Tre Lloyd Adventures Ch. 08

The next few days passed in a blur of little sleep and lots of action. I spent most of my time with Arianna altering the wards and traps for the Villa. Bobby worked on the physical defenses of the grounds with everyone else. When we were done, the Villa was as well protected as we could make it. Magic protected the perimeter and made the area approaching the house a killing ground for vampires. The area closer to the house was protected with assorted mundane tricks they were guaranteed not to like.

The night that we finished I returned to my house to do some research in my library. I could have used the one in the Villa but I wanted some privacy. I called Arianna and she said she would be over as soon as she finished what she was doing. By the way she sounded on the phone I could imagine just what she was doing. I hung up the phone and turned back to my computer. I checked again on the progress of my search bots but they had found nothing to explain the cold fireball.

I was about to resort to posting a message on the Order's message boards when I heard the chiming of my wards. Arianna shimmered into visibility seated in one of the chairs facing my desk as I watched and I smiled, pausing in my posting. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything, Arianna." I grinned.

"You did." She said. "But I am used to you interrupting. You have a knack for it. What did you need?"

"I have a question about magic. If you don't have the answer I will have to ask the Order. That will cause a shitstorm because of how it came about." She nodded and rested her chin in her palm listening. "The other night I was jumped by some vampires. I used a spell I came up with to drain the 'life' from one of the vampires." I didn't really pay any attention to the worried look that flashed across her face as I continued. "I then used that essence to power some more spells that I have found. I used the last of it along with the normal power to power a fireball. It was a dark fireball but instead of being hot when it exploded, it was cold. Admittedly I haven't used that spell before but that just didn't feel right." I looked at Arianna, noticing the worried look on her face. "What is it, Arianna?"

Arianna leaned forward, looking at me closely and I could see that she was looking at me astrally. Finally she spoke, her voice showing she was upset. "You used a spell to, first of all, drain a vampire's life, then you used that life to power spells?" At my hesitant nod she frowned deeply. "Tre, those are spells that you shouldn't know, and if you did know them, you shouldn't use them. They are," she paused, thinking. "Those spells generally come from a, for lack of a better term, demonic source. The people that know them and can use them are generally in service to some dark power."

As I started to speak she held up a hand. "Those spells cause damage to the body, Tre. They are not safe to use." She shook her head. "I don't know how you learned those spells or even how you can use them safely. I do not see any of the usual marks of any demons or anything like that on you. You know, like those who have made a pact with a dark power show."

I finally interrupted her. "You know I haven't made any pacts with demons or any... dark power. The idea for the spell just came to me. So did using the life I drained from the vampire to fuel the spells. I felt a little nauseous after draining the vamp so I decided to use the essence against his buddies."

"'A little nauseous'?" She said, leaning forward even more, and then standing. "Tre that in itself worries me. The last time I saw somebody use that spell without a demon's help he drew the essence into him and was immediately on the ground sick. He was sick for days, fever, weakness, nausea. Anytime somebody gave him food or drink it came right back up. They had to feed him intravenously until the essence dissipated on its own."

I leaned back in my chair, nodding, deep in thought. I had used something that I was not supposed to with very little ill effects. Something stirred in my mind but I was unable to grasp it before it was gone. "I don't understand it, Arianna. But I will keep investigating. I have to know why now. If this isn't normal for a mage to be able to do I have to know why I can."

She nodded, her hair rustling quietly. "Be careful, Tre. There are lots of mages, especially among the older vampires who have ignored you until now, who will destroy you without a thought if they get even an inkling that you possess this... ability."

"I know. I guess I will have to check with the Order and see what they can tell me." I sighed and rubbed my face tiredly before dropping my hands to the desk. "I know they are going to want me to come to the Motherhouse to be examined. I can't do that right now though. But if I refuse, they will send someone to 'escort' me."

A knock at the door surprised both of us. I looked out the window and saw a nondescript dark sedan parked in the road with the lights on. I took a quick look out with astral perception and then stood up, walking around the desk and, gesturing to Arianna to stay put, made my way out to the front door. I opened the door and looked around it at the man standing there in the brightness of the front porch. "May I help you?"

