CHAPTER Sixteen
We said very little on the journey back to Moscow to return Volk’s car. By common consent, no-one mentioned the wichtlein stone or what it might forbode. It did mean that the thrill of actually finding some useable palladium was considerably muted. I was nervous about the amount we had managed to extract from the mine; it would hardly cover one weapon, let alone enough for the army that I hoped by now was preparing to meet at Loch Ness. As Alex had said, all it would take would be one lethal strike to end the necromancer’s plans once and for all, but having so little of the metal would make it more difficult to get in a hit. Underneath me on the single narrow passenger seat, Aubrey was slumped down, trying to avoid the bright sunlight, and making the drive even more uncomfortable than it had been on the way there. I didn’t say anything.
When we pulled up back at the bar, we said our goodbyes to Katya, thanking her for her invaluable help. She reached up and grabbed both Aubrey and my hands, gripping them with her tiny fingers.
“There’s no such thing as a foregone conclusion,” she said, not quite meeting either of us in the eye.
My mouth dry, I just nodded. The hot lump in my stomach was starting to feel uncomfortable again, and I was anxious to get the journey back over and done with as soon as possible.
“If the sun doesn’t kill me, then you will,” grunted Aubrey, making reference to the fact that the Karzelek was holding on to both our hands so tightly it felt as if all the circulation was being cut off.
She released us, shooting a look of pity in our direction, then turned and trotted away. For our part, we trooped into the bar, using the front entrance this time. At this time of the morning, the place was deserted. Volk was sitting in a corner with a large mug of coffee. For some reason, the thought of caffeine was turning my stomach.
“How did it go?” he asked, in a booming voice that suggested he expected nothing less than total success.
Alex held up the bag containing the palladium chunks.
“Excellent, excellent.” Volk’s eyes moved over each of us. “And yet you do not seem particularly happy.”
I shrugged. “We were hoping to get a bit more. Hopefully this will be enough to serve our needs.”
“And we’re going to die horribly because she kicked a stone,” Aubrey commented flatly, jabbing a finger in my direction.
At Volk’s questioning look, I told him about the wichtlein’s little omen of doom. He looked worried.
“Don’t stress about it,” I said. “I will make sure I find a way to arrange your meeting with Leah before I cork it.”
“That was not my first thought,” he said, a small furrow in his brow. “You have the combined might of the Otherworld behind you, Miss Smith. I am sure that someone can find a way to help you change the course of fate.”
I thought about it. It seemed a ridiculous waste of resources considering what else we were trying to stop right now. I gave him an uncomfortable smile.
“I’ll be in touch.” I glanced at Alex. “We really need to get going.”
He bobbed his head and began to mutter. We all watched as the purple shimmer of the portal began to appear.
“I’ve set it to go straight to Balud’s shop,” he said.
Aubrey eyed him doubtfully. “Are you sure? If you’ve got it wrong and we end up in the middle of the M25, then that could be how I end up dying.”
“It was me who found the stone, Aubrey.” I looked at the portal. “I’ll go first again.”
I walked forward, just as Alex began to protest loudly at our lack of faith in his skills. His voice was cut off as soon as I stepped through, recognising Balud’s little street the second before the vomiting began again. I wasn’t sure how or why it happened, but my reaction was even more violent than it had been on our outward journey. When Alex and Aubrey joined me, they kindly waited to the side for my retching to finish. I much preferred being left alone with my own misery.
Eventually, once the seizing passed, I staggered to my feet and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I motioned towards Balud’s door and then moved over to it, lifting my hand to knock. It swung open before my fist could connect with it, and Balud peered out.
“You’re going to drive away my business by spewing up all over the street,” he grouched.
“You saw me?”
“I heard you. Sounded as if you were dying.”
Hmm. Maybe I was. I declined to comment, however, and passed him over the bag.
“Here’s some palladium. There’s not much, but whatever you can make will help.”
He opened it up and looked inside. “I’m not a miracle worker, you know.”
“As I said, whatever you can.” I thought of Corrigan and his quietly spoken promise. “Start with something that the Lord Alpha would use.”
Balud looked at me, surprised. I shrugged. I’d never seen him use a weapon so I had no idea what his preference would be. But after what had happened to Staines, he deserved the first shot at taking Endor down. As much I was itching to pulverise the f*cking necromancer into dust, I owed Corrigan that much.
“If there’s anything left over, then you can try to make some daggers. Small ones that perhaps we can pass around.”
Balud gave me an incredulous look and shook the bag. The palladium clanged dully inside.
“I know, I know,” I said tiredly. “There’s not a lot to work with. Just see what you can do, Balud, please? By tomorrow?”
He grunted an affirmative, and I turned to go.
“Hey,” he called out. “Thanks for what you did with that bitch of a Batibat. From what I hear, her shop’s been abandoned since yesterday.”
Hot angry guilt trickled through me. “Sure,” I said over my shoulder, not trusting myself to say anything else.
Aubrey, Alex and I walked away.
