A Mage's Fall: Dark Manhattan (Malachi English Book 2)

by Andy Hyland

  Time to face facts. Zack wasn’t going to arrive. The cavalry would get here too late, and my friend would have to see my body the way we’d found Scorpio’s. I breathed deeply, slowing my heart, stopping my frantic dashing to and fro, and stood still.

  The shadow gathered. I watched it, interested in a detached way. It grew from the ground upwards, spindled legs on feet that spread like tree roots across the floor. Then came the torso, thicker, made substantial by an endlessly streaming roll of smoke that wrapped around itself again and again. The arms spread from this, wide and menacing, talons at the end that looked insubstantial, but I knew they could lacerate my flesh like razors. Finally the head, a long, twisting cylinder with eyes that somehow managed to be darker than everything else around, and a maw that gaped, sending an acrid smell of magic my way on the air.

  Then I felt something stir, a twitch in my right hand. I looked down, and on its own it started to flex, to call on magic. Part of me wanted to resist, to take what was coming, to not risk harm coming to anyone else around, but another part smiled and went with the flow.

  I leaned into it, taking control now, a piece at a time, a flick of my hand sending a column of twirling, turning air into the shadow’s leg. It screamed silently at me as the air took the leg apart, the cut off section uncurling and vanishing. The shadow moved back, looking at me warily now.

  I looked at my hand, amazed and delighted. It was all so simple. So natural. How had it ever been a problem? What was there ever to worry about? The euphoria took me, and I raised both arms now, fingers twirling, conducting the air in the apartment as I sent it dancing into the shadow like whirling blades. The legs and arms vanished, leaving the torso writhing in the center of the room. Three more attacks and that went as well, leaving only the head hanging there, mouth open. I drew the air from either side, bringing it together in hammer blows that sent what was left of the shadow flailing away, twisting and dying.

  For the next few minutes the beast tried to bring itself back together, but I was on fire now, anticipating its every move, bringing a breeze, a wind, a dart of air that flicked it apart before it grew. Finally, it had enough. A final effort drew together a large, black eye that glared at me, before turning away and streaking down through the floor.

  I stood there, eyes closed, smiling, breathing.

  “So I needn’t have hurried then?” Zack stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame, eyebrows raised.

  “How much did you see?” I asked, unable to stop myself from grinning.

  He walked forward, counting on his fingers. “I saw elemental control, freakishly fine co-ordination, multiple and simultaneous attacks, and no signs of fatigue whatsoever. You could have kept on at that all day. Come on, what happened?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. It just felt…right.”

  “Anything else just ‘feel right’ lately?”

  I thought about it. “It’s this place, I think.” I showed him Becky’s note, told him about the visit to the lawyer. “What do you think?”

  He shrugged. “Possible. Everyone’s been telling you it’s all in your head. Maybe you’ve been carrying round a ton of guilt. Wouldn’t blame you. None of it was your fault, but you can’t expect someone in your situation to have the perspective you’d need to see that. Yeah.” He sat back on the sofa. “I reckon that’s it.”

  “That’s it? No, I don’t think so. You didn’t feel it. It was …” No good. I didn’t have the words. I got up and started rummaging through the shoebox. “Come on. Need your help with something.”

  “We haven’t got anything better to do at the moment?”

  “It’ll only take a moment. Might end up with you cleaning my brains off the floor, but I’m not living like this for a moment longer. Time to find out for sure.” I found the notes I needed, and passed them over to him.

  He looked at them, realization slowly dawning. “You are not doing this.”

  “It’s the only way to know for sure. Deep down, I think this magic scares me because I don’t know where it came from. If we do this, if it works and I come out alive, then I never need to worry about it again. I’m free. I’m armed and dangerous. I’m back.”

  “And if I don’t help?”

  “I’m doing it anyway. Rather have you with me.”

  Zack stretched and stood up. “Then as always, my brother, I am your wing man on the suicide missions of life. Let’s do it, and may God have mercy on us all.”

