she needed was already packed, but she wanted to report in before returning to the clearing for the final time. She made her way deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of halls and doorways. She passed her own quarters without a glance, and at last the reached the inner sanctum — the room where Hector had come for his audience.
The room was empty, but there were more beaded curtains at the back, and Kim headed for them without hesitation. She brushed through and into a final hallway. It branched right and left. She turned in a circle twice, spat on her hand and pressed it to her forehead. She closed her eyes and turned again. When she opened her eyes once more, she faced the left fork and — again — she plunged ahead without hesitation. A moment later she came to a wooden door. She knocked lightly and waited.
'Enter,' Anya called.
Kim pressed the door open and stepped inside.
'It is ready?' Anya asked. She was seated before a small vanity. It wasn't covered with makeup, or jewelry, but with small canisters, vials, and tubes. There were three small piles of powder on the surface before Anya, and she did not look up from her work. She held a razor blade, and with it she chopped the powders finer, and finer.
'I have one final trip to make. When you arrive, all will be in readiness.'
'Hector?' Anya asked.
'There has been no sign of him, but it is still very early. He will come. They will all come. It will be glorious.'
Anya nodded; it was a very slight movement. Her dark hair glistened in the dim light of a single bulb burning over the vanity. The rest of the room dripped with dark shadows. It was impossible to tell where the room ended — or if it ended. The sensation was like that of standing in a deep, empty cavern.
'I will be there shortly after the sun sets. Do not let me down.'
Kim turned without a word. There was no purpose to a response. She would succeed, or she would not. Talking about it changed nothing, and promises were like etching paths to failure for the mind to walk. She knew what had to be done.
She closed the door behind herself, crossed back to the main passageway, and into the shop. She picked up the last case of supplies, nodded to the two guards, and they followed her out. As they passed, one of them flipped the sign on the window to 'Cerrado'.
The darkness fell suddenly and completely. Kim had returned to the small room in the center of the yard and stored the last of the supplies. She'd checked the braziers, and when she found them loaded to her satisfaction, she moved on to the lanterns, and the guard posts. She stationed men at alternating positions, leaving the rest to be filled by Hector's men. Just before the last of the daylight dropped from the world, Anya entered the circle. She moved slowly, flanked on either side by one of the tall, dark, bald guardians. Another walked behind her, and when she entered, he turned at the door, just as those who'd followed Kim had done earlier that day, barring the way to any who might follow.
Anya circled the clearing slowly. As Kim had done, she checked the braziers. She stepped up to the fire pit and traced a long, dark-painted fingernail over the symbols and letters painted there. At last, she came to where Kim stood watching, turned back to the center, and nodded.
'You have done well. Place the circle. Leave it open here,' she waved at the ground before the small room, 'and at the entrance. Once Hector and his men are in, seal that side. When we enter, we will close the circle and begin.'
'As you wish,' Kim said. She turned away.
To the right of the doorway, there was a canvas pouch. She raised it from the nail where it hung, opened the flap on top, and stepped into the clearing. There was a furrow etched in the ground, circling the fire. She started slowly, dribbling the white powder from the pouch into the cut in the earth. It glimmered in the dim light of the lamps. She muttered to herself as she moved down the line, and her feet moved in an odd, shuffling dance. Her concentration was absolute.
Anya watched as Kim worked. She took note of the grace of the girl's movements, and the surety and confidence of her actions. It was good. There would be no mistakes. She turned with a flourish and disappeared into the small room, out of site. She would not exit that room until all of the others had arrived and were in place. Soon, it would begin.
Chapter Thirteen
After a quick stop at Donovan's place, where he restocked the many pockets of his jacket and fed Cleo, they hurried back to Amethyst's place. She hadn't said what it was that she wanted to get, but she'd made it clear that in the face of what they were up against, it was going to be important. Donovan settled onto a heavy leather chair in her den, and she brought in a bottle of wine and two glasses.
'This is going to take a quick explanation,' she said. 'It's not the sort of thing I usually deal with, but when I heard it was available, I couldn't resist. If I was one of those people that believed nothing happens without a reason, I'd have to think it was some odd twist of fate.'
'I've always believed we make our own fate,' Donovan said. 'Of course, it's about the time I say something like that when I get a strange sign, or find just the right old manuscript. Sometimes you can almost feel something — or someone — watching over you.'
'It's exactly like that.'
Amethyst filled their glasses and sat the bottle on the table. Before she took her seat she crossed the room to a bookshelf. Where Donovan's shelves were cluttered and overflowing, hers were ordered and neat. She pulled out a dark book with gold gilt lettering on the spine, reached around behind it, and tugged on a latch. The base of the shelves appeared to be a solid wooden cabinet, but as the latch released, the front dropped gently down to reveal a wide drawer.
She opened the drawer, removed a dark leather bag, and then slid the drawer shut. She closed the cabinet and returned the book to its place. Donovan smiled as he watched her. He knew she must cringe every time she entered his den, and he was always afraid she'd snap and start arranging and organizing things. If she did he might lose the tenuous hold he still had on his chaos.
When she'd returned to her seat, she laid the bag on the coffee table between them. Donovan reached for it, but she laid her hand on his to stop him.
'Let me tell you about it first,' she said.
Donovan leaned back and reached for his wine.
'It's not a long story,' she said. 'It is strange though. Do you remember a guy named Chance?'
'Of course,' Donovan said. 'I've bought a lot of things from him. He's not always around — seems to travel a lot. It's always worth talking to him. I didn't know he was around.'
'I think he only lets you know if he has something that might interest you. This time he called me, and even he didn't seem certain I'd want what he had. Like I said, it's not my usual thing. My collection is among the most complete in the world — I have minerals, matched sets of crystals, gemstones, elements, and just about every alchemical text still in existence. Those I don't have, I can access.'
She smiled at him then, and he laughed. 'That you can,' he said.
'What Chance brought in is dark. I'd heard of these things, but never actually seen one, and really never had the desire. He had an order for several, but when the deal was done he had two left over. He said he could probably have sold them to the first buyer if he'd mentioned it, but he was already a little leery of that deal, and just wanted to get away as quickly as possible and in one piece. He also didn't like the idea of them falling into the wrong hands, or just disappearing into the streets.
'That left him with two, and he thought of me. He's been traveling again — Haiti this time. You might recall that he isn't really the talkative type. He told me very little of where he acquired these items; he told me their use, and he told me his price. I've never doubted the quality of his stock. Still, at first I wasn't sure I'd take them. I told him to bring them around, and we'd see.'
'Apparently they were more interesting than you initially thought?' Donovan asked. He nodded at the bag on
