Game of Stone: A Novel in the Alastair Stone Chronicles

by R. L. King

  Some of the bugs dropped down, landing on his leg. He tensed as their mandibles began nipping at him through his jeans, sending tiny, stinging flashes of pain through him. He clamped his eyes shut and his teeth together, tightened his hold on Zack, and pushed harder, gripped with the sudden twin terrors that they wouldn’t make it through in time, and the nasty little bugs would start burrowing into his skin. Gathering all his focus and firming his grip, he put on a final burst of power and shoved Zack through.

  They popped free about six feet off the ground, and for a moment Stone thought the bugs had come through with them. He opened his eyes, still fighting the psychic feedback and the stress of pressing through the ward. In front of him, Zack slumped in exhaustion.

  “Right, then,” Stone breathed. “Let’s get—”

  Something rock-hard and strong snaked around his waist, and suddenly he was moving forward, borne along in the grip of something that moved with a thudding, shambling—but surprisingly fast—gait.

  He tried to twist around to get a better look at it, but in his position pointed face-down all he could see was a sand-colored, muscular arm gripping him, and sand-colored, muscular legs walking back down the hallway they’d come in through. It was only when he glanced over at Zack that his body went cold.

  The two Egyptian statues they’d passed at the end of the hall had come to life and now had both him and Zack in their grips. Zack hung slumped over Thoth’s arm, either stunned or unconscious.

  Before Stone could get it together enough to do anything, they’d passed through the hallway and turned left through the wide doorway. He barely had enough time to register that none of the tripwires or other traps had gone off when they swept through the room and out through the glass doors onto the terrace.

  In horror, he realized what the things planned to do. “No!” he yelled, struggling to get free. He flung a concussion beam at the Anubis statue’s legs, but it bounced harmlessly off with no effect.

  The pair of statues strode over to the edge of the terrace. As Stone struggled harder, desperately trying to tighten his focus, the thing lifted him up and flung him over the edge. A second later, Zack’s shriek of terror split the air as the second statue did the same.

  26

  Time slowed for Stone as the icy, whipping wind drove off the last vestiges of his disorientation. He twisted his body, almost without conscious thought forming the mental pattern necessary for his levitation spell. His fall slowed, the wind still buffeting him around.

  Zack’s scream rose in volume as he plummeted past.

  Stone twisted again. He’d only have one shot at this—and it was by no means certain. He didn’t try anything elegant, or careful. He didn’t plan. There wasn’t time for any of that. Instead, he simply thrust out with his power and grabbed hold of whatever part of Zack he could reach. Right now, if he dislocated the man’s arm or broke his leg, that didn’t matter. All that mattered was to get them both to safety. He’d think about the rest later.

  His eyes streamed with the rush of air, making it hard to see. His heart pounded as he fought to drive down the mental image of Zack’s body splattered on the pavement seventy-five stories below. Damn it, they’d succeeded! It wasn’t going to end this way!

  His reaching magical grasp clamped on to something. He couldn’t see what it was, but he could feel that he had a grip on Zack. The man was still shrieking—his voice held no calm or sanity at this point. Stone could hardly blame him.

  They couldn’t stay up here forever—in fact, they couldn’t stay up here much longer. Between the wind and the cold and Zack’s added weight, he figured they had a few more seconds before his will failed and they both ended up as red smears. Desperately, he looked around through slitted eyes, trying to spot someplace they could set down.

  At first he didn’t see one. His heart thudded harder, his breath coming faster as the bright edges of panic clawed at him too. He could bring them down lower before he lost control, but falling from forty stories or even twenty was no less deadly than falling from seventy-five. He felt his precarious hold on Zack begin to slip, but he dared not try to adjust it.

  There had to be someplace they could land!

  And then he saw it: the mirrored glass panels and metal-topped railing of another balcony garden. “Hold on!” he called to Zack, but the wind carried his shaking voice away. His whole body was shaking with exertion now; even on a warm, calm day this wouldn’t have been a simple process, but up here the wind threatened to blow them both into the side of the building if he didn’t manage this with precision.

