Marie Harte - Below the Surface

“Whoa, waterboy! Time out! That’s a plasma screen TV for Light’s sake!” Cadmus hissed in displeasure as he stared around the soaked room, stepping gingerly around a growing puddle.

Aerolus stood behind him, his mouth open in what had to be a first. Aerolus, stunned speechless?

Unfortunately, not , Marcus thought sourly as Aerolus closed his mouth and blinked as if waking from a dream.

“Sorry to intrude,” his brother said. Tessa tried to extricate herself from Marcus’ grip, obviously embarrassed, but he refused to let her go. Not now, not after his battle with his conscience that he’d finally won. “But what were you doing in here?”

With a wave of Marcus’ hand the water in the room vanished, leaving the room completely dry, Cadmus’ precious television in working order.

“Satisfied?” he asked dryly.

“More than are you at the moment,” Cadmus muttered, his crass comment causing Tessa to blush a most becoming shade of rose.

Aerolus broke the small silence, staring at the ceiling, his mouth tightening the longer he stared. “’Sin Garu was here.” He quickly glanced from Marcus to Tessa. “You’re alright? Both of you?” He eyed Marcus with a particular scowl.

Cadmus paled. “I was just outside in the yard, and you’re telling me ’Sin Garu was here? In our living room? In our protected house?” He shook his head in disbelief at Marcus. “What did he want?”

“He wanted Tessa.”

“He wanted you more,” Aerolus said in a vague voice as he again studied the ceiling. “He was dissociated across planes, an advanced and difficult spell even for a sorcerer of his calibre. Yet you defeated him. You defeated him,” he said again, in a puzzled tone.

The statement was more a question, and Marcus could see Aerolus’ frustration. His brother normally knew everything about everything, his otherworldly powers having grown exponentially while in this world. Yet now, curiously, Aerolus couldn’t read Marcus’ cast spell.

Interesting. “I sense some irritation, Aerolus,” Marcus said coolly, actually enjoying himself. For once he knew something his annoyingly uncanny brother didn’t.

“Irritation? No.” Aerolus took a deep breath and appeared the soul of calm, but Marcus sensed the agitation vibrating subtly along his brother’s spine.

“Marcus, just tell him what he wants to know.” Tessa sighed and practically slid into the couch. “Lord, my legs are like water,” she muttered, leaning her head back on the cushions.

Satisfaction filled him, knowing he’d put the weakness in her knees. “We were sitting here talking when he appeared, a full-sized image of ‘Sin Garu floating above the windows there.” Marcus pointed to the spot. “He threatened and said a few unpleasant things to Tessa.”

“You know how much he dislikes the people in this realm.” Aerolus stroked his chin. “He thinks they’re beneath him.”

“Like someone else we know,” Cadmus grumbled, giving Marcus a testy look. Marcus knew the insult for what it was, belated worry and disappointment that Marcus hadn’t called for help dealing with the evil sorcerer.

“You’re telling me he talked to her?” Aerolus studied his brother and Tessa both.

“Yes, he talked to her ,” Tessa answered testily, her feet propped up on the coffee table, her head tilted back on the couch.

Marcus frowned. He didn’t like ‘Sin Garu’s familiarity with his affai either, but Aerolus’ interrogation made him see beneath the threat of ‘Sin Garu’s presence. Something more was going on here, something he needed to understand to protect Tessa from future harm.

“That spell you were working on last week,” Marcus said softly, now wondering just why he’d remembered that one spell among the multitude Aerolus practiced. “Something about its properties led me to believe it might help me in dealing with ‘Sin Garu.”

Marcus watched in astonishment as Aerolus’ eyes shifted from light grey to dark black. Never before had he seen his brother so close to losing control. Tessa blinked up at him, and even Cadmus swore in shock.

“You dared use an untried spell on the most dreaded wraith lord to ever descend upon our people? You could have wiped out half this block with an overload of power. You could have mismanaged the incantation and done more damage to yourself than him.” His voice was lethal for its quiet, his eyes pulsing with a strange, almost unholy light. “You could have been killed.”

“Uh, Aerolus?” Cadmus ventured. “You’re freaking me out.”

“Shut. Up.” Aerolus glared, his eyes swirling with power. Cadmus tried to respond but was suddenly struck mute. “And you,” Aerolus turned to Tessa, watching her quietly. Marcus sensed his brother was seeing a replay of the confrontation in her mind’s eye, a remnant of the magic impressed on her. “You tried baiting ‘Sin Garu. Are you losing what last bit of sense you have left?” His tone was biting. “As if sleeping with this jackass wasn’t enough of a mistake?” Furious, his adrenaline still full enough to lick good sense, Marcus’ blood iced. He narrowed his eyes and with a flick of his wrist, slammed Aerolus against the wall.

The spell holding Cadmus mute broke. Rubbing his throat, he swore in a mixture of several languages. “Damn it, Aerolus. You mute me again and I’ll turn you into rock bits.” He glared at his pinned brother, and coils of energy rattled the walls and the very space surrounding Cadmus.

Aerolus shook his head and tried to free himself from Marcus’ hold but found himself unable to. Marcus smirked, glad to be in control of his contained, ‘younger’ brother for once. The smirk sent the normally mild-mannered Aerolus into a tailspin.

He began murmuring, his eyes glowing, and Marcus quickly filled his mouth with water. Coughing and spitting, Aerolus actually glared as he tried unsuccessfully to free himself from his brother’s bonds.

“If you’re both finished?” Marcus asked his brothers in his haughtiest voice. Though they glared at him, he knew they would listen, Cadmus because he felt like it, Aerolus because he had no choice. “I defeated ‘Sin Garu for the moment . Leave it at that, Aerolus. I don’t normally pay attention to your sorcery, but something made me take notice of your spell. Think about that.”

Marcus knew his father had something to do with that, he felt it deep in his bones. So much for Faustus playing by the rules. “The point of all this is to determine how ‘Sin Garu slipped past our safeguards.” Something the sorcerer said bothered him. Releasing his hold on his now calm brother, he glanced down at Tessa and saw to his surprise she slept, her breathing soft and even.

“He mentioned something I should have thought of before.”

“What?” Cadmus and Aerolus asked at the same time, causing Cadmus to reluctantly grin and Aerolus’ eyes to lighten to grey.

“He said, ‘The Djinn bedamned’ before threatening to kill me without mercy. And he mentioned the possibility of Tessa going to jail.”

Cadmus swore. “Arim warned us the Djinn were here, but I didn’t think we’d have to worry about them confronting us head on. They normally do their damage behind the scenes.” Marcus knew he referred to the poisoning of the Storm Lords, in particular their father.

“Apparently the Djinn have grown bolder,” he said, more than disturbed by this revelation. “If ‘Sin Garu is this aware of Tessa’s recent problems at work, it stands to reason he’s got a spy at Tomanna, despite our efforts to shield ourselves.”

“Or he’s got a scrying portal in effect.”

Marcus shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. The way he worded it, The Djinn bedamned , made me think he’s getting his information from a Djinn source.”