Chapter Ten

  The Twins

  “Yoo-hoo!” a cheerful voice called from the other side of the fence at the back of the Lodge grounds.

  Sarah Van Shaw was roaming the dark estate, looking for further signs of infestation, and she flinched at the unexpected voice. Her dogs twitched in sympathy. She felt them, almost like extensions of herself, like extra hands… and jaws.

  Van Shaw swept across the leafy ground toward the black iron barrier that separated her domain from the world. Why was someone back here? There was nothing to the rear of the Lodge, no streets or dwellings, just the stony, weedy slope of the hill dropping off to the east. But there was some­one standing there anyway. Van Shaw’s eyes were better suited to seeing in the dark than most – she was the guardian of this place, and needed to see everything at all times – and she was thoroughly surprised at the sight of a stylish young woman with black braids framing her pretty face.

  “Are you Miss Van Shaw?” the woman asked, as if they were standing at a party, and not on either side of a twelve-foot-high metal fence with bars so close together you could barely fit a hand through them.

  “I am,” the warden said. “And who are you?”

  “Oh, my name is Gloria, but that’s not important. My employer sent me here to talk to you. I would have come to the front gate, but I was passing by and spotted you walking, and thought I’d call you from here instead.”

  Patently false. No one had a reason to just pass by this part of the fence. “Who is your employer, and what do they want with me?” Three of her dogs bounded out of the night and took up positions around her.

  The woman let out a high-pitched squeal, and bent forward, hands on her knees. “Oh, what beautiful pups!” Gloria cried in evident delight. “Are they mastiffs? My father raised dogs, you know, I just love them, did you know he had one that weighed over two hundred pounds? And these are even bigger! How wonderful!”

  The sole purpose of the beasts that served Van Shaw was to protect the Lodge, and they were scarcely even creatures of their own anymore, but closer to extensions of the warden’s will… but even so, she felt an unfamiliar flutter of pleasure deep in her chest. The dogs were often feared, but she couldn’t remember when they’d last been admired. They were beautiful, in the way anything perfectly suited to its purpose is beautiful. “Thank you. I ask again: what do you want?”

  Gloria twinkled, giving the dogs a little wave, and they didn’t even growl at her. She straightened up and turned her smile on the warden, which had about as much effect as snow falling into the mouth of an active volcano. Smiles tended to shrivel, when confronted with Sarah Van Shaw’s implacable visage, but Gloria’s was undiminished. “My employer heard about your plight, and he thinks it’s terribly unfair. He asked me to give you something to help with your troubles.” She extended a tiny hand through the bars, then twisted it, dropping a pendant to dangle at the end of a chain from her fingers.

  The dogs snarled, sensing the arcane. Van Shaw flinched away – the master had said they had an enemy, striking at the Lodge – but nothing happened. The warden steadfastly refused to look at the pendant. “You work for that Tillinghast. He’s sent you with one of his baubles, to mesmerize me.”

  Dyer laughed like bells. “That’s not what he does. He just gives people what they want, or, in rare and special cases, what they need. Everyone is mesmerized by their heart’s desire. It’s only natural.”

  Van Shaw sniffed. “I have everything I desire here.”

  Dyer shook her head. “No, you don’t. It’s just that what you desire is incompatible with your sense of duty, and your sense of duty is so very strong. But what if you could have both, Sarah?” She moved her hand, and the pendant at the end of the chain swung. “What if you could fulfill your duties as Warden of the Lodge, while also having the opportunity to actually live your life? Go to a restaurant, walk in a park, maybe even kiss someone under the stars?” That smile again, and that twinkle. “You can have that. We can give you that.”

  “I don’t see how,” the warden said, then cursed herself silently for even granting the girl’s premise. “And even if I could, what would your master want in return?”

  “He would ask far less from you than your master does,” Gloria said. “And he’d be a lot more grateful. Come, now. You aren’t loyal to Sanford, anyway, not really. You’re the guardian of the Order. The organization itself, not just its current leadership. And, let me assure you, my employer has no desire to harm the Silver Twilight Lodge. Quite the opposite. Mr Tillinghast wishes to see your Order flourish and achieve great things. Sanford uses the Lodge as his personal piggy bank and wrecking ball – he enriches himself, and destroys his enemies, all for the pettiest of reasons. Don’t you want to be part of an Order that does great things instead? Don’t you want to be part of an Order that matters?”

