Rite of Passage: An Alastair Stone Urban Fantasy Novel (Alastair Stone Chronicles Book 26)

by R. L. King

  An open door at the rear led to the second room. Stone glanced around to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, then levitated across to avoid leaving any footprints. “Daphne? Jeremy?”

  As he’d expected, the second room was a small bedroom, with an even smaller bath off to the side. It was barely large enough to contain the double bed, two microscopic nightstands, and a tiny dresser.

  Stone hovered in the doorway, examining the room with mundane sight. The first thing he noticed was that the bed looked hastily made. That didn’t mean anything, of course—it was quite possible the cabin’s rightful occupants had done it during their last visit here. But Daphne had said they were here, and if that was true and Jeremy was ill, he’d probably been in the bed. They’d taken time to make it up before they left. What did that mean?

  He floated over to check the bathroom, but found nothing there either. Even after he switched to magical sight, no unusual energy appeared.

  Damn it, Daphne.

  Maybe she left a note.

  The thought perked him up. Daphne had always been a smart and conscientious person. If they’d had to leave in a hurry for something and she knew he was coming, it made sense she might leave him something, like she had when she’d taken his Jeep.

  He turned in the air, magical sight still up, intending to return to the front room and search, but stopped when his gaze fell on something in the doorway.

  At first, he’d only seen it from the corner of his eye. When he looked directly at it, it disappeared. He narrowed his eyes and sharpened his focus, letting his attention skate across the scene like an apprentice trying to see auras for the first time.

  There it was again.

  A faint bit of energy, of a type he’d never seen before. It didn’t look like auric energy, and it didn’t have the telltale red flashes indicating violence. But it was definitely odd.

  Keeping magical sight up, he floated closer. The energy seemed to be confined to the floor. As he drew nearer to it, it brightened slightly. There was also more of it. It was hard to see, as if it might be fading, but as Stone looked more carefully he spotted still more of it, leading back into the living room.

  “What the hell…?” he muttered.

  Trying to keep the energy in sight was already making his head hurt, but he kept it up. Whatever this was, he was sure it had something to do with why Daphne and Jeremy weren’t here.

  It grew fainter as it crossed the floor, but it quickly became obvious it was heading for the door. Had someone run out the door? Had an intruder broken into the cabin, and Daphne drove them out? But there was no sign of magic, nor of mundane disturbance. If there’d been a scuffle, something would have been moved—right?

  The energy stopped at the closed door, continuing to grow weaker. Clearly, whatever it was had exited the cabin. Given the pattern, it almost seemed as if something had been dragged outside. He paused, remembering those crime-scene investigation shows that had been all the rage a few years ago. When they were searching a scene and suspected blood, they always turned out the lights and sprayed the area with some kind of chemical that glowed blue in the presence of even trace amounts. Was this something similar, from a magical standpoint?

  He used magic to open the door, again careful to avoid leaving any fingerprints or trace of his presence. Sunlight streamed in, immediately obscuring the fading energy.

  Damn. Even auras were harder to spot in the light, and this stuff was so faint there would be no chance. Still, he kept magical sight up and looked around, hoping if he was right and something was dragged, he might see mundane indications of it, like broken or trampled weeds.

  Nothing.

  Stone sighed. He was wasting time. Daphne and Jeremy obviously weren’t here, and there was no indication that they’d done anything but vacate the cabin and drive off in their car. No blood, no sign of violent energy, nothing disturbed inside.

  But he couldn’t get the energy out of his mind. It had to mean something. Whatever had caused it had obviously been inside the cabin, which meant it might have encountered them when they were still here.

  You don’t know where she’s gone, and it’s not like you’re going to catch up with her along the road if you take a few more minutes to check this out.

  He checked the incoming road again; no sign of anyone approaching. Keeping the levitation spell and magical sight up, he floated slowly around the perimeter of the cabin, looking for any traces of disturbed ground or anything else out of the ordinary.

  Honestly, he didn’t expect to see anything. There was a lot of ground out here, most of it covered by tall, unkempt weeds. Whoever this cabin belonged to, they clearly hadn’t been here for a while. They probably came out here once a year in the summer for a holiday, and left it vacant the rest of the time. I’m wasting my time. I should just—

  As he rounded the cabin’s back corner, he spotted the strange energy again. It was stronger this time, shining up from beneath what looked like a clump of weeds.

  He approached slowly, raising his shield. He couldn’t keep three spells going at once for too long—it wasn’t as much a power thing as a concentration thing, and Calanar hadn’t augmented his ability to focus—but if the thing was a threat, he wanted to be ready for it.

  He drew closer, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure nothing was sneaking up on him. If this was some kind of trap, he wouldn’t be caught so easily.

  Nothing was there, though. The area remained as quiet as before, with only the faint sounds of insects and the far-off drone of a plane flying by high overhead.

  He risked dropping to the ground next to the clump. The energy was still there, stronger than inside the cabin but still faint. He gestured at the weeds, shifting them aside to uncover what was beneath them.

  “Bloody hell…” he whispered.

  A man lay there—sort of.

