Homecoming: An Alastair Stone Urban Fantasy Novel (Alastair Stone Chronicles Book 23)

by R. L. King

  She was being a good sport about this whole thing, but it wasn’t fair to keep talking like she wasn’t here. “I’m sorry, Verity. We’re being terribly rude.”

  Harrison said nothing.

  “No, it’s okay. I get it, and I don’t mind. Tell you what—if you don’t have anything else you need me to tell Mr. Harrison, why don’t I head home so you two can get to the rest of it?” She shot him a significant look. “Jason gave me something last night I want to take a look at with Hezzie, anyway.”

  Aha, so Jason was diversifying his options—or maybe Verity had offered. Still, he hated giving her the brush-off after she’d come all the way down here to help him. “Are you sure—”

  “It’s all good, Doc.” She stood and picked up her bag. “Good to see you, Mr. Harrison. Do you have any other questions before I go? I think I’ve told you pretty much everything I know about that’s relevant to this situation.”

  “No,” Harrison said. “Thank you, Ms. Thayer. I appreciate your assistance.”

  “Anytime. See you later, Doc. I’ll let you know if I find out anything interesting.” She waved and headed out, and a moment later Stone heard the front door close.

  Harrison waited silently, watching Stone.

  Stone sighed. “So you think if you let things go as they are, the mages might…find something they shouldn’t.”

  “As I said, it is unlikely, but possible. The manastorm is not far from Brenn, below Sholandre. Since I am unaware of the nature of these rifts, and you can give me no additional information, I must assume it is possible this one, once free of the manastorm, might produce a magical disruption that could attract unwelcome attention.”

  Stone glared at the floor, once again trying and failing to push past the oath. Harrison was right, damn it—the rifts did produce odd and unexpected magical disruptions, and the Talented, while not terribly innovative or imaginative, did excel in tracking magic.

  “I don’t know what else I can say,” he finally growled. “You make good points, but I’m telling you, it’s a bad idea. I’m asking you to leave this alone—or at least to make an effort to understand things better before you act. You’re a smart man, Harrison, and even though you can be bloody rash sometimes, I know you won’t act without considering things carefully.”

  “I always consider things carefully.” Harrison walked to the window and looked out into the front yard. “But I cannot allow an open dimensional portal to exist between Earth and Calanar. Obviously, since you have closed these rifts before and I have not heard of any unexplained catastrophes on Earth…” He paused and turned back, his sharp gaze fixing on Stone. “A moment. You had contacted Mr. Nakamura recently, regarding the collapse of the museum building in New York City. You told him you believed the cause to be magical in nature and sought my help concerning portals, but I was unavailable at the time. Was that incident related to these rifts?"

  It would have been easy to lie to him, to say it was—maybe. Except Harrison was a master poker player, and while Stone was a good liar, he didn’t think he played in the same leagues.

  It didn’t matter, though. He wouldn’t get anywhere with Harrison by lying to him, and he was tired of the web of half-truths, obfuscations, and dueling stories he’d already spun up around his associations.

  “No,” he said reluctantly. “I thought it might have, initially, but it turned out to be something completely different.”

  “I see.”

  Stone didn’t miss the brief approval that touched Harrison’s blank expression. “So…where does that leave us? Are you going to believe me that your best course of action is to keep an eye on things from your side and leave them alone unless absolutely necessary?”

  “No, Dr. Stone.”

  Stone jerked his head up. “No?”

  “I cannot wait for the manastorm. There is no way to know how fast it will move—even the Travelers cannot predict that. I will return to Calanar and use the manastorm’s location to track the corresponding place on Earth. It will not be precise, but it should not be difficult to locate a magical disturbance in the same relative area.”

  Stone blinked. “You can do that?”

  “I can.”

  “How?” Stone didn’t think he’d answer.

  “I could explain it to you, but I doubt you yet have the necessary background to understand completely. In simplistic terms, it is related to the Nexus.”

