Dapper gave her a smile. That was Steph – brainy with the best of them and not about to be outdone.
‘The truth is that the patriarchs lost faith in the human world. Humans could no longer be trusted to keep this knowledge – and in particular, items of power – safe and sacred. At the time of each of these events the patriarchs used the distraction to remove the scrolls, starting with the most important and ending with the least. Over time, they converted them into books and translated them when possible – the previous translation always destroyed afterwards. There is only ever one version of any text in existence.’
‘Why?’ Lincoln asked.
‘Patriarchs are untrusting people. Knowledge is power.’
Lincoln nodded. Enough said.
I eyed Onyx – who hadn’t said anything since Dapper’s disclosure.
‘You knew, didn’t you?’ I asked him. I could see Dapper’s words were not a surprise to him.
He smiled broadly. ‘Of course, rainbow. I’ve been around a very long time.’
Dapper snorted. ‘And I told him last week.’
Typical.
‘Descendants of the bloodline spend a minimum of one hundred years in service, protecting the knowledge. I did my stint beneath the ground, living with three others of my line, guarding one of the prime knowledge wells in Egypt. It gave me plenty of reading time.’
‘And that is where this book you speak of is now?’ Evelyn asked, leaning forward.
‘No. The well was discovered and destroyed. We saved what we could and decided it would be better to separate and divide up what remained. Over the years I’ve returned most of the books to those more devoted to the cause than I ever was, but …’ the corner of his mouth lifted. ‘Let’s just say that everyone likes to be prepared for a rainy day.’
‘Where is it then?’ Evelyn snapped.
Dapper gave her an unfriendly look. I understood completely.
‘You’re all going to have to move back from that wall,’ he said.
We all stood and shuffled back – Lincoln moving closer to me. Protectively.
Dapper closed his eyes and started to say something quietly – chanting.
‘Gaelic,’ Lincoln whispered in my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.
After a minute or two, the living-room wall started to move towards us, the mantelpiece splitting in the middle, opening up like two massive doors.
‘Open sesame,’ Zoe said, her voice filled with awe.
Spence was grinning ear to ear. ‘I know, right! I’m waiting for the troll to come out and ask for a magic password.’
I smiled at him. Griffin didn’t. He smacked Spence over the head instead.
Dapper, ignoring our banter looked around the room solemnly. ‘My oath is now your oath. If any of you betray it, you would be betraying me, and my people would come with strength and in numbers that would surprise you. They would slay you.’ He half smiled. ‘It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t warn you.’
Dad gasped. The rest of us looked around, unsure, until Spence took a casual step towards the open wall.
‘Same old,’ he said.
Lincoln put a hand on the small of my back, pushing me forward. ‘They’ll have to be comfortable with a first-come first-served situation,’ he – the normally so grave – said, as we moved into the secret room.
Spence slapped a hand on Lincoln’s back as he pushed ahead. ‘Truer words were never spoken, mate.’
Lincoln smiled at my expression and my heart melted. ‘You said you wanted a night of fun. Just holding up my end of the deal.’
When I didn’t immediately smile back, as if sensing all of my fears for our tomorrows and my sadness about the things I – we – had to leave behind, he grabbed my hand.
Honey and spice and all things dangerous are nice.
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘Fate is not satisfied with inflicting one calamity.’
Publilius Syrus
Salvatore and Steph disappeared quickly for some ‘alone time’ after we left Dapper’s, then Zoe and Spence invited me to join them for ‘ice cream’ which – judging by the not-so-subtle winks – I strongly suspected was code for shenanigans.
I opted to stay with Dad. He was basically trembling from the sheer volume of new knowledge. The kind of awareness never intended for humans.
Outside Hades, he’d watched Steph casually walk away arm in arm with Salvatore and shook his head. ‘How does she take all of this so well?’ he’d asked. ‘Isn’t she afraid?’
Among my many confessions to Dad I’d told him how Steph had been taken captive by Phoenix.
‘Sometimes I think Steph was destined for this world more than any of us. She might not be Grigori but she’s chosen to play her part. I’ve had to learn to accept that, Dad.’
Dad looked at his feet, his shoulders slumping forwards. ‘Is that your way of telling me that’s what I have to do – accept your place in this … world of exiled angels?’
I put a hand on his arm briefly, wishing I was better at being consoling. ‘It would make things easier for you if you could.’