The Red Cross of Gold I:. The Knight of Death (39 page)

“We might as well get started while we wait,”
he announced after a moment.

“Get started?” Mark definitely did not like
the sound of that, but he had expected as much.

“Yes, Brother,” the man eyed him coldly and
drew his own sword swiftly, without warning. “Now we must decide
whether you are truly the traitor you appear to be, or if there is
some hope for your salvation. From what I have seen and heard,
especially this morning, my heart is heavy with grief for you
already.”

A chill coursed up Ramsay’s spine at the
heavy pronouncement and he knew that this man did not belong to
Valentino’s crew of miscreants. This was indeed the Apocalyptic
Knight of his dream. Konrad von Hetz. A very formidable foe and he
already had the tip of his silver broadsword lying on his chest,
just above his rapidly beating heart. A distinct disadvantage. He
would be dead before he could raise his own blade. Had he always
been so stupid and slow? If so, how could he have lived as long as
the Pixie said he had?

((((((((((((()))))))))))))

“Everything is up from the cellar,” Maxie
reported to Valentino in the library as she stood looking out the
window into the garden.

The men setting up the lights on the verandah
had smashed three azalea bushes and trampled one of the roses.
Idiots. Idiots, everywhere.

“I’ve secured the doors and set the alarm so
nobody can go nosing around down there.”

“Thank you,” she said absently. “Will there
be enough wine?”

“Oh, sure. Plenty. But this will just about
wipe out the stock of liquor in the butler’s pantry,” he said.

“Have you checked the food that the caterer’s
brought? Is it still hot? Is the cold stuff cold? You know we can’t
afford a lawsuit if someone gets sick,” she asked the questions as
if she had a list she was reading from. Maxie knew he was in for
another long interview covering the same questions she had asked at
least a dozen times since they had started to work on the
preparations.

“Yes, ma’am, everything is just like you
ordered and stored in the kitchen,” he said and sighed.

“And the flowers?” she turned to look at
him.

“And the flowers are being put up right
now.”

“Are they the right color?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“They’re not wilted are they?”

“No, ma’am.”

“What about the sound system?”

“Done. Checked it myself.”

“And the chairs? Did they deliver the
chairs?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Do you think everyone will come?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Do you think they’ll miss Brother
Tellman?”

“Would you miss him?”

“Do you think they will ask a lot of
questions about Gavin?”

“No more than usual.”

“Will they expect me to explain his
letter?”

“Yes, ma’am, probably so.”

How many times would she ask these same
stupid questions?

“Bring me the letter, Maxie. I need to go
over it again,” she frowned and bit her bottom lip nervously. “And
go find Merry. I need to see her. I have something for her.” Cecile
tapped a small paper envelope against the rim of a tumbler filled
with ice sitting on a serving tray near the desk. She poured
lemonade over the ice and stirred it with her finger. She licked
her finger and nodded absently. The drug would calm Merry’s nerves
and make her more receptive to suggestion. The last thing she
needed was a hysterical woman on her hands.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said and took a worn,
heavily creased paper from a stack on her desk and handed it to
her. He was glad to get away. He wished he could get away entirely
and get a real job or at least go get drunk somewhere with girls
dancing on his table, but his license as a private investigator had
been revoked long ago. He owed Valentino.

Nash had practically saved his life when he
had picked up his ad from the Dallas newspaper. But of course, the
man had ulterior motives just like Valentino. He had been exactly
what they were looking for. Someone without attachments,
practically on skid road. Someone from whom they could easily buy
loyalty for a few thousand dollars a year. Someone expendable like
John Tellman, but he wasn’t John Tellman and he had no intention of
letting Valentino get the best of him. Let the dingy blond deal
with the woman.

The last time he had gone to look for her,
he’d found her curled up in the dipshit’s bed again. God, he wanted
to kill the guy and bury him next to John Tellman. Maybe save
himself some trouble and bury him on top of Anthony Scalia where
the ground was still soft. His job had been so easy before all this
crap had come up. Well, he’d get his chance sooner or later with
the dipshit. That would be some consolation for having to put up
with Valentino and after that, he would pack his bag, draw his
wages… electronically… and get the hell out of dodge. He glanced
back at the indomitable little woman as he made his exit.

