Chapter 19: Mistakes

Chapter 19: Mistakes

Callum was somewhat regretful that hed only meet with Gayle one more time. There just wasnt any reasonable way or reason to stay in touch after she went off to the draft and did her own thing. Not that he had any designs on the girl, but it was nice to have some connection to normalcy in what was turning out to be an unreasonably stressful and isolated life.

Hed chosen to flout GAR with his eyes open, so he had no regrets about that. After seeing how they treated normal people, even going so far as to call them mundanes as if they were some lesser species, he was even more sure hed made the right choice. Which didnt mean it was the easy choice.

After chewing on it for a while, he decided to do something he really should have done ages ago. In retrospect, hed been stupid to just chat with a young mage without knowing who he was interacting with, but he could only learn from his mistakes. Or, correct them, which he did with a call.

Whats up, big man? Lucy said, sounding chipper as ever.

Hey Lucy, he replied, stretching out in a recliner hed installed in the motorhome. Hows it going with GAR?

Oh man, theyre still annoyed they cant find the vampire ghost, which is the stupidest name Ive ever heard and Ive heard a lot. Its hilarious how incompetent it makes them look especially when three faerie kings have actually stated outright that you arent one of theirs. Its great entertainment.

Well, Im glad to hear they havent caught on, he admitted. It was nice to know that he hadnt left anything particularly incriminating behind, though that was far and away much easier to do when he didnt have to be at the actual site. Teleportation meant that he broke up all the patterns and trails needed to track people.

Theres a lot of vamps hunkered down in various places in case you decide to visit, from what I hear, Lucy told him. But since nothings happened for a couple weeks its kind of dying down.

Well, thats fine with me. Never really wanted attention to begin with. He shook his head, glad that hed apparently gotten away clean. Anyway, got a question for you.

"So soon? I can't even tell if you're down on one knee!"

Callum barked a laugh. He wasnt exactly certain why Lucy was so flirtatious, but she had the trick of surprising him. It was nice.

Just because Ive given you gold doesnt mean Im ready to move on to diamonds, he told her, and got a chuckle. Seriously though, what can you tell me about House Hargrave?

Dont tell me youre involved with them?

Ive met one, he admitted. Just a kid, honestly. Gayle Hargrave. Helped her out a bit but Im pretty sure I wont see her again, so I was a little curious who she really was.

Huh. Just a kid, you say. There was the sound of typing from the other end of the line. Looks like Gayle is twenty-two, hardly a child.

Theres twenty-two, and then theres twenty-two, you know? Callum told her, and she laughed.

Yeah, sure. College kids are the same all over. What did you want to know?

The general score, I guess.

Hmm, well, I can send you a report but the long and short is that House Hargrave is one of the big old ones. Hargraves invented half of the offensive spellforms anyone uses, so theyre pretty martially inclined.

Gayle is a healer, Callum noted.

Yeah, and thats weird. Looks like some blending of bloodlines. Houses are pretty obsessive about tracking that kind of thing, so Im surprised you actually met her. Normally a new talent like that is under lock and key, buuuuut I guess with a family of action maybe not.

She was hanging out with the Larsons? He wasnt sure if that was relevant, but if Gayle was some powerful scion perhaps the elderly couple who ran that bookstore were more than they appeared. I dont know if that means anything to you.

Oof. Yeah theyre a couple of old warhorses. Dont piss them off! If theyre around no wonder House Hargrave let her wander off on her own.

I have no intention to, thats certain. I guess I should have figured that any mage that actually looks old is liable to be dangerous.

Maybe? The pictures I have dont look very old. Callum winced at Lucys reply. Apparently hed seen past a glamour without realizing it again. It was a good thing hed never mentioned anything about it. Someday he was going to get in major trouble from that, and he made himself a note to try to use his phones camera more often and hopefully sidestep some of the issues.

Anyhow, I guess I could use the information on House Hargrave, but I doubt Ill be interacting with them again. I was mostly curious about who it was I was helping out.

Probably someone you shouldnt deal with, big man. Theres all kinds of powerful politics with the big Houses and you sure dont need Archmages after you as well as the vamps.

