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When the night for Blake's church job arrived, I was relieved it would be over soon. I really wished I hadn't added it to my already busy schedule. For some reason, I wasn't quite sure I trusted Blake, but I was committed, so I put my doubts behind me and prepared for action. I parked a block away from the church. As usual I was early. Blake came driving up right on time and parked two spaces down from my car. It was one in the morning and there wasn't another soul around. When he jogged over and slid into the passenger seat of my car, the man looked as fresh and rested as he would have at seven in the morning. For me, the first order of business was to find out what we were there to steal and for whom. Blake wasn't going to like giving me his client's name, but I planned on insisting.
He surprised me by being unusually forthcoming. We were here to steal a book. This book thing was a surprise. I'd never stolen a book until recently and now I'd run into two worth stealing. I wasn't happy when he informed me he was procuring it for a competitor of Defrain's, but a client was a client. According to Blake, Defrain had a book that contained black magic spells, and his client was sure the book in the church contained counter spells that would prevent Defrain from using what he had. I was a lot less happy when Blake professed to believe both books actually contained magic. What was wrong with these people? I wondered if this competitor, a Mr. Blanchford, could be the one who had taken a shot at Defrain. What kind of people was Blake mixed up with? Worse than that was the fact that I was now mixed up with them as well. I didn't say anything or show any reaction to this new information, but I was on high alert.
In the good news column, Blake's sources had recently ruled out the school chapel as a hiding place, so we only had to tackle the church. It was still a mammoth job, but we wouldn’t have to risk exposure breaking into the more well lighted school section. We entered through one of the two back doors. The blueprint had showed they both entered the same area, so Blake picked the lock while I kept watch and we moved silently into one of the back rooms. Looking around, we were sure it was currently being used as a storage room. It didn't seem to be a likely place for the book, but we searched anyway. Quickly and silently, we moved through all the main floor rooms. We had hoped to find what we were looking for in the priest's office or the sanctuary, but we didn't have any luck in either place. With the main floor completed, I said, “Wow, this is spooky. Every nook and cranny is filled with strange artifacts. I hate to say it, but I think we're going to have to split up if we're going to cover the whole place before it gets light.”
“I think you're right. How about you tackle the basement and I'll head upstairs?”
Once I was downstairs, I would have no idea what Blake was doing upstairs. I wasn’t thrilled about leaving him on his own, and I hated the idea of searching a dusty basement. Even so, I decided I had no choice but to suck it up and get this whole business over with as quickly as possible.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, instead of the one large room shown on the blueprint, the basement was a horrible maze of long, dark, dank halls that ended with a choice of more halls to the left or right or just a complete dead end. Several times I had to turn around and backtrack. The large single room shown on the blueprints had long since ceased to exist if it ever had, and I'd barely begun exploring when I realized how easy it would be to get hopelessly lost down there. All the walls were old, damp, and here and there beginning to crumble, convincing me this underground construction was much older than the church above.
After my first few turns, I dug a knife out of my kit and began scratching a small arrow in the plaster that would enable me to find my way back out. I'd found no light source, so I was using my flashlight to move around. As bright as it was, the walls seemed to absorb the light and leave me making my way in gloom. Occasionally, I could hear scrabbling noises I was sure were rats fleeing the sound of my footsteps.
I didn't know how long I'd been shuffling through the halls when I turned a corner and was momentarily blinded by light. When my vision began to settle, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The room ahead was the first open space I'd encountered and was as big as I'd originally expected the whole basement to be. The entire space was empty except for a large, ornate coffin surrounded by ten columns of white light shining down from the ceiling. I'll admit to being a little nervous as I walked toward what appeared to be some type of shrine, but curiosity kept me moving.
As I walked up beside the coffin, I could see that there was a large, colorful book lying on top. This had to be what Blake had come to steal. I was curious about what the coffin might contain, but decided to leave well enough alone. I reached out to touch the book, expecting my invasion to cause some reaction like thunder or lightning, but other than a slight tingling in my fingers, nothing happened when I touched it. Like Defrain's book, the writing initially looked like chicken scratch, but after staring at it for a moment, the optical illusion began working and I could see the title was Clauis Inferni. Under the title was the name Henry Dawson Lea and the word Cyprian. This didn't mean anything to me. I opened the book and turned a few pages. There was more writing. A section labeled Fuga Daemon seemed to be instructions on how to banish a demon had colorful pictures of strange animals and symbols. It was the same type of hogwash I'd seen in Defrain's book. I closed the cover and took a closer look at the coffin. I'd swear it was gold, or at least gold plated, and there was an intricate pattern inlaid with precious gems covering the top. No wonder they kept it hidden away—it must be worth a fortune.
