Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Fetch Nicola Sturgess was highly distracted.
On the few previous occasions when they’d met, she’d taken the time to escort Mallory inside the grand Council headquarters and they’d sat in one of the sunny drawing rooms sipping perfectly brewed coffee and nibbling on little cupcakes decorated with delicate sugar work fashioned with the help of some specialised witchery.
This time Sturgess insisted they stay in the garden.
Doubtless there was enough chaos within the Council’s sturdy walls to preclude a welcome for strangers.
‘My deepest condolences for Fetch Jackson’s passing,’ Mallory said.
Sturgess widened her eyes. ‘I shouldn’t be surprised that you already know what’s happened to him and yet I am. One day I’d love to find out who your sources are.’
The Fetch would likely be disappointed to learn that Mallory’s knowledge resulted simply from eavesdropping. She smiled vaguely and took a calculated gamble based on the information she’d learned on Kit McCafferty’s behalf. ‘Did he have any silphium on him when he was killed?’
This time Sturgess paled dramatically. ‘Mallory,’ she said, her voice strained, ‘ask that question of anyone else and you’re likely to find yourself in a freshly dug grave right next to him. If that’s why you’re here then I can’t help you, regardless of my blood contract with you.’
Silphium was Kit’s problem, not Mallory’s, and the terms of her contract with Nicola Sturgess forbade asking anything that would be detrimental to the witches. It appeared that anything to do with Fetch Jackson and the matter of silphium fell into that category.
Even so, Mallory was smart enough to use the situation to her advantage. ‘Well,’ she demurred, allowing the corners of her mouth to turn down as if she were disappointed, ‘if we can’t discuss silphium, perhaps we can chat about another matter instead.’
‘Anything,’ Sturgess said, her kitten heels sinking into the soft earth as they paused beside a blush-pink rosebush. ‘As long as it’s not that damned plant.’
Mallory made a show of reconsidering the topic of discussion. ‘Instead of silphium, why don’t you tell me about the Clouded Map?’
The Fetch couldn’t mask her relief. ‘Okay.’ She nodded vigorously. ‘That is something I can talk about.’ She gestured towards a narrow bench and extracted her heels from the ground to walk over and sit down. Mallory followed suit.
‘As I’m sure you already know,’ Sturgess said, once they were both as comfortable as they could ever be on a cold bench made out of unforgiving marble, ‘the Clouded Map is part of our Alexandria Collection.’
‘The five hundred or so papyrus scrolls and books that were rescued when the Great Library was burned?’
‘Indeed.’ Sturgess waved at the building in front of them.
‘There’s a warded, temperature-controlled room with highly restricted access inside the headquarters.
The Clouded Map and the other rescued texts are housed there.
As a Fetch, I'm allowed access although I've only been inside on a handful of occasions. Some of the texts are deadly dull. Some are simply deadly.’
Interesting. ‘Which category does the Clouded Map fall into?’
Sturgess pursed her lips. ‘Neither. Although it’s an interesting object, it isn’t lethal and it’s practically obsolete in these modern times. It shouldn’t even be called the Clouded Map – that’s something of a misnomer because it doesn’t obscure anything. Instead it provides clarity.’
Mallory tilted her head. ‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s imbued with old magic and designed to illuminate any unknown area.
It was useful two thousand years ago when much of the world hadn’t been officially discovered.
With the right incantation, the Clouded Map reveals an outline of anywhere you want it to –the complex maze of an unmapped souk, for example, or an unknown country and its coastline and rivers.
The Clouded Map does what Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo and Ferdinand Magellan could only dream of. ’
Sturgess shrugged, then continued. ‘So as I said, it’s virtually obsolete now because every corner of the globe has already been mapped a million times over. As long as you’re not somewhere like Coldstream, you can use a smartphone far more effectively than an old magic map to find a location.’
True. ‘Can it locate people?’ Mallory asked.
‘No.’ The witch was adamant. ‘All it can do is map out a particular place.’
Hmm. Sturgess’s information had answered one important question: possession of the Clouded Map wouldn’t enable the vampires to spark a war or cause problems. It had limited use and, although she had no idea how it could possibly help Chester Longchamps locate a vampire killer, it certainly wasn’t particularly dangerous.
‘I wish to invoke the terms of our contract,’ Mallory said, ‘and formally request repayment.’