  Stone was about to ask what he meant, but then the light dawned. “Wait—you mentioned before that the Nexus is sort of an…anchor point between dimensions, holding Calanar in place relative to them.”

  Harrison nodded approval. “Excellent. I think, when both of us have sufficient time for you to continue your studies, you will prove a capable student.”

  Stone felt like an apprentice again, but in this case he didn’t mind. When it came to this kind of stuff, he was an apprentice.

  But still, there was something he wasn’t seeing here. Something important. It scratched at the edges of his mind, but refused to show itself.

  Something about what Harrison had said…

  Damn. It wasn’t coming. He wondered if it was the oath getting in the way again. He sighed loudly, knowing the harder he tried to push it, the more it would skitter away. Better to let it marinate for a while—but he didn’t have a while.

  “Anyway,” he said, “I’ve done what I can. I’ve explained the situation as well as I’m able. The only other thing I can tell you is I’m not the only one involved with this. I’m not the only one who might try to stop you. You’re putting yourself in potential danger if you try doing something direct about it.”

  Harrison raised an eyebrow. “Are you speaking of your associate? The one who took your oath?”

  “No. Not him. He won’t interfere. But others are…not as accommodating. I’m just giving you a warning—though I almost feel like I shouldn’t, because you’re so bloody stubborn you’ll probably take it as a challenge. Your best bet is to let it go.”

  “Thank you for your advice, Dr. Stone. I assure you, I will make no rash decisions. But as I said, I cannot allow a gateway to exist between our dimensions. The danger is too great.” He stepped away from the window. “I must go now.”

  “You’re going off to find it, aren’t you?”

  “I am.”

  Stone remained where he was, behind the sofa. “I wish I could stop you.”

  “It is best if you don’t try.” Harrison’s tone was utterly even, almost conversational. There was no overt threat or menace in it at all.

  It nonetheless chilled Stone as Harrison left the room and departed.

  24

  Stone waited until later that afternoon to call Verity and catch her up—as much as he could, anyway—with the latest.

  “So you couldn’t stop him,” she said. “You’re not really surprised, are you?”

  “No. I hoped I might convince him, but without giving him reasons, I knew it wasn’t likely.”

  “So what are you going to do now?”

  “I haven’t got a clue.”

  “Are you going back to Colorado and try to head him off?”

  Stone sighed. “I’ve considered it. But I’ve got no idea whether it will do any good. I can’t tell him anything other than what I already have, and I certainly don’t plan to try fighting him. That wouldn’t end well.”

  “What happens if you just let him do it? No—never mind, I know you can’t tell me. Let me ask a different way: if you don’t stop him and he goes ahead and closes it, is something horrible likely to happen?”

  “Who knows? That’s the problem—there’s no way to know whether things that happen are the logical result of my actions, or whether they were going to happen anyway.” He glared at the phone, his frustration growing. “This is a pain in the arse, trying to dance around this without actually saying anything. You know how much I hate content-free discussions.”

  “Yeah. Hey, if you want a distraction, Jason and Amber are coming up here
for dinner. You want to join us?”

  “That depends. Did you and Hezzie get any answers examining the blood he gave you?”

  “Maybe. It might not hurt to get us all together to talk about it. I don’t think this one’s gonna be easy to figure out, Doc.”

  “No, I agree with you. I think we’ve only got the tip of the iceberg.” He considered. “I suppose I could use a distraction—and it will be nice to make some progress with something for a change.”

  “Great. Dinner’s at seven.”

  “I’ll bring the wine.” He chuckled. “No comments about my ulterior motives?”

  “Which ones?”

  “I haven’t had one of your home-cooked meals in far too long. If driving for an hour is the only way to get one, it’s worth it.”

  “Does it count as ulterior when it’s so obvious it can be seen from the moon?”

  “Hush, you. I’ll see you at seven.”

  Jason and Amber were already at Verity’s San Francisco apartment helping her put the final touches on dinner when Stone arrived.

