Matthew and Jane strolled along Spuistraat occasionally stopping to look in a window of the small shops tucked in between the cafes and bars which lined the city thoroughfare.
The New Amstel Bookshop was on the corner of a small lane which led to the Singel Canal.
Despite the name, the shop facade was of an old style, and the faded white paint had flaked. The building was typical of Amsterdam: narrow and leaned outward at an angle.
“Are you sure we should do this Mattie? Jane asked looking up at the building, “I mean we’ve no idea who this character is; he might be some kind of psychopathic murderer!”
“I’m sure he means us no harm. It was him that was sitting in the car outside the hotel in Maastricht. He’s the guy we need to talk to for sure.”
Matthew opened the glass door and walked in with Jane following him. The wonderful aroma of brewing coffee filled the air. The shop was deceptively big inside, stretching back quite a way.
There was even an upper floor, at the top of a set of narrow stairs.
The lower shop was empty save for an elderly woman flicking through some paperbacks. There were, however, voices coming from upstairs.
Matthew walked to the counter at the back where a tall, middle-aged woman with greying, fair hair stood, and drank coffee while she read a Carlos Ruiz Zafon book.
“Yes?” she asked.
“I was given this,” said Matthew, handing over the letter from the previous evening.
“Ah yes, could you wait here please,” the assistant said as she turned and headed into the back shop.
After a few moments she returned and asked them to follow her. They walked through a storeroom filled with bookshelves on one side, and towels and dishes on a long bench on the other.
In the far corner was a green microwave oven sitting on the draining board of a sink. There was a strong odour of pot-pourri which fought with the aroma of the coffee for dominance.
From the storeroom they passed along a short hallway until the woman stopped outside a large mahogany stained door and knocked before entering. She waved Matthew and Jane into the darkened room.
Inside, the room was large, and had hardwood lined walls interspersed with paintings. There were no windows; the limited light came from wall-lamps. The furniture was of leather stretched over steel frames – built to be functional rather than comfortable.
“Please, sit down,” said a rasping voice from behind a large desk.
Surprised, Matthew and Jane looked in the direction from where the voice had come. What they saw was a darkened figure of a man sitting in front of a switched off computer surrounded by books.
“Thank you, Aada,” he said as the assistant turned and left the room.
An uneasy silence descended on the room broken only by the constant ticking of a clock.
“Thank you for coming, and I’m sorry for the cloak and dagger stuff, but it’s necessary due to my appearance.” The man said as he brought the lighting up to reveal a face of sallow skin and red eyes below thick, black hair tied in a ponytail.
Jane drew her breath in, but Matthew didn’t blink an eyelid; he had expected it. He had come to expect such things in this shadowy world he now inhabited.
“I am David de Longford. My father was Jonas de Longford. Yes Matthew - I am one of your ancestors.”
“But you are a demon and tried to take the Key by force,” said Matthew.
“I still have demonic powers, but there is the human side, which over the years has intensified.
The things I have seen…,” he paused for a moment and looked down at his desk. “The things I have seen have had a profound effect on me, and for a long time now I have pitied the human race.”
David gazed at the young couple before him. “My mother, the goddess, came in dreams while I was living with a family in Arbroath and persuaded me to take the Key. But my human side stopped me
from doing any real harm to my father. He would never have revealed the whereabouts of the Key even on the point of death.”
“Where have you been all this time?” Matthew asked.
“I found out my father had been paying the family I was staying with to keep me - the money came from the Abbey funds. This gave me a greater understanding of the caring side of human nature and the love my father had for me. I despised my mother for bringing me into this world then abandoning me. When I realised what he was going to do, I followed him over to what we now call Holland. You see, I was being torn apart by love for my father on one hand and obsession for the Key on the other. I remained around the Abbey at Susteren for many weeks fighting with the demon inside. Then I returned to Scotland.”
David rose from his chair and admired one of his paintings. “When I got back home, there was a letter waiting for me; it was from Jonas outlining what he would do. This news turned my world upside down–now I had no father. I took a local woman, Catherine, as a mate and sired a child-Sarah. I lived as peacefully as I could working in the fields–I looked normal at that time, this appearance grew through the centuries. My father came in dreams from the void and told me where the renegade monks had stashed their ill-gotten gains. I took the artefacts and money; provided for my family and again left for Holland.”
“Sarah must have stayed in the Arbroath area, and continued the line that led to you,” Jane said to Matthew.
“I remained close to the Key to protect it if I could. I took work where I could while I still looked human. When the demon features dominated, I sold a few of the ancient books I found hoarded in Arbroath. That's what I do to this day: I buy and sell ancient religious books.”
“If, as you say, you have lived a long time, so must have the people born after you. Where are they now?” Matthew asked.
“The demon gene is recessive. Many of our relatives have and will live normal lives. You and I are the only ones to have what they call matching alleles.
“The Key left Sustern when the French invaded?” Matthew probed.
“Yes, it was taken to Aren Abbey beside Chartres as you have been told by my associate Henri Diebolt. I moved to France where I encountered Anatole Saucier–a very dangerous man obsessed with gaining possession of the Key. He is the head priest of a group called the Order of the Gate.
Have you come across him?”
“I’ve encountered his goons; the living and dead varieties,” said Matthew.
“I see. He is what you would call my nemesis. We have crossed swords a few times. He has demonic powers given to him by the Goddess Hel, and has used them, under the guise of some moral cause or another, to spread evil. You must be alert; you will encounter him on your quest.