Grave Intentions (Darkling Mage 3)

I gritted my teeth.

We were dismissed after that, sent off to do whatever we wanted. The Heartstopper being missing didn’t mean the end of the world, but this whole situation just reeked of Thea. Where she went, destruction followed. But if it really was her behind it, then how were we supposed to even track her down in the first place?

I had more questions. So many. Pressing matters I couldn’t discuss with the – with the members of the Boneyard. Damn it, Asher. It did sound cool. Ugh.

I headed to my room, shut the door, and took out my phone. It didn’t matter what I thought about the preferential treatment Asher was getting – we were all grateful for the gift of wifi. I looked up Herald Igarashi, then initiated a video call.

He picked up in three rings, appearing on the screen in his glasses and, from the upper half of his body that I could see, one of his typical outfits, which made him look very much like a stylish librarian. It worked out for him, anyway, the buttoned-up shirts, the ties, the vests. It looked like he was at home, for once. Guy worked too much.

A talented alchemist and a very competent sorcerer in his own right, Herald was an archivist for the Lorica. He was tasked with sorting, collecting, and cataloguing the strange and dangerous artifacts that passed through his section of the organization’s extensive Gallery. He also liked to mention that he was something of an amateur demonologist, but I wasn’t sure how that translated into what he did for a living, if it did at all.

“Sup,” I said.

“I am not going for brunch in this damn weather, Graves. And I’m up to my ears in lobster rolls. No more.”

“What? No, no, this is about something else. I needed to talk to someone who knows a lot about magic, but I can’t talk to Carver.”

“So you called me?” Herald straightened his posture. Flattery always worked, but hey, it was as honest as I could get without blowing smoke up his ass. Okay, too much smoke. I could tell he was restraining a grin. “Ask away.”

“How much do you know about glamours?”

Herald squinted a little, then pushed up his glasses as they started to slide down his nose. “Oh. That’s really advanced stuff, Dust. I know you’re chomping at the bit to learn more magic, and no offense, but you can’t even launch a fireball yet. Glamours are complex illusions. Even I can’t do them consistently.” He passed his hand over his face, his fingers trailing little violet skeins of magic. “I can change my eye color though. See?”

He bent closer to his phone. Damn right. His eyes were blue now. “Show-off,” I said, half fondly, and half in total, utter jealousy. He grinned, then blinked, and his eyes were back to brown.

“I’m curious, though. Humor me. Why are you suddenly interested in glamours? I know that Thea used a powerful one to impersonate someone long-term.” He frowned, looked off-camera, then back again. “Wait. Is this about her?”

I nodded. “Looks like someone’s impersonating me, or at least they did to go and steal something called the Heartstop – ”

“The Heartstopper?” Herald’s face was practically pressed up against his phone now.

“So you know about it.”

He nodded. “Belongs to a powerful local blood witch. Used to preserve corpses. Shaped like a drop of blood. That Heartstopper, yes?”

“Exactly what Carver said.”

Herald clucked his tongue. “Can’t be good, dude. Whoever’s behind this, Thea or no, they’ve got to have a very specific reason for wanting the Heartstopper. And if they’re impersonating you, that’s just going to get you into heaps more trouble.”

I sighed. “I was kind of hoping you’d have some answers besides what Carver already told me, but here we are.”

“I’m flattered, Graves, but my huge brain can only process so much. We need backup. Someone with a stronger information network.” He rubbed his chin, then gave me a smile. “What are your thoughts on checking in with your eight-legged girlfriend?”

Chapter 3

“Now, normally, you can use anything to cast a circle. Maybe draw it in chalk, or even scatter a bunch of twigs in the right configuration, and you’ll have something worthy of calling an entity’s attention.”

Asher’s lips hung slightly parted as he absorbed Herald’s every word. I’d casually mentioned to Carver that I was going on a communion, and asked if I could take the kid with me. The answer was a vehement “No,” until I followed up and mentioned that Herald was coming. “Oh, that’s fine then.”

It was kind of telling that he didn’t trust me to babysit Asher on my own, but was perfectly happy to allow it with someone from the Lorica on the team. Carver might have seen something in Herald that night we all had dinner together, something almost resembling admiration. Whatever it was, I gotta say, it stung just the tiniest bit that he trusted Herald more than me.

But watching Herald carefully give instructions, I began to understand exactly why. We were in the same alley Thea had once brought me for my first communion, with Arachne, the very same entity the three of us were meaning to contact.

Asher was nodding enthusiastically at basically everything Herald said, in between sips of the frosty boba drink he had in his hand. Hey, it was a hot day. We needed to pick up the reagents for Arachne’s summoning, and there was this great bubble tea place in Little China called Happy Boba. Yes, the name isn’t lost on me. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they were owned by the same people as the Happy Cow.

“So again, use whatever you want to cast a circle. Personally I like to keep things convenient for myself.”

Herald snapped his fingers. Violet light pulsed from his hands, gathering into threads that snaked about his feet, drawing a flawless, glowing circle on the ground. Scratch that, it was multiple concentric circles arranged in perfect geometric symmetry, with eldritch symbols inscribed in appro