'We are attending to him now in the basilica. Your case is urgent, too. So listen. We first heard of you when reports came of the slaughter at Tortosa, obviously the work of a demon. It did not seem to concern us, for it happened far outside our domain, but a few days ago the Inquisition appealed to us for help, something it has never done before. We do not approve of the Black Friars' methods and frequently not of their choice of victims, but they perform a service in hunting down demons as they flit from one spirit's haunt to another. This one, we were told, had escaped to the north, to Lerida, and now appeared to be heading in our direction. Furthermore, although their reports were scanty, the friars believed that it had taken hostages. So we were concerned.
'Soon it became clear that the viceroy was also concerned. Instead of the handful of yokels the Inquisition is usually granted to aid it in making arrests, he assigned a troop of professionals under the competent Captain Diaz. He also had the insolence to demand our assistance. As it is Oreste's fault that there are so few tutelaries left in Aragon at the moment, we were even less inclined to cooperate with his men than we were with the Inquisition, but it was made plain to us that the consequences would be drastic if we refused.'
All of this sounded very much as Toby had worked it out for himself. What was so urgent? Why must it be tonight?
'When you drew closer, though, we saw that you were far from a typical case of possession. Your companions seemed to be under no compulsion. They evidently accepted you as human, and that was worrying indeed, because only supremely crafty demons are capable of that deception. The most egregious such imposter is Nevil the Fiend, of course.'
Toby had not foreseen that view of him. 'But could I have misled Montserrat?'
It did not answer that question. 'The other possibility was that you had somehow managed to gain control of your demon after the massacre, but that theory was so improbable that we did not consider it. The cooks are basting the roast geese, and you will not want to miss dinner. Go and get ready.'
Disconcerted, but aware that some of his weariness came from hunger, Toby rose and went over to the stand with the basin. He would have to turn his back on the tutelary! Undress in front of it?
'This feels wrong, Holiness, disrespectful!'
The boy was still staring woodenly at the fireplace, but the spirit laughed joyfully.
'Since when have you worried about being respectful, Tobias? No, you have earned a little ease, and rules do not apply to you. We shall talk while you wash, for this is a long tale. Your arrival happened to coincide with a raid by a band of brigands. We decided to kill two birds with one arrow and regret to say that this may have been a lapse into vanity. We nudged matters a little, so that you encountered the brigands on the road just below here. We prepared to defend the hostages from harm and waited to see what would happen, fully expecting that you would deal with the villains as you had dealt with the
Toby tossed his shirt on the bed after his doublet. He tipped water into the basin. It was hot. There was real soap!
So the tutelary had been testing him? It had not been as mistaken as it was making out, because it had sent Jacques to meet him and show him what exorcism could do. It was not being completely honest with him even now. It wanted something of him, but what? What would be written on the bill?
If it read his doubts, it did not comment on them. 'The results were surprising. You did not invoke your demon. In fact you were prepared to die rather than try to use gramarye, so you had not yet lost your humanity, and that meant there was still hope for you. This was a complication, because you would lose that chance if the Inquisition got its hands on you, and of course von Munster and his troop were also after you by then. Consequently we offered you an exorcism. Our real intention was to give you sanctuary and our guidance in dealing with the hob. The exorcism itself would have been a last resort, only to be applied if we could not help you come to terms with—'
'If you had said so—'
'If we had said so, there would have been violent objections from the Inquisition and Captain Diaz and
He did not believe any of this, not for a moment. Montserrat had manipulated them all, and especially him. It was still doing so. Then the glowing embers under the logs on the hearth reminded him of the braziers in the crypt, and he shivered.
'You did very well to defang Baron Oreste,' the spirit said.
It did not say that it was surprised, though.
'That was all the don's doing.'
'Oh, was it really?'
'Yes. I am grateful to you for sending him.'
'Thank his mother,' the spirit said with amusement. 'A most valiant lady! Not that Ramon needed much persuasion once she suggested it.'
But who or what had put the idea in Dona Francisca's head? 'Holiness, can you help him?'
'The don? Help him in what way?'
Toby stared across the room at the boy's blank face. Conversations with mystic voices were very frustrating. 'Well… Untangle his wits.'
'Ah. You mean he does not draw the line between fantasy and reality in the same place you do?'
'Yes.'
'Who is to say which of you is right? If you gave him the choice, would not he choose to have his reality made more like his fantasies, rather than the reverse?'
'I suppose so. But…'
'Have you ever seen him attacking a windmill, Tobias?'
'Attacking a windmill, Holiness? Why would anyone… No, I haven't.'
'Then he is not as mad as he might be. Does he not always behave as if he knows a windmill is a windmill, however he may choose to describe it? Ask not what we can do for Don Ramon, but rather what will you do for him!'
'Me? I'm just a big stupid—'
Again the spirit chuckled. 'You're not at all stupid when you think no one is watching. We are giving you answers, but soon we shall demand answers from you. You see that silver box on the table? Go to it.'
Tossing down the towel, Toby walked over to the table. The box was finely crafted but small enough to fit in his fist. He had disregarded it, assuming it was only a tinderbox, but when he opened it now he found it to be empty. He turned to frown uneasily at the incarnation.
'This would hold a ring, perhaps? It is warded?'
'Very good! Yes. The demon that controlled Baron Oreste is named Avernus, and it is immured in a beryl. He describes it as a square, greenish stone held by eight claws in a gold setting.'
Toby began to untie the binding around the ivory casket. 'How dangerous will this be?'
'There is some danger,' the spirit admitted. 'You must be as quick as you can. We can keep the demon from Oreste, but we may not be able to prevent it from striking at you. You may see strange visions or feel the building shake. It may even hurt you. Try not to let these things distract you.'
He undid the last knot and took hold of the lid. 'Hurt me how badly?'
'Perhaps quite badly. The pain may be severe.'
Oh, it must be nice to be an immortal and order people around like that! Toby opened the casket and nothing terrible happened. He fingered quickly through the glittering hoard inside until he found a gold ring with a square, greenish stone. He put that in the silver box and shut both of them. Then he turned around to glare at the paralyzed Alfonso.
'Well, did I pass that test? That's all it was, wasn't it? You were testing me again!'
'Partly. And yes, you passed. Your heartbeat never changed.'
Upstart, overgrown elemental! 'Blast you and your sleazy tricks!'
Alfonso suddenly turned his head to look straight at him. 'Not all trickery, Tobias. The demon was loose, but we were able to contain it. Now we can put it where it will do no more harm.'
'Then let's talk about the amethyst. Who stole it?' He took off the locket and opened it. A purple gem rolled out into his palm. He stared at the incarnation in bewilderment.