I noticed some writing on the side of the coffin but saw nothing I understood except the name Nicolas Flamel. I'd read about him as a fictitious character in a novel once. If I remembered the story correctly, he'd reproduced the recipe for the philosopher's stone that could be used to make gold.
I bent forward for one last quick look at the writing on the coffin, and at the same time someone fired a gun. I actually heard the bullet whiz over my head and knew if I had still been standing erect, I would be dead. I hugged the book tight and ran for the closest dark corridor, which unfortunately wasn't the same one I'd entered from, so the way out wasn't marked.
As I rounded the first corner, I heard Blake's voice say, “You might as well stop now. You'll only get lost if you keep running. Besides, you can't hide from me forever.”
I stopped long enough to holler, “What in the hell are you up to, Blake? You could have killed me back there.”
“That was the idea, sweetheart. In case you haven't figured it out by now, that shot wasn't my first attempt to end you.”
This took me completely by surprise. “You're the one that has been trying to kill me! What have I ever done to you? You barely know me.”
“I know more than you think, but all I really need to know is that Defrain tested us both and chose you over me. Nobody takes what's mine, especially some dumb broad, and nobody turns down my advances and lives to crow about it either. I need Defrain's magic to go with what's in that book you’re holding. Over and over, you had to keep getting in the way. Now I get rid of you for good.”
“So, there is no client. You want the books for yourself, and you wanted Defrain's business. We could have negotiated. Surely you must know magic isn't real? Are you nuts or what?”
At this, Blake became something I didn't recognize, and I realized I'd said the wrong thing. He began shrieking and swearing. Finally, he calmed, and like his outburst had never happened, he said, “I don't know how someone so stupid could have caused me so much trouble.”
I hollered back, “For Pete’s sake, Blake, you can’t expect to get away with murder. You’re going to blow your whole comfortable setup for nothing.”
“I can get away with whatever I want. Getting away with things is how I got my comfortable setup. Just give me the book and I'll give you a quick death. Waste any more of my time, and when I catch you, you'll wish you'd listened.”
I was already off and running by the time he was half through with that statement. Initially, I just ran blindly as fast as I could. I heard two shots as I ran, but I wasn't hit. When I could no longer hear footsteps behind me, I slowed and turned on the flashlight. Having lost all sense of direction, I looked around for something that might help, but there was nothing to help me plot a course and I was afraid there was no way I was going to find my way out by sheer luck. I watched the walls carefully for hidden doors and even tried to keep an eye on the ceiling. I kept hoping I’d run into one of the marks I’d carved on the way in, but found nothing. I’d been winding through the halls for what seemed like hours before I noticed that ever so often there was a pattern in the block wall of the corridor. When I reached the next one, I stopped to examine it and realized I was still clutching the book, so I stuffed it in my pack. The pattern had to be more than a random design, but it took me almost five minutes to conclude it was a door and several more to find the lever that opened it. The whole time I hunted, I listened for the sound of someone sneaking up on me, but I must have lost Blake in the maze because he didn't show up.
Once I'd worked my way through the hidden door, the opening before me was more of a tunnel than a hall. It was also in worse condition than the earlier corridors and contained nasty spiderwebs. No one could have come this way for years and years. Taking a deep breath to bolster my courage, I closed the door behind me. If Blake didn't know about these openings, I should be safer in here. It wasn't long until I came to a dead end, but on the wall was the same pattern I'd encountered in the halls. I was sure it was another door, and I hoped it opened to the outside because my flashlight was getting dangerously dim.
When I got the door open, I saw not the hoped for outdoors but that I was back in the central room that held the coffin. I stepped through, closed the door, and began working my way quietly around the edge of the room. I wanted to stay out of the light as much as possible, but I also wanted to get back to the original tunnel I'd used so I could find the way out. I was about halfway to my goal when Blake stepped out of a door right in front of me. He had a large revolver pointed at my chest. I said, “Blake, think for a minute. All this isn't necessary. You can have this book, and I still have the other one at my house. You may never find that one unless I show you where it is, and I'll gladly let you have them both. You don't want a murder on your conscience.”
“Oh, don't worry, this won't be my first. I plan to enjoy killing you. Anyone that even slightly reminds me of my bitch mother deserves to die, and you’re in my way, just like she was. That's reason enough to kill you. Also, you’re forgetting I’m a thief and I know where you live. It shouldn’t be too hard to get that other book.”
