Read Online A Dark Heart by Margaret Foxe - Free Book Online

dryly.
    "I thought you lot already did," Elijah retorted.
    "We have always been bound by a code of benign interference,” Rowan
countered – splitting hairs, in Elijah’s opinion. “But, as the Crimea
proved, Ehrengard wants to topple governments. And the more chaos he causes,
the more blood he sheds, the better."
    “If Ehrengard manages to construct this device and use it, he’ll be
nearly invincible, Inspector,” the Duke finished.
    Bloody hell. "How did this bloke ever become an Elder in the
first place?" Elijah wondered out loud. "I mean, didn't you have to
pass some sort of knightly test before you received your magic hearts? To cull
the psychopaths and whatnot?" he asked dryly.
    "Ehrengard was rich. Extremely rich," Brightlingsea said.
    Oh, for the love of God. "The sacred, holier-than-thou
Council of Elders, with their unbreakable laws and knightly code, and you could
buy your way in?" he said incredulously.
    Rowan shrugged. "Leonardo had to eat. And Ehrengard wasn't always such a bastard."
    " I'm a bastard. He's a mass murdering
psychopath," Elijah interjected, feeling it was important to emphasize the
difference. No matter how far he sank in life, he could never match Ehrengard's
level of depravity. It was one of the few consolations he had left: that he was
not as bad as the murderous lunatic who’d massacred millions of people.
    "Gaining immortality affected each of us differently,” Rowan said. “It
destroyed what little humanity Ehrengard had."
    Elijah sighed wearily. "As much as I'm enjoying this little history
lesson, I still don't see why I should care. So the Elder Council is split. Not my problem. As far as I'm concerned, you lot can destroy each other. The world
would be a better place."
    "You really don't mince your words, do you, Elijah?"
Rowan said with a frown.
    The Duke actually laughed, but without any humor. "The sad thing is
I agree with him," he said. "The world would be a better place
without us."
    "Gabriel, what happened in the Crimea was not your fault,"
Rowan said quietly.
    For the first time in their acquaintance, Elijah saw a true emotion pass
over the Duke's expression. Anguish. So deep and horrible that just witnessing
it made Elijah's heart sink. He recognized that look. He saw it in the mirror
every day.
    " How was it not my fault? What part of it was not because of
me? Millions had to die before he was defeated. Half the Continent is still a
wasteland because of what I did. I broke the bloody world," Brightlingsea
replied in a near whisper. "But I will fix it. And I won't let Ehrengard
do this to me again, take what is mine and twist it into a nightmare."
    Elijah didn't know how to respond to the Duke's rather impassioned
declaration, but he'd be damned if he sympathized with Brightlingsea. "So
let me see if I have everything straight. You believe Ehrengard is behind the
theft, and he means to use the device in some elaborate scheme to take over the
world. But you've no idea where or when or even if it is ever going to
happen.”
    “Essentially,” the Duke admitted.
    Elijah shook his head. “This seems like an exercise in futility. And you
forget I won't be around long enough to care one way or another."
    "Just do a little digging, Elijah, for God's sake," Rowan bit
out in exasperation. "It's not like we're asking you to fly to the bloody
moon. And besides, Brightlingsea will owe you a favor. Won't you, Gabriel?"
Rowan asked, poking the Duke in the side with an elbow.
    The Duke scowled at his cousin.
    At this, Elijah immediately started to care about Brightlingsea's problem
just a little bit more. He was a guttersnipe at heart, who knew the
value of a favor owed, especially from a man like Brightlingsea. "Any favor
I want?"
    The muscles in Brightlingsea's jaw twitched. At last he managed a terse,
"Any favor," as if he was in severe physical pain.
    Elijah smirked. "And I have your word on that, as a man of honor?
Any favor I want, if I find your damned blueprints and stop