Burned

9

It was later that evening.

Rain pattered on the glass roof above our heads and left moving streaks on the panels to the side. It was one of those winter showers where the drops are only a few degrees above freezing, on the edge of becoming sleet or snow, and they’d been falling steadily for the past two hours. We were standing on a landing between two escalators, about ten feet above street level. Steel and glass skyscrapers rose up around us, brightly coloured ventilators poking up near their bases, and the paving stones were slick and wet. At the foot of the escalator, on the other side of the road, an office building rose on concrete stilts, lines of windows glowing white and yellow in the night.

‘Anything?’ Rain asked. The weather didn’t seem to bother him, which given his name probably shouldn’t have been all that much of a surprise.

I shook my head. ‘Not yet.’

‘It’s freezing,’ Sonder said. He was wearing an anorak, but it wasn’t stopping him from shivering.

I felt the same way, but kept it to myself. The bottom of the escalator was open to the air and the icy breeze that blew up from the wet concrete was biting right through my coat. I’m happy being a diviner most of the time, but if there’s one thing that makes you envious of elemental mages, it’s standing in the cold.

We were on the edge of the Barbican, just on the other side of London Wall. London is an old city, but the Barbican is one of the few places where old has been entirely driven out by new, a dense rabbit warren of stone and concrete and stacked square apartments, grey and brown and cold. The architectural style is called ‘brutalist’, and if you’ve ever seen the place you’ll understand why. The Barbican is home to a girls’ school, an arts centre, various different residential towers and blocks of flats and (at least for tonight) the Dark mages Cinder and Deleo, who were going to be joining us for a nice peaceful chat.

At least, that was the plan.

‘Have you decided what to do about Maradok?’ I asked Rain.

‘How do you mean?’

‘Caldera said she told you what we got from Symmaris,’ I said. ‘I figured you’ve been deciding how to deal with it.’ I looked at Rain. ‘Made up your mind?’

Rain was silent.

‘I’m guessing that’s a yes.’

‘You know Maradok’s involved in the Drakh operation.’

‘Yeah, and he’s a Light mage with the ear of one of the Senior Council,’ I said. ‘Look, you don’t need to sugar-coat it, all right? There’s no way you’re going to prosecute him.’

‘Right now, no,’ Rain said. ‘Not while we’re in the middle of this.’

I looked away. Down on London Wall, through the rain-streaked glass, the traffic rolled by.

‘But after this is over – assuming that you haven’t worked out some other arrangement – then yes.’

I looked at Rain in surprise.

‘Don’t get your hopes up,’ Rain said. ‘There’s pretty much zero chance of an indictment. But I can ask some awkward questions. Enough to stop them trying it again.’

It was more than I’d expected. ‘Thanks.’

‘You’re part of my team, and you do good work,’ Rain said. He nodded at me and Sonder. ‘I’m going to check in with Caldera and the other backup. Report in as soon as you get something.’ He turned and walked away down the escalator.

I looked after Rain. ‘Huh.’

‘He seems to like you,’ Sonder said.

I gave Sonder a glance. ‘Is that a problem?’

‘No.’

I raised my eyebrows and looked away. Out on the road, a bus rumbled past, city lights reflecting off its red sides.

‘You haven’t said anything about Symmaris,’ Sonder said eventually.

‘I think I just did.’

‘I mean what she told us.’

‘About what?’

‘About you getting that relic for Drakh.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Not you as well.’

‘I’m serious.’

‘Sonder, ever since I entered mage society, I’ve had to deal with Light mages assuming the worst of me. First they assumed that because I was Richard’s apprentice, I must be a murdering psycho. After I left him, they still assumed that I was a murdering psycho. Now they think that I’m going to go back to Richard to become a murdering psycho. This isn’t anything new.’

‘But they’re acting like they know it’s going to happen.’

‘No, we’ve got one report saying that they know it’s going to happen. Which, by the way, comes from a proven liar.’

‘It seems like they believe it.’

‘It doesn’t matter what they believe. If someone tells me they believe I’m going to take up morris dancing, I’m not going to go out and buy a set of bells and a subscription to Morris Dancer Monthly.’

