Arcane Magic (Stella Mayweather Series) (20 page)

"Did something happen at the Loup?" I asked.

"I think I have a mole in the pack," he said.

"What makes you think that?"

"Just a feeling. It's not uncommon. Packs often have issues, but I have a feeling this is tied to Noah Wilde. One of my own pack is spying on me, and I don't know who it is. So, you see? I have problems and I need to think about them and you need to think about yours and then we'll talk."

"When?"

"In the next day or two, I hope."

"I'm going..." I hesitated, about to blurt out my plans. Then I thought better of it, instead saying, "I'm going to be with Astra and Kitty tomorrow. We made plans. I might not be home."

"Wherever you plan on being, you can't stay there and avoid me." Gage pulled me back to him, enveloping me again, and I hugged him tightly as the animosity that sprang between us dissipated. I wanted to nestle against him, to feel his pure and uncomplicated comfort, knowing that of all the people in my crazy world, he was one of the ones I trusted most. I only wished I knew what lay in our future.

"I wouldn't do that, but I have to do something in the city. At The Amethyst," I said, knowing that it might be a good thing for Gage to know where I was. I really didn't want him to think I was avoiding him; and given the secrecy of the mission I planned to carry out, it might have been good to have one other person, whom I could trust, to know where I was. "I might not get back for a couple days."

"I'll be in the city in the next couple of days too."

I looked up. "What for?"

"The High Council gets sworn in. I'm part of Noah Wilde's delegation."

"You couldn't say no?" I asked, regretting the question. Of course, he couldn't. Even with his own ascension assuring him some power, Noah was still his ultimate boss even if Gage knew he was almost certainly working against the High Council. It occurred to me that perhaps Gage was watching over his packmaster, and not just to make sure he didn't commit any crimes against the witches. Perhaps there wasn't just a mole in Gage's pack. Perhaps there was a bigger one in Noah's, I decided, and once again, wondered if Gage knew more than he told me.

"No," Gage replied simply.

My breath caught. "You know the letter says the High Council will be attacked, Gage!"

"Yep, you know it, and I know it and we're both going to be there anyway."

"I don't want to leave you tonight," I said.

"And I'm not going to let you stay." Gage raised my chin upwards and dropped the lightest of kisses on my lips. "Goodnight, Stella."

"Night," I murmured, embarrassed, exhausted, and knowing Gage was right as I shimmered out of his arms
with the sting of rejection and all of my arguments worn out of me.

Chapter Seventeen

Pushing open the door to the bookshop, I looked around. It was everything I guessed an old bookshop should be. Shelf after shelf piled high with thick manuscripts, a cherrywood desk that served as the cashier's station, and soft light refracting through the long windows at the front with a small, circular window at the back. A spiral stairway with a polished banister wound its way upwards to a narrow landing with more bookshelves, thick with books.

"I'll be right with you," called a man somewhere beyond the shelving.

"Hi," I called back, recalling I'd been in here only a couple of times before; once to browse, and once to purchase a birthday gift. The gift was a successful one, and I meant to return and browse for my own pleasure, but somehow, work and life managed to both get in the way.

"Hello again," said the same voice as, a moment later, a man appeared. He wore brown slacks and a white shirt with a patterned sweater over the top. Around his neck hung a pair of eyeglasses on a chain. His hair was receding rapidly, but he still had a few strands that sparsely covered his pate. "You came back!" he exclaimed. "Did your friend like the book?"

"Very much, thank you."

"What can I help you with today? More of the same? I found some wonderfully illustrated tomes at a yard sale in Maine."

"Maybe another time," I replied, disappointed that I didn't have the time to stop and look. "Actually, a friend of mine came in yesterday and I wondered if he found what he was looking for?"

"What's your friend's name?" he asked, moving around to the other side of the desk.

"You'd probably recognise him," I said, recalling the demon Astra spotted and later described.

"Oh yes, yes, I remember." His face darkened and he tapped the desk with his fingertips. "An odd request."

"Oh?" I scrambled to come up with a question, or something that could lead up towards the answer, but simply went with misdirection. "Was it the old occult book?"

"No, no, it was a horologicon. He seemed quite sure I might know where to find one, but I'm afraid I don't. I said I'd ask around and he left his card."

"A horologicon?" I frowned.

"I had to look it up on the internet. If your friend finds one, I'd love to take a look. It sounds fascinating."

"I'll let him know," I said, still puzzled. "Thanks anyway. I must run now, but I'll try and stop by next week and see those books you found."

