House of Stone

by R. L. King

  “So you didn’t notice anything?” Stone demanded. “No…chills, unexplained winds, feelings of dread?”

  Verity shook her head. “Nothing. The body just burned. Nobody screamed or threw things or tried anything else to prevent us from doing it.” She shrugged. “That’s what the ritual was supposed to do, after all—get rid of him. Are you surprised it worked?”

  “Not surprised, but I would have expected a bit more…pushback.”

  “Maybe he was just ready to go,” Ian said. “If your ghost was stuck on Earth for two hundred years because of somebody messing with you, maybe you’d be ready to move on too.”

  “Yeah,” Jason said. “Except from what you’ve said about this guy, he’s not going anywhere good.”

  “That’s assuming you believe in Hell,” Stone pointed out. “A lot of mages don’t—they didn’t even back when Brathwaite was alive.”

  “Well, in any case,” Eddie said, “it looks like one problem might have been dealt with. That just leaves the rest of the echoes.”

  “Just,” Ian said. “That’s kind of a big ‘just.’”

  “Yes, well, I think this is enough for tonight.” Stone stood and pulled on his coat. “For tonight, I think we should head back to London so you lot can get some sleep. Given that I slept most of the bloody day away I doubt I’ll be doing that, but the rest of you look tired. I’m sure that ritual took something out of you.”

  Nobody argued, so they gathered the rest of their gear and trudged back toward the cemetery. Once back at the London house, they parted company, with Stone, Eddie, and Ward agreeing to call if they came up with anything new in their research.

  “Thank you for everything,” Stone told the two of them. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

  “Yeah, well, we’re not done yet,” Eddie said. “But at least we’re on the right track.”

  When they were gone, Ian found Stone in the sitting room. “Hey, Dad, do you mind if I head out for tonight?”

  “Head out where?”

  “A couple of friends called earlier today. They’re in Paris, and they want to go have some drinks and catch up. I told them I’d get back to them if things settled down.”

  Stone almost sighed, but caught himself. “Fine. Honestly, you don’t need to be here for any of this, if you’d rather be off again.”

  “No, no, I’m not leaving you in the middle of this. But…” He shrugged. “I could stand a little time away from it if you’re okay with it.”

  “Yes, all right. Go. I’ll call you if anything comes up. Please stay close to a portal.”

  “You got it, Dad. Get some rest.”

  After he’d left, Stone stood by the window, gazing at the cars crawling by on the street below.

  “Doc?”

  He turned; Verity stood in the doorway, watching him with an odd expression. “Ah. Hello. I thought you went back to California with Jason.”

  “I did—he had some stuff he needed to take care of. But I came back.” She drifted over to him, standing close but not touching. “He’ll die before he admits it, but I think he’s finally starting to see how convenient the portals can be.”

  Stone chuckled. “About time. At least he’s not losing his lunch on the way out anymore.”

  “That’s progress, I guess.”

  “I never told you an amusing story about him—well, it’s amusing in retrospect. It wasn’t at the time.” He pulled the heavy drapes shut and headed back into the room, where he poured himself a drink. “Want one?”

  “No, thanks. And are you sure you should have one?”

  “Eh, it’s just the one. If I can’t hold my liquor that well, I’ll have to turn in my Brit card.” He sat on the couch and patted the spot next to him. When she’d settled in, he chuckled again. “The first time I went through the portal with him, very shortly after we’d met, we’d just had lunch at A Passage to India. As soon as he popped out in the portal room at the Surrey house, he proceeded to bring the whole thing up for a return engagement. At least he managed to find a bin to do it in, which was a blessing, I suppose.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “That’s…gross, but not really very funny.”

  “No, that’s not the amusing part. The thing is, we were quite occupied with other matters at the time, and we returned to California through the portal very shortly after that. I just had to retrieve a book I needed.”

  “Okay…”

  “And it was quite some time before I used the portal again.”

