CHAPTER 12
I was whistling by the time I entered the lab. Molly had already cleaned the work table and was about halfway through organizing my potion ingredients. She had a smudge of something brown and sticky on her right cheek and Bob was quizzing her on mineral properties and aura colors while he simultaneously rewrote the spell from the Carpenter's door from memory.
I eyed the spell cautiously. I knew Bob well enough to know that he would leave out just enough information to render the spell useless, but it was still disconcerting.
I smiled knowingly at Bob's chiding tone as he took Molly to task for confusing Tiger Eye with Tiger Iron.
"No, Molly," Bob paused for a theatrical sigh, "I know you don't realize the importance but pay attention. Now, once again, while it's true that they both do a fair enough job enhancing courage, it is the Tiger Eye that can increase vitality and arouse passion and physical strength while also aiding mental clarity. The Tiger Iron, on the other hand is capable of strengthening a wizard's force of will and it is especially useful as it can be utilized as a protective shield." Bob finally turned to face Molly and then added, "Mixing up the two can have nasty results." He paused and snorted, "Perhaps Harry will share with you what happened when he made the mistake of using Tiger Eye in the place of Tiger Iron."
I glared at Bob as Molly began begging me to tell her the story. I sighed, "The only thing I'm going to tell you is pay attention. Having a tribe of pixies attack you by humping every available inch of exposed skin, including your nose, was more than enough to cement the difference forever in my mind."
Molly's eyes rounded in disbelief and when I nodded, she burst out laughing. I put off any further discussion by reminding her she still had plenty of work to do. She continued to giggle, but she went back to her work.
I heard her mutter softly under her breath, "I'd give anything for a picture of that."
I was startled by the, "So would I," that came from the door.
Murphy stood there leaning against the door frame and it struck me how it felt right that she should be there. She raised her eyebrows at me and I knew she was asking me if it was alright for her to be there. I nodded and smiled as she descended down the last few steps.
She wiped at the sweat on the back of her neck, "If I would have known how much cooler it was down here, I would have been down here sooner." Murphy stood on the other side of Bob and stared up at the spell he had drawn in the air.
"Harry," she said warily, "is that the spell from last night and if it is why is it here?" I heard the small touch of anger and fear that made its way into the question.
"Yes, but Bob will leave out a crucial character or two and without an invocation to power it it's pretty much inert. Once it's finished we can study the individual components and see how it's put together. That alone might give us some clue as to the wizard behind it. Some wizards even leave a signature to ensure everyone knows who the spell belongs to. I'm not hoping to be that lucky, but hey you never know."
Murphy nodded cautiously and backed away from the spell. When she hit my work table she shimmied up to sit on it. Molly, who had been diligently working on the bottles up until this point, was standing and studying the spell.
"Molly, since it appears you've lost your concentration on Harry's pharmacopeia, you may as well tell me what you see." Bob's voice startled Molly and she jumped. "I don't need eyes in the back of my head young lady, only ears to realize that you were no longer moving glass bottles around."
Molly slouched uncomfortably, but moved closer to the glowing spell. She pointed to a single character near the middle of the complicated spell. It was surrounded by seven other characters. Honestly, I hadn't taken notice of it yet, as I was trying to figure out the transfer mechanism or prompt. These were usually along the borders of a spell, acting like a trap or dragnet. The spell would spring when the trigger was released.
"I don't really know, but something about this part seems off. It's almost like that character in the middle is being protected by the ones around it, but that's not right because of the way they are arranged, it's backwards, but it's not." Molly watched Bob as she spoke. His eyes sparkled while he nodded.
I eyed the grouping carefully. The center character was some obscure sigil that I'd seen used to denote malice in long forgotten spell books, but the seven surrounding it were the more common characters for lust, pride, pain, shame, love, jealousy and fear.
"As far as I can tell it doesn't make sense. From everything I've learned so far this spell shouldn't even work. I've never seen anything like it anywhere. The whole thing is constructed wrong." Molly cocked her head to the side and stared."
Bob turned to face us. "That character in the center is the geminus contemno, or double hate, and the reason the spell appears 'wrong' is that it's quite black. This part of the spell is the prompt." Bob paused and looked right at me, "Harry have you ever seen anything like this before?"
"Uh, no, not really, except maybe in my uncle's old grimoires and I didn't spend much time reading them." I glanced back at the spell and shivered.