I barely recognized the man before me. He was dirty and bedraggled, his once-handsome facial features distorted and grotesque. There was no doubt in my mind he intended to shoot me. I was madly trying to think of something to say that would change his mind or slow him down when again, a shot echoed around the room. At first, I was sure he'd fired, and I waited for the pain. Instead, a strange look passed over his face and he dropped to the ground. I'd just noticed the pool of blood spreading under him when Defrain walked into the light from halfway around the room. A small gun was still in the hand that was hanging by his side.
As he walked slowly toward me, I thought he said something, but it didn't register. I just kept thinking he looked pretty good for a man that had been lung shot recently. A little thinner and a little paler, but still a mountain of a man. Finally, his words sank in as he once again said, “Tavia, are you all right? Have you been hurt?”
I sighed and slid down the wall to sit on the floor before I answered. “That is about as close to dying as I ever want to come. What are you doing here? Whatever the reason, you just saved my life.”
“It's kind of a long story. Let's get you out of here and then I'll explain. I've got people coming to remove any evidence of what has occurred here, but we need to be gone.”
The gun disappeared somewhere on his person, and he reached out to help me up. Once I was fairly steady on my feet, he walked us to another of the strange patterns in the wall, and in moments we were outside. He led me to a BMW that looked just like the car he'd been driving when I'd tried to deliver the book I’d stolen for him. Still shaken, I sank gratefully onto the soft seat.
He handed me a bottle of water and said, “You first. How did you get here and mixed up with the likes of Mr. Slater?”
By the time I'd finished explaining, I was a lot calmer, so I said, “Okay, now it's your turn!”
Defrain smiled. “Fair enough, but first, can you tell me what happened to the book that was in the church? I know you don’t think they are important, but I’d hate to think it was destroyed.”
“I could, but I think I'll wait until you explain what's going on first.”
“I suppose that's fair, too. To start at the beginning, I need to go back a bit. About a year ago, I heard about a book that supposedly contained actual magic spells. According to my source, they were the real deal and not some silly fiction. At that point, I'd been a student of magic and its history for quite some time, but I was not a believer. I just assumed it was a different belief system people use as a crutch to help them get through their lives. I wanted this book for my collection. Between then and now things have changed and I've become a cautious believer, but that isn't important at the moment.
“In the past, I'd used both you and Blake to procure items for me, but I never quite trusted Blake, so I quickly switched to using your services exclusively. Once I'd done the research and was fairly sure I knew where the book had ended up, I called you. What I didn't know at the time was that Blake was watching you and growing more and more resentful of the business that was going to you instead of to him. The attack when you tried to deliver the book the first time took me by surprise. I suspected Blake was responsible, but it took me a little time to confirm my suspicions. That's when I also discovered he was hunting for the same book I was, the companion to the one you have. Anyway, for obvious reasons, I began watching him closely, so when he started seeing you, I knew he was up to something. At first, I almost chalked it up to a romance, but soon realized that didn't seem right. I had Blake, and when I learned he knew about the second book that was supposed to undo the spells in the first, I knew right away what he was up to. All this took time. I was afraid I was going to arrive too late tonight, so rather than send someone, I took the extreme measure of coming to the church myself. The rest you know.”
“I'm oh-so-glad you showed up when you did! All this hoopla about some silly books seems crazy to me. They can't be that valuable.”
“On the contrary, they are priceless. I don't expect you to believe me, but my research indicates the spells in the first book actually work. I can't wait to get my hands on both books so I can do some more accurate testing.”
“I can't believe someone like you actually believes in this stuff, but everyone is entitled to their own ideas. Will you pay me the same finder's fee for the second book as the first?”
“I'll not only do that, I'll throw in an extra hundred thousand as a bonus. I can see I will not convince you of their authenticity, so I won't try, but there is something you should know, even if you are a nonbeliever. No one has ever read the writing in the books except someone of power, and even then, they need to possess a star-shaped dodecagon. You might want to ponder on why you can read them so easily.”
My laugh was a little shaky when I said, “The price is right, so we have a deal. My only condition is that I want to be rid of both these troublesome items now. I'll get my car and you can follow me to my house so we can finish this transaction once and for all.”
The trip home was uneventful. Defrain waited upstairs while I made my way to the safe and got the first book. When I returned, he was right where I'd left him, so I checked my bank balance to be sure he’d made the transfer of funds and handed him the book, took the second one out of my pack, and handed him that one too. My only thought when he had them both was relief at having them out of my life. And I was quite a bit richer than when we'd arrived.
By then, it was too late to begin anything new. Everything else could wait until tomorrow. I was exhausted, but it took me some time to fall asleep. I kept thinking about Blake and wondering what had happened in his life to warp a man with so much potential. When I did finally fall asleep, I awoke several times during the night from dreams about my early days with Clive and Alice, but I was tired enough that I went right back to sleep each time.