by R. L. King
Again, Stone didn’t answer. He was now staring into his coffee cup; his entire posture radiated stress.
“Al?” Jason pressed.
“Don’t you think I bloody well know all of this?” he snarled without looking up. “Do you think I didn’t arrive at the same conclusion you did—and likely quite a while before you two worked it out?” He dropped his head into his hands, scrubbing at his face and pushing his hair up into dark spikes.
Jason and Verity were silent for several seconds, at a loss about what to say. Finally Verity ventured, “Dr. Stone—is there any other way to—”
“Any other way to shut it down?” he asked. His voice sounded odd, strangled. “How should I know? It’s taken me this long to get where I am now. It would take months of additional study for me to even have a chance of making sense of all Daphne’s notes—and even then, there’s no guarantee I’ll come up with anything better.” He sighed, looking up at them. “The bottom line is that the only way I know that’s foolproof is to do just what I did before. To go back into—” His eyes blazed with sudden fire. “Damn it, I’m not a bloody action hero! I never had any great ambition to sacrifice myself to save the world. If I go back into that portal—assuming the Evil even lets us get within five miles of it after what’s happened—that’s what it’ll have to come to, won’t it?”
Jason took a deep breath. “Al—”
Stone glared at him. “Don’t, Jason. It won’t work. You don’t know what I saw in there. You don’t know what that place is like. There’s no way I can explain to you what it felt like to have those—things—in my head, rummaging around in my brain. I told you before they weren’t trying to possess me. Possession might even have been preferable, honestly. At least with that, I’d still be in there somewhere.” He sighed, dropping his gaze again, shaking his head. “Don’t you think I know I have to do it? That there’s no other alternative? Well, there is, really: we can just walk away—leave things as they are.” He got up, nearly tossing the chair away in his haste to rise, and began pacing the kitchen. “Funny how these things set themselves up, isn’t it? If I hadn’t been driving by that night, looking for Charles—if I hadn’t encountered you in that parking lot, Jason, then we wouldn’t be here now. Chance coincidence that we met, and yet look what it’s set into motion. And now here we are, the three of us, charged with this task that we can’t even tell anyone about for fear of being locked away.” Again he sighed, leaning over the kitchen counter and staring out the window into the night.
“If you hadn’t found me in that parking lot, I’d be dead now,” Jason said evenly. “I’d never have found V, so she’d still be stuck in that halfway house. Or more likely, since she’s eighteen now, they’d have tossed her out on the street, and she’d be dead, too.”
Stone barked a short laugh. “There’s me saving the world again, one lost soul at a time.” Before Jason could reply, he added, “I know, Jason. I’m glad it worked out the way it did—that I was able to help you. But I’d be lying if I said that I don’t wish sometimes that I’d just dropped you off at your motel, wished you well in your endeavors, and went on about my business.”
Verity got up and went over to him, putting a tentative hand on his shoulder. “It’s not just Jason, you know. If you hadn’t helped me figure out what I was and how to deal with the crazy, even if I wasn’t dead I’d be wandering around the streets like the Forgotten—only at least the ones we know have it together enough to function. Jason can tell you—I didn’t.”
“Wonderful!” Stone said with a sort of mad cheeriness. “Really, it is. Brilliant. Glad to be of service. That kind of help is the sort that can make one feel all warm and useful. Teaching you magic—” He pushed away again, resuming his pacing. “Teaching you has been a joy, frankly. I never thought I’d want another apprentice. After Ethan died, most of the prospects I’ve encountered haven’t been worth a damn. Lazy, entitled—I’d likely have sent them packing in a week, so I just gave up trying and concentrated on my mundane students. They might not have the Talent, but at least they have the drive to learn in such limited ways as they’re capable.” He shook his head. “But this—this is a whole new show. I don’t for a moment delude myself into thinking that I’ll be able to duplicate what I did in West Virginia and get out before it’s too late. It was sheer luck that I managed it that time.” He looked at her, and then at Jason. “So it’s a death sentence, essentially. Suicide. And you wonder why I’m reluctant to volunteer. Would you, if it were you in my place?”