‘It’s not the same thing.’

‘It is the same thing. I’m not going to turn into a murdering psycho, I’m not going to take up morris dancing and I’m sure as hell never going back to working for Richard. What I do is my choice. Not theirs.’

‘Then why are they so sure?’ Sonder said. ‘What if they did get it from a prophecy? Or a divination?’

‘Divinations can be misinterpreted. And the only prophecies that are that accurate come from dragons, and the Council doesn’t deal with dragons.’

‘But what if they are right?’

‘Okay, Sonder,’ I said. ‘You know what? Let’s play your game. Let’s say they are. What are you going to do? Sell me out to the Council?’

‘That’s not what I meant…’

‘Then you’d take matters into your own hands? Kill me yourself?’

‘What? No!’

‘Then let’s say Levistus’s proposal gets voted through,’ I said. ‘All of a sudden my status with the Council is kill-on-sight. Are you going to help me, or turn me in?’

Sonder was silent. ‘I don’t want to pick either way,’ he said at last.

‘You’re not going to have a choice. If you have information about where I am, then you either keep it to yourself – in which case you’re betraying your oath to the Council – or you sell me out. There’s no in between. For someone like you, on the inside of the Council, then it’s all shifting allegiances and politics. But for someone like me? I’ve got people I can trust, and people I can’t. Which are you?’

Sonder met my eyes for an instant, then his gaze flicked away. He looked down at the floor. ‘I don’t know.’

The communicator in my ear chimed. ‘Verus?’ Caldera’s voice said.

I turned away. ‘Receiving.’

‘Coatl just picked up a gate. Expect company.’

‘Understood,’ I said. The communicator cut off and I looked at Sonder. ‘We’re up.’

Sonder nodded. I had the feeling he was relieved to have an excuse to end the conversation. We took the escalator and walked over the bridge into the Barbican.

The inside of the Barbican is railings and brown stone, long walkways separating hulking mounds of brick and concrete. The sounds of traffic faded as we moved deeper into the maze, until it was only a murmur in the distance. The path we were following ran straight, then opened up into a giant empty space, looking down upon a long artificial lake. Blocks of flats and an arts centre were placed on the other side, their white-yellow lights reflecting off the dark water. One or two figures moved on the plaza, but not many. Despite the lack of people, it didn’t feel empty. It felt as though we were being watched.

‘Wish Rain had brought some snipers,’ I muttered.

‘The Council wouldn’t have authorised it,’ Sonder said. He was still shivering; the wind was blowing off the water and it was bitterly cold.

We set out across the walkway. Freezing rain fell from above, stinging my face until the walkway led us back under cover, bringing us to a four-way crossroads. More walkways led off in all four directions, shadowed paths illuminated by patches of electric light. To one side, its top almost brushing the pipes mounted on the ceiling, was a twisted golden sculpture with two gigantic heads.

Sonder looked around. ‘Is this the place?’

‘Looks like.’ I checked to see what would happen if we waited. Nothing.

‘Are they coming?’ Sonder asked when I didn’t break the silence.

‘No,’ I said. The nearer of the two heads on the statue leered at me. Its face was shining gold metal, sculpted into something like a theatre mask, one half of the mouth curved in a smile. The eyes were frozen in different directions; one stared straight at me; the other rolled upwards as if having a stroke. I put it out of my mind and reached out, searching for Rachel and Cinder.

‘Maybe they’re not coming,’ Sonder said after a pause.

‘No such luck. Wait.’ I checked quickly to verify. ‘Got them.’

‘Where?’

‘Down that walkway.’ I looked again at the futures in which we walked down there, this time examining the layout. ‘Mm.’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘They’re here already.’ I pointed at the walkway straight ahead of us. ‘We follow that, it’ll lead us into a corridor. Cinder and Deleo will be at the middle. Trouble is, it’s enclosed.’

‘So no one’s going to be able to see us,’ Sonder said. He looked worried. ‘Are there other ways out?’

