by T. Mikita
“It is important that she has a friend or family member present as an anchor to this realm. You can repeat after me. The words are not as important as an emotional connection.”
Asher nodded, not at all sure he liked where this was going.
“The best weapon is belief.”
Belief, thought Asher? Belief in what? He swallowed his doubts. If there was something he could do to help Jules, he would do it; no matter how outlandish it seemed. “Just tell me what I need to do.”
Asher and his Aunt Evelyn drove through the night. They finally pulled off onto a narrow road that led up a thickly forested drive. Something flitted through the trees. The thing with glowing black eyes as dark as pitch and scaled wings that carried it through the air as fast as the wind itself. Then as quickly as it appeared it was gone.
“What was that?” Asher whispered.
His aunt gave him a strange look. “What did it look like?” She asked.
“I’m not sure,” he said, unable to give voice to the strange sight. “Probably nothing. Some small animal.”
“Perhaps,” she said enigmatically.
“I thought we were going to the hospital,” he asked.
“We will, but first we must prepare.”
Asher was anxious. If Jules was hurt, he wanted to be by her side. It was unlikely her mother would rouse herself, which meant that Jules was alone. That bothered him more than anything else.
The road ended in a circular drive with a snow-covered fountain. There was a gazebo in the distance and ivy caught the frost against the stone house, icicles dripped from the eaves. It was a three-story manor house with expansive lawns, now all covered in snow.
As soon as the vehicles stopped, men approached from the manor house, or at least he thought they were all men at first, but among the guards was a tall blond woman who looked like she could have been a Viking warrior. She was taller than half the men with blonde hair cut in a short no-nonsense pixie and an uncompromising expression. The group approached and greeted Asher and his aunt. The tall muscular woman in charge was introduced as Winifred Griffith. Strange name for a Viking, Asher thought. He greeted her with a friendly half-smile, but she returned a hard stare. Her eyes were as cold has his aunt’s.
“Freddy,” said his aunt warmly.
“Evelyn, it is very good to see you again,” Winifred said as she shook his Aunt Evelyn’s hand. “I wish it were under different circumstances.”
“Me too.”
Truthfully, Asher wasn’t too excited about small talk. He wanted to get to Jules as soon as possible, but his aunt said this stop was required. He did not see why. He looked around the surroundings, summing up the place. The house was lavishly decorated with genuine antiques from ages past. Flags were tastefully draped from pikes along the large foyer. All of the furniture was rich thick maroon leather. To not show the blood, Asher thought idly, recalling the words of a villain turned heroine in one of Jules’ favorite books.
The entourage trooped down the corridor. Several statues of Medieval knights in various poses stood alongside a large display case where other ancient artifacts rested. The suits of armor gleamed as if just forged.
“Do you have what I asked for?” his aunt asked as they moved down a large staircase covered in thick red and gold carpet.
“I do,” Winifred said.
When they reached the lower floor, two guards stood at attention at a set of thick inlaid wooden doors that led into the downstairs study. The room was also lavishly appointed in the same style.
The staff immediately made the whole crew feel welcome, asking if they wanted refreshments.
“Really?” Asher said annoyed. He paced the hallway, full of nervous energy. Time was of the essence and this stop felt like it was unnecessary.
Aunt Evelyn and the other guards relaxed somewhat, choosing chairs about the study.
Asher did not sit. “What about Jules?” he said in a hard voice.
“None of us will do well on an empty stomach and exhausted, Asher,” his aunt said admonishing him, as coffee was served to them by the staff. Nonetheless she did turn back to Winifred after a bracing sip of the hot liquid. “Tell us,” she said. “What news of the girl?”
“No one saw the attack,” Winifred began.
Aunt Evelyn’s eyes narrowed. “You were told to watch her.”
“You were spying on her?” Asher interrupted.
“I was watching her,” Winifred said. “We think it was the Order of Basilisk,” she said to Evelyn.
Evelyn nodded. “But who are they working for?”
