To each and every one of you, welcome.” Mathers stood upon the dais, arms thrown wide to the mass of robed figures circling us. Elaine and I stood on either side of him, our heads bowed and hoods hiding our faces.
I opened my Sight as I studied the hooded figures around us but found nothing. Yet.
Mathers turned toward the altar and raised the giant goblet over his head, presenting it to the crowd. “We gather on this, the longest night of the year. Let us drink to all that has occurred, and that yet to come.” He drank and handed the goblet to me.
With ritual solemnity, I drank, breathing a sigh of relief when I tasted nothing untoward. I’d instructed Mathers not to lace the wine and appreciated that he’d heeded my words.
I crossed the dais to Elaine and held the goblet for her to drink.
She looked up, and I caught a glimpse of her face beneath her cowl. Determination blazed in her eyes. She took little more than a sip before I swept off the dais toward the closest member of the Order. They reached for the goblet and their hood pulled back just a bit.
Magic burned along my skin and a grayish hue drifted through the room like pipe smoke.
I fought my impulse to jump, to keep my expression neutral. It was a weak spell, though expertly cast, and it seemed to come from directly over me, giving me no real indication of its caster location.
Did you feel that? I thought to Vex and felt him nod. Could you tell who cast it?
I could not, Vex said, frustrated.
At least we know he came. Now, to find him.
Stay vigilant, Aleister.
The robed practitioner in front of me drank, and though their hood pulled back, I saw nothing but darkness where their face should be. No shadow should stop my Sight this close, but no matter how hard I focused, I couldn’t see past the inky black.
I continued to the second member and though this one’s hood fell back as they drank as well, shadow obscured their face as well. Frustration burned along my skin, and I gritted my teeth to keep from cursing. Thompson knew we searched for him, and a few whispered words kept us at bay. Damn him to hell!
Following the ritual, I walked around the circle, one by one, shadows clinging to each face in the same way. The goblet empty, I ascended the dais once more. Mathers met my gaze. I shook my head ever so slightly. His face twitched, but he showed no other reaction.
Elaine took up the censer and lit the incense with one of the candles as I resumed my place at Mathers’s left. She consecrated herself, Mathers, and finally me. The same inky blackness coated the inside of her cowl as well, hiding her face from me. She coated me in smoke, then walked to the first of the circled Order.
Perhaps she can find him, Vex said.
What makes you think she can find him when I couldn’t?
Thompson saw you during the initiation and recognized you as the one who countered his magic. His spell may target you specifically, Vex said
A possibility I hadn’t considered. Meaning only I can’t see under their hoods.
Precisely. If he did not consider her in his plans, she might see through his spelling, Vex said.
I hoped he was right.
All our attention centered on Elaine now.
She continued her consecrations. Eventually, she passed behind the altar and out of sight. I remained still, though I strained my ears, listening for anything that indicated she’d found our quarry. I didn’t dare gather will for fear of Thompson’s retaliation. Mistakes would allow him to escape once more.
From behind me, Elaine exclaimed, “Found you.”
16
The Spider
I spun, gathering will and kindling it to counter the spell of darkness. Shadows swept aside, and suddenly, I stared at the very man I hoped to see.
Dover Thompson.
The censer clattered across the floor as Elaine dropped it. A long-bladed knife appeared in her hand, and she drove it toward Thompson’s belly.
He cried out in fear, scrambling back and falling.
Her blade missed its mark and opened his forearm.
Shrieks and bellows of terror reverberated through the temple. The explosion of voices deafened me after the silence of the ritual. Members of the Order scattered, with some streaking for the door, others screaming for someone to tell them what was happening. As they did, the circle broke.
“Never fear! This has all been planned!” Mathers shouted over the din to little effect as he tried to herd the crush of bodies away from Elaine and Thompson.
I scrambled around the altar, reaching deep for the first gate of power. I pushed will into it, and it slammed open, energy surging through me.
Elaine stabbed at Thompson again. He fell, only barely missing the bite of her blade. On hands and knees, he tried to scurry away. Elaine didn’t let him. She pounced like a leopard, driving her knee into his back. Breath whooshed from his lungs.
She grabbed a handful of hair and lifted his head, placing her blade beneath her chin. “It’s over, Thompson,” she hissed.
Thompson’s eyes met mine, and I saw fear.
And confusion.
“Wait,” I yelled as I reached them. “Don’t kill him.”
“Why?” Elaine said, bewildered.
“Because he has no idea why this is happening.” To Thompson I asked, “Do you?”
“Please. I’ll give you whatever you want. Just don’t kill me,” he pleaded, tears leaking from his eyes.
Elaine’s eyebrows rose, and she let the man go. When the blade left his throat, he sobbed in earnest, and a pang of guilt shot through me.
“If Thompson isn’t our rogue, then who is?” Elaine said.
Aleister, behind you! Vex shouted before I could answer.
I spun and shouted “Protego!” An opaque, azure shield burst into existence before me. An unknown spell rattled against it and fizzled.
He kindles another spell!
I leapt to Elaine’s side and surrounded us with warding. Magic snapped through
