by Tim Waggoner
I was just as surprised as Devona by what we'd just witnessed, and more than a little disturbed, but we didn't have time to consider the implications right then. We needed to get Tavi medical attention, and we needed to do it fast. We hopped in Lazlo's cab, and he hit the gas and roared away from the curb.
As he drove, something hit me.
"Hey, Lazlo, why didn't you get out of your cab and kneel before Varvara? I mean, she is the queen of all the Demonkin, and that includes you."
Lazlo let out a raucous honk of a laugh. "You're funny, Matt! Why would I kneel to my own sister?"
THIRTEEN
During all the excitement in the Grotesquerie, I'd forgotten about the destruction of the Bridge of Nine Sorrows. With the bridge out, we couldn't get from the Sprawl to Gothtown, and that meant we couldn't get to the Fever House. Klamm had said that crews had been dispatched to repair the bridges, but Lazlo said both of them were still a long way from being rebuilt. I considered having Lazlo drive us to the broken bridge and then asking Varney to assume his travel form and fly Tavi over to Gothtown, but the vampire still looked pretty wiped out, and the last thing I wanted was for him to get halfway across and be unable to hold on to his travel form. If that happened, he'd resume his humanoid shape and plunge into Phlegethon, taking Tavi down with him. And to be honest, though Varney had helped us out of a couple tight spots, I didn't entirely trust him.
If Papa Chatha had been home, I'd have had Lazlo take us there, but of course, Papa was missing. Instead, I told Lazlo to take us to the Midnight Watch, and then I called Bogdan on my vox and told the warlock to meet us there.
When we arrived, I couldn't resist asking Lazlo if he'd been serious when he'd said Varvara was his sister. All he did was laugh, and give me a parting wave as he drove off.
Bogdan had beaten us back and was waiting inside for us. The Midnight Watch building is fairly large, and though all of the employees have their own homes, they each have a room there as well. We went into Tavi's quarters, which, aside from a couple paintings depicting jungle scenes, was decorated as sparsely as any hotel room. Devona pulled back the covers of his bed, and I removed him from my pocket and laid him gently on the mattress. Varney and Shamika stood off to the side, watching.
Bogdan took one look at our miniature friend and then turned to me. "I take it there's a story behind his condition," the warlock said.
"He got bit in half by a dinosaur and I shrank him to make him easier to carry," I said.
"Of course you did." Bogdan looked at Tavi once more. "How did you shrink him? Wait – you used that shrunken head of yours, right?"
"Yeah, but Livingstone didn't make it, so I can't use him to unshrink Tavi."
"So not only do you want me to try to heal Tavi, you need me to restore him to his normal size as well," Bogdan said.
"Not to make a joke, but that's about the size of it," I said.
Devona gave me a look that let me know I wasn't funny.
"Like anyone else, we Arcane have our individual talents and strengths," Bogdan said. "We're all born with the ability to generate, focus, and channel magical energy, but the specific form that magic takes can vary quite a bit from person to person. My own specialty is the conjuring of objects, not making alterations in another's body. Changing someone's size and healing injuries are both outside my realm of expertise."
"Tavi's a lyke, and his body stands a good chance of healing itself," Devona said. "We just need to give him a little help."
Bogdan smiled at Devona. "All right, boss. I'll give it my best shot."
I didn't particularly appreciate the way Bogdan smiled at Devona, but I decided now wasn't the time to act petty. There'd be plenty of time for that after Bogdan did what he could to help Tavi.
Bogdan's specialty wasn't just conjuring objects. In a way I didn't understand, his talent lies in conjuring useful objects, ones he needs at any given moment. Sometimes I wonder if Bogdan himself fully understands it. He kept his gaze fixed on Tavi's miniaturized form, gestured, and a magnifying glass appeared in his hand. He held it over Tavi and a beam of light shone through and down onto the lyke. As we watched, Tavi's body slowly grew until he was once again normal size. When Tavi was finished growing, the light from the magnifying glass winked out, and a second later the glass itself disappeared. It's too bad that Bogdan's objects never stick around long once they've fulfilled their purpose. He'd make a fortune if he could conjure up permanent magical items.
"That's step one," Bogdan said. "Now let's see if I can do anything to help him start healing."
I was used to the warlock sounding supremely confident, so the doubt in his voice took me by surprise. I felt Devona reach out to me through our psychic link.
Why are you surprised? she thought. Tavi is Bogdan's friend, and he doesn't want to let him down.
Nothing against Bogdan, but I didn't think he was especially fond of any of us – with the exception of you, that is.
Jealous: table for one, Devona thought, with more than a trace of amusement. But seriously, you should take the time to get to know Bogdan better – and Scorch and Tavi too.
This wasn't the first time that Devona had gently chided me for keeping to myself too much. I'd been something of a loner when I was human. Dale had been my only real friend back then, and after we came to Nekropolis and he died, I'd been on my own for the most part. Oh, I'd made a number of acquaintances, but I never got close to anyone. I didn't let myself. That changed when I met Devona. She's more than my lover; she's the best friend I've ever had. But she encourages me to "expand my emotional palette," as she puts it, and establish deeper friendships. I'm working on it. Slowly.
