Dee looked at her blankly.

“You have this so neatly planned out: what do you need me for?” The Magician opened his mouth, but Dare held up her hand to stop him. “And don’t even think about lying,” she whispered. “Not when there are four swords on the table in front of me.” Although the smile did not leave her lips, the threat was plain.

The Englishman nodded. “I came to you because… well, I told you: you are central to my plan. I need your flute.”

“My flute?” Virginia was completely taken aback.

Dee looked vaguely embarrassed. “Well, yes. When the monsters have been released into the city, I should be able to control them for a few days. But once they’ve fed and become feral, I will lose control…” His voice trailed off as he watched for Dare’s reaction.

“And you believe my flute will be able to enchant and control them.”

“I’m sure of it. Remember, I was with you when you stood on the banks of the Red River and turned back a herd of three thousand stampeding buffalo. I have some inkling of the flute’s powers.”

“There is a difference between buffalo and whatever menagerie of nightmares you’ve collected.”

Dee shook his head. “They are all beasts. And earlier, I watched you fell both cucubuths and humani. I have absolute confidence in you.”

“Thank you,” Virginia said sarcastically. “So once I render the creatures unconscious what do you intend to do with them when they wake up?”

Dee shrugged dismissively. “Kill them, or return them to Alcatraz and let them fend for themselves.” He reached for the rectangular wooden box on the table, opened the lid and lifted out a small copper-bound book.

The air in the room immediately crackled with static electricity, green sparks running across all the metal surfaces.

Virginia felt as if all the breath had been sucked from her body. “Is that what I think it is?”

Dee placed the book on the table in the center of the swords. Bound in tarnished green copper, the book was about six inches across by nine inches long, the pages within thick and yellow with ragged edges.