Flight of the Falcon (Byrdes of York #1)

24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Hugh

A fter getting Gil settled in the safe house near the Minster, Hugh and Falcon had retreated to the shop. Hugh had picked up the journal Francis had found at the house in Old Malton and was reading through it the following morning.

The old man was right. I knew it had to be when the goddess had led me to him. Though it took several days to excavate the entrance, we were finally able to see where the Mithraeum where the Ninth worshiped whilst in Eboracum.

I have left instructions with my Centurions to make the place sound and to replicate the pleasing surroundings of our club in York under the city. Once set up I will seek out an Old One and we can complete our mission of returning the Eagle to its rightful place.

“This guy was certifiable,” Hugh remarked to Falcon after reading the last piece aloud to him.

“He certainly seemed to be following several old Roman gods and goddesses. It was well known that Roman soldiers worshipped both Mars and Mithras, with the latter meeting in underground meeting rooms. I wonder about the reference to the Eagle?”

“The Eagle of the Ninth, you mean?” Hugh gestured at the Rosemary Sutcliffe book that Falcon was flicking through.

“It’s been a while since I read this.” He smiled. “I remember rooting for Marcus to find his father’s final resting place and recover the Eagle.”

“I read it in school,” Hugh replied. Falcon handed him the book and he skimmed through it. “It was written long after Jarratt wrote about it in this journal though.”

“There’s nothing in the journal Dad found in the underground library about it. It speaks of treasure relating to the Ninth Legion, but that’s it.”

“The same treasure Swales is interested in finding?”

“If he had this journal, then yes, it’s likely. The question remains is where did Swales get this from? Until earlier this year he was still incarcerated in a secure mental institution.”

“I’ll get Gil to phone the owner of the institution and see if anyone can remember it being in Swales’s possession whilst he was there. The only thing I can think of is he got it from one of the other residents.”

“Maybe. Or a member of staff. Gil will be glad of something to do, other than stare at the four walls of his room.”

Hugh laughed. Gil was an active man like himself and even a couple of days of inactivity had begun to unsettle him. They’d agreed that until Swales was captured it was not a good idea for him to be out and about. Hugh and Falcon themselves were being extra careful anytime they were outside in the city. A plainclothes policeman was always around the arcade now, in case Swales came there. Hugh wasn’t sure how desperate the man was, but surely after losing Gil and the house in Old Malton, he must be getting worried.

Falcon’s phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket to check the text. He held it up to show Hugh. “Dad says they’re ready to go ahead and wake Malik.”

“I guess we’d better get over there then.”

Hugh wasn’t sure that the bright, hospital-like room they’d set up for Malik leant itself to a high-level magical working. For some reason he always associated workings with dark rooms and men in hoods. He knew that was his own imagination overriding good sense and smiled at himself for his whimsy.

Francis was at the foot of the bed with his sons and Hugh arranged around it, along with Gil, who didn’t have much of a gift but had wanted to be involved. They were all waiting for Francis’s instructions.

Robin was at the head near where an IV stand had been set up. He’d just finished inserting a needle into Malik’s inert left arm and blood had already begun to drip through. Francis hoped that this would avoid any possibility of Malik attacking anyone should he wake thirsty.

“Ready,” Robin told his father and stepped back to join hands with Ollie, resting his left hand on Malik’s forehead. Around the bed they all joined hands and Pip, who was opposite Robin, put his hand on Malik’s chest. The circle was complete.

“ Excita nunc! Surge, surge, surge! Surge et iterum vivere!” Francis spoke the words of the spell and imposed his vampire magic upon them. They all then joined Francis in saying the spell, and Hugh felt the power run through him and all around the circle, going from man to man. Robin gasped as it ran though his hand to Malik’s head and Pip gasped as it flowed into Malik’s heart.

“You can release each other now,” Francis said, stepping forward. He moved to the head of the bed and rested his forehead upon Malik’s. A moment later he smiled.”

“I believe it has worked,” he announced. “Now we just have to wait for him to wake up properly.”

“How long will that take?” Robin asked, looking down at the vampire on the bed. “A few days, maybe,” Francis replied. “Hopefully no more than that.”

Hugh and the others filed out of the room and entered the kitchen dining room that overlooked the small back yard. French doors led out on to the patio.

“Does anyone else feel as though that was a bit underwhelming?” Ollie asked.

“A bit,” Pip said, sitting at the table. “But something definitely worked as I felt the power surge there at the end.”

