Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

DAPHNE

October 31, 1765

Rue des Oubliés

Master.

Henri had called Philippe master. Had I misheard him?

"Daphne! Are you all right?" Philippe bounded down the stairs, his eyes never leaving my face. He was still wearing his Apollo costume, minus the mask and lyre. His thin, blonde hair had come out of its queue and hung limply about his face. I must have misheard. There was no way Philippe was…

He reached me and grasped my shoulders. This close, I saw lines of rough scratches across his face and a cut on his lip.

"Daphne, you're certain you're uninjured? He hasn't hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine," I started, confusion preventing the pieces from coming together. "What happened to your face? Was it Henri—Asmoday? What…what are you doing here, Philippe?"

He touched the red mark on my throat from Henri's earlier attack and frowned.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Philippe murmured, but it wasn't directed at me. He whirled around, teeth bared at Henri, who still held étienne by the throat. I could see his eyes rolling back in his head—he was about to black out. "She wasn't supposed to be harmed!"

A look of cold resolve crossed Henri's face. When he replied, it wasn't in Henri's voice—it was the hellish growl of Asmoday.

"She was uncooperative," he said.

Uncooperative? What the Hell was going on? I looked around. Father Clarence was cowering behind the smashed wooden crates. I didn't think Philippe had even seen him.

"Daphne, my love, do not worry. We'll have this sorted out in no time." Philippe smiled at me and I wondered if there was a touch of madness in it. My love?

"What shall I do with the vampire?" Henri asked. étienne was clawing at his hand, leaving deep, bloody gashes all up his arm. Henri did not seem to notice.

"Well, I think that depends on our lovely Daphne over here," Philippe said in a light tone. Definitely mad. "What do you think, darling? Have you gotten him out of your system? Only I don't want to kill him now and have him become a martyr for your affections. But I worry that if I let him live, you'll just go on mooning after him, and we cannot have that."

My mind worked, but nothing was making sense.

"Philippe, what the fuck are you talking about?"

He sighed and nodded to Henri, who dropped étienne to the ground in a pile of limbs. étienne gasped and coughed, and Henri stepped lightly on his chest, ready to bring his foot down and crush étienne's heart.

"This never would have happened if you'd just done what I wanted in the first place," Philippe said. He laid a gentle hand on my cheek, but there was something tightly controlled in his eyes.

"I don't understand."

"Oh, my Daphne, don't you see? You were always mine. You've always been meant for me—since you first came out to society and started coming to Versailles. Don't you remember? Well, perhaps not. You always were the belle of the ball and I only ever watched from the fringes. Always there for you, my love, ready and waiting for you to notice me."

"Philippe, this cannot be. You don't know what you're saying. Has he gotten to you? Asmoday? Does he control you now, my friend?" Fear raced through my blood at these bizarre admissions. They simply couldn't be true. I would have known if Philippe had harbored feelings for me—wouldn't I?

" My friend . Yes, I'm afraid that's all I ever was to you. Even when you were supposed to marry me after Michel—well, I had to force your hand, didn't I? If you weren't under his protection anymore, you'd be forced to find a husband—to turn to me. I was there, Daphne! Right there. But you chose the wrong man—you chose this thing who abused and tortured you. For a time, I let him—you deserved it, you know, for choosing him over me—but then it just became too much."

My heart stopped at his words and a pained cry escaped my lips. "No! You—you didn't. Oh, Philippe, tell me you didn't take my Michel from me."

He lifted a shoulder. "Well, I didn't kill him. I simply provided a few financial enticements to his lover to drink more than was necessary. Things just played out as they were meant to, after that."

The room started to close in on me and I fought for breath. Philippe looked at me with concern and shoved me toward one of the wooden crates. Father Clarence flinched at that, but Philippe took no notice of the priest, who was still clutching his tattered bible and rosary. As I grabbed the crate for balance, I felt the clammy hand of Father Clarence on my wrist. He slipped me the vial of holy water. I maintained eye contact with Philippe, trying not to give the priest away.

"You look so pale, darling, best sit down for a bit," Philippe said.

"I can't… I don't understand. You're married to Charlotte! You have one of the most enviable matches in the tonne ! How can this be?" Tears sprung from my eyes as the weight of his words sank in.

"Yes, and she tried, the poor thing. But she just wasn't you, you know? She did allow me to remain close to you, which I'm grateful for." As if only just realizing she was in the room, Philippe tilted his head down at Charlotte's prone form. "And now she will serve an even greater purpose, bless her."

"What greater purpose?"

