by AR DeClerck
“Are you well enough to be up and about, Archie?” I moved back to arm's length to study his face. The bruising was horrendous, but he grinned at me.
“Right as rain, Cora.” He nodded to Lucia with a roll of his eyes and a peculiar smile, “My bodyguard would not have let me leave otherwise.”
“He would have snuck off in the night like a thief and a blackguard.” Lucia sniffed, but there was a particular sparkle in her eyes that made me pinch my lips together to hide my smile.
“If we're to find Victor Kane and put an end to this nonsense once and for all we'd best get going.” Bastion crossed his arms over his chest. “London is our city, too.”
I saw the moment that the presence of the glowing aether caught their attention. Their eyes grew wide and their mouths dropped open in wonder.
“What is that?” Lucia held out a hand and the aether fluttered to her palm like a butterfly to a flower. She leaned in to look hard at the particles.
“It's aether, by God!” Bastion, too, peered hard at the aether as it fluttered around him. “You've made it visible!”
“Indeed.” Icarus smiled at Archie and shook his hand vigorously. “I'm glad you're on the road to well, my friend.”
Archie's gaze was sharp as he took in the change in Icarus. He no longer carried the heavy weight of guilt that had been burdening him so much these last months. “And you, Icarus.” He looked around the room at the machinery and the glowing aether. “We've much to catch up on, I see.”
“On the road, if you please.” Rivensbrow clapped his hands to gather our attention. “We can talk as we search.”
“What are we looking for?” Lucia asked, never taking her eyes off the aether in her palm.
“We are looking for my father,” Icarus said, straightening his lapels and holding out a hand for me. “And we are looking for the mysterious lack of aether that signals the presence of the dielectric.”
“Off we go, then.” Rivensbrow bowed low to Archie when he raised an eyebrow in his direction. “Rivensbrow, Lucan Orrin's man. And I believe you know the Grand Master and his familiar?”
Machiavelli landed on Rivensbrow's shoulder and Archie glared at him with comedic distaste. “We've met.”
“Gentlemen. Ladies. If you please.”
Bastion and Lucia looked at us with wide eyes as the Grand Master's voice issued from his familiar's throat.
“We have work to do.”
The world had become a land of fantasy. The aether shifted and moved around us, as thick as the London fog. It coated everything, and the humanoid shapes pressed tightly to us on the street.
“There's so much.” Lucia tried to touch a clump of aether on the windowpane, laughing when it fluttered away.
“Imagine what my father could do with unfettered access to all this.” Icarus followed the swarm of particles with his eyes as it joined the twinkling mass in the sky.
“Here we are now.” Rivensbrow waved us all into the motorcar. Bastion climbed up front, leaving Lucia and Archie in back with Icarus and I. Machiavelli landed on Bastion's shoulder as Rivensbrow started the motor with a word.
“Would you look at that!” Bastion pointed to the aether.
We watched as it moved into the engine, and I imagined the force of their movement turning the turbine within.
“I never imagined it like that.” Bastion studied the swarms around us. “That magic was a creature such as these.”
“A bit much to wrap about your brain, to be sure.” Orrin agreed. “And it serves to remind us that man does not control magic. It is a gift, not to be squandered or misused.”
“It is a relationship I have heard described once by a professor I knew. Symbiosis, I believe it was.” Bastion grinned as the car pulled away from the curb through a sea of aether that parted before us. “We exist only because we exist together. They cannot act on this world without us as a conduit. We use them to perform whatever tasks we require. A mutual benefit is achieved.”
“It's why dark wizards never fare well.” Lucia's voice went cold, and I looked at Icarus. He raised a shoulder, but could not disagree.
“The aether exacts a terrible revenge on those who seek to use it for dark purposes.”
I did not miss the way Archie leaned into Lucia, his big hand covering hers. There was a softness that existed between them that told me their past had tied them together in ways they had probably never imagined.
I stiffened as a flurry of aether blew, whirlwind-like, through the car. It fluttered around my face and though the barrier kept them from touching me I could hear the insistent whisper.
