by R. L. King
“Of course.”
“Brilliant.”
Kolinsky continued to watch him.
“All right, then—let’s discuss the details later. And for your payment, I think I’ve got some information you’re going to find highly interesting.”
“I hope so, for your sake. What you ask will not be a simple or inexpensive undertaking.”
“As I said, don’t worry. I think you’ll like this.” He leaned in. “Stefan…have you ever heard of a magical device that…negates magic?”
Kolinsky’s expression stilled. “Negates?”
“Yes. Blocks it. Interferes with it.”
“I…have heard stories of such artifacts, yes. Why do you ask?”
“Because I think I’ve found one. Or part of one.”
Kolinsky’s face didn’t change, but it didn’t have to. Stone knew him well enough to know interest when he saw it. “I see. Is this perhaps related to the recent theft at the University?”
Stone chuckled. “So you have been paying attention.”
“I pay attention to everything around me. I take it by your response that it is related?”
“Yes.” He felt a sudden relief that he was finally addressing someone he could speak freely with. “Sit back and get comfortable, Stefan. This is going to be a long story.”
Their meals had arrived by the time he finished telling Kolinsky about the break-in, the pyramid, the auction catalogs, a little about Portas Justitiae, and his attempted murder in Nebraska. For now, he left out only Eddie’s revelation regarding the pyramid’s markings and the chamber buried beneath the Surrey house.
The dragon listened silently while picking his slow and deliberate way through his coq au vin. When Stone finished, he didn’t reply.
“So…” Stone prompted. “What do you think? Does it sound like something you might have encountered in your travels?”
“As I said, I have heard of such devices. Not recently, though. I believed that, like necromancy, the expertise for designing and building them had been lost long ago.”
“Yes, well, we all know how well that worked with necromancy, don’t we?” When Kolinsky still didn’t reply, he said, “So…you don’t have one of these things in your possession?”
“I wonder why you would expect me to tell you if I did. But no, I do not.”
“I want to show you a couple of things. Can you make sure no one else might get a stray look?”
“Of course. You need not concern yourself with that. You may safely assume all aspects of our conversation are fully private.”
“That’s…comforting.” Stone pulled out his phone and cued up the best photo of the pyramid. “Here’s part of it. It was included in the collection on loan to the University. When I saw what it was, I ‘borrowed’ it for further study, and later replaced it with a fake version.”
Kolinsky took the phone and studied the photo, but didn’t attempt to swipe forward to view more. Stone wondered if he even knew how a mobile phone worked.
“What do you think?”
The dragon didn’t reply, but merely leaned in closer, trying to get a better look. “This image is far too small to reveal any significant detail.”
Stone grinned. “You’re such a Luddite, Stefan. Seriously—you do need to get with the twenty-first century one of these days.” He took the phone back, set it on the table facing Kolinsky, and used two fingers to zoom in.
The dragon’s eyebrow rose. He picked up the phone and tried the same thing, nodding once. “Fascinating.”
“Want one? I can recommend a few places where you can get a good one.”
“No. Thank you.” He focused in on the photo, turning the phone in several directions. “Are there more of these images?”
“Yes.” He showed Kolinsky how to swipe forward. “A few more of the pyramid from various angles, and some I took of McGrath’s auction catalog.”
As the dragon slowly swiped through the rest of the photos, Stone said, “I’ve been discussing this with a couple of colleagues back in England. They think the second device—the larger base—might serve as a sort of amplifier for the top part. What do you think?”
Kolinsky gave him back the phone. “They are almost certainly correct. The devices were, as you might guess, highly forbidden. By dividing them into parts, they could be more easily hidden and transported.”
“Forbidden by whom? Other mages? You lot?”
“In the past, there was a great deal more rivalry between various wealthy and powerful mages. Even though their aims often coincided, leading to dangerous alliances—”
“—like Ordo Purpuratus.”
“Just so. But even with these alliances in place, the various practitioners continued to work in secret, individually and in small groups, trying to gain power and advantage over the others.”
“As humans are prone to do—and not just mages.”
“Yes. These devices were rare, even in those days. Possession of one could most certainly give one faction an advantage over others.”
“You mean, by grabbing an enemy and…what…imprisoning him with it?”
“It was done, yes.”
“Hmm. Interesting.” He finished his wine, then refilled both his and Kolinsky’s glasses. “So, how do they work? My colleagues and I were speculating about that too. How can an item that interferes with magic not show up as magic?”
For a long time, Kolinsky didn’t reply. He swirled the wine in his glass, appearing to consider his words carefully. “It is not magic…not precisely. There is another component involved.”
“Another component? What do you mean?”
“A substance.”
“What kind of substance?”
“An exceedingly rare one. One that does not originate on this dimension.”
Stone stared at him. “Bloody hell, Stefan.”
Kolinsky inclined his head. “This is why I feel secure in sharing this information with you. If any of this substance remains—perhaps beyond this item you seek—it is highly unlikely you could find it.”
