Magicians' Trial

by H. L. Burke

  “I’m such an idiot!” Auric pulled away, shaking his hand.

  “Your knuckles are bleeding.” She frowned and pulled a handkerchief from her bodice. “Please?” He allowed her to bandage his hand.

  Auric narrowed his gaze at Jericho. “You aren’t going to say anything? No, ‘I told you so’? No, ‘yeah, you’re an idiot’?”

  Jericho shook his head. “No, because you aren’t. What Styles did is reprehensible, and while I didn’t trust him, even I didn’t think he would stoop that low. Attacking Lotta, who is a stranger to him and a danger to his way of life, I don’t agree with it, but I can at least comprehend it. Putting a friend at risk? Turning on you? No, that’s unforgivable, especially knowing what sort of man you are.”

  Auric flushed. “I’m not … I mean …”

  “Auric, there was a moment in the water when you had a choice between taking your next breath and keeping me above the surface, and you chose to save me. It nearly killed you.” Jericho squeezed his friend’s shoulder. “Not every man would do that.”

  “It’s not as if you’re a stranger to self-sacrifice.” Auric shrugged. “Besides, knowing what I know,” he nodded towards his sister, “between the two of us, you take priority. You’re a father now, after all. That’s important.”

  Rill’s blush deepened.

  “You’re going to be an amazing mother, Rill,” Auric said.

  She threw her arms about him.

  Eyes shut, Auric held his sister tight.

  Jericho shifted from foot to foot before clearing his throat. “Yeah, we’re all glad to be alive and happy about the baby, but maybe we should focus on what we do next? Just to, you know, stay alive and out of prison long enough to see this baby?”

  Releasing Rill, Auric scratched at his beard. “Are you sure we should be here?” He glanced uneasily around the room.

  “We talked about that while you were out.” Rill straightened her skirts. “Styles won’t risk incriminating himself by harming us under his own roof. I mean, he might be able to slip poison into one person’s tea and pass it off as ‘natural causes,’ but all of us? No, the closer to him we are, the safer we are.”

  “Also, I don’t think he knows we are onto him. He’ll know his trap failed by now, but our returning here makes it look as if we don’t suspect him. In fact, let’s play it up. The room collapsed because the tunnels are unstable and we’re abandoning plans to place generators there. Too risky.” Jericho tapped his fingers on his thigh, trying to form a plan. “We’ll let him think we’ve abandoned the generators. If Lotta can get them working, we don’t need Styles, so all we need to do is keep Styles distracted.”

  “How?” Auric frowned. “He’s not a cat you can wave a string in front of.”

  “I have something better than string.” Jericho inhaled, not liking his own idea very much. “I have Rill. He struts like a peacock in mating season every time she’s in a room. If she were to bat her eyes and play along, he’d forget either of us existed. Are you willing to do that, Rill?”

  She flushed. “Oh. Do you think that will work?” Her fingers clenched and unclenched around the fabric of her dress. “I mean, I don’t relish the idea of spending time around him, but I could probably keep him busy. Yes, I would be all right playing that part.”

  “Are you all right with that?” Auric raised his eyebrows at Jericho.

  “I trust Rill. If she’s comfortable with it, so am I.” Jericho took his wife’s hand. “Though if you are uncomfortable even in the slightest, you get away from him and let me know.”

  “I’ll be fine.” She kissed his cheek. “Styles nearly killed the two men I love most. Trust me, he’s going to regret that. After all, it is foolish to get on the bad side of either Spellsmith or Carver … and I just happen to be both.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Auric shifted under Lotta’s scrutiny. Jericho had offered to be the one to talk to her, but Auric had wanted to get out of Styles Manor before he ran into Cordon. Not yet prepared to face his former friend, he’d caught a cab to the address Lotta had left with Jericho. It proved to be her father’s abandoned machinist shop. Ezra stood guard at the door while Auric explained Jericho’s plan to Lotta. From the look on her face, she wasn’t impressed.

