The Necromancer's Grimoire (24 page)

William's face had flushed to his hairline and he was blinking rapidly. Montrose looked grim. He got to his feet and was the first to speak. “Need I ask how we are to know exactly when this…moment of weakness… is upon the magus?”

Corbett winced. “I have also been invited to this…event, which is why I cannot accompany you.”

Nadira raised both eyebrows. “Surely they know that you have taken a vow of chastity, Corbett. Do they ask you share in their exploits?”

Corbett put a hand against the wall and lowered himself wearily onto one of the stools. “In order to appease their anger over the Scotsman's offence, I have had to publicly renounce the Order. Some of the sultan's ministers think we have come here as spies from Rome. The Turks' strongest enemies are the Knights of Rhodes,” he raised his eyes, “You know this, yes?”

Montrose nodded slowly, but both William and Nadira shook their heads. She saw the necromancer plant these perverse thoughts in the minds of the courtiers. He was enjoying the destruction of the proud knight.

Corbett explained. “I am in a different Order, a secret Order to those in the west. Our brethren have long taken refuge in this city, but after the conquest we were no longer welcome. After the troubles with the Knights of Rhodes, we were hunted. To the Saracens we Christian knights are all the same. I told them I have renounced the Knights of the Temple. It is a lie, but one I had to make to keep us all alive. The necromancer has informed the Sultan that I have lied to him and that I remain faithful to my vows and to the service of Our Lord and the Church and that I have come to spy for the pope. The sultan's ministers expect to see me break that vow tonight.” His face hardened. “Break it publicly. All will be watching as I humiliate myself in the body of a whore. If I refuse, we will all be put to death as spies. The court amuses itself with these political games. They know I damn myself.”

“Oh God.” William bent to put his head between his knees and Nadira heard him take great gulps of air.

She turned to Montrose. “I understand. I will be connected to Corbett with a tendril. I will see what he sees and hear what he hears. I will know the moment to strike.”

Corbett agreed with a nod. “This is what I intend. It is the best opportunity I have seen these many weeks. It has all come together tonight. We must act quickly. I am sorry we did not have longer to plan, but I was informed only this morning that the envoy has arrived in the harbor…and only this afternoon told the high price for our safety. The rash actions of your man Alisdair have precipitated these events by marking us as treacherous thieves. This humiliation is the punishment.”

Montrose stared at Corbett. He said, “Then I will be in the necromancer's house. None will enter and remain breathing while I am there.” He shot Nadira a dark glance. “And you will be safe, at least from any danger that approaches in the flesh.”

Nadira turned to William. “And you will distract the apprentice so I can take the book?”

William's hands clutched his knees and he did not raise his head. His voice was muffled. “How shall I do that?”

Nadira looked to Corbett for an answer. “How is he to distract the apprentice?”

The gray knight leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. His voice was weary when he answered. “You must be strong, lad. You must think of our goal. The apprentice is jealous. He is envious of his master's power. He is jealous of his position at court. He desires what the magus has and he does not and he is impatient for his own advancement. But he is a young man. Perhaps he has not yet conquered his body's youthful urges. I do know he resents that he is excluded from the gathering tonight and feels he should have received an invitation as well. I can only hope that he shares his master's weakness.” Corbett opened his eyes and fixed them on William. “The apprentice envies his master his invitation, but not his vice. The apprentice has tastes of a different kind. You are a comely lad, William.”

Montrose groaned. “Do not ask him to play that part,” he said in a low voice. “Not William. All this time I suspected you would dangle Nadira before the apprentice, dressed as a dancing girl in nothing but a veil and some bangles.” Nadira saw that vision of herself in his eyes and smiled at him.

Corbett spread his hands. “Nadira cannot awaken any desire in him.”

William nodded. “I will do it, though I confess I do not know how to seduce a man. Or anyone, actually.” He got up from his stool and straightened his clothing. “It is not like I haven't seen such things in the monastery, though.”

