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He pursed his lips as he stared at the closed wall. “The identity of the lord of the catacombs is still a mystery.”
I looped an arm through one of his and grinned up at him. “One mystery at a time. Right now I could do with less mystery and more of Tully’s cooking.”
Ben smiled down at me and set a hand over mine. “An excellent idea, my love.”
My cheeks blushed at the term of endearment, and I couldn’t have been happier as we left behind the dank depths of the catacombs.
CHAPTERFORTY-TWO
We metour friends at the intersection, and together we made our way to the surface. I stepped out of the mausoleum and took in a deep breath of fresh air. The others, too, paused for a brief moment to enjoy the view of the early afternoon sun as it shone off the many tombstones.
“So how are we going to explain any of this to the authorities?” I asked the crew as we sauntered our way through the cemetery.
Phil sighed. “I suppose I’ll come up with something.”
Elias grinned at him. “You always do. What will it be this time?”
Phil shrugged. “Perhaps I’ll tell them I killed all the corpses.”
His client laughed. “Perhaps you should tell them that you discovered it was all a hoax brought on by someone who sought to keep children inside to play his card game and thus unintentionally enlist their help in his thievery.”
Phil wrinkled his nose. “I suppose we could say that.”
“I will vouch for finding the deposit of illegal goods via my method of tracking the stolen items,” the professor spoke up.
I lifted my eyebrows. “You can do that?”
The professor cleared his throat. “Yes, well, I’ll be able to lead them to the room, and that will be enough proof. I will then miraculously lose the formula for the tracking spell and be unable to hand it over to them.”
“That’s taking a risk that they won’t think you’re an accomplice,” Ben pointed out.
Impara scoffed. “They can think anything they want, or think nothing at all, as is their want, but I still have enough clout with the court that such suspicions will be promptly squashed.”
“And I will vouch for your good name,” Elias offered.
A ghost of a smile touched the old man’s lips. “That would mean a great deal to me, but it isn’t necessary. Besides, I wouldn’t want to involve you in such sordid affairs as theft. A musician must keep his reputation as a rebel, but never a petty thief.”
Elias chuckled. “I suppose you’re right.”
We reached the gate to the cemetery and found Tully waiting for us. He looked at Ben as he opened the door to the carriage. “It’s alright, Tully. Everything’s finished. We’ll head to Fox Hall first, and then the cistern before home.” Tully nodded and stared ahead.
We climbed into the vehicle and took off down the street at an easier pace than before. I leaned against Ben’s arm and smiled up at him. “I suppose we’ll have to do our part and tell the kids the mystery of the cards is solved.”
Ben nodded. “Yes. They’ll be rather disappointed, but without them we would have been very confused about the items we found in the room in the catacomb.”
“Speaking of the room,” Elias mused as he turned to us, or more specifically, Ben. “How did you manage to work magic against my father’s spell? I’ve never known anyone to break his dispelling curse.”
Ben shrugged. “I have my ways.”
Elias studied both of us before he made a point to settle his gaze on the container attached to my arm. “I see. We all keep our secrets and mysteries.”
There was still one mystery I wanted solved, so I caught the eye of our scholarly friend. “There was something I’ve been meaning to ask you, professor. What does ‘imprimis’ mean?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “It means ‘above all,’ but why do you ask?”
I looked up at Ben. “Because a big skeleton called me that.”
Ben nodded. “That exact word, and he referred to you as the keeper of the light.”