The man in the dark suit nodded. "Yes you can, Mr. Lloyd." He brought out an envelope sealed with blue wax and held it out to me. I looked at it but refused to take it and he reached into his coat and brought out an ID wallet, opening it and showing me the sign of the Order of Hecate. "My name is Alan Williams." I took the ID and looked at it carefully. "I was sent by Consul Telemon. He requests your presence at the Chapter house in New York."

I scanned him astrally, noting that he was a physical adept, trained to a high level in his physical skills as Akiro and Keio were. I handed the ID back and took the envelope from him. "What does he want me to come to New York for? Did he say?"

The courier shook his head. "He did not say. I would imagine that the letter will explain. The only other thing he told me was to tell you that the spirit Arianna's presence was required as well. Good evening, Mr. Lloyd." He turned and walked away without another word.

I shut the door behind him and walked back to my office. I sat down in my chair and set the letter down. "That was odd. Our presence is requested at the Order Chapter house in New York."

Arianna looked surprised. "Mine? Are you sure?"

Nodding I picked up the envelope and examined it before breaking the seal and pulling out the folded sheet of parchment within. It had the Order's coat of arms at the top in one corner and the Inner Circle's in the other. Below that in the center of the paper was Telemon's seal as Consul of the Order. I skimmed the letter in disbelief before beginning to read it out loud to Arianna.

"To Tre Lloyd, Mage of the Goddess, greetings from the Inner Circle and myself in particular. This letter is to tell you the reasons why you have been summoned to the Chapter house. The database monitors have noticed the nature of the searches that you are doing and they have informed the Circle of them. It was decided that, as I would be in the States on Order business anyway, that I should meet with you and discuss them. They have us rightly concerned, Tre. There will be two plane tickets at Memphis International Airport tomorrow for the 12:15 P.M. flight to New York. Bring the free spirit Arianna with you. It has been too long since I have spoken with her. I will look forward to speaking with both of you tomorrow. Telemon son of Achilleus."

I looked at her in surprise. "I guess they already found out and have the same concerns as you do. Anything more I guess I'll just wait 'til I get there and see."

Arianna looked disturbed as she looked from the letter in my hands to me. Finally she shook her head and stood up. "I have to go home, Tre. I will be back to go with you."

"What is wrong Arianna?" I asked, standing up and dropping the letter onto the desk. "You look scared."

"The only person I have ever known called Telemon died years ago in an experiment. There is no way it could be the same person." With that she disappeared cutting off what I was about to say.

I sat back down in my seat and went to shut down the search bots roaming the Order's databases. After shutting down the search I took up the letter again, reading it over and over. Finally I put the letter back in its envelope and put it away in my safe. I went out to the living room and called Akiro's cell phone. When he answered I told him what was going on with the Order and that he and Keio would be staying behind to help defend the Villa if I was not back. He protested and tried to insist on coming with us, but I finally ordered him to remain behind and he quietened with a few mutters.

I hung up the phone and got up, grabbing a Mt Dew and heading to my bedroom. I got changed into a pair of sleeping pants and sprawled out on the bed laying back and waiting for sleep to drag me under. When sleep did come for me, the dreams it brought with it were strange and disturbing. Upon waking the next morning I had no recollection of what I had dreamed the night before except for a nagging feeling in the back of my mind.

I packed a pair of suitcases for several days' stay in New York. I only needed one but I knew that I would have to make an appearance of having a suitcase for Arianna. I packed my clothes and, more carefully, packed hers. I was setting the suitcases by the door when the wards signaled me that someone was approaching. Shifting to astral perception, I saw it was Arianna just before she shimmered into sight in the living room.

"Morning, Arianna. How are you?" I walked into the kitchen and poured myself and her a cup of coffee. I doctored mine up the way I wanted it and slid the cream and sugar over to her. I watched her over the rim of my cup as she picked up the cup and sipped from it.

"I am fine, Tre. I spent all night trying to figure out how this could be the same Telemon that I knew in Athens." She took another drink from the cup, holding it in both hands as one betrayed her slight shake.