Montrose nodded. “Do not fear. I will be there to prevent the worst.” He turned to Nadira. “And you. How will you take the book?”

She looked at Corbett for the answer. The old knight explained, “The apprentice keeps the book wrapped against his chest with yards of white linen. He is tasked with its protection. This is not a book that can be set upon a shelf in a library, but must be kept out of the hands of everyone but the two magi. He would not ordinarily be susceptible to such a distraction, but because of his anger and frustration he might be weakened and this may give Nadira a place to strike at him. Defying his master's orders might be irresistible and that is why we must act tonight. The chance will not come again soon. You must convince him, somehow, to remove the book from his body, Nadira.”

She raised an eyebrow as Corbett tapped his temple with one finger and continued, “Use your tendrils. You will find the best way in to him when that time comes. You are as powerful as he is, yet he will not suspect your intrusion into his mind because you are a woman and come to him as a servant. His pride does not permit the idea that a woman or a servant can best him. You can enter his mind and force him to set the book down. You have broken a man before.”

Nadira did not accept this as the high praise Corbett intended. She put a hand to her mouth in dismay and regret.

Corbett stood. “I will prepare myself for my part.” He made a wry face. “If I time myself correctly, the necromancer will be finished before I begin and I will save myself the mortification of forsaking my vows in such a despicable manner.”

Nadira saw what he saw. She lowered her hand from her mouth. “That's right. When the necromancer is finished, he will know the book is gone. There will be some excitement among the revelers as he takes his leave…will you escape at that time?”

Corbett agreed. “Yes. When he is spent and his sense returns he will immediately know we have taken the
Grimoire
. He will rise up and flee to try to intercept you. He will fail if the book is yours. He will try to kill you all if it remains bound to him, and the book will strike at you. Nadira, it is important that you make the book your own the moment you have it in your hands. You must open it to the third page and place your left hand on it,” he frowned. “I have not seen the book, but have been told there will be an illuminated drawing on the third page near the left margin, a drawing of a man's head, a drawing of an old bearded knight in a helm. You must cover this drawing with the palm of your hand and claim the book as yours. Perhaps say ‘This book is mine' or something to that effect.”

Montrose growled, “You do not know the actual words?”

Corbett glared back. “I have never seen the book. I work from the old secrets our Order has protected these hundreds of years.” To Nadira he said, “Somehow the book becomes yours when you take it and claim it. I trust that Nadira will know when she has it in her hands. When she becomes the master of the book, he will no longer be able to track it. She will be safe. The book should then protect her from dark spirits.” He looked at William. “And those with her. That is what the legends say.”

“And you?”

“If the vizier's house is in an uproar, I may be able to escape my fate. If not…” he hung his head. “I will do penance afterwards. I trust God will forgive me, for I am doing His work.”

“Then I hope you remember where the pointy-end goes, old man,” Montrose said dryly. He buckled his baldric across his chest and tightened it with a jerk of the strap. He buckled the smaller sword and its scabbard to his belt with deft twists of his fingers and then buckled the heavier sword to the baldric's clasps at his hip. He tested their holds and aligned them to the angle he would need for the draw. Only then did he look up and meet Nadira's eyes. His own were grim. “
Semper Intrepidus
,” he said to her.

They separated soon after dark. Corbett left for the vizier's house and Nadira, wrapped in veils, accompanied William and Montrose in the shadows of the city's walls. Montrose towered over her, eyes scanning the streets. William stood firmly at her side, watching the top of the wall.

Montrose wore the loose robes of a Turkish merchant over his brigandine, and a turban enclosed his dark hair in its folds, but no amount of slouching could disguise his height. William wore the rich clothing of a Turkish merchant, but kept his head bare but for a small cap to emphasize his youth. Nadira was fully covered, only her eyes were visible. The streets began to empty. The muezzin's call for Maghreb was their signal to go.

