The Collector

Chapter 3

There's rosemary, That's for remembrance; pray, love, remember- Hamlet

The three cousins sat at the breakfast table. Avery ate with appetite, which is more than could be said for Sebastian and Aleera. Leera only nibbled at toast and Sebastian played with the eggs and making pictures in the runny yolks. When Avery had eaten her fill, she looked from her sister to her cousin and said with annoyance," Why are you not eating? If the demon comes we will need all our strength to run away from him."

Sebastain shot Leera a warning look before he answered, "Quite right little kitten. I'll make a deal with you. I'll eat all my breakfast, no more messing, if you promise to take a rest without complaint."

"and Leera too?" Avery demanded. 

"Leera too." Sebastian promised. 

Avery slouched resignedly out of her chair, "Oh all right, but I expect to be informed of your plans later." Good as her word Avery left the breakfast room without a word of protest and headed towards the guest wing where a bed had been prepared. 

Leera waited to hear the door click before she reprimanded, "Why send her away? She is in as much trouble as you or I just by association."

"I think not." Sebastian mused," you see, she was not born when we first made the acquaintance of Mr. Soloman. If we send her away..."

"What!" Leera about yelled.

"moderate your tone if you please." Her cousin reprimanded, then continued, "Father would probably demand it at any rate Leera. He is now your legal guardian. " Leera could not argue this fact so naturally she changed the subject. 

"Soloman will come to collect his debt. Have you thought of a way to circumvent the payment?"

Sebastian laughed, "You mean, trick him again and not pay him a second time. Goodness me, cousin, you are quite devious." Leera's cheeks flushed with frustration but before she could utter another word he said, " It is a daring idea, I may just know of a person who could help us with our little problem. Let us eat all our breakfast like good little children or Avery will scold. Then I will take you to meet my friend Mac."

---

It was early afternoon when Aleera and Sebastian set out for Grimsby Manor in Mayfair. When the carriage stopped Leera saw a grand building of recent build and extansive size. She wondered again what kind of man this 'Mac' would be. 

The were greeted at the front door by a wizened old lady who ushered them into a sitting room on the first floor. This room was unusual beside the normal chaise lounges and tables, the room was filled with oddities. There were glass cases containing inoccuous pieces of paper, books and odds and ends of all sorts. On top of the cases were machines that Leera felt sure did something incredible. The strangest piece in the room though was a book that lay open on a blank page. As Leera watched, the page filled with words as if some invisible had were writing on that page. Her mouth dropped open in surprise and she completely forgot herself and neglected to sit down. Poor Sebastian had to stand until her curiosity was satisfied. Soon enough, Mac walked into the room and chuckled when he saw what Aleera was staring at. 

"Welcome to my home." Mac intoned, then added with a wink to Sebastian, " Please, do have a seat."

Leera gave a tiny gasp of realization and cast an apologetic look at her cousin as she took her seat. Both gentlemen took a seat and once settled Mac began, "How can I help you Mr. Grey? Is this visit to do with the one I mentioned to you? This young lady, though charming, is not who I was referring to." 

Aleera shot her cousin a questioning look which he studiously avoided as he replied, "Mr. MacKenzie Peabody, this is my cousin: The Honorable Aleera Copse."

Mac looked startled as he replied, "Miss Copse, I am glad to see that the report of you self being missing has been greatly exaggerated. I read about the tragedy in this morning's paper. Tell me, what can I do for you."

Sebastian  continued, "She and I have a unique problem that requires your expertise to solve.  What do you know of Ifrits?"

Mac slowly leaned back in his chair and looked thoughtfully at the pair. When Mac began to speak it was as if he were reading from a textbook, "Morally neutral beings, Ifrits are part of the djinn family they are however more inclined towards evil and once summoned are hard to control even with magic. If they are unleashed without control, they usually demand a tribute in exchange for not killing a person. "

When Mac finished and waited patiently. Aleera cleared her throat and ventured, "We have made the unfortunate acquaintance of a particularly nasty ifrit named Soloman. We accidentally let him free as children."

Mac raised an eyebrow as if to say, You cannot accidentally release an ifrit . Sebastian quickly added, " We were children at the time. Children of a sort you are quite familiar with. Miss Copse is a Dream Seer. We thought we were rescuing a man wrongfully imprisoned. As it turned out, it was Soloman the Demon of Babylon."

"and what was his price?" asked Mac curiously. 

Aleera sounded exasperated as she replied, "Our weight in gold.  This of course was not something we could do. We decided to trick him instead. We told him all he desired was at the bottom of a giant oriental vase he just needed to say the magic words once he was inside."

Sebastian took the narrative from there, "Once he was inside the vase, we coverd the top and I used my own power of Asteral manipulation to bind him there unless he was specifically summoned. We thought we had seen the last of him until he attacked Miss Copse's home last evening."

Aleera added slowly, "He was released by a sorcerer who is looking for a young woman. She is in terrible danger and is in need of our help just as we are needing your help to re-bind the ifrit."

Mac nodded sagely. A few moments passed in silence before Mac finally spoke. He met Sebastian's eyes with a meaningful stare and said, "I know of a person who could help you. He lives wandering the forests of the North with his people. It just so happens that his twin sister is a lady that I would like to meet. So seeking out this man would kill two birds with one stone."

Sebastian's eyes flashed in a dangerous way and when he responded, Leera could tell he was barely able to control his temper. "You cannot possibly be suggesting that I take my gently bred cousin along on a tramp through the northern wild woods to find the band of gypsies? Then complete a task for which that self same twin brother may end up changing his mind and let Soloman kill us?"

"Do you really have another option at this point my boy?" Mac asked the tenor of amusement barely disguised. 

Aleera who was beginning to understand what was being asked of them, opened her mouth to demand, "Why would this gypsy brother change his mind? Sebastian, what does Mr. Peabody want with the man's sister?"