“We are being pursued.” I said, turning to look out the back window. A dark shadow obscured the light of the aether a few hundred yards behind us.
My companions were staring at me as if I'd grown two heads. Icarus was smiling at their astonishment.
“Did you not hear me? I said there is something following us.”
“The aether speaks to you.” Lucia tilted her head, staring at the aether that still clung to me as pollen to the flower.
“Yes. It always has. When I had The Hand it focused me, but I can still hear it even now.”
“Look at the way it caresses you, Cora.” Archie swiped a finger through the curtain of aether hanging about me, and it swirled for a moment before swarming close to me again.
“A question to study for another time.” I urged, pointing to the storm clouds that barreled toward us. “We'd best decide how to outrun a smoke demon.”
“A pack of smoke demons.” Orrin spoke up. He hopped down from Bastion's shoulder to perch on the seat between Icarus and I. “Drive faster, Rivensbrow. This is going to get interesting.”
***
Icarus could feel the rune on his palm come to life. It was the window, he'd begun to realize, between the aether's plane of existence and their own. When wizards allowed the aether to work through them they became conduits through which the aether could interact with the earthly plane. His connection was wildly different. The aether poured through the rune in his hand, a river in comparison to another wizard's raindrop.
While Cora could hear the voice of the aether, his interaction with it was deeper. Some part of it lived in him, bonded to him on that night eleven years ago. Now the rune was on fire, picking up on the presence of the approaching demons. He glanced at Cora as she leaned against the seat, staring toward the back of the auto. Archimedes was correct, the aether clung to her and she glowed with it.
“Grand Adept, have you any experience with smoke demons?”
Icarus looked down at the raven. “A bit. Archimedes and I cleared a nest of them from the upper city a few years ago.”
They all swayed as Rivensbrow gunned the engines and increased the flow of aether to the turbines. The auto sped up, mud spattering the windows as it dug through the soggy streets.
“A dirty deed, if I recall.” Archimedes' face was struggling for a frown through the puce and mustard-colored bruising. “Did we not expend nearly all our energy in the doing?”
“Nearly.” Icarus glanced over his shoulder at the rapidly approaching blackness that signaled the demons were close. “But we are significantly better equipped in this case.”
“We must be getting close!” Rivensbrow looked over his shoulder at them. “The aether is thinning out ahead. If we plan to work magic we will need to do it soon.”
“Slow the car a bit, Rivensbrow.” Icarus was formulating the plan in his head. With the skill of the wizards in the auto he had no doubt the spell would work.
Cora grabbed his hand, her gloved fingers tight over his. He squeezed to give her a bit of courage, though he sorely doubted she would need it. His Cora was nothing if not courageous.
“Grand Master, I'm afraid you cannot be of service in this matter.” Icarus chuckled as the familiar cursed it's master's words. “You're simply too far away to channel the aether properly.”
“Shall I sit with my wings under my arse, then, Grand Adept?”
> Icarus grinned. “Rivensbrow will need a lookout. Fly up above the fog and guide us toward Croft. The rest of us will dispatch the demons.”
“As you suggest.” The raven was fast as it flew, circling higher to get above the London fog.
“And what is it we can do against a pack of smoke demons? One touch can dissolve flesh from bone.” Lucia raised a dark brow at him and Archimedes chuckled at her tone.
“Believe, dearest Luci. If any man can direct a group of wizards in the effort it will be Icarus.”
“I will believe it when I see it.” Lucia retorted, and Icarus found himself amused by the way Archimedes' face went red beneath the bruising. At last, he thought to himself gleefully, Archimedes might understand how a woman of strong will could vex a man!
“Join hands.” Icarus instructed, and Archimedes took Cora's and Lucia grabbed hold of his mangled copper hand, while Bastion joined the circle on Lucia's other side. The aether flared, the light brighter as the channel between them opened wide. Bastion raised an eyebrow at Icarus' left hand, glowing blue even through his glove.
