Rite of Passage: An Alastair Stone Urban Fantasy Novel (Alastair Stone Chronicles Book 26)

by R. L. King

  “Oh, God…” Daphne echoed. Her gaze darted between Jeremy, the fallen figure, and the fissure. For a moment she stood, immobilized by fear and indecision, and then she hurried over to pull Jeremy into her arms.

  Stone didn’t look at Daphne or Jeremy. His attention was fully fixed on the fissure. It wasn’t growing quickly, but even as he watched, it widened on both sides and the edges bulged further. Even though nothing appeared to be coming out of it so far, it was definitely doing something. Stone’s every nerve was on edge, as if he stood in a room full of machines humming at different low-frequency levels. It was a profoundly disturbing feeling, and it was getting worse.

  “What do we do, Doc?” Verity’s voice shook.

  Stone didn’t blame her. This wasn’t the kind of thing he’d ever taught her to deal with. Hell, he barely had any idea himself. Still, the answer was clear and obvious. “We’ve got to close that thing before it gets any bigger.”

  “What about Jeremy?” She glanced over to where Daphne had lowered herself and her son back against the wall. Jeremy’s head was buried in her chest, and she had her arms wrapped tightly around him.

  “First things first,” Stone said grimly. He had no idea if he’d be able to close the rift on his own, and Verity wouldn’t be much help. The air seemed to be pushing on him, scrambling his thoughts, making it difficult to concentrate. Could this situation get any worse?

  Another figure shimmered into being between Stone and the fissure. It paused to take in the scene.

  Stone wished the universe would stop insisting on answering his unspoken questions. Apparently, the situation could get worse.

  “Stefan.”

  29

  Kolinsky looked much the same as he always did. Same black, old-fashioned suit, pale skin, powerful build, and neat black hair. Stone barely noticed any of that, though. He was looking at the dragon’s eyes.

  They were as cold and flint-hard as he had ever seen them. He was looking straight at Jeremy.

  “Stefan!” he called, moving between them. “Wait!” What the hell was Kolinsky doing here, now? How had he located them? There was a ley line near them, but how did he know?

  “Get out of my way, Alastair.” Kolinsky’s voice was every bit as implacable as his expression. “I have given you more time than I should have. This cannot be allowed to continue.”

  Daphne jumped to her feet, also putting herself between her son and the newcomer. “Stand back,” she ordered, voice shaking harder than ever. “Alastair—who is this man? Do you know him?”

  “He’s…a friend.” Was he, right now? “The one I told you about.” He spared a quick glance at Verity. She was watching the exchange as if it were a particularly terrifying tennis match.

  “The one who wants to hurt Jeremy?”

  Stone didn’t want to answer that, because he was afraid of what might happen if they set the boy off again. Would he spawn another fissure? What would happen if two of them appeared in the same area? Would they join together? What if they were pointing at different spaces? He couldn’t see any way that could possibly be good.

  “Everyone, please calm down.” He made himself sound authoritative and reasonable. “Daphne, nobody’s going to hurt Jeremy.” He made solid eye contact with Kolinsky. “Isn’t that right, Stefan? The last thing we want to do is set him off again so he—” He gestured at the fissure behind Kolinsky, his meaning obvious.

  The dragon didn’t seem inclined to be swayed. “Alastair, he cannot—”

  “I know something’s got to be done.” He spoke fast now. “I get it. But that fissure’s got to be dealt with first. See how it’s growing? If it’s growing that fast, it’s going to be bigger than the one in Wisconsin before we know it. You know I’m right.”

  Kolinsky took a breath. His expression didn’t warm. “You cannot protect the boy any longer, Alastair. This is out of your hands now. He presents a danger to our entire reality.”

  “I know. I know. He knows too. And you’re making it worse by frightening him.” He glanced at his watch. “You’re early, though. You said you’d give me eight hours.”

  “Certain circumstances have changed.”

  Stone wondered what those were. Had Kolinsky picked up on the increased danger? Had he detected the fissure? No time to worry about that now, though. He indicated the fissure, which had grown a few inches since they’d begun speaking. “Can you do something about it? Can you close it?”

