“You ok?” Eric held his hand out to me to help me up.
“Sore as hell. As soon as we’re done I will have to take some pain meds or something. I haven’t had any since I left last night and I am starting to feel it.”
He put his hand right on the sore spot, pulling me close. The initial warmth felt soothing and eased the soreness a bit. I smiled, rolling my shoulders and moving into his embrace.
“You ready?” He asked quietly. Stepping away from him, I did a quick spin and took in our surroundings. The city’s attempts to gentrify this once humble neighbourhood were obvious with the newly redone storefronts, but they were next to boarded up windows and doorways with sleeping homeless people. Once I got my bearings, I knew which direction we needed to go in.
Linking arms, we began walking on Queen Street West, one of the busier streets in Toronto. Eric seemed distant, gazing around at our surroundings like he’d never seen any of it before.
“Are you ok?” I asked him. “You seem a bit spaced.”
He smiled down at me, a gleam in his eyes. “I’m good. “
The black and gold sign came into view, dangling from a rot iron post about twenty feet above us with ‘Thesauri’ written in elegant script. The symbol I couldn‘t recognize from that far up but something about it made me keep staring.
“I think it’s some kind of a protection rune.” Eric traced a symbol in the air, leaving a pink glowing trail for a split second. “Old magic, but powerful.”
“Older than ours?” I asked.
He paused, eyeing the symbol without looking at me. “Oh yeah.”
Shit. Fuck.
“Well, let's go.”
14.
Thesauri screamed elegant antiques. From the matte black paint around the outside, the gorgeous window display, to that same black with dark cherry wood throughout the interior with various displays everything looked classy. On the back wall in various mounts were swords of different shapes and sizes. A bell chimed overhead when we walked inside, it appeared very old when I glanced at it, with that greenish patina of aged bronze.
Something in the store made the palm of my hand tingle, like it vibrated somewhere inside and I could feel it without touching it. My magic began to pulse up the same arm.
Whatever it is, it’s calling me.
The copper haired woman appeared from a door at the back far left corner of the store, the frame covered in a black shiny curtain. She smiled brightly, brushing her long hair back behind her shoulder as she glided towards us.
“Hello! Welcome to Thesauri. Is there anything I can help you with?” With a slightly deeper voice for a woman, she radiated an energy that I never felt before.
I smiled brightly. “Hey there! We are just browsing at the moment.”
“Please let me know if you require any assistance.” Her smile never faltered, but I could see a glimmer that she noticed something about us. Grabbing Eric's hand, he gave me a strange look when our skin touched.
“Something likes me I think.” I whispered. “I feel a weird vibration.”
“This is where Ledo may have been useful.” He reminded me and I jabbed him in the ribs. “What? It’s true.”
We started looking through the different displays, finding various objects ranging from jewellery to other random knickknacks. The tingling in my hand started to get worse, turning into more of a prickly feeling, causing me to constantly clench and unclench my hand.
Nothing in particular stuck out to me in the shop. My sleeves were of course pulled down over my hands even though I wore my gloves. But something, something in that store called out to my magic in a way that I didn’t fully understand.
Could it be her?
She carried herself differently than most women. She stood tall and proud in a way that I’d not seen before. No wonder Ledo drooled.
When I looked at her, I could see her in gold armour with a spear and a shield.
“Cas, you gotta stop staring.” Eric's voice brought me out of my thoughts. Blinking quickly, my eyes began to water as I turned my head. A tear dripped down my cheek.
A rustle of noise from across the room and Shae Rielle came out from behind the curtain. A purple glow framed her body; it reminded me of the mom on the bus the other day.
Wasn’t she in a Polaroid at Moira's?
“Cas you’re really staring.” Eric whispered harshly, and the two women turned around. They watched us curiously, like a cat watching a mouse deciding if it’s worth the effort or not.
The copper haired woman came back over to us, holding out her hand and saying, “My name is Otrera. This is my shop.”
Putting out my gloved hand, she smiled slightly before taking it, and an electric shock shot up through my arm and made me jump back. Eric must have felt it too because he jerked back from me in a sudden movement.
Otrera kept a firm grip on my hand. “Well, young lady. Do you want to tell me exactly who both of you are, and what you are doing in my store?”
15.
We stood silent for a few minutes, unsure of how to react. Something about the way her dark grey eyes bared down on me, I knew I needed to be honest for us to walk out of here intact.
“We saw you both at the auction a few days ago and thought you might be able to help us with a lead.” My smile grew bigger as I spoke, trying to appear friendly. “We didn’t know what you, or that you….”
Now she laughed. “And what exactly do you think I am, little girl?”
“Not sure. But your friend has a pretty purple glow.” I nodded to Shae Rielle, who laughed loudly.
“You know my name, but you have yet to tell me yours.” Otrera kept my hand in a firm grip, I wondered if she noticed the tingling.
“Camille Bishop.”
Shae smiled brightly. “Bishop? Any relation to former Detective Ted Bishop and….”
