The Laws of Magic 6: Hour of Need (29 page)

‘Not at all yourself.’ Caroline stretched, reaching for the ceiling with both hands linked. ‘And I assume that’s just what you’re after.’

‘Sophie, you have a real talent for this sort of thing,’ Aubrey said.

Sophie was looking about anxiously at the nervous throng. ‘Are you sure? I can try another spell if you are unhappy.’

George turned away from the platform, folding his arms. ‘Police.’

Aubrey straightened his jacket. ‘Let us go about our business, then, as all innocent people should.’

Aubrey held his breath as he and his friends squeezed past the four police constables in greatcoats who were casting about with lanterns and checking doors. He nodded at them and received wary acknowledgement in return as the nervous young men recognised the uniforms of the Directorate. Even the remarkably attractive Caroline and Sophie failed to bring a smile to the lips of the constables, and Aubrey wondered exactly what they’d been told. Were they looking for Aubrey Fitzwilliam, traitor of Albion, or was this simply part of the general climate of mistrust that war had brought?

Once free of the crowd that was choking the station, they made their way toward the Eastride underground station. Walking through the quiet, night-time streets, Aubrey noticed how the stars were hidden by clouds, a low overcast sky hanging over the capital. Crossing at the intersection of Bennett and Garland Streets, a ghostly beckoning caught him as he was about to step from the footpath and he nearly overbalanced. Caroline caught his elbow, glanced at him and frowned as he rubbed his chest with his free hand. ‘What is it?’

Aubrey couldn’t help but look skywards. To the north, out over Stapledon and Allingham, a mass of clouds broke apart. The outlines of Dr Tremaine’s skyfleet, black against the dark grey of the thunderheads, were unmistakable. ‘He’s here.’

W
HEN THEY REACHED
D
ARNLEIGH
H
OUSE, THEY
were expected – and immediately taken to the planning room to find Commander Craddock and Commander Tallis.

The heads of the two branches of the Directorate were circling around the Big Board – a huge table with a gigantic map of Albion. As if it were a child’s game, operatives were moving pieces about. Most were white, indicating Albion regiments, squadrons and fleets, but an ominous cluster was black, and it was arranged directly over Trinovant.

The room itself was windowless. Noticeboards covered the walls, with dozens of desks taking up the space directly underneath. Telephones rang with muted urgency while hordes of operatives took notes, passing them to other operatives who scurried off, handing them to the brooding senior figures around the Big Board or decamping via one of the many doors to other parts of the building.

The atmosphere was of controlled, but tense, authority. Voices were hushed, movements deliberate. The scraping sound as operatives leaned over and used long-handled rakes to move pieces on the Big Board was insistent and portentous.

Craddock glanced their way as they entered, then tapped Tallis on the shoulder. Together, they left the Big Board and swept Aubrey and his friends to a corner that held a small conference of senior operatives until a word from Tallis sent them packing.

‘The situation isn’t good,’ Craddock said immediately, ‘but with your warning we’re doing what we can. Our remote sensers confirm that Tremaine himself is up there, circling the capital.’

‘Twenty-five thousand feet is far beyond the capabilities of any of our dirigibles,’ Tallis growled. He bounced on his toes, hands behind his back, and looked as if he personally wanted to punch Dr Tremaine in the face. ‘We’re preparing squads of aircraft, doing what we can, ready to throw everything at him.’

‘We need to, sir,’ Aubrey said. ‘Dr Tremaine is aiming to bypass the need for a blood sacrifice. Instead, he’s aiming to work directly with the magical field generated by Trinovant itself. Nowhere else on earth is there such a concentration of people in one area, which suggests that he needs all of it.’

Tallis scowled. ‘What the devil are you talking about?’

‘On such a scale?’ Craddock said, ignoring Tallis. ‘Impossible.’

‘I believe Dr Tremaine has two things that will help him. Firstly, the potential of the accumulated magical artefacts. Secondly, he’s discovered the Universal Language for Magic.’

‘Ah,’ Craddock rocked back. ‘The abducted magical theorists.’

‘We’ll need a full report of your activities, but not now,’ Tallis said. ‘We understand that you’ve seen Tremaine’s stronghold, and you have some observations from the Divodorum front that could be important.’

