A Brush With Death, Page 7

  While she had felt leaving the academy was necessary at the time, it was one of her biggest regrets now. She was working with the Arcane Council to defeat supernatural threats, but she was woefully under-prepared to do so. This entire section of the archives was evidence of how much she had yet to learn.

  Ever since her new assignment, she'd been putting in hours at night studying from the council's online database but even that record was a little sanitized compared to what was available here.

  “There is a saying,” Kasey began, “that you do not know what you do not know. Every time I come here, I am reminded how very true that is.”

  “As am I,” Stacey replied. “Accepting that truth is the first step to curing our ignorance.”

  “I'm curing as fast as I can.” Kasey leaned forward toward Stacey. “I feel like one of these days, my ignorance is going to kill me, literally.”

  Stacey crossed one leg over the other and rested her hands in her lap. “Oh, I don't know about that. You've proven stubbornly adept at clinging to life thus far. I'd say you've been tossed in the deep end of the pool and are still finding your depth, but council matters aside, we are all glad you are on our side.”

  Kasey couldn't believe her ears. That was the closest thing to civil Stacey had ever been to her. “Then why are you so hard on me all the time?”

  Stacey looked her in the eye. “You're still young. A little criticism and opposition is good for you. Growth comes from correction. If all the council did was agree with you, you would learn nothing and very likely get yourself killed. A little diversity of opinions leads to a healthy discourse. You're going to need to develop a thicker skin working with politicians and bureaucrats.”

  “I didn't ask for this,” Kasey replied, raising her hands.

  “None of us did,” Stacey answered. “We serve because someone must. Only a moron would want to have their life consumed by council politics. You will find most of us are here for the same reason—to create a safer world for our children. We don't always see the same path for doing so, though.”

  Stacey made a lot of sense. It was the meeting of the minds that ought to lead to the most progress.

  Kasey would have preferred to avoid the meetings altogether but seeing as that was not possible, she could at least go into them with a different perspective.

  “Politics aside, how can I help you, Kasey?”

  Kasey let out a slow breath. “There was a robbery and homicide this morning in Brooklyn. One of the participants took something that twisted him into a berserk beast with the strength of a dozen men. It altered his genetic makeup almost immediately. I believe that the substance has something to do with the supernatural world and I believe the answers I need are in the Libro Sanguis.”

  Stacey's eyes widened and her face turned a little pale. “Kasey, the Libro Sanguis deals with the Forbidden. Its contents and the practices it teaches use blood magic for unnatural purposes.”

  “I know that, but I need to understand what they are so that I can work out why it was stolen.”

  Stacey raised a hand. “The Libro Sanguis is in the Repository, and I assure you our security has not been compromised.”

  “I don't know what to tell you,” Kasey began, wiping her palms on her jeans. “It was stolen from Casimir's in Brooklyn earlier this morning. I saw it on the video, its runes glowing blood red.”

  “It's not possible,” Stacey whispered.

  “Perhaps it was a copy,” Kasey suggested.

  “The Libro Sanguis has no duplicates. It was written by Carys Bloodborne, a Welsh warlock at the height of the Roman empire. The Council would never permit a copy to be made, even if we understood the rituals sufficiently to do so.”

  “And you're sure it’s still in the Repository?” Kasey asked. “Have you seen it lately?”

  Stacey rose and went to the computer in the corner of the room. “I must confess, with everything going on lately I haven't spent a good deal of time in the Repository. But that shouldn't matter. We haven't had any breaches. It should still be there.”

  Everything about Stacey’s reaction to the tome troubled Kasey. Casimir had indicated it was valuable; Stacey’s reaction was one of denial and dread that it might actually be at large in the world. An unpleasant knot formed in Kasey’s stomach as Stacey tapped away at the keyboard.

  “Does anyone else have access to the vault?” Kasey asked.

  Stacey didn’t answer, but just stared at the screen.

  “Stacey?”

  “That can’t be right,” Stacey muttered. “This says that it was taken last November and has not been returned.”

  The knot in Kasey’s stomach tightened. “Taken? By who?”

  Stacey turned to face me, her hands trembling. “The Chancellor, Arthur Ainsley.”

  Chapter Seven

  Kasey's mind raced as she tried to process the implications of what she had just heard. The Libro Sanguis had been so dangerous that it had been housed in the Repository, but it was gone, taken from its secure home by the previous Arcane Chancellor.

  No, Kasey realized, by an imposter.

  “It wasn't Arthur,” Kasey replied.

  “He was one of the only people with the necessary access,” Stacey said.

  Kasey shook her head. “You said the tome was taken in November, right?”

  “That's right,” Stacey answered, double-checking the screen to be sure.

  “Then it was Akihiro. Arthur had been dead for months. It was the Shinigami who must have wanted the Libro Sanguis.”

  Stacey walked back to her seat, her gait unsteady, and collapsed heavily into it. “That's a dangerous manuscript, Kasey. Nothing good can come of it. If the Shinigami took it, what did he want with it, and where is it now?”

  “Stolen from a used bookstore in Queens this morning,” Kasey replied, pulling out her phone. She skipped to the end of the video and held it up for Stacey to see. “Someone must have stolen it from the Ainsley's estate.”

