by R. L. King
“And the dragons don’t feel that way? You’ve surely got more power than a bunch of human mages, don’t you?”
“We do. But we also know our limitations. Our power on this world is not what it once was, and we have no desire to destroy it by meddling in areas best left alone. The Ordo has no such strictures.”
“So…you’re saying they would have no problem with bringing necromancy back to the modern world, if it suited their aims.”
“I have no doubt of this.”
Stone let his breath out. “Okay. Well, that makes things a bit more complicated, doesn’t it? Instead of only dealing with Richter and his lot, I might be dealing with a whole organization. How big are they, by the way? Do you know?”
“I do not. But I have heard rumors that they number among their members a mage with a…unique ability.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“This is only a rumor, but I have heard they have recruited a wild talent with the ability to identify potential mages before they exhibit any outward power.”
Stone went still. “Bloody hell,” he whispered.
Kolinsky tilted his head. “Once again, you do not seem surprised.”
He swallowed. “I’m…not. So that’s where he ended up…”
“You know this person?” Kolinsky frowned, and his brow furrowed ever so slightly.
“I…think I do. Remember the rift in Oakland—the one that tried sucking the ley line into it?”
“Yes, of course.”
“And the crime wave of young mages? The one you didn’t have much interest in?”
“Yes.”
“Well…I didn’t find this out until later, but it turned out a man named Ben Halstrom was behind it. He was a minor-league mage who somehow blundered too close to the rift, and it gave him that extra ability. He used it to recruit a group of teenagers and take on sort of a Fagin role, training them in magic and sending them out to commit low-level crimes.”
“What became of him?” Kolinsky seemed far more interested now. “How did you discover this?”
“Long story. He was captured—the rift drove him a bit ’round the twist, and when he finally realized how badly things had got out of hand, he turned himself in. Someone broke him out of the maximum-security mental health facility where he was being held. And no one knows who that someone was. I’m certain it was a mage.” He sighed. “And now, apparently, I know who it was. Richter, or one of his associates.” He resumed his pacing. “This is all disturbing, especially since I’m sure Richter’s lot has all sorts of temptations to dangle in front of baby mages to convince them to join up. But I haven’t got time to deal with all that right now. I need to find out what’s going on with the necromancy and the ghouls, so I can get my friend back.”
He rounded on Kolinsky. “Will you help me? Especially if Richter’s involved, I’m going to need all the high-powered help I can get.”
Kolinsky bowed his head. “No. Not directly, at least.”
That wasn’t what he’d expected to hear. Given the dragon’s obvious hatred of necromancy, he’d thought it would be no trouble convincing Kolinsky. “No? Why not?”
“I cannot become directly involved in this matter.”
“Why not? You just said Richter’s—” He stopped, his gaze sharpening. “Wait a moment.”
Kolinsky said nothing, but merely continued watching him.
Another chill traversed him. “This is a big problem—something you actually care about—but you can’t help me directly. Stefan, are you carefully trying to imply Elias Richter is another scion?”
Kolinsky didn’t answer.
But that also meant he didn’t deny it.
Stone let his breath out. “Well. That adds yet another level of complexity to the situation. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, given how old and powerful Richter is.” He didn’t add his next thought aloud, but the revelation added a piece to another puzzle he’d been assembling far back in his mind: scions apparently weren’t immortal. If they were, Richter wouldn’t be spending so much of his effort trying to unlock the secrets of eternal life. Unless…
He doesn’t know.
Stone still had no idea if his own strange, apparent immortality had anything to do with his status as a scion, and he wasn’t about to give away information potentially that important to Kolinsky by asking about it. But Kolinsky had told him he was the only living scion who was aware of his status. That meant as far as Richter knew, he, Richter, was nothing but an old and powerful mage. It was almost amusing to think the man might be seeking something he already had. Amusing, at least, until Stone thought about how many people he’d killed in his pursuit. Chris Belmont had only been the most recent.
And he would never forget Deirdre.
He dropped into the chair opposite Kolinsky. “Okay, you can’t help me directly—and presumably none of the other dragons can either. But can you do anything?” He latched onto an idea, and spoke quickly before he lost it. “He’s got a henchman—a man named Lane. I don’t know what he is, exactly, except he’s immune to magic and he gains power by…well, using an ability to force women to have sex with him.”
Kolinsky’s expression didn’t change much, but his disapproval was obvious.
“I’ve dealt with him before. Remember that business with the black-magic grimoire Richter was looking for?”
“Yes, of course. The one you destroyed.” The disapproval increased slightly.
“Let’s not get into that again, shall we? But he used to have another man, named Hugo—same sort of creature. Hugo’s dead, but apparently Lane is still working for his old boss. I think he’s here, in the U.S., heading up Richter’s little scheme and reporting back. Do you think you could help me find him?”
Kolinsky’s eyes glittered. “I will see what I can do. And since you were already aware of some of the information I have given you—not to mention providing me with the name of the man who can sense magical talent before it manifests—”
“Well, damn,” Stone muttered, then chuckled. “You got me there. I’m slipping.”
