The Seventh Stone: A Novel in the Alastair Stone Chronicles

by R. L. King

  Jason switched the sound off. “So, what was that about?”

  “Are you two free for dinner tomorrow night?”

  They exchanged glances. “Yeah, I guess so,” Verity said, and Jason nodded. “Why?”

  “There’s…someone I want you to meet.” Stone was aware that he sounded odd and that both of them would notice it instantly. “I was calling them to make sure they’d be available.”

  Verity’s gaze sharpened. “Somebody? Who?”

  “I—don’t want to say yet.”

  “Al, what the hell—” Jason began.

  Stone held up a hand. “Jason, Verity, please—trust me. I know this sounds…unusual, and I apologize. But it’s one of those situations where it’s better that I show you rather than tell you. Come by my place at seven tomorrow.”

  “You’re gonna cook?” Verity asked, looking dubious.

  “Oh, bloody hell, no. I’ll pick something up. This isn’t meant to be formal.”

  “Okay…”

  Stone saw neither of them wanted to let it go, but they didn’t push it. “Right, then. I’d best be off—got a few things to do. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He slipped out the door, acutely aware of their gazes and their unspoken questions following him.

  36

  Ian was in a little café in Cupertino, having a late lunch with Blake, when Stone called. He turned away to take it, then put his phone back in his pocket with a lazy smile a few moments later.

  “Who was that?” she asked, bored.

  “Dad. He invited me to dinner tomorrow night. He says he wants me to meet a couple of his friends.”

  “That’s promising,” she drawled, and sipped her drink. “Did he say who they were?”

  “His former apprentice—some woman named Verity—and her brother. He’s a mundane.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Her eyes narrowed. “I remember those two.”

  “Not a fan?”

  She shrugged. “Eh, I don’t know. I never met them directly, but I’ve dealt with them before. They helped him fuck up my plans, and they were around when he tried to kill me the second time.” Her snaky smile returned. “But that’s a good sign, though, if he wants to introduce you to his little besties. Sounds like he’s starting to think having a bouncing baby boy might fit into his busy lifestyle after all.”

  He’d already given her the latest report on his magical training, and she’d been amused at Stone’s attempts to hide his frustration at his son’s slow progress. “I wish I could have seen his face,” she’d said when he told her. “Anything that fucks with his sense that he can control everything around him has to be fun to watch.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Anything I should know about them, so I don’t say the wrong thing?”

  “Just keep doing what you’re doing. They’re both perceptive, and they’re stupidly loyal to Stone, so don’t say anything against him. Keep your aura under control, too—the apprentice is sharp, and she won’t be as willing to give you the benefit of the doubt as Stone is. She’ll probably be suspicious, at least at first, so keep that in mind.” Blake lounged in her chair. “You’re doing fine so far, turning on the charm, so keep it up. If you can win them over, it’ll put you in an even better position with Stone.”

  “Yeah, okay. I’m not worried about it.”

  “You shouldn’t be. Too bad I can’t come along.”

  “Better not—won’t he recognize you?”

  “Not anymore. I look…quite a bit different than he remembers. It’s tempting…maybe we can arrange it some other time. Just the three of us.” Her eyes narrowed and her smile widened. “Let me work on that. I do want to see him up close one more time before I kill him.”

  She reached across the table and patted his hand. “Anyway, enjoy your dinner with Daddy, and don’t forget to tell me all the juicy details. I think I’ll head out and do something a little more…adult tonight.”

  37

  Raider sat atop the dining room sideboard, his green-eyed gaze following Stone as he moved back and forth from the kitchen, setting the table.

  “Sorry, mate,” Stone told the cat as he hurried out to retrieve a serving bowl he’d forgotten. “Don’t know why I’m so nervous about this whole thing. It’s not as if they’re going to hate each other.”

  In truth, he didn’t know whether that would be the case. Okay, they probably wouldn’t hate each other even if the whole dinner went horribly awry, but he could easily see both Jason and Verity being suspicious of Ian, even after he explained to them that his magical paternity test had been definitive and rock-solid.