  “Whatever that is, it smells delicious,” Stone said, setting down the bottle of fine Chablis Blanc he’d brought. “You’re absolutely right that I’ve missed your cooking. Although Amber and Jason have been filling the void admirably.”

  “Thanks, I think,” Amber said with a grin. “Not sure if I’ve been complimented or insulted.”

  “That happens all the time with Al,” Jason said. “You get used to it.”

  “Why don’t you guys all get out of the kitchen and go sit down,” Verity said, laughing. “This is almost ready to go and you’re in the way.”

  Stone took a look around as he drifted out to the dining area, which was part of the living room. The apartment’s structure still looked much the same as he remembered it: big for a place in San Francisco, but in no way fancy. It was located in a sketchy neighborhood, which used to bother Jason, but Stone knew better. Verity’s friend, fellow Harpy, and alchemy teacher Hezzie lived down the hall from her, and between the two of them they’d warded the place sufficiently that no mundane would be able to get in unnoticed.

  “You’ve redecorated a bit since I’ve been here last,” he said when Verity emerged carrying a large, steaming serving dish. “I like it.” The place had a kind of bohemian-goth chic, with furniture and decorations gathered from trips through obscure antique shops and upscale thrift stores. Stone had accompanied her on a couple of these trips when they’d been together, and some of the pieces brought back memories. He realized he hadn’t visited the apartment for quite some time—she usually came to his place.

  “Yeah, Hez and I picked up a few new-to-me things.” She disappeared back into the kitchen and returned with two more dishes floating in front of her. She settled them both on the table and took her seat.

  “Where is she, by the way? I thought you said you two had some success.”

  “Yeah, we did, but you know her: she still gets uncomfortable around men, so she didn’t want to come. It’s okay, anyway—maybe this one should just be family.”

  Something twinged deep inside Stone. He knew everyone was joking when they talked about him and Jason becoming “blood brothers,” but he didn’t think Verity’s words were entirely flippant. He had little real family left anymore—and aside from Ian, he had no interest in interacting with those he did know about. A diabolical druid leader and an ancient who-the-hell-knew-what unearthed from a crypt beneath his home didn’t stand up too well next to the loyalty and friendship of the three at this table.

  “So,” he said. “Suppose you tell us what you discovered, then.” He used magic to pop the wine bottle’s cork and poured for everyone.

  “It’s not a lot yet,” Verity said. “Jason, I’ll probably have to play vampire a few more times to get much else.”

  “Hey, whatever it takes.”

  “But we did determine that Jason’s blood isn’t quite the same as it was before.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Stone took an experimental bite of the main course, a pasta dish with mussels, calamari, and a light wine sauce. “This is bloody delicious, by the way.”

  “Thanks. It’s one nice thing about living in this town—fresh seafood’s easy to get.” She swallowed her mouthful, chased it down with wine, and pointed at Jason. “It’s pretty subtle—I doubt it will give him any problems if he has to go to the hospital or anything, unless the doctors or nurses are magical—but he’s definitely got magic traces in his blood now that weren’t there before.”

  “How do you know they weren’t there before?” Jason asked. “Al says this thing of mine has to do with my magic-battery power.”

  “Yeah, I’m not surprised about that. But remember, I’ve had your blood before. I needed it to make that shifter potion. So I’ve studied it pretty thoroughly.”

  “Damn, good point. So whatever this Whitworth guy did to me with Al’s blood, it…changed mine?” He looked at his hand, almost as if expecting to see it flowing through his veins under his skin.

  “Yeah, it looks that way. It’s kind of like what happened with the shifter potion, but this time it’s permanent.”

  “Permanent, but a lot less predictable,” Stone said. “The shifter potion gave you certain abilities for a limited amount of time, but you had more control over them. With this, the abilities seem to be permanent, but accessible in a much narrow range of situations.”

  “Safer, though, probably,” Verity said. “I was worried about that potion—afraid it would elevate his heart rate, or blood pressure, or at least cause wear and tear on his body. But this doesn’t look like that’s happening. Whatever it is, it’s much better integrated. I still want to scan you.”

