The Royal Occult Bureau

by Barbara Russell

“Grab the top of the wall,” he said with another push.

  I did as told. With his arm still sustaining me, I peered at the garden. There wasn’t much to see aside from flowerbeds and more trimmed bushes. The others had already landed and were hidden behind trees and bushes.

  “Can you make it from here?” Evander asked.

  “I think I can.” I brought up my knee and hauled myself up.

  Once on the top of the wall, I let go. Evander caught me before my feet touched the ground. The strong cage of his arms surrounded me. How he climbed the wall and landed before I did was a mystery.

  “Safe,” he whispered in the crook of my neck, holding me.

  “Always in your arms.”

  For a moment, he tightened his grip around me, and the bond gave a delicious tug. Then he delivered a quick kiss to my cheek and released me, leaving me breathless and flustered.

  We skulked across the lawn and halted when the rear door swept into view. The sun lowered on the horizon, casting an orange glow on the walls. It looked like the house was oozing blood. Yellow light limned the back door, and shadows flicked behind the windows.

  A woman with the dark uniform of a maid came out of a door. Lord, she was pale with bloodless lips, just like Charlotte. She emptied a basket of leftover vegetables in a wooden crate and went back inside.

  “What do we do now?” I whispered.

  “We sneak inside without being seen.” Damon winked as if he’d suggested a stroll in the park.

  “How? The house is full of servants.” I tried to contain my frustration, but dash it, the agents always made everything sound too easy.

  Evander lifted the lapels of his jacket, covering his cheeks. “You’d be surprised by what agents can do.”

  We stole to the door. My legs quivered, but Evander’s hand holding mine spread calm within me.

  Jasper crouched in front of the door. He fiddled with the lock and two lockpickers, and the door clicked open.

  I tensed, waiting for a maid’s scream to rip the air any moment.

  He remained still, watching through the narrow slit, then waved us closer. “It’s clear.”

  Damon slipped inside. When it was my turn, I had to squeeze Evander’s hand hard to not gasp.

  Jasper advanced on his tiptoes and opened a side door.

  The noise of pots and pans mingled to the loud voice of a woman ordering around the maids.

  “Bring more wood . . . Where are the spices? Put the kettle on . . . Hands off the butter, Mary!”

  Steam and the smell of leek wafted in the corridor.

  Jasper mouthed, “Now.”

  We entered a storeroom where potato sacks and baskets of dried fruits and apples filled the floor. When Damon shut the door behind us, darkness fell, but the soft noise of Jasper’s feet came.

  “This way,” he said. “There’s another door at the end of the room.”

  I wasn’t sure where we were going, but Evander tiptoed onwards with confident steps.

  We stepped into a dimly lit corridor. It wasn’t narrow for me, but Evander’s shoulders skimmed the walls. Plain wooden planks made the floor, and the curtains were made of simple wool. No gold or statues. This was most likely the servants’ quarters.

  My feet squeaked on the floorboards, and every accusatory gaze set on me. I winced and paused. Sorry, but I hadn’t spent my childhood in Sheltenham Academy, being flogged and punched if I made too much noise when I sneezed.

  Evander put an arm around my waist and lifted me as if I weighed nothing. He carried me along the corridor and put me down when we arrived at the base of a sweeping stair. Well, I wasn’t going to complain about that.

  Jasper went first again while we hid in the shadow. I was the only one fidgeting and biting my lip. Damon and Evander seemed composed and so very still they could be mistaken for statues. Time stretched. It could’ve been a few moments or hours. I sighed in relief when Jasper came back and gave us the thumbs-up.

  The blue carpet covering the steps muffled my footfalls, but I couldn’t move with the lightness and speed of the others. They were like panthers—strong but silent and elegant.

  Following Damon, who walked in front of me, I crossed the threshold of a room. Blankets covered the furniture, giving the room a ghostly air. Evander shut the door behind us, and we gathered in a circle.

  “Should we split?” Damon asked.

  Jasper nodded. “We’ll regroup at the end of the garden where we came from. If you can, use the same route to leave the house. In case of emergency, remember there are innocent people in the house. Don’t shoot unless it’s necessary.”

