Free This Dark Endeavour (with Bonus Material) by Kenneth Oppel Page B

and so am able to carry on, as you see. Now, you have listened to a long and weighty tale, and if it has any moral, it is this: Rid yourself of that book before it brings you ill luck. Good day to you.”
    Once more he began to turn his wheelchair away.
    “It is my brother—” I began, but my voice broke.
    Polidori sighed. “I am very sorry to hear it,” he said sadly. “It is always the way. I have seen it many, many times. When a loved one falls desperately ill, and all else fails, any risk is worth the taking.”
    “Yes,” said Elizabeth.
    Polidori shook his gaunt head. “The last time I took pity onsuch a patient, it cost the patient her life, and me nearly mine.”
    “We have money,” I said.
    But Polidori raised his hand wearily. “I cannot. I will not. And if I may give you a further piece of advice, give up your search altogether. Agrippa’s recipe has never been replicated. Why? Because it is written in a strange and complex—”
    “The Alphabet of the Magi,” I said. “We know.”
    “Very good,” he said. “But did you also know that it has no translation? It is unreadable.”
    “What about Paracelsus?” Elizabeth demanded.
“The Archidoxes of Magic.
“
    Polidori looked startled, impressed even. “Every edition is gone, burned,” he said with a trace of wistfulness. “Extinct! And even if it weren’t—”
    From my satchel I took the volume of Paracelsus and placed it carefully before him on the counter.
    In silence he stared at it with a curious expression I couldn’t quite fathom. Then it came to me. It was the way a cat beholds its prey just before the pounce. His grey eyes lifted slowly to mine.
    “Where did you find this?” he asked softly.
    “That is my secret.” I was afraid if he knew too much about us, he might guess my parentage and refuse to help us further. “Will you assist us?”
    “Your parents, young sir, do they know of this visit?” he asked.
    “No.”
    Polidori glanced out to the street, as if afraid someone might be watching. He looked at all three of us, as if reluctant once more, but then his gaze fell back on the Paracelsus.
    “Come,” he said. “Bring these books of yours into my parlour. Let us have a look at them.”
    He led us into the dim room behind the counter. It too was lined with shelves, but these held books instead of vials and tins. The faded Oriental carpet was rutted with wheelchair tracks. Two armchairs and a threadbare sofa were arranged around a small hearth. There was a table that had not been entirely cleared of its last meal. He lived humbly indeed.
    We were not five paces into the room when something leapt at Polidori from the shadows. Elizabeth and I both gave cries of surprise, and Henry shrieked outright.
    Polidori swivelled around in his chair to face us, and we all stared at the extraordinary creature curled up on his lap.
    “That,” said Henry, his voice more highly pitched than usual, “is a very large cat!”
    It was a magnificent creature to be sure. Its body was lithe and long and short tailed. Its tawny coat was marked with dark spots. Beneath its neck was a ruff of white and black striped fur that looked rather like a bow tie. And from the tips of the creature’s tall triangular ears rose tufts of stiff black hair.
    I looked at Elizabeth, and she returned my curious gaze.
    “It isn’t by any chance,” she began uncertainly, “a—”
    “A lynx, yes,” said Polidori with a smile, clearly enjoying our surprise.
    “Ah,” said Henry a bit weakly.
    Many wild animals inhabited the forests around our lake:bears and wolves, chamois, and lynx who could live almost at the height of the highest Alps.
    “I did not know they could be trained as … pets,” I confessed.
    Polidori raised an eyebrow, as if questioning my use of words. “He is quite tame. He came to me as a mere kitten and is as amiable as any house cat. Aren’t you, Krake?”
    Polidori’s fingers vigorously kneaded the fur between Krake’s ears, and the