Scenting Hallowed Blood (32 page)

Daniel closed his eyes, panting
for breath. He leaned over the side of the bath so that Shem could
hold him. ‘It’s horrible! I can’t live like this!’

Shem stroked his hair. ‘Take
deep breaths, come on. It’ll pass. I promise you.’

Daniel hung gasping in Shem’s
arms for half an hour before the sensations began to subside.
Gradually, he was able to repress the images and information that
came to him. It was, he realised, like experiencing a visualisation
in reality. The water had gone cold, but he pushed himself away
from Shem’s arms and lay back in the bath. He felt as if his skin
was covered in grit and mud and blood. Shem turned on the hot tap
and scorching water gushed over Daniel’s feet. He winced and
laughed, and Shem stirred the water with his hands.

‘Relax,’ Shem said. He stroked
Daniel’s hair one last time, then stood up and went to the
washbasin. As if they were ordinary people in an ordinary life, he
began to clean his teeth. Daniel chuckled uncontrollably at this
sight.

Shem spat into the basin. ‘You
look young again,’ he said, which sobered Daniel up.

‘I’m not though,’ he
answered.

Shem wiped his mouth on a
towel, then came to sit on the end of the bath again. ‘Tell me what
you saw when you were flying.’

Daniel took a sponge off the
side of the bath, and dunked it into the water. He squeezed it out
over his chest, watching the shining streams. He wasn’t sure
whether he wanted to talk about what he’d seen.

Shem reached for one of his
feet, squeezed it. ‘Daniel. Tell me.’

‘All right. I saw the Garden,
Kharsag. I was a child and I lived there, but my mother sent me to
work for you. What does that mean?’

Shem sat on the edge of the
bath. ‘You have always been my vizier. We lived together in Kharsag
a long, long time ago. I thought you knew this.’

Daniel rubbed water over his
chest. ‘Sort of. But, in that case, I can’t have been human.’

Shem stood up. ‘No.’ He
appeared uncomfortable. ‘You were Grigori.’

‘Then why am I human now?’

Shem laughed coldly. ‘Fate’s
mordant humour, I expect. As Ishtahar is kept from me, so are you,
in a different kind of way.’ He sat down again. ‘But I have done a
little tonight towards fighting that.’

‘Longevity is not being
Grigori,’ Daniel said.

‘It is the best we can do,’
Shem replied. ‘What else did you see?’

Daniel told him as much as he
could remember. ‘You passed the feathered cloak to me. Why?’

Shem shrugged. ‘You needed it
to fly.’

Daniel shook his head slowly.
‘No, you wanted to pass responsibility to me. I can’t be you, Shem.
I am your vizier, but I cannot undertake your tasks. What is all
this serpent business anyway?’

Shem sighed. ‘Something the
Parzupheim wants me to do. I expect we’ll find out soon.’

‘Well, when we do, don’t send
me in first like a canary to test the air. It won’t work.’

Shem smiled. ‘I can’t help it.
I sometimes think you’re more powerful than I’ll ever be.’

Daniel pulled a scornful face.
‘Don’t be ridiculous. And don’t be lazy.’ He winced. ‘God, I
ache.’

After the bath, Daniel sat on
the bed, wrapped in a towel, helping Shem eat his supper. They
talked about Owen and Lily, what should be done. Daniel was
privately amazed Shem had become concerned about the twins again,
although he took care not to show his feelings. Only a few days
ago, Shem hadn’t appeared bothered whether any of them lived or
died, but now he seemed to have forgotten the way he’d behaved in
the Assembly Rooms. Daniel spoke candidly about Taziel, and what
had happened on the night they’d left London. Shem agreed that
another Grigori faction must have taken the twins, and that for the
moment, they were not in any danger. But that might change. ‘You
must try to find them,’ Shem said. ‘Call to Lily. I’m sure she will
hear you.’

Daniel noticed that when they
spoke of the Winters, only Lily was mentioned by name. He found he
didn’t want to talk about Owen, which troubled him. It was wrong to
blame Owen for all that had happened in Little Moor. Othman had
been the perpetrator, Owen a victim. Yet here Daniel sat, gazing at
the monster himself, full of love and awe, while Owen lay in a
stupor somewhere, his mind in ruins. Daniel realised he was angry
that Owen had been too weak to resist Othman’s dominion. Did some
cruel part of him now believe that Owen deserved what had happened
to him? Since fleeing the north, Daniel had spent little time
thinking deeply about the past or his feelings about it. Taking a
deep breath, he asked. ‘How much can you remember of Peverel
Othman?’