“I hope he can throw some light on what Jarratt was trying to achieve,” Falcon said, as he handed Hugh a cup of coffee. “He’s the only one who met the man.”

“Andrew never met him?” Hugh asked.

“No. He only ever went to the club twice with a couple of the other members of Lady Emma’s coterie and Jarratt was not present either time.”

“You’ve spoken to him?”

“I phoned him and Percy about the journal the other day. They did a bit of looking up for me and found Jarratt’s death certificate, as well as those of some other people who died in the crash. It seems the express train was returning from Edinburgh.”

“I wonder what they were doing in Scotland?”

“Looking for the lost legion?” Falcon posited. “Most people still believe the Ninth was lost in North Britain, or Scotland as we know it, as in the Rosemary Sutcliffe book. Even though opinion is now divided between Scotland and Germany for their last resting place.”

Francis came into the room and sat wearily down at the table. Without saying a word, Falcon leaned over to the fridge and pulled out a blood bag for his father. Francis smiled his thanks at him before piercing the bag with his fangs and gulping it all down.

Hugh watched, still fascinated by Francis’s need for blood. Falcon had told him that he rarely drank blood directly from the source – another person. Instead, he relied on blood bags for his everyday nutrition.

“Where do we go from here?” Gil asked.

“I’m not sure,” Hugh answered him. “I’m still waiting to hear from Matlock and whether they got any more information after arresting Swales’s men in Old Malton.”

“I don’t think it will be long before Swales makes his move,” Francis said, now getting a glass of water, having disposed of the empty blood bag.

“I agree,” Falcon spoke up. “He’s desperate now. Whatever he wants, or thinks he wants, I’m sure he’ll strike soon.”

Hugh sighed. He just wished this was all over one way or another. A strange mission that had gone from watching Falcon Byrde and his mysterious comings and goings had turned to him falling for said man. He wanted some time to concentrate on them, without some mad man trying to destroy them in his quest for an unknown treasure.

Malik

Malik couldn’t tell how much time had passed since the last time his consciousness had floated to the top. He lay there, inert, passive. There was nothing he could do to change his situation. All he could do was rail at the men who had put him there.

He sensed that there was movement in the room and several voices. He was sure he recognised one of the voices, but he wasn’t able to confirm that. Then, for the first time in what felt like forever, he felt movement. Was he being moved? What was happening?

There was a strange beeping noise. It made its way through his consciousness and began to annoy him. He’d never heard that before. As he listened, he realised that there were other new noises. He struggled to understand what was happening, but the lethargy was too much for him. He went under once more.

The noise was back. There was also the sound of voices. He listened; he could hear them more sharply than he’d ever been able to.

“How’s he doing?” A voice he didn’t recognise asked someone else in the room. “Better than I thought.” That voice again! Louder, clearer. The name that

belonged to that voice was almost on the tip of his tongue. He listened again, realising he’d lost some of the conversation.

“… how much longer?”

“Hopefully not too long now. I’ve got an IV going for blood transfusion, and so long as it’s kept full, there shouldn’t be any problems with thirst when he wakes.”

“That’s good.” This voice was male and young. The other male was older and someone he knew. Had he finally been rescued? Oh gods, please say he’d been rescued.

The beeping noise had stopped, though there were still other mechanical noises in the background. Malik felt his senses beginning to come back. First, he realised that he was laying on a soft mattress, with cool sheets and a comfy pillow. Not anything like he remembered.

Then slowly, oh so achingly slowly, he managed to raise his eyelids and see for the first time in however long it had been since he was trapped. He closed them quickly. The room was bathed in white bright light.

He opened them again and looked around him. He didn’t recognise anything, not the room, the bed, or any of the strange machinery.

He coughed then, surprising himself. He jerked upwards, before falling back onto the comfortable mattress once more. He tried sitting up but couldn’t find the strength to do so.

The door opened and a young man with short blond hair entered the room and walked towards him. There was something off about his gait, but Malik couldn’t work out what it was.

“You’re awake!” The young man smiled at him, before returning to the door and shouting for someone called Francis.

“It’s okay,” he announced, coming back towards the bed. “You’ll be alright. It’s just…” He hesitated. “Well, let’s just say you’ve been asleep for quite some time. Lots of things have changed.”

Malik just looked at him. He was gorgeous and his striking blue eyes stared at him, before he moved around the bed to adjust something just outside his sight.

The door opened again and another man came in. Xisco! He looked upon his old friend and he could feel water beginning to leak from his eyes. He was weeping.

