by R. L. King
Now Harrison did turn back, and his eyes were cold and still. He waited.
Stone hated how this whole business was affecting him. He didn’t like being out of control, especially around someone like Harrison. Feeling like a small rock about to get crushed between two glaciers was not a place he preferred to be. “I’ll talk to the person I made the promise to…see if I can get him to make an exception. Believe me, I want to tell you. I need to tell you, before you go off and do something we all might end up regretting. Will you just give me one day?”
Harrison studied him. He stood perfectly still, with only his cold gray gaze moving over Stone’s face as if trying to gauge his motives. Finally, he inclined his head.
“As you wish, Dr. Stone. One day. I will return tomorrow. If you do not provide a satisfactory explanation then, however, I will be forced to seek my answers elsewhere.”
21
Stone hated to take advantage of his recent ability to contact Stefan Kolinsky from his shop. The black mage had warned him not to use it except in cases of extreme emergency—but if anything qualified, this did.
He left directly after Harrison, his thoughts spinning as he drove to East Palo Alto and parked in front of the shabby storefront. There weren’t many people around the area this late on a Sunday afternoon, since most of the neighboring shops were closed too.
He paused before getting out of the car, trying to figure out what he was going to say. His analogy about being stuck between two glaciers came back to mind, but it was worse than that: he was stuck between two immensely powerful, hyper-intelligent glaciers, both of whom were stubborn enough to make a whole pack of mules envious. And even more problematic, he never intended for the two of them to learn of each other’s existence. He’d have to be very careful about what he said, or he’d end up causing more problems than he solved. As much as he’d grown to trust Kolinsky over the last few years, he still had no plans of revealing Calanar’s existence to him.
He settled a disregarding spell over the BMW with barely a thought and entered the shop. At least he could still get past the wards—that was something. Stefan might be making himself scarce, but he wasn’t completely avoiding him.
As he descended the stairs and pushed open the door to the main shop, he remembered what had happened one of the previous times he’d entered unannounced. For less than a second, nowhere near long enough for him to get a good look or even a proper glimpse, it had seemed as if he’d entered a stark, white-walled room with a bare concrete floor. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, brushing it off due to fatigue or distraction. But still, he wondered.
This time, he was ready for it when he opened the door, poking his head in quickly and trying to catch sight of the strange phenomenon. But no, all he saw were the familiar display cases, along with Kolinsky’s closed roll-top desk along the rear wall.
No Kolinsky, though. That wasn’t a surprise.
Stone took a deep breath, hoping he was doing the right thing and not setting something into motion he wouldn’t be able to control.
“Stefan?” he called, turning in place. “Sorry to bother you, but this is important.”
Nothing happened. He watched the door on the far side of the room, where Kolinsky usually entered. It didn’t move.
“Stefan?” Louder this time. “Listen—I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t urgent. It’s about the rifts. I’ve got to ask you something, and it’s time-sensitive.”
“Alastair.”
Stone spun. This time, Kolinsky hadn’t come in through his usual door. Instead, he stood at the same door Stone had entered through only a few moments before. As always, he wore a black, old-fashioned suit.
He let his breath out in relief. “Thank you for coming. I was afraid I’d exhausted my quota.”
“There is no ‘quota’.” Kolinsky remained where he was, making no move to enter the room. “But I do trust that your need is as urgent as you implied. I was otherwise engaged.”
Even though the black mage’s face showed no expression, Stone got the impression of either annoyance or impatience. It was almost as hard to read Kolinsky as it was Harrison. A fleeting image of him in the shower, complete with flowered shower bonnet and long-handled back scrubber, popped into his mind, but he quickly banished it before any reaction reached his face, or his aura.
“Look,” he said. “Something’s come up, and we’ve got to talk. Do you have time?”
“I am here.”
Stone supposed that was the best answer he was likely to get. He waited to see if Kolinsky would take his usual seat behind the rolltop desk.
But the black mage remained where he was, watching Stone with a level, emotionless gaze.
Okay, he wasn’t going to make this easy. Stone wondered what he’d been “otherwise engaged” with, to put him in such a difficult mood.
“There’s been another rift,” he said.
Kolinsky didn’t appear disturbed. “There are many rifts. Why is this one of particular interest?”
“A couple of reasons. Would you mind sitting down? It’s hard to discuss this when I’m half-convinced you’re about to turn around and leave if I say the wrong thing.”
“I cannot remain long.” He held his position for a few more seconds, then walked to his desk and sat. “Please, continue.”
Stone resumed his pacing. “This rift is in Colorado. I found out about it in an…unusual way.”
“Oh?”
“Somebody came through it. From the other side.”
Kolinsky’s eyebrows rose fractionally. “Indeed.”
“Yes.”
“How did you discover this?”
“Long story. I’ve got a friend who’s a private investigator, and his assistant gathers odd stories for us. This one caught my attention, so I investigated.”
