Balance of Power: An Alastair Stone Urban Fantasy Novel (Alastair Stone Chronicles Book 25)

by R. L. King

  Stone—and most of the rest of the crowd—swiveled their heads to check out the remaining four bidders. All of them wore variations on the same expression: frustrated annoyance, tinged with confusion. Stone was sure all of them had come here to try obtaining the prize quietly and without fanfare, and now here was this glitzy, show-biz idiot doing his best to draw the entire crowd’s attention to the whole thing.

  “The bid is ten thousand dollars,” the auctioneer was saying, his gavel hovering over his podium. “Ten thousand going once. Ten thousand going twice…”

  The crowd held its collective breath.

  The gavel slammed down with authority. “Sold for ten thousand dollars to bidder number eighty-seven!”

  “Yes!” DaCosta pumped his fist and shot a fierce, gloating grin around the room. He didn’t say, “Take that, losers!” but he might as well have.

  Stone was more interested in what the other bidders would do. Would they remain, now that the pyramid was no longer available? Would they try stealing it before DaCosta, who was already focused on the next object up for sale, could collect it?

  Or, even worse, would they lie in wait for DaCosta after he picked it up?

  The woman next to Stone got up and slipped past him with a sour look and no “excuse me.” After she’d stalked away toward the rear of the auditorium, Stone pulled out his phone.

  A message immediately popped up from Jason. That was weird. Are we staying?

  Yes, he sent back. Blum, keep an eye on the backstage area where they’re holding the sold items. Jason and Verity, watch the other bidders. I’ll watch DaCosta. Amber, a woman with dark hair is leaving. Make sure she doesn’t hide somewhere.

  You think they’re gonna jump him? Jason sent.

  Thought has crossed my mind.

  The auction progressed. By the end, Stone was convinced Chaz DaCosta was not only what he appeared to be—a mundane with an interest in odd artifacts and more money than sense—but also that he had no idea there was anything unusual about the pyramid. He continued bidding on a large number of remaining items in the Drummond collection, mostly winning them for fairly low prices because nobody wanted to bid against him. He did get into one more bidding war, over the non-Egyptian sarcophagus Stone had seen in the storeroom back at the University, but the woman opposing him wasn’t part of the group interested in the pyramid. Stone bid on, and won, the magical herbalism tome, which DaCosta showed no interest in.

  His phone buzzed again. Blue Sweater is leaving, Verity sent.

  Other woman left, Amber sent. I followed her to her car. She drove off.

  Watch Blue Sweater, Stone sent. And keep an eye on the others. Going to pick up my purchase.

  He had an ulterior motive for bidding on the book, aside from thinking it would be a useful gift for Verity: it gave him an excuse to be in the small side chamber where they were handling payments and collections. From previous affairs like this he’d attended, he knew the winning bidders, once they’d paid for their purchases, had the option to either pick them up on site or have them shipped. DaCosta, most likely, would choose the latter since he’d bought so many things. Unless his frazzled assistant had brought a truck, anyway.

  Stone took his place in line as the auction continued with the last, non-Drummond lot. DaCosta was already there, standing off to the side while his assistant held his place in the queue. The young magician was basking in the attention he was getting from several other buyers, but he grinned at Stone when he spotted him.

  “Sorry for outbidding you, man. Shouldn’t have gone so high. I get what I want, y’know?”

  Stone shrugged. “It’s not a problem. You probably saved me from spending more than I wanted to anyway.”

  “Yeah, no hard feelings.”

  “Of course not.” Stone moved up a couple positions as others collected their items. When the assistant was next in line, he motioned DaCosta over.

  The magician came reluctantly, unwilling to move away from his little group of admirers. “What?”

  “I’d keep an eye on that pyramid, if I were you.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Why do you say that?”

  Again, Stone shrugged. “A lot of people seem interested in it. I’m just saying you should keep it somewhere safe.”

  “You think someone’s going to steal it?” He laughed contemptuously. “Do you know who I am? I’ve got full security on my collection. Anybody’d be an idiot to try breaking in.”