‘Side-doors, but it’ll take a few seconds to get there.’ I chewed my lip. ‘What worries me is that Caldera and Coatl’s teams aren’t going to have any kind of line of sight. If everything goes to shit, they won’t reach us for a good thirty seconds.’

Sonder was silent. He might not be in the same league as Luna or Variam, but he’s had enough combat experience to know exactly how deadly a thirty-second delay can be. If Cinder and Rachel got the drop on us, that would be far longer than they’d need. ‘How much advance warning will you have?’

‘Less than I’d like. Deleo’s too unpredictable. How fast can you put up a stasis?’

‘Maybe three seconds. Two if I’m lucky.’

I looked at him.

‘That’s not going to be quick enough, is it?’ Sonder said.

‘Not even close.’

‘Use a slow instead?’

‘Use a slow instead. I’ll throw out a one-shot to block the corridor with a forcewall, then we run. You ready?’

‘As I’ll ever be.’ Sonder took a breath. ‘Let’s do it.’

We set off down the walkway. It opened up briefly, giving us a view out on to an outside street, then the walls and ceiling closed in again. We walked past windows close enough to touch and automatic doors that opened at our presence, carrying the scent of carpets and air conditioners. Soon we came out into a long, wide corridor that curved slightly to the left, enough to block off the view of the other end but still leaving long sight lines. Cylindrical pillars ran from the floor to the low ceiling, and yellow-white lights shone down from only a few feet above. As we kept walking, a man and a woman came into view, standing side by side at the corridor’s midpoint.

The man was standing to the left, arms hanging loose by his sides, and his name was Cinder. Cinder has the build of a weightlifter, with thick arms and wide hands; most people would peg him as a thug, but he’s smarter than he looks, not to mention a lot faster. He’s a powerful fire mage, but I wasn’t half as worried about him as I was about the woman on the right.

As usual, Rachel was wearing a mask. This one was a black domino, covering only her eyes and leaving bare the lines of her face. I’ve met Rachel a few times over the past years, and I’ve started to think that that mask is some sort of tell. When Rachel wears it, she’s more fully Deleo; quicker to anger, more violent, less sane. When her face is uncovered, she’s different, closer to the girl I once knew. Without her mask she seems to remember her old self more clearly, but I think that actually makes her hate me more. I’m not sure which is worse.

The last time I’d spoken to Rachel was two years ago. The conversation ended when someone else made the mistake of calling Rachel by her old name, at which point Rachel had disintegrated her. Briefly I wondered just what the hell Shireen was expecting me to do here, then I put the thought out of my mind. I reached a point about thirty feet away from Cinder and Rachel, and stopped. Sonder came to a halt a little behind me.

‘You know,’ I said to Cinder, when neither of the Dark mages spoke, ‘these meetings would go a lot faster if you guys would keep to schedule.’

‘Changed our minds,’ Cinder said. He glanced at Sonder. ‘Wondering if you’d show up.’

‘The deal was two people,’ Sonder said. He couldn’t fully hide his nerves, but at least his voice didn’t shake.

‘And the mages on the way in?’

‘Let’s cut the bullshit, all right?’ I said. ‘Not like you guys are exactly unprotected.’ I hadn’t spotted their backup, but I knew it would be there.

Cinder shrugged. ‘Okay. Talk.’

I could feel Rachel staring at me. It was creepy, but I couldn’t sense any threat of violence … yet. ‘The Council are a little concerned about Richard’s plans to go treasure-hunting.’

‘That’s sad.’

‘I think they’re going to get more than sad. If Richard goes for it he’ll be breaking the Concord.’

‘Last I checked, that relic wasn’t in Britain,’ Cinder said. ‘Not really Council business.’

I silently cursed Rain and his operational security. This was the sort of thing it would have been useful to know before going into the meeting. ‘If you get into a fight with the Council team, it’s going to become their business real fast.’

Cinder shrugged again.

‘The first clause of the Concord gives the Light Council national authority,’ Sonder said. ‘Under the Arrancar ruling, the relic is Council property unless specified otherwise. You can’t just go and take it.’

