by Devin Hanson
“Oh.” I took my phone out and glanced at the time. It was a few minutes from three thirty. “Uh, how long?”
“A while,” Dimitri rumbled. “You will know when we are getting close.”
Frederick opened his eyes, then reached out and touched the censor with a muttered phrase. Smoke started wafting from the punched hole patterns and I smelled frankincense. At least Frederick had better taste in his incense than Raveth.
“Do not cross the line of the circle,” Elaida said. Her voice sounded muffled, as if I had plugs in my ears.
I worked my jaw, but my ears didn’t pop.
“The spell is underway,” Dimitri told me. “Now we wait. You are sure the focus is in position?”
I nodded.
“How do you know, though?” Eric grumbled. He looked at me and I saw some of the suspicion he was still harboring in his eyes.
“I took your advice,” I grinned back. “I seduced his assistant.” I think more accurately Ilyena had seduced me, but I wasn’t going to quibble.
“The sybil?” Eric looked at me wide-eyed. I couldn’t tell if he was surprised or wishing he had been there to watch. Maybe a bit of both.
Dimitri chuckled. “We all have our strengths, Eric.”
Time passed. Dimitri retreated into whatever brooding introversion passed for his pre-combat prep, Eric went back to his phone to look at Twitter again, and Elaida settled down to the floor and started rolling a little rubber ball between her fingers, loosening up the muscles and tendons in her hands.
I watched the concentration on Frederick’s face and noted the changes in the circle around me. The others might not be curious, but I was fascinated. One by one, each of the talismans Frederick had placed about the circle shifted as the growing magic grabbed hold of it.
The dagger stood up on its point, spinning slowly before coming to a stop. The book of illusions flipped open and ruffled through its pages to one of Escher’s drawings with the staircases going in all directions. The censor smoke grew thick, then condensed into a ring floating a few inches off the painted circle. Finally, the airhorn started a soft whine as the air inside the cannister began to slowly release.
Eric sighed and put his phone away. “It’s getting close.”
“The spell?” I asked. Maybe now that the five talismans were engaged the spell was nearing completion.
“Nah, still time on that. The photos I was talking about earlier are going to release soon.”
Was it really that late? I got my phone out and thumbed the screen on. Nothing happened.
“Don’t bother,” Eric shook his head. “Electronics don’t work very well inside an active circle.”
“What time is it?”
“Four fifteen or so. Last update was the photos are going to drop at six o’clock sharp. I really hope we’re out of this by then.”
“We should be,” Elaida said absently. “With the skull to contain the archangel, we should be in and out in ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes? Isn’t it just in the side room? Shouldn’t it take us thirty seconds.”
Elaida shook her head. “Caradoc would not bring the Shroud to Los Angeles. It will be locked away within his hoard.”
I looked at her blankly. “Then what are we doing? Why are we going to Caradoc’s suite instead?”
“We are going to the hoard,” Elaida said impatiently. “His hoard is warded against magic. The only way to reach it is through the portals he has set up himself.”
“So, wait, the door in the back of his bedroom isn’t to the side room?”
Elaida pushed herself to her feet and tucked her little ball away. “Caradoc’s hoard is in Wales. Even Frederick doesn’t have a gift strong enough to reach that far.”
I could only shrug helplessly. I didn’t understand any of this. I was going to ask more questions, but my attention was being drawn back to the circle. Nothing had happened for several minutes, but now I could swear the carefully laid out lines of paint were beginning to glow.
“No turning back now,” Dimitri muttered.
The light from the paint grew stronger until it was unmistakable. Frederick’s face was tight with concentration. Beneath his closed eyelids, his eyes flicked from side to side. Unlike Elaida, though, Frederick didn’t use his hands to cast his spells. His hands were bunched into fists in his lap, but they weren’t contorting painfully. Maybe all the preparation with the paint and the circle replaced the need for finger gestures.
