Brotherhood of the Fallen, page 27
“Fine by me.” He scanned every door they passed, noting that the place was a warren. Several smaller corridors led off the main one, and his spirits dropped. “This will take hours if the horn isn’t where I expect it to be.”
“We’ll just be methodical,” Mouse suggested. “Otherwise, we’ll forget where we’ve covered.”
They reached the huge doors of the service lift that opened onto a large, square area. “This is where the biggest pieces are stored,” she said, gesturing to the rooms behind them. She accessed her skeleton keys and opened one. “Look.”
The beam of the torch showed a large room filled with enormous stone sculptures, broken columns, and what looked to be the remnants of old temples.
“Holy shit,” Niel said. “It looks like an ancient site.”
“Probably several. Come on.”
In a few minutes they reached the end room down a side corridor. There was nowhere to go from there. Mouse opened the door and Niel stepped inside, expecting to feel a blast of power, or something insidious, but still felt nothing.
“Bollocks.” The room was a mass of boxes and shelving, and he progressed down them, looking into bigger boxes, and ignoring the rest. “It’s not here. I’d feel it anyway, I’m sure.”
“Okay,” Mouse turned to the door. “I suggest we check every room in this corridor, and then head to the far end of this level. At least then you’ve checked the end rooms, as your source suggested. Then we work our way from there. We could split up, if you’d like?”
“No. I don’t trust the horn, and if we’re discovered somehow, it’s best we’re together.”
It didn’t take long for them to ascertain that the horn wasn’t in their corridor, and with a weary sigh, Niel said, “The other end it is, then.”
Twenty-Seven
Harlan watched the last of the local police leave with Anna, feeling very relieved that Maggie was there to liaise with them.
He’d grown bored of watching JD investigate the central area of the cave, and desperate for fresh air had headed into the grounds for the latest news. There had, not surprisingly, been several reports of noise from the neighbouring houses, and a few reports of fireworks that would be the interpretation of the incandescent angels that attacked them.
“Is that it?” he asked her, as she turned back to him and Jackson.
“For now. They were a twitchy pain in the arse.” She rolled her eyes as she pulled her jacket around her. It was another cold and misty day, and JD’s grounds were barely visible. It was with the greatest difficulty that they had kept the police out of the marquee. Jackson was responsible for that. He’d flashed his government badge around, which had not impressed the local police at all.
“You two,” Harlan said to them, as they headed back to the marquee, “make an impressive power couple.”
Jackson exhaled, sounding resigned to the issue. “They didn’t like being restricted, but Waylen pulled a lot of strings. It was still tricky, though.”
“Fuck ‘em,” Maggie said with feeling. “No one sees that emerald cave except us. I don’t care how much they complain.”
“What did Layla say?” Harlan asked. She had arrived much earlier, when he’d been with JD.
“She’ll do the autopsies on the Nephilim. She’s quite pleased, actually, having obviously never done one on them before.”
Jackson laughed. “It’s a strange world we live in.” Then his laugh was replaced by a frown as he looked beyond Harlan, pointing to the flower borders by the house. “Is there something in the grass over there?”
Harlan turned. “I can’t see anything.”
Jackson strode across the grass and other two followed, Maggie almost running to keep up with his long stride.
“There!” Jackson said, triumphantly. “That’s a ring.”
The ring was battered, its metal dull and the gemstone cracked, but it still exerted a trickle of power. Enough that Harlan could feel it, anyway. Jackson stepped towards it, but Harlan pulled him back. “Don’t touch it! It must have fallen from the dead Nephilim.”
Maggie’s eyes widened with horror. “The one that died in JD’s protective field? I thought it was destroyed!”
“If it was that easy,” Jackson pointed out, “we’d be throwing them all at the shield. I need something to put it in. It could help JD.”
Maggie pulled an evidence bag out of her pocket. “Use this.”
“No.” Harlan grabbed a stick from the shrubbery. “Use this. I wouldn’t even touch it through plastic. Just poke it inside and hold only the bag. You two must be able to feel it, too. No whispers, though, which might mean it was affected by JD’s alchemy last night.”