Kolinsky leaned back and regarded Stone over steepled fingers. “You are certain this individual entered this world through the rift.”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“How are you certain? Did you see it happen?”
“No.”
Kolinsky’s brow furrowed. “I feel you are keeping something from me, Alastair.”
Yeah, join the bloody club. He sighed, dropping into the chair next to the desk. “I’ve got to be careful about this, Stefan. I’ll tell you as much as I can, and hope it will be enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“To agree to let me out of my oath—at least long enough to tell one other person about the rifts.”
“We have already discussed—”
“I know we have. I get that. But the situation’s changed. There’s someone else involved now, and if I don’t tell him something, he’s likely to do something we’ll all end up regretting.”
“So this is no longer about your apprentice.” Kolinsky lowered his hands and jotted something in a notebook on his desk.
“No. She’s barely involved at all, this time. This is someone else—someone who could cause a lot more trouble if I can’t explain things to him.”
“Who is this person?”
“I can’t tell you that, unfortunately. He’s another mage associate of mine.”
“And he knows of the rifts?”
“No. That’s the problem. But he does know about the person who came through the one in Colorado.”
“How does he know this?”
Stone sighed again, and looked away. “I told him—indirectly.”
“Explain.”
Damn, this was hard. Trying to tell Kolinsky enough to get what he wanted without giving away too much was like tap-dancing in a minefield. “I didn’t tell him about the rift, of course. I didn’t even know about it at the time. But I had reason to believe he might know of the person.”
“Why did you think so?”
Another deep breath. “Because he’s familiar with the dimension she came from.”
Kolinsky’s pen stopped moving. “Indeed.” With care, he laid the pen on the notepad, then turned to face Stone
. “As, I assume, are you.”
Damn.
Stone didn’t answer.
Kolinsky nodded once, as if verifying something. “Of course you are. How else would you have thought to share the information about the person with your associate?”
Score one for Stefan. “Yes. The story appeared briefly in a somewhat unreliable publication, then disappeared when we—my private investigator friend’s assistant and I—tried to access it again. That, coupled with the description of the person, made me suspicious, so I investigated.”
“And informed your associate.”
“Yes. I actually did that before I investigated.” He spread his hands. “Look—we’ve worked together for a long time. You know me. You know I wouldn’t ask you this if it wasn’t important.”
Kolinsky studied him. “If I refuse to temporarily release you from your oath and permit you to share what you know with this man, what is he likely to do? What is this action that ‘we will all regret,’ as you say?”
“I think he’ll try to find it and close it.”
“And do you believe he has the capability to do this?”
Stone thought about it. “I’m…not certain. He’s bloody powerful—he might even give you a run for your money, to be honest. He’s also intelligent and relentless, both to a scary degree. I put a heavy illusion around the rift when I found it, so it’s possible he might not locate the spot. But I wouldn’t bet the family fortune on it.”
“I see. And you believe, if you were to explain to him why closing the rift is not a wise idea, he would heed your warning?”
That was the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question, wasn’t it? “I…hope so.”
“You hope so.” Kolinsky’s eyebrow crept up again.
“I don’t know, Stefan. He’s one of the most inexplicable people I’ve ever met—and that includes you. On the one hand, he’s frighteningly rational—but on the other, once he’s got his mind set on something, he’s difficult to sway. He won’t just believe me if I tell him to take my word for it. He’ll want proof. Facts. Reasons. And I can’t give him any if you don’t give me a break from this damned oath.” Stone stopped as his voice grew louder. He wouldn’t get anywhere with either Kolinsky or Harrison if he lost his cool.
Kolinsky remained silent, watching him.
“Well? What do you say? I’m not asking for permission to take out adverts in the Times about it. All I want to do is prevent this man from acting before he has all the facts.”
“Yet you are asking me to act before I have all the facts,” the black mage said mildly.
“What are you talking about?”
Kolinsky rose and closed his desk. “You have told me next to nothing about this man, Alastair. I do not know who he is, how he is familiar with the dimension on the other side of the rift, or why he is so interested in closing the rift between our dimension and this one. I am aware of most of your more significant associates in the magical world, yet I cannot guess which of them you might be referring to. None of them fit the description you have given me.”
Stone felt the glaciers inching closer. He sighed. “I…can’t tell you much about him. I’m sorry, but there’s no way around that. I’m in a difficult spot, Stefan. On the one hand, I’ve got you and your oath, preventing me from doing what I know is the right thing. On the other, I’ve got a man with as many secrets as you have—somebody who could disrupt my life significantly if I revealed even the ones I know without his permission. So the best I can do is try to appeal to our long association, and ask you to trust me on this one. All I want to do is tell him why he shouldn’t try to close this rift. Which is what you convinced me not to do. Isn’t it what you want?”
