Playing With Fire (14 page)

I swallowed and told them about his exercising and swimming. When I'd finished, he merely shrugged. "Those things are not out of the ordinary. Not like the fire starting."

"Don't be so certain," Mr. Culvert said. "If Miss Smith has observed your unnatural speed too, perhaps it's something we need to investigate further."

"Why?" Sylvia asked.

"Because it may be linked to his fire in some way. It's certainly an angle worth pursuing."

"An angle? I don't understand. Are you going to study my cousin?"

"I wouldn't put it quite like that, no. I'm intrigued by him, that's all. Don't you want to know why you're like this, Mr. Langley?"

"Yes," Jack said.

"You see, Miss Langley, where Miss Smith can't control her fires, your cousin can. I suspect he was born with that ability as well as others. It seems too coincidental that he possesses a number of other supernatural characteristics. There must be a connection."

"Yet it may just be coincidence," Jack said.

Mr. Culvert conceded the point with a nod. "In any type of scientific-based research, coincidences are seen as potential clues to a single underlying source. When an unlikely coincidence is discovered, we tend to follow it to see where it leads."

"You consider yourself a scientist?" Samuel asked.

"Of course. A lot of my research is done through texts, however. I rarely have the opportunity to study those who possess supernatural abilities in person."

"But you're a demonologist," I said.

"I've branched out in recent years to include supernatural phenomena."

"Isn't that what the Society For Supernatural Activity does?"

"You know about them?" Mr. Beaufort asked.

"Uncle used to be a member," Sylvia said. "Tate too."

The Beauforts and Mr. Culvert turned to him as one. "I let my membership lapse some years ago," Langley said.

"I operate independently of them," Mr. Culvert said. "My research is mostly informal and done in my spare time."

"So you think Jack worth studying?" Sylvia asked.

"Absolutely."

She shivered. "You're frightening me, Mr. Culvert."

"George has a habit of doing that," Mrs. Beaufort said with a scowl at her brother-in-law. "Be assured, he doesn't intend to bring harm to your cousin."

"Tell me about your parents," Mr. Culvert said to Jack. "Were they like you?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. They died when I was young."

Mr. Culvert looked to August Langley. "Can you shed some light on his—"

"No," Langley said. "I cannot help you there. Much of his early background is unknown. Now, may we end the conversation?"

"Of course," Mr. Beaufort said with a glance at his brother-in-law.

Mr. Culvert's face fell. "But—"

"George!" Mrs. Beaufort snapped.

He sighed. "May I bring up an unrelated observation instead?"

"Of course," Langley said.

"That intruder this morning was remarkably strong. Too strong for a normal man."

"I thought you said it was unrelated," Mr. Beaufort said dryly.

"It is. Unrelated to Mr. Jack Langley. Of course, it's just an observation and now that the brute is gone, I can't study him further. Do any of you know more about him?"

"He's just a hired man of Tate's," Sylvia said.

"So we believed," I said. "Could he be…" I hesitated, not sure I wanted to voice my thought. "Could he be the result of one of Tate's experiments?" I looked to Langley as I said it.

"I don't know," he said. "What Reuben Tate has done in the intervening years since I last saw him is a mystery to me. I don't know his man's background."

But did he know Jack's? I could see the same question churning through Jack's mind too as he stared at his uncle. He'd been remarkably quiet when Langley claimed not to know anything about his parents. I wondered if he was thinking what I was thinking—how could a man not know whether his brother had freakish abilities, or his brother's wife?

Or did Jack, like me, suspect that August Langley wasn't really his uncle? Whether or not he was, Langley had known Jack as a baby. He'd already admitted as much. Somehow they'd lost touch until eight years ago when Langley had found Jack in London. He must know more than he was letting on.

"I wonder," Mr. Culvert said, picking up his knife and fork.

"Wonder what?" Miss Moreau asked.

"Whether Ham's a demon."

CHAPTER 8

Sylvia was the first to make a sound; however, her wild laughter was quite out of place. The rest of us were stunned into silence.

"Mr. Culvert," she said, "you do say the most absurd things." Her laughter faded when she saw that nobody else joined in.