Maggie nodded. “I feel uncomfortable. Like it’s trying to draw my attention.”
“It will be interesting to see what Nahum and Olivia think of it,” Jackson said. With careful manoeuvring they swept the ring into the bag, and Jackson carried it gingerly in front of him, as if it might explode.
Their find subdued their mood, and when they entered the marquee, Maggie swore. “Herne’s bloody horns! This place looks even worse than I remembered.”
“JD lost a lot of equipment last night,” Harlan observed. They had cleaned the place up, but many of JD’s instruments and alembic jars were smashed. Fortunately, his alchemical wheel had survived, although it was covered in blood. “Not that he cares right now. He’s too caught up in there, especially since he’s discovered the map room.”
Jackson cocked his head. “A map room? You didn’t mention that.”
“It’s hardly a conversation to have with the police around. He thinks that there are instructions to find a hidden laboratory in there.”
Maggie frowned as she led the way down the cave’s long entrance passage. “What makes him think that?”
“The fact that so much information is in there, and that Hermes was an alchemist. I see his point. You’d want your lab close to all the knowledge. It’s like being in the midst of a vast library or museum. He thinks the six-pointed star is the key.”
Jackson stopped. “Can you feel something? Like a hum?”
“You can’t feel a hum!” Harlan pointed out as he and Maggie stopped, too.
“You know what I mean. It’s like the air is vibrating. Like there’s a giant beehive somewhere.”
“That’s a really weird suggestion.”
Maggie scowled. “If he’s unleashed killer bees somehow, I’ll never fucking forgive him. Fucking lunatic.”
Harlan increased his pace, curious to see what the noise was about. “I applaud your imagination, guys, but surely not even JD is that nuts. And he’s a genius, Maggie, not a lunatic.”
Despite his reassurances to the others, Harlan couldn’t help but feel trepidatious as they entered the cave. The humming sensation became more insistent, a dull throb, like a pulse. Had JD released power, somehow? Knowing that Nahum and Olivia were inside too, Harlan increased his speed, suddenly terrified at what he might find. However, when they reached the centre of the cave by the eternal flame, all three stopped dead in their tracks, eyes wide.
“What the hell has JD done now?” Jackson said, breathless from shock and the run.
The six-pointed star in the centre of the floor had risen out of the ground by about three metres on metal struts, leaving a gaping hole beneath it. Harlan stepped warily to the edge and saw stairs leading down to a large room, most of which he couldn’t see, with more alchemical symbols inscribed in the floor, all arranged around the base of the flame. JD, Nahum, and Olivia were exploring the space.
“Herne’s hairy balls, JD, you were right,” Harlan said as he reached the bottom step. The chamber reached under the main floor by some distance, a dizzying number of symbols everywhere, and lots of tables filled with alchemical paraphernalia.
“Holy shit in a bucket.” Maggie breathed out the words in a rush. “A lab?”
“Hermes’s own, it seems,” Olivia said, eyes sparkling. “I mean, find of the millennium, right?”
“I should think so,” JD said as he handled some alembic jars. “There’s still no sign of how the flame came to exist, though.”
The flame’s base was in the centre of the lower level, a round stone table encircling it, with a space for access. Close by was a three-legged stand holding a huge crucible. Harlan blinked as he tried to take it all in. It looked as if Hermes had just stepped outside, much as it appeared on the upper level, and Harlan couldn’t help but wonder what other things the cave could be hiding. It was like a Russian doll. If anything, JD looked wilder than ever. His groomed beard and hair were dishevelled, and his flowing shirt was creased and stained with tea and ink.
“When I left you,” Harlan said, studying the room in disbelief mixed with a degree of dread, “none of this had happened! How did you do it?”
“The map room, dear boy. It’s the key to everything. After you all became bored and left me to it, I found the lock to opening this. The surrounding columns held the information, but I didn’t fully understand it. Then something I read in the map room unlocked it all. There was a series of alchemical triggers I had to perform. Once I did that, this place revealed itself.” He swept his arms wide, “It’s the key to stopping Belial.”
