The Romulus Equation (11 page)

‘I assume it is something urgent, Sirona?'

‘Cornelius Quaint is in Rome.'

‘I see,' said Remus. ‘So Renard failed.'

‘We must assume so,' said Sirona.

‘And so what must we do now?' asked Remus. ‘Send our men out on the streets to hunt him down?'

‘I've already tried that,' said Sirona. ‘Unfortunately, the men I dispatched to intercept Cornelius in his hotel were unsuccessful… terminally so.'

Remus growled. ‘Then I shall seek him out myself and deal with him!'

‘
No!
' roared the old woman, causing her to cough violently.

‘Your sickness is getting worse, Sirona. You must
rest
,' Remus said, steadying the woman's arm.

‘Rest, Remus? How can I rest when Cornelius Quaint is on the verge of uncovering decades of secrets that you and I have both worked hard to remain concealed?'

‘So what are we supposed to do?' asked Remus. ‘Just sit here and wait for Quaint to arrive?'

‘Exactly,' replied Sirona, dabbing at her mouth with a handkerchief, staining it with a thick, tar-like substance. ‘You must ensure this information is kept from the inner stratum. If they were to learn that Cornelius survived the tragedy in Egypt, then our house of lies will come tumbling down. In time, Cornelius will come here, and we must make it easy for him. The fly will walk right into our web, and when his defences are down… we shall watch as his soul burns.'

‘Nervous, Viktor?' enquired Cornelius Quaint of the knife thrower, as they stood in the very same spot adjacent to San Vincentine's Cathedral that they had the previous night.

Viktor snorted back, ‘Nervous? Me? How
dare
you? I am just thinking!'

‘Ah. No wonder I didn't recognise the look on your face,' said Quaint. ‘So what are you thinking about?'

‘Besides this being madness, you mean?' asked Viktor. ‘This place might not look quite as imposing in daylight, but we both know that it is what lurks within that we need to fear.'

Quaint smiled. ‘We need to find it before we can fear it, and seeing as this happens to be the enemy's lair, there's every possibility that he'll get the jump on us the moment we set foot inside.'

‘Is that supposed to calm my nerves?'

‘So you
are
nervous!' laughed Quaint. ‘Don't worry. We're going to play things differently this time, no mucking about. This time I'm not going to give Romulus a chance to slam the door in my face!'

‘I thought he tried to electrocute you,' Viktor said.

‘I was speaking metaphorically,' said Quaint. ‘Last night I was stupid. I'd heard about his reputation and I wanted to put it to the test. That was childish of me, but now I'm sure of his connection to Remus, I'm going to change my tactics.'

‘Let us hope that Romulus sees it that way,' said Viktor. ‘He might just decide to kill you anyway.'

‘Whose side are you on, Viktor?' cried Quaint. ‘If I wanted someone to disagree with my actions at every turn I would have stayed in London! You're not like that, my old friend. You've always shared my zest for an adventure! Remember the old days when we worked the Bavarian circuit? Late night debauchery, plenty of beer and cheer and never a night with an empty bed? Don't tell me you just
gave up
?'

‘
Nein
, Cornelius, I
grew
up!' grunted Viktor. ‘Those days are far behind me, as they should be for you. Clambering over walls, snooping on the enemy, getting into scrapes… those are capers for younger men!'

‘So you'd rather stay out here on your own, old man?' asked Quaint.

‘I will do no such thing!' roared Viktor. ‘Our friendship is a strong one, Cornelius, and one built on solid foundations. But even the most solid of structures has a weak point. Watching your back when people are intent on killing you is one thing, but I did not plan on it becoming a full-time occupation!'

‘You should talk to Destine,' grinned Quaint. ‘She's been doing it all my life.'

Walking through the cathedral's main gates and into its graveyard, Quaint and Viktor were met instantly by a group of Romulus's guards. Quaint held up his hands in surrender, motioning Viktor to do the same.

The guards shoved nasty looking knives to their throats.

‘What brings you here?' demanded one.

‘The Hades Consortium,' said Quaint.

