'You should have put a guard on the door,' said Lord Hightower suddenly. His voice was flat and harsh.
'We could have, my Lord,' said Fisher. 'But we thought it more important to protect all of you against further attacks.'
'You failed at that too,' said Hightower. 'I'll have your heads for this incompetence, both of you!'
Fisher started to answer him, and then stopped as Gaunt's head suddenly snapped round to stare at the hall.
'Someone's trying to open the front door!'
'It's all right, sir Gaunt,' said Fisher quickly. 'It's only Hawk. He's just checking that the house is properly secure.'
Gaunt relaxed a little, and stared sardonically at Fisher. 'You mean he's checking the isolation spell. What's the matter, Captain? Don't you trust me anymore?'
'We don't trust anyone,' said Fisher carefully. 'That's our job, sir sorcerer.'
Gaunt nodded curtly. 'Of course, Captain. I understand.'
'Then you'll also understand why we have to search all the rooms on the ground floor.'
Gaunt frowned. 'You've already seen them once.'
'Not all of them, sir sorcerer. We haven't seen the kitchen, or your laboratory.'
'My laboratory is strictly private,' said Gaunt. 'No one uses it but me. There's really no need for you to check it; you felt the avoidance spell yourself. It's impossible for anyone to enter the laboratory apart from myself.'
'We'll still have to check it,' said Fisher.
'I can't allow that,' said Gaunt flatly.
'I'm afraid I must insist.'
'No.'
'Then we'll have to arrest you,' said Fisher.
'On what charge?'
'We'll think of something.'
Gaunt smiled coldly. 'Do you really think you have the power to arrest me?' he said softly.
'We can give it a damn good try,' said Hawk.
Everyone looked round to see Hawk standing in the parlor doorway, axe in hand. Gaunt started to raise his left hand, and then stopped as Fisher drew her sword in a single swift movement that set the tip of her blade against his ribs. Gaunt stood very still. The guests watched in a fascinated silence. Hawk took a firm grip on his axe. The tension in the parlor stretched almost to breaking point. And then Gaunt took a deep breath and let it out, and some of the strength seemed to go out of him with it.
'I could kill you both,' he said quietly, 'but what would be the point? They'd only send somebody else. And much as it pains me to admit it, you're the best chance I've got of finding William's killer. I will show you my laboratory. But if either of you ever draws steel on me again, I'll strike you down where you stand. Is that clear?'
'I hear you,' said Hawk. 'Now let's take a look at this laboratory of yours. Fisher, you come with us. Everyone else, stay here. We won't be long.'
'One moment,' said Stalker, rising unhurriedly to his feet. 'You still have my sword. Captain Hawk. I'm afraid I must ask you to return it. With the murderer still loose in the house, somebody has to be able to protect these people.'
Hawk nodded reluctantly, drew Stalker's sword from his belt, and stepped forward to hold it out to Stalker hilt first. Although it was nowhere near as heavy as Stalker's broadsword, the weight of the sword was still almost too much for Hawk to support one-handed. Stalker took the sword from him as though it were a child's toy. Hawk bowed politely, and turned to Gaunt.
'Shall we go, sir sorcerer?'
Gaunt led the way out of the parlor, across the hall, and into the library in tight-lipped silence. Hawk and Fisher followed close behind. Neither of them had put away their weapons. Gaunt opened the door into the kitchen and waved Hawk and Fisher through. They had a quick look round, but it looked like any other well-stocked kitchen, though surprisingly tidy for a man living on his own. They went back into the library, and found Gaunt standing before the laboratory door.
'Your partner asked me about the wine sample,' said
Gaunt, not looking around. 'I'm afraid I didn't take one. But I can assure you the wine was perfectly harmless. My magic would have told me if it was poisonous. I even tasted some myself, remember?'
'That's not really the point,' said Hawk patiently. 'The wineglass must have been important in some way, or it wouldn't have been taken. Did Fisher ask you about the secret passages?'
'No,' said Gaunt. 'I can see what you're suggesting, Captain, but there are no secret passages or hidden doors in this house. If there were, my magic would have found them.'
'I see,' said Hawk. 'Well, then, I think that's all we have to talk about, sir sorcerer. Now, why don't you take off the avoidance spell and open that door?'
'I can't,' said Gaunt quietly. 'There is no avoidance spell.'
Hawk and Fisher looked at each other, and then at the sorcerer.
'Then what the hell was it we felt?' asked Hawk.
Gaunt turned round and looked at them. He held his head high but his eyes were full of a quiet desperation. 'She is my Lady,' he said simply. 'No one knows she's here. No one but me, and now you. If either of you ever talk about her to anyone else, I'll kill you. You'll understand why when you see her.'
He turned back to the door and took a key from a hidden inner pocket. Hawk and Fisher looked at each other and shrugged. Gaunt unlocked the door, pushed it open, and walked forward into his laboratory. Hawk and Fisher followed him in, and then stopped just inside the doorway. Hawk clutched at his axe, and Fisher lifted her sword. The succubus smiled at them sweetly.
She reclined lazily in the pentacle, her feet just brushing the edge of the blue chalk lines. Hawk swallowed dryly. He'd never seen anyone so beautiful. He wanted her, he had to have her; he'd kill anyone who tried to stop him. He stepped forward, and Fisher grabbed his arm. He tried to pull free, and when he couldn't he spun furiously on Fisher and lifted his axe to split her skull. Their eyes met, and he hesitated. Reality came flooding back, and he slowly lowered his axe, horrified at what he'd almost done. He looked at the succubus again, and felt the same insane desire stir within him. He fought it down ruthlessly, and wouldn't look away until he was sure the beautiful creature no longer had any hold over him. He looked at Gaunt, standing beside him with his head bowed.
'You fool,' said Hawk softly. 'You bloody fool.'
'Yes,' said Gaunt. 'Oh, yes.'
The succubus laughed sweetly. 'Visitors. It's not often I'm allowed visitors.'
Fisher stirred uncomfortably. 'Is that what I think it is?'
'Yes,' said Hawk grimly. 'That's a succubus. A female demon, the embodiment of sexual attraction.'
Fisher looked at the creature in the pentacle, and shuddered. She felt a strange attraction burning deep within her, and her skin crawled. She shook her head sharply, and the feeling slowly died away. Fisher glared coldly at Gaunt. 'No wonder you didn't want us in here. Your friends in the parlor would disown you in a moment at the merest hint that you kept a succubus under your roof. When did you summon her out of the dark?'
'A long time ago,' said Gaunt. 'Please. She's no danger to anyone. She can't leave the pentacle except at my bidding, and she can't leave the house at all. My wards see to that.'
'You let her out once, though, didn't you?' said Hawk. 'You let her loose in the Hook, and she killed at your command.'
'Yes,' said Gaunt. 'But that was the only time. She was under my control;'
'I was there,' said Hawk harshly. 'I saw what she did to those men. It took weeks to get the stench of the blood off the streets. She's too dangerous, Gaunt. It would only take one slip on your part, and she'd be loose. With her power, she could destroy all Haven in a single night. You have to dismiss her, Gaunt. You have to send her back into the darkness.'
'I can't,' said Gaunt miserably. 'Do you think I haven't tried? To begin with I couldn't because she was the source of my power. Without her, I was just another alchemist, with only a smattering of the High Magic. And then; I grew to need her. She's like a drug I have to have. Women don't mean anything to me anymore; they can't compare with her. I have to have her. I can't give her up. I won't. If you try to make me, I'll kill you.'
