Her Red Knight

Chapter 19

Baldwin had a few hours before he had to make his way back to Venice empty handed where he knew the inevitable argument would break out. The big issue was they all had different minor issues and no one, including him at times could see the bigger picture, he took everything as he did as a Gladiator one battle at a time. He decided to do something he had not done in years and that was to train. He grabbed one of the training swords and went to the training room that lived underneath the castle. It had been disused for decades. He felt Sander nudge against his leg and bending down he scratched his head, before the dog went to lay down in the corner and he prepared himself. Taking a deep breath he pulled the sword to his side before launching into a range of parries and thrusts that landed with a thud in the dummy. He concentrated on how much power he was throwing behind his swing. As he turned he put as much power as he could behind the sword and the dummy split into two, both half's skidding across the floor and one stopping at the door. "You think it's dead yet?" He heard the humoured voice of Verin. Turning he rolled his eyes and rolled his shoulders back. Sander had gotten up and ran over to the new person and Verin knelt down to play with him as they spoke. "No, I think he had a little life remaining." He replied matching her sarcasm. Many called them the favourite's of Phillippe, but in truth they were just the most broken by everything and that allowed them to mould themselves into Phillippe's perfect soldiers. "What are you doing here Verin, I thought you and Ernst were on holiday , again?" He asked collecting the half of the dummy that had landed at the opposite wall. "Ysabeau called, she told Stasia and I that Liv and her sister was kidnapped. Then Liv called and said she remembered and now she is going to America with Matt while you are forced to stay behind, I figured you needed a sparring partner." She shrugged, and clearly I was right." She motioned to the dummy head at her feet. "I am fine, I will be fine once the Congregation dissolves to look for Knox's witch." he growled. "Come on, I need to ride, want to race." He said turning to putting the training sword back. "You don't want to lose." Verin said and without thinking he turned round and levelled the sword at her. He saw a cat like grin appear across her face, of course she got what he wanted. "Usual rules?" Verin asked grabbing her own sword as they began to circle each other waiting for the first to pounce. Verin moved first and shifting to his back foot he blocked her thrust pushing her back. The usual rules they followed was the first to draw blood won, and they could fight in the main house. He watched as she swung from the right and again he blocked and while tossing her blade aside he tried to hit her arm, Verin recovered quickly and blocked. The trouble was they were evenly matched in skill, the reason why one ever won was because they felt sorry for the other. The dance began to move from the training room and out of the house. They steered cleared of Ysabeaus garden because if they harmed any plant in there they both knew they would end up dead. Sander followed them adding an extra obstacle as Sander weaved between their legs and jumping up at the wrong time. He thought it was a game and tried to sabotage both of them. Verin finally got the upper hand when she managed to get the high ground by getting up on the wall and swiped his arm cutting his jumper and making him bleed. Baldwin claimed he let her win claiming he had to leave for Venice in an hour so wanted to wrap it up and Verin would call bull. "You think you can keep them at bay?" She asked as they put the swords back and set up a new dummy for whoever came in her next, however long that will be. "I honestly don't know, Gerbert will try to take the heat off of him, Domenico is a spineless arse. Knox will try to push, Sigismund is like Domenico. Agatha worries for Aspen but has her son and his partner to think about, Timur and Osamu will follow Agatha, hopefully I can use Satu taking them from here as enough distraction for them to figure out what they are going to do." He said as they made their way upstairs to find Ernst (Verin's husband), Ysabeau and Marthe sitting in the living room discussing the latest news. "Thank you for coming Verin. I will call you soon." He said as he nodded at Verin who nodded back before sharing a handshake. "I will call you with what is happening Maman. Thank you for looking after Liv." he said as Ysabeau came and pulled him into a hug and whisspered in his ear. "Anything for family, stay safe my son." Stepping back he nodded and grabbed his bag that Marthe was handing him. "I'll walk you out." Ysabeau said and they left going to the field where Aspen had left only a few hours ago only he would be going in the opposite direction. "Fly safe, I will let you know if I hear anything." "Thank you." He said as he squeezed