  Enough, he told himself, stepping back to examine the table setting and using a gentle magical nudge to shove Raider off. They’d all just have to get used to each other, and that was the end of it. Besides, things could easily go the other way and the three of them would end up fast friends by the end of the evening.

  You could never tell with people, though. That was the problem.

  Jason and Verity arrived promptly at seven, pulling through the gate in Jason’s red Mustang. They both glanced around as they came in, obviously looking for the evening’s remaining guest.

  “So, what’s this about?” Jason asked. “Who’s this person you want us to meet, and when are they getting here?”

  “Soon.” Stone had asked Ian to show up at seven-fifteen to give the others a chance to arrive first, but he had no idea if the boy would get there on time. “Come on—let’s get some drinks while we wait.”

  “It’s not like you to be this secretive,” Verity said. “I know you like your surprises, but—this is just weird.” She shot him a sly grin. “You’re not introducing us to your new girlfriend, are you?”

  Jason looked startled, and narrowed his eyes.

  “No,” Stone said quickly. “No new girlfriend, I promise. It’s not a woman.”

  “Your new boyfriend, then,” she said, even more slyly. “Doc, I had no idea.”

  He sighed in mock exasperation. “I can’t take you two anywhere. You’re like a couple of kids on bloody Christmas Eve. Just have a drink and be patient. He’ll be here soon.”

  He managed not to look at his watch more than a couple times, but he noticed Verity watching him as he did. She said nothing; however, her aura showed her anticipation and curiosity, and he was sure his displayed his unease.

  To his relief, the bell rang promptly at seven-fifteen. Leaving Jason and Verity seated in the living room, he hurried to answer.

  Ian had dressed up for the occasion, wearing a stylish emerald-green shirt with dark blue jeans and black leather boots. He held a bottle of wine. “Hi, Dad.”

  “Ah. Good to see you. Right on time.”

  “Yeah. I’m looking forward to meeting your friends—especially your old apprentice.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be pleased to meet you as well.” He held up a hand to stop Ian as he stepped inside. “I warn you, though—I haven’t told them who’s coming tonight. In fact, I haven’t told them about you at all. So it will be—a bit of a shock for them.”

  Ian smiled. “That’s okay. I’m good with shocks.”

  Stone hoped they were as well.

  Verity and Jason looked up as Stone and Ian appeared in the doorway. Their curious gazes immediately locked on Ian, and they both jumped to their feet.

  Stone took a deep breath. “Jason…Verity…” he began, stepping aside to let Ian move into the room. “I’d like you to meet Ian Woodward—my…son. Ian, this is Verity Thayer, and her brother Jason.”

  If he hadn’t been so on edge about how the meeting would go, he’d have found their twin gapes of wide-eyed astonishment amusing. As it was, he remained silent, allowing them all to size each other up.

  “Your…son?” Jason asked.

  “Uh—it’s—uh—nice to meet you, Ian,” Verity said, recovering faster. She made a good effort at a smile.

  “Good to meet you too,” Ian said. “I know this has to be weird for you. Don’t worry, though—Dad hasn’t be
en keeping me secret from you for very long. Only a few days.”

  “Come on,” Stone said briskly. “I didn’t slave all afternoon over a hot takeaway menu to let dinner get cold. Let’s sit down and you can all ask each other all those awkward questions you know you want to ask.” He smiled to take the edge off his words, even though he meant every one of them.

  Jason tried to catch his attention as they headed down the hall, but he deliberately pretended not to notice. He knew he’d have to have some difficult conversations with both Jason and Verity when Ian wasn’t around, but this wasn’t the time.

  “So,” he said as they sat down, “let me start with a couple of things that will hopefully help with the awkwardness, and then we can go from there.” He removed the lids from the serving dishes, revealing several Chinese entrées he’d had delivered from the Dragon Garden. “First thing is—I know you’re both too polite to ask, but yes, I’m certain Ian truly is my son.”

  “We…weren’t going to ask,” Verity said, but her aura was alight with curiosity.

