The Madness Below: An Alastair Stone Urban Fantasy Novel (Alastair Stone Chronicles Book 20)

by R. L. King

  Stone hung up, letting out a long breath. Could Aldwyn Stone be involved in re-forming the Ordo? His own son Cyrus had conspired with James Brathwaite to seal him away with powerful magic, and Brathwaite had called him a “fiend.” Were they all members of the Ordo together, pursuing their goals from different and mutually exclusive angles?

  For a moment, he actually thought about trying to contact Aldwyn. The last time they’d spoken, he’d indicated he would be easy to reach if Stone ever wanted to, and Stone had essentially told him to go pound sand. He had no idea where his many-times-great grandfather even was these days—for all he knew, the man could have established his base anywhere in the world. Or even on another plane entirely; he seemed to have the power to do it.

  No, contacting Aldwyn when he barely had any facts was probably a bad idea. Better to pursue his current plan, including trying to find out what went wrong with those kids. He’d have to devote all his energy to that if he didn’t want to get caught.

  Stefan Kolinsky was another logical choice, but unfortunately not a good one due to the difficulty in reaching him. Without telephone or email access—assuming he was even in the area—it would take too long to get any useful information from him even if he did know something. He was a possibility if nothing turned up, but Stone wasn’t there yet.

  He remained in the car, still watching the kids and the dog, while his phone chugged away sending the photos he’d taken to Eddie. It felt like it had taken forever for him to snap images of all fifteen pages in the Ordo notebook as well as the shorthand on the desk; the whole time, his heart pounded as he expected to hear a key in the lock at any second. But when he finally finished and did his best to put the room back the way he’d found it (including re-creating the illusion hiding the book under the mattress), he discovered it had only been a few minutes. He’d checked the peephole again and slipped out, ducking into his own room until his heart settled back down. He didn’t encounter Lang and Kroyer on the way out to his car.

  The images finally finished sending. That was one item on his list sorted, but he still had two more. By now, the kids and dog had left with the women, so he didn’t feel too conspicuous remaining at the park a while longer.

  Quickly, he dashed off a text to Verity: Got a room, if you still want to come and help. Could only get one, though, so we’ll have to share.

  Her reply came back just as quickly: Smooth, Doc. :) And we’ll run out of gas in the car too, huh?

  Before he could reply, his phone rang and her name flashed on the screen. “You make me sound like I’m some awkward high school nerd,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Hey, if the pocket-protector fits…” She laughed too. “Come on, Doc, you know I’m looking forward to it. We haven’t spent much time together lately. It’ll be nice. Our plane leaves from here soon, so I’ll check on Raider, grab you some clothes, and be there later today. Good thing I don’t have to fly back there—the airports are packed with people trying to get home for the holiday.”

  He hadn’t thought about that. Portals did have their advantages sometimes. “Brilliant. Be careful driving—the weather’s a bit dodgy here. I’m at the Schooner Inn. Just call me when you get into town.”

  “You got it, Doc. Everything okay?”

  “Everything’s…getting interesting. I’ll explain it when you get here. I need to make a couple more calls.”

  He hung up, smiling. As bad as this whole situation was getting, the anticipation of Verity’s visit made him feel better about it. Dez Griffith had proven to be a smart and capable sounding board and associate, but she couldn’t match Verity’s magical experience.

  Speaking of Dez, he remembered another item he should add to his list. He’d been planning to call Blodgett next, but he supposed he should let Dez know about what had become of her laptop. That would be a quick call—might as well do it now, since the conversation with Blodgett would likely take longer.

  She didn’t answer for several rings. He feared it might go to voicemail, but then the line picked up. “Hello?” She sounded breathless and impatient.

  “Hello, Dez. Alastair Stone here. Is everything all right?”

  “Oh, hi. I should be asking you that. Did you find a place to stay?”

  “I did, yes. The Schooner Inn had a room available. That’s actually what I’m calling you about.”