Xisco. Or what was it the young man had called him? Francis, that was it. Francis came up to the bed and took his hand.

“It’s good to have you back with us, Mal,” he said, squeezing his hand tightly.

There were tears in his eyes as well.

“I’ve changed the blood bag, Dad.” The younger man spoke

“Thank you, Robin. Malik this is my youngest son, Robin. He has been helping me with your care for the last couple of days since we were able to disperse the spell you had on you.”

Malik winced then opened his mouth to try and talk. All that came out was a sort of grunt.

“Here.” Robin was there immediately with a cup of water. Malik sipped it carefully. His throat was parched, and he was amazed he wasn’t desperate for blood.

“It will take time for you to heal properly,” Francis said, as he went around the room checking a few things.

“How… how did you find me?” he whispered. “By accident.”

“What?”

“One of my sons, acting on behalf of a client, found some tunnels under the city, then eventually discovered three rooms. A room that looked like it came from an old gentleman’s club, an empty room with flagstones on the floor, and a third room with many weapons on the wall and a black sarcophagus in the centre. You were in the sarcophagus.”

Malik was astonished. He remembered then the room that Jarratt had taken him to. The strange likeness to the York Gentleman’s Club . Then the cold of the flagstone floor where they stood around him and put him into the sleep that Xi… Francis had just woken him from.

“Why aren’t I thirsty?” he managed to get out.

“We’ve been giving you blood intravenously for the last few days. I am glad to see that my theory that it would counter the thirst has proven sound.” Francis smiled at him. “A lot has happened since you were last in the world, my friend. More wars, of course. When aren’t there? But the machinery, the technology. Man has learned to fly machines. Medicine has come on leaps and bounds.”

Malik listened to him, fascinated by what he had to say. But he could feel his eyelids getting heavier again.

“Sleep,” the young man Robin said. “We’ll be here when you wake. Ask any questions and we’ll try and answer you as best we can.”

Malik opened his mouth to ask a question but nothing came out and he gave into sleep once more.

Falcon

Nothing much seemed to happen over the next few days. Matlock reported back that they were following up a few leads, but none of them sounded promising. Swales had gone to ground again.

The only piece of positive news from the police was that the security guard who had been missing after the last break in at the agency’s offices had been found alive.

He’d been hiding out at his sister’s and had been arrested for assisting in a robbery. So far, he claimed he didn’t know who the perpetrators were, just that he’d been paid a good sum of money to ignore the robbery in progress. It seems he’d had a rather large gambling debt.

Falcon and Hugh were heading back to the safe house near the Minster. They were taking a round-about route, as Falcon didn’t trust Swales not to have them under observation. Confident that they weren’t being followed, they knocked on the door of the house in the quiet area.

Robin answered the door and grinned at his big brother. “Malik is awake,” he announced, letting them in.

“That’s great.” Falcon smiled back at him, squeezing his shoulder on the way by. “Dad’s waiting for you in his room.”

They headed towards the room at the back of the house and were pleasantly surprised to see the other vampire sitting up in bed looking a lot healthier than he had when they’d moved him from the sarcophagus.

Falcon approached the bed and stuck his hand out. “It’s so good to see you awake and looking healthy.”

“Thank you,” Malik replied, as Hugh also leaned in and shook his hand.

“This is my eldest son Falcon and his partner Hugh,” Francis introduced them. “It’s good to meet more of my old friend’s family,” Malik acknowledged. “Though

it’s strange for me to see him with sons of his own, when he was a loner for such a long time.”

“You’ve known each other a long time, haven’t you?” Robin broke in as he entered the room followed by Gil, who was doing better and only using one crutch.

“Almost since the beginning,” Malik said. “I am just so glad that Francis recognised me when you found me and agreed to help wake me. I’m still having difficulty in accepting that it’s been over a century since I was last awake.”

“I can imagine how disconcerting that must be for you. Especially given how many changes there have been since the 1870s.” Falcon took a seat near the head of the bed.

“Yes. For many long years, not much seemed to change. Machinery was being slowly introduced and progress was slow for many centuries. It appears it has speeded up in the last 150 years.”

“Considerably,” Francis said. “It’s been a wild time to live through. But you’ll catch up, old friend.”

Malik nodded and indicated the tablet laying on the bed. “Robin has begun showing me some of the wondrous things that have happened, using this magical seeing device.”

Falcon grinned as he picked up the tablet and saw it was open at a video of the moon landing. Well, that was one place to start, he guessed.

“Malik, I’m sorry to have to ask you what happened all those years ago, but we need to know what Jarratt was after. Why he kidnapped you and put you to sleep.”

