Chapter 41

"Let me get this straight," I pondered. "Rasputin is probably alive and is holding the souls of Mary, Ceridwen and Alcina for some reason or other?"

"It's as good an explanation until we get more facts on our hands, John," Bryce replied.

"Well, if he's as dangerous as all seem to think, why hasn't there been some other form of corroboration that your Russian friends would have known about?" I asked.

"Depends on what he's been doing and whether our guides would have had it drawn to their attention. There isn't a lot of communication between church and state here," Cyril said. "Nor a lot of love lost."

"Where should we start?" Morgana asked.

"Losiny Ostrov would be our best bet. It's an old pagan temple that we can't read too well, dedicated as it is to a neutral higher power," Cyril replied.

"Will eliminate it at least," Morgana mused, still looking a little out of sorts by being amongst Theurgists I suspected, as she was in the position I mostly occupied by being around people with far greater powers.

Losiny Ostrov is in a huge park to the Northeast of Moscow and was not easily accessed at the time of our venture. The Soviet government was in the stages of making the area into their first national park and large areas were still off limits to the public. The temple was not a temple as such, but an area that had historical roots to pagan worship in the past and as somewhere in proximity to Moscow was an ideal site for a Thaumaturge who enjoyed the finer things in life ... for given values of finer, naturally.

The first thing we noticed after we ported in, with Simone covering our tracks, was the total absence of magical, or rather quantum magical, activity. It wasn't that we were in a dead zone, just that there were no Mages around at all, which, considering the locale, was odd as it was the sort of place Mages would choose to live unobtrusively. This alone suggested that there was something about the area at least that was out of bounds for us magical types as there was also a dearth of magical creatures in the area, a few sprites was about all and they were avoiding us like the plague.

"Definitely something amiss," murmured Antonelli.

"I agree," Morgana replied along with both Julia's and Simone's nods. "There's nothing I can detect and this habitat would be ideal for so many magical creatures who want to avoid mankind."

"Rather suggests that there is something here to fear," Bryce added.

The three theurgists then began a chant in some language that definitely wasn't Latin and I felt a wave of power spread from them, both investigatory and oddly calming. There was an immediate backlash as one of the trees near us lashed out with its branches, only to explode in a spray of splinters as Julia almost negligently dealt with its pseudo animation.

"Interesting, a combination of both our disciplines," she mused as other trees in the area began to explode as she undid or dealt with the various forces involved in turning them into traps.

"Indeed so, I rather doubt the minor demonic forces are enjoying their imprisonment within the vegetation," Bryce answered. "Which is why they are departing this plane when you release them by destroying their prisons."

"Always glad to rid the world of something unclean," Julia murmured.

"They'll be back sooner or later, but at least they'll stay out of our way for now," Antonelli added.

"Guess there's something or someone here worth a look," I said.

"Definitely, John. Can't imagine any other reason for this sort of silliness, other than to keep Mages and Theurgists away," Antonelli replied.

"Rasputin then?" I asked.

"Doubtful. Tchernobog is a lot livelier than this sort of idiocy," Cyril replied, getting a nod off Aleksandr who had tagged along with Cyril.

"Protective colouration perhaps?" asked Morgana.

Cyril frowned and then nodded slowly. "It would certainly not warrant us taking more than a casual glance," he finally said.

"This is so, for all I knew about the temple, I had not heard of anything worthy of sending any of our more capable exorcists here," Aleksandr added.

"Isolation perhaps?" Julia posited.

"That too," admitted Aleksandr.

"Either way, we need to go this way," said Cyril pointing at a trail that led in a north-easterly direction.

We followed in silence, the Mages converting our footwear and clothing to suit our environment as ever, whilst the Theurgists disdained artifice and wore some fairly heavy footwear as a matter of course.

"Quiet here," I murmured to Morgana.

"Yes John, too quiet. There's usually some form of wildlife, even if it's only birds," she replied.

"Can't feel an aversion ward, assuming that's what's being used," I said.

"Different rules apply, your magic is governed by laws, Theurgy is governed by our faith in our God and breaks all sorts of rules," chuckled Antonelli.

"I was told if I believed it, could imagine it and had the power or control necessary to mould it, then it was possible," I replied.

"Yes, you need control, we just ask," Bryce added. "Doesn't take anything out of us, save time to formulate the request."

"Time enough to get us killed at times," Antonelli responded sadly.

"That's the rule, unfortunately," Bryce sighed. "But it works both ways, assuming we get one in first."

"Swings and roundabouts," I said.

"Indeed, John, indeed," Cyril replied.

