by R. L. King
He met Jason’s gaze, then dropped his own as shame gripped him. “I know, Jason. You don’t have to say it. I’m not too happy about it myself, but what’s done is done. And now, apparently, the proverbial chickens have come home to roost.”
“We’d be in better shape if they were nought but chickens,” Eddie said. When nobody seemed amused, he shrugged. “Sorry, sorry. But at any rate, I don’t think we’ll be gettin’ too much farther along without takin’ a shufty at the place.”
“You want to go down there?” Jason asked.
“I think we have to,” Ward said.
“Nobody has to do anything,” Stone said with a sigh, resuming his pacing and trying to block out the mental images of innocent prisoners screaming as they died to fuel his ancestors’ power. “But if you two wanted to take a look, I wouldn’t turn down the offer. I clearly can’t do it, and neither can Ian—and Verity doesn’t have the background to make sense of what she might find down there.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m not going with them,” Verity said firmly. “Even though I can’t read ancient Mesopotamian or whatever, I can still help out.”
“Yeah, me too,” Jason said. He still looked pale from what Stone had told him, but also resolute. “You magical types are gonna need somebody to take notes and document this stuff while you’re pokin’ around. And I swing a pretty mean cricket bat if the shit hits the fan.”
“There’s still one other question,” Ian said.
“What’s that?” Eddie finished his coffee, picked up one of his books, and began riffling through it.
“We still don’t know what’s up with the carved door. Why is it there? What was it holding, if anything? It makes sense that those bricked alcoves were used for burying sacrifice victims, but why was there a separate passageway ending in a completely different, tougher door with a lot of weird carvings on it? That sure sounds to me like it was imprisoning something that’s out now, doesn’t it?”
“It certainly does,” Eddie agreed.
Ward nodded. “And if that’s so, where’s that prisoner now? If it was nothing but powerful energy, it might just be what gave the echoes enough of a jolt to start functioning. But if there actually is—or was—some sort of entity down there…”
Stone stopped behind the sofa as his frustration rose. He gripped the soft fabric until he feared he might rip it, then backed off. “Damn it, I don’t like this at all. I don’t like any of it. It’s my house these things are causing trouble in. I should be down there myself.”
“It’s your house, and your curiosity’s killing you,” Verity said with sympathy. “I get it. I think we all do. But—”
“But I haven’t got a bloody choice, do I?” Stone didn’t even try to mask the bitterness in his tone. “Who knows what those things might get up to if Ian or I tried to go down into the heart of their domain? They might bring the whole place down around our ears.”
“Hate to agree with you,” Eddie said ruefully, “but I think you’re gonna need to sit this one out, mate. But the good news is, assuming those things don’t go after Ward and me, we should be able to gather some good data to be gettin’ on with.”
“Yeah,” Jason said. “I’ll take lots of photos and video, and make notes and sketches. It’ll be the closest thing to being down there yourself. Well, without a live video feed anyway. We could probably set something like that up, but it’d take time.”
“We don’t have time,” Stone said. “Whatever’s going on down there, who’s to say it won’t get worse if we put our heads in the sand and let it keep getting on with whatever it’s up to?” He turned back toward his friends, picking each of them out with his gaze. “But I’ve got to say this: it’s entirely possible there’s something dangerous down there. I’ve always been rubbish at accepting help, but this time there aren’t too many other options. If you go, though, I want you all to be sure you know what you might be getting into.”
Eddie waved him off. “Come on, mate. You know I’m dyin’ to get myself down there. Normally I’m not fond of the kinds of adventures you get into, but this is the stuff researchers have naughty dreams about. An untouched catacomb system under the ’ouse of a powerful magical family? I’m ’avin’ a ’ard time stayin’ put and not runnin’ down there right now.”
Ward gave a rueful smile. “I’m not quite as enthusiastic as Eddie—to be fair, I rarely am about anything—but yes. I’m in agreement.”
“Doc, you’re stalling,” Verity said. “The sooner we get down there and have a look around, the sooner you’ll know what you have to deal with.”
Stone studied them all for a few more seconds, fighting his growing frustration. Part of it was worry about his friends—without any particular pride, he knew he was by far the most potent mage among the group, and also the most experienced with unexpected magical danger. But a large chunk of it was simple annoyance that he couldn’t accompany them into a situation that was uniquely his, or at least his and Ian’s. What would they find out about his family and the atrocious things they did? What he already knew was bad enough, but what if they found something worse?
Finally, though, he sighed. “You’re right, of course. Let’s gather a few things before we go, though. This needs to be treated as a potentially dangerous expedition—we can take another hour or two to pick up some supplies before we go.” He pulled out a notepad and began listing items; after a moment, the others joined in.
At least if he was going to send them down there, he’d do as much as he could to make sure they were safe.
11
Three hours later, the leftmost bay in the three-car garage beneath Aubrey’s apartment bore little resemblance to its usual self.
Stone had moved his little black convertible outside, and in its place the group had set up a makeshift “command center.” A table in the middle held several large notepads, pens, books, and a collection of items the group had purchased earlier in London.
