’re frozen in some kind of battle of wills. Neither one of us wants to be the first to look away.

  “There’s one more thing, Anna.” His voice is soft, almost caressing. “You recall I said the only one who could control her is her father. That’s because her father is the only person I know even more powerful than she is. Do you want to know who her father is, Anna?” He leans toward me and I will myself to remain motionless.

  “Aleister Crowley,” he whispers.

  I gasp and jerk my arm from his grip. I want to run, but am frozen in place.

  “That can’t be true. Someone in the Society would know!”

  He adjusts his coat, smiling—a smile that doesn’t reach his cold eyes. “The Society doesn’t care about the Sensitives any more than I do, my dear, so why would anyone check Calypso’s background?”

  I close my eyes for a moment as I digest this truth. Then I glare at him. “What do you want me to do?” My voice is harsh and I sense Billy’s confusion next to me, but I can’t think about him right now. I can’t care about what he must be thinking. I focus on Dr. Boyle, and his triumph makes me want to hit something. Makes me want to hit him.

  “Find her. Subdue her. I don’t care how. Let me know when it’s over so I can see my . . .” He stops, glancing at Billy. “Just let me know when I can see my employees.”

  “I’m not going to just hand those people over to you,” I tell him. My eyes are smarting with unshed tears. I feel as trapped as a bird in a cage.

  He shrugs. “So give them a choice. I pay them, Anna. Contrary to what you’ve been told, they can come and go as they please except when they are needed. I think you will be surprised by their decision.”

  And just like that he’s gone.

  I’m shaking like a leaf and Billy puts his arms around me and pulls me close. He’s not Cole, but his warmth is comforting and right now I need all the comforting I can get.

  “What the hell was that all about?”

  The laugh that erupts from my mouth doesn’t sound like a laugh at all. “That, my friend, was me being put in a ghastly position.”

  He pulls away and I miss his warmth. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  I shake my head. “Unfortunately, I think I’m going to have to handle this one all on my own.” I pray Cole has returned from Bath so we can warn everyone.

&n
bsp; I only hope it’s not too late.

  Seventeen

  “Anna, wait!”

  Billy tugs on my arm and I impatiently pull away. I’d been practically running ever since I left Dr. Boyle, while Billy’s been chasing me down the street, trying to get my attention. Part of me appreciates how humorous we must look—a cowboy chasing a flapper down the staid streets of London—but the larger part of me is terrified and horrified and desperate to reach Cole.

  Billy finally grabs me around the waist and picks me up off my feet.

  “What are you doing? Let me go!” I struggle and fall just short of clobbering him on the head with my umbrella.

  “Stop it. What the hell are you involved in? Murder? Blackmail? What?”

  He holds me easily in his arms and I’m aware that I am being held so that the lines of our bodies are flush against one another. I stop struggling. “Please put me down.”

  He does what I ask, and I begin walking again. “I can’t tell you everything. Suffice it to say that a friend of mine was murdered and that man knows who did it. For reasons I can’t explain right now, I can’t go to the police. And, no,” I say, spotting the look on his face, “it’s not because I’ve done anything wrong. It’s actually to protect innocent people.”

  “I don’t understand,” he says flatly. “And exactly what are Sensitives?”

  I stumble before catching myself and moving on. “Never mind. Just . . . thank you.” I stop and look around. “You know, I have no idea where we’re going.”

  He shakes his head. “I was wondering about that. The next street looks busier. We can get you a taxicab.”

  We walk in silence until he flags a taxicab. “You can trust me, you know,” he says, opening the door for me.

  I look into his eyes and they are so pure and openhearted that my throat swells and tears rise. “I know.”

  It feels criminal to leave him there on the street, knowing he would do anything for me. But I don’t have room for regret. I have to find Cole as soon as possible. I ask the driver to drop me off at the Wrights’.

  “We need to talk,” I tell Leandra as soon as she enters the sitting room I’d been escorted into.

  Her green eyes widen as she greets me. “Your hands are like ice. What happened?”

  “I had a run-in with Dr. Boyle. I know who killed Pratik and I know who Jonathon is with. We need to get Cole and Harrison here right away.” I almost sob with relief as the weight of my knowledge is off my shoulders.

  She nods and calls in her housekeeper. “Could you please contact Mr. Wright at work and tell him to come home? It’s an emergency. And make tea. Oodles of tea.”

  She turns back to me. Her concern is so evident that I’m ashamed I ever mistrusted her. I shouldn’t have judged her for the darkness that lies just beneath her surface—God only knows what sort of things she has seen in her nightmares.

  “Cole telephoned Harrison to tell him he was getting back this morning and they made plans to meet. Hopefully they will both be here soon. Now who killed Pratik?”

  “Calypso.” I watch her face carefully.

  She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “That explains my nightmare.”

  “You had a nightmare?”

  Leandra nods and I freeze, my heart pounding. “What was it?”

  Her voice is strangely composed as she describes her dream. “I saw Calypso, screaming. She looked like Satan was chewing her up from the inside. Then I saw Pratik, only not the man I remember, but like he was already dead yet still moving and talking.” Then she looks at me, frowning. “Then there was a young man in uniform whom I’ve never seen before.”

  Walter.

  My heart races in my chest and it takes me a moment to catch my breath. “I had a vision the day before yesterday. It was exactly like you described.”

  We stare at one another for a moment, the hair on the back of my neck prickling.

  “Are you saying instead of seeing your nightmare, I saw your vision? How can that be?”

