Vellum and Green Vitriol
Copyright © 2007, S. Y. Affolee
The Third Conjuration
Seal XXXIV
A dark gray statue of a man sitting on a horse stood outside the Limon Bistro. Birds perched on the statue--pigeons, some plain white and gray, some with a bit of green and purple iridescence lining their wings, some pure black with only a bit of red in their eyes. They preened and cooed and took no notice of me as I sprinted across the bit of street to come to a stop at a nearby bench painted the same gleaming chestnut color as the façade of the bistro. I gulped in some air and looked at my wrist watch. Late.
Rhys sat on the bench bent over with his elbows on his knees. He wasn't wearing a hat and the wind was slowly making a mess of his hair. In one hand, he held a brown paper bag. He was tossing popcorn out to the few gluttonous birds at his feet.
"I had a cup of tea," he said without looking up. "A couple of nice girls asked if they could join me, but I had to decline since I was waiting for someone. About twenty after, I bought a bag of popped corn and decided to play the poor man in the cold."
"I was detained."
"You could have called the hotel to say that you were late."
"I couldn't get to a telephone. You're nose is getting red. And where's your hat? Let's go inside."
He dumped the rest of the popcorn onto the ground and threw the bag into a nearby rubbish bin. Tucking his hands into his coat pockets, he finally looked at me. His eyes green, his mouth in a thin line. "Fifteen minutes ago, I tried to talk to you."
He had tried to contact me, in my head. Fifteen minutes ago, I had been in Magda's shop. I hadn't heard anything. The sorceress was more powerful than I had thought--muddling my head with her probe.
"You didn't respond."
"I couldn't. Look, Rhys. It is a bit chilly out here and it's getting dark. Let's go into the bistro to get dinner."
"They don't have much of a selection. I have a better idea. There's an actual restaurant about a street over." He began walking. "Why couldn't you?"
"It's a long story."
"I have all day. Tell me about your search for Chesterfield."
I fell into step with him. What light was left in the sky shaded the buildings around us in a fading orange. The street lights had not been turned on yet, but the stars were already appearing overhead like a smattering of shining paint drops after a palette had been accidentally tipped over.
"I met Doctor Bickford, a history scholar at the hotel. He was meeting up with the Baron of Kendel who is supposedly one of Archibald Chesterfield's friends. I know it sounds a bit foolhardy to go meet with a couple of unknown men by myself. But I didn't want to waste an opportunity and you were already off at the library."
"True. But I would imagine you could take care of yourself against a couple of humans. You've survived for several centuries by yourself, haven't you?"
I let out a breath that I didn't know that I was holding. I suppose I had assumed that Rhys would be angry that I hadn't consulted with him first--just as he had not consulted with me first when he had gone off with the Order of the Silver Moon to follow up a lead. The only difference was that he had not had to rescue me--which had only happened due to slim chance.
"It's true that I've managed to survive by myself, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't turn down help if it presents itself. I'm not that idiotic. Or at least I hope I'm not." A boat drifted by on the canal beside the street. It was a row boat. A figure moved a pair of oars in a slow rhythm, propelling the vessel through the black water. Beside the figure was a small heap of wilted flowers--the remainder after the day's selling. "The doctor took me to see the Baron. Then the doctor had to leave when he received news that his grandchild was arriving into the world."
"You had a talk with the Baron."
"Yes." I thought about telling Rhys about the Baron's advances. And decided to keep that to myself. No need to alarm him unnecessarily. "He said that Archibald Chesterfield often visits the booksellers during the day and is rarely home, except in the evening. Perhaps we should pay a visit to Chesterfield himself this evening."
"You don't want to telephone him first?"
"I'm fed up with the telephone. No one answers."
"I suppose there are only so many telephone calls one can make before one gives up that avenue of search. Sort of like creditors. They send letters first. Then telephone calls. And when those fail, they will start pounding down your doors demanding money."
"You've had experience with creditors before, I take it?"
"Not me personally. But I've known other people to be the brunt of their fury."
I tilted my head so that my oversized hat shaded my face. And found myself smiling. "It sounds like it would be a horrid experience. Well, after I left the Baron's residence, I was coming straight to our meeting place at the bistro. Unfortunately, I got sidetracked. I don't have any proof except for what I felt, but I think someone was following me."
"Someone was following you?" His modulated voice suddenly kicked up a notch. He abruptly stopped, forcing me to turn and look at him. His hands came to my shoulders. His expression was grim. "Who was it? Why didn't you tell me immediately?"
"I was too busy trying to get away to think of that." I shook his hands off. "You said yourself that I could take care of myself. So stop acting so overprotective. I'm here, so everything went all right."
He didn't budge. "What happened?"
"I don't know who was following me. But I ended up in some of the back alleyways and ducked into a strange charm shop owned by an even stranger sorceress."
"A sorceress! That's dangerous. Such people are always trying to ensnare grimoires. If you weren't careful, you could have been shelved indefinitely."
"Well, I managed to wiggle out of it," I replied flippantly. I began to walk forward. He could have pulled me back to him, but he decided to resume our stroll instead. "And she gave me something too."
"It might be a booby trap."
"I don't know about that." I took out the deck of cards from my pocket and gave him one of the cards. "What do you think?"
He gave a bark of laughter. I glanced at him. Rhys was grinning when he handed the card back to me. "It's an odd bit of writing, but it's merely a bit of fortune telling."
"Yes, I've gathered that, but what does it say?"
"I'll teach you how to decipher it, but you'll have to do the actual decoding yourself." His grin turned into something more salacious. "I think you'll like what they say."
"Since you put it that way, I'm not sure I want to know."
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