Part 51 (1/2)

He slammed his mug down on the table. ”Don't give me sa.s.s! You wanted me, and you got me. Keep your tongue civil, or I'll beat you until you recall what it is, exactly, you got. Now, you tell me your problem, and don't leave out none of the details, and I'll figure out just what I'm going to do about it.”

And so, I proceeded to tell him everything. I told him how I had found the book, and used it and brought Sir Albert back to life. I told him how I had extorted money from the others and how all of this had attracted the queen's attention. Finally, I told him how Sir Albert had threatened me and killed Lady Caroline. With only a few hours left before Sir Albert sent his man Hubert after me, I needed a resolution that was both speedy and sure.

”So, this Sir Albert is a th.o.r.n.y branch up your a.s.s,” he observed, ”but you can't do nothing about him because he's richer, stronger, smarter, and more ruthless than you.”

It was not how I would have framed it, but my best course here was to make my father feel like he needed to show me up. ”That is correct.”

”And you want to bring this rich s.l.u.t of yours back to life. Let me give you a little bit of advice. If you find her soon enough,” he told me, ”before she starts to decay, you might want to have your way with her before you bring her back.” He set his feet up on the table. ”It's a pleasure few enough men sample, but I've never heard of a one who didn't enjoy it.”

I stared at him indignantly. ”I shan't violate her corpse!”

”No, not a gentleman like you.You only lied to her, brought her dead husband back to life because you knew it would make her miserable, and then took all her friends for what they were worth. But a man's got to draw the line somewhere, don't he?”

I made no answer to this.

”Aren't you going to ask me my price for helping you?” he said.

”I thought, perhaps, bringing you back to life would be sufficient.”

”You thought wrong,” he told me with a disturbing grin. It was the one he showed when he was pleased to demonstrate his power over me. ”I want the method of resurrection. I want the power for myself.”

”Only the owner of the book may possess the power,” I told him, repressing a smile of triumph. ”And you cannot read.”

”I'll rip the lips off your face if I think you're laughing at me, boy,” he said. ”As for reading, I can learn, I suppose. But you will have to give me the book, and teach me the method. That will do for the nonce.”

”Why do you want it?” I asked.

”Power,” he said with a shrug. ”And you met Mrs.Tyler.”

”Yes,” I said, thinking of his landlady and wondering why she would make him wish to own the book.

”She changed me,” he said wistfully. ”She made me into a different kind of man.”

”I haven't seen any evidence of that,” I said.

”Well, it's all mixed up now, isn't it?” he said. ”I'm darker than I used to be. I can feel it. Coming back did something to me. And if she and I are going to be together, we need to even things up.”