Valentino held the letter in her hands going
over it in her mind rather than reading it. She had every word
memorized. She just needed a prop. She dreaded the meeting with
Herr Schroeder, that arrogant ass from Germany. She knew he didn’t
like her and the feeling was mutual, but he was the only Hierophant
available to preside over her initiation ceremonies. She had to
have a High Priest present. And why had Nash written this dumb
letter to everyone, telling them about the Templars? It had been
their secret. Their discovery. Gavin was such an idiot sometimes.
She couldn’t wait to get her hands on his stupid neck. Now everyone
would be asking about it. She would have to show them the elixir
Anthony had given her and convince them that it was all a fraud.
Nothing more than an exotic mix of vitamins and some rare herbs
with very special rejuvenating affects, though certainly not the
elusive ‘fountain of youth’. At least that was the story she had
concocted to give them. Gavin would be pissed, but this was too
important to share with the whole damned county and maybe half the
world.

Merry came into the room quietly and sat down
in one of the chairs in front of the desk. She looked much better
than she had earlier, but she was still pouting. Valentino laid
down the letter and went to kneel in front of the blond. She held
one of her hands in hers and looked up at her.

“Merry.”

The woman looked away from her sullenly.

“Merry. You have to get a grip on yourself.
You know I would do anything for you, but it is strictly forbidden
for outsiders to attend our functions. Especially an initiation. He
is a stranger, Merry, regardless of what you might think.”

“He is not a stranger. He is a Knight of the
Temple. He’s one of your Templars, Cecile! He should be an honored
guest,” Merry said stubbornly. “Our whole order is based on what
his people did in the old days, isn’t it? He is the most
distinguished guest we’ve ever had here. A real alchemist, Cecile.
He knows things. Wonderful things. And you’re treating him like a
criminal!”

“He knows things, does he? I’m an alchemist,
for God’s sake, Merry. That doesn’t make me a mystical hero. He is
a Knight of a different Order.” Valentino shook her head and
frowned. She hated to hear Merry speak of the man in such
affectionate terms. “He will never be one of us.”

“I think he might or I thought he might have…
until you spoiled it. He asked me to leave with him and I asked him
to stay. I think he would have stayed… for a while.”

Valentino felt her cheeks flush with real
anger.

“Why does he want you to leave with him,
Merry?”

“He said he loves me,” Merry told her
bluntly.

“What? Really?” Valentino could not suppress
the anger in her voice. “He doesn’t love you. He simply wants what
you have tried to give him often enough. That’s all. He knows you
are a virgin. That’s what he wants, Merry and the only reason he
hasn’t obliged you by taking it from you is because he’s scared of
what might happen to him if he does. He’ll be gone in a few
days.”

“And what would you do if I left with him?”
Merry asked, matching her angry glare.

“Don’t do this, Merry.” Cecile’s entire
posture changed immediately and she looked truly panicked. “Don’t
be preposterous. He won’t take you with him. I told him that you
only wanted a baby and that he meant nothing to you other than
that. You know what he did? He laughed at me. He thought that was
the silliest thing he’d ever heard. He said he would be glad to
provide you with one if that’s all you wanted as long as you didn’t
try to track him down for child support or follow him around
begging him to marry you. He asked if there would be any monetary
compensation for him if he decided to take the job, as he called
it. Furthermore, he told me that it would not be the first time
that he had been propositioned for such a thing. Can you imagine
it? How I hate him!”

“He didn’t say that. You’re lying,” Merry
objected and then ducked when she thought Cecile would slap
her.

Valentino got up and took a seat behind the
desk. She eyed the blond woman coldly. Merry’s words cut her to the
bone and she was oblivious to it.

“I’ve given you everything. Taken care of you
when you were sick and put up with all sorts of things. You’re a
hypochondriac for one thing. Always allergic to this and can’t eat
that or can’t drink the other. Always checking the bathroom after
the maid has gone. Never quite satisfied, are you?"

