The Gray Tower Trilogy: Books 1-3

by Alesha Escobar

  With trembling hands, I took my silver knife and made three smaller plaited symbols on the surface of the table. I transferred the powder over to the symbols, dividing it into three. I already knew that heat catalyzed the chemical into what we called The Plague, and now I could feel its grainy texture that resembled a darker version of cane sugar. I scooped some of the powder into a warded vial, which I then sealed and dropped into my pocket.

  I flashed a nervous smile at Ken as he paced back and forth, listening at the door and making sure Bernard kept Korbin preoccupied. Now that I had the chemicals separated into three distinct piles, I placed a few drops of Aqua Fortis on the first one. The powder turned red and fizzled, but the substance didn’t decompose or transform. I almost gasped when I saw the powder inch its way on the table top toward the border of the protective symbol and beginning to weaken it. I gripped my silver knife again and carved an upside down triangle symbol for Water (I figured that I would try the opposite of what catalyzed the powder), as well as a crescent moon, which would reinforce any spells done with the silver knife.

  Since I tasted no metallic essence in the powder, it meant some type of protein was present, and that it could decay. After placing a few drops of Aqua Vitae on the next pile, I carved a second upside down triangle, but this one had a cross sitting on top—the spell of Putrefaction. If this one didn’t work, I’d have to try to get us out of here without getting shot down by the German Army.

  The powder fizzled with the effect of the water and the spell, and the powder made one last push against my protective symbol on the table and broke it. A small cry escaped my throat, but I fell silent when the powder turned black-green, and decayed before my eyes. Korbin and Bernard finally came over to watch. I held a match to the putrefied powder.

  “Has anyone touched this?” I made my tone sound aggravated.

  “N-no,” Korbin shook his head. “We’ve all been keeping protocol. Is something wrong?”

  The powder went up in flames and disintegrated without incident. I had neutralized the chemical, and Korbin was none the wiser. “If you value your life, you will tell me who meddled with this.”

  Korbin knew nothing of alchemy, how the chemical was made, or how it worked. By accusing him or his men of tampering, I was shifting the focus from what I was doing and turning it on him.

  “I swear to you, none of us have.” He turned to Bernard in a silent plea.

  “I believe there is no reason to question Lieutenant Korbin.” Bernard rested his hand on the man’s shoulder.

  “However,” Ken approached with a stern expression, “you should go ask your men what they’ve been doing within the past two weeks.”

  “Of course.” Korbin saluted and rushed past Ken. He went straight for the door and headed upstairs. I shot Ken an annoyed glance—why did he send Korbin out?

  “Please tell me you know how to destroy this stuff.” Ken shut the door and locked it. He reached for his pistol.

  “It’s going to take almost all my strength, but I can do it. Why did you make Korbin leave?”

  “There’s a commotion going on up there. If the real Fritz Aldarich’s also arrived early, then we have trouble coming.”

  When we heard the footsteps of a group of men come down the stairway, and Korbin’s voice demanding us to open the door, Bernard withdrew a small radio transmitter from inside his coat. He clicked it on and repeated a single phrase: “This is Papa...it’s time to put the baby to bed.”

  I sped around the pyramid, carving my water and moon symbols into the floor. Then I came back around and splashed my Aqua Vitae all over the packaged chemicals and onto the symbols, trying to ignore the banging outside the door, and concentrated on repeating the neutralization.

  “Go stand by the door!” I shouted toward Bernard and Ken. They’d have to be as far away from it as possible. “As soon as I neutralize the chemicals, be ready to open it.”

  I carved another plaited protection symbol and a single large Putrefaction spell at the foot of the pyramid. I fed all my energy into devouring the chemicals. Ken swung the door open, and the loud hisses and smoke billowing from the stockpile caught Korbin and his men off-guard. I heard screams of horror as we were all lost in a temporary blindness, and I could hear the guards retreating from the basement shouting a warning to the other soldiers that we had activated the chemicals.

