The String Diaries (33 page)

If you’d held it together, if you hadn’t caved in to the grief of Nate’s death, hadn’t abandoned Leah so selfishly, you could have brought her here without divulging the existence of this house to anyone. And they never could have found you
.

‘It’s probably best that I leave you now,’ Meyer said. ‘Sebastien—’

‘Just get out. I’ve no more words for you.’

Hanging his head, murmuring his apologies, Dániel Meyer went back into the hall and out of the house.

Moments later, Vass appeared at the french windows. He tested the doorknob. When it turned in his grip he opened it and entered the room. Behind him, one of his lieutenants manhandled Károly’s wheelchair over the step and set it down on the kitchen floor.

Silent, Vass surveyed the room. A sheen of sweat greased his forehead. He opened his arms wide to them and beamed. ‘Somebody told me you were having a party. I thought I’d be the first to arrive, but it seems I’m fashionably late. I’m afraid I didn’t come bearing gifts. Remiss of me. Which one of you is Hannah?’

‘This wasn’t a party anyone invited you to, Benjámin,’ Sebastien muttered.

Vass turned and studied the ex-
signeur
from beneath the soft folds of his eyelids. ‘Ah,
Sebastien
. As delightfully crotchety as ever, I see. Please, don’t consider me a guest. Perhaps you’d prefer to think of me as your complimentary security. I’ve reason to believe that your friend Jakab Balázs is on his way here. While I’ve no doubt that the care you’ve provided Hannah and her daughter has been exemplary, this development makes our presence a sensible precaution.’

Hannah’s stomach clenched at the mention of Jakab’s name. ‘What makes you think he’s coming here?’

‘I’m guessing that you’re Hannah. Wonderful.’ He gestured at the cadaverous creature in the chair. ‘Allow me to introduce our esteemed
signeur
, Károly Vega.’

‘Answer my question.’

Vass smirked. ‘The reason I think that your friend Jakab is coming here, Hannah Wilde, is because I invited him.’

The beetles resumed their march across her flesh. ‘You did what?’

‘A terrible thing happened at Llyn Gwyr. I don’t think
atrocity
is too stark a word for it. I saw the aftermath – your husband’s grave by the lake, not even a headstone to honour his memory. We buried your father next to him. Very sad.’ He leaned forwards. ‘Do you know something? The entire time I was there I had this crazy feeling I was being watched. Sixth sense, perhaps. I’d bet my grandmother’s bones that Jakab descended out of those hills the moment we left. Which is why I left him an invitation to this cosy house-warming, with clear instructions how to find it. And which is why, Hannah Wilde, we have a wonderful opportunity to help each other. I want Jakab Balázs, and I imagine you want him to stop murdering members of your immediate family. I’d venture to suggest that places us in partnership.’

‘You think he’s going to walk in here and let you grab him?’

‘I’m confident I’m capable of dealing with Jakab.’

‘You’re using us as bait.’

Vass considered this, and then his smile broadened. ‘Yes, I suppose that’s exactly what I’m doing. But please don’t feel demeaned by it. You can consider yourself the very finest bait, used to catch the most elusive of fish. We hunt Moby Dick, no less, and I offer you my services as Captain Ahab.’

‘Ahab died,’ she spat, outraged by his casual mockery, unsettled by the lifelessness in his eyes when he smiled at her.

‘Then I beseech you, Hannah. Help me craft a more satisfying conclusion for us both.’ He walked back to the french windows. ‘I think now would be a good time to bring in the dogs.’

Vass tapped on the glass and motioned for the stranger with the two Vizslas to come inside. While he waited he pulled a phone from his pocket. He dialled a number and held it to his ear, his gaze moving among the faces that watched him. ‘Get everyone out of sight and into cover. Far away from the house. I want the cars off the drive and away from the entrance road. Get the helicopter out of here. This place needs to look like a morgue in exactly one minute.’

He terminated the call and looked at Hannah. ‘
Morgue
. Hardly the most sensitive of metaphors, considering recent events.’ Feigning sheepishness, Vass turned his attention to Éva and Gabriel. ‘Now that I’ve finally had the pleasure of meeting Hannah Wilde, and I’ve reacquainted myself with the irascible Sebastien, I’m extraordinarily keen to find out who you good people are.’

‘They’re just friends of hers, Benjámin,’ said Sebastien. ‘No need to drag them into this.’

