CHAPTER Thirteen
It had been barely any time since I’d been within the safe warmth of the bookshop, but it felt as if the world had been tipped upside down in the intervening minutes. The door jangled its familiar tune as I pushed it open. I looked at it lying open for a moment, not really in an entirely conscious fashion, and then slammed it shut with such force behind me that the glass inlaid into the centre cracked.
Slim came flapping around but, for once, kept his mouth shut and his expression serious. He watched me carefully, I guessed in case I decided to try setting the interior alight or something like that. Eventually, I spoke.
“Sorry.”
He nodded, then turned around and flapped back to the counter where he busied himself with the till. “I always thought a glass door was a fecking stupid idea with you around anyway.”
I smiled faintly.
“Mack Attack? I’m guessing the sound of destruction means that’s you,” Alex called out from behind one of the shelves, then craning his head around, he beckoned me over. “We’ve got something.”
I walked around to join him, noting once I’d rounded the corner that both he and Aubrey were sat cross-legged on the floor with several books and an open laptop strewn around them. I had to admit that I was surprised. They’d only communicated by phone before, and Alex had most definitely not been a fan of the ex-vamp’s. Perhaps they were bonding over the excitement of research. It didn’t seem likely. Then I spotted two empty tea-cups on the floor next to them. Interesting. Had Mrs. Alcoon been giving the pair of them some kind of ‘friendly’ herb to drink? I wouldn’t put it beyond her.
“So,” Alex said, “we know where the mine is, and that it’s an entirely human run organisation. It would be easier if we could find some Otherworld connections which we could put to use, because it’s by far the closest mine to travel to, but no such luck. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t introduce some Otherworldly action of the sort that will help them rather than hinder them.”
“How so?”
Aubrey tapped at the screen on the computer. “The Karzelek.”
I must have looked blank because Alex jumped in to explain. “A breed of dwarves. They live in mines and act as guardians of gems, precious metals, that kind of thing. Traditionally, the Karzelek will protect miners and help them locate the most bountiful veins of ore. This mine doesn’t have one. We find one Karzelek to help us out, and we’re gold.”
Aubrey’s eyes were shining. “You see the company is looking for some mining experts to help them make sure they’ve completely plumbed the depths of this area.”
“And I’ve already contacted them and offered our services.” Alex beamed. “We use a Karzelek to find the best palladium ore in the entire mine and ask for a small amount of it as payment in return.”
Aubrey jerked his head at the mage. “No-one will suspect anything.”
“We have an appointment with the mine’s manager dude at one o’clock tomorrow,” said Alex. “I’m not much good with setting up portals, but I reckon I can probably manage it. We’ll be there with hours to spare. And be back here with all the palladium we need by nightfall tomorrow.”
Alex and Aubrey grinned at each other. The pair of them together were like some bizarre tagteam. Mrs. Alcoon, with concern written all over her face, bustled over and handed me another cup of tea. To reassure her, and make my life as simple as possible, I took the cup and murmured my thanks. I held my breath in the hope of avoiding the smell and, as a result, the taste of the drink, and took a large gulp. It didn’t really help. I turned my attention back to Laurel and Hardy.
“Yeah, that’s a great plan,” I said slowly.
Alex looked at his new friend. “Surf’s up!” he bellowed out, and held up his hand for a high five. Unfortunately for him, it was clearly a gesture that Aubrey was unfamiliar with because when he tentatively raised his own palm up, and Alex slapped it, there was a look of hurt indignation on the ex-vamp’s face.
“What did you do that for?” he whined, snatching his hand away. “I’m human now, you know, you can’t just go around attacking me for no reason.”
Alex put his arm around his shoulder. “Dude,” he said, shaking his head, “there is so much about the real world that I need to teach you.”
I dreaded to think. Forcing their attention back to me, I cleared my throat. “There is just one thing. Just one teeny tiny fly in the ointment.”
The pair of them just looked at me.
I sighed. “Where the f*ck do we find a Karzelek between now and 1pm tomorrow and, even if we do, how do we persuade them to work with us?”
Simultaneously, their faces dropped. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.”
“It can’t be that hard,” blustered Aubrey.
“Sure,” I said sarcastically. “Mythological mining dwarves who are out of work are probably hanging around all over the place.”
They just stared at me. I sighed. “This isn’t going to work. I’ll just have to get some money from the Summer Queen and the Brethren so we can pay for the sodding palladium.”
“You can’t!” protested Alex. “It’ll put the Ministry in too weak a position.”
