Later that night, Alec found himself tossing and turning in his bunk. At first he couldn't figure out why he was so restless, and then it dawned on him. Save for a night or two in a hostel when he could gather the funds together, this was the first time he'd slept in a real bed in six months.
Eventually, he gave up the effort, slipping out of his bunk and walking out through the hallways. He put his hand along the walls of the bunker, feeling a familiarity with the stone. He closed his eyes and listened until his ears tuned into the pound of machinery and ventilation thrumming up from deep underground. Almost immediately, he felt at ease.
Alec walked along the passageways until he came to a large chamber lit solely by candlelight. In the center of the room was a stone tablet on which was inscribed a phrase in Latin. Alec walked over to the tablet and traced his fingers over the letters.
Ne paveas carmine damno alieno trahentis.
"Let no spell be cast that draws harm to another."
Alec turned around to see Rathbone walking into the chamber.
"The motto of the Versailles Society," he said, then smiled slightly. "I thought it had a nice ring to it."
"It's nice," said Alec. "Maybe a little overly optimistic."
"Isn't that the whole point of magic?" Rathbone. "To inspire one to dream of better things?"
"I guess," said Alec. "I suppose I never really thought about the point of it all. It's always just kind of been there."
Rathbone chuckled. "You young magicians," he said. "You never change."
"You've seen a lot of young magicians in your time?"
"In my time," said Rathbone, taking on a faraway look. "I have seen quite a lot."
"So, what, you don't die?" said Alec, realizing how crass the question sounded immediately after he uttered it. But if Rathbone took any offense, he did not show it.
"Death is an illusion," said Rathbone. "There's only...transition."
Alec gave a small snort and looked back at the tablet. "Tell that to my mother."
Rathbone walked further into the chamber and took a seat nearby.
"You were close to her?"
"We both were," Alec said. "My brother and I. Our father, he was often...not around. She took care of us, raised us. Taught us how to use, how to conjure."
"Your father?" asked Rathbone. "Was he...?"
"No," Alec shook his head. "He was never really much of anything, to be honest. He was always in and out of work. Always trying to find a quick way to get rich. A few years ago, he said he had a lead on a big opportunity and that he would come back and get us all when it paid off. I'm guessing it hasn't paid off yet, because we haven't seen him since."
"And your mother?"
"She drowned," said Alec. "Last spring."
"I'm very sorry to hear that."
"She was visiting a friend," said Alec. "In Cauville-sur-Mer. She went swimming one morning...and now she's gone."
Rathbone did not say anything, but simply nodded in understanding.
"Since then, it's just been Ethan and I," said Alec. "Ethan was never the same after that. He was so angry. He felt like the world had taken something from him, and he wanted to take something back."
"And you?" asked Rathbone.
"Me?" said Alec. "I just wanted my mother back."
Rathbone stood up and placed a hand on Alec's shoulder.
"Rest easy, my boy," he said. "You're among friends now."
Rathbone walked out of the chamber. For a moment, Alec considered leaving himself and going back to his bunk. Then, after a brief consideration, he lay down on the cool, smooth stone bench.
He was asleep in seconds.
* * *
The next morning, Alec made his way to the War Room for the first briefing of the day.
"How are you holding up, buddy?" asked Benny, coming up behind him. "Settling in?"
"Somewhat, I suppose," said Alec. "It's still a lot to get used to."
"Trust me, my friend," Benny said. "You ain't seen nothing yet!"
The sight that greeted Alec upon entering the War Room served to punctuate Benny's words. Seated around a round stone table was a host of users of all nationalities and races, representing almost every country in the world. Alec was shocked to see even German and Japanese delegates sitting side by side with Polish, French and English users, speaking with them in hushed, businesslike tones.
"Why are they here?" said Alec to Benny. "They are our enemies!"
Before Benny could answer, a young German man came up to them. Alec immediately felt his stomach turn.
"Our countries are at war," the German man said. "But I am not your enemy."
He gave them both a long hard look, and then his features softened and his face broke into a wide grin.
"How could I be? We've never even met!" he said with a laugh. "My name is Karl Schumacher. I've just arrived here from Berlin. It took me three weeks to escape. They are tightening the noose on users more and more every day."
He put out a hand, and Alec eyed it suspiciously. Karl withdrew the hand and nodded.
"Fair enough. I understand your feelings," he said. "I know what my countrymen have done to you and your people. But you must know that not everyone in Germany believes as they do. There are many who believe that what is happening to our country is an offense. That Adolf Hitler is nothing more than a madman who will lead us all to ruin. I am here to help the users restore honor to the Fatherland."
"Yeah, honor," said Benny. "Haven't seen a lot of that from your people these days."
"As I said," Karl continued. "You have reason to be upset. But I assure you that we are on the same side. Can we be allies?"
