A Mage's Gambit: New York Falling (A Malachi English book)

by Andy Hyland

  ‘Hey,’ I called out, standing still, straining to hear anything.

  A clatter. Something falling. Then: ‘Malachi? That you?’

  ‘Becky?’ I rushed forward, into the library. It was wrecked. Books everywhere. Shelves snapped and fallen. Desks overturned, sofas ripped open. Becky stood at the centre, clutching her head, blood running between her fingers. Arabella lay on the floor in front of her, face down, arms and legs splayed.

  ‘Melanie,’ said Becky. ‘That bitch Melanie sold us all out.’

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Becky filled me in while I checked on Arabella. ‘The security systems all failed at once. I think it was when Simeon died.’

  I nodded. ‘Makes sense. Must have been what we felt when we left. No sign of Grace?’

  ‘Nothing. I tried looking, but we couldn’t even find the room that they were in. We could try again now, but really what’s the point?’

  Arabella’s body was okay. No wounds from gunshots or knives. Steady breathing. Almost like Zack, but not quite. She’d hit the ground hard, going from the cut on her forehead.

  ‘They came soon after that. Dozens of them. Some of them were in suits. The others – dressed like that gang from the other night.’

  ‘They came in force, just in case.’

  ‘Melanie welcomed them with open arms. Told them who she was, then flounced out. Must have gone with them when they left. They grabbed Julie. She was still asleep. Wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I’m so sorry, so sorry.’

  ‘Nothing you could have done, Becks. Not against a team that big. How’d they get Arabella?’

  ‘Some hex. She didn’t see it coming. Collapsed instantly. Once she was down they didn’t bother with her. I held them off but one of them clobbered me with that Aleph statue. Hurt like hell. Only just woke up.’ She pointed to stone fragments on the floor. ‘It won’t be persuading anyone else to join the cause. How bad is this, Malachi?’

  ‘It’s about as bad as it gets,’ I said. ‘They complete the sacrifice, and a tower from hell gets established with a great view of the bay. They found a way to bypass the net theory, clever buggers.’

  ‘So what do we do?’

  ‘We go after them.’

  ‘You can’t take them, Malachi, not a force like that. No alone. Hang on, where’s Zack?’

  I filled her in while I finished assessing Arabella. It took a while, but I found it, at the edge of my sensing. A thin gossamer web of a cast, wrapped neatly around her mind, subduing her. Subtle. Gentle, almost. Effectively putting her in a coma for as long as it lasted, which could be a few hours.

  ‘Let me check out your head,’ I said to Becky. ‘Don’t argue. Here, now.’ It was a standard head wound, in that there was plenty of blood but no real damage.

  You get to know how to read a crime scene in my trade. It painted its own picture. I had a pretty good idea what had happened and exactly how they pulled it off. ‘You think you know someone,’ I muttered.

  ‘We all knew she was a bitch,’ Becky agreed. ‘She sold you out earlier, leading Monk to your apartment, and she sold us all out again now.’

  ‘There’s a way to stop them,’ I said, taking her shoulders and looking her in the eye. ‘There’s something they haven’t figured out, one piece of the puzzle that’s slipped them by. I stumbled across it with Zack. It happens, when you chase power that hard. You love the big picture and skip over the details. We’ve got a chance here. Trust me.’

  She nodded, looking confused. ‘Want to tell?’

  ‘Later. I’m still getting it straight in my mind. Arabella’s going to be fine, but we can’t do anything for her now. Let’s get your head sorted, then we’re out of here.’

  It took a few minutes to get her patched up. She was twitchy, but that was only to be expected. ‘Where are we heading out to?’

  ‘We’ll stop by Benny’s first,’ I said. ‘If anyone knows where the action’s going to be, it’ll be him.’

  ‘They’re in the Fades?’

  ‘Must be. Channel tunnel theory. One side was working in from hell, the other from earth. Both ends have to be strong – I bet there’s been more than one child killed at Ascension House. But if Julie’s on the menu as the final sacrifice, like Frank said, I’m betting it’ll have to be made where the two ends join. Somewhere in the Fades. Dexter said something was wrong over there. If it was wrong enough to get him running from his usual haunts all the way to Mexico, then it must be big. I should have paid more attention to him, but we didn’t know.’

