Mortal Imperative: An Alastair Stone Urban Fantasy Novel (Alastair Stone Chronicles Book 24)

by R. L. King

  “Of course it is,” he said wearily. “Because this shit never ends, does it?” Before anyone could reply, he looked up and raised a hand. “No, no, it’s okay. I get it. I chose to jump headfirst into this life, so I need to deal with what it throws at me.” He offered Amber a faint smile. “It was worth it, because if I hadn’t, I never would have met you.”

  She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

  “Okay,” he said, regrouping. “Civilized cannibals who get their fix from Zombie McDonald’s. Got it. What’s next?”

  “Something where you might get to use your investigation skills,” Stone said. “Are you ready for the next bit?”

  “Bring it on. How much weirder can it get?”

  “Probably not something you want to ask,” Verity said.

  Stone told him and Amber the story of the missing ghouls, leaving out only names and specific locations. He described his trip to visit Grider, their investigation of Lu’s and Belmont’s homes, and the tracking rituals he performed to locate them, but stopped before he got to the part involving the cemetery and the attack by the necromantic creations so they’d have time to digest what they’d heard.

  Jason let out a loud sigh. “Holy shit, Al. Seriously, every time I think we’ve made it past the freakiest thing you’re likely to get involved in, you up the ante.”

  You don’t know the half of it, Stone thought wryly.

  “So…what do you want us to do?” Amber asked. “You’re looking for these people, but you can’t find them?”

  “We’re looking for one of them. We found the other two. One of them is safe, but doesn’t remember anything useful. The other is…dead.”

  “So you can kill them.” Jason couldn’t keep the relief out of his voice. “Ghouls, I mean.” Then he realized what he’d said and shook his head. “Sorry, Al. This person was your friend, it sounds like. That was a crappy thing to say, no matter how much trouble I’m having working through this.”

  “No, it’s all right. I understand this is difficult for you. It certainly was for me when I first found out. Yes, they can be killed. It’s not easy, and you essentially have to destroy their bodies or cut their heads off, but it can be done.”

  “Are you still looking for the third one?” Amber asked. “Is that what you want us to do?”

  “And where were the ones you found?” Jason added.

  “That’s…the second part of the story.” Stone spoke slowly, considering his words with care. At least this time, they had precedent. “Verity, may I have a word with you in private for a moment, please?”

  She tilted her head. “About what?”

  He rose from his chair. “It will just be a moment,” he assured Jason and Amber without responding.

  She got up and followed him to the other side of the room, where the drapes on the front window opened onto a scene of headlights and pedestrians walking by on the street below. “What’s up?”

  Stone put up his “cone of silence” spell so there would be no chance of Jason or Amber overhearing him. “Before I decide how to tell them the rest of the story, I need to know whether you ever told Jason about…what happened with Sharra.”

  She bowed her head. “No. Not about…you know.” Her gaze came up. “It took me this long to tell him about Miles and Elena, because I wasn’t sure how he’d take it. How do you think ‘a necromancer turned my dead ex-girlfriend into a zombie and we had to kill her by smashing her head in with a chandelier’ would have gone over?”

  “I understand,” he said gently. “I’m not judging you, Verity. Not at all. Unlike Miles and Elena, this is unequivocally not his concern. I just wanted to make sure I don’t reveal anything I shouldn’t.”

  “Thanks,” she whispered. “Let’s keep that part to ourselves, if that’s okay. You can tell the rest without it, right?”

  He chuckled. “I’m a university professor. We’re good at thinking on our feet.”

  They returned to the table, where Jason and Amber were talking softly to each other.

  “What was that about?” Jason asked.

  “Just…checking with Verity about bits of this story that aren’t mine to tell.” Stone resumed his seat and poured another glass of wine. He was glad they were at his place, so he could raid the cellar for another bottle if necessary. He had a feeling they’d need at least one more before the night was over. “So…this is where things get even stranger.”