  “Let’s get out of here.” Bernard ran toward me and grabbed my wrist.

  I coughed as some of the smoke rushed toward my face and flew up my nostrils. I tried looking around for Ken, but I could hardly see anything, and Bernard would not let me loose. As we ran upstairs and into the room that would lead us back out to ground level, my legs felt weak and my arms began to shake. The Putrefaction spell required a lot, though I knew I needed to hold on longer so that we could make it out of the factory alive.

  “Go on!” Ken shouted behind us as he propped the basement door open with his foot. “The Maquisards should be here.”

  “Come up, Ken!”

  “I’ll catch up! Just go!”

  With reluctance, I stepped ahead of Bernard and opened the ground level door just a bit The scene was absolute pandemonium. Maquisards and German soldiers gunned each other down amidst three separate gunfights, and no one gave reprieve to the injured who were caught in the crossfire. The Maquisards took the first level and created a barricade near the entrance. They also took the east side.

  The German officers trapped on the second and third floors returned gunfire, and snipping anyone who crossed their path. When someone launched a grenade into the courtyard, causing the gunfire to cease and forcing many to take cover, I saw our chance to run straight for the exit. We quickly made our way through the courtyard and dashed toward the double doors.

  “This way!” A young man, who hastily introduced himself as Claude, ushered us past the barricade and led us through. He shot two soldiers with his rifle, and Ken and Bernard also fired when a few stragglers emerged from the west grounds. We made it through the gates, but instinctively flinched when we heard the tank on the other side of the factory fire a shot. We picked up our pace when we heard it rolling north toward us.

  “What happened to our car?” I ran alongside Claude as I gazed at our vehicle, now engulfed in flames. Just a few feet away, the second tank stood still, with nearly seven bodies of Maquisards and two German soldiers lying on the ground.

  “Don’t worry.” Claude motioned for us to head down the road toward the first checkpoint. “I have a car down the road waiting for you, now go!”

  “Tell them to pull back now,” Bernard said. “We’ve done what we needed to do.”

  Claude remained with us until the car was in sight. He parked it just behind the barricade that now stood deserted. Claude handed Ken the key and bid us farewell as quickly as he had introduced himself. He turned and headed back toward the factory, and all I could think was, if he were anything like me, he’d buck Bernard’s order to retreat and continue fighting.

  “Bernard, did you find out anything about the laboratories?” I ran with them toward the car, away from the gunfire and smoke of the melee.

  “I didn’t find much, but you’re going to want to look at Dijon, Reims, and Nice.” He looked at me apologetically, almost as if expecting me to be angry.

  In truth, I was glad to at least have this lead. Despite the chaos at the factory, destroying the chemical weapons gave me a sense of relief, since it meant no one else would have to fall victim to them. At the same time, I knew I would have to pinpoint the exact location of the laboratory in order to make it to Heilwig.

  We reached the car, but suddenly halted when another car pulled up beside it. I immediately grabbed Bernard and Ken, pulling them backward. The way I held their arms and pulled them away told them that something was wrong.

  “Noelle, who is that?” Bernard’s gaze fixed on Marc, who stepped out of the second car.

  Ken recognized Marc and drew his gun. “Get another spell ready.”

/>   I immediately laid a spell without a word, though by this time my body felt like it was on fire and my mind could barely focus. Although I did as he said, the spell I laid wasn’t an offensive spell, but an Air spell.

  “Step on the glowing symbol,” I commanded them.

  “What does it do?” Bernard backed away as Marc approached. There would be no use in trying to send Marc flying away—he’d only be back in a few seconds.

  “It’ll protect you. Now, both of you do it quickly.” I felt horrible lying to them, but I’d rather them be angry with me for sending them away than dead. They backed onto the symbol, and as soon as they touched it, a blast of air shot up and sent them flying in opposite directions into the nearby trees.