  Becky’s security was intense, lethal and deeply intrusive, and it was all centered on the main door. The concept itself was simple: you put your forehead to the door, it rooted through your brain, and if it felt any hint, any taint of demonic influence, your head exploded. In a world where very little was as it seemed, she thought it an appropriate measure, even if, behind her back, everyone else thought it was verging a little bit on the extreme.

  “So that’s it, it’s that simple?” I said, after we’d spent half an hour combing through the instructions and tracing our way through a network of runes across the walls.

  “Looks like it. It all stems from here. Pour in a touch of power and the systems boot up. Think of it as a light switch. You want me to do the honors?” I nodded. His finger hovered. “Absolutely sure about this?”

  “Do it already.”

  The spark sent a flash of green around the rune, creating the outline of a shamrock. A blaze then moved across the walls, igniting further runes, until, with a loud and theatrical creak, the door slammed shut.

  “So that’s it. Want me to come with you?”

  “Nah,” I said. “Keep an ear out for any wet, organic, sloppy thuds. That’ll be my brain flopping down the walls.”

  “Don’t. Just don’t.” Zack grabbed me into a tight bear hug. “I know it’s okay, man. About time you got your head round that too.”

  He let go, I nodded and let myself out. The door shut behind me. Then I turned and faced it. I could walk away. Hope that next time danger beckoned I’d be up to the task. But what if that next time, someone else was depending on me to not screw up? Zack, Arabella, Julie? No, it was time to put up or shut up. Time to know once and for all. If there was anything wrong, anything twisted or tainted about my magic, anything worth being afraid of, I was about to find out.

  With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and leaned forward. My forehead touched the door, which was cool and smooth. A moment’s pause, and then the door went to work.

  It started slowly, tendrils on the edge of my consciousness, prodding, probing. Then they drove inwards, hard and fast, tearing into my psyche, dragging to the surface what was in there. Every time I’d done this before, I’d been nervous. This time I observed with fascination. They searched as diligently as they’d ever done. Then, and this was new, they…settled. They relaxed, blended, moulding themselves around what was in me. A caress. Magic to magic.

  And I suddenly knew, without any doubt, where the sudden upsurge in my powers had come from.

  I saw it again, clearly. Me at the top of the crater, looking down at Becky just before the bomb exploded. Her telling me she was sorry. Then the blast. And it wasn’t Edwin Monk’s magic that reached me, it wasn’t the power of the Aleph that bonded with mine. In that final moment, it was Becky giving me one final gift, one final push to see me right, one final blessing. There was nothing impure or demonic or fearful about the magic I wielded. It was the final kiss of a dear friend.

  The door opened without a whisper. Zack stood there, watching the tears flow down my face. “It’s all good,” I told him. “It’s all good. Come on. Let’s find that little freak.”

  Chapter sixteen

  “So, to check I’ve got this right,” said Zack as we power-walked our way towards the library, “David is unhinged, insanely powerful – even more so than…?”

  “Yes,” I confirmed. “Even fully in control of everything I’ve got, I doubt I’d be able to touch him. Not face to face.”

  “And you think he doesn’t know what he’s d
oing?”

  “The mesmers, the draws, I’m almost certain he doesn’t. Even the shadow – it’s not cold and calculating, it’s pure rage.”

  “Split personality?”

  I nodded. “Something close. Incredibly dangerous. It goes beyond the shadow as well. Scorpio’s knives. Marvin’s interrogation. He’d have had to do that himself. In person. Does he even remember doing it? I don’t think so.”

  “And you say we can’t hurt or kill him? Because the Union says so?”

  “And because the Host says so.” Zack looked at me and blinked. “Yes, they’re directly involved, and they won’t lift a finger against him.”

  “The Host? Wow.” Zack chewed that over for a bit. “How long’s it been? You know, we could really have done with their help when the Aleph were about to invade.”