  “Suit yourself. I’m sure you’re right.”

  DaCosta drifted off, but Stone didn’t miss the sudden uncertainty in his aura. When the assistant reached the front of the line, he swapped places with his boss.

  “I’ll bring the car around to the front,” he told DaCosta.

  “Yeah, okay. I’ll be there when I’m done.”

  Stone pulled out his phone and sent a text. Anything?

  Blue Sweater left, Verity sent back. Redhead and Dad Bod are in the lobby. Not together.

  Nothing happening back here, Blum sent. They’ve got heavy security watching the stuff.

  Good, Stone sent. DaCosta’s assistant just left to get their car. Amber, can you watch? Skinny young man in a sport jacket and jeans. Make sure nobody’s got eyes on the car.

  On it.

  Satisfied that everything outside was being handled, Stone waited for DaCosta to finish. It took quite some time since he had so many items to pay for and sign off on. To Stone’s surprise, though, when the magician finished, he stepped aside and a few moments later a security guard came out carrying a box.

  DaCosta took it, peeked inside, and flashed Stone a grin. “Later, man.” He headed out, the guard following him.

  The other two other people ahead of Stone in line quickly completed their business. Only five minutes had passed when Stone had taken possession of the herbalism tome. He stepped out of line and texted again:

  Report? Amber?

  I’m on the roof of the auction building. The assistant brought the car around. Silver Mercedes sedan. Nice ride. DaCosta was carrying a box. He came out with a guard and got in, and they drove off. The guard went back inside. I don’t see any sign of anyone following them.

  Verity? Are the others still here?

  Dad Bod is back in the auditorium. Redhead still in the lobby.

  I’m keeping an eye on her, Jason sent. She seems to be waiting for somebody.

  Still nothing backstage, Blum sent. Pyramid’s gone. Okay to come out now?

  Yes. Stone frowned. This wasn’t going anything like he expected. He’d been certain that either one of the groups after the pyramid would have won the bid, or else somebody would have assaulted or followed DaCosta on his way out. He’d obviously taken the pyramid with him in the box, probably spooked by Stone’s words.

  Stone left the side room, walking slowly and deep in thought. Something was wrong here.

  “Hmm…” he muttered under his breath. “What if…?”

  Maybe the oddness he was looking for was DaCosta himself. What if the magician had been the X-factor, and nobody else had expected him to show up and be interested in the collection? From the look on the other bidders’ faces, they were annoyed about it—but why did they suddenly drop the bid and let DaCosta have the pyramid? If he was right and the Ordo and Portas were among the bidders, those organizations certainly had enough money to put up a lot more than ten thousand dollars to secure something this valuable to them.

  But what if they didn’t need to?

  Stone smiled mirthlessly. Of course—it made sense. Why draw attention to themselves by spending insane amounts of money for something most of the crowd thought was relatively worthless, when they could let the eccentric DaCosta draw all the eyeballs, spend his own money, and then conveniently arrange to relieve him of what they wanted later?

  DaCosta had said he had heavy security on his collection, though—which meant if he had the pyramid on him now, their safest option would be to catch him before he got it home.

  Stone’s p
hone buzzed.

  He pulled it out and was about to check the message and text the others when a voice called from in front of him: “Dr. Alastair Stone?”

  All he saw before he jerked his head up was that there were two messages, from Jason and Verity. When he saw who was standing in front of him, he thought he probably knew what those messages had been about.

  The two individuals Verity had dubbed “Dad Bod” and “Redhead” were watching him with calm interest, but their auras were on high alert.

  “Er…do I know you two?”

  “You don’t.” Redhead nodded toward the book under his arm. “I see you won at least one of the things you were bidding on.”

  “Oh. Yes. It’s a tome on the practices of herbalism in various occult traditions. I think it will be fascinating reading.” He scanned the auditorium. The auction was still going on, so most of the crowd was focused on the auctioneer. He didn’t see Blum or Amber, but Jason and Verity were near the exit doors, watching him with concern.