Jason didn’t hesitate. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I would.”
Stone’s gaze came up to meet his. “Well, there you go. But then, you’ve always been a good little Boy Scout, haven’t you?”
“Maybe I am,” he said, glaring. “Maybe that comes from being the son of a cop. I dunno. But sometimes things just need doing, and they’re bigger than you, or me, or anybody. And if that happens, you do them.”
“You do.”
“Yeah. You do.”
“Maybe you do,” Stone said. “Maybe it’s not even a question for you. But you can’t do this one, conveniently enough, even if you really did want to. And neither can Verity. And neither can anyone else, as far as I’m aware.” He shook his head. “No pressure, there. None at all.”
He turned to face them both. “Thank you for making dinner, Verity—it was lovely as always. I’ll take care of the dishes. If you two don’t mind, though, I think I need a bit of time alone tonight. Verity, come back tomorrow and we’ll pick up where we left off.”
“You’re not gonna do it.” Jason’s tone was full of disbelief and more than a bit of shock—it was the tone of a small boy who had just discovered that his father couldn’t leap tall buildings and fix every problem.
“I didn’t say that, did I?” Stone sounded annoyed, almost like he was wrestling with something inside himself instead of snapping at Jason. “Go home, Jason. Please. The last thing I want or need right now is a lecture.”
Verity took Jason’s arm. “Come on, Jason,” she said softly, glancing back and forth between the two of them. She didn’t look angry or shocked or annoyed at Stone; all her face showed was a quiet sadness. “There really isn’t much else we can say tonight. Let’s leave him alone.”
Jason followed her out the door without another word. “Good night,” she called back over her shoulder.
Stone didn’t answer. He had turned back around and resumed his former position, his hands on the kitchen counter and his thousand-yard stare fixed on a point somewhere far out into the darkness.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Verity wasn’t sure this was the best idea she’d ever had, but she didn’t intend to let that stop her. Jason wouldn’t do it, and if she told him about it, he’d probably try to dissuade her from doing it, too. He might even tell Stone, which would defeat the whole purpose. Somebody had to do something, and since neither of them showed any signs of it, it was down to her. After all, she rationalized, she was involved in this business every bit as much as they were.
The first problem was that she didn’t know how to drive. She kept meaning to ask Jason to teach her so she could get her license, but since she spent so much of her time either at Stone’s or at the restaurant, it hadn’t seemed like a big deal until now. Fortunately with all the extra hours she’d been working, she’d started to build a small stash of her own money. And it wasn’t far, after all. Waiting until Jason was at the restaurant and Stone was at Stanford for the afternoon, she called a taxi.
The ride over kept her on edge the whole time, watching the cabdriver with a level of vigilance that made the man fidget. “You okay, kid?” he asked, looking back over his shoulder. “You act like you think I’m gonna bite you or something.”
“I’m fine. Just drive, okay?” How could she tell him that she was on high alert for any signs of Evil? Yeah, sorry about that, but I need to make sure you’re not possessed by a disembodied killer from another dimension. Nothing personal.
; The cabbie shrugged. “You got it. Shutting up and driving.”
The trip only took a few minutes; her destination was only a few miles away. When she opened the unmarked door and entered the dusty shop, the gray cat, Phantom, immediately came out from hiding and twined himself around her legs. She bent down to stroke his head, wondering again if she was doing the right thing.
Too late to back out now.
“Madame Huan? Are you there? It’s me, Verity.” She glanced around to make sure nobody else was in the store and then added, “Dr. Stone’s apprentice.”
This time, Madame Huan didn’t make an entrance by appearing behind her, but instead just came out through the beaded curtain. She smiled. “Verity. Yes, of course I remember you.” Her brow furrowed as she looked past Verity. “You didn’t come with your brother this time?”