  The last words spread a chill in my body.

  “I’ll check the top floor,” Jasper said. “Damon will take the ground floor. Evander and Asia will search this floor.”

  Evander and I waited until Jasper and Damon had left before exiting the room.

  “I can’t be as silent as you are,” I said.

  “You’ve been great so far. Just follow me.”

  “All those maids . . . There must be a few guests in the house.”

  “It’s the weekend. Maybe the Van Dorens are coming here.”

  There was no trace of the other agents, not even their footprints on the carpet. Taxpayers’ money was well spent in training these chaps. Evander led me along the corridor wide enough for five people to walk abreast.

  He tried a knob, but the door didn’t budge. We hid inside another room when a maid hurried along the hallway with a basket full of fresh linens.

  “Where do you think the incubus can be?” I muttered.

  “There were two rooms on this floor I spotted while we were approaching the back door. The curtains were all drawn. One room was the spare one we entered earlier, the one with the blankets. The other is a at the end of the corridor.”

  “Do you think the incubus can be there?”

  He nodded. “Incubi don’t like sunlight, but they don’t like basements either. Their love for comforts and luxuries is their weakness. Bertie would prefer a sumptuous bedroom with thick curtains. That’s why Jasper decided to search the top floor. He thinks the incubus might be there and took the most risky floor.”

  When the maid’s footfalls died, we left the room. The closer we came to the end of the corridor, the more my pulse drummed in my temple.

  Then we heard it, a feminine moan of pleasure coming from the end of the corridor. I’d heard enough of those to understand when a woman was having fun in bed or pretending to. And I’d heard Charlotte’s noises often enough to recognise her voice. At least, the moan sounded like her.

  “Don’t the maids and the footmen hear that?” I asked.

  “They could be all slaves of the incubus.”

  As we approached, the smell of roses wafted so strong my stomach roiled with nausea and fear.

  Evander stiffened and took my wrist. “I’ll go alone.”

  “Dash it, Evander. The woman could be Charlotte.”

  He glanced at the hallway and worked his jaw. “Stay behind me.”

  I did as told, mostly because I wasn’t sure I wanted to see Charlotte with Bertie.

  Evander put an ear on the door and frowned. Tilting his head towards the room, he drew his gun. He put a hand on the knob and slowly turned it.

  A new feminine gasp hit my ears, and there was no mistaking Charlotte’s voice, and my breath caught.

  Gun up, Evander slipped inside, but I rushed past him. Not a smart move, but the worry for Charlotte overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t contain myself. Evander was too fast for me and overtook me with a single stride. The damage was done, though. I had a clear view of a four-poster bed where Bertie was pounding his way inside Charlotte. Only candlelight lit their naked bodies.

  The view was like a slash on my chest.

  Charlotte’s eyes were close in ecstasy as she writhed underneath him, slowly rocking her hips. Her too-pale lips were parted, and the flimsy gown she wore was torn i
n places. Another girl in scanty clothes was sleeping on the floor, pale and gaunt like a street urchin.

  “Charlotte.” The word was a low whisper.

  She ignored me, but Bertie jumped off her and crouched on the floor, teeth bared. His glossy blond hair was dishevelled and framed his sharp cheeks.

  Evander aimed the gun to Bertie’s head. A moment of charged silence stretched, then Charlotte leapt out of the bed with a surprisingly energetic move and flung herself between Evander and Bertie.

  “Evander!” I warned, but he was already lowering his gun.

  “Don’t hurt him.” Charlotte shielded Bertie, arms spread wide.

  I edged closer to her, ignoring Evander’s disapproving stare.

  “Charlotte. It’s me.” My dismay slipped into my voice. “Why don’t you come with me?”

  Panic flared in her cloudy gaze. “No. I can’t. I have to stay here. I can’t go back with you.”

  “Charlotte, Bertie is a murderer.”

  “No!” She backed from me, plastering her body to Bertie. “You don’t know him as I do. He would never hurt anyone.”

  Bertie hissed, eyes turning all black. “Leave.” His voice had a snake-like quality that chilled me.

  “Let Charlotte go,” Evander said in a calm voice.

