For a moment, Aubrey felt as if his brain had been scooped out and replaced with a lump of putty. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think, all he could do was stare as the rogue magician strode onto the stage, clad in a stylish black coat, and shook the noticeably hesitant Elektor’s hand before he made his way to the wings.
Didn’t I trap you in a pearl? Aubrey thought, dazed. Dimly, he realised that his arm was in the process of developing five neat bruises, right where Caroline’s fingers were gripping him. He glanced at her, but her attention was locked on Dr Tremaine as he took his place at the lectern.
Kiefer was forgotten as Aubrey actually felt dizzy. What is going on?
Mundane senses only told him so much, so, with great trepidation, he focused his magical awareness with as much will and as much force as he could muster.
And with his magical senses, he sensed it. He ground his teeth, he wanted to leap to his feet and shout to the assembly that the man in front of them was a liar, a manipulator, a thief and a murderer, because he sensed it – and it confirmed what had happened.
Aubrey’s magical awareness showed the silvery, insubstantial thread that curled and twisted – passing right through solid objects, undisturbed by the physical world – and connected Aubrey Fitzwilliam and Dr Mordecai Tremaine.
Then he knew that he’d been hoodwinked. Despite having been witness to Dr Tremaine’s trickery at Banford Park, in Lutetia, under Trinovant, he’d been duped again. How could he believe that he could trap Dr Tremaine so easily? The creature that he’d cast into the pearl was a fake, a substitute. It was no wonder he hadn’t been able to detect a magical connection with it.
Pieces fell into place. It had to be a golem – and if that was the state of Dr Tremaine’s golem-making art, then the world had a great deal to fear.
I should have realised, he thought, but at the time he’d been too rushed – and also, he had to admit, too pleased with himself to doubt, too sure of his talent to observe, too carried away to worry.
He shook his head. He hadn’t heard a word of Dr Tremaine’s speech, but it didn’t seem to matter. When Aubrey came to himself, the sorcerer paused and looked directly at him.
And he winked.
It was so brief that Aubrey knew no-one else could see it but him – and it struck him like a blow to the chest. Aubrey flinched, and immediately, Dr Tremaine made an odd movement, reaching out and patting his pocket while he went on, echoing the sentiments of the Elektor.
Automatically, Aubrey did the same and he wondered at the deft, subtle magic involved when he felt something in a pocket that he’d known was empty just a few moments before.
He took it out and unwrapped the small package. Dumbly, he stared at his stolen pocket watch. The Brayshire Ruby glowed warmly, set in the gold cover.
Nonplussed, he eventually realised that the paper wrapping was written upon.
I return your family trinket, for you returned my sister to me – a treasure beyond reckoning.
But did you really think you could out-manoeuvre me? it said. You’ve been a useful decoy. Take some satisfaction in that and accept that you cannot match me.
It was like a blow to the chest. He found it hard to breathe as he remembered the chaos in the hospital. Despite his efforts, there must have been a window, a tiny opportunity for Dr Tremaine to whisk Sylvia out of the pearl from a distance.
He went to screw up the paper, but Caroline plucked it from his hand. When she looked up, her cheeks white with shock, Dr Tremaine was already concluding his address, notably not thanking anyone else.
Aubrey felt like a puppet and even glanced overhead, looking for the strings and the puppet master, so he nearly missed it when Dr Tremaine introduced Chancellor Neumann before he bowed, made a half-salute in Aubrey’s direction and exited, stage right.
Immediately, Aubrey wanted to leap up and follow, but a cooler part of his brain told him that Dr Tremaine had organised events beautifully. By the time Aubrey could push his way to the end of the aisle – if he was prepared to create an unseemly disturbance on such an august occasion – Dr Tremaine would no doubt be through the wings and out via a backstage entrance.
There was no point pursuing him. Besides, Kiefer hadn’t appeared yet – and Aubrey couldn’t leave before he heard what he was up to.
Dazed, Aubrey had trouble concentrating on the Chancellor’s speech. It was punctilious, the work of many underlings, Aubrey assumed. While he worked through welcoming the important guests, the Chancellor’s mighty bald head began to sweat. Without any embarrassment, he mopped it with a red handkerchief, and lumbered through his official duties with dogged determination. His role, as far as Aubrey could tell, was the official welcome to Holmland and he discharged this conscientiously, but Aubrey felt that his monotonous tone of voice would have been the same if he were speaking in the Assembly, ordering a meal at a restaurant, or giving the eulogy at a funeral.
When he finished, he held up both hands to acknowledge the applause, which was, to Aubrey’s learned ears, definitely polite rather than wholehearted. Aubrey took the time to look around, trying to see into the wings to spy Kiefer.
His head whipped back, however, when the Chancellor pointedly paused, then uttered a single word – a word Aubrey guessed had never been used in the Academy Hall, and certainly not with such satisfaction and relish: ‘Guano.’
The Chancellor visibly enjoyed the effect this had on the audience. Muted expressions of disgust rippled around the auditorium while the Chancellor shuffled his notes, doing little to hide the smile on his face. When the reaction had lessened, he looked up, eyebrows bristling. ‘Holmland’s industry is the finest in the world.’
This was much more to the liking of the audience, but the connection was clearly puzzling. The Chancellor waved a hand placatingly. ‘While our industry is the finest in the world, it has been hampered by a number of issues. Procurement of guano is one of these. While many countries have access to great quantities of this precious substance–’ he bowed slightly in the direction of Prince Albert ‘–Holmland’s munitions and fertilizer producers have been hamstrung, held back in their efforts. But not any more.’
Aubrey was stunned when the Chancellor actually grinned before going on. It was a broad grin, an expression of total satisfaction.
‘Thanks to one of Holmland’s finest industrial magicians, we are free of this dependence on imported guano. Advances in the areas of–’ the Chancellor peered at his notes ‘–catalysts and pressurised vessels have enabled the artificial production of unlimited amounts of ammonia.’
While polite bafflement ruffled the audience, Aubrey sat astounded as the implications battered at him.
The Chancellor went on. ‘This, of course, means unlimited supply of nitrates for fertilizer, leading to substantial increases our crop yields. And,’ he added, almost as an afterthought, ‘unlimited nitrates for our munitions and explosives industries.’
This is what Aubrey had feared, and to judge from the consternation on Bertie’s face, the implications weren’t lost on him either. An increase in production of Holmland munitions was the last thing the world needed. Controlling Holmland’s armament build-up by controlling its guano imports was no longer an option.
And how easy would it be to sabotage guano shipments heading to other countries? Aubrey wondered, remembering Manfred’s interest in the stolen shipping documents.
The reaction from the assembly was electric. Delight, pride and excitement greeted the Chancellor’s announcement as the audience took it as a sign of Holmland’s correct place in the world. Of course Holmland was leading the world in such industry. Doesn’t it lead the world in all important things?