“That I don’t know,” Winifred admitted. “I called in Doctor Andrews. He’s keeping an eye on her, until we arrive.”
Aunt Evelyn nodded. Asher wondered if this Doctor Andrews was known to his aunt. It seemed like it. He wondered if the man was a Guardian too. No one filled him in.
“What time are visiting hours?” Aunt Evelyn asked.
“Eight,” Winifred answered and Aunt Evelyn nodded.
“Good. We will need time to finish the ritual before some nosey nurse throws us out.” She smiled grimly and finished her coffee in several long gulps. She motioned to the others. “Most of you can stay here. You won’t be needed for the ritual.”
“Then why did we bring everyone from Whitehall?” Asher asked.
“They are close enough to enact a spell,” his aunt explained “But if we use magic to take them all to the hospital, we will be wasting power which we may need later.” She addressed the others then. “Get some food and rest. We must balance haste with safety and stealth. If we all go troop into the hospital, as my nephew says, we will cause a scene. If we need you, I will call you. Be ready. We need to concentrate on getting in silently and getting out quickly.”
Winifred shook her head. “The staff will only allow two possibly three in the room,” Winifred said. “If we bring a crowd, there will be questions. Stealth is the best choice.”
Asher eyed the sword on his aunt’s back and thought that she was more than up to sparring with any nurse, but he realized that subterfuge was necessary.
Evelyn nodded. “All of you prepare, and follow in a more conventional way. You will be reinforcements if we have need of you. With some luck we can get in and get out before we are recognized. Were-snakes are not particularly smart as a species.” Evelyn directed her attention back to Winifred. “For the initial contact, it will be you, me and Asher,” she said.
“Me?” Asher said surprised.
“You are her friend. As I said before, you are a necessary component of the spell.”
“And Winifred?” Asher questioned looking at the pale eyed woman. His aunt trusted her, but then she trusted Niles too. Asher was trying to understand his aunt’s choices of himself and this woman when there were obviously armed guards present, ready to kick ass. “Why her?”
“Dame Winifred is my friend,” his aunt said simply. “And she is a powerful witch as well as a Guardian. There was a time when we rivaled one another.”
“Oh, we still do, Evie,” Winifred said. She gave a small smirk as if she considered herself up to anything that Evelyn could dish out, which raised Asher’s opinion of the woman if only slightly. He had suddenly gained a very cynical attitude towards others. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Maybe he was just being paranoid. “But for this, you are right. We are friends,” Dame Winifred said to Aunt Evelyn. “And magic is done best with a certain compatibility.”
“If we are trying for stealth,” his aunt said, “it is best if we keep the numbers to a minimum, and yet…”
“You really don’t think we will get out without a fight, do you?” Winifred said.
“No, I don’t,” added Evelyn. She took a deep breath and surveyed the group.
“If this works, we will need Doctor Andrews to release her,” Winifred continued.
“Yes,” Evelyn agreed.
“Should we wait until morning then to do the spell?” Winifred posed. “Usually, patient
s are released in the morning.”
“No!” Asher objected. Thinking they had waited too long already.
Aunt Evelyn shook her head. “No. I don’t want to wait. If whomever hired the Basilisk is not present, now is the best time to get her out. I would rather fight minions than a master, and we can have her sent to Whitehall where we can better control things,” Aunt Evelyn said.
Just how much control did his aunt have over any of this, Asher thought? Doctors, in his experience, were sort of a law onto themselves.
“I am worried that her association with my nephew will cause them to return for her,” his aunt said. “If she is alive now, I don’t want her death on my hands.”
Asher’s eyes widened.
“If we send her by ambulance there should not be a problem.” Aunt Evelyn continued. “Even if she is incapacitated. We just have to get her out.”
Winifred nodded. “I assume you need some supplies, or would you rather I did the honors?”
“If you wish,” Aunt Evelyn said. “And if it will not tire you overmuch.”