Shem gave him a shrewd glance.
‘I can remember most of what happened in Little Moor, although more
as an observer than a participant. Before that...’ He shrugged.
‘It’s fragmented. Peverel Othman didn’t want to admit who you
were.’

‘I know. You wanted to kill me
because you feared I would make you remember who you really were,
although I don’t think you realised that at the time.’

Shem shook his head. ‘No,
Daniel, you are wrong. I didn’t
want
to kill you. Your death
was simply a necessary component of a particular ritual, as was
Owen’s role. There were no deeper motives, no real excuse or
explanation. I needed a sacrificial victim, and you were the most
suitable candidate, that’s all.’

Daniel did not wholly agree,
but elected not to argue about it. ‘But for Ishtahar, I would be
dead now.’

Shem made an angry sound. ‘But
for Ishtahar?’ He shook his head. ‘I’m not sure about that. Why did
she call us to this place? What is it she wants of us here? If she
lives, where is she now?’

‘I’ve seen her,’ Daniel said.
‘She speaks to me in dreams and it was she who persuaded me to come
to you. A few days ago, I was angry with you, and confused, but
Ishtahar told me what I should do. After seeing her, all the
negative feelings I had seemed petty and trivial.’

‘I might have projected all
that to you,’ Shem said. ‘The part of myself that despised Peverel
Othman might also have conjured her up in Little Moor. An illusion
to prevent me doing the unspeakable.’

Daniel reached for his hand. ‘I
don’t believe so. Shem, she
will
be there for you one day. I
think she’s there for you now, but not as a woman of flesh and
blood.’

Shem touched his face with the
ends of his fingers. ‘Kind Daniel,’ he said sadly. ‘I know you want
to believe that for me, but at the moment, I have only you. Of
course I want you both, but how many people are lucky enough to
have their desires fulfilled? I can see and touch you. Ishtahar is
only a beautiful ghost.’ He sighed. ‘By Anu, I have no right to
touch you, no right to accept your love and loyalty. If you had any
sense, you’d spit on me now.’

Daniel couldn’t repress a
laugh. ‘You don’t mean that! As you pointed out a short time ago,
the dark side is a part of you I have to accept.’

Shem took both of Daniel’s
hands in his own. ‘You have always been there for me Daniel. I
don’t deserve it. Your spirit has waited to be reborn into this
time to help me. Part of me feels I should deny myself any
closeness with you, because I want to punish myself for what I did,
but...’ He shook his head and smiled. ‘Please come here.’ He pulled
Daniel into his arms and held him close. ‘You feel so alive.’

‘Less so than I was before I
came here,’ Daniel said dryly. ‘You hurt me, Shem.’

‘I couldn’t help it.’

‘Then I want you to make me a
promise.’ He pulled away a little. ‘You must never hurt me again.
Never. Will you promise me that? No matter what instincts and
compulsions burst out of Shemyaza, Shem must remember his
word.’

Shem nodded. ‘I will never hurt
you.’

Daniel wasn’t entirely
convinced by this, but felt it had been necessary to make Shem
aware he was not wholly submissive. He felt a little like the
keeper of an unpredictable wild beast, beautiful in its unchained
splendour, purring and rubbing against him, but liable to turn on
him without warning.

Shem sighed and rested his
cheek on Daniel’s head. ‘I wanted to begin work tonight, but
mentally I’m too exhausted. How do you feel?’

‘I think we should sleep,’
Daniel answered, ‘and start searching for Lily and Owen
tomorrow.’

Daniel got into bed and Shem
blew out all the candles. The room was full of drifting skeins of
smoke, visible in the soft moonlight that came in through the gaps
in the curtains. The air reeked of the temple aroma of wax. Looking
at Shem’s slim white body coming towards him, Daniel thought,
I
cannot believe I have some influence over this being. I can speak
to him and touch him. He is here, with me, and he needs me.
Ishtahar must have had thoughts like these, all those thousands of
years ago.

Shem got into the bed and took
Daniel in his arms. ‘You have healed me,’ he said. ‘Only a short
while ago, merely the thought of touching someone seemed to scald
me.’

‘You’ve healed yourself,’
Daniel said.

‘I want to make love to you
properly.’

‘Well you can’t, and you’ve
only yourself to blame.’

Shem laughed. ‘You are saying
“no” to me. How unusual. Do you really want to deny yourself
pleasure?’