  “Al already did—twice.”

  “Let her, Jason,” Stone said. “My scans are stronger, but they’re more general. As a healer, Verity’s more focused on how the aura and the body interact.”

  “Definitely feeling like a lab rat here,” Jason grumbled, but everybody could see he was pleased at the attention—and especially at the prospect of gathering more information. “But hey, if it’ll help you figure out how to access this at will—or even know I can’t—that’s a big help.”

  “Until then,” Amber drawled, “don’t get between him and any chainsaws.”

  Verity laughed. “I still wish you’d remembered to take a picture before you pulled it out.”

  “Hey, get him riled up and maybe he’ll do it again.”

  “So,” Jason said to Stone, “V told me Harrison showed up at your place today.”

  “I didn’t think it was a secret,” Verity said. “I didn’t say much about why he was there.”

  “It’s not.” Stone poured more wine. “Just bloody frustrated I couldn’t get farther with him.”

  “Who is this guy?” Amber asked. “I’ve heard you guys talk about him a couple times—he’s some kind of powerful mage from Las Vegas, right?”

  “He is, yes. He helped us with a nasty situation in the past. Did Jason ever tell you about the Evil?”

  “Yeah, some, after you mentioned it back at the house. That is some pretty freaky stuff. I’m glad they’re gone—or at least mostly gone. They are, right?”

  “I haven’t heard anything from them in quite some time, so I’ll wager the ones who are left are lying low and have integrated themselves.”

  “So what’s Harrison want now?” Jason asked. “I wouldn’t expect him to come to your house. That seems…I dunno, too normal for him?”

  Stone chuckled. “I’d have thought so too. He’s got good taste in cars, though.” He wondered how much Verity had told Jason, but didn’t want to ask for details. “We’re…having a disagreement about something. He wants to do something I’ve got reason to believe is a bad idea, but I can’t tell him why.”

  “Yeah, because of the oath. V told me about that too. Something you cooked up with that Kolinsky guy.”

  “Exactly. And now he’s off investigating to figure out how to do it, and I d
on’t see how I can stop him.”

  “So…you’re just gonna let him get away with it?” Jason asked. “That doesn’t seem much like you.”

  “What else can I do? Stefan won’t let me out of the oath, so I can’t tell him the most pertinent part of the whole thing. Without that, I’m not going to get anywhere with him. The man’s as stubborn as I am—maybe more so.”

  Stone sighed as his thoughts returned once again to the situation on Calanar. Maybe, if he was lucky, the manastorm would settle down in one place for the duration, making it nearly impossible to track the rift to a precise spot on the Earth side. Either that, or the two dimensions would drift out of phase on their own, and the whole problem would solve itself before Harrison had a chance to intervene.

  How long would that take, though? How long had the two been in confluence before the Traveler had wandered into the area? How fast or slow were they drifting? Stone pictured Harrison pacing around in his big black tower, trying to trace the spot. Once he found it, could he simply pop there using the Nexus, and—

  Wait.

  The Nexus.

  Harrison’s words flooded back to his mind: In simplistic terms, it is related to the Nexus.

  And then his own reply: The Nexus is sort of an…anchor point between dimensions, holding Calanar in place relative to them.

  An anchor point, holding Calanar in place relative to other dimensions.

  Bloody hell, that’s it.

  Stone jerked up in his chair so violently he nearly knocked over his wineglass.

  “What is it?” Verity’s brow furrowed. “Are you okay, Doc?”

  Stone barely heard her. Bloody hell. If the Nexus is anchoring Calanar to other dimensions, that means they don’t move relative to each other.

  Which means they can’t drift in and out of phase.

  Which means something else caused that rift.

  Still trying to keep ahead of his racing thoughts, he leaped up and shoved his chair back. “I’ve got to make a call.”

  “What?” Jason demanded. “Al, what’s going on? What happened?”