He might just as well have said ‘Open Sesame
.
'

Quaint and Viktor were led into the cathedral with knives at their backs, but as they went, Quaint failed to recognise any surroundings from the previous night's soirée. Granted, he had been semi-conscious and it had been dark, but the route they were taking was definitely a different one. This time he was led deeper underground, deeper than the crypt even, to a room situated at the far end of a long, low-ceilinged tunnel. The room was approached through a pair of heavy wooden doors, and as Quaint was stopped brusquely outside them, he noticed a large padlock and a heavy chain hanging from the wall.

Viktor followed his stare. ‘What is it?'

‘Those chains,' Quaint replied.

‘What about them?'

‘They're on the outside,' said Quaint. ‘Chains on the inside keep things out, whereas chains on the outside keep things in. I've got a bad feeling about this.'

Viktor gulped. ‘You could have told me about this feeling sooner!'

‘What, and spoil all the fun?'

One of the guards prodded his knife into Quaint and Viktor's back to silence them, as the other pounded upon the heavy doors with his fist.

‘Romulus, we have the intruder from last night in our custody,' said the guard.

‘
Eccellente
,' growled a deep voice from the other side of the doors. ‘Tell me, Giuseppe, where did you manage to find him?'

There was an uncomfortable pause. ‘Actually, we did not find him, sir. In fact, it was he that found us.'

‘
He did what
?' Romulus's booming voice grew louder as he wrenched open the doors. His matted grey hair was swept back from his forehead into a neat ponytail, and his hairy chest burst forth from an open-necked tunic beneath his jacket.

Quaint marvelled at how brutal the man looked close-up, even more so than on the previous night – if a little more groomed. He was forced to take a step back as he looked the bearded man up and down.

‘
Romulus
?' he asked.

‘Who were you expecting?' snarled the Italian.

Quaint floundered. ‘Well… it's just that you look a little…
different
from the last time I saw you.'

‘A good night's sleep can do wonders,' said Romulus, casually. ‘But you should be more interested in your own wellbeing. As if it was not foolhardy enough to come to my home in the first place, now you return again… and with a friend, no less.'

Viktor scowled as the Italian's eyes bored into him.

‘Romulus,' said Giuseppe, ‘the reason why I brought him to see you was because he mentioned something to my men patrolling outside. He mentioned—'

‘The Hades Consortium,' Quaint said.

His words seemed to solidify and fall to the ground with a resounding crash.

‘
The what?
' hissed Romulus. ‘Those devils are never to be mentioned in my presence!'

‘They have the same effect on me, as it goes.'

Quaint offered the Italian his hand. ‘My name is Cornelius Quaint. Listen, things got a bit out of hand last night, and that's why I've returned to set things straight.'

‘How can mentioning the Hades Consortium set things straight?' asked Romulus. ‘If anything it is more likely to make me want to tear your heart out.'

Quaint contemplated a falsehood, but then realised that the truth was far more likely to inflame the Italian's interest. ‘I wish to kill one of their members.'

Romulus looked as if he did not know whether to congratulate the conjuror or laugh in his face. ‘If that is true then you are more stupid than I thought, Signor Quaint, for the Hades Consortium operates on a level far beyond most men's imaginations!'

‘That's fine,' said Quaint. ‘So do I.'

‘And may I ask how the Hades Consortium has wronged you?'

‘It's a long story,' said Quaint.

Romulus pushed open the doors to his quarters. ‘You risked your life not once but twice in order to speak with me, so the least I can do is listen to your tale.'

‘Very obliging,' said Quaint, entering Romulus'sroom.

Viktor attempted to follow, but Romulus's hand darted out to bar his way.

‘Not you,' he growled. ‘Guards, watch this man. If he does anything apart from stand on that exact spot… eviscerate him.'

‘
Eviscerate
?' Viktor gulped. ‘What does that mean?'

‘You're probably better off not knowing, Vik,' said Quaint, as the doors were slammed shut in the German's face.