  “You want to keep working on the generators to restart your ‘friend’s’ factory even though your ‘friend’ tried to kill all of us?” Her eyes widened. “It’s bad enough that we’re still staying at his home, knowing what he did, but to keep working on this project as if he won’t just hit us again the moment we let our guard down? It’s worse than stupid. It’s mad!”

  “Would you listen to me for once?” Auric held up his hand.

  She subsided.

  “The factory doesn’t belong to Cordon. In fact, if your generators are installed, he’ll be out of business.” Auric pulled up a box and sat down. When he’d arrived, Lotta had been sorting through crates of her father’s tools. Dust and cobwebs clung to every surface in the sepulchral shop. “Jericho and I will pretend to focus fully on our upcoming court case. Rill will … distract Cordon.” Auric swallowed. That part of the plan still left him with a sour taste in his mouth. He wasn’t sure how Jericho could stomach it. “And you’ll continue building your generators in secret. How long do you think it will take you?”

  She fiddled with a stray curl, making his heart race. “A few days. If it is just for a demonstration, I don’t need to make a large version. A scaled down model should do. I already have the parts I need. It’s just a matter of putting them together.”

  “Excellent.” He grinned.

  She sighed, her shoulders slumping.

  “Lotta.” He stood and took her hand. “Please, I know this is hard, but if we can show the right people that the generators work, Styles will be powerless to stop it, to stop you.”

  “It’s not that.” She shook her head. “It’s just … This place makes me think of my father, you know?” She swept her hand at the dark corners of the mostly empty shop. “This was our home. We lived here, and he died here.”

  “I’m sorry,” Auric whispered. He longed to stroke her cheek, to physically comfort her in some way, but he held himself back.

  “He would’ve liked you. You’re energetic, resourceful. I mean, magic is stupid compared to science and engineering, but I think with my father as a teacher, you could’ve been an excellent engineer.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He chuckled, feeling several inches taller in spite of her jab at his profession.

  “It is.”

  “So, is there something I can help you with?”

  “We need a few more tools. Jericho had about half of mine in his pack, and those are gone for good now.” She pointed towards the door to the back room. “There is another tool box in there, a small wooden one. It should be enough.”

  “All right. I’ll get it.” He hurried into the back. The room was dark other than the wedge of light penetrating through the open door and another dim square filtering through a single, high window. He flipped the switch for the gas lamps, but nothing happened. Perhaps with the shop abandoned, Lotta hadn’t bothered to keep up the bills.

  After blinking a few times, his eyes adjusted to the point where he could make out shapes. Stacks of crates lined one wall, shelves covered with odds and ends the other. The back wall was empty except for a thin outline of light around the exterior door. Out of habit, his hand strayed to the pocket where he kept his stylus and tablet, before he remembered that it wouldn’t do him any good due to the magical drought.

  Something clinked, echoing in the empty room. He paused. Rats? Quite possible. The vermin liked empty buildings, and Lotta hadn’t been here since her father’s death. He spied a broom propped up against the nearest shelf and picked it up, ready to defend himself if a rodent popped out.

  Nothing happened so he continued searching the shelves for a small, wooden toolbox. Half-squinting, half-feeling in the dark, he found canisters of nails and screws, cans o
f oil, and spools of wire on the top two shelves. His fingers slipped over a small cardboard box with a rough side. He smiled: matches.

  Scratching one alight, he bent down to examine the shadows of the lowest shelf.

  The shelf shook slightly, and his match flickered out. A high-pitched chattering sounded, unnervingly close to his head. Chills cut down his back as he fumbled for a second match. It hissed, the flame a faint, sputtering orange. The ivory-teeth of the pewter monkey reflected in the glow.

  Auric’s stomach fell to his feet.

  The creature made a clicking noise deep in its throat. Auric debated his chances at tossing it across the room. It stood on its hind legs and puffed out the match, plunging them both into darkness.

  Auric bolted for the door. The creature rammed Auric behind the knees, slamming him into the floor. His head spun, and he tasted blood. Before he could scramble up, the metal monster bludgeoned him over the head. His ears rang at the blow.