  I shake my head. “How does any of this happen?”

  Leandra takes another deep breath. “I think you had better tell me what happened from the beginning.”

  I tell her everything. When I get to the part about Dr. Boyle, Harrison and Cole come in. Cole pauses upon seeing me, but then concern crosses his face and he hurries to my side. Leandra pours us tea and nods.

  Cole stops me. “Wait. You took Billy with you? He doesn’t know about the Society, does he?”

  I wave my hand impatiently. “Of course not.”

  “So he went with you even though he had no idea what was going on?”

  I can feel my face heating. “I told him I was going to be meeting someone I didn’t trust. What was I supposed to do? Go by myself?”

  “No. I just don’t know why he would do that.” Cole’s eyes are probing and I swallow.

  “Because he’s my friend,” I finally say. “Can I continue?”

  He nods, his mouth tight.

  By the time I’m finished, Cole is shaking his head. “This is so hard to believe. Calypso is such a flibbertigibbet . . . Are you sure?”

  My head snaps up. I had expected many reactions, but not this. “What do you mean, am I sure? Don’t you think I would know if he were lying?”

  “Yes, of course, but have you felt anything sinister about Calypso? If she were capable of Pratik’s murder, don’t you think you would have sensed something?”

  “Calypso’s emotions change so quickly it’s difficult for me to feel anything concrete from her. At the séance I felt nothing at all. Cole, what is going on? Why don’t you believe me?”

  I feel as though I’ve been kicked in the stomach. Doesn’t he trust my judgment at all? After everything we’ve been though?

  “It’s not that I don’t believe you,” he says slowly. “It’s just that I am wondering why you are so quick to believe Dr. Boyle over someone you called a friend.”

  For a moment I am tempted to get up and walk out on him, but I know from experience that won’t solve anything and we have to stop Calypso.

  I take a deep breath. “Cole, I know what he told me is the truth. I can feel it.”

  I turn to Leandra and Harrison. “What do you two think?”

  Leandra twitches a shoulder. “I’ve never liked her. Of course, not liking someone is different from suspecting her of murder.”

  Harrison reaches up to massage his neck. “The Yard has a dossier on Crowley almost a foot thick. He’s written several books and has apparently created a new religion.”

  “Yes, it’s called Thelema, and apparently he was given the text by his guardian angel. He was also involved in the Order of the Golden Dawn,” I tell them.

  “How do you know so much about it?” Leandra asks.

  “I read quite a bit on the occult while growing up. I was trying to find clues about my abilities,” I explain and she nods.

  “Understandable.” She turns toward Cole. “I’ve been to the Society almost every day but haven’t seen Calypso in a week. But that isn’t unusual. She’s always avoided me. When was the last time you saw her?”

  Cole shifts in his seat and I raise my eyebrows.

  “This morning. She came by the Society while I was talking to Jared.”

  “What did she want?” Harrison asks.

  Cole glances over at me, his eyes unreadable. “She wanted to know when you were coming back. I told her you got in two days ago but that you had been busy.”

  I look down at the floor. Billy’s face leaps to mind and I push it away. Focus. I draw in a deep breath. “So what should we do?”

  No one says anything and we all look at one another helplessly. “Well, don’t everyone talk at once,” I say.

  “Can’t Scotland Yard do something?” Cole asks Harrison.

  “Of course, once we have enough evidence. But we need to find the Sensitives before we do that. If we try to question Calypso now, she’ll either clam up or go over the deep end if she really is as de
mented as Boyle says she is. Neither one would help us. You don’t think she’s holding four men all by herself, do you?”

  I rub my forehead. “I hadn’t even thought of that. She has to have help from somewhere.”

  “What are the chances this is some kind of trap set by Dr. Boyle to get Anna?” Cole asks.

  I shake my head. “Slim to none. I’ve been traveling in foreign countries. If he really wanted me, he could have had me. There were plenty of opportunities.”

  “All right. Then we go on the assumption that Calypso has squirreled away the Sensitives, is a ritualistic murderer and an occultist. Considering who her father is, that’s not difficult to believe. But what is her motive?” asks Harrison.

  “Do insane people have to have a motive?” Cole wonders.

  Harrison nods. “In this case, yes. Everything she has done has been planned out. She has a reason. The problem is, it may not make sense to anyone but her, but if we are going to find where she has hidden the Sensitives and who is helping her, we need to know what it is.”

  Leandra stands. “It’s almost time for supper. Anna, would you help me? Leave the boys to figure this out?”

  We stare at her, puzzled, as the Wrights have a very good and capable cook and she’s not the type to leave anything to the “boys.” “Check in on Cook,” she explains patiently.

  I finally get her meaning. “Of course.”

  Instead of taking me into the kitchen, she pulls me into a small office near the back of the house and shuts the door behind her.

  The room isn’t as neat as the rest of the house. In fact, it’s a mess, with piles of paper on the desk. The small settee is stacked with books and shelves are leaning precariously under the weight of even more books.

  “It’s Harrison’s office. He won’t let the housekeeper near it. Claims she hides things. We almost lost her over it once so we made a deal, he cleans it every spring, whether or not it needs it.”

  I smile and automatically walk over to the bookshelf. “I take it it’s that time of year again?”

  Leandra waves a hand. “Oh, no, he just did it.”

  I laugh. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  “Was I that obvious?” She smiles. “I actually wanted to talk to you about a couple of things. First, I want to know what is wrong with you and Cole. And if it’s none of my business, go ahead and tell me.”