‘I see. Just friends. Still, I’m curious nonetheless.’

‘The devil take your curiosity.’

‘I’m impressed by your protectiveness over them, but I’m only asking for an introduction. Are they so fragile they need an old man as chaperone? Do they have no tongues?’

The
signeur
lurched upright in his wheelchair, breath rattling in his throat. ‘Benjámin, enough of the theatrics! We’re here to do a job. That’s all. There’s no need to add to the growing list of people who find you offensive.’

Vass had turned to face the
signeur
, but now he returned his attention to Hannah. Rather than showing any resentment at his rebuke, he looked amused. He held up his hands and sighed. ‘He’s right, you know. Despite my best efforts, sometimes I just . . .
trample
on people. I really don’t mean to. But even the best of us have our failings.’

Behind Vass, the stranger with the two Vizslas appeared by the french windows, the end of each chain wrapped around his fist. The first dog was the more powerfully built, with a ragged coat and a muzzle scarred from fighting. The second was younger, with clear eyes and a sleeker coat. It froze the instant it saw the two
hosszú életek
, one front paw suspended above the ground. When its companion noticed them it also paused mid-stride, back leg held aloft and absolutely still.

Hannah’s chest grew tight. She found she was holding her breath. She remembered Sebastien warning Gabriel and Éva not to reveal themselves. Would Vass understand what he was seeing? She burned to see his expression, but wouldn’t give in to the temptation of looking at him.

The larger Vizsla took a half-step into the room. Lips curled back from its teeth, ears flat against its head, it began to growl, low and menacing. Suddenly the younger dog lunged towards Éva, jaws snapping at the air. The animal almost pulled its handler off his feet. Swearing, the man hauled back on the chain.

Hannah risked a glance at Vass. He had been watching the Vizslas’ display, and now he returned his attention to Gabriel and Éva. The hoods of his eyes retracted. He licked his lips.

He knows.

Vass smiled. ‘Well . . . well . . . well. I really should have worn a dinner suit. Such esteemed company.’ He put a hand into his pocket and drew out a revolver. It was an ugly thing – a gruesome black lump of metal. With the Vizslas growling behind him, loops of saliva dangling from their jaws, Vass took a careful step towards the
hosszú életek.
He
examined their faces. ‘Just like us,’ he said. ‘
Just
like us. Please, sit down. All of you.’

Gripping Leah’s hand, Hannah moved to the table and sat, tugging her daughter on to a chair beside her. Gabriel and Éva took the empty seats.

Drops of perspiration clung to Vass’s forehead. A single bead dribbled down his temple. He glanced over at the
signeur
. ‘How long have I promised to deliver you a single
hosszú élet
?’ he asked. ‘And now I find us two.’

The old man leaned forward, eyes glittering. ‘Are you sure?’

Éva surprised Hannah then by rising to her feet. The woman’s lavender eyes had darkened to crimson as she regarded Vass. When she spoke, her voice rang with power. ‘My name is Éva Maria-Magdalena Szöllösi. I’m honoured to be named as
Örökös Főnök
to the
hosszú életek
. I’m likely to serve as the last. You’re Eleni, which makes you responsible for the massacre of our children and the genocide of our race.’

Vass held her gaze. He shook his head. ‘Oh, no, I’m not responsible for the massacre of anyone, Éva. The cull you speak of occurred nearly a hundred years before I was born. But I
am
very pleased to make your acquaintance.’ To the
signeur
, he said, ‘This changes everything. We don’t even need to wait for Jakab.’

‘Then let’s do it,’ spat the old man. ‘And get out of here before he arrives.’

Vass raised his eyebrows at Gabriel, who had risen to stand alongside his mother. ‘This is, I presume, where you introduce yourself?’

Gabriel’s voice was flat, dangerous. ‘I’m Gabriel Mounir Szöllösi. I’ll give you this warning, Benjámin. You think you’re prepared for what’s coming. You’re not. You think you understand the nature of your adversary. You don’t. You think you’ll prevail here today because you command greater manpower, greater firepower. You won’t. I promise you this: the way you conduct yourself over the course of this day will have great bearing on how you complete it.’

Vass rolled his eyes. He pointed out Hannah and Gabriel to the Eleni lieutenant who had accompanied him from the helicopter. ‘Rope these two to chairs. Take the girl and the woman upstairs. Secure them. Separate rooms.’