Quaint looked around the room as he took a seat at the desk opposite the Italian. The quarters were sparse and cramped, and his eyes drifted around the sandstone walls, with solid wooden beams bisecting the ceiling to meet a gallows-like framework at the eaves. Chillingly, assorted weaponry was affixed to the far wall behind the Italian's desk. A battle mace studded with iron rivets for maximum penetration, several cutlasses and scimitars and an old flintlock pistol. Quaint's eyes devoured the room as he tried to learn more about its owner, yet he was unable. If there was one thing that he hated it was being on the back foot.

‘Admiring my collection?' asked Romulus.

‘You've got a rather grisly taste in ornaments, I'll say that for you,' replied Quaint.

‘Ornaments?' enquired Romulus. ‘They are nothing of the sort! They are souvenirs of the past; heirlooms and keepsakes. Each one holds the memory of a kill. I never wipe the blood from them. Each life they have taken becomes a part of them, strengthening them.' Romulus growled under his breath and it was clear that he was not willing to banter politely for ever, and so Quaint immediately readjusted his mood.

‘You're obviously not a big fan of the Hades Consortium and I happen to have experience in that department myself.,' he began, tempering his words with care. ‘I've crossed paths with them several times in my life, only recently I've learned that things have got a bit too close to home.

I've discovered that one of their number was responsible for murdering my parents when I was just a boy. A man by the name of Adolfo Remus.' The conjuror paused, seeing Romulus's nostrils flare. ‘I see you've heard of him. Now, I don't have a clue what Remus's motivations were, and that's something that I can't seem to put out of my head. I can't fathom my father's relationship to the Consortium, or what he could have done to invoke its wrath. Now… considering your position in this city, I'm willing to bet that you've got connections all over the place… and my instincts tell me that considering your name, you might have a link with Remus. So… what do you think?'

‘What do I
think
?' snarled Romulus. ‘Now that is a very good question. I think that you must be either extremely reckless or extremely desperate to come to someone like me for assistance.'

‘Probably a bit of both,' admitted Quaint. ‘So… am I right? Your name isn't just a coincidence?'

‘Whilst few people know my true name,' said Romulus, ‘there are even fewer that know of my connection to Adolfo Remus… which puts you in a precarious position considering that I would like things to stay that way.'

‘I won't tell another soul,' said Quaint. ‘I give you my word.'

‘I may need more assurances than that.' Romulus stood up from his seat and strolled around his quarters to stand at Quaint's back. The conjuror's heart quickened as he felt the Italian's breath on the back of his neck. ‘You say that Remus killed your family when you were a child? So why have you not sought your revenge sooner?'

‘I only discoverd Remus's name recently,' said Quaint. ‘I learned that he was here in Rome, so I came here immediately to seek him out. But I admit that beyond that I'm a little out of my depth.'

‘You do not know how right you are,' laughed Romulus. ‘But even if I knew where Remus was, what makes you think that I would tell you?'

‘Justice? Retribution? Take your pick,' said Quaint.

‘I do not believe in justice!' snapped Romulus. ‘Although retribution is a doctrine that I hold in very high regard. You came to my abode after dark and unarmed, which means that you have courage. You survived my Specialist's techniques, which means that you have a strong will. And despite escaping with your life intact, you sought to risk it yet again by coming here this morning… which tells me that you are serious about this endeavour.'

‘Deadly so,' said Quaint. ‘Pun intended, by the way.'

‘And if I do tell you where the Hades Consortium's lair is, what makes you think that you will be able to get close to Remus? Many men have tried and failed. Many dead men, that is. What makes you think that you will fare any differently?'

‘Oh, I have a few tricks up my sleeve,' smiled Quaint.

‘And what if you uncover some truths along the way that weaken your resolve?'

‘The only truth I need to know is that Remus is dead!' snapped Quaint.

‘I was not referring solely to Remus,' said Romulus. ‘With the Hades Consortium, everything is a calculated action. It does not murder anyone unless it has something to gain from it, and never without good cause. You may have to accept the possibility that your father was not as innocent as you may believe.'

‘Preposterous! My father was a good man!'

‘Yet you were a child when he was killed. How can you be so sure?'