Booth stared at him for a moment, and Simon could see the fear in the High Seat’s eyes that what he said was true.
“No,” Booth said. “That’s not completely true, is it? If it were, youwouldn’t have agreed to meet me. There’s more to this than you’re saying.”
“I came here to defend my father’s honor,” Simon said.
“That’s true, but that’s not all of it. You’re hiding something. I want toknow what it is.”
Simon looked at Booth and firmed his resolve. “The manuscript was burned. Itdoesn’t exist any more.”
“We’ll see about that.” Booth turned to one of the Templar. “Hail NathanSingh for me.”
The Templar stepped to one side and talked quietly for a moment.
Simon tried desperately to force away the pain filling his face and body, but even with all his training it was a hopeless cause.
“I’ve got the Templar stronghold,” the Templar said.
“Put it on the monitor,” Booth ordered.
Even though he didn’t want to, Simon glanced at the monitor. He recognizedPelter, one of the older Templar at the stronghold at the comm array and couldn’t help wondering where Nathan and Danielle were.
“Where is Nathan Singh?” Booth demanded.
“Hold on, High Seat Booth,” Pelter said. “I’ll have Nathan for you in just amoment.” He leaned forward and the monitor changed.
In the next moment, Nathan’s image filled the screen. “What do you want?” hedemanded, not sounding friendly. The background showed that he was standing in the ATV bay.
The confusing thing was that Simon knew there was no comm array in the caves where the ATVs were stored.
“I’ve been having an interesting chat with our friend Simon,” Booth said.
Nathan jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “If you want us there on time, you’dbe better off not wasting my time.”
Displeased with the cavalier treatment, Booth scowled. “Simon tells me thereis no manuscript. He says that it burned up at the sanitarium.”
“So?”
“Did it?”
Nathan cursed. “Simon doesn’t trust you, Booth. Obviously he has reason notto. He doesn’t want us trusting you either. So he’s going to lie to you aboutthe manuscript and tell you it doesn’t exist so you’ll call the deal off. Theway he sees it, he’s trading his life for all of ours.”
“Then you have the manuscript?”
“Yes.” Nathan acted bored with the subject.
“Show me,” Booth ordered.
“Show me Simon’s still alive.”
Cursing, Booth stepped back and waved to Simon. One of the Templar came closer and used a vidcam to capture his image.
“He’s alive,” Booth said.
“That could be a holo,” Nathan argued. “Have him say something.”
Booth nodded at the big man, who immediately backhanded Simon in the face before he could get away.
“He bleeds on demand,” Booth said smoothly.
Nathan cursed Booth fluently.
“I suggest you stop playing games with me,” Booth said. “Show me themanuscript if you have it, or I’m going to have Simon killed right here in frontof you.”
Nathan reached out of the cam’s view and pulled up a sheaf of papers. Theylooked old and authentic, not like the burned sheets Simon had found in the tube they’d recovered from the sanitarium.
“I need to get moving if I’m going to make your deadline,” Nathan said. “Now,if there isn’t anything else?”
Booth gave the command to break the comm connection and turned back to Simon.
“It seems you can’t speak the truth any more these days,” Booth said. Henodded at the big man.
Another cruel blow smashed into Simon’s cheek and caught the hinge of hisjaw. Pain exploded bright colors across his vision.
Simon tried to speak and deny the existence of the pages. It was some kind of trick. It had to be. But his jaw wouldn’t move right and he couldn’t form thewords. The struggle to speak only increased the pain and he slid over into darkness. His last thought was that Nathan and Danielle were somehow setting themselves up to get themselves killed.
FORTY-SIX
“Comm’s cut,” Leah said.
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the tri-dee projector that still broadcast the image of the cave that held the ATVs. Leah had captured the image of the cave before they’d left hours ago.
“Are you sure Booth bought it?” Nathan asked.
“I’m sure,” Leah said. “I’ve spoofed comm a few times during my career.”
“What career is that?” Danielle asked.
Leah ignored the suspicion in the Templar’s eyes. She knew none of them werecompletely accepting of her, but at the moment they all had to trust her to do what she’d said she could do.
“Here’s a copy of the transmission,” Danielle said, changing the topic. Sheplayed it back.
Seated in a sling-seat in the ATV they were riding in to get back to London, Leah regarded the finished product. It was good. The computer application she’duploaded to the stronghold comm array was impeccable.
“What if Booth has the vid checked out?” Nathan asked. “Will he be able totell it’s a fake?”
“Whoever looks at that broadcast would have to be some kind of specialist totell it’s not real,” Leah said. “I don’t think the Templar have anyone goodenough to expose that because you peoplequite franklyhaven’t been interested in thosekinds of applications. You may have the lock on personal defense systems, but there’s still a lot you’re not familiar with when it comes to other programmingand uses for it.”
“Not only that, but Booth doesn’t want to believe the Goetia manuscript is destroyed,” Danielle added. “He wants it to be real.”
“If the manuscript actually leads to some kind of permanent protection fromdemons,” Nathan growled, “it would make him some kind of bloody hero.”
“Let’s just see if we can’t keep him from becoming Simon’s murderer,” Leahsaid. “For the moment, I’ll settle for that.”
Wake.
Wearily, Warren woke and peered into the darkness of his bedroom. Across the room, the seeds he’d gotten from Knaarl’s sword lay beneath the warm earth in aterrarium and considered germinating for the first time in thousands of years.
“What’s the matter?” Naomi asked from beside him.
“Merihim,” Warren said.
Fearfully, Naomi clutched the bedsheet to her bosom and leaned back against the headboard.
Come. We must go. Fulaghar and Toklorq are closing in on the book Fulaghar has been searching for.
Warren climbed from
