The Serpent's Shadow

emerald set in a wide silver band; it had belonged to his grandfather, and had been passed down to the first male who demonstrated Water Magery in each generation since the Roman-British times, for the Almsleys were a very old family. There were similar rings for Fire, Air, and Earth Masters, kept in a locked casket by Almsley's grandmother. What the female Elemental Masters of the Almsley line received was something Almsley had never disclosed to his 'Twin,' but since Grandmama was a Water Master in her own right, there were, presumably, provisions made for them as well. The Almsleys were not only an old family, they were perforce unusually egalitarian.

'Is this the last?' Alderscroft rumbled to Owlswick, who was ticking off names on a list as they all came in.

'Yes, my lord,' Owlswick replied, setting pen and list down on the table before him. 'The others are all too far away to be of any service for tonight, and I have seen to it that they shall be informed of the details of the current situation. God forbid—but it may creep beyond London.'

'What situation, my lord?' asked Reggie Fenyx, somehow managing to combine a deferential manner with a bold and unshrinking gaze. Peter had the feeling that Reggie was destined, not for the role of a scholar, but for the military. No matter what his father thinks, that one isn't going to stay at Oxford past attaining his degree.

'Death!' replied a sepulchral voice, in tones of uttermost gloom, startling Peter, and many others as well. 'Death Invisible stalks the streets of London!'

It was not Lord Alderscroft who answered, but Harold Fotheringay, who was, on occasion, given to over- dramatization. Alderscroft shot him a look of annoyance, but he did not contradict the younger man. Instead, he merely added, 'Something of the sort, at any rate. Please take your seats, gentlemen, and I will tell you all we know.'

'I found the first one,' Fotheringay moaned to no one in particular, as they took their seats. 'My man of business. Horrible! Horrible!' Not to belittle Foth-eringay's distress, he really did look deeply shaken; beneath the heavy mustache, his lips were pale, as was his complexion, there were dark circles under his eyes, and his hands trembled as he clasped them together on the table. Whatever he's done in the past, he's not overdramatizing now. What he saw has him paralyzed with fear.

'And it is to Lord Fotheringay's credit that he recognized at once the signs of a magical attack,' Alderscroft rumbled. 'If he had not, we would not yet be aware that there was anything amiss at all, for there has been no sign of movement among our enemies, and none of the victims are themselves mages.'

What? Peter was as much taken by surprise as most of the rest of the Council. Mages don't kill ordinary people by magic!

The details came quickly. 'Fotheringay went to pay a call on his man of business today, very early. The man was not yet down for breakfast, which was something of a surprise—' Alderscroft began.

'It was impossible,' Fotheringay interrupted. 'Man was always up at dawn.' He shook his head, and Peter saw drops of perspiration on his forehead. 'Sent the maid up. Knew there was something wrong. Man was always up at dawn.' He grew paler as he continued the story. 'Demned fool woman let out a shriek; I went running up. Demned fool useless woman—standing there screaming—ran off for the police before I could stop her.'

He put his head down on the table, unable to go on for the moment.

'Fotheringay sent for me, of course,' Lord Alderscroft continued. 'I've managed the situation, which could have been very badly mishandled. What Fotheringay uncovered was the corpse of his man, with all the marks of asphyxiation on him. I think I need not go into details.'

'Man looked like he'd been squeezed to death!' Fotheringay blurted, raising his head again, his blank eyes looking, not over the table, but into the recent past. 'Never seen anything like it—demme if I have!' He shuddered violently. 'Didn't have to check; the stink of power was all over him, but nothing like ours!' He squeezed his eyes shut again, much to Peter's relief. That blank stare was nothing less than unnerving.

'Indeed. And, might I add, nothing at all like that Hindu woman you investigated for us, Scott, though it definitely is Indian,' Alderscroft continued, unaware that his words had sent a chill down Peter's back. 'This was my analysis, and it was confirmed by the one thing that linked all the other victims—and we have identified four, who all perished in the same way last night. All of the victims had served in India. The first victim we found had done so in a purely civilian capacity, two of the others in the Army, the last was born and raised to adulthood in the Raj and only recently returned home when his father died. Quite a young man, actually,' Alderscroft added, meditatively. 'It was that which confirmed to us that we were dealing with an extraordinary force. One old man, even three old men, could perish in the night of—say—

magically induced apoplexy. That requires precision, but not a great deal of power. This, however—'

'Squeezed to death!' Fotheringay repeated, thoroughly unnerved. He's going to be good for nothing for a while, Peter decided.

Peter was just as unnerved as Fotheringay, though for different reasons than the others of the Council. Maya had not yet told him what it was she had been protecting herself from with those cobbled-together shields. Indeed, she had not even admitted to him that she was hiding herself.