Winifred gave his aunt a cool look and pulled a matchbox from a desk drawer and dumped out the matches in a pile. “You are the one who just traveled,” Winnifred said. “Might I assume that you are driving that same ancient black boat that is conspicuous as hell? Or did you bring the SUV like some fed?”
Aunt Evelyn smiled thinly. “The SUV,” she said, “But you know I like to travel in comfort.”
Winifred just shook her head as she took a stick from a holster that Asher had not noticed before. Seriously? Was that a wand? Dorren said his father had used a wand. Asher instantly realized that Winifred was more proficient with it than Dorren.
She waved it above the matchbox, and spoke in some arcane language. It was not Latin, Asher knew that much. Her casting caused tiny lights to glow along the edges of the matchbox: red on top and in the rear, white in the front. Suddenly the glow was too bright to look at, and Asher shielded his eyes, but his aunt continued to look with a slight smile on her face. The glow faded leaving him blinded as if by a camera flash. He blinked several times to regain his vision and in front of him on the desk was a miniature ambulance. It looked like a Matchbox car.
Winifred waved her wand again. She concentrated touching the top of the desk beside the miniature ambulance. “Here is here,” she said in English.
Asher frowned confused. That made no sense, and did not sound like a spell at all.
“Here is the hospital,” she continued, touching a spot on the opposite corner of the desk with her wand. She picked up the matchbox car with her opposite hand and moved it from one place to the other.
Asher did not see any magic done, but the air felt thicker for a heartbeat, and he found it hard to breathe. The sensation passed in a moment. He sucked in air.
Winifred glanced at him; her cold blue eyes still expressionless.
“It will need a driver,” Winifred said as she shook out a man’s handkerchief and began tying knots in it. “Dame Lauren?” she said, but Aunt Evelyn shook her head.
“It should be one of my people,” she said. “Let’s keep it consistent, shall we?”
Winifred nodded and gave Evelyn a pointed look. “Shall I continue? Are you sure you are not tired from your trip?”
“I am fine,” Aunt Evelyn said with an edge to her voice. “Sentinel MacKenzie, you are up.” Aunt Evelyn said, and Oliver moved forward, a slightly sick look on his face. Asher wondered what was up.
Winifred continued to twist the handkerchief into the semblance of a doll, with knots for head, hands and feet. She handed the cloth doll to Aunt Evelyn.
“A finger please,” Aunt Evelyn said to Oliver.
Asher sucked in a breath. He was not sure, but there was an unhappy look on the man’s face as he held out his hand. “As you wish, my lady,” Oliver said, and then extended his middle finger to his aunt.
“Don’t be cute,” she said as she pricked not his middle finger, but his ring finger with her dagger. “You are my best driver,” she said. “I need you.”
“As you wish, Lady Pendragon.” he said. Blood welled on his fingertip and she placed it on the doll that Winifred had made.
Oliver staggered as if the blood loss was considerably more than a single drop. Aunt Evelyn touched the doll and chanted in some unknown language.
“You do not use hair too?” Winifred asked.
“Not necessary,” Aunt Evelyn said, tapping the side of the man’s head with her index finger. “He is in my service.”
What was that supposed to mean? Asher wondered.
“Sentinel Mackenzie, you are here,” Evelyn said. Then she touched the doll. “Sentinel Mackenzie you are at the hospital parking lot,” she said.
Oliver shimmered for a moment and a pained look crossed his face. Then he disappeared.
Asher gasped. “Where did he go?” He wondered aloud.
“To the hospital, of course,” Winifred said. “Right next to the ambulance I presume. If your aunt got the spell right.” Her eyes twinkled as she looked at Aunt Evelyn.
Evelyn gave her a withering look. “And now, if you will do the honors, to speed along our backup?”
“I will,” Winifred said, waving her wand again creating another Matchbox car.
Asher moved to his aunt, who looked tired. Perhaps they should wait until morning. He did not know how much the magic took out of her, but Aunt Evelyn took that moment to drink the last bit of her coffee. “It is time for us to go,” she said. “The magic will not last forever.”
