Alchemist's Kiss (21 page)

“Trwy fi efallai y byddwch yn gweithio.”
Icarus said, unfurling the fingers from his palm one at a time.
Through me, may you work.
“Diogelu bobl hyn, amddiffyn fy ffrindiau. Diogelu fy annwyl.”
Protect these people. Protect my friends. Protect my beloved.

Icarus had never spoken to the aether in this way. As if it was more than a tool. He'd always used spells designed to control the aether or to persuade it to do his bidding. Now he talked to it, as Cora had done, remembering the Welsh of his childhood.

Power like none he'd ever felt before shot through him. It came from his feet, climbing from the soles of his boots and through his legs. It crawled through his torso and burned a path down his left arm until it burst from his hand in a torrent of radiant blue energy.

The others felt it through their connection to him, and he saw the pupils of their eyes fire blue with the ageless power. Cora's head went back, her mouth open in a scream as the current blasted through them all and wound round and round the circle and through his hand.

Icarus breathed slowly through the pain, though it was not an entirely unpleasant feeling. It was familiar, and he thought perhaps this was what he had experienced in the forge of Longmoore. The top of the auto screamed as the metal peeled back and the font of energy poured out.

“Hold it.” Icarus instructed the others, knowing that they were tiring as the current of magical energy poured through their bodies. “Do not break the circle.”

“I can't.” Lucia's eyes streamed with tears, the droplets effervescent blue with the remnants of the power. She shook with the effort it took to hold the conduit open.

“Steady.” Icarus' voice was fainter, but he had never felt stronger. Every part of his brain was alive with thought, energy, understanding. He heard the voice of the aether, as Cora must have done. Thousands upon thousands of voices speaking together, discordant but beautiful.

“You're doing it!' Rivensbrow guided the car carefully as they approached the more populated areas of London. “The demons are falling back and most were erased by the light.”

“Icarus, close the channel.” Archimedes' voice was taunt with pain and fatigue. It came from far away and Icarus imagined a tunnel that stretched longer as the magical power filled him to the brim.

“Icarus, please.” Bastion's face was white, but Icarus couldn't bring himself to focus.

“Is it beautiful to you as it is to me?” he wondered. Lights danced over his eyes as the world became particles and energy, down the most miniscule of dust motes. It swirled and danced, a minuet waltz perfectly timed.

“Darling. Stop.”

Icarus looked at Cora in wonder. She was dazzling in hues of red and green, merging and divergent all at once. She bled together like the most exquisite of watercolors, shimmering with life. “You're spectacular.”

“You're killing me.”

The reds and greens were fading, the whiz and spin of the life inside her slowing.

“No. Come back. The color---” Fear spiked through Icarus as realization set in. The power that invigorated him was draining the others. It could kill them. It was the most difficult thing to close his fingers over the rune, one at a time. When his fingers obscured the brand the ebb and flow of the power began to die away. He peeled Cora's fingers from his, breaking the circle completely.

They slumped, Archimedes managing to catch Lucia in his arms as Cora fell into Icarus'. He stroked the pallor of her cheek. “I'm sorry.”

“What the hell were you thinking?”

Icarus looked up to meet Archimedes' blazing gaze. He'd never seen his friend so angry at him, and from the way he stroked the hair from Lucia's cheek it wasn't his own welfare he was worried over. “The power...I was enraptured.”

“You nearly killed us all.” Archimedes sighed, his anger draining. “You cannot do that again.”

“I will not.” Icarus agreed as Cora stirred in his arms. He held her closer to his chest. “The danger is far too great.” He stared into Archimedes eyes, willing his friend to see the depths of his regret. Archimedes nodded once, and Icarus was grateful for the understanding of his loyal companions.

“I feel better already.” Cora sat up, the color returning to her cheeks. Her smile was tremulous as she toyed with a curl of hair by his ear. She was quick to forgive even his most dangerous mistakes.