Once more Bogdan fixed his gaze on Tavi, concentrated, and gestured. This time nothing appeared in his hand, and he frowned. He closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and allowed his features to relax. When his expression was one of serene calm, he gestured once again, and this time an old-fashioned glass thermometer appeared in his hand.
He opened his eyes and looked at it.
"Please tell me it's not a rectal thermometer," I said. "Because if it is, I'm afraid Tavi's out of luck."
Devona gave me a look that said I was even less funny than the last time she had given me the look. Bogdan ignored me and gently placed the thermometer between Tavi's lips. There were no obvious signs of any magic at work – no glowing light, no strange sound – but the lyke stirred and gently sighed. He settled back into the bed, and a peaceful expression came over his face.
"I'd say that's a good sign," Devona said.
"I hope so," Bogdan said. "Like I told you, healing's not my specialty."
"Once Tavi regains consciousness, he's going to be ravenous," I said. "He lost a lot of mass, and he's going to need help replacing it."
"You're right," Devona said. "We should lay in a supply of raw meat and blood."
That wouldn't be a problem. One of the nice things about Nekropolis is that you never have any trouble finding a butcher's.
A slight breeze ruffled my hair, and I knew Rover was in the room with us.
"Keep watch over Tavi," I told the guardian spirit. "And let us know if there's any change in his condition."
Rover blew gently on my face one time, a signal for yes. We left Tavi's quarters and adjourned to the great room. Devona, Shamika, and Bogdan sat on the couch, I took up my usual position near the fireplace, and Varney stood on the opposite side of the room and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, an unreadable expression on his face. He'd been awfully quiet since we'd escaped the Grotesquerie, but at least he was no longer making any pretense of wanting to make a documentary about me. I still didn't know what his game was, and that needed to change. First things first, though. I told Bogdan what we'd been up to since we'd seen him last. When I was finished catching him up, I asked if he'd learned anything of interest from his Arcane contacts.
"I stopped by Overhexed, only to discover that you'd been there before me and broken up a street riot before it even g
ot started," Bogdan said. "As you might imagine, not many of the patrons were inclined to chat with me after that, seeing as how I work with you. The Sea Hag was sharing a table with Dr Bombay, and they'd both had more enough than enough drinks to put them in a talkative mood, though. They told me they'd heard rumors that Talaith had solid evidence that Varvara was behind our people's disappearances, though neither could tell me what precisely that evidence might be. Dr Bombay is something of a gossip, and once he started talking, it was hard to shut him up. He told me the names of the Arcane who disappeared. A dozen in all, men and women who specialize in different facets of magic." Bogdan grimaced in distaste. "He also told me more about their vices and sexual proclivities than I wanted to know. Beyond the fact that they all happen to be Arcane, there doesn't seem to be any connection between them."
"Do you remember the names?" I asked.
Bogdan gave me an affronted look that seemed half put on, half genuine. "I'm a professional. I know better to rely on memory." He gestured and a leather-bound notebook appeared in his hand. He opened it and read off the names of the missing Arcane.
Papa Chatha was on the list, and while I wasn't familiar with every name, I knew most of them: the Bedazzler, Preston Digitator, Ms Mockery, the Uncanny Gaston, Alteria, Chang-Xi, and the Crystalline Dancer.
"They do have something in common," I said after a moment's thought. "They're all powerful and highly skilled in their particular specialty, but not necessarily well known to the public at large."
Varney had only listened up to this point, but now he said, "Why is that important?"
"Because their disappearances would go unnoticed, at least for a while," I answered. "If any of the town's famous Arcane vanished, it would be big news, and Talaith and the Adjudicators would immediately begin scouring the city for them. But if lowerprofile magic-users vanished, the disappearances would have to mount up and a pattern would have to emerge before someone noticed and decided to do something about it."
Devona picked up on my train of thought. "And that would give the kidnapper – or kidnappers – time."
"Time to do what?" Bogdan asked.
"Maybe time to falsify evidence implicating Varvara in the disappearances," I said. "Time enough to start a war between two Darklords."
"Varvara could still be behind the disappearances," Bogdan said, but he sounded unsure.
I shook my head. "Since when does Varvara do anything halfway? If she wanted to kidnap Arcane she'd select the most famous and powerful of them. If for no other reason than as a personal affront to Talaith."
"You have a point," Bogdan conceded.
"Did you learn anything else at Overhexed?" I asked.
"No. After a while, Dr Bombay started telling some truly awful jokes, and I made my excuses and got the hell out of there. I stopped in at Nosferatomes and asked Orlock if he'd heard anything related to the disappearances. He's Bloodborn, but he carries a lot of magic books in his store, and he's pretty plugged in to what goes on the Arcane community. But he wasn't able to tell me anything."
