The First Dragon(60)
“Waiting for to do what?” asked Fred.
“Help you,” the young man replied. “One last time.”
In a trice, the young man in the Ruby Armor was replaced by someone Rose had seen twice before: a very ancient man, wearing a flowing robe. He nodded at them as if this were an entirely anticipated turn of events, then looked at Rose, smiling. “Hello, my dear,” he said. “I have been waiting for you for a very long time, but I knew you’d show up again . . . eventually.”
Without hesitation, Rose simply asked him the first question that came to mind. “Are you him?” she said. “Are you the Architect?”
“No,” the old man said firmly. “I am not the Architect.”
“Who are you, then?” asked Rose.
“You know, Moonchild,” he replied gently. “You have always known.”
“Coal,” she said, her voice soft. “You’re Coal.”
He nodded. “I was. Am. Although I think I prefer the name I chose for myself. It suits me best, when I need a name, that is. You may call me Telemachus.”
Chapter EIGHTEEN
The Architect
The Caretakers of Tamerlane House gathered en masse at their side of Shakespeare’s Bridge. There, just on the other side, they could see Dr. Dee and two tall men in black, who wore dark glasses and bowler hats. In between them was Jack’s brother, Warnie.
“These are my colleagues, Mr. Kirke and Mr. Bangs,” said Dr. Dee. “They have been trained to do many things, but what they most excel at is following my orders—and I have told them that unless you do exactly as I ask, they are to tear Major Lewis into pieces.”
“Sorry, Jack,” Warnie said. His military reserve and strength of character gave him the appearance of fortitude, but Jack could tell he was properly scared.
“You know me well enough, Jules,” Dee said. “I’m not bluffing. And if need be, my colleagues can also kill Caretakers—no matter what form they’ve taken.”
“What is it you want?” Verne asked, casting a quick glance at John to see if he would object. John nodded his head faintly, giving Verne the go-ahead to keep speaking. If Dee wasn’t aware there was a new Prime Caretaker at Tamerlane, then John certainly wasn’t going to correct him.
“These are my colleagues, Mr. Kirke and Mr. Bangs.”
“There are guards set in these stones, and in the bridge,” said Dee. “Runic wards. I want you to cancel them.”
“I see,” Verne said, stalling for time. “We use silver rings to bypass the—”
“I don’t want a ring, Jules!” Dee all but shouted. “I want you to drop all the protection you have built up around these islands! Now!”
To punctuate his request, Mr. Kirke twisted Warnie’s arm backward and up, dislocating his shoulder. Jack’s brother let out a yelp of pain, then gritted his teeth and bore it.
“What if we decline?” asked Verne, trying not to look at Major Lewis. “What if we simply say no?”
“Mr. Kirke and Mr. Bangs are very, very strong,” said Dr. Dee, “and we have silver sledgehammers that can shatter even cavorite.”
“And?”
“And,” said Dee, “as far as I know, this bridge is the only thing keeping Tamerlane House tethered to the Summer Country. If we smash it—and we will—then you suddenly get hurled into the heart of the Echthroi’s domain. Forever. And then,” he added, “we’ll still kill Jack’s brother.”
“All right!” John shouted, realizing Verne was more likely to sacrifice Warnie than give up any tactical advantage. “We’ll do as you ask.”
Dr. Dee’s eyes glittered as he looked from John to Verne and back again, processing this apparent breach of Caretaker protocol. “Good,” he said, gesturing for Mr. Kirke to ease up on Jack’s brother. “I see you are going to be reasonable men. Lower the wards.”
“And then what?” John demanded.
“Then,” said Dee, “I’m going to go home.”
♦ ♦ ♦
“You were taken from us, you know that,” said Rose. “We’ve tried everything we could to find you!”
“I believe you,” said Telemachus.
“So you’ve chosen?” asked Fred. “You decided to help the Caretakers after all?”
“I wasn’t sure, not completely,” he answered, “until I put on the Ruby Armor—and realized that I had more in common with T’ai Shan than I did with John Dee, or the Echthroi.
“T’ai Shan was born into a family of gods, but she was crippled, and so was cast out. She had to make her way in the world as a beggar, or perish. She survived in part because she was an adept—like you and I, Rose—but she thrived because she saw it as her purpose to serve others.