Electra .'
He rubbed his hands together.
'I saw a demonstration of a magic suppressor at a
Royal Society lecture last year,' Aubrey said. 'It was huge,
as big as an omnibus. It didn't work properly, either.'
'I told you I have some remarkable people working for
me,' Rokeby-Taylor said. He had trouble keeping a grin
from his face. 'The Rokeby-Taylor Magic Suppressors
are innovative in every way – size, reliability, and other
details that I'm far too busy or far too stupid to understand.
If they're carefully situated, they can generate an
intense damping field.'
'They stop magic,' Sir Darius said.
'No magic whatsoever can be performed, undertaken
or sustained within the field generated by my marvellous
little boxes.'
The implications made Aubrey's head spin. 'This could
be worth a fortune.'
'My thoughts precisely and I'm glad to hear it coming
from someone else. A very sizeable fortune, I hope.' He
gestured. 'These are the first fully operational models. All
I need is some investment funds and some publicity. I put
these in the bank, gratis, in order to achieve the latter.'
'And you're looking to me for the former?' Sir Darius
said. 'You don't give up, do you, Clive?'
'Come this way,' Rokeby-Taylor said. 'You can see
better from over here.'
He took them to the wall near the entrance, pointing out
the positioning of the boxes and how they covered the
entire banking chamber. A pair of uniformed guards
nearby showed unfeigned interest, peering into the heights.
Aubrey automatically wanted to test the magical
suppressors, and found a simple light spell springing to
his lips. He bit it back. No , he thought, no more magic. Not even simple stuff .
It felt unnatural, like refusing to scratch an itch, but he
was determined. It was the only way.
A scream interrupted Aubrey's thoughts and the
banking murmur. Aubrey swung around to see four
men emerging from one of the many doorways. One of
them was struggling, held by two of the others. He called
for help and the chamber underwent a transformation.
Many customers rushed directly toward the main
entrance, while others fled to the walls, as far from the
intruders as possible. It was a sea of humanity, surging
one way then the other before clearing the centre of the
chamber, leaving it stark and empty. Clerks and tellers
stayed at their posts, frozen mid-count.
The intruders stumbled to the middle of the chamber,
dragging their captive with them. One – the tallest –
had wild, unkempt hair. He was dressed in an expensive-looking
dark suit, but Aubrey could see that his boots
were old and worn. He stood calmly, with a hesitant
smile on his face, for all the world as if he were
performing for an audience. The others were less sure of
themselves and looked as if things weren't quite working
out as they'd planned.
The struggling figure struck at the tall man and cried
out again. Then Aubrey realised it was Sir Norman, the
governor. The banker's face was an alarming shade of red.
'Stay where you are!' shouted the tallest of the three
villains. He pointed at the struggling Sir Norman. 'Or
I will scramble this man's brains with magic of untold
power.'
Sir Norman immediately stopped his thrashing.
Uniformed guards were moving toward the intruders,
a dozen or more of them closing in with steely resolve.
The chief villain licked his lips nervously. 'I'm warning
you,' he called. 'Step back, or I will unleash such torrents
of torment that you'll be sorry you were born.'
Aubrey rolled his eyes. He had always found that
the boastfulness of a magician's claims were in inverse
proportion to his actual effectiveness. The guards,
however, hesitated, until their grey-bearded leader
stepped forward. Aubrey was reassured by the man's
military bearing. 'Surrender,' he said in a sergeant-major's
voice, one that had drilled more than its fair share of
recruits. 'Your time is up.'
'Not until I'm escorted to the main vault, where I will
melt the door with the power of a thousand suns,'
He rubbed his hands together.
'I saw a demonstration of a magic suppressor at a
Royal Society lecture last year,' Aubrey said. 'It was huge,
as big as an omnibus. It didn't work properly, either.'
'I told you I have some remarkable people working for
me,' Rokeby-Taylor said. He had trouble keeping a grin
from his face. 'The Rokeby-Taylor Magic Suppressors
are innovative in every way – size, reliability, and other
details that I'm far too busy or far too stupid to understand.
If they're carefully situated, they can generate an
intense damping field.'
'They stop magic,' Sir Darius said.
'No magic whatsoever can be performed, undertaken
or sustained within the field generated by my marvellous
little boxes.'
The implications made Aubrey's head spin. 'This could
be worth a fortune.'
'My thoughts precisely and I'm glad to hear it coming
from someone else. A very sizeable fortune, I hope.' He
gestured. 'These are the first fully operational models. All
I need is some investment funds and some publicity. I put
these in the bank, gratis, in order to achieve the latter.'
'And you're looking to me for the former?' Sir Darius
said. 'You don't give up, do you, Clive?'
'Come this way,' Rokeby-Taylor said. 'You can see
better from over here.'
He took them to the wall near the entrance, pointing out
the positioning of the boxes and how they covered the
entire banking chamber. A pair of uniformed guards
nearby showed unfeigned interest, peering into the heights.
Aubrey automatically wanted to test the magical
suppressors, and found a simple light spell springing to
his lips. He bit it back. No , he thought, no more magic. Not even simple stuff .
It felt unnatural, like refusing to scratch an itch, but he
was determined. It was the only way.
A scream interrupted Aubrey's thoughts and the
banking murmur. Aubrey swung around to see four
men emerging from one of the many doorways. One of
them was struggling, held by two of the others. He called
for help and the chamber underwent a transformation.
Many customers rushed directly toward the main
entrance, while others fled to the walls, as far from the
intruders as possible. It was a sea of humanity, surging
one way then the other before clearing the centre of the
chamber, leaving it stark and empty. Clerks and tellers
stayed at their posts, frozen mid-count.
The intruders stumbled to the middle of the chamber,
dragging their captive with them. One – the tallest –
had wild, unkempt hair. He was dressed in an expensive-looking
dark suit, but Aubrey could see that his boots
were old and worn. He stood calmly, with a hesitant
smile on his face, for all the world as if he were
performing for an audience. The others were less sure of
themselves and looked as if things weren't quite working
out as they'd planned.
The struggling figure struck at the tall man and cried
out again. Then Aubrey realised it was Sir Norman, the
governor. The banker's face was an alarming shade of red.
'Stay where you are!' shouted the tallest of the three
villains. He pointed at the struggling Sir Norman. 'Or
I will scramble this man's brains with magic of untold
power.'
Sir Norman immediately stopped his thrashing.
Uniformed guards were moving toward the intruders,
a dozen or more of them closing in with steely resolve.
The chief villain licked his lips nervously. 'I'm warning
you,' he called. 'Step back, or I will unleash such torrents
of torment that you'll be sorry you were born.'
Aubrey rolled his eyes. He had always found that
the boastfulness of a magician's claims were in inverse
proportion to his actual effectiveness. The guards,
however, hesitated, until their grey-bearded leader
stepped forward. Aubrey was reassured by the man's
military bearing. 'Surrender,' he said in a sergeant-major's
voice, one that had drilled more than its fair share of
recruits. 'Your time is up.'
'Not until I'm escorted to the main vault, where I will
melt the door with the power of a thousand suns,'
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