by R. L. King
He was wrong about the snow, anyway—the weather was overcast and chilly, but as he pushed the Jeep as fast as he dared under a disregarding spell, he saw no sign of rain or snowfall this late in the spring. By the time he pulled into Mason two hours later, the sun had already set. He pulled out his phone and called Kyla as he drove down what appeared to be the main street.
“I’m here. Where are you? Oh—wait. I think I see the motel.”
He’d almost passed it, since it barely looked like a motel at all. The sign next to the road wasn’t even lit up, and he’d be surprised if the place had more than ten rooms. He pulled into the tiny lot and parked next to another Jeep with a rental plate.
“I’m coming out now,” she said. A couple seconds later, one of the doors opened and a figure hurried out into the lot.
Stone took a quick glance at Kyla’s aura as she approached, and wasn’t at all surprised to see its normal deep blue alight with agitation. She wore a black leather motorcycle jacket, jeans, Suicide Girls T-shirt, and combat boots, and her shoulder-length dark hair looked like she hadn’t combed it recently. Smudged circles stood out on her brown skin, making her eyes look like they were set into hollows.
“About time you showed up,” she snapped before he’d even gotten out of the car.
Stone didn’t hold it against her—he knew he’d have felt the same way if someone had forced him to sit on his hands and wait for help to arrive when he knew someone he cared about was in danger and he couldn’t do anything about it. He had felt that way, both on the plane journey and the drive out here.
“What did you find out? Anything? I assume she hasn’t turned up.”
She glared at him. “Like I wouldn’t have called you if she had. Come on inside. I need to grab a couple things, and then we’re leaving.”
Stone followed her, grateful for the chance to stretch his stiff legs after two hours of driving.
The motel room was clean, serviceable, and hadn’t had a décor upgrade to its Old-West theme in at least twenty years. An old-fashioned tube TV droned in the background, playing some action movie from the Eighties.
Kyla dug a flashlight and a couple of energy bars from an overnight bag on the unmade bed, then snatched a legal pad from the small table under the window. “Okay, come on. You drive, and I’ll tell you what I found out on the way.” She held up a bar. “Want one?”
He realized he hadn’t eaten since she’d called him. “Thanks. Did you find out anything else while you waited?”
“Yeah. There is a town out there, or at least there’s supposed to be. It’s called Cinder, and it’s only got less than a hundred people.”
“But you didn’t see it?” As soon as Kyla was in the passenger seat and had the door closed, he pulled out of the parking lot.
“Not that I remember. All I remember seeing out there was a whole lot of nothing.”
“But Verity said that was the direction the ley line was running?”
“Yeah. I had to take her word for it, of course. Turn here.”
Stone had already consulted his maps and had a general idea which direction the ley lines ran and where they were located, but it had been difficult to get a definite answer without being at the actual site. He pulled the Jeep off the road before turning and twisted around to wrestle a pair of books from his bag in the back seat.
“What are you doing?” Kyla demanded. “Keep going.”
Stone ignored her. He opened each book to a page he’d marked and passed them over to her, then drove off again. “Compare those two maps with each other. One shows the location of the ley lines, and the other is a basic road map. See if you can find Cinder.”
He kept his eyes on the road as Kyla switched on her flashlight and studied the two books. The road out here was nearly deserted, with only a couple of cars passing them going the other way, back toward Mason.
“I don’t see Cinder on here,” she said after a couple of minutes. “But the ley line map V had wasn’t this precise. I can’t be sure because I don’t remember exactly where it was, but it looks like the spot where the two ley lines cross is near where we stopped.”
“That’s not surprising.” Stone would have been surprised if it hadn’t been so. “But it’s odd that the town isn’t on the map at all.”
“Maybe it’s so small they don’t bother. Or else it’s newer than your map.”
“Doesn’t matter too much. If you can show me where you last remember stopping, I can see how things compare with the actual ley lines.” He glanced over at her. Despite her calm façade, her aura practically thrummed with tension. “We’ll find her, Kyla. I’m sure she’s fine. She’s well trained to deal with this sort of thing.”
“How can you say that? You don’t even know what ‘this sort of thing’ is. She was telling me about the other stuff you discovered, and how you’re still not sure what’s going on with it.”
“You’re right: I’m not entirely sure yet. That’s why I’m checking out these locations—so I can get more data to help me work this out.”
She switched off the flashlight and sighed into the darkness. “This sucks, you know? I don’t get how she could just disappear.”
“Are you sure she did?”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well—you said the last thing you remember is watching her looking around for something, and then the next thing you knew you were in your motel room. It’s possible from her perspective that you disappeared.”
She drew breath to protest, but then let it out. “I guess that’s true. But why wouldn’t she answer her phone? Why wouldn’t she call me?” She snorted. “This whole magic thing is kind of a pain in the ass, you know? At least the way you guys do it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know a couple other people who have some magic—I mean, you know Hezzie does, and one of the other Harpies does too—but they don’t do this kind of stuff.” She spread her hands out, encompassing the area. “They don’t fly off who the fuck knows where tracking down magical freak zones. They just…use it. You know, to make their lives better. To help people.”
