Consensus Breaking (The Auran Chronicles Book 2) Read online

Someone else who wasn’t Sedaris looked back at him.

  That would do.

  He moved through the streets, keeping his head down as he moved through the late night stragglers who meandered along the pavement, many of them too inebriated to even acknowledge his presence.

  It only took him thirty minutes to find the location he was looking for. When he was out of sight of the Unaware he blurred at will, moving from street to street in seconds.

  He stood now before a closed door inside a dimly lit alley. A small window was on one side at head height. A pale yellow light seeped out from behind a cloth that covered most of the glass.

  Sedaris sensed inside. Four men. One was the one he wanted, the others were collateral.

  He knocked on the door.

  Someone shuffled on the other side. They were Aware, and now wary. The man clutched a shotgun in one hand as he pressed himself against the door. A hatch slid back, and an eye peered through.

  ‘Shit!’

  Sedaris smiled and raised a hand. The door burst inwards, a steel bolt pinging away from its housing.

  ‘Good evening, all.’

  Sedaris stepped inside the small room. The man with the gun was scrambling to his feet. He raised the shotgun up, but Sedaris was quicker. He sent a command directly into the man’s mind.

  ‘What the hell is going on?’

  Another man rushed in from behind a curtain, holding a wooden cudgel. Two others came in behind. They slowed to a halt when they saw Sedaris, their eyes flitting between the Archmage and the man with the shotgun.

  The same man who now held the shotgun under his chin, the barrel facing upwards.

  ‘Now,’ Sedaris began. ‘We can play this the easy way, or the messy way.’

  The man holding the cudgel slowly lowered it to the ground. He nodded backwards, and the other two faded into the room behind.

  ‘Good,’ Sedaris said. ‘Now, why don’t we take a seat?’

  ‘Who are you?’ the man said.

  ‘My identity is not important. I am a representative of the First, and that is all you need to know.’

  ‘I don’t know what you want, but you won’t find anything here. We run a clean operation.’

  Sedaris sat on a rickety stool and ran his finger across a table, leaving a path in the dust that had gathered there.

  ‘I think it’s wise that we drop the pretences, don’t you?’ Sedaris said, idly eying the dust on his fingertip. ‘Otherwise your poor friend here will soon find himself short of a skull.’

  The man looked at his friend, who was still stood in the same position, the gun pressed into his chin. His arm shook, and droplets of sweat were bubbling up on his forehead.

  The larger man sighed.

  ‘What do you want?’

  Sedaris dug his hands into his coat and took out the object that had been found in the ruins of Skelwith and placed in the First’s vaults. He held it up, letting the man drink in the sight, and then threw it across the table.

  ‘A void ring,’ the man stated.

  ‘I thought you’d recognise it. It is the very same one you supplied to the mage Marek, isn’t it?’

  The man didn’t answer.

  ‘I take that as a yes.’

  The man folded his arms, and shrugged. ‘So, what if it is? He was a paying customer like anyone else.’

  ‘Good, I like that,’ Sedaris said, ‘a man of business, very much like myself.’

  ‘You didn’t answer my question. What do you want?’

  ‘That ring. You made it, correct?’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘I would like to commission you again.’

  The man snorted. ‘What? For the First? Isn’t this stuff more the domain of the Ninth?’

  ‘Do you normally question your customers about their intentions?’

  ‘If it’s going to get me killed, then yes, I do.’

  ‘I like you…?’

  ‘Smith.’

  Sedaris grinned. ‘Of course, Smith. This isn’t official First business. This is what we’d call, under the radar. If that makes sense?’

  ‘No. But I gave up trying to understand the ways of the magi years ago.’

  ‘That’ll do. So, can I count on you? I need one of these, but embedded into a different material, and slightly larger.’

  Smith raised an eyebrow. ‘How much larger?’

  Sedaris slid a piece of paper across the table. Smith picked it up and unfurled it with his massive fingers. His eyes widened for a moment before the shock passed. Then the edges of his mouth curled into a wicked sneer.

  ‘That is big,’ he said.

  ‘Can you build it?’

