Vellum and Green Vitriol
Copyright © 2007, S. Y. Affolee
The Third Conjuration
Seal XXXIII
A gondola passed by the Baron's mansion when I stepped back outside into the late afternoon sun. The bright blue of the sky had deepened into a strong aquamarine--no clouds in sight. I headed back to the southern end of the city and recognized the bridge where I had passed earlier and noticed small boys playing. This time, the children were gone. Instead there was a tall man gazing out into the water, his face shaded by his hat. I saw him take a cigarette out of his mouth to blow smoke.
I concentrated on my steps, my heels clicking rhythmically on the stones. I glanced at the watch on my wrist. It was ten till four. I had written in the note for Rhys that I would meet him at the bistro at four. I had not anticipated that the walk to and from the Baron's residence would take too long.
Across the canal, I saw an old woman in a dull brown skirt and a red coat come out to sweep the front steps. On the balcony above her, pigeons sat on the railing, watching. Another pedestrian traveled in the opposite direction and tipped his hat to the old woman who ignored him. The water in the canal had rippled in the wake of the gondola but other than that, it was dark, reflecting nothing.
Something made me look back. There was no one on the street behind me and I had heard nothing--or at least I had thought I heard nothing--but something fizzled in the air, making the skin at the back of my neck prickle.
I turned back to my route and quickened my pace. The cool air stung my face. And despite the sunshine, I felt a shadow creeping up behind me. Up ahead, I saw a wedge of darkness. An alley. I slipped into it and found myself in a maze.
The buildings in Haven were not built right up against each other. Instead, about three or four feet separated each building, creating a labyrinth of crawl spaces. I turned twice more, passing three unmarked back doors. I paused for a moment and thought I heard the click of shoes. Above me, bits of blue zigzagged along the building forms, but not much light reached into the crevasses. I took off my shoes. And ran.
There were no obvious sounds of anyone else running in these alleyways. Whoever following had used something to muffle the sound of pursuit, but I could still sense something coming--like a rapidly beating heart.
I approached another back door, but something about it made me stop. There was nothing particularly odd about it that made it stand out from all the other back doors in the alleyway. But something drew me to it. I touched its tarnished knob and suddenly felt it, a tendril of faint power shielding the door. I would not have noticed it at all if half the spells that I knew weren't about protections and shields.
Inked words trailed from my fingers to the knob. I felt a slight shock and then the lock clicked open. Quickly, I slipped inside and closed the door behind me.
The interior was dim except for an old fashioned oil lamp on a table that spluttered and smoked. Strange charms dangled from the ceiling like drying herbs--silver crosses and lacquered evil eyes. Pebbles and coins with holes were strung up with hemp. Carved beads and malachite ankhs formed a strange tablecloth over a desk in the corner. An ormolu clock sat on top of a mantle. A black cauldron hung inert over fading coals. Curio cabinets made of rosewood lined the walls, the small brass handles of all the little drawers faintly gleaming. On top of one of the cabinets, a stuffed owl stared sightlessly towards the opposite wall. Beside the bit of taxidermic art, a fat crystal ball sat on its stand collecting dust.
Something rattled. The door at the end of the room opened revealing a woman dressed in a plain linen dress. She wore cloth slippers and a red handkerchief covered her hair. Without that indicator, I found it difficult to tell her age since her skin was clear except for some lines at the corners of her eyes. The color of her eyes reflected the copper coins dangling from the ceiling. Her nose hawkish, her mouth uncompromising.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?"
"I apologize, madam," I said, hopefully in a sufficiently contrite tone. "I got lost in the back alley and I was hoping I could get back into one of the main streets by going through a house."
"No one comes in this place uninvited," the woman said sharply. She reached out and the air between us seemed to crackle. Only belatedly did I realize that perhaps breaking into a home guarded by a spell was probably a bad idea. Her fingers grasped my chin and I gasped at the sharp power she used to probe me. Her eyes narrowed. "A girl who is not a girl."
"I'm really sorry, but I wasn't going to take anything. I was just trying to get back to the main street." I sent a burst of my own energy to counter her grip. It loosened and I managed to pull away and take a breath.
"Stop being so stubborn and be quiet." She grabbed my chin again and pulled me along with her, through the door and into one of the front rooms. Vaguely, I noticed a narrow shop front lit by oil lamps. The scent of cloves and lilac curled in the air. Sticks of incense smoldered in a small clay vase sitting on a counter. Beside it, a tortoiseshell cat sprawled on its belly. One eye slitted open at my arrival. The animal yawned, showing small pointed teeth. "Sit."
I sat on a tall stool facing a glass case with a mummy, a few hairs still attached to its desiccated skin, its mouth pinched, its eyes closed. Witch, I thought. Sorceress.
The woman looked me over once. "Put your shoes back on."
I obeyed her.
She put her hands on her hips. "You look quite unremarkable for what you really are, but I suppose that's understandable. Someone was after you."
"Well, yes. But I really must get going."
"People are too much in a hurry these days." She cocked her head. "You still have a little time. What do you usually call yourself?" She moved behind her counter and took out a wooden box.
"I don't see what giving my name has to do with anything."
"Many people call me Magda."
"I'm Ana Talbot," I found myself saying.
"Ah, Talbot. That explains much. You look a bit like a portrait of Edward Talbot I saw in a museum once. Many have wondered what had happened to the great sorcerer and his daughter."
I closed my eyes, trying to suppress the memories that Magda had drudged up. Talbot had attempted a spell. His daughter had inadvertently interrupted, wondering when her father would come to dinner. Screams. Blood. Lots of blood. Her blood splattering on my cover. Magic misdirected.
"I don't see how something that happened over three centuries ago has any bearing on the here and now."
"Perhaps not," the sorceress replied. She took a deck of cards out of the box and began to shuffle. "I could try to chain you. To use you."
My fingers itched. "I don't think you would want to."
"Ah, you have a bit of bite to you." She finished shuffling and laid down five cards. "Come here and see what I've drawn."
"I'm in a bit of a hurry to play cards."
"This is not a game, Ana Talbot."
I got off of the stool and went over to the counter to look at the cards. These weren't playing cards. Strange symbols were etched over them, symbols that I could not interpret. "I don't know what these mean."
"You have an interesting future ahead of you, Ana Talbot."
"I don't think I like the sound of that."
The sorceress's mouth curved into a smile. "Some books are meant to be more than books. I will release you from my home provided that you give me a spell."
I hid a hand inside a coat pocket and clenched it into a fist. "I don't give things away for free. Any normal person would let me go. Coming here was a simple mistake."
"It was no simple mistake. But I am fair." From within the box, she produced another deck of cards. "I will give you this in exchange for a shielding spell that is stronger than the one I used on my back door."
"These are useless if I don't understand them."
"You will." The sorceress gave me a grin which did not sit well on her ageless face. "Just ask the Key."
I narrowed my eyes. From her probe, the woman knew about Rhys. Really knew about him. The sorceress was a dangerous snake, but she didn't make any move to break my head open and extract all that I knew. She was willing to make an exchange.
"All right," I said after a moment. "I'll give you the spell. I need some paper made of vellum and some ink. Preferably some ink with an iron sulfate base."
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