  She twisted around to face him, wincing as she got it. “You mean you—”

  “Let’s just say it took several weeks and some fairly potent chemical cleaners to get the smell out of the portal room. And that’s after I used a fire spell to incinerate the entire bin.”

  She stared at him, her eyes wide. “Uh—eww. Did you ever tell Jason?”

  “No. I think he had quite a lot more on his mind at the time. He probably forgot all about it. So there’s something you can use as ammunition against him if he ever annoys you. You have my permission.”

  She snuggled in closer, burying her head in the crook of his shoulder, and was silent for a while. Finally, she said, “Ian left, didn’t he?”

  “He did, yes. Off to Paris to meet up with some mates.” He kept his voice neutral.

  He shouldn’t have bothered, though. “Are you okay with that?” she asked softly.

  “Why wouldn’t I be? He’s an adult. He can do what he likes.”

  “That isn’t what I asked.”

  He sighed and sipped his drink. “I know. But it doesn’t matter whether I am or not, does it? I want him to be happy. He didn’t ask to be dragged into this whole sordid affair. Let him have some fun.”

  “Is he coming back?”

  “I told him I’d call if we needed him, and asked him to stay near a portal. I’m sure he’ll return if he’s needed.” He remembered something. “Speaking of needed—are you finally going to tell me what you had on your mind last night?”

  “Yeah.” She looked serious. “That’s actually why I came to find you.”

  He finished his drink and leaned back. “All right, then—out with it. How can we fool the echoes into believing I’ve sacrificed myself long enough to get them to cross over?”

  “Well…when I went home with Jason before, I talked to Hezzie. I didn’t tell her anything specific,” she added hastily. “No details. But I asked her if there was some kind of potion that could simulate death.”

  That was something Stone hadn’t considered—which wasn’t odd given his lack of knowledge about alchemical techniques. “And is there?”

  “Yeah. It can put the drinker in a kind of suspended animation, and temporarily separate their spirit from their body. It’s sort of like astral travel, except instead of your body sleeping, it’s…well…dead, for all intents and purposes.”

  “Bloody hell. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

  “It’s pretty rare, apparently. Hezzie doesn’t know how to make it, but she thinks her teacher does. There isn’t much call for it, because it can be risky if misused, especially by mundanes.”

  “Why mundanes?”

  “Because they don’t have any control over their spirit when it vacates the body. If something goes wrong, they can’t get back in. It’s like when somebody’s clinically dead—you can only do it for a short time before you start risking things like brain damage.”

  She gazed off into the middle distance. “The only problem I can see about it is if you separate your spirit from your body, even though your body is technically ‘dead,’ the echoes will still see your spirit floating around, right?”

  Stone sat up straight. “Maybe not. I haven’t done much astral traveling—the tracking spell is a form of it, but a very minor one—but the few times I’ve tried it, I’ve never tried to use magic in the astral realm. I might be able to do a disregarding spell so they don’t notice me, although I’m not sure it would matter if they did.”

  �
��Why not?”

  “Well…that’s the definition of death, isn’t it? The spirit leaves the body? Remember, these echoes are three hundred years old, focused on vengeance against the Stones, and mundane. Even if they knew the nuances of how magic worked, they probably wouldn’t care. We’re fulfilling the condition of ‘death’ as far as they’re concerned, so that should be enough to satisfy them.” He gripped her shoulders. “Verity, you’re brilliant. I knew this whole alchemy thing would pay off. Can you talk to Hezzie and see about getting some of this potion from her teacher? I’ll pay whatever she asks, of course.”

  “I’ll talk to her. But are you sure you want to do this? It still could be dangerous. And how do you know the echoes won’t come back?”

  “They won’t. It’s not a two-way door. If they’re stuck here, it means there’s some reason they can’t cross over, but once they do, there’s no going back. I’m certain of that.” He sighed, remembering something. “But…that still leaves the biggest question: should I do it at all?”