  ‘Oh yeah, I can build it. But it won’t come cheap.’

  ‘Do not fear, you will receive adequate recompense for your efforts.’

  Sedaris was rising now. He turned to leave, before stopping when Smith snorted behind him.

  ‘Something funny?’

  ‘Not at all,’ Smith said, still eyeing the paper in his hand. ‘I was just thinking; I feel sorry for whichever poor bastards have pissed off the First. To do this,’ he shook his head and whistled.

  ‘Quite. It would be good to remember that should you find yourself eager to discuss this with anyone else.’

  Smith fell silent. The smile dropped as Sedaris’ thinly veiled threat sank in. The Archmage stepped out through the door, back into the night, before blurring into nothing.

  At once the other man’s arm fell slack. The shotgun clattered to the floor.

  ‘Did you hear all that?’ Smith said.

  ‘I didn’t have much choice,’ his companion said, wiping the sweat from his face with the back of his hand.

  ‘What do you think?’

  ‘I think we should be keeping our heads down. Sounds like there’s heavy duty shit coming this way.’

  Smith nodded. ‘Do you think we should tell him?’

  ‘Are you mad? After what the Archmage said. No bloody way. You make that damned thing and you keep quiet. From the looks of it, he will find out soon enough anyway.’

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  His muscles burned, sweat rained down his brow, stinging his eyes, but Seb hadn’t felt more alive in weeks.

  Around him circled three sheol, dancing in their usual jerky, uncoordinated manner. Of course they were not actual sheol, but simulacra, magically created simulations designed to aid training. Based on the same magic that enabled Enzo to exist, they could adopt many forms, depending on the mage’s particular requirement. Following their first session Enzo had shown him how to activate them, and he’d been in the ring for hours a day for the past week.

  At that moment his sense flared. One of the simulacrum, the one in front of him, lunged forwards, teeth bared and talons pointing towards him. He turned, just enough, allowing the simulacrum to fly harmlessly by. He resisted striking it, lest it left him overextended for the follow up from the others.

  Which came now.

  They attacked at once, from either side. He blurred into the one on his right, just a couple of feet, his sudden movement driving the sheol back. Before it could respond, he twisted his hip, throwing the sheol to the mat. He smashed an imbued palm into its face and the sheol vanished into grey smoke.

  The other didn’t slow but instead leapt at him. He rose, equal to the move. He parried two flailing strikes before countering with a quick one-two into the thing’s ribs that would’ve surely broken bone in a real host. It staggered back, clutching its chest. Seb stepped forwards and planted a kick straight where it held its arms. The sheol flew out of the ring, vanishing into nothing as it passed the perimeter of the magic field around the training platform.

  A growl from behind made him turn. Not that he needed to, his sense had built up a full image of his surroundings in his mind. It was impossible to surprise him.

  The last sheol ambled forwards, its claws raking towards his legs. He jumped and rolled over, avoiding the attack with ease. He whipped round, arm drawn back, ready to en
d his final opponent. The sheol turned, its teeth bared-

  A bolt of purple fire shot past Seb’s shoulder, striking the fiend and turning it to dust. Seb rolled and spun.

  Anna stood before him.

  ‘Good work,’ she said. She was wearing trainer smocks, similar to those he’d seen Cian wearing at the Magistry. The image brought a sudden surge of sadness which he swallowed down. He went to the towel and dried his face.

  ‘Thanks,’ he said. He nodded at the ring as he jumped off. ‘These are brilliant, great for training with.’

  ‘I thought you’d like them. They can only go so far, of course, but for us they’ve proved invaluable in readying to face the sheol. I believe the one at the Magistry could simulate many different kinds of fiend.’

  ‘You’ve not faced them before?’

  ‘Not enough of us. It was left to the Magistry and the Brotherhood to police such matters,’ Anna said. ‘When they failed, we had to pick up the slack.’

  Seb emptied his water bottle, waiting for the sudden anger he felt to subside. ‘They didn’t fail,’ he said, ‘they were deceived.’