  ‘Why not attack Ascension House? Go after whatever’s in the basement. Break the bridge at one end, and the connection can’t be made.’

  ‘Firstly, because it’s too damn strong. I’ve only seen the barest glimpse of the type of protection they’ve got down there. This close to the end, if they’ve had to leave the place, then every security measure they’ve got is going to be ramped up to red alert. We’re nowhere near full strength, and they’ll be on home turf. We wouldn’t stand a chance.’

  ‘You said firstly. That means there’s a secondly?’

  I took a deep breath. ‘Even if we hit Ascension House, and took them out from that end, they’ve still got Julie. She’d still die. I want her back. Winning isn’t enough.’

  ‘So we hit the Fades. And then what?’

  ‘Like I said, they’ve missed something. I want to be there when they realize that. You sure you’re up to this?’

  She blinked hard and felt her head. ‘Yeah, reckon I’m good to go. Let’s slide.’

  ‘First things first,’ I said, heading for a long cupboard near the door. Simeon couldn’t come with us this time, but something of his could help a great deal.

  We took the route back out by the chapel and headed north a couple of blocks. One of the thin places – I wanted to save as much energy as I could, particularly since I was still almost completely depleted from the ward I cast. Even with Zack’s power on tap it was a hell of a thing to pull off.

  ‘Hey you,’ said a suited woman with black hair as we passed. I almost ignored her, but did a double take and found myself face to face with someone quite unexpected.

  ‘Stacey? What’re you doing this side of the veil?’

  She glanced around then moved closer. ‘You can’t feel it? Gee, you humans are so insensitive. Something’s tearing up the Fades. I mean fabric-tearing. Getting way too hot in there for a girl like me. So I figured, time to change up. Lose the leather skirts and go for something more formal. You like?’ She spun round. Perfectly fitted business suit, tight in all the right places. Very thin blouse. Sucking a lollipop.

  ‘I reckon you’ll get work.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s pretty easy over here. I’ve got five secretarial jobs lined up and I’ve not been here a day yet.’

  ‘Stacey, you know you’re only meant to have one job, right?’

  ‘Hey, I’m not keeping them. I reckon one feed at each and I’ll be done. Day after tomorrow I’ll probably move on. Accounting looks fun. Where are you off to?’

  ‘Fades.’

  She pulled a face. ‘Honey, didn’t you hear what I was saying? Word has it this army came over from earth, went straight through Rarkshah. I mean through Rarkshah. Sitri’s Lord over a pile of bones. He’s not taking it well. Seeing you’ll push him over the edge.’

  ‘I reckon I’m the only one who can help him now.’

  ‘Oh gee, that’s even worse. That’ll really piss him off. Well look, your life, your soul and all. Stay safe sugar. We still haven’t got high, you know?’

  ‘And never will. Go easy, Stacey.’

  We watched her back as she sauntered off. ‘Never figured out why you didn’t put her down,’ said Becky. ‘You’ve had enough chances. Hell, we could have taken her out right then if we’d wanted to.’

  I shook my head. ‘Not my fight. She’s done me and mine no harm. And there’s something refreshing about her. She’s completely up-front about being a man-eating monster, and never dished it
out except to men who were trying to get something out of her.’

  ‘Is that admiration?’

  ‘Nah. Time’ll come, I might have to deal with her. But not today. Bigger fish to fry. Let’s see what’s going down at Benny’s.

  We slid right across into a mess.

  Chapter twenty-three

  The street wasn’t there anymore. Same choked ash sky you get everywhere in the Fades, same acrid smell drifting about the place. But the cobbles were torn up and scattered across the scorched black earth. The once-high walls either side were now short stumps a few bricks high. The only thing that remained was the door. The same old door, but nothing around it. No swinging sign. No wall. Not even the doorframe. Only the door, standing there, hinges hanging onto nothing.

  ‘You ever known it like this?’ I asked.

  ‘Never,’ said Becky. ‘Always been the same old place. Where’s Benny gone, do you think?’

  ‘Let’s not jump to conclusions.’ I walked over to the door. Walked around the door. Nothing new on the other side. Then, because once you’re in the Fades any kind of crap can start to make sense, I gave the door a push and walked through.

