by Tim Paulson
“No. They're not here. You didn't say they were so big.”
“They are quite large, for transporting large things. Did you see them?” Vex said, holding the hat down over her eyes.
“Some all powerful wizard,” Henri said, shaking his head.
Vex sighed. “Please, we need to get the site ready if Christine is to bring her toy here. They will be stranded until we are ready.”
Henri nodded. “Fine. Look, I didn't see your stones just now but I have seen them. They were discovered in that field where you left them by a man name Ron Chatman about a hundred years ago. They're called the Chatman stones and they're housed at the Institute's museum of natural history.”
“Are there a lot of people there?”
“It's a museum, so no,” Henri said. “The Veil Institute used to be called Chatman College. The discovery of those stones, the mystery of them, inspired a great deal of inquiry.”
“Is it far?”
“No, just down the street,” Henri said, glancing toward the marching crowd. Though it hadn't seemed possible, Vex's complexion paled noticeably at the mere suggestion of heading back into the crowd. “We can take the back streets.”
“Good,” Vex said with a sigh.
The two of them slunk through the back alleys of Valendam like a pair of aged rats. They picked their way past piles of garbage, open running sewers and rows of hanging laundry. Exotic smells wafted from the windows of shops and restaurants as they went. Finally they emerged into the street across from the Northern part of the Institute quadrangle.
The granite dome of the museum shined like a beacon, reflecting the golden hues of the morning sun and the blue of the sky in its bright tiled surface. The great imperial style columns stood like sentries along the front of the expansive structure. As Henri had expected, the streets were virtually empty here, as the crowd was moving North, probably to the palace.
“There!” Vex pointed at the front of the museum where a great stone stood like a sword poised to thrust into the sky. “Where are the others? There should be two more!”
“The other two are inside,” Henri said. “Follow me.”
They crossed the largely empty avenue with Vex gripping Henri's forearm because he so feared the few relatively small groups of people out walking the streets.
Anyone who looked at them might imagine they were a loving older couple out for a lunchtime stroll on the verdant manicured grounds of the Veil Institute, perhaps planning to visit the arboretum or the rose gardens. Rather than what they were: a former Institute professor turned blacksmith and a three thousand year old black wizard wearing the body of a ghoul like Sunday church clothes.
As they approached the tall white spear of stone that had been arranged artfully in front in an effort to draw traffic in from the wide cobbled avenue Henri spared a second to glance down the street to the tall complex of stone structures that dominated its end, Veil headquarters. At least one goliath could be seen there, standing immobile like a statue out in front, but Henri knew there would be several others nearby, Veil never let down its guard.
Vex paused to run a hand across the stone's smooth pearlescent surface. Below the stone was a plaque describing the Chatman excavations as well as current scholar's best guesses as to the function of the three mysterious white stone spears.
“These aren't like the ones at your ruined city. I guess that's why I didn't think of them,” Henri said. Though now that he thought about it much of that decayed city had been made of buildings very like these stones, only broken.
“These were made later. I must see the others.”
“Inside,” Henri directed as he stared up at the shining white stone. “There are professors who'd give their right arm to talk to you about these.”
Vex's eyes glanced his way. “An arm is not a large meal.”
Henri just stared at him. “Forget it. The point is we know so little about the time before the last four hundred years.”
“Good,” Vex said. “Knowledge can be a dangerous thing without wisdom, maturity.”
They stepped into the center of the huge domed main room of the museum's entry. To their left was the second stone displayed prominently at the entrance to the hall of monsters, known to have the largest collection of mounted specimens of dangerous creatures in the kingdom.
Henri had one day wanted to bring Adem here to see the troll, the griffin and the manticore, as his father had done for him when he was a boy. Though it had been the hall of technology in the Institute's other museum with its great goliaths on display that had really captured his young imagination. He'd so wanted to become a knight and ride one into battle, even be one if he could.
To their right in front of the hall of animals was the third white Chatman stone. Light from the sun was pouring in through the patterned windows that ringed the dome creating bright squares of light on the surface of the stone, as well as the stuffed big horned bison behind it.
“I see,” Vex said.
“What?”
“These two are correct, though they must all be turned, but the one outside is too far.” Vex's arms raised.
“What are you going to do? Those stones must weigh hundreds of tons. How are you going to-” Henri asked but instantly regretted it.
Vex's fingers were sliding around like mad, as if he were conducting an opera. Henri knew If he pulled down his veil goggles he'd see hundreds of glowing symbols. Vex then turned toward the glass front of the building and Henri watched in horror as the massive stone mounted outside began to lift from its place embedded in the brick.
Though there weren't too many people out in front of the museum the few around stopped in their tracks to stare, slack-jawed, as the great stone rose into the air. Once it cleared the ground it began to float toward the front of the museum. Gasps, yells and screams followed as the stone's sharp edge knifed through the columns at the front of the building, pushing them aside like they were matchsticks setup by a child.
