Mortal Imperative: An Alastair Stone Urban Fantasy Novel (Alastair Stone Chronicles Book 24)

by R. L. King

  “But…” Her voice shook. “These were still different from the skeletons. They weren’t just…dead people. Didn’t you see them? They were like…stitched together from…pieces.”

  “I saw.”

  “I don’t even think all the pieces were human.”

  “No. I don’t think so either.”

  “And you don’t know what’s going on?”

  “I haven’t any idea. I’m certain the notes I read didn’t mention anything about that.” He addressed Maisie again. “You don’t know anything about them?”

  “No. I never saw them before tonight.”

  “Damn.” He thought for a while as they continued along the road. There wasn’t much traffic this time of night, thankfully. They had so much to discuss, but he wasn’t sure doing it now was going to help. Their first priority was getting Maisie somewhere safe, and letting her clean up so she didn’t smell like a slaughterhouse at high noon. “All right. Two more questions, and we should probably focus on getting where we’re going. I think we could all use a bit of time to sort ourselves out.”

  “What are the questions?”

  “First: if whoever grabbed you didn’t blackmail you into leaving on your own, how did they abduct you?”

  She hesitated. “I…don’t know. I live in a cabin out in the middle of the woods. Away from town. Not really the social type, you know? I went to bed one night…had weird dreams. When I woke up, I was in the cage.” Shuddering, she added, “they didn’t feed me. I was so scared I was gonna…”

  “I know,” Stone said softly. “But you don’t have to worry about that now. Second question: when you were held captive, you said you didn’t see Lu or Belmont. Did you see anyone? Hear them talking? Anything?”

  “Just…indistinct stuff. I think they kept me drugged, which is hard to do.”

  “All right. That’s enough for now. I hope you don’t mind answering some other questions later.”

  “You guys got me out of there. If there’s anything I can do to help, name it.”

  “I hope there is.”

  It was too late for most stores to still be open, but a few miles outside Atlanta Stone spotted an all-night Walmart just off the freeway. He pulled off and parked in a deserted area of the lot. “Verity…could you run inside and pick up a few things for Maisie? Some clothes, shoes, toiletries…whatever else she might need?” He pulled a wad of cash from his wallet and passed it across to her.

  “Uh…sure.” Verity gave him a sideways glance, but didn’t protest. She probably wanted to get out of the smelly car. “Need anything else, Maisie? What size are you?”

  “I don’t need much,” she said. “Just some clothes.” She told Verity her sizes. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. Back soon.” Verity got out and jogged across the parking lot toward the store.

  Maisie sighed, settling back in her seat. “I can’t believe you guys got me out of there. I thought I was dead—or worse—for sure.”

  Stone tried not to react to the fact that every time she moved, new clouds of stench wafted up from her. He kept the window open and tried to breathe shallowly. “Your friend Tani was worried about you. She said it wasn’t like you not to respond to her texts.”

  “Yeah…we been friends a long time. Used to write letters and call on the landline before we got cell phones, y’know? Sometimes I wish I hadn’t left when the rest of the group did.”

  Stone reached in his pocket and withdrew the small elephant. “She said you sent her this. It’s a good thing you did—it helped us find you.”

  She stared at it with wide eyes. To Stone’s surprise, tears appeared in the corners of them and ran down her skinny cheeks, leaving trails in the grime. “Can I…have that?” she asked, her voice much more tentative than before.

  “Of course. Though I think Tani might want it back. I promised I’d try my best not to destroy it during the tracking ritual.” He dropped it into her hand without touching her.

  She clenched her fist around it. “I have an otter…back home. I hope it’s still there.” Looking hopeful, she said softly, “Could we…call her? Text her? Let her know I’m alive?”

  “I’m afraid not…not yet. My friends have convinced me to use a burner phone, and only in emergencies. But I promise, when we get back to where we’re staying, you can call her from there.”

  “Thanks.” She slumped back again. “You…I still can’t believe this. You guys…risked your lives to help me. I won’t forget that.”