“Ted is my uncle, and my boss.”
“Which makes you a P.I.?”
“Yes, but that’s not why I am here.”
Shae got up and moved closer. “And what about Will Bishop?”
I turned my eyes to her now and smiled. “My father.”
Shae poked Otrera in the side. “Let her go. This is Marie's girl.”
“You knew my mother?” My voice croaked out.
“We did. I'm sorry for what happened to both your parents.” Otrera let go of my hand. “You’re here about your father's files, I presume?”
The room stopped, waiting for me to respond. With the millions of questions swirling through my mind, I decided that continuing to be honest made the most sense.
“I am, actually. But what does that have to do with my mother?”
“Come, let’s have some tea and discuss.” They motioned us towards the black curtain; I followed and dragged Eric along behind me.
The back room looked more like a living room, clearly where they entertained higher level clientele. Everything looked expensive. I felt guilty sitting on the plush green velvet couch they directed us to.
“You look like her.” Otrera said as she poured the tea.
I looked quickly at them both. “Pardon?”
“Your mother.” Otrera smiled warmly when she finally sat across from us. “I'm surprised I didn’t recognize you earlier. If you cut your hair shorter I would have thought you were Marie.”
“Thank you.” Tears clouded my vision. “I am guessing if you knew her you knew who she was.”
Shae laughed. “You le Fay are hard to miss. Marie went to great lengths to conceal what she was from Will. To hide our world in general actually. He found us because on occasion we procure items for Gabriel Kinkaid.”
That name was new. “I don’t know that person.”
“You've never heard of Elliot Kinkaid's brother? Actually that doesn’t surprise me. He’s not one to be out in public.” Shae to
ok a sip of her tea.
“Well, regardless of all her hard work, Gabriel found out about Will. Neither of the Kinkaid’s would ever stoop that low to get their hands dirty, but they sent their goon squad.” Shae looked away from me. “I was part of the team at the scene. I'm so sorry.”
White hot rage bubbled through me. “Was there any evidence?”
“Not directly. But, like you, I have this….sense when it comes to death.” Shae smiled. “I knew it was them but could never openly prove it. Are you here because you’re seeking revenge?”
About to say something, I stopped midway. Then I really let what she said process, and I felt unsure what to say.
“I'd never really thought about revenge, to be honest. I want justice. I was raised to believe in justice.” I took a sip of my tea. “I wanted to ask you some questions about Excalibur and about that flame sword from the auction.”
“Those young women, I believe were from the Cult of Guinevere.” She laughed when she noticed my shocked expression. “You never heard of them? They are practically built into your mythology.”
I looked to Eric. “Ring any bells to you?”
“And who are you, exactly?” Otrera asked.
“My name is Eric. I'm the Merlin.” Their eyes widened a bit when he spoke.
“Really?” Otrera grinned. “We have some items belonging to some of your predecessors, if you're ever interested in looking.”
“So, why are you here then?” Shae asked. Both of their eyes turned to us and I felt a wave of something wash over me. Their magic swelled and filled the room, a clear sign not to try anything stupid. It prickled down my arm and my hand still hummed with energy.
“Truthfully?” I met both their gazes, taking my gloves off as I did. My plaster pale hands reached out and picked up my tea and took a sip. “I'm looking for Excalibur.”
Otrera and Shae exchanged glances and smiled at each other. Eric tensed beside me.
“Since we walked in the building my hand has been tingling.” Opening my right palm I held it out to examine it.
“Your sword hand is singing.” Otrera chuckled.
“What are you two exactly?”
“Something very old. But that is a story for another day. Have you got money?”
“What do you mean?”
They both laughed. “We're a business my dear. I can’t just hand it to you for free.”
I thought long and hard about any money I'd saved. My nest egg I collected for Jesse and I grew quite a lot. The plan for the money originally consisted of me buying a condo and him moving in with me. It wasn’t much of a plan but it gave me hope for the future.
There should be a down payment in that account now, which would hopefully pay the deposit on Excalibur if they had it.
“Do you have it?” Eric asked, and the room fell silent. To me it seemed obvious, but no one else could feel the strange pulsing in my hand.
Your sword hand is singing.
If I remembered the stories correctly, the sword belonged to Arthur. The Lady of The Lake gave it to him; I knew nothing of the sword before the Lady handed it to Arthur.
“Before you get into that explain this Cult of Guinevere.” I said.
“Their mission is to tell Guinevere's true story. They believe that her tale was lost in fiction or something like that and she was just as much of a warrior as Arthur, and he married her because she was an equal. Yes it was a love match but she was a great queen in her own right. Apparently.” Otrera said.
“What about the affair?”
Otrera laughed. “An attempt to besmirch her good name. In some circles they believe Lancelot is a woman.”
“You'll have to tell me where you learned all this from so I can check it out myself.” My head swam with so many questions.
“Well, once we found what we believed to be Excalibur we had to prove it. Nothing works in my industry unless you can validate it. I suppose that’s similar to yours, isn’t it?”