  Play dead.

  The monkey pranced on his back, jerking at his hair until tears dripped from Auric’s eyes, but Auric lay still and silent. Finally the creature skittered out the door. After two deep breaths, Auric dared to pull himself onto his hands and knees. His head pounded, and his stomach lurched, but he kept down his bile. He pulled out his tablet. If the monkey was around, he could assume its mistress was as well. If so, he needed to be ready. Avoiding the light from the door, he slunk into the shadows until he reached the wall. He gazed through the narrow crack between the door and its frame.

  Ezra stood, fists raised, in front of Lotta who had positioned herself behind the sales counter. Lotta gripped a large wrench as if it were a sword. The woman in the black dress stood in the doorway. The monkey sat at her feet.

  “Do you greet all your customers this way?” She laughed.

  “We’re closed. Get out.” Lotta’s hands tightened on her wrench.

  “You think you’re a match for me? I would kill you before you could cross the room.” The woman stepped in, closing the door behind her.

  Auric slipped his stylus out. His hands were sweaty. Had she released the magic yet? If not, his spells wouldn’t do any good. If she had, though, she might attack Lotta at any moment. He scratched a binding spell into the wax. Nothing happened. He rubbed out the last symbol.

  “I’ve failed to kill you twice. You can’t imagine what a professional embarrassment that is, though in fairness, most in my line of work have simply called it quits what with the magical drought taking away our favorite weapons.” The woman stuck out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. “You couldn’t make this easy on me, could you?”

  Come on, release some magic so I can throw it back in your face. The stylus twitched in Auric’s fingers.

  “Well, I can work without magic, too.” The woman drew a long knife from her boot and stepped forward. The monkey squealed with delight.

  “I’d leave now if I were you,” Lotta said.

  Auric’s mind raced. What could he do without magic? He needed a weapon.

  The assassin took another step forward.

  Lotta slammed her wrench down on the counter. Something snapped. There came a whirring noise and a wooden crate crashed down from the ceiling, on top of the woman in black. The monkey shrieked and crashed through the front window, sending glass shards flying as it fled.

  Auric rushed out. The crate had shattered around the woman, who stared groggily up at the ceiling. Blood gushed from a shallow wound in her head, darkening her blond hair.

  “Oh, she’s not dead.” Lotta frowned.

  “No, but she’s stunned.” Auric knelt down and grabbed the woman’s wrists. “Quick, toss me a rope or something. She can’t use magic with her hands bound.”

  Ezra hurried forward with a length of cord. Between the two of them, they bound her hands and feet. Auric took a second to look up at the ceiling. A series of ropes and pulleys swung above them like vines in a jungle. Several other crates still hung above them. He whistled. “Impressive. When did you set that up?”

  “First thing on arriving here.” She shrugged. “Did you think I wouldn’t have some sort of safety system? There’s another set over the back door. I was a little worried about getting her to step in the right place. I didn’t have time to cover the whole shop.”

  Auric clicked his tongue. “You’re something else.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” She smiled.

  He blinked at her. A joke? From Lotta?

  The woman groaned.

  “I’ll go fetch a peace officer.” Ezra gave their captive’s cords one more good yank. “Tied or not, I won’t feel safe for my Lotta until this one’s locked up.” He stomped out the door.

  “I hope she comes to enough to answer some questions first.” Auric crossed his arms. “There are a few things I want to know.”

  “Here.” Lotta fetched a flask of water. She dribbled it over the dazed woman’s face.

  Coughing, the woman spluttered awake. She jerked against her bonds then glared at Auric. “You again?”

  “Hello.” Auric smiled wryly.

  Blood trailed from her head wound into her eyes. She squinted. Auric hesitated before kneeling down and pressing his handkerchief to the wound.

  “It’s shallow. You’ll be fine.”

  Lotta raised her eyebrows.

  Auric flushed and pulled their captive into a sitting position, back against the counter. “Why are you trying to kill Lotta?”

  The woman shrugged. “Just a job. Are you ready to untie me?”

