Free Waiting for Magic by Susan Squires Page B

message.” Devin’s deep voice was flat. “She wants to see you later.”
    “She, uh, seem excited?” Kemble asked, hopeful.
    “No. Her exact message to you was, ‘Tag, you’re it. See me later.’ ” Devin turned to go.
    “No, no, don’t go,” Kemble said, standing suddenly. He pulled Devin into the room with one arm. “You’re just what we need.”
    Devin looked acutely uncomfortable as he lowered himself gingerly into another of the chairs. He wore a hooded sweatshirt with his jeans as a nod to the season. Actually Kee was surprised he wasn’t wearing shorts. He usually wore them all year long. The scrapes on his face and knuckles seemed to be healing. He was not looking at her. Carefully not looking at her. “I’m no use on the hunt for the Talismans.”
    Kee thought Kemble was going to jump out of his skin. He glared at Kee.
    “Don’t blame Kee,” Devin said. “She didn’t betray your secret. I heard you talking to Museum Guy the other night. It was obvious you were going after the Talismans and he seemed to think that Pendragon guy might have them.”
    “Or at the least, he might be able to help,” Kee corrected, clearing her throat. There, she’d managed to talk normally with Devin in the room. It would all be easier now.
    “It’s okay,” Kemble said, apparently as much to himself as to them. “Devin, I think we need your perspective.”
    “Like I’m going to be of any use.”
    That’s just how Kee had been feeling.
    “Just don’t tell anybody else we’re looking for the Talismans. Senior put me in charge of the quest and I don’t want the younger ones to get worried, or worse, try to help.”
    Devin rolled his eyes.
    “Okay. So I should have known you could keep a secret.”
    “So what’s the Golden Dawn?” Devin had been listening at the door.
    Kemble shrugged as he realized it too. “The Golden Dawn is a secret society based on magic and occultism. Started in the nineteenth century in Britain.”
    “So, like a magic club?” Devin asked.
    Kemble bit his lip. “Maybe more than that. Dark arts and all. It was said at the third level they could do astral travel and tell the future, perform alchemy, things like that.”
    “Alchemy? Like turning iron into gold.” Devin’s voice dripped sarcasm.
    “I know, I know,” Kemble said. “But they were very into the tarot, too.”
    Kee agreed. “I think Drew mentioned that when she was researching the tarot’s history. That might be a reason for him to have a Talisman. But weren’t they the ones who said it came from some Egyptian god? Where’s the Arthurian connection?”
    Kemble tapped a pen against his lips. “Drew and I aren’t sure. But the name Pendragon indicates there is one. Museum Guy’s tip might be better than he knew.” He leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. “Golden Dawn had some pretty famous members, Yeats, the poet, and Bram Stoker among them. A guy named Aleister Crowley. I emailed one of the current members.” He raised a hand to forestall protests. “Yes, the Golden Dawn still exists, though they’ve gone underground. I went to school with him at Harvard. He was in the Divinity School of course, while I was in the Business School.”
    “Of course, a magician would go to Harvard Divinity School,” Devin said, disgusted.
    Kemble gave him a severe look. “They’re sworn to secrecy, but he owed me. He told me it was rumored that Pendragon was a Magister.”
    “What’s that?” Kee asked.
    “Apparently, a really high-level magician.” Kemble shrugged.
    “I guess that’s good,” Kee said slowly. “A powerful man would want to collect powerful artifacts. What else did you find?”
    “I found out on my own that he—or his father—really cut a swath in his time. Liked the ladies. Rumor had it he stole Jane Russell from Howard Hughes in the forties. Burned down a house doing some ceremony where all the women present were naked and there was a two-headed goat. That sort of