  “You didn’t have to. It’s not difficult to see that’s the first thing on both your minds. Second thing is—he knows about magic, and he’s got magical talent.” He deliberately levitated the serving-dish lids to the sideboard. “So you don’t have to dance around that little topic, either.”

  “Wait a sec…” Jason said. His gaze flicked to Ian. “Ian, you said your last name is Woodward?”

  “Yep. I was raised by my mother.” Ian appeared unruffled and amused by Jason’s and Verity’s obvious attempts to cover their astonishment at the situation.

  Jason’s focus switched to Stone. “Al…?”

  “Yes, Jason. Ian’s mother was Jessamy Woodward—the woman I asked you to look into a few days ago.” To Ian, he said, “Jason is a private investigator. I did tell you I did a bit of looking into things when you first turned up—he’s the one who did the actual looking.”

  Verity cast Jason a sharp look. Obviously he hadn’t told her about his sleuthing efforts yet.

  “Private investigator, huh?” Ian didn’t seem bothered. “Sounds cool. So what did you find out? I’ll fill in the rest if you want. I don’t have any secrets—not anymore.”

  Verity appeared to be struggling with what she wanted to say. Finally, she gave up and blurted out, “Doc—this is—Wow. Sorry to seem so off my guard, but, well—I am. When you invited us over to meet somebody tonight, I don’t think either of us expected—”

  “I get it,” Stone said. “And I’m sorry. I couldn’t work out the best way to spring this on you, so I decided to go for the direct approach. I knew it would be awkward for a while no matter what I did, but at least this way we can get everything out in the open so we can move forward.” Using magic, he opened the bottle of wine Ian had brought and poured everyone glasses. “Suppose I start by giving you the background.”

  When nobody answered, he plunged into the story. He told them about how Ian had called, how he’d been suspicious when they’d met, but then done a magical test to determine the boy was telling the truth and was, in fact, his son. He told them about Jessamy and their brief relationship in England, and how Ian had been raised in the Midwest by his mother after she returned to the United States without revealing her pregnancy.

  Jason and Verity listened in silence. They didn’t take their eyes off Stone except for occasional quick glances at Ian, who appeared relaxed.

  “Wait a minute…” Verity said when he finished, looking back and forth between Stone and Ian. “Jessamy…studying in England…Doc, was she—”

  Stone smiled, pleased. “Yes. I’m glad you made the connection, Verity.”

  “What are you talking about?” Jason asked. “V, you knew about this?”

  “Sort of. Doc told me a little about her when we were over in England for Mr. Desmond’s funeral.” She grinned, her eyes sparkling. “So…does Ian know about…Frank?”

  Stone sighed. Bloody hell, you’re not going there, are you? “I didn’t think it was the most important thing to bring up, no.”

  “Frank?” Ian asked, intrigued. “Who’s Frank?”

  Stone flashed Verity a warning look, but she ignored it. “From the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Apparently your mom used to like going to the midnight shows, and dressing up.”

  “Seriously? She never told me that.”

  “Verity—” Stone began.

  “She dressed up as Frank?” Ian asked. He leaned forward, looking even more interested in her story.

  “No.” Her grin widened, and she pointed at Stone. “He did.”

  “Verity—” Stone said, louder.

  “What?” Jason looked as if he suddenly had no idea where he was.

  “Hey, you can’t blame me, Doc,” she said, throwing him a look that said there would be more to this discussion later, in private. “You toss this kind of bombshell at me, you can’t expect I won’t have a little fun with it.” Her grin changed, from mischievous to more sincere. “So, yeah, Ian, that’s something you didn’t know about your Dad. And now, as you try to get that image out of your mind’s eye—it really is good to meet you. Surprising. Astonishing. But really good.”

  Stone, sensing the conversation spiraling completely out of control, took a sip of wine. Rather more than a sip, actually.

  Jason tried to pick up the threads, though he seemed not to know exactly how to react to Ian. “So—uh—Ian, I hope you don’t mind that I did a little checking. If you know about magic, you know Al had some good reasons for being suspicious.”

  “Al?” Ian gave Stone a sideways glance and a sly grin. “Somehow, I can’t think of you as an ‘Al.’”

