by R. L. King
Ian’s eyes narrowed, but finally he nodded. “Yeah. I get that. And I agree it’s probably something we should talk about later. Right now I want to see the rest of your place, and see if I can get Aubrey to tell me any funny stories about your childhood over lunch.”
Stone chuckled. “Given half a chance, he’ll talk your ear off.” He pushed open the door and added softly, “This isn’t just my place, Ian. It’s yours, too. Or it will be someday, at any rate. But until then it’s still your home, if you want it to be. You’re welcome to stay here whenever you like. Hell, you can live here if you want. Aside from requesting you keep any wild parties elsewhere and treat Aubrey with respect, I want you to do as you like.”
Ian shot him an odd look as they entered the magical library “Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it.” He looked around, craning his neck up to get a glimpse of the top shelves of books high above. “Hard to get my mind around having all these magical ancestors all of a sudden. Do you know anything about them?”
Stone tensed. “I…know something about them, yes.”
“Can you tell me? What were they like?”
“They were…” You weren’t going to hide anything from him, remember? It was harder now that the hypothetical situation was standing directly in front of him. “I’ll be honest with you, Ian—aside from my father, they weren’t very nice people. That’s something I’d appreciate you not spreading around. Sort of a…family secret.”
His son looked intrigued, turning away from where he’d been studying a section of the shelves. “We have dark family secrets, too?”
“Quite a lot of them, as it happens. And I promise, I’ll share them all with you—but not just now. It will take more than a few hours, and honestly I don’t want to go into it right now. Won’t put me in the right frame of mind for the wedding tonight.”
“That’s fine.” He narrowed his eyes. “It sounds like they’re pretty bad, though.”
“They are. Our ancestors were the blackest sort of black mages—not like you and me, but the kind who did terrible things with their magic. I’m still coming to terms with it myself. There’s probably a lot more to uncover, but I haven’t been in any hurry to hunt it down.”
Ian had levitated to the second level of the shelves and was scanning some books there. He floated back down, and when he faced Stone his expression was sober. “Sorry—I didn’t mean to sound like I wasn’t taking it seriously.”
“It’s quite all right—as I said, it’s just not something I want getting around. Oh—and that reminds me,” he said quickly. Bloody hell, how had I forgotten to mention that? “I’m—er—not exactly proud of this, but Aubrey doesn’t know we’re black mages. And I’d prefer it stay that way.”
Ian frowned. “I thought you said he was your closest friend.”
“He is. It’s—complicated, trust me.”
“You think he’ll disapprove?”
Stone wasn’t surprised he’d gone there, given his previous concerns about revealing other aspects of his life. “No. I don’t think he’ll disapprove. I just think it’s best that we keep our magical status to ourselves.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want.” He still looked troubled. “Does he know I’m gay?”
“He does, yes. I hope you don’t mind that I told him.”
“And…?”
“And what?”
“And how did he react?”
Stone shrugged. “He didn’t ‘react’ at all.” He chuckled. “He’s older, Ian, but he’s quite open-minded. He’d have to be, wouldn’t he, with all the insanity he’s had to cope with over the years?” He gripped his son’s shoulder. “Your being gay is one of the more normal things I’ve dropped on him recently. Don’t give it another thought. Anyway, we should go—he’ll be waiting for us, and I want to show you the workshop and the ritual area before we finish up down here.”
Ian took a last look around the library as they left. “This is all pretty impressive. Will I have access to this area?”
“You will, but not yet. I’m still treating you as an apprentice, even if your training has been…unconventional. And there are things in here you shouldn’t be messing about with until you’re farther along in your studies. But if you like, I’ll set you up with a subset of the library, here and at Caventhorne.”
“We’ll see. Some of the reading has been interesting, but I find I’m more of a ‘learn by doing’ kind of mage.”
“Fair enough.” That amused Stone—it seemed the universe was conspiring to continue presenting him, the ultimate scholar and theory guy, with would-be students who’d rather jump in and get their feet thoroughly wet before bothering to learn the why of what they were doing. He supposed he’d been the same way in his youth, and perhaps that was the direction magical scholarship was headed these days.
When they arrived back upstairs, the pleasant aroma of something savory filled the air. “Ah, I see he’s gone all out,” Stone said, chuckling. “You don’t need any more proof that he likes you. If he didn’t, he’d probably have pizza delivered or something.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Well, yes, but he can be a bit on the passive-aggressive side when he’s not on board with something. Think Jewish mother in the guise of an old British bloke.”
“So, like, tea and crumpets instead of chicken soup?”
“More like toad in the hole and a nice ale, but yes, you’ve got the idea.”
Aubrey came out of the kitchen, wearing oven mitts and a full apron over his rumpled sweater. “Ah, good, you’re back. I’ve got the table set and everything’s ready to go when you are.”
Stone noticed immediately that he had only set two places. “You’re joining us, Aubrey, and no argument.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you. I didn’t want to assume.” Aubrey looked pleased to be included. He tucked the oven mitts under his arm and hurried to set another place.