“Looks like we’re going on some kind of archaeological expedition,” Jason said as he checked his cameras—the digital and SLR he’d brought with him, along with a small video camera they’d bought today.
“In a way we are,” Ward said. “Stone and Ian barely got a look at what was down there, but whatever it is, it’s likely been down there for at least two hundred years. It will be fascinating to see what’s revealed.”
“As long as it doesn’t try to eat our faces,” Jason muttered.
“That’s why you’re going with three mages,” Verity said, grinning.
“Not bloody likely,” Eddie said, matching her grin. “If the shit ’its the fan down there, the lot of us will be ’idin’ behind you, Verity. Stone’s the nasty one in this bunch. Ward and I’re just a couple of magic boffins, so I ’ope ’e’s taught you everything ’e knows.”
“All right, enough of that,” Stone growled. “I’m feeling guilty enough sending you lot down there without me, and I want you all to promise you’ll get out immediately if anything goes wrong.”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about there,” Ward said. “As interesting as this is, I have no illusions about my ability to deal with it if it decides it wants us out.”
Verity picked up a black skateboard helmet from a stack of several. “Are you sure we need these? We’ll have magical shields.”
“Well, we couldn’t find hard hats on such short notice, and anything heavier might bugger up your peripheral vision,” Stone said. “Put it on. You’ll be grateful for it if you drop your shield and something comes down on your head.”
She looked dubious, but donned the helmet along with a pair of safety glasses, then pulled on her leather jacket. “Fine. Everybody know the plan?”
They all nodded. They’d discussed it at length once they arrived, and everyone in the group had their specific job. Verity would take point, using magical sight to spot any threats and hopefully dealing with them. Jason would take photos with all three cameras for multiple redundancy in case anything w
ent wrong with any of them, and maintain communication with Stone, Ian, and Aubrey at the command post using his cell phone and a short-range radio. Eddie and Ward would make sketches of any writing or symbols they found, scan the area with their own magical sight, and help out with communication when Jason was busy taking photos.
All of them wore heavy jackets and boots along with their helmets and glasses, and each carried two flashlights with fresh batteries. Next to the table, another box contained a long extension cord and more powerful electric lights on folding stands, which they planned to plug in upstairs and set up in the ritual room.
“Let’s do this, then,” Stone said. “Remember—stay in constant communication. I want to know everything you’re seeing as soon as you see it.”
“You got it, Doc.”
Stone watched them as they trudged out and headed toward the house, the box floating along next to Verity. “I don’t like this,” he muttered.
“Nor do I, sir,” Aubrey said. He sat in a folding chair next to the table, looking dejected. He hadn’t contributed much to the planning, and seemed to be there only because he didn’t want to be alone in his apartment.
Ian prowled the area, examining the middle part of the garage where Aubrey had a workshop set up. He picked up a hacksaw, studied it, then set it back down. “I just wish we could go with them. I hate sitting out here on my ass when the action’s happening up there.”
“Well, if we’re lucky, they’ll get us some information to go on, and we can start working out how to deal with the echoes.” Stone returned to the table and pulled out his phone. “Anyway, they should be getting to the house any moment now.”
The three of them waited tensely for several more minutes, and then Stone’s phone buzzed. He punched the button immediately, with more force than necessary.
“Jason?”
“Yeah. We’re here, in the upper basement room. Standing in front of the hole right now. We’ve got the extension cord plugged in and the lamps ready to take down. V’s going first, then Eddie and Arthur, and then me last so they can levitate me.”
“Good,” Stone said. He put the phone on speaker and set it on the table. “Any problems so far?”
“Not a thing. Everything looked fine, except for the stuff that was messed up before. V says the aura around the place is still that weird green.”
“Well, that’s something, anyway.” Stone couldn’t shake the feeling that the echoes were waiting for his friends to go down into the sub-basement before springing whatever trap they had planned.
“Okay,” Jason said after a moment. “V’s down.”
“Nothing’s attacking her?” Stone gripped the edge of the table, leaning forward. His one major concern had been that the echoes wouldn’t take kindly to anyone down in their domain, and particularly not any mages.
“Nope. I’m shining a flashlight on her now, and she looks fine. We’re sending the lights down now, and then Eddie’s going.”
By now, Ian had drifted back over and stood on the opposite side of the table from Stone, looking every bit as tense as his father. The two of them stared at the little device on the table as if it were the most important thing in the world—which, at that moment, it might have been.
“Eddie’s down,” Jason said. “Everything fine so far. Arthur’s getting ready to go, and then it’ll just be me.”
“All right. Keep talking.”
“Yeah.” A rustling sound came over the line, and then a sharp intake of breath.
“Jason?” Stone demanded.
“Sorry, I’m okay. Just still not used to that damned levitation spell.”
“What do you see?”
“We’re in what looks like a stone hallway.”
“You saw this part before, right, Doc?” Verity spoke from farther away.
“Yes. There should be a door at the other end.”
“It should be open,” Ian added. “I didn’t close it when I was running out of there.”
“Yeah, it’s open,” Jason said.
“Do you see anything weird? Blood on the floor? Words written on the walls in it? Dead spiders?”
