Necessary Sacrifices

by R. L. King

  “Wow,” Verity said from behind him.

  He turned back when he realized she wasn’t following him.

  She’d stopped, staring up at the looming, dark bulk of the house. Currently, its only illumination was a few perimeter lights; none shone from the inside. “That’s your house,” she said.

  “That’s it.”

  “It’s—” She paused a moment, considering, then grinned. “I love it.”

  “I thought you might—though wait until you see it in the daylight, warts and all, before you decide.”

  “Warts give character.”

  “Tell that to Aubrey when the roof’s leaking at three in the morning in the dead of winter. Come on—I’d like to get inside before we wake him up.”

  No such luck, though. Stone often suspected the caretaker possessed some kind of sixth sense that alerted him when anyone entered the grounds; in any case, he almost always seemed to know when Stone showed up. As they approached the house, a light came on in the apartment above the large carriage house/garage, and a moment later Aubrey was coming down the stairs clad in pajamas covered by an overcoat, scarf, and slippers.

  “I thought you might be back tonight, sir—” he began. He stopped when he spotted Verity behind Stone.

  “Yes. It’s best if we stay away from Caventhorne until they get things sorted. Oh—Aubrey, this is Verity Thayer, my apprentice. Verity, this is Aubrey, my caretaker.”

  “Pleasure, Miss Thayer,” Aubrey said. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you over the years. I’m pleased to finally meet you.”

  “Same here.”

  “You should go back to bed,” Stone said. “No point in dragging you up at this hour. I can take care of preparing a bedroom for Verity, though I doubt either of us will be sleeping for what’s left of tonight.”

  “Of course not, sir,” Aubrey said emphatically. “If you’ll give me just a few moments to get dressed, I’ll take care of it and put some tea on for you two. I suspect you’ve had a difficult evening.”

  Stone let his breath out. “I can’t argue with that,” he admitted. “Thank you, Aubrey. I appreciate it. We’ll meet you at the house.”

  Verity remained uncharacteristically silent as they headed the rest of the way to the house, following along as he opened the double front doors and led her into the great room.

  “You can go exploring later if you want to,” he told her. “Right now, I need a drink. Let’s go out to the kitchen—that’s where Aubrey will meet us. You can either join me in a drink or wait for the tea and refreshments.”

  She touched his arm. “Doc, it’s okay,” she said softly. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. Like you said, I’ve got plenty of time to look around. You do what you need to do.”

  He shot her a grateful look. More than most people he knew, she had a talent for picking up on his mood and reacting to it. That didn’t mean she wasn’t willing to tell him he was acting like an ass when he was (in fact, this was usually the case when he took one of his moody turns), but when he genuinely needed the people around him not to add more stress to his life, her empathy was soothing.

  Aubrey arrived a few moments later, now dressed in trousers and an old sweater. He bustled into the kitchen with a surprising amount of energy for an old man who’d been awakened at three in the morning, and immediately put a pot of water on to heat. He didn’t comment on the bottle of Scotch Stone had already opened.

  “Such a terrible situation,” the caretaker said as he gathered a plate of cookies, crackers, and other nibbles. “How are they holding up at Caventhorne?”

  “Kerrick’s devastated, of course.” Stone swirled his half-full glass of Scotch, staring into it. “I honestly think he’s taking it harder than Imogen is.”

  “I’m not at all surprised.” Aubrey set the plate on the table and began pulling teacups from a cabinet. “It must have been a terrible shock to everyone. Mr. Desmond has always been in such good health.” He hesitated. “If you don’t mind my asking, have you all decided on a course of action?”

  “That’s why we’re here now,” Stone said. “For now, we’re going with the belief that Desmond died of natural causes—heart attack or some such. But he died in one of the warded areas of the house, so we had to…move him someplace that wouldn’t raise a lot of questions when the authorities were alerted.”

  Aubrey’s eyebrows went up. “Move him, sir? But couldn’t that cause difficulties of its own?”