Message received. It meant that it was really for the best that hed be cutting ties soon. Even positive attention could be dangerous, though he didnt think that Gayle would suspect him of anything in particular. He just had to gracefully decline any invitation to meet anyone else.

Yet again he considered not showing up for the next meeting, but he also yet again decided against it. With only one meeting, probably one that was just going to be Gayle celebrating her new status. Or asking for help with something, but either way that would have to be the last meeting.

So what Im sending you is pretty much their own press statement stuff, Lucy told him. Id have to dig a bit to find anything juicy.

I dont need anything juicy, Callum assured her.

Aww, I was hoping to earn more of that gold.

Dont worry, Ill come up with a job for you soon enough.

Dont keep me waiting, big man.

I know better than to keep a lady waiting.

Shame Im not a lady, then.

Never been anything less with me, Callum said with a grin. Actually, now that I think about it, I probably am going to need to ditch this identity soon. Id appreciate some steering on the best place to get a new one, and maybe some regions of the US where theres very little supernatural presence.

Running around in a motorhome absolutely muddied his trail, but it was also quite tiresome. Winut had been practically perfect for him save for the shifter and vampire politics, so if he could find something like that once again it would be nice. Through Lucy and Harry he could probably get more information on magic and try to build up a coherent understanding of modern magical theory. Something he realized he desperately needed after his discussion with Gayle.

Boo. You could just ask me for a new one!

I could, but the logistics for that Callum shrugged, despite Lucy being on the phone and unable to see him. I think thatd just put both of us at risk.

Comms check. The voice of the BSE leader sounded over Rays earpiece. Not that either he or Felicia were going to be much involved with the apprehension of the renegade mage, but it was still taking place inside their assigned territory so they had to be there. Or, well, didnt have to, but they did want to.

Aleph Check.

Bet Check.

Felicia poked him in the side, distracting him from what was actually fairly tedious setup. It was rather odd to hear the agents muttering to each other when there was an Archmage right there. Hargrave could level the entire town and everyone in it, so there didnt seem to be much need for the BSE folks, but that was above his pay grade.

No bet, he told her, in response to her unasked question. Theyd discussed it before coming and it seemed unlikely that their mysterious killer and a rogue mage coming from nowhere were unrelated. While the vampire massacres had no magical signature, that was the sort of thing rumors attributed to BSE agents anyway, so it wasnt impossible.

Coward, she accused him in a whisper.

I like to think Ive learned my lesson, he told her in reply. Come on, lets get up top.

The BSE agent all had advanced foci that let them flit about as if they were masters of air vis, but even they couldnt stay airborne forever. Theyd marked out vantage points covering the approaches to the Larsons bookshop from all angles and graciously allotted one to him and Felicia. The one that was of least concern, of course, but at least it was something.

His spell reached out to wrap them both in air and lift them up to the building roof, along with a small carry-case of supplies. Felicia, unfortunately, had to get fairly close to contribute anything useful, and that was assuming her voice could get past whatever shielding he had in place. According to Gayle he was a gravity mage, but the BSE folks seemed convinced hed have more than a standard shield in place. Still, his primary role was to get Felicia over to the mage after BSE had put a magic-blocker on, just in case it would help.

The other thing he could do was fire a shieldbreaker. It wasnt part of the Department of Arcane Investigations normal loadout, but hed requested a set from the armory and had the request granted. Especially since he could use wind to guide the charged netting to the target, which would hopefully overload any shield construct the mage would be using.

Taw, check, he said into his own mic after everyone had checked in. Everyone but Archmage Hargrave, who was hardly going to bother with such things. There werent actually enough people to justify going all the way down the alphabet, but since they were outside of BSEs command structure they got the end.

They didnt actually expect to see the rogue mage for hours yet. BSE had already combed Kennecut for traces of the man and found nothing. Aside from the Larsons and the younger Hargrave, there wasnt much in the way of vis, especially not the gravity aspect that their target supposedly had. That meant they couldnt track the so-called Professor Brown back to wherever he was laired and had to wait.