Stone pondered his words. This was huge. So, his original hypothesis about the pyramid—that it had something inside it that made it tick—might be closer to the truth than he’d suspected. He narrowed his eyes, thinking. “What about you lot? How do you feel about these things? Do they work on you?”
Kolinsky gave him a look. “Again, I wonder why you would presume to think I would tell you if it were so.”
“Because you’re as curious as I am—and because you know I’ve got more to tell you. And because you trust me.”
He considered, then nodded toward the phone on the table. “That one likely would not. It would take a much larger and more powerful version to hope to imprison us.”
“But it would it work? Some version of it?” Stone heartbeat quickened as he pictured the room under the Surrey house.
“Potentially, yes.”
“But it wouldn’t…destroy a dragon’s magic, right? Only interfere with it as long as one was in its proximity? What about a human mage? When I put the pyramid near a weak item, it de-powered it completely, but it only affected stronger items until I moved them farther away. Does it work that way for mages, too, if the item were combined and the amplification ability activated?”
“I do not know. I doubt even a potent one could do more than inconvenience a dragon as long as they remained in proximity to it. As for human mages…I do not have enough information to give you a definitive answer.”
Stone nodded.
“You have something on your mind.” Kolinsky’s gaze sharpened, boring into his eyes, and once again Stone wondered if dragons could read thoughts.
“I…do. I think what I’ve already told you has been enough to convince you to help me with my identification problem. But if it isn’t, this will be.”
The dragon leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers, and waited.
“I know what happened to Aldwyn now.”
Both Kolinsky’s ey
ebrows rose, and once again he went as still as a statue.
“You get it, don’t you?”
“You…believe he was imprisoned by one of these devices.”
“Not by one. Inside one. A much larger one.”
Stone cued up more photos, this time of the room beneath the Surrey house, and pushed the phone back across the table. “The symbols look similar, don’t they?”
Kolinsky looked at the first photo for a full minute before he spoke. “They do. Where was this taken?”
“Before I tell you that—can you read the symbols?”
“Yes.”
“What do they say? Why are they different, if it’s the same sort of device?”
Once more, Kolinsky hesitated as if trying to decide whether to answer. Finally, he set his wineglass back on the table. “They are different because their purposes are different. The smaller device is more…generic. It was designed to function in a broad range of situations.”
“And the other one?”
“Purpose-built, for a highly specialized application.”
“Imprisoning a dragon.”
Kolinsky inclined his head, and his gaze sharpened. “Where was this taken, and when?”
“A year and a half ago. At my home in Surrey.”
The dragon’s hand was resting on the table. Now it tightened, clenching into a fist. “This chamber…is in your home.”
“Under it, yes. And yes, apparently Aldwyn was imprisoned under there for almost two hundred years before something happened to break the seal and let him escape.”
“You knew this and did not tell me?” There was something dangerous in his eyes now.
Stone glared at him. “Why would I? I don’t tell you everything going on in my life any more than you tell me. Until I saw you two acting like a pair of spitting cats at the Caventhorne opening, I didn’t even know you knew each other. I certainly didn’t know you were a couple of dragons who couldn’t stand each other. And when you revealed the truth to me last year, I had…more pressing things on my mind at the time.”
Kolinsky subsided, and his fist relaxed. “True. Forgive me. But…this chamber exists at your home?”
“Not anymore. That whole situation was a big mess. James Brathwaite was also interred under my house, in a different area. Really dead that time, though—except his echo somehow managed to hang about. He and Aldwyn’s son Cyrus were the ones who betrayed Aldwyn and locked him up in that chamber. But the whole thing’s collapsed now. There was a network of catacombs under there, and it all came down around our ears. We barely survived it. Sorry to disappoint you.”
Kolinsky nodded. “It is probably for the best. For such a thing to exist in the modern age could lead to…complications.”
“You mean if a chamber existed that can bugger up a dragon’s power.”
“Yes.”
Stone sighed. “Okay. Well, I suppose I’m glad it’s gone, then. But that still leaves the smaller one, and at least two groups I know of looking for it, aside from me. So, what I want to know is: will you help me find the other piece?”
But this time, Kolinsky’s answer came immediately. “No. I will not.”
“No?” Stone blinked in surprise. “Why not? I thought you’d find it intriguing. And honestly, I’d rather have it in my hands—or yours—than a bunch of religious nutters or some shadowy government organization.”
“On that, we agree. But nonetheless, it is not something with which I can assist you.”
“But why?” Stone leaned forward, gripping the edge of the table. “Wait. I think I get it. It’s because of the other dragons, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“Because of the little dance—the agreements—you’ve all made among yourselves to keep anyone from getting too far out of hand.”
“Yes. If it were to become known that I provided any material aid to you in locating this device, the consequences could be…unpleasant.”
Stone considered his words. “Okay. I get it, I suppose. But you don’t want these other groups getting their hands on it either, do you? I’ve got no idea how strong Portas is, or how many of them there are. Do you?”
“I was not aware of their existence in the modern world. Like the Ordo, they appeared to die out many years ago.”