Lunch was a pleasant, leisurely affair. It wasn’t long before Stone began to relax, letting go of some of the tension he’d been feeling about whether either Ian or Aubrey would lead the conversation in unexpected directions by asking questions without easy answers. As it turned out, neither of them did that. Ian proved to be a surprisingly adept conversationalist, drawing Aubrey out with inquiries about his job, quirks of the house and grounds, and Stone’s childhood. The caretaker, likewise, though clearly curious about everything to do with this newfound member of the family, seemed content to remain on safe paths. Even though Stone had confided some of his frustration at Ian’s hedonistic ways, he didn’t bring anything up beyond asking the boy about his travels. By the time they’d polished off the simple but excellent meal of roast beef, carrots, and Yorkshire pudding and sat sipping wine, Stone was feeling downright mellow. Another hurdle passed, and successfully.
Aubrey stood and began to clear the dishes, glancing out the window toward the overgrown garden. “I do apologize for the debris and dust. I hope they haven’t disturbed you at all.”
“I hadn’t noticed any,” Stone said. “Have the workmen been doing much yet?”
“A bit in the east cellar. I forgot to mention they discovered something odd yesterday, so they stopped work until they can get some more specialized equipment in on Monday.”
“Odd?” Stone frowned. Odd was one word you didn’t want to leave undefined around this house.
“Yes, sir. Remember I mentioned the floor buckling, and we thought it might indicate one of the walls was unstable?”
“Yes…”
“Well…they wanted to get a look underneath it, to see what kind of shape the foundation was in, so they broke through at the spot where it was already ruined.”
“What did they find? I do hope the foundation isn’t going. That will not only be bloody expensive, but the place will be crawling with workmen.”
“They’re not sure yet, sir. They…didn’t find the foundation.”
“What?” Both Stone and Ian looked up from their wineglasses. “What do you mean,
they didn’t find it?”
Aubrey paused in the act of stacking plates. “They expected to find a solid foundation beneath the cellar—of course they did. But instead, they discovered what appears to be an open area. They were afraid to go any further, since they had no idea what it is or how far it extends, so they reported it to me and said they’d be bringing in some bracing and other specialized apparatus at the beginning of the week.”
Stone stared at him. “Way to bury the lede, Aubrey—shouldn’t you have told me about this the moment you found out?”
“Sorry, sir. I was planning to tell you when you arrived, but things got a bit chaotic. In any case, I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about—though you’re correct that if it ends up that the foundation is compromised, that might lead to some inconvenience and expense.”
“Brilliant.” Stone tossed his napkin aside. “Though I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me—this place has always been a bit of a money pit. I probably mentioned the inheritance from Desmond where it could hear me, so now it’s decided it needs more attention.”
Ian looked at him sideways, almost as if not quite determining if he was kidding. “We should go have a look at it.”
“I wouldn’t advise it, sir,” Aubrey said quickly. “I’m not sure it’s safe down there right now. They’ve got it all cordoned off and cautioned me not to go near it until they’ve had a chance to investigate further.”
Stone stood. “Don’t worry, Aubrey—we’ll be fine. But I do want to see what we’re dealing with. I’ve only got about an hour before I have to leave for Canterbury, so I’d best get on with it. Do you need any help with this?” He indicated the table.
“No, sir, of course not. But please be careful.”
“I will.” There was no point in telling Aubrey about all the far more dangerous situations he’d gotten himself into even within the last year—it would only dismay him further. “Come on, Ian. Let’s have a look.”
As they left the dining room, Ian chuckled. “You know you’re not going to find a door to Narnia down there, right? It’s probably just an old crawlspace or something.”
“You’re probably right. But in this house, you can never be certain of that. And odds are if there is a doorway down there, it’s probably to Hell, not to Narnia.”
3
Stone hadn’t been in the east cellar for years, except when Aubrey had taken him down there recently to show him the ruined floor. He shined his flashlight around, taking in the grimy walls, years’ worth of dust accumulation, and scattered tools lying around the floor in the back corner near the wall.
“This is…uh…rustic,” Ian said from behind him. He too had a flashlight, and was examining the heavy wood beams of the ceiling. “Do you and Aubrey ever worry that people might sneak in here and set up housekeeping?”
“Down here? They’d have to be fairly desperate. But no, the wards keep people from sneaking into the house proper. We’re sitting at the confluence of three powerful ley lines, which makes the wards even more potent than they should be. Aubrey’s found a few squatters and poachers on the land now and again, but only one person ever got into the house without permission, and he was a special case.”
“How so?”
“He works for an associate of mine. He’s a wild talent, and the one thing he’s very, very good at is getting through wards.”
“That’s convenient.”
“Indeed it is. He used to be a worthless pothead a few years back. Your old friend Trin found out about him and used him to steal some books from my library, but we caught him. My associate, who is not what one might call forgiving, weaponized him.”
“Weaponized?”
“Offered him a choice: either end up as a pile of ash on the floor, or take a magical oath and work for him. Naturally, he chose the option that let him stay alive. So now he’s clean and sober, he’s learned a load of new mundane spy skills, and my associate uses him for his own purposes.”
