by K. E. Mills
Swallowing things? Swallowing things? What the hell was he-and then he understood. The crystal.
Pain knocked him to his knees.
The other Gerald was laughing, no, giggling with his glee. “I can’t believe you fell for it, Gerald. Bloody hell, you are so soft. You were so worried about saving Monk and Melissande and whoever that you forgot to save yourself. I swear, I could weep for you. Thank God I found those grimoires. When I think I could be you right now? I swear, I could vomit for a week.” Smile vanishing, he clenched his fist. “ Get up. ”
Powerless, he stood.
“Now kill our good friend Monk, Gerald, because he’s been a naughty boy. Go on. Not all of the hexes in that crystal were for my use, you know. You’ve got what you need to squish him like a flea. So come on. Squish him. I want to see him bleed.”
The taint in his potentia stirred. He could feel the shadbolt incant waking, over-riding his own proof against compulsion. Its shadow crawled before his eyes, blotting out the fitful sunlight and plunging him into a nightmare dark. Growing dim, the sound of airships fighting overhead. Growing distant, the sight of Monk at his feet. Growing stronger, the urge to obey.
The other Gerald slapped him again, more kindly this time. “Well? What are you waiting for? I’ve given you an order. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’ve got a bit of a crisis on our hands. Gonegal and his UMN busybodies, trying to take the country from me. From us. We’re going to run things together, Gerald. I can’t do any of this without you. So kill the bastard, would you? He’s standing in our way.”
Dreamily he nodded. Dreamily he turned. Monk Markham groveled at his feet, eyes filled with terror. The bird was crouched beside him, her eyes hot with rage. Bloody Reg. Tie her beak with red ribbon and she’d still poke it where it wasn’t wanted. He frowned. Reg.
Don’t I know something about Reg?
Never mind. It’d keep. Right now he had to kill Markham. Behind him, Bibbie was bleating something. The other Gerald-the better Gerald-silenced her with a slap. Bloody Markham shoved himself onto his knees.
“Gerald-for pity’s sake- fight it!” he shouted. “Fight him. This isn’t you, mate. If you do this-God, if you do this-”
“Put a sock in it, Monk,” he said, and raised his fist.
Monk went down screaming. The air itself was screaming. But-no, no, actually that was an airship of the United Magical Nations. Engulfed in flames, it plummeted blazing towards the ground. And that would likely be his problem too-but not yet. Not until meddling Monk Markham was finally taken care of.
“That’s it!” said the other Gerald, wildly encouraging. “Finish him, sunshine. We don’t need him any more.”
No, they didn’t, did they? It was time for Monk to go.
“Goodbye, Monk,” he said quietly. “Don’t fight it. Just let it happen. It won’t hurt as much that way.”
For the second time he raised his fist. Clenched it tighter-and simultaneously tightened the killing hex. Monk sucked in a deep breath, eyes wide with disbelief. His throat worked-it worked-and blood trickled from his eyes.
A shriek of outrage. A whirling comet of brown feathers. And then there were claws in his hair and hard wings beating about his head.
“Gerald Dunwoody, what the hell are you doing?”
Stunned, he staggered backwards. Monk dropped to the dais again. And then his attacker was yanked away. But-but-it was Reg.
“ Two of them?” said the other Gerald, his eyes narrowed. “How can there be two of them? Two of them is two too many! How did you get here? Which world are you from?”
This new Reg was suspended in midair, held fast by the other Gerald’s thaumaturgical fist. “How do you think, you manky pillock?” she said. “I was traveling in the portal with Gerald. When you yanked him out I caught his coat-tails, so to speak. And I’ve been in hiding, keeping an eye on him, ever since.”
“Is that so?” said the other Gerald, his eyes still narrow with dislike and suspicion. “I find it hard to believe.”
“Then how do you explain it?” the bird demanded. “You think I hitched a ride here on an interdimensional sprite? You opened a window between my world and yours and I flew right through it. So let that be a lesson to you. Next time stay in your own bloody backyard!”
“Actually,” said the other Gerald, smiling, “I think I’d rather let this be a lesson for you.”
Feather by feather, Reg burst into flame.