“And how weak a position will we all be in if Endor shows up again and decides that slaughtering one were-bear just isn’t enough to satisfy him? I’m sorry if the Arch-Mage’s ego is going to get a little bruised, but enough is enough. The Ministry will just have to suck it up.”
“Mack, please,” pleaded Alex. “We need to at least try. There’s bound to be some Otherworld hangout in Moscow where we can find a Karzelek. You know how many creatures there are mooching around London. There must be that many in Russia too.”
I started to shake my head.
“Cherniy Volk.”
I twisted around and looked at Slim, who’d decided to suddenly enter the fray.
“Eh?”
“Cherniy Volk,” he repeated. “It’s a bar in Presny, in Moscow. If you’re looking for someone or looking to stay hidden, that’s the place to be.”
Alex crowed. “See! We go there and see if we can find a Karzelek.”
We were just leaving too much to chance. “I don’t see how it can work.”
“Give us one night, Mack Attack,” he pleaded. “Since when were you the type to shy away from a challenge?”
I flicked a glance at Slim. “How do you know this place?”
He shrugged. “I spent some time in Russia. I think this is a fecking stupid plan, but if you’re going to find a Karzelek, then that is the place.” He pointed at Alex. “And he’s right about the Ministry. One of the few things that maintains the balance right now is the fact that everyone feels they’re equal. You don’t need the mages to start feeling as if they’re inferior to everyone else. The cornered animal is much more dangerous than the one roaming free. And I know the mages and their delicate sensibilities pretty well, remember.”
“Fine,” I said, yielding. “But if we’ve not found one of these sodding dwarves to agree to help us by tomorrow morning, then we high-tail it back here and we go with my plan to just get the f*cking money instead.”
A spasm of relief crossed Alex’s features. “Okay. I’ll get onto opening the portal. And Mack Attack?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
*
Mrs. Alcoon had changed the sign on the shop door to ‘closed’, and pulled down the blinds. Alex stood in the middle of the room, and began to chant. I had to admit I was slightly wary about whether he’d have the ability to pull off opening and maintaining a portal to Moscow. Ostensibly, a mage could create portals that led anywhere and everywhere, but I knew from my time at the mages’ academy that it wasn’t always as simple as that. Not every mage possessed the skill to open magical doorways. I tried not to think about the horror stories that I’d heard of involving inexperienced mages bringing up shimmering portals that they’d blithely step through – only to find themselves in the opposite place to where they’d intended to go and next to a very angry Otherworld nastie about to chomp off their head. Alex had certainly travelled through enough of them, but I’d never actually seen him spell one open. Still, before too long, the air was crackling and the shiny purple swirls indicated that he’d had at least some measure of success.
It was good we wouldn’t have to travel by plane after all, I told myself. Aubrey certainly wouldn’t have been able to come along for the ride as the last thing he was in possession of was a passport. Of course, that didn’t really quell my trepidation at having to step through the bloody portal, however. I eyed it narrowly. I hated these f*cking things.
“Right,” Alex said cheerily, “let’s go.”
Aubrey had about the same expression on his face as I imagined I had on mine. “What time is it in Moscow?”
I checked my watch. “It’s three hours ahead of here, so early evening.”
He relaxed slightly. “So it’s getting dark?”
“Well, it’s summer so not quite yet, but it’s not blazing sunshine.”
He sighed in relief. I shook my head. “You’d think that having stayed out of the sun for two hundred years, you’d be happy to get to spend some time in it.”
“Old habits die hard.”
I thought of the crack in the glass that I’d managed to put into the bookshop’s front door, and my perennially bad temper. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Who’s going first?” Alex looked from one of us to the other.
Better get it over and done with, I figured. “Fine. I will.”
“What’s wrong with her?” asked Aubrey.
Alex smirked. “You’ll see.”
“I am still f*cking here, you know.”
“We’ll see you on the other side.”
“Can’t wait,” I grunted, then stepped through, feeling the familiar tug through my body and inevitable nausea rise up into my stomach.
Almost immediately, I fell forward onto my hands and knees and began retching. I knew I’d landed somewhere quiet and dark, but all I could really focus on was the continual lurching of my stomach as I heaved and heaved. There was a snap as Aubrey came through, and I heard him say something over me, but it barely registered. I retched again, feeling a cold sweat break out across my forehead. Vomit spewed out, then almost immediately another wave of nausea rippled through my entire body.