“The aether is fading.” Rivensbrow looked at them as he pulled the auto to the sidewalk. His eyes were narrow with concern as they roused themselves. “Can you continue?'

Icarus had never felt better, but he worried over the state of the others. As Cora had done, they came back to vigorous health within moments. Lucia sat up in Archimedes' arms and frowned at him. She turned a hard glare on Icarus.

“You, sir, are dangerous. You could have killed us all.”

Icarus opened his mouth to apologize again, but Archimedes beat him to it. “He was as much under the control of the power as we were. It was strong of him to break the connection.” His voice was soothing but brooked no further argument. Icarus tensed, expecting Lucia to disagree, but she straightened her hair and moved away from Archimedes without another word.

“Where are we?” Icarus asked as Machiavelli landed on the hood of the auto.

“Chiselhurst.” The raven hopped in the window to Rivensbrow's shoulder. “The aether is too faint here, and I will soon lose connection with Machiavelli. Be careful, my friends. I will rejoin you as soon as those dratted orbs are destroyed.”

The body of the raven shuddered, and Icarus knew that the Grand Master had lost his connection with his familiar.

“I feel it too.” Lucia looked around at the remnants of the aether that had begun to dwindle away. Now only the faintest glow of a few particles remained. Her face lost its swarthy glow, a pallor stealing over her. She snapped open her fan and waved it. “I feel as if I have walked from London to Ipswich.”

It was difficult to explain the feeling, Icarus thought as his body grew heavy. From the font of energy they had just shared to this sudden deficit of vitality, his body felt as if it were encased in lead. His head swam as every beat of his heart became the gong of a drum. Cora was slumped against him, struggling to keep her eyes open.

“It will take a few moments for our bodies to become accustomed to the lack of magic.” Rivensbrow was using all his energy to guide the car to a stop as the motor sputtered and died out. He pressed the brake into place and let his head fall to the seat. Machiavelli flapped his wings dully, his eyes now only the eyes of a bird. His connection with Orrin had been severed when the disappearance of the aether.

“A fascinating....biological reaction.” Bastion managed, appearing nearly unconscious in his seat.

They were silent, for how many moments Icarus did not count. He lay next to Cora, counting every breath as he drew it in, and slowly let it out. As Rivensbrow had promised the heavy press of the air on his body began to lessen.

He shook himself from his state and lifted his head. The others were coming 'round slowly, the color returning to their cheeks as they stirred. Cora snuggled against him, her head heavy on his shoulder.

He turned his head to breathe in the smell of her hair and lay his cheek against her. “Are you all right?”

“It's such an empty feeling.” Her fingers curled into his, her smaller hand fitting inside his. “So very lonely.”

He wanted to smooth the hair from her cheek with is hand, and stopped with it half way to its destination. He looked at the rune and cursed it again from keeping him from touching her. She reached up and wrapped her fingers around his wrist.

“There is no aether, Icarus. The rune is dormant.”

He closed his fingers and dropped the hand. “A chance I cannot take. I have seen what happens when a living thing comes into contact with the mark. A rose in full bloom can become withered and dead within seconds.”

“Damn this scientist.” Archimedes groaned as he rubbed his hand over his forehead. He grimaced at the scrape of the misshaped copper over his skin.

“I shall have to fix that.” Icarus said, nodding to the hand. “When this is over.”

“Indeed.” Lucia's dark gaze narrowed on Icarus, “He's a menace with so much twisted metal.”

Archimedes smiled and bumped her with his shoulder, and Icarus was glad to see some of the oppressive absence of the aether wearing off.

“You wouldn't like me any other way.” Archimedes teased the dour woman. Icarus noticed a spark of humor in her eyes even though her mouth turned down.

“I never said I liked you at all.” she countered.

Cora's soft chuckle pulled Icarus' eyes back to her. “I feel better.”

“We should discuss what it is we plan to do once we discover Croft's laboratory and the men guarding it.” Rivensbrow suggested. He was still pale but his dark eyes were intense. “Most of us rely on magic for protection and offense, and these men will be skilled fighters.”