Again, he put out his hand. This time Alec shook it, although tentatively. However, when Karl offered the handshake to Benny, he was refused.
"Look," said Benny. "I'm sure you're a nice enough guy, I'm just...not yet, OK?"
"Very well," Karl nodded. "Allow me to prove myself to you, then."
"Yeah," said Benny quietly. "You do that. C'mon, Alec, let's grab a seat before the old man gets here."
Alec nodded to Karl and then walked over to the stone table, pulling out a chair and preparing to sit down. The chair made an impossibly loud grinding sound on the floor as Alec drew it out and nearly every head turned in unison to watch him. He gingerly sat down and pulled the chair in, wincing as again the legs ground loudly against the stone. Finally settled, he folded his hands on the table and looked around the table. All of the faces of the older users stared back at him with harsh, emotionless glares.
"Bonjour," Alec offered.
Silence. Just then, he heard a whistle from behind him and turned to see Benny, who had taken a seat in a chair along the walls.
"Hey," Benny said in a loud whisper. "Dummy! You're sitting at the grownups' table!"
Alec reddened and scuttled out of his seat and into a chair next to Benny. The men and women at the table watched him go and then turned back to their business as though he'd never been there.
"Prestige users only at the table," said Benny. "They're called the Elders. Some of them are so old, there's rumors they're among the first users on Earth."
Alec gave Benny an embarrassed look.
"You could have warned me!" he said.
"Do I have to teach you everything?" Benny said. "I knew a lot of guys like you back in Brooklyn. Plenty of book smarts and not a lick of street smarts."
"Don't talk to me about street smarts," Alec said sharply. "I've been living down here on my own for six months, without any protection spells or hidden bunkers to keep me safe." "Alright, alright," said Benny. "Keep your shirt on, will ya? I'm just busting your chops, jeez! Look, just follow my lead going forward and try not to attract any attention. Or any more attention!"
Alec looked around the table at the other Elders who were now taking their seats.
"See her?" whispered Benny, pointing to a woman with white hair and blue eyes that almost seemed to glow. "That's Miranda Spear. One of the founders of the Irreg...Versailles Society. Word has it that her and the old man go way back."
"How far back?"
"Like armchair-to-armchair with King Arthur back."
"King Arthur?" said Alec, unable to hide his laughter. "As in Merlin and Excalibur? Those are just children's stor..."
Benny cut Alec off by pointing at the wall behind them. Alec turned and saw a gleaming silver sword mounted on a wooden plaque. The light from the room caught the polished steel, casting off rainbows in every direction."
"You're telling me that's Excalibur?" Alec said. "The sword of King Arthur. The one he pulled from the stone?"
Benny shrugged. "What do you want from me?" he said. "You want to live in the magical world or not? This is what it is, my friend."
"Good morning, everyone!"
Maxwell Rathbone's voice filled the room as he strode in. At his side was Jane Harriman, looking as serious and stone-faced as when Alec had first met her. Still, he found himself watching her as she walked. That is, until she whipped her head around and fixed him with a glare that sent his eyes directly down to the floor.
All of the other Elders around the table stood as Maxwell made his way to the front of the room.
"Thank you for all agreeing to this meeting," he said as everyone took their seats. "I know many of you are here at great personal risk, and I would not have brought us all together if the situation were not truly dire."
"Then what we have heard is true," said a Japanese elder with a long, flowing beard
"Yes, Akio, I'm afraid it is," said Maxwell. "Hitler has learned the location of The Bell."
A murmur passed through the room at this revelation as the Elders all tried to take in what Maxwell had just told them. Alec, on the other hand, was perplexed.
"The Bell?" he whispered to Benny.
Benny waved his hand to silence Alec.
"Just listen," he said. "It'll all make sense."
"I know there are some among you who are new to our cause," said Maxwell, "so I will try and explain. At the conclusion of the last Great War, more than twenty years ago, the Elders of all nations came to a number of agreements. One of these was the establishment of the Versailles Society, an organization designed for the regulation and protection of magic and magic users. As you know, one of the key tenets of the Society was that magic was never to be used in open warfare again."
"So much for that one," said Benny, elbowing Alec in the ribs.
"Because of Germany's role in the war," Maxwell went one, "there were certain restrictions put in place. The German Elders agreed to surrender the majority of their vril..."
"Spark," whispered Benny.
"I knew that," said Alec, irritated.
"As you know, vril is among the most powerful conductors of magical energy in the known universe and the largest concentration of it lies underneath the soil of what is now present-day Germany. For their actions in the War, the Germans willingly agreed to drain the majority of the vril from their lands. The Elders were allowed to keep some for themselves to continue their work."
Here, the German elders nodded and touched black stones that hung from their necks on long chains.
"It seems that the Germans managed to gather some vril to create this."