  The body was definitely human in shape, and definitely male. It wore a simple black shirt and trousers with no visible pockets, and lay sprawled as if someone had tossed it here and covered it to avoid discovery. But whatever it was, it was definitely not a vanilla human.

  For one thing, its features were rough, as if someone had carved them from clay. Stone remembered the strange golem-creatures the demon Archie had sent after him many years ago; these were similar, but not quite the same. For one thing, these features seemed to be fading at an uneven rate. One side of the creature’s face was sharper than the other, looking more human and less like someone who didn’t know much about what a human looked like had carved it. For another, this creature wasn’t bulky and muscular. It merely looked like a normal human male.

  Intrigued, Stone crouched next to it. He couldn’t see any obvious injuries, and definitely no blood. The man hadn’t been shot, stabbed, or bashed over the head.

  Had he been an intruder? Had he broken into the house and Daphne, desperate to protect her sick son, taken him out with magic?

  But there was no trace of magic around the body, and that didn’t make sense. Any magic strong enough to kill someone would definitely leave traces, even after fifteen hours. Death energy was strong, and lingered for a long time.

  Movement caught Stone’s eye, pulling his attention back to the man’s face.

  He frowned. Hadn’t he just noticed that one side of the body’s face was more distinct than the other? Now, that definitely wasn’t true. Both sides had the carved-from-rough-clay look.

  What was going on here?

  And more importantly, what was he going to do about it? A murder had occurred here—or at the very least, some kind of accidental death. Someone had deliberately brought the body out here and hid it. Had it been Daphne, or someone else? And if it had been Daphne, why hadn’t she buried the man?

  Because she didn’t have time.

  It made sense. Daphne wasn’t a large or strong woman, and he hadn’t seen any shovels or other implements around here. She couldn’t have used magic, since the kind of spells that affected the living earth
were very difficult and took a long time. If she’d been in a hurry, especially if she was worried about Jeremy, she wouldn’t have risked it.

  But why was the man dead in the first place? If he’d threatened Daphne and her son, why had he done it? Stone would have bet a lot of money that whoever or whatever this man was, he was not a garden-variety home invader.

  The weeds moved, once again jerking Stone’s attention back to the man—this time, to his hand.

  It had disappeared.

  Where it had lain against the green of the weeds before, now nothing remained but an empty sleeve. To magical sight, though, the shape of the hand persisted. As he continued to watch, even the sleeve itself began to fade.

  “What are you?” he muttered.

  He fumbled in his pocket for his phone, intending to snap some photos of the strange body, but stopped when he remembered all he had was the burner phone, which didn’t have a camera. Bugger. I have got to talk to Stefan’s people about getting Mr. Townes his own smartphone—or at least bring a digital camera when I go on these little excursions.

  Glancing around once again to make sure nobody was approaching, he considered what to do next. Clearly, this body was disintegrating—and just as clearly, it wasn’t human. There was no way he could take it back with him. Even if he tried, at this rate it would be gone before he reached his home, or Kolinsky’s shop.

  But if the body wasn’t human, had this been a murder at all?

  Stone didn’t stop to think about what he was about to do. He pulled a small pocketknife from his coat, slid the man’s black shirt up to reveal his chest, and plunged the blade in. The deterioration seemed to be progressing from the extremities inward; at the rate it was going, it was faintly possible he might be able to get this sample back to Kolinsky before it faded completely, assuming separating it from the body itself wouldn’t hasten the deterioration.

  He didn’t have a lot of choice, so he had to take a chance.

  Daphne, what have you got yourself into?

  He studied the blade, which now glowed with the same faint energy as the body. It didn’t seem to be fading, at least not right away. Again without giving himself time to think, he carefully sliced a section of flesh from the edge of the wound he’d made. He cast a preservation spell on both, though he had no idea if it would work on unfamiliar energy like this. Then he wrapped the knife and the sample in a handkerchief and stuffed them in his pocket. Maybe this wasn’t the most ethical thing he’d ever done, but if it meant Kolinsky could figure out what was going on here, he’d swallow his professional guilt.

  After pulling the weeds back over the top of the body (the other hand had already begun to fade in the brief time he’d been here, and the face was almost gone) he obscured the place where he’d touched down and then floated away.

  As he got back in his rental car and headed for the road as quickly as he dared, his thoughts turned once again to Daphne. If somebody was after her, what did they want? Had this man—or whatever—been the only one who was looking for her? Were there more of them out there? She and Jeremy could be dead out there somewhere, and he couldn’t do a damned thing about it.

  He had no choice—he’d have to tell Kolinsky the rest of the story.

  18

  He realized how agitated he was when he shimmered into existence on Kolinsky’s doorstep—directly in front of a homeless man who’d been shuffling by.

  The man gasped, his eyes growing almost comically wide.

  Stone went still. Bugger! “Er—”

  The man had a bottle in one hand, wrapped in a brown paper bag. He stuffed it in his pocket, rubbed his face with both hands, and muttered something about needing another drink. Then he looked away, toward where he’d been heading.

  Stone immediately cast an invisibility spell.

  The guy turned back, stared, and took a staggering step away from the door. “Aw, fuck…Yeah…def’nitely need another drink.” He shuffled away.