  “It’s all right—I’m just sorry we couldn’t save Belmont too. And Lu is still out there somewhere. I hope he’s alive.”

  She didn’t answer, and a few moments later Verity returned carrying two loaded shopping bags. She got in and passed them back to Maisie. “I got you a couple shirts, two pairs of jeans, some underwear, socks, athletic shoes, a bag to carry it all in…and toiletry stuff: soap, shampoo, and a toothbrush and toothpaste.”

  The ghoul seemed suddenly overcome at all of this being directed at her. Her eyes welled with tears again. “I…don’t even know how to thank you.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” She sounded a little less monotone now. Perhaps having a bit of time on her own had given her the space to sort through her thoughts. “Where are we going now, Doc?”

  “First thing is to find a motel where we can get inside without being seen, so Maisie can clean up. And then you should probably go back through the portal. I’ll take Maisie back to the colony and give my friends a report on what we’ve found so far.”

  Verity shot him a suspicious look. “You want me to go home?”

  “We’re not doing anything else dangerous right now, and I don’t think the colony would approve of my revealing their location. I should be home soon—probably by tomorrow. At that point, I’ll appreciate your help to figure out our next steps. I’ll likely call in some others, too. It’s clear there’s more going on here than we initially thought.”

  “Yeah.” She sounded sober. “Necromancy. That’s bad. We don’t know who’s doing it, and we also don’t know what a necromancer wants with ghouls.”

  “Necromancers…” Maisie said. “I can’t believe it…I didn’t even think that was a real thing. I…wasn’t hearing much before I got something to eat.”

  “That’s what we think,” Stone said. “Do you know about magic?”

  “Not much. Just heard a few things from Tani and people in the colony. Never saw it myself…not till tonight, anyway.” She shuddered. “Not sure I want to see it again.”

  “Can’t blame you for that.” Verity said. She pointed. “Hey, there’s a place, Doc. Want to stop there?”

  Stone once again exited the freeway and pulled into the parking lot of a small motel with a nearly-empty parking lot and a flickering VACANCY sign. “Your brother’s right,” he said. “I should see to that fake ID. For now, can you take care of getting us a room? We’re only staying long enough for Maisie to sort herself out.”

  “Sure. I still have that big wad of cash. I got this.”

  She returned a few moments later. “We’re in room 203.”

  “Any trouble?”

  “Nah. I used my illusion spell and paid cash.”

  “Brilliant. Now, no offense, Maisie, but let’s find you a shower, shall we?”

  “Yeah. None taken. I’m starting to offend myself.”

  15

  “I’m not sure I like that you’re sending me home so soon,” Verity said.

  She lounged on one of the room’s two queen beds. The low hiss of the shower was barely audible through the closed bathroom door.

  “I know, and I’m sorry, but it can’t be helped. I can’t reveal the colony’s existence to an outsider without permission, and I think they’ll have enough to deal with when I call them without putting them on the spot.” Stone sat in an old wingback chair next to the window. They’d closed the blinds and drawn the curtains to make sure no curious onlookers got a peep inside.

  “I can’t help thinking you’ve go
t something else planned.”

  “No doubt I do, but not until I get back home. I’m telling you, Verity, there isn’t much else I can do here. Even if Maisie remembers more about who snatched her, this is obviously not something I want to go into blind. It sounds very much like some dangerous and powerful people are involved, and I haven’t got a clue why.”

  “Yeah.” She sighed. “This is making me really uncomfortable, Doc. I thought necromancy was rare. Like, really rare. If there are more people out there doing it…”

  “I know. I’m having the same thought. As far as any of us knew, it was a lost art. We still don’t even know how that Cheltham woman learned it, and I doubt she’s practicing it over here even if she did survive what happened back at Berrycliff Hall. So that means someone else is out there practicing it—and possibly with even more skill than she was.”