  “That's the Libro Sanguis to be sure,” Stacey muttered. “But who is that?”

  “That's what we are trying to work out.” Kasey put away her phone.

  “It never should have been there,” Stacey said, clenching her hands to stop them from trembling. “I should have known. I should have noticed it was missing.”

  “And done what? Confront him? He would have killed you like he did Arthur.”

  “I could lose my seat on the Council for this.” Stacey’s voice was unsteady. “The Repository is my responsibility.”

  “Don't be so hard on yourself. Akihiro fooled everyone.”

  “He didn't fool you.”

  Kasey laughed. “Are you kidding? I ate dinner in his house and had no idea. If it wasn't for my visions, I would not have known.”

  “What did he want with it?” Stacey wondered aloud.

  Kasey thought back to her interactions with Akihiro. The master of the Shinigami had spent months masquerading as the head of the Arcane Council. If he took the tome in November, it had to have something to do with the attack on the city. But everything Kasey knew about the Libro Sanguis indicated that it dealt with blood magic.

  Blood magic tended to focus on creating and controlling life but Akihiro was a master of necromancy, the manipulation of death and the energy that flowed from it. The two seemed incompatible.

  Then Kasey remembered the device, the tunneling machine that was meant to destroy the city, and the situation started to make more sense. Akihiro had needed the knowledge in the tome to craft the failsafe of the device.

  “I need to speak to the Chancellor, now. Please excuse me, Stacey,” Kasey said, rising from her chair.

  “What is it? Did you see something?” Stacey asked.

  The question bought a pang to Kasey's chest. It had been months since she had seen a vision, but she hadn't shared that detail with the other members of the council.

  Part of the reason she had been given a task force in the first place was her ability to see the future
and identify threats to the city before they materialized. Losing her gift only gave the Council an excuse to take her new job away. She had only confided in Sanders and while Stacey seemed to be coming around, Kasey didn't want to give her any ammunition in the event she changed her mind.

  “I have an idea what Akihiro wanted it for. Sanders was there. I want to run it by him.” Kasey tapped her phone. “In the meantime, could you work out what that wizard might want with it now?”

  “How do you know he was a wizard?” Stacey asked, rising to her feet.

  Kasey headed for the door. “He went straight for the tome, so chances are he could sense it, and he was wearing a cloak. Who else wears cloaks nowadays?”

  That brought a smile to Stacey’s face. There was no way to know for certain, but given everything Kasey had seen, she strongly suspected someone with arcane talent was responsible for the theft of the tome.

  Kasey stepped out of the study chamber and looked around. Shelves led in every direction, and she couldn’t get her bearings.

  I really should have paid more attention on the way in.

  “Let me,” Stacey offered, stepping past her and leading the way back to the information counter.

  “Remember, anything you can discover about the tome’s use could help us understand what they are planning,” Kasey said.

  The small wrinkles at the corners of Stacey’s eyes deepened. “We don’t make a habit of studying the Forbidden, but I’ll see what I can find.”

  “Thanks, Stacey, I appreciate your help.”

  Kasey turned to leave, but Stacey called after her.

  Stacey took a few steps toward her, voice barely more than a whisper. “I take it I can count on your discretion?”

  “I’ll tell no one but Sanders,” Kasey said, sliding her hands into her pockets.

  Stacey’s shoulders sagged in defeat.

  “He would soon discover the truth anyway, and he won’t hold it against you. I’ll see to it,” Kasey reassured her.

  At that, Stacey straightened up a little and gave her a smile that Kasey returned before hurrying for the elevator.

  She bore Stacey no ill will but the fact the Keeper of Knowledge seemed almost as concerned about her title as she was a missing tome packed with forbidden rituals, reminded Kasey just how little she enjoyed Council politics and the endless jockeying for position.

  Kasey made her way through the Arcane Council's headquarters. The ADI details posted throughout the complex knew her well. It probably helped that she had one of the most recognizable faces in New York right now, but they tended to wave her through without even checking her ID.

  That same recognizability was going to haunt her the moment she left the building. The price on her head was going to ensure it.

  I really need to do something about that, but first, Sanders.

  She reached the private chambers of the Arcane Council and strode along the hall. When the council wasn't in session, this was one of the most likely places to find them, tending to the never-ending paperwork attached to their respective offices.

  It was one of the principal reasons Kasey had turned down Sanders’ offer to run the ADI. Apart from the fact that they had spent weeks hunting her, Kasey had no desire to be confined to an office for the rest of her natural life. She much preferred working out on the streets. Dangerous though it might be, at least she felt like she was making a difference.

  As she made her way down the hall towards Sanders’ office, her pace slowed. It wasn't a conscious effort on her part but with every step she took she realized she was drawing closer to having to speak with him. She'd been avoiding him for the last week.

  Skipping the morning’s training session and Council meeting was going to come up. Bishop and the new case provided a convenient excuse but that was stretching the truth.

  She couldn't lie to herself; she was avoiding Sanders because she was frustrated with him.

  She'd come to him for help with Vida, but he'd been nowhere to be found. It seemed that more and more often lately he simply wasn't around.