Devona and I exchanged looks. We knew from firsthand experience that Orlock was more than he seemed, though we'd never shared this knowledge with anyone else. Orlock knew that Bogdan worked with us, and if he'd had any information about the disappearances, he'd have given it to the warlock to pass along to us – for a price to be named later, of course. I was more than a bit glad Orlock hadn't known anything, though. Devona and I had owed him a favor, and repaying him had nearly caused us to miss our only opportunity to conceive our child… make that our children. Because of this, I wasn't eager to get mixed up with the ancient vampire again.
"I decided to try Magewrights' Manor next," Bogdan said. "The club's quite exclusive, and I don't have a membership – though I've been on the waiting list for years," he hastened to add. "You know how much Talaith hates that some Arcane prefer the urban lifestyle of the Sprawl to the pastoral life in Glamere. Well, Magewrights' Manor is the most prominent symbol of that preference, and the magic-users that frequent the club have little love for Talaith. In order to belong, you have to be both powerful and well-connected socially, and having a certain amount of fame doesn't hurt either."
A metaphorical light bulb went off over my Reptilikan-vomitscarred head. "Is that what attracted you to working for the Midnight Watch in the first place? Devona and I had just saved the city from being destroyed during the Renewal Ceremony, and if the Midnight Watch was successful, you hoped that some of our fame might rub off onto you."
I could feel Devona's anger through our link, but Bogdan didn't seem upset in the slightest by my words.
"That was one of the considerations," he admitted. "But there have been other benefits to working here." Bogdan pointedly avoided looking at Devona. He thought for a moment, then lowered his gaze to the floor and then gave what I thought was an almost embarrassed smile. "To be honest, it's nice to use my talents for something productive. It's funny. My specialty is conjuring useful objects, but before I started working here, I myself wasn't very useful. I hired myself out to wealthy, prominent people when I needed money, but the rest of the time I frittered away my life, moving from club to club, trying to make connections and ingratiate myself with the 'right' people, whoever they happened to be at any given moment, all to increase my own status. It was a very empty way to live, and I didn't even know it until I came here."
I hate it when Bogdan gets sincere. It means I have to work twice as hard to dislike him.
"So did you manage to get in?" I asked.
He looked up and nodded. "On my way there, that strange reality distortion hit, where Nekropolis seemed to overlap with Earth for a short time. It was extremely disconcerting, more so for us Arcane I imagine, because we feel mystic energy in a way that most others do not. And that distortion felt deeply, profoundly wrong in a way I can't easily describe." He shuddered at the memory. "Anyway, when I arrived at the Manor and told the doorman why I'd come, I was immediately ushered in. The members had already been discussing the dispute between Talaith and Varvara when the reality distortion hit, and now they were furiously debating what and who had caused it and why. When they learned I was assisting you in investigating the disappearances of our people, they invited me to take part in their discussion."
It was weird to think that my name had paved the way for Bogdan gaining admittance into a club he'd tried for so long to join. I know I've acquired a certain amount of fame over the years, but I don't take it seriously and try to ignore it. But I guess it can be a useful tool sometimes. If Bogdan resented the fact that it was my name that got him inside the Manor, he didn't show it.
"Some of the most well-known Arcane in the city were there: Dr Faustus, Circe, Baron Samedi, Baba Yaga, Chandu, Marie Leveau, Cagliostro, Rasputin, Calypso, the Blair Witch… A veritable who's who! I learned that they'd all performed their own investigations into the disappearances, and not one of them had been able to find so much as a trace of the missing Arcane. It was as if they'd vanished completely from Nekropolis."
Shamika had been silent since we'd returned to the Midnight Watch, but she now drew in a surprised breath. "I thought so!" she said.
We all looked at her.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
She looked extremely uncomfortable. "Just that since I couldn't find any trace of my uncle, I didn't think anyone else would either. That's all."
Her words didn't quite ring true, but as with Varney, I decided now wasn't the time to push it. Shamika didn't say anything more, and after a moment, Devona spoke.
"Tavi picked up Papa Chatha's scent trail and followed it, though. Surely magic-users as powerful as those in Magewrights' Manor wouldn't have failed to detect such a trace."
"It does seem highly unlikely," Bogdan said, "but none of them said anything about scent trails while I was there."
"Maybe the scent trail isn't important," Devona said. "It's possible Papa just happened to be visiting the Grotesquerie when he was abducted."
/> "And then Titanus just happened to escape when Tavi followed Papa's trail there?" I said. "And on top of that, when we arrived to save Tavi, all the creatures in the Grotesquerie just happened to escape as well?"
Devona smiled ruefully. "When you put it like that, it sounds like a trap."
"Talaith saw you in Demons' Roost," Varney said. "And she's not exactly your biggest fan. Maybe she set the trap to get rid of you and strike a blow at Varvara in the process."
"Maybe," I allowed. But that didn't feel right somehow. Talaith is more than devious enough to devise any number of traps, but somehow this just didn't seem like her style.
Bogdan spoke then. "If Varvara didn't abduct the Arcane, then who did? Talaith herself?"
"I doubt it," I said. "Like Varvara, she'd have struck a stronger opening blow if she wanted to start a war – a blow more fitting a Darklord."
"Maybe war wasn't the point," Devona said. "Maybe abducting the magic-users was, and war was just a side-effect. Or–"