I sipped from my cup and shrugged. "All I know about Telemon is that he is a free spirit, same as you. He came from Greece a couple millennia ago and is probably the most powerful spirit I have ever seen or heard of. I do know that he is the favored of Hecate. Rumors also say that she summoned him just to found the Order. I have met him and was immediately impressed with the aura of... I don't know, wisdom, I guess is the word. The aura of wisdom that he just exuded."

She looked up at the last thing I said and then looked away, drinking some more from her cup. I got on the phone and called a cab to take us to the airport. Arianna and I spoke while waiting on the cab to arrive. I could see she was visibly upset and nervous. When the cab arrived, I grabbed my copy of The Discourses by Machiavelli and kept it in hand to read on the plane.

When we arrived at the airport, Alan Williams was there and he handed each of us a plane ticket, keeping one for himself. I declined his offer of help with the suitcases and, after checking our luggage we made our way to the check-in counter. Arianna and I took a pair of seats to ourselves and spoke quietly about the situation at the Villa. The plane boarded only 20 minutes behind schedule and we were off.

We picked up our luggage in New York and Alan took us to the parking structure where he had left his car. I put the bags in the trunk and we climbed into the back seat and he started the drive to the Chapter house. We watched the sights pass us by in silence, each minute drawing us closer to our destination, the Eastern United States Chapter house of the Order of Hecate, and my meeting with the Consul of my Order.

Finally we arrived at the plain fifteen story building that housed the Order's representatives in the eastern part of the US. I was not really any stranger to New York or the Chapter house hereabouts. I had been here several times before for tribunals concerning my actions against the vampires. I smiled a bit as I remembered the vampire hunter I had met on one such trip to stand before a tribunal and wondered what she was up to. Then I remembered the line of work we were in and wondered if she was even still alive. Alan pulled into the parking garage below the building and Arianna and I got out of the car. He pulled into a parking spot to wait saying that he would be taking us to our hotel later. I thanked him and we went inside and up to the first floor.

After checking in with the receptionist we were told to go right on up to the top floor. I hung my Order ID badge from my collar and Arianna took the guest badge from the receptionist and hung it from her shirt. We headed to the elevator and took it to the top floor. There a pair of uniformed security guards wearing the symbol of the Order checked our IDs. I astrally scanned them and one was a full blown mage while the other bore the signs of a physical adept. I returned to my normal vision and returned my badge to its place thinking they were a pair to be reckoned with indeed.

We walked to the room the two men indicated and stepped inside. It was one of the office/libraries that the Order maintains for the Inner Circle in each Chapter house. We sat down and, a few minutes later, the door opened and Telemon came in. He dismissed the troupe of people walking behind them and closed the door. As he turned around I heard a gasp from Arianna.

"Telemon? Is it really you?" I looked from him to her in surprise as Telemon laughed, walking on into the office. He was dressed in a dark gray silk suit of Italian cut. He looked to be an extremely fit man in his early sixties. Short gray hair and a well trimmed beard framed his face and his dark eyes fairly sparkled with power and experience.

"Yes, my dear Arianna, it is truly me." He walked over to us and she jumped out of her chair, hugging him tightly.

I could hear her voice quivering with emotion as she spoke. "What happened to you? How? How are you here? You were human when you studied with Master Diotimus."

He nodded when she stepped back, still smiling at her. "Yes, Arianna, I was. My last ritual worked in ways I could never have imagined. The story is long and complicated. I have written it out for the Order's Archives and my personal library. I will have a couple of copies sent over to your hotel for you to read at your leisure." I nodded, eager to learn more about the mysterious leader of the Order and could see Arianna nodding as well. He went around the desk and sat down, making a quick call before looking back to us. "But the end result was that I was touched by Hecate and given the duty to form the Order. I did and here I am."

Arianna nodded, still in a state of semi-shock from seeing someone she thought long dead. "I would like to read that story very much Telemon. I thought you were killed in the explosion."