"I have protected you from everything.
Everything and I am trying to protect you from him. I am offering
you a chance for immortality. As soon as we get the rest of the
formula from d’Brouchart, we’ll leave this place and travel the
world together. We’ll never get old and we’ll stay healthy forever,
too. We’ll see the world a million times. And, in the future, when
man conquers the stars, we’ll go there together. You and I.
Together. Forever. And, furthermore, if it’s a man’s company you
crave from time to time, you can have all the lovers you want and
we can buy all the babies you want. You can raise hundreds of
children. You could pick the one you like and make the kid
immortal. Just like Anne Rice’s vampire guy did. What was his name?
What was his name? Hughy? Dewey? Keep him or her forever. You would
throw all of it away for this barbarian? This murderer? This
rapist?”

“Rapist?” Merry looked at her in surprise.
“Why do you call him a rapist, Cecile?”

“Because he is,” Valentino told her. “Trust
me. I know.”

“How do you know?” Merry narrowed her eyes.
“I suppose you are going to tell me that he raped you, right?”

Cecile’s face drained of color and she
swallowed hard. Merry had stepped over the line.

“I’ve read all about them,” Cecile answered
quietly and it was Merry’s turn to back down. She had seen Cecile
like this only once or twice and then it had been Gavin who had
made her mad. She did not want to completely alienate the woman
while she still held Mark’s fate in her hands. “It was part of
their job. Kill the men? Rape the women. Pillage, burn? Demoralize
the enemy?”

“I think you have him confused with a
Viking.” Merry tried to laugh, tried to diffuse the situation. “But
how do you expect me to trust you? First you told me was the right
man. Then you told me he was the wrong man. And now you’ve changed
your mind again. What do you intend to do with him? Am I going to
get what I want or not?”

“Never mind that.” Valentino actually smiled
at her. “I’ll figure it out when the time comes. There are lots of
men out there, little girl. We’ll get rid of him and find another
one that’s not so damned bossy. Now let's quit this bickering and
focus on the reception. This is so important, Merry. Everything has
to be perfect.”

“But you can’t let him go, can you?” Merry
asked her, unable to stop herself in spite of her terror. “You’re
planning on killing him, aren’t you? Maxie killed Anthony, didn’t
he? Or did you do it?” Merry let the words slip and then clamped
her hands over her mouth.

Cecile leaped from the chair and charged
around the desk. When Merry cringed away from her, Cecile leaned
down and grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her out of the
chair. Merry covered her face with her hands expecting more blows,
but Valentino stopped short and hugged her tightly instead. She
couldn’t afford to slap her around and leave bruises on her face.
What would the members think?

“Don’t say things like that!” she whispered
in her ear in near hysteria. “You don’t know how much you hurt me
when you accuse me of things like that. This is such a mess, Merry.
You’ve got to work with me on this. It’ll all be worth it, you’ll
see.” She stroked her hair and her face affectionately.

Merry pushed her away and put one hand to her
cheek where the print of Cecile’s hand was already turning red. It
was the first time Valentino had ever struck her hard enough to
leave a mark. She couldn’t afford to slap her around and leaves
bruises on her face. What would the members think?

“Don’t say things like that!” she whispered
in her ear near hysterical. “You don’t know how much you hurt me
when you accuse me of things like that. This is such a mess, Merry.
You’ve got to work with me on this. It’ll all be worth it, you’ll
see.” She stroked her hair and face affectionately.

Merry pushed her away. Somehow, the words did
not have the same meaning as they had once held for her. She
recognized her new feelings for Valentino and the dominate theme
was fear. Valentino truly was losing her mind and Merry thought
perhaps it was the gunk that Anthony had made in the lab that was
affecting her. Cecile had tested it on a couple of hamsters. Like
that would show something definitive. Cecile was no fool, but she
was no research scientist either.

“Are you still taking that stuff Anthony gave
you?” she asked when Cecile let go of her. “I think you should run
some more tests on it. It might be making you… nervous.”