Then the stone smashed into the arched doorway, tearing a great vertical hole in the front of the building and causing marble hunks to rain down on the floor as the patrons screamed in terror. When it had cleared the entrance Vex's left hand dropped several inches and the great white stone smashed down through the floor of the museum, embedding itself.
The wizard then looked to the other two stones and turned them, one at a time, until all three shared the same orientation with their sharpest side pointed into the center. The space between them was absolutely enormous, easily ten times the space of the stones they'd used to travel to the destroyed city.
“Is this large enough?” Vex asked after setting the final stone.
“For what? A whole castle?”
Then carved symbols that hadn't been visible on the clean white monoliths began to glow a brilliant whitish blue. The color began at the very bottom of the stones and rushed up toward their sharp pointed ends.
“You should vacate the center,” Vex said.
“Everyone move!” Henri bellowed in his raspy old man's voice. “Get out! Get away from the center!” he said as he backed out himself, almost running into a well groomed woman in her fifties to his right.
She wore spectacles, normal ones and stood paralyzed with awe at the events unfolding before her. Henri recognized her Immediately. This was Muriel De Meester, one of his own professors from years ago. She was the current director of the museum and one of the few remaining blood relatives of Ron Chatman.
“It's... it's not what we thought...” Muriel said.
Henri took her by the elbow and pulled her back with him, startling Muriel out of her reverie.
“I beg your pardon sir!” she said.
“Come with me Muriel. There isn't time for your speculative flights of fancy,” Henri said, knowing she saw only an old man wearing a pack.
She looked at him, eyes wide. “How is any of this speculative in any way?” she said but did comply. “Of all the theories around these stones, none even came clos
e to this!”
“Yeah?” Henri said. “Just wait.”
The light blue symbols reached the top of the stones and there was a loud crack and a blinding flash of light. In an instant the entire center of the museum was filled with an enormous titan goliath carrying a massive two handed sword. The massive helmet-like head with its blue glowing eyes and the painted likeness of a roaring lion came up just under the very top of the dome.
Muriel gasped, placing both hands over her mouth. “It's a transportation device?!”
“A road I think,” Henri said as he let go of her elbow.
“A what?” Muriel said.
A woman appeared from between the goliath's feet and strode toward them with determination, her burgundy cloak fringed with flames flowed behind her. The baroness walked right up to Vex and Henri. The disguises were clearly not unfamiliar to her.
“Baroness Halett?!” Muriel said, eyes wide.
“Indeed,” the baroness said as she turned to address the old woman that was Vex. “I think this will do for our distraction.”
Vex nodded. “I believe you are correct.”
“Henri, where should she go?” the baroness asked, expectantly.
Henri backed off two steps, staring up at the monstrous goliath.
He'd taken part in the design of the titan line. They'd needed much stronger joints to accommodate all the weight and he'd been brought in to help figure out some of the trickier materials problems. Truly an emperor of the battlefield. It was incredible to see one up close. He couldn't resist waving up at it.
The great head looked down at him with its glowing blue eyes. It raised a hand and flicked its fingers toward the front of the museum.
Straight to business, that was Mia. Henri smiled widely, a trick given that his old man's mouth seemed to have about half as many teeth as it should and he turned and clambered out of the rubble strewn museum entrance.
“Sorry Muriel!” he called back over his shoulder as he waved Mia and her goliath forward toward the street.
“I'm sorry... Do I know yo-” Muriel said from behind him.
Henri looked back, thinking it wouldn't hurt to tell her a little but Vex had already put the woman to sleep.
She'd collapsed beside a pile of rubble, snoring loudly. Not even the thunderous sounds and vibration of the goliath woke her as it passed, exiting the museum, smashing much of the rest of the entrance as it did.
Standing on the other side of the avenue, Henri motioned to Mia and her goliath, pointing down the street to the tall square building complex that was Veil company headquarters.
This was hardly necessary however because two goliaths were already on their way, shoulder to shoulder, each with a veil infused long sword. Twenty feet of glowing metal.
Mia played them perfectly. The titan sprinted forward, holding out its two handed blade like a spear, causing her enemies to slow with surprise and close ranks. Then at the last moment she had her goliath feint left before vaulting to the right, raising the sword's hilt high in the air and driving the blade down. The unexpected direction of the blow, combined with the enemy goliaths being too close, resulted in the blade skewering one of them from top to bottom, while the other could only watch.
Henri gaped as Mia's massive goliath then used the impaled body of the dying enemy as a tool to smash his comrade into a building causing it to lose footing and fall. The titan goliath then tore off the enemy's head with one hand, tossing it to ground like a discarded hunk of rock.
“She's really something,” Henri said.
“Indeed. I wonder if perhaps she has similar thoughts about you,” the baroness said, stepping up beside him.
Henri wasn't as sure. Mia had looked troubled in their last meeting. As strong as she was, he worried for her.
Ahead Mia's goliath pushed the defeated enemies down and jammed its great blade through their center. So wide was the sword there was little chance of missing the core or the knight.
