CHAPTER VI

QUESTIONS AT MIDNIGHT

BY BARRY REESE

The Rook arrived at the Ellis home just before midnight, a full moon giving him ample light to work by. He was cloaked in his dark garb, allowing him to blend in to every shadow. On his face was a small domino mask affixed with a birdlike beak over the nose. It was a bit of melodrama, he'd always reasoned, but it helped hide his identity amongst those frightened few who saw him and live.

Though he was definitely in business mode, he couldn't help but think about Evelyn. The young woman had recovered from her fright quickly, which had impressed him greatly, but it was clear that she didn't want to be alone. She'd asked him to stay for a while longer and the implications of her offer were all too clear, but Max had been forced to excuse himself as politely as possible. There had been neither more visions nor their accompanying headaches, but he knew they were coming. Best to deal with the mystery head on rather than wait for him to be drawn into it against his will. Besides, he reasoned, whoever had done all of this had upset Evelyn... and the very notion of her being hurt roused in him a sense of chivalrous honor. He would find out who had done these things, be it Trench or someone else... and he would make them pay.

Max crept through the quiet house, not making a sound. A light in the study was on and the fireplace was burning brightly as Beauregard sat in a large chair, smoking a cigar and staring into the dancing flames.

"Mr. Ellis?" Max hissed, making sure to keep his voice low and deep.

Beauregard glanced around in mounting terror, his eyes wide. "Who's there? God knows you've taken everything you could have wanted! Why come back again?"

"I'm not the one who ruined your party, Mr. Ellis." Max stepped partially into view, staying to the far side of the room so that Beauregard only saw what Max wanted him to see: a dark-clad figure with bird-like features, wielding a pistol. "But I want to know about them. What did they take from you?"

Beauregard hesitated, swallowing hard before speaking. "You're the Rook, aren't you?"

"What did they take from you?"

"A book...."

"All that over a collection of writings, Mr. Ellis? Seems unlikely. What kind of book was it?"

"A 17^th century copy of Axiomata," Beauregard said, looking back into the flames. He looked like a broken man, with none of the confidence he'd shown earlier in the evening. "Are you familiar with it?"

"No. Tell me."

Beauregard sighed. "It was an important work in the collection of the Fraternity of the Rosy Cross."

"The Rosicrucians," Max whispered, remembering the name from his studies into the occult. He didn't know much about them, but was sure that the Nova Alliance would know more. "Are you involved in witchcraft, Mr. Ellis?"

"No! I acquired it by accident, I assure you, knowing nothing of its origins. I was hoping to sell it to Trench but he claimed the price was far too high. And now it's gone forever... and my hopes of getting my family out of debt is gone as well."

"Why is it so important?"

Beauregard shifted in his seat, looking more forlorn by the minute. "The Fraternity was founded by a man named Christian Rosenkreuz. He was born in 1378 and lived until the age of 106. He was buried in a seven-sided vault and it's said that he would return 120 years after his death."

"Did he?"

"I don't know!" Beauregard wailed. "But the Axiomata is said to contain references to where the vault can be found. The tomb is reputed to contain all the order's books, plus magical mirrors, lanterns and more." Beauregard sat forward in his seat, warming to the subject. Max thought he looked a bit mad, recounting these strange legends. "I've heard rumors that the Germans are looking for the true location of the tomb. Hitler's a fanatic when it comes to occultism. Do you think the Nazis might have done this?"

"I think the thief might be a bit closer to home than that," Max replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with." Max began to turn away but Beauregard rose from his chair, sounding desperate.

"Wait!"

Max glanced over his shoulder, noting the way Beauregard's hands shook with impotent rage. "Yes, Mr. Ellis?"

"I don't care if you are a madman, like the papers say. I want you to find the men who did this unspeakable thing, who violated my home and my honor. I want you to kill them!"

Astonishing how quickly a man becomes murderous when it's his own property being threatened, Max thought. "I'll be in touch, Mr. Ellis. In the meantime, I wouldn't throw any more parties."

Beauregard remained where he was, scarcely believing his eyes. It seemed that the Rook vanished into thin air, melding into the very shadows that blanketed the room. "Kill them," he whispered again. "If what the ladies said about those men is true, they are abominations..."

Lucifer's Cage stories & The Rook © Barry Reese. HTML © Tim Hartin.

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