  Stone held the spell until he’d made it halfway up the block, then dropped it and quickly pushed through the wards into the shop, letting out the breath he’d been holding. He didn’t even bother berating himself to be more careful next time.

  “Stefan? Are you here? This is important.”

  Kolinsky stepped out of the back room. He didn’t look annoyed at being interrupted this time. “What is it?”

  Stone paused to pull his thoughts together. “Something very strange is going on, and I need your help sorting it out.”

  “Related to the unusual rifts?”

  “I don’t think so. Related to my friend—the one who came through the portal in West Virginia.”

  Some of Kolinsky’s interest dropped away. “I thought we had dealt with—”

  “Yes, well, so did I. Please—just listen. I didn’t tell you everything before, because I didn’t think it was relevant. I’m still not sure it’s relevant. But I’m convinced now that someone is after my friend, and that they might not be from around here, if you get my meaning.”

  “Indeed?” Kolinsky sat in desk chair. “Please, continue.”

  “Before I do, I need you to look at something. I think it’s fairly time-sensitive. It might already be too late.” He pulled the little handkerchief-wrapped package from his coat pocket and put it on the desk.

  “What is this?”

  “Look at it first, please. The energy is fading fast.”

  Intrigued, the dragon carefully opened the package. “A pocketknife.”

  Stone leaned in closer. The small piece he’d cut from the man’s wound was gone now. “Damn. I was afraid of that. There was a little piece of flesh in there before, but it’s already gone. Check the knife for energy.”

  He paced the area while Kolinsky leaned in close, examining the knife. After a few moments, the dragon used magic to levitate it, turning it in the air. Then he lowered it back to the cloth and covered it. “Where did you get this?”

  “From the body of a man I found outside the cabin where my friend was supposed to be. I stuck the knife into him.”

  Kolinsky glanced up sharply. “What man?”

  “I don’t know. That’s the problem.” He indicated the knife. “Did you see anything?”

  “The energy is…odd. It is fading quickly. You said you included a piece of flesh?”

  “A small one. When I found the body, buried in some weeds outside the cabin, it was…already starting to disappear. Not decompose, like a human would do More like…fading. Part of the face was sharper than the other part, and even in the brief time I was there, one of its hands faded away. Even the clothes faded. I’m sure if it’s not all gone by now, it will be within the next hour or so.” He narrowed his eyes. “Tell me what you found. What did you mean, the energy is odd? I know that. I was hoping you could give me something a bit more specific.”

  Kolinsky leaned back in chair. He looked thoughtful. “I cannot say much about it, with this little left to analyze. I can say, however, that it is not of this plane.”

  “Not…of this plane.” Stone wished he had somewhere to sit now. He settled for leaning against the wall next to the desk. “Bloody hell.”

  “Please tell me what you know about this situation.”

  At least it appeared Stone had his full attention now. “When I got home from Madame Huan’s this morning, I had a message from my friend. There was one thing I hadn’t told you about her—she isn’t alone. She has her son with her.”

  “Her son.”

  “Yes. He’s about ten, and he doesn’t talk. He…was born on the other dimension. The one she and the boy’s father were stuck on. It had already been several hours since she left the message, so I headed back there immediately. She’d told me the two of them had broken into someone’s holiday cabin, because her son wasn’t feeling well. When I got there, they were gone. No sign of a struggle or violence, but I detected that same energy you saw, on the floor. I followed it outside, looked around a bit, and found the man’s body in the weeds behind the p
lace.” He pointed at the knife. “What I’m concerned about is that someone from there is after her, and whatever that energy is, it’s from the same place.”

  “After her?”

  “It’s the only explanation I can come up with. The man I found was definitely not human—I’m certain of that.”

  “But how do you know he was searching for your friend?”

  Stone sighed. “I don’t, I guess. But it makes sense—especially in light of what you’ve just told me. If he’s from somewhere else, maybe he’s from the same place she’s been for the last eleven years. Maybe she made enemies while she was there.” He shrugged, frustrated. “I don’t know, Stefan. I feel like she’s been lying to me again—or at least leaving important bits out. From what I know of her, she’s not the sort anybody would be sending extradimensional hunters after. She’s a scientist. A mage nerd, like I used to be. So was her partner. Their idea of a grand adventure was to spend the evening going over portal calculations.” He resumed his pacing. “A lot can happen in eleven years, though.”

  “Indeed. It sounds as if your best course of action is to locate her and convince her to share the rest of the story with you.”

  “I was afraid you’d say that.” He indicated the knife again. “You can’t get anything else out of that? No sense of where this other dimension is, or whether it’s malevolent?”

  “No. The energy is far too faded for that. Even with a much more potent sample, it is not a simple matter. You know this.”

  He did know that. He remembered how difficult it had been for him to reverse-engineer Trevor Harrison’s notes to help him locate Calanar, and in that case he’d had actual formulae to go on. In this case, it would be like trying to find the source of a bottle of water with nothing more than a few teaspoons of it from an unlabeled container. “Okay. Well…thank you for taking a look, anyway. I appreciate it.” He glanced up, to catch Kolinsky looking at him oddly. “What?”