  “Not nearly as fascinating as that black pyramid, though,” Dad Bod said conversationally. “Are you upset that you lost it to the magician kid?”

  “Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money for something that’s probably just gonna sit on a bookshelf somewhere looking cool,” Redhead added.

  “No, not at all. I’m actually relieved, to be honest. I…er…got a bit ahead of myself. Heat of the moment, you know?” Stone kept his voice light to hide his inner turmoil. The longer these two held him off, the longer it would be before he could share his ideas with his friends. Someone could already be hijacking DaCosta’s car. “Is there something I can do for you two? I’ve really got to get going—”

  “Oh, sure, no problem. We won’t keep you long.”

  Stone noticed that both of them had subtly moved to block his forward progress—not enough that he couldn’t get past them or flank them if he was sufficiently motivated, but he’d have to make more of a commitment than he knew he should. “What do you want?”

  “We’re just curious,” Dad Bod said. “We know there was a break-in at Stanford a while back. Someone got into the storeroom where Hiram Drummond’s collection was being stored.”

  “Yes. It was in all the papers.” By now, Jason was approaching cautiously from the side.

  “You were inside that storeroom, weren’t you?”

  Stone narrowed his eyes. “Is this an interrogation, Mr.—”

  “No, no, of course not. We’re just curious, is all. You’ve got nothing to hide, do you?”

  “Of course I don’t.”

  “So, you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions?” Redhead asked.

  “Not until you tell me who you are. As far as I know, you could be reporters for some dodgy publication.”

  Dad Bod chuckled. “No, nothing like that.” He pulled out a wallet and flashed a badge.

  “You’re police?”

  “Not exactly police,” Redhead said. “We work for a government agency.”

  “Ah. And clearly you can’t reveal which one, or you would have. Which is unfortunate, because you could have bought that badge at a second-hand store.”

  Dad Bod sighed. “Dr. Stone, we’re not your enemies. If anything, from everything I’ve heard about you, we’re on the same side. And to be honest with you, we think that black pyramid is more than it seems—and we’re pretty sure you do too.”

  Stone tilted his head. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about…er…what should I call you? Agent? Officer? Captain?”

  The two exchanged glances.

  Jason approached. “Al, we need to go. Everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine. I’ll be there in just a moment. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

  “Yeah, okay.” He headed off with obvious reluctance.

  Stone focused back on the two agents. “Listen—I don’t know what you think, but I know nothing about it. I’m just a university professor with a bit too much money and an interest in occult artifacts. That’s why I’m here. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”

  “Of course. Sorry to bother you, Dr. Stone. Have a good day.”

  Stone slipped past them and hurried out to the lobby. His heart was pounding, but not entirely from stress. So, one of the players in this little game had revealed themselves at last. Sort of, at least. He still didn’t know exactly who or what they were, but at least now his suspicion that somebody in the mundane government had taken an interest in the pyramid had proven correct. If they knew what it was, that could make things even more interesting.

  Verity, Jason, and Blum were already in the lobby when Stone arrived.

  Verity hastened up to him. “Are you okay?”

  “Of course.”

  “Who were those people?”

  “They were from the government…though I’m not at all sure they were here to help me.” He aimed a significant glance at Blum. “But that’s irrelevant at the moment. We’ve got to find DaCosta.”

  Verity frowned. “Why?”

  At that point, Amber strode inside. “They’re gone,” she said. “I watched them through my binoculars as long as I could, and nobody bothered them. Not surprising, given the traffic around here.”

  “You think DaCosta’s in danger?” Blum asked, glancing toward the door.

  “Quite possibly,” Stone said. “He’s a mundane, and unless I miss my guess, he took the pyramid with him. I doubt those other groups are going to give up so easily, and it would be nothing for either of them to overpower him. I could do it in a heartbeat, and I suspect they have fewer scruples than I do.”

