Merrick Read Online Free PDF

I
exclaimed, forgetting the resin for a moment. “ Flee ? I don’t know what
you could do now to make me flee, sir, but…well, for me to run off and damn my
own mum to prison, or put myself back in prison with the rats and rapists, sir,
it would take a good deal more than witchcraft. Christ, it’d take more than
anything I can come up with! You’d have to chase me out yourself.”
    Merrick laughed
under his breath.
    That was strange.
But I was more concerned with my own loose tongue. “What’s in that resin, sir?”
    “A special blend
to induce honesty,” Merrick said, and covered the stone dish with its lid to
extinguish it.
    I stared dumbly at
the dissipating smoke. “Well, that’s a mite underhanded.” When he said nothing,
I asked, “What did you intend to find out?”
    “Whether you are
sincere, and how far I can trust you.” Merrick picked up the lamp. “Goodnight,
William.”
    I watched him
leave for the cellar, feeling tricked. After a minute or so, I lay back in the
darkness, frowning intently at nothing.
    No.
    That wasn’t fair.
    I got up out of
bed and pushed back the hide in the doorway to the main room to let in some of
the lamplight, and reached over to the stone dish to lift the lid. As I
anticipated, there was still a good deal of resin inside.
    Quickly, I ducked
into the kitchen and grabbed a few matches from the tin near the stove, then
returned to the bed and tucked them under my pillow. Then I lay on my back as
always. When Merrick returned, I feigned sleep.
    I lie there for a
long while, unsure of how long I should wait to be sure he was asleep.
    It was impossible
to tell with him. His breathing was imperceptible, and he always lay still. I
nearly lost my nerve. A couple of hours must have passed before I finally, with
painstakingly slow movements, rose from the bed with the matches in my hand.
    It only took one
strike to light the resin. I cast an anxious glance back to the bed, the match
still in my hand, and froze.
    In the dim,
flickering light, I could see that Merrick had removed his hood.
    He was on his
back, his face turned to the wall, his ebony hair gleaming more brightly than
it seemed the feeble light should allow.
    The match burned
down to my fingers, and I jumped, waving it out. The heady scent of the smoke
was filling my room, and I swallowed hard in anticipation of the moment I would
call his name and cause his head to turn towards me.
    The thought,
combined with the smoke, made me lightheaded. All at once I realized what a
stupid plan this was. Clearly, I had conceived it on impulse while still under
the influence of this damned herb!
    What the Hell was
I thinking? Wake up Merrick and interrogate him? Give him a reason to throw me
out after he’d been so kind? For God’s sake!
    I was still
holding the stone lid in my hand, and quickly replaced it on the dish to cut
off the smoke. Standing so close over it, I felt a little woozy.
    “What are you
doing, William?”
    I jumped, nearly
dropping the matches as I whirled back around to face the bed. “M-master
Merrick,” I stammered. “Forgive me.”
    “Am I imagining
that scent?”
    My blood ran cold
as the bed creaked. He was getting up. “No, sir. But I’ve extinguished it.
Forgive me, sir. I don’t know what came over me. I had a plan to wake…to ask…”
Oh, God help me. I was running my mouth again. I’d really done it this
time. And how could I make excuses with the smoke still in my nose?
    “I’m afraid I have
become an idiot,” I blurted. Yes. That was certainly the truth. Another point
for botany.
    Merrick’s soft
laugh was not far from me. A moment later, I felt his hand on my waist. “What
were you going to ask, William?”
    My mouth felt dry.
“Well, if you’re practicing witchcraft. If you’re really as old as you say you
are. What’s down in that other room, maybe. Why you requested an apprentice…” I
was silenced by his fingers. They were pressed softly to my lips.
    “It’s a shame