  Kolinsky looked over his shoulder, studied it for a few moments, then faced Stone again. “I can.”

  “Then—do it, please. Meanwhile, we’ll try to sort this out and prevent Jeremy from doing it again.”

  “I do not think—”

  The low-grade hum in Stone’s head was growing more distracting. He feared if they didn’t do something soon, they might lose their chance. “Please, Stefan. Don’t you feel it? We’ve got to move fast here. We were already talking about sending Jeremy home. He wants to go. He doesn’t want to do any of this. He’ll help us if we stop scaring him.”

  Kolinsky paused. He met Stone’s gaze, then looked past him to where the shaking, hard-eyed Daphne stood between him and her son. She looked ready to throw down her body, her magic, and anything else she could muster to protect Jeremy, even if it meant her certain destruction.

  The silence stretched out, marred only by the hum which seemed to be more in their minds than in the physical world. Behind Kolinsky, the fissure’s edges crept out a little further, and the ragged opening grew a little wider. The colors inside whirled and danced like a grotesque, bubbling soup.

  Finally, the dragon sighed. “This is against my better judgment. But you are correct—this fissure is the more immediate threat. It must be closed. I will give you until I have done that. If you do not have a solution, I must do what is necessary. And you will not stop me.” His last words were a statement, not a question.

  Stone nodded grimly. It was better than he could have hoped for—but he knew it wouldn’t be nearly enough. They’d already decided it would take a month at minimum, and now they were supposed to do it in a few minutes?

  He wondered if Daphne realized what was going on.

  “Fine,” he said. “Do it, then. We’ll talk more when you’re done.”

  Kolinsky watched them for a few more seconds, then turned and walked deliberately toward the fissure.

  As the dragon drew closer to it, Stone could see its energy dancing around him, trying to find a way through his shields. It hadn’t been long since Kolinsky had exhausted himself closing the last fissure; Stone hoped he was up to the task.

  No time to speculate about that, though. As soon as Kolinsky’s attention was fully on the fissure, he whirled and ran to Daphne and Jeremy. “Right, then,” he said, still sounding grimmer than he wanted to. “You heard the man. Let’s hear some ideas.”

  “What are you talking about?” Daphne was staring at him with wide-eyed shock. “We’ve got to get out of here!” She grabbed Jeremy’s arm and gently pulled him up.

  “No.”

  “What do you mean, ‘no’? You heard him. Once he closes that thing, he’s going to kill Jeremy if we don’t come up with a solution.”

  “Yes. So we’d best come up with one, instead of wasting our time with pointless plans.”

  “What’s pointless about it?” She glared, holding Jeremy tightly against her. “We’re not going to do this. You know that. If we can get away—”

  The hum was playing hell with Stone’s patience, not to mention his sense of tact. “You don’t get it, Daphne. There is no getting away! In the first place, you can’t run away from Stefan. He found us here, and he’ll find you if you go.”

  Daphne held the glare, then spared a quick glance at Kolinsky, who stood with his back to them, illuminated in the fissure’s wild, strange energy. “What is he? We’re good at hiding. If we go now, we can—”

  “No. We can’t.” He narrowed his eyes. “If you try to run, I won’t help you, Daphne. Stefan’s right�
��this has got to end tonight. He’s not going to let Jeremy tear the world apart—and neither am I.”

  Her face went white. “But you said you wouldn’t—”

  “I won’t if there’s any other alternative. Help me, Daphne. You’re the best in the world at portals. If you want to save your son, think. You said you could trace his energy back to where you came from.” He shot a quick look at the fallen figure of the creature Jeremy had taken down. “Can you use his?”

  She shook her head, looking miserable and shellshocked. “No. He’s dead. All that’s left is his physical form now.”

  Stone turned to Verity, who’d come up behind him and was switching her attention between him, Jeremy, and Kolinsky. “Any ideas?”

  “Me? Afraid not, this time. I’m a little out of my element here.”

