But not now. Not now, not unprepared.
A wise commander chooses his battlefield, the Scholar Tan said. It was the most quoted of his apophthegms. But Aubrey knew, because his father had drummed it into him, that the Scholar Tan then went on to say: But the wiser commander makes do with what he has.
And what did he have? He had George and Caroline, and an unconscious Hugo von Stralick. He had a hospital room.
And he had himself, with his magical connection to the man they had to defeat. He also had the ability to weave magic, to construct spells that were new and different, that were unexpected.
If he could prevent Dr Tremaine from casting a spell, that would be something. It would remove the man’s most powerful weapon, but it still wouldn’t leave him powerless. His formidable hand-to-hand combat skills were one thing, but now he also had a pistol.
Von Stralick groaned. Painfully, holding a hand to his jaw, he struggled to his feet, glaring. Then he staggered toward Dr Tremaine.
As a distraction, it was enough. George hesitated then launched himself at the rogue magician, just as Caroline lunged along the length of the bed.
Dr Tremaine sprang to his feet. With one hand, he used his prodigious strength to push the massive hospital bed to the wall. Then he stood between it and his attackers, keeping them away from Sylvia, who cringed, weakly batting with a hand, while the other shielded her face.
Aubrey knew he wouldn’t have long for spell casting, so he opted for containment. It was simpler than trying something destructive, and it could buy them some time.
It helped that he had the perfect prison close by – the pearl in Sylvia’s hand.
The pearl had already been used as a place of containment. Feverishly, while the four-way brawl raged – Dr Tremaine a colossus standing in front of the bed, lunging, striking, twisting in a blur of motion, blocking Caroline’s advance by shoving George at her, heaving von Stralick sideways, recovering to meet Caroline’s panther-like leap with his shoulder – Aubrey was able to work up a spell that drew on the Law of Propensity to access that aspect of the pearl. Having once been a prison, it was ready to be a prison again with only minimum magic. A short series of Akkadian syllables and the pearl was prepared. More than ready – the magical power blossomed over it like stardust, feeling like aniseed and sounding slippery.
Even in the middle of grappling with George, Dr Tremaine saw what Aubrey was up to. ‘No!’ he cried, but then he doubled over when Caroline punched him right in the solar plexus. Instantly, he straightened, flinging off Caroline and George, then he knocked von Stralick to the floor with a tremendous uppercut.
He locked eyes with Aubrey. Aubrey swallowed, grateful for the three or four yards’ separation between them.
Dr Tremaine smiled. ‘I think it is time to see you off, Fitzwilliam.’
It was a moment that called for a pithy retort, or a confident gesture, but Aubrey decided otherwise. He raced straight into pronouncing his signature at the end of the spell.
Dr Tremaine stared at his sister with horror, then at Aubrey with utter fury. ‘No! You haven’t! You couldn’t!’
He reached for his sister. She took his hand then cried out. Together, it was as if they gradually turned to smoke. Within seconds, they had lost all solidity, becoming insubstantial, wavery forms that looked as if they would dissipate in a gentle breeze. Then they curled, twining, spinning, spiralling as one, like water going down a drain.
There was a soft rush of air into a suddenly vacated space, and then the tiny noise of the Tremaine pearl falling to the bedclothes.
They were gone.
Aubrey was left panting and trembling, his heart threatening to rebreak his ribs with its battering. Caroline, George and von Stralick untangled themselves.
Caroline turned her head, looking for Tremaine. ‘Where...?’ she began, then she saw the pearl. With a hesitant hand, she reached for it.
‘Stop!’ Aubrey cried. He lurched for the bed and winced at the pain in his side. ‘I haven’t finished yet.’
Dr Tremaine wouldn’t be trapped inside his own creation so easily. He knew the ways in and out of the magical pearl. But not if Aubrey could do something about it quickly.
Aubrey drew on his study of the Beccaria Cage. Its function was sustaining, but also protective. It kept his soul in his body, locking it in.
He aimed to use some of the same principles to put a layer on the pearl, keeping Dr Tremaine – and Sylvia – inside.
He chanted the spell as quickly as he could while maintaining utter clarity in the proto-Latin language he used. He bit off each syllable, each element clearly and with precision, until he was done. He hoped he’d been fast enough.
Then he sagged to the bed, perfectly aware that he was experiencing a textbook example of the expenditure of effort required by a series of challenging spells.
‘Finished now?’ George stared at the pearl with suspicion, as if it could explode at any moment.
‘One last thing,’ Aubrey panted. He searched for the magical connection between Dr Tremaine and him, to ensure that the sorcerer was trapped in the pearl. So close, he should be able to detect it.
He extended his awareness, but grimaced when it was swamped by the magic of the pearl and the protective layer he’d placed on it. He couldn’t find the connection.
I’m tired, he thought.
He promised himself he’d check again later, and he picked up the pearl with a hand that trembled slightly. Absurdly, he was expecting it to be heavier than it was earlier, and he was oddly disappointed when it wasn’t.
He’d saved Prince Albert from being supplanted and he’d defeated his arch-enemy. He knew he should feel triumphant, but instead he felt strangely deflated. Unable to help himself, he was already reviewing the last few minutes and found – of all things – that he was wondering about Dr Tremaine’s strangely foppish clothing. A high collar? Gloves? And a cravat, of all things.
‘They’re both trapped inside?’ Caroline said, and Aubrey’s thoughts about male fashion instantly evaporated. She was looking intently at the pearl too, but not with suspicion – with calculation.
He nodded with more conviction than he actually felt. ‘It worked.’
Von Stralick limped over. One side of his face was swollen. ‘I think it may be prudent to leave now. The nurses have fled, but they’re sure to be back with reinforcements.’
Twenty-seven
That afternoon, Aubrey emerged from his meeting with the ambassador to greet Caroline and George. ‘The pearl is in the embassy safe and we’ll be able to take it back to Albion once this symposium is over. Hollows is already in communication with the Security Intelligence Directorate to let them know what’s happened.’
Caroline was standing at the window, gazing out at the passing traffic. Her face was thoughtful. ‘And Dr Tremaine will face trial?’
‘Certainly.’ Aubrey had worked through his fatigue. Now he was feeling satisfied and found it difficult to keep from smiling. Triumph on triumph, success on success. How could Caroline not be impressed? ‘Craddock’s people will work on keeping him powerless until his time in court. Magical suppressors should hold him, I expect.’
‘What about Sylvia?’ George said gruffly. He was sitting in an armchair, lingering over a large slice of layered apple and almond pastry.
‘I don’t think there are any charges against her. On her release she’ll be free to return to Holmland, or stay in Albion, whatever she likes.’
George dusted some crumbs from his lapels. ‘Could you really have used her as a lure?’