  Anna shrugged. ‘The end result was the same. They are no more, and we have to deal with it ourselves now.’

  ‘What is it you want, Anna?’

  Anna smiled and raised her hands. ‘I’m sorry, Seb, I did not mean to cause offence. I came to see if you were ready to continue learning Novo?’

  The anger vanished in an instant. His heart fluttered and he struggled to keep the grin from appearing on his face. Anna’s knowing smile showed that he needn’t have bothered trying to hide it.

  ‘I take that as a yes?’ she said.

  The smile won out. ‘I guess that would be, acceptable.’

  ‘I thought it might be. Get yourself cleaned up and we’ll get out of here.’

  ‘Where are we going?’

  Anna raised an eyebrow. ‘Why, somewhere to make the effort worthwhile of course.’

  ***

  They left the building by the front entrance. The security guards at the desk nodded as they went past.

  Outside a light rain had begun to fall. The passing traffic caused a constant surface spray that splashed any that ventured near the road. It was just past rush hour, and already the street was growing thick with commuters rushing home from work.

  ‘Staying local are we?’ he said.

  ‘Yes. Just round the corner in fact.’

  They walked down King Street and crossed the road at the end where it continued onto a much narrower thoroughfare. Seb slowed as they left the main street behind, looking back and up at the buildings on either side.

  ‘Strange.’

  ‘What is?’

  ‘I must’ve come here countless times before. But I never really saw it, you know? I just wandered here, drifting in and out without really taking it in.’

  ‘And how does it feel now?’

  Seb scanned their surroundings. With Avatari and Sentio combined his senses were assaulted by a plethora of sights, sounds and smells. Countless echoes rippled back to him, forcing him to filter them out. He smiled.

  ‘Busy.’

  ‘Always.’

  They emerged onto a road that was clearly rarely used. To their right it ended in a rugged wasteland surrounded by building sites. The other route trailed off down a hill towards a main road where queues of traffic filtered into the city.

  ‘Where are we going?’ Seb said.

  ‘There’s a bar down the road. Not the most inviting of joints, but it will serve our purposes just fine. The key is to remain incognito.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Seb said, watching as the six-foot woman strode ahead of him, ‘I’m sure you’ll do that just fine.’

  At the corner, a sign, creaking in the wind, proclaimed the pub as the Top Hat. The windows were misted with condensation. A dim light shone from inside, and a cacophony of voices drifted out as the door swung open.

  An old man staggered out. He spun once on one leg before stopping when he saw Anna looming over him.

  ‘Miss Anna!’ he said.

  ‘Cranks,’ Anna said, ‘enjoying yourself as ever?’

  Cranks stamped a leg down and puffed out his chest. ‘Yes, ma’am! It’s not a day without a beer in my hand!’

  ‘Quite.’ She looked around him, into the pub. ‘Night off?’

  ‘Sort of.’ Cranks squinted, spotting Seb for the first time. ‘Ah, this is the new boy? I saw him with Captain Miserable when he arrived.’

  Anna raised an eyebrow. Seb couldn’t hold back the smirk from his face.

  ‘Now, Cranks, that is not the right way to talk about our Battlemaster.’

  ‘Bah! What’s he going to do?’ Cranks was already shuffling past them. ‘I’m nearly dead as it is.’

  The old man staggered back up the hill, vanishing into the gloom as he muttered under his breath.

  ‘Should he be out in the cold like this?’ Seb said. ‘He looks like a gust of wind could finish him off.’

  ‘Cranks? He’s a law unto himself. He’s older than most of us, and he’s not even Aware. He looks like he should’ve died years ago, but he turns up, day after day, doing the same job he’s done for years.’

  ‘He’s not Aware? How does that work? How does he work amongst us?’

  Anna smiled. ‘Look at him, Seb. He’s as blind as a mole. You have to shout for him to hear anything, and even then he forgets most of what you tell him.’

  ‘He’s a character, I’ll give him that.’

  Anna pushed open the double doors. Seb made as if to follow, but paused, looking back into the deserted street.

  That sensation had come again, the one that made him feel like he was being watched. He glanced about, but nothing untoward came back. He shivered the sensation away and followed Anna inside.

