by Meg Cowley
Nathan attempted the same spell, but was as unsuccessful at reaching Davenport as Zoe.
“You know,” Zoe said. “Jamie mentioned something in Paris. He tried to cast a spell to put Davenport to sleep. At the time, he put its failure down to tiredness, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Another artefact?” I asked. “Something that blocks magic?”
Before anyone could answer, the prisoner collapsed unconscious in a heap at the foot of the portal.
Sebastian Davenport barked in frustration. “I need more,” he said. “The Kukulkan Skull, Pandora’s Box, the Cintamani Stone” — I flinched at the name — “They should have been mine. I should be home!”
He walked over to his doppelganger on the floor. “Get him out of my sight,” he said, and stormed back to the main house, as his men gathered the artefacts and placed them carefully in the chest.
We waited while until the goons had left before departing.
~
Chapter 2
“I think you hit the nail on the head, Hayley,” Nathan said as he drove to the nearest town. “Davenport has to have some sort of artefact that blocks magic.”
“I agree,” Zoe said. “You heard of one that does that?”
“Nope, but that doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist.”
“It would explain a lot,” I said, turning to look at Zoe in the back seat. “Davenport’s a scary guy, but it’s bothered me for a while that…” I took a deep breath before continuing. “That someone as powerful as Ben would so readily defer to him. He wasn’t a man easily pushed around.”
Ben’s words echoed in my head. “Davenport’s not the only man you don’t want to cross.” I could still feel the grip of his hand on the back of my neck, the heat of his whispered threat against my ear.
“Anyone else hungry?” Nathan asked, bringing me back to the present.
“Starving,” Zoe agreed.
I almost said no, feeling more tired than hungry, but my stomach rumbled loudly.
Zoe laughed. “I guess we know Hayley’s answer,” she said.
Great! Betrayed by my own body. “You think we’ll find anywhere open?” I looked at the clock on the dashboard. “It’s only quarter to six.”
“There’s a little café not far from here. Opens at six, and does a great full English.”
My stomach growled again. “Sounds good to me,” I said as Nathan and Zoe laughed.
After ten minutes, we arrived at a cozy café called La Table de Tom. The mouth watering scent of bacon hit us as soon as we opened the door.
“You open yet, Tom?” Nathan called as soon as we entered. A short, stocky man in his late sixties, with salt and pepper hair, popped his head around a doorway marked staff in Swiss and smiled at us.
“Nathan!” the man said in a faint Geordie accent. “I thought you’d gan back to Blighty.”
“I did, but only for a few days.” Nathan turned to me and Zoe. “This is Hayley Bevan and Zoe Stark, friends of mine from London.”
“Pleasure to meet you, ladies,” the man said. “It’s always a pleasure to meet some pretty ladies from back home.”
“This is Tom,” Nathan added. “He’s a Northerner born and bred, but moved to Switzerland with his family over thirty years ago.”
“Aye, and although the heart longs for the old country on occasion, I can honestly say I’ve never looked back.”
“Tom is the proprietor of this here establishment and the creator of the best fry-up this side of the English Channel.”
Tom smiled and put his hand on his hips. “Any side of the Channel,” he said with mock indignation.
Zoe and I said our hellos, and just as we were learning more from Tom about the phenomenal amount of food Nathan was able to put away, my stomach rumbled again.
“Well, as wonderful as it is to chat, I can hear that the young lady is hungry, so you’d better take a seat while I rustle you up some bait.”
Tom directed us to a private booth at the back of the café. “What can I get you?” he asked.
“I don’t see how we can order anything but your famous full English,” Zoe said.
“Sounds good to me,” I added.
“That’ll be three in total then please, Tom,” Nathan said. “And coffee all round, unless the ladies would like something different.”
Coffee would be perfect, both Zoe and I agreed. The café wasn’t very big, and despite the early hour, the tables were soon crowded with people and the three of us were tucking into a mighty fine breakfast.
“I think Tom might be right,” Zoe said between mouthfuls. “This is may actually be the best fry-up either side of the Channel.”
I laughed, and couldn’t help but agree.
After breakfast, we mulled over events at Sebastian Davenport’s house.
“It’s clear he’s gathering artefacts,” Zoe said. “I can only imagine the power he’s amassed. To think of those ancient relics lying together, unwarded, in a chest. The danger they could pose.”
Nathan nodded his head solemnly. “It is worrying.”
I took a sip of my delicious bitter coffee as the two debated.
“I thought he wanted Pandora’s Box to unleash a plague upon the world,” Zoe said. “And, Hayley, you were convinced he wanted the Cintamani Stone to wreak havoc, but it looks as though we were both wrong.”