  “Yeah, well they never turn up when you want them to, do they? Julie said they’ve been clearing up the mess with the Union. And they’re taking the whole issue of David very personally. I think they’ve sent a whole flight over to cover him.”

  “Holy crap. So what are we going to do?”

  “First things first, we’ve got to find him. After that, we’ll see what happens.”

  “And you’ve got a plan for that as well?”

  “Almost. Mercy said we had everything we need. We’ve got nothing on David directly, but she got us that file, via Julie, on Ellen. That’s the connection. There must be something there we can use. Come on, let’s talk to people who know how to find things.”

  Thankfully, the librarian I’d got friendly with on my first visit was on duty, but she scowled at me as I approached, despite my best and most winning smile. “You didn’t call,” she said, looking down and stamping some books with rather more force than was absolutely necessary.

  “Lost your number.”

  “A likely story.”

  “Why do you think I’m here?”

  She looked up. I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. Magic would have helped, but there are some things a gentleman doesn’t stoop to. “Fine,” she said, with the barest hint of a smile at the edge of her lips, “but this is the last time you’re getting it.”

  “It won’t be wasted,” I assured her, slightly sad that I’d never be able to face coming in the building again as long as she worked here. “By the way, this is my friend.”

  “Hello, friend.”

  “Hi,” said Zack.

  “He’s in town trying to track down an aunt. We’ve got a last name, need to track down any properties she might own.” I looked at her expectantly.

  “Sir,” she said slowly, making sure that I got the point. “This is the library of Science, Industry and Business. It’s not really what we do.”

  “Ah,” I said. “I don’t suppose you could point us…”

  “Oh for goodness” sake,” she said, and I think by this point she was regretting giving me the number, “let me make a call. What was the name?”

  “Lamarchand. Ellen Lamarchand.”

  “Nice name.”

  “She was lovely,” said Zack. I elbowed him. Didn’t need to overplay it.

  The librarian scribbled it down, checking the spelling with us. “Give me a minute.”

  “Thanks…”

  “Suzanne,” she said as she walked away. “My name’s Suzanne.”

  “Insane flirting skills there, man,” whispered Zack, nudging me with his elbow.

  “Don’t tell Julie. Anyway, they’re wearing off, I think.”

  We kicked our heels for five minutes until Suzanne appeared round the corner, smiling sadly and shaking her head. “Sorry. I had a friend run the name, and we’ve got no properties in Manhattan registered against that name. Elize Lamarchand, yes. Ellvire Lamarchand, also a yes. But no Ellen. You sure you’ve got her name right?” she asked Zack.

  “No doubt about that,” I answered for him. “This isn’t helping. Sorry, I didn’t mean you,” I said to Suzanne, who was now glaring at me. “But we were given this information and told it would get us somewhere.”

  “Is it worth trying her maiden name?” she asked, being far more patient and helpful with us than the job demanded.

  “No, that is her – hold on, try her married name. Skale. S – k – a – l – e. She was married for a few years. She went back to using her maiden name, but if she never changed it back legally, then….”

  “Worth a try,” Suzanne said, dashing off again.

  “What if we’re barking up the wrong tree?” Zack asked. “What if the property angle’s not going to get us anywhere?”

  “Then I’m all out of guesses. Mercy more or less told us that Ellen is the way to David. If not this, then what?”

  We waited in silence as the second hand on the clock moved slowly round the numbers. Suzanne came back, brighter than before, waving a printed sheet of paper in the air. “Got her.”

  “Gramercy Park East,” said Zack, reading the notes as we skipped down the steps of the library. “Serious money. Probably even richer than your girlfriend. If Julie and David got together, their kids would be fantastically well off.”

  “You think you’re helping?”

  “Sorry,” he said, checking his phone. “Hey, you got any missed calls from Arabella?”

  “My phone’s with Julie. I met Arabella down by Becky’s. Had to tell her to get away. She didn’t look good.”