  “That’s Tillinghast’s plan, then? To usurp Carl Sanford?” The warden shook her head. “Many have tried. None have triumphed.”

  “Everyone always loses until they win, warden,” Gloria said. “But aren’t you tired of losing? Just look. Look at the pendant. I swear to you, it won’t do anything to your mind… except, I hope, change it.”

  Curiosity got the best of Van Shaw. If something did happen to her mind, the dogs would bite the woman’s hand off, pendant and all, which should go a long way toward breaking any spell.

  The pendant was silver, and looked a bit like the roman numeral II, but with unusual curves. “Is that the symbol for Gemini?” Van Shaw said, peering closely. “That’s my sign of the zodiac.” Some of Van Shaw’s only contact with the outside world came in the form of the daily newspapers like the Arkham Advertiser, and one of her few guilty pleasures was reading her horoscope there, even though the promises and predictions never came true really, because her life was very much the same, and essentially unchanging, day after day.

  “The Twins,” Gloria confirmed. “Mr Tillinghast acquired this pendant from the collection of a sorcerer who had a fondness for the zodiac, as part of an incomplete set. There’s also a Taurus pendant that gives the wearer tremendous strength, and a Sagittarius that grants perfect accuracy with bows or guns or slingshots, and a Leo that I really wouldn’t recommend anyone put on – it removes fear entirely, and a person without fear is a dangerous thing. But this is meant for you. There’s no doubt. As soon as Mr Tillinghast told me about its powers, I knew you’d just love it.”

  Van Shaw crossed her arms so she wouldn’t reach for the necklace. She didn’t feel mesmerized, but she was undoubtedly curious. “What powers?”

  “Put it on and see.” Gloria knelt and extended her other hand through the bars. “Here, I’ll put my hand in the mouth of one of your dogs, and if you don’t like what happens next, he can bite it clean off. Will that do as proof that I mean you no harm?”

  “Very well,” Van Shaw answered stiffly. She was unaccustomed to negotiation. Hers was more often the path of the ultimatum, the intimidation, the demand. She’d always found the constraints of her position a comfort. There were limitations, but there was also security. Lately, though, she had to admit… those constraints were beginning to chafe.

  One of her mastiffs stepped forward and opened its jaws wide, nestling Gloria’s arm inside, past her wrist.

  “What a good girl you are,” Gloria murmured, gazing at the dog with obvious admiration.

  Van Shaw snatched the pendant from the woman’s other hand and looked at it closely. Then she held it out and let the other two dogs sniff it. Yes, definitely some occult power there… but nothing that was a threat to the Lodge. She grunted.

  Well, why not take the thing? She hadn’t agreed to give Tillinghast anything in exchange, and, indeed, her oaths were so powerful that she could not be compelled to do anything that would hurt the Silver Twilight Lodge anyway.

  But Tillinghast is right, the back of her mind whispered. Sanford is not synonymous with the Order. She chose to ignore that.

  “How does it work?” Van Shaw asked.

  “Just put on the necklace and let the pendant touch your skin.” Gloria was using her free hand to stroke the head of the dog that held her other hand in its mouth, and the dog seemed to like it. The hound’s pleasure washed into Van Shaw through their connection and made her more favorably disposed to the woman, too.

  Van Shaw draped the chain around her neck, then tucked the little silver symbol inside her dress, to touch her skin, and–

  She stumbled, and the dog closed its jaws, but just a fraction. Van Shaw got her equilibrium back and stood up… to stare at herself.

  To stare at both herselves. One version of her, the original, stood on the grounds of the Lodge, surrounded by her hounds. But there was a second version of her standing on the other side of the bars, beside Gloria, wearing Van Shaw’s dress, with the same silver chain around her neck.