“Huh. Sounds like a great guy. Your friend, I mean.”
“He’s all right. He’s just one of those people you don’t mess with. Not more than once, anyway.”
Stone aimed the flashlight ahead of him, focusing on the ruined part of the floor. The last time he’d seen it, the plain gray surface, composed of large interlocking slabs of stone, had sported a long crack perhaps three feet long and an inch wide, a few feet back from the far wall. In spots near each end the two sides of the crack pressed against each other and drove the sections of floor slightly upward. It reminded Stone uncomfortably of tectonic plates, a topic he’d been trying not to think too hard about these days. Especially not in conjunction with Stefan Kolinsky.
Now, though, the workmen had clearly been busy. As Aubrey had said, the area around the crack had been cordoned off with sawhorses and yellow CAUTION tape. Within the confined area, they’d used tools to enlarge the opening so it was no longer a crack, but a small hole perhaps two feet long and a foot wide. From where he stood, Stone could see nothing but blackness inside the hole.
Ian crouched next to the tape and directed his flashlight beam toward it. “Can’t see much—looks pretty dark down there.”
“It does indeed. Let’s see if we can’t get a little light on it without causing a cave-in. Hang on.” He lifted smoothly off the floor and floated over the hole, stretching out flat a few inches above it and poking his arm down into it. He didn’t bother with the flashlight, but instead used a light spell to illuminate the area.
What he saw nearly made him lose control of the levitation spell. A cold chill ran down his back. “Bloody…hell…” he whispered.
“What is it?” Ian, clearly reluctant to walk past the tape, stood and leaned forward, trying to get his own glimpse.
Stone didn’t answer right away. Instead, he continued to stare down into the small hole, where his light spell had revealed a much larger space than he’d expected. As Ian had suggested, he too thought he’d find a crawlspace perhaps two or three feet deep. That would have been odd, but it would have made sense.
What didn’t make sense was the much larger open space that stretched downward to a shadowy, dust-strewn stone floor perhaps ten feet below.
“There’s a room down there,” he said.
“You’re kidding.” Ian inched forward, craning his neck to get a better look.
Stone backed up, twisting his body upright and touching down outside the cordoned area. “See for yourself.”
Ian repeated his actions, levitating over the hole and using a light spell to look. “You weren’t kidding. Looks like a pretty big space, too. I can’t see the edges. And you knew nothing about this?”
“How would I? My father never mentioned anything about secret hidden rooms under the floor in the basement, and it wasn’t exactly the sort of thing I could find by exploring.”
“Why would there be a room hidden under the floor in your basement?”
“No idea.” It was a damned good question, though. Stone’s heart beat faster.
“Do you want to—go down there and have a look at it?” Ian sounded half-eager, half-doubtful.
Stone glanced at his watch. It was already after two p.m. He needed time to shower and dress for the wedding, and it would take at least an hour to drive up to Canterbury. Still…
“Let’s take a quick look, yes. Stand back—let me widen this hole out a bit so we can get through.”
Ian backed up against the wall, and Stone used careful magic to pry a few more sections of the stone floor away from the hole. He set them aside, stacked in a neat pile, until he’d widened the one-by-two-foot hole into one roughly three feet in diameter. A few small chunks broke loose and rained down, pattering on the floor below.
He took a step back, waiting to be sure everything had settled as Ian came forward. “Let me go first, and don’t follow until I say so.” He didn’t even try to tell Ian to remain up here—it wouldn’t have done any good, and they both knew it.
“Careful. You don’t know what’s d
own there.”
“What are you expecting? The minotaur? Fortunato? It’s probably just an old wine cellar or something.”
When Ian didn’t reply, Stone re-cast his levitation spell, this time dropping straight down through the hole. He kept his light spell up, shining it around as he descended.
When his feet touched the ground, he turned in place, directing the light around for a better view. He narrowed his eyes. He’d been expecting to find a stone-walled chamber, but instead the walls looked rough—more like a cavern than a room. Someone had clearly carved this space out on purpose, as its shape was too uniform to be natural. Perhaps he was right about its use as an old wine cellar. The air was chilly and smelled of dust and long disuse.
The oddest thing about it, though, was at the end farthest from him, on the other side of the space. A roughly shaped, human-sized doorway led out, the area beyond it wreathed in more darkness. If his sense of direction wasn’t turned around, it led out past the edge of the house, toward the grounds to the east of the wing.
There was more to this hidden section of the house than this single room.
How much more?
“Do you see anything?” Ian’s voice called from above.
“Yes. Come on down. Carefully.”
A moment later, Ian had floated down and landed next to him. Immediately, he peered around, taking the place in as Stone had. “There’s more down here. Not just the one room.”
“So it appears.”
“Come on—let’s go see where it leads.”
Stone’s curiosity fought with his common sense. He had no idea what was down that hallway—it could be nothing, or caved in, or in danger of caving in. If the area was unstable enough that the floor was cracking, it was possible it wouldn’t be safe to venture further. If the authorities found out about it, they’d probably forbid him to do it.