  Making things worse, it didn’t seem as if Zack had even realized his imminent rescue. He screamed and flailed, clearly in the grip of full-blown panic. Stone felt his hold slip again.

  He had to do it now! Once again without any plan or adjustment to make things easier, he gathered the last of his strength and propelled Zack’s writhing body over to the balcony and tossed him over, then moved over himself. He’d barely made it when his power gave out, sending him crashing to the floor.

  Just as he crossed the railing, he happened to look up. He went stiff at what he saw: was that a tiny, shadowy figure leaning over another balcony high above?

  A figure on the top floor, scanning the area?

  Had Thalassa Nera returned already, through some private portal inside her home?

  He might have passed out for a few seconds—he wasn’t sure. When he opened his eyes and blinked, memories flooded him.

  They had to get out of here.

  He reached over and prodded Zack, who lay in a trembling, face-down heap next to him. “Zack.”

  Zack merely muttered something unintelligible.

  Stone prodded harder. “Zack! Wake up! We need to get out of here!”

  “Oh man…oh fuck…”

  Stone got to his knees and rolled the other man over. Zack’s eyes were wide open, staring up at the balcony’s ceiling while clearly not seeing it, or anything else. His mouth worked but no more sound came out.

  “Zack!” This time he slapped him lightly on the side of the face. “Come on, man! We’re not out of danger yet!” He wished he had some smelling salts or alcohol or something, but he didn’t. A quick glance toward the balcony doors revealed that the apartment or office inside was dark; at least they didn’t have to worry about being discovered.

  At least not until Thalassa Nera or some of her henchmen (or henchthings) turned up. Stone suspected that would be sooner than he hoped.

  Zack blinked, and his gaze focused a little more. “Uh…”

  Stone grabbed his arm and pulled him to a sitting position. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

  “We were falling—”

  “Yes, but now we’re not. Pull yourself together! I think Thalassa’s back, and I think she might have seen us! We need to get out of here!”

  That seemed to get through. He gripped Stone’s arm. “She’s back?”

  “I think so. Not going to check. Come on—let’s go.”

  “Where are we?” He looked around, appearing to take interest in his surroundings for the first time.

  “Balcony. Not sure how far up.”

  His gaze locked on Stone’s. “You—saved me.”

  “You didn’t expect me to let you fall, did you? Now come on—if we don’t get out of here soon, it won’t matter that I saved you. Have you still got the scroll?”

  Zack checked his bag, opening it with shaking hands. “Yeah. Still here. You still got the box?”

  “Yes.” But he too checked, just to be sure. “Come on. We still need your expertise, unless you want to risk levitating down?”

  With a glance toward the balcony railing, Zack shuddered. “Man, I’d rather face the dragon lady up there.”

  They moved quickly but carefully, both of them still shaky from both the fall and their ebbing adrenaline. Stone popped open the terrace door, then used an invisibility spell to get him and Zack across the apartment—this one much smaller than Thalassa Nera’s p
enthouse suite—and to the front door. After Zack checked for cameras, they quickly exited the apartment.

  Still invisible, they hurried down the hallway to the maintenance elevator, where Zack used the keycard Kolinsky had given them to get them inside.

  Less than ten minutes later, they were free of the building and out through the parking garage. Stone kept looking over his shoulder as if expecting Thalassa Nera to be bearing down on them, but he saw nothing.

  They caught a cab to the all-night deli where the nearest portal was located. Only after they’d gone through and Stone had cleared the calibration so no one would know where they’d gone did he allow the stress to drain from him. He sagged against the wall of the small portal room beneath A Passage to India, pulled his mask off, and let his breath out.

  “Never again…” he muttered.

  “Yeah. Gonna need a long break after that one.” Zack checked his bag again as if expecting the scroll to have disappeared, and handed it over to Stone. “Hey, listen, Doc—”

  “Yes?” Stone took the scroll case and stowed it in his own satchel along with the box.