  “Maybe so, but we could use a little out-of-the-box thinking.” He paced a small area near them, trying to engage his brain past the hum. At least it wasn’t getting any worse, now that Kolinsky was working on the rift. “Okay. Okay. So somehow we’ve got to work out a way to access Jeremy’s energy, so we can trace it back where it comes from.”

  “But I told you,” Daphne said, “we can’t—”

  Stone was barely listening. “Can you communicate with him through that link of yours? Show him what we’re trying to do? Maybe there’s something locked away in his mind that will help.”

  Daphne looked dubious, but then gave a resigned sigh. “I’ll try. He’s pretty agitated now, but I’ll try.”

  She crouched next to the boy, taking both of his hands in hers. Almost instantly, though, her features twisted and she jerked back.

  “What is it?” Stone demanded.

  “He’s shut down. He’s blocking me—blocking everything.”

  “Can you get past it?”

  She shook her head, frustrated tears springing to the corners of her eyes. “He does this sometimes, when he’s scared. Just…blocks everything out. He’s done it a couple times since we got here. It might be the only way he can stop himself from creating another of those…things.”

  “What do you do about it?” Stone risked another glance at Kolinsky. He’d only closed a few inches of the fissure, and appeared to be engaged in a struggle to hold it back from expanding further. “How do you sort him out?”

  “That’s just it—I don’t. I just have to wait it out until he calms down.”

  “Doc—” Verity began.

  “We haven’t got time to wait.” Stone barely acknowledged her presence. “Daphne, you see this, right? Stefan doesn’t make idle threats. Isn’t there anything you can do to get through to him, even if it might be uncomfortable?”

  “Doc?” More insistent, now.

  “Yes, Verity, what is it?”

  “I might have an idea. It’s a longshot, but—”

  “What is it? I’ll take anything at this point.”

  She glanced at Jeremy. “Well…I don’t fully understand what’s going on here, but I’m getting the feeling Jeremy isn’t quite a normal kid, right?”

  “Yes. Think of him as…a sort of echo who’s made himself a physical body. More like a consciousness than an echo, though, because he’s as much alive as any of us are.”

  Her brow furrowed. “So…his mind is like ours?”

  “What are you getting at?” Daphne demanded, gripping Jeremy tighter.

  “Just answer the question, please.”

  “His parents were both human,” Stone said. “He spent his whole life as a disembodied consciousness on another dimension, but he was raised by Daphne.”

  Verity nodded slowly, clearly deep in thought.

  “What have you got, Verity? Like I said, we’ll take anything at this point, no matter how insane.” He risked a look at Kolinsky. So far, he appeared to be holding his own, but he wasn’t making progress. The rift wasn’t getting any bigger, but it wasn’t getting any smaller, either. “Time’s short.”

  She swallowed. “Well…Daphne said she can’t reach Jeremy’s mind because he’s shut down. But what if we were to…go into his mind? Try to get around his mental defenses so we can explain to him what we need?”

  “But that’s not possible,” Daphne protested. “If he’s blocking me, he wouldn’t let anybody else in.”

  “No,” Stone said, the faint glimmerings of fragile hope beginning to form. “No, she might be on to something. Verity’s a wiz with mind magic. If anybody can do it, she can.”

  “Mages can’t read minds. Everybody knows that. Unless there’s been a discovery since I left.” Daphne looked at Stone for confirmation.

  “No, it’s still true. This wouldn’t be reading minds, exactly. But I’ve seen her…sort of channel someone, so she can get past their defenses and help them remember things they either forgot or were constrained against revealing.”

  “That still doesn’t help us.” Daphne looked like she wanted to believe this was possible, but her analytical mind wouldn’t allow it. “Channeling him won’t help. He doesn’t know anything about where he’s from. He can’t tell you anything useful even if you got through to him.”

  “But she doesn’t have to get through to him that way,” Stone remembered what he’d done with Roy Darner in Indiana—how he’d touched the young man’s mind and managed to follow a younger mental version of him past the defenses he’d put up to block anyone from reaching his troubling memories. “All she has to do is get past his blocks so she can trace his energy.”