“What now, dudes?”
“I need to sleep, even if only for a few hours.” I rubbed my eyes. “Then get on to finding out what’s happened since we’ve been gone, particularly with the kelpies.” I looked at both of them. “Thank you for your help today. And last night.”
Alex regarded me seriously. “We’re in this together, Mack Attack. It’s not all on you.”
I smiled at him, then faced Aubrey. “Are we okay?” I asked softly.
He felt his own pulse. “I’m still alive at the moment if that’s what you mean.”
“No, I mean with the, um, dragon stuff.”
He flattened his lips and nodded. “Yeah.”
I was surprisingly relieved. “Look,” I said uncomfortably. “It’s probably best if we don’t tell anyone about the stone. It’ll just make things awkward and it will distract everyone. We need to focus on Endor. It was me who initially came into contact with it. It was probably for me.” I scratched my head. “There are other things that need our attention right now.”
I was expecting some resistance, but Aubrey surprised me. “You’re right. I don’t want to die. I’ve only just come alive. But getting this f*cker is more important.”
I smiled faintly. Alex drew a line across his lips to indicate his own silence. Then he grinned and held out his arms. “Group hug?”
I rolled my eyes, but submitted anyway, and the three of us remained there for one long, but comfortable, moment.
*
After declining Alex’s offer of a portal, Aubrey and I travelled the long way back, taking the train. I stopped off at my flat to pick up some things, impressed at how it already seemed to have been cleaned of Staines’ blood. I’d have to remember to thank the Arch-Mage. The stench of death, unfortunately, still lingered in the air, along with the horror of what had happened to Staines. I spent as little time as possible getting my things together then we headed straight to Clava Books, stopping only to say a quick hello to Mrs. Alcoon and Slim, before going to the small room at the back and passing out, Aubrey on the campbed and me on the floor on top of a sleeping bag.
When I came to, a few hours later, I felt groggy and very, very hungry. Aubrey was still fast asleep, snoring gently. I stumbled out to the front of the shop, hoping that I could scrounge something to eat. Solus was there, one elbow propped up on the till counter, chatting to Slim.
“Where have you been?” he exclaimed. “No-one’s seen you since yesterday. You’ve been out all night, dragonlette.”
I looked away. “I had a few things to do.”
“Like what?”
I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t want to lie to Solus, but I didn’t think Alex would be very happy about me spilling the reasons for us entirely circumnavigating the Fae in order to get a couple of pounds of palladium. I tried to appear nonchalant.
“I went with Alex and Aubrey to get hold of some metal that Balud reckons Endor will be vulnerable to. No biggie.”
He gave me a suspicious look but, before he could question me further, I changed the subject. “What’s going on with the preparations for Loch Ness?”
“Everyone’s ready. Some Fae and some mages have travelled up there already to scout out the land. The shifters are waiting until after the bear’s funeral.”
“And the kelpies?”
He wrinkled his nose. “They are being…difficult.”
“Fecking slimy buggers,” spat Slim. “You should just let Endor kill the lot of them first.”
I raised my eyebrows slightly. There was a tinge of venom to the little gargoyle’s voice that I’d not previously heard.
“They lure people to their deaths. Even fecking children! Drowning them just for kicks. And the whole Loch Ness monster thing.” He shook his head. “It’s fecking barabaric.”
Solus explained. “The kelpies created the legend.”
“Of the Loch Ness monster? Why on earth would they do that? We’re supposed to stay out of the way of humans, not advertise our existence.”
Slim folded his chubby little arms. “Exactly.”
“They started the legend by appearing to the odd human here and there. Letting them get away instead of just killing them. It was probably a mistake, but you can never be sure with the kelpies. When they realised that it meant more tourists – and therefore more victims – came to the area, they kept it up.” Solus shrugged. “They’re not the nicest of species.”
“That doesn’t mean that we should just let Endor slaughter them all to take their energy.”
“No,” Solus agreed. “They’re so heavily tied in to the element of water that he’ll easily be able to take what he needs to master it.”
“And we’re not in the business of encouraging genocide,” I said pointedly.
The Fae shrugged. “Sure. That too.”
Slim snorted and began to say something, then his eyes widened fractionally, and he flapped into the back room with more speed than I’d have thought he was capable of. The front door of the shop jangled, and a young woman walked in. I gave her a cursory glance, registering that she was human, and then turned back to Solus to ask him about what had been done to make sure that Endor didn’t get wind of our intervention and end up being scared off. He, however, was watching the girl, an odd expression in his eyes.
Wondering whether I’d misjudged what she was, I looked back at her. She was browsing along one of the shelves, looking through the Myths and Legends section. Or at least the Myths and Legends section if you were human. To the rest of us, it was the Historical part of the bookshop. She definitely seemed human though.
Solus straightened up, then sauntered over to her with an overly pronounced swagger. Interesting. I watched him, utterly fascinated.
“Good afternoon,” he said smoothly, holding out his hand.
