He found a seat near the bed. ‘I’m sorry about all this, Deodat.’
‘Don’t speak nonsense! I’ve had the time of my life,’ he said. A coughing fit took hold of him and it was a time before he could speak again. ‘Tell me everything.’
‘It was the fake Beliere!’ Rahn said. ‘As it turns out, he was Professor Moriarty, after a fashion – the organiser of half that is evil and nearly all that is undetected.’
‘I see,’ Deodat said, frowning.
Rahn recounted the events from the time he left the car to his return.
‘So, Madame Dénarnaud was there, at the centre of it all, a popess, what nonsense! And Grassaud belongs to AGLA – the Catholic Mafia?’ Deodat marvelled. ‘And you say there was a battle of wills between them? My Lord, she drank blood!’
‘I think it was the blood of that Englishman who tried to burn us at the Maison de Cros. But before she could make the sign of Sorat, Professor Moriarty came in and everyone scattered. He works for the Black Lodge – this sounds like the Cénacle you mentioned.’
Deodat sat up excitedly. ‘The invisibles? Yes!’
‘Oh! You were right, Deodat, it is a nest of vipers!’
‘Fascinating!’ he exclaimed. He was weak but it didn’t prevent him from enjoying the moment. ‘So, the madame took it upon herself to make Hitler the vessel for the demon of the sun! But you say the vessel is yet to come?’
‘Yes, the year 2012 apparently, according to Professor Moriarty . . . He said it was going to be the turning point in time.’
‘Diabolically ingenious!’
‘But as we heard, before that they will need a reordered Europe, which they expect this coming war will create.’
‘Yes. Don’t let this buffoonery fool you, Rahn, there is real danger still looming ahead. The Countess P’s clock may have saved the day, but Madame Dénarnaud still has the sign, even if it is only in her head. Did you see it, Rahn?’
‘No, the old woman never made it. But there’s something else bothering me now. Earlier when you said something about chess and being in two places at once, what did you mean?’
Deodat nodded, frowning. ‘Yes, it is this: I think that perhaps old Cros has had the last laugh, after all. At least I’d like to think so.’
Rahn creased his brow. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Oh, it’s just an old man’s hope that—’ But another bout of coughing prevented him from finishing. When he got his breath back he looked at Rahn with eyes that were losing their hold on consciousness. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to need a few days in bed, then I will be as good as new.’ He smiled weakly. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll be safe with Gaspar. I’ll lay low for a while. I am a magistrate, after all.’ His words were slurring. ‘There’s not much they can do to me without raising a few eyebrows. At any rate, I didn’t see anything and there is no longer any evidence, is there? Everything is burnt. It’s all gone! All gone. The orders would have covered their tracks, you can be certain of it.’ He faltered. ‘I guess there is nothing left for the police. The old maison was empty – arson – who knows who did it? Listen, Rahn. Come close.’
Rahn leant in.
‘Just remember what I said.’ He closed his eyes. ‘One can’t be in two places at the same time . . . Two places, Rahn. Go to Eva . . .’ And like that, mid-sentence, he fell asleep.
Rahn found Eva in the kitchen, sipping a coffee. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever known, or perhaps the most cunning at making herself seem so – he couldn’t tell.
‘So, how is he?’ she said.
‘He’ll be alright, I think.’ He sat down opposite.
‘And you? Are you alright?’
‘I don’t know how I feel,’ Rahn said truthfully. ‘At least it wasn’t all for nothing, I suppose. We did prevent the Lodges from getting the Apocalypse. My only regret is in losing the treasure of the Cathars. Perhaps I was never destined to see it. Madame Dénarnaud is now the only one who has seen the key, the sign of Sorat. She said it was in the shape of a two-horned beast.’
‘Yes, it is, but not the way you think.’ She set down her cup to look at him.
He blinked. ‘How do you know?’
She smiled a little. ‘Some years ago a scientist, a woman actually, discovered that men are born with something women don’t have, they call it the Y chromosome. One day scientists will know how to distort this chromosome. They will add something to it, so that it resembles the sign of Sorat.’