Odd.
Nudging his mount into a trot, he turned right down the next street. He rode for fifteen minutes further and then halted near a church. After dismounting, Monty tethered his horse to a tree.
Pulling a chain out of his shirt, he then undid the clasp and slipped off a ring. After tucking the chain into his pocket, he slid the ring onto his third finger.
Monty walked the worn path past the church, blackened by fire on one side, and the other covered in a creeping vine. Old, it had been a place where the secret alliance of Alexius members had met for centuries. A group that had protected the monarchy for hundreds of years.
Raising a fist, he hammered on the scarred wood of the door four times. He then opened it and entered. A man sat at a table. There was a single candle burning, which offered little light. The setting had not changed in the many years he’d been coming here.
Traditions, Monty thought. He’d never understood them.
“Veritas scutumtibi erit,” the man, Geraint, said.
The truth will be your shield,Monty interpreted as he always did. “Veritas scutumtibi erit,” he replied.
Tall, well-built, the man he knew only as Geraint was solemn and serious-minded, as he had always been.
Removing his hood, Monty sat. He then stacked his hands on the table, showing the ring he wore. His father’s ring. He had just not realized the significance of it until he’d become part of Alexius.
Pushing that thought aside, as emotion had no place in his life anymore, he focused on Geraint. Soon it would be his turn to speak, but for now, he would listen.
“I have called you here today alone to discuss something that has come to my attention,” Geraint said.
“I, too, wish to speak with you alone,” Monty said.
The man nodded, like he was the bloody king he worked for.
“A rumor has reached us that one of the monarch’s most trusted advisors, Sir Stephen Ackland, is, in fact, a traitor.”
“A traitor how?”
“He is a devil worshipper. A courtier alerted one of the king’s guards, who in turn told our monarch.”
“Hellfire clubs are not unusual, surely,” Monty said.
“I believe this is vastly different, my lord. After they alerted the king, he asked that Ackland be followed,” Geraint said. “He followed him to a building, where Ackland entered and went down below the ground. The two guards followed and found a young woman drugged and tied to a table. There were knives and other instruments of torture there.”
Monty stayed silent. Geraint would get to the point when he was ready.
“Ackland was interrogated and admitted that he had killed others, but he vowed he was alone in his satanic behaviors. However, papers found in his rooms suggested he was part of a society that gave their allegiance to Satan. Upon a further searching, more communications were discovered. We found a letter with three names on it. All were crossed out and the wordsthe gods are appeasedwere at the bottom. Your father’s name was on there.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Your father’s name was one of the three on the list. The other two were Lord Peters and Lord Lionel. Both are deceased, so we cannot ask them questions about why the names are there. There was also the sign of Satan on the top right-hand corner.”
If Monty wasn’t sitting, his legs would likely have given out. His memory flashed back to the night he’d found his parents. In his father’s hand had been a small engraved piece of wood with the sign of the devil.
“I hope you are not suggesting my father was in any way involved in some kind of satanic ritual, that—”
“I knew your father, my lord,” Geraint interrupted him, “and if I did not, I know his reputation was beyond reproach. He was not involved in devil worshipping or satanic rituals.”
Heart thumping, Monty nodded.
“Unfortunately, Ackland was left alone in a cell and hung himself before anyone could get more information out of him. Our monarch is displeased and wants answers as to what the man was part of. He also has no wish for this to reach society’s ears.”
“What was the symbol on that list of three names?” Monty managed to get out.
“A pentacle.”
