A Dance in Blood Velvet (39 page)

“Well...”

“Are you afraid of me?” said Karl.

“No.”

The candle burned to a stump and began sputtering in liquid wax. Karl snuffed out the flame with his fingertips. Smoke ribboned upwards, side-lit by the dull red glow of a lamp. With the eerie lamplight outlining his pale face, Karl stared at Ben from unblinking amber eyes...

After a moment Ben looked away, his posture softening. “Yes,” he breathed. “Yes, of course I’m afraid. I’m not an idiot. And I know I’m out of my depth, but I’m damned if I’ll let it defeat me! Why are you the only vampire I can’t control?”

Karl leaned back, folding his hands on his knee. “Possibly because the others were dormant, while I was not. My question is, what gives you power over
any
vampire?”

“I thought it was the Book, but Lancelyn’s got it now and I was able to subdue Simon without it. I’d like to think the power’s within me. Natural aptitude honed by mental discipline.” Benedict began to tell his story. He spoke flatly at first, then feeling crept into his voice and he spoke fervently of the Neophytes of Meter Theon, his dispute with his brother, his astral journeys into the realm he called Raqia.

When Benedict mentioned Holly’s vision of a black grimoire in an underground passage, and their quest to find it, Karl’s amazement grew.

“Why should she have that particular vision?”

“Lancelyn had a way of directing her to the result he wanted,” said Ben. “How, I don’t know. She can’t give any rational explanation.”

“I know where those tunnels are,” said Karl. “I’ve been there, too often.”

Ben’s eyes grew wide as Karl told him a little about Kristian, the
Weisskalt,
and the ancient passageways beneath Parkland estate.

“I saw the Book in the cell,” said Karl. “And I went back, only to find it gone. At least I know now what became of it. But I had no chance to look inside, and I’m curious.”

Ben was restless with excitement now, his resentment of Karl forgotten. “There were lists of names, and scribblings in a sort of coded Latin. Lancelyn and I were working on the translation together, until the trouble started. It was only after I brought the Book here that I was able to summon Andreas. Only an experiment, the first time...”

“If Kristian’s death woke vampires in the
Weisskalt,
they must have been drifting in the Ring for months. They answered your call because they were weak; other immortals were strong enough to resist. I’m not denying you have extraordinary talent...”

“Thing is, the Book itself seems to have an intrinsic hold over vampires. As if they fear it.”

“I see.” Karl was carefully not telling Benedict too much. “But when you speak of entering the astral world - surely you don’t do so bodily?”

As far as Karl knew, only vampires could enter the Crystal Ring. A mortal taken there, on the point of death, became a vampire.

“No,” said Benedict. “Only in dream form, as it were. Lancelyn describes the spirit world as subjective, a journey into the self. That’s not to denigrate its importance. The microcosm contains the macrocosm; each man contains the universe within himself. But the point is that when I found Raqia - the Crystal Ring, as you call it - I knew it was
real
. Then I began to doubt that Lancelyn’s spirit realm and mine were the same. I decided that mine was real, his wasn’t - egotism, perhaps, but that’s where the rot set in. My desire for superior knowledge clashed with his refusal to see me as equal.”

Karl said, “But if the Crystal Ring is the human psyche, his ideas weren’t inaccurate. I’ve never heard of a mortal discovering our realm. It’s impossible...” He went on, half to himself, “But why should it be? If the Ring, or Raqia, is a realm of the subconscious, surely all humans have the potential to enter. Why shouldn’t a highly trained mind do so consciously?”

“You mean I may not be unique?” said Ben.

Karl half-smiled. “Does that matter?”

“Yes, it does.” Ben grimaced, self-mocking. “Naturally I want power that no one else possesses. Why deny it?”

“Well, you’re certainly not alone in the desire.”

“No. Lancelyn and I are very alike.”

“Is he so terrible, your brother?”

“He was everything to me. I couldn’t believe it when I learned how he was abusing his powers. He’s utterly depraved, immoral; he effectively killed two of our friends! I have to seize the Order from him. He says he won’t hurt Holly, but I don’t trust him any more. I love her; I’d rather die than let her come to any harm. Can’t you understand why I must defend myself?”

Karl regarded the earnest face under the blond hair, and felt sympathy for Ben. He was not a bad man... misguided, perhaps, but Karl was in no position to judge him.

“Assuming you wrest the Order from him, what then?”