"If he were a demon," Samuel said, "wouldn't he have…consumed one of us?"

"Only if he were hungry," Mr. Culvert said.

Sylvia put her napkin to her mouth and stifled a cry.

"Tate may be feeding him," Culvert went on. "In which case Ham doesn't need extra sustenance."

"What would Tate feed him?" Sylvia asked.

"Animals, birds…"

"Ugh."

Mr. Beaufort nodded, thoughtful. "Tate must be controlling it, telling it what to do."

"We've come across this before," Mr. Culvert said. "Somehow Tate has found a way to summon a demon and control it. The first thing it must have consumed when it arrived in this realm was a man of Ham's likeness."

"That's why it looks so human," Mrs. Beaufort said.

Sylvia gave another cry and fled the room entirely. Nobody went after her. I was much too fascinated by what our guests were saying not to hear more.

"It explains why Ham is so strong," Samuel said. "And how they escaped prison. I knew there had to be another explanation."

"So," Mr. Langley cut in. "We have two demons on the loose."

Quiet descended again as that piece of information sank in.

Nobody ate much after that. Langley returned to his room and the Beaufort party prepared to leave. We met them again twenty minutes later in the entrance hall to say our goodbyes.

"This visit has been much too short," Mrs. Beaufort said, hooking her arm through mine.

Miss Moreau took my other arm. "We've enjoyed meeting you all immensely."

"And we you," I said. "Thank you for your assistance this morning. I'm sorry you were embroiled in our troubles."

"I'm glad we were here to help," Mr. Beaufort said with a bow.

Mr. Culvert agreed. "I can't imagine how you fought Ham off the last time, Langley."

Jack merely shrugged. "The fire helped."

"And your speed?"

"That too."

"Thank you for the information about demons," Samuel said. "It's been an invaluable lesson. Hopefully we can use some of that knowledge to remove it."

"I'll do more research at home and write out an incantation to send the rogue demon back, but in the mean time you must do something for me."

"What is that?" Langley asked.

"Investigate the dungeon. Find out how it came to be here. Are there any signs of supernatural activity down there? An amulet or something otherworldly that could have been used to summon it perhaps?"

"Is that important to send it back?" Sylvia asked, hugging herself. I admired her for staying put and not running off this time.

"It may be," Culvert said. "If it were summoned from this side, then a simple incantation said in its presence and that of the amulet will return it."

Her eyes widened. "Somebody brought it here?" she asked, echoing my own thoughts.

"Tate perhaps," I offered.

Jack's gaze locked with mine. "I would say it's quite likely."

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Mr. Culvert said. "On occasion, demons have appeared in this realm with no one taking claim for summoning it. I believe they've been sent from their own realm for a purpose."

"Surely not," Samuel said.

Mr. Culvert pushed his glasses up his nose. "It's a possibility. It's also possible that no one owns up to summoning it because they're afraid of the repercussions. I can't be sure, so I keep an open mind."

"Very commendable."

We said more goodbyes at the door. Tommy handed out coats, hats and gloves, then Jack escorted the Beauforts to the waiting carriage. The landau had been equipped with torches tied to the coach lamps. They blazed brightly in the hazy morning light. Hopefully they wouldn't encounter any demons since they weren't traveling near the woods, but it was best to be careful.

Jack returned and escorted Miss Moreau out then came back for Mr. Culvert.

"If you learn anything more about this Ham creature, let me know. And about yourself too," Mr. Culvert said to Jack.

As they walked down the steps, I could see Jack ask him something and then they both stopped suddenly. Mr. Culvert spoke, but I couldn't hear his words. There was a lot of head shaking and shrugging, then he shook Jack's hand before climbing into the carriage.

Jack waved them off and returned inside and shut the door.

"Well?" Langley said.

"Well what?"

"What did you ask him?" Sylvia prompted. "You know, you should have just asked him in front of us. It would save repeating it."

"I didn't ask in front of you because I wasn't sure I wanted you to hear the answer."

"And now?" Samuel asked.

"You don't have to tell us anything, Jack," I said.