  “Why shouldn’t you?”

  “Because of what I said before. Those echoes have every right to be angry at my family. Look at what was done to them. Wouldn’t I just be…perpetuating things by deceiving them?”

  She took his hand, and her eyes were serious. “I don’t think so. For one thing, yeah, your ancestors did terrible things to them. But you didn’t. It’s not right to expect you to pay for something you didn’t do and never would have supported.”

  He looked down at their clasped hands, tensing.

  “What?”

  “Can I be so sure I wouldn’t have?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Come on, Verity.” He pulled away and got up, pacing around the sitting room. “How can I be sure I wouldn’t have done it? That if I’d been born into my family three hundred years ago when this sort of thing was just…done among many mages, who’s to say I wouldn’t have done it too? You can’t deny I can get a bit full of myself, even these days. Arrogant. Stubborn. Prideful.”

  “Yeah. But you’re not cruel. You’ve never been cruel.”

  He waved her off. “You don’t get it, Verity. People are a product of their times—things that we consider horrific now, and rightly so, used to be accepted. Do you think many people who kept slaves thought they were doing wrong? We like to think we’d be better, but I’m not convinced many of us would be. Hell, look at what happened in Nazi Germany, and that was less than a hundred years ago. Look at our own century, where children are still indoctrinated from the time they’re born to believe they’re doing a noble thing by blowing themselves to bits.”

  She got up and came to him, taking both his hands and turning him to face her. “I see what you’re saying, and it’s definitely something to consider. There’s no way to know whether you would have done those things—I don’t think you would have, but there’s no point in talking about it, since we’ll never have the answer. The point I’m trying to make is that you wouldn’t do them now. Look at yourself—drinking until you pass out to get away from even thinking about what happened. I know this has been eating at you ever since you found out about it. I know you want to make things right. But maybe the best way to do that is to help the echoes move on. Especially if there really is a Heaven. I know you don’t believe there is, but I guess I still do.”

  He still didn’t look at her.

  She squeezed his hands. “I don’t really see another option, unless you want to give up the house. I don’t know—I guess you could try to track down their descendants and turn the house over to them, but that would take years to unsnarl and you still don’t know if the echoes would leave. This way, you get the house back and the echoes get peace.”

  Pulling him into a gentle hug, she added, “There’s no good solution, but this might be the best one we have. And once the echoes are gone, you and Eddie and Arthur could still use that journal to try to find out as much as you can about them. Maybe you can do something to help, if it would make you feel better.”

  Stone stood for a moment, then returned the hug. “Yes…I suppose you’re right. Thank you, Verity.”

  “No problem. God knows you’ve helped me out with enough problems. Nice to be able to return the favor now and then.” She pulled back. “So…do you want me to talk to Hezzie?”

  “Yes. Please. If we’re going through with this mad plan, I suppose it’s best to get started as soon as possible.”

  34

  Eddie and Ward weren’t in favor of Stone’s new plan, at least initially.

  “It’s too dangerous, mate,” Eddie said when they’d returned to the London house to discuss their next steps. “I’ve ’eard of these kinds of potions, and they’re not foolproof. What if it separates your spirit from your body and you can’t get back in? What if you stay out too long and your body dies?”

  “Well, then, I suppose the echoes will really get what they want, won’t they?”

  “Stone…” Ward’s expression was even graver than Eddie’s. “There are a lot of variables here, and you can’t correct for all of them. You’re taking a risky chance.”

  Stone shrugged. “So I am. I think I owe these people that much, especially if there’s a chance I can help them move on and find some peace. If I have to take a bit of a risk to make that happen, it’s the least I can do, don’t you think so?”

  Verity had left, heading back to California to consult with Hezzie and see if she could convince her teacher to make the elixir for them. In the meantime, Stone had invited Eddie and Ward back over to examine Brathwaite’s documents. He hadn’t slept since the previous night; his mind was far too agitated to even consider it. He could sleep when this whole thing was over.

