Cursed

chapter 12

It was two weeks later.

“How much longer?” I muttered out of the side of my mouth.

“Shh,” Sonder whispered.

“Did she stop to do her hair or what?”

“Shh!”

We were standing in a high, arched hall, the walls russet and gold. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling and rows of stylised lamps were mounted on the walls, filling every inch of the room with light. About twenty people were scattered around, talking quietly. The acoustics of the hall made them hard to hear, but Sonder and I were up on the stage and anything we said would be amplified.

But I’d been waiting nearly an hour and was getting restless. “Do these things always take this long?” I whispered.

“Alex, can’t you please be quiet?” Sonder pleaded. He was wearing brown-and-cream ceremonial robes. “You’re not supposed to talk till the ceremony starts.”

I thought about asking why but decided it wasn’t really fair. At least the outfit Arachne had made for me was as comfortable as ever. She’d gone for a black design with slashes of midnight blue, and while it made me feel like a giant bat, I had to admit it looked good. Off to one side, Talisid was speaking quietly with Ilmarin. Talisid had agreed to preside and find a second, and had arranged the venue too. Before I could open my mouth again, the doors at the far end swung open and two people walked in.

The girl on the right looked twenty or so, with black shoulder-length hair and odd reddish-brown eyes. We’d met only once, though I’d gotten a good feeling from her; she had a gentle manner I found appealing. Sonder had known her through some of his old classes. Her name was Anne.

Luna walked a little behind and to the side. Her robe was done to Council standards but Arachne had somehow made it look better than any apprentice robe ought to. It was pure white with green highlights that set off Luna’s pale skin, and the conversation died away as heads turned to watch the girls. Anne led Luna up the steps and the room fell silent as Talisid stepped forward. “Who comes before us?”

Anne and Luna came to a stop. “One who seeks knowledge,” Anne said in a soft voice.

“How does she approach?”

“In darkness, unknowing of the Light; in humility, knowing of her ignorance; and in faith, that she might become what she is not.”

“Then let her step forward.”

Luna did so and Anne moved to one side. “Approach and state your name,” Talisid said.

“Luna Mancuso,” Luna said. I knew she must be nervous but her voice was steady.

“Luna Mancuso,” Talisid said. “Do you swear before this Council to accept the guidance of a master? Do you swear to serve without doubt, to obey without question, and to endure without surrender? And do you swear to serve your master, and through him the Council and the Light, in all ways and in all things until such day that you may take your place among us as a journeyman mage?”

“I do so swear,” Luna said. Amazingly, she didn’t choke on the obey part.

“Then I ask of this Council,” Talisid said. “Is there one among us willing to take on this charge?”

That was my cue. “I am willing,” I said, stepping forward.

“And what do you extend?”

“To teach her in lore and magic; to protect her from others and herself; to aid and sustain her whatever may come; and to take responsibility for her deeds for good or ill.”

“The offer of Mage Verus is accepted,” Talisid said. “I stand witness.”

“I stand witness,” Ilmarin said.

“Then it is agreed,” Talisid said. “This Council is adjourned.”

With the ceremony done, the atmosphere in the hall relaxed. Luna was approached by other mages and before long she was at the centre of a loose crowd of people. “I didn’t expect this many,” I said.

“It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise,” Talisid said. We were standing a little way to the side, watching from a distance, each of us holding a glass of wine. “You’re acquiring something of a reputation.”

“Really?”

“I didn’t say it was a good reputation,” Talisid said dryly. “You’re now suspected of having a hand in the disappearance of two separate Light mages. With good reason, I might add.”

“I could say they started it.”

“Somehow I don’t think that would help very much.”

Luna was talking with Ilmarin, with Sonder hovering nearby. The silver mist of Luna’s curse was more tightly concentrated than before, surrounding Luna in a radius of one arm’s length rather than two. The practice I’d made her put in seemed to have paid off. “They seem more interested in her, anyway.”

