Then a dark-skinned guy a few years older than her, but clearly a student of the Halls, appeared not far from her location, though she hadn't seen him arrive. He had spiderweb tattoos on his arms that seemed to move when she wasn't looking at him. He was handsome, with stark blue eyes.
"You shouldn't be here," he said.
Pi produced Radoslav's rune. He gave her a once-over, before shrugging.
"I'll take the delivery," he said.
"I can only give it to one person, and you're not her," she said.
He didn't look impressed. "Fine. Close your eyes and hold the package out."
"Not while you're around," she said.
He held his hands up and retreated backwards. "Your wish is my command."
He winked, and a clap of thunder from behind her made her spin around. She realized right away she'd been tricked. He was gone when she turned back.
After confirming she was alone, Pi closed her eyes and held out the box. She started to wonder, then felt electricity across her skin.
A silky feminine voice whispered, "Tell Radoslav he owes me dinner."
It took a few moments to realize the box was gone. Pi opened her eyes to an empty lot. Irritated by the subterfuge, she stalked back to the station. She had to get back to the Obelisk to return the items she'd borrowed before the professor realized they were missing.
In addition, she wanted to research the runes from the gallium coin. Their simple nature had surprised Pi. She'd been expecting something more malevolent that might indicate the Cabal was up to no good.
Despite her denials with her sister, Pi had considered leaving Coterie more than once, and not just because Alton Lockwood was trying to kill her. In a way, she'd hoped that the item in the box might help her finally decide, but the mundane nature of the coin only confused her.
But nothing was ever simple, or black and white. Maybe the coin was a gift, and had no nefarious purpose. And maybe the Cabal wasn't a sinister group bent on world domination, but a partnership between some of the patrons of the Hundred Halls. It wasn't like she had any proof otherwise.
She wasn't going to give up looking though. She'd start with the runes and pester Ashley with questions about her grandfather. It might not be sinister, but there was something going on, something that she was determined to figure out. Something that would help her understand if she should truly stay in Coterie.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The storms of March had left the air hazy with ozone. Wisps of mist rose from the glistening street like apparitions, while water dripped from the green nose of the copper dragon into the rain-filled basin.
It'd been seven months since Aurie had last visited the Enochian District, but it felt like seven years. She'd thought that once they made it into the Hundred Halls, everything would get easier.
Pi came striding down the street, the glittering Spire rising above her in the distance at the city center. The smile on her sister's face coaxed laughter from her own lips. They embraced, neither one wanting to let go.
"I missed you," Aurie whispered in her sister's ear.
"Of course you did," said Pi with a wink. "I've missed you too. I didn't realize it would be so hard to be apart."
Aurie pulled back and tussled her younger sister's hair. It was shaved on the sides and the tips were purple. She looked like a fashion magazine's version of punk rock.
"What's with the hair? I thought you were going all Coterie?" asked Aurie.
"Fuck 'em. I realized that I wasn't going to get ahead by playing their game," she said.
"Is that working?" asked Aurie.
"I've got some interest for a second-year sponsor. Things have been looking much better the second half of the year," said Pi.
Aurie smiled for her sister even though she was disappointed. She'd secretly hoped that Pi would give up Coterie.
A cat went streaking across the street with a screech, chased from the shadows by something that hadn't revealed itself.
"Who's there?" asked Aurie, feeling dumb for even asking.
It felt like she had eyes on her.
"So," began Pi, distracting her, "I know you didn't bring me here for the ambiance. I assume this has something to do with Mom and Dad?"
Her sister's gaze fell upon the singing stone that contained their voices. Her lips remained stoic while her eyes glistened with memories.
"I want to complete their legacy," said Aurie.
Pi's forehead wrinkled with confusion.
"Before they died"—Aurie paused and took a deep breath. It was hard to speak of that day to the only person that knew the depths of her shame—"they'd been preparing an expedition to retrieve a fabled artifact that could help the dying. The Rod of Dominion."
"That's the item I asked the demon about," said Pi, putting her hand to her mouth. "Wait. When I gave the news to the patron, he seemed surprised by my success, and mentioned that other forces were at work. Maybe this is that magical karma that Hemistad spoke of."
"I'm not sure about that," said Aurie. "Believing in magical karma is kind of like astrology. I think it's more straightforward. The Rod is an ancient Egyptian artifact that helped the pharaohs maintain power. I think your patron wants the Rod for the same reasons."
"Then why would you want to retrieve it?" asked Pi.
"It was also a force of good in those times, giving the pharaohs the power to heal diseases and remove curses. Imagine all the people that could be saved using the Rod," she said.
"What if the wrong people got ahold of it?" asked Pi.
"The world is filled with dangerous things. Nuclear bombs. Spell plagues. As long as the right people have them, they're not dangerous," said Aurie. "So if we don't get it first, they might. Why else did your patron ask about the Rod?"
"Alright. So the Cabal is looking for the Rod. Do you actually know where it is?" asked Pi.
"Not entirely," said Aurie. "I think I know where it's at, or at least where our parents thought it was. In the Valley of Kings in Egypt."
