Page 75 (1/2)
"There’s no need for experiments I already knoeavers can have children with blood-rage va updead or never spoken except by witches perfor into brightly hued helices of yellow and white, red and black, green and silver
"So the ansas in the Book of Life," Sarah said, "just as the vaan with a discovery of witches" I pressed ht If we go after Benjamin without a plan and the support of other creatures, he in And Mattheill die"
"I’ you a road map of southern and eastern Poland now," Nathaniel said over the speaker
Anotheropened on the screen "Here is Auschwitz" A purple flag appeared "And here is Majdanek" A red flag marked a location on the outskirts of a city so far to the east it was practically in Ukraine There were round in between
"Where do we start?" I asked "At Auschwitz and move east?"
"No Benjamin will not be far froated when Philippe was found said the creature who tortured hiion We assu about a local Nazi recruit"
"What else did the witches say?" I asked
"Only that Philippe’s captor had tortured the witches of Chel his attentions to my husband," Ysabeau said "They called him ‘the Devil’"
Chelm Within seconds I found the city Chelm was just to the east of Lublin My witch’s sixth sense told me that Benjamin would be there--or very close
"That’s where we should start looking," I said, touching the city on the ers On the video feed, I saw that he had been left alone with a dead child
His lips were still irl ould never hear anything again
"Why are you so sure?" Haue was born there The witch was a weaver--like ed on my hands and arms, the marks as black as any tattoo They appeared for only ainto invisibility, but I knehat they signaled: Abraham ben Elijah was probably not the first--nor the last--weaver in the city Chelm here Benjamin had started his mad attempts to breed a child
On the screen, Matthew looked down at his right hand It was spasularly on the arh the nerves in his hand have been daers twitch
"That’s not involuntary lass bent until his chin practically rested on the keyboard "That’s Morse code"
"What is he saying?" I was frantic at the thought that we e
"D Four D Five C Four" Gallowglass spelled out each letter in turn "Christ Matthew’sno sense at all D X--"
"C4," Ha "DXC4" He whooped in excite it deliberately"
"I don’t understand," I said
"D4 and D5 are the first two s in chess" Hamish went to the fire, where a heavy chess set waited on a table He moved tns, one white and then one black "White’s next move forces Black to either put his key pieces in jeopardy and gain greater freedom or play it safe and limit his maneuverability" Hamish moved another white pawn next to the first
"But when Matthew is White, he never initiates the Queen’s Gambit, and when he’s Black, he declines it Mattheays plays it safe and protects his queen," Baldwin said, crossing his arms over his chest "He defends her at all costs"
"I know That’s why he loses But not this time" Hamish picked up the black pawn and knocked over the white pawn that was diagonal to it in the center of the board "DXC4 Queen’s Gaht Diana was the white queen," Sarah said, studying board "But you’reBlack"
"He is," Ha us the child was Benja that it would give hie over Matthew Over us"
"Does it?" I asked
"That depends on e do next," Hamish said "In chess, Black would either continue to attack pawns to gain an advantage in the endgahts"
"Which would Matthew do?" Marcus asked
"I don’t know," Hamish said "Like Baldwin said, Matthew never accepts the Queen’s Ga to dictate our nextus not to protect his queen" Baldung his head around and addressed me directly "Are you ready for what comes next?"
"Yes"
"You hesitated once before," Baldwin said "Marcus told me what happened the last time you faced Benjamin in the library This tiain" I aze, and Baldwin nodded
"Will you be able to track Matthew, Ysabeau?" Baldwin asked
"Better than Verin," she replied
"Then ill leave at once," Baldwin said "Call your knights to arms, Marcus Tell them to meet me in Warsaw"
"Kuźhts until I arrive"
"You cannot go, Marcus," Gallowglass said "You must stay here, with the babes"
"No!" Marcus said "He’s my father I can scent hie"
"You aren’t going, Marcus Neither is Diana" Baldwin braced his arms on the table and fixed his eyes on Marcus anduntil now has been a skirmish--a preamble to this moment
Benjae We have hours We all must be where we are most needed--not where our hearts lead us"
"My husband needs htly