  Verity shivered. “And not even the same way. This wasn’t raising skeletons or zombies from old graves. Those things looked fresh. They were oozing blood and…other stuff. Like whoever stitched the parts together obtained them recently to use them for this.”

  “Yes. That’s one of the things that’s disturbing me.”

  “What are the others?”

  Stone got up and began pacing. “First—why were they there at all? Obviously, they were left there as a trap, especially if Maisie is correct and they also left a trigger spell. They expected someone to show up. But the question is: who? Was it me—or us—specifically, or just someone in general?”

  “Is there any way they could have known you were coming?”

  “I don’t see how. Even if they somehow managed to notice my tracking spell, that doesn’t mean they could tell who cast it.”

  “So you’re saying they could have known somebody was coming, but not necessarily who.”

  “I hope that’s the case. I don’t think those things in the crypt have any mental capacity, even if whoever created them manages to revive them. And we didn’t leave anyone else behind who can tell them who was there. If we can keep them in the dark about our intentions long enough to find out who they are, that puts us at an advantage.”

  Verity pondered. “You don’t think one of the ghouls from the colony mentioned you, do you? Before they contacted you, I mean.”

  “I can’t see how. Remember, I haven’t seen any of them for ten years. We haven’t kept in touch, and I never met Maisie at all. I didn’t even know she existed until Tani told me.”

  “What about the other two?”

  Stone shrugged. “Belmont and Lu both knew I’m a mage, but I can’t imagine they’d think I might get involved in this situation. Not after all this time.”

  “But it’s possible.”

  “Anything’s possible, I suppose. But I’m still leaving it in the ‘highly unlikely’ category for now.”

  “Okay, then what else? You said several things were disturbing you.”

  “Just one more, but it’s a big one.” He threw himself back into the chair. “What’s the connection between these necromancers, whoever they are, and the ghouls?”

  “I’m not sure I follow. Remember, I barely know anything about ghouls. You’ve got a head start on me.” She chuckled mirthlessly. “Maybe it’s time for a quick Ghouls 101 lesson. Like, are they created by magic?”

  “As far as I know, the only way to become a ghoul is to be bitten or scratched by another one.”

  “Yeah, but they had to come from somewhere initially, right? Do they breed?”

  “There’s an unpleasant thought.” Stone shuddered. “I don’t think they do, though. I’m fairly certain ghouls are sterile, but I’ve never been rude enough to ask. And even if they aren’t, that only covers the civilized ones. I can’t imagine feral ghouls focusing on anything other than feeding long enough to…”

  “Yeah,” she said quickly. “Don’t need that mental image, thanks. But I’m just wondering—would it be possible to create ghouls with alchemy?”

  “No idea. Again, I tend to doubt it. You did say it might be possible for whoever took the ghouls to use their blood or flesh in alchemical solutions, though. So far, that’s the best hypothesis I have.”

  “But if that’s true, why kill them? Why kill that Chris guy and leave Maisie in a cage?”

  “Maybe they’ve got more than the ones we’re aware of. There are other colonies, though I’ve got no real idea where they are. Or perhaps they discovered Lu had whatever they were looking for, but Maisie and Belmont didn’t.”

  “Hmm…” Verity stared at her hands. “Maybe.” She jerked her head up. “You know a little about necromancy, right?”

  “Not much. I looked over Brathwaite’s papers before we destroyed them, but I didn’t read them in depth.”

  She offered an arch smile, once again devoid of humor. “I know you, Doc. You’re like a pit bull when it comes to gathering information, and your memory is insane. I’d bet my car you studied those papers more than a little bit.”

  “That’s…probably true,” he admitted. “But I’m telling you, it was still just a cursory read-through. Normally, when I’m trying to learn a new technique, I’ll spend days studying reference material. Sometimes longer when it’s complex. With these, I only looked at them twice—once before I destroyed them, and once back at the house with Eddie and Ward. I don’t—”

  He stopped.

  “What?” Verity glanced up quickly.

  “Eddie.”

  “What about him? He didn’t have them, did he? Not when you weren’t around?”