  “Yes, well—I’ve given up trying to break him of that particular habit.”

  “But yeah,” Ian continued to Jason. “I get it. I knew he’d be suspicious. He’d have been stupid not to be. It’s not every day a guy turns up claiming to be the long-lost son you never knew about. Sounds like something out of a bad melodrama. Wasn’t exactly smooth for me either, at first.”

  That seemed to mollify Jason, at least slightly. “It’s too bad you had to find out like you did. That must have been rough. And I’m sorry to hear about your mom.”

  “Thanks. And yeah, it was. Mom never would tell me anything about who my dad was. I guess she thought it was easier for everybody that way. It took going through her stuff after she died to find out.”

  “So you’ve got magic,” Verity said. “That must have been even more of a shock for you.”

  “Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, everything else might have been a little weird, but it still fit in normal parameters, you know? Long-lost father, family secrets—regular people have those. But finding out your dad is some kind of big-time magician? That’s a little more off the typical life track.”

  Stone remained silent, picking at his food and pouring another glass of wine. Tentatively, he let a little of his tension drain off; at least it appeared the evening wasn’t going to devolve into accusations and demands for why he hadn’t prepared anyone for the meeting. It was a start.

  “So,” Verity was continuing, “what are you going to do? Are you staying here?”

  “Here at Dad’s place? No. He invited me to, but I think we both figured it would be better to have our own space, at least until we get to know each other better. I’m living in L.A. now, though it looks like I’ll be moving up here.”

  “Are you going to learn magic from somebody? Is Doc finding you a teacher?”

  “A master?” He grinned. “Sounds more mystic and mysterious that way, doesn’t it?”

  “I’m handling his training myself for now,” Stone said.

  “Really?” Verity tilted her head. “I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen—parents training their kids.”

  “This is a bit different, since we barely know each other. We’re giving it a go for a while to see how it works out. If it doesn’t, I’ll find him someone else.”

  “So you’ve already started training?” She sti
ll didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t say anything else about it.

  “Yeah,” Ian said. “A few days ago. It’s not going so well yet, though. Maybe you and I can get together and swap apprenticeship stories sometime.”

  “Hey, if you want to talk, I’m always around,” she said. “But—not going well?” She looked surprised. “How so?”

  “Ian’s—having a bit of trouble getting comfortable with magic,” Stone said. “I’m not concerned. He’s got plenty of potential. But he’s getting a late start, and growing up as a mundane with no idea of the magical world can sometimes lead to a more difficult time initially.”

  Verity glanced at him, and it was clear she wasn’t buying his words. She had also grown up as a mundane, and though she’d started at seventeen instead of nineteen, she had taken to magical training like the proverbial duck to water. And two years was hardly an insurmountable difference.

  “You don’t need to sugarcoat it, Dad,” Ian said easily. “What he’s trying to say politely is that I’m kind of a remedial magic student. It’s okay. I have faith in your teaching. I’ll catch on eventually.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Stone said, and this time there was no hesitation to his words. “I’m glad you and Verity have met now—I’d very much like to see the two of you get together to compare notes. Verity has a somewhat different approach to mine, so perhaps she might offer some useful insights. In fact, if she doesn’t object, I’ll give you that as your next homework assignment. Go have lunch together. Get to know each other. Compare notes. Commiserate about what a taskmaster I am.”

  Verity smiled. “Of course I don’t object. I’d love to get to know you better, Ian. As long as you don’t mind me still getting my head around the fact that Doc has a son. That’s going to take some getting used to.”

  “For all of us,” Jason added.

  Stone could see they both still had questions—including many he was sure they would insist on asking him later, when Ian wasn’t around—but both of them deliberately kept the conversation lighter as the evening progressed. They shared stories of Bay Area life with Ian, compared notes on nightclubs and concerts, and discussed life in southern California as compared to northern. He, in turn, told them a bit about his life in Los Angeles, sharing anecdotes of some of the minor acting and modeling gigs he’d gotten and how he’d miss living so close to the beach if he moved north.