Goetia

clear his name.”

“Clear his name of what?” Leah asked.

“Abandoning the Templar six years ago,” Wertham said.

“While he was down in South Africa?”

Wertham nodded.

“But I thought the Templar—at least some of them—were allowed lives outsidethe Underground.”

“Some of them were,” the old Templar said. “I was a fisherman for many years.But Simon walked away not only from the Templar, but from his father.”

“That’s where Booth had Simon,” Nathan said. “And Booth knew it. Historiesare kept of the Order and the Houses, and the individual nobility that serves them. There’s never been a more loyal Knight Templar than Lord Thomas Cross.”

“Simon feels he’s brought shame to his father’s name,” Wertham said. “Allthose years ago, with his father still alive, Simon didn’t think about it. Heprobably couldn’t even fathom the idea of his father getting killed. I know hestill has a hard time dealing with the guilt involved in that.”

“All right,” Leah said, “I get that Simon was highly motivated and vulnerableto this deal.” With her own upbringing, though, family honor was an alienconcept. But she understood the integrity part and knew—at least partially—whatkind of man Simon Cross was. “What I want to know is how Booth can feel free tobreak this offer to Simon? Doesn’t that leave a black spot on his honorsomewhere?”

“If Simon were in good standing with the Templar,” Danielle said, “mostdefinitely. This would be an egregious breach of ethics.”

“Templar Houses have fallen over such matters of honor,” Wertham said.

“What if we let the rest of the Templar Underground know what Booth hasdone?” Leah asked.

“For all we know,” Nathan said sourly, “one of the other Lords or Ladies cameup with the idea.”

FORTY-FIVE

“The other Houses in the Templar Underground didn’t like it when Simon walkedout on them four years ago,” Nathan went on, “and they like it even less thatother Templar have continued to come to us.”

“Did you tell Booth that you would bring him the manuscript?” Leah asked.

Nathan looked guilty. “Yes. I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t know what mighthappen if I told him it had been destroyed.”

“Good, because now we’ve got it.”

“You’re going to give it to him?” Danielle looked like she couldn’t believewhat she was hearing.

“Of course we are. We can make a copy for everybody. We’re just not going togive Booth the file with the secret text” Leah had already briefed them on whatshe’d found out.

Some of the Templar scholars were already working on the text, but so far they didn’t have a clue as to what was hidden in the language.

“Wait,” Danielle protested.

Already guessing what was coming, Leah looked at the Templar and waited.

“This is our problem,” Danielle said angrily. “No one died and madeyou queen.”

Leah let the other woman’s emotion roll off her and didn’t take itpersonally. She knew Danielle was dealing with her own guilt and frustration in the matter, and none of that had anything to do with her. “I’m not trying to bequeen.”

“The way you’re trying to take over everything says otherwise.”

Nathan and Wertham seemed only too happy to stay out of the discussion.

“You’re not a Templar,” Danielle said.

“No,” Leah said calmly, “I’m not. But I care about Simon. A lot.” She felther face burn a little at the admission and wondered where that emotion had come from. “I don’t want to see him hurt.”

“We can handle this.”

“How?” Leah challenged.

Danielle looked at the other two Templar. They both looked elsewhere and didn’t meet her gaze.

“We don’t have any reason to believe Booth will deal in good faith with us—”

“It’s not us,” Danielle interrupted.

“—in this matter after the way he’s treated Simon.”

“We don’t think that.”

“Then what do you plan to do?” Leah asked. “And charging in isn’t theanswer.”

Danielle sighed. “I don’t know,” she said in a small voice. “But you’re rightabout not expecting the best from Booth. The bad history between him and Simon goes back to the time they were boys.”

“Subtlety and subterfuge are my game,” Leah said. “If I can put togethersomething we can all agree on, we can get ahead of Booth. But if you try to freeze me out of this, you’re going to be losing an asset you need. Trust me onthat.”

Danielle nodded.

Leah checked the time and found that it was a little after eleven o’clockp.m. “All right, we’ve got some time to play with. Let’s see if we can come upwith something that even remotely resembles a plan.” She looked at Wertham. “Isthere any way I can get a blueprint of the Templar Underground?”

“No. Those aren’t drawn out for two reasons.” Wertham ticked them off on hisfingers. “Number one is so that those plans can never fall into anyone’s handsand be used against the Templar.”

Leah understood that. Command didn’t allow blueprints of their hidden centersfor the same reasons.

“The second is because much of the Underground has changed over the years asnew construction has taken place.”

That, Leah knew, was going to be a problem. “But you can draw a map?”

Wertham nodded. “All of us can.”

“Then all of you do it. Without conferring with each other. We’ll need tocheck against error and omission.” Leah looked at Wertham. “Can you assemble ateam willing to go in after Simon?”

“If the rest of the stronghold knew Booth had him,” Nathan said, “we’d have amass evacuation on our hands. They’d all go after him. That’s why we’vekept this to ourselves.”

“All right. Keeping control of the information was good. But you’re going tohave to put someone in this room who can deal with Booth in case he tries to contact you again.”

Wertham nodded. “All of that can be done.”

“Then get it done now. We need to be en route as soon as we can be. Withoutanyone here being the wiser.”

The three Templar stood.

“One other thing,” Leah said. “Do you have someone who can print themanuscript out and make it look authentic? I don’t want to give Booth anelectronic copy. Then he’ll know we’ve already gotten copies of it ourselves.And I don’t want to make it easy for him to resource. He can do his own bloodyscut work.”

Pain exploded in Simon’s head and