‘Yeah, well, it ain’t under the Council’s authority, is it?’ Cinder said.

‘That doesn’t matter…’

I tried to remember the wording of the law Sonder was talking about. The first clause of the Concord establishes the Light Alliance as the governing body of the magical world, then delegates the authority down to the Light Councils of the respective magical nations. So if this thing was in another nation’s territory, and Richard’s cabal got it, could the British Council grab it off them? Shit, I have no idea. I didn’t know enough Council law to argue this one.

The sound of footsteps behind us made Sonder and Cinder halt their argument. I turned my head slightly, being careful to keep Rachel in my field of vision. A man dressed in a long coat was coming down the corridor towards us. He was overweight, with greying hair and glasses, and quite obviously had no idea who we were. As he saw the four of us staring at him, he slowed and came to a halt, looking between us. ‘Er,’ he said. ‘Am I interrupting something?’

Cinder met the man’s gaze. ‘Get lost.’

‘I don’t…’ the man started to object, then trailed off. Cinder kept staring at him, and I could see the wheels slowly turning behind the man’s eyes. I wondered if he understood exactly why his instincts were telling him to run. ‘…I’ll go the other way,’ the man said, and backed off.

Cinder watched him go, then shook his head in disgust. ‘Normals.’

‘What are you doing here?’ Rachel said.

I turned to realise that Rachel was staring at me. ‘Even I do jobs sometimes,’ I said.

Rachel threw back her head and laughed. Sonder shifted uneasily. ‘A job?’ Rachel said. ‘You don’t do jobs.’

‘I’m doing one now.’

Rachel’s laughter cut off and she stared at me, her eyes meeting mine through her mask. ‘Which of them brought you?’

‘What?’

Rachel’s voice sharpened. ‘Don’t play stupid. Was it him, or her?’

‘I …’ I tried to look into the futures to figure out which was the right answer. If I picked the wrong one, it was going to send Rachel into a rage. Except that as far as I could tell, both answers were wrong. Or could be wrong, I couldn’t figure out which, her moods were shifting so quickly—

‘Tell me!’

‘Her,’ I said. She has to mean Shireen, right? ‘It was her.’

Rachel stared at me for a second, then her face twisted in sudden fury. ‘Liar!’

Oh shit. All of a sudden the futures were filled with violence, approaching fast. Rachel stalked towards me and I backed away, keeping my fists closed. ‘Wait,’ I said urgently.

Suddenly Rachel stopped, turning to stare to her left, at an empty patch of corridor. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I won’t.’

Sonder and I exchanged nervous glances. Rachel seemed to have forgotten about us, and the futures of violence had vanished as quickly as they had appeared … but they could come back. I tightened my grip on the discs held in my hands, feeling the edges of the one-shot digging into my palms.

‘Why should I?’ Rachel demanded. ‘It’s his fault!’

‘Del,’ Cinder said in his rumbling voice.

Rachel made an impatient gesture towards Cinder without turning to look. ‘How do you know?’

‘Deleo,’ I said carefully. The last thing I wanted to do was draw her attention, but … ‘Are you talking to Shireen?’

Rachel turned to stare at me, her expression suggesting I’d just said something so stupid that it didn’t deserve an answer. ‘Do you know anything?’

‘Less and less, it’s feeling like. Look, is there—?’

‘Why does he want you?’ Rachel said abruptly.

‘Who?’

‘I’m Chosen,’ Rachel said. She was staring at me. ‘Not you.’

‘Um,’ I said. The futures danced and flickered, shifting lightning-quick to match Rachel’s thoughts. ‘Yes. You’re the Chosen.’

‘Then why does he want you?’ Rachel took another step towards me, and involuntarily I stepped backwards to maintain distance. Rachel didn’t seem to notice. ‘I waited for him.’

I had no idea what to say. The same spark of fear that always comes when I talk to Rachel was dancing under my thoughts. Normally in conversations I can see enough of the threads to guide their direction, choose the response that will get the reaction I want. That doesn’t work on Rachel, and it’s the biggest reason she scares me. I don’t like losing control. ‘You don’t have to wait any longer,’ I said. ‘You’re free to do what you want.’