“I’ll guide us back to our proper course: the search for Wisdom. Lancelyn - before he took the wrong path - personified wisdom as a hidden goddess whom we must unveil.”

“Do you believe in God?”

“I believe in higher powers that are concealed from most mortals. If that is God, yes. That’s what we’re looking for: complete knowledge. Enlightenment. And by the way, our quest is nothing to do with Satanism. Only the ignorant paint occultists with that brush! We are Gnostics of a sort. That’s why I can’t stand what Lancelyn’s done with his bloody ‘Hidden Temple’, because it panders to all society’s misconceptions.”

“Very pure, your motives sound,” said Karl. “But aren’t you fighting evil with evil? You condemn him for murdering your friends, and yet you’re happy to unleash vampires in pursuit of your goal.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed.
Pointless to ask,
Karl thought.
His ideals and his actions operate on different moral levels, as with most men.

“I have no choice! Who are you to condemn me?”

“I don’t condemn you,” said Karl, smiling. “I was only asking.”

Ben stared down at his hands. “Well, I don’t know what my quest is now. Everything’s changed. Raqia is real, and inhabited by...” He looked up, his eyes alight. “How did this happen to you?”

Karl didn’t answer.

“Could you make me like you?” No inflexion in Ben’s voice. His gaze was candid and steady.

“No. And I wouldn’t if I could.”

Surprisingly, Ben said, “Well, I don’t want it. I might change too much. I need to understand this from a human perspective before I move on to anything... higher.”

“You seem sanguine about the idea of becoming unhuman.”

“Lancelyn convinced me that if we follow the path to Wisdom, we can and will become gods.”

“Do you believe him?” Karl, to his own surprise, found himself enjoying Ben’s company.

“Not quite. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.”

“What do you think Lancelyn is trying to do, if he’s abandoned Wisdom?”

“God knows. He’s shut me out. Offering drugs, sex, occult thrills and blackmail to the rich - well, there’s only one crude goal, power and wealth,” Ben said with contempt. “But I don’t underestimate him. I don’t believe he’s found vampires of his own; I think it’s another mind trick. However, if he
has
got something real, some entity that attacked Andreas - I take the danger seriously.”

“And you want us to protect you.”

“More than that; to help me defeat him. I can’t sit and wait for his next move. I’m seizing the initiative. First, we retrieve the Book. I can’t let him use it against us.”

Karl stood and placed his cold hand over Benedict’s. Ben gave a start.

“Very well, let us find the Book,” he said. “And we’ll help you, for the time being - but it can’t go on forever. You cannot keep a coven of vampires, Benedict.”

* * *

“I’m sorry,” Ben whispered in the darkness of their bed. “So sorry, Holly. Can you forgive me?”

As he gathered her in his arms and held her warm and safe, in absolute, unconditional tenderness, Holly forgave him. They made love with intensity, a crucible to melt every angry word. Afterwards they lay at peace together, healed.

“I’m staying,” she said firmly. “You need me.”

“I know.”

“I only want to help.”

“I know.”

“I’m being practical. You can’t leave Maud to run the shop, not after she gave Lancelyn our house key. You need me to keep an eye on her.”

“Yes. You’re absolutely right...” He was quiet, then added, “And, of course, I need you to keep an eye on Lancelyn.”

She stiffened. “No, don’t ask that! I took an oath not to use my psychic gift against him. If I tried, he’d know. I can’t, any more than I could spy on you for him.”

She felt a jolt go through Ben’s body, as if she’d speared a nerve. “Ben, I told you I would never contemplate it. Trust me.”

“I do,” he said. “We can trust each other.”

“Maud, I’ll watch happily. Not Lancelyn.”

He kissed her, conciliatory. “Not Lancelyn,” he agreed. “You’re right, it would be unfair.”

She relaxed, relieved of a horrible burden. “Thank you.”

“No.” His mouth was by her ear, yet his voice sounded distant and hard in the darkness. “Lancelyn is mine to deal with.”

* * *

The next day, Holly went to the bookshop with a sense of purpose; to purge Maud’s muddy swirl of lies. There would be a new start.

Holly wasn’t looking forward to the task. Maud was difficult; not stupid, exactly, but somehow on a different plane, naive yet cunning, like a shell inhabited by different personalities that she presented to suit the occasion. With customers she was efficient, over-friendly and gossipy, but normal. With those she envied, such as Ben and Holly, she was a compulsive actress. A breathless admirer, or a wheedling child, but never natural. Holly also had to suffer her bouts of holier-than-thou superiority. Today, though, Maud’s fakery would end.

