Chapter 221 – Back at the Beginning
Rufus Trent was not a brave man. He knew this. He was no coward, but if he was truly brave, he would have joined the military, instead of becoming a glorified night security guard for the Awakening Memorial Museum. And that was before magic had been fully unleashed, and actual monsters started showing up.
At least these nights he didn’t spend most of his shift alone. No, for the past month, there’d been at least a couple other people staying with him overnight. Not guards, like him. No, one was a researcher from the University of Seattle’s Thaumaturgy department, and the other was an officer from the Seattle Police Department. Both were in the office, keeping watch on the instruments that were measuring the magic readings from the Memorial itself.
The Memorial had not really changed since the last of the Lost Sleepers, the Lich Queen Akagawa Kaori, returned from the other world. Only two changes had been made. The first was a small thing. Merely a sign, placed just outside the outer circle, which told of how the Sleepers had been stolen to the other world, and how the last of their number returned to lay them to rest.
The second change was a bit larger. Inside the inner ring of the monument, opposite the central arch, with the stone altar between them, was a statue, depicting two figures. The first was the Lich Queen, holding her iconic staff high in salute to the archway. The second was the Goddess Murena standing behind her, one hand on the Lich Queen’s shoulder, and the other holding the bow for which she was known, watching over the Lich Queen, and her fallen companions.
Technically, no one knew who had commissioned the changes. And, technically, no one had seen who made them. Technically. In reality, everyone knew that the changes had been approved by the Awakening Memorial Charitable Fund, and that the changes had been made by the Lich Queen herself. Rufus had ‘conveniently’ gone to the restroom, so he wasn’t watching the monitors when the changes had been made one night, and the security footage of the changes had ‘mysteriously’ vanished. But everyone knew the truth.
Tonight, his companions in the security office were a bit more important than the usual ones. Captain Marcus Fairchild was the commander of the SPD’s Magic Containment Unit, and Dr. Daniel Fletcher was the head of the Thaumaturgy department over at the University. Of course, there was a reason why these two were here, when they usually had too much else going on to stand around all night. They were expecting more guests.
Captain Fairchild looked at Dr. Fletcher, and said, “So, Doctor, how did you arrange this? I mean, I’m not complaining, but most people couldn’t exactly get Her to pop over across the ocean to check on magical weirdness.”
Fletcher chuckled. “Well, I didn’t speak with Her Majesty directly. But her younger sister was one of my students, now working at Phantomline developing new technology and pushing the field of Magitech forward. I simply passed my readings along to her, with a note that her ‘big sister’ would probably be interested, considering the history of the place.”
“And you would be correct in that, Doctor.”
To their credit, the other two men did not jump, much, at the sudden voice behind them. Of course, Rufus had seen the door open, so he wasn’t surprised. Though he had to admit he’d never expected to see the Lich Queen in person again.
She was in full Lich Queen mode, including her armored dress. Next to her was Dr. Akagawa Eri, her younger sister, and behind her were six people dressed in similar uniforms, with the Lich Queen’s symbol displayed prominently. Her new apprentices, most likely. Considering why they were here, that was probably for the best.
Pleasantries were observed, and introductions made, and then Captain Fairchild led the group over to the Memorial, while Dr. Fletcher explained the situation. “As I mentioned when sending the data to Dr. Akagawa, the mana readings at the site have been steadily building since the Unsealing. We expected something like that, given that mana readings have been rising everywhere, forcing us to recalibrate many of our machines for new baselines, but recently the changes have accelerated in the area immediately around the memorial. Given the history of the site, we’re concerned about the possibility of a rift to the world you were summoned to, or elsewhere.”
Fairchild frowns. “If a rift forms, what will happen to the monument?”
“Don’t worry about that,” the Lich Queen said. “I installed wards on my last visit, covering the Memorial and the Museum. The site is still a power site, and still a weak point in the barrier between dimensions, but any rift that tries to form will be displaced slightly. Not much, since that would potentially cause it to land in residential areas. The most likely sites would be somewhere on the grounds, or perhaps in the old gym.”
The captain nodded. “That’s fine, then. I don’t like the idea of a rift forming, one way or the other, but if it does happen, I’d rather it be someplace where we can minimize damage to people and property. And the artifacts in the Awakening Museum are not easily replaced. Some are irreplaceable, like the remains of the other Sleepers.”
The Lich Queen’s sister chuckled. “Whose idea was it to put the skeletal remains on display, anyways? I admit, having them all laid out in state like they are, still wearing the armor they had when my sister brought them back home was a nice touch. But didn’t she return them all to their families?”
The Lich Queen nodded. “One of the families had the idea, and they all quietly agreed that it would be for the best. Cremation was not possible, given the changes the bones had undergone, without the assistance of an elder dragon. And there were concerns that, if they were interred in normal cemeteries, grave robbers and relic hunters would desecrate the graves, looking to turn the valuable magical materials into artifacts and foci. Displaying them publicly and respectfully, with suitable magical and technological security measures in place, was the best way to keep that from happening.”