Rachel laughed. There was something disturbing to the sound, and I felt Sonder shift again. ‘Is that what you think?’ Rachel asked. She looked almost pitying. ‘None of us are.’

‘Okay,’ Cinder said. ‘Think we’re done here.’ He took a step towards Rachel.

Rachel ignored him. It was as though she’d forgotten Sonder and Cinder even existed. ‘I thought it would be funny,’ she said. ‘You always thought you were so clever, didn’t you? I wanted to see when you finally figured it out. But it’s not enough. Seeing your face makes me sick. You don’t deserve to come back.’

‘Okay, I think we’re getting off topic,’ I said. Danger was dancing in the futures, and I held my arms tense, ready to throw. ‘I’m going to assume negotiations are over.’

‘Del,’ Cinder said. ‘Come on.’ His eyes flicked towards me with a warning look.

‘I don’t think—’ Sonder began.

‘I’m not letting you come back,’ Rachel said.

‘I’m not coming back,’ I said.

‘You’re right.’ Rachel’s lips curved in a smile. ‘You’re not.’

‘Sonder!’ I shouted, and jumped left.

Suddenly everything was happening at once. A green ray flashed from Rachel’s hand, lancing through the air where I’d been standing as I flung two gold discs left and right; Sonder threw out his arm and Rachel’s movements slowed, her limbs drifting through the air as though she were wading in deep water; the gold discs hit the floor at the edges of the corridor and I snapped the command word and a wall of force flared up, cutting us off from Cinder and Rachel at the same time that Cinder’s own wall of fire roared into life between us, blocking our view. The second disintegration ray hit the forcewall but I was already running, dashing away down the corridor with Sonder a few steps behind, the roar of the flames in our ears. Behind I felt the forcewall break and a third disintegrate spell slashed out – too late. We were away.

We kept running until we were back at the statues. I ducked down at the crossing, using the low wall of the walkway as cover as I scanned for pursuit. Sonder ran past and ducked down beside me. ‘See them?’ Sonder panted.

‘No.’ If we stayed put the result would be … nothing. I looked further ahead, ignoring the chiming of my communicator. Still nothing. ‘They’re not chasing.’

‘I can put up a stasis,’ Sonder said, breathing hard. He stood, narrowing his eyes and focusing, and after a moment’s pause the corridor that we’d just left shimmered and was replaced by what looked like a curved mirror running from wall to wall.

‘Receiving,’ I snapped. My communicator shut up. ‘Whoever’s pinging me, stop it.’

Rain’s voice sounded in my ear. ‘What happened?’

‘Deleo had one of her little moments, that’s what.’ My voice was shaking and I forced it back under control. ‘And we’re fine, thanks for asking.’

‘Hold your position and wait for rendezvous.’

‘Understood.’ I cut the connection.

We stayed like that for a few minutes while Sonder maintained his spell. Some random woman with a handbag and a fur coat passed us by. She asked me why there was a shiny mirror blocking the corridor. I told her it was a work of abstract art and that we’d been posted to supervise. She gave me a weird look and left. Once she was gone I told Sonder to drop the stasis field. Cinder and Deleo weren’t coming.

Rain and Caldera came running up a few minutes later. ‘Anything?’ I asked.

‘They had a gate ready to go down one of those side entrances,’ Caldera said. She looked pissed off. ‘By the time we got there they were gone.’

‘What was it?’ Rain said. ‘A set-up?’

‘No,’ I said. I’d managed to calm myself down. ‘It was Deleo being nuts.’

Sonder nodded. ‘It was going okay to start with. Cinder was talking, but then…’

Rain held up a hand to signal for Sonder to wait, then looked into space; I knew he was listening to something from his earpiece. ‘Okay,’ he said, then turned back to us. ‘Clean-up crew’s on their way. Get back to HQ for debriefing. Caldera, make sure they get there.’

The debriefing took approximately ten times as long as the meeting. The best that can be said of it was that it gave us both plenty of time to recover.

