Otherwise his preparations were all made. He had performed the blood sacrifices the previous evening, and then had completely rearranged the furniture in the workroom to accommodate the Grand Circle – the first time he had had need of it in twenty years – the Lesser Circles and the Gateway. There were even special preparations for Father Domenico – who had returned early and with a gratifyingly troubled countenance – should it become necessary to ask the monk to call for Divine intervention; but Ware was tolerably sure it would not be. Though he had never attempted anything of this magnitude before, he felt the work in his fingertips, like a well-practised sonata. He was, however, both astonished and disquieted to find Dr Hess already in the laboratory – not only because of the potentialities for contamination, but at the inevitable conclusion that Hess had worked out how to placate the Guardian of the door. This man evidently was even more dangerous than Ware had guessed. ‘Do you want to ruin us all?’ Ware demanded.