  “We’re hoping not. We used some magical methods to disturb him as little as possible. Kerrick’s going to call someone over, but of course Verity and I had to clear out before that, since there’s no record of us arriving in the country. We’ll have to return through the portal and take a plane back in the next day or two.”

  “Of course, sir. The service—”

  “Not just the service. When we were moving Desmond’s body, Verity noticed something a bit odd around it. She’s quite skilled in health-related magic—I missed it myself until she pointed it out to me.”

  “Something…odd, sir?” Aubrey paused in the act of pouring cups of tea.

  “We’re not completely sure yet. It might be nothing. It probably is nothing. But I want to have a look at his private work areas at both Caventhorne and the London place, to see if I can find anything.” Stone indicated the two teacups Aubrey had set out. “Please, Aubrey—sit with us. You’re making me nervous, bustling around like that.”

  The caretaker poured another cup of tea, brought them all over, and sat heavily down. “Do you think Mr. Desmond had enemies, sir? The thought that someone might be able to—”

  “Yes, I’ve already considered that. If there’s someone out there who could kill William Desmond and make it look like natural causes, we need to figure out who that someone is. That’s why I’m hoping this all turns out to be nothing, and whatever Verity saw is just a glitch of some sort. Desmond’s work area is brimming with magic, so it might just have been some kind of bleed-over.”

  “It might,” Verity agreed. “Like I said, it was really subtle. I doubt anybody would have noticed it without doing a full scan like I did.”

  “And I don’t think Desmond was in the habit of letting many people scan him at that level,” Stone said. “Even if he was feeling ill, he’d probably have let it get fairly dire before he’d admit anything was wrong.”

  “Seems a common trait in you lot, sir,” Aubrey said dryly.

  “I’ll have to ask Kerrick and Imogen if they ever noticed anything,” Stone said, ignoring him. “Kerrick, especially, would have noticed if Desmond was acting ill.”

  Verity sipped her tea. “So what’s the plan? We’ll wait here until we hear back from Caventhorne, then head home through the portal and come back on a plane?”

  “Probably, yes. You do have a passport, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. Jason made me get one a couple years ago, just in case.”

  “Good, good.” Stone stared into his Scotch again, then glanced up. “I expect we’ll have to be here at least a week—I can’t imagine them getting together all the details for a service like Desmond’s any faster than that.”

  “Indeed, sir,” Aubrey said. “No doubt it will attract attendees from all over the world, from both the magical and mundane spheres.”

  Verity frowned. “I thought he was kind of a recluse.”

  “No,” Stone said. “Not at all. He was a private man, certainly, and very few people were included in his inner circle. But you can’t be one of the most powerful mages on Earth—not to mention one dedicated to advancing and sharing magical knowledge—without picking up a lot of acquaintances. And that’s not even touching on all the charitable and educational foundations he was connected with. I won’t be surprised if his funeral is attended by hundreds of people.”

  “Wow,” she said. “I had no idea your old master was such a big deal. If there’
s anything I can do to help—”

  “Thank you, Verity. I might take you up on that once we get back here. Of course I’ll be offering my services to Imogen and Kerrick, if they need help coordinating details.” He finished the Scotch, but didn’t pour another glass. “For now, though, it might be best to try getting some rest. I know you’re probably not any more tired than I am, but if we’re to be here for a few days we should probably try getting acclimated sooner rather than later.”

  He could tell the last thing she wanted to do was rest, but she reluctantly nodded . “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  Aubrey stood. “I’ll get a bedroom prepared for you, Ms. Thayer, if you’ll give me a few minutes.”

  “Thanks, Aubrey. But seriously, you don’t have to do anything special. I can just curl up on a couch somewhere for a couple hours.”

  “You’ll do nothing of the sort,” he replied, looking stricken. “Just a few minutes and I’ll have you all set up.” Before she could object, he hurried out of the kitchen.