“How?”
“By removing his influence from his jewellery. Maybe all of it.”
“Speaking of which,” Jackson said, holding out the plastic bag, “look what I found in the garden.”
JD’s eyes lit up and he swooped on Jackson like a magpie on gold.
“Not so fast!” Nahum scooted in front of him, taking the bag from Jackson. “You didn’t touch it, I hope?”
“Nope. I did not wish to end up possessed by Belial. Although, we suspect its power is muted.”
JD bustled around Nahum. “Let me see!”
Nahum held it high out of reach. “No!”
His hands flew to his hips. “I just want to look.”
“And that’s all!” Nahum lowered it, and they all crowded around. “I think you might be right, Jackson. It does feel less powerful.”
Harlan felt a little aggrieved. He had pointed all that out, not Jackson. “No whispers, right?” he added.
Olivia was behind Nahum, almost using him as a shield, but she nodded in agreement. “No whispers.”
JD clenched his hands, a maniacal gleam in his eye again. “That means that I’m already on the right track. Good. I need to experiment—with your help, Nahum.” He pointed to the floor that was inscribed with alchemical symbols. “Do you notice anything?”
Harlan frowned. “I see a lot of symbols.”
JD tutted as everyone looked confused. “The patterns?”
“It looks,” Jackson suggested, “geometrical.”
“Just one design, or many?” He tapped his foot impatiently. “Use your eyes! God’s pox, you all walk around with your eyes shut! The world works in harmony. There are patterns everywhere. One of the keys to life. Beneath our feet, many of these patterns, geometric nuggets of wisdom, are laid out and interlinked. It is a well of knowledge!”
“It is?” Harlan asked, his head already aching.
“Sort of like your wheel of correspondences?” Olivia asked.
“Far more complex. I have worked with geometric designs, obviously, but this is a work of brilliance. And have you noticed what the designs are made up with?”
“Looks like precious metals,” Nahum said.
“And?” JD had become a mad professor. “Use your eyes!”
“Gemstones,” Maggie said, frowning at the floor. “And some of them are pretty big.”
“Exactly. We are standing on an infinite web of power that feeds that!” JD pointed to the eternal flame.
Harlan could see it now. If he squinted, it helped him see the interlinked circles and geometric shapes. He crouched down to examine the design in greater detail, and saw fine metal grooves. “JD, do these move?”
“What?” Jackson asked. “The floor?”
“Yes, I believe they do.” JD started striding around the room again. “It’s just a matter of finding the key.”
“Another one?” Olivia asked, hands on hips as she watched JD. “This is insane! I don’t understand how you can understand all of this already!”
“Harlan, tell her!” JD demanded, now completely sidetracked.
“Me?” Harlan wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or annoyed. “Well, JD has been studying this for five centuries, Liv. He’s a genius. Especially a mathematical genius. Geometry is math.”
JD puffed up like a strutting pigeon. “Exactly. I am what used to be called a savant. Mathematics are easy to me. It’s order and purity, and so much more. Like the elements, it’s the root of all life.”
“No wonder I fucking hate maths,” Maggie complained. “What are you looking for? Can we help?”
JD didn’t answer, instead focussing on the area around the eternal flame. After studying the ground for a few moments, he pressed his foot on a large, round gemstone, and a section of the floor started to move. Harlan leapt back, and Nahum pulled Olivia out of the way.
“Bloody hell,” Jackson said crossly. “You should warn us.”
JD was unperturbed. “I wasn’t sure it would work. I’m wondering if there are walkways through all this.” The section of floor continued to move, rearranging the circular table, and swinging the three-legged stand over the eternal flame, including the large crucible. “Ah, good. I was hoping that would happen. I suggest,” he said, looking up at all of them, “that you leave me to it. I’ll work it out better if I’m uninterrupted. You, Nahum, need to get your brothers to bring the jewels here. I think I know how to release them from Belial’s grip. Or I will when I practise on that one.”
“All of them?” Nahum had tipped the ring into his palm, but now he looked up, shocked.
