Steel and Stone: A Novel in the Alastair Stone Chronicles

by R. L. King

  “Excellent.”

  Stone glanced at the board again. “I still can’t quite get my mind around the fact that it’s so simple. It seems a bit…anticlimactic, to be honest. After all that time you had me carrying rocks and lifting weights, I thought the actual magic would be a bit more difficult.”

  “I caution you not to overexert yourself,” Harrison reminded him. “It might seem easy, but you are still training. That was what I meant when I said it isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Fortunately, since you are already well accustomed to handling magical energy, the adjustment period should be brief. We will leave it here for now, I think—we will have another session tomorrow. Until then, practice these techniques and any others you want to try, but be mindful of fatigue. Give yourself time to rest.”

  “Absolutely,” Stone said. “I feel like I could do this all day.”

  “Good day, Dr. Stone. I will see you tomorrow.”

  Stone watched him head for the door. “Mr. Harrison?” he called.

  “Yes?”

  “Will I be able to do this when I get back to Earth? The same power level I had before? Will it be this easy?”

  Harrison considered. “I have not seen your full power level yet, so I can’t answer that question. I suspect there will be some attenuation when you return home, but I have no reason to believe it will be significant.”

  “Brilliant. Thank you. For—well—everything.” Stone’s voice shook a little, but he did nothing to stop it. He’d almost accepted that his mad plan of coming here and learning Harrison’s magic would end in failure and despair—but now, for the first time in weeks, he could see the end. If he progressed as fast as Harrison seemed to think he would, he could be back on Earth by the end of the week.

  Back to his life.

  Right now, even the prospect of having to explain where the hell he’d been for the last two months didn’t daunt him. He’d figure something out.

  32

  Stone tried to heed Harrison’s advice for the remainder of the day, but he could no more fail to take his newfound powers out for a test drive than he could have sprouted wings and flown to the moon. His only concession was that he did allow frequent rest breaks, waiting for the tiredness to settle before beginning again.

  He tested various magical techniques, taking a notebook with him and keeping notes about his relative ability level compared to what he could do on Earth. What he discovered delighted him: in every case he could measure, it seemed he not only had greater raw power, but his control and endurance had likewise taken a significant jump. Even if the “attenuation” Harrison mentioned lowered his abilities’ potency once he got back home, he’d still see a measurable increase.

  The best part was, aside from the mild fatigue he expected, the magic didn’t tire him as it had before. When he’d been a white mage, he had to be careful to either stick to slow-acting, ritual-based magic, remember to charge up his power objects for extra punch, or accept that some techniques would take their toll on him. As a black mage he’d had access to more immediate punch, but at the cost of having to take power from other people—either using the dull but dependable method with Jason, or the more exhilarating but potentially dangerous method with anyone else. Both the white and black techniques had their advantages and disadvantages, which their respective practitioners learned to deal with because they had no other choice.

  This method, though, didn’t suffer from either of those problems. The power was there, all the time—Calanar brimmed with magical energy, to the point where the difficult part wasn’t gathering enough, but learning to control and channel it so it didn’t overwhelm him. He wouldn’t have to take it from anyone or generate it himself—as long as he had access to Calanar and his body held up, he’d have the magic.

  He discovered one fact quickly: his relative skill levels stayed constant. The spells he was good at on Earth, like levitation and shields, remained comparatively strong here. Those he was weaker with, such as invisibility, likewise remained problematic—when he attempted to see how long he could stay invisible before growing too tired to maintain the spell any longer, he lasted only three minutes. That was an improvement over what he could do on Earth, but not much of one, and he had to rest longer afterward. Although he didn’t test it by deliberately injuring himself, he suspected his lackluster healing skills wouldn’t benefit much from a Calanarian infusion either.

  That was all right, though—he hardly expected everything to improve. Hell, even if he got back to Earth and discovered he was no more powerful than he’d been before, the mere fact that he had a steady, readily-available source for his magic that he didn’t have to risk injuring anyone to access was more than he could have hoped for. The rest would sort itself out when he got home.

  He wished he didn’t have to wait until tomorrow to have another lesson. Would Harrison even have anything new to show him? It seemed he’d gotten what he needed—the ability to access the Calanarian magical source. Now, all he had to do was refine it. Harrison himself had said there probably wasn’t anything else he could teach Stone about magic.

  As he sat on the sofa in his suite and stared out over the darkened, panoramic view, a sudden wave of homesickness so strong it was almost a physical sensation crested over him. Homesickness was nothing new, of course—before, he’d occasionally caught himself missing the big things about his life on Earth: Verity and Jason, his work, Aubrey, Raider. Now, though, even the smaller bits ached: jamming with The Cardinal Sin, going to the pub with Eddie Monkton and Arthur Ward back in London—hell, he even had an irresistible jones for a big order of chicken tikka from A Passage to India, along with a double-sized cup of strong, hot coffee.

  He got up and pressed his hands to the glass, leaning into it until his forehead rested against the cold, smooth surface.

  What am I doing here anymore?