“Indeed,” Nathan agreed. “You know, as I mentioned at the house, this area is full of ancient roadways and intersections. The air around us is in a constant magical flux. Even Ordinaries can’t help but sense something in the air. Did you see the Maison d’Ailleurs, housed in the old prison opposite the chateau, when we drove through the town? It is literally billed as the House of Elsewhere, as a museum of science-fiction, utopia and extraordinary journeys. If I needed to gather together a large collection of magical relics and keep them under the radar, I know the place I’d choose to do it.”
Zoe shivered and took a swig of her own drink. “Mmm,” she said. “Coffee’s good here too. How did you learn about this place?”
“He followed his nose,” I said, remembering the time he came to a sudden stop outside a bistro in Edinburgh and declared he’d found the perfect place for lunch. He’d been right about the food that time too.
“The nose knows what the stomach wants,” Nathan agreed, as Zoe glanced between the two of us and gave me a knowing smile, as if to suggest Nathan and I were more than just friends.
I rolled my eyes and took another sip.
“I should call Duncan and let him know of the danger,” Zoe said.
“Would he be able to do anything?” Nathan asked.
Zoe shook her head. “It’s doubtful. We have a lot of supposition, but nothing concrete to give him.”
“He’s clearly keeping the other Sebastian Davenport as a prisoner, isn’t that concrete enough?” The cries of the man still shocked me when I thought about them and I hated to think there was nothing we could do to save him.
“It would be enough to get the police involved,” Zoe said. “But not the Magicai High Council — and something tells me the police would be all but useless where Mr Davenport is concerned anyway. What we need to do, is find out exactly what he’s up to.”
Nathan and I nodded, but then realisation hit.
“Doesn’t he just want to go home?” I suggested. “‘I should be home’ is what he said. It’s obvious he Travelled to our world somehow and his prisoner is the real Sebastian Davenport from our world. So, doesn’t it strike you that he’s just trying to get back?”
Zoe looked at me with astonishment. “How on Earth would that even work?” she asked. “Nathan, you said an Ordinary couldn’t Travel. If Sebastian Davenport is an Ordinary, how would he get from his world to ours, and if he’s a Magicai, why can’t he just go back?”
Nathan mulled over our words for a moment, then reached for the sugar bowl and placed it in the centre of the table. “If the bowl is Sebastian Davenport” — he removed the sugar lumps from the pot and p
laced them in a circle surrounding it — “and these are the magical artefacts he’s gathering. In theory, he could create a magic force field, if you will, around an Ordinary, which would allow them to Travel to a new world. In theory. But, as far as I know, it’s never been attempted. Who would be crazy enough?”
Zoe snapped her fingers. “The more relics he gathers the stronger the force field becomes. Although, it clearly isn’t working, but why experiment on his doppleganger and not himself?”
I sat forward and scoffed. “That man would never willingly subject himself to pain, and besides, didn’t you suspect he possessed a talisman or something that blocked magic? Why would he risk taking that off until he was certain he could Travel home? The way he treats his employees, I don’t think I’d risk it if I were him.”
“This is all well and good,” Zoe said with a sigh. “But once again, we have nothing more than theories. We need something concrete.”
“Then why don’t we Travel to Sebastian Davenport’s home world and find out more about him?”
“We can’t,” Nathan said. His jaw set with annoyance. “The gate is closed and the only time they open it is when they’re trying to push through. Do we really want to try and over-power three Travellers to gain access through the get? Travellers who posses a collection of bad-ass relics. Not to mention, that we have no idea what will be waiting for us on the other side.”
I looked at Nathan confused for a moment. “I can open a new gate,” I said and shrugged.
“You can do that?” Zoe asked.
“Sure, no problem.”
Nathan raised his eyebrows at me, but didn’t say a word.
“That’s settled,” I said. “We’re all in agreement. Let’s find out what’s through that portal.”
~
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About Meg Cowley
Visit Meg’s website.
Meg is a fantasy author and illustrator who loves all things dragons and magic.
She lives in Yorkshire, England with her husband and two cats Jet and Pixie.
Amongst other writing & illustration projects, Meg is currently working on her Morgana Chronicles series.
For writing snippets and to see behind the scenes, visit her blog.
You can connect with Meg on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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About Victoria DeLuis
Visit Victoria’s website.
Victoria DeLuis is an avid fantasy reader, who enjoys writing Urban Fantasy and paranormal/cosy mysteries.
She lives in Wales with her husband, daughter, three cats and one dog.
Amongst other writings, Victoria is currently working on The Independent Necromancer's Bureau Series, and The Shifter Academy Series.
For fun flash fiction and other snippets, please check out Victoria's blog.
You can connect with Victoria on Facebook or Twitter.
Published in 2017 by
Jolly Creative Atelier
United Kingdom
© 2017 Meg Cowley & Victoria DeLuis
www.megcowley.com
www.victoriadeluis.com
Cover design © Meg Cowley 2017
All characters, places and events are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, places or events is purely coincidental.
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored or distributed in any form, without prior written permission of the publisher.