  He glanced at Amber, who seemed distracted, sniffing the air. “Something wrong?”

  She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she raised her head and sniffed again, looking like a wolf who’d caught a scent. Her expression turned grim. “I think I smell blood.”

  Everyone stared at her. “Blood?” Blum looked around in confusion. “Where? I don’t see anything.”

  She still looked preoccupied, barely paying attention to her friends as she turned slowly. “Not far. Definitely blood. This way.” She pointed toward a closed door behind the concession table.

  The older woman behind the table stood as they tried to move past her. “You can’t come back here,” she protested.

  “We think our friend is there,” Jason said, ignoring her. Amber had already reached the door.

  “Nobody’s back here, young man.” Now she was looking angry. “That door is locked.”

  “Are you sure?” Stone asked. He shielded Verity with his body so she could pop the lock.

  “It’s not locked,” Verity said brightly, shoving it open. “Look, see? Open.”

  “Now, just a moment!” the woman protested. “If you don’t leave right now, I’m calling security!”

  For all the difference her words made, she might as well have been talking to her coffee urn. Stone, Verity, Jason, Amber, and Blum all swept by.

  “It’s definitely here,” Amber said. “It’s stronger now.”

  They were standing in a hallway with two doors along it. Amber immediately pointed to the one directly in front of them. It was unlabeled—probably an office. “There.”

  Stone tried the door, expecting it to be locked. Instead, it swung open readily. He strode inside, magical sight active.

  It wasn’t necessary. It was easy to spot what Amber had smelled. Chaz DaCosta’s assistant lay on the floor, his hands and feet bound, clearly unconscious. A small, spreading puddle of dark blood stained the floor under his head.

  “Oh, no,” Verity muttered, already rushing over to drop next to him.

  “Is he dead?” Blum already had his phone out.

  “No,” Amber said. “But he needs help fast.”

  Stone crouched next to the young man. He looked pale, but his breathing seemed regular. “Can you help him, Verity? We won’t have much time.”

  “I’ll try.”

  The door flew open to admit the coffee woman, now accompanied
by a uniformed security guard.

  “What the hell—?” the guard began. “Hey! Get away from that guy!”

  Blum flashed his badge. “SFPD. We’ve got this under control. Already called for help. Watch the door, and make sure nobody comes in here except the people who need to be here.”

  “But—” the coffee woman spluttered, her sharp gaze darting between all the people in the room. “How did you—?”

  The security guard was already obeying orders. “I got this,” he told Blum, and began gently herding the coffee woman back outside.

  “What happened?” Jason demanded. He backed off to give Verity room to work as Stone broke the zip-ties binding the assistant. “Amber, I thought you said you saw the guy leave with DaCosta.”

  “I did. Clear as day.”

  “But she was on the roof,” Stone said grimly. “Too far for a good scent. And she never got the real assistant’s scent in the first place.”

  “Illusion?” Verity didn’t look up from her work.

  “Has to be. Not quite sure how they managed it, but they must have waylaid him somehow and stashed him in here, then used illusion to impersonate him.”

  “Damn,” Jason said. “So they could be anywhere by now. If DaCosta doesn’t catch on that it’s not his real assistant in the car with him…”

  Blum got on his phone again. “I’ll put out a BOLO on the car and both of them. Amber, did you get a plate number?”

  “Yeah.” She gave it to him. “Silver Mercedes S-Class, a year or two old.”

  He looked surprised she’d noticed. “Good job.”

  “They won’t stay in the car any longer than they have to,” Stone said. “We do have one thing working in our favor, though.”

  “What’s that?” Jason asked.

  “I don’t think whoever did this expected DaCosta to be here—and certainly didn’t expect him to keep raising the bid for the pyramid. I’m guessing they had to deviate from their original plan. That might make them sloppy.”

  “That’s a pretty slim hope.”

  “It’s all we’ve got right now. We can do a ritual to try finding DaCosta if we can get something of his, but that will take time. How’s the assistant doing, Verity?”