  Kasey felt like she'd been patient in the wake of the attack. After all, being Arcane Chancellor could hardly be an easy job. She wasn't that naïve but after two months she expected to have had a conversation with him. Talk about where they were at, not as a council or a task force or as two former fugitives on the run, but as a couple. Two people that had feelings for each other.

  Or at least that was how Kasey saw it. How Sanders saw it she had no idea, mainly because he wouldn't speak about it.

  He had to feel something. He had risked his life for her more than once and when push had come to shove, deep beneath the earth he had given his own hand to save Kasey from having to do the same.

  She had always had terrible luck with men. At the Academy she'd been the butt of every joke. At college she had been far too busy studying to have anything resembling a normal relationship. Then there was John, with whom things had started so poorly and by the time she had moved past hating the sight of his face, they had enjoyed one dinner together before he'd been murdered by the master of the Shinigami.

  Kasey wanted to do things differently this time, but it seemed Sanders had his own speed: glacial.

  There were snails dragging themselves through wet concrete who moved faster than Noah Sanders.

  “Why does everything have to be so hard?” Kasey asked herself aloud.

  As she reached the door to Sanders’ office, voices came from within.

  Though she knew better, she couldn't help but try to listen in. She leaned close to the door and tried to calm her racing heart as she eavesdropped on the most influential wizard in the entire country.

  “When you dabble with that kind of magic, your soul is tainted,” a smooth feminine voice said.

  “That's a bit harsh, don't you think?” Sanders replied.

  “You forget too quickly the truths taught to you at court,” the fae woman's voice replied. “Being an unpleasant truth doesn't make it any less true.”

  “But Kasey…”

  “She's been tainted. Stop letting your feelings cloud the matter,” the woman said.

  The room went silent, and Kasey wanted to kick down the door. How dare Talora talk about her like that. She had no idea what Kasey had been through, what she had endured to save the city.

  “You came to me, not vice versa,” the woman said. “Will you dismiss it out of hand simply because you do not want to hear the truth?”

  “What can be done about it?” Sanders asked, his voice weary.

  “That, Sanders, “ the voice began, “is a bargain you cannot make.”

  “There has to be another way,” Sanders replied.

  “Always the hero,” the voice replied. It was difficult to tell if the tone held admiration or mockery. “You cannot fix this for her. Besides, you have more pressing concerns than the young witch.”

  “I'm working on it,” Sanders answered. “It is no simple task.”

  “Work faster. The queen may be immortal, but her patience is waning by the day.”

  “Titania knew it would take time. Don’t presume to rush me unless you wish to bear news of my failure to her court.”

  The room went quiet for what felt like an eternity. Kasey backed away from the door, fearing she had been discovered.

  The woman spoke again. This time, her voice was different. It was deeper, more melodious, and every word seemed charged with a power that made Kasey’s ears ring.

  “Do not speak my name, mortal.”

  Sanders let out a pained groan, and Kasey reached for the door handle. She tried to turn it, but nothing happened. It wasn’t locked; it simply wouldn’t budge. Kasey drew on her power and probed at the door. As she extended her senses toward it, she felt a power there. Kasey picked at the edges of the magic holding the door closed.

  It wasn’t until she reached out to it that she realized her mistake. It wasn’t a spell at all. The door was being held closed by sheer force of will, by a being or
ders of magnitude more powerful than herself.

  The will lashed out at her. It was as if someone had delivered an uppercut to her brain. Pain flared through her head, and she sank to her knees in agony.

  Fearing for her life, Kasey drew in as much power as she could, seeking to shield herself from the will of the most powerful being she had ever encountered.

  Laughter like music filled her mind and Kasey collapsed. Her mind was on fire. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the weight of the world seemed to crush her into the carpet.

  The voice continued. “I bought you time when you had none, mortal. Gave you a life, taught you and raised you up. Do not trifle with me. You will answer the bargain that was made.”

  There was no threat, no implied cost of not meeting its demand. The voice spoke with a certainty that could not be denied.

  “I have sent my envoy. Do not presume to call upon me. I am not yours to summon.” The voice spoke with a force that reverberated through Kasey’s entire being.

  “Yes, your highness,” Sanders groaned.

  “Good,” the voice said. “I have matters of court to attend to and you have another guest waiting. Be about your errand, swiftly.”

  A flash of golden light flooded into the hall via the gap at the base of Sanders’ door. Then as abruptly as it had appeared, it was gone, as was the power holding Kasey down.

  With the weight removed, Kasey was able to breathe once more, and she rolled onto her side gasping for air. The being had outed her presence to Sanders, and she didn’t want to be found flailing about on the floor.

  Rolling onto her stomach, she got her palms beneath her and pushed herself to her hands and knees.

  The door opened and she looked up to find Sanders staring down at her.

  “Kasey?” he asked, his voice pained as he reached down. “What are you doing here?”

  She ignored his hand, not wanting to appear as weak as she felt right now. Rising to one knee, she pushed off it and rose to her feet. Stumbling into the office, she found it devoid of anyone but Sanders.

  “Where is she?” Kasey asked, as she collapsed into one of the leather backed chairs in front of his desk.