Peter & Max - Bill Willingham [33]
“Perhaps that argument could be made,” Beast said, carefully, “but I didn’t write the laws. I do, however, have an obligation to enforce them.” Beast’s calm exterior and quiet eyes betrayed no hint of the dangerous creature that lurked within, and which could be summoned at need.
“That’s all beside the point, anyway,” Peter said. “Frost is barely magical anymore and has no military value. Its power was spent long ago. Neither the Adversary, nor his tame warlocks, nor any mundy could make use of it, even if they recognized it as anything but mundane and normal. But letting it out of my control could cause some harm to me, and therefore one could argue to the rest of Fabletown by extension. In addition to its long depleted positive benefits, Frost has a nasty side. If I give it away, or allow it to fall into the hands of anyone not of my blood, then I’m cursed, along with all of my descendants, until the end of time. So you can see how I’m reluctant to turn it over, despite the letter of the law.”
“Let the boy keep his flute,” Totenkinder said, surprising Peter with her interruption. She hadn’t seemed to be paying any attention to the conversation before now. “It’s of no value to us and can only harm him if we insist on taking it. I can sense that there is indeed a curse on the thing. He wasn’t lying about that.”
“Fine,” Beast said. “I’ll defer to Frau Totenkinder for now, but I promise you, Peter, we’ll take this matter up again when you return.”
“So you’re letting me go after Max?”
“Bigby made a compelling argument, backed up by his assurance that he wouldn’t be able to leave for at least a week. I gather that’s something the two of you cooked up?”
“It doesn’t matter. Bigby couldn’t stop Max anyway.”
“And you can?”
“I don’t know. I hope so.”
“What’s your plan?”
“That’s a private matter.”
“Not between us,” Beast said. “If you want me to authorize this stunt, or at least not prevent it, I have to know what your strategy is.”
“Perhaps, but you’ll have to content yourself with the understanding that I do have a strategy and leave it at that. Max has a way of finding out about things, which may be due to some magical artifice or may mean he’s got his spies in Fabletown, just as you suspect the Empire has. Whatever the case, I didn’t tell anyone my plans, not even my wife, and I don’t intend to. This time, if Max learns of it, it will only be because he can read my mind, in which case my plan is doomed already.”
Beast sat silent for a moment and then pulled open his middle desk drawer. He brought out two fat envelopes and placed them on the desk top, midway between Peter and himself.
“These are your travel documents,” Beast said, “money and false ID’s. We call them Legends in the spook parlance. One set is for outbound travel and the other is for your return, assuming that some of the things you might have to do while away will make it difficult to travel under the same name twice. Considering the short notice, we didn’t have time to construct full, unbreakable Legends for you, but these should pass muster. Buy your tickets and everything else with cash, and don’t do it anywhere near Fabletown. Do you know where you’ll be looking for him yet?”
“I have an idea or two.”
“Then you can be on your way, while we hope that Bigby doesn’t have to follow you in a week’s time.”
Peter didn’t stand up immediately, though it was clear the sheriff had dismissed him.
“The young man doesn’t want to leave just yet,” Totenkinder interrupted again, not even bothering to look up from her knitting. “He wants to have a private talk with me, but he’s too polite to ask you to step out of your own office.”
Peter had no idea how she knew any of that, but it was true.
“Perhaps you can find a pot of tea?” she said to Beast. “I’m certain our chat won’t take long.”
With a glower he attempted, but failed, to disguise, Beast stood up from behind his desk and left the