"Well?" He was obviously not the patient type.
"Do you know the spell to put them back or not?”
"Yes." That was it, that's all I got.
"So maybe we can work out a trade. You give it to me, and perhaps I'll tell you where the weapons are.”
"You'll tell me anyway," he countered. "You won't get near your vampire without me, so you'll never get a chance to use them. And even my assistance may not be enough. We need every advantage.”
Mac returned before I could think up a good comeback. "Nick is very curious why I want to know, but I think I put him off." He consulted a scribbled note in his hand. "He says that two were purchased at auction from Donovan's back in 1872. The Circle was outbid by an anonymous bidder who paid a king's ransom for them. No one's heard from them since." He looked at me. "I'd really like to know where you found them.”
"She didn't find them; she stole them. From the Senate," Pritkin said.
Mac whistled. "I want to hear that story.”
"Maybe later," I said, hoping he'd get on with it.
"All right, but I'm going to hold you to that." He consulted his notes again. "This is composed mainly of hearsay, but Nick knows his rune lore, so it's likely as good as we'll get. Hagalaz cast upright causes a massive hailstorm that attacks everything in the vicinity except the caster and whomever he chooses to protect-I assume that means whoever is within his shields, although Nick wasn't sure. Cast inverted, it calms even the fiercest of storms.”
I brightened. That could prove useful. Mac read a few lines silently and cleared his throat. He glanced at me. "Er, Jera is… well, it's said to be, that is to say-”
"It's a fertility stone," I said, hoping to move him along. "Stands for a time of plenty and a good harvest.”
"Yes, quite. It is believed to cause… er, to aid in, rather, some believe that-”
Pritkin snatched the paper from him and read over the paragraph that seemed to be giving Mac so much trouble. "It was advertised as an aid to virility, something like a magical version of Viagra," he summarized, shooting Mac a withering glance. "Is that it? No other properties?”
Mac looked sheepish. "Nick didn't know. All he had to go on was the auctioneer's description, and those are known for being phrased to elicit the best possible bids. It may have other properties, but if so they weren't listed. But it was enchanted at a time when thrones ran through family lines. Ensuring the succession would have been seen as equally, if not more, important than any weapon. And having the power to take fertility away from your opponents would be a great asset, throwing their lands into turmoil and civil war at the death of each king, and giving you a chance to invade in the chaos.”
Pritkin frowned. "Perhaps, but it is of little use to us. And the last? Dagaz?”
"A breakthrough," I murmured. "A new beginning." I could really use one of those.
Mac nodded. "Traditionally, yes, that's the meaning. But how it is interpreted in the case of battle runes…" He shrugged. "Nick doesn't know.”
"Then what is his best guess?" Pritkin asked it before I could.
"He doesn't have one." Mac threw up his hands at our expressions. "Don't shoot the messenger! It wasn't purchased with the others-in fact, no one has heard of it ever being up for sale. So there's not a lot to go on.”
I felt frustrated. One rune that was no use to me was bad enough, I didn't need two. "What about other sources?”
Mac shook his head. "Nick said he would double-check, but the man has a mind like a computer, love. I doubt he missed anything, not about his favorite hobby. The rune is mentioned in several old sources, but they're mute about what it does.”
"There is one way to find out," Pritkin said. I raised an eyebrow. "Cast it.”
"Did you sleep through the story about the rampaging ogre, or what?”
"I will cast it if you are afraid," Pritkin said, assuming a sneer. "Where is it?”
I sighed and thought it over. I really needed to know what the thing did, and if Pritkin wanted to risk his neck to find out, who was I to stop him? Besides, he had a point: without his help, I might never get to Tony in the first place, and even if I did, what if the rune was another like Jera? I needed to know before I used it on the fat man and just ended up making him horny. I shuddered at the mental picture and Mac shot me a questioning look. "You said the runes have to recharge after every use," I reminded him. "If we cast it, we won't be able to use it again for a month.”
Pritkin answered before his friend could. "Perhaps. However, if it hasn't been used in centuries, it may have a cumulative charge built up that could last through many castings.”
"I don't know whether it's been used lately or not.”
"Or the cumulative effect may simply make the casting an especially strong one," Mac pointed out.
Pritkin looked annoyed with his friend, but I thought the guy had a point. "One thing is certain," Pritkin said testily. "We cannot plan how to use it if we do not know what it does. As it stands, it is useless to us. Casting it would not make it more so." I wanted to debate him but couldn't. "Where is it?" he demanded.
I sighed. "Promise you'll teach me the spell to trap the Graeae, and I'll tell you.”
He didn't even pause. "Done.”
I shrugged. "In that duffle over there.”
Chapter 6
I thought the two mages were going to rupture something trying to get to the bag. Mac beat his buddy, but only because he was closer and Pritkin's unzipped pants tried to fall down on the way. I watched him zip up with some disappointment, then gave myself a mental slap. At the rate things were going, I was going to need therapy.
Mac started setting items on the top of the fridge, one by one. His actions were reverent, like someone handling nitroglycerine. The two null bombs gleamed softly silver under the overhead lights. Behind them was the insignificant-looking box that had housed the Graeae for who knew how many centuries. Finally, Mac fished out the velvet pouch and carefully, one at a time, set the rune stones in front of the rest of the items.
It took him several tries to find his voice. "Quite a collection," he said, breathlessly. The wolf totem tattooed on his back stopped in midhowl and peeked over his shoulder to see what all the fuss was about.
"Was this everything?" Pritkin asked. "Did you take all the Senate had?”
"Of course not! I know there's a war on-I was there when it started, remember?”
"What else do they have?" Pritkin inquired, while Mac stood and drooled at the items on his fridge.
"None of your business." I decided to let him think I'd been daring enough to carry out a highly dangerous raid on the Senate-it sounded better than the truth. In fact, I'd returned from a trip to the past with Mircea only to find the Consul waiting for us. She'd reached for me, I had instinctively jerked back and, thanks to my unpredictable new power, ended up three days in the past. I had shifted in time, but not in space, so I was still in the inner sanctum of the vamp portion of MAGIC. Since their cache of magical goodies was literally right in front of my face, I'd decided to help myself to a few items before making my getaway.
I'd been in a hurry because their wards had almost certainly informed them I was there. I paused only long enough to grab the stuff from one shelf and barely even noticed the rest. But since the unit housing the vamp's treasure trove was taller than me, there was a good bet I hadn't left them defenseless.
"We will need help in Faerie," Pritkin pointed out, making an obvious attempt to hold on to his temper. "If you stole these things, you could get others.”