Underbelly (64 page)

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I agree. I have my own room here. It’s not as plush as yours.”

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That’s us having more friends in high places. It’s good to see you, Laura.”

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And you. Though please wear trousers before answering the door in future. It conjures up bad flashbacks,” Laura joked.

The next morning Grey went down to Laura’s comparatively Spartan suite and related everything that Cassius and Logar had told him, noting Laura’s avid interest, her obsession taking over her life. After he had told her everything she asked to hear it all again, looking over the few notes he had made of practices that Cassius had observed in Octavius’ ritual room, practices that meant nothing to her bar one, the process of applying a hot poker to bones and tortoise shells and analysing the cracks.

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That’s a Shang trait, well before his time. I knew it. His power must be derived from many sources. What else did Cassius tell you of the practices?” she said, pressing him urgently for more.

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Not much. He related the history more than the details of the practices. Octavius kept it private from his men.”

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Cassius was a trusted lieutenant. Get him back,” she commanded.

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He’s gone for good, Laura. I’m worried about you. I’ll help you as much as I can, you know that, but I’m wondering why you want to be like this man. You’re better than that. You’re already extremely powerful – absolute power might be a dangerous thing for anyone to have."

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You’re 20 years old. When I was 20 I wasn’t as powerful as you are now, and I didn’t care that I wasn’t then, my mentality was different. I’m over 1300 years old now, James – even you would feel the same as I do if you were that age. I spent most of my life trying to master this craft, a craft that I adore, only to nearly be beaten by a moronic strumpet – that was the cut-off point for me, that was my cue to stop being so complacent. I will not partake in the leisurely life again until I know that I am the most powerful force in this, or any other, universe. I have no aspirations of using this power for conquest, merely for peace of mind. It would also be in your best interests if I acquired more power.”

Grey shook his head. “Laura, you’re running yourself ragged. I have never seen you look so tired. As I say, I’ll help you do this if that’s what you want, but don’t exhaust yourself trying to do it all now. Take your time.”

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I can’t, I’ve wasted too much time already, and the church is closing in on me. You’ve got what you wanted, and I’m delighted for you. I haven’t achieved my goal yet. You craved a wife, a woman who knew every facet of you and was still prepared to love you, and you’ve found that. Wealth will come to you in time – once I’ve achieved my goal I will be more generous.”

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I don’t want any money from you, Laura.”

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Fine, then I’ll organise opportunities for you. I know that you’ll assist me to the best of your abilities, James, but I’m asking for more than that. I want you to keep scouring the spirit plane for answers for me, even more than you have been doing, just for a few weeks. I will pay you for it because you’re providing a service, and you won’t be able to do any other work because I want you to be working for me almost every waking hour.”

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If you want me to do it that much then I’m afraid I will have to take your money just to cover food,” he said regretfully, wishing that he were in a position to tell her that her money wasn’t necessary.

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Of course. Obviously I know you need to spend some time with your wife too, but most hours I want you to work with me.”

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Deal,” Grey said shaking on it with her. “You know I’m not the best employee in the world from our farm days and the same is true now. I can’t guarantee that I’ll come up with the answers you want,” he said, not wanting to give her false hope. He knew that he could always make contact with the other side – finding out anything that she considered useful was another matter altogether.

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All I want is information. I’ll use that to work out the answers myself later. All I want you to do is act as conduit, don’t worry about making sense of any of it, that’s my field.”

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Something else you’ll want to know – me and Germaine have had an interesting few months – is that I ran into Jemima Harding. She came to one of my shows.” Just saying her name was enough to make Laura look at him sourly, her animosity not directed at him but at her rival.

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What did she say?”

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She wanted me to link her up with some of her dead relatives. It was trickier than normal, and I couldn’t get most of the ones she wanted. She knows that the church is after you and she seemed concerned for you. I’m undecided about her, whilst Germaine agrees with you that she’s a shady lady.”

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Your instincts are always shit. Listen to your wife. Jemima’s untrustworthy.”

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Speaking of untrustworthy ladies, Adelaide told Germaine that Inge has been killed. That’s a very dodgy source but I thought I should tell you that.”

Laura looked away from him and shook her head, her reaction making Grey suspicious. “I suppose it had to come out sometime. Yes, that is true,” she said, her manner matter of fact.

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Any idea when?”

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I killed her in Paris.”

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What, when I was in hospital?”

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That is correct.”

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What beats me is why you didn’t tell us about it,” Grey said, completely nonplussed by her confession.

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I’ve been very candid with you about my past but if I’d told you that you’d have told her.”

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She wouldn’t have told anybody.”

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The Pagan Resistance had relatives. There was a chance that she would feel the need to comfort them by telling them that the cause of their sorrow was dead.”

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Germaine didn’t know any of the Pagan Resistance. She knew the Communist Resistance, and Mireille only by sight, not to talk to.”

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Nevertheless, I wasn’t prepared to take that risk.”