  Zack stopped his pacing in front of him. He too had removed his mask, and his expression was sober. “I owe you, man. You saved my ass back there, and I’m not gonna forget it.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He indicated his bag. “I never could have gotten either of these without your help.”

  “No. I am gonna worry about it. You didn’t have to do that. You could’ve let me fall, and Mr. K never would’ve known the difference—especially if you grabbed the scroll before you left. But you risked your life to save me.” He gripped Stone’s arm. “Listen—you know I work for Mr. K, and I gotta do the jobs he gives me, but if you ever need a favor and it’s cool with him, you call me. Hell, even if it’s not cool with him, I’ll talk to him about it. Okay?”

  “I’ll…keep that in mind. Thank you, Zack. But you hardly think I’d have just let you die, do you?”

  Zack shrugged. “Hey, some of the guys I run with woulda done it without a second thought, especially after I stole your books. So…thanks.”

  “You’re quite welcome. Just don’t try your skills on any of my wards, and we’re fine.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said with a shaky grin. “Mr. K already told me to leave you alone. And you do not mess with Mr. K.”

  Stone nodded toward the exit. “Come on. I want to get these things home and under wards before Ms. Nera decides to try tracing them.”

  By the time he exited A Passage to India’s back door and reached his car in the parking lot, most of his energy had returned. He’d need a good night’s sleep and he’d probably come away with a few aches and pains as souvenirs, but if he was right about the three remaining game pieces—if the set he’d stolen would help him to counteract the black ones—it had all been worth it.

  Besides, he thought with amusement, he and Zack did make a surprisingly good team. If he ever decided to take up magical cat burglaring, he knew the first person he’d call.

  27

  Much as he would have preferred to do so, Stone didn’t call in sick the next day. He’d already been absent too many days, and as tired and sore as he felt, he did owe it to his students to show up to class. Miraculously, he managed to get through the day without drawing attention to himself beyond a few questioning looks from students.

  He left immediately after his last class, stopped off at his townhouse to pick up the scroll from his double-warded vault, and drove over to Kolinsky’s shop. The sooner he was rid of the thing, the better. At least the white game pieces, so far, had been quiet.

  “Well,” he said as he swept into the shop and dropped the case containing the scroll on Kolinsky’s table, “that’s a little adventure I’d prefer never again to repeat.”

  “I do not doubt it,” Kolinsky said mildly. He nodded toward the case. “Is that—”

  “All yours, and you’re welcome to it. The box, too. I don’t think I’ll have any more need for it, though if you manage to decipher the writing I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know. I take it Zack gave you a report on the evening’s festivities?”

  “He did, yes. Honestly, I am not surprised at the difficulties you experienced. I did warn you that she is a formidable adversary, and your objective would not be easy.”

  “Yes, yes, you did. But it’s over now—I don’t think she got a good look at us, though I can’t be certain.” He indicated the bag. “I’d advise getting that thing under at least one more layer of wards as soon as possible—she did seem the type who’d want to track it just for spite.”

  Kolinsky didn’t look concerned. “You needn’t worry about it, Alastair. She is formidable, yes, but any difficulties stemming from the theft will come to me, not to you. And I am quite capable of dealing with her, should she decide to pursue matters any further.”

  “I hope you’re right. I’d prefer not to have some nasty old witch showing up on my doorstep at three in the morning.”

  “I understand that Mr. Beeler owes you quite a debt of gratitude.” Kolinsky settled back into his chair. To his credit, he didn’t open the scroll case Stone had brought yet.

  Stone shrugged. “Couldn’t very well let him go over the edge, could I? Besides, he’s not a bad sort once you get to know him a bit. You certainly whipped him into shape. I’m impressed—and a little surprised, to be honest.”

  “Surprised that I let him live?”

  “Well…yes, actually. I know how protective you are of your collection.”

  Kolinsky’s tiny answering smile was wolfish. “And now I have added him to it. There is no need to destroy a valuable tool, if you can turn it to your own use.”