  Benny’s was still there, mostly as I remembered it. The same bar, the same tables, the same chairs. Except this time it looked more like a field hospital. Hellkind of every shape and type, some half-heartedly wearing human guise, most not bothering, lay across every available surface. A team of hooded monk-like figures in black robes moved between them, assessing and giving guidance, carving healing runes or dispensing a thick green liquid from crystal vials.

  ‘Well this is new,’ said Becky. ‘What gives?’

  ‘Only one way to find out.’ I stepped up to the nearest prone demon and crouched down. This one was scrawny and squat, with too-long arms and legs that looked too thin to bear the weight of it. Hateful eyes glared up at me from above a pug nose. It tried to spit at me, but choked up the saliva which then ran harmlessly across a bloodied cheek. ‘Where you from?’ I asked. It turned its face to the wall. ‘Fine, be like that.’

  I stepped back and aimed a kick at its head. A paralysis gripped my leg and nothing I could do would move my foot forward. Only when I let go of the intention to harm did the cast lift. So the anti-violence protection was still in place. That was good to know. None of the wounded here looked like they were in any shape to do me harm, but appearances can be deceptive. A bar fight at Benny’s, if it ever broke out, would be epic in scope and probably end badly for everyone. The bill for fixing everything afterwards would be a killer. Just one of the reasons Benny made sure life went on quietly.

  ‘We’ve got to get one of these idiots to talk,’ I said to Becky. ‘You start over there, I’ll take this side. Be charming. Or a complete bitch. Whatever works.’

  ‘Got it.’ She headed across the room and smiled gently at an imp in the corner before kneeling down and hissing profanities into its ear. I left her to it and looked for a likely victim myself.

  A clinking noise came from behind the bar. I leaned over, hoping to see Benny at work, but instead found myself looking into the single unblinking eye of an oversized, nub-horned head sitting on the body of a small child. ‘Mawshag, fancy seeing you here.’

  ‘Nobody was here taking the money, so I thought, since I’m a longstanding and valuable customer, I’d help myself. Settle up later. Sure nobody’ll mind.’ The eye swivelled loosely in the head. Nothing to do with the drink – she’d taken more than her fair share of knocks in her time. We had an uneasy relationship, but it was reasonably stable. She’d tried to kill me a couple of times, as demons do, but the attempts were half-hearted and more for the sake of form than anyone else. Sometimes she wanted an ear to bend, and I was a good listener. Particularly since, because she was what passed for a chef in the kitchens of the Fades, she picked up all the best gossip.

  ‘Hey, I’m not judging,’ I told her, stepping round the bar but keeping my distance just in case. ‘Got a beer down there?’

  She fumbled around and tossed me a bottle. Good stuff from a small Dutch brewery that went out of business sometime around the Reformation. ‘Cheers.’

  ‘I know what you want, but you’ll not get it from me,’ she slurred. Alcohol was a uniquely human invention, but the hellkind took to it like fish to water. It took the edge off their spiky existence. ‘You think you can roll up and shout your orders at me and I’ll be all meek and tell you. Not going to happen. Give it up.’

  ‘Hey, I’m here for the drink. Good job the door was still around or I’d have been wandering over the borders for days trying to find the place.’

  ‘You don’t wanna go doing that,’ she told me firmly, pointing an index finger that had lost the top section in Sitri’s kitchen years back. ‘You wanna get your ass back to your pretty little city and hunker down. ‘Swhat I’m gonna do.’

  ‘You, go earthside? Not likely. You think it stinks and the food’s crap.’

  ‘Food is crap,’ she agreed. ‘That green stuff you pile on everything.’

  ‘Vegetables. Salad. Yeah, it can get tiresome.’

  ‘Tiresome? Makes me wanna puke. Soaks up the blood. Anyway, you wanna get back there right now. You think this place is bad, you wanna see Rarkshah. That’s where it all went down. But I’m not saying nothing about that.’

  ‘Hey, you keep your secrets. I’m sure Sitri can hold his own.’

  ‘Hold his own dick maybe,’ she snorted. ‘Maybe. All he’s left holding now, bloody great hole in the fort. Went straight through, they did. Straight through. Blew the street apart outside as well, and they weren’t even here. Sod that, I thought, old Mawshag’s getting off to pastures new. But you didn’t hear any of that stuff from me. I ain’t saying nothing. Sod off. Want another beer?’

