The Gray Tower Trilogy: Books 1-3

by Alesha Escobar

  After hanging up some sweaters and dresses in the closet and tossing my undergarments into the dresser, I grew bored and pulled out Veit’s diary. I grabbed a notebook and pen lying on the nightstand next to my bed and started copying the first few pages written in Turkish. It looked like Johnnie was going to get his wish of having me come down to the university after all. I hoped Dr. Grey would be available to meet with me and take a look at the text, but first I’d have to size him up to determine if he was the right person to do it. Whatever the writing in Turkish explained, it had to do with the Drifter, the Time Wizard who could predict the future, see the past, and manipulate the present--and God knew what else.

  And here she was, sitting on a bed, not knowing how to do all of this, or if it would even be worth it.

  26

  After a quick shower and running downstairs to polish off my eggs and toast, I stole Neal away so that I could tell him I was going to meet a contact in East Cambridge. Since we had agreed that if one of us had to leave the house that the other would stay, he didn’t insist on joining me. Besides, he had that bread pudding to bake with Rachel. My mother had woken up in a sullen mood and retired to the garden out back with her Mint Julep and the latest issue of McCall’s magazine. Johnnie headed off for work.

  I borrowed my mother’s Saratoga and drove down Broadway, taking in the view of morning traffic, kids walking to school, and the gleaming sunlight and warmth that permeated the environment. All I had to do was take this street straight down to the Longfellow Bridge so I could cross the Charles River and make it into Boston. It felt odd, at first, driving around town during the day, because I had gotten used to being in the streets of Europe at night. For now, at least, I could say it was quiet and peaceful--no bombs, no Gestapo or SS Officers, and no hiding. This was a very welcome change from the chaos of Nazi-occupied territory. However, it didn’t ease my fear of the danger that the tracker-wizard posed to my family. Would he try to hold them hostage until my father showed? Or would he come with threats of violence, seeking information and clues as to my father’s whereabouts?

  I had no choice, being thrust into this world, but at least Johnnie, Rachel, and my mom could have one, and a chance at a normal life. Whatever it took, I would keep them safe, and protect them from whoever would try to hurt them or use them to get to my father. I realized, in that moment, that my father probably felt the same way, but I hated the way he did things, because it left too many doubts, and too many people confused and hurt.

  I set my ponderings aside as I parked in front of General Cambria’s house. I grabbed my purse and Veit’s diary, which I had hidden in a large handbag I found stuffed in the back of my closet. I walked past the gate and down the brick walkway with a meticulously manicured lawn on either side. The pale yellow house was medium-sized, and, on the front porch, I noticed a toy box. I smiled to myself and thought of Rob and his family, hoping that they’d continue in their happiness. I was glad that I had refused his help, and hoped that he would just forget about the key.

  I rang the doorbell twice and heard feet shuffling and General Cambria’s voice. He opened the door and smiled at me. His face had aged, but he gazed at me with those same cheerful brown eyes I remember seeing when I was a girl. His hair had grown all white and his belly was full and round, and his manner of dress made him look like the quintessential grandfather. Of course, this grandpa was also a retired Army general and a staunch friend of my father’s. I wondered if he ever looked back on that night my father disappeared and asked himself if it was worth the risk. I supposed Robert Cambria was one of the lucky ones--he didn’t end up like Veit Heilwig.

  “Isabella,” he said, giving me a hug before ushering me inside, “come in and have a seat.”

  I went and sat on the couch, and grabbed the cup of coffee he gestured for me to take. “Thank you.”

  He sat across from me and gazed at an iron strong box sitting on the coffee table. “The night your father left, he dropped off this box, and the key that went with it. He said only you would be able to open it.”

  I set the cup of coffee back down and reached into my purse. I pulled out the key and slid it into the keyhole. An invisible force pulled at the key like a magnet, and I heard a click. A soft flow of energy reached out and covered my hand. It felt like I was sticking my hand through a spider’s web. I flipped the top open and peered inside, all the while holding in an anxious breath that waited to be exhaled. There were no magic potions or bright lights inside, but merely two things: a bundle of papers which were (to my chagrin) written in Turkish, and a plain gold ring...a wedding ring. Why did everyone like to leave me rings?

  “I’m not sure I understand,” I said, unhooking my silver chain and adding the ring to my growing collection.

  “It belonged to your father,” he confirmed, as if reading my thoughts.

  “Why did he enchant it?” I could feel his magical essence mixed in with the gold.

  “He said that whatever he put into that box, he can use it to link with you and find you anywhere in the world...and you, him.”

  I nodded. “Please tell me you know about the Turkish texts.”

  He shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t know how to translate them.”

  Johnnie would probably be able to authenticate these for me, but these looked like the texts from Mehmed VI’s collection that had been handed over to the Gray Tower years ago. I remembered tedious nights in the Tower’s library with my cohorts reading about them when training as an alchemist. Mehmed VI was the last ruler of the Ottoman Empire, before the Caliphate was dismantled and the nation became known as Turkey. My father had gone there to watch and lend aid, and probably had the chance to speak with and befriend Mehmed. My father ended up securing ancient texts from wizards in the East that spanned centuries. Master Erin said Veit had stolen something from the Tower, what if he had been expelled from the Order because he stole these texts for my father?