  “Because of course they do.” He sounded almost resigned to it at this point. “What’s next?”

  Stone met his gaze. “Do you remember what happened at my house last summer? Back when we uncovered the catacombs underneath?”

  Jason went still. “Oh, holy shit…” he whispered.

  “What?” Amber switched her attention between Stone and Jason.

  Jason ignored her, still fixed on Stone. “You’re talking about those…things?”

  Stone inclined his head. “Not exactly the same type, but the same concept.”

  “But wait…” His voice was a near-whisper. “I thought they were gone. I thought you destroyed…”

  “Apparently, I was wrong.”

  “What the hell are you two talking about?” Amber demanded, louder.

  “Necromancy,” Verity said.

  Jason still wasn’t looking at Amber. “You mean,” he said, still looking at Stone, “somebody else has figured out how to—”

  “Yes. And we haven’t got a bloody clue who it is. I’ve got a suspicion, but I thought the person involved was dead.”

  “Wait.” Jason downed half his wine in one swallow and held out his glass for more. “You’re not talking about that guy…what was his name again? Busby? Brandon?”

  “Brathwaite,” Stone said, and shook his head. “No. James Brathwaite died well over a hundred years ago, and his echo was destroyed when he tried to possess me. We’re thinking someone must have got hold of some reference material—either his or someone else’s from the same era—and worked out how to bring the practice back.”

  “Holy shit…”

  “Wait a minute. Wait a minute.” Amber leaned forward, gripping the table in a way that was almost aggressive. “You’re saying that there are people out there who can reanimate dead bodies?”

  “Yeah,” Jason said. “Well, I thought not anymore, but apparently that’s not the case.” He took another swallow. “So…what’s this got to do with ghouls? Are they related? Are ghouls…undead?”

  “No. Ghouls are people with an unusual supernatural affliction. The undead are…different.”

  “So why are you bringing them up?”

  “Get ready for Part Two of this increasingly weird little saga,” Verity said. “Seriously—have more wine.”

  “I don’t think there’s enough wine in Al’s cellar for this,” Jason grumbled. “Okay. Let’s have it.”

  Stone picked up the story, describing his and Verity’s trip to re-attempt the ritual and the fight in the crypt. Once again he left out any detail about names or identities, and didn’t include the part where he helped Maisie raid the grave.

  Jason and Amber listened with growing shock.

  “This…isn’t just old moldy skeletons, is it?” Jason asked when Stone finished. “This is some person…either this woman you’re talking about or somebody else…stitching together pieces of bodies and reanimating them.”

  “Yes.”

  “But…what’s the connection?” Amber seemed to be trying to return to some semblance of normality by falling back on her bounty-hunter skills. “What do missing ghouls have to do with necromancers? Can you reanimate a ghoul?”

  “No idea.”

  “But if you did,” Jason added slowly, “would you get a regenerating zombie?”

  “I’ve already had that thought, and once again the answer is, we don’t know. There’s not much we do know about this at the moment. We’re still no closer to figuring out who’s behind it—whether it’s Miriam Cheltham, someone she’s taught, or someone completely different and unr
elated. Which is a terrifying thought in and of itself: how many mages are rediscovering necromancy all of a sudden, and where are they finding their reference material?” He sighed. “We also don’t know why they’re doing this. So far, our best guesses are either that they’re trying to create regenerating undead, or else they’re using the ghouls’ blood or body parts for something alchemical.”

  “Yeah,” Verity said. “But as for what kind of something—who knows? Could be they’re trying to create a regeneration mixture. I guess it might be useful for the military or something.”

  “But if they were trying to create something for the military,” Jason said, “it seems like they’d be more organized about it, doesn’t it? I mean…blackmailing ghouls into leaving their colony seems a little…” He shrugged. “Not like an organization funded by somebody big would do. Seems like they’d be a little more secretive about it, wouldn’t you think?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” Stone said. “I haven’t exactly got anyone like that I can ask. I’m trying to avoid the FBI and other assorted law-enforcement types paying too much attention to my business, not give them cause to be more curious than they already are.”