“But, like the Ordo, it’s possible they just went underground…scaled back their activities. Right?”
“It is possible. They had significant backing in the past.”
“How significant?”
Kolinsky shrugged one shoulder. “There were rumors of the Vatican being involved.”
“Bloody hell.”
“I do not know if it was true—or if it was, if it is any longer.”
“But if you had to take a guess?”
“I do not ‘guess.’” He looked mildly put out, as if even speaking the word was offensive to him.
“Okay, if you had to speculate.”
Again, he shrugged. “Almost certainly not the mainstream Church. But even in the modern age, shadowy sub-groups with specific agendas remain.”
Stone nodded slowly. “So they’re possibly more dangerous than a few random nutters. What about the other group—the one I suspect is connected with the mundane government?”
“That, I do not know. I have not heard of them. I rarely involve myself in the affairs of mundane humans.”
That was unfortunate, but Stone knew it was true. Kolinsky had never been actively hostile to mundanes as many of the Ordo were, but he tended to treat them as nonentities, unworthy of his attention. “Probably because they haven’t got a chance in hell of touching you or any of the other dragons. Right?”
“Yes.”
He sighed. “But they’ve got a chance of touching me. Which brings us neatly back to my original request. Was what I’ve told you sufficiently interesting for you to put the wheels in motion to find me some help in that regard?”
“Yes. I will look into the situation. I have a few contacts who might prove useful. I will put one of them in touch with you soon.”
Stone tossed his napkin on his plate. “Thank you, Stefan. I appreciate it. And if there’s anything you can do to help me find the other half of that device—even indirectly—I’d appreciate it even more. I wonder if there are only two halves, actually. I’ve got no way to know that.”
Once again, Kolinsky appeared to be considering something with care. When he spoke again, he didn’t look at Stone. “From the appearance of the design, I believe there to be only two parts to the device itself. Although it is possible there is a third, of a different nature.”
Stone snapped his gaze up. “Oh?”
The waiter came by, and Kolinsky ordered a glass of the finest cognac on the menu.
“Thank you, sir. And you?”
“Might as well,” Stone said. When the waiter left, he shook his head, amused. “Getting your money’s worth, I see. What did you mean about a third part?”
“I do not know if this is true. It is, as you say, pure speculation. But some of these devices were rumored to include what the mundanes would call an…operations manual.”
Stone frowned. “You’re having me on. A magical artifact with an owner’s manual?”
“The concept does not map precisely. The devices’ creators did not wish them to fall into their enemies’ hands, so they sometimes enchanted them in such a way that they would not function without a specific ritual. These rituals were documented in volumes kept separate from the device itself.”
Their cognacs arrived, and the dragon paused to swirl the amber liquid in his glass. He sniffed appreciatively, then sipped. “Ah, this is exquisite. Spirits are one area where mundanes do excel.”
Stone didn’t bother asking any other questions. He knew from past experience that Kolinsky was done talking about anything beyond his opinion of the food, the liquor, and the restaurant’s ambiance.
As the two of them exited the restaurant after he’d paid the hefty check, his mind was already spinning. If Kol
insky was correct—and when was he ever not correct?—he might have not only one, but two mysterious components to find. Even if Gina and her computer wizardry could locate the first, how was he going to track down one book that might have been lost for centuries, or might have been destroyed long before he was born?
If it was easy, anybody could do it, he’d said before. That was proving to be even truer than he’d suspected.
26
Stone’s impatience grew as more days passed and the date of the auction approached.
Despite his and his friends’ best efforts, no new or helpful information had turned up. Gina had located the auction company, only to find out they had been bought sometime in the Nineties by a larger company. When she reached that company, they told her the records did still exist, but any files that old would be stored in hardcopy form in one of three warehouses. Even when she took the liberty of promising a hefty finder’s fee if they could locate the record, they told her they would try but couldn’t promise anything.
Stone had told Eddie and Ward about the possibility there might be a book or other document containing the ritual needed to activate the device, which had sent Eddie off into the Library stacks in the faint hope it might have found its way there.
“That’s a tough one,” he said ruefully. “First, we don’t even know if it existed in the first place. If it did, we don’t know if McGrath ’ad it—obviously he didn’t ’ave the pyramid, so ’e wasn’t collectin’ the set. And if it’s not in the Library—which I don’t think it is, honestly—we’ve got no bloody idea where it might be. You know I like a challenge, Stone, but I think maybe I might’ve finally found my match.”
“But you’ll keep looking, right?”
Eddie grinned. “Try to stop me, mate.”
Leo Blum hadn’t gotten back to him, which was probably a good thing. It meant as far as the detective knew, nobody had tried to break in to the secure facility in San Francisco where the Drummond collection was being stored. Stone didn’t even know where it was, and hadn’t asked. Perhaps whoever was interested in it had decided to lie low and try buying it legitimately. Stone doubted it would be as easy as sitting back at the auction and waiting for the trap to spring, but he could always hope.