"Well, I can't say I've seen it used since I was alive," Bob stated blandly and crossed his arms over his chest as he continued, "At one time it was used frequently to literally kill two birds with one stone. When used properly in a spell it would drive two parties to eliminate each other at any cost, which, of course, is what you and the Lieutenant attempted to do. What is strange about this one is that both parties must almost simultaneously touch the prompt, or in your case be in physical contact with another person while touching it. In addition, those two people must actually feel one of the surrounding emotions for each other."
Bob's frown echoed my own as he began to draw the complicated sigils and recite their meanings and specifications.
"This character can be used for lust, usually physical passion. The next one is for pride or specifically pride in someone else, not for something. Then one for pain, this symbol is almost always used to denote emotional pain or grief. Then we have the ones for shame, love, jealousy or envy and finally mortal fear."
I felt the heavy mantle of fear pull itself around me. I hated black magic. Yeah, I know I've occasionally dipped a toe into the brackish water of "grey magic" but knowing someone was going around using the black stuff so openly and skillfully, well it just made me really nervous.
Another frisson of unease hit me, "Bob, last night you said that the spells were practically harmless except to the person they were set for. Are you suggesting that this one was set for me?"
Bob shook his head, "Harry, look at the upper right corner of the spell. That small character by that ward, what does it say?"
I glanced at it and it was suddenly clear why I was able to trigger the spell.
"It means healer or healed. It was a meant for Zella." I scratched my neck irritably.
Bob nodded, "Since the character can be used to indicate healer or those who were healed you were able to force the prompt. Obviously you and Ms. Murphy share one of the afore mentioned emotions and when you touched it gave birth to your altercation."
"OK, fine but why was the prompt buried in the middle of the spell. It makes more sense to put it by the door knob or on the door frame where people are more likely to touch it." I was always thrilled to get answers, but I always found they simply raised further questions.
"It's because of the blessing, isn't it?" Molly said still looking a bit uncomfortable.
Bob beamed. Maybe you wouldn't guess it, but Bob always took pride in his student's achievement. I knew by looking at him that Molly was correct, but I was at a loss to how she knew it.
"Exactly," Bob stated simply.
When he saw my confused look he frowned, "Really Harry, did you ever read anything you were supposed to when you were younger? Ms. Marshalikov would have blessed the house upon leaving and that blessing involves placing ones hand in the center of the door as the blessing is said. The author of the spell obviously knew that and placed the prompt where she would most likely encounter it."
"Fine, but why wasn't Zella affected by the spell then?" I asked irritably.
"It appears that for some reason she didn't complete the blessing." Bob said thoughtfully, tucking his hands behind his back and pacing before the glowing equation.
I stepped back and leaned against the work table, just beside Murphy. "Is there any conceivable reason she wouldn't have done the blessing?"
Murphy spoke beside me, "Maybe she got spooked? It's always my first thought when a perp didn't do what a perp normally would do."
I glanced at her with my eyebrows raised and waited for her to explain.
"You know, like when a perp should have taken the rest of the money or the more expensive jewelry that was sitting right in front of him, or maybe he drops the murder weapon after being so careful with the actual murder. He probably got spooked. Heard something, saw something, or thought someone saw him, that kind of thing. Maybe this Zella saw something and got spooked from her normal routine. Maybe something made her feel she had to get out and get out now." Murphy shrugged.
I smiled, Bob smiled and Molly looked, well still a little lost. Maybe, Zella did get spooked. It may have been something she didn't even realize. I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of Murphy's cell phone.
She had obnoxiously set the phone to ring the theme for America's Most Wanted and we were all treated to, "Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do. Whatcha gonna…" before she managed to answer. She gave me an ornery smile; she knew I'd have that damn song in my head all day now.
"Murphy…Yeah…Where?...Are you sure?...No, that's because it's my day off…sigh...Fine, I can be there in half and hour…No, but you owe me…Sure, and you can buy…Thirty minutes, see ya."
We listened to Murphy's end of the conversation and she pointed up the stairs and almost simultaneously began climbing even as she was hanging up.
"I've gotta go Harry, it's part of a case I'm working on."
She was up the steps by the time I glanced at Bob and followed. Murphy moved quickly and efficiently as always and was adjusting the straps of her holster as I made it to my living room. She finished and then fished a light weight cotton jacket from her bag.
I stood leaning against one of the posts that separated my living area from my kitchen and waited as she pushed her arms through the sleeves of the jacket and zipped the duffel closed. It was awkward. Normally, I would have stayed in my lab, Murphy and I would have exchanged our normal goodbyes and sarcastic jibes then she would have left.
I cleared my throat, "Does this have anything to do with the lion?" I asked, knowing that it wasn't what I really wanted to say.