The trick now was to make sure there was nothing to spook him, assuming he actually showed for his meeting. The younger Hargrave was already waiting with the Larsons, but if things went to any sort of plan their target wouldnt get anywhere near the bookstore. Even with their shields clamped down tight any competent mage would notice the extra people around eventually, especially the Archmage.

They were covering all the roads into town, since according to Gayle the man came by bicycle. BSE was very interested in seeing where he came from, and actually had two of their number waiting at the travel link in case he was actually using the GAR system. If he was casually traveling through GAR without anyone noticing, a lot of people were going to be looking for new jobs.

Felicia offered him a bottle of water, and he accepted, taking a swig as he positioned his telescopic focus in front of both of them. At its narrowest it was like a normal spyglass, but he preferred the window that gave him a comfortably wide view of his target. Felicia did too, since it wasnt like the fae could use any normal focus. They needed ones fueled by charged and stored vis or mana, which was fairly expensive. Roy himself charged the few that Felicia carried.

For a while nothing much happened. It was the same old stakeout problem; they knew when the target was supposed to be there, but he could arrive early or late and either way, they couldnt afford to miss him. Aside from a few of the stranger fae, he didnt know anyone who actually liked stakeouts.

Conversation was sparse, since they were both watching through the lens, and Ray was listening closely with his magic-enhanced hearing. Every car and pedestrian was suspect, and the only saving grace was that Kennecut wasnt all that busy so they only needed to look at one or two people at a time. Even so, Felicia lost interest fairly quickly and gave only a desultory look through the focus once every few minutes. Ray didnt really blame her for that, since this was not her specialty. If it werent for the chance of a link between this mage and the phantom theyd been chasing, they wouldnt be there at all.

Dalet here. Potential target. White male, riding a bicycle, brown suit, hat, bag. North on Kent Avenue, by Fourth Street. The words crackled over the earpiece, and Ray took a moment to remember where those streets were located before sweeping the lens over in that direction. There were a couple buildings between them and the target, but Ray was an air mage, so that was no trouble.

It was a bit of an advanced technique, but bending air density to bounce light, mirage-like, was well within his capabilities. He set his wind mirror high up to get a better perspective at what Dalet was looking at, but didnt see the man or the bicycle. Ray started to sweep the lens when the earpiece buzzed again.

Lost contact. Pause. Regained contact, west Eleventh. Hes a space mage or has a short-range teleport focus. Even Ray didnt have access to short-range teleport foci, so if a random mage had one that was impressive. Or worrying. If he was a space mage though, theyd have to move quickly to keep him from getting away.

Shieldbreaker and buzzer, Aleph ordered. Zayin and Yod, move to intercept. The latter two were shifters, and when they decided to move they could really move. Ray swiveled his mirror around as he stood, wrapping both himself and Felicia in a cushion of air. He didnt dare move until the mage was neutralized, but he wanted to get there as fast as possible afterward.

The mage had stopped and was looking around, frowning. Ray had to wonder if something had given them away, despite their precautions. He doubted that any normal mage would notice a BSE team, but perhaps the hovering Archmage Hargrave was too obvious, even if he was halfway across the city.

Before he could be properly spooked, there were a pair of flashes from Waw and Tet, the latter of whom was actually riding on an invisible floating platform high above. Unlike mundane guns, the proper mage weaponry they had made no noise when they spat their payloads. Ray squinted in anticipation of the flare of shield disruption, but no such thing came.

The mage looked startled for a brief moment as the magic-disrupting net smacked him hard enough to knock him off his bicycle. The buzzer hit him while he was still toppling, the disrupter dart punching into his shoulder rather than his chest. Ray gawked at the sight of someone without even the most basic of protections, then stopped worrying about the sight focus and the mirror and lifted himself and Felicia while Zayin and Yod moved.

