“What?” Darien mumbled around a mouthful. “I’m hungry.”
“Clearly.” Silas stood and opened the refrigerator. “Would you like some bacon too?”
“I would.” Pip leaped up from where he’d been lounging near his water bowl. “Bacon is a good fuel for adventures.”
Silas put several strips in the pan. “Where’s Grim?”
“He went to check on Kii.” Pip twitched an ear. “I suppose we ought to save him a strip of bacon.”
“There’s plenty to go around.” But Silas did carefully set aside one not-too-crispy piece. Grim did love his bacon.
By the time Grim trotted into the kitchen, they’d all stuffed themselves and were sitting around in some kind of food stupor, sipping at coffee. Grim went and sniffed at the bacon Silas had set out for him, eating it neatly, one bite at a time, while they waited for him to finish. Silas thought that he was deliberately slowing down, keeping them on tenterhooks. Which was probably a good sign— Grim wouldn’t tease if things were serious.
Eventually the big cat licked his lips, dragged a paw across his whiskers, and said, “Nothing much to report. Well, two rats came out the gap, plump and sleek. Kii ate them.” He stood and stretched, front legs and then rear, and stalked toward the hallway. “I’ll go check the map spell while you get ready.”
“I’ll go with you.” Pip dashed after the big cat.
Silas forced himself to get up and clear the plates, shaking off the torpor of a full meal and a body tiredness that ghost energy didn’t dispel. He ran water over the plates, watching the flow as it circled the bottom of the sink. Draining, the way Coldwell’s life force was, every time I went back in that room. But he was still strong enough to do whatever he wanted with me. Because I let him— He jumped as Darien stepped close, brushing against his arm.
Darien murmured, “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
Silas let himself lean for just a moment, let the sturdy support of Darien against his shoulder remind him he wasn’t an apprentice and dependent on the honor of his mentor anymore. He reached past Darien and set the last plate in the drainer. “I’m fine. And curious.” Saying that made him realize how true it was. Sure, it might sting at some deep level to find magic in his house that those two old sorcerers had hidden from him, but it was also enormously interesting.
“So am I,” Jasper said. “While you two were refueling, I made some phone calls to a couple of colleagues I trust. They have conflicting theories about both the blockage of the familiars’ world and the increase of demons—”
“There’s another demon!” Pip skidded on the polished floor as he dashed toward them. “Grim says it’s not too big but it’s new.”
“Not too big,” Grim agreed, coming in behind him at a more dignified pace. “But still, I’d say get Worthington on it, not Spry. Especially for the second time in a day.”
“He’ll suggest I take care of it.” Silas rubbed his forehead because this was the last thing he wanted to do today.
“Then you tell him no.” Darien sounded surprisingly firm. “He can get up off his fat ass and do some work for a change.”
“He’s not fat.” Silas squared his shoulders. “But you’re right. The council’s gotten far too comfortable sending me after every demon that comes along. Let me check the map for the location, and I’ll call him.”
What followed was an unpleasant ten minutes of insisting to Worthington that this was his responsibility, that Silas could not, under any circumstances, get out there and deal with this particular demon tonight, and no, he’d not be free in the morning, and no, Spry was probably not powerful enough for this one. Worthington finally accepted the location information, grumbling non-stop. Silas hung up with a sigh. “Now, where were we?”
“Heading for the cellar,” Jasper said. “You think maybe Worthington’s losing his talent? Could he be scared?”
Silas felt a twinge of worry, but Grim sniffed. “I think the work will do him good. If we’re facing a demon invasion, it won’t help for him to get rusty.”
Listen to the cat. Silas allowed himself an internal smile, then hefted the bag of tools. “Right. Onward.”
They trekked through the dusty back halls and down the staircase leading to the correct bit of cellar. Silas had put new batteries in his flashlight and unearthed another for Darien, which was just as well since the one Kii switched back on as they approached had become a feeble glow.
“About time.” The hawk stretched her wings and hopped off the bony remnants of a dead rat. “Are we all fed and rested and cheerful now?”
“Close enough.” Silas ran his hand across the rough, amateur-looking brick wall, trying to push his Othersight through it. He got a hint of power, a flicker of white and his mentor’s dark green, that made him grit his teeth. So much for Coldwell not knowing about this. “How should we start?”
“Let Darien and me have a crack at it.” Jasper’s eyes glittered in the low light. “What do you say, Darien? Ready to make a big hole.”
“I’m always ready for holes,” Darien said. “Get chalking.”
Silas held his light high and steady, aimed at the stone floor, and experimented with adding a green mage-light in his other palm. Jasper looked over with a smile. “That’s nice, but the flashlight’s enough. Save your power. Darien, come here, slide a little power in as I draw the runes. I think it’ll help.”
Obediently— hah, there’s a first time for everything— Darien moved to Jasper’s elbow, and Silas held his flashlight higher. He couldn’t make heads or tails of the mathematical symbols scribbled in among more familiar runes like hard and sharp. Jasper inscribed a shape about three feet across, with a spiral of lines filling it. As he wrote, a trickle of Darien’s gold followed the lines.
After several minutes, Jasper straightened and dusted the blue chalk off his hands. “I think it might be wise if we all move back. Maybe outside the room. I’m not sure what will happen to the bits of brick.”
Kii said, “I don’t need to be told twice.” She winged past Silas and through the door into the next room. Silas followed her reluctantly, some part of him drawn to that wall and the humming power behind it— I’m simply curious about how this works. He could almost make himself believe that. Coldwell, what did you do?
They gathered in the doorway, Darien and Jasper at the front. “Now, slowly,” Jasper said. “Lift and then rotation. It’s going to look a bit different. I put a flange on it. Didn’t want it to keep going after it breaches the wall and hit whatever spell is inside there. I figured I’d need that for safety for rescues anyhow, so I’m glad to have a chance to try it out.”
“Got it.” There was no strain in Darien’s voice yet. “You lift, I’ll spin.”
Past Darien’s shoulder, Silas saw their creation take shape, a pinwheel-edged cone in shades of gold touched with blue. Darien gestured at it, and the cone began to spin, then slid forward until the tip reached the brick wall.
“Going to have some resistance,” Jasper muttered. “Ready?”