perspective so it doesn’t frighten her.”
For several seconds Langley didn’t respond. Then he looked up and rolled his eyes. “Okay. One more trip? That’s it? Do you promise?”
“Well, that will be up to Aunt Adelaide, won’t it?” At Langley’s glare, he added, “All right, fine, then. One more trip. If I don’t find anything definitive, I’ll just tell her it was a false reading and we’ll go on our way. All right?”
Langley looked at Stone like he was trying to figure out what his angle was. Finally he dropped his hands to his desk. “Fine. I’ll give her a call. You want to go tonight?”
“The sooner we go, the sooner we can get it over with.”
This time, instead of one satchel full of bogus gear, Stone showed up with the satchel and a pair of boxes in the trunk of the Jaguar. He had also ditched the “crazy occult investigator” outfit for jeans and a Who concert T-shirt under his ubiquitous black wool overcoat. At Langley’s raised eyebrow he pointed out, “She already knows I’m not a real investigator. Might as well be comfortable.”
“So what’s in the trunk, then?”
“A few bits of measuring equipment I borrowed from a friend.” That wasn’t true. He’d actually made an afternoon trip to the Weird Stuff Warehouse in Sunnyvale and picked up a selection of things with interesting meters and flashing lights.
“What about your assistant?”
“He—won’t be joining us today. He has other commitments.”
“Lucky him.”
Aunt Adelaide was happy to see them, insisting that they sit down and chat for a few minutes over a cup of tea. “Are you still experiencing the strange feelings?” Stone asked.
She nodded, fear showing in her eyes. “Not so much the voices now, but I still don’t like going into that library. What are you going to do tonight?”
“Just a bit more checking with some new equipment I’ve brought along. You’re welcome to watch, if you like.”
She shook her head. “No, thank you. If you don’t mind, I’ll just stay down here.” She shivered a little in emphasis.
Pressing Langley into service to help carry boxes (they took the elevator this time), Stone set off for the third floor. He kept his senses open all the way up this time, focusing on anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Now that he knew what he was looking for, there was no question in his mind that it was here. What “it” was, however, was another matter completely. He had no idea, probably wouldn’t have much chance of finding out without doing an actual ritual, and he didn’t think his odds of getting one of those past Langley were too good. All he could tell with his limited ability to probe the area was that it was most likely malevolent, and it was probably a good deal more powerful than it was letting on. In fact, if anything it seemed less potent than before. It’s hiding, he thought. It knows I’m here and it knows I can find it, so it’s trying to make that difficult .
“Hey!” Langley’s voice broke in on his musings. “Did you hear me?”
“What? Erm—no. What did you say again?”
“How long do you think this is going to take?”
“No idea. Depends on if I find anything.” He took the lead this time, heading for the library. Before entering, he made a quick gesture hidden by his body and felt a shield settle over his mind. He couldn’t shield himself completely—not if he wanted to pick anything up—but at least it should keep him from keeling over in a faint if the thing decided to pull any of its tricks.
Langley set down the boxes and moved over to the chair he’d sat in before. “You don’t need any help, do you?”
“No, you’re fine.” Quickly, Stone opened the boxes and made a show of setting up his “detection gear” as quickly as he could. He plugged it in and switched on the various pieces, pleased to see that they were performing as he expected them to.
Langley looked up with interest, examining the flashing lights and
For several seconds Langley didn’t respond. Then he looked up and rolled his eyes. “Okay. One more trip? That’s it? Do you promise?”
“Well, that will be up to Aunt Adelaide, won’t it?” At Langley’s glare, he added, “All right, fine, then. One more trip. If I don’t find anything definitive, I’ll just tell her it was a false reading and we’ll go on our way. All right?”
Langley looked at Stone like he was trying to figure out what his angle was. Finally he dropped his hands to his desk. “Fine. I’ll give her a call. You want to go tonight?”
“The sooner we go, the sooner we can get it over with.”
This time, instead of one satchel full of bogus gear, Stone showed up with the satchel and a pair of boxes in the trunk of the Jaguar. He had also ditched the “crazy occult investigator” outfit for jeans and a Who concert T-shirt under his ubiquitous black wool overcoat. At Langley’s raised eyebrow he pointed out, “She already knows I’m not a real investigator. Might as well be comfortable.”
“So what’s in the trunk, then?”
“A few bits of measuring equipment I borrowed from a friend.” That wasn’t true. He’d actually made an afternoon trip to the Weird Stuff Warehouse in Sunnyvale and picked up a selection of things with interesting meters and flashing lights.
“What about your assistant?”
“He—won’t be joining us today. He has other commitments.”
“Lucky him.”
Aunt Adelaide was happy to see them, insisting that they sit down and chat for a few minutes over a cup of tea. “Are you still experiencing the strange feelings?” Stone asked.
She nodded, fear showing in her eyes. “Not so much the voices now, but I still don’t like going into that library. What are you going to do tonight?”
“Just a bit more checking with some new equipment I’ve brought along. You’re welcome to watch, if you like.”
She shook her head. “No, thank you. If you don’t mind, I’ll just stay down here.” She shivered a little in emphasis.
Pressing Langley into service to help carry boxes (they took the elevator this time), Stone set off for the third floor. He kept his senses open all the way up this time, focusing on anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Now that he knew what he was looking for, there was no question in his mind that it was here. What “it” was, however, was another matter completely. He had no idea, probably wouldn’t have much chance of finding out without doing an actual ritual, and he didn’t think his odds of getting one of those past Langley were too good. All he could tell with his limited ability to probe the area was that it was most likely malevolent, and it was probably a good deal more powerful than it was letting on. In fact, if anything it seemed less potent than before. It’s hiding, he thought. It knows I’m here and it knows I can find it, so it’s trying to make that difficult .
“Hey!” Langley’s voice broke in on his musings. “Did you hear me?”
“What? Erm—no. What did you say again?”
“How long do you think this is going to take?”
“No idea. Depends on if I find anything.” He took the lead this time, heading for the library. Before entering, he made a quick gesture hidden by his body and felt a shield settle over his mind. He couldn’t shield himself completely—not if he wanted to pick anything up—but at least it should keep him from keeling over in a faint if the thing decided to pull any of its tricks.
Langley set down the boxes and moved over to the chair he’d sat in before. “You don’t need any help, do you?”
“No, you’re fine.” Quickly, Stone opened the boxes and made a show of setting up his “detection gear” as quickly as he could. He plugged it in and switched on the various pieces, pleased to see that they were performing as he expected them to.
Langley looked up with interest, examining the flashing lights and
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