“No offense, Icarus, but I believe I'll keep my hand to myself.”
“No need to finish the circle.” Icarus pulled off his glove with his teeth and put his left hand in the center of the makeshift circle. “We are simply going to be the barrel of the gun, so to speak.”
“They're closer.” Rivensbrow warned. He peered through the front glass to keep the Grand Master's raven in sight. “The aether continues to thin, and Machiavelli seems to think we're on the right path. Whatever you aim to do, do it now.”
“Trwy fi efallai y byddwch yn gweithio.” Icarus said, unfurling the fingers from his palm one at a time. Through me, may you work. “Diogelu bobl hyn, amddiffyn fy ffrindiau. Diogelu fy annwyl.” Protect these people. Protect my friends. Protect my beloved.
Icarus had never spoken to the aether in this way. As if it was more than a tool. He'd always used spells designed to control the aether or to persuade it to do his bidding. Now he talked to it, as Cora had done, remembering the Welsh of his childhood.
Power like none he'd ever felt before shot through him. It came from his feet, climbing from the soles of his boots and through his legs. It crawled through his torso and burned a path down his left arm until it burst from his hand in a torrent of radiant blue energy.
The others felt it through their connection to him, and he saw the pupils of their eyes fire blue with the ageless power. Cora's head went back, her mouth open in a scream as the current blasted through them all and wound round and round the circle and through his hand.
Icarus breathed slowly through the pain, though it was not an entirely unpleasant feeling. It was familiar, and he thought perhaps this was what he had experienced in the forge of Longmoore. The top of the auto screamed as the metal peeled back and the font of energy poured out.
“Hold it.” Icarus instructed the others, knowing that they were tiring as the current of magical energy poured through their bodies. “Do not break the circle.”
“I can't.” Lucia's eyes streamed with tears, the droplets effervescent blue with the remnants of the power. She shook with the effort it took to hold the conduit open.
“Steady.” Icarus' voice was fainter, but he had never felt stronger. Every part of his brain was alive with thought, energy, understanding. He heard the voice of the aether, as Cora must have done. Thousands upon thousands of voices speaking together, discordant but beautiful.
“You're doing it!' Rivensbrow guided the car carefully as they approached the more populated areas of London. “The demons are falling back and most were erased by the light.”
“Icarus, close the channel.” Archimedes' voice was taunt with pain and fatigue. It came from far away and Icarus imagined a tunnel that stretched longer as the magical power filled him to the brim.
“Icarus, please.” Bastion's face was white, but Icarus couldn't bring himself to focus.
“Is it beautiful to you as it is to me?” he wondered. Lights danced over his eyes as the world became particles and energy, down the most miniscule of dust motes. It swirled and danced, a minuet waltz perfectly timed.
“Darling. Stop.”
Icarus looked at Cora in wonder. She was dazzling in hues of red and green, merging and divergent all at once. She bled together like the most exquisite of watercolors, shimmering with life. “You're spectacular.”
“You're killing me.”
The reds and greens were fading, the whiz and spin of the life inside her slowing.
“No. Come back. The color---” Fear spiked through Icarus as realization set in. The power that invigorated him was draining the others. It could kill them. It was the most difficult thing to close his fingers over the rune, one at a time. When his fingers obscured the brand the ebb and flow of the power began to die away. He peeled Cora's fingers from his, breaking the circle completely.
They slumped, Archimedes managing to catch Lucia in his arms as Cora fell into Icarus'. He stroked the pallor of her cheek. “I'm sorry.”
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Icarus looked up to meet Archimedes' blazing gaze. He'd never seen his friend so angry at him, and from the way he stroked the hair from Lucia's cheek it wasn't his own welfare he was worried over. “The power...I was enraptured.”
“You nearly killed us all.” Archimedes sighed, his anger draining. “You cannot do that again.”
“I will not.” Icarus agreed as Cora stirred in his arms. He held her closer to his chest. “The danger is far too great.” He stared into Archimedes eyes, willing his friend to see the depths of his regret. Archimedes nodded once, and Icarus was grateful for the understanding of his loyal companions.