Hannah stared at the gun Vass dangled so casually from his fingers. How had it come to this? The
monster that had destroyed her mother, her father and her husband was on his way here, to this place she had managed to keep secret for so long. And before she could even focus on that, she had to confront this far more immediate threat.

Your only concern is Leah. Vass is unpredictable, unhinged, and he’s armed. Don’t antagonise him. Don’t fight, not yet. Choose your moment. You may have only one. Let Leah go. Let go of her hand and get her out of this room safely
.

As Hannah tried to extricate herself from her daughter’s grip the girl cried out, and the sound of it nearly broke her. Ruthlessly she peeled back Leah’s fingers. ‘Go with the man, Leah. I promise you, it’ll be OK.’

‘Mummy,
no
!’

‘Scamp, listen to me. Remember all the things I ever taught you. Think about everything I’ve said. Keep your eyes open, OK? Be brave. Trust your instincts. Everything will be all right if you do that, I promise. Now go.’

Eyes as wide and scared as Hannah had ever seen them, Leah rose to her feet. Vass’s associate approached Gabriel with a length of rope and bound him to the chair.

When he advanced on Hannah, Sebastien shouted, ‘Benjámin, this is barbaric! Károly, surely you can see there is absolutely no need—’

‘Sebastien,
please
,’ Hannah pleaded, terrified that the old man would risk his life for her. She could not bear to lose him too. ‘Don’t make this any harder. Don’t do anything rash.’ Sitting back in the chair, she allowed the stranger to bind her. His rope bit into the flesh of her wrists but she refused to let Leah see her pain.

After testing his handiwork, the man led Leah and Éva from the room.

Vass clapped his hands. ‘Good. Excellent. We’re getting somewhere. I hope we’re all still friends?’

His voice low, Gabriel asked, ‘What is it you want?’

Vass beamed at him. ‘Oh, come
come
, Gabriel! Feigning ignorance at a time like this? You
hosszú életek
! You’re like the spoilt children who get all the best toys but steadfastly refuse to share. Now, I can understand why you’re suspicious of us. The actions of my antiquated predecessors were really rather crude, even if they
were
acting on the orders of the Crown. But they envied you, you see. All of them. They envied you your long lives, and they grew distrustful of your ability to conceal yourselves among them. To make matters worse, you just wouldn’t share.’

‘Share what?’

‘Why, the secret, of course.’

‘Secret?’

‘Someone’s going to tell me I’m being too theatrical again if I’m not careful. I’m talking about the thing you’ve been unwilling to share with us since before the Eleni came into existence. I’m talking about the secret of your longevity.’

Gabriel opened his mouth to respond but Vass raised his revolver and waved it left and right. ‘Yes, yes. I’ve heard the argument. If we all lived as long as you, we’d be in crisis. Population explosion. The stability of our society would fracture. Chaos. Anarchy. And perhaps there’s a shred of truth in that.’ Vass shrugged. ‘Luckily for all of us, I don’t want you to share your secret with a wider audience. I just want you to share it with me.’

He paused, and a thought appeared to occur to him. He glanced at the old man in the wheelchair. ‘Forgive me,
signeur
. And, of course, you.’

Hannah heard a scrape and a thud from the room above. Would Vass’s man tie Éva first or Leah? Probably Éva. Which meant Leah would be next, in a different room.

Vass withdrew a slim velvet case from his pocket and took it to the kitchen counter. He placed his revolver beside it, looked sideways at Sebastien, then retrieved the weapon and thrust it into the waistband of his chinos. ‘I hope you wouldn’t be silly enough to try,’ he said. He gestured at the Eleni lieutenant holding the leashes of the two Vizslas. The man withdrew a pistol from a holster beneath his jacket. He stared impassively at Sebastien.

Satisfied, Vass returned his attention to the velvet case. He lifted the lid and withdrew a stainless steel and glass syringe. ‘Consider me, Gabriel, the teacher who persuades you to share your toys.’

Vass lunged. He grabbed Gabriel’s arm at the bicep and plunged the needle into a vein. Teeth bared, eyes shining, he extracted a full vial of blood and yanked the syringe out of the Irishman’s flesh. Gabriel roared in anger.

Ignoring him, Vass held the vial up to the sunlight. The maroon liquid projected fractured rubies on to the wall. He wiped sweat from his forehead and turned to the
signeur
. ‘Roll up your sleeve.’