Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

Lilith, the queen of the succubi, evil spirits who took over women, seduced men, ruled them, made them slaves. Which meant Prithius was an incubus, Lilybeth was right about that. Had Prithius wanted this child because he'd sensed magic in her? Because he wanted to raise her to be Lilith? Because—why? Didn't Lilith want him? "You said Prithius drank the green potion three times a day?"

She nodded. "Maybe more times, but I think it was three."

Grayson said, "I think the potion allows him to keep control over your uncle, allows him to pass as human as your uncle. If so, we must find out what his powers are, then we can figure out how to defeat him."

Max said, "I don't believe I've ever known a real demon. I wonder how many ladies in Holland Square he's—" He shot a look at Lilybeth's upturned face, at the bruised innocence too young to be destroyed, the intelligence and determination, and changed course. "Lilybeth—a beautiful name, it rolls off the tongue like smooth chocolate. No, not chocolate, it's more like a song, a song about flowers and springtime. It sings on my tongue."

"Everyone called me Lily. My aunt said my name tasted like ice cream." She looked like she'd burst into tears, but she got hold of herself. She was eight years old. It was amazing.

"Max, I don't want to be Lily or Lilybeth, I want to be Crispin. I know it was Lilybeth who brought the monster here, and he took over my uncle and killed my aunt."

Max took her face between his hands, looked her in the eye. "Lilybeth, you had nothing to do with it. I don't want you ever to say that or think that again."

She looked at him for a very long time. "My aunt told me my mama called me Lily."

"Then I shall too," Max said.

Suddenly, Lily whirled around, stared at the door, flung out her hands. "No, no!" Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she fell against Max.

Max yelled, "Grayson!"

Grayson felt a wild turbulence in the air, not here in the drawing room, but close, and he felt the incubus Prithius searching, searching. He sensed the essence of an evil he'd never encountered before. He felt Lady Hilda beside him, felt a cloak of warmth, heard her voice, a faraway echo of sound. "I can feel him. He's searching, Grayson, he's searching. For Lily."

Then the air was empty, everything was still. Max pulled Lily into his lap, rocked her. When she opened her eyes there was a moment of blankness, then she frowned up at him. "Why are you holding me, Max? What happened?"

Grayson said matter-of-factly, "Prithius is near, he's searching, but he didn't find you. When I felt him near, I cloaked all of us. I'm going to teach you how to cloak yourself, so he can never find you. You've already done it without realizing it—those times you said he didn't find you—but now you'll learn how to do it whenever you need to."

Lily moved to sit beside Grayson on the sofa. He took her small cold hands in his. He knew she was afraid, for herself and perhaps more for Max. But she was brave, and even though she didn't fully realize it yet, she was magic. "I want you to remember the times you pulled into yourself, blanked yourself out and he didn't find you. What you did was cloak yourself. When you're cloaked, he can't feel you or scent you. It's hard to keep cloaking, it's very tiring, and because there are so many distractions it's nearly impossible for your mind to hold it."

"But what is it?"

"A sort of invisible bubble he can't penetrate. That's what you're going to learn to do since I can't be with you and Max all the time. You will have to learn to control it yourself."

Lily whispered, "Can Lady Hilda feel me when I'm cloaked?"

Grayson cocked his head. "I have no idea. When you see her again, ask her. What you want to learn is control. Are you ready?"

"Can I learn to do it without thinking about it?"

He nodded. "I have no need to do this often, but what I've learned is that it will come to you automatically when needs must."

Max was looking at them, back and forth, listening to them speaking this strange foreign language. Like Grayson, was Lily magic too? He watched her lick her lips. She looked over at him, and Max saw her gray eyes were somehow different, darker perhaps, and very adult.

She said, "I can't hide Max and me from him for the rest of my life, Mr. Sherbrooke. I have to kill him."

Grayson heard Max suck in his breath. He smiled at Lily, squeezed her hands. "I don't know if either of us can kill him, Lily, but we can try to send him back to hell. When I go home, I'll do some reading, see if I can find out why he chose you." He paused. "Then we'll take care of him." And he asked her again, "Are you ready?"

"I am ready, Mr. Sherbrooke."

"Call me Grayson. Max, show Lily your signet ring. That's right, let her hold your hand so she can see it clearly. Lily, look at the signet ring, study it, focus on it."