  “I was actually going to call you in a little bit. You tell me yours first.”

  “Er—all right. I’ve discovered something, but we’ll need to be a bit careful about how we handle it.”

  “What?”

  “I found your stolen laptop.”

  “You did? Where?” Her tone was sharper now, more direct.

  “Well—that’s the thing. I’d like to report its whereabouts, but it will need to be anonymous. It wouldn’t be wise for anyone to know I found it, because the way I did it…wasn’t exactly legal.”

  “Dr. Stone, you’re not making sense. Who took it? What did you do?”

  “It’s at the Schooner Inn. Those two tabloid reporters from the Busy Bee have it, buried in the bottom of one of their suitcases.”

  “You broke into their room?”

  “Yes. I was investigating another angle. I didn’t expect to find it there, but I recognized it when I did. Did you report it missing? Because if I call in an anonymous tip that it’s there and nobody’s reported it missing, that won’t look good.”

  She sighed. “No, I didn’t report it. Not yet. Had other things on my mind.”

  He was afraid of that. “The good news is, I think your job is safe. I’m reasonably convinced now that those two aren’t reporters at all.”

  “They aren’t? What are they, then?”

  “Long story, and I don’t want to go into it now. Suffice it to say they’re probably here for the same reason I am—to investigate the supernatural angle around these murders.”

  Pause. “So…they are mages?”

  “At least one of them is. Probably both. And I think they nicked the laptop because they wanted to see the video of the students chanting. They already had a copy of the police report with the transcription. I found that in their room too.”

  “Uh—wow. I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t need to say anything right now. Let me handle this. You just spend some time with your family. I’ll call you if I need anything else. All right?”

  She paused again. “Yeah…but…”

  “But what?”

  “You said those guys aren’t reporters?”

  “I don’t think so. Why?”

  “Because I just got back from talking to Lisa Warby. I wanted to stop by and offer my condolences, and…well, I was feeling pretty guilty about our visit yesterday. I wanted to give her the chance to yell at me if she wanted to. I feel like maybe we might have kicked Neil over the edge with our questions.”

  “I understand.” So she had felt the same way he did. He wasn’t surprised; she’d proven herself a perceptive woman so far. “What did she say?”

  She swallowed, loud enough to hear through the phone. “She…wasn’t angry with me. With us. But she did tell me Neil had some other visitors, later that same day while we were up at the campground.”

  “Oh?” Stone sat up a little straighter in his seat. “Did she say who they were?”

  “Yeah. Those same two guys from the Busy Bee. The ones you say now aren’t reporters. Lisa had gone out to pick up a few things from the store, and they were just leaving when she got back. Neil told her they were reporters, and they’d asked him a bunch of questions about the camping trip, and the students. She told me he seemed…’drained’ was the word she used. She’s feeling terrible that she didn’t notice any signs that he might…” Her voice trailed off into a long sigh.

  “Bloody hell…” he murmured. What were those two after? Part of him wanted to go right back to the Schooner Inn, wait for them to return, and force them to reveal why they were here and what they’d discovered. But that wouldn’t
work—and as Eddie had pointed out, Kroyer and Lang might not be working alone. Who knew how many other Ordo people could be hanging around Treadley, digging up information while pretending to be reporters or tourists?

  “Okay,” he said at last. “Leave it to me. Are you willing to lose the laptop? Did it have anything valuable to you on it? I can reimburse you the cost if you like, but I don’t think it’s wise at this point to tip our hand about those two. Not until I can figure out more about why they’re here.”

  “No, it’s okay. There wasn’t anything important on there. It was an old machine, and I have a backup on my main computer. Did you get hold of your apprentice? Is she coming?”

  “She is, later today.”

  “And you’re still planning on breaking in to Maple Ridge tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. I’ll help. Why don’t you and your apprentice come by later tonight and we’ll do some planning. I can get you the floor plan for the facility, and I might be able to find out where the kids are being held. I’ll have to be careful, but I think I can do it. That will help a lot.”

