Alex Verus Novels, Books 1-4 (9780698175952) (100 page)

“Helping Anne?” I let go of the doorknob and stalked towards Variam, looming over him to stare into his eyes. Variam drew back, startled. “You ungrateful little shit. Since we met I have done everything I possibly can to protect you and Anne and you have given me nothing but grief for it. It's because of me those assassins didn't kill Anne four days ago and it's because of me those constructs didn't kill
both
of you last night. I've risked my life to help you and I haven't asked for a thing in return except your cooperation. Now I find you've been trying to manipulate me from the start and you have the nerve to ask why
you
should trust
me
? You can't even do something as simple as watch over Luna while she's asleep and helpless. You've been right on the fence between asset and liability for a while now and you just took a dive down the liability side.” I shook my head and turned back towards the door. “I'm done wasting time on you.”

Variam caught my shoulder. “Wait!”

“For what? For you to spin me more bullshit?”

“I need your help,” Variam said. It sounded like it was difficult for him to get the words out, but he managed. “To help Anne.”

“I've been doing nothing
but
helping Anne.”

“All right,” Variam said. He looked nervous. “I'll tell you.”

“The truth this time?”

Variam nodded.

“Fine,” I said. “But listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once. If I catch you lying to me one more time I'm going to cut you loose for good. And Variam?” I leant in close. “I'm
very good
at knowing when people are lying to me.”

Variam flinched slightly and I pulled back. “Why Fountain Reach?”

“Look, I wanted to tell you,” Variam began. “I just couldn't see how it was any use.”

“Where did you get the name?”

“Jagadev,” Variam said. “I went to him, after Vanessa. He told me the disappearances were connected to Fountain Reach but he wouldn't say why.”

“Did he say anything about how or who?”

Variam shook his head.

“How long have you known that it was something to do with Anne?”

“It's not! She's not doing anything, none of us are! It's just . . . I thought it was just a coincidence. I mean, there aren't
that
many apprentices. But when every one of them seemed to . . . I knew what they'd think. Everyone always thinks we're some kind of monsters. I knew they wouldn't listen to us.”

“So you tried to push everyone away.” I shook my head. “If you'd told me earlier I could have gone looking for an explanation. Now she's already been arrested and we're up against the clock. You've made this a hell of a lot more difficult.”

“I'm sorry,” Variam said. “I didn't know what to do.”

I sighed and put a hand to my head, tapping my fingers against my forehead. “All right,” I said. “All right. The Council can be assholes, but they're not incompetent. If those Keepers have arrested Anne it probably means there's real evidence against her. Do you think Anne's been helping kidnap these apprentices?”

“Of course not!”

“Neither do I. That means someone must be using Anne as an information source. We need to talk to her and find out all the people she's been speaking to. Then we can narrow down who it might be.”

Variam perked up. “Yeah. Okay.”

I started for the door and paused. “Oh, and it's about time you dropped the rebellious teenager act. We're about to talk to Keepers. Be polite.”

Variam looked indignant. “But they—”

“I know what they did and I know how you feel about it. But all it'll do is make them more likely to say no. You're an adult; time to start acting like it.”

Variam gave a reluctant nod.

*  *  *

I
was rehearsing speeches in my head as we came back around the corner, but as we came out into the corridor I frowned. The door that had been blocked by the Keeper was hanging open. Variam and I exchanged glances and walked in.

The guest room was small, with a single faded bed, and had no windows or doors except for the one we'd just come through. One of the Council Keepers was standing in a corner with his back to us talking into his mobile phone: “. . . hair black, eyes red-brown, early twenties, wearing a green skirt and jumper. Last seen fifteen minutes ago and . . .”

The other Keeper, the hard-looking one who'd been blocking the door, turned towards us with a frown. “Where's Anne?” I asked before he could get a word out.

“What are you doing here?”

“Looking for Anne. Where is she?”

“This is a restricted area,” the Keeper began.

“I'm looking for the apprentice you were holding here,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Given that she was in your custody, that makes you responsible for her under Council law. I am making a formal request to speak with her. Please.”

The Keeper looked from me to Variam and hesitated. “You're going to have to come back—”

The second Keeper snapped his phone shut and turned towards us. “Verus,” he said. He was older than his partner, with greying hair and sharp eyes. “What do you know about this?”

“At the moment, nothing,” I said. I had to force myself to stay calm. “Would you happen to know where Anne Walker is?”

The Keeper studied me. “She appears to have fled.”

I looked at him, then around at the bare room with its complete absence of other exits. Then I looked back at him. “You left her alone?”

“She used a gate spell,” the older Keeper said.

“That's impossible.”

“Apparently not.”

“Anne can't use gate magic!” Variam burst out.

“What about the wards?” I said.

The Keeper looked at me with raised eyebrows. “That is an extremely good question.”

“This doesn't make sense,” I said. It took all I had to keep my voice level. “I couldn't get through these gate wards, and neither could you. Are you seriously telling me that you believe an apprentice found a way through a gate ward when two Council Keepers couldn't?”

“I know what a gate spell feels like, all right?” the younger Keeper said irritably. “And that's what I felt through that door. Crystal and her ‘impenetrable' wards, my—”

“Look, Verus,” the older Keeper said. “We're a little busy. Can you tell us where Anne Walker is?”

I was silent. “I don't know,” I said at last.

“Then I'm sorry but we've got work to do.” The Keeper walked past, taking out his phone again as he vanished into the corridor. The other followed, shooting me a suspicious look.

“Where is she?” Variam demanded. He was looking around the room as if he expected Anne to pop out of hiding.

“Give me a second,” I said quietly. My head was whirling.

“She couldn't have gated out of here,” Variam said. “She can't even use gate magic!”