They made good speed in the street at first, then slowed when they neared the necromancer's house. His sanctuary was an impressive three-story building with an arched entry on the main avenue. The wood screens in all the windows that faced the street were dark. Corbett had assured them that the apprentice would be there all night. William and Nadira waited across the street as Montrose scouted the area around the house.

William had been perfumed with sandalwood and myrrh. Nadira leaned closer to him to inhale the pleasant scent. William chuckled softly. “If it works on you…”

“It is heady, indeed. You will be irresistible, but it will be your eyes that ensnare him.” Nadira had lined his eyes with kohl, just a thin line to emphasize the gold specks in the honey-brown color. His hair had been trimmed so it was one length all over, though much shorter than how the native men wore theirs. She touched the soft hair on his cheek. His beard was thin and barely noticeable unless he turned his head and the light reflected on the golden hairs. “You are beautiful,” she whispered. “Are you not nervous?”

“Perhaps a little,” he admitted. “But you are with me. And my lord Montrose.
Body and soul are protected. What have I to fear?”

Montrose returned and nodded for them to be silent. He pointed to the smaller side door. “That is the entrance for servants and merchants,” he whispered. “There are five janissaries posted to guard his house. They are bored. There is no real threat to the necromancer, so they act merely as gatekeepers. Nadira will make sure they will pass you through as visitors, but I must stay away from them. The apprentice is on the second floor in the back overlooking the garden. Once you are inside I will be in that tree.” He pointed to an old almond whose branches extended beyond the building's wall. “I can leap quickly to the balcony when the time comes,” he looked at Nadira, “But I doubt I will be able to hear anything at that distance. You must call for me when you need me, or do that thing you do...” He tapped the center of his chest with a finger.

“Understood.”

“Go, then. I will watch from here to make sure they pass you through.”

They stepped from the shadows of the moonlight and walked boldly across the street directly to the front doors. The janissaries stood.

“Farshad Bey is not at home,” one of them said.

William responded in prompted Turkish,” The master of Assad Bey sends his apprentice a gift.” He took Nadira's arm and pulled her forward into the light from the torch that sputtered in a sconce over their heads. The janissaries looked at one another. Nadira batted her eyes prettily as she sent suggestive tendrils into them. One of them turned and pushed through the gate and entered the house.

“Wait.” Another guard said.

It was not long before the first guard returned and gestured for them to follow. The necromancer has done very well for himself, she thought. The high ceiling of the entry opened into arched passages at all four walls of the interior courtyard. A fountain stood in the center in the Roman fashion, water poured at four corners into a small pool sunk into the ground. Bright tiles decorated all the walls, and beautifully carved screens filled the open windows. Potted plants brought the garden inside and freshened the air. The guard made a noise for them to hurry and William tugged her along with him toward the stair.

At the top of the stair, they turned to the left and stopped at a pair of large double wooden doors. The guard called inside and waited for a response. A moment later he pushed open the doors and stepped back.

Aryah Assad stood as they entered. He had been seated at a large table near the large window that Nadira knew opened onto a balcony that was very near an almond tree. He appeared to be in his late twenties. He was dressed in a loose caftan as though ready for sleep. A small white turban covered his hair. He wore his beard short and finely trimmed. He was darkly handsome and knew it. His pride emanated from him like a cloud. He was puzzled by their appearance and she could sense that when he sent a questioning tendril to his master, he received no response. The necromancer was deeply involved in his own business and was not communicating with his apprentice. Nadira understood better what Corbett had meant when he said tonight was a perfect opportunity to reclaim the book.

The wood screens had been pushed out to encourage the warm evening breezes. Three large lamps hung on chains from the ceiling at various heights over the table. Two wide carpets, knotted red and gold in exquisite detail, covered the floor. She saw the stacks of books there and on the sturdy wooden shelves on the opposite wall. She took in the diamond shaped shelves that held hundreds of scrolls against the plaster walls. Tags hung down on thin cords from each of the many scrolls, making the wall seem to move with the breeze from the window and the open door behind them. Behind them the servants closed the double doors with a soft thud.