  “Indeed it will. But—”

  “But what?”

  He sighed. “Your family is returning today. Tomorrow is a holiday. Don’t you want to spend it with them? Verity and I can manage—”

  “Listen,” she cut him off. “Like I said before, these murders are the worst thing that’s ever happened in the history of Treadley. If I can help you get to the bottom of what caused them so nothing like this will ever happen again, I want to do it. Walt and the boys know it’s part of my job. Believe me, this isn’t the first Thanksgiving or Christmas I’ve missed because I was on duty. Now, enough arguing, okay?”

  Stone couldn’t help a faint smile. “You’re a remarkable woman, Officer Griffith.”

  “No. I’m not. I’m just somebody who loves her town and wants to protect it. So let’s do this.”

  15

  Stone had planned to make one more call to Edwin Blodgett, but the reverend beat him to it as he was cruising around Treadley looking for another place to park.

  “Hello, Dr. Stone.” Blodgett’s voice sounded tired and heavy.

  “Reverend. I was going to call you today. Did you get the video?” He pulled off the road and parked along one of the tree-lined side streets off Main.

  “Yes.”

  “And…? Were you able to make any sense of the chanting?” Stone narrowed his eyes. He didn’t need auras to tell that something was disturbing Blodgett.

  “I’m not fully certain. I’m still waiting for some research sources to get back to me. Don’t worry—they’re quite discreet. But I do have something preliminary for you.”

  “Brilliant. Let’s hear it. I could use anything you’ve got.”

  “It took me a while before I could find anything. I’ve never heard the words in the chant before, and while the written transcription was adequate, it didn’t capture the nuances of the pronunciation and accent. I had to dig through some very old material from a friend and fellow magical researcher.” Stone heard the sound of rustling papers. “The chant appears to be in a long-dead language, reputed to be used by an organization whose name is lost to history.”

  A chill crept up Stone’s neck. Could he be talking about the Ordo? “What…kind of organization?”

  “That’s the part I’m still waiting for more information about. But with the little I’ve got so far, it seemed to be a cult—an offshoot group of a larger organization, dedicated to summoning and worshiping…something. I don’t know what. That’s where my sources fail me. I’m still working on it, though—this intrigues me.”

  “Hmm.” This didn’t sound like the Ordo, but Stone wasn’t sure whether that relieved him or disturbed him. “So, those kids were trying to summon something?”

  “I doubt it. I haven’t finished the translation yet, but the chant sounds more like a prayer of triumph. Sort of a ‘thank God for his goodness’ kind of thing.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “Except it’s more like ‘thank whoever for his assistance.’ Does that make any sense with what you’ve found out?”

  “It does. That’s consistent with what I’ve got from another source. I’ve done some investigation, and it appears there’s something powerful out there in the woods not too far from their campsite. Powerful enough that it messed with my mind, and that’s not easy to do. Unfortunately, though, I haven’t found it yet. And I also have no idea whether those kids just blundered into it, whether it called them, or what. All I can be reasonably certain of is that it influenced them, but I don’t know why. What would it gain by having them kill a bunch of people sixty miles away? I don’t think it’s powerful enough for its influence to reach that far.”

  “No…that does seem unlikely.” Blodgett paused. “What’s your next step?”

  “I don’t think I’ll tell you that on the phone, Reverend. It’s not something I want to risk anyone overhearing. But let’s just say I need to get a better idea of what’s going on in those kids’ heads, and leave it at that.”

  “Probably for the best,” he agreed. “I’ll call you if I get anything else.”

  “I’ve got some other friends working on it too, over in England—might want to give them a ring. It might be better if you compared notes.” He gave Blodgett Eddie’s number. “Tell him I sent you, and see if you can put your heads together on this. But what you’ve given me is a big help. My apprentice is getting in later today—you should see her this afternoon. We’ll go from there once she arrives here.”

  “Be careful, Dr. Stone. It sounds like this might be more dangerous than we initially thought.”

