“Brigitte, what have you done?” Alan asked, walking over to her.
Rhiannon, who had stayed to watch her, rose and backed away from the couch, allowing Alan room to sit down.
Brigitte seemed to shrink away from him slightly. “Alan, I... We are Hildegards! I read the diary years ago, and I knew that Sebastian was destined to come back. I only did what I had to do as a member of our family.”
“Brigitte—you killed people!” he told her.
“No, I never killed anyone,” she protested.
“Oh?” Alessande said angrily, walking up to stand at the foot of the couch. “Two women are dead, and you claim that you’re the head of what’s going on, so you killed them. They were held captive, held in terror—and then their throats were slit. Not to mention a junkie, a drug dealer and your own butler.”
“Jimmy killed himself!” she cried.
“Out of fear of facing a more horrible death?” Mark suggested.
She swallowed hard. “Okay, I’m not the head of the cult.”
“Then who is?” Mark hadn’t meant to shout, but his voice was so deep and powerful that the room seemed to shake.
Brigitte definitely did.
“I don’t know! A priest, but I don’t know his name or even what he looks like,” she swore. “I...I met him when I was bringing flowers to the tomb. He was wearing heavy robes, and he wore a gold mask under his cowl, and he told me that I was a Hildegard, so I had to help. I had to get the Transymil moving on the streets to make money, and I had to start showing up for the ceremonies, because Sebastian was waiting. And there was something about him.... It was as if I had no choice but to do what he said.”
“So you were there when the other girls were killed,” Rhiannon said harshly.
Tears suddenly welled up in Brigitte’s eyes. “I was, but I didn’t kill them!”
“Where were they killed?”
Brigitte hesitated, looking from each of them to the next. She was clearly about to deny that she knew, but then her brother lashed out at her.
“Where were they killed?” he demanded.
She exhaled and whispered. “At the church.”
“At what church?” Alessande asked, her voice thick.
“The church by the house—St. Ann’s.”
There was silence in the room.
“I don’t believe that!” Charlaine exploded. “I know Father Lars. He would never allow such a thing. He’s a good man. And the church...the church has been consecrated!”
“They weren’t killed in the church,” Brigitte said. “There’s a section of the cemetery, overgrown and filled with broken stones. It’s where they’ve buried the dead-by-suicides since the beginning of the last century.” She winced. “It isn’t hallowed ground. Oh, my God, Alan, don’t...don’t be angry with me. Don’t—don’t turn away from me. I just wanted our family to rise to its full potential. I didn’t want to kill anyone—really. I didn’t. And when I saw that people were dying... I was afraid. I was afraid to back out. That’s the truth—I swear it,” she vowed.
Alan looked at Mark, seeking mercy for his sister.
“Barrie will be back soon. She’s Keeper of the local shapeshifters. Brigitte’s punishment will be a matter for her to decide,” Mark said.
“I didn’t kill anyone,” Brigitte insisted again.
“You tried pretty damn hard to kill Mark and me,” Alessande reminded her harshly.
“But...I failed. I probably failed because I didn’t really want to kill you,” Brigitte said.
“Why did you do it, then?”
Brigitte was sitting up, and she looked across the room at Mark. “I was ordered to kill you by the priest. He gave the orders for the girls to be taken. And he’s the one who killed them.”
“Why sell drugs? What was the money for?” Alessande asked.
“For the new world order, I suppose.”
“Why didn’t the priest approach your brother and you cousin?” Mark asked. “They’re Hildegards, too.”
“Because we aren’t weak idiots,” Charlaine said.
“Alan...” Brigitte begged, and grabbed his hands.
Alan disentangled himself and stood. “I’ll ask our Keeper for mercy on your behalf, though I’m sure this will also be a council matter. People were killed,” he said. “For now...”
“Take me home, Alan. Please, take me home.”
He shook his head slowly, looking at her. “Brigitte, I can’t. You were instrumental in multiple deaths, and you risked the very existence of the Other community. You will have to pay a price. Most of all, you have to take responsibility for what you’ve done. You should be grateful that you’re alive right now. You might have died, too.”
Brigitte didn’t say anything, and Alan turned away from her and looked at Mark. “Will Charlaine and I be safe if we go home? I fear that whoever—and whatever—this priest is, he’ll figure out that Brigitte has cracked. And what if he knows that we gave permission for you to dig up Sebastian and throw his ashes into the sea?” He turned back to Brigitte. “Did you tell him?”
“I—yes,” she admitted.
Alessande walked over to her. “Where did you meet with him, Brigitte? And how often?”
“I don’t know how often. Five times, maybe six. I went to the church—to the back. There’s a huge oak. I perched there as a hawk, and when the priest came, I transformed quickly and told him what I knew. I don’t know how he knew I was there, but somehow he always did.”
“And you’ve never seen his face?” Alessande demanded.
Brigitte shook her head. Tears were sliding from her eyes. “No. He always wore the gold mask, along with the cape and cowl. And each time I talked to him...”
“Go on,” Alan said. “Each time you talked to him—what?”
“I was promised that we’d be royalty—Hildegard royalty—in the new order. That when Sebastian rose, he would rule the world.”
Alan turned without a word and walked toward the door.
“Don’t leave me!” Brigitte cried. “Please, Alan, don’t turn away from me.”
Alan looked at Mark, then back at his sister. “You’ll be safe here, Brigitte. You’ve been lucky to be captured by Others, held by Keepers, not the human law. Thank your lucky stars that you survived—and that you just might have a chance at having a life again.”
Ignoring her wailing, he walked out. Mark followed and caught up to him at the bottom of the stairs.
“What do I do now?” Alan asked. “I don’t believe that Charlaine and I are safe.”
Brodie joined them, firmly shutting the door to the sealed room. “He’s right, Mark. They won’t be safe. They’re going to have to hunker down here. They can sleep over at Pandora’s Box. You and Alessande can stay at Castle House with Sailor and Declan, and Rhiannon and I will stay here, guarding our captive with Barrie and Mick.”
Mark figured there was no reason not to speak plainly in front of Alan Hildegard. “What if this is all a ruse? We’ll have our enemies right here in the compound.”
“We have Wizard and Jonquil,” Brodie said. “And other...forms of security.”
Mark realized that Brodie was referring to Merlin, who could easily keep an eye on the Hildegards—and report anything suspicious.
“That’s fine,” Mark said. “But work or no work, we need everyone back here now. We know where to look for the priest who seems to be the head of the cult, so now we have to find him before he realizes we know more about what’s going on.”
“Mark.”
He turned around and saw that Alessande was standing there.
“I know exactly what we should do to stop this—and stop this now.”
“What?” he asked.
“Plan a wedding.”