Malik’s forehead creased as he contemplated Falcon’s question. “It was strange,” he began. “I had come across the antiquarian, Gilead Summerbell a few times before and he’d introduced me to Jarratt. A few nights later when I entered the club, I was told they were waiting for me in a private parlour upstairs. Curious as to what they could want, I joined them and accepted a drink. Summerbell left at that point, but he’d appeared nervous. I never saw him again.”

“One of our friends found out he was arrested and jailed for a homosexual act.

Shortly after he was released, he died at his house in Woodmansey,” said Falcon. “I see. Poor man. And Jarratt?”

“Died in a train crash not long after you were trapped underground.”

“Well, there’s some justice there.” Malik sighed. “I don’t remember too much about what happened next. I’d been knocked unconscious and given some vile drink that put me out completely. I do remember Jarratt speaking about using my vampire energies to search for something in the past. How he was going to use me to enhance his own power and see into the past to find something that was lost. I admit by that time I’d stopped listening to him as I was very listless from the drug they’d given me. I came to once more when I was lying naked on a flagstone floor with several hooded men around me.”

“Jarratt was putting the spell on you?” Hugh asked.

“I believe it must have been. After that, I floated in and out of consciousness. Occasionally I’d hear noises around me, but never too much to work anything out. I believe I heard your voice, old friend.” He turned to Francis. “Then I woke up here.”

“Thank you.” Falcon pulled the small journal he’d been looking at the day before from his pocket and held it out so Malik could see the title. He looked confused.

“From our research we’ve discovered that Jarratt led a secret society who were very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was based on the Roman Legion, the Ninth to be precise. The room we found you in had weapons from every period of history, but a lot of them were Roman. He appears to have inherited the society from someone he only ever refers to as the Old Man and named it Hispana Nonus .”

“Ninth Spain,” Malik muttered.

“Reading through this, it appears as though Jarratt had fixated on the Ninth Legion and thought he could reach through time by using you as some kind of battery. Storing your energy up until they needed it.”

Malik shook his head. “What was he looking for? Do you know?”

“I think I might have an inkling. From what I can work out from his ramblings, he believed that the Ninth had excavated the rooms and tunnels under York and used them as a place to worship Mithras. He believed that they had some kind of magical powers that was imbued in their standard. The Eagle, if you like. Jarratt’s aim was to reach back in time to find where the Eagle was abandoned after the Ninth’s defeat in Scotland, he believed, and then set out to recover it. It may have been why he was on a train returning to York from Edinburgh when he was killed in the crash.”

“He wanted the Eagle from the Ninth Roman Legion? That is what he wanted me for?” Malik looked stunned, then somewhat amused, and Falcon was nonplussed as to why.

“I believe so, yes. It’s also what the man we are searching for, Swales, is after. I believe Francis has filled you in on...” Falcon stopped talking as Malik began chuckling to himself. Before long, he was full-on laughing.

They all turned to look at the other vampire in astonishment. Not knowing what was going on, there were a few smiles on faces as people were affected by the hearty guffawing coming from Malik.

“He… he should…” He tried to get out some words but hadn’t calmed down enough yet. After a moment, he picked up his glass of water, took a sip and tried again.

“It’s ironic, and not really all that funny,” he finally said, putting the glass back down. “All he had to do was ask. I could have told him where it was.”

“What!” Falcon exclaimed as everyone started talking at once.

“Let him finish,” Francis said, looking at his old friend and smiling.

“I have it. I have the Eagle of the Ninth but we both served in the Roman Army several times. I was attached to the Ninth in 110 AD when they were sent to the Rhine. I went with them as I had connections in the area.

“They had been in North Britain after they left Eboracum, but not for long before they were transferred out again. I wasn’t present at their last stand. I had been sent to parley with a local petty prince, and when I returned a week later, all around the camp were dead bodies. I found no-one living. If anyone had survived, they had left before I got back. I found the Eagle hidden beneath the body of Marcellus its acquilifer, or standard bearer. It was in Germania, a very long time ago. I took it with me with the intention of returning it to Rome…” He faltered slightly. “Long story for a different day.”

The room had quieted down whilst Malik was talking, and Falcon just stared at the vampire in disbelief. All this time. All this time, and the treasure Jarratt sought had been under his nose. If only he’d thought to talk to Malik first, things may have been different.

“I wouldn’t have given it to him, of course,” Malik said. “But I could have set him straight about it and it’s paranormal powers.”