Sorcerer Rising (A Virgil McDane Novel) (6 page)

For a long time he just looked at me. Finally, very quietly, he replied, “You split me off for more than magic. It was the first thing we decided together. And I’ve never argued against any of your decisions.”

I frowned. “You argue against all my decisions!”

“You
give me a lot of fucking reason!” he replied, sticking his finger into the mirror. “Don’t interrupt me!” He shook his head and his tone changed. “Doesn’t matter. You’ve never not had my support.

“I do not say these things lightly. You made a rash decision, Virgil. I know, I watched the gears turn personally. You did not think about things. A lot of things. Your magic is stunted, Ben would roast you alive for leading an expedition like this, and you will be putting yourself right in the crosshairs of any nation that doesn’t support Sorcery.” He paused. “But if you think you need to do this, I’ll help in any way I can.” He snorted. “What choice do I have?”

“That’s more like it.” I rubbed my face, suddenly very tired. “What do we have to throw at this?”

Al shrugged. “Your mind is adjusting, but you’re still weak. Between the loss of half the Keep and the curse, it’s a miracle your little world is still spinning. You’re a hedge mage at best. Magic, at least your magic, is not going to help much in this.”

I nodded. “That’s what I figured. Intel is my best bet and I don’t have much time. Who do you think will know the most?”

My left shoulder shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. No one’s ever documented anything serious about the Arcus. No one human that is. The Sisters are probably your best bet.”

“Already thought of that. I’m going by there tomorrow.” I paused. Al was already upset about the Rainbow deal; he was going to hate this. “I thought I would go by Ben’s.”

For a l
ong moment he just looked at me, pursing his lips. “Well…I guess I won’t have to worry about the bloody Arcus then. You have obviously chosen suicide as the quickest way out.”

“It won’t be like that,” I said.

“The hell it won’t!” he shot back. “The last time you dealt with Benjamin, two Wizards had you by each arm and he was breaking your ribs.”

I winced at the memory.
“He only cracked them.”

“Oh,” Al hollered, holding up his arm, his face contorted in relief. “I forgot that he only cracked them! You’re so right, Virgil,
mates draw the line between the cracking and breaking of ribs! What with the knuckles he was wearing he probably held back! Remember the time we saw him kill that demon with those knuckles?” He laughed hysterically. “Obviously if a man is beating you with a weapon that can kill the thrice damned spawn of Lucifer himself, and he only cracks your ribs, he is obviously showing you the level of his
restraint
!”

H
e was more correct than he knew. In his own way, Ben had been protecting me, but he’d also told me it would be the last time.

Then he beat me within an inch of my life.

“He had to,” I said.

Al blinked at me. “Wow, Virgil. Just…wow. I hope you know how pathetic that sounded.”

“It’s not pathetic. He’s part of the reason I’m alive in the first place.”

“He’s a
lso part of the reason you were working for people like the Tin Man!”

He had a point there. “
This is different. It’s not illegal and it isn’t against any of their rules. No smuggling, no stealing, no more jobs like last night. And if it goes right, we won’t need to take jobs like that. I think Ben will help in any way he can.”

He let out a deep breath. “You
think
? Bollocks, that’s worse than he had to!”

“Just listen,” I said. “If anyone is going to know something, it’s going to be the Guild. If anyone is going to help me within the Guild, believe it or not, it’s Ben. You know as well as I do
, anyone else
would
have splattered me across the countryside.

“I’m not even saying I
’m going to see Ben for sure,” I continued. “If Sol’s got something, maybe I won’t need to. It’s just an option.” A thought occurred to me. “Priss may know something too.”

At the mention of Priscilla, Al smiled. “Well, I certainly won’t argue with that, Virgil.”

I frowned. “Priscilla is just as dangerous as Ben. Maybe more. Don’t forget that.”

He smirked. “I know, and I don’t trust her in the slightest, but she is a hell of a lot easier on the eyes.”

“Al, I’m not going there again.”

He held up his hand in submission. “I’m not going to try and convince you, I’m just saying that there is an…asset…in Priscilla that you’ve not fully exploited. I think you’ve got a chance, mate.”

“Al….”

“She’s grateful is all and you’ve never really accepted that gratitude…”

I bent closer to the mirror. “Not. Going. There.
Again
.”

“You never went there in the first place…”
he grumbled.

I pi
nched my nose. Al was a familiar, a piece of my subconscious given sentience. He did a lot of things for me but his original purpose been to stockpile information, sort it, play around with it and basically work as an involuntary think tank.

Having no subconscious, there was no filter, only pure emotion fueled by a wicked intellect.
Now that we had addressed the Arcus, he was past it, ready for more carnal interests. He could focus on several issues at once but his attention span couldn’t survive once it was resolved.

“Alright,” I said. “That’s probably enough for now.”

“You’re the boss,” he replied. Already, I could hear the distraction in his voice. This would be good for him. He was always more solid when he had a job to do.

“Just keep mulling this around, see if I missed anything. I know we don’t have a lot. That just makes anything you find that much more important.”

“Aye,” he replied. “Just please, be careful.”

“I will, Al. That’s the deal. You keep me informed, I keep you alive.”

He shook his head. “I got the raw end of that deal…”

But his words faded away. It was startling process. I shook my head and rubbed my eye as
he receded. It felt like cold water running through my veins down into my feet. The numbness faded quickly, replaced by the irritating sensation of pins and needles. I left the bathroom and threw myself on the bed, finally allowing my exhausted body to rest.

Al would research whatever I knew about the Arcus. Maybe he would uncover something I had picked up over the years.