Stone kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, watching the road. “You don’t approve of me, do you, Kyla?”
“What?”
“You’re not exactly hiding it, even if I couldn’t see your aura.”
She shrugged, but didn’t answer.
“May I ask why? Is it because Verity and I are—”
She remained silent for so long he thought she still wouldn’t answer, but then she finally said grudgingly, “That’s part of it, I guess. But not the main part.”
“Oh?”
By this time, they’d left Mason behind; even its faint glow no longer showed in the rearview mirror. Out here the land was mostly flat and rocky, and the combination of no traffic and the overcast sky obscuring the moonlight made the road ahead look as desolate as the surface of the moon. “I don’t think you’re good for her,” she said at last.
He glanced her way, then returned his attention ahead. “Why do you say that?”
“Look, I just want to find her, okay? I didn’t sign on for some long discussion.”
“I get that. I want to find her too, as much as you do. But if we’re going to work together effectively, I think it’s best to get these simmering resentments out in the open, don’t you?”
She wadded her energy-bar wrapper and jammed it in her pocket. “It’s not resentment. I don’t resent you. She cares a lot about you. Anybody can see that. It’s good that you help make her happy. But…”
“But what?”
She didn’t answer.
“Kyla…”
“You want the truth?” She didn’t raise her voice, but he couldn’t miss the tension in it. “Okay, I’ll tell you the truth—I’m afraid you’re going to get her killed.”
“What?” He cast another quick look her way.
She spread her hands, indicating the view outside the Jeep’s windshield. “Look
what we’re doing now. You sent her out here to check out some fucking magical thing, and now she’s gone. She might be dead for all we know. And if she is, it’s your fault.”
Something inside him clenched at her words. He tightened his grip on the wheel and sighed. “Kyla…I’m not going to say you’re wrong. But you also don’t have the whole story. Verity wanted to come out here and investigate this. I didn’t want her to go, but she insisted.”
“You let her.”
He barked a laugh. “Seriously? Do we both know the same Verity? Since when does anybody let her do anything? Or prevent her from doing it if she’s got her stubborn mind set on it?”
“Yeah…I guess you have a point there.” She rubbed her neck. “She’s tough, and I know she knows what she’s doing. But—”
“I could say the same to you, you know. You and that vigilante association of yours are the ones who encourage her to do things that could get her arrested—or worse.”
She snorted. “Come on. That’s not even the same level of dangerous. We hunt down street scum, and occasionally somebody with minor magical ability. With V’s level of magic, she can handle anything we go against with one hand tied behind her back. Blindfolded.”
“Mages aren’t immune to bullets,” Stone pointed out. “Trust me on this one. If someone caught her with her shield down, she’s as vulnerable as any mundane.”
“That’s why nobody goes out alone. We look out for each other.” She shifted in her seat, almost as if she were physically uncomfortable. “You—we talk a lot. She’s told me about you. About how you have to solve all the puzzles, even if they put you in danger. This one’s like that, isn’t it? She wouldn’t tell me everything, but she did say there were some people trying to scare you off looking into this.”
“There are. But I made her give me her word that if she spotted anything unusual, she’d call me and wait before checking it out further. Especially if she saw anyone lurking around. She’s not a fool, Kyla. And I trust her to keep her word.”
“But she’s gone. So what’s that mean?”
“Either that she didn’t keep her word, or more likely that she ran into something she couldn’t get away from.”
“So you think she could be dead.”
Once again, Stone tensed. It was possible, of course. Magic was dangerous. And if she was dead, Kyla was right: it was his fault, at least indirectly. “I don’t think so,” he said at last. “As I said, she’s well trained in magic, smart as hell, and fast on her feet. I think we should refrain from wild speculation until we get there and see what’s going on.”
“Yeah…” she muttered, obviously not happy about it. She settled back in her seat and stared out the window at the wide-open darkness, occasionally flicking on the flashlight to check the maps.
Another twenty minutes passed before she spoke again. “We should be getting close. I recognize that sign. It wasn’t much past this where we stopped and she got out on her own.”
Stone slowed the Jeep, switching to magical sight. He could already feel the ley line energy out here—the combination of the confluence and the fact that there wasn’t much out here to get in the way made it particularly easy to notice.
They drove for another couple of minutes, then Kyla pointed. “There. I remember there was a speed-limit sign right near where we pulled off.”
Carefully, Stone guided the Jeep off the road and parked near the sign. So far, nothing unusual had turned up to his magical sight—aside from his and Kyla’s auras, the faint, pale green ones of nearby scrubby vegetation, and a single ley line that stretched out roughly in an east-west direction, nothing stood out. He opened the door. “You say she went off away from the road?”
“Yeah.” She pointed again. “That way. She’d walked for maybe five minutes before she disappeared.”
“All right. I’ll check it out.” When Kyla opened her own door more slowly, he added, “You don’t have to come along if you don’t want to.”