"She will die so that your love may live," he said triumphantly.

Unbidden, my gaze darted to étienne. Philippe saw it and growled.

"No, Daphne. But that's a curious development." He frowned. "It used to eat me alive, you know, the fact that you didn't love me. I would lie awake at night wondering what I could do to earn your affection. After Michel, I had hoped you would turn to me, but when you didn't, I had to figure something else out. Then, along came Jeanne and her fascination with the occult! It didn't take much for me to convince her to let me into her private library—especially when she believed it was on behalf of The Order. Mon Dieu , but that woman could be dense. It took me ages, but I finally found what I was looking for—a power strong enough to bend your will to my own; Asmoday! A demon who rules by lust. Everything just fell into place perfectly."

"But if Jeanne helped you, why did you murder her?"

Philippe shrugged again, unaffected by the destruction he'd wrought. "Well, the first time I summoned Asmoday was in her library. She walked in on me. Summonings require some sort of sacrifice and I'm afraid Asmoday needed a bit more than blood in order to assent to help me."

Henri grinned, showing off monstrous rows of sharp teeth. Frighteningly, Philippe chuckled.

"Oh, the things he did to that poor woman before and after her death." He shook his head. "Then, of course, Asmoday informed me that he could sway your affections in my favor but that it would involve a handful of lives in order to work. What is it the English say? In for a penny, in for a pound. Naturally, I had to clear the way for you to become mine, so it made sense for me to remove your husband from the equation. I went all the way to Venice to track down Henri—you should truly thank me for that one. I walked in on him in flagrante delicto— sodomizing some unfortunate prostitute in the back room of a gaming hall. Asmoday rather liked your husband. It turns out he could withstand an abnormal amount of pain—it took him hours to die. Asmoday took possession of his body after that and we returned to Paris."

"If you've been after Daphne's heart this whole time, why have you been trying to kill me?" étienne bit out.

"Truthfully, The Order did think you were Jeanne's murderer. I needed a scapegoat and you were convenient. They were more than happy to sign the death order. I'm afraid your rather liberal political views have put a target on your back. It would have been much easier if Daphne had done what The Order asked and killed you without issue. Unfortunately, you stuck around and the two of you started to become close . What was left for me but to deal with you, as well?"

"Asmoday never came for me," étienne said.

"No. I didn't know how a vampire would fare against a demon. I certainly couldn't take the chance that you would win. Still, it should have been easy enough. Everyone knew your weakness for women, and I knew that quicksilver would poison a vampire. I sent Brigitte into your sister's brothel with a handsome payment and specific instructions. When she returned to me having failed her task, it was right that she would pay with her life. It was only fair."

"Philippe," I tried. "This is madness. You must know that Asmoday is using you. He will never give you what you want. He is a demon—full of lies."

Henri hissed at me. Philippe glared.

"No, darling, he will. Once I finish with Charlotte, I'll give him Noailles and then he'll work his magic. You will love me, Daphne, and we will be together." He shook with manic energy—his eyes bright with hysteria. I clasped the vial of holy water in one hand and frantically sought an exit. My flintlock was in my chest harness, but I didn't think I could reach it without Philippe noticing. I needed a distraction. I darted a gaze at étienne, who watched us from beneath Henri's foot.

"Philippe, I had no idea you felt this way. Why did you never come to me yourself? Perhaps if you'd just told me of your feelings, things would have turned out differently. If only you'd spoken to me. I would certainly have chosen you instead of Henri," I said in a soothing voice. I stood and edged forward, deftly unstopping the vial in my hand.

"Hey!" Henri shouted. I froze in place. Had he seen? "Henri may be dead, but I still have access to his memories. That's rather unkind, Daphne."

"Silence!" Philippe yelled at him. "Do you really mean it, darling?"

I swallowed and nodded, then took another step forward. I was right in front of him.

"And what of Noailles?" Philippe asked.

I tried for casual. "He is a vampire."

Philippe's eyes narrowed and he slowly shook his head. "You must think I'm a damned fool."

Henri hissed a laugh. Dread gathered in my gut.

"It's not that easy, Daphne, but it doesn't matter, anyway. I will sacrifice Charlotte, and then when you say those words, you will mean them, and I will believe you. There's no turning back now." Philippe started to turn to Charlotte and panic propelled me forward.

I flung the holy water at Henri, praying The Order's teachings were right. It splashed across his face and he shrieked—an unholy, ear-splitting sound. Angry burns erupted on his ill-fitting skin. étienne seized his moment and snatched at Henri's foot, wrenching it to the side with a sickening crack. Philippe turned to the noise and I reached for my pistol. Too late.

