Dead Tempted - BOOK 1 - Pomegranate Seeds

PART TWO - XI

In the large windowless study of his home Donovanstood, slightly hunched, next to one of the shelving units that lined thewalls. Behind its glass doors showcased many ornaments that he had collected onhis way to success and power.

   Across from him, barely a few paces, one of the cabinets stood open. There was a gap in the display, between the Grecian depiction of a tempting demon and the relief of an innocent maiden that his wife had bought him, before she died.

He had never noticed the irony of the two items before, for the gap in the centre of them was reserved for the knife that had sliced open his daughter's heart and soul. Perhaps on a subconscious level, he had been aware of the connection. And, oh, how he was painfully aware of it now.

A bell chiming merrily at the door to the study, alerted Donovan that there was someone in need of his attention. The room was well soundproofed. It was where all the Secuutus's business was conducted, when not at the meeting place. The little bell was how servants contacted Donovan when he was in his study.

He opened the door slightly to find James waiting patiently outside.

"Reverend Myerscough is here to see you, milord."

"Bring him to me," Donovan ordered gruffly.

"Very good, milord." James acquiesced as Donovan closed the door again.

Very good. Was it?

Donovan breathed deeply and moved to close the cabinet with the missing dagger. The hilt was all that had been left of it after their Dominus had broken the blade off; in the rock they had killed Bronwen on. They had been unable to free the blade and Donovan had hidden the hilt in his secret cupboard in the wall of his study.

He did not want to imagine what might happen if Bronwen found him in possession of it; if she even knew it existed. He did not know what to think anymore.

Donovan was supposed to be leader of the Secuutus Letum, but since he had murdered his own daughter, he had lost his drive to keep things in order. Lord Guild had taken it upon himself to do that and while he was grateful for it, he also had to wonder at what the young Earl's motives were.

The bell chimed again and Donovan let Denny into the room. The fat man looked out of breath and sweaty from holding the folders he had brought with him. He eased himself into the chair by Donovan's desk that creaked in protest. Donovan sat in the chair on the other side.

Besides Kole, Denny, surprisingly, was the most tolerable company out of all the members. Yes, his cowardice was infuriating at times, but he was not a threat and occasionally had good advice, though Donovan would never admit this.

"I have Haydon and Lowell's accounts for you to go through," Denny said, pulling out papers and passing them to Donovan. Denny kept all of the Secuutus's money in order. It had been stolen over the years, from the victims their Dominus told them to kill and now, the funds were bulging.

On the rare occasion a member died or left the Secuutus Letum, any benefits they had been given as part of the deal with their Dominus, was returned. All Donovan as Dux Ducis had to do was approve any movement of money and sign for it to enter the bank account that was in his name. It was one of the risks of being leader. If the money were ever traced, it would find itself back to him and not the rest of the members.

Neither of the dead men had much. Some of the property passed to family members and most of the money went back to the account, so it didn't take long to go through everything.

The two daggers that bound souls to their master's realm disappeared when a member died. Donovan had seen it happen once when an assignment had gone wrong and their target had gotten the better of one of their new members. Donovan had held the man while he bled out from the wound in his neck and the dagger in his hand seemed to fade away to nothing as the man's life had. It had spooked Donovan for weeks and he was convinced that each blade represented the soul of the person who had made their deal.