“Indeed. But in any case, I will add seeking this man Lane to the tasks I will undertake in exchange for the tome. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, of course.” Stone had already planned to give the book to Kolinsky, so if he could get more useful information for it, all the better. “Thank you, Stefan. I don’t need to tell you time is of the essence. I’ve got no idea if my friend is still alive, but I don’t expect he’ll stay that way once Richter tires of him.”
21
When he returned home, Stone found Ian still sprawled on the sofa, dozing as a movie played softly on the television and Raider lay draped across his chest. A closed box from the local pizzeria was on the table.
“Didn’t go talk to Jason after all?”
“He’s not around. Got his voicemail, and his assistant said he was working on a case today.” Ian shrugged, swinging his legs around and gathering Raider into his arms. “Figured I could use a little downtime.” He indicated the box. “Got hungry, so I ordered a pizza. There’s some left if you want it.”
Stone almost declined, but the enticing aroma from the box changed his mind. He took the seat across from the sofa and grabbed a slice. It was still warm. “Thanks.”
“Did you get anything useful from Gabriel’s dad?” Ian asked.
“I did. He’s going to investigate a couple of things for me. Remember Ordo Purpuratus?”
“The old organization of rich asshole mages who were responsible for all that stuff in the Surrey catacombs?”
“The very one.”
“What about them?”
“Well…apparently they’re back.”
“I think you mentioned that before, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but I had no idea to what extent. Now I do. They’re actively recruiting, and apparently they’re already up to some nasty stuff.”
Ian frowned. “Wait. So, this stuff with the ghouls and necromancy is relat
ed to them?”
“That’s my theory, yes. And apparently Elias Richter is heading them up, trying to build them to their former levels of power.”
“That’s…not good.”
“No, it is not. Kolinsky says he can’t help me find Richter himself—he’s got his own reasons for that, and I respect them—but he’s going to try tracking Lane. If we can find him, perhaps we can lean on him and make him tell us where his boss is. And get Dr. Lu back, I hope.”
Ian nodded, thinking. “And you still think Richter’s trying to use the necromancy stuff and the ghouls to make himself immortal? Maybe himself and some of these other Ordo guys too?”
Stone hadn’t considered that. He shuddered. If Richter had already managed to recruit other powerful mages into joining his little cabal, that might be one of the things he’d offer to sweeten the pot. “I don’t know. It’s possible. I hope we can stop this before we find out what his long-range plans are.”
“So what’s our next step?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve got much of one at the moment. I have people hunting for information—not just Stefan, but Eddie and Jason—but I can’t do much until it comes back. You’re welcome to hang about, of course. We get together so rarely these days. I’m glad you’re going to try making it home for the holidays. Aubrey will be so pleased to see you. He’s got a new lady friend, you know. I just met her recently, when I surprised the two of them in the kitchen.”
To Stone’s surprise, Ian’s expression clouded.
“Something wrong?”
His son didn’t meet his gaze.
“Ian…?”
Still without looking at Stone, Ian opened the pizza box, examined the remaining slices, then closed it again without taking one. “I…want to tell you something, Dad. But I’m not sure I should.”
Oh, no, what now? Stone leaned forward. “Something about what? About you?”
“No.”
“Well…who, then?”
Ian got up and drifted to the fireplace, where he studied the items on the mantelpiece. “About Aubrey.”
A chill ran up Stone’s spine. “What about him?” he asked evenly. When Ian still didn’t answer, he said, “Ian—what about Aubrey? Is he all right?”
Ian began pacing the room, looking very much like Stone himself. “I went to the house, a month or so ago. You said it was okay if I stayed there.”
“Of course it is,” Stone said impatiently. “It’s your home too. But—”
“Aubrey was happy to see me. He tried to get me to stay longer than I planned, even though I told him I was only there for the night.”
Stone nodded. Ian had done that a few other times, using the house as a waystation before departing from the portal. He did it more often with the London place, but he’d told Stone he liked the wild beauty of the Surrey house.
“Anyway,” Ian said, looking even more uncomfortable, “I went downstairs to ask him something, and found him in the kitchen. It looked like he was working on fixing dinner. He had a knife in his hand and he was…standing at the counter with a loaf of bread in front of him. He looked unhappy. He was kind of…hunched over, staring at his hands. They were shaking. Not bad, but they were definitely shaking.”
Stone went still. “Did he see you?”
“Yeah—I didn’t try to hide. As soon as he spotted me, he put down the knife and put on this big happy smile, trying to act like it was nothing.”
“And…did you ask him about it?”
“I figured it wasn’t my business. He brushed it off, saying he was just feeling a little ‘out of sorts’. He asked me not to mention it to you, because you’d worry and it was nothing to worry about. I took a look at his aura.”
A hard little pit was forming in Stone’s stomach. “And—?”
Ian shrugged. “Hard to say. I’m not very good at that kind of thing, and he’s an older guy, so of course he’s going to have a few glitches in his aura. But I got the impression he wasn’t telling the whole truth. That, I am good at.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Stone struggled to keep his voice calm and even.
“Because he asked me not to. He might be right. It might be nothing. And he’s a grown man, so he has a right to make that decision, doesn’t he?”