Monk was screaming again, not in pain but in horror. The other bird with the red ribbon beak was flapping and flailing in avian distress. The other Gerald was laughing. In the blue crowded sky airships burned in hot, bright sympathy.
Reg… Reg… Reg…
Gerald felt something inside him twist-and tear-and break. Felt his rogue potentia overtake him like a tidal wave come to shore. It obliterated whatever hold the other Gerald had upon him. Obliterated too any sense of decency or restraint. Cast him free of all restrictions and let fury off its leash. Unleashed instinct with it, and a wild, wailing grief.
Reg.
Throwing his head back he screamed to the fiery sky.
“Draconi! Draconi! Draconi revenanto!”
Helpless before his blinding rage the ether seethed and surged and rushed to do his bidding. The other Gerald, startled, loosened his fingers and let the charred birdish skeleton in his grasp tumble to ash.
“Gerald? Gerald! What d’you think you’re doing?”
Reg.
He had no words for this creature with the two seeing eyes. No words, no forgiveness, no desire to redeem.
Somebody in the crowd of witches and wizards cried out. “Run! Run! It’s the dragon!”
Pandemonium again-and this time it won the day. Shadbolted or not every captive in the walled ceremonial parade ground broke free of obedient terror and fled. They stampeded from the dais, they stampeded to the gates. They crushed the hideous exhibits beneath their racing feet.
Bibbie was crying. “Gerald-Gerald, stop him. Make him stop this. Gerald! ”
The other Gerald turned on her. “ Shut up, Emmerabiblia, you stupid whining cow! ”
“What?” She stared at him, dumbfounded. “What did you call me? How dare you, Gerald, after I-”
“I told you to shut up!”
Emmerabiblia, like Lord Attaby, fell dead without a sound.
Hardly even noticing, the other Gerald raised both fists. “Think I’m impressed with your parlor tricks, Professor? Think you can scare me by waving a dead dragon in my face? I killed that dragon. I killed the man who had it made. And now, because you’re a moron, I’m going to kill you.”
He shook his head, shuddering. Reg. “No, Gerald. You’re not.”
The other Gerald-his counterpart-absolutely his evil twin-flushed crimson with fury. The ether trembled, twisting dark with his rage. A hot wind stinking of cinders and burned blood whipped up out of nowhere. Above them the airships began to plunge like wild horses.
And riding the scorching thermals came the dragon, reborn.
Feeling it, calling it, Gerald stood silent and stared at himself. Smiled as his counterpart threw curse after curse at him, tried to reignite that controlling incant, tried to set him on fire with a word. He was impervious to all of it, his potentia sheathing him like tempered glass. Every killing incant flowed down him, every murdering hex washed away. He was cold, he was so cold, yet something burned inside him. Burned hot, burned bright, burned itself as it burned.
Blimey. I think I’m dying.
But that didn’t matter-provided he watched his other self die first.
Reg.
The dragon came screaming, poison pouring from its mouth. Came beating the smoky air with its beautiful emerald wings. He heard Monk say something, and turned his head, and smiled.
“It’s all right, Monk. It’s not here for you. Stand still, and it’ll pass. Stand still. Don’t run.”
Exhausted, for the moment, the other Gerald let his arms drop. “You’re a fool, Professor,” he
said, his breathing ragged. “I made that thing. I control it. It won’t come after me.”
He smiled. “You made it. You killed it. I brought it back to life.” Eyes drifting closed, he reached out to the dragon. Whispered sweetly into its dead, empty heart. “He’s the one, draconi. He’s the one who took your love.”
“Took what? I did what? ” The other Gerald stepped backwards. “What are you talking about?”
Gerald opened his eyes and laughed. “The Tantigliani sympathetico, you moron. It binds man and beast heart to heart. Kill one and you kill both. Kill one, and murder love.”
The other Gerald blanched to snow. “You’re lying. That’s a lie.”
He looked up. “Really? Am I? Well, you tell her that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The crimson and emerald dragon came swooping. The other Gerald, on a choked cry, threw his strongest incants at her. She brushed them aside like the smoky air. Like they were nothing. Like her bright shining scales were sheathed in tempered glass.
The other Gerald screamed once as the great talons caught him. Screamed again, blood dripping, as the dragon wheeled away.
