Page 10

Chapter Seven

R oderick:

Y awning, I set my book down and took another sip of coffee.

Traveling across time zones always played havoc with my internal clock.

It was mid-afternoon for Avie and the others based in Philadelphia.

Elspeth and I were five hours ahead, and it was past my dinner hour.

If my stomach grumbled, too bad. I was hungry.

“I can order food if you’re hungry, dear.” Aunt Gretchen patted my hand. “We forgot you left Edinburgh at four a.m. our time.”

Of all Dad’s siblings, Gretchen was everyone’s favorite. She was the one most comfortable in her own skin. The others were too self-important for my liking. “I’ll manage, but let’s make it an early supper.”

“Always the good child,” Avie said.

The world heard sarcasm in her remark, but to me it was a private joke.

Avie spent her life living up to the high expectations of the heir apparent.

I spent a lot of time being a wild child so people would stop suggesting they skip over her and pick me.

There weren’t many beings sharper than my older sister, and she figured me out before anyone else.

Once she knew I had her back, I got to drop the act.

“I have a personal motivation to find King Ailpein,” I said. “My stomach can wait a bit longer.”

“We’re wasting our time,” Jan said. “Avie’s people and Dad’s team have combed the school looking for clues. Blackstone wiped all trace of his existence from the school.”

“We’re not trying to prove he existed,” Owen said. “Only why he hung around Utrecht for two-hundred and fifty years.”

The simple answer was so he could hide in plain sight, but the others had rejected that idea. They were probably right, but my gut said it played some part in his decision. “I agree with Jan.”

“You do?” Jan looked around the room like I’d given him an award. “Really?”

Most of my siblings were special, but I had a lot of respect for Jan.

He stepped into the viper’s nest of Hollen Hall at age five as Dad’s bastard son.

Jan never let the nastiness of family politics dampen his spirit.

“Blackstone stayed here to be close to the seat of power. He used his position to recruit people to his cause and allow them to advance up the ranks of all levels of power. We’re not going to find any ulterior motives. ”

“What about the fact the Great Ward was created on these grounds?” a voice asked.

I turned and found two old men standing in the library doorway. One was a mage of considerable power, and the other was an elf. “That assumes he knew it was here, Uncle.”

Darius smiled and Ignatius nudged his mate. “Told you the smart ones wouldn’t bite for your lame attempt to bait them.”

“Hush, you old fool.” The humorous tone belied the hard words. “I would bet money he did. Care to wager?”

“That would be a difficult fact to prove,” Avie said. “Unless we ask him, we’ll never know for sure.”

The pair moved closer, and I saw Darius held an old book. “Gretchen, could we bother you for some tea? Green if you have any.”

“Of course, Uncles.” Gretchen put her hand on her stone and ‘disappeared’ for a moment. “Staff will bring us a pot in a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” Ignatius said. “Flying on a dragon is incredibly exhilarating, but not all that comfortable on an old elf’s butt.”

“Honestly, Iggy.” Darius rolled his eyes. He set the book down and they took seats across from me and Avie. “Where to begin.”

“The beginning always helps,” Jan said.

Ignatius pointed a finger at Jan and nodded. “Well said, nephew.”

Darius closed his eyes and had a long suffering look on his face.

“The Great Ward was created not far from these grounds. It was never marked, but scholars and mages narrowed down the location using the pattern of disappearing demons. Those findings were recorded and housed in the original mage school library. I’m sure if you search Utrecht’s library, you will not find a copy of that book.

Fortunately, Percy and I both have copies. ”

We all looked at the volume sitting in front of him. “Why in the world would you allow that information to remain available?” Elspeth asked. “Instead of making copies, why didn’t you destroy the book?”

“It served our purpose to allow the book to remain,” Ignatius said.

Before anyone could ask a follow-up question, a staff member entered the conference room carrying a tray with cups and a tea pot. “Thank you.”

Darius poured himself and Ignatius a cup before tapping the book. “What significance does the site have?”

I tried to come up with a way I could use the place to aid in my spell casting, but without more information, I couldn’t come up with a good answer. “Was there any kind of formation or amplifier in the area?”

“No,” Ignatius said. “But well done. You see why Darius posed the question. There is nothing about the site that matters. It was just where they were at the time they were ready to cast the spell.”

Which meant anyone looking for the site would waste their time hunting for a place with no special powers. “Did Blackstone ever figure it out?”

“Impossible to know if he realized the site was meaningless,” Darius said. “But we know he never visited the place.”

“You were right, Rod,” Avie said. “He stayed to be close to mage government.”

I nodded absently. The way the guardians made us tease out information was irritating. We couldn’t afford to waste time, but we had to ask the right question before they’d tell us what we needed to know. “How do you know he never found the spot?”

“Darius and I owned the estate that was turned into Utrecht University,” Ignatius said. “We kept the plot of land where Katarina and Adelais died, and built our home there. No one knew who we were, so we lived there all these years.”

Much like Blackstone, they hid right in front of everyone, while protecting the final resting place of two heroes.

“Then it’s a waste of time searching the library for clues,” Lysandor said.

“Rod?” Cinaed’s voice stopped me from hearing the answer. “Are you okay?”

I had intended to argue against the futility of trying to unearth hints to what Blackstone was up to, but Cinaed’s call pulled me away. “Of course. Is something wrong there?”

“No. Your emotions were all over the place. I thought you were distressed.”

Checking my magical protection, I wasn’t leaking. So how did he feel me? “I’m not sure how that’s possible.”

Me neither, but it was disconcerting.”

Anything that distracted Cinaed was bad. “I’ll work on blocking my feelings from you.”

“Please don’t, ” he said. “It feels nice. Like you’re with me all the time.”

Making him happy was always high on my list, but not understanding what I was doing gave me pause. I’d need to speak to my brothers about what was happening. “I promise not to cut you off without telling you first. Are you ready for your flight?”

“I’ve never been to Transylvania, and I’d be excited but for the reason.”

“Roderick?”

Avie calling me meant I’d zoned out on an important bit. “Hold that thought.” I wasn’t letting him go that quickly.

Refocusing on the meeting, all eyes were on me. “Sorry,” I said, not sounding the least bit apologetic. “I’m talking to Cinaed.”

“Ah.” Ignatius raised a finger. “Here we thought we were boring you.”

I’d met with Darius and Ignatius many times, and usually I appreciated their humor. This wasn’t one of those times. “Not at all, but what was the question? I want to finish my conversation with him.”

“The suggestion is we head to Maine and search the dragon library,” Avie said. “It’s older, larger, and away from James Blackstone’s attempts to destroy valuable information.”

I owed her—again. Had she been against going, she’d have presented that argument. “It makes sense.”

“Glad you agree,” Avie said, patting my hand. “Give my best to Cinaed.”

Now that I had permission, I returned to Cinaed. “Sorry, love. The demands of being the team leader.”

I explained our discussion, and he agreed with the idea. “We can compare notes twice a day.”

Transparent, but I’d long stopped worrying about appearances. “That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard today. Have a safe trip and contact me when you arrive.”

“I will, and Rod? I’m the one who can regenerate.”

His way of telling me to be careful, without telling me to be safe, was cute. “I will. I have someone waiting for me when I finish. Can’t let getting injured or killed get in my way of seeing you.”