by Craig Zerf
Ambros, Bastian and Emily sat in the old man’s study. Nathan had stayed on in London, giving ‘personal reasons’ as his excuse not to return to the manor house.
‘Sir William knows more than he’s letting on,’ said Ambros.
‘I reckon that’s true,’ agreed Bastian. ‘The vamps wouldn’t randomly trash his place for no reason. They were looking for something that he has. And it’s ten to one that he knows what it is.’
‘No,’ interjected Em. ‘I spent an evening with him and I didn’t get any hint that he was hiding something.’
‘I see,’ said Ambros. ‘So you got to know him quite well then?’
‘Well, no,’ admitted Em. ‘Not so much.’ She thought for a while. ‘To be honest, actually, he was pretty good at avoiding any questions about himself. He has a way of turning every question around so that you end up talking about yourself all night.’
‘So what you’re saying is, you didn’t get to know him quite well then,’ continued Ambros.
Em nodded. ‘I suppose I didn’t.’
‘Can you get to see him again?’ Asked Ambros. ‘I mean, socially, not in an official capacity.’
‘Probably,’ said Em. ‘I’ve got his cell number; I could give him a call.’
‘Do it now,’ instructed the old man.
Emily left the room before she called, in order to have a little privacy and Ambros continued speaking to Bastian.
‘This whole incident with Nathan,’ said Ambros. ‘The vamp attack and Emily managing to kill them all.’
‘What about it?’ Asked Bastian.
‘Give me your thoughts.’
The Jamaican shook his head. ‘The first thing that springs to mind is – how the hell did the vamps know that Emily and Nathan were there?’
‘I agree. All that I can think is that the vamps had someone following them. It’s not exactly a secret that we own the St. Pancras flat.’
‘True,’ confirmed Bastian. ‘Then, secondly, either Em is not telling us something or she’s far better than I’ve given her credit for. I mean, two of the blood suckers were elders. Powerful. And the others were no Aspirants. I can’t help thinking that she couldn’t have bested them all so easily. She hardly had a mark on her. Didn’t ring true.’
‘What did Nathan have to say?’
‘Nothing. He said that by the time he got there it was all over. Four headless blood vamps. Emily’s sword had been blooded so, maybe it was her.’
‘Logically, who could have helped her?’ Asked Ambros. ‘Think about it. Unless they turned on each other. No human could have helped. They simply wouldn’t have had the strength or speed to affect the outcome. Id est, it must have been her.’
‘Occam’s razor,’ agreed Bastian. ‘The simplest answer is usually the correct one. I suppose that she got lucky. There is more,’ he added. ‘She said that one of the vamps mentioned the corona potestatem.’
Ambros paled visibly and then he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a few seconds. ‘Not again,’ he whispered. ‘I thought that they had given up on that.’
‘No real worries,’ said Bastian. ‘It doesn’t actually exist so they can search all they want. As long as they don’t think that we have it and start a war because of that. Actually,’ he continued. ‘I’d give good odds that the vamps were looking for it at Sir Williams place. Makes sense. More fools them.’
‘Just because no one has found it for so long doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist,’ countered Ambros. ‘It simply means that it hasn’t been found. But even if it did there is no ways that it would simply be lying about in a random antique shop. That’s just too ridiculous to countenance.’
‘So are you saying that it does exist?’ Questioned Bastian.
Before Ambros could answer, Emily reentered the room, a smile on her face. ‘Got hold of William. He’s back at his estate in Kent. He invited me there to stay over for a night or two. I’m going to catch the train and his man will pick me up at the station.’
‘We shall talk later,’ said Ambros to the Jamaican, sotto voce. Then he turned to Emily. ‘Good,’ he affirmed. ‘Now remember, this is not just a social visit. Find out what the hell is going on.’
Emily nodded. ‘I’ll do my best.’
Chapter 17