"But the demon said it was beneath city of lights in the halls of the dead. We both thought that meant the catacombs of Paris," said Pi.
"It still could, but I don't think so. The Rod is protected by a curse that affects anyone who tries to take the artifact from the boundaries of the tomb in Egypt. I think it's still there," said Aurie.
"Then how are we going to get it? We can't get to Egypt. Not while we're in the Halls," said Pi.
"Mom and Dad said something that day," said Aurie, but when Pi gave her a strange glance, she added, "Don't ask how I know, I just know."
It was more than just not wanting to explain her failures in the room of truth. She also knew it was possible that knowledge was a fabrication of her mind, and she didn't want Pi to doubt her.
"But anyway, they said something about going to retrieve the Rod, but they also planned on attending our piano recital a few days later. There's no way they could fly to Egypt, raid the tomb, and fly back in time. Which meant they were going to create a portal into the tomb, bypassing the curse," said Aurie.
"No way," said Pi, shaking her head. "The energies required for a portal are enormous. You can't just place one anywhere. There has to be enough latent energy to draw from or the structure will collapse. Otherwise, someone would have used a portal a long time ago to break into the tomb."
"What if Mom and Dad found a place with enough latent energy?" asked Aurie.
"Fine. Where?" asked Pi.
"Here," said Aurie. "Well, not exactly here, but near here. Invictus is called the City of Sorcery for a reason. Nowhere else in the world has so much magic concentrated in one place. Why else do people stay out of the Undercity? The excess faez collects down there, creating terrible things, probably like that weird Hunger that almost killed us when we were with Hemistad. And that Infernal translation. It could have just as easily been beneath the city of sorcery. The Infernal word for light is similar to magic."
"You think we can build a portal to Egypt d
own in the Undercity?" asked Pi, who didn't appear to believe Aurie.
"No. I think Mom and Dad had the portal already built. They were just missing a few items to complete it before they could use it," she explained.
Pi put a fist to her mouth. Her eyes held grave thoughts. "You remember that box you helped me open with the runed gallium coin inside? I think I understand it's purpose now. Gallium can be used for a lot of things like levitation or wart removal. It's magically magnetic. The coins are made to locate a particular magical field. It's looking for a gate of some kind, which means the Cabal are looking for the Rod, too."
"Your patron did give you that task, so it shouldn't be a surprise," said Aurie.
"Yeah, but I thought he'd given it to me to get rid of me. Like it was impossible or something. And maybe it was, except for our magical karma. Once I gave him the answer, he was surprised. It was only after I gave him the news about the Rod that I started delivering the coins for Radoslav. The timeline makes sense," she said.
"Have you delivered all the coins?" asked Aurie.
"One more to go, in a couple of weeks. I assume it'll go to my patron. He's the last one," she said.
"They'll be able to go after the Rod once they have it," said Aurie. "Which means we have to find it first."
"I can always not deliver the coin," said Pi.
Aurie crossed her arms. "Which will only slow them down for a few weeks at best and put you in danger. Better that we get the Rod before them. That way they'll never know."
"So why again are we here? We could have met anywhere," said Pi.
"In Mom and Dad's notes, they reference the location as the place where they first expressed their true love. I thought that could have been anywhere, but I realized they meant the singing stone. I think it's in the sewers beneath this street. I checked that manhole cover before you got here. There's a ladder."
"You want to go down there?" asked Pi, incredulously. "You realize this isn't the safest of areas."
"That's why we're here in the daytime. We've got a few hours to search before we need to leave," she said. "But I don't think we'll need it. I'm certain it's here."
Aurie and Pi went down the ladder into the sewers beneath the street. Wisps followed them, providing light. The tunnels were wide and relatively dry, despite the recent rain. The pipes rumbled as they carried water to other parts of the city.
She'd placed a beacon on the ladder to keep them from getting lost and then another on her sister, over her protests, in case of separation. Aurie assumed the portal was located nearby, or they would have picked a different entrance.
They explored the sewers, going up and down each passage methodically, marking the walls with chalk so they knew if they were covering the same ground again.
Aurie had expected to find the portal or signs of their parents pretty quickly, so after the first fruitless hour, she started to get discouraged.
A few hours later, Pi found the first chalk mark, signifying that they had thoroughly explored the area.
"I'm sorry, sis," Pi said. "Maybe it's not here, or you're wrong about the translation. Like you said, Infernal is tricky."
"Maybe there's a secret door in a wall or something that we missed," she said.
"Somehow I doubt that Mom and Dad built a secret door. I think if it was going to be here, we would have found it," said Pi.
"It's okay. It's not like we were going to go through the portal today. We still need to get some runic switches," said Aurie, discouraged.
Pi reacted strangely to the news. "I know where I can get some. The patron had us make them in class a few months ago. Another sign that they're going after the Rod."
"What are you going to do? About Coterie?" asked Aurie.
Pi crossed her arms defiantly. "I'm not giving it up. Yet. I have to know for certain. Plus, I'd be useless without the protection from my patron."
"What if he figures out what you're doing through the link?"
"It's a risk," said Pi, reluctantly.
"I was certain it was here," said Aurie, slamming her fist in her other hand.