“And do you do this for higher brow people than the Kinkaid’s?” I asked.
“Absolutely. They’re positively low brow compared to our normal clientele.”
“Did they introduce you to Dr. Frankenstein?”
That made them both pause. “Who?”
“Dr. Frankenstein and his however many times granddaughter are in their employ or however you say it, sorry speaking proper is not my forte. They also apparently have a mermaid in a tank in their lab.”
Shae immediately tensed, putting her hand on Otrera's shoulder. “A mermaid? How can you be sure?”
“I have it on good authority from a very credible witness. She has been trying to get me to go rescue her, which we have no hope of pulling off on our own.”
“But we could.” Shae's eyes grew glassy. She and Otrera locked eyes and I saw something, a spark between them that felt so beautiful and pure that I felt privileged to witness it. I sat in the presence of a once in a life time connection. A bond like no other. I wondered if they rode into battle together. The story of the mermaid also got much more interesting.
“So you never answered my question. Do you have Excalibur?”
Silence fell over the room. We all stared at each other, waiting for anyone y and react. The mere mention of my sword sent tingles through my hand and up my arm. Maybe they thought I would just go for it, but even I didn’t have that big of a death wish. While they may appreciate my boldness to a certain extent I couldn’t imagine this would be a good time to demonstrate.
Otrera smiled. “What do you think? Your sword hand is singing.”
“I don't know what to think. This is all really new.”
Shae held out her open palm in front of me, slowly closed her hand into a fist and saying a few quiet words, then her fingers unfurled and a sword appeared in her hand. Up the middle of her wrist and forearm a series of intricate tattoos flared gold then disappeared.
“Whoa.” My voice was quiet and a little breathless.
“If we truly have Excalibur, and it is your sword, blanchmains,” Shae began, “than you should be able to summon it.”
I closed my eyes and took a breath, concentrating on the vibration in my hand. The little tingles, the prickling, the sparks that seem to shoot up my arm. Holding my hand palm up, my fingers outstretched, when I curled up my fingers a strange burning sensation started on the inside of my wrist.
Uncurling my fingers, I could feel sparks coming to life, shooting bits of electricity as I continued to pull my fingers apart.
Suddenly there was something in my hand, a physical mass that materialized from nowhere. Closing my fingers again, cold hard metal vibrated against my skin.
I opened my eyes and, sure enough, I now held a sword.
The sword.
My sword.
“Jesus.” I blurted out. “Could I have done this the whole fucking time? Is this another thing on the list of bullshit being kept from me?”
Swinging the sword from left to right, only casually so I wouldn’t hurt anyone; it felt right in my hand. I never thought I would ever in my life want a sword let alone wield one.
As I moved my arm I noticed an interlacing pattern in lines of black that now wound up my arm, with a large sword at its centre, its point directed towards my wrist and hilt to my elbow.
“That's new.” I held my arm towards Eric who began to examine it. “Is it going to stay forever or come and go? It'll be a hard one to explain to Ted.”
Shae laughed. “Your uncle is a good man. It’s really too bad his partner is not.”
Eric and I both turned to her. “Excuse me?”
Shae waved us both off as Otrera began to speak. “So, clearly the sword is yours.”
“How much?” I asked.
She leaned closer to me. “How much you got?”
Reaching into my purse, I pulled o
ut my wallet and rifled through what I had on me. Leaning over the table, she pulled a five dollar bill from my wallet.
“Would you like a receipt?”
“I don’t understand.” I pointed the sword down, thinking I wished I could put it somewhere, and when I wiggled my fingers it vanished. The tattoo did not.
“I couldn’t very well have it getting around that I didn’t charge you, now could I? But I could not in good conscience make you pay for something you are already bonded with in such a way.” She waved the bill in front of us. “Now you have paid. We're square.”
“Where did it go?” I asked. Otrera got up and went back out into the store, returning with a leather scabbard and sheath, my sword clearly inside.
We both stood as she handed it to me. There were no words; I could barely form a coherent thought so I prayed Eric did better. There was no way it would be this easy.
Nothing works out this good for you. Ever. There has to be some kind of catch. You'll walk 10 feet outside and get smoked by a toilet seat from an exploded plane or some shit. Or they want you to sign over your first born.
Looking at them both, the sword clutched firmly in my hand, I said, “This all seems too easy. There has to be a catch.”
“I don’t know if it’s a catch. Call it a caveat. You can tell no one where you got that from.” Otrera began. “And this lab where you say the mermaid is? We want any details you have. Plans, maps, descriptions, anything. Along with whatever you have on Dr. Frankenstein and his granddaughter.”
“Can I ask why? I made a promise to a friend that I would rescue that mermaid.” I sighed. “I'm not even sure I believe it's still there.”
“Would your friend be alright if you told her the mermaid will be rescued, but you are not involved?”
“Can you guarantee that she will?”
Rise (Camille Bishop Book 3) Page 8