Without warning things just changed, we had been walking through woods to get to where Aleksandr had told us the temple was reputed to be then suddenly the trees just seemed to vanish from around us and we were walking in sunshine in a sort of artificial paradisiacal dream world. The day which had been chill was now warm, the air scented with flowers, soft grass grew under our feet and the whole landscape looked both natural, yet well maintained.

"Beautiful," murmured Simone. "But unnatural, as in quite artificial."

"Clever trick though, I felt nothing when we passed within," I said.

"That's because the construct was woven around you, rather than have you broach its limits," Simone replied. "My fellow Seers are fascinated at the design and will work upon it to make something better of it."

"Magic?" I enquired.

"Yes, John. Definitely magic, though not of a type I'm familiar with," Morgana said, looking around.

"Definitely not the will of a demon," Bryce added. "Nor an angel, come to that."

"Gentlemen and Ladies, welcome to my humble abode," came a voice which I understood clearly despite it not being in English.

A tall figure dressed in what appeared to be a monk's robe was approaching and, like with the Theurgists, I could not detect his presence in any way which was proving to be a bit of a thorn in my side, so used was I to knowing (in a sense) everything that was going on around me.

I did recognise the man immediately though, Grigori Rasputin had not changed one jot since his reputed death back in 1916.

"Do not worry, you are in no danger here, nor do I mean you any harm. This especially means you, Marcus, Patrick and Cyril," he added suavely.

"I wish I could say the same, Grigori, but we serve a hard taskmaster and should you not answer our questions in a way that clears you, it will go hard for you," Antonelli said, clearly speaking for the Theurgists amongst them.

"You're using magic," Morgana stated. "I thought your type couldn't."

"My type? Oh you mean a servant of a higher power?" Rasputin replied.

"Indeed so," said Julia.

"Well, that's a long story, though mostly due to the circumstances of my death. I believe the stresses involved in the poison numbing my senses caused the necessary changes within my mind to reach out into the realm of physical magic, as opposed to what I can do if I invoke my God," Rasputin explained.

"So you can do both?" I asked, fascinated despite myself.

"I can indeed, young Mage," he replied.

"What can you tell me about any arrangement you have with Coalition Mages," Morgana asked bluntly.

"None," he replied just as bluntly. "I avoid them, or kill them if they get too close."

"Are you a disciple of Tchernobog?" Julia asked.

"One of a few, though that area is no longer a great concern of mine. I keep up the essentials, but frankly my heart is no longer in it since the death of my Tsaritsa," he sighed.

Deciding that Morgana was still reacting badly to what happened in her manse I carefully explained what had happened there omitting no details.

"Can you help?" I finished.

"I have an inkling, though like you I'm mystified as to why the souls would have been kept. It's not like Tchernobog would have a use for them ... other than devouring them," he mused. "I would check out the disciple Iosif. He was once a seminarian until they caught him playing with 'darker forces' and expelled him. He was a friend of Elymas as well as a consummate and fearsome politician until he tired of it."

"Stalin, you mean Stalin?" I asked somewhat amazed.

"Indeed so, though that was merely his public persona," Rasputin replied with a grimace.

"Didn't he have family?" I asked.

"Yes ... and?" Rasputin threw back at me. "I had family too, though could not take them with me. The bonding with a higher power removes most previous family ties, only ones developed afterwards remain real," he finished with a sigh.

"Explains why Stalin didn't react to the attempted seduction of his daughter by Beria," Julia mused.

"That's a myth," Rasputin replied. "She was seduced by Kaplan, a married man. He paid a price though."

"You seem remarkably well informed for a recluse in his own paradise," I mused.

"Tell him, Marcus. He should have realised by now," Rasputin remarked.

"Our angels keep us up to date. We just know, though only if we think of it," Antonelli explained. "Though why Grigori here would be interested I do not know."

"My Alexandrina feared him greatly and asked often about the man who arranged for the death of her family," Rasputin sighed.

"She's still alive?" I asked.

"No, young Mage. I do not have that sort of power," he replied, sadly I thought. "Nor could I have asked my guardian, the price would have been too high."

"So you rescued her, but not the family?" I enquired.

"I was able to heal her, but it was too late for the others. I left behind a homunculi in her stead. I can but wish I'd gotten there earlier, but tracking them down was nigh on impossible," he answered.

"So you brought her here I presume," enquired Cyril.

"To live out her days, yes. It was kinder this way," he replied. "Afterwards I simply did not care to leave, save only to learn at the feet of various Mages who remain neutral in your childish conflict."