"That is my point exactly, Eustacia. Just as she is beginning to show the skill of a truly gifted Venator—and yes, I'll freely admit that she has the potential to be as good as you or I—she is going to be entering into a marriage! Where she will need to account for her every moment to the marquess, and where she will have greater strictures and parameters placed on her life. Not to mention the distraction of being In Love. Have you seen how love-sopped people look at each other? And at no one else, and nothing around them? We cannot afford another near miss like we had two nights ago."
"You said as much to Victoria yesterday when she—or rather, the marquess—told us they were getting married," Eustacia reminded him with a calmness he did not understand. "But, Max"—she spoke louder, raising her voice for the first time and stepping over his arguments—"I cannot and will not order her not to marry. It is her decision and I have to let her make it. Although I do share the same concerns as you, I know that I must step aside and let her do as she will. We all have that freedom, as Venators, and she is not the first to love and want to marry. Some of us love, but do not marry," she added, giving a bare glance toward the door through which Kritanu was due to come at any moment.
"And the truth is, Max, perhaps she will succeed where we do not expect her to. Perhaps Victoria needs that balance of the light with the dark; the ordinary with the horrific unordinary. Perhaps that will make her stronger, more adept… just as your own grief and anger feed your strength."
"I can't agree with you, Eustacia. The life of a Venator is like that of a priest—we are called and we are solitary. And we must remain so in order to fulfill our destiny."
"And what of me, then, Max? Have I not fulfilled my destiny because I am not alone?" Eustacia asked gently, as if she suddenly understood what was at the core of his disheartenment.
Max recognized an unanswerable question when he heard one, and swiftly changed the subject. "Victoria recognized Sebastian Vioget. How does she know who he is?"
Eustacia lifted an eyebrow. "That is interesting. My assumption would be that wherever and however she learned about the book and its protection was where and how she learned who Sebastian Vioget is. And it concerns me that he was there at Redfield Manor."
"It concerns me that he would have allowed me to pick up the book," Max replied with sarcasm. "He was nearly salivating at the thought."
"It's too bad you cannot see to form an alliance with him. It might be to our benefit. Perhaps that is something Victoria should consider." Before Max could speak, Eustacia brought up another unpleasant topic. "How is your neck?"
He caught himself reaching to touch the old bite. It had indeed been paining him in the last day, throbbing with a constant dull tic. "I felt no need to mention it has been hurting; it would be no surprise to you, considering the events of the last few days."
"No, but I could give you more salve," Eustacia replied gently, as though speaking to a young child. "There is no need for you to endure the pain."
"It is nothing." Perhaps he would have said more, but at that moment Kritanu opened the door from the hall and Wayren glided in.
"Felicitations, Eustacia and Maximilian," the blond librarian beamed. Her long medieval sleeves would drag the floor when her arms hung at her sides; but now, as she had them raised in delight, the flowing cuffs served only to wrap themselves around Eustacia and then Max, in turn, as Wayren embraced each of them. "You have succeeded in retrieving the book! And so quickly!"
"Yes, it was quite fortuitous," replied Max as she stepped back.
"And your bite?" asked Wayren, giving him the same assessing look Eustacia had.
"It is tender," he admitted.
The door opened again, and Kritanu ushered in the second guest—Victoria, of course. Max looked over and said, "Ah, there she is. And… alone? You did not bring your better half, Victoria?"
"Oh, no, Phillip sends his regrets. He is much too busy trying to decide which way to tie his neckcloth for the wedding," she replied sweetly.
Max had to bite his lip to keep back his surprised delight at her smart rejoinder. She was quick. He couldn't fault her there.
As he sat down in his favorite chair next to the highboy where Kritanu kept the brandy, he looked blandly at Eustacia, who had given him a less than pleased look at his sarcastic comment.
"Your better half?" asked Wayren, settling next to Max but speaking to Victoria.
"Max is speaking of my betrothed husband, the Marquess of Rockley. He—Max—appears to be under the impression that when I take my vows I will forget those I have already made to the Gardella Legacy."
Victoria, whose hair was dressed in a way that Max had never seen, pressed a kiss to her aunt's cheek, and then one to Kritanu's, before selecting a chair directly opposite Max. Instead of being piled high on her head, with every black curl stuck in place and intertwined with gems and ribbons, her hair fell in a simple, long plait down the back of her dress. She had to move the braid out of the way or she would have sat on it.
Max noticed that she was carrying a leather bag, and as she settled in her chair, she drew it onto her lap.
"That is the book?" he asked, desirous of getting their discussion onto more important things than the impending wedding.
"It is." Victoria drew it out and held it for a moment before offering it to Eustacia. "What shall we do with it now that we have it? Is there anything in it that could help us?"
Wayren watched the battered leather tome with the same avidity Max's old dog watched the table for a bone or other scrap to fall—or be pushed—to the floor. She sounded almost breathless when she spoke. "I will have to study it to know for certain… but I would venture to say that there is little in there that would promote living in the light. It is the book of Kali's evil child, and as such has only recipes for promoting evil. Still, knowing what value it has for Lilith may help us to understand her next move."
"Indeed," Eustacia agreed. "Merely having it in our possession is the greatest of advantages. And in fact, I have been thinking long and hard about where we should hide the book until we have decided what to do with it."
"Won't you keep it here, Aunt Eustacia?" asked Victoria, surprise lighting her face.
Max did little to disguise his snort of disgust. "Eustacia's home, or mine, would be the first place Lilith would look for it. Or yours." He was not disappointed; a jolt of enlightenment changed her face. Ah, perhaps she did understand the severity of the situation. That the game was not quite over yet… and, in fact, would not be over until Lilith was annihilated. "She knows who foiled her plan, and I can only imagine her fury with us." Actually, he could imagine it quite well. Better, in fact, than he wished.