The Messenger

48

You don’t need to tell me,” Adrian said angrily as Daniel entered the basement. “Evan is dead.”

“Dead! No-”

“Ah. You didn’t know.” The shell eyelids blinked with a little clicking noise. “And yet you arrive here without him.”

“He wanted to go back to the house and shoot the girl-not the girl you wanted, this one was Brad’s sister. I wanted to hurry up and bring Hawthorne to you.”

“Hawthorne?” Adrian said sharply. “You’ve brought him here?”

“Yes, my lord-I mean, sir.” Daniel winced at this slipup, but Adrian seemed not to notice. “I hope I did the right thing.”

“The right thing? My boy, you have exceeded my expectations! Bring him down here at once.”

Daniel hurried up the stairs, and cautiously approached the man he had left tied up on the kitchen floor. Hawthorne hadn’t moved. His eyes were still closed, his face gray. His clothing was drenched in blood. Daniel almost expected his skin to be cold as he picked him up again, but instead the man burned with fever, a warmth Daniel felt even through the layers of Hawthorne’s clothing. He had never known anyone to get such a high fever so soon after an injury.

Adrian had told them that they would not be able to kill this man, only to injure him so badly they would have time to search his clothing for the ring. But maybe Evan’s bullets had done the job. It was hard to believe a man in this condition could live much longer without medical attention. Daniel found himself feeling itchy wherever his skin had come in contact with Hawthorne’s blood. He told himself to stop being such a wuss.

He could not help but look at Hawthorne’s fingers, double-checking them. He wore no ring. Eduardo had told Adrian that the man did not wear the ring, something Eduardo had known first because Brad and others who came in contact with Hawthorne had said he wore no jewelry, and second because he had checked this for himself, using a telescope to spy on Hawthorne when he walked from his car to the hospice or stood on his balcony. He dared not come closer, Eduardo said, because of the dog.

And now Eduardo was dead, and the only other time Hawthorne had been at their mercy, out in the desert, they had been worried about a witness-this woman who was his lover, as it turned out. And then the dog had arrived, and they had had to leave before they met Eduardo’s fate.

How had Evan died? he wondered. Probably the dog. Despite the heat emanating from Hawthorne’s body, Daniel suddenly felt cold with dread. That dog had jumped right into the truck. He had been inches from meeting Evan’s fate.

It was difficult to negotiate the narrow stairs while carrying Hawthorne, but he managed it.

Adrian motioned with his clawlike hands. “Here, here, on the table!”

As Daniel complied, Adrian went down on all fours-his only means of moving around now-and scuttled to Daniel’s side. Daniel could not help giving a small cry of pain as Adrian used his pincer hands-which he saw now had grown stronger and larger-to grasp Daniel’s leg and arm, slowly pulling himself up in this manner until he stood.

“Ah, yes!” Adrian said. “Hawthorne! My dear Daniel, you do not know-cannot conceive of-how long I have waited for this encounter!” He laughed. “Oh, this is excellent.”

Hawthorne moaned.

“Quickly! Chain him!” Adrian ordered. As Daniel obeyed, Adrian studied him, then said, “Do you think he is harmless?”

“Evan shot him, sir, I don’t know how many times. He’s got a high fever.”

“Do you see these three bullet holes in his clothing, these two through the chest? And this one, in the stomach area?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And all this blood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Tear open the shirt. Look at the wounds.”

Daniel did as he was told and then stared in disbelief-though Hawthorne’s torso was covered with drying blood, his wounds were nothing more than red marks. A glance at his face showed color returning to it.

“I warn you, Daniel, he is far from harmless. He could easily kill us both, without experiencing anything more than temporary discomfort.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Search him for the ring. Search thoroughly. Then bring me a sharp knife.”

Daniel did as he was asked, all the while thinking of Adrian’s caution. He had never seen Adrian respond to anyone as if he were afraid-but clearly, he was afraid of this man. Even his previous warnings about Hawthorne had not prepared Daniel to see such a reaction.

He scratched at his hands.

By the time he returned from the kitchen with the knife, all signs of the bullet wounds had disappeared. Daniel reached Adrian’s side just as Hawthorne’s eyes opened. For a moment Hawthorne seemed utterly confused, pulling weakly at the manacles, frowning as he looked about the room.

Adrian took his face between the powerful pincers that served as his right hand, forcing Hawthorne to look up at him.

At first sight of the fleshless face, Hawthorne attempted to turn away, but Adrian held him fast.

“Do you not recognize the man who gave you your very life, Captain Hawthorne?”

There was a flash in the dark eyes, then Hawthorne said, “I thought the fever was giving me a nightmare, but I should have known you by the stink, Adrian.”

For that little joke, Adrian pressed the pincers closed until Hawthorne’s jaw broke.

Daniel saw the agony of this injury written on the man’s face, although Hawthorne did no more than grunt at the moment the bone audibly cracked.

“Now, while you are healing, I shall ask Daniel to note that your powers of recovery do not exclude you from the experience of pain. If you do not want to live out eternity in this cellar, experiencing more pain, you will tell me what you have done with my ring.”

After a moment, Adrian said, “Yes, now I think you are well enough to speak. Where is the ring?”

“Shade will find me, you know,” Hawthorne whispered.

Adrian laughed. “Dear me. Do you think that dog will be of any help to you? You forget that he and I share a bond as well. He cannot attack me.”

Hawthorne looked to Daniel. “What a comfort to you. If you are Adrian’s creature, you are in danger from that dog.”

“Don’t worry, Daniel,” Adrian said quickly.

“But, sir-what he did to Eduardo, and probably to Evan-”

“You will not share their fates,” Adrian said distractedly. “Tyler!”

Hawthorne’s eyes were drifting closed. Adrian pinched his face again, and Hawthorne looked up at him but seemed unable to focus. Adrian let go of him.

“Tyler,” he said in a coaxing voice, “where is my ring?”

“What ring?” Hawthorne murmured and closed his eyes.

“Daniel, feel his face. Is he warm?”

Daniel obeyed. “Still burning up, sir.”

Adrian sighed. “Damn. I should have let that little demonstration wait.”

“What shall I do with the knife, sir?”

Adrian looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, “Set it on the desk for now. We must make an elixir that will shorten the time of his fever…if I can remember how to make it.” He laughed. “However, if I concoct a poison by mistake, it will simply give me something else to use to persuade him.”

Daniel said nothing.

“Now, listen carefully, Daniel. In the cupboard to the right of the desk, you will find a bottle labeled Tanacetum parthenium…”

“Sir, may I please wash first? My skin-it itches.”

Adrian stared at him. “Does it? Yes. Shower and change your clothes. You may have something of a reaction to his blood. When you come back down here, bring a pair of gloves with you. Oh-and that item I had you purchase at…what is it called again?”

“The hardware store, sir.”

“Yes. I think we should have that on hand.”

Daniel went upstairs and showered for as long as he dared.