  Ian still hadn’t returned, and Stone hadn’t called him. There wasn’t any need for him to be here now, so at least somebody might as well be having some fun.

  “There’s one other bit of this you’re not thinking about,” Eddie said. He and Ward had Brathwaite’s papers and journals spread out over the dining-room table, along with several reference texts they’d brought along with them.

  “And what’s that?”

  “The echoes are confined to the ’ouse. Aside from Brathwaite’s little walkabout with the skeletons, they ’aven’t bothered you unless you enter it—but they won’t let you enter. If you’re to do this ritual properly, you’ll need to do it inside the ’ouse. Preferably downstairs in the ritual room. ’Ow are you planning to do that?”

  He was right—Stone hadn’t thought of that. “Well…” he said slowly, “I’ve got an idea, but you won’t like it.”

  “Try me.”

  “Our best guess is that it was Brathwaite trying to break through Poppy’s barriers, right? And now that you’ve burned the body, we think he’s gone. Do you think she’d be willing to return long enough to have a chat with the echoes and explain what we’ve got planned? Maybe they’ll agree to let me in if they know they’re getting what they wanted.”

  Eddie frowned. “I don’t know, mate. That whole thing spooked ’er right and proper.”

  “Yes, but this time we’ll be prepared. Between you, Ward, and Verity, you can make sure nobody gets near her. It wouldn’t have to be complicated or take very long—just long enough for her to get them to agree to leave me alone so I can get inside to do the sacrifice. Then she can leave. There’s no need for her to hang about for the rest of it—in fact, I’d rather she didn’t.”

  When Eddie still looked dubious, he leaned across the table. “Will you at least ask her? I’ll pay well—better than last time, for less work. If she won’t go along with it, we’ll have to find another solution, but please try.”

  “Stone, did anybody ever tell you that you’re a stubborn bastard?”

  “Only a couple times a week, these days. More often when I’m with you lot.”

  Eddie let out a loud sigh. “Fine. Fine. I can see there’s no changin’ your mind. I’ll give ’er a ring. But don’t be surprised if she laugh
s in my face and tells me to get stuffed.”

  Poppy didn’t tell Eddie to get stuffed. He returned to the dining room fifteen minutes later, looking contemplative.

  “Did she go for it?” Stone asked. He sat across from Ward, paging through one of Brathwaite’s journals. The necromantic techniques were every bit as vile as he’d expected them to be, and he’d already decided to destroy the material once Eddie and Ward had had their fill of studying it. It was too dangerous even to lock up in his warded library or Desmond’s sealed vault.

  “Surprisingly, she did.” Eddie resumed his seat at the other end of the table. “Didn’t even take much convincin’, which surprised me. I guess ’avin’ a couple days to sleep it off gave ’er a new perspective. But she did take you up on your offer, so this is gonna cost you dear.”

  “That’s fine. It’s worth it if she can convince them.”

  “She says she’s free tonight, so we can do it then if you want.”

  Stone had been planning to wait until Verity returned with the potion, since there was no point in holding the séance if she couldn’t obtain it, but he found himself once again gripped with a compulsion to move this process along as much as he could. “Tonight’s fine. I’ll call Ian and ask him to return—we can’t go inside, but maybe we can help from outside. The more protection she has, the better, just in case Brathwaite isn’t really gone.”

  “Do you think he is?” Ward asked.

  “Well, if he isn’t, he’s certainly been quiet. Let’s hope so.”

  Ian, true to his word, had remained in Paris and thus near a portal. Stone thought he might have trouble convincing his son to return, but he agreed readily. He showed up at the London house later that afternoon.

  Like Eddie and Ward, he didn’t agree with the plan, though. “So you don’t want to do a real sacrifice, but you’re okay with a pretend sacrifice that might kill you anyway if things go wrong? That’s crazy.”