“Icarus and I are familiar with hand to hand combat.” Archimedes flexed his human hand, but grimaced at the mess of scabs and broken skin. “I am only at half strength, however.”

“We will need a stealthy approach.” Icarus agreed. “We do have an advantage, in that with the orbs in use the men cannot know we are wizards. They will most likely know both Archimedes and I.”

“It seems logical that Cora and I will be the ones to distract the men, while you gentlemen dispatch them quietly. Destroying the orbs as quickly as possible seems to the best course of action.”

Icarus shook his head before Lucia finished talking. “It's too dangerous.”

Five pairs of eyes locked on him, and Machiavelli hid his head beneath his wing. He sighed. It would not be the popular argument, to be sure.

“This is not a matter of distrust in your abilities or your wiles. I am responsible for your lives, and I cannot allow you to be hurt.” He winced at the blush of anger that climbed over Cora's neck.

“Icarus.” Her voice was soft and deceptively calm. “I would ask you to reconsider.”

He ignored the presence of the others as fear for her churned in his gut. He stared hard into her eyes, willing her to see it. “There is nothing to reconsider.”

The urge to recoil from the narrowing of her eyes and the tightening of her mouth was strong. Surprisingly, her voice was low and even when she spoke,

“Remember the time that we chased those
Moire
demons down Sussex Street?”

“I do, but I fail to see---”

She cut him off, “And the demon tricked us and doubled back, coming up to our backs when we were unaware?”

Icarus gritted his teeth. The path of the conversation was becoming clearer. “I recall.”

“She stepped between the demon and you, banishing it back to Hell before it could do you harm.” Archimedes tried to hide his smile and failed miserably. “She saved your life.”

“And the time that we followed Thornkin over the rooftops?” Icarus asked. He raised an eyebrow as Cora's blush deepened. “I seem to recall that I managed to catch you just before you fell to your death from the top of the Mercury Bank, did I not?”

“I strain to understand the relevance of this babble.” Lucia turned to Archimedes. “Your adventures are grand and dangerous, to be sure, and the saving of lives seems to be a common theme. How does this help us destroy those damnable orbs?”

“One's ability to do a thing doesn't stem from their physical prowess,” Cora interjected, “look at Archie. He's as big as a house and he was nearly killed.”

“Exactly what I'm trying to save you from!” Icarus knew his anger was getting the better of him, but it let him act when fear only debilitated him. He cupped Cora's chin in his hand. “If you are hurt, or killed, I am nothing.”

“Untrue.” She covered his hand with hers, but her smile was firm. “You are Icarus Kane, Grand Adept Wizard of London. Warden of London and its people. Caretaker of this city. You are a good man with a good heart, and that is what will keep you going. What is so different now, than a month ago? A year? I am still your apprentice and still a wizard. Why, now, are you so afraid?”

“A year ago I was confident I could keep you safe.” He looked at Archimedes, at the bruises and the mangled copper hand, “Now I have seen that I may not be able to save you all.”

“Rubbish.” Rivensbrow broke into the conversation. “The only thing that has changed is that your enormous ego has been taken down a peg by recent events. A year ago it might have seemed you were alone, Adept Kane. Now, it is all of us together.”

“Let them do it.”

Icarus looked at Archimedes. The man wasn't looking at him, but at Lucia, his face passive but his eyes filled with the same fearsome dread Icarus felt. Archimedes turned his head to look at Icarus and Cora.

“Rivensbrow is correct, the stakes are too high to allow our fears to hold us back. If your father retrieves the machine, or Croft uses it, the world as we know it will end. We must do all we can to prevent it.”

Icarus knew their arguments were sound. His head told him that Archimedes was correct, their lives would be worth nothing if his father and Croft succeeded in their plans. Still, his heart was squeezed in the vise of the fear that strangled him. It pounded hard in his veins.