She jumped slightly, looking up at him through a long messy fringe, then started to blush.
“Er, hi.” She took his hand in return but, when he started to lift it to his lips to kiss it rather than shake it, she snatched it away. You go, girl.
Apparently unfazed, Solus just smiled. “Welcome to our little bookstore.”
I tried not to laugh. ‘Our’ little bookstore?
She muttered thanks, then turned away, obviously wanting some peace and quiet to look around.
“Can I help you find anything?” he persisted.
Probably realising that she wasn’t going to be left alone, she looked back. “I’m doing some research into Celtic mythology,” she answered. “In particular, Dagda. Do you have any books that might help?”
“Lots,” Solus purred.
There was a moment’s silence while they stared at each other. Then she spoke up. “Can you show me where they are?”
“Of course,” he said, not moving. “I’m Solus. You can call me Sol though if you want.”
“Great.” She took a step backwards. “The books?”
He shook himself slightly. “They’re over here.” He moved past her, brushing against her body ever so lightly, even though there was more than enough room for him to manoeuver around.
Solus looked up and down the shelves. I watched, amused. He was in completely the wrong place. The books on Dagda, an Irish fae from long ago, were on the other side.
“Ah,” he said finally. “We appear to be out of stock. There was a Celtic scholar in here a few days ago who probably took them all. If you give me your details though, I can order some more in.”
“Which scholar?” She seemed momentarily confused. “I know almost everyone else in my field, and there’s no-one looking into Dagda at the moment.”
He shrugged disarmingly. “I didn’t catch his name.”
The girl looked at him assessingly, then pushed up her glasses rather nervously. “It’s okay. I’ll order them off the internet instead.”
“There’s no need. Our suppliers are old-fashioned, so they’re not online. They have by far the best and widest selection. Honestly,” he said, “give me your name and address and I’ll find everything you need.”
She sighed. “Okay.”
“Then please, mademoiselle, come this way.” He swept out an arm in my direction.
She started, as if noticing me for the first time. I grinned at her. This was fun. She walked over, Solus at her heels. I pulled out a pen and piece of paper and handed it to her, and she scribbled down a few words, then passed them back to the Fae.
“Isabel? That’s a beautiful name. You know it means ‘God’s Promise’?”
She eyed Solus as if he were slightly mad. “Yes.”
“Would you like to go out for a drink?”
“No.”
I waited to see whether he’d put some of his more persuasive skills into action, however he simply bowed. “As you wish.”
Isabel’s cheeks reddened again. She inclined her head in farewell, then left. I smirked at Solus, who was still staring after her.
“Dragonlette, I think I’m in love. I’ve never…” he blinked, and seemed slightly stunned.
“I’m not sure she felt the same way,” I pointed out.
He waved the scrap of paper with her name and address on it. “That’s okay. I can bring her around.”
“You didn’t glamour her into going out with you.”
He shook his head vehemently. “No, that would be rude.”
Huh. He’d tried to glamour me when we’d just met.
“I have to go, dragonlette.” He leaned over and pecked me on the cheek.
“Don’t you want to know where the Dagda books actually are?”
He gave me a dismissive look. “I can get better ones in Tir-na-Nog. She should have the best.”
The door jangled again, and Solus spun around. His shoulders sagged, however, when he saw it was Mrs. Alcoon with her little tartan shopping trolley trundling behind her.
“Hello!” she called out cheerily.
I gave her a wave. She peered at Solus. “Goodness. You are almost glowing, Lord Sol. You must be having a good day.”
A small smile played around his lips. “Indeed I am.”
He tipped an imaginary hat in both our directions, then snapped his fingers and vanished into the Otherworld ether.
“We had a customer wander in. Solus was rather taken with her - I think it’s love at first sight,” I said with a grin.
Her eyes crinkled. “He did appear rather thunderstruck. Good for him. Now, dear, are you happy to mind the shop while I prepare us something to eat? I’ve got lots of fruit and vegetables and healthy things to keep you on the right track.”
I shrugged. It saved me from going out to grab a sandwich. “Sure. Thanks.”
She patted me on the shoulder. “Good girl.”
I watched her carefully for some kind of reaction now that she’d touched me. Mrs. Alcoon’s precognition wasn’t the strongest – it wasn’t even enough for the Ministry of Mages to take notice – but she did occasionally catch glimpses and snippets of the future that were often made stronger through physical contact. And she had been acting oddly of late. If that behaviour was somehow tied into what the wichtlein stone was predicting then it would start to make more sense. Nothing flickered in her face, however.
I debated whether to ask her outright about it, but figured instead it would be easier not to know. Que sera sera. When the wichtlein stone had found John, it had been mere hours before his death. Aubrey was safely in the land of nod so I knew he was alright. If hours were all I personally had left, then there were worse ways to spend it than having dinner with my old friend. Corrigan’s face floated momentarily into my head, but I pushed the image away. He’d made his feelings clear enough. I’d leave the Lord Alpha in peace.