Sylvia snorted softly. "He most certainly does. We are all stuck here together with two demons running about and a madman controlling one of them. What else could be said that would make things worse?"

"It's all right," Jack said to me. "He didn't say anything too alarming."

"Well?" Langley said again. "What did you ask him?"

"I wanted to know if he thought I was a demon."

"A what!" Sylvia spluttered. "Don't be absurd. Of course you're not. What gave you that idea?"

"Ham, my abilities. If it was just the fire starting, I would have thought nothing of it, but as you all pointed out, there's the speed too, and the swimming."

"What did he say?" I asked, my chest tightening. My hands felt hot and I blew on the palms to cool them. It didn't help.

Sylvia took a step away from Jack, but eyed him closely.

"He doesn't think I'm a demon," he said.

She breathed a sigh. "Thank goodness. Of course, we knew you weren't. It was an absurd notion."

"I needed to hear an expert's opinion."

"What explanation did he give for coming to his conclusion?" Langley asked.

I didn't point out that Jack had claimed Culvert only
thought
he wasn't a demon. That wasn't a conclusion. I was surprised Langley overlooked the distinction since he was a scientist. I too decided to dismiss it, however. Jack was most certainly not like Ham or that creature.

Then again, he wasn't like us either.

"For one thing, I'm too human," he said. "I behave and speak like a human. I have my own will and desires." He glanced at me. "I assured him they were very human in nature too."

"Anything else?" Langley snapped.

"He doesn't think I'm strong enough. Demon strength is unnatural, he said. Like Ham's. He's not seen any evidence to the contrary."

"That's comforting," Sylvia offered.

Not really, but I didn't tell her that it meant Jack couldn't fight either Ham or the other demon on his own. He would almost certainly lose if pitted in battle against either for any length of time. Thank goodness for his fireballs. Perhaps now that he knew Ham wasn't human, he wouldn't hesitate to use them if attacked.

"I have work to do," Langley said. Bollard stepped forward to wheel him away, but Jack intervened.

"Who are my parents?" he asked casually.

Langley sighed. "We've spoken about this. I can't answer you."

Can't or won't? "I thought you and Jack's father were brothers," I said.

"Yes," Jack said quietly, not taking his eyes off his uncle. "That's what he'd have everyone believe."

Bollard wheeled Langley away. The four of us watched him go.

Jack heaved a great sigh that seemed to deflate him. He looked exhausted. "It's always the same response. I'm growing tired of his evasion."

"You think he's lying?" Samuel asked.

Jack shrugged. "I don't know, but he's never satisfactorily answered my questions about my father or told me how he came to find me in London."

"Yet you came to live here with him anyway," I said. "Why, when you had doubts?"

"Would you want to live here if your home was a derelict house and you were always hungry?"

"You're right, I'm sorry." I bit my lip, wishing I could take it back.

"It's all right, Hannah," he said gently. "I came here because it was a way out of London and that life. The only way. I don't regret it. I do regret not asking more questions back then. He may have been more willing to give them if I'd refused to come with him. Now he probably doesn't see the need. I don't mind telling you that I was afraid he'd throw me out if I questioned him too much."

"Are you still afraid of that?"

It was a long time before he answered me. "This is my home, my family. Before today, I didn't want to jeopardize it over something that essentially changed nothing. Now, my need to know has grown."

"Then why not go and pester him until he answers?" Sylvia said.

"Because being thrown out means leaving Hannah here, and you. He's your guardian, and Wade is Hannah's. I can't take either of you with me until you're twenty-one."

"What have you already asked him about your father?" Samuel asked.

"What was he like? Was he older or younger than August? What were their parents like? Could anyone else in the family do this?" He looked down at his hands, turning them over to look at the backs as well as the palms.

"It can't be from your father," Sylvia said. "Or I'd be able to do it too, and Uncle."

She'd missed the point entirely. Jack doubted he was even related to her and Langley. I had strong doubts too. There seemed to be no reason for Langley to be so tight-lipped about it, unless it was all a lie.

"It's frustrating to think he may have answers and is refusing to tell me," Jack said.

"I'm sure he'd tell you if it were important," Sylvia said.