“Verus,” Talisid said. “It’s nothing to do with interest. Belthas had a well-deserved reputation as one of the most dangerous battle-mages in the country. That you had a disagreement with him is not a secret. People are expecting him to finish what he started. When he doesn’t return …”

I watched the crowd, not answering. “Ah, I’m sorry,” Talisid said. “Let me correct myself. If he doesn’t return … then a great many people are going to become very interested in you.”

“Can’t wait.”

“I expect some will be quite impressed,” Talisid said. “Possibly not for the reasons you’d like. But either way, you’re going to be quite famous. And your apprentice as well.”

I looked at Talisid sharply. He met my gaze, eyes calm. “You should probably spend some time considering the subject. I suspect that in the next-oh, let’s say two months or so-you’ll be approached by quite a few people with propositions for you. If I were you, I’d think carefully about how to respond.”

“And what about you, Talisid?” I said. “What do you get out of all this?”

Talisid looked back at me for a second, then smiled slightly. “Perhaps some day I’ll be able to tell you. Good night, Verus.”

I watched Talisid go.

It took the best part of an hour before Luna and Sonder could disengage themselves and make their way over to me. As Luna got out of range of the other mages, I saw her slump a little. “Whew,” Luna said as she reached me. “Alex, can you back off? This is hard.”

“I saw,” I said, keeping a safe distance. As Luna relaxed her control, the silver mist of her curse spread out again to its usual range. “Good job.”

“You thought I’d get the lines wrong, didn’t you?”

“I was starting to wonder if you’d even show up.”

“You’d be slow too if you had to do your clothes and hair without anyone else touching them.”

“Was everything okay with Anne?” Sonder asked.

Luna shook her head. “It was fine. She didn’t even ask why.” She gave me a half smile. “Didn’t invite Cinder?”

I laughed. Cinder had been as good as his word back on that night. Despite his injuries he’d brought Sonder and Luna back to London after I’d gone and even dropped them off at my shop. Then he’d taken Rachel with him, still unconscious, and vanished into the darkness. “Is it going to be okay?” Sonder said seriously. “I mean, none of the others are going to be coming after us, right?”

I shook my head. “Belthas is gone. His men don’t have any reason to come for us anymore. Same goes for Meredith. She was only in it for herself.”

“What about Levistus?” Luna said quietly.

Sonder glanced around, nervous, but no one was within earshot. The gathering was starting to break up, mages strolling towards the doors. “He was the one behind Belthas, right?” Luna said. “I mean, this is twice we’ve messed up his plans. He’s not going to be happy, is he?”

I nodded. “We can’t do anything about him. Not directly.” I smiled slightly. “But look on the bright side. Every time he’s taken a shot at us, it’s turned out badly for him. Maybe he’ll think twice before trying it again.”

Sonder looked around to see that the hall was all but empty. “Should we …?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Let’s not keep her waiting.”

We travelled across London and onto the darkness of the Heath. A particularly stupid pair of muggers tried to squeeze some money out of us. That didn’t work out so well for them. After the brief interlude, we made our way to Arachne’s lair.

Walking back into Arachne’s cavern felt like coming home. The walls were covered with colours again, hangings and tapestries and rugs making a background of red and green and blue, while the furniture was as piled with clothes as it had ever been. The chairs and couches damaged in the attack had been replaced, and the blast marks on the floor had been cleaned away. Only in the side tunnel to the storerooms was there any sign of violence: Although the rubble had been cleared, there was a blackened gash in the roof where Garrick’s mines had brought it down.

It was the first time I’d been back inside. The dragon had given me another tooth-but one that had worked differently. When I used it on Arachne, she’d been transported, but I hadn’t. There’d been no way for me to know where she’d gone or if she was even alive. I’d had no choice but to leave, and when I next returned, the entrance to her lair had been sealed. I’d managed to talk to Arachne only once since then and I hadn’t seen her. I hoped she was all right.