I couldn’t rely on him discovering something neither of us knew we knew though. Whew, that type of thinking could drive a man crazy. I looked back at my bathroom. Of course, I had just spent about fifteen minutes talking, arguing really, with myself in the mirror.

I’d need to meet this team tomorrow and work in some time to see everyone else.

I forced myself up and got my coat from the bathroom. Time to pack.

CHAPTER
FIVE

There was blood and fire
and the sound of a million legs thundering over their brethren, my fellow Wizard’s screaming the only thing to break up the noise. I was next, I knew. They were on me, sharp little legs tugging at my clothes, pricking at my skin.

They were everywhere! Scurrying. Climbing. Biting…

It may not have been the floor that woke me up. It may have been the dream. But the cold hard wood certainly helped. I was twisted in my sheet, had landed on my arm, hit my head in the process, and oh my God that was the biggest rat I’d ever seen under my bed!

I was very, very grateful.

I dragged myself to my feet, peeling the damp sheet from my body. It was cool outside but my skin still felt the heat of Nidia and the scratchy, sharp clawing of heavy spiders. I sat on the edge of the bed, holding my head in my hands, trying to calm myself through sheer force of will. My head was pounding, my vision was blurry, and I couldn’t for the life of me tell which way was up.

It took several minutes, but the pressure in my skull lessened and my vision cleared.

I choked down some soggy oatmeal, showered and shaved. I scrubbed some stains out of my coat and put on one of my better suits, a blue pinstripe, complete with vest. I didn’t care too much about looking good for Cyrus’s team, but I wanted to look decent for the Sisters. I hadn’t seen Sol in quite a while.

Finally, when I felt clean enough to be presentable
, I looked around my room. It was bare. I didn’t want to come home and find all of my stuff in the hall, or street, or gone altogether.

Everything I owned, everything
important anyway, was stowed safely in my coat’s pockets. That may sound like a lot, unless you’d been paying any attention to my life, in which case you would have surmised it was pretty empty of sentimental possessions.

Sadly, you would be right.

But it was still about fifty pounds of stuff. I swung the heavy coat around my shoulders and let the weight settle around me, feeling it tie into my aura, mingle with the Aether I radiated. I grabbed my collar and shook it real good, just like you would any coat to settle into it, and the weight disappeared. I’ll explain later. Right now I had to go.

I looked up at the building. It was an imposing sight to say the least, the pride of Mare City’s sky line, headquarters of Cyrus Innovations, and mecca for the scientific renaissance.

Of course, that wasn’t actually where I was going. They wouldn’t let the likes of me just waltz through the front door, not in this day and time. I walked past the building and down two more blocks until I was standing in front of a homelier building. Still nice, but bare architecture and no names to speak of.

I recognized the bartending bodyguard from the bar resting on the building’s stoop. He was a rough looking man, with a strong jaw and the kind of permanent stubble a soldier developed. He was in a cheap suit, though still better than mine, his tie loosened around his neck. He was shorter than me, but heavy with muscle and a demeanor that told me he knew what to do with it. A cigarette dangled from his mouth, his eyes lazily taking in the view, not missing a thing.

“McDane,” he said, blowing out a plume of smoke. “Good to see you show up. Name’s James Baker, don’t think we got to introduce ourselves last night.”

“Aberland gave me the address,” I said, shaking his hand. “Anyone else here?”

“Most all of them,” he replied. “Go on up to the third floor, Lambros wants to meet you.”

“Lambros?”

He took a long drag from the cigarette. “Dr. Lambros, she’s the customs specialist Mr. Aberland told you about.
She wants to meet you.” He paused. “I don’t know too much about you, but you seem alright to me. And Mr. Aberland seemed to think you were the man for the job. That’s really all I need to know, so I’ll give you a bit of advice.” For just a moment he took his eyes away from the street and met my own. “Watch your back around that woman.”

“I don’t know any other way,” I replied, making my way into the building.

There was no point in worrying about what was coming. I knew there would be some pushback from at least a few people. I was just grateful I’d made an impression on the muscle.

Dr. Lambros’ office was a h
astily put together affair. A functional desk, several file cabinets, and more books than I could count filled the room, all neatly tucked away and sorted. A few degrees hung on the walls, a few photos of landscapes I recognized, some I’d seen personally and others I’d only heard about. Altogether, it was not what I expected from a team lead. It was too functional, too Spartan, too tidy.

But then, Dr. Lambros wasn’t exactly what I expected either. She was a beautiful woman with dark, olive colored skin and black hair that fell down her shoulders in thick ringlets. There was a harsh grace that spoke of the steel underneath the glamour, and sharp appraising eyes.

She didn’t quite sneer when the guard led me into the room, but the look she gave me held no illusion of friendship.

“You must be Virgil McDane.
” Her voice matched her looks, exotic and rich with just the hint of an accent. Greek maybe.

“I am
.” I didn’t try to shake her hand, and no pleasantries were extended in return. “You must be the customs specialist.”

“Customs is just one of the things I handle
. I have overseen all of Mr. Aberlands’s major international endeavors.” She leaned back. “I am more concerned with is what I have learned about you.”

That was quick.
“And what exactly concerns you about me?”

“A great deal, I am afraid,” she replied. “I have been studying up on you since Mr. Aberland informed me of your hire. I am unimpressed. You don’t seem to have the skills, or experience, not to mention the judgment, of someone I would have selected. What makes you think you are qualified for this position?”

I smiled. “Well, perhaps when you were checking out my background you should have started with the present. I’ve already been hired. That’s a pretty good start, in my opinion.”