  “Charlotte, come here.” I stretched out my arm, but she bit her bottom lip and shook her head.

  “You have Asia,” Bertie snarled. “I won’t let Charlotte go. She’s mine.”

  I kept my gaze on Charlotte, but Bertie’s words hurt me. Had he bonded with Charlotte? I couldn’t imagine bonding with such a vicious creature.

  “Let her go,” Evander said again, lifting his gun.

  I was about to beg him to stop doing whatever he was planning to do. I didn’t like that gun pointed at Charlotte, but Jasper barged into the room and skidded to a quick halt next to Evander.

  Jasper unsheathed his gun and raked an appraising glance over Charlotte, but if he found her worryingly sick, he didn’t give any sign.

  Now two guns were aimed to Charlotte, and panic was rising like a tide in my chest. Jasper and Evander might decide that Charlotte was far too gone to be saved, and her death was a necessary evil. So I put myself in front of her. They’d have to shoot me too.

  “Please.” I held up my hands. “She’s my family.”

  Evander bent his need, ready to pounce. I spun and grabbed Charlotte’s arm and held her while a gust of warm wind beat the room.

  Charlotte screamed in rage, but Bertie was gone. He’d done his disappearing trick. Jasper cursed, and Evander scanned the room. But to be honest, I didn’t give a toss about Bertie. Charlotte was more important. Bertie could rot in hell.

  “I wasn’t aiming at Charlotte!” Jasper’s outraged voice thundered. “Do you think I wanted to sacrifice her?”

  I didn’t care to answer, although he sounded honest.

  Damon strode inside too, chest heaving and a short sword in his hand. “The room smells of incubus.”

  “Too late.” Evander kicked the bedpost. “He’s gone.”

  “He must be in the house,” Damon said. “The sun is still up. We have to search for him.”

  Clawing my hands, Charlotte shrugged free from my embrace. “I’m not leaving him.” Her upper lip curled in a snarl that showed her pale gums.

  “You’re going to die if you stay with him.” I shook her shoulders. “Come with me.”

  A flicker of lucidity glinted in her face. “And what do you think will happen to me in De Luna House? Will I have a bright future? A happy ever after? I’m going to die anyway of syphilis, consumption, or God knows what else.”

  I couldn’t argue with that, but I wouldn’t leave her alone with that creature who sucked her life. “Come with me.”

  “No.”

  Evander and Jasper talked in hushed tones, their hands twitching on their guns. I wasn’t going to apologise for having saved Charlotte.

  Jasper shook his head at me as if to say ‘I told you so.’ He approached Charlotte slowly while she kept quivering and shouting.

  “He’s everything I have.” A sob tore from her. “You can’t understand.” She didn’t even turn to Jasper, who was inches from her now.

  “I know. I do understand,” Jasper said in an unexpectedly sweet voice.

  “Do you?” Her eyes widened in hope.

  “Yes, and I promise I’ll do anything to help you.” He gently put a hand on her nape and pressed her throat.

  “Wait.” I went to stop him, but Evander pulled me back.

  “He’s putting her to sleep,” he said, holding me.

  Charlotte went limp in Jasper’s arms, sagging against him. He shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her half naked body. Then he lifted her and adjusted her weight in his arms. There was a moment where Jasper’s tense features softened as he regarded Charlotte with compassion.

  Then he cleared his throat and peeled his gaze from her. “Asia, let’s go. I’ll escort you out, then come back here. Damon, take the other girl to safety.”

  We weren’t out of the house yet, but the ball of worry pressing my chest lifted. Charlotte was with us. I found her. That was all that mattered.

  When we moved towards the exit, the door opened again, and Lavinia strode inside, only to come to a sudden stop in front of us. Her gasp sounded like a crow crying. Not ladylike at all.

  “Lavinia,” Evander muttered.

  Her large blue eyes took in the scene—Jasper holding Charlotte, Damon in full combat gear, cradling an unconscious girl, Evander, and me. A shiver rippled through her, causing her fine dress to quiver.

  Her gaze darted around, pausing on Charlotte’s sleeping form. “You’re here for him.” Sheer, undiluted fear filled her tone. Her chest, clad in fine burgundy velvet, rose.