  “What did she say?”

  “We didn’t talk. I needed her to get away before the shadow turned up. Any answer?”

  He took the phone away from his ear. “Going straight to voicemail. I’m thinking I should go check on her.”

  I thought about it, then shook my head. “Hate to say it, but we can’t. I need you for this, and David’s a loose cannon at the moment. Every minute he’s wandering unhinged round New York is another minute people could end up dead.” He looked at his phone, unconvinced. “I promise,” I told him, “that as soon as we get this done, she’s top of the list.”

  “Hold on girl,” Zack whispered as he tucked the phone away inside his jacket.

  *

  Entering the Gramercy neighborhood was like stepping back in time, away from the bustle and into a more genteel age. The park was beautiful. Small, sweet, well-tended and green. In another world, where I was loaded and had more free time than I knew what to do with, I could walk out of my big old house and spend all day reading on the grass.

  “Snap out of it,” Zack ordered. “Daydreams are for later. Which one are we looking at?”

  I checked the map and circled to our right. “That one,” I said. “On the corner.” It was a beautiful, grand brownstone, dignified and regal, with ornate columns either side of the oversized front door. I rolled my senses out, checking it over, going as far inside as I could from where we were standing. “I’m getting nothing. You?”

  “Same here. It’s possible she’s got a psychic shield up, but to do that permanently would…well, I’ve never known anyone who managed it. Yeah, I reckon it’s empty. He’s not here.”

  “Then let’s hunt for some clues. Careful as we get close. I could throw up a ward, but that might trigger alarms.”

  “Agreed. Tread slowly.”

  The thrum of power grew as we neared the place. I let my gaze slide, and saw runes running up and down the pillars, black and fluid. “Recognize any of those? They’re barrier charms, I’m sure of it, but there’s something else there.”

  “Interesting,” said Zack, reaching out and tracing the lines along the pillar, sensible enough to not actually touch it. “The barriers are specific. If it was Ellen who put them here, then she was very particular about who was getting in.”

  I looked closer. He was right. But the signs for those who were denied access weren’t any that I’d seen before. That wasn’t exactly surprising – runic language drew on all kinds of sources, and you looked around until you found precisely what you wanted. “Reckon we’re going to have problems here?”

  “I’d guess at no. The power i
n these things, I doubt we’d have got this close if we were the ones she was trying to keep out.”

  I stepped up to the door and placed my hand against it. No fire. No bolts of lightning. The signs were all good so far. I couldn’t feel any magical trigger that would open the door, so it was a case of getting Zack to shield me as best he could while I fumbled with the lock, trying to look as innocent as possible.

  With a click, we were in, and were greeted immediately with the monotonous, regular beep of an alarm that was waiting to blare into life. Zack pushed past me and found the control panel to the right, behind the door. “Regis Homeshield, fifth generation,” he said with disgust. “All this money, and they put this piece of crap in? Still, makes our job easier.” He stepped back and brought his fist down on the top of the alarm box, tearing it neatly from the wall. The beeping stopped. “Some people have no idea.”

  “We’ve definitely got the right place,” I said, picking up a framed picture from a side table. An elderly Ellen with David, slightly younger than when I’d seen him. A wide smile, no beard, and a brightness to his eyes. Two very happy people.

  I shut the front door and we got to work. Zack headed up the broad staircase, while I headed out to the kitchen. The arrangement suited me fine – there was something about creeping round bedrooms that felt far too much like snooping. However, it was usually where you got the best results, as evidenced by Zack calling down to me a few minutes later.

  Everything about the house was sumptuous and elegant. The plaster, the marble, the gold – in the hands of a lesser designer it would have been too much, too garish. But whoever orchestrated the arrangements in this house did it with a light touch. All seemed exactly as it should be. Come to think of it, I thought as I trotted up to meet Zack, it was all a bit too much like a show home. Hard to imagine anyone actually living here.