Still watching, Gerald breathed out a sigh. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “But you were never meant to be.”
He snapped his fingers once… and where a dragon flew with a wizard in its talons, within a slow heartbeat the sky was full of fresh fire. And in another heartbeat even that vanished, and victorious airships filled the eye.
“Gerald. Gerald. Bloody hell, Dunnywood! Come on, mate, we’ve got to go! ”
He swung around and there was Monk, the portable portal in his hand. A few feet distant a small bluish-red light, expanding… and in the ether a dreadful deep, twisting moan.
“Gerald!” said Monk again, and gestured at the sky. “Are you with me? Get ready!”
The green and black UMN airships were drifting lower, rope ladders unfurling from their underslung passenger pods, close enough now to nearly touch the ground. Behind them the sound of heavy running feet. He turned and saw more UMN personnel, felt their martial potentias like iron in the ether.
He nodded, feeling dreamy. Feeling very, very tired. “I’m with you. Just say the word.”
There was a pile of charred feather and bone on the dais. He knew it was there, but he wasn’t going to look. He wasn’t going to look at this world’s Bibbie, either, whose lips were painted the same shade of pink as her gown. If there’d been time he might have saved her. And now I’ll never know. Instead he looked at Monk, who was weeping. Proper tears this time, not blood, as he jiggered with the portal.
“So is that it? Can we go?”
Monk checked the slowly widening vortex. “A few more seconds. We can’t afford to get it wrong. Gerald-”
Reg.
“No.” He shook his head. “Don’t. Not yet.”
“Yeah,” Monk said roughly. “Gerald-are you all right? You look-”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
The running feet were getting closer. Someone in authority shouted. “You there! You there-Gerald Dunwoody! You’re under arrest! Stand where you are!”
“Monk, I really think we need to-”
“I know! I know! All right. Bloody hell, we’ll have to risk it.”
The portal was a ragged blue and crimson hole in the air. Broad enough, certainly, but not quite the height of a tall, upstanding man.
“Bloody hell,” Monk said again, nervous, his gaze shifting from the portal to the soldiers. “If we duck we should make it.” He blew out a shaky breath. “On three, Gerald. Stay close behind me. One-twothree! ”
With a strangled grunt Monk leaped into the portal. But as he went to leap after his brilliant friend he heard a dreadful, familiar sound. Tail feathers, rattling… and a muted chatter of beak. He spun around. Looked down.
The other Reg, come out of hiding from under the trolley, looked up at him in silence. The tatty piece of red ribbon was still wound around her beak.
“No. No,” he whispered. His skin was full of tears. “You’re not her. You’ll never be her. Don’t you see? It won’t work.”
Running feet. More shouting. Another gunship fired overhead.
“Oh, bloody hell,” he said, and snatched her up, and leaped.
Feeling only a little bit trepidatious, Melissande took Sir Alec a cup of piping hot tea. She and Bibbie had spent the night in the parlor, dozing on and off, but he’d chosen to wait it out in the library. No explanation. No apology. Just a closed door in their faces.
Opening it now, she poked her head into the room. “Sir Alec?”
He was standing at the window, contemplating the new day. It promised to be warm and fine. “Miss Cadwallader,” he said, turning. “Good morning.”
He looked as fragile as she felt, and as rumpled, but he sounded unaltered. Cool and calm and completely self-contained. No-one would guess, looking at him, how many laws he’s broken in one night. She crossed the book-lined room and handed him the cup and saucer. “No milk, a squeeze of lemon, and two sugars. That’s right, isn’t it?”
He took the tea. “Yes. That’s right.”
“I can boil you an egg, if you’d like,” she added. “Bibbie and I aren’t hungry, but…”
“No. Thank you,” he said. “This will be fine.”
Folding her arms, she stared out through the window. “Nearly a full day they’ve been gone. Will it be much longer, do you think?”
“I have no idea. I hope not.”
“You’ve taken an awful risk, haven’t you?” she said quietly. “If something goes wrong-if Monk and Gerald and Reg don’t come back-”
“It will certainly be interesting,” said Sir Alec, and stirred his tea.