"Please do. I know you love all things regarding witchcraft and the occult, so I've been looking out for them at estate sales. They're quite sought after, you know, but you're welcome to browse them even if you don't want to buy."

"Thanks, I'd like that." I left the shop, wondering what a horologicon was, and returned to the car where Astra waited for me, and she immediately asked me what I discovered.

"He said the demon was looking for a horologicon. I don't even know what that is. Do you?"

"Yes, I do," Astra grimaced. "Although, they're very rare. It's a book of events, that are all time specific. It changes by the hour so it can mean different things at different times, but is generally reliant on the events that preceded it."

"Like a psychic book?" I asked, frowning. I was thinking about the first and last time I saw a book of that ilk. It was loaned to me by a young witch who approached me for help, a witch who had fallen afoul of Georgia Thomas.

"Yes, that's essentially what it is. Why would a demon want one?" Astra mused. "It's a rare witchcraft artifact. Demons don't have any uses for such a thing."

"Clearly, this one does. Anyway, he didn't find one, but the owner said he's searching for one in case it turns up."

"Hmm. Unless he's got some magic in his veins, he won't recognise it. A horologicon won't reveal itself to just anyone. My guess is, the demon realised that too."

"Maybe we'll find one in the archives," I said, pulling the seatbelt around me and buckling it. I drove us home, wondering if we were doing the right thing in our plan to infiltrate The Amethyst. If we were caught,
Étoile would be furious that we defied her specific orders. If we found nothing, it might result in the end of the High Council.

"Of course, we are," said Astra.

"Sorry, didn't mean to let that slip."

"Actually, you said it out loud. Your thoughts are very guarded today. Maybe I shouldn't ask, but is it because I can scent both demon and werewolf on you?"

"What?" I nearly crashed the car into a parked vehicle, wrenching the wheel straight at the last moment. I didn't receive any satisfaction in seeing Astra gripping the edges of her seat and hearing her squeal.

"It's faint. It'll be gone soon. What were you doing with them?"

"I think I'll take a shower before we go to the city," I said, more to myself than to my passenger.

"You're very red," said Astra. "I thought Wilding was going to be boring! What else do you do when no one is looking?"

"Nothing! I don't do anything! And for your information, the werewolf is our neighbour, Gage, and the demon is..."

"Oh!" squeaked Astra, clapping a hand to her mouth. "Evan?"

"I really can't keep any secrets!"

"I won't tell anyone, I promise! Unless one of them tried to kill you? Did either of them?"

"No, though Gage is mad at me; and Evan and I are definitely mad at each other."

Astra reached over and patted my knee. She sounded every bit like
Étoile when she said, "But they didn't try to kill you."

"Nope."

Thankfully, Astra didn't ask any more questions; but I could tell from her not-quite relaxed posture, and the way she darted the occasional glance at me that she was still curious. She wasn't the only one. Despite a sleepless night spent thinking about the evening's events, I still had no solid conclusions about why Evan would warn me to stay away from Rockford. If he were so enmeshed in demon politics, and if he were the traitor, which the letter claimed he was, shouldn't he have been glad to get rid of me? Maybe, I decided, he had some inner conflict left over from our relationship that kept him wanting to protect me, or remove me from the situation, while he and his new buddies sought the ultimate power.

"Any luck?" Kitty asked as we walked inside. She put her magazine down and waited.

"We know what the demon was looking for, but not if it's related to anything," I said.

"But it's definitely interesting," added Astra, not bothering to remove her coat. She did however, take her tote bag to the bedroom, returning a moment later with it looking lighter. "The demon was looking for a horologicon."

"I've heard of them," said Kitty. "There's a book in the library about them. They're very rare."

I brightened. "Really?"

"Yep! Let's grab it while we're there. Are we ready to go? I've been ready for an hour, and I gotta say, my palms are all sweaty."

I looked at Astra. She nodded, so I did too. "I'm ready."

"Don't drop me!" said Kitty, pulling on her own coat and bag before we closed our hands in a circle. Astra was still giggling when we reappeared in The Amethyst's lobby.

~

The library was exactly as I remembered. Rows upon rows of shelves, with each section marked by a small bronze disc, and stuffed with books. It seemed someone had been making an effort to tidy up the texts, but I still felt a low hum of magic emanating through the room, the source of which, I was sure, were some older texts. Fortunately, the library appeared empty beyond the sole librarian who perched behind the desk. The three of us fanned out, ostensibly to search for a book like any library patron, but a few minutes later, we reconvened at the far end of the library, confirming we were the only ones there, bar the librarian.

