Free Revolutionary Magic (with Bonus Content) by Thomas K. Carpenter Page A

looked up, remembering his audience, and winked. "Let's just say that I had adventures and brought something back."
    "Something that makes the powder," I said.
    "Yes, like that," he answered cryptically, then offered a sly smile. "You've heard of the Magnum Opus and the philosopher's stone? Well, maybe those stories came from this."
    "You're suggesting that some of our myths are based in reality," I said.
    "I'm more than suggesting it," he said. "But we don't know which parts are true and what is fable. I can tell you there are some myths I dearly hope are not true, but my experiences suggest otherwise."
    "Do you know what they want?" I asked.
    Ben shrugged first with one shoulder then with the other, then he raised his arms and threw his hands out in frustration. "What does anyone want? I wish I knew. I suspect they're much like us, split up into factions like countries, each with their own internal desires. For all we know they want to conquer us or maybe turn us into cattle."
    It would have been a lot to believe except that I'd seen the creature myself. Then I thought of my experience with the Russian spymaster.
    "Maybe it's here to gather information," I said, the truth firming in my mind. "It's not erasing those memories, but stealing them. So it can take stolen knowledge back to this Otherland."
    The two men shared a glance.
    "A spy that need not make contacts," said Smith, "but can take the memories directly. Is this possible?"
    Ben spoke. "We must assume it so."
    There was a piece of it that bothered me, but I couldn't pin it down. Ben spoke further while I was distracted by my self-examination.
    "So finding and capturing this creature is imperative. We have to know what its purpose is beyond the theft of memories. It didn't occur to me until now, but the similarities to those Paris murders is hard to shake. The hardest part about solving that mystery was figuring out the pattern so we could stop it," said Ben.
    "How did you figure it out?" asked Smith. "You never told me that part."
    "We didn't. We got lucky when we were visiting a friend who happened to be the next victim," said Ben, sorrow lacing his words.
    My concerns coalesced into the thought I was searching for. "How do you even know it's magic?" I asked. "What's to say that it isn't some higher technology? The gauntlet, the stone, even the powder could be mere chemistry and scientific philosophy. For if it is magic, why don't we already know its secrets?"
    I could tell by the look in Franklin's eyes that he'd thought of this and had come to different conclusions, but I had to hear it for myself.
    "I'm afraid I cannot explain and will have to show you. We were going to need to see her regardless. I think I know what we need to do next," said Ben.
    Before I could ask a question, Adam stood straight up. "You cannot. It's too risky. You know she'll want to get her revenge. How can you trust what she'll say?"
    "All courses of action are risky," said Ben, winking playfully in my direction, though the serious line of his lips suggested otherwise. "She'll tell the truth. That's how it works."
    "How what works? Who are you talking about?" I asked, worried.
    Ben tried to unsuccessfully push his non-existent glasses back up his nose, which let me know he was nervous.
    "We need to find out who the next victim is," said Ben. "It's the only way we can stop this. Get ahead of the memory thief."
    "It's not worth it," said Smith, wringing his hands. "We can narrow our list, determine through scientific principles who to concentrate our surveillance on. Better logic than this sorcery. Especially with her ."
    "My humblest apologies, my old friend," said Ben, biting his lower lip. "I'm taking Katerina and I'm going to see her."
    "Going to see who?" I asked, exasperated.
    Ben's brow was hunched with concern, his shoulders rigid beneath some unseen force. It was as if Ben were turning his body to steel in preparation for what was to come.
    When he spoke, I heard the finality in his