“It is, indeed,” he noted. “It is written in Visigoth. It is the same as the article I placed in the London papers when I was searching for a companion for my aunt. The language that you were clearly able to deduce.”
Marlene blinked, staring closely at the ink on the page. But again, she could make no sense out of it. She shook her head. “I don’t know what happened, but I can’t read it now.”
“Hmm.” It was all he said as he turned the tome back around and considered the print in front of him as if trying to solve a complicated puzzle. “I wonder what changed.”
“I came to the manor?” she suggested.
He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s that simple,” he murmured. He was silent for a moment, then he waved his hand over the tome again and turned it back to her. “Has anything changed?”
Marlene wasn’t holding out any hope that she might be successful, but when she glanced down, the print began to shift and change. She gasped as they suddenly turned and created words that made sense to her.
“What is it?” he asked promptly.
She lifted her eyes to his. “I can tell what it says.”
He stilled. “Read it to me.”
As she complied, reading a paragraph about how to make a potion for megrims, he stopped her with an outstretched hand. She fell silent. Although victory was coursing through her veins, he didn’t look nearly as pleased. “What’s wrong?”
Alaric sat back and looked at her. “It wasn’t my ancestry that you read, but that of another sort of Gothic called Ostrogoths. Both are ancient Germanic languages that are long dead to the modern speaking world but have lived on through various wicca tribes over the centuries.”
She was confused by this. “But I thought you said I read your advertisement?”
“You did,” he returned evenly. “But only after someone manipulated it so that you could.”
She could feel the blood recede from her face as what he was saying finally sunk in. “Hector,” she breathed. “But that’s impossible. I didn’t know him before you told me of his existence.”
His eyes lit with a warning. “Just because you weren’t aware of him, doesn’t mean that you were unknown to him in return.” He paused, and then added. “I think, before we can solve the mystery of why you are so important to him, we need to learn how long you’ve shared an acquaintance. But you will need to trust me.”
She thought of the bitter tea she had consumed but nodded in acquiescence. “Let us begin.”
As Alaric led Marlene to his herbal room in the north wing, he was humbled by her trust in him. He was going to delve into some images of the past, even those that might be suppressed—or painful.
He wasn’t sure either one of them were prepared for what they might find.
But since time wasn’t currently on their side, emotions had to be pushed away in favor of discovering the truth. If Hector had been pursuing Marlene for longer than either of them imagined, then her value to him was more than Alaric had anticipated. If Hector was going so far as to alter Alaric’s advertisement for his own gain, what purpose did he have for Marlene’s presence at Rosedale Heights? He had no doubt that Hector was still searching for the Book of Magical Charms and had long been convinced that Alaric was in possession of it. But what role Marlene yet played in that had yet to be uncovered.
He hoped that summoning the past would give him the answers he required.
As they entered his herbal room, Marlene walked over and sat down next to the mantel as before. He didn’t yet have the heart to tell her that he had no need of her visions this time. It was going to be a bit more complex than that.
Instead, he gathered the things he would need, including a piece of chalk and several candles. He waved a hand and a wooden table and two chairs appeared in the middle of the room.
“What are you doing?”
Instead of replying immediately, Alaric drew a circle on top of the table with the symbol of the daisy wheel in the middle. He then lit one candle and set it in place at the top of an outer petal, doing the same for the rest until they were all set about in a neat circle. Only then did he glance at her and say calmly. “My intention is to evoke the spirits of your parents. Since we don’t know how far back Hector’s knowledge of you goes, they are the only ones who might be able to help us.” He paused. “Since we both know you have some clairvoyant abilities and it takes a particular spiritual person to evoke spirits, they will be speaking through you.”
He saw the horrified look on her face when his words finally sank in. She got to her feet and looked as though she might be sick. “You lied to me. You didn’t tell me any of this. You led me to believe that it was the same as before.”
“Because I didn’t think you would agree.”
She barked out a laugh at that. “You would have been right.” She paced the floor. “I’m not sure I can… do this.”
“It’s the only way,” Alaric answered calmly.
“There has to be something else we can do.” She flexed her hands. “I won’t allow my parents’ memory to be disturbed in this way, not even for you.” She started to breathe heavily. “It hasn’t been a year since I lost them…”
Alaric walked over and would have taken her into his arms, but she evaded his comfort. “No. You can’t make me do this.” She started to walk to the door. “I want to leave. Let me out.” She reached for the handle and yanked hard, but it remained steadfast. She spun around and glared at him. Her dark eyes shimmered with grief. “Open this door!” she demanded vehemently.