Karrin finally looked me in the eye and shrugged, "Not sure, though it might. I wasn't given all the details, but they said things looked funny. I'll take a look and let you know if I need you."
She pulled the duffel up off the couch and slung it over her shoulder as she stepped around the couch and walked over to stand in front of me. She glanced up then toward the door and gave me a thoughtful frown. I couldn't keep myself from brushing a finger down her cheek and under her chin, forcing her eyes back to mine.
She swallowed, "Harry, I…"
I interrupted her, "Murph, don't. You don't need to say anything."
She stared up at me, her pupils growing impossibly wide and just before she pulled me into the soulgaze I looked over her head. I wasn't ready for Murphy to see me that way, I didn't know if I ever would be.
She grabbed the hand that was still under her chin and pressed her lips to my palm. My hand still in hers she lowered both to her side and squeezed.
She gave an exhausted sigh, "I'll call you if I need anything and I'll see you later right?"
I nodded, squeezed her hand and bent to place a kiss on her forehead.
"Be careful then, OK?"
"I always am Dresden. It's you who always manages to make a mess of things remember?"
I laughed, released her hand and nodded, "So that's the thanks I get. I'll be sure to remember that next time you call for my expertise."
Murphy readjusted the duffel and headed for the door. "You don't care as long as I put in the check requisition. See ya, Harry."
The front door opened, then closed and Murphy was gone. I ran my hand over my face and took a deep breath. Needing the distraction I pushed away from the post and turned back toward the lab. I could hear Bob rattling on to himself, and possibly to Molly, as I went down.
"Convergence, why didn't I see that before? Well I wasn't looking for it, but then…Yes, that would make perfect sense if…there you are." Bob rubbed his hands together when he saw me, pure excitement on his face.
"Harry, this equation is more intricate than I thought and it's design is so cleverly complex it almost boggles even my mind."
Bob waved me over to his side and as I joined him I noticed that Molly was back to her work with my tins, bottles and boxes. Bob was about ready to pop.
"Harry, what is the most difficult part of a spell such as this?" Bob's eager voice made me smile.
I knew Bob wanted the answer, but I felt obliged to play stupid.
I rubbed thoughtfully at my jaw and paused dramatically. "Well, placement is always important, and depending on the spell it can be problematic, but since we know the reason this one was placed where it was that wouldn't be it. Then the actual equation for a complex spell can take years if you aren't familiar with them. I guess it could also be the timing and meter of the spell…"
I was interrupted when Bob, having grown past impatient with my game, mumbled under his breath. I caught curse words in several languages, all in one way or another derogatory to a wizard, before he exclaimed, "Power, Harry, power. You need to have someway to power the spell and this spell is strong, yet since it is a trap where does the power come from?"
Bob cocked his head to the side and raised his left eyebrow, "If you want fire, you call it up through words and will. How can a spell like this be placed for an indefinite period of time without a power source? White or black, all spells are invoked through words and will."
Bob paused suddenly and then began to pace, which was typical Bob behavior, whether worried, excited or just plain thoughtful. Bob was right and of course I had known the answer. I squinted intensely at the equation hanging in front of me and tried to figure out what Bob was on to.
"I see what you mean. This spell was strong, yet you said all the magic in the house was weak because it didn't glow overtly with power. Even though I felt the stain of the black magic on the house it was because the magic was so pervasive throughout, not because of one individual spell. So, since this spell wasn't written as a curse it would have needed a great deal of will to power it, but I still don't see what I'm missing?" I tilted my head to the side, on the off chance that it would improve my luck.
"Don't feel bad Harry. I have hundreds of years worth of experience and it took me quite some time to see it." Bob pointed to a character above and to the left of the geminus contemno, "Here."
Bob shifted his hand in a diagonal and pointed to the identical character below and the right, "and here."
"Convergence?" I glanced at Bob and he gave me an animated nod.
"Yes Harry, convergence." Bob waved his hand over his previous work, effectively erasing it and began to draw a more simplistic version of the equation.
I watched in fascination and disbelief. The spell didn't just require both parties to share one of the seven emotions it actually fed off the energy behind those emotions. The will required was supplied by its victims. I stood there staring, my jaw gaping as Bob finished his writing. Bob turned and looked at me, his smile grim.
"It is eerily dangerous in its simplicity. A merging of emotions from two people that then increases exponentially into something very different. The seven emotions are each extremely strong, this spell effectively transmutes them into murderous hate. It's emotional alchemy and black or not it is extremely brilliant."
