Chapter 25 First Meeting #2
“Our method ended up being pretty simple, really,” I admitted.
“It was Alaric’s idea to use drakai to keep an eye on some of the royals he knew personally, the ones he figured were true believers, versus the curious or those who just talked big.
There’s apparently a bit of a groupie situation with the Priest, so we tried to exploit that to find those who’d actually taken vows.
Alaric sent drakai out, twelve each day, listening in at the houses we’d decided might be worth targeting.
We learned pretty fast who got consistent hits.
When one of his drakai reported back, Alaric came to my room, and we’d listen to the broadcasts together on a receiver he’d programmed himself.
We used my room because Alaric had reason to believe his might have listening devices, and I was better at chimaeric illusions. ”
I fingered my necklace, then realized what I was doing and dropped the green crystal against my skin.
I fell silent when I noticed their increasingly stunned looks.
For some reason, those shocked stares made me defensive.
“And really, I’m making it sound more segmented than it was,” I added.
“We worked together on most things, including to refine the programming on the receiver, and to make our magical signatures untraceable.” I picked up my mug, and gripped it in both hands.
“Since Alaric organized the drakai, I handled most of the research, mainly to decrypt the more obscure and esoteric phrases used by the Priest. You probably know this, but a fair amount of his broadcast is in code. He uses poetry, scripture, songs, even coded mathematical equations. I also got tasked with tracking the Priest during the broadcast itself, since it was too risky to have Alaric do it, partly because he was more susceptible to the reality-distortion, and partly because he’d far more likely be recognized.
I set up shielding chimaeras and illusions over my suite, and Alaric tested them, and he helped me with––”
“Ms. Shadow.”
I turned to find Professor Blackstone, the school’s senior potions professor, staring at me with his unnervingly pale blue eyes. His expression betrayed nothing, so I waited.
“What is it you intended to do with this information?” Blackstone asked. “Were you to discover the identity of the Priest, or discern plans in place for Dark Cathedral, what were your intended next steps?”
There was a silence.
I felt my throat close somewhat, and struggled to clear it.
“Alaric was going to run,” I said, frankly. “He wanted me to go with him.”
There was a silence.
Then Professor Rafe Quicksilver scoffed.
“Is that all?” he asked derisively. “Seems an awful lot of work if that was your sole intention. Why not just run now? Why wait?”
An image of Bones slid through my mind, forcing me to remember why I’d really done it, what I’d been after more than anything else, at least at first.
I pushed the thought aside at once.
I considered not answering Quicksilver at all, but the truth was, he’d hit upon the crux of things between me and Alaric. There was a reason why I’d never given my friend a firm answer as to whether or not I’d go with him.
I’d known all along it wasn’t realistic, not for me.
I never could have left my brother behind to deal with Dark Cathedral without me. I never would have left my friends behind, either. And anyway, where would I even go? What would be the point of running, if everywhere I went suffered from the same disease?
The truth was, I don’t think I ever seriously contemplated disappearing with Alaric into some royalist enclave. I never resented Alaric for the impulse, and I’d always figured at some point, he would go, but I never thought I’d go with him.
I let Alaric believe I might, maybe just so he wouldn’t feel so alone.
“No,” I acknowledged to Quicksilver. “I suppose I never really believed that, not for me. I always intended to stay. To find ways to fight back.” I glanced at Forsooth, flushed a little, and looked around at the rest of the faces.
“I didn’t know your group existed at the time, but I thought along these lines…
of organizing something that might counteract Dark Cathedral, even if it was only my friends at first. I had to believe Dark Cathedral’s ideology represented a minority in Magique.
I already know a lot of Magicals who would be horrified if they knew what they had planned.
I had to believe that would be even more true in the wider population, since this is an elite institution with an unusually high number of wealthy royals. ”
At the silence this produced, I cleared my throat.
I glanced at Forsooth, and he beamed at me.
“My thoughts around this were probably pretty naive,” I admitted, clearing my throat. “But it was the only option I could see that felt remotely realistic to me.”
I glanced at Valor and Esalia, then back at Blackstone.
Another silence fell.
I took a sip of hot chocolate, then another deep breath.
“We never did identify the Priest,” I added.
“In case you’re wondering that. I never got to the real face behind the mask.
I got impressions a few times, images of a location, mostly…
but no names, no faces, and not enough to know what I was looking at, or for Alaric to recognize where I was.
I went into a full-blown trance a few times, but those the times I got the most information, so after discussing it, we kept going.
The last time that happened, I saw most of the room the Priest was in.
It still wasn’t enough for Alaric to identify it, although we looked for family crests, insignia rings, reflections, distinctive art pieces, and so on. ”
At the dead silence this produced, I swallowed another mouthful of hot chocolate.
“We obviously couldn’t use the same methods once school resumed,” I continued.