Outside the garage, tires squealed to a halt. Through the soundproofing in the walls and the deadened air in the circle, it was barely audible. I looked up at Elaida questioningly, then a sudden fusillade of gunfire, ripped out. I took half a step toward the circle and Dimitri caught my arm, his fingers hard as steel.
“No, Alexandra. We must stay within the circle.” He gently but firmly moved me aside and took up a wide-legged stance in front of me, his axe held in both hands across his body.
“What do we do?” I asked. I meant it to come out calm, but I ended up squeaking at the end.
“There is nothing we can do,” Elaida shrugged. She tugged her clothing straight and stood patiently, her hands folded in front of her at her waist.
Eric unlimbered the assault rifle he was carrying. “Get your gun out,” he suggested. “If they kill Frederick, the circle will come down.”
Something in his voice suggested he thought it unlikely, but I drew my gun anyway. As Eric had drilled me, I checked the magazine, drew back the slide to chamber a round and thumbed the safety off. As far as I knew, it was ready to shoot. I kept the gun pointed at the ground and my finger well off the trigger. I had no desire to shoot anyone on accident. Or on purpose, for that matter. My heart was hammering in my chest and my breaths were coming quick and short. I forced myself to hold my breath and slow down the gasps before I hyperventilated and passed out.
We didn’t have long to wait. Barely thirty seconds passed before the door was kicked open and a squad of men wearing hunting camouflage and carrying rifles came running into the room. I thought I knew what was coming next, and sure enough John Raveth entered a moment later.
“Well, well,” Raveth said loudly, turning in a slow circle and examining the garage. “Looks like you folks are busy with something. Hello, cousin.”
I glared at him from around Dimitri’s bulk and said nothing.
“No greeting for me? And here I thought we were getting along so well. No matter. Elaida, darling, you look ravishing as always.”
Elaida folded her arms. “What do you want, Raveth?”
Raveth pointed at me. “I want what’s mine. But while I’m here, I’ll take Caradoc’s hoard too.”
“You would steal from Caradoc?” Elaida asked in disbelief.
“Don’t act so high and mighty, djinn. You’re stealing from him too.”
“I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand the difference,” Elaida growled.
“Oh well, maybe you’re right.” Raveth shrugged. “Hello, Frederick. How’re the ribs?”
Frederick had his eyes tightly shut and he trembled where he sat. Still, he didn’t react to Raveth as the incubus rounded the circle and squatted down on his heels next to him.
“Impressive concentration. What would happen if someone interrupted him?”
“Don’t you dare,” Elaida growled.
Raveth stood up abruptly and he gestured at one of his men, who ducked outside. “You don’t understand, Elaida. I would dare so much more. But, unfortunately, at this time I need Frederick. See, once he sends you on your way, I’ll have him send me immediately afterward. Shouldn’t take much time for a second group to be sent. Five minutes? Less, if he knows what’s good for him, of course.”
“He would never.”
“Wouldn’t he?” Raveth tilted his head and squinted at Elaida. “I think he would. If the choice is between a million dollars in his hands or a bullet between the eyes, I think I know what option he would pick.”
“God damn you, R
aveth.”
“Oh, absolutely. I’ve no illusions, Elaida. God has forsaken me. Or I have forsaken Him. Doesn’t really matter, in the end.”
Another group of men joined Raveth in the room, bringing the total up to a round dozen, along with a pair of towering marid. It was starting to get crowded in the garage. The marid looked a little uncomfortable, and refused to look at Dimitri. But they also had a determined set to their jaws and a desperation lurked behind their eyes.
“Whatever Raveth is paying you, it isn’t enough,” I said loudly. “You follow us through here, you won’t be fighting just us. Do you know what Caradoc has guarding his hoard?”
“Who cares,” Raveth grinned at me. “I’m not an idiot. There’s a reason why I waited for you lot to go first.” He waved his fingers in the air. “Don’t worry, cousin. My men have been paid. See, I know people like Elaida. Fear drives her, and she is not ready to be a martyr.”