She shook her head. “No. He’s working, and so is Dr. Stone. I—wanted to talk to you alone, if that’s okay.” Again, she felt a twinge: Should I be doing this? It’s not like if I do I can change my mind later...
“Of course. Come in the back and I’ll get us some tea.” She glanced at the door to the outside world and Verity heard a faint click as the lock engaged. “There. Now nobody will bother us.”
Verity had a brief moment of panic as her hyper-vigilant mind spun frightening scenarios (what if they’ve possessed Madame Huan? Now I’m here and we’re locked in and nobody knows where I am!) but she brushed them aside, annoyed. At some point, she’d have to trust somebody other than Jason and Stone. And the Forgotten, of course, but that was different.
When they were settled at the little table over a pot of tea and a small plate of cookies (chocolate this time, but it didn’t matter since Verity was about as far from hungry as it was possible to be), Madame Huan smiled encouragingly. “So—what’s so important that it’s brought you to me by yourself? Something about Alastair, I’m guessing.”
Verity couldn’t decide if she liked it or hated it that Madame Huan was so perceptive. In a way it made things easier, but it also made it harder to stall. She nodded. Her mouth felt suddenly dry; she took a sip of tea. “It’s—it’s about him, yes. But more than that, too.”
Madame Huan remained silent. Verity met her gaze, searching the older woman’s face, taking in the shining black hair pulled back from a high forehead, black birdlike eyes, and sharp but gentle features. “A lot more,” she added.
“Just start at the beginning, dear,” Madame Huan said. “And please don’t feel obligated to tell me anything you don’t think you should. I’ll listen, but I won’t pry.”
“That’s just it,” she said, sighing. “I’m not sure I should be telling you any of this. But I don’t think I have a choice anymore.” She rattled her fists on the table, making the delicate teacups shake. “Why is this so hard?”
“Are you sure this is what you want to do, Verity?” Madame Huan’s voice was soft. “It’s not too late for you to change your mind. I won’t tell Alastair you were here if you would prefer I didn’t.”
“No, that’s the whole point of why I’m here,” she said. “You have to talk to him. He won’t listen to Jason and me. I think you’re the only one he might listen to.” She paused. “Did he ever mention anything to you about the Evil?”
“The—what?” Madame Huan leaned forward.
Verity took a deep breath, and suddenly, almost as if some consciousness other than her own had taken control of her mouth, the words began flooding out, tumbling over each other in their haste to escape. It was as if speaking the words “the Evil” to someone other than Stone or Jason or the Forgotten had taken the seal off a doorway and now that it was broken, there was no stopping what clamored to get out. She told Madame Huan about her five-year struggle with mental illness, about Jason and how he and Stone had found her, about the Forgotten, about the Evil—and about what Stone had discovered about the connection between the Evil and the portals. She finished up with the story of what had happened in West Virginia, and about what was happening somewhere in Las Vegas.
It took her nearly fifteen minutes to pour everything out, and as she did, she felt like she had lanced a deep infection within her and allowed some vile substance to drain from her mind. When she finished, she just sat there panting, tears streaming down her face, terrified at what she had just done but also relieved beyond all possible measure that she had done it.
Madame Huan, for her part, listened in complete silence, her expression gentle and welcoming but otherwise neutral. When Verity finished, she waited several seconds to make sure that nothing more was coming. Then she leaned forward and enclosed one of Verity’s shaking hands within both of hers. “Oh, my dear,” she murmured. “How awful that the three of you have had to hold on to such a terrible thing alone.”