When I was finally done, I staggered to my feet. “F*cking hell,” I swore. That was about the worst transition I’d ever experienced. Sodding Alex. We should have gotten a more experienced mage from somewhere to open the portal. Clearly it was his wavering skill that had caused me to be even more ill than I normally was.
“Damn,” Aubrey commented. “Is that supposed to happen? Because I feel fine.”
“Piss off.”
I peered at him through the gloom, and realised Alex had also materialised through and was muttering something to himself.
“Where are we?”
“Something went wrong. This wasn’t where I’d been planning to emerge,” he said, distracted.
Great. “And where is here?”
“I can’t tell. Some kind of…”
“Cupboard,” Aubrey finished for him. “At least it’s dark.”
I reached out in both directions with my hands, unable to see much but feeling my fingers scraped against walls on either side. I traced my hand slong the rough surface, suddenly yelping as I touched something cold and clammy.
“What? What is it?” Panic was clearly starting to set in for the mage.
“It’s okay. Aubrey’s right, we’re in some kind of cupboard. I think I just touched a mop.”
“This is exciting! We could be anywhere. The mystery of it all is thrilling.”
I wasn’t sure which irritated me more: Alex’s fear, or Aubrey’s enthusiasm. I decided that, either way, I had an intense dislike of small dark places. “Come on. Let’s find the sodding door and get out of here.”
All of us started fumbling around. It felt like an age before Alex suddenly called out that he’d found it. He rattled a doorknob.
“It’s locked - we’re trapped.”
“Move out of the way,” I instructed, then maneuvered myself around. I pulled on the knob then, realising he was right, backed away slightly and took a breath. Then I lunged forward with a high kick, and the door sprang open.
The three of us piled out, blinking. Soft music was playing, and there appeared to be an escalator leading down to somewhere just ahead of us. There was also a small raised area upon which stood three well-dressed mannequins. Before I could stop him, Aubrey had leapt forward and started attacking one of them, hitting it with his fists and knocking it to the ground. Then he spun around, apparently ready for the next one.
“Tell us who you are!” he shouted.
“Er, Aubrey?”
“What?” He looked down at his fallen ‘victim’. “Oh. Sorry, I thought that was a person. It looked like they were holding a sword and were about to attack.”
“That’s an umbrella.”
He coughed. “I see that now. Where are we?”
“It looks like some kind of department store, I think. Are we even in Russia, Alex?”
“We must be,” he muttered.
I strode over to the escalator and stepped on. “Well, let’s find out.”
The pair of them followed me. As we travelled down to what was apparently the ground floor, filled as it was with all manner of perfumes and make-up accoutrements, I spotted an advertisement with Cyrillic lettering hanging over to the right and pointed it out.
“See? I knew I could do it,” Alex said, suddenly filled with renewed confidence.
“Yeah, okay. Good work, Alex. The trouble is,” I fretted, “Russia is big f*cking country. We could really still be anywhere.”
“Allow me,” drawled Aubrey, as we reached the bottom of the escalator. I watched, rather impressed, as he stepped confidently over to a well-dressed woman and introduced himself. He took her hand and kissed it. The object of his attentions was obviously flustered, and remarkably flattered, judging by the way she smiled and giggled.
“You are simply beautiful, madam,” he intoned. “As are all the women of this wonderful city. It is a true pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
She bit her lip.
“Tell me, because I’m not from this country as you can probably tell, but how do you pronounce the name of this great town?”
“Moskva,” she said breathlessly.
He dropped her hand as if it was a hot rock and returned to us, leaving her staring after him, open-mouthed.
“Yeah, we’re in Moscow. Let’s get a taxi to this bar.” He caught my look. “What? I was a vampire, remember? I did have some skills.”
“That kind of thing really works?”
He gestured behind him. “As you see.” Then he grinned.
“I think I just threw up in my mouth.”
“I’m amazed you have anything left inside you to throw up. Just make sure you don’t breathe on me.” He wrinkled his nose.
Hmm. He seemed to be getting over his vampire-to-human adjustment period. He was certainly a lot less emotional than he used to be.
“Oh my God,” he suddenly cried out.
Alarmed, I followed his gaze. “What?”
“Look at that scarf.” He almost ran over and began stroking a silk black scrap of fabric. “Isn’t it gorgeous?” His eyes welled up. “It’s almost hard to believe that something this stunning could exist.” He sniffed.
Okay. He still had some way to go yet. I rolled my eyes and walked out to hail a taxi.