“I know,” I said. I felt as though I were on the verge of getting it. I just needed one more piece . . .

“Those Keepers must have taken her,” Variam said.

“They didn't,” I said absently.

“There couldn't have been a gate spell.”

“That Keeper said there was.”

“Then he was lying!”

“Maybe—” I began, and stopped.

“You can't get a gate spell through these wards,” Variam repeated. “If she's not here it means—”

“Variam?” I said. “Why are these wards still working?”

“Huh?”

“Remember what Sonder said last night?” I said. “Wards like this take a lot of maintenance. Why haven't they run down?”

“Who cares?” Variam said. “I guess Crystal's fixing them.”

“But Sonder said Vitus Aubuchon attuned them to himself,” I said. “It would have been almost impossible for someone else to take control of Fountain Reach.”

“Well, Crystal figured it out.”

“Maybe she didn't,” I said quietly.

Variam looked at me in confusion. “What?”

I didn't answer. A dozen images and thoughts were spinning through my head. A portrait on a wall. Notes on longevity magic, failed experiments on yellowing paper. Vitus Aubuchon, who had been sickly and aging and obsessed with his health. Sonder's words:
Basically all of Fountain Reach is one giant focus. As long as you're within it, you can use it to power spells . . .
Luna insisting that it couldn't be a coincidence, two victims of the same age at the same place. Crystal's scorn at working for the Council until she was “old and grey.” Anne's last words:
Now
I
feel like someone's watching me . . .

I pulled out my phone and dialled Talisid's number. It took Talisid a while to answer and when he did he sounded harassed. “Verus, I've got two other people—”

“One quick question,” I said. “The Aubuchon family used to own Fountain Reach.”

“Yes—”

“The last mage of the dynasty, Vitus Aubuchon,” I said. “Do you know what type of mage he was?”

“He was a space mage. Spatial manipulation, gate magic, that sort of thing. Is this—?”

Something clicked. “That's all,” I said, and hung up and turned back to Variam. “We need to get back to Luna.”

“Do you know where Anne is?”

“No. But I think I know who took her.”

*  *  *

L
una was sitting up in bed by the time we got back to her room. She'd eaten everything I'd brought from the kitchens and was looking a lot healthier. I thanked Celia and sent her away, closing the door behind her before turning to Variam and Luna. I hadn't answered any of Variam's questions and both of them were watching me. “We don't have much time,” I began, “so we're going to have to make this fast.”

“Who took Anne?” Variam said.

“The same man who took that girl thirty years ago,” I said. “And God only knows how many others. Vitus Aubuchon.”

Variam frowned. “I thought he was—”

“Not dead,” I said. “Disappeared, yes, but not dead. He was doing longevity research, looking for a way to prolong his life. I think he found one.” I looked at Luna. “Remember what I told you about vampires? How they could live off humans by drinking their blood? There have always been rumours that before they were wiped out, some mages got vampires to teach them the trick.”

Luna's eyes widened a little. “Wait, you mean . . . ?”

“Here's what I think happened,” I said. “Vitus Aubuchon wanted to live forever. He couldn't use life magic, so he designed this house as a giant focus for a longevity spell. But it needed fuel. Human fuel, young people in the prime of their youth and strength. It worked for a long time but then something went wrong. For whatever reason normal children weren't enough anymore. So Vitus decided to start feeding off apprentices instead.

“And then Crystal came. I don't know how they met, but they made some sort of deal. Crystal would find apprentices, ones who were vulnerable and alone, and bring them here to Fountain Reach for Vitus to feed on . . .” I trailed off, remembering Crystal's words from two nights ago.
The entire point of this whole plan was so we didn't have to keep picking at random . . .
“Shit,” I said quietly to myself.

“What?”

“That's why Crystal held the tournament here,” I said. “They're not looking for just
any
apprentice. They're looking for the
right
apprentice. The point of the tournament was so that they could get a close-up view of all the apprentices using their magic. Anne hasn't healed anyone since getting here, has she?”

“No . . .” Variam said.

I nodded. “Not until now. Vitus saw her and that was it. As soon as she was alone he snatched her and unless we stop him he's going to do the same thing to her that he's done to everyone else.”

“How do we get her back?” Variam said.

“I don't know.”

“What?”

“I'm still working on that part.”

“You just said we didn't have much time!”

“Vitus is a space mage. He could have taken Anne anywhere and I don't know where.”

“Wait,” Luna broke in. “Didn't Sonder say Vitus would have to stay inside the house?”

I nodded. “I don't think she's far, but—”

“So let's burn the house down,” Variam said.

Luna looked at Variam in disbelief. “Are you nuts?”

“It'll flush him out, won't it?”

“It's not going to—”

“Actually,” I said slowly, “I think that's not a bad idea.” I turned towards the door. “Get ready for a fight. I'll explain along the way.”

*  *  *

I
got my gear, Luna got her whip, and I led her and Variam upstairs through Fountain Reach. “The first time I came here, Onyx shredded a wall,” I said. “When he did there was a scream. It was like some kind of defence system, but now I don't think it was. I think Vitus is linked to this house. Hurting it hurts him.”

“So how does that help us find Anne?” Variam asked.

We turned down an old crooked corridor with animal heads lining the walls. “Wherever Vitus takes his victims, it's somewhere hidden,” I said. “We won't find it, not in time. But if Vitus could bring Anne there, he could bring us there too.”

The bedroom within looked just as it had the last two times I'd seen Crystal in it: old and dusty with a moth-eaten bed. The portrait on the wall stared down at us, sunken eyes looking out of a thin face. “What about everyone else?” Luna asked.

“You remember Anne's story from last night?” I said. “Someone tried to burn Fountain Reach before and something stopped them. I don't think Vitus can do anything in this part of the house, not directly. He has to take them somewhere else first.”