The three of us moved a little way inside and then stopped. “Arachne?” Luna called. “Are you there?”

There was a moment’s silence-and then with a rustle, Arachne appeared from the tunnel, cobalt-blue highlights shining off her black body. “Luna, Alex!” Arachne called. “There you are! And who’s this?”

“Um, I’m Sonder.” Sonder gave an awkward little bow. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Of course, Alex has told me about everything you’ve done. And Luna, I hear I should be congratulating you?”

We clustered around Arachne and I reached out to stroke one of her legs. She looked as healthy and well as she’d ever been and I found myself smiling. Somehow, it felt as though everything was right again.

We stayed late that night. Arachne’s a charming host once you get over her appearance and it didn’t take her any time at all to put Sonder at his ease. It was the first time all of us had been in one place and able to relax and I’d forgotten how nice it felt. Luna was the focus of the evening, wanting to know everything she could about what being an apprentice would be like, and both Sonder and Arachne had a lot to tell her. Arachne’s seen whole generations of apprentices grow up and Sonder himself had only been a journeyman for less than a year. Oddly, I had almost as much to learn as Luna. I’d never seen much of the Light mage’s apprenticeship system-and the apprenticeship system I had seen was one that I was absolutely not going to inflict upon her. Luna wasn’t the only one who was going to need to learn some new tricks.

It was after midnight when Sonder started yawning, with Luna following a little way behind. After the third set of yawns I spoke up. “All right, kids. Time for bed.”

“Really?” Sonder said. He sounded disappointed; he’d been in the middle of quizzing Arachne about some obscure historical period I’d barely heard of.

“In a bit,” Luna said.

“No,” I said firmly. “We’re meeting Talisid to pick up your materials tomorrow morning. Off with you.”

Luna gave me a quick look, then got to her feet. “Thanks, Arachne.”

“You’re welcome, dear. Congratulations again.”

“Alex?” Sonder said. “You’re not coming?”

“I’ve got a few things to finish up. You and Luna go back together, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Good-bye,” Luna said to Arachne. “Night, Alex.”

The two of them walked away down the corridor. I leant back on the couch, listening to their footsteps as they faded away, waiting until I heard the distant rumble of the entrance opening and then closing again.

“She acts more like it now,” Arachne said.

I smiled. “Glad to hear it.”

“It’s good you worked things out.”

I glanced around the walls. “You did a good job cleaning the place up.” My eyes wandered to the jagged roof of the side tunnel. “How many bodies were there?”

“Three.” Arachne’s tone of voice suggested it was an ordinary question.

“You didn’t find a fourth?” I nodded at the tunnel. “Under the rubble down there?”

“No. Why?”

“Just wondering.” So no trace of Garrick, and if Arachne hadn’t found his body, I was pretty sure he wasn’t dead. Probably he’d set up an escape route ahead of time. He’d always struck me as the type to plan ahead. “You’re okay?”

“Perfectly fine. It took me a little while to recover but that focus didn’t do any permanent damage.” Arachne paused. “Of course, if the ritual had been completed …”

“I know.”

“Thank you.”

I looked up in surprise. Arachne was looming over me, her legs on either side of the couch. Her presence was at odds with the sound of her voice. “I know how much danger you put yourself in for me.”

“Uh … that’s okay.” I couldn’t help but feel that the whole thing had been partly my fault. After all, the way Belthas had managed to break in had been through Luna and Martin …

“No,” Arachne looked down at me with her eight eyes. “Alex, I’ve lived a long time. A very long time. I’ve seen many mages and there have been some I could trust as much as you. But not many. I’ve never known why some mages are loyal to creatures like me when other mages see us as monsters, but I’ve learnt to know it when I see it. I see it in you and I’m grateful. If you ever need my help, you’ll have it.”

I didn’t know what to say. “Thank you,” I said at last, and rested a hand on one of Arachne’s legs. I can’t really read Arachne’s expressions but I think if she could, she would have smiled.

