Goetia

demons.”

“I know,” Simon said. “If it’s everything that it’s said to be.”

Macomber sipped his water again, but Simon sensed that it was a delaying tactic rather than a want or need. The old man was clearly hesitant to trust him.

“You knew my father. He gave his life fighting these demons,” Simon said.“I’ve spent four years of my life fighting them and trying to save those peoplestill trapped within London. I’ve seen the bodies of those people I couldn’tsave—men, women, and children—and I’ve held friends who died in my arms.”Surprised at how thick his voice had gotten, he took a deep breath and pushed those sharp emotions away. “I will never betray any trust you invest in me. I swearthat to you on my father’s name.”

“I know.” Macomber nodded. “I know that you do. Your father swore an oath tome as well.”

“Templar oaths are not lightly given,” Simon said. He was surprised at thetouch of anger in his words, but he didn’t like having to defend his honor orthat of the Order. Honor was a sacred thing, a privilege and a duty. It was also to be respected.

“I know that. But I also want you to know that the oath I gave was notlightly given either. The man who gave me the knowledge about Goetia impressed upon me the manuscript’s importance.” Macomber looked at Simon.“You’re familiar with the history of the book?”

“It was written by King Solomon and was also known as The Lesser Key ofSolomon. Some say he used the power in the manuscript to bind seventy-two demons into a jar.”

“It wasn’t a jar,” Macomber said. “What Solomon did was bind seventy-twodemons from this world. The Templar have searched for this book for a long time. They first found out about the book when they took up residence under Solomon’stemple after the first crusade.”

“I knew about the Templar being there then,” Simon said. “But I didn’t knowthey were searching for a book.”

“Not everyone believed Goetia existed. Not even the Templar. Duringthat time, the manuscript’s existence caused a great deal of consternation amongthe Order.”

“But it dealt with the demons.”

Macomber nodded. “The Harbingers—the demons who always first come forth froma Hellgate—had arrived in this world. Solomon had the names of most of thosedemons that tried to force their way here. He used the knowledge of those names to keep them from arriving and shut down the Hellgate.”

“Can the demons only come through the Hellgates?” Leah asked.

“No.” Macomber shook his head. “The Harbingers and some of the lesser demonscome through first to anchor the Hellgate in whatever world the demons are invading. They’re heralds of a sort. Dark and deadly things.”

“Then why use the Hellgate at all?” Leah asked.

“Because only a few demons can come through without it. The majority of them,especially if they’re arriving in number, must use the Hellgate. That’s how weknow about the demons. A few of them have always lurked in this world. Now and again, some of them are found, but very few. Part of their glamour, at least of the ones that lurk here, is that no one will believe in them.”

Simon understood that. Phillip the Fair had used that disbelief against the Templar to steal their fortunes and their honor.

“Only the Templar and a few other people over the course of history havebelieved in the demons,” Macomber said. “Most of them were tried and convictedof heresy. Which at many times in history meant those convicted would be burnt at the stake, drowned, or imprisoned in a madhouse. In the case of the Templar, they were stripped of their riches and their dignity. So you see, even those who believed in demons were reluctant to admit that.”

“There are still some who believe the demons here now are aliens from anotherworld,” Leah said.

Macomber shook his head. “This is the power the demons wield. I fear for allof us.”

“How did Solomon learn about the demons?” Simon asked.

“He didn’t learn about the demons. Others who knew about them told him. KingSolomon came to believe through their belief. He didn’t write Goetia, buthe caused the manuscript to be written. He claimed credit for authoring the manuscriptso no one would challenge its authenticity.” Macomber sipped his water. “Ofcourse, you see how that turned out. No one even believes the manuscript exists.”

“There are some who claim that manuscript was never written during Solomon’stime,” Simon said. “It’s reputed to be a thinly veiled political attack onnobility, which didn’t exist in Solomon’s day.”

“Those were other versions written later,” Macomber said. “They were nothingmore than a smokescreen, possibly created by those in league with the demons or those who used Solomon’s name for their own purposes. The true manuscript hasbecome a thing of legend, myth, and make-believe. That’s what the demons dobest: cause you to doubt yourself.”

“You said you’d seen sections of the manuscript,” Leah said.

Macomber nodded. “I have. Even those copies that I saw carried the twistedpower that is inherent in the demons. I don’t know how anyone can read thosemanuscripts, let alone write those manuscripts or copy them. I was reading them—more of them after I had talked with your father, Simon—when I hadmy first… episode.”

Although he was anxious to find out the rest of the story, Simon waited as patiently as he could. It wasn’t easy, but he saw embarrassment and frustrationtighten the old man’s features.

“I’d read other sections of the book,” Macomber continued. “There had beenadverse reactions before—sickness, nightmares, and periods and I couldn’tremember at all—but nothing like what happened that time. I lost days of my lifeto the madness. I don’t even really remember much of it. But I do remember thatthere was a demon in the pages. How it got there, I don’t know. It’s hard to remember. But I dorecall that it promised me things. Wealth. Long life. Power. All the things that demons offer so casually. And when I resisted, it threatened to kill my wife and my children.”

Only the hum of the NanoDyne electromagnetic engines filled the ATV’sinterior. Simon couldn’t help remembering his own experience with demonic