Verity didn’t move; she didn’t pull her hand away. “We didn’t have a choice,” she choked. “The Evil—they can be anywhere. They can take over almost anybody, and there isn’t any way to tell. Even if we told somebody and they weren’t possessed, they might tell somebody else who is. And besides—who’d believe us? Only mages and Forgotten, but we can’t tell the Forgotten about the portals, and the mages—” she sighed. “There weren’t any that Dr. Stone felt like he could trust with the whole story. I think he’d trust you—I’m sure he would. That’s why I’m here. But I think he feels like this whole thing is kind of his responsibility.” She shook her head violently. “No, that’s not quite right. Not his responsibility—not like he caused it or anything. But he feels like he’s the only one who can end it.”
“From the sound of it, it may be that he is,” Madame Huan murmured, almost to herself. She sighed. “And you’ve come to me because, after what happened in West Virginia, Alastair is reluctant to do the same thing again in Las Vegas.”
Verity nodded. “I don’t blame him—you didn’t see him when he first came out of that portal. I think whatever he saw in there almost drove him insane. That would scare the crap out of me, too.”
“I think you’ve hit upon the crux of the matter,” Madame Huan said, taking a sip of tea. “I don’t think he fears death—no more than any of the rest of us do, anyway. But insanity—losing control of his mind—in all the years I’ve known him, that has always been the thing he’s reacted the most strongly to. The mere thought terrifies him.” She paused for several seconds. “Forgive me, Verity. I’m still trying to digest everything you’ve told me. To think that there’s a whole world out there that has existed under all of our noses, but yet that we’ve never even suspected—”
“Yeah. It’s pretty heavy. We all kind of just got tossed into it, so we didn’t have a choice. But even then, we thought the world of the mages and the world of the Forgotten and the Evil were separate. When we found out they were connected—”
“Not just connected, it sounds like.” Madame Huan said softly. “Inextricably linked, at least as far as the Overworld is concerned.”
“Yeah,” Verity said again, bleakly. She looked up. “Madame Huan—you don’t know any other mages who are portal experts, do you? If only there was somebody who could help Dr. Stone figure out some other way to shut down the Vegas portal...”
But Madame Huan shook her head, looking rueful. “I’m sorry, Verity, but I don’t. There aren’t that many of us with the Talent left in the world anymore, and of those there are, most of them don’t care to learn how the tools they use function, but only to use them.”
“So you don’t—” Verity let her expression get just a little bit hopeful.
“Me? Oh, no. I know many things, but the inner workings of portal science isn’t one of them. I don’t even travel much these days, except for trips home to China to search for new materials for my talismans. Aside from the four you told me about who were lost during this ill-fated experiment, Alastair is the only one I know who’s taken even a passing interest in the subject.”
“I was afraid of that.” Verity sighed, then looked up. “I don’t know how he’ll react to me telling you all of
this. I hope he’s not mad—I hope he doesn’t decide he doesn’t want me as an apprentice anymore.”
Madame Huan shook her head, reaching out to take Verity’s hand again. “I doubt that. He might be angry, but I doubt he will remain angry for long. He might even be relieved.”
“Relieved?”
She nodded. “From the sound of things, all three of you have been suffering from a compulsion to let someone else in on your secret. It’s natural to want to share something like that with others—to share the fear, and to try to get more minds involved in trying to solve the problem. Perhaps the fact that you’ve told me will help, even though there isn’t much I can do to help you. I’ll do what I can, of course.”
“Be careful—please. Don’t let on to anyone else that you know. It could be really dangerous for you if the wrong people found out.”
Madame Huan smiled. “Don’t you worry about me. I may look old and frail, but I’m pretty good at taking care of myself. And besides, now that you bring it up, I suspect that they already know about me—and that they’ve already made their unsuccessful attempts to possess me.”
Verity’s eyes widened. “They have?”
“I think so. A while back I began having very unusual dreams—nightmares, but not of a standard type. They disturbed me for a while, but after a time they stopped. I think, in light of new information, they might have been looking for a way in. Shortly after that, Alastair came by to tell me of potential mental threats—to keep my defenses up and my wards strong. I didn’t make the connection at the time, but it sounds as if he was warning me about the Evil without giving me the details.”