We talked a while, about old times and new, remembering past stories and wondering about what was yet to come. Finally I looked into the future and sighed. “Well, I’d better go take care of something.”

Arachne gave me her equivalent of a nod. “I under-stand.”

I rose and stretched, then paused. “Arachne? I know you don’t like talking about yourself-but I’d like to know. Why did that dragon help us?”

Arachne was quiet for a little while before speaking. “A creator can be as a mother.”

I looked at her, puzzled.

“You would recognise her name.” Oddly, Arachne sounded as if she were smiling. “I expect you’ll work it out some day.”

I thought about it as I made the journey back up the tunnel, and as I did, something else occurred to me. When the dragon had given me the tooth, I’d assumed it was meant for Arachne. I’d thought that by using it against Belthas I was going against the dragon’s plan, and I’d wondered if the dragon might not be very happy about it.

But now I thought about it, the dragon had never actually said who I was supposed to use it on.

I stepped out into the cool night air and walked up the slope of the ravine as the entrance closed behind me with a faint rumble. There’s an old tree trunk near the ravine, one that fell many years ago. The park rangers cleaned it up and tidied away the dead branches but left the log where it was, and I sat down on it and looked up at the sky. It was a clear night, and the autumn stars shone down through the fuzz of the city lights, the Square of Pegasus high to the southwest while Orion rose in the east. It wasn’t silent-even on the Heath, London’s never really silent-but it was as quiet as it gets. The only sounds were the faint murmur of nighttime traffic and the wind in the leaves.

I waited.

I heard him before I saw him: dragging footsteps mixed with the crunch of undergrowth. He fell once on his way up the hill, lying still for a moment before pulling himself to his feet. I waited for him to get close enough, then when he was within twenty feet I switched on my torch, keeping it pointed down and away.

The figure standing before me was a wreck. The clothes were ripped, dirty, and threadbare. The once-blond hair had been rained on and dirtied until it was a brownish mess, and the eyes blinked, squinting in the light. He looked like he’d walked the whole way from Scotland. Maybe he had.

It took a good few seconds before a light of recognition came on in those eyes. “You.”

I looked back at him steadily. “Hello, Martin.”

Martin just stared at me.

“I was expecting you sooner,” I said when Martin didn’t speak. “I guess you didn’t have anyone to give you a lift.”

“You,” Martin said again. His voice shook. “You’ve got it. Why? I’ve seen it, all of them, all of it, should be killing you, you’re just there, you’re sitting there, you’re …”

“You can’t learn to be a mage in a day, Martin.”

“Couldn’t be, I saw it, I had it.” Martin shook his head, distracted. “Wrong. Shouldn’t be dark, should …” He trailed off, muttering to himself.

“You know,” I said after a moment, “I spent a long time trying to figure out what to do when you made it here. And the funny thing? I realised I didn’t actually want you dead. Kind of weird. I mean, you nearly got us all killed and it’s not like I’m all that great at being forgiving.”

Martin glanced at me, then shook his head and looked away, muttering “not that, not that” under his breath. “I don’t know,” I said. “I guess I could say you can’t do us much damage anymore but that’s not really true, is it? Maybe it’s because of Luna. I think she actually loved you. God knows that was a bad enough mistake but I don’t really like the idea of her first relationship in however long ending like this.” I let out a breath. “Or maybe it’s just that I’ve seen enough people die lately.”

Martin didn’t react at Luna’s name. “So I’ll tell you the truth,” I said. “Just like that day you came into my shop. Stop using the monkey’s paw. Drop it, leave it, whatever. If you do, I promise you’ll live. I don’t know how much of your mind you’ll get back, but you’ll have a chance.”

Martin stared through me, then laughed, a high sound that made my hairs rise. “Tricking, tricking …” His eyes narrowed and he snarled. “Liar! Liar, liar, liar! You did it, it was you! Should have worked, all of it, your fault, your fault!” Martin raised his right hand. His fingers were grubby and caked with dirt but the monkey’s paw was untouched, pale in the dim light. “One more wish, you know, don’t you? Been waiting, waiting …”

“Martin,” I said. “Trust me. You don’t want to do that.”