  ‘Any joy?’ I asked Becky over by the pool table.

  ‘All pretty vague so far.’ She absentmindedly flicked the cue ball, sending it bouncing off the cushions. Same rules Fade-side, in case you were wondering. ‘Taking a break. You?’

  ‘Same. I’m going to head off and try to track down Benny. You carry on here.’

  ‘You’re the boss.’

  I pushed open the door that led round to the back room. Benny wasn’t in there, only a couple of hellspawn getting some privacy. The sort of stuff you walk in on and can’t get out of your head for months, as much as you try. The rest of the place was unfamiliar territory to me. Curious, I pushed open the next door down and found a short flight of stairs going up. At the top was an old-style cage elevator, the kind used for moving boxes, not people. I stepped inside. Two red buttons, one for up, one for down. There was no up to go to, so down it was. The machinery complained and groaned, lowering the cage slowly, taking me past the ground floor and into a dark shaft. The descent seemed endless at the time, but in reality could only have been about a minute. The cage came to rest in a small cave, lit by flickering torches. A single entrance ran out ahead.

  ‘Hey,’ I called out as I headed across. ‘Benny? You around?’

  It suddenly struck me that maybe Benny wasn’t here. Maybe it wasn’t some place Benny came that often. And maybe the protection that you got up in the bar area didn’t extend this far down. All of this occurred to me, as it usually did, far too late to be of any real use. Still, it was with a sense of relief that I heard Benny’s answering shout, and quickened my pace.

  Another cave, this one long, narrow and high, the light from the flames reaching high enough to glisten on the stalactites overhead. Barrels and crates were stacked high on either side. I ran my hand along them. Old wood. Dusty, but strong. They could have come from anywhere, or anywhen. Whatever they contained, it was bound to be good. Benny took a certain pride in what he delivered to the patrons upstairs.

  Benny himself was half the length of the cave away, at a guess. He stood with another guy I’d never seen before, who looked big, and only grew in stature as I got closer. I’m a little under six foot, and this guy had at least two feet on me. Wide shoulders, bald head, on
e lazy blue eye. The family resemblance was unmistakeable. ‘Your brother?’ I asked Benny.

  ‘Half brother,’ he confirmed. ‘Malachi, this is Bud. Bud, this is Malachi. He’s okay. Be nice to him.’

  ‘Nice meet you,’ Bud whispered, and offered his hand. His grip was surprisingly gentle.

  ‘Bud doesn’t like crowds,’ Benny explained, ‘so he runs the cellar for me. Suits us both.’

  ‘Whatever works. Nothing like a family business.’ I couldn’t think of any other pleasantries to fill the time with, so got straight into it. ‘So, it’s all gone to hell up there, right?’

  ‘Nah, it’s slightly more screwed up, but the Fades always adjusts. Give it time. It’s New York that’s going to hell from what I hear.’

  ‘Direct connection to the Aleph’s fortress in hell, from what I hear,’ I shot back.

  Benny looked at me, and put down the bottle of wine he was holding. ‘You know about that? Well, you did the right thing. There’s not much more you can do but get over this side of things and take your chances. You’ll have to switch your line of work, and your magic’s not great, but you’re resourceful. I could probably set you up with something. Guy called Caleb rides through every few months. Officially he works for Sitri, but he goes freelance on the side. Reckon you’d get on with him.’

  ‘Reckon I would. Met him a few days ago. Turns out I owe him big time. But as for working with him, I’m not interested. I’d prefer to throw a spanner in the works with the Aleph and put a stop to whatever they’ve got planned. It’ll save relocating, save switching careers, save my girlfriend. You know.’

  Benny turned and walked away at a fair pace. I trotted to keep up, and Bud lumbered behind us with long strides. ‘You’re a fool,’ he snapped over his shoulder. ‘At your best you’re not even close to being able to match them, and you’re far from your best at the moment. You think I don’t know that Simeon’s dead? With him you might have actually got there, but now? Forget it, Malachi. Go out of the door, turn left and keep going. You got anyone with you at all?’