“Don’t be too sure,” Elaida growled over Raveth’s laughter.
Raveth’s laughter abruptly cut off. “I have a proposition for you. Give me the skull and stand aside. Let me ransack the hoard without your interference. I’ll give you the item you seek and a million dollars each besides.”
“Go to hell, Raveth,” Elaida growled.
“Well.” He shrugged and grinned. “That’s the idea, isn’t it? But in the meantime, I’ll bring as much greed as I can to this world. But think about it. We don’t need to fight here. You get the Shroud and a handsome payday. Everyone wins.”
“Maybe we don’t want you to win,” Dimitri rumbled.
“Oh, he speaks!” Raveth sneered. “Be quiet, creature. Your betters are discussing things.”
I saw the marid outside the circle exchange glances and shift their weight, but they did nothing else. It would take more than a little xenophobia to overcome their greed.
“How could we possibly trust you?” Elaida laughed back. “I’d sooner put my head in an alligator’s mouth.”
“I admit I haven’t given you much reason to believe me at my word, but I will swear whatever oath you think necessary.”
“All lies.”
“I would never break an oath to my mother,” Raveth snarled, rage suddenly contorting his face. “I would as soon—”
My vision whited out and a sensation of falling gripped me. Before I could scream, my feet hit the ground with a jolt and I almost lost my balance. Dimitri caught me before I could fall over and I became aware of the elegant furniture of David’s suite all around me.
“We made it!” I gasped.
“This is Caradoc’s suite?” Elaida demanded.
“Yeah! Frederick did it!”
Elaida narrowed her eyes. “Naturally. And now he’s back there in the lion’s den.”
“I would think that was where we are,” Dimitri said. I had never heard him make a joke before, and I had to do a double take to catch the twinkle in his eye.
“Out of the pan and into the fire,” Eric quipped.
“We have no time for your inanities,” Elaida said irritably. “Frederick will be sending a wave of Raveth’s forces through the gateway shortly.”
“How long do we have?” I asked.
“Two minutes, maybe less,” Elaida shook her head. “It depends on how long Frederick can stall before starting and pretend to drag it out. If Raveth is at all sensitive to magic, he will know, though.”
“Two?! I thought we’d have five?”
Elaida sighed. “Frederick is quite good at what he does. Unfortunately, in this case. Where is the focus?”
I turned toward the couches. “It should be hidden behind a cushion or something.”
“Wait! Leave it hidden. If Raveth doesn’t know where it is, he’ll be trapped here.”
“Oh.”
“Where is the door to Caradoc’s hoard?”
I pointed toward the bedroom. “Through there.”
We filed into the bedroom and I gestured at the door that David had told me not to enter. “That’s it.”
Elaida stepped forward and I moved aside, letting her go first. I was in trouble. David had wanted me to prevent her from stealing from him. I wasn’t going to aid in raiding his hoard, but I also couldn’t stay here. Raveth and his acolytes would be coming through the circle very soon, and I didn’t want to know what would happen to me if I let them catch me.
Damn it. I really didn’t want to go through that door.
Elaida stopped in front of the door and pulled the skull out of her pouch. She gripped it by the back and held it out in front of her with the eyes pointing forward. “Once we’re through,” she said through gritted teeth, “do not stop for any reason. Do not pick anything up. Zerachiel might not be the only guardian, so stick together and announce any threat you see.”
Then Elaida hauled the door open.
The opulent hotel room vanished in darkness around me. The air was suddenly cold and slightly damp. I turned and my feet gritted across gravel-covered rock. The sound quality had changed and the clank of Dimitri’s armor when he moved sounded harsh and loud.
There was a soft crunch and a sudden wash of pale green light bloomed. Eric shook out the light stick and handed it to me with a nod before producing a few more and cracking the seals. I held my light stick high and turned about, examining our surroundings.
We were in a cave. Water dripped into a shallow pool to the left, and limestone deposits humped along the walls. The floor beneath my feet looked to have been carved out with rough tools, then back-filled with gravel to make a somewhat level surface to walk on. On one side, the walls fell away and a chasm in the stone offered a way out.