“I feel better already.” Cora sat up, the color returning to her cheeks. Her smile was tremulous as she toyed with a curl of hair by his ear. She was quick to forgive even his most dangerous mistakes.
“The aether is fading.” Rivensbrow looked at them as he pulled the auto to the sidewalk. His eyes were narrow with concern as they roused themselves. “Can you continue?'
Icarus had never felt better, but he worried over the state of the others. As Cora had done, they came back to vigorous health within moments. Lucia sat up in Archimedes' arms and frowned at him. She turned a hard glare on Icarus.
“You, sir, are dangerous. You could have killed us all.”
Icarus opened his mouth to apologize again, but Archimedes beat him to it. “He was as much under the control of the power as we were. It was strong of him to break the connection.” His voice was soothing but brooked no further argument. Icarus tensed, expecting Lucia to disagree, but she straightened her hair and moved away from Archimedes without another word.
“Where are we?” Icarus asked as Machiavelli landed on the hood of the auto.
“Chiselhurst.” The raven hopped in the window to Rivensbrow's shoulder. “The aether is too faint here, and I will soon lose connection with Machiavelli. Be careful, my friends. I will rejoin you as soon as those dratted orbs are destroyed.”
The body of the raven shuddered, and Icarus knew that the Grand Master had lost his connection with his familiar.
“I feel it too.” Lucia looked around at the remnants of the aether that had begun to dwindle away. Now only the faintest glow of a few particles remained. Her face lost its swarthy glow, a pallor stealing over her. She snapped open her fan and waved it. “I feel as if I have walked from London to Ipswich.”
It was difficult to explain the feeling, Icarus thought as his body grew heavy. From the font of energy they had just shared to this sudden deficit of vitality, his body felt as if it were encased in lead. His head swam as every beat of his heart became the gong of a drum. Cora was slumped against him, struggling to keep her eyes open.
“It will take a few moments for our bodies to become accustomed to the lack of magic.” Rivensbrow was using all his energy to guide the car to a stop as the motor sputtered and died out. He pressed the brake into plac
e and let his head fall to the seat. Machiavelli flapped his wings dully, his eyes now only the eyes of a bird. His connection with Orrin had been severed when the disappearance of the aether.
“A fascinating....biological reaction.” Bastion managed, appearing nearly unconscious in his seat.
They were silent, for how many moments Icarus did not count. He lay next to Cora, counting every breath as he drew it in, and slowly let it out. As Rivensbrow had promised the heavy press of the air on his body began to lessen.
He shook himself from his state and lifted his head. The others were coming 'round slowly, the color returning to their cheeks as they stirred. Cora snuggled against him, her head heavy on his shoulder.
He turned his head to breathe in the smell of her hair and lay his cheek against her. “Are you all right?”
“It's such an empty feeling.” Her fingers curled into his, her smaller hand fitting inside his. “So very lonely.”
He wanted to smooth the hair from her cheek with is hand, and stopped with it half way to its destination. He looked at the rune and cursed it again from keeping him from touching her. She reached up and wrapped her fingers around his wrist.
“There is no aether, Icarus. The rune is dormant.”
He closed his fingers and dropped the hand. “A chance I cannot take. I have seen what happens when a living thing comes into contact with the mark. A rose in full bloom can become withered and dead within seconds.”
“Damn this scientist.” Archimedes groaned as he rubbed his hand over his forehead. He grimaced at the scrape of the misshaped copper over his skin.
“I shall have to fix that.” Icarus said, nodding to the hand. “When this is over.”
“Indeed.” Lucia's dark gaze narrowed on Icarus, “He's a menace with so much twisted metal.”
Archimedes smiled and bumped her with his shoulder, and Icarus was glad to see some of the oppressive absence of the aether wearing off.
“You wouldn't like me any other way.” Archimedes teased the dour woman. Icarus noticed a spark of humor in her eyes even though her mouth turned down.