  Van Shaw felt a brief flare of panic. The Cult of Cain had made horrible duplicates of people, copies that hid subtle deformities, and they often killed the originals, allowing their dark doppelgangers to replace them in society, but this wasn’t the same sort of duplication. The other Van Shaw was still her – she could see out of that woman’s eyes, she could look through the bars at herself, and see herself looking back, and–

  She closed her eyes – all four of them – and took deep, calming breaths.

  “You’re doing really well,” Gloria said conversationally. “Most people sort of fall over and writhe at first. They don’t know how to handle two sets of senses, and two bodies. But Mr Tillinghast said you do something a bit like this anyway – that you can control your dogs like they’re your own limbs, see through their eyes and smell through their noses – so you’d probably get the hang of using the pendant more quickly. What do you think, Sarah? You have the golden gift of bodily bilocation now. You can be in two places at once. One of you can stay on the Lodge grounds, fulfilling the terms of your oath, and the other body can go… well. Anywhere.”

  Sarah opened all her eyes. “What’s the range?” she whispered.

  “Mr Tillinghast says you shouldn’t leave this plane of reality, and he can’t guarantee the amulet’s effectiveness if you go beyond the orbit of the moon, but otherwise…” She shrugged. “Feel free to take that long vacation you’ve always wanted.”

  Sarah Van Shaw lowered her head for a moment. Where would she even go? To a warm beach to look upon the sea? To a fine hotel, to order room service, and eat it in bed, wearing a plush robe? To a spa, to take the healing waters, and wash off the long years of psychic grime?

  I could go anywhere, she thought, and that was the point, wasn’t it? She could go anywhere, without forswearing her oaths in the process. “What is the price for this gift, Gloria?”

  Gloria removed her hand from the dog’s mouth. “First, right now, I’d just ask you to arrange a meeting for me. But in the future… well, we might want you to open a door for us. Or two. With the understanding that we don’t want to harm the Order. We want to improve the Order.”

  “I… can do that,” the warden replied.

  •••

  Sanford met Ruby in his private dining room, as it was past time for his own dinner. She came in carrying a glass of tempranillo and sat in the chair on his right. “How has your evening been?” she asked. “Because mine has been… Tillinghast-tastic.”

  “Please don’t ever say that again.” He cut off a sliver of veal, chewed, and swallowed. “But I confess I have been similarly preoccupied. The man is toying with me. I am certain he means me harm.”

  “He wants to take you off the board entirely,” Ruby said.

  Sanford raised an eyebrow. “You met with him already? And he told you this directly?”

  “I did, and he did. He said he wants to neutralize you, because you could pose a threat to certain long-term plans he’s got going. He also wants me to acquire something from your vault for him.”

  “Oh, does he? Something in particular?”

  “The Ruby of R’lyeh,” she said.

  Sanford frowned. “But… I have in my possession objects of true power. That gem is just a curiosity. Very old, yes, and some believe its origins are non-terrestrial, but I’ve never discovered any use for it.”

  “What’s R’lyeh mean, anyway? Some dead king or something?”

  “Mmm, no. It’s a city, supposedly, sunk long ago beneath the waves,” Sanford said. “I don’t know if the ruby is even really from there. If R’lyeh actually exists, I don’t think anyone knows exactly where. Whatever can Tillinghast want with the thing?”

  “He didn’t really tell me why it’s important,” Ruby said. “Just something about the gem allowing freedom of movement in some place where movement is difficult. But anyway. Can I have it?”

  Sanford blinked at her. Something so straightforward could hardly be called treachery, but it was certainly impertinence. “Can you what?”

  She sipped her wine and gave him an insouciant smile. “I figure, you can give me the jewel, which as you say yourself is pretty much useless to you, and I can give it to Tillinghast, and then he’s assured of my loyalty, and that puts me in a position to find out what his plans are.”

  He put his fork and knife down carefully. “I am not in the habit of giving away objects of value, Ruby.”

  She rolled her eyes in that insufferable way she had. “It’s an investment, Sanford. You’re not the only man who likes subjecting his employees to tests of skill and loyalty. Tillinghast is going to keep me at arm’s length unless I can prove myself useful to him. Don’t you want to know why he wants to neutralize you?”

