Alex Verus Novels, Books 1-4 (9780698175952) (127 page)

Both Tobruk and Rachel waited, and there was a tension in the air. “Who—?” Rachel began.

“Come now,” Richard said, and he sounded almost kindly. “Did you really think that was how it was going to work? I'd pick one of you and dismiss the others? Once I am gone, I will have no further influence over this world for a significant time. To pretend I could simply
appoint
someone would be sheer hypocrisy. The only qualification that matters for the position of my Chosen is the strength to keep it. That is how it works—how it has always worked. The position cannot be given, only taken. If you are unable to hold it, it was never truly yours.”

Rachel started to turn to Tobruk, then stopped. Tobruk looked . . . pleased, and there was a kind of anticipation in his face that sent a chill down my spine: I remembered that look.

“There is, however, a more immediate issue,” Richard said. “It seems our last deception has thrown most of the Light mages off the trail, but not Lesandra. She wants the secrets of the worldgate, and she will be coming for it. Soon.”

“Here?” Rachel asked.

“Lesandra may be overconfident, but only to a point,” Richard said. “I do not expect her to assault me within my own mansion. However, while I am dealing with her, the two of you must watch Catherine Traviss.”

Tobruk frowned. “Why her?”

“Did you ever wonder why I sent you to America to bring her here?”

Tobruk shrugged.

“The Traviss family share some unique traits,” Richard said. “At some point in the past, one of their ancestors acquired an unusual type of interdimensional connection. It has manifested throughout the family line as an affinity for time and space magic but has the potential for much more. Her parents unfortunately proved unsuitable, but she has the ideal combination of attributes. Just as a gate stone can be used as a focus to travel to another location, she can be used as a key to travel to another world. Her nature will provide the link, her life energy the fuel.” Richard glanced between Rachel and Tobruk. “She is the key to this ritual. Without her, we have nothing. It is absolutely essential that she be kept under guard. On a more positive note, it appears that Lesandra has kept her findings a secret from the rest of the Council. I do not anticipate any other Light mages but her to become involved. Regardless, there are time factors outside her control and she will be forced to confront me within twenty-four hours. Until then, Catherine Traviss is your responsibility.”

“Lesandra had some apprentices, right?” Tobruk said. “Why don't we take them out?”

“Securing Traviss is more important,” Richard said. “I will deal with Lesandra.”

“What about Shireen?” Rachel said.

“The same applies to her, of course,” Richard said. “Please pass on the message when you see her.”

Rachel hesitated. “And Alex?” Tobruk said with a glint in his eye.

“Your dealings with Alex are and have always been your own concern,” Richard said. “Until your time as my apprentices ends, all four of you are still candidates for the position of Chosen. However, let me make one thing very clear.” Richard looked from Rachel to Tobruk. “Your priority is to guard Catherine Traviss. Should your personal issues with Alex come in the way of that, I expect you to put them aside. Your dealings with each other are your own affair; your dealings with my property are not. Is that understood?”

“Yes,” Rachel said after a moment. Tobruk didn't answer.

“Excellent.” Richard rose to his feet. “I will be out of contact for some time. The two of you are in charge of the mansion until I return.” He walked out of the room without looking back. Tobruk and Rachel were left alone in the study.

There was a long silence. At last Rachel stirred and turned to face Tobruk. “So who's on first?”

“Huh?”

“We're on guard duty, right?” Rachel didn't try to hide the dislike in her voice. “You going first or second?”

Tobruk laughed. “Yeah, that's not how this is going to work.”

Rachel frowned. “Richard said—”

“Richard said, Richard said,” Tobruk mimicked. “You're going to stay here and be a good girl. I'm going to find Alex.”

“Shireen's—”

“Shireen's lost it.”

“I don't have to do what you tell me.”

Tobruk had started to turn away, but as Rachel said that he stopped and looked at her. “What did you say?” His voice was suddenly soft and dangerous.