“Sir Alec…” Sighing, she shifted her gaze to him. “I’m not just plain Miss Cadwallader, remember? You don’t need to be… clever… for my sake.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think I’m thinking of your feelings?”
She was exhausted, she was frightened, but she couldn’t help a smile. “You’re admitting to feelings? Blimey. Wait till I tell Gerald. He’ll have to sit down.”
And that made him smile. But it didn’t last long. He sipped his tea, thoughtful, then sat the cup back in its saucer. “You don’t approve of my secrecy.”
“It’s not my place to approve or disapprove, is it?” she said. “You’re the government stooge. I’m merely… a girl.”
His dry look contradicted that assessment, but he didn’t reply. Instead he sipped more tea. The clock on the mantel ticked softly as the morning’s light slowly brightened.
“You can trust us, you know,” she said at last. “We may not like you very much but we do know you’re on our side.” She pulled a face. “Well. You’re not on their side. The villains’ side. And since we aren’t either… I suppose it’s close enough.”
He took a last sip of tea then put the cup and saucer on the windowsill. “I do trust you, Miss Cadwallader. Within narrow parameters.”
“Gosh. That’s flattering,” she said, eyes wide. “ I might have to sit down.”
“I trust that you will never do anything to hurt either Mr. Markham or Mr. Dunwoody,” he said, ignoring her sarcasm. “Which means-”
“What?” she said, alarmed by the look on his face. “Sir Alec? What’s the matter, what-”
The library door banged open. “Do you feel that?” demanded Bibbie. Her long golden hair flew wildly about her face. “Sir Alec?”
He looked up, at the ceiling. Through the ceiling. “Yes, I do, Miss Markham. I suspect-”
But Bibbie was gone again, racing, her shoes thudding on the stairs. Not running, but definitely hurrying, Sir Alec followed. “Come along, Miss Cadwallader. Don’t dawdle. Someone’s knocking at the door.”
There was a glowing, growing blue and crimson hole in the air of Gerald’s bedroom.
“Stand back, Miss Markham,” Sir Alec said sharply. “I know who we want to see step through that portal, but wanting and
getting are two very different things.”
As Bibbie retreated one grudging pace, Melissande felt her heart leap. Oh, Saint Snodgrass preserve us. “You think this could be the other Gerald?”
“I’d be a fool to think it weren’t possible,” he said tightly. “Stand back, I said, Miss Markham. You too, Miss Cadwallader.”
The glowing hole in the air ripped wider. Wider. Reaching out blindly, she clutched Bibbie’s hand.
Please, please, please, please…
Monk leaped out of thin air. Oh, lord, he looked dreadful. Shattered and terrified and covered in blood.
“Monk!” cried Bibbie, surging forward.
Sir Alec caught her around the waist and swung her aside. “Wait!” he snapped. “ Wait! The danger’s not over yet!”
Monk was ignoring them, had spun around to stare at that blue and crimson glowing hole, the portal. His hands were clenched to fists and he was dancing on the spot.
“Come on-come on-Gerald, you idiot- come on — ”
And then another figure emerged out of nothing. Melissande heard herself sob.
“ Gerald! ” cried Bibbie. “Sir Alec, let me go! ”
But Sir Alec didn’t let go. Instead he pulled Bibbie further back, one arm still holding her tight, and with his free hand he caught her arm and started tugging Wild-eyed, Monk shut down the portal then shoved Gerald behind him. “It’s all right!” he shouted. “Sir Alec, he’s safe! He’s safe! ”
But looking at Sir Alec’s face, she wasn’t sure.
“How can I trust you, Mr. Markham?” he demanded. “For all I know he’s hexed you to his will.”
Monk was breathing so fast he was practically panting. “He hasn’t. I swear it. I promise, he’s safe.”
“What are you talking about?” said Bibbie, still struggling. “What do you mean safe? ”
“Stop thinking like a girl and start thinking like a witch,” snapped Sir Alec. “Feel the ether, Miss Markham. Mr. Dunwoody’s not himself.”
Melissande stared at him. What? What? “Monk-”
But before Monk could say anything, Bibbie let out a small cry. “Oh, Saint Snodgrass. Gerald. Monk-Monk, what happ — ”