  “Very much,” Sanford admitted. “I will consider your proposal. Though I dislike the implications, I can see the merit. Now. Tell me everything. How did you come to meet with Tillinghast?”

  Ruby delivered her report in a straightforward and thorough manner. Though it often pleased her to play the part of a flighty flapper, she was, in her way, almost as professional as Sanford himself. When she finished her account, he nodded, his mind racing with plans and interpretations and assessments. “I’ll dispatch a couple of Seekers to keep an eye on Tillinghast’s shop,” he said. “Once they catch sight of the man himself, they’ll pursue him doggedly. I’ve sent Altman to find the Dyer woman, and we’ll watch her, too, since she seems to be his–”

  The door to the small private dining room opened, and Sarah Van Shaw entered. It was a bit odd, seeing the warden inside the Lodge. She had rooms here, but as far as Sanford knew, she never slept, exactly. The dogs slept occasionally, instead. “What is it, warden?”

  Ruby turned in her chair and gave Van Shaw a wave, which the warden ignored. She wasn’t convivial by nature, and she looked at both of them, stone-faced as usual. Sanford felt a prickle of unease in her presence after their contentious interaction on the grounds earlier. Not his finest moment. He needed to do better, to be better, to play at the top of his game, until this Tillinghast was… well, yes. Neutralized.

  “A woman has come to the gates, asking to meet with you,” the warden said. “She says her name is Gloria Dyer. She claims to be a representative of one Mr Randall Tillinghast.”

  Sanford ground his teeth. Damn this Tillinghast. Was he playing more games? Did he know Altman was searching for Gloria, and had he chosen to send her here directly in order to tweak Sanford’s nose? “I’ll speak to her outside,” Sanford said. “Under no circumstances is she to be permitted onto the grounds.”

  “I would never allow anyone who threatened the sanctity of the Order to enter this place,” Van Shaw said.

  Sanford dropped his napkin on the table and stood up. “Ruby, you should stay here. We don’t want Dyer to know you rushed straight to me after your meeting with Tillinghast.”

  Ruby shrugged. “As you like. I’m supposed to be spying on you, so I doubt she’d be too surprised, but I’ve had plenty of Gloria Dyer’s company for one day.”

  Sanford strode through the Lodge, the warden at his side. “She is unarmed?”

  Van Shaw shrugged. “She might have a knife or a pistol, but the dogs don’t smell anything magical in her possession, nor did they get any sense that she means the Order harm. The dogs are a bit crude when it comes to sensing intentions, but they can detect malice.”

  “Be on your guard, nonetheless. I wish I’d brought my sword stick.”

  “She seems to be an ordinary woman, hired to run errands,” Van Shaw said.

  “Nevertheless, we must be vigilant.”

  “Eternally,” the warden replied.

  They passed through the anteroom of the house, out onto the porch, and up the front walk, where Dyer idled on the street beyond the gates, smoking a cigarette and looking up at the moon. She turned when they came near and graced them with a smile. “Mr Sanford! What a delight to see you again.”

  “How may I be of service, Miss Dyer?” Sanford kept his tone politely neutral.

  “My employer says he sent you an invitation to meet today, but you never replied, nor did you arrive at the appointed time and place, so I’ve been dispatched to… follow up, I suppose? He was under the impression that you wanted to meet with him, so he was a bit surprised when you failed to–”

  “I regret that, due to circumstances beyond my control, I received his invitation when it was already too late to accept it,” Sanford said.

  “I can scarcely believe any circumstances are beyond your control, Mr Sanford!” Dyer chirped. “But my employer thought something of the sort might have happened. He sent me to deliver a new invitation in person, and to take him your reply personally. He’d like you to come tomorrow morning, at 10 am, to his shop in the Merchant District.”

  The Merchant District? But Ruby said his shop was on the Northside… had she lied to him? Or was Tillinghast still on the move? Perhaps he’d suspected that Ruby might tell him about the shop, and this was just another mind game, to keep Sanford off balance? He refused to let himself be unbalanced. “I’ll need to go inside to check my appointment book,” he said blandly. “Please wait a moment.” He turned and walked back up the cobbles, to the porch, and inside, the warden following.