“It will last long enough,” Winifred said with a spot of arrogance in her voice. “But you are right. We should go.”
Asher followed the two women out to the front of the house.
Winifred surveyed the black SUV. “We’ll take my car. It will be easier for me to spell,” she said finally.
“We need to be fast,” Aunt Evelyn cautioned.
“I know.” Winifred nodded, leading them around to a covered carpark. She waved her wand over her car and it positively sparkled. It was a newer model Porsche in a medium blue with leather interior.
“A bit ostentatious.” Evelyn said dryly.
Asher thought it was a little ostentatious too, but he wasn’t complaining. Winifred got behind the wheel with her wand still poised. She concentrated briefly and then put the wand away.
She tucked it back into her holster and with a brush of her hand, the holster and the wand it held disappeared from sight. Evelyn performed the same feat, vanishing her sword, as she took the other front seat.
Asher sat in back and foolishly looked outside of the window. The car began to move at an alarming rate or the world outside did. In a moment Asher was forced to close his eyes, if anything, the scenery was flying by even faster than it had on their way from Whitehall. The world outside the windows blurred and Asher’s ears popped. He swallowed and shook off the feeling. The dizziness was a minor annoyance. At last, they were on their way to Jules. He couldn’t complain about that, but he could not stop the worry in his heart.
29
Rescue
Winifred’s car came to a sudden halt outside the main hospital entrance, with what Asher was sure was an audible pop.
“Remember,” his aunt said, her long stride matching his as they entered the hospital. “If things get sticky, let me and Dame Winifred handle things.”
Sticky, Asher wondered? What did that mean? It was a regular hospital with doctors and nurses going about their business. Asher thought they would stop at the front desk to inquire what room Jules was in, but apparently his aunt knew that already. She marched right by the desk to the elevators. Once inside, with the elevator doors closed, she said. “After the ceremony, we will see how easy it will be to revive Julianna.”
“But she will be alright?” Asher asked.
His aunt shook her head. “I don’t know, but we can hope. If she cannot walk out on her own power or with a bit of magic, we will devise another way to get her out. It wou
ld be easiest if she can walk out to the ambulance. If she is well enough to do that, all will be well. If she cannot, well, we will have to devise another plan. Then she can rest safe at Whitehall until we figure out what else we need to do.”
“Depending upon what the Otherworlders did to her,” Winifred added, as she shrugged into a white lab coat.
“Depending upon what sort of magic we are dealing with, yes,” Aunt Evelyn said. “And how many are still here.” She sniffed the air in a most unsettling manner. “I sense shifters,” she said.
“That’s good,” said Winifred.
“Good?” Asher said confused.
“Beats possession.”
“Basilisks are still dangerous,” his aunt corrected. “Avoid their claws and their bite,” she said to Asher.
Asher had a momentary fear of being bitten and turning into some sort of reptile, but his aunt continued explaining. “You won’t turn into a were-snake, but their venom can be deadly, and the cure…well, you won’t like it.”
“I know,” Asher said thinking of the convention center attack.
“No,” his aunt said laying a hand on his arm. “Those were minions. These will have at least one alpha in their number.”
Asher wasn’t sure what the difference was, but he nodded. He would be careful.
“Even an alpha wouldn’t be acting alone,” Winifred reminded Evelyn.
She nodded.
“Why are you so sure?” Asher asked.
“There’s no reason for the pit to attack a human girl and they know it is against Charter Law,” his aunt said.
“Then why?” asked Asher.
Evelyn shook her head, but didn’t explain.
“Keep an eye for any sign of the necromancer.” Winifred advised.
The elevator door opened. Asher had an inkling that things were not going to go smoothly, when he immediately heard a high-pitched scream coming from one of the rooms.
“Shit,” his aunt intoned, as she started to run. She tossed Asher a plastic bag that contained a lab coat. “Put that on,” she demanded as she pushed her arms into her own coat.