Griffin
I lunged at the remaining guard, not giving him any time to react. My shoulder collided with his midsection, and we both tumbled back into the snow. The dogs barked wildly, half maddened by either the shots or our fight, I didn’t know. I expected to feel their teeth sink into me in defense of their master. We rolled on the ground; I clutched his arms, trying to keep the gun away from me.
Unfortunately, the thick mittens so admirable for protecting my hands were no good for gripping. The guard wrenched free and slammed a fist into the side of my head. Stunned, my hold slackened. He rolled on top of me, the gun inches from my face. “Don’t try it, Rever—”
There came the sharp crack of a pistol, loud in the cold air. Blood burst from the hole where his forehead had been. I shoved frantically, and his body collapsed to the snow beside me. Behind him stood Jack, his own gun in his hand and a grim look on his face.
“Thank you,” I said, as Iskander hurried to help me to my feet.
Jack’s mouth was a hard line. “I wasn’t going to let him kill you. I know you don’t believe it, but Nicholas and I are trying to protect you.”
“You heard what Haswell said!” Iskander exclaimed.
“Haswell was never in Nicholas’s confidence. Not like me. He thought he could twist the situation to his own brutish ways.” Jack pivoted to the fire and raised his pistol again. “But we have bigger concerns. You’re a sorcerer.”
Scarrow still sat at his ease on the rough-hewn log. “Very good, Mr. Hogue.”
Fear crept up my spine. Most of my experience of sorcerers, other than Whyborne, had not been good. Certainly Nicholas Turner hadn’t improved my opinion of the lot, no matter what Jack might think of the man. “Who are you? And more importantly, what do you want from us? Are you trying to get an umbra as well?” God, would I have to fight him as well as Turner?
“Don’t trust him,” Iskander warned.
“I’m hurt, Mr. Barnett.” Scarrow didn’t sound particularly offended, though. “But there’s no need to interrogate me, Mr. Flaherty. I’m more than happy to explain myself, having been found out. Indeed, I was already considering how I might reveal myself to you. Your brother choosing to join us made my task easier, of course.”
“I haven’t ‘joined’ anyone,” Jack shot back hotly. “Now answer Griffin’s questions.”
Scarrow held out his hands to the fire. I watched carefully in case he intended to play some magical trick with the flames, but it seemed he only wished to warm his fingers. “First answer a single question for me. What happened to Vanya?”
“How the devil would we know?” Jack demanded.
“He’s dead,” I said at the same moment.
Jack cast me a shocked look. I shrugged. “At least, I assume he is. The first night in St. Michael, a man attacked Whyborne, shouting about great worms and breaking open mountains. Whyborne washed him off a dock with a wave. Either he froze and drowned, or hid himself away.”
Jack shook his head. “And you say Dr. Whyborne isn’t a murderer?”
“It was self defense!” I turned away from him in disgust and aimed my next words at Scarrow. “I assume he was your agent?”
Scarrow sighed unhappily. “Poor Vanya. I assure you, he had no orders from me to attack anyone. I made certain he went with Mr. Hogue in order to keep an eye on Dr. Whyborne, so he might report back to me on his return. Unfortunately, his head was already full of native legends concerning these mountains. I suppose he decided to take matters into his own hands.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “And who are you, exactly?”
“I am who I introduced myself as. Felix Scarrow.” He sat back and regarded me. “I’m a member of a...loose association, you might say...of those who study the arcane arts. We call ourselves the Cabal, but honestly I find the name rather an affectation, don’t you?”
“Get on with it,” Iskander snapped. “Christine and Whyborne are in danger while you maunder on!”
“Quite, quite.” Scarrow rose to his feet. “We heard a rumor the Endicotts had sent someone from one of their subsidiary branches to Alaska, in search of another umbra. They’d already acquired one when the Eltdown Shards were uncovered a few years ago, but those sort are never content. Having met them, I’m sure you won’t be at all surprised to hear they aren’t very popular in arcane circles. We thought it in our interests to send someone to keep an eye on dear Mr. Turner and make certain he didn’t secure another umbra. The balance of power is already too far in the Endicotts’ favor as it is.”
“And I suppose your association use magic to help orphans and kittens?” Jack asked. “At least the Endicotts are trying to make the world better.”