‘I figured as much.’ Sturgess’s expression was mildly rueful.
Two years ago Mallory had helped her by providing information about several witches who were competing with her for promotion to the position of Fetch.
That information had been invaluable in allowing Sturgess to rise up the ranks with such speed; even without the blood contract, there was no doubt that Nicola Sturgess owed her.
‘There are only days left until our agreement is null and void so I’ve been expecting a visit from you for some time,’ Sturgess said.
‘Honestly, I’m glad you’re here because it’ll be good to close a door on this – but I can’t just give you the Clouded Map.
It’s not mine to give. It belongs to the Witches Council. ’
‘I don’t want to keep it,’ Mallory told her. ‘I wouldn’t ask that of you. I only want to borrow it.’
‘For yourself?’ Sturgess asked. ‘Or for a client?’
‘A client. Does it matter?’
The Fetch considered. ‘I suppose not. How long are we talking about?’
‘Twelve months.’
Sturgess sucked air through her teeth disapprovingly.
‘No can do. The entire library – including the Alexandria collection – is being audited in September. It happens at the same time every year and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
I doubt the map will be missed before then but it will need to be back in its rightful place by the end of August or its absence will be noted.
I can’t afford to be the subject of an investigation into the loss of such a precious item. ’
Neither did Mallory want to be implicated in such an issue; to maintain her business and lifestyle she needed to be a friend to the witches, not a foe. If Chester Longchamps wanted the Clouded Map, he’d have to agree to those terms. ‘Very well.’
‘There’s more,’ Sturgess said darkly. ‘This is an ancient papyrus scroll. It’s fragile – it’s kept in a controlled environment for a reason.
Some minor degradation will be unavoidable, but it must be transported and stored in a properly magicked container or it will quickly become unusable.
It can only be removed from the container for short periods of time and always with the invocation of a preservation spell. ’
That was understandable given the Clouded Map’s provenance. Mallory shrugged. ‘Sure.’
Sturgess’s expression grew even more serious.
‘You don’t understand. The Clouded Map is an ancient, powerful object that requires delicate handling even with the use of extra magic to keep it safe.
Most of the time it will have to be kept in a magicked bellarmine jug with a warded stopper.
They aren’t easy to get hold of, not anymore. ’
Mallory frowned. She’d heard of bellarmine jugs; plenty of replicas were sold to tourists at highly inflated prices.
Original functioning bellarmine jugs were far rarer and they worked on a one-in, one-out basis: each jug could only hold one fragile document at a time and as soon as a document was removed it was at risk.
Nicola Sturgess was right. It would be difficult to find a bellarmine jug that wasn’t already being used. ‘There’s no alternative?’ she pressed.
‘Not that I’m aware of. Even the best preservation spell can only do so much.
A bellarmine jug provides better long-term protection and there’s no other way to preserve the papyrus effectively once it’s out of the Alexandria Room.
I can’t agree to release the map unless I can be assured it will be safe.
It’s a priceless object that belongs to the Council, so anything that harms it can be deemed detrimental to witches and will void our contract. ’
Mallory nodded grimly. ‘Understood.’
‘I hope you do. And I’ll have to pass the Clouded Map to your client rather than to you. I need to look them in the eye and repeat this information to them myself.’
‘He’s a vampire.
Nicola winced. ‘Alright – but I still have to meet him in person.’
‘That shouldn’t be a problem.’
A loud bell sounded from somewhere inside the grand building. Sturgess got to her feet, adjusted her pointy hat and sighed. ‘I have to go now. I can’t avoid this meeting.’
Mallory looked at her sympathetically. ‘I’ll speak to my client, find a usable bellarmine jug then get back to you to make arrangements to collect the map.
’ She softened her voice. ‘In the meantime, I hope that Fetch Jackson’s killer is brought to justice.
And,’ she added for herself, ‘that nobody comes across any silphium.’
Sturgess gave her a long look. ‘Honestly,’ she said, ‘so do I.’
Chester Longchamps couldn’t keep the fanged grin off his face. ‘The others were right,’ he breathed. ‘You are good.’
Mallory wasn’t ready to start preening. ‘This is not yet a done deal,’ she warned.
‘Yes, yes.’ He waved her off. ‘I’m willing to accept conditions.’
