With that, shadows engulfed him, and then he was gone.
The sounds of approaching men, and the rumbling of the wheels of fire wagons, drew closer.
“We must go,” Bram said on a growl to John.
Yet John seemed reluctant to leave. A sinister smile crossed his lean face. “I can take them. The things I can do now ...”
“Immediately, John.” The order in Bram’s voice could not be disobeyed, not even by John. Both men turned and hastened down the street, away from the oncoming commotion. Before he disappeared into the darkness, Bram turned and stared back at where Anne and Leo stood. His hand lingered on his chest, over his heart—the place into which Livia had seemingly disappeared. And then he sped off, melting into the shadows.
“Don’t want to be here, either,” Leo muttered, “when there are questions that demand answers. Come.” His hand clasping Anne’s, they hurried toward Lord Whitney and Zora. “Can you run?” he demanded of the other man.
“Aye.”
“Then we move.”
“What about Edmund?” Anne asked.
Leo looked grim. “He will be found, and ... tended to.”
The four of them ducked into the mews just as throngs of men crowded the street. Anne and the others ran down the dark streets, and time blurred as she forced her body to move through the night-shrouded city. Finally, they reached a weedy, overgrown burial ground. Some of the headstones tilted precariously, and a freshly dug grave awaited its occupant.
Gasping for breath, she braced her hands on her knees. She felt Leo’s warm hand on her back, steadying her. Brittle earth and dead grasses crunched beneath their feet as their group drew together in a close circle.
The wind shook the bare branches of the trees, the sound mournful, ominous. Surely the Devil would come for them again, send more and more demons, run them all to ground. No wonder Lord Whitney had such caution and alertness in his gaze. He and Zora were hunted, as she and Leo would be. And the four of them together presented a substantial target.
“We have to part,” Leo said, as if hearing her thoughts. “Safer that way.”
“There is a band of Rom near the Scottish border,” said Zora. “They will take Whit and I in for a time.”
“And what of you?” asked Lord Whitney.
“I’m a saddler’s son,” Leo answered with a small, wry smile. “That makes me well versed in being inconspicuous.”
Anne almost laughed at that. Leo could never be inconspicuous. He radiated presence, whether he was dressed in silk or tattered muslin. She had known that from the moment they had exchanged marriage vows—he was a man of uncommon strength.
“I shall believe that when the proof stands before me,” said Lord Whitney. Clearly, he also knew Leo well.
“We cannot run and stay hidden forever,” said Anne.
“And we won’t,” Leo answered. “A bigger battle is coming, and we must be there to fight it.”
“What became of Livia?” asked Zora.
“No idea,” said Leo. “But of a certain, we will need her for that battle.”
“It’s to happen, then.” Anne rubbed her hands on her arms against the chill. Leo moved to offer her his coat, then stopped when he realized he had none to give her. His borrowed coat was now soaked with Edmund’s blood, pressed uselessly to the fatal wound. “The fight between us and the final two Hellraisers.”
“That it will,” said Lord Whitney, somber. “I do not know what happened with Bram, but John’s power has grown terribly. Of that, I am certain.”
“With his influence in Parliament,” muttered Leo, “God knows what kind of chaos he will lead us into.”
“We’ve faced demons,” Zora countered, “and won.”
“John and Bram are by far more dangerous.” Lord Whitney spoke with certitude. “They are the demons we know.”
“Then that should make them easier to vanquish,” said Anne.
“I know my own evil,” Leo answered. “Defeating that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It will be the same for John and Bram. The darkness, it countermands everything. Devours everything.”
She shivered at the hard-won experience in his voice. “It cannot be hopeless,” she said, trying to convince herself as much as the others.
“There will always be hope,” Leo replied.
Silence fell as each of them considered what lay ahead. It was to be a struggle, one they were not confident of winning, yet they had to try.
At last, Lord Whitney extended his hand to Leo. “It does my heart good to have you my ally again.”
Leo took the offered hand and shook it solemnly. “The loss of our friendship haunted me, Whit. I’m glad to have it back again.”
After releasing Leo’s hand, Lord Whitney offered Anne an exquisite bow, and kissed her knuckles. “Madam, you surpassed my every expectation.”
“I surpassed my own, as well,” she answered, then added feelingly, “My greatest thanks, Lord Whitney.”
“Whit, if you please. Those who slay demons at my side I consider my greatest friends.” He added lowly, for her ears alone, “And for what you have done for Leo, I consider you an angel.”
“Hardly an angel.” She was all too human, too fallible.
“Whatever you call yourself, you’ve earned my gratitude. And his soul.”
The moment Whit released her hand, Anne found herself pulled tight to Zora in a fierce embrace. “Sister,” Zora said, “I take back everything bad I ever said about gorgies.”
Anne was not certain she wanted to know the bad things Zora might have said about gorgies, whatever they were. But she returned the Gypsy’s embrace, knowing that she could rely on her far more than any of her own kin.
As Whit and Zora headed off into the night, a pang of sadness threaded through Anne.
“I hardly know them,” she murmured, “yet I will miss them.”
“We’ll all meet again.” He took her hand in his. “We’re an army now. The four of us fought together, and won.”
“We won this battle. But what about those yet to come?”
He brushed his thumb over her ring, and waited. After a moment, he exhaled. “It’s gone—my power to see the future.”
“You miss it,” she said flatly, fearing his regret.
Yet he shook his head, and his eyes were bright in the darkness. “Its loss holds no value. There is only one thing, one person, I cannot lose.”
Emotion burned her throat, and she struggled to speak.
He thought her silence meant doubt, and he continued, his words low and fierce. “Tonight, I saw my friend murdered. Edmund sacrificed himself for something he wanted desperately. Something he saw in us.”
“Love,” Anne whispered.
Rare uncertainty knotted through his voice. “You said that we can never get back what we once shared. Do you still believe that?”
After a moment, she spoke. “I do.”
He seemed to turn to marble, his face and body rigid.
“You and I,” she continued, “we aren’t the same people we were. Both of us have changed.”
“I love you. That hasn’t changed.”
“And I love you,” she answered. “But my love has changed. It’s stronger now—because I know who you truly are. Just as I know who I am.”
“You are remarkable.”
She felt remarkable. “And you are a very complicated man.”
“A complicated man and a remarkable woman shouldn’t be apart.” He gazed at her as though he did not ever need to look upon anyone or anything else.
This man had fought demons and his own dark self this night, yet here, with her, he showed his vulnerability. To her, this made him all the more powerful.
“We cannot go back,” she said, “but we can go forward. We can build something even stronger than before.” She stared at the rips in his shirt and the bloodstains. “I don’t know what the future holds. We’ll face it together, though.”