“Jack, please,” I said. “Let the—well, not reverend, I’m sure—finish.”
“Not a reverend?” Scarrow’s pale brows climbed toward his hood. “Oh no, dear me. I am an ordained minister.” I must have looked skeptical, because he said, “Don’t you think God’s will can be accomplished through magic as readily as through the work of a man’s hands? Just because some persons have unjustly condemned the arcane arts doesn’t mean they don’t come from the Divine.” He inclined his head to me in a little bow. “Given your words concerning Dr. Whyborne earlier, I’m certain you would agree the mind of man often distorts the will of God, either through fear or ignorance.”
I wanted to argue and say it wasn’t the same thing at all. I’d seen the evil that could come from sorcerers, from magic.
But I’d seen the good in it, too. In Whyborne. “I see. And you’re right. It would be rather hypocritical of me to disagree with you.”
“What now?” Jack asked.
“What do you mean?” Iskander went to the stores and began to pull out climbing ropes. “We go to the city and save Christine and Whyborne.”
Jack started to object, so I held up my hands to stop him. “I have a suggestion. We’ll all go down together. We’ll find them, including Turner. If they are in danger, we’ll help. And when it’s safe, I promise to listen to what he has to say. And you’ll listen to what Whyborne has to say. Agreed?”
Jack nodded. “Agreed.”
A flicker of hope went through me. We were free now and had a sorcerer of our own. Surely we could face Turner and stop him. “I assume we can count on your help, Reverend?”
“Of course. Our best weapon against these creatures is fire. I suggest we gather up as much kerosene as we have on hand to take with us. Praise the Lord that the temperature hasn’t dipped quite so far as to freeze it.” He picked up one of the lanterns and checked its fuel. “But I haven’t quite finished my story. I must confess, when I first heard Dr. Whyborne would be joining us, I was rather alarmed.”
Iskander went to the guards and retrieved our weapons from them. My gun would do little good against a sorcerer like Turner, and I’d foolishly left my sword cane back in Hoarfrost as impractical to take mountaineering. Iskander tucked his pair of deadly knives, which I’d seen him use on ghūls in the desert, into his coat. There was also a rifle belonging to Scarrow.
I moved to gather supplies, but kept an eye on Scarrow as I did so. “You knew of Whyborne before.”
A thin smile touched Scarrow’s face. “He hasn’t been exactly what one would call discreet. First the business with the Brotherhood, then the Eyes of Nodens, and finally with the Endicotts...such things don’t go unnoticed by others versed in the arcane arts. We speak with one another, write letters, trade spells. There are many who fear what Dr. Whyborne might do.”
“Whyborne isn’t one to go looking for trouble,” I objected, though the words were half-aimed at Jack as well. God, didn’t we have enough to worry about?
“Considering he traveled all the way here ‘looking for trouble,’ as you put it, I will have to take your word on the matter.” Scarrow’s eyes sparkled as he drew out the remaining stores of kerosene. “As the Endicotts aren’t ones to forgive, I suspected he didn’t actually realize what sort of situation he was walking into. On the other hand, it didn’t seem to be in the interests of the Cabal to allow him to stroll away with an umbra, any more than it would the Endicotts. Not unless he could be made an ally.”
“So you insinuated yourself into the expedition,” Iskander said. “All these lies aren’t exactly godly, are they, reverend?”
“I shall pray for forgiveness,” Scarrow replied, unperturbed. “But yes. When the opportunity appeared, it seemed the perfect chance to learn exactly what kind of man he is.”
“And now you know.” I met his gaze challengingly. “A ketoi hybrid and a Sodomite.”
Scarrow laughed. “Don’t be foolish, Mr. Flaherty. The only members of the Cabal who care are the ones who’d wish to avail themselves of his sexual interests. The ketoi blood renders him rather more valuable than less. The Cabal’s primary concern is whether Dr. Whyborne is a friend or an enemy.”
“You’ll have to ask him yourself,” I said, all too aware of Jack near me. If he and Scarrow came to blows over Turner, or the blasted Endicotts, Jack would surely lose such a fight. I couldn’t let him get hurt, but losing Scarrow’s aid would leave us at a disadvantage, especially since I was certain Turner meant to murder us. “Does everyone have their supplies? Lamps? Rope? Food and water? All right. Let’s go.”