  As I stood ready to cast another spell, I tried sizing Marc up to see if I was a match for him. I mentally reached out, but quickly recoiled when I felt his toxic magical energy emanating toward me like a heat wave. I didn’t know if he had let his guard down or if he wanted me to feel the breadth of his power, but it made me queasy to know that he had gorged on over ten wizards.

  And if I didn’t kill him, I’d be next.

  12

  “They didn’t matter anyway. I only wanted you.” Marc came within a few feet of me, probably sensing that my magical strength had waned. When he saw that I didn’t make a move to cast a spell, he came closer until he stood right in front of me. He peered into my eyes—and I stared right back, despite feeling so vulnerable.

  “I’m no one important.”

  “Are you sure about that, Miss George?”

  “What did you call me?” I felt a nauseating shock run through me like an electric current. He made me think of the other Cruenti and the warlocks that had attacked that night at Éclat. Despite my surprise, my anger began to rise as I realized someone had betrayed me; whether this traitor worked within SOE or the Maquis, I swore I would root them out.

  “I know who your father is and I believe you’re worth tracking down.”

  “You’re Marcellus...” With a quick movement of my hand, I tried to stab a reverse fixation symbol into him like I did with Isidore at the university, but his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, twisting and squeezing it until it cracked. I shrieked in pain and dropped my knife. I balled my fist and swung a right hook, but he grabbed that wrist as well. As I began to work my body magic on him, I spoke to him as a distraction.

  “Who told you about me?” I pushed the pain from my mind and concentrated on feeling for any weak points in his body.

  “A friend of yours...” He pulled me against him, his eyes gleaming with greed. As he lowered his head and breathed in my scent, I could feel his lips on my neck, and I acted.

  I sent a rush of energy into him that would’ve stopped his heart and killed him. Instead, I only had enough strength to interrupt his natural rhythm and make his body jolt. Blood spewed from his nose and mouth and he roared in pain. I wasted no time in tearing myself loose and delivering a high kick to his head. I grabbed my silver knife, and with quick methodical flicks, drew a large triangle for Fire. As the air around Marc began to spark and crackle, several flames formed in mid-air and came crashing down on him, but he quickly repelled them.

  When I saw that my spells were becoming less effective because of my fatigue, I scrambled toward the car without looking back. I fumbled around and cursed under my breath when I realized Ken had the key, and so I ran over to Marc’s car, started it, and sped away. As I swerved onto the main road, I kept my right hand on the steering wheel and carefully began feeding small bursts of energy into mending my injured left wrist. I cried when I felt the bone reset, and when the torn sinews beneath refused to heal all the way, I wanted to curse again. Suddenly, an explosion from behind hit the car, sending me spinning out of control.

  I hardly had time to brace myself for impact. I erected a weak protective shield when the car slid in its final spin and the rear end collided with a tree. The crash made a deafening sound and for a moment all I could see was a terrifying darkness. When I forced my eyes to focus, I felt my shoulders stiffen and blood drip down the side of my face. My heart raced as I slipped my silver knife into my uniform pocket and leaned to the side to empty out the glove compartment. I found a short dagger made of steel and a revolver. I took the gun.

  My legs folded and kicked when Marc jumped on me from the driver side. He grabbed my legs and tried to pull me outside, but I shot him in the chest. He backed away and disappeared. Just as I sat up, his hands came crashing through the passenger side window and knocked the revolver out of my hand. He wrapped one arm around my neck and the other tore away my nurse’s headdress. I tried to pry his arm away, but he was intent on strangling me.

  Taking the chance that his avarice outweighed his rage, I managed to tell him through stifled breaths, “If you kill me...like this...my blood will...be no good.”

  His moment of faltering was all I needed to grab the steel dagger and drive it into his neck. I heard a bone-chilling gurgle as he let go of me. I reclaimed the revolver and crawled through the driver side, thinking that I had at least bought myself another minute since he’d have to dislodge the knife and regenerate. I started to run when I heard an eerie sound in the air that made me freeze in place. It started off as a large whoosh, and then I heard a guttural sound as if someone, or something, was trying to speak.