‘I want to deny myself
discomfort.’

‘Daniel, you’ve suffered from
having only unimaginative lovers. Let me teach you a little.’

‘I will, but not now.’

Shem laughed. ‘You are fighting
me. I can feel your desire.’ But he did not push the matter.

The Conclave of the Pelleth sat around
the table in the Penhaligon kitchen. The atmosphere was tense, and
there was a significant absence. The place where Tamara usually sat
was empty. Meggie and Betsy had convened a meeting and had
deliberately refrained from inviting Tamara.

‘We have a sad business to
attend to,’ Meggie said.

Lissie, Rachel and Jessie
glanced at the empty seat, their faces set in grim expressions to
express their loyalty to the elders of the Conclave and to show
plainly they were no part of Tamara’s rebellion. Agatha sat with
her chin resting virtually on her chest. She looked afraid. Meggie
thought that perhaps the child was too young to have to cope with
problems such as this, but as she was a member of the Conclave, her
presence was mandatory. The laws of the Pelleth decreed it.

Meggie laced her fingers
together on the tabletop. ‘The matter is this. Tamara Trewlynn has
betrayed us.’

The company uttered soft sounds
of shock, although none of them were really surprised by Meggie’s
statement.

‘What’s happened?’ Jessie
asked, her eyes round. Everyone felt guilty, even those who were
innocent. That was the trouble with dishonesty, its taint spread
wide. It bred distrust.

‘Betsy had a dream,’ Meggie
said. ‘In it, she saw Tamara cavorting with Grigori. She heard her
revile the Pelleth and curse our names. We have consulted the cards
and the crystal on this matter, and there is no doubt in our minds
that Tamara has her own plans for the Shining One. She has been a
quick, little viper among us, and now has slipped free.’

‘What must we do?’ Lissie
asked. ‘Should we bind her?’ There was sinister implication behind
her words.

Meggie shook her head. ‘We
shall protect ourselves, but other than that, we must turn our
backs on the traitor. I feel she is deluding herself and is no
threat to our plans. Let her go her own way. It will accomplish
nothing, other than to burn her fingers down to the bone.’

‘Have you confronted her?’
asked Lissie.

‘No. I would not give her that
much satisfaction. From this moment forth, Tamara Trewlynn is a
stranger to us. I must forbid any of you to make contact with her,
or even acknowledge her should she cross your paths.’

All the company nodded, even
Agatha, whose small face was composed in a solemn and uncannily
understanding expression.

‘There is more,’ Betsy intoned
from the other end of the table.

Meggie sighed. ‘Yes, I’m afraid
there is. It seems that Tamara has beguiled Delmar. He’s been
working for her.’

All the women voiced their
disgust. ‘What?’

‘But how?’

‘That’s appalling!’

Agatha uttered a wail, ‘No, not
Del!’

Meggie let them rant for a few
seconds, then raised her hands for quiet. ‘There is nothing we can
do. He is contaminated now, poor mite.’

‘How did you find out about
it?’ asked Jessie.

‘Well, I did have a word with
him,’ Meggie replied. ‘I’ve had suspicions for a while that he’s
not been quite right, and asked him what was bothering him. He
acted dumb and confused, but I could smell his fear. So I pressed
him further. He panicked and blabbered something about “it’s to be
a surprise. It’s for you.” Then he said the thing that shocked me
most. “I don’t like the salamanders, though. They scare me.”
Naturally, I questioned him further and he clammed up, but let drop
enough for me to work out that the little viper has been working in
Mermaid’s Cove and taking Delmar with her.’

This revelation conjured a
further shocked ripple of sound around the table.

‘She suggested working there
not long ago!’ Rachel said.

Meggie nodded. ‘Yes. When we
disagreed with her suggestion, she obviously decided to follow it
up on her own.’

‘Fool!’ Rachel said. ‘She’ll be
in terrible danger. The Grigori guardians will attach themselves to
her like dark elementals. They’ll destroy her.’

Again Meggie nodded. ‘That is a
distinct possibility. Anyway, I did wonder whether we could save
Delmar, bring him back to us, and followed him several times after
school. On each occasion he went straight to Tamara’s cottage. I
can only assume he goes there every day.’ She sighed. ‘Poor lamb. I
pity him. He’s innocent, caught up in something he can’t
understand. But because he has worked on Grigori soil and has
Tamara’s paw prints all over him, I cannot risk having him work
with us any longer. We must have no link with the deserter. Delmar
is lost to us, my sisters.’