“Like hell I don’t.” She got out and slammed the door shut. “First, I want to find V. Second, there’s no way I’m gonna sit on my ass in the car again while you disappear too.”
“All right. Stay close. I mean it. We don’t know what’s going on out here, and if you wander off, I won’t be able to protect you.”
“I don’t need protection,” she snapped.
“Normally I’d agree with you. But unless you’ve got any magical powers you’re keeping under your hat, you’re better off swallowing your pride and listening to me this time. All right?”
“Let’s go.” She stalked off.
Stone sighed and hurried to catch up with her. The air was chilly out here, and a brisk wind blew his coattails behind him like a cloak.
She still had the flashlight, and was shining it around ahead of her as she walked. When Stone caught up, she slowed her pace. “I don’t see anything on the ground, but I guess it doesn’t make sense she’d drop anything. You aren’t any good at tracking, are you?”
“Seriously? Do I look like I spend much time in the wilderness?”
She snorted. “Yeah, me neither. Do you see anything magical?”
Stone had magical sight up, and was already scanning the area. “I see the ley line. The other one’s nearby, but not right here. I’m looking for any traces of Verity’s aura.”
“But you don’t see any?” Her voice sounded tight.
“That’s a good thing. Normally, people don’t just leave bits of their auric energy hanging about in the air after they leave an area. If they do, it means something happened—either she used magic, or she was injured or agitated.”
“But how could she just disappear if nothing happened?”
Stone stopped, still scanning. “Let’s be clear on this: you didn’t actually see her disappear, right? It wasn’t a situation where one second she was there and the next she was gone?”
“No.” She kicked the ground. “Like I said before, the last thing I remember clearly was watching her walking around, somewhere near where we are now. I didn’t see her wink out or anything.”
“Okay. Let me think a moment.”
He stared straight ahead, still trying to spot any sign of a rift, an anomaly, the orange-hued figure he’d seen in Pittsburgh, or anything else unusual. Had Verity spotted something? Had someone shown up and taken her away, wiping Kyla’s memory in the process so she couldn’t follow?
Wait…
The last rift, the one he’d found with Clyde, had been hidden under an illusion—and not a very good one—but the one in Devil’s Creek hadn’t. On the other hand, the Devil’s Creek rift caused memory lapses in almost all the people who’d been near it. Judging by the note Stone had received, there was someone—perhaps more than one someone—out there who didn’t want him messing with the rifts, and these someones obviously possessed some significant power. Hell, Stefan or Madama Huan, or both of them, could be involved with this.
“Also,” he murmured, talking more to himself than Kyla, “obviously at least one person knew where these things were located at some point in the past, since they created the globe.”
“What?” Kyla demanded. She still stood next to him, but looked as if she might erupt into motion at any second if he didn’t get on with it. “What globe?”
Stone ignored her. “So if one person knew, it makes sense others could as well. Which means if they knew I was looking, they might have put up better illusions to protect the remaining rifts.”
“What are you talking about?” Kyla sounded annoyed. “Who’s ‘they’?”
“Just—give me a moment.” Stone’s thoughts were moving so fast now that he barely registered her words. “Let me talk this out.”
Hardly realizing he was doing it, he began to pace, still muttering to himself. “Obviously the minimal illusion didn’t stop me—it wasn’t meant to, because at that point they had no idea I was coming. It was put there to keep mundanes from blundering into it.”
“Doc, if you don’t start
making some sense right fucking now, I’m gonna keep going.”
He blinked, snapping back to reality. “Sorry. Trying to work something out. Just bear with me for a moment or two—I want to check something. Stand back, please.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I think there’s got to be something here. I can almost feel it, but not quite. So I’m going to add some more power to my effort.”
“Effort to do what?”
Stone didn’t answer. Instead, he took a couple steps back, drew a few centering breaths, and opened a wider conduit to bring in more Calanarian energy. He didn’t normally use it for this kind of thing, but he saw no reason why it shouldn’t work. If he could punch up his detection magic sufficiently, perhaps he could see through any illusions that might be concealing a nearby rift.
At first, nothing happened. He walked around, scanning in front of him, feeling the Calanarian energy singing through his body. It was an odd feeling, channeling this much otherworldly magic for this long—not exactly unpleasant, but he got the definite impression that he shouldn’t do it at this level for too much longer without a rest. If there was an illusion here, it would be harder to punch through it because he had no idea what he was looking for. Would he see the rift itself? Verity? Someone else? One or more structures? He didn’t know.
“Doc? You okay? You look pale.” Kyla’s nervous voice seemed to come from miles away.
“Hush. I’ve almost got it…”
There! He’d nearly skimmed over the faint shimmer in the air, but it was definitely there. He took a step forward and focused in closer, trying to pick it apart, pumping more energy into the effort until his nerve endings tingled and he felt as if some vast well of power was building within his body.
He couldn’t keep this up much longer. But if it was an illusion, all he’d have to do was get past it, and it should crumble like dust—at least for him. He had no idea how he’d help Kyla see through it, but that problem was for later. First he’d have to—
What?