  Stone watched him go with a small, fond smile. “Aubrey could no more put you in an unprepared room than he could take off all his clothes and dance naked on the roof.”

  “I guess not. I just feel weird being waited on.” She took another sip of tea. “I guess you’re used to it, aren’t you?”

  “I suppose I am. It’s what I grew up with, and Aubrey’s been with the family since before I was born. I do try to take care of as much as I can on my own when I’m home—I know he’s not getting any younger. But he insists, and gets insulted when I don’t let him take care of me. And he’s more stubborn than I am, if you can believe that.”

  “I dunno, Doc. I didn’t think that was possible.”

  Aubrey returned fifteen minutes later. “Right, then,” he said briskly. “Dr. Stone, your suite is prepared, and I’ve fixed up the large room at the end of your hall for Ms. Thayer.”

  “Thank you, Aubrey. Now go back to bed. There’s no reason for you to be awake at this ungodly hour. We’ll see you later this morning.”

  “Yes, sir. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I’ll ring Kerrick in the morning and offer my assistance.”

  After Aubrey left, Stone took Verity up the sweeping staircase to the second floor and pushed open a carved wooden door. “This should suit you,” he said, then pointed. “I’m just down at the end of the hall there, so if you need anything, knock. If you can’t sleep you’re welcome to wander about wherever you like. I’ll give you the formal tour later.”

  “Thanks.” She paused a moment in the doorway, then turned back to him. “Doc?”

  “Yes?”

  “What will you do if you find out somebody did kill Mr. Desmond?”

  He didn’t answer for several seconds. “I’ll have to work out who did it, won’t I?” he said at last.

  “And then what?”

  “I’ll have to deal with them.”

  “But if they’re powerful enough to kill somebody like Mr. Desmond and nearly get away with it…”

  “I know, Verity. I know.” Suddenly, he felt very tired. He nodded toward her room. “Get some rest. I suspect tomorrow is going to be quite a busy day.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  When Aubrey tracked Stone down early the following morning, he was in his upstairs study. “Sir? Did you sleep at all?”

  “Not much.” After Stone had left Verity, he’d made a vain attempt to lie on his bed and rest his mind, but all the uncertainty swirling around Desmond’s death had left his thoughts churning. Finally, he’d bowed to the inevitable and headed to his library, where he’d retrieved some reference books that might help him explain the odd energy around his master’s body. Now, at a little after nine a.m., the eight-hour time difference was beginning to catch up with him but he didn’t have time to admit it. Especially since his research had produced no results. “Something up?”

  “Yes, sir. Kerrick rang. The authorities have finished their work, and…taken Mr. Desmond away.”

  Stone stood, tensing. “Was there any problem?”

  “No, sir. Kerrick said they didn’t appear to suspect that the body had been moved. They’re treating it like a normal, natural death. Though, of course, since he died unattended…”

  “…they’ll need to do an autopsy. Yes, of course. But I doubt they’ll find anything unusual.”

  “Yes, sir.” Aubrey paused in the doorway. “I assume you’ll be heading back there today?”

  “For a while, yes. We can’t be seen in public, so we’ll have to remain at Caventhorne or the London house, but I do want to get a look around the warded parts of the house to see if I can find anything suspicious. After that, we’ll go home and fly back formally so we can stay a few days at minimum.”

  “Will Ms. Thayer be returning with you?”

  “That’s up to her. As I mentioned, I could use her help—she’s getting quite good at the kind of subtle magic I have to work a bit harder at. Where is she, by the way? Have you seen her this morning?”

  “No, sir. I think she might still be asleep. I didn’t want to disturb her.”

  “Well, I’ll need to soon. I want to get on with things as soon as possible. If there are any traces hanging about, the longer we wait the more chance they’ll fade before we can identify them.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll put a small breakfast together.”

  He’d been gone for less than five minutes when Verity drifted in through the doorway. “Morning.” She wore a trim gray T-shirt, jeans, and her hair was damp and spiky from a shower.

