The astonishment on Martin’s face was slowly replaced with an appreciative gleam. “That would mean a fleet of demon soldiers at our command.”
Calligan flicked a hand in the air. “Even if we did find it, the fleet would not be underyourcommand, precisely.”
Martin’s forehead turned a blotchy red, and Kilworth’s hand formed a fist over the table.
“Easy now, gentlemen.” Hargreaves let out a small breath. “Lord Calligan, it is incumbent upon me to explain that, should we successfully find the Limitless Vessel, we would pay your demon army through trade, which your island desperately needs, ensuring a constant flow of natural resources. This sort of trade is exactly what your father has been trying to arrange for years,” Hargreaves continued smoothly, undercutting the subtle threat beneath his words. “But in return, you will understand that the demon army is entirely underourcontrol. We would, of course,ensurethis through theancient binding rituals, taking noble demon children under human wardship until the demon army completes all our commands and is sealed back intoyourworld.”
Such a trade had not been enacted in nine hundred years—not since the Saints had banned any contact with the demons, punishing those who aided the underworld severely. It had become clear very quickly that such punishments had crippled the demon world. Their decaying island could not produce the natural resources needed to survive. Fresh water, wheat, fruit, and vegetables—all needed to be transported from the human world to sustain the livelihoods of the demons.
And, of course, for the noble families, a steady supply of humans to feast upon.
All managed by the Wake.
Many times, the old Duke of Fray—along with other heads of noble families—had met with Hargreaves in an attempt to craft a treaty to increase the flow of trade, but Hargreaves had known that creating such an understanding would strip him of the power he held over them. Instead, Hargreaves had allowed only the Black Market to flourish, where human bounty hunters crossed over to sell their merchandise at extortionate prices, all paying a tax to the Wake.
“Have you taken leave of your senses, man?” Calligan’s face lost all amusement. “Demon children?Do you know how rare they are? My father would never consent to this.”
Hargreaves knew.
The one time he had broached the topic with the Duke of Fray, it had been rebuffed most forcefully. Lord Calligan, however, his son and heir, was a different kettle of fish.
“I understand your fears entirely, Lord Calligan. Especially when one observes how demons do not treat humans with…humanity, for lack of a better word. But have no fear.Wewould handle the demon children with nothing but respect and kindness—in the understandingthat the demons keep their end of the bargain.”
Martin interrupted eagerly. “We are speaking now as if there is a possibility that we are able to locate this Limitless Vessel. Is this true?”
Hargreaves leaned back in his chair slowly. “Not yet. But this is why I have called you all here. For the first time, I have an inkling as to where it may be, but we must find a way to confirm its whereabouts and grasp it before anyone else.” Hargreaves looked at each one of them carefully. “We need the Saint of Silence.”
Before anyone could interject, he continued. “The merchant of secrets has an endless supply of resources to either solidify or refute my knowledge.”
Without the Saint of Silence, all of Hargreaves’s plans would be for naught. All would be lost.
Kilworth interjected slowly, “The Saint has never worked well with the Wake. Should we forget the several dead men at our door in the last few months?”
Lord Calligan appeared bored with the entire conversation, his attention wavering. “We do not need the Saint.Iknow for a fact that he does not have any useful information about the Limitless Vessel.”
Hargreaves’s sharp glance fell on Calligan. “You have asked him?”
“Why should I bother with such a thing? That sort of tedious business best suits my father.”
“Then I can assure you that the Saint has lied to His Grace,” Hargreaves responded evenly.
Calligan’s expression changed from annoyance to astonishment. “Lord Hargreaves, I worry you have lost all your senses today. You know he cannotlieto my father.”
“Nevertheless, I am certain he has.”
Lord Calligan opened his mouth to argue further, but Lord Kilworth interrupted before he could, leveling a heated glance at Hargreaves. “I still fail to see why you would be open to their kind coming into our world. They would kill us all in our sleep.”
“I grow weary of your interruptions, George. As I have told you previously, we will reach an unshakable agreement with the demons before we commence anything.” Hargreaves did not mask the irritation in his voice this time. “Or would you rather see your estates, your beloved hunting grounds, your entire lands in the hands of lowborn revolutionaries? Your head on a pike?”
Lord Kilworth ground his jaw but did not answer further.
Martin narrowed his eyes at Hargreaves. “Forgive me, my lord, but you seem to know a great deal about the Saint of Silence. What else have you kept us in the dark about?”
A recurring nightmare had terrorized Hargreaves’s mind for many years. It always began the same way. He dreamed he was in Weavingshaw, and St. Silas was hunting him. Hargreaves would awaken just as St. Silas had caught him and begun to carve an X through Hargreaves’s mouth.
After what he and Percy had done to St. Silas, it would be a foolish thing to allow the Saint’s power to go unchecked. Especially when Hargreaves knew, with intense clarity, that the Saint of Silence did not forget. That he would seek his retribution.
Hargreaves’s smile was mild. “Apologies for my secrecy thus far. I only wished to gather more information before I revealed my plans to you all.” He inclined his head to Lord Calligan. “I do wonder if your father could be persuaded to speak to the Saint of Silence again on the matter of finding the Limitless Vessel.”