  “So…what are you doing to try to find out more information?”

  “I’ve got Kolinsky and Eddie on the case, checking their reference sources to see if they can find any leads. So far they haven’t come back with anything, but they haven’t been at it for long.”

  “And what’s your next step?” Amber asked. “Sounds like you don’t exactly have one.”

  “I don’t, at present. I was hoping my friend in the colony might turn up something by checking the workplace of the one we’re still looking for. He’s a physician,” he added. “He works in an emergency room. But all my friend discovered was that he took a load of vacation time, so nobody’s missing him yet.”

  “Well…” Jason mused, “we can’t really do much if you can’t give us any information. Without names, or even a location…”

  “I know.” Stone sighed. “I wish I could tell you more, but I could be putting a lot of innocent people at risk if anyone got wind that someone was poking into the situation. Especially since we think at least two of the ghouls were blackmailed to lure them away.”

  “More innocent cannibals,” Jason muttered, but waved it off when Stone shot him a sharp look.

  “Anyway,” Stone said, otherwise ignoring the comment, “if you can even give me any suggestions in a more general way, that might help. Angles I can pursue. I suppose I could try another tracking ritual, but now it’s more obvious than ever that there’s at least one powerful mage involved, so even if I manage to punch through any wards they might have active, it will still tip them off that someone’s looking. So far, I’m not sure anyone’s aware that it’s me specifically, and it’s probably best to keep it that way as long as possible.”

  “Wait a second,” Amber said. “Didn’t you say you found two of them? One was dead, but the other was safe?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where’s the safe one? Back with the colony?”

  “No. She’s…” He glanced toward Verity. “She’s in San Francisco, actually, staying with one of the Harpies. They’ve been friends for a while, since the colony left this area and moved east.”

  Jason frowned. “She’s not staying with you, is she, V?”

  “No. Not me. Though I don’t think it would be an issue—it’s not like she’s going to get hungry and use me as a midnight snack. But I promise you, she’s not.”

  He looked relieved.

  “Okay,” Amber said. “So, have you talked to her yet?”

  “I did, a little bit,” Verity said. “I haven’t seen her much since we got back, and I didn’t want to push things since she’s been through hell. But when we talked to her before, she said she was drugged and doesn’t remember much about what happened.”

  “Huh. So they can be drugged? I thought if they regenerated like shifters, it would be hard to do that.”

  “Harder. But we’re pretty sure these mages are alchemists, so it’s possible they came up with something that would work.”

  Stone had been letting his mind wander, only half-listening to the conversation. “Wait,” he said. “When we talked to her, she said she went to sleep in her home, and woke up in the cage. She said she had odd dreams, and that she only remembered indistinct conversations.”

  “Yeah…” Verity tilted her head. “So?”

  “I wonder…do you think it’s possible we might be able to bring out some of those memories? Remember what you did before with Ian, and that girl Brittany back in Massachusetts? Or what I did with Roy Darner in Indiana?”

  She jerked her chin up. “Wow, I didn’t even think of that. I have no idea if something like that would work on ghouls, though.”

  “By everything I’ve seen, ghouls—at least the civilized ones—are no different mentally than normal humans. Their auras don’t look any different, at least most of the time.” Stone considered. “You’ve reminded me of something else, too.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Ian.” He was embarrassed to think he hadn’t even considered his son, since Ian was away so often these days. But even though he didn’t know it, he was studying magic with a dragon. They’d already proven they could produce some extremely impressive illusions. Perhaps Gabriel had taught him something that might be useful in this case. “It’s worth asking him, anyway. But I think we might be on to something with my original idea. Verity, can you check with our friend and see if she’d be willing to give it a go?”

  “Sure. It’s worth a try. Even if it doesn’t work, we’re no worse off.”