“But we set up a coded language to communicate any news. The last broadcast we listened to was from The Eyrie. It got cut off, as I said, right as I was beginning my trace.” I swallowed, biting my lip when my eyes stung before I could hold it back.
“We both thought we’d been seen. It’s probably why Alaric panicked and wrote his brother. ”
I fell silent, conscious suddenly of just how intently I was being stared at. Every mage and witch in the circle of chairs seemed to be holding their breaths.
“I have research notes I can share,” I offered.
“We recorded the broadcasts, so you’ll likely want those.
As part of one of the chimaeras I set up, I had every word transcribed magically into a book I’d spelled, along with my notes, and our discussions afterwards.
I also spelled the book to record audio and visual, including my visions during every tracking attempt, which can be accessed via a magical key.
I wiped everything from the chimaeras between broadcasts, and of course I dismantled all of it before I left London, but I thought––”
“Leda,” Esalia broke in.
She sounded tense, like she couldn’t stop herself from interrupting. She clasped her hands, staring at me like she wanted to shake me by the shoulders.
“That was extremely dangerous,” she said sharply. “You realize that, don’t you? Both of you could have ended up taken––”
“Or dead,” Valor cut in, blunt.
He stared at me, a rocks glass in one hand where he rested his arms on his thighs. He looked like he wanted to say a lot more.
Forsooth cleared his throat.
I turned to him, and he smiled at me, his dark eyes warmly friendly.
“I would very much like to see your notes, Ms. Shadow,” he said politely, the plate of biscuits now balanced on his lap.
“I would very much like to see the recordings, as well, if you’re willing to share the key you mentioned, and anything you were able to determine about the encrypted text. I imagine I’m not alone in that…?”
He glanced around the room, a faint question in his words.
At the grudging nods around the circle, Forsooth looked back at me, and winked.
I barely caught it, as I was already rummaging through my satchel.
I’d guessed the book might come in handy, even if I hadn’t known Forsooth already knew about me and Alaric.
I passed it to Vivian Underwood, who sat to my right, who handed it on after staring at it covetously, and it passed through hands two more times before it reached Forsooth.
“Thank you so much, Ms. Shadow.” Forsooth said, taking the book reverently and tucking it into his robes. “I will discuss with you after the meeting how we might best keep this safe, so that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”
I nodded at that, and felt my face warm.
To be honest, I’d worried a bit about having it in my dormitory.
At the same time, it represented so much work, not to mention Alaric’s thoughts and observations, it felt wrong to simply hand it over to a mage I really didn’t know all that well, so he could share it with a room full of mages and witches I mostly didn’t know at all.
“Now,” Forsooth said, settling back in his chair. “I believe I have some information for you.” His eyes grew serious once more. “We think we know why Dark Cathedral has been kidnapping humans.”
I tensed where I’d just lowered my mug, my attention fully back on him.
“We have reason to believe it’s a blood ritual of some kind,” Forsooth continued, his voice cautious.
“Perhaps the same ritual that worried young Mr. Greythorne, as such things are often used for dark initiations. Whatever the planned use for these individuals, it seems to be quite the obsession within Dark Cathedral leadership at this time. We have not yet determined the purpose of the ritual in question, and I do not have anyone close enough to provide intelligence on that, but we are working on it.”
I frowned, remembering what Alaric said about that.
I didn’t want to ask, mostly because I already knew the answer, but I did anyway.
“And my brother?” I said, swallowing.
Forsooth nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving mine.
“We don’t know for certain, as there are a number of reasons why Dark Cathedral may have wanted him, given who he is.
He contains symbolic importance, of course, as you do yourself.
But it could be more than that.” Forsooth folded his arms, and his bear mirrored the pose by his chair’s leg.
“To answer what I think you are asking me… yes, Ms. Shadow. It is certainly possible your brother was wanted for the same ritual. It seems to require at least one person of Overworld origins.”
I thought about that, and nodded slowly.
“And what about me?” I asked, clearing my throat. “If it’s something to do with human or hybrid blood, why haven’t they come after me?”
Forsooth didn’t lower his gaze.
“I do not know, Ms. Shadow,” he said seriously. “But I would imagine that, before, at least, it was because they believed your brother would be far easier to acquire.”
He paused, his dark eyes meaningful.
“With your brother now housed in the Sanctum Occulus,” he continued carefully. “I do not know if that is still the case. But believe me, it is a question that has occupied my thoughts, and the thoughts of many of us in this room.”
He glanced around at the circle of mages and witches.
I was a little startled to see them nod grimly back, especially Esalia and Valor.
“It is also one we will talk about in some detail tonight,” Forsooth added, a touch more lightly. “As well as measures being taken to ensure your brother’s continued safety.”
He returned his eyes to mine, smiling.
“…But first, would you like some more hot chocolate, my dear?”