  Disbelief and disgust rang in Evander’s voice. “You know. You know what he is, yet you’re hiding him in your house?”

  She held up a hand. “You don’t understand.”

  “How could you?” Evander said, his words like bullets.

  “You can’t kill him.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “You don’t understand. He isn’t like the others. Since that night in the gardens—”

  “The night in the gardens?” Evander roared, muscles bulging. “Was it him with you? Not a Russian diplomat?”

  Through the bond, a sharp sensation travelled to my heart. Likely, it was Evander’s anger and disappointment.

  Lavinia’s cheeks were on fire. She wriggled her hands and bit her lips. “My father would’ve killed him. I couldn’t expose him. He cares about me.”

  Damon snorted. “If I had a pound every time I heard that of an incubus.”

  “Take the girls if you want, but don’t hurt him. Please.” The ladylike composure that usually covered her like a mask slipped, revealing a fragile, desperate woman. Tears smeared the rouge on her cheeks and the blue eyeshadows. Under the makeup, her skin was pale. Not like Charlotte’s, but not rosy either.

  “He isn’t different, Lavinia.” Evander took her shoulders, not without kindness. “He’s an incubus who feeds on women, forces his way on them, and then devours them.”

  “No!” She punched his chest hard. “You know nothing! He isn’t like that. He didn’t kill anyone.”

  “He is a murderer,” Evander insisted.

  “No!” Lavinia shoved him and stormed out of the room.

  “Lavinia!” Evander chased her.

  Damon rushed out as well.

  “Damn it.” Jasper adjusted Charlotte again. “Let’s go, Asia.” His urgency meant he wanted to come back here and help his fellow agents as soon as possible.

  Shouts echoed in the corridor. Lavinia was thudding down the stairs, Evander at her heels.

  I paused to see where she was going, but Jasper nudged me with a shoulder.

  “Out,” he ordered.

  We clanked down the stairs. Somewhere, a gunshot ricocheted.
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br />   “What was that?” a feminine voice asked from downstairs.

  “It sounded like a gunshot,” a man replied.

  Jasper sped up. “Don’t mind the maids and footmen. Just rush towards the door, Asia. Run and don’t stop.”

  Despite my shaking legs, I made it to a grand foyer, all white marble and precious brocade.

  A maid froze in front of me and let out a scream that surely damaged my eardrums.

  Jasper kicked the front door open and stepped outside, but paused, waiting for me. I sidestepped the still screaming maid and put a foot on the porch when a blast of energy hit me from behind.

  I was shoved to the side and hit one of the Grecian columns adorning the foyer. My vision blurred, and even the noises sounded muffled. Dust and smoke lifted, twirling around me. I lost sight of Jasper. Another blast rocked the world. Light erupted in the room, red and scorching, and I covered my face as a hot gust brushed past me.

  What the hell?

  The sound returned with a vengeance, and my ears buzzed. Debris surrounded me. I wiped my face from the dust and searched around. Black stains marked the white walls. Rubble and splintered wood replaced the door. The maid I’d sidestepped lay on the floor, motionless.

  “Evander? Jasper?” I yelled, my throat burning.

  I sprang to my feet and on unsteady legs crossed the foyer. A chandelier had crushed on the floor. Its smashed crystals littered the marble tile and reflected the light of the gas lamps. At the base of the stairs, I shouted Evander’s name again. Only the blood-chilling sound of rubble creeping down the steps answered me.

  My feet almost slipped when I slogged across the foyer towards the servants’ quarter. “Evander?”

  There was a cough coming from a corner, and I ran to the sound. Through the dust lingering in the air, I searched for any movement. “Is there anyone?”

  Relief washed over me when I found Evander lying on his stomach and spitting dust. He gazed up when I put a trembling hand on his back.

  “How are you? Are you hurt?” I asked, relief choking me.

  “Asia.” With surprising swiftness, he bolted up and hugged me. “I’m fine. Only a scratch.”

  “What the hell happened?”

  “An efreet.” He winced, sitting on the floor. “It’s a fire spirit who can produce a powerful blast.”