“I think you were going to say The Brotherhood.”

Lamberti blinked. “How do you know that name?”

“I do my homework. If you have heard of them, then you know what that ring is and why it’s so dangerous. I bet you know a lot more, too. Where is it?”

“Somewhere you will never find it.”

“You’ll be surprised what I can find.”

Sixteen

“This is unreal,” Jackson said, blinking as he took in the entrance to the emerald cave in JD’s marquee. “I think I’m hallucinating.”

“In that case,” Maggie declared, “we both are. What the actual fuck…”

“Anna,” Jackson said, whirling around to look for JD’s assistant who had walked over with them, “have you been inside?”

She puffed up. “No! I have nothing to do with JD’s work. I just feed him and keep his house clean.”

“But this is The Emerald Tablet! He’s actually cracked it! I mean, you saw it, right? You know what he was doing.”

“Of course I saw it. It was hard to miss. One of his more impressive results, I admit, but when you’ve known him as long as I have, it just becomes one of the many things he’s achieved.”

She really was an interesting woman. To live and work with a genius, and yet have nothing to do with his work. It was its own form of madness. And yet, maybe she was the sanest one of them all. Best to keep out of JD’s business.

“I’ll leave you to it,” she said, backing away.

Then it struck him. “Holy shit! You’re like him. Immortal.” Anna smiled, confirming everything. “For how long?”

“Long enough.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and suddenly Anna, the dour and disapproving woman, became far more interesting. Another immortal… JD must value her more than he had ever let on. Refusing to elaborate, she exited the tent, saying, “I’ll see you later.”

Jackson looked at Maggie. “Can you believe that?”

Her hands were on her hips, lips clenched tight, her eyes boring into his. “Fucking immortal? How many other fucking secrets are you keeping from me, Jackson?”

“Oh, shit!” Why had he forgotten that Maggie didn’t know about JD? “Oh well, one less secret to keep.”

Maggie didn’t budge. “Anything else, before we step inside? And perhaps some details now might be nice!”

“Er, can this wait until we’ve seen JD? I promise to answer all your questions later.” Fuck.

“No! How old are we talking?”

“JD is about five hundred years old. Give or take.”

“Five hundred!” Maggie staggered backwards, hands gripping the back of a chair. “How?”

“He’s an alchemist. I have no idea! But clearly, he values Anna. And no, I have no idea how old she is.”

“How long have you known?”

“Years. A few of us in the PD know. Layla and Waylen. Russell never knew.” Thankfully. Although, would it have mattered? The Comte de St Germain knew anyway. “Olivia, Harlan, and Gabe and his brothers know, too. It sort of came out during the jobs we did with him.”

“You owe me!” Maggie prodded him in the chest, fury rising. “The last to know about that, too!”

“To be fair though, Mags, you don't know him or work with him. Your paths never cross. So, why would you know?”

She regarded him silently, obviously wrestling with her emotions. “I suppose that is true. I know him by reputation only as head of The Orphic Guild. Damn it, I’m still cross, though! Is he someone famous? I would like to know before I actually meet him.”

“Well, yes actually, you might know his name. It depends how much of a history buff you are.” Jackson knew most people would never have heard of him.

“Try me.”

“He’s John Dee. He was Queen Elizabeth’s court magician.”

“Queen Elizabeth the first?”

“Well, yes. It clearly wasn’t the second, you tit!” He presumed shock was addling her brain.

Maggie took a moment to gather herself. “Well, obviously I have heard of her! But him, no. I have no idea who he is.”

“Well, don’t tell him that. In fact, just don’t mention it at all.” Jackson was sure she knew that the Count of St Germain was immortal because she'd helped his research. Consequently he'd assumed she knew about JD, too. His head hurt just thinking about it. “Can we go now? The big, green cave awaits.”

“Just give me a moment!” She sat heavily on the chair, looking like a smaller version of the Maggie he knew. “You’ve had a long time to get used to this news. It’s a shock to me. I know you’ve talked about him, and the advancements he’s made with alchemical weapons, and that he’s been tracking Black Cronos, but I didn’t know he is immortal!”

Jackson rubbed his face and sat next to her, suddenly weary. “You know, I’d actually forgotten you didn’t know, and to be honest, in the course of normal conversation, it doesn’t come up. It’s just JD doing his thing! I’m sorry.”

“I’m in your pack! Your alpha—according to you. I feel an idiot.”

“Maggie, you’re not an idiot. I forgot. I bet Harlan and Olivia forgot, too. Well, maybe not Harlan. It’s like he keeps lists of this shit. But you can’t tell Stan or Irving.”

“Of course not.” Blimey. She was so shocked that she’d forgotten to swear. “So, his huge library and diaries, and all of that stuff you’ve talked about…did he acquire it over his lifetime?”

“Of course. He was there for a lot of it, or was passing through places and then heard news about various things. It’s why he’s so smart. He was already a genius in his lifetime. Now, with hundreds of years of study under his belt, well…”

“Wow.” Maggie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Okay, I’m fine. Let’s walk into the Emerald Tablet, shall we?”

He grinned. “I bet you didn’t think you’d be saying that when you woke up this morning.”

“Oh, fuck off you smug bastard! Let’s get in there.”

She marched down the green passage, leaving Jackson running to catch up. He’d meant to savour this moment, and now he was rushing. Bloody Maggie. He slowed, letting her race off alone, and examined the walls and floor, trying to commit it all to memory. It was surreal. Like walking through a dream. It was an even weirder sensation when he actually reached the cave itself. The pillars towered around him, covered with endless lines of text. Incredible. It stretched in all directions. Harlan hadn’t fully described the enormity of it. But how could he?

A bellow from somewhere ahead of him made him sprint, but it was Maggie’s strident voice that set him in the right direction.

“Calm down! I’m not a stranger!” she yelled. “I’m Maggie Milne, DI with the Paranormal Policing Team. I’m here with Jackson Strange.”

By the time he found her, Maggie had her hands up, backed against an emerald pillar, while JD pointed one of his weapons at her.