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At the risk of you snapping, I’ve gotta say I feel you should have told us,” Grey said seriously, expressing disappointment at her decision.

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There’s a tone I haven’t heard from you for a while. Reproaching me again, James, just like you did in your hospital bed about my war crimes against the righteous Eric. You never even met her so I failed to see how it was your business,” Laura said snidely, reacting defensively to his criticism.

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She still made an impression on me by sending an underling to shoot me in the spine. Forget me, Germaine has lived in fear needlessly about this. It goes back to Eric and my reaction. I get it. The important thing is that I know now,” Grey said, letting the matter go. The fact was she didn’t tell them and it was pointless going over the rights and wrongs of that decision.

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You don’t understand why I kept it secret. It’s only partly your reaction about Eric. I don’t want it to be widely known that I killed Inge. She had friends and I’ve enough problems with the church at the moment without her lot pursuing me too.”

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Supernatural friends?”

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No, not really. Maybe she had a couple, but that’s not who I’m thinking of.”

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I know that she aligned herself with the Nazis and they’re done, don’t worry about them.”

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For an intelligent man you can be extraordinarily... The threat remains.”

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If it does it’s underground and I can’t see the Russians allowing it to resurface. Any die-hard Nazis who are left won’t try and recreate their party around her – they’ve enough figures they’ll see as martyrs, she won’t be mentioned. If you die during a war it’s a guaranteed way of being forgotten, unless you are something phenomenally special.”

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Which the bitch was.”

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It’s more of a patriarchal system, she’ll be forgotten, maybe used as a scapegoat, an internal parasite who helped bring them down from within.”

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That’s good to know, Konah.”

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Okay, I’m not a prophet, but that’s what I believe. It’s all by the by anyway. I have to tell Germaine but I will swear her to secrecy and neither of us will tell another living soul what you did.”

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No, James, I want a better promise than that from you. No dead souls either, not even your ever present trusted ones,” she said, lightening up. She understood that his grievance was not that he felt that he had a right to know, but was merely borne out of his concern for his wife, Grey believing that her mind should have been put at rest sooner, reacting as any good husband would. She was still quick to take offence when he questioned her judgement or decisions, his criticism annoying her more than that of others as she found that she cared what he thought.

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I give you my word. I need to go and tell her now. Afterwards do you want to come up and see her or do you want us to come down to you?”

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I’ll come up to you. I’d better tell her that I need to borrow her husband for a while. Before you go up I have a small gift for you,” Laura said, reaching into a drawer in the desk next to her and handing him a small tin box which she instructed him to open and he saw six expensive cigars inside. “Knowing how much you like to smoke, against your ex-matron’s advice, I thought your news was worthy of a small token.”

Grey accepted the gift gratefully and went to see Germaine, feeling a little odd about relaying a death as a positive thing, yet it was. He felt relieved that she was dead and even if it was wrong to feel that way he couldn’t change his feelings. Adelaide’s words had made Germaine wonder and when Grey confirmed that she was dead it was like a weight was lifted from her. He vindicated Laura’s decision not to tell them, making out that Laura did it to protect them, an untruth, but Germaine didn’t care why she hadn’t told them before, grateful that she had killed the demon who destroyed her former life. She embraced Laura when she came up to see them after giving them a few hours alone, and thanked her profusely. Germaine wanted to know the exact details of Inge’s death, interested as to whether she expressed any remorse before her death and Laura gave them an honest account of her fight with Inge, even admitting that she wouldn’t have beaten her without Lotte’s help. Eventually Germaine was able to let the subject be closed and they filled Laura in on their travels since they had last seen her all those months ago. Laura already knew that Grey had started performing and he made her laugh as he described his debut shows and his non-performances, knowing how to amuse her. He tried to gloss over some things, telling her comically that the competition between mediums was more cut-throat and ruthless than a Cagney gangster flick, making himself laugh at the utter ridiculousness of a turf war between mediums.

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Oh dear,” Laura said, wiping her eyes, almost crying with laughter. “How did this vicious war end?”

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He came out on top but only because he had stooges. Loads of people have come up to me and said that they thought he was a hoax so I’ll win eventually.”

Germaine couldn’t laugh about the subject and said, “Stratt sent some men to attack James and he ended up in hospital where he could have died.” She wasn’t cross with Laura for laughing as James had presented it as a light-hearted matter and she told her how serious it really was.

Laura’s smile faded as she said, “That’s not amusing anymore.” Grey saw more than fire in her eyes; the potential for wrath was there and he said, quickly,

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It’s sorted out now. The Alieus were worse than him.” Grey did not make a joke of what happened with them, telling Laura privately the next day exactly what happened and his absolute terror.

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I could heal your stomach so easily, if you’d let me,” Laura offered.

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I know, and thank you, but my doctor is well on top of it and I don’t know how I’d explain it to him.”

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I’d do it for free and it would be perfectly healed instantly.”