‘Yes, sir,’ Aubrey said and thought of the pages of notes he’d taken.

‘And we had the incident in Korsur,’ Caroline added. ‘It may be important for the analysts to hear about that.’

‘Korsur?’ Craddock said vaguely, his mind clearly on Aubrey’s previous revelations. ‘I hope Tremaine hasn’t been up to anything in Korsur.’

Now, that’s ominous
, Aubrey thought. ‘Why not, sir?’

Craddock made an impatient gesture with a hand. His attention was on the Big Board. ‘I’m sorry I brought it up. We have more important things to worry about.’

‘And Dr Tremaine probably had more important things to do,’ Aubrey said, ‘yet he dropped everything to take possession of a large piece of Crystal Johannes from Korsur.’

Sharply, Craddock turned away from the Big Board. ‘Dr Tremaine has some Crystal Johannes? For all our sakes, tell me this isn’t so!’

‘A large piece, sir,’ Aubrey said, shocked by Commander Craddock’s reaction. The head of the Magic Department rarely showed emotion, yet here anger and fear were clear on his face.

‘As big as a church door,’ George put in. ‘That’s how the villagers described it.’

‘Craddock?’ Tallis barked. ‘What is it, man? What’s special about this stuff that has you so worried?’

Craddock had his eyes closed and was rubbing his brows with the tips of his fingers. ‘Long ago, when it was more common than today, Crystal Johannes was used by the magicians of the day to help their spells. Properly used, it can have a focusing effect, concentrating a latent magical field. I had thought this property forgotten since none had been found for so long, but evidently I was wrong.’

‘It’s the sort of thing Dr Tremaine would know,’ Aubrey said softly, ‘and would figure into his plans.’

Caroline looked from Craddock to Aubrey. ‘So this means that Dr Tremaine’s spell could be even more powerful than you’d thought?’

‘Oh yes,’ Craddock said. ‘If he uses the Crystal Johannes he will have an untold magnification of his power.’

We really didn’t need that
, Aubrey thought. He caught George’s eye and began to look for ways to slip out of the planning room.

An operative hurried up and thrust a slip of paper at Tallis, who read it and scowled even more volcanically. ‘The blasted High Command won’t authorise our deployment of aerial squadrons!’

Craddock sighed. ‘Fools.’

‘They say they’re in the middle of preparing for a push in Gallia and need air support. They think this skyfleet is a diversion.’

‘Can I help?’

Aubrey turned. A figure he hadn’t noticed earlier was approaching. ‘Father!’

‘Aubrey.’ Sir Darius extended his hand, held Aubrey’s gaze for a moment, then greeted the others. ‘Caroline, George, good to see you. And Miss Delroy – a pleasure.’

It was done swiftly, but Aubrey admired the way that, even in the middle of a crisis, his father did enough to make them feel part of the enterprise.

‘Prime Minister,’ Craddock said, ‘matters are coming to a head, but we’re having trouble with the High Command. It’s crucial that we move now and yet we’re meeting recalcitrance instead of cooperation.’

Aubrey watched his father intently. Sir Darius didn’t try to mollify Craddock, who was more agitated than Aubrey had ever known him to be. Craddock simply stood there, very still, his hands pressed together in front of him. Panic and Sir Darius were strangers, Aubrey realised. It was part of what had made him a formidable soldier. In a crisis, instead of becoming frantic he remained fixed, holding himself still until he had chosen a way ahead.

Sir Darius addressed Aubrey. ‘What do you think?’

Aubrey was taken aback. His father was asking with straightforward urgency. Aubrey had seen him in this mode a hundred times – he wanted advice, and he wanted it from the best available person. Yet he’d bypassed the most senior intelligence chiefs in Albion and, instead, was asking him.

‘We need to act immediately,’ Aubrey said and he was glad his voice was as even and controlled as his father’s was. ‘Every opportunity to stop Tremaine must be used.’

‘Good man.’ Sir Darius turned to Craddock and Tallis and Aubrey’s surroundings came back. The faint ringing of telephones, the hushed conversations, the dusty light from the electric globes overhead.

The world proceeded.

