“He wouldn’t be so reckless with Thorburn, given what the diabolist is to him.”
“No,” Fell said. “It’s… eight thirty. Thorburn’s deadline is midnight. I don’t think things are going to settle down then. The other local players will make moves, our Lord will respond, potentially bringing out the big guns. Thorburn is his own camp. The major players are another camp entirely. Allied but not friendly.”
“And where do we stand?”
“With Conquest, unfortunately, unless a good opportunity comes up.”
“I’m not quite so beholden to Conquest as you are,” his mother said.
“That reality relies on you staying under his radar. If you’re going to abandon that position, we should make sure it’s for good reason, with optimal timing. Tonight, given the chaos that’s likely to unfold, the timing is far from optimal.”
“In enchantment, we pay particular attention to degrees of connection. There tend to be figures who serve at the heart of the intricate webs of connections. People who have far more connections extending from them than your typical person. Social people, players of the game, catalysts… You most certainly are not this kind of figure, Malcolm.”
“Few illusionists are.”
“Putting aside the fact that you’re an enchanter, not just an illusionist, we should give thought to who the lynchpins are in this tangled web.”
“The Lord of Toronto.”
“Yes. Who else?”
“Thorburn. Though I say that with caveats.”
“Which caveats?”
“He’s severed his connections with the rest of the world. Very nearly bled himself dry. He’s now straddling the line between human and Other. I genuinely wondered if he was possessed, earlier.”
“My family doesn’t particularly want him to do well here. My own feelings… well, I feel fairly lukewarm about my family’s wishes, given how things have played out in the last decade or two.”
“Understandable.”
“He’s a tool. Is he a tool we can use? You need to give me the answers. You’re the one with eyes on the scene.”
“Yes, but… well, Blake Thorburn was having a discussion on the way over to visit the demon. He and his partner talked about the dangers of using fire as a diagram.”
“Not very conventional.”
“That’s just it. He’s… he is fire, metaphorically speaking. Hard to predict, hard to control. Even as a useful tool, he’s dangerous.”
“And if that fire were put out? If we cut the few connections that remain?”
“He’ll be lost. Potentially to Conquest. Do we want to, though? Conquest seems remarkably at ease with the idea that Thorburn might get devoured by the demon, soul and everything else about him cast down into oblivion. Why?”
“Logic suggests that the demon would eat him, his companions would be lost as well, and the next Thorburn would find themselves heir to the property, powers, and dangers.”
“Yes,” Fell said. He leaned back.
“The Lord of Toronto clearly feels something else would unfold.”
“Apparently.”
Fell’s mother affected a smug tone, “What could that be?”
“We don’t have time to play games.”
“Not games. I will always expect you to stay sharp, Malcolm. Give me an answer, instead of complaining. Your grasp of the answer will be better if you achieve it yourself instead of me giving it to you.”
“The mirror-companion is heavily tied to Thorburn. The Lord of Toronto is tied to the companion. Does he think he can somehow rescue Thorburn if it comes to it?”
“Possible. But let’s look closer at the mirror-dweller.”
“She’s a bit of a riddle,” Fell said.
“Is she?”
She was maintaining that same smug tone that had driven him batshit insane when he was a teenager.
“What else could she be?” Fell asked. “If she isn’t the riddle… she’s the answer?”
His mother smiled.
“Thorburn gets removed from the picture and… the mirror dweller is the one who takes up the position as heir?”
“It answers questions.”
“It raises more,” Fell said.
“It’s progress. A step forward in understanding. We can illustrate the connections that extend between everyone present,” his mother said. She reached for her purse, withdrew a tablet, and began drawing on it. “Everyone is a sun, with rays radiating out from them, attaching them to the world around them. Mr. Thorburn is a bright star, if one that might burn out soon. He’s eliminating those rays by his own actions, or circumstances might snuff him out. Yes?”
“Yes.”
“Conquest is perhaps the brightest star in this city. He’s connected to virtually everything. This is one of the factors that make him hard to remove.”
“We’ve been over this.”
“I’m illustrating. Who, then, is Ms. Thorburn?” His mother touched the pad, leaving a dot.
“Companion to Blake,” Fell said. “Bound by Conquest.”
“Yes. Remove Blake, assume she doesn’t disappear, and she’s…”
“Still Bound by Conquest. With no other ties to the world. His and only his.”
“A pet diabolist. With everything that entails. It might be in our best interest to look after Mr. Thorburn.”
Fell frowned.
“We can’t help him now. Trust Mr. Thorburn to manage for the time being. Let’s arm ourselves for the conflict that’s about to erupt. Go get the books, I’ll tuck my granddaughter in.”
Fell nodded.
He reached the bookshelf, but he got no further.
He felt a tug, and he was in Conquest’s tower. He caught himself before he could stumble or fall.
Conquest was here, monstrous, massive. Expending more power for pure theatrics.
On another day, he would be glad Conquest was expending power so readily. This day was different.
“Thorburn has escaped the demon’s lair,” Conquest said, his voice a low rumble.
Fell had no idea how to feel about that. He remained still.
“Is that a good thing?”
“Good enough. Trouble’s brewing. The locals are stirring. I may ask the novice diabolist to help me manage it.”
Setting him up to die. Again. Stirring more trouble, creating chaos.
“Shall I assist him?”
“Your choice,” Conquest said.
“I’ll go meet with him shortly, then.”
“Do.”
No mention made of the fact that he’d hauled Fell from his day-to-day.
Fell turned to go. A disturbance made him pause.
Conquest had brought the mirror-dwelling girl here much as he’d brought Fell. More expenditures of power.
“Now,” Conquest said, to the girl, “You will tell me everything you don’t want to tell me. Starting with Mr. Thorburn’s plans.”
“No- I-”
“There is no choice in the matter,” Conquest intoned.
“I-”
Fell paused. “Miss?”
Conquest turned. Ms. Thorburn ceased stuttering.
“It goes easier if you just obey.”
Ms. Thorburn’s voice cracked. “I- he’s setting the imp on you. It’s already scheduled. He was calling in the Knights, and he’s releasing the Hyena too. I think they figured out how. They want to trap you in your realm with the monsters, and use the demon’s appendage to lock the door.”