“Why not?”
“I’m not sure I like that idea, JD. It’s a long drive. If the other Nephilim come back…”
JD turned to him, lips pursed. “But it’s all in a spelled box, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then it’s fine.”
“It really isn’t. If Jiri and his bloody team are watching the house, they could pounce on them.”
“I doubt it. They will have gone to lick their wounds. Besides, you said they didn’t know where you live. “
“I don’t think they do, but we didn’t think they’d attack us here, either!”
“Do you want this to be over?”
“Yes, of course…”
“Then get them here. Now!”
“Are you saying you could do this tonight?”
“I thought you said the sooner the better? Aren’t Gabe and your other brothers about to fight Jiri?” JD’s foot was tapping the ground again, and Harlan wanted to throw something at him when he was in this mood.
Nahum remained calm. “Yes, they hope to.”
“So, no time to waste!”
“But,” Harlan interjected, “don’t you need to experiment, or practise? Or just make sure you know what the hell you’re doing?”
“Harlan, you blistering nincompoop, what have you just told Olivia? I have been studying alchemy my entire life. I am not coming at this blind! And this place offers me all the tools! I can do it. I know I can. Are you sissying out now?”
“Will there be consequences?” Harlan stepped closer, refusing to be intimidated by JD.
“To us, probably not. To Belial, yes. At least I bloody well hope so!” He looked at the group’s uncertain expressions. “Well? Do you want to just sit around and twiddle your thumbs?”
“JD,” Olivia said, laying her hand on his arm, “what you’re proposing is big. We hoped that it would happen—we just didn’t expect it so soon. All of this is incredible. I feel like I’m in a fairy story, or Aladdin’s cave. It’s the speed of everything that is so unnerving. You have to remember that we’re not as brilliant as you.”
JD liked Olivia far more than he did Harlan, and his expression softened. “Sorry. I know, but this is tremendously exciting. This is an alchemical playground for me, and it’s exactly what we need. The important question that you must ask yourselves is whether you trust me, because there’s no way that you will understand anything of what I will do.” He stared at each one of them in turn. “I’m on your side, you know that. I helped you destroy the count. I will help you do this, too. And then,” he grinned unexpectedly, “I wish to be left alone for months so that I can study this place properly, without interruption. Does that sound fair enough?”
“Well, I trust you,” Jackson said, “and you’re right, I have no idea what the hell any of this does. However, I’ll help you in any way possible.”
The rest of the group agreed with him, and Harlan smiled. “You’re a mad old bastard, JD, but you’re our mad bastard. I’m in.”
“Wait!” Nahum demanded. “You can’t handle the jewels. Belial will possess you. I won’t allow it.”
“Then you will have to help me. I have no intention of being possessed, thank you very much!”
All eyes swung to Nahum. He sighed, and then reached for his phone as he headed for the stairs. “I’ll call them.”
JD wafted his hands at them. “Shoo! Everyone else out, too. But be ready for my instructions!”
Harlan was the last one up the stairs, and he took a last look at JD exploring his new workshop. What the hell were they getting themselves into?
Shadow studied her brothers. She had rarely seen them so tense, but this wasn’t any ordinary meeting they were waiting on. It was a meeting with Ozan. The Nephilim had phoned Gabe, and they had arranged to meet at a neutral location.
They were on the terrace, scanning the surrounding area, and checking their weapons. Shadow wished Niel was with them. She had absolute faith in everyone there, but Niel was a useful addition to the team.
“I suggest,” Shadow said, “that only Gabe and I go. If it’s a trap, then at least we won’t be caught. Not that they’ll catch me, of course. I am fey.”
“Being fey,” Estelle said with a bite to her voice, “will only get you so far.”
“But I’m your secret weapon.” She knew that statement would irritate Estelle, and although they had come to a truce, she couldn’t resist teasing her. “Belial does not see me, and his tokens have no power over me.” She tapped her long bow. “Plus, I have this. I can stay far enough away so that I am not seen, but still be close enough to be deadly if Gabe is compromised.”