Martin laughed again, his voice wild. “Coward liar, coward liar … I know what it does, you couldn’t, too scared! Why not, hm? All this, anyone would use it, crazy not to use it …” A fine tremor was going up his arm as he held the monkey’s paw, levelled at me like a knife. “I know. You couldn’t see.”

I sighed. “You know something, Martin? People like you-Belthas, Meredith, all of you-you make it really hard to be a good person. I just attacked a Light sanctum and killed pretty near everyone inside. I worked with one Dark mage and rescued another.” I stared into the darkness. “All those years ago, I ran away from Richard … but if he could see me now, would he really be all that upset?” I looked at Martin. “And then I look at you. And I wonder how big a deal it would really be if I went the rest of the way.”

“You’re scared, I know you are.” The glow of the torch shone back from Martin’s manic eyes. “No more. All of it, I lost it, you too.” He aimed the monkey’s paw straight at me. “I wish. I wish for you to die!”

I looked back at Martin in silence.

Martin held my gaze for a moment, then puzzlement crossed his face. He looked at the monkey’s paw, shook it. “Die. Supposed to be dead, what’s wrong, why not?”

I rose, stepped to one side, not taking my eyes off Martin. He brandished the monkey’s paw at me. “Die. Die!” He snarled in rage. “Why not? Why isn’t it working?”

“It’s working,” I said quietly. I could feel a surge of magic building from inside the item, slow but inexorable, like a rolling wave. I began backing away along the ridge. Martin didn’t seem to notice; he stood in the edge of the cone of light from the torch, shaking the monkey’s paw. “No, no, no. Not now, not now. Work! Have to work!” He stared down at it. “You promised. Do it. Come and do it.” The monkey’s paw sat silently and Martin’s voice rose to a scream. “Come out! COME OUT!”

Something came out.

I can’t remember what it looked like. It’s not that I didn’t see it; I did. But when I try to remember, all I get is a blank. I don’t think it was the light. I think my mind got one glimpse and shut out the rest, like tripping a circuit breaker. I don’t know why and I don’t want to. Even my curiosity has its limits.

I ran. Behind me I heard Martin start to shriek, a high, horrible sound with no trace of sanity. I ran down the slope as fast as I could, every trace of my attention on the two or three seconds of footsteps ahead of me as the shrieking continued. Cool air whistled around me, the grass swishing under my feet. The shrieks rose in pitch and intensity, then abruptly cut off. The echoes rolled out over the Heath, fading into silence.

I kept running and didn’t look back. I reached the edge of the Heath before collapsing against a tree, my lungs on fire and my legs shaking. Only then did I dare to look behind me. The Heath stretched out into the night, dark and empty.

I sucked in a deep breath and started running again.

It was after three A.M. when I got home. The new window gleamed orange in the streetlights as I unlocked my front door with shaking hands. Once I was inside with the door closed behind me, I felt a little better. I went upstairs, stripped off my clothes, and took a shower.

I stayed under the hot water for a long time, letting the water wash away the sweat and the cold. Once I was warm again I towelled myself dry and went to my bedroom. I got halfway across the room and stopped.

The monkey’s paw was resting on my bed. The cylinder was open just a crack, the inner tube pulled out half an inch but not quite enough to reveal what might be inside. I stood looking at it for a long time. “So you’ve come back,” I said at last.

The monkey’s paw sat quietly. Carefully I picked it up, and carefully I walked out of my bedroom, being very sure not to jar the cylinder and slide it open. I opened the door to my safe room and placed the monkey’s paw on an empty space of table, well away from everything else. I looked down at it, then walked out, switching off the light.

Behind me, in the darkness, the monkey’s paw snapped shut with a faint click.