“It is. But there are factors of which you are not aware. As you might recall, I mentioned at the time I visited your home that I am not acting alone. Others are involved, and convincing them even to share minimal information with you was…difficult.” He inclined his head. “It may seem as if I operate purely as an independent entity, and in most cases that is true.”
“But…not in all of them.” Stone had forgotten about that little fact. Considering everything else Kolinsky had told him that night, he didn’t blame himself. “So you’re saying if you let me tell somebody else without clearing it with these others, whoever the hell they are, you could get in trouble.”
“That is a simplistic way to describe the situation. I would not ‘get in trouble,’ like a child who steals a book from a shop. But these others and I maintain a complex relationship, and any action on my part in this regard could disrupt it to a greater degree than I am willing to risk.”
“So…can you go to them? Ask them? You did it before.”
“I did, but there were…mitigating circumstances.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I cannot say.”
Stone ran an impatient hand through his hair. “But they don’t exist in this case.”
“No—at least I do not believe they do. Since you won’t give me any details about the man, I cannot say with certainty. But I can say with certainty that even if I were to reach out to the others—which I will not do in this case—they would have the same answer. Without further knowledge about this man and what he is likely to do with any information we might allow you to share with him, the answer must remain no. I am sorry, Alastair.”
Stone couldn’t tell if he truly was. Suddenly, he was fifteen years old again, listening to William Desmond refuse to allow him to pick up the pace of his magical study—and he had about the same chance of changing Kolinsky’s mind.
“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “I tried. I hope your decision doesn’t come back to bite us all in the arse. And I also hope you understand I will do whatever I can to get around this damned oath enough to give him what little information I can.”
“You must do as you see fit,” Kolinsky said mildly.
“Yes…for all the good it’s going to do. Thanks for showing up to talk, at least. Go on back to whatever you were doing. Sorry for interrupting.”
Without another word, he turned and headed for the door.
“Alastair?”
He stopped. “Yes?”
“There is something else you should be aware of.”
“And what’s that?” He still didn’t turn back.
“You might recall what occurred in Wyoming, when you attempted to close the rift there.”
Stone froze. “Someone tried to stop me.”
“Yes. You caught him by surprise, which is why you were somehow able to get the better of him—temporarily, at least.”
Yes, let’s go on believing that, Stone thought. Sometimes it was difficult to keep who knew what straight, but if Kolinsky was aware of his Calanarian power boost, he never spoke of it. “Yes, and?”
“Those mitigating circumstances I mentioned—they were the reason why that person did not kill you.”
Stone almost chuckled, wondering if that really was the reason. “You mean that ‘scion’ rubbish you still won’t tell me about.”
“Yes.”
“Okay, and—?”
“As I said, I cannot be certain without more information about your associate, but I am reasonably sure he does not possess the same…shall we say…immunity.”
“I’ll warn him. I’ve got a feeling it won’t matter, though. If he finds the rift, he’s got some fairly good reasons for wanting it closed.”
“Then I wish you success in convincing him otherwise. I truly do.”
Stone paused, trying to decide if it was worthwhile to say anything else. Then he left the shop without further reply.
22
Stone had one more option to try. It wasn’t one he wanted to use, but Harrison would be back tomorrow wanting an answer, and he had to tell him something.
When he got back to the car, he paused to send a text. He didn’t get an immediate reply, but by the time he returned to Encantada, he had a message waiting.
Sure, we can meet tonight. Want
to come to dinner at J and A’s?
No, he sent back. You enjoy yourself. Perhaps you might stop by after?
Sure, no problem. See you then. What’s this about?
I’ll tell you when you get here.
Verity didn’t arrive until after ten that night, and Stone was beginning to wonder if she’d forgotten. He answered her knock quickly.
“Thank you for coming, and I do apologize for my usual cryptic messages.”
“Hey, I’m used to it by now.”
“How are Jason and Amber?”
“Good. We had a great time. I showed them a bunch of my photos, and they told me more about what happened down at the house. Do you really think you’ll be able to figure out how to make it so he can do that at will?”
“Who knows? Unfortunately, I’ve once again got a more pressing concern.”
“And you want my help with it. Sounding board time again?”
“No.” He led her to the living room and offered her a cup of coffee. When they were both settled—him in his leather chair, her on the sofa with Raider purring in her lap—he considered his words. “I do need your help with something. But I absolutely understand if you’d rather not do it.”
She tilted her head. “I can’t say until I know what it is. What’s it about?”
“The…issue in Colorado.”
“You mean the rift.”
He didn’t answer.
“You do mean the rift. And you can’t talk about it.”
“Yes. This is going to be an irritating conversation, and I apologize for that too.”
“I’ll do my best to read between the lines. What do you need me to do?”
“Talk to Harrison.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s not what I was expecting.”
“The frustrating thing is that I’m asking you to take me largely on faith, because there are a lot of things I can’t tell you. Some of them are related to the oath, and others aren’t—but they might as well be.”
