Ambrose wondered if she realized she’d done that—sought him for protection, when in the normal course of a day, she’d do the opposite.
“It does.”
Beyond the triangle was a long table draped in black, bearing a skull, an hourglass, a chalice, and a drawn sword.
“My guess is that until we took over the lease of The Iris, this was still being used by someone for something, and possibly still is,” she said, moving deeper into the room.
“Agreed.”
Ambrose fought the need to push her behind him once more. There was no one in here but them, but still, she was right. It felt sinister.
Following her, he saw a set of shelves on one wall. Tilly stopped before them to study their contents.
Ambrose picked up the book with the Seal of Solomon on the front cover. It was bound in leather and tied shut with a blood-red ribbon.
“Open it,” Tilly said.
“Please.” He said, handing her the lamp. Ambrose then untied the ribbon, and opened to the first page.
The first word wasHierophant, which Ambrose knew was Greek.
“He who reveals sacred things,” Tilly said.
“You understand Greek?”
“Not really, but I remember my father reading something to me with Hierophant in it, and he explained the meaning.”
“The next word is LatinMagnus. The great magician,” he said.
“You read Latin,” she mocked him.
Ambrose ignored her.
“Adeptusis he who has attained.Philosophusis lover of wisdom,” he continued to read. “LastlyZelator, the zealous one.”
He turned the next page.
“Those look like spells and incantations, my lord,” Tilly said when he’d reached the third page.
The words were all handwritten and there were drawings and what appeared to be calculations.
“Ambrose,” he said, still looking at the pages.
“I can’t call you that.”
“I have given you permission.”
She didn’t add anything to that.
“Invocations,” Ambrose whispered reading another page.
“Instructions for summoning angels, demons, or spirits by name?”
“Yes,” he said, shooting her a surprised look.
“Just because I am not a man does not mean I’m uneducated.”
He ran his eyes over her pretty face. “You must be hell to live with.”