Rachel flinched but stood her ground. “I'm not—”

Tobruk moved very fast. All of a sudden Rachel was pressed back against the mantelpiece, eyes wide, with Tobruk looming over her. Rachel's hand came up, light starting to glow around it, and Tobruk caught her wrist. “I fucking hate little rich girls like you,” Tobruk breathed into Rachel's face. “You think you're better than me? Well, guess what? Richard's not going to be around to protect you anymore. And the second—the
second
—he's out that door, you'd better be too. Because if you even think of staying . . .”

Rachel struggled, trying to break free, but Tobruk held her effortlessly with one hand, reaching in with the other. Then Rachel summoned her magic, a shield of water pressure flashing out from around her in the same instant that Tobruk called up his dark flame. Fire met water in a flash and a roar, and the room vanished in a cloud of steam.

The mist cleared in only seconds. Tobruk was standing in the middle of the room, shrouded in shadow, black flames licking at his arms and legs. Rachel was on the floor in the corner; her eyes were wide and I could feel the fear seeping from her. “You stupid bitch,” Tobruk said contemptuously. “You're nothing. You hear me?” He took something from his pocket and held it out; it was black and crystalline, and it gleamed in the firelight. “Know what this is?”

Rachel stared back at him, frozen. “Harvesting crystal,” Tobruk said. “I'm going to find Alex and I'm going to Harvest him so I have his power too. You?” He grinned suddenly; it was wide and genuine and quite terrifying. “You I'll keep around. I'm going to need a new slut when Richard knocks off the last one.”

“You can't do that,” Rachel said, her voice high. “Richard won't let you.”

“Richard doesn't give a fuck,” Tobruk said. “I can do whatever I want to you. Richard told you all what it meant to be a Dark mage. None of you listened. I'm going to be Richard's Chosen and if you
ever
talk back to me again”—Tobruk's grin faded—“I'm going to fuck you up so bad you'll be begging me to stop. You know what I did to Catherine? That was just fun. You . . .” Tobruk waved a finger. “You, it's personal.” He looked at Rachel for a moment longer, his eyes burning into her, and then, like a mask snapping back, his grin returned. “Don't go anywhere!” Tobruk turned and walked out.

Rachel was left alone in the room, staring after Tobruk. As the door swung closed behind him she curled up and hugged herself, shivering. She stayed like that for a long time before slowly picking herself up and starting towards the door.

* * *

T
he shift was faster this time, only a flicker, and when it steadied I was standing in a long, dimly lit stone room, with an archway at either end leading into darkness. Murals were carved into the stone: scenes of battles and quests, mages and their servants fighting strange and inhuman creatures, with lettering in odd runic script. To the side was something that looked like an altar, and four statues of armoured men stood in the corners, each carrying tall spears and wide round shields. I remembered this place; it had been the entryway to the lower basements. Rachel had once asked Richard what the murals meant and he'd told her it had been built by the mansion's creators. We'd taken to calling it the chapel, but we'd avoided spending any time there. There was something eerie about the place, and the longer you stayed the more uncomfortable you got. The archway at one end led up to the ground floor, where I'd set off the trap to summon the nocturne. The archway on the other side led to the deeper basements and to the cells.

Rachel was sitting in the middle of the room. She was wearing the same clothes she'd had on for the confrontation with Tobruk and she was still shivering; the stone was unheated and cold. Apart from her the room was empty, and as I looked at her I felt an unexpected flash of pity. She looked lost and alone.

Footsteps echoed from the stairs, and Rachel was on her feet in an instant. Blue light flashed up around her hands as she summoned her shield and faced the archway, back slightly hunched. There was a flicker in the darkness, the glow of a fire spell. I saw Rachel's muscles go tense and knew she was ready to fight or flee.

Then Shireen walked in, her spell winking out as she came into the dim light of the chapel, and the tension went out of Rachel in a slump. “It's you,” she said, and closed her eyes, her shield vanishing. “Thank God.”