  It was a fair question. The place was fascinating, to be sure: magical innovation back on Earth was nowhere near as advanced as it was here, and he yearned to study it. How could he find out teleportation existed and not want to learn how it worked? How could he know it was possible to combine magic with technology and not want to delve into how he could do the same? Especially now that his own magic functioned again, his curiosity nearly overwhelmed him. He could spend years studying this stuff.

  But not now.

  He pushed off the window, coming to a decision.

  He had what he needed now—the rest would come later.

  Or it wouldn’t, if Harrison wouldn’t allow him to come back here after returning to Earth.

  To his surprise, he found he didn’t care either way.

  “Anzo?” he called.

  The little construct rolled into view. “Is there something you require?”

  “Do you know where Mr. Harrison is?”

  Anzo’s blue eyes flashed in their seeking information pattern. “Mr. Harrison’s location is not available.”

  “He’s not here?”

  “My programming does not permit me to reveal his location to others without permission at this time.”

  Well, bugger. “What about Errin? Or Kira? Are they here?”

  “Kira does not wish to be disturbed. Errin is in the downstairs work area.”

  Maybe she had a way to contact Harrison. He could wait until tomorrow, of course, but he had to at least try. “Can you take me to Errin?”

  “This way.”

  A few moments later, he stood in front of the same double doors where he’d met Harrison previously. “Thank you, Anzo. I’ll take it from here.”

  Anzo’s eyes flashed acknowledgment and he rolled off.

  Stone pushed the door open and stepped once more into the cavernous workroom. As before, the first thing he noticed was the music, but this time it wasn’t Beethoven. It sounded like some kind of driving instrumental rock piece, but with instruments he didn’t recognize and had never heard before.

  “Errin?” he called, but his voice didn’t reach above the sound.


  He ventured further into the space, which was as dimly lit as it had been before. The half-skeletal form of the airship rose in front of him, dominating the area with the scattered other projects arrayed around it. He saw no sign of her yet, but then remembered what Harrison had said about needing to finish something so Errin could work on it. He walked over to the ship and poked his head in through one of the openings. “Errin? Are you in here?”

  The driving beat ceased, and a figure stepped around the massive engine. “Alastair! I didn’t expect to see you here.” She brushed strands of hair off her forehead as she approached. “What can I do for you?”

  She was dressed in a style similar to Harrison’s when he’d been here, with work pants and heavy boots; instead of a tank top she wore a blue T-shirt under a multi-pocketed black vest, and instead of a wrench poking out of her pocket she had an entire leather tool belt slung low around her waist. She’d pulled her long, dark hair back into a loose ponytail under a cap with a bright miner’s lamp strapped around it. She switched it off as she drew next to Stone.

  “I’m looking for Mr. Harrison. Anzo says he can’t tell me where he is, but I was hoping you could reach him.”

  “Is something wrong?” She pulled off her leather work gloves and stashed them in one of the toolbelt’s pockets.

  “No—nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to ask him something.”

  “Anything I can help you with? I think he’s busy going over some things with Kira tonight.” She grinned. “Mage stuff. I don’t ask.”

  Stone must have looked skeptical, because shook her head, chuckling. “No, seriously. I just realized how that might have sounded to somebody who doesn’t know them very well. Kira isn’t much into that kind of thing, and Trevor—well, I don’t ask that either. None of my business.”

  “It’s all right,” he said. “And I suppose I can wait until the morning.” He nodded toward the airship. “Did you sort out your problem with the magical interface?”

  “Ah, he told you about that? Yes, it’s all good now. Congratulations on getting your magic back, by the way. That must feel good.”

  “It feels brilliant.” He glanced over his shoulder toward the entrance. “I won’t bother you, then—I’ll talk to Harrison tomorrow.”

  “You’re not bothering me.” She tilted her head. “In fact, you can help me, if you’re willing.”

  “Help you? How? Trust me, you don’t want me anywhere near delicate machinery. My mechanical skills are legendary in their nonexistence.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to fix anything. But I need some magical power, and with Trevor and Kira both busy, I thought I’d have to wait until tomorrow too.”

  “Er—of course I’ll help, if I can.” Intrigued, Stone stepped in through the opening. “What do you need? I warn you, I’m still getting used to having magic again, so my power’s a bit spotty.”

  “Not a problem. This is brute-force stuff, not finesse. Come on.” She disappeared around the side of the engine.

  Stone followed, and found her standing in front of a large open panel. Inside, a series of intricate workings hummed softly. When he shifted to magical sight, he wasn’t surprised to see the flickers of arcane residue around it. It didn’t look like the aura of a living thing, though it had characteristics in common with one. More like the leftover energy one might encounter in an area where someone had been using significant magic in the recent past. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I had to shut it down to work on it, so I need a solid jolt of magic to get it back online again. Normally Trevor does it—once it’s running it takes power from the ambient magical energy, but it needs something to get it moving when it’s stopped.”

  “Ah. Sort of like a magical jump-start.”

  She gave him a sideways glance. “I’ve never heard that term, but it sounds right. Anyway, thank you for helping out. Come over here, in front of this panel.”

  When he did, she pointed inside. “See that chamber there, with the metal rod inside it?”

  “Yes.”

  “The cylindrical chamber is made of a highly magic-resistant metal. The rod inside is particularly sensitive to magical energy.”