Stone bowed his head. Of course Ian was right—he certainly wouldn’t want anyone spreading stories like that about him, especially without having all the facts. “Why are you telling me now, then? Did something happen to change your mind?”
“No. I didn’t see anything else, if that’s what you mean. I haven’t seen him since then. You just brought it back to mind when you mentioned him, and the holidays. I’ve been thinking about it off and on for a while now, wondering if I did the right thing by agreeing not to tell you. He’ll probably be pissed at me that I did, if you tell him.”
He’s right, Stone told himself again, pausing for a few deep breaths before speaking. And it probably is nothing. But he was nonetheless surprised by his visceral reaction to Ian’s words: his heart was beating faster, his muscles tense, his body thrumming with worry. Aubrey’s getting older. Of course he’s going to have his little ailments. Happens to all of us.
He wondered, a little bitterly, if that were true.
“Okay,” he said, affecting a brisk tone. “Thank you for telling me, Ian.”
“Are you going to let him know I told you?”
“No.” He waved it off. “Of course not.”
“Are you going to talk to him about it?”
“We’ll see. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Ian eyed him oddly. “Are you okay, Dad?”
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I know how close you two are.” His smooth brow furrowed. “I kind of wish I hadn’t said anything now. I’m sure it wasn’t anything serious. I know I’m not great at healing-type magic, but I’m good enough to spot something bad.”
Stone nodded. A sudden memory came back to him: a time when, as a probationary apprentice, he’d discovered a potentially serious medical problem in one of William Desmond’s staff members, during an aura-reading exercise. The grateful man had visited his physician and had the issue dealt with before it got out of hand, and had lived many more healthy years before retiring.
“Well,” he said, “you can put it out of your mind. But I do appreciate your telling me. I’m sure Aubrey will forgive you if I mention it to him. He knows you care about him.”
“Yeah. He’s a good guy. A hell of a lot better than my grandfather.”
Before Stone could reply, his phone chirped in his pocket. He glanced at it, held up a finger to Ian, and answered. “Hello, Jason. Did you sort out your case?”
“Yeah, mostly. Takin’ a little break while I wait for somebody. Hey, Gina said Ian’s in town and he was looking for me.”
“Yes, he’s right here. Nothing important. Something we can do for you?”
“I just wanted to get back to you with the latest. I called Grider like you said.”
“Oh?” Stone walked over to gaze out the window into the front yard. “Anything? Did you two get on?”
“Yeah, as long as I didn’t think too hard about him being a you-know-what. He reminds me a lot of an older version of Leo Blum. Grumpy but dedicated.”
“I thought he might. So…what did you find out? Has he discovered anything else about Lu? Is anyone else missing?”
“He said he did a little discreet checking around, and nobody new is missing as far as he could tell. Unfortunately, though, somebody reported Chris Belmont missing. Grider said he heard from the next-door neighbor yesterday—the one he got the dog from—that the cops were sniffing around his apartment.”
“Hmm. That’s not good.” Stone returned to the sitting area, shaking his head in response to Ian’s questioning glance. “Does he know if they found anything?”
“Nope, but he says the cops did stop by his place. Apparently, the neighbor told them you two came by
and he gave Grider the dog.”
“Good thing I was using an illusionary disguise, then.”
“Yeah, no kidding. Grider says they asked him a few questions, but he didn’t think they were suspicious about him. He told them he and his wife would keep the dog if that was okay, and they let him, for now at least.”
“Did they ask about me?”
“He told him you were an out-of-town friend. Said they might want to talk to you but you’re pretty far down the list at this point.”
Stone sighed. “Okay. Well, that’s not the best news, but at least nobody else is missing. That either means they got what they wanted—either from Belmont and Maisie or from Lu—or they’ve discovered it’s a dead end and moved on.” He wondered how long it would be before someone discovered Belmont’s headless body in the mausoleum. Even if the undead creatures had turned to dust at dawn, Belmont wouldn’t have. Stone felt guilty for hoping the mausoleum wasn’t visited regularly, and that the chamber beneath it was sufficiently insulated that no one would notice the smell. It was a sad end for a decent man.
“If either of those is true, it probably means Lu’s dead, doesn’t it?” Jason asked soberly.
“I fear he might be. But we’re not giving up yet. Thank you, Jason.”
“Yeah. Wish I had better news. Hey, I told V that Ian’s here, and she wants to know if we can all get together for dinner tonight.”
Stone glanced at Ian again. He’d half-planned to return to England to talk to Aubrey, but he still wasn’t sure he should do that—at least not yet. He wouldn’t get anywhere by losing his objectivity. There would be plenty of time to go back later. “I suppose so, unless something comes up in the meantime. Hold on.” He covered the phone and whispered, “Dinner at Verity’s tonight?”
Ian gave a thumbs-up.
“Sounds good. We’ll be there. Maybe if the lot of us get together in one place, we can figure out where to go next. Because right now, I sure as hell don’t see what our next step is.”
22
Stone was in his bedroom, preparing to drive up to San Francisco with Ian and wishing once again that the dragons would consider teaching his son how to ley-line travel too, when his phone rang again. He frowned when he saw the name on the screen.