  Stone closed his books and stood. “Good morning. Did you get any sleep?”

  “Surprisingly, yeah. Not much to do in that room—no TV or books or anything. I figured I’d go look around, but I guess I’ll have time to do that later. What’s the plan?”

  “The authorities have finished with Desmond, so we’ll be going back to Caventhorne today. Why don’t you go on downstairs and have breakfast so Aubrey doesn’t feel he’s fixed up all that food in vain, and I’ll go have a shower and a change of clothes.”

  Stone called ahead to make sure they were expected, and they took the portal through to Caventhorne later that morning. They found Kerrick and Imogen in one of the sitting rooms.

  Imogen rose from her chair and embraced Stone. Despite her outwardly calm demeanor, he could feel her slim body trembling. “Thank you so much for coming,” she said. “For everything.”

  “Of course,” he murmured. “Did everything go…all right?”

  She nodded, resuming her seat and waving Stone and Verity toward a sofa while Kerrick poured cups of tea for them. “They didn’t leave until nearly dawn, and they said they might be back, depending on the—the results of the tests. But they didn’t seem at all suspicious.”

  “Do the staff know?” Stone directed that question at Kerrick.

  “Yes, sir. We gathered everyone together this morning and gave them the sad news. They’re all devastated, naturally. They’ve been instructed not to speak to anyone—I’m surprised the press hasn’t gotten the story yet, but I expect it will happen any time now. Mr. Desmond, despite his reclusive ways, was something of a public figure with many friends in high places.”

  “What will you do today, Alastair?” Imogen asked.

  “With your permission, I’d like to take Verity and have a much more careful look at the warded parts of the house.”

  “Of course. Nothing’s changed—you were always welcome here, and you always will be.” She stared down into her teacup, her fingers gently clenching and unclenching around it. “Alastair—do you truly think something happened to Dad? Something that wasn’t…natural?”

  He didn’t look at her. “I’m not sure, Imogen. It’s possible. That’s what I’m hoping to look into. Do you mind if I ask you—both of you—some questions that might be a bit uncomfortable?”
/>   “Anything,” she said. “If it helps.”

  “Yes, sir, of course,” Kerrick echoed.

  Stone got up and began pacing, taking his teacup with him. “Did you notice anything unusual about him recently? Was he acting odd in any way? Feeling ill? Anything you might have observed?”

  “I’m sad to say I haven’t seen him much lately,” Imogen said, looking miserable. “We’d both been busy with various things, and aside from dinner a couple of weeks ago, we hadn’t gotten together. But he seemed…fine then.”

  “What about you, Kerrick?” Ever since Stone had been an apprentice—and probably even before that—Kerrick had been Desmond’s most loyal confidant. If anyone had noticed anything unusual, it would have been the estate steward.

  “It’s…hard to say, sir. I could say he might have looked a bit tired a few times I noticed, but that wasn’t particularly unusual. He often worked late into the night, and lost track of time when he was on the trail of some interesting bit of research. That’s nothing new, as you know.”

  That was, of course, true. Stone remembered many of their marathon research sessions in the years before he left for the United States—the two of them would often forget to eat or sleep as they followed some promising line of magical investigation. “But he didn’t seem ill? Short of breath? Pale, or flushed? Eating less than usual? Nothing like that?”

  “No, sir. And he maintained his full schedule of events—charity affairs, meetings with other mages, business dealings, that sort of thing.”

  “Did you keep his schedule?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Was there anything new on it? Any new business associates, appointments you didn’t recognize, anything like that?”

  “No, sir, not that I’m aware of.”

  “What about the apprentice he let go recently? Anything you might have found suspicious about him?”

  “No, sir. In fact, I believe he was quite overwhelmed by Mr. Desmond’s course of study. I’m certain he was relieved when Mr. Desmond released him—I suspect he was close to giving up himself. He’s with another master now, and doing much better.”