“Nothin’ like that,” Eddie said. “Place looks a bit dusty, but that’s all.”
“All right,” Stone said. “Go on through the door, to the ritual room.”
“Yeah,” Jason said. “We’ll set up the lights there. The extension cords are long enough we should be able to spread them out a little. We—”
The line crackled several times.
“Jason?” Stone snatched up the phone. “Jason, can you hear me?”
More crackles, followed by a loud pop.
“Bugger!”
Ian was already scrambling for the radio. He keyed it. “Jason? Are you there? The phone’s cutting out.”
A blast of static erupted from the tiny speaker, along with a few disjointed words:
“—fine—”
“—cutting out—”
“—keep going—”
“Damn it!” Stone snapped, slamming his fist down on the table.
Ian tried the radio a few more times, but got nothing but static—even the voices weren’t coming through anymore. “They sounded okay…” he said uncertainly. “Should we go check on them?”
Stone shook his head. “There’s no point. The echoes won’t let us near the place.” He agreed with Ian—before they’d faded, the voices hadn’t sounded agitated or distressed, which probably just meant that either the group had moved far enough underground that the signals weren’t getting through, or else the echoes were interfering with them.
“Do you want me to go up there, sir?” Aubrey rose from his chair and came over to the table, looking concerned. “I could call down to them, and relay messages that way.”
“No, Aubrey.” Stone tossed the phone back on the table with a sigh and swiped his hand through his hair. “Echoes are generally fairly single-minded. Obviously they don’t want Ian or me up there, but so far they haven’t had any issue with the others. We’ll just have to trust that to remain true.”
“But—” Ian began.
Stone waved him off. “Verity’s damned good, and despite all their talk about being boffins, Ward and Eddie can handle themselves if they have to. They’ll get themselves out of there if there’s any danger, just like you did.” He wasn’t sure how much of that he actually believed, but it didn’t matter at this point. Unless he wanted to go up there himself, they were out of communication. He’d have to trust his friends to handle things on their own.
12
Jason glared at his phone in disgust. “Signal’s fucked.”
He hadn’t needed to say it—everybody in the group could hear Stone’s and Ian’s fragmented, staticky voices coming through the speaker, and everybody heard when they stopped.
They gathered around, waiting as Jason tried his radio and got the same result. “I ’alf expected that to ’appen,” Eddie admitted, not looking concerned. “Even if the echoes aren’t interferin’ with the signal, bein’ down this far’s gonna do it anyway. I didn’t say anythin’ to Stone because he’s wound up enough as it is.”
“So do we keep going?” Jason glanced around nervously, taking in the rough-carved gray stone walls and the heavy wooden door ahead of them. It was open, and beyond it was nothing but darkness. Despite his talk about swinging a mean cricket bat earlier that day, he’d picked up a good solid baseball bat in London and felt a lot more comfortable with it. He tightened his grip on it, wishing he’d brought his gun—but guns were no good against ghosts.
“Of course we do,” Verity said. She had a light spell up and was shining it around. “Doc’s counting on us to get a look around down here. I say as long as nothing’s attacking us, we should try to get as much as we can.”
“I agree,” Eddie said. “’Ang on a tick, though. Jason, bung me that radio for a sec.”
Jason handed it over. “Why?”
“Just gonna let Stone know we’re okay, before the lot of ’em, Aub
rey included, get themselves killed tryin’ to rescue us.” He levitated back up through the hole, and returned a few moments later.
“We good?” Verity asked.
“Yeah. ’E’s not ’appy about bein’ out o’ communication, but ’e says to keep goin’ and be careful.”
“Does he want regular reports?” Ward asked.
“’E wants us to report back every five minutes.” Eddie chuckled. “But ’e said don’t worry about it, we should just get on with it.” He waggled his finger at Jason. “But take lots of good pics, mate. Trust me.”
“Yeah. Let’s go. The sooner we’re out of here, the happier I’ll be.” He shivered a little; despite his leather jacket and the summer warmth outside, the air down here was colder than it should have been. The others were doing the same, and when he looked closely he could make out the faint steamy trails of their breath.
Verity, still holding up her light spell, passed through the door first, stepping aside to let the others follow. “Wow,” she said, shining the light around. “This is pretty impressive.”
“Impressive” wouldn’t have been the word Jason used. More like “fucking creepy,” but he kept that to himself. He brought up the rear, pausing to scan the large, circular room. He took in the circle on the floor, the pedestal in the middle with its manacles, and the open doorways to other passageways, trying to spot anything moving. Nothing was, as far as he could tell.
“I don’t see any sign of blood or spiders,” Ward said, pacing the room and directing his own light spell around. He approached the circle but didn’t cross it. “A few bloodstains on this altar, but they look quite old.”
“Let’s get those lights set up,” Verity said. “We can look around in here and get some photos and sketches before we move on.”
Jason unfolded the stands, plugged the two lamps into the extension cords, and flipped one of the switches, wondering if the lamps would even work. He let his breath out with relief when bright white light flooded the chamber, chasing away the shadows and illuminating the stone ceiling eight feet above them.