  Seb had been in pubs before, and they were always at the more characterful edges of the social spectrum. The Top Hat was up there with the best of those, and strangely, it made him feel more at home. The interior was gloomy, with small lamps, those that worked anyway, dotted around the various windowsills providing the only light. A few booths clung to the walls on one side, and a large, D-shaped bar filled the other. At the far end of the room the pub opened up into a games area, with half-a-dozen snooker tables and a couple of dartboards providing entertainment for a group of men there.

  Anna made a beeline straight for an empty booth. She sat with her back to the games room. Seb sat opposite.

  ‘You don’t get out with women much, Seb?’ she said.

  Had he missed something? ‘No, why?’

  ‘It’s rude to let a lady sit without a drink.’

  Christ. Was this part of the training? He stood, nearly tripping over the table. He stumbled half way to the bar, stopped, and turned back. He produced both hands from his pockets.

  ‘You don’t have any money, do you? I didn’t sort of plan for this.’

  Anna sighed in mock anger. She slipped a tenner across the table. ‘My fault, we’ll sort out your allowance tomorrow.’

  ‘I get paid?’

  ‘Of course. It wouldn’t be much of a life without being rewarded for your efforts, would it?’

  ‘I guess not.’

  The barman, a heavy set man with arms like barrels, looked up as Seb approached the bar. Tattoos covered one-half of his face and -

  Wait a minute. Seb looked closer. It can’t be.

  ‘You got a problem there, son?’

  Seb blinked and shook his head. ‘No, sorry, lost in my thoughts for a minute there.’ Runic Script. The man’s face was covered in Runic Script.

  ‘Yeah? Well try and get found for a minute, this pub doesn’t pay for itself. What do you want?’

  ‘I’ll just have coke, please. A pint. And -’

  Whoops.

  He looked back, trying to give his best “sorry” face.

  ‘Vodka and coke. Plenty of ice,’ Anna replied.

  Seb turned back to the bar. ‘Vo -’

  ‘Vodka an
d coke, load up on the ice?’

  ‘Yes, how did you know?’

  ‘I just saw who you were with. There are not many six-foot blondes that come in here that much.’

  ‘Right.’

  Seb returned with the drinks and sat down. They clinked their glasses before Anna took a long sip. She paused mid-drink when she noticed Seb staring at the barman. She lowered her glass.

  ‘Seb, if you want a kicking, staring at Kev like that is one way of guaranteeing it.’

  Seb smiled and looked away. ‘Sorry, it’s just that, his face, those tattoos. And I’ve just sensed him. He’s Aware, isn’t he?’

  ‘Yes, but only slight, and he’s not part of the Family.’

  There it was again. The elite Family connections thing. He swallowed the retort that came to mind. ‘So how come he’s not been purg - I mean - cleansed?’

  Anna raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on the slip. ‘We tried to bring him in, years ago. He had good connections then. Wealth, a relation that was already part of the Family. But when he was tested his connection was too weak, he would never make it as a mage, and he didn’t have the brains for business.’

  ‘So what happened then?’

  ‘His case was different. He could handle his connection, it hadn’t turned him mad, or worse. He’d learned to live with it, probably as his cousin had told him all about it. We decided to let him return to a normal life, on one condition.’

  Seb couldn’t stop the laugh that came out that time. ‘Condition? His life was given to him, as a condition?’

  Anna’s eyes narrowed. ‘Yes, Seb. A condition. He knew the risks when he applied. There’s a reason that the world is - was - relatively free of bizarre happenings or freakish events. We govern. We control it from afar, steering it where required, trimming out the rogues when they threaten to disrupt the status quo. With Kev, and others like him, it was different. And his condition was he return to his life on the streets, but he acted as our eyes and ears. He has access to people, news, places that we don’t. In recent months his network has been invaluable to us in tracking down the new awakenings.’

  Seb looked over his shoulder at the barman, who was now lost in his own thoughts as he stared at the door. ‘He must be so proud,’ he said.

  ‘What was that?’