Rathbone flicked his wrist and a blue orb of light jetted from his hand and stopped in the center of the table, morphing into an image that rotated slowly in the air above them. It looked to Alec like a red and black pepper shaker with a glass dome at the top.
"Die Glocke," said Rathbone. "The Bell. It is one of the German's so called 'Wonder Weapons,'' devices of such power and complexity that they defy rational science. From what we understand, The Bell is a device that allows the user to travel not only through time, but also through interdimensional space. To see all outcomes of any given scenario. Initially, The Bell was thought to be in a laboratory located in an underground bunker in St Georgen an der Gusen in Austria. Some of our operatives attempted to intercept it there, only to find that the bunker was abandoned and the Bell was gone."
"You mean it was moved," said Miranda.
"Yes, my dear," said Maxwell. "To London."
Another ripple of conversation broke out and one of the German Elders stood up and pointed a staff accusingly at Maxwell.
"Dieb!" he shouted. Thief!
"I assure you, Volbrecht," said Maxwell. "I had nothing to do with this, nor, I would wager, did any other British user in this room. It seems the Bell was taken by a team of SAS operatives and relocated to an underground facility somewhere in the city."
"At least now we know why the bloody Germans are bombing us every night," the white haired woman said.
"Indeed, Miranda," Maxwell nodded. "The Bell is a powerful object. The sheer amount of vril that is powering it has rendered it nearly invulnerable to any weapon forged by the hand of man. The plan of the Nazi Blitz is no doubt to level the city until the device is finally revealed."
"My God," said Volbrecht. "With access to that kind of device, the ability to witness the past, present and future all at once, Hitler would be invincible."
"And the Nazis would cover the world in darkness," said Maxwell. "Even our combined powers could not hold back that kind of force. It would be over before we even knew it was beginning."
"It's settled, then," said Miranda. "We must travel to London and retrieve the Bell before the Germans find it."
"I have already been in touch with the office of the Prime Minister and they assure us that the Bell is not housed in either Westminster or the Palace. I suspect they are not being entirely truthful with us. Perhaps out of fear of what we might do with such a device in our possession."
"We can't just turn away," Akio said.
"No we cannot," Maxwell agreed.
"Then what do you propose?" said Volbrecht.
"Before it was moved to Austria," said Rathbone. "We believe that it was worked on here in Paris, and we're tracking down leads to confirm that."
"That's a thin chance on which to pin the hopes of the entire world," said Miranda.
"Perhaps," said Maxwell. "But a thin chance is better than no chance. There is an exclusive underground group of magic users that operate in this city. They call themselves the One-Eyed Kings. Since the German occupation, they've been acting as a sort of resistance force. Unfortunately, they are so exclusive that none of us have been able to make contact with them. Until now."
As if on cue, Eddie Taylor walked over to the front of the room, his trademark grin covering the lower half of his face. He was flipping an Ace of Spades in his hand, the card sending small embers into the air as it turned over. Each time it landed in his hand, the suit changed. First an Ace of Spades, then a King of Clubs, then a Queen of Hearts and so on.
"One of my Irregulars, Eddie Taylor, was able to ingratiate himself into the group," said Maxwell. "There is a high stakes poker game held there every Friday night. That's five days from now. Eddie and a few other members of the team will infiltrate the game and gather what intelligence they can. With any luck, someone in the One-Eyed Royals will know who took the Bell and how to find it."
"And if they don't?" Miranda asked.
"If they don't," said Maxwell. "Then this war will be over before too long."
With that, the meeting adjourned. Alec turned to Benny.
"What happens now?" he asked.
"Well now, I have to go and meet with the old man and figure out how we're going to smuggle some Irregulars into this poker game when only one of us has got an invite."
"And what about me?" Alec said. "Surely there is something I can do?"
"You?" said Benny. "Well...the thing is, the old man doesn't want you going on any missions yet. Not until you've had some training."
"Training?" said Alec surprised. "What training do I need? I've been conjuring since I was eight years old."
"Spinning dinner plates at parties is a lot different than fighting Nazis," said Benny. "You could get hurt. We could get hurt!"
Benny saw the look of hurt on Alec's face and tried to soften the blow a bit.
"Look, I know how it feels, OK?" he said. "First few weeks down here, the old man had me receiving on packages to see if they were rigged with explosives. You're gonna get your chance, I promise."
"Very well," said Alec. "Who will be training me? Foxy? Eddie?"
"Well..." said Benny.
"Tickler!"
Alec turned to see Jane standing in the doorway.
"Training room, one hour. Let's see if you can impress me as much as you did the German High Command."
She left the room as quickly as she had entered it, with barely a look back. Benny looked over at Alec and could barely hide the smile on his face.
"You're gonna have so much fun," he said, then gathered up his papers and left, leaving Alec to wonder if he should have just surrendered to the Germans when he'd had the chance.