"The elevator to the archives is over there," Kitty said, pointing to the thick velvet curtains that spanned the wall behind the librarian's desk. "I'm sure there are other entrances, but this is the only one I've ever seen. It leads directly into the archives."

"If we call the car, the librarian will notice," pointed out Astra. "We need a distraction."

"Leave that to me. I'll keep her distracted and you can text me when you're ready to come up again, and I'll think of something else to get her out of the way," said Kitty, glancing towards the librarian's station. "I know her. She's not the brightest, although she is helpful."

"We'll need the code," I whispered.

"Three, one, one, two," said Kitty.

"Cross your fingers they haven't changed it," I said as Astra and I drew away behind the shelving, leaving Kitty to approach the librarian. They had a short, but confusing conversation about something Kitty wanted to find; then I heard Kitty persuading the librarian to follow her out of the library. "That's our cue," I said, nudging Astra.

The elevator doors lay only a few feet behind the velvet drapes. With Astra casting a light spell to illuminate the space, we looked around. Several boxes were stacked in
what appeared to be a waiting area. I recognised the bad tape job on some of them; those boxes had come from my house, and obviously, still waited here to be returned to the archives. Perhaps this was the place they were transported from after they were retrieved from the basement? It was a question I would have to save for another occasion, since we were running out of time.

"The code," whispered Astra, hovering the light from her palm under the key panel. I punched it in, and, for one long, heart-stopping moment, nothing happened. Then came the sound of machinery whirring. Seconds later, the doors slid apart and we stepped inside the small car. I scanned the small array of buttons, deducing that the elevator didn't stop at the majority of the building's floors. This wasn't surprising, given that a number of the lower floors were rented out, saving only the upper levels for the Council's business. Beyond the library, on the seventeenth floor, there was a choice of three levels for the Council, and one basement level. I hit “Basement” and the doors slid shut.

"This is a long way down," said Astra as we descended rapidly.

I didn't answer, but merely nodded as we continued our descent. Finally, with a quick jolt, the car stopped and the doors opened onto a small, darkened landing. With Astra using her illumination magic, I felt my way across the walls, looking for a light switch as the doors closed. "There goes our ride," I said.

"I don't hear it moving," said Astra, leaning towards the elevator shaft. "I think it stays here until it's called again."

"Good. I don't like the idea of being trapped down here." As I spoke, I found a cold, square panel. I flipped the first switch, then the second. The lights flickered on above us, then began to click on and on and on, spreading much further away.

We weren't standing on a landing, as such, but rather, what appeared to be a confined area that was cleared, leaving room for a small table and a couple of chairs. An old-fashioned reading lamp with a curved glass shade was on top and there was a leather writing pad. Beyond them, boxes and shelving spilled out further than a football field.

"How does anyone find anything here?" I asked out loud.

"That's why we have spells," said Astra, dragging a chair out and sitting in it. She plunged her hand into the large bag she dropped onto the table and extracted her notepad. "Ready?"

"Yes."

"Good. I've tried it out on all kinds of things around your house, and it was successful every time. Do you have the list of what we're looking for?"

"Here." I said, pulling it from my jeans pocket. "We need to find the connection between the three main conspirators, as well as their weaknesses. Do you really think we can find all that here?"

"I can't think of a better place; can you?"

"No," I said as Astra dropped her bag onto the reading table. I waited silently as she began to chant the words. After the first complete spell was spoken, I looked around, fully expecting something. Halfway through the second pass, the air began to change, a subtle vibration swimming through it that only increased as Astra completed the spell with a third pass. Finally, in the distance, I saw several objects winding their way towards us until a couple of books and several sheets of paper landed at my feet. A few
more plastered themselves to my upper body, and a book thumped against my stomach before falling to the floor. Astra had a similar issue with several more items.

"Did it work?" asked Astra.

"You bet," I said, plucking a piece of paper from my chest and scanning it. "This is Tobias Grigg's family tree. Notice anyone familiar?"

"Noah Wilde," said Astra, planting her finger over the name. "They're cousins. There must be close pack ties between his pack and Tobias's."

"Tobias is probably working for Noah. Noah knew he wouldn't be able to do anything directly, not after the reprimand he got from Étoile. And look at this," I said, thumbing through the book that unexpectedly hurled itself at me.

Astra looked up briefly, her eyes quickly returning to the texts she held. "What is it?"

"It's about the Brotherhood. It looks like ten years ago, someone started to write about how to defeat them. It's got a lot of stuff about their history too." A gasp from Astra made me pause.