‘Craddock, Tallis,’ Sir Darius said. ‘I’m authorising immediate deployment of your people. You’ll have whatever you need. I’ll take full responsibility for sending a skirmishing force in advance of the main sortie. Whatever and whenever that is.’

‘Finley Moor, sir,’ Tallis said. ‘Can you get your staff to let them know that Directorate people will need help as well as the army forces?’

‘Immediately.’ Sir Darius shook a fist. ‘Capital. Now to get the High Command moving.’ He took two steps and then swivelled, suddenly solemn. ‘Good luck.’

Aubrey watched his father stride off, charging to a battle of his own.

Caroline squeezed his arm. ‘George wants you.’

George was at the Big Board, with Sophie. He was waving. Aubrey glanced at Craddock and Tallis, but they’d been besieged by half a dozen document-carrying operatives.

‘Look, old man,’ George said when Aubrey and Caroline joined him. ‘Just in case you were thinking of nipping off to Finley Moor, I thought I’d let you know we’ll have trouble.’

‘Finley Moor? Why would I be thinking of going to Finley Moor?’

‘I’m imagining that you might be feeling the need to find an ornithopter. I wouldn’t be surprised if jolly soon we’re going to be cutting corners, avoiding protocols, leapfrogging obstacles, that sort of thing.’

‘And why would you imagine that?’

‘Standard operating procedure with you, old man. All I’m saying is that we’re ready when you are, but we won’t be able to get to Finley Moor the usual way by going through Carstairs. The 12th Lancers are using Marling Road. We’d never get through.’

Aubrey was impressed by George’s planning out a route to the military airfield, but then something else took his attention. Looking down on the Big Board had jolted him, so much detail presenting itself. It was easy to imagine he was in Dr Tremaine’s skyfleet, looking down on the sprawling expanse of Trinovant – the city, the river, the railways, spreading over the countryside. He could see all the landmarks, the urban conglomeration stretched out for him to survey.

Something was missing. Something vital, something important wasn’t there, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He swept his gaze across Newbourne, The Mire, Densmore, Ashfields Station, but he still didn’t know what it was.

When he found Fielding Cross, he looked for where Maidstone would be. It was when he found the location for the Fitzwilliam family home that it struck him and he knew what was missing.

People. He couldn’t see any people. The city was there, but none of the individuals who made it work and live and breathe. They weren’t important enough to feature.

The ‘click’ that rocked Aubrey was so monumental that he had to grab the edge of the table to stop being thrown off his feet. ‘Oh no,’ he whispered. ‘Oh no.’

Caroline pressed close. ‘Aubrey?’

‘It’s worse than I thought.’ He straightened and found that his hands were trembling. Caroline took them and they stopped. ‘Dr Tremaine has found something better than the Ritual of the Way.’

‘You said he was going to use the collective consciousness of Trinovant to make his magic more powerful.’

‘That’s right – but I’ve been neglecting the sacrifice.’ He put a hand to his temple. ‘The Ritual of the Way needed blood, huge amounts of it. Dr Tremaine wants to make sure of achieving his goal of immortality, though, so he’s going one step further.’

‘What’s one step further than a wholesale blood sacrifice?’

‘Dr Tremaine is getting ready to snuff out the consciousness of everyone in Trinovant.’

C
RADDOCK WAS STONY-FACED WHEN
A
UBREY SHARED
his insight. Tallis swore, loudly enough to make all the people in the room look his way before hastily returning to their business. ‘We have squads ready to board Tremaine’s fleet and take him,’ he said, ‘as long as that magic whatnot is available. Craddock?’

Craddock eyed Aubrey. ‘We’ve had magical teams at work on altitude enhancements in order to get our aircraft up to Tremaine’s skyfleet. The notes you left about your levitation escapade in Lutetia last year have been helpful.’

‘Ah. I may have something to add to that.’

‘You’ll have a chance to implement it in person, then.’

‘Sir?’

‘When I said that we were throwing everything at Tremaine, that’s what I meant. Is your unit able to go?’

Aubrey went to speak, but first looked to his friends. They were ready: he could see it. They were steady, determined, unfazed by the possibilities that lay ahead, and he knew he was lucky to have them as friends.

Aubrey saluted. ‘Sirs. Permission to depart.’

‘Permission granted,’ Craddock said. ‘And godspeed.’