He whirled back to me, betrayal and rage written across his face. He backhanded me, knocking me off balance, and I lost my grip on the pistol. I tripped over the wooden crates and fell backward next to Father Clarence.

"Finish the exorcism!" I hissed. "We will keep them busy."

He nodded, his terrified eyes wide, and began shouting passages from his bible. I looked back over the crate. Henri was limping, the wounds on his face smoking, but he had otherwise recovered. He and étienne were throwing punches and kicks in a blur of motion—his demonic strength against étienne's vampire speed. I didn't have much time to watch, though. Philippe came for me and pulled me up by my hair. Tears stung and pain seared my scalp.

"I'm going to have you, Daphne, one way or another." He wrapped his hand around my neck and pushed me back against the wall. Holding me by my throat, he fumbled for the buttons of his breeches.

Blind rage ignited in me and I kicked at him, connecting with his shin. He swore but stayed his course, reaching for the hem of my skirts. I beat against his arms, which were surprisingly strong despite his wiry frame.

I heard a roar from the other side of the room and saw Henri stumble. Between Etienne's assault and Father Clarence's prayers, the demon was suffering. étienne saw his opening, and hurled Henri against a wall. Henri grunted with the impact and slid to the ground. étienne leaped over him and seized his throat, fangs bared.

Philippe, still struggling with my dress, swore in a high-pitched cry of despair. His eyes lifted to mine and I saw the full measure of his emotions. Hate, sadness, regret, shame. Suddenly his head jerked forward with a loud crack. He fell, slumped over. I coughed and wheezed a ragged breath, then looked up into the apoplectic visage of Charlotte. She held a large board wrested from one of the broken crates.

"Oh, Daphne!" Charlotte threw her arms around me and sobbed. "Are you okay?"

Philippe groaned at her feet.

"One moment, chérie ," she said. She raised the board overhead and brought it down on Philippe with another violent whump .

"That's for hitting me and ruining the ball!" She kicked him in the stomach. "That's for murdering all those poor people!" She kicked him in the groin. "And that's for using me to get to Daphne!"

Eventually, Philippe floated away into unconsciousness. Charlotte continued to kick him, laying out sin after sin. I touched her arm and she collapsed into me, sobbing hysterically. I pulled her back to sit on the crates next to Father Clarence.

"Charlotte, if you have any God left in you, you will help Father Clarence pray," I said. I retrieved my pistol from the floor and gave it to her. "If he wakes, shoot him in the knee."

"What about the head?"

"No, ma petite amie . We need him alive to exonerate étienne to The Order," I said.

Her eyes narrowed. "That's not the head I was talking about."

I managed a wry smile and made my way over to étienne, who was covered in a thick, black liquid. Henri sputtered beneath his hands, his voice vacillating between Asmoday's and his former, human voice. There was a loose mass of flesh where his throat should have been.

"You bitch," the creature chuckled at me. "You weren't worth the blood I spilled. I'll be back on Earth before you know it. This world is filled with desperate, greedy men."

étienne squeezed the creature's throat, and a choking, gurgling sound spewed out.

"If you harm so much as one hair on her head, I swear on Lucifer himself that I will follow you into Hell and torment you all over again." étienne's eyes were black as pitch and the threat in his voice frightened even me.

The creature turned its dead, empty eyes on him and laughed louder.

"Witless fool," it snarled. "She will never love you. Not in the way that you love and long for her. You will pine for her every day, just as Philippe did, except you have an eternity of misery to face without her, vampire."

A look of gut-wrenching sadness crossed étienne's face and I knew the creature's words had struck true. Was étienne in love with me? Then his face changed, the sadness replaced with cold anger. He lifted Henri's head from the ground, then smashed it back down. More black liquid sprayed forth—from the sound of the smack, I suspected Henri's skull had fractured.

étienne glanced back at Father Clarence, who had fainted in the corner. Charlotte attempted to rouse him, but it was no use.

"How about we send this vile thing back to Hell?" étienne said, grabbing the bible and rosary from the prone priest's hands.

I found the passage Father Clarence had been reading, whispered a silent prayer that this would work, and shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Depart, then, impious one, depart, accursed one, depart with all your deceits, for God has willed that man should be His temple!"

Henri's body lifted from the ground and a deafening roar filled the room. Just as suddenly, the body slammed back down to the ground and started to dissolve into the same viscous black liquid. The torches on the walls blew out in a rotten gust of wind and the room plunged into silent darkness.