  “Well, I think I know someone who can help me interpret these. Thank you for holding on to them.”

  “You’re welcome. Make sure no one else knows about it.” He looked a little worried.

  “Henry Smith is with the FBI, in protective custody. He said he was a messenger.”

  He nodded. “Is he all right?”

  “He escaped being killed in a safe house in France, but had a dangerous spell placed on him.”

  “I’ll call Donovan and find a way to check on him. Well, now that you’ve opened the box, I think you won’t need Henry or me as go-betweens.”

  “You still need to be careful, general. It isn’t over.”

  “Throughout the years I’ve had a few unsavory visitors come around asking about your father. I think I can handle it.”

  I wanted to point out the fact that he had also been a decade younger, but instead placed the bundled texts into the black handbag that held Veit’s diary. “Thank you. I promise I won’t trouble you any further.”

  “You haven’t troubled me at all, Isabella.” He rose from his seat at the same time I did, and came over and placed his hands on my shoulders. “Be safe.”

  “The same to you. And if Rob calls asking about any of this, tell him the key opened up an old box with family photos and letters.”

  He gave me a knowing look. “You’ve got it.”

  Suddenly, I felt a shiver run down my spine, and I sensed the presence of another wizard. An odd noise engulfed the house, which sounded like the rumble of a jet engine when passing over a building. Whoever it was, the wizard had been listening to our conversation.

  “Someone’s here,” I said.

  Cambria held his index finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet. He stepped cautiously toward a lamp stand where he pulled out a revolver. I reached for my golden knife in my purse and carved a Circle of Protection into the hardwood floor. I fed energy into it, spreading it out across the perimeter of the house, but then it broke like shattering glass. When I felt the power of my Circle fade and extinguish with such e
ase, I knew that the wizard who broke it was either an Elite or a Master.

  The general mouthed the word, “Wizard?”

  I nodded. He reached into the same drawer and exchanged the revolver for a sleek and shiny pistol that seemed to shimmer slightly when held to light. I could taste the mixture of silver and alloys in the gun. The bullets were tipped with iron. More than anyone, an alchemist like me understood what happened when one harvested the magical qualities of iron. I’ve used it before to corrode doors and human flesh.

  I made a low warning noise when he started toward the dining room. He flung his right hand down, gesturing for me to stay in the living room, but I wasn’t going to let him face this wizard alone--especially if it was the one who had killed Ken. I started following the general and he let out an exasperated breath, probably thinking what a horribly insubordinate soldier I’d make. I imitated his every step, careful not to make any noise or accidentally bump into anything.

  When we made it into the wide hallway that led to the bedrooms and bathroom, I felt the presence of the other wizard grow even stronger. It washed over me like a cold wave, and I carved an Air symbol into the wall--a triangle with a vertical line across the top. I added a second triangle symbol for Fire. I slowly began infusing the symbols with magical energy and held my knife ready to use as a conduit. The general signaled to me and skipped the first door, but went to the second. He held up three fingers to mark his count, and on the count of three we simultaneously opened our respective doors.

  Nothing.

  We both turned toward each other in confirmation. He went to the last door at the end of the hall. I went to the next one on the opposite side, just a few feet away.

  One. Two. Three.

  “Run!” He shouted as he took a shot with his gun and staggered. Instead of falling to the floor, his limbs began to jerk like a marionette, and he stumbled into the last room.

  “No!” I dashed after him. When the door slammed shut in my face, I activated the Air Symbol from down the hall and a howling gust of wind came flying my way. I held my knife upright and swung it toward the door, just as the wind came crashing against me. I redirected the force of the air and threw the door open. I saw the wizard, dressed all in black and wearing a masked cowl, standing over the general, who lay unconscious on the floor--at least, I hoped he was unconscious.

  I released the Fire symbol from down the hall and reactivated the Air symbol. Just as the wizard moved toward me, I fell onto Cambria to shield him, and a blaze of fire came flying into the room. It flew high above my head and crashed into the wizard with a roar, sending him flying backward over the bed and to the other side of the room. When the flames subsided, I stood up and saw the wizard slouched against the wall, unmoving. A charcoal black halo surrounded him where the fire had hit, but when I noticed that neither his clothing nor skin had been scorched, I quickly laid a Putrefaction symbol.

  Before I could activate the spell, the wizard rose to his feet and moved toward me with a deadly speed before I could even stand. I dove sideways toward the bed to avoid him, but he caught hold of my left ankle. I shifted my body and pulled my right leg back and kicked him square in the face; he grunted and held onto me. When I felt him trying to use body magic to weaken my limbs and subdue me, I thanked the stars that I had Veit’s talisman ring on my chain and lying against my chest.

  I resisted his spell and delivered another hard kick to his face. With the palms of my hands against the floor, I pushed myself backward and crouched so I could jump to my feet, but he lunged forward and struck me across the face. My jaw exploded in pain, and I saw stars as I went crashing to the floor. I was right next to the bed, and beneath it, on the floor, I could see the faint shimmer of Cambria’s gun.

  Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach for it just then. The wizard jumped on me and had his hands around my throat. I gasped for air, placing my hands over his and trying to work my own body magic spell, sending tendrils of energy through his hands and up his arms. I directed the energy toward his heart, but I wasn’t going to simply stop it--I was going to make it explode.

  When he sensed what I was doing, he swung his hands outward and released me, but quickly reciprocated with another strike. As if that weren’t enough, he grabbed fistfuls of my hair and slammed the back of my head against the floor. I saw red and black before I even felt the pain, and I lost hold of my concentration, relinquishing the spell.

  I let my arms fall out to the side, my right hand just inches away from Cambria’s gun. I coughed and sputtered again, squinting my eyes and looking into the half-concealed face of the wizard. I took note of every little detail, from the complexion of his skin to his nose and clean-shaven face. The fact that he had absorbed the fire confirmed that he was not a mentalist, but an elemental. He could control and manipulate Earth, Air, Water and Fire--and he apparently had a secondary talent for mental magic, though to a lesser extent. A cold, quiet rage grew inside me and made me tremble, as it became clear who he was.

  He must’ve interpreted this long pause as an act of submission, because he didn’t try to strike me again. Straddling me, he bent down and tilted my chin, so I could stare into the darkness where his eyes peered back out at me. Where’s Carson?

  He asked the question telepathically like Henry Smith had described, and the voice sounded like a whisper inside my head. “Go find him yourself, you murderous bastard. You’re no different than a warlock.”

  He sneered at my insult. What was in the box? What did he give you?

  When I said nothing, he reached down and grabbed the three enchanted rings strung on the silver chain. He could tell they were all infused with magic, but since he couldn’t taste metals like an alchemist could, he didn’t know which one my father had enchanted. Of course, he wasn’t going to let that be a problem because he yanked the chain off. My heart jumped, and I felt a lump in my throat, but if I made any sudden moves, he’d probably kill me.

  “You’ll never find my father,” I told him. “I’m the only one who can activate it.”

  I didn’t know if that was true, but hell, neither did he.

  Take me to him, and I will not touch your family. The whispery voice in my head sounded cold.

  “All right, but remember this is between you and me. This has nothing to do with them.”

  Very well. He opened his hand and spread out the three rings on the floor, next to my head.

  I turned and glanced at them, and his gaze followed--my right hand slid closer to the gun under the bed. “It’s the plain gold ring.”

  He grabbed it and flung it across the room. Don’t lie to me.

  I guessed honesty really was the best policy. “Okay...it’s the other gold one, the talisman ring.”

  He reached for it, keeping his gaze fixed on me. I slowly raised my left hand and offered it, so that he wouldn’t notice what I was doing with my right. He took the diamond ring off and slid on the talisman ring.

  Activate it, and lead me to him.

  “Okay.” As soon as he made a move to stand, I pulled out the gun and aimed straight for his head. He made a blocking motion with his hands and turned his head just as I fired, the bullet pierced his hands and missed his nose by a centimeter. He groaned in pain, using his true voice for the first time. He jumped back and dodged the second bullet, but I shot at him once more and hit him in the shoulder.

  “Hotaru, you son of a bitch! It was you!” I pulled the trigger again and he dove for the window, crashing through the glass. My arms and legs quivered as I went over to the window and peered out. He had vanished.

  I rushed back over by the bed and knelt over General Cambria. I lightly touched his forehead, scanning his body for any signs for life. He still breathed, but I could detect that Hotaru had injured his heart by literally causing some of the muscle tissue to die. By the minute, he received less oxygen-rich blood to his heart.

  “Come on, general,” I said as I clasped my fingers together, intertwining them and placing my hands, palm down, on his
chest. I pressed down gently and sent a jolt of energy to his heart. His body trembled and then lay still once more. I sent a slow steady stream of healing energy to his heart tissue, hoping that I could reverse the damage.

  I paused for a second and delivered another jolt. He trembled once more, and I felt his chest rise and fall. Then, there was nothing. Even though I felt dizzy and the back of my head still felt like it had been used as a punching bag, I detected some injuries still in his heart that I needed to heal in order to give him a better chance of revival. I fed more energy into the spell as I added more pressure through my hands. When my arms started shaking and the flow of energy had diminished, I knew that my body was telling me that it couldn’t be pushed any further.

  “Come on, Robert. Wake up.” How could I ever face Rob and tell him what happened to his father? No, I needed to save this man. I choked on dread as my body collapsed and my vision dimmed from gray to black. An unwelcome unconsciousness crept upon me.

  I hoped that Hotaru didn’t decide to come back after me anytime soon.

  27

  “Drink, dear...” a vaguely familiar voice commanded me. A damp towel had been folded and spread across my forehead, and a cushion had been placed behind my head.

  “Where am I?” I slowly opened my eyes and still saw hazy images around me.

  “You’re in my living room,” Cambria said. “This woman said she knew you.”

  “What?” I squinted and raised my right arm so I could rub my eyes, but my limbs still felt weak, so I just let my hand drop back down.