He nodded. ‘I sell plenty of alternatives. Weed, of course. The usual pills. An aficionado like yourself might appreciate…’ He registered the hard look in my eyes and stopped. ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled. ‘Old habits die hard.’
He was certainly right on that account. ‘Let’s stick to what’s important, shall we?’ I said coolly. ‘What’s the deal with you and Athair?’
Arbuthnot flushed. His fingers started to twitch and his shoulders drooped. ‘You can tell her,’ Eloise said. ‘It’s okay.’
He passed a hand in front of his face. Although the temperature inside the coffee shop was ambient, Arbuthnot had started to sweat. He shuddered, then he seemed to compose himself and his eyes met mine. ‘He killed my entire crew,’ he said in such a direct, pained manner that I felt truly chilled. ‘Then he told me I could work for him or die. I don’t want to die.’ He gave a sad smile. ‘Until a few months ago, I didn’t even know that fiends existed.’
‘It’s a common problem,’ I muttered.
‘Are you really his daughter?’ Eloise asked.
‘Yes.’
She eyed me. ‘You’re not very similar.’
Thank fuck for that. I drummed my fingers on the table top and came to a decision. ‘What can you tell me about the corpse in the oubliette at Culcreuch?’
Arbuthnot frowned. ‘Huh? Culcreuch?’
So he wasn’t part of the inner sanctum and didn’t know about Athair’s castle hide-out. Eloise, however, had turned pure white. ‘How do you know about that?’
I didn’t answer her, just waited.
‘I don’t know who he was,’ she whispered. ‘He was already dead when Athair first became my master. He’s always been there.’
‘You must know something,’ I said.
She shrugged helplessly. ‘Athair spits on his body whenever he walks past. One time when he was feeling chatty, he said that the man had been an idiot who’d thought he was smart and could succeed where nobody else had. Athair realised what he was doing and punished him for even trying.’
In one fell swoop she’d answered my main question about William Hausman. There was no longer any need to question the regular punters of the King’s Head pub.
‘Why would he tellyouthat?’ Hester sneered.
Eloise looked down. ‘It was a threat in case we tried to do something similar.’
We? I watched her carefully but she didn’t say anything more.
Suddenly Arbuthnot reached across the table and I stiffened automatically, my magic bristling defensively. All he did, however, was take my hands in his. In all the years I’d known him, he’d never touched me and he’d certainly never acted like that.
Despite the ingrained dirt and lack of a tidy manicure, his skin was far softer than I’d expected and his massive fingers were callus free. They were, I thought sardonically, the hands of a drug dealer.
‘If you don’t show up at the Royal Elvish Institute on Friday night,’ Arbuthnot said, ‘Athair will raze the city. He’s threatened to do it – I’m sure he’s capable of it.’
I had no doubt that he was capable of it. ‘Don’t worry,’ I said. ‘I won’t shirk my responsibilities.’ Because Athairwasmy responsibility, whether I wanted that burden or not.
Arbuthnot swallowed. He did a good job of concealing it but I knew in that moment that he was truly terrified of my father. I’d always suspected that the bogle was smarter than he looked. ‘I’m hoping that you came here for a reason,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m hoping that you’re sifting through all that sand near Sutton Bridge because you’re looking for something that will stop Athair.’
Amy stiffened but I wasn’t surprised. If Arbuthnot had tracked us to King’s Lynn, he knew where we had been a few hours ago. With a pair of cheap binoculars, he and Eloise could have watched what we were doing from a safe distance even if they couldn’t work out why.
‘It’s true,’ I told him. ‘We’re hunting for a precious object that we’ve learned is powerful enough to destroy all fiends.’
Hester hissed. ‘Daisy! What the fuck are you doing?’
Otis apparently agreed with her. ‘Don’t say anything else,’ he warned me. He gave Eloise an apologetic look. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘But?—’
‘It is fine,’ she told him. ‘I understand. It is better that you stay quiet.’
‘Indeed.’ Arbuthnot swung his large head up and down. ‘You should not tell us what you’re looking for. You have no reason to trust us and you know that I am not a good man. I do not pretend to be.’