As Maud arrived and hung up her coat, Holly marched her into the small, dark office.

“Tell me the truth,” said Holly. “You entered our cottage and stole the Book yourself, didn’t you? You didn’t innocently lend Lancelyn a key; you knew what you were doing!”

The girl’s face dropped; she looked indignant, then frightened. Hugging herself defensively, she tilted her head, her protuberant eyes glazed with wronged innocence. Then her manner changed, lips pouting. “Yes,” she said defiantly. “Yes, I did it.”

“Why? What did Lancelyn say to you?”

Behind the wide orbs, Holly saw a prickly ego that distinguished between right and wrong only as they affected Maud herself.

“He told me my psychic abilities were the most remarkable he’d ever seen, and that if I helped him, I could join the Order.”

Holly bit back the obvious retort:
You idiot, can’t you see Lancelyn was using you?
She kept her tone neutral. “My husband seems to think you barely know him.”

“Oh, I’ve known him a long time,” Maud said smugly. “He often comes into the shop when Mr Grey isn’t here. He says you want to keep me out of the Order because you are jealous of my spiritual talents.”

Holly gasped, almost laughing. “He said that?”

“Lancelyn said Mr Grey had stolen a certain Book, and that if I returned it to him, he’d reward me. I’ve been in Lancelyn’s house. He told me about a secret Temple that you and Mr Grey know nothing about. He said he’d make me a special disciple.”

“Good God, Maud, you believed him?” Holly shook her head. “Don’t you know what they do at the Hidden Temple?”

“It’s secret until you join,” the girl said archly.

“It isn’t like the real Order, it’s -” Awful images surged up of naive Maud being abused. “When you met Lancelyn, did he ever try to - touch you?”

She dreaded the answer. Holly had thought Lancelyn so pure and honest when he preached unrestrained sexuality to his followers. His teachings had seemed natural, not sinful. But after Deirdre’s ugly revelations about the Hidden Temple, Holly no longer knew what to think. His noble philosophy was no more than a lace cloth over a swirling, sordid pit.

Maud responded with a doll-blank stare, as if she had no idea what Holly meant. “He said it’s your fault people make fun of me for saying I’m psychic. Why is it all right for you, and not for me? Why do you hate me, Mrs Grey?”

“I don’t hate you,” Holly said, dismayed. “Lancelyn can be very persuasive. I should know. I don’t blame you for being taken in; I’m angry because you were disloyal on purpose, and now you stand here telling me how clever you are!”

Maud stubbornly refused to acknowledge Holly’s words. “You’re jealous of me, Mrs Grey.”

“No,” Holly said, infuriated. “You couldn’t join the Order because you were unsuitable.”

“Unsuitable, how? Because I happen to be a good Christian? Lancelyn said my gifts bring me closer to God. There’s no conflict between the Church and the Order.”

“No. It’s because you’re too empty-headed and devious to see the Order as anything but a status symbol to boast about!” Holly knew insulting Maud was not going to help, but she was too angry to stop. “You flaunt your piety in the same way, because you’ll simply do anything to be noticed. I feel a little sorry for you, but the fact remains you broke into our house, and lied. Ben should have dismissed you.”

“Oh, he wouldn’t do that.” Chilling nastiness entered Maud’s tone. “He needs me. He says he needs a real woman. No, if anyone desired to
touch
me, it wasn’t Lancelyn but the younger Mr Grey. He always said nice things when he brought me into the office and locked the door...”

“Stop it!” Holly cried. She felt blood rush from her head in a wave of sickness. It couldn’t be true - but the insinuation was a stab of doubt, like poison. “How dare you insult Ben with such an accusation?”

“It’s easy to call someone a liar, Mrs Grey, but it doesn’t prove I am one,” Maud said blandly. She was right - and that gave her undeserved, terrible power. Suddenly she looked utterly malevolent.

“My husband would never touch a creature like you,” Holly said with icy disdain.

“Why don’t you telephone and ask him, Mrs Grey?”

Yes, prove her wrong now
- but Holly stared at the black mouthpiece sitting on its stalk on the desk, and knew she couldn’t. She had a brief vision of slapping Maud, hard, and sacking her on the spot - but wasn’t that what Maud wanted, to be centre stage in a melodrama?