"It's okay. At least we got to hang out again," said Pi. "I really miss this."
"Me too," said Aurie. "I love you, sis."
"I love you, too," said Pi. "Now, let's get the hell out of here. Wandering around in the sewers is creepy."
Together they left the sewers while daylight still ruled. Aurie bid farewell to her sister after a long hug with promises to continue searching in their free time. On the train back to Arcanium, she tried to piece together how she'd been wrong about the sewers. She'd been certain that they'd find the portal beneath the singing stone. She'd study her notes again, but worried they'd offer no further ideas. If they couldn't find it in the next few weeks, the Cabal would have the last coin and would be able to locate the portal, and thus the Rod of Dominion.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The city of Invictus buzzed like a hive in early April as spring brought the approach of finals for the students and the promise of fresh air for its residents. Tourists from all over the country and world had descended upon the second ward for the Auntie Andy's Amazing Aeromancy show at the Glitterdome.
Crossing the street, a car full of teenagers with a swarm of enchanted paper airplanes—bombers, three-wing Fokkers, and other assorted craft—in close pursuit swerved, and Pi had to leap out of the way to avoid the shiny bumper zipping past.
"Watch where you're going!" she yelled from the safe confines of the sidewalk. She resisted the urge to send a fire jet after them to burn the paper airplanes out of the sky.
The rhino-faced bouncer at the Glass Cabaret let her inside with a nod, not even asking for ID. Light jazz wafted through the air in a dream. Pi ignored the stares, as she was wearing jeans and a hoodie with a backpack while everyone else wore designer clothes.
Radoslav wasn't behind the bar, so she took a stool at the end. After she made the delivery, Aurie was supposed to meet her at the Enochian District so they could make one last sweep. They'd been exploring the sewers every day before evening, trying to find the portal.
When Radoslav came through the curtains, holding his expression into practiced disinterest like a fine dry red wine, he stopped, turned his head, and uncharacteristically tilted it.
"I'm not here on the wrong day, am I?" asked Pi, suddenly feeling like an idiot.
"No," he said, "not at all. But I sent along a note that the delivery was unnecessary. The last box was picked up two days ago. My apologies that you did not receive my note."
A cold dread descended on her. "No apology necessary. I work for you after all."
His face was normally unreadable, but she detected a hint of something lurking on his lip, a twitch that wouldn't quite fire, nor go away.
She'd turned to go when he spoke again.
"Be careful, Pythia. The streets are particularly restless today," he said, his gray eyes revealing a momentary slip of—concern?
Before she could say anything, he disappeared into the back, the curtains swaying gently at his passing.
She left the Glass Cabaret with the distinct feeling she was being monitored. Radoslav had given her a warning, which meant he knew something, or had determined it.
The note, she realized. It should have made it to her. If Malden had retrieved the final gallium coin two days ago, and had not delivered the note, it meant that he knew what they were up to and didn't want to tip her off.
It also meant that she was in terrible danger. If the Cabal knew they were trying to find the Rod, they would have no problem killing her.
The only bright spot to the situation was that she'd learned something about Radoslav. He clearly wasn't a member of Cabal, or he wouldn't have bothered warning her. Discreetly as she could, Pi cast a few defensive enchantments.
On the train to the Enochian District, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was following her, so she slipped off the train before the doors closed at the stop before her destination.
She hurried to the concrete stairs, then took position at the bottom to see if anyone had followed her. Behind her, a saxophone honked out tunes for loose change and the occasional crumpled bill.
Once she was certain no one was following, Pi took to the street. It was only a few blocks to the dragon fountain, and she was early since she hadn't needed to make the delivery.
The streets weren't busy like the other locations. The majority of traffic consisted of delivery vans and taxis, usually heading to other wards. Few cars were parked along the curb.
Pi kept her head down and moved at a brisk pace. Once she got to the Enochian District, she planned to set up in a secluded area and watch for followers. When Aurie arrived, they'd have to decide if they were going to go after the Rod. It was possible that the Cabal already had it, but if they didn't, it was their last chance.
Pi dodged around a delivery van. A couple of movers were carrying boxes into an unmarked warehouse with a rusted door and broken windows. They gave her strange looks as she went past, watching her as she marched away. Only after she was about thirty feet up the street did they continue into the building.
That was when the spell hit her. Her muscles seized up until she was as stiff as a statue. The forward motion sent her tipping over. A broad-shouldered man in a blue track suit caught her, dragged her into the alleyway, and dropped her heavily on her side.
The street smelled like old urine and vomit. Pi's head rested near an oily puddle with a dented empty beer can floating in it.
A wave of fear rose up in her chest, making her vision waver. This was it. This was the end. There was nothing she could do about it, and there was no way that Aurie would find her, since she wasn't at the meet up location.
Her captor leaned down, almost within vision. Recognition came slowly, but when it hit, she wanted to scream.
"Hello, sweetie Pi," said Alton Lockwood, sneering from his crouch. "Are we uncomfortable? Good. Things are going to get a lot worse from here on out."
He pulled out a handful of long zip ties and bound her arms and legs together.
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