Shimmering walls of force popped up as Hargrave walled off three whole blocks in an impenetrable dome. Ray slowed, but a small hole opened and allowed them through, demonstrating the sort of casual knowledge and finesse that made Archmages a genuine terror. By the time he touched down on the inside, two bulky shifters, both in war form, had the man trussed up and loaded down with magic-blocker cuffs and anklets. The buzzer seemed to have knocked him completely silly, the man clearly semiconscious, but that was what he got for having no shielding or a hardened personal sphere.

A moment after he dropped himself and Felicia to the ground, Archmage Hargrave arrived with considerably more flash and thunder. The man spat out enough stray vis that it triggered Rays own shields, little sparks of force bouncing off and pinging against the nearby buildings. For a moment Ray was afraid that the Archmage was going to kill their only lead before they could question him, but Aleph stepped between Hargrave and the target.

BSE thanks you for your help, he said, despite the fact that Hargrave hadnt needed to do anything. We will take it from here.

I want him, Hargrave growled.

Once BSE and the DAI have completed their investigations, we will see if he can be released to your custody, Alfa said, unmoved by the angry Archmage. The two of them stared at each other, Alfa blank-faced and seemingly immune to Hargraves vis manifestations, and Hargrave visibly furious behind the force visor of his armor. Hargrave blinked first.

Very well, he said. But keep me informed! I want to know everything the instant you do.

He stepped back as Aleph turned to frisk the mage, also checking earlobes, teeth, and hands in a quick and impersonal inspection. Even if he didnt know what Aleph was looking for, he had to admit the BSE man was credibly professional. One of the other members conjured up a slab of force as Aleph emptied the mans pockets.

Well, damn. I guess he is the killer. Ray stared at the small handful of ball bearings that had been in the mans suit. It was obvious they had vis attached to them, in what seemed to be a mana acceptor pattern, but it didnt seem to be attached to anything. Or at least knows who it is.

He was still baffled by how easy it had been to subdue the man. Theyd all expected a rogue BSE agent, maybe even one who could shrug off shieldbreakers. That was one of the major reasons that Hargrave had been involved. They already knew he had access to restricted knowledge, which included a lot of very nasty things and might require someone of Archmage caliber to take down. Now it seemed they had overprepared, which was just fine with Ray.

Look at the mage mark, Aleph said holding up the mans right wrist.

This just keeps getting weirder, Ray said. The tattoo was a blank one, just the two outside bands, with no House or draft affiliation. On closer inspection, the aspect marker was gone, too, and the dot there was just ink on top of the skin. It was all very bewildering, but with the man still stunned it wasnt any time to start an inquisition. That could wait until they got somewhere he could be properly contained.

He picked up the mans wallet, which contained nothing but cash and a drivers license in the name of Denver Brown. No credit cards, no old receipts, not even any loyalty or business cards that he might have picked up along the way. It was the wallet of a man who had something to hide. Or rather, of a man who didnt really exist except as a name.

Felicia, could you run this? He asked her, while he studied the rest of the contents of both the pockets and the bag the so-called Denver Brown had been carrying. Most mages had all their focuses organized in a proper container, so they could use them with a minimum of fumbling, but apparently Brown only had one focus, a glamour focus attached to his keychain.

There were some brass plates that were enchanted as well, which fit in with the transcript theyd gotten. Though why hed bother keeping such clunky versions of light or telekinesis foci after providing them to Gayle, Ray didnt know. He just found himself more and more confused as he took in what might be considered evidence, and the man himself was just as odd.

Brown was compact, a touch too much flesh to be wiry, and sort of square. Square jaw, square face, square shoulders. The hands were soft rather than calloused, which wasnt unusual for a mage, but they had more than a few marks and scars on them. Mages didnt tend to accumulate scars, not like mundanes did, so that was another point toward oddity. It certainly didnt help that he could swear that Browns face looked familiar.

Felicia tapped him on the shoulder. Not only had she run the mans ID and discovered that that he owned a motorhome, which had to be nearby, but shed searched through the GAR system to find out who he might be. As it turned out there was only one missing space mage who would have such a simplistic mark.

Hmm. Ray looked between the picture and the blearily blinking man that Yod was holding. The hair was different, but the jaw and the nose and the eyes were the same. I think this is Callum Wells.