As they worked their way to the center of the Memorial, the Lich Queen sighed. “Well, you were definitely right to call for me, Dr. Fletcher. I can see the buildup of magic clearly. The dimensional boundary is thinning.”
Lucia, one of the Queen’s apprentices, frowned. “What does that mean, Mistress? Is there going to be a portal to another world, here? Or is someone attempting another Hero Summoning?”
“We can safely rule out the Hero Summoning ritual, I think. The effect of the summoning is more instantaneous, and, if the readings Dr. Fletcher sent Eri are accurate, this is more of an active buildup over the course of months. No, this is someone deliberately attempting to create a portal between worlds. Or perhaps a rift opening from this world, to the Void Between that underpins reality. Either is something that needs to be addressed properly.”
Captain Fairchild frowned. “Is it possible to stop the portal from forming? To shut the door and lock it before it can be opened?”
The Lich Queen was quiet for a moment as she turned her gaze to the air above the memorial, no doubt looking at the confluence of magical energies directly. “Possible, perhaps. But unwise. The magic nears completion. Locking the door, as you put it, would cause the mana being used to either erupt violently, or divert to another area. It might even change the nature of the incursion, making a stable portal into an unstable rift, for instance.
“Moreover, there is no time for such things to be done properly and safely. The rise of magic is visibly accelerating, from what I can see, and growing more organized. I believe that the incursion will begin shortly. As in, within a day. However, while barricading the door is impossible, it may be possible to force the door to open on our schedule, controlling the size and placement of the opening. More importantly, that will mean that I will be here, in case the result is a rift to the Void Between, which will prevent a tide of monsters from pouring forth from the rift unchecked, eager to devour the souls of those they meet.”
Fairchild nodded. “In that case, I’ll need to talk to the Mayor, and the Governor. Both have been monitoring the situation, and hoping for a definitive answer. Do you have any idea which world or dimension this portal or rift will lead to?”
“Nothing I would rate as more than an educated guess. The most likely prospects, in my opinion, are either the Void Between, or Onerth. But that is just because Onerth is where this place has been connected to twice before, and the Void Between is everywhere and nowhere at once. However, there are other worlds out there, and any of them could be building towards an incursion, for any number of reasons. Preparing for only one or two possibilities is foolish, when we do not know the full scope of things.”
With that, Fairchild went to make his calls, while the Lich Queen began directing her students. They went to the parking lot, which was empty of all cars, save for Rufus’s old sedan, the Captain’s SPD van, and Dr. Fletcher’s motorcycle. The Lich Queen used magic to produce a runed circle on the ground, and her disciples began using chalk to trace the lines of circle and runes alike, taking care to make everything as exact as possible. It was unlike any magic that Rufus had seen before, but then, the magic he was used to was Thaumaturgy, and the Lich Queen was a true Archmage.
By the time they were finished, Captain Fairchild had returned from his calls. Looking the Lich Queen in the eye, he said, “Mayor Holman was unhappy to learn that simply shutting things down was not an option, but knows better than to try and argue with an expert like you. Governor Young says that she is ready to mobilize the National Guard, if things look like they’re going to get out of hand, but is deferring to your experience in such matters.”
The Lich Queen laughed at that. It was not entirely in good cheer. “In other words, neither of them wants the potential political liability of trying to gainsay me on matters of magic. If all goes well, then there is no problem, and they can say that they were following expert guidance, but if things turn out badly, they can say that they can’t be blamed, since not even I was able to control the situation. On the other hand, if they interfere, then the best case is that things turn out well enough, despite their efforts, rather than because of them. Politicians are the same in any world. At least these ones are more calculating than prideful.”
The Lich Queen turned her attention back to the circle, as she, her disciples, and her sister took their places, evenly spaced around the perimeter. At some point, the Lich Queen had brought out an undead raven the size of a four-year-old child, which apparently served as her familiar. Each of the other mages had familiars, as well. At her left hand, an undead in chain armor stood behind the Canadian apprentice, while a black-furred panther emerged from the shadow of the Korean man. The red-haired Hawai’ian man had a fire elemental floating behind him, while opposite the Lich Queen, her sister had a wolf that appeared to be made out of vines and shrubbery at her side. Then, there was a Portuguese man with a hawk on his shoulder, an Egyptian woman with an undead serpent the size of a horse coiled beside her, and a Mexican Vampire who had a spectral wraith floating next to her.
Then, the Lich Queen spoke. “It is fitting that we are here, my family and my disciples, back at the site where my life changed, sending me on the path to unlife and mastery of the arcane, now that another seeks to gain entrance to this world. Let us begin, and ensure that we are ready to receive them properly.”
And so, the ritual began, as they started chanting a language Rufus had never heard.