  “No, you’re going to prison for what you did, if you don’t hang for it.” He narrowed his gaze at her. “If you testify against your employer, maybe they’ll go easy on you.”

  “What exactly did I do? That’s the only advantage to failing at my job. No one got hurt, so no crime was committed.”

  “Attempted murder is still a crime.” Auric’s fists clenched.

  “My word against yours that it was anything but a misunderstanding.” She winked. “You’re not the one tied up with a split scalp, sweetie. I came in with nothing but good intentions, and your paranoid little girlfriend attacked me.” She tilted her head. “Though maybe I have that backwards. You’re her little boyfriend, aren’t you?”

  “She’s not taller than me!” Auric snapped.

  “Yes, I am,” Lotta said. “Though he’s not my boyfriend.”

  “Either way, between myself, Ezra, and Lotta, that’s three against one saying you pulled a knife on Lotta before she dropped the crate on you, and that’s not counting the two earlier attacks and your probable involvement in Alvin’s death.” Auric drew a deep breath. “Whatever Styles is paying you, it can’t be worth going to the noose.”

  The woman chuckled. “I don’t know. He’s paying me quite a lot.”

  Auric’s stomach tightened painfully. Yes, he’d suspected it, but the confirmation still hurt.

  “Besides, he’ll pay my bail and I’ll be back on the streets hunting your little lady again in no time. How about this? You let me go and instead of killing you, I’ll allow you both to leave town.” She raised an eyebrow. “Suits my employer just as well as you dying. He only cares about stopping your silly generator project.”

  “How about you hang yourself?” Lotta’s eyes flashed. “My father was working on the generators before I was. The mob that attacked him, was that your doing?”

  “No, though I wouldn’t be surprised if my employer had something to do with it.” The woman frowned. “I’m hands on in my work, but my employer likes to send flunkies to do anything messy.”

  “Like you?” Auric pointed out.

  The door opened, and Ezra hurried in accompanied by a peace officer. “Right here!” He pointed to the bound woman.

  The officer glanced from the bound woman, to the shattered bits of Lotta’s trap, and back to Ezra. “You say she attacked you?”

  “I also believe she might’ve had something to do with the murder of Terryn Alvin,” Auric said. “I�
��d like to make a statement if you’d allow me to accompany her to your office.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Lotta grasped the tiny piece of clockwork with her tweezers and moved it towards the casing. Her hand shook, sending the metal wheel skittering across the table and into the plush carpet. With a curse, she dove after it, bumping the table. Clockwork and tiny screws rained down on her head.

  “No, no, no, stupid, stupid!” she hissed at herself. Tears welled in her eyes. Everything was going wrong. Her attempts to honor her father had put Auric and Jericho in danger in the tunnels, had Ezra at knife point in the shop. What if next time someone actually died? How could it be worth it?

  Someone tapped on the door.

  “Leave me alone!” she snapped.

  Silence.

  “Are you all right?” Auric called through the door, his tone worried.

  She flushed. Great, as if she hadn’t been awful enough to him lately. She rose and opened the door.

  He blinked at her. “I wanted to let you know they’ve brought up charges of attempted murder and assault against the woman who attacked us. She won’t be bothering us for a while.”

  Lotta let out a long breath. “Good. What about the monkey?”

  “No sign of it. The officers said they’d be on the lookout, but I can’t imagine it will be much of a threat without its mistress.”

  He glanced around her. She half-turned, following his gaze to inspect the room. They had pushed the bed against the far wall to make space for a work table and stool, as well as Ezra’s cot.

  “Are you working on something?” Auric was so close his breath tickled the side of her face. She spun back to face him and found they were nose to nose. His eyes captured her. So blue. A pleasant shiver cut through her, and for several heartbeats, she couldn’t speak. He stepped towards the work table where her project lay. Metal crunched underfoot.

  “Stop!” She grabbed his shoulder.

  He raised his eyebrows.

  She flushed. “I knocked a bunch of parts on the floor. I was trying to get them out of the carpet.”