He nodded, smiling softly. "Yes. Unfortunately Hecate demanded that of me. A complete severance of ties with the past. It wasn't until recently when some Order mages met with a few of the local Houngans in New Orleans and I read their report that told about the 'free spirit Arianna' that I even knew you still existed. The last I had heard you had been taken by that Muslim sorcerer... al-Aswad or something, and made his slave." I saw Arianna's face tighten at the memory.

I spoke up, curious about something. "Consul..."

He raised a hand to stop me. "Call me Telemon, Tre. This is an informal meeting. All of our meetings this week will be informal if I can help it."

I nodded to him and started again. "Telemon, how did you know that I would be able to contact Arianna? Is it that well known in the Order about us?"

"No, Tre, it is not." Telemon shook his head. "When I heard about Arianna being freed I began to watch her from a distance. I was trying to see if I could get a hint about who had freed her. The only constant contact that she had was you. It was a calculated risk."

I nodded. "How many of the other Inner Circle members know about her?" I asked.

"None Tre. My spies were all spirits that reported directly to me before being released. And I reported to no one as my interest was strictly... personal. I had found a tie to my past and wanted to keep up with her." He looked back at me and took a deep breath and I could sense the mood in the room change.

"Tre, as you know I summoned you here about the information you have been researching in our databases." I nodded and he continued, speaking quietly. "As I said, these are informal meetings and no transcripts or recordings will be taken. Several of the Inner Circle members have been informed of the nature of your searches and we are all concerned."

I looked at him, confusion evident on my face. "I was looking through the databases for information, sir. A reason why a spell I cast had an effect different than what it should have. Even for someone else in the Order that may have experienced the same thing or heard of it. But I found nothing."

Telemon stood up, resting on his fingertips on the desk. "There is a reason that you found nothing, Tre. A reason that I will explain soon. But for now I have another meeting that I must attend. Alan will take you to your hotel and you may rest for a few hours. I do hope that you will join me for dinner."

Arianna and I both stood, nodding our agreement. "Yes, sir, we will. I would be honored." I said. He walked us to the door and I shook his hand. Arianna hugged him again and we were on our way back out of the Chapter house. Arianna turned in her visitors badge at the receptionist and, to our surprise, she was handed a temporary ID, "at Consul Telemon's orders".

Alan drove us to our hotel and we checked in, finding a large two bedroom suite reserved for us. We walked in the room and as I set Arianna's suitcase down in her room I noticed a book laying on the nightstand beside the bed. I glanced at the title and saw it said "Telemon's Key". I smiled and walked out of the room, picking up my suitcase and finding an identical book in my room.

I put the suitcase down and picked up the book, walking back out into the main room, flipping through it. I was surprised to notice a couple of things about the book. First was that the pages were actual parchment and not paper made to look like parchment. The second thing I noticed about the book was that it wasn't printed. It was hand copied, from the looks of it, with a quill and ink in the old manner. "Arianna, Telemon's books are here. Your copy is in your bedroom."

She went to get it and came back, smiling. "Just like Telemon. This is his handwriting. He wrote this and copied it personally. Look at this." She showed me the title page of her copy, showing me the "14 of 20" adorning the bottom of the page. I looked at mine and saw "15 of 20"

She sat down in one of the chairs and I kicked off my shoes and lay down on the couch. I turned the TV on to CNN and we read in silence. I occasionally looked up at the television but for the most part I read what was written in the book.

I was about halfway through the book when the phone ringing disturbed me. I put the book down and answered it. It was Alan telling me that he was downstairs waiting to take Arianna and me to meet Telemon for dinner. We dressed quickly, Arianna finishing faster than I did since she merely had to will her clothes to change. We went downstairs and met with Alan and he drove us to the restaurant. As we pulled up at the door, he looked back. "Tell them you're with the Achilleus party. They will take you to his table."

I slid out of the car and held the door for Arianna to get out. She slid out and I couldn't help but admire her legs as she did. She grinned at me as she stood up, brushing her lips against my cheek and whispering "later" in my ear. I closed the door and offered her my arm. She took it and we walked inside and were led to Telemon's table.