  “So what else is new? ‘More dangerous than we initially thought’ is a typical Wednesday for me. I’ll talk to you later, Reverend.”

  Verity arrived early that evening.

  With the exception of a quick detour for lunch at the diner, Stone had spent the rest of the day in the library, researching local legends and lore until the librarian kicked him out at three p.m. The place had been deserted all day—most likely the townspeople were out picking up last-minute meal ingredients or home with their families preparing for their holiday festivities, and many of the tourists had already left to return to their own homes. The librarian was apologetic when she told him they were closing, and told him he could come back on Friday if he hadn’t found what he was looking for.

  When Verity’s text came, informing him that she was waiting downstairs at the Schooner Inn’s lobby, it woke him from an uneasy but sorely needed nap in his room. He’d been careful to put up warning wards around both the door and the window in case Kroyer and Lang figured out he was behind their room break-in, but nothing disturbed him until his phone beeped on his nightstand.

  He hurried down and found her pacing the lobby, dressed in her leather jacket over a gray hoodie and a black knit cap pulled low over her forehead. Two soft-sided bags were parked near the seating area.

  Her face lit up in a smile when she spotted him, and she hurried over to throw her arms around him in a long, hard hug, followed by a shorter but no less ardent kiss. “It’s good to see you.”

  “How’s Raider coping without me?”

  “Oh, the usual. Lounging around like he owns the place. He’s fine.” She stepped back to look him up and down. “Guess you haven’t run out of clean clothes yet.”

  “It’s been a close thing. You caught me just in time. Come on—let’s go upstairs so you can get settled.” He glanced around the lobby, but didn’t see any signs of Kroyer, Lang, or anyone else. The desk clerk was different this time, a young man who was discreetly ignoring their conversation. Stone hefted the two bags and led her upstairs, checking once again to make sure no one was in the hall.

  Verity stood in the doorway and studied the tiny room. “This is…cozy,” she said, amused.

  “It’s a bloody broom closet—but I’m happy to have it. It’s the only room to be had in the whole town.”

  “The town’s kind of a bro
om closet, from what I saw driving through. Pretty, though. Bet it’s prettier when the leaves are turning.”

  “Probably, but right now all I want to do is sort out what’s going on here and get back to California. Please—make yourself at home, as well as you can.”

  While she unpacked, he filled her in on his progress so far, leaving out only the specifics about the Ordo, which he called “a magical organization I’d thought long gone, but apparently not.” He ended with the conversations he’d had earlier with Eddie and Blodgett, and Dez Griffith’s request that they come by her house this evening so they could strategize for tomorrow.

  “You’re sure you want to do this?” he asked her as she finished. “I’ve no idea how much security they have in this place, and there’s no sugarcoating the fact that this whole operation is highly illegal. If we get caught, I’m not sure magic will be able to get us off the hook.”

  She grinned, giving him another hug. “I have faith in you, Doc. And in me, too. We can handle mundanes and mundane security. I didn’t come all the way back here to sit on the sidelines.”

  He returned the hug. “It’s good to have you here. It won’t be as much fun as going on rides and wearing rodent ears, but it will probably be more exciting.”

  “I’m telling you, I am going to take you to Disneyland one of these days. And buy you a set of mouse ears with your name on it. It’s part of the quintessential American experience.”

  “So are Bermuda shorts and black socks with sandals. There are some parts of the American experience I can gladly live without. Now, come on. Let’s get out of here and call Officer Griffith before Kroyer and Lang come back.”

  16

  Dez Griffith immediately invited Stone and Verity to her house when he called. “Come on over now,” she said. “I was about to order pizza—I’ll just add another one to the order. You can meet Walt and the boys, and then after dinner we can go into my office and talk.”

  Their knock was answered by a ten-year-old boy with a mop of blond hair and serious blue eyes, wearing an oversized Boston Bruins jersey. “You Mom’s friends?” he asked.