So much for avoiding entering the hoard. Whatever magic David had placed on the doorway must have simply grabbed everyone in the bedroom and transported them here. This cave must be in Wales, then. I swallowed back my slowly rising fear.
“The hoard is this way,” Elaida said softly. She had hooked her light stick to her belt so she could keep her hands free. After a moment trying to figure out a way to copy her, I hooked the top of the light stick through the eye of the zipper on my jacket.
In the perfect blackness of the cave, our lights gave us just enough illumination to see the ground at our feet and make out vague shapes ten feet away. Beyond that circle, everything was pitch black, though I would occasionally catch the gleam of light reflecting back off a wet limestone lump.
Eric stumbled over a stone and sent it clattering away into the darkness. We froze and listened. At some point, it sounded like two rocks were bouncing, then the sound faded away. I looked a question at Dimitri and he gave a minute shrug.
“Echoes.”
“Where is—”
Elaida made a sharp gesture, cutting me off before I could finish the question. In the distant gloom, I heard the tinkle of a chain running over stone. There was a metallic scraping sound, then silence.
“Zerachiel,” Dimitri growled. He took two long steps and put himself between Elaida and the darkness.
The scrape of chains dragged toward us and I took half a step backward before I could stop myself. There wasn’t anywhere to run to. Thirty feet behind me was a dead-end cavern. Elaida’s knuckles were white as she held the skull high.
Elaida cried out a phrase in a guttural language and low laughter came out of the darkness in response. Goose bumps rolled up my arms and I broke into a cold sweat. At the very edge of our light, there was a sudden rush of motion. I saw wings, a span more than twenty feet across, then they were gone again. A rush of wind blew my hair back and I smelled sour sweat and something festering and raw.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Eric muttered. He held his rifle tight against his shoulder and he worked his fingers nervously on the forward grip.
A low, angry hiss came from the darkness.
“Are you insane?” Elaida whispered hoarsely. “Do not use His name in vain!”
I bit back my own curse and a sudden urge to break into hysterical, cackling laughter. It hadn’t even o
ccurred to me to watch my language until Elaida pointed it out. The archangel might be crazy, but it was still an archangel.
There was a harsh clatter, and a musical rush of small metal objects cascading. It sounded like a giant stack of coins had been knocked over. Eric lowered his gun and pulled a few more light sticks from his vest pouch. He cracked them open and tossed them forward into the gloom.
The first thing I saw were glittering piles, some of which had to be fifteen feet across at the base and more than ten feet high. The gleam of gold reflected back at us. I had been right about the noise. Gold coins were stacked and strewn about. Sometimes in loose piles, and in other places in precise stacks of thousands.
Gold bars, jewels, pearls, and precious stones, silver, platinum, jade and ivory; crowns, necklaces, rings, armbands and diadems; figurines, carvings, statuettes, castings and busts; goblets, plates, candlesticks, urns and flatware; statues, paintings and rugs; glass entombed books, glittering chess sets, chandeliers, racks of scrolls, musical instrument cases, and more. More than my eyes could see and my mind comprehend.
There was wealth here, not the kind of wealth most people are familiar with. Mansions and cars and yachts wouldn’t make a dent in even one of those piles. This was wealth on the scale of first-world governments. Hundreds of billions of dollars in very liquid assets, stacked in untidy piles because there was simply too much to effectively organize into the available space. And Eric’s light sticks only illuminated the front of the hoard. There was no hint of the rear wall in sight.
A chain, thick as my wrist, slid along the ground, snaking between piles. Another stack of coins was unbalanced and it tipped over with a musical tinkle. My awe at the unbelievable concentration of riches was eclipsed by dread once more.
With a hoard like this, it had to have an appropriately formidable guardian. The chain doubled back on itself and slipped out of sight. We waited, tensely, but the only thing we heard was faintly echoing, mocking laughter.