  Verity suddenly looked troubled. “That’s a problem, though. I can’t trace his energy. I don’t know enough about portals, or dimensional travel, or anything like that. I probably wouldn’t even know what I’m looking for, or what to do with it if I found it.”

  She was right. He’d tried to teach her the basics of portal science during her apprenticeship, but she’d had neither the interest nor the aptitude for it.

  “I’ll go with you,” he said. “We’ll go together. You figure out how to get past his barriers, and I’ll get the information we need from his mind.”

  “No,” Daphne said firmly.

  “Daphne—”

  “I’ll go with her. I’m not allowing both of you to muck around in my son’s mind.”

  A sudden pained grunt interrupted their conversation.

  “Oh, bloody hell…” Stone murmured.

  Kolinsky had taken a staggering step backward. His raised hands faltered, then steadied again. The fissure had widened visibly.

  “Oh, God…” Verity breathed. “It’s not working. He’s not strong enough.” She gripped Stone’s arm. “Can you help him?”

  He made a split-second decision. “No. Daphne, you’ve got to help Stefan.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve got a far better rapport with Verity, and that could make all the difference. Plus, you know portals better than I ever will. Closing one of these fissures is the same basic concept. If you two work together, you should be able to keep it under control long enough for Verity and me to get what we need from Jeremy. Then she and I will take over helping Stefan while you sort out what needs to be done to get you two home.”

  Her expression hardened. “I don’t trust you, Alastair.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You said you might have to hurt him, if we couldn’t figure out a way around this. I’m not leaving him unprotected.”

  Stone fought down a wave of impatience. That wouldn’t work on her. “Damn it, Daphne, you’re a scientist. Act like one. You’re the only one who can do this. I’m still tired from the last time we closed one of these things, and if Jeremy pops up another one, I doubt any of us will be able to deal with it. We’ve got to end this now.” He sighed. “I give you my word—I won’t do anything to harm him while you’re focused on the portal.”

  She looked him in the eyes, long and hard, as if trying to determine whether she could believe him. Finally, she bowed her head. “All right. Fine. I’ll do it. But if you’re lying to me—”

  �
�I’m not lying to you, Daphne. I know you love your son. Of course you do. I get that. But this is the entire world we’re talking about. A lot more people’s children will die if we don’t get this sorted. And I promise you—if Stefan brings in his associates, it won’t be pretty and there won’t be a damned thing I can do about it. This is our last chance.” He didn’t add that this whole thing was her fault—that wouldn’t be productive, since she already knew it.

  “Okay,” she whispered. Her fearful but focused gaze shifted between Stone and Verity. “Okay. I’ll do it. But I’m counting on you to keep him safe.” She hugged Jeremy again. “I’ve got to go for a little while, honey. I’ll be right over there. Alastair and his friend are going to help you. Please do what you can to let them. All they want to do is help you get home.”

  She held on to him for a few more seconds, obviously not wanting to let him loose. Then she straightened and walked without another word to stand next to the faltering Kolinsky in front of the fissure. She regarded it, then raised her hands in a similar pose to his. A few seconds later, the fissure stopped widening, and Kolinsky seemed to regain some of his strength.

  “Right, then,” Stone said, turning away from the scene. There was nothing he could do to affect it, and he couldn’t afford to let it distract him. “Let’s do this. What have you got, Verity?”

  She glanced at the fissure, then gently took Jeremy’s hand. “Hey, Jeremy. I know you’re really stressed out right now, and I don’t blame you. This whole situation is pretty stressful. But I promise you, we’ll do everything we can to help you. Do you believe me?”

  Jeremy didn’t move for a long time, continuing to stare at his mother. But then his eyes shifted for just a moment to her, then back.

  “Best we’re going to get,” Stone said grimly. “You take the lead on this. Tell me what I need to do.”

  With the hand that wasn’t holding Jeremy’s, she opened her shoulder bag and took out a brown bottle. “This might help. It’s something Hezzie and I have been working on.”