  “No.” Suddenly energized, he stalked more quickly around the room’s small confines. “But you’ve got to understand something about Eddie. I’m not sure I ever told you this.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve got a good memory, yes—but his makes mine look like I’m getting senile. The man never forgets anything. It’s why he can run the London library all by himself, and why he’s so good with the collections at Caventhorne. Once he sees or reads something, it’s in there forever.”

  “You mean like eidetic memory?”

  “Not exactly. The popular perception of eidetic memory—that you can look at a page of text and remember it forever—isn’t really the way it works. But in Eddie’s case, it does work more like that. He’s a competent mage, nothing to write home about in most areas, but in that one aspect I’ve never seen his equal. I’m certain it’s a form of wild talent, even though it’s rare to find a wild talent who has other magical abilities.”

  She stared at him. “You mean…he can literally remember everything he’s ever read?”

  “No. If that were true, he’d have been packed off to an asylum years ago. No human brain can hold onto that much information without ill effect. But he remembers it a lot better than a normal person—and he’s bloody good at remembering where it is so he can track it down.”

  “So…sort of like a computer’s file system.”

  He chuckled. “So you’re a nerd now.”

  She shrugged, and this time her smile was more amused. “Gina’s been giving me a few pointers. But is that a better analogy?”

  “More like that, yes.”

  “I get it. You’re thinking maybe, since Eddie read through this stuff and it was important, he might remember more of it.”

  “It’s worth a shot, anyway. I don’t think it’ll get us anywhere, but right now I’ll try anything.”

  In the bathroom, the shower shut off. A few minutes later the door opened, releasing a billowing cloud of steam into the room, and Maisie emerged.

  “Sorry I took so long,” she said. “Felt good to get all that muck off. Hot water was nice.”

  She barely resembled the scrawny, grime-encrusted creature who’d entered the room with them. She was still skinny, but now she stood straighter, dressed in jeans and a blue T-shirt. Her long, straight black hair was neatly combed back from her high, pale forehead, revealing a strange but pretty face with jutting cheekbones, a sharp nose, and deep-set brown eyes. A faint hint of somethi
ng floral had replaced her rotten-flesh odor.

  “You look a lot better,” Verity said.

  “Yeah, thanks. Smell better, too, ’cuz you’re too polite to say so.” She looked suddenly awkward, glancing shyly at Stone. “Thanks for…everything. Both of you.”

  “No trouble.” Stone rose from his chair again.

  “Are we going? I’d like to get back home. You can still ask me stuff if you want.”

  “We’re leaving soon. I’ve got to drop Verity off in Atlanta, and then we’ll be on our way. But as long as we’re here—” He indicated the phone on the nightstand. “I want to give Grider a call, and I assume you want to let Tani know you’re safe.”

  “Yeah. Yeah…” She pulled the little elephant from her pocket and turned it over almost obsessively in her thin hand.

  “Right, then. Let’s get on with that so we can all get home.” He picked up the phone, consulted the card in his wallet where he’d written Grider’s number so he didn’t have to turn on his mobile, and punched it in.

  “Yeah, hello?” Grider’s voice sounded low and gravelly.

  “Mr. Grider. Stone.” Stone wondered if he’d woken the man.

  “Stone! Hang on.” The sound of rustling was immediately followed by a door closing. “Okay. Didn’t want to wake Laura. Where are you?”

  “Not far from Atlanta.”

  “You got anything?”

  Stone didn’t miss the worried urgency in his tone. “We…do.”

  “You sound weird. Is something wrong?”

  “A lot of things are wrong, unfortunately. But one is right, at least: we’ve got Maisie.”

  A long pause. “She’s alive?”

  “Yes. She’s standing right here next to me.”

  “That’s—uh—great. Great news. But…you said things were wrong. What about Belmont and Orville?”

  “We…haven’t found Dr. Lu yet. I think whoever’s got him is holding him behind wards, which makes it more difficult to locate him.”