  My legs numbed and I dropped to my knees. With unsteady hands, I checked how many bullets were left in the revolver. I couldn’t die...not tonight. I took a shot at the dark figure in the air. It blotted out some of the stars in the sky. I missed, and in vain, I shot my last two bullets at it.

  I leaned forward on my knees and clenched my teeth as my stomach cramped. My chest tightened as I heard a loud screech that made the air fluctuate and push me completely to the ground. My body was numb. All I could see and taste was the cool soft earth. I didn’t even flinch when Marc caught up to me and pulled me to my feet. He stood behind me, gripping me around my waist so that I couldn’t break away. His other arm crossed my shoulders, and for a moment I thought he might try to strangle me again.

  “Look at it, Isabella.” He moved forward with me, toward the Black Wolf that had landed. “And people have the gall to say Cruenti are abominations.”

  The Black Wolf wore all black garb and a silver hood that covered most of its face. I could see the bottom of its nose and mouth, which made me sick to look at, because it reminded me of a bat’s.

  “Don’t...” I dug my feet into the ground, trying to impede Marc from bringing us closer. There was no way in hell I was going near that thing, at least not without a fight.

  “Perhaps I should introduce you.” He pushed me forward again.

  “No!” I shouted, as the Black Wolf hissed at me. Marc gestured for it to keep its distance.

  “Black Wolves trade most of their humanity for their powers. Look at him: he can barely speak, but he’s very cunning and strong enough to use his magic to kill his target.”

  “Are you any better?” I still writhed in pain from my injured wrist. “One minute you want to hunt me down and capture me, and the next you want to kill me. You’re losing it already, aren’t you?”

  Our reason governed our logical decisions, sat in judgment as our conscience, and made up an essential part of what made us human. Cruenti warlocks all eventually degenerated and lost this faculty.

  “I am above the Wolves, Isabella. So is Octavian. We’ll never become like them.”

  The Black Wolf crouched to the ground and then crawled toward us with unnatural movements of its limbs. It didn’t even bother to walk upright anymore. I sank down in an attempt to get out of Marc’s grasp, but it was useless. When the Black Wolf came close enough, I kicked it in the face as hard as I could. It screeched and tried to bite my foot off.

  “This one’s mine!” Marc swung me halfway out of reach.

  The Black Wolf crouched again, clicking its mouth open and shut. A dark red Circle shot up around us, one I never saw before. It enclose
d us all inside so quickly, that it felt like I was suffocating.

  “What did I tell you?” Marc said to the Black Wolf as he raised his arm and formed a gesture with his hand. The Circle broke, and the Black Wolf began crawling on all fours again, slowly circling us.

  “What do you want from me?” I asked, thankful I could at least still talk with Marc.

  “Where’s Carson?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “We’ll know soon enough. He’ll come for you if he knows I have you—then it’ll be settled.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “When your father disappeared in Rome, several warlocks boasted about finishing him off. I killed them all, and thought, if they couldn’t beat me, then they sure as hell couldn’t beat Carson George. I knew he was alive, and it was only a matter of time before I figured out that Carson wasn’t hiding from the Black Wolves, but from the Gray Tower. He’s a Drifter.”

  “You psychotic...is that why you took Heilwig? Because of my father?”

  Damned liar. Manipulator. I refused to fall for his mind games.

  “I took Heilwig because Octavian wanted him to make those weapons for Hitler. Octavian still isn’t even convinced that your father is a Drifter. I just wanted Veit so I could rip his throat out and steal his powers. He wasn’t meant to survive this anyway, and I will have him in the end. But you don’t have to die here. You can come meet Octavian yourself.”

  “And be used as bait for my father?” Or worse, Octavian’s dinner?

  The Black Wolf came toward me again. It opened its bat-like mouth, but this time Marc shoved me forward. I screamed, “All right! I’ll go!”