her arm, giving her the quiet comfort he knew she needed. Ysabeau nodded and he walked over to the waiting Copter. The flight to Venice was around an hour and a half and thankfully they did not have to stop. Alain (His father's former squire) was waiting for him with the boat. "Take my bag to the house and try to keep Jack and Annie out of trouble." He instructed. "Yes sir." He nodded and he left. When he reached the docks Rico Jean was waiting for him. "They are all waiting for you sir, outside the chamber." He said and Baldwin nodded as he walked in the direction where he heard low conversation. They were of course standing in their own groups when he enter conversation died down as they stared at him. He said nothing as he pulled out his key with everyone following suit. The three leaders opened the door and everyone filtered round him. Baldwin shoved his feelings and time with Aspen into the back of his mind, if one of them suspected he had broken the Covenant then his entire family was in trouble. The first to speak was Agatha. "Domenico fails to retrieve them. You fail to retrieve them. And now what you're saying that we've lost her altogether? You expect us to believe that?" She said in disbelief, that was the simplest story, they had known that they had found them after being kidnapped and claimed when he went to bring both girls to them they were gone along with Matthew. It was as close to the truth as he could possibly get. "You seem extraordinary interested in Diana Bishop, Agatha. Is there something you'd like to tell us?" He asked, he knew she was keeping something from them and he might go and ask Matthew's friend what he knew of Agatha. "My interest is in the book of life. You promised that Diana and Aspen would answer our questions." Agatha said as he rolled his eyes, she was hiding something and he would have to figure that out before he approached her about anything to to with Matthew and Diana. "And they will. Once we find Satu and bring her and Diana home." He responded, it was better to peddle the narrative that Satu had taken them again, or they went willingly whatever they wanted to believe. He suspected Gerbert did not believe the lie, Gerbert was the only one who knew of his connection to Liv and right now that was the biggest danger to everyone, he had to look disinterested in the whole thing and angry at the invasion of a witch and not the fact his mate almost died, after all the man wasn't here and there had to be a reason for that, he never missed a chance show his superiority."Satu has Diana and Aspen?" Agatha asked. "I'm afraid it looks that way." He looked over to Knox and his witches. "Gentlemen?" "Our team repeated the spell work and got exactly the same result. There are two distinct magical signatures. Satu's with another witch and Aspen does not have enough magic to register." Knox explained. "Do we think they are allies or prisoners?" He asked."Unclear, I'm afraid." Knox said as he stared at Baldwin, Knox knew something and he was going to find out, there was something off with him and the Bishops a history he was not disclosing. It was known that he and Rebecca Bishop were close but the relationship fell apart after she met Stephen. Baldwin wondered if there was another connection between him and Rebecca, one he was not going to look into yet. Again this was another moment where he wished he had his father and Stephen, they would know how to navigate all of this. "Let us keep the search going round the clock. I want her found. Why isn't Gerbert here? Do you know where he is?" He asked Domenico who shrugged. "Pay Miss Durand a visit, find out." He instructed. "The rest of you can go home. For now, let us each take care of our own." HE said as the others murmured in agreement." "I intend to." Agatha said standing and leaving the other's following her out. He sat there for a few minutes thinking. He would stay in Venice for now, get Hamish Osborne to keep him informed from what was happening in London. With a plan slowly forming in his head he stood and left the chamber shutting the door firmly behind him. Peter was in his office, he was pacing he was sure that neither girl had remarkable power yet they were able to bring up the book, where he had failed. It was something to do with Rebecca he was sure of it. Diana was suppose to be powerful, Rebecca had seen that. Aspen was a wild card but the second born daughter was always weaker and more and more they were powerless. But the magical signature was stronger, stronger than Satu's and it could only belong to Diana, she was able to possess witch wind without thinking, who knows what else she can do. He had to find them. He was going through his file on the Bishops when he heard something move and he felt someone else in the room. "Who is it?" He called and no answer came. "Who is there? Who is it? Who's there?" He shouted fear building in his chest. "You killed Rebecca Bishop and Stephen Proctor." Satu said appearing