Pierre Pevel - By The Alchemist in the Shadows Page 0,105

either of them.

Saint-Lucq kept hold of the musketeer and had not taken his hand away from the other man's mouth. With a considerable effort, Leprat managed to control the shaking of his legs which risked betraying their presence.

'I didn't hear anything,' said the duchesse. 'Did you, Mauduit?'

'I heard nothing either, madame.'

'It must have been a syle,' Savelda conceded.

'Good Lord! There are salamanders down here?'

'This place is safe, madame,' said the Spaniard as he reluctantly moved on. 'My men have made sure of that. But down in the lower levels . . .'

The two men and the woman soon disappeared behind the curtain.

'You'll see,' they heard madame de Chevreuse promising, 'everything has been scrupulously arranged according to your instructions.'

'Let's get out of here,' said Saint-Lucq.

With the half-blood assisting Leprat, they returned to the open air by way of the spiral staircase, climbed out of the pit, slipped past Savelda's men and found refuge in one of the pavilions under construction. Sitting with his back against a large block of stone, the musketeer took his time to recover, drawing in deep breaths while Saint-Lucq kept watch over their surroundings.

'Have they come back up?' he asked after a moment.

'Not yet.'

'The duchesse was there, wasn't she? But who were the other two? I could barely see.'

'One of them was Mauduit, the duchesse's master of magic. The other one was Savelda, a Spaniard working for the Black Claw. I almost had a chance to fight him when we prevented the vicomtesse de Malicorne from summoning the soul of an Ancestral Dragon.'

'I missed all of that. I was in a gaol cell in the Grand Chatelet that night.'

'That's true . . . But what was wrong with you just now? It looked like you were overcome by a fever or by too much drink . . .'

Without mentioning the ranse, which he wished to keep secret, Leprat spoke of the spell chamber and the effect that he suspected it had on him.

'I almost fell right into the arms of our enemies. If it hadn't been for you . . .' And when Saint-Lucq did not respond to this, the musketeer prompted him, 'What were you doing down there?'

'At the cardinal's request, I have been watching Dampierre for several days now. I was intrigued by the pavilions that they were building here. And you?'

'I entered La Chevreuse's service by passing myself off as an agent of the queen mother. And, like you, I was curious about what this building site might be hiding.'

The half-blood nodded.

Leprat crouched and as his wits returned to him along with his strength, he noticed that Saint-Lucq was gloved, booted and impeccably dressed, as usual.

'You didn't get here by swimming.'

'No. I came underground. There is a passage that leads to the old cellars here. No doubt it was once used by the residents of the tower in times of siege. The entrance lies beneath a very big oak tree in the forest, not far from a stone cross that stands where two paths meet. I discovered it when following Savel-da's men. Several of them came back wounded and I wanted to know why. As it happens, the tunnel is swarming with enormous syles.'

The Alchemist, Savelda and the duchesse returned to the surface. Leprat and Saint-Lucq watched them depart, along

with most of their hired swordsmen. The torches were extinguished. Only a handful of sentries remained.

'I better go back myself before someone notices my absence,' said Leprat.

'Well, I'm going back down. I need to see this spell chamber with my own eyes.'

'We must also inform La Fargue of our discoveries.'

'I'll take care of that. I will be in Paris tomorrow.'

'Understood.'

'Have you fully recovered?'

'Yes. Don't worry about me.'

The half-blood was about to leave when Leprat called him back:

'You saved my life, Saint-Lucq. Thank you.'

The other Blade gazed back at him from behind his red spectacles. He did not react, no doubt seeking a suitable response, to no avail.

And so he left.

In his turn, the musketeer slipped out of the unfinished pavilion. He tried to ignore the burning pain in his back, forcing himself to focus on the approaching day instead. He had lied to Saint-Lucq. He knew what was happening to him, although it cost him to admit it, even to himself.

The causeway was no longer guarded. Leprat crossed it quickly, then found his clothing and his horse in the forest. He did not spare his mount and arrived at the Chateau de Mauvieres just as the night sky was beginning to grow pale, but before