Maybe, but he didn’t yet know what those conditions would be. ‘You can’t keep the Clouded Map beyond the end of August.’
The vampire was already nodding. ‘I can work with that.’
‘I mean it,’ Mallory said firmly. ‘It’ll be written into the blood contract between us. It’s non-negotiable.’
‘It’s not a problem.’ He held out his hand for her to shake; she ignored it.
‘I am not finished.’ She eyed him calmly and he withdrew his hand although he was still grinning.
‘Hardball, huh?’
‘You may only use the Clouded Map when it is under a preservation spell.’ She paused. ‘A good preservation spell.’
‘If you procure whatever is necessary, I will make sure a spell is used,’ Longchamps promised. ‘And of course I’ll pay for it. Give my name to any reputable witchery store and they can bill me directly for anything you need.’
That was just as well because Mallory didn’t work with money. ‘There’s more. You have to meet the witch in person to take possession of the map. She wants to remind you of the rules before she passes it over.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Witches,’ he muttered. ‘Honestly. But yes, that’s fine.’
Mallory persisted. ‘And it must be kept in a bellarmine jug whenever it’s not in use. A real bellarmine jug.’
‘Okay. Find me a jug and that’s exactly what will happen.’
Bugger. ‘I was rather hoping that you would have one,’ Mallory said. ‘I’ll try, but I’m not sure how long it will take me to find one.’
Only the tiniest of frowns marred Longchamps’ forehead. ‘I don’t possess a bellarmine jug.’
‘You’re a vampire – you’re more than four hundred years old. You must know someone who has an empty jug you can borrow.’
‘I’ll ask around.’ But he sounded doubtful.
‘We need the jug.’
‘I’ll let you know. Hopefully you will find one but I’ll search too.’ He started bouncing around on his toes. ‘This is fantastic. The Clouded Map will change everything.’
Mallory watched him curiously; she wanted to be sure he knew what he was getting. ‘The map doesn’t locate people,’ she said.
Longchamps continued bouncing. ‘I know that.’
‘It doesn’t locate any living creatures, it only maps out places.’
‘Yep. That’s fine. That’s what I need.’
She shrugged: he appeared to know what he was getting. The details of exactly why he required the Clouded Map weren’t really any of her business. ‘There’s also the matter of my payment,’ she said.
Now he was no longer merely bouncing, he was dancing around the room taking long elegant steps as if he were a ballroom dancer in need of a partner. He held his hand out to her, indicating that she should join him in a celebratory waltz.
Mallory crossed her arms: she wasn’t here to party, she was here to do business – and her price was high. Longchamps had stated during their previous meeting that he’d pay whatever she wanted in return for the map. It was time to test whether he’d been telling the truth.
‘Three secrets, to be delivered at a time of my choosing.’ Normally she’d have added a time limit on such repayments and clients tended to appreciate that, but vampires were different.
With their long, virtually immortal lives, time had a different meaning for them and there was little chance that Longchamps would pass away while Mallory was still alive.
She could benefit from this deal for a long time to come, especially if she were careful about when she called on him.
‘Done.’
Mallory still wasn’t finished. ‘And three favours, also of my own choosing.’
Chester Longchamps stopped dancing. ‘Three secrets and three favours? You ask a great deal. Two secrets and one favour.’
Nope. This was a complex deal and she was prepared to stand her ground, although she wasn’t surprised that he wanted to negotiate now it came down to the nitty-gritty.
Alexander MacTire had been an outlier in agreeing instantly to her demands; Chester Longchamps’ approach was the norm. ‘Two secrets. Three favours.’
‘Two secrets and two favours,’ he countered.
She considered. ‘No caveats and no limitations on either and you have a deal.’
He beamed. ‘And you’ve got yourself a happy client.’
Mallory inclined her head. To be honest, it was better than she’d expected. All in all, this had been a surprisingly successful day. ‘I’ll have the blood contract drawn up by tomorrow. My assistant will come around for your blood signature.’
Boris would grumble about visiting the vampire but Mallory knew that Longchamps was pleased enough to make the spriggan feel welcome. ‘Make sure that you read it carefully before you sign,’ she warned.
Chester Longchamps was already nodding. ‘Ms Nash, I will be eternally grateful to you for this.’
For a vampire, Mallory reflected, that was quite something.