  “Listen, Al,” Jason said. “I know you’re not crazy about giving us any information, but don’t forget how good Gina is. If your friends are willing to trust us, maybe we can find something. You don’t think we’re going to turn them in or anything, do you?”

  Stone shook his head. “No, of course not. I’ve told you before—I trust you with my life. But I can’t trust you, or anyone else, with theirs—at least not without asking.”

  “Will you do that? Worst they can say is no.”

  “I will. I can do it now, if you want. Just let me pop up to the study for a few moments. Talk among yourselves—and Verity, you know where the rest of the wine is if you need a top-off.”

  Stone hurried upstairs, followed closely by Raider, who seemed thoroughly disgusted by the vegetarian offerings on the table tonight. The cat jumped onto the desk as he settled into his chair.

  He started by tapping out a text to Ian: Are you around?

  The answer came back with surprising speed. Usually it was at least a few minutes before his son responded. Yep. What’s up?

  Busy? I could use your help with something if you’re not otherwise occupied. Can I call you?

  Sure. Let me get someplace a little quieter. I’ll call you.

  The next five minutes seemed to drag on forever before the phone finally buzzed. “Glad I could reach you,” he said.

  “You actually caught me at a good time. Gabriel’s off doing something on his own for a couple weeks, so I’m hanging out at a goth bar in Caracas right now.” As if to confirm his words, the distant sound of sepulchral, minor-key dance music barely came through behind his voice.

  Stone was a little disappointed to hear Gabriel wasn’t available. He’d been hoping the young dragon might offer some suggestions as well, but he supposed it was for the best. Even if Gabriel wasn’t as stringent about following the rules as his older peers, he still probably couldn’t get directly involved. “Ah. If you’re not busy, then, have you got time to pop by? I’ve got an unusual problem I’m working on. Remember what happened with the catacombs at the Surrey house?”

  There was a long pause before he replied. “Yes…”

  “Similar sort of thing, plus a few more interesting angles. I could use your thoughts.”

  Ian’s hesitation only lasted a couple seconds. “Uh…ye
ah. Sure, I can come. You don’t have your portal done yet, do you?”

  Ah, so Kolinsky had been right: Gabriel hadn’t taught his apprentice ley-line travel. “Not yet. Getting closer, though.”

  “Okay. I have a couple things I need to finish and it’ll take me a while to get to a portal from here, but I can be there day after tomorrow. Is that too late?”

  “No, it’s fine.” That would give them time to try sorting through Maisie’s muddled memories. “See you then. I’m looking forward to it. It’s been too long.”

  “Yeah…it has. Maybe I can come for a while over the holidays this year. You know, if you want.”

  “I would like nothing more. And I’m sure Aubrey will be happy to see you, too.” He smiled as he remembered stumbling upon the caretaker and his new lady friend. “Talk to you soon. Let me know if you need me to pick you up at the portal.”

  “Nah, I’ll find a way.” He chuckled. “You really need to finish that portal, Dad. I’ll visit more often if I don’t have to get hungry for curry every time I come by.”

  “I’ll work on that, once we sort out this little problem. See you soon.”

  He was still smiling when he hung up. He wouldn’t exactly say it was worth it to be dealing with mysterious ghoul murders and the resurgence of necromancy to have a chance to see his son for a while, but he certainly wouldn’t turn down the opportunity.

  As he prepared to call Grider, he thought about contacting Kolinsky again and asking him if there was any way the dragons could see their way clear to allow Gabriel to teach Ian the ley-line travel technique. It would certainly make it easier for the two of them to see each other, and if there was any other person on earth who might be ideal to trust with the knowledge, it was Ian.

  That was for later, though. This next call would be harder, and he needed to be prepared.

  “Yeah?” Grider answered quickly, but sounded gruff.

  “Mr. Grider. It’s Stone again. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

  “Nah.” The gruffness turned to weary resignation. “You got somethin’ else?”