in front of him. "Where's Diana?" He did not care for the younger one, Diana was the one with power, the one who was like his Rebecca. "You told me..." She began. "Opening someone up would affect the spell caster too. And you knew it because you cast a spell yourself. Twice. You opened them up to get the power you couldn't find in their daughter. Am I right?" "No." He stated plainly she was wrong on one aspect, he only did it once, on the man who took her away. "Did you find what you were looking for?" He said nothing, he barely remembered that night, he remembered seeing them both dead, before fleeing to return later. He learnt that their daughter was there hiding in the shadows. He sat in the chamber as he listened to her, relieved she saw nothing, he got away with his worst crime that night one who would never utter a word of again. "That's because the power was never theirs. It was Diana's" "NO!" He growled, "I tested her!" And he was disappointed to learn that Diana was simply ordinary, he could never work out how a child like her with two powerful parents ended up so plain in her magic, but maybe she had hid it from him, she had tricked him when he tested her so young, she had power, power he knew. "Yes, you did. And you couldn't find it because she was spellbound." It suddenly made so much sense, Stephen was scared of her power, of a child that wasn't his. So he spellbound Diana to keep her at a similar level his daughter was. "She must be. Diana doesn't even know her own power, what she is. You should have seen it, Peter." "It could only have been them. They did it." He realised."The parents? Are you sure?" "Rebecca could have led the Congregation. That's where she was headed. And then we could have really, finally challenged the De Clermonts." He always blamed Stephen for changing her life, their life. "But Stephen...I've never met a witch so secretive, so selfish. He got into her ear and that was it. Our great hope...Gone." He thought of Rebecca and the potential he had with her gone. "You loved her." Sat said bluntly. "I never intended to kill her, if that's what you mean." "You loved her. But the power you sensed..." Satu studied him for a second, "You loved that more. I wanted it too. That's why I betrayed you. That's why I had to open up Diana, even though it drained my power...It will come back. Won't it?" She asked quietly. "Give it time. And rest?" He said softly. "Peter. There's a prophesy about the end of the vampires. I think it has to do with Diana. Which means that creature...We need to get them away from him, whatever the cost." The prophesy was nothing new, there had been rumours about it for years, and if that was what facilitated Diana's return to him then all the better. Baldwin was getting restless after only a day, he went to church, he had to go at some point, he was not nearly as religious as Matthew, even then he believed in the old Gods, like Matthew was raised Catholic he was raised at a time where saying the wrong Gods name meant you were exiled. But he needed a place to go and sit in the quiet as he thinks, a place to remember his brothers, and his father. It was fine until Gerbert and Juliet walked in, he wasn't stupid, he knew Gerbert actively seek him to give him an excuse for La Pierre. "Come to make a confession, Gerbert?" He asked as they sat in front of him. "My conscienece is clear. I trust your family are well?" It took every ounce of Baldwin's will power not to growl. "No. Why would you speak of France? I assumed that topic would be a zero-sum game." HE muttered. "Far from it. It was Juliette here who offered Satu the use of La Pierre." He said looking at the Vampire who had caused Baldwin a massive headache every time she stepped close to his brother. "I found out about the outrage...Far too late to intervene." He knew he was lying Baldwin knew Juliette was Gerbert's puppet. "Miss Durand does very little without you telling her to." Baldwin said as Juliette shifted uncomfortably. "Not when it comes to your brother. My dear, tell him of your meeting with Satu..." Gerbert said and to Baldwin's shock she remained silent. "You told me you offered Satu the castle. You wanted Diana dealt with. Don't you recall?" Juliette remained silent for a minute. "No. I don't." She said and they stood up and Juliette marched out of there. Baldwin was impressed and worried, he had no idea what she was capable off when she was off her leash. She watched as she left and Domenico entered, his headache just got worse. He stayed until the end of the service before rushing off home, he had business to attend to but then he would call Aspen and see what she was doing, Freyja had called him yesterday explaining what they saw and how Aspen was learning magic. He just wished he was there and not Freyja. He just had to be patient and eventually this whole thing will sort it self out, he just had to do all the hard work for Matthew and Diana first, then he could spend eternity with Aspen.