Henri winced, the destroyed cores would release their resident demons. He fumbled for his goggles, pulling them down just in time to see both the demon spirits bypass all the onlookers and come straight at him.
He panicked for a second, wondering why, until he realized he was standing between two witches. To his right stood the baroness and to his left, Vex, still disguised as the old woman.
The baroness raised a hand. Both of the demons flowed into her palm like water sucked into a reed. The woman appeared unconcerned however, as if nothing had happened. If anything she looked rejuvenated. Her face seemed smoother, younger, more alive.
Henri stared at her, unable to form the words to ask what had happened.
“Can we get on with this?” Vex said, wringing his hands at the gathering crowds.
“Yes, we should... ah... go,” Henri said, still at a loss.
“Don't think you can avoid discussing this professor blacksmith or whoever you are. I brought Mia into our household because she's special, in more ways than you know. That girl has been through a great deal yet somehow she persevered and made something of herself. Do you have any idea how rare that is?” The baroness said.
“Some,” Henri said and pointed down a side street to their left. “We can take this street to an alley that should bring us to the rear of the Institute's labs. I'm sure your gate is there.”
“I hope you're right,” Vex said. “Or this will have been quite a waste of time.”
In the distance Mia's goliath had resumed her march forward down the wide avenue toward the sharp rectangular Veil Headquarters building. From side streets ahead two more goliaths emerged from each side.
Four to one odds.
In a staccato of thunder cracks all of the enemies fired their chest mounted cannon at once. The blue eyed titan merely raised an arm, shielding its eyes from the shots while the others bounced harmlessly from its thick steel plate.
Mia and her goliath replied with a volley of their own.
Henri remembered well the twelve gigantic chest cannons of the titans. Each was individually tethered to the goliath's core so they could be fired one at a time or all at once. In this instance Mia chose to fire one set of six at one enemy and another set of six on another.
Both dropped to the ground, annihilated by the titan's massive cannons.
Two to one odds now.
“She'll be fine,” the baroness said. “Marcus told me many times that she was the most gifted warrior he'd ever met.”
“Come! We're wasting time!” Vex said.
Chapter 22
"A most remarkable find. We've managed to secure all three pieces of the monument and after careful study I'm sure they must have religious significance of some kind."
-Ron Chatman from his treatise On the Stones, 1531
They paused at a point where the smooth floor bent up at an angle toward an arch ahead. The creature called Daniel was out in front, using one of his appendages to gesture toward their left.
“On the left if you look closely you'll see a recessed spiral stair. I'm not sure how anyone gets around in this place without being personally led by one of the acolytes. I got lost twice just trying to check up on you. It wasn't all bad though, there are some fascinating rooms here,” Aaron said.
“I'm sure there are,” Giselle said, patting her professorial husband gently on the shoulder.
“Anyone isn't supposed to get around here. This place was made for wizards. Here... look,” Celia said as she pulled a pair of green tinted veil spectacles from a pocket of her skin tight black body suit.
Aaron took them. “Where did you get these?” he asked as he put them on. Immediately he gasped, turning in circles as if he were the clockwork figure in the center of a little girl's jewelry box.
That reminded her.
“Can we go check on the children? I need to see they're alright,” Giselle said.
Celia rolled her eyes. “I told you, they're fine.”
“Yes... we can go. In fact I can see just where!” Aaron said.
“It's amazing!” He said as he led them up the spiraling stair, which wasn't really a stair so much as a ramp with bumps.
“What is?” Giselle asked.
“They have instructions here. I can't read the words, but I can make out the general idea. It's all veil powered,” Aaron said.
“Sorcery you mean,” Celia said. “I don't remember saying you could keep those, by the way.”
Aaron muttered an unintelligible but unhappy response.
As they ascended the stair skeletal lamps illuminated as they approached and then turned off by themselves as they passed them. Giselle found it unnerving. How did the lamps even know they were there? It gave her the impression that the entire building was somehow alive.
At the top of the spiral ramp was another hall that looked exactly like the first except it curved slightly to the right. It also felt like the floor had either a slight incline or decline, she couldn't be sure, with the ubiquity of the color black in the walls and floors things tended to meld together.
They traveled along the curved hall for a short while, passing several doorways of unknown purpose, before they arrived at yet another spiral stair, this time spiraling in the opposite direction.
“How large is this place?” Giselle wondered.
“I have no idea,” her husband said, still jealously holding on to Celia's veil spectacles.
Daniel raised two tentacles and spread them widely, indicating that the place was indeed quite large. Giselle watched as the creature trundled along ahead of them, its lower appendages solidified to function like an ant's segmented legs.
Though it looked absolutely grotesque with its deer skull head, tentacles, insect-like legs and glowing eyes, it acted very human-like. The creature's actions were simple and straight forward however, less like an adult than a child.
Was a child trapped inside Daniel somewhere, animating his body? If so, what had happened to him? How had he become this way?
More importantly, why was mother mixed up with a place like this? The woman had sat with Giselle in church every Sunday of her life, she must know that according to their own priest being a witch was tantamount to being an enemy of the church itself.