“Hi, Rach,” Shireen said. She sounded tired and her clothes were rumpled and worn, but there was something different about her; she looked alert, more focused, as if she'd finally made a decision. Something about it looked familiar, and as I watched her my memory clicked; this was after I'd met her at the old flats, when we'd spoken for the last time. I'd been readying myself to face Tobruk. Shireen had gone back to the mansion. Now at last I was seeing what had happened after.

“Where have you
been
?” Rachel said, hurrying towards her. “There's been so much happening, Richard and Tobruk and . . . Where
were
you?”

“I'm sorry,” Shireen said. “I had some things to think about.” She paused. “I found Alex.”

Rachel had been about to say something else but stopped. “You did?”

Shireen nodded.

“What did you do?”

“We talked.” Shireen looked away. “About a lot of things.”

“Why didn't you bring him back? We could have—” Rachel shook her head. “Never mind, it doesn't matter anymore. Listen. Richard's going away. I don't know where, some kind of other world, but he's going to be gone soon. Really soon. And he's going to pick his Chosen. It's just like we guessed, he wants someone to take over after he's gone, but he's not going to pick anyone, he's going to leave it all to us. And Tobruk . . . Tobruk's gone crazy. You didn't meet him, did you? No, you would have said.”

“Rach,” Shireen said.

“We have to do something. I'm serious, he's finally gone off the deep end. I was talking to him and . . .” Rachel shivered. “It's just the two of us now. Richard's not going to step in anymore. We can get rid of Tobruk, but—”

“Rach,”
Shireen said.

Rachel paused. “What?”

“I'm not going to be Richard's Chosen.”

Rachel looked at Shireen in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I'm not doing it anymore,” Shireen said. “I'm not staying on as Richard's apprentice. I'm not living in this mansion and I'm not watching anyone else get killed. I'm out.”

There was a long silence. Rachel stared at Shireen. “Why?” she said at last.

Shireen nodded towards the archway behind Rachel. “Who's in the dungeons right now?”

“Just that girl.”

“Her
name's
Catherine,” Shireen said, and her eyes didn't leave Rachel's. “What's going to happen to her when Richard leaves?”

Rachel looked away.

“Come on, Rach.”

“The ritual needs her as a component,” Rachel said defensively. “It might not kill her.”

“Oh, come on,” Shireen said wearily. “‘She's just going to die anyway'—remember? You said it, not me. Well, you were right. It took me a long time to figure that out, but you knew all along.”

“Fine,” Rachel said. “So what?”

“You wanted to know why?” Shireen said. “
That's
why. I'm sick of this, Rach. I'm sick of getting sent on these missions and I'm sick of knowing that people are getting raped and tortured in the same building where I'm sleeping at night! And now I get sent out to bring Alex back so they can do it all over again?” Shireen shook her head. “Not anymore. I'm done.”

“Richard never told you to go after Alex.”

“No,” Shireen said. “But it was pretty obvious whose side we were supposed to be on, wasn't it? We should never have signed up with him.”

“
You
were the one who wanted to sign up with him! This was your idea! You talked me into it!”

“And I was
wrong
!” Shireen shouted. “Okay? I was wrong to sign up with Richard,
you
were wrong to go along with it,
Alex
was wrong to join up after
us
, and Tobruk was—” Shireen paused, then shrugged. “Actually, come to think of it, this place fits Tobruk just fine. Guess he really did know what he was doing.”

“But why
now
?” Rachel said. “It's— We're nearly finished. It's been two years and it's almost over. Richard's about to go away.” Her voice was pleading. “It's only a week or two then it'll all be done. It's—it's like you want to quit school just before the final exam. It's just a little longer.”

Shireen looked back at Rachel steadily. “Rach,” she said. “The final exam is going to kill the girl in the cell behind you.”

“Can't you just stay?” Rachel said. “You don't have to do anything. We can be Richard's Chosen. Once he's gone we can do whatever we like.”

“There's no ‘we.' There never was.”

“What?”

“Think about it,” Shireen said. “How many Dark mages have we seen? Hundreds, right? How many of them had more than one Chosen?”

Rachel looked taken aback. “I don't know.”

“Think. Think hard.”

“I don't
know
. Some of them.”