  “Ah, I see,” Stone said, studying the apparatus. “You generate a magical charge inside the chamber, and then it kick-starts some sort of reaction that directs the energy up to power the rest of the mechanism?”

  “Exactly,” she said with approval. “Maybe you’re not as hopeless as you thought you were.”

  “Oh, understanding the principle isn’t the issue. It’s the practical part I’m rubbish at.”

  “Well, it’s a start, anyway. What I want you to do is grip the rod, then channel raw magical energy into it through your hands.” She faced him again, looking serious. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? Trevor said you’d just started working with your magic today. I don’t want to cause any setbacks.”

  “No, no, it’s fine. I’ve been practicing all day. You’re sure this isn’t going to explode on me or anything?”

  She laughed. “No, no, it’s quite safe. This is just a bigger version of the engines that power the ground vehicles around here.”

  Stone stepped forward and gripped the shining metal rod with both hands. “Say when.”

  Errin clamped a pair of leads to something at the base of the rod, then backed off holding a small box attached to it with a pair of wires. “Whenever you’re ready. Just give it a good jolt. You’ll know it worked when the whole thing starts humming.”

  Stone focused, shifted to magical sight, and released the energy through his hands. This sort of thing was easier than most of his spellcasting, since it didn’t require any sort of pattern to transform the power. It crackled around his hands, radiating outward in a brilliant splash of color. First the rod and then the entire machine began vibrating with a low, thrumming hum.

  “That’s it,” Errin called. “You can stop now. That’s got it.”

  Stone let go and took a few steps back. The engine continued humming along, surprisingly quiet for something so large and intricate, but the rumbling coming up through the floor gave the definite impression of power.

  Errin gripped his arm. “Thank you. Just what I needed.” She held up the box, showing Stone a series of meters. “You were generating some serious punch.” She flashed him a conspiratorial grin. “More than Kira, though don’t tell her I said that.”

  Stone returned the grin, feeling irrational pride at her words. “Nowhere close to Harrison, I’d imagine, though,” he said, deceptively casually.

  “Couldn’t tell you. I don’t use this with him. Not since the first time, when he blew out all my meters.” Her sly grin widened. “You men amuse me. Always trying to outperform each other.”

  “Erm.” Stone cast about for a quick change of subject. “Why are you building an airship, anyway? It hardly seems practical to have something this big to get around such a small area. Wouldn’t the smaller one be enough?”

  “It’s an experiment.” Errin moved back in to unhook her meter from the engine assembly and close the panel. “Trevor wants something we can use to get across the Wastes.”

  “Why?” he asked, surprised. “I thought nobody went into the Wastes because it was sort of a magical fallout zone.”

  “It is, and they don’t. Hence the ‘experiment’ part.”

  “Sounds dangerous.”

  “It’s—” She paused, glancing back over Stone’s shoulder at something. “Excuse me a minute.”

  Stone turned to see what she was looking at, and was surprised to see Harrison stepping through one of the holes in the hull.

  “Ah, you’re done early,” Errin said. “Did you need something? Alastair’s already helped me get the engine started.”

  Harrison nodded to Stone but quickly turned his attention back to Errin. “We’ve had a communication from Drendell. Galen says Rovenna from Temolan may be ready to join us.”

  “Seriously? What changed her mind?”


  “He said she watched as two of her acquaintances incinerated three people in Drendell after they failed to get out of the way quickly enough.”

  Errin’s expression hardened. “Nice to see she’s got some conscience. Do you believe her?”

  “I don’t know. This month’s Underground in Drendell ends tonight. I’m leaving shortly to meet her there and discuss it.”

  “Yourself?” Anger turned to concern. “Trevor, that’s a bad idea. Send Kira.”

  “Her aura reading isn’t strong. I want to be certain before making a decision.”

  “I’m sorry,” Stone put in; it seemed they’d forgotten his presence. “If you don’t mind my asking, what are you talking about? Who is this Rovenna?”

  “She is a high-ranking official in Temolan,” Harrison said. “An aide to one of the Council members. We have long suspected her to be growing dissatisfied with the way the mages treat the non-magical.”

  “And you think she might want to—what? Defect?”

  “That is what I plan to find out.”

  “What’s the Underground?”

  “It’s a bit like the Arena,” Errin said. “Except instead of using people, they use magical constructs. There are quite a number of mechanically talented people in the cities, and there’s an underground culture where they work with sympathetic mages to create the constructs and test them against each other. We attend sometimes, because it’s a good place to find people who might benefit from coming here.”

  “You attend these things?” Stone asked Harrison.

  “Frequently, using disguises. I spend a significant amount of time in the non-magical cities, searching for like-minded people.”

  “What about the mage cities?”

  “He never goes there,” Errin said, her expression darkening again. She turned back to Harrison. “Anyway—let me go, with Kira.”

  “No. I will go.” Harrison’s tone suggested he would entertain no arguments. “You can come if you wish, as well, and ask Karol to accompany us.” He glanced at Stone. “Forgive me, Dr. Stone, but I must postpone your training for a day or two. Anzo mentioned you were looking for me—is there something I can do for you?”