  Stone didn’t shiver—at least not visibly. Although his relationship with Kolinsky had grown increasingly amicable over the last few years, every now and then the man did something to remind him just how dangerous he could be if crossed. “Well,” he said quickly, “at any rate, thank you for your help. I’d never have been able to do that without both of you.” And I’m very glad now that I extracted that promise from you that you’d never use Zack against me.

  “Think nothing of it.” Kolinsky nodded toward the scroll case. “All of us obtained something valuable from the endeavor. I trust you found the white set?”

  “Yes. I’ve got it back at home in my warded vault. As I suspected, four of the pieces are already cracked. So far, the other three are minding their own business. Have you found out anything about the game? It would be nice to know how much time I’ve got after one of those things activates to track down its partner.”

  “A bit, but unfortunately I can offer you nothing precise. From the little information I’ve been able to find, it seems as if it would be reasonable to assume the interval between the white piece activating and the black piece inciting its act is approximately twenty-four hours. But please do not hold me to that. I would not wish to be responsible for what might occur if you relied on that information and it proved inaccurate.”

  “So what you’re saying is that I should keep a close watch on those things, and if any of them activate, I should follow up as soon as possible.”

  “I would consider that prudent, yes.”

  “Brilliant. Well…I did ask for it. Thanks again, Stefan. I’ll get you those other books next time I go back home.”

  “There is no hurry. I know you will keep our bargain.”

  When he got back to the car, Stone paused a moment to give Leo Blum a call. “How is the case going, Detective?”

  “Straight into a dead-end wall.” Blum sounded tired and frustrated. “The guy selling the black pieces has disappeared into the wind—I’m guessing he probably got spooked and took off after you talked to him.”

  “Probably—but I doubt we’d have gotten anything else from him anyway.” That was a relief, at least—it looked like his decision to keep the box wasn’t going to come back to haunt him after all. At least not any time soon.

  “Have you got anyt
hing?”

  “Possibly,” Stone said slowly. “But…”

  “But—”

  “Well…Detective…I don’t quite know how to say this.”

  “Just say it. I got nothin’. Anything you got is an improvement, even if it’s crazy.”

  Stone leaned back in his seat and scanned the area. He hadn’t put a disregarding spell up around the BMW, and Kolinsky’s shop wasn’t located in the most high-class of neighborhoods. “The thing is—I do have something. Something fairly substantial, honestly. But it’s not something you’ll be able to do anything about. Not yet, at least.”

  “What’s that mean?” Blum sounded suspicious.

  There was no harm in telling him, at least at a high level. “I consulted some sources, and one of them told me the pieces quite likely come from an ancient game played by powerful mages. The black side would incite mundanes with latent magical abilities to perform antisocial acts, and the white side’s job was to track them and stop them before they could do it.”

  “Uh…” Blum was silent for several seconds. “So this is sort of like some kind of magical chess game?”

  “Sort of. When the black piece activates, it activates the corresponding white piece, creating some kind of bond between them to help the white player locate its counterpart and stop it.”

  “Uh…wow. So we are screwed, then. These things are just gonna keep goin’ off, and without the white set—”

  “Well, that’s the thing, Detective. That’s why I said you can’t help yet. I’ve got the white set.”

  The pause was longer this time. “What the hell? How did you—”

  “I’m not going to tell you that, so please don’t ask. Nor am I going to give it to you for examination. But I will keep a close eye on it, and if it should activate, I’ll contact you and give you whatever information I can gather.”

  Based on his previous experience working with law enforcement, Stone expected Blum to object, or to demand he produce the set. He did neither; instead, he sighed loudly. “Yeah, okay. I don’t like it, but I also don’t flatter myself to think I’ve got a chance in hell of dealin’ with this on my own. All I can do is chase any weird-lookin’ crimes once they happen, but that’s not gonna do jack shit to stop this. You got any idea at all what might happen next? Or when?”