‘No,’ I said yet again. I was sitting with Sonder in one of the interrogation rooms, facing Rain and some Council bureaucrat who’d introduced himself as Charles. ‘Cinder was not trying to kill us. Deleo was.’

‘How can you be so sure?’ Charles said. He was slightly overweight and wore a business suit with a gold tie-pin.

‘Because we aren’t suffering from third-degree burns.’ I was trying to keep my patience, but it was getting difficult. I’d disliked Charles at first sight, and his tendency to ask stupid questions hadn’t improved my opinion. ‘Cinder is not incompetent. Hell, for all I know, he was trying to protect us.’

‘Why would he want to protect you?’

‘Because he was the one actually trying to negotiate. Deleo was the one who started shooting.’

‘Ah, yes.’ Charles picked up a piece of paper from the notes in front of him and adjusted his glasses, studying it. ‘You claimed that the Dark mage Deleo was the one who initiated hostilities, correct?’

‘Correct.’

‘What did you say or do to trigger her attack?’

‘Because she didn’t like my face,’ I said. ‘Or she was in a bad mood and wanted someone to take it out on. Or she just hates me on general principle. God knows that’s logical enough for Deleo. Even if I were a mind mage and could read her thoughts, I guarantee it wouldn’t make any sense to you.’

‘I’ll be the judge of that,’ Charles said. ‘However, on that subject…’ He looked at Sonder. ‘Do you have anything to add to Mage Verus’s account?’

‘No,’ Sonder said. I wondered if I sounded as tired as he did. ‘It happened as he said.’

Charles nodded. ‘Very well. I am required to inform you that an independent time mage will be called in to verify your accounts. I must also inform you that until such verification can be completed, the two of you are forbidden from revisiting the site of the incident.’

Sonder stared at Charles. ‘Why would I want to?’

‘He wants to make sure you don’t mess with the temporal record,’ I said wearily. ‘In case you’re trying to cover something up.’

Sonder gave Charles a disbelieving look.

‘It’s standard procedure in cases of violent incidents.’

‘Of course it is,’ I said.

‘Councilman,’ Rain said. ‘If you have no further questions, can we release Sonder and Verus? I’m going to need their services tomorrow.’

Charles nodded. ‘I think we have all we need for the present. Please be advised that you’ll be required to make yourself available for further questioning at any time over the next two weeks.’

Yeah, I thought. I’ll make that my number one priority. ‘Sure.’

‘Thank you for your co-operation.’ Charles stacked his notes, rose to his feet, and nodded to Rain. ‘Keeper.’ He left the room.

‘Asshole,’ I said once the door was closed.

Rain didn’t quite smile. ‘Go home,’ he said. ‘Get some rest.’

I knew Rain was right: the aftershock from the adrenaline rush had faded away, leaving me tired and bad-tempered. Still, there was one thing I wanted to get straight with him. ‘For future reference, when I’m supposed to be negotiating, it’d help if I actually knew the details of what I was talking about.’

‘I know,’ Rain said. ‘Operational security. But tomorrow, the full team is being briefed and I promise you’ll be in on it. Fair?’

I nodded.

Sonder looked troubled. ‘Do we really not have Concord authority?’

‘Legal grey area,’ Rain said. ‘The mission planners say yes. But they’re also very keen that the details don’t leak.’

‘In other words, they aren’t all that sure everyone else is going to agree with them,’ I said.

‘That’s about the size of it.’ Rain got to his feet. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow for the briefing.’

Sonder and I left the interrogation area together. Once we were in the gate room, Sonder turned to me. ‘Deleo thinks you’re going back to Richard.’

I sighed. ‘Apparently everyone does except me.’

‘But you’re not going to,’ Sonder said. ‘Are you?’

I looked up in surprise. ‘You finally believe me?’

‘I never thought you were lying.’

‘About everything, or just that?’ Sonder started to answer and I waved him off. ‘Forget it. Let’s call it bygones.’

Sonder took out a gate stone, then paused and looked back at me. ‘Were you okay with tonight?’

I shrugged. ‘We’re both alive.’

‘I meant working with me.’

‘I never had a problem working with you,’ I said. ‘It was you not trusting me that was the issue.’

‘I know, but…’ Sonder hesitated. ‘We make a good team, right?’

I looked at Sonder for a second, then gave him a smile. ‘I guess we do.’

Sonder smiled back, then looked awkwardly away. ‘Um. See you tomorrow.’

I checked in with Anne to find that her burns had healed and she was walking around. Variam was there too; he’d been guarding her all day. Luna was still training with Chalice, and wasn’t expected back until the early hours of the morning. Anne tried to convince me to stay the night, but I turned her down. Given what had happened last night, I really wasn’t comfortable sleeping over and putting her and Vari in danger too. Instead I took a gate stone to Arachne’s lair.

Gating is one of the fastest ways to travel, but even so, by the time I reached the heath, I was tired and drained. All I wanted to do was find a dark place, sit down and do nothing, and if the night hadn’t been so freezing I think I would have. It took a long time for Arachne to answer the signal and open the gate, and when she did I trudged down the tunnel past the glowing lights, my head down.

‘Hello, Alex,’ Arachne said as I walked in. ‘What’s wrong?’

I dropped on to one of the sofas with a sigh. ‘Really shitty day.’

I told Arachne about the assassination attempt and the destruction of my shop, our abortive investigation and the meeting with Cinder and Rachel. ‘I’m used to bad days, but I think this is the worst I can remember,’ I said once I was done. ‘I just lost my home, my shop and about half my possessions. I’ve had more people than I can count try to kill me, and the only reason they didn’t manage it is that Anne took a fireball to the face.’

‘But she’s alive,’ Arachne said. ‘And so are you. Possessions aren’t important, Alex. It’s people that matter, not things.’

‘Yeah, well, I don’t seem to be doing that well when it comes to dealing with people either. We found out who sent those guys, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Rain says he’ll try, and maybe he will, but I’m not kidding myself. There’s no way the Keepers are going to prosecute someone that close to the Light Council, not for attacking someone like me.’ I twisted around to look up at Arachne. ‘You know the worst part? Nothing’s getting any better. We tried investigating the Crusaders, and it was a dead end. We went to meet Cinder and Rachel, and that was a dead end too. It feels like everything’s getting worse and worse.’

‘I did warn you.’

I had no answer to that.

‘There’s one detail I think you may not have fully paid attention to.’ Arachne had moved closer until she was looming over me, her front legs on either side of my body and her eight eyes and fangs close to my head. It probably would have given most people nightmares, but I actually found it kind of comforting. Don’t know what that says about me. ‘Symmaris took her orders from Maradok, who in turn takes his orders from the Senior Council member Sal Sarque. Yes?’

I nodded. ‘And Maradok’s involved in this operation tomorrow.’

‘And Sal Sarque was one of the two other Senior Council mages who voted in support of Levistus’s proposal for your execution,’ Arachne said. ‘However, it appears he did so for quite different reasons. When it comes to the question of how to deal with you, Levistus and the Crusaders appear to be at cross-purposes.’

I looked up at that. ‘How do you mean?’

‘That assassination attempt represented a major expenditure of resources,’ Arachne said. ‘Whoever that fire mage was, he was clearly one of their heavy hitters. You’re right that the Keepers are unlikely to prosecute them, but even so, launching such a blatant attack will have consequences for the Crusaders. Assassinating an independent mage such as you would already have hurt their reputation. A failed assassination is the worst of both worlds.’

‘I guess.’ I hadn’t thought about it that way. ‘Where are you going with this?’

‘If the Crusaders only wanted you dead, the most logical course of action would have been to simply wait out the week. Instead they took a significant risk in attempting to eliminate you. That indicates that their goal is different to that of Levistus. Levistus wants you dead, but it seems that the Crusaders were quite serious in that message they delivered via Symmaris. Their priority is to keep you away from that relic.’

‘You think Symmaris was telling the truth?’ I said with a frown. ‘They really do believe that I’m going to get it for Richard?’

‘All the evidence points that way,’ Arachne said. ‘I suggest you talk to this Maradok. Find out what he wants.’

‘Joy.’ But it made sense. ‘Yeah. I think I will.’

We sat for a little while in silence. ‘You know, I don’t think it was just the attack that really got to me,’ I said. ‘It was the thing with Rachel and Shireen.’

‘With Shireen?’

‘Oh yeah, I didn’t get the chance to tell you, did I?’ There was too much to keep track of. Had that conversation with Shireen really only been last night? I told Arachne the story. ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,’ I finished. ‘Rachel can’t even talk to me for ten minutes without trying to kill me, and Shireen wants me to be her counsellor? And now she’s saying that if I don’t then something worse is going to happen.’

Arachne was quiet. ‘You know more about dragons than I do,’ I said. ‘Draconic prophecies … are they ever wrong?’

‘No.’

‘But isn’t there any room—’

‘No.’

I looked away. ‘Great.’

‘Listen carefully, Alex,’ Arachne said. ‘Dragons – true dragons – do not exist in time in the way ordinary creatures do. A draconic prophecy is not a prophecy, in that they do not look into the future. They perceive all points in time coterminously.’

‘So … they see it in the present?’

‘Present, past and future have little meaning to them. But if they see something, then in your future, it will happen.’

‘But I can change my future. I know I have free will, I see it every time I use my divination.’

‘And dragons can see your exercise of free will. Including the choices you will make.’

I frowned. ‘That doesn’t make any sense.’

‘Only within your system of logic.’ I started to answer, and Arachne raised a foreleg to interrupt me. ‘Don’t argue this one, Alex; you’ll just become frustrated. It’s not something humans have the capacity to fully understand.’

I still couldn’t make sense of it, but Arachne was right: arguing would only be frustrating. In any case, thinking of Shireen had reminded me of that last request of hers. ‘Do you know anything about creatures that can grant wishes?’

‘That’s an odd question. Why do you ask?’

‘Shireen wanted to know,’ I said. ‘I don’t know why. But she also seemed to think it was something old. And something that wouldn’t be in the Light histories.’

‘Why not?’

‘She didn’t say.’

‘Hmm.’ Arachne settled on to her back legs.

I watched curiously as Arachne crouched in silence. Normally Arachne seems to have all the answers; it’s rare I ask her something that makes her stop and think. ‘Can you think of anything?’ I said at last.

‘I once knew the names of every magical creature that walked the earth,’ Arachne said. ‘Of those that could grant favours or boons, I can still remember three score without trouble. But something hidden from the Light histories … that points to something old indeed. To the jinn.’

‘As in genies?’

‘Genies, djinn, shayatin. They have many names. To the best of my knowledge, they are the only creatures in this world with access to true wish magic. Or were.’

‘Are they gone?’

‘Not gone. Changed.’

‘Changed how?’ I said curiously. ‘And why wouldn’t they be in the Light histories?’

‘The answer to that is a long tale, and a dark one,’ Arachne said. ‘The important part is this: if you care for your friend, tell her to stay away from the jinn and everything to do with them.’

I thought for a second. ‘The jinn are supposed to have come from the Middle East, aren’t they? That item that Richard got hold of earlier this year was from Syria. And just tonight Cinder let slip that wherever this relic is, it’s outside the UK.’ I looked at Arachne. ‘Do you think that’s what Richard’s after? A jinn that’s bound or locked away? And the Council want it too?’

‘If they do, they are fools,’ Arachne said. ‘The jinn have no reason to love mages. None at all. If either the Council or Richard gained the services of a jinn, it would bring them nothing but ruin. If that truly is what those mages are after, then you would be best off having as little to do with that relic as possible. Don’t open it, don’t touch it, don’t try to use it. Keep as far away as you can, and once you’ve fulfilled your obligations to the Council, run.’

I looked up at Arachne. Her eight eyes stared down at me, and I could tell she was deadly serious. Slowly, I nodded